That's Sara, no H...

Weekend Rewind (a little delayed)

2011-11-23T10:47:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I didn't do much, and it was lovvelly (said like Eliza Dolittle).

Well, my weekend sort of started on Thursday night. I went to see My Fair Lady with the Junior League - we watched the final dress rehearsal. It was a good performance, just longggggg. Beforehand the "little leaguers" and I grabbed wine and apps at Artista.

(Sidenote - I have become absolutely terrible at taking pictures the past year. terrible. I am disappointed in myself. I'm hoping to remedy that).

Friday night I went bowling with some friends for our friend's bowling for Leukemia event.

Saturday I went to see Breaking Dawn with a co-worker/friend of mine. We saw it at 10:30 am, thinking the theater wouldn't be packed, we were wrong. We still managed to snag some seats in the middle in order to best view the cheesiness. And man, it did not disappoint with the cheesiness. What can I say - I read all the books - I have to see the movies. Patrick doesn't understand, but I told him that it is not important for him to understand.

The afternoon I dealth with a dead battery and ended up at a bar across the street from the battery place for 3 hours. No, I do not have a problem - as my parents asked. Ha. It was originally only supposed to take 1 hour, and 1 turned into 2 turned into 3. What can you do.

That night Patrick and I watched the last Harry Potter movie - which we originally saw when we were in Vegas this past summer. We are that cool. (BTW - I owe a post about the Garth Brooks concert we went to in vegas in July. It was ah-mazing.)

Sunday was a household domestic duties day. Nothing exciting to report!

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow, especially our first thanksgiving with my new niece who is now almost one month old. My how time flies.

I am thankful for a lot of things this year. Especially that little nugget above.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Changes.

2011-11-16T14:56:00.000-06:00

Wow! It has been 5 months since I last blogged. Time has flown by. Lots of things happened in those 5 months, and I won't even begin to catch the blogger world up. The two most important, however, should be mentioned:

1. I got a NEW JOB. I switched firms in July. I am now an attorney at a civil defense litigation firm, and I could not be happier. I am a lot busier (hence the lack of blogging) but its a good busy.

2. My niece was born on Halloween! Scarlett Ava was born 4 1/2 weeks early at 4 lbs 14 oz, but is doing great! She is so strong and teeny tiny. I already love her so much. My sister is doing great, and transitioned into motherhood fabulously. Here is a photo of my ScarAva:

I have taken so many pictures already of this cute little peanut, but haven't had a chance to upload them to facebook or blogger. Most are currently residing on my iPhone, which is convenient for me to look at during the day, but not convenient for posting pics on my blog. I cannot wait to see the person this little peanut becomes!

Oh, and because I love the following picture, this summer I went on a fab vacation to Lake Powell, AZ and Las Vegas. Here's a picture I took from the houseboat that we lived on for five days on Lake Powell:

Thank you to my faithful readers who may still exist. I promise more blog posts this upcoming year! Especially with holiday season approaching, I'll have more stories.

Until then, this is Sara, no H.

Urgent Prayer Request

2011-07-13T09:11:00.002-05:00

The Sikes family received devastating news yesterday. Kara and I were Zetas together at Baylor. She and her husband have a baby boy who had a brain tumor removed 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately in the past two weeks the brain tumor has not only grown back, but has spread. They now have to decide whether to start an aggressive treatment or to bring him home and make him comfortable. The doctors are very skeptical about the treatment. Please pour your prayers over this family for guidance in their decision, peace, and comfort. I can only imagine what a difficult time this is for them right now. You can read about James' story on their blog.

Just call me Aunt Sara

2011-05-19T11:53:00.000-05:00

With permission from my sister, I am happy to announce that my big sister and her hubby Steve are expecting their first child in November right around Thanksgiving!! I could not be more excited and happy for them, and I cannot wait to be an Aunt and spoil he or she rotten :)

Congrats Kate and Steve. Y'all will make wonderful Parents!

I was told I don't blog enough...true statement.

2011-04-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

Yes, it has been over a month since I last blogged. And, I am sure whoever reads this blog is getting tired of my apologies for not blogging. February/March were/are hectic. The other day I was informed by a dear friend of mine that she checks my blog every day only to find that there is not a new post. So, my friends, I will now attempt to remedy this disappointment :)

March was a good month, here are some highlights:

1. Elaine came to visit the first weekend!!!! Elaine is a bestie of mine from College days. We have such a good time together, and it makes me sad that we aren't in the same city. Because, if we were, there would definitely be one or two or three happy hours a week. That weekend we spent time doing retail therapy, eating, drinking, and chatting. I miss her so much! I didn't take any photos (so bad lately at the photo taking), but here is one from a while back so you know who I am referencing:

2. I was in a wedding in Galveston at the San Luis! (Follow along) - My brother in law's brother, Mike, married Titik, who is now my sisters, sister in law. I was asked by Titik to be in her wedding, and it was a beautiful wedding and fun weekend! Here are some photos:

At the Rehearsal Dinner (Titik is in the middle)

At the reception

The back of my hair was awesome.

PT and I <3

3. I also went to a few shows with Alisa - Zac Brown Band at the rodeo and the Sleeping Beauty Ballet, hosted book club, hung out with law folks, met the cutest baby RSL and got to spend some QT with his mommy, and celebrated many friends birthdays!

All in all a good month!! April is already shaping up to be a busy/good month. I'm arguing before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for the FIRST TIME EVER at the end of the Month - which strikes some anxiety/nerves, but should be a great experience. My parents are coming in town to stay with me for Easter weekend, first time they'll stay with me! So excited for that!

BTW - it says March 30th as the date up there, but really it should say, I'm a terrible blogger and this was posted on April 15, 2011.

The Art of Eating Alone

2011-02-15T10:10:00.000-06:00

I have never been one to go see movies alone, go out to eat at restaurants alone, or go to a bar alone. In fact, I give major props to people who like to do these things (my boyfriend for example loves seeing movies by himself...). I'm not sure if it's the fear of being judged for being that girl eating by herself in a restaurant who must not have any friend, or the fact that I just like to eat with other people around.

Well, yesterday I had an epiphany of sorts. At lunch time, I ran to Dillards to run an errand. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, and the plan was to pick up Panera Bread (there isn't one near my office) and take it back and eat at my desk. Because the trip did not take as long, when I arrived at Panera with my Kindle in hand, and about 45 minutes to spare, I decided that today would be the day I would eat lunch alone at a restaurant. I placed my order, settled into a two seater booth, and opened up the Kindle to the book I am reading at the moment (the new Dean Koontz scary novel). And, MAN, did I enjoy it! Just the act of sitting there, eating my Pick Two, and reading my book, for 30 minutes, brought such relaxation to my day! I will no longer judge people who like to do this, because now I fully understand why!

Not to say that it'll become a habit of mine, because let's face it, I still enjoy eating with people more, but I think I'll reserve it for those hectic days where I just need some "Me" time.

_______________

On another note - the Menu Monday Madness will return in two weeks! I have been coaching a Moot Court team the past 6 weeks, and well, we've practiced every night but monday and the weekends. So, not much time for cooking. But starting Feb. 28th, it'll be back in force!

Also - I had the BEST valentine's day/weekend with the boyfriend. He's amazing.

Oh, and one more thing - this will be me in July:

(Lake Powell)

Cannot WAIT!

New Orleans 2010

2011-01-19T11:30:00.000-06:00

Patrick and I belatedly celebrated our Anniversary by going to NOLA (both our First time) in December! We had a wonderfully crazy time.

We left H-town on Friday afternoon and arrived in NOLA an hour later.

We checked into our fab Hotel - The Royal Sonesta, which happened to be right on Bourbon St. It was decorated for Christmas with a Teddy Bear theme, and it looked absolutely beautiful inside. The hotel itself had a very french quarter feel to it. The rooms weren't huge but quaint, and it was very well kept! Not to mention the convenience of it being in the French Quarter, on Bourbon Street.

This is one of the Hallways lined with Trees with Teddy Bears as ornaments!

After we checked in and got settled, we ventured out onto Bourbon Street. I won't go into much detail here, but we had a great time people watching, drinking Hurricanes, and listening to live Blues Music!

At Pat O'Briens!

At a Live Blues Bar.

On Saturday we had brunch at a restaurant in the Quarter, and then began discovering the Quarter. We walked a bunch, and went to see the Cathedral, which was beautiful.

The Cathedral and Me.

We ended up taking a carriage ride around the Quarter. And I'm glad we did. We got to see a lot more than we otherwise would have!

We even ended up seeing a Wedding procession. The entire wedding walks all around the Cathedral Square, very New Orleans!

That night we had a romantical dinner at Broussard's, which came highly recommended by a co-worker of Patricks. It did not disappoint! We spent the rest of the night hanging out on Bourbon St.!

It was a GREAT trip and I really enjoyed the quality time with Patrick (he was CRAZY busy at work in Novemeber..and it continued into December, and now into January, but what's new :) ).

Us at Dinner (excuse the pale face - it happens in winter time).

It was a GREAT time and I can't wait to go back!

Monday Menu Madness (on a Tuesday)

2011-01-18T11:54:00.000-06:00

Last week's meals were a success! The Stew was delicious (I'll post recipe later this week), the Rice meal was simple and tasty, and well I didn't make the pork meal.

This week is pretty busy so I'll only be making one meal tonight. And probably eating leftovers/Lean Cuisine/takeout the rest of the week.

So - the whopping ONE meal for this week is...drumroll please...

Mexican Chicken Casserole (from Cooking Light). I'm making it tonight, and using canned salsa and rotisserie chicken (taking the easy road).

Monday Menu Madness

2011-01-10T13:51:00.000-06:00

I promise one of these days I'll post about something that doesn't involve food. I'm just dragging on getting pics uploaded....

This week's menu:

Sunday: Took Subway up to the boyfriend who was at work (yes, on a sunday).

Monday: Parmesan Rice and Chicken (Cooking Light), yes I have made this before, and really only a few weeks ago, but I really liked it and it is easy and this time i'm going to try to use less wine because the last time I made it, while good, tasted really heavy on wine.

Tuesday: Leftover or Sandwiches.

Wednesday: Bistro Beef Stew - Slow Cooker addition (from the slow cooker cookbook Alisa got me for Christmas).

Thursday: Pork Cutlets with marinara and penne pasta (WW recipe).

Last week:

I managed to make everything! Which is the first time, ha.

The Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts were delish! I strayed from the recipe a little bit though. For one, I didn't have sun dried tomatos, which I thought I did and so I didn't buy them at the store. After a search through every cupboard, the elusive sun-dried tomatoes did not turn up. So, instead I used a bit of this Sun dried tomato and basil soup mix that I had gotten in Fredericksburg, like not more than 1/2 a teaspoon, and mixed that in with the goat cheese, and it was great! And instead of "stuffing" the chicken breasts, I made roll ups. But overall I was really pleased with the recipe. I served it over brown rice which sopped up the leftover sauce.

The Chicken Tortilla Soup did not disappoint either - although I will add some black beans and some other stuff to give it more substance, but overall nice flavor and SPICY!

The meatloaf was good. It took longer to cook in the oven then the recipe said but it had a good flavor when I took it out after 1.2 hours. Not my favorite ever, but a good healthy option.

Lover of Books

2011-01-05T10:18:00.000-06:00

I love to read. I always have. Atleast that's what my mom tells me. In law school, when I was reading boring law books, I found that reading a good non-law book before bed relaxed my mind. That still holds true now, even though I'm generally not reading law books any more (only at work). In any case, here is the 2010 list of the books I read this past year, I enjoyed most of them:

Her Fearful Symmetry (by Audrey Niffenegger)
Naked in Death (by J.D. Robb)
The Girl Who Played with Fire (by Steig Larsson)
In the Woods (by Tana French)
The Monster of Florence (by Douglas Preston)
The Carrie Diaries (by Candace Bushnel)
Little Bee (by Chris Cleave)
A Space Between Us (by Thrity Umbrigar)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next (by Steig Larsson)
Just Don't Call me Ma'am (by Anna Mitchael)
Commencement (by J. Courtney Sullivan)
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (by Aimee Bender)
The Art of Racing in the Rain (by Garth Stein)
One Day (by David Nicholls)
Outlander (by Diana Gabaldon)
Dragonfly in Amber (by Diana Gabaldon)
Voyager (by Diana Gabaldon)
The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins)
Catching Fire (by Suzanne Collins)
The Mocking Jay (by Suzanna Collins)
In Cold Blood (by Truman Capote)
The Choice (by Nicholas Sparks) - Audio CD
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance (by Elna Baker)

So, I read 23 books this year! You might be asking yourself where I find time to do this, well I generally read at night, while wathing t.v. Or, I read a lot on vacations (atleast 5 of those books were read on various trips I took this year).

I look forward to 2011 and many many more books to explore!! Already on the list are:

Harry Potter books (I've in fact only read one - the last one, and I read it after I saw the 6th movie because I wanted to know how it ended and didn't want to wait till 2010).
I'm currently reading - the 4th Outlander book, and Jane Eyre.
More classics (they are cheap cheap to buy on the Kindle).

There ya go! If you have any recommendations for a good book, let me know!

Monday Menu Madness Returns!

2011-01-03T14:11:00.000-06:00

Hello blog world - well I've been a bit MIA the past few weeks. The holidays caught up to me, but after spending 11 wonderful days not at work I have returned to every day living. One of my resolutions this year is to cook more at home and stop eating out so much. I know I've said this same thing over and over again, but I really mean it this time. ha. But, seriously, I need to eat healthier and one way to do that is to be the one who makes the food. So, without further ado, here is my first MMM of 2011, 51 more MMM's to come!

Monday: Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts (c/o WW), w/ broccoli (garlicy) and brown rice.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup w/ side salad (c/o Tasty Kitchen) (I bought myself a slow cooker over the holidays, very domestic).

Wednesday: Leftovers.

Thursday: Mom's Turkey Meatloaf with green beans (c/o Ellie Krieger) (I grew up eating meat loaf, so I'm not scared of it like some people, a.k.a. my boyfriend).

Here's to the first planned menu week of the year!

I promise much more thrilling posts to come. I have about a bajillion photos to upload from the past three months.

Monday Menu Madness

2010-12-13T13:45:00.000-06:00

Last weeks recap:

Monday - Parmesan chicken and rice. Muy delicioso. I think I used too much wine when I made it, so it had a strong taste of my box white wine that I have in my fridge. Other than that, it was easy, and the mushrooms carried a nice flavor in it.

Tuesday - Parmesan and sage crusted pork chops with roated brussel sprouts. True story - up until last August I had not in fact ever tried a brussel sprout. I loathed them but I had never actually tasted them. Bad reputation. In any case, I tried my first roasted brussel sprout at Alisa's house, and man, I was sold. Delicious. So I attempted to make my own this week. They were good. Not as good as hers, I don't think I roasted them long enough, but the balsamic tasted really good on them. I'll definitely try them again. The pork chops were easy peasy. Just had one bowl of flour, one bowl a bread crumb plus parmesan plus sage concoction, and one bowl a mustard + egg white concoction. I dipped each pork chop in each bowl and then pan fried them in canola oil (I'm not sure how this falls under "cooking light", but in any case they were pretty tasty.

Wed. - Had Freebirds with the boyfriend instead of cooking.

THIS WEEK:

Monday: Baked Lemon Pasta - a la Pioneer Woman - with salad.

Tuesday: Leftovers.

Wednesday: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - From Tasty Kitchen (i'm really into soups right now - I think its the coldness outside); most likely serve with bread on the side, and a salad.

Thursday: Dinner with friends.

I'll let ya know how it goes!

Monday Menu Madness

2010-12-06T13:07:00.000-06:00

I should grocery shop on Sundays, but a lot of the time I end up not going. Which has its benefits because well, Sunday at the grocery store is chaotic. I've started going to the grocery store on Monday nights after work, and it is a lot less crowded. So, to hop on the bandwagon of posting menus to your blog for the week, I'll start posting what I'm making for the week on Mondays! I eat out way way way too much. way too much. I started putting in the money spent on eating out into a spread sheet and it was mind bending. So, following Elaine's lead - I'm going to try to cook more at home, and eat out less (on week days atleast, weekends are for eating out). I'll also let y'all know which food I liked the best from the week!

This week's menu:

Sunday night: Just got back from NOLA.

Monday night: Parmesan Chicken and Rice (from Cooking Light)

Tuesday night: Quick Beef and Pinto Bean Chili - because baby its cold outside... (from Weight Watchers online)

Wednesday night: Parmesan and Sage-crusted Pork Chops (Cooking Light) with Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Toasted Almonds (WW online)

Thursday night: Christmas show.

I'll let you know how my first week of menu planning goes!!

P.S. - PT and I had a FAB time in NOLA this past weekend, blog post to come!

It's my kind of town - Chicago ("Frank Sinatra" aka The Man).

2010-11-22T10:16:00.000-06:00

A few posts ago, I blogged about coaching "moot court" again. Well, my first team I coached competed in Chicago at the beginning of November. I had a great group of "kids" (I use that term loosely, as one of the guys was older than me), and I was super proud of them. We had a good time in Chi-town, and saw lots of sights, and pretty much ate our way through the town. Here's a brief synapsis of our trips through photos -

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and immediately went to the hotel bar for cocktails and snacks. That evening, we went to dinner at a tasty steak place (where I am pretty sure none of us ordered steaks). Then it was early to bed for their competition in the morning.

Friday was their competition at the Federal Court house. They did a great job, and I was really really proud of them. It was a long day though, and after arguing two rounds, and going to a reception, we ended up at Giordano's for some delicious deep dish pizza. Yum!

The team - Kristen, Geoff, and Kelsey

Shock em Coogs.

Saturday was spent being touristy. We went to Millenium Park, the Shedd Aquarium (which was AWESOME), Navy Pier, and did some shopping on Michigan Ave. It was topped off by a delish italian meal and then some drinks in Wicker Park. All in all and great day. And we couldn't have asked for better weather!

The Bean

Fall!

Entrance to Shedd Aquarium - we stood in that line for a long time.

Sunday we headed back to Tejas.

It was a great team, a great trip, and a great time!

OH, and how dare I forget, the night before I left for Chicago I went to see Hanson with Lauren. It was a blast! They put on a really really good show, and at the HOB you really are up close and personal. I do have to say that they grew up to be nice lookin men, who wear tight pants.

I'm headed home for Thanksgiving this week, and I cannot wait. It's been about 6 months since I've been home. That's a long time for me, and a length of time i'm not proud of. But, in any case, i'm looking forward to some home-cooking and some relaxation.

The Half Marathon Experience

2010-11-19T09:59:00.001-06:00

Wow, I really suck at this whole NaBloPoMo thing. Sorry about that.

In any case, I know most of y'all have been sitting on pens and needles this week waiting for my Half Marathon blog post, so, here you go -

Saturday

PT and I rolled out to San Antonio around noon time. I managed to avoid stopping at Buc-ees along the way, which I have to tell you takes a lot of mental energy to avoid. But we had an expo to get to! We went straight to the expo so that I could check in and get my number and swag bag (free stuff). Man, there were a ton of people at the expo. A little bit overwhelming, but we managed to meander our way through.

Afterwards, we checked in at our hotel, and then headed to this hole in the wall pasta place that was awesome to carbo load! And carbo load I did!

Sunday

Sunday morning came early. Lucky for us, Jen and I's "corral" was right outside our hotel. So, we stumbled out to our corral and waited patiently with lots of nerves. Around 7:40 am, our corral crossed the start line, and we were off!

The course had some hills, but they weren't too bad. And, the best part of the course was all the people cheering us on as we ran, and the bands playing at every mile. I took it easy and knew that I just wanted to finish the race!

Here I am at Mile 8, running backwards. (PT cheered me on at Mile 8)

Here's Wu at Mile 8

If you look closely, you'll see behind the girl in the purple shirt - this is the straight away to the finish line!

My wonderfully supportive boyfriend.

My running buddy - Jen!

I will not forget the feeling I had when I turned the corner on the last stretch and saw the finish line. I was beyond excited and proud of myself, and got a little emotional. I couldn't even run a mile in January, and here I was about to finish a half marathon. Crazy. I sprinted to the end (because why not) and was handed my shiny fiesta medal. I was met at the end by PT, his dad and step mom and Jen's parents and her hubby Nick. What a great way to end the race! Oh, and for those curious, my race pace wasn't all that great but I was still proud and I didn't walk at all - 2h 33 min.

Well... I did it!

2010-11-15T15:17:00.000-06:00

I finshed my first Half Marathon yesterday in San Antonio - 13.1 miles - check!
I'll post pics and a detailed synopsis once I get them on my computer at home. But for now - here is a pic of Jen and I after we finished:

Ok, so I missed four days of posting...

2010-11-08T10:14:00.000-06:00

Please forgive me for failing at NaBloPoMo after only 3 days. I will do my best from this point on to post every day. I couldn't figure out how to post from my phone and I didn't have computer access in Chicago so I just didn't post. And, well, I was out enjoying Chicago in any case.

I returned from Chi-town last night. It was a great time. I took photos, and so once I upload those I will post about the trip.

I'm now back at work, and this week is going to be a busy one! Not only do I have two big projects at work, but we also have this conference beginning on Wed. till Friday, with events at night. AND then my HALF MARATHON is on SUNDAY! I cannot believe it is only a week away, seems like it was only a month ago that I was registering for it. I'm about ready as I'll ever be. I'm going to try to get in a few more runs this week, but not overdo it. Then its on to San Antonio on Saturday (the actual race is Sunday morning).

Also, I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is in less than three weeks! I miss my parents terribly and I haven't seen them since the beginning of August (I know, that doesn't make sense, seeing as how I only live 4 hours (3.5 on a good day) away from them, its been a busy busy fall). I am more than ready to visit them for Thanksgiving and enjoy all the comforts of home :)

Mmmm...Bop

2010-11-03T10:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is in fact a reference to my junior high crush - Hanson. Its been 14 years since the releas of that single, and 13 years since the release of their first album "Middle of Nowhere." Tonight I am going to see Hanson for the first time live.

Two friends asked if I wanted to see Hanson. Jen sent out an email regarding the concert a while back and the "L" of SnL asked me a month ago if I wanted to see Hanson with her and two other girls at the House of Blues. My junior high self couldn't say no. Who cares that I haven't listened to them in 10 years. I owned Middle of Nowhere back in the day (no telling where that cd is now) and I hopefully will be able to recall some of their songs. Did you know that Hanson has released NINE albums? I didn't. And that the most recent album - Shout it Out was released this year? I hope tonight they play some oldies. Did you know that all three Hanson brothers are married? With kids? Yea, even that little one in the below pic. Crazy.

1996

Present day

I have to say, they grew up nicely.

In any case, 13 year old Sara will be rockin out tonight to Mmm bop. Judge me if you will, but don't lie and say you didn't love that song back in the day also.

Hair laziness

2010-11-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

*Disclaimer: I realize that I quoted NaBloPoMo wrong as my title yesterday. There is in fact no L in Post.

Despite that, here is my second post of the month:

I am hair lazy. What is this you may ask? Well, I for some reason have developed a sheer laziness when it comes to fixing my hair in the morning. I remember when I was in high school and college, I'd wake up early, shower, and spend a while blow drying and curling my hair to make it look its best. Somewhere between studying for law school crap and becoming a lawyer, I lost that desire. I'm not sure where it went, and I would really like to have it back.

I'd say 1/5 days of the work week I actually "fix" my hair. And by "fix" I don't mean I actually in fact use a curling iron. More just that I blow dry it straight. So, what am I doing the other 4/5 of the work week? Well, I have two options that I rotate through 1) put it in a low bun, wet. Yes you read that right. Wet. No blow dry. or 2) take a shower, and NOT wash my hair so that I can just put it in a low pony tail, dirty. Yes, you read that right, dirty.

Actually fixed.

I really need to get out of this rut. I'm pretty sure being a 27 year old attorney, with wet hair, at work, doesn't make the best impression. (Although, today on the elevator, a woman (who had fixed her hair) complimented me on my low bun of wet hair and said that she wished she could get her hair to look like that..true story). As I write this I am sitting at my desk, with my hair, still wet, but no longer in a bun because it was giving me a headache.

Wet.

The second option.

One of these days, I need to make use of the $150 hair cut and color that I get every three months, and actually fix my hair. Baby steps. Maybe next week I'll strive for 3/5 days of actually fixing it. I'll let you know how that goes...

NaBloPloMo

2010-11-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

One of my besties asked me if I was going to do NaBloPloMo this month... i've never done it because its hard for me to post everyday. But, I decided today that I'll atleast try. November has lots coming up in it, so the blog posts should hopefully be a little interesting... i can't promise there won't be a few boring ones thrown in there also. Because, let's face it, my everday life just isn't all that interesting.

But, for my first Blog Post of November, a little recap of the Halloween Weekend:

This weekend, Patrick and I threw a Halloween party at his new place to 1) celebrate Halloween, 2) dress up in costumes, and 3) show off his new house! It was a success! My camera unfortunately died about 10 minutes into the party, so the pics below are a result of 1. my iphone camera or 2. friends camera.

Patrick went as Kenny Powers from Eastbound and Down, and I went as his WT ex-girlfriend. Party. The one pic of us is on my dead camera. Sorry about that.

The above pic isn't from Halloween, its from watching the Rangers play in the first game of the World Series (in Houston in Patrick's living room).

And this is Callie, she LOVES that window sill. This was taken outside of my apartment. (which I still need to post pics of on here, I love that too).

Three Years!

2010-10-19T10:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the boyfriend and I's three year anniversary! Three years. Holy cow. It's amazing to me how fast three years can fly by! In that time, we both graduated from law school, have taken three long vacays together, and are both now entering our third years as associates at law firms. But Its been a great three years. I'm blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life!

Right around the beginning!

Right around 1 Year

At about Two Years.

This was about like 2.8 years. Close enough (ignore the awkward crouch position I am in)

We celebrated by going to eat at this fancy shmancy restaurant Haven in Houston. It was delish! We are taking a romantical trip to New Orleans in December (neither of us have ever been before) to realllyyy celebrate. I'm excited about that too!

In any case, it was a great anniversary!

One Month!

2010-10-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

Today is October 14th. While just another manic..Thursday... it's also the ONE month mark till my FIRST Half Marathon! One Month from today, Nov. 14th (for those that were curious what a month is from today. duh sara) is my Half in San Antonio!

I'm nervous. of course. but I feel like I've been training well enough up until now and just need to push through these last 31 days to get there. Last Saturday I ran 12 miles. TWELVE. A half marathon is 13.1...so really just 1.1 more miles to go after that, which I think I could have pushed out of me last Saturday.

I haven't been very good at running this week. Well, in fact, I've only run once. On Tuesday. For 40 minutes. And I felt like crap. Which was a little disconcerting, but I think was just a result of still being EXHAUSTED from the 12 mile run on Saturday. The first half of this week, I literally had no energy. It just got zapped on Saturday. Which is probably why I haven't run as much as I needed to this week. But, do not dismay, I will be making sure I run 4-5 times a week from now till the race. I need to run in the mornings. Life at night is really busy right now with my moot court practices, and with Patrick moving. So I have run out of time at night to run. I'm not much of a morning person but I think for the next month I'm going to have to be. Let's hope that works.

Anyways, I have high hopes that I'll survive the Half in a Month and I cannot wait to see if I do!

R-A-N-G-E-R-S!

2010-10-13T11:06:00.000-05:00

A little background info for my readers -

I am a Rangers fan. A Texas Rangers fan that is. Yes, I realize I live in Houston, and should support the Astros, which I do, but my heart belongs to the Texas Rangers. See, I grew up in Arlington, Texas. Where the Rangers play. Back when I was in elementary school, my dad came home from work and informed the family that he had made an investment, an investment in fun, I think is how he put it. And that investment was season tickets to the Rangers game. From about 5th grade till about 11th grade or so, many a night between April and September of every year was spent at the Ballpark in Arlington. We weren't fair weather fans, we went to games even when the Rangers sucked. And, let's face it, they did for a while there. I remember when my dad told me in college that he had gotten rid of the season tickets. It was a heart breaking day in our family, but as the kids were slowly leaving home, there wasn't anyone to use the tickets as much anymore. Well, that last approximately one season. Becaues by the next year, my Dad had season tickets again. They couldn't stay away.

Now - I like to go to a Ranger game or two when I can when I'm up in the DFW area. Nothing is quite like watching the Rangers play with my parents, eating hot dogs, getting cotton candy sugar stuck all over your fingers, and enjoying these precious moments with my family.

Last night, all those years of support and patience were rewarded when the Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays and made it to the ALCS! I watched the entire series (well listened/watched) and a little tear came to my eye as the fly ball was caught in the end of the 9th inning and the Rangers won!

I cannot wait to watch the ALCS, and hopefully see the Rangers make it to the World Series for the FIRST TIME EVER!

Let's go Rangers, let's go!

TOMS

2010-10-06T15:41:00.000-05:00

I bought my first pair of Toms last week, and they arrived in the mail from the UPS guy (who...knows me by name b/c I buy all my shoes online (i have large feet) and have them delivered to my office at work...he personally brings them to me now). AND I LOVE THEM. I walked around the office showing them to everyone. And the best part, they are PURPLE cords.

My purple Toms (yes, those are my large feet, and yes I'm currently wearing them in my office)

My feet and I are happy about my Toms purchase

Oh - and I'm completely excited that a child now has a pair of shoes!

One more thing - GO RANGERS!

Just call me a wine-o.

2010-10-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I travelled to Boerne/Fredericksburg with some friends of mine. We stayed in Boerne at "the compound" aka paradise for me (the boyfriend's dad's house).

Patrick was still out of town, with his dad and brother. Rather than fill my weekends doing productive things around my apartment (like decorating), I spent the two weekends he was gone out of town as well.

In any case, Alisa, Maggie and I went to Boerne and Fredericksburg.

To drink wine.

And man, did we drink a lot of wine, and eat a lot of food. Meat. We ate a lot of meat. Like sausage and chicken fried steak and roast beef. Lots of meat.

Saturday was spent travelling to different wineries around Fburg, including my fave Becker Vineyards. I greatly increased my wine collection at my abode this weekend, which was much needed. We had a tour of the Becker winery which was really interesting and given by the manager of the winery, who Maggie noted was single. I think we might lose her to Becker.

We also did a lot of shopping around Fburg. I didn't buy anything but dips from the Dip store. I know it has another name, but I incessantly referred to it as the dip store on saturday until I introduced Maggie and Alisa to all its glory, and we basically ate lunch on dips at this store. If you don't know what i'm talking about, you should go to Fburg, and check out the dip store. I think there's a sign out front that says something like "Texas Gourment Foods" or something like that. Its on Main. Go and dip. You won't be disappointed.

That night we went to a wine bar on Lincoln St. recommended by my wine-o parents. It was good. We had a malbec and some cheese. Atleast it wasn't more meat.

Afterwards, we went to dinner at the Hilltop Cafe. It was awesome. Its a "fancy" restaurant in a gas station on the side of 87, in Doss, Texas (atleast that's what my credit card bill says its located). Basically, keep driving on 87 through Fredericksburg till you see a gas station. It had a live blues singer who played guitar. I had red beans and rice, and a grit cake. It was delicious. I will now eat there anytime I'm in that part of the world. And I recommend you do the same.

I took photos of the three of us at each winery we went to. But, per usual, I have not uploaded them to my blog. Sorry bout that. I'll post them at a later date. It'll be a little surprise for my readers.

I had a great weekend. But, man was I ready for the boyfriend to get back. 10 days of being gone, 8 of which without any communication was enough for me.

Speaking of, the boyfriend returned Monday afternoon.

He closed on his house yesterday! I'm now dating a Homeowner. That makes me feel a wee bit more adult. I love the house, btw. I'll post pics of it soon!

D-A-L-L-A-S

2010-09-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I travelled to sunny Dallas to visit some college friends! Man, did I have a great time! (I took approximately two photos, which are still on my camera, so bear with me). I'd like to title this vacay - the "Eating" Chronicles because man did we get our eat on.

Friday:

I rolled into Love Field around 8 pm and was greeted by the ever lovely Ms. Foxy Flores. We travelled the .5 miles to her parents casa and enjoyed a dinner of enchiladas and her Mom's punch. Afterwards, we headed to a wine bar for some, well wine, and then to a new bar called Three Sheats, to meet up with her brother. I enjoyed both places!

Saturday:

Slept till approximately 11 am. (I blame that on the rain and thunder outside). We headed to the greek fest, wherein I gorged myself on Greek food of all type. And were serenaded by a Barbershop Quartet channeling the Temptations. All in all a fun experience.

Afterwards, we headed to Lewisville to see Shell Bell and Dan's new abode. What a loverly house it was!! Congrats y'all!

That night, after vegging for a good hour, and after doing some retail therapy at Northpark, we headed to a Tapas restaurant called Sangria. It was delish. I again, gorged myself there also.

Afterwards we had a night cap at a french bistro around the corner. That was also delish. AND we got the most girnormous souffle of all time, that plus a couple of enthralling slugs, made for an interesting french experience.

Sunday:

We met Shell and Dan at Breadwinners for brunch. I enjoyed it. I read about it a lot on blogs around the interwebs, and even heard a couple discussing it in front of me on the airplane, so I thought why the heck now. It was good. We sat outside, and the weather was a little chilly and reminded me of fall, oh wait, it is supposed to be fall weather. It was fun catching up with Shelley and Dan at brunch.

After that, we watched the first half of the Cowboys (not lose, yay, go cowboys!) and then I headed back to the dirty H. All in all a GREAT weekend. Thank you Elaine and Brian for being wonderful hosts!

Random Friday Thoughts...

2010-09-24T15:42:00.000-05:00

Lots of things running through my head today, here's a little taste:

I'll be exhibiting single-dom behavior for the next week or so (not that kind of single behavior, get your mind out of the gutter). Patrick left for a 10 day hunting trip to Northeastern Canada (in the Quebec Region), close to Newfoundland. He's hunting carabou (I just tell myself that he's not killing anything, I can't watch Bambi without getting sad, I surely will not be able to think of the boyfriend killing a poor animal) with his dad and brother. There will be about 8 days in there sans communication with each other. Apparently calling your girlfriend on the ONE satellite phone in the camp is frowned upon.

2. I used to look badly upon people who worked out in tank tops. I thought it was some sort of fashion statement/attempt to look cute while running. That's until I started running and realized that those are God's gift to runners. Running 10 miles in a sweaty t-shirt = chaffing of gigantic proportion. Running in tank top with dry fit technology = no chaffing. You'll find me running in such a tank top until it starts acting like fall outside.

3. On the topic of running - I am now less than two months away from my first Half Marathon! This past Saturday I ran 10 miles! Who knew I'd ever be able to do that. I certainly didn't think I would. Persistence and training my friends. I fell off the running wagon this week though, as I haven't run once. I blame it on my busy work schedule. I'll pick back up with it after this weekend.

4. I'm coaching Moot Court again! For those new to my blog, moot court is the activity I was mega involved in during law school. Think debate, but lawyerly. I'm one of those people who just can't move on from it. I enjoyed it, and I coached last year for the first time, and really really enjoyed that. So, after weeks of pestering the moot court coordinator, I got the "go" to coach again! I'll be coaching the same competitions I did last year, one is in Chicago, the other is in NYC. Hopefully I'll get to travel for both, work permitting.

My Chicago Team from Last Year, loved them (semifinalists)!

My Pace team from laster year, love them too (Finalists!)

5. I bought two new cds this week, and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. Numero Uno - Maroon 5. I love M5. Period. I've loved every album since I started listening to them Sophomore year of college. Numero dos - Zac Brown Band. I bought their last album, and I'm thinking I will prolly love this one just as much. Very happy with my purchases.

6. Dallas. Most of my college friends live in Dallas. I'm heading there this weekend to visit Elaine, Shelley, Kristen, and Brian. And, anyone else I happen to see while I'm there. I'm super excited, and can't wait!

That is all.

California ... Day 3

2010-09-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

Monday!

This was my last full day in Cali, and it was a whirlwind!

We started off the day by walking to downtown Mountain View (about a 20 minute walk). It was a beautiful day, so I didn't mind that my flip flop was rubbing a mean blister into the side of my foot. We took Andy, and also Aryan (Sarah's god-daughter whom she was babysitting that weekend and a very very cute 1 year old!) on the walk, and we made a pit stop at the coffee shop in downtown. Downtown Mountain View is a very diverse downtown. Its one main street, with every type of foreign food you could find. I would definitely not run out of things to eat in this downtown!

I just love this photo!

Me and Aryan at the coffee shop!

After coffee, we made the trek back to Sarah's house, and had a few diaper mishaps along the way, the joy of having a 3 month old!

We were driving into San Fran to pick up Sarah's friends (the parents of the darling little girl above) at the airport. After we picked them up, and got yelled at by a very surly security guard, we went to eat at In-n-Out burger, because I had never been there before, and there happened to be one right near the airport. I think everyone else arriving in San Fran had the same idea. It was pretty tasty. Although, (and Sarah and Candice will kill me for saying this) I like Whataburger better still. I'm a Texan, and I'm biased, what can I say? I didn't get a picture of the In - n-Out sign, but I did get this little nugget:

Which is a much better picture than the In-n-Out burger sign, if I do say so myself.

If you remember, in my first Cali post I mentioned that it was super foggy when we were in the city on Saturday, well Sarah, being the awesome person that she is, didn't want me to leave Cali without seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. So, with Andy it tow, we drove back into San Fran to see the GGB. And, it was the best decision ever! It was a beautiful, clear day in San Fran, and the bridge was just like I imagined it'd look. I can now cross off the life to do list driving across the GGB! We drove to a look out point on the other side, and I proceeded to take a million pics of the GGB. I will only post a few here. I didn't get a pic with Sarah in front of the bridge because she was tending to a very sleepy/hungry Andy. It was also Andy's first time to see the GGB!

Driving across

San Francisco!

Alcatrez

Andy slept through the drive over the bridge.

After taking a bajillion photos, we drove back to Mountain View.

That night we went to a BBQ at a friend of Sarah and Michael's house. The guy was very nice and opened his house up warmly to us. We met a lot of Sarah and Michael's friends that night and had a really good time. The house was located across the street from Stanford, so that was really neat to see!

Afterwards, we headed back to their house and crashed!

The next day, my flight was early, so they dropped me off at the airport, and I said my goodbyes. I was very sad, but I know I'll hopefully see them again soon! Thank you Sarah and Michael (and Andy) and Candice for an absolutely wonderful Labor Day weekend.

California ... Day 2

2010-09-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday! This day was a chill day, and it was much needed after our 12 hour marathon in San Fran.

We started the day off with a wonderful church service at Sarah and Michael's church. Afterwards, we packed up a picnic and went to The Ridge Winery for a lovely picnic. The Ridge is as it name implies, on top of a ridge. It has amazing views of Northern Cali though. This girl is a bit afraid of heights so the drive up was spent with my eyes closed, but I did enjoy the view when we made it to the top. We enjoyed some lovely vino and lunch and walked around the property. Perfect weather that day.

The man, the legend, Andy Bloem.

He loves his Aunt SB

He loves this ball more :)

The view from the picnic table.

The view from the very top.

Wine and Chocolate.

Michael and Candice

Adore them.

Sara/h's (we have the same initials now - SMB)

Love this family.

After the picnic, we headed back to Sarah and Michael's house and hung out the remainder of the day. I took a 3 mile run around their neighborhood, we read, chatted, and just enjoyed each other's company. That night Michael grilled some pork chops, and we of course, drank some more vino. It was a fab day!

Tomorrow - Day 3 Cali with a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge and In-n-Out.

California...at last (Day 1)

2010-09-21T13:27:00.000-05:00

Well - I finally got my photos uploaded on Sunday while watching the Cowboys lose (so sad). I'll break my wonderful trip to Northern Cali into two (maybe three) posts, as most pics were taken in San Fran and will make for a mighty long post today. So bear with me...

Friday:

I flew from the dirty H to San Fran. On my flight, as chance would have it, I sat next to a woman whose daughter graduated from the same high school I did, only 9 years later. Wow, I felt old in that moment. So, we chatted a lot on the flight, and I sipped from my vodka cranberry and watched Letters to Juliet.

I arrived in San Fran to cool temperatures. I always love that feeling of stepping off a plane and its 30 degrees colder than it was when you stepped on the plane. Ah lovely.

I was picked up by Sarah and Candice (two of my wonderful college roomies) and we headed to Mountain View, CA, which is just south of San Fran. We picked up some Thai food on the way home, and arrived to a table fully set and lots of wine poured by Sarah's hubby Michael. We ate, drank, and chatted for a while! It was so good to be around these girls again.

Sarah and Michael had a baby boy in May. His name is Andrew Charles Bloem. He is adorable. I unfortunately did not get to meet him that first night, but definitely made up for it the remainder of the trip!

Saturday - San Fran Day!

We woke up bright and early. Michael made us a breakfast of Pancakes and Bacon which were yummy. I finally met Andy. He was as awesome as I imagined. We dressed him in a Baylor onesie, because he is a Baylor Bear fan (of course), I believe Michael changed him out of it after we left for San Fran into a Michigan onesie, Andy told us later that he was offended ;)

We headed into San Fran, right into some classic San Fran fog, which made it almost impossible to see the Golden Gate bridge that day (more on that later).

Our first stop was the Ferry Building for a Farmer's Market that is held there every Saturday morning. And man, it was massive. So much fresh fruit and veggies and meat and flowers. I loved every minute of it, and I'm sure if I lived in the city I would go every Saturday!

Ferry Building - which after having seen it and now subsequently watched movies set in San Fran, its in a lot of those movies.

At the farmers market, in front of the bay bridge.

Lots of people at the farmer's market.

After the farmer's market, we headed down to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, which was tourist central. Pier 39 was fun, but reminded me a lot of Kemah. We picked a restaurant that looked like it had good food (which it did) and ate there, and waited to meet up with a couple of friends (Jae and Aaron) who were visiting San Fran that weekend also.

After lunch, we walked around Fisherman's Wharf, and then walked up to Ghirardelli. I'm not a chocolate lover. I prefer fruit flavored candy, but I somehow managed to buy a plethora of chocolate at Ghirardelli, go figure. Along the way, we saw Alcatrez (which when I return to San Fran I fully intend on visiting!) and we also saw some seals hanging out on the dock (of the bay). Which we all thought were really cool, but apparently looking at seals all the time makes you pretty ambivalent to their presence (cough - candice - cough).

From there, we decided to not wait in the line for the trolley to take us up to Lombard St (the windy road street), and instead chose to walk up a massive hill to see it ourselves. Man, was it a climb, but did manage to get some good views of the city and bay out of it.

Once we reached the top, we took some obligatory photos (see above and below), and then walked down Lombard St. There is a massive line of cars waiting to drive down this street. All I could think about was the people who actually lived off of this street, and what they must go through on a daily basis to just get in and out of their own garages. No thanks. At this point, after walking up the steep hill, and then walking down a steep hill, my legs were in full shake mode. I'm glad I didn't fall, although the thought of curling up in a ball and rolling down the hill did cross my mind.

At the top of Lombard St.

Looking up at Lombard St.

After our treacherous climb down (jk), we headed back to get Sarah's car from Pier 39. Along the way though, we found some trolley's empty, and the driver allowed us to take some photos with the trolley. So we did. I tried to be "too cool" to take the photos on the trolley, but my too coolness was interrupted by the lifetime memories I could make :)

Aftering getting back to Sarah's car, we headed to the other side of San Fran, and drove past the Full House houses.

And, we drove through Haight-Ashbury, and stopped for coffee there for a little while. It was getting pretty cold in San Fran and the fog never really lifted.

After coffee, we headed to Chinatown for dinner. Before dinner, we stopped in at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, which was located in an ally. Thanks to my gps on my phone, we were able to locate the right ally, and all purchased some cookies. I paid $.50 to take the picture below, well worth it -

We had dinner in Chinatown, and then dropped Jae and Aaron off at their fab hotel, and we headed back to Mountain View.

I definitely got in a full days worth of sightseeing that day, and saw a lot of San Fran in one visit. I can't wait to go back though!

Lover of Books

2010-09-09T11:39:00.000-05:00

Hey! Did you know that I have a "book blog"? That's right. Its cheesy but I do quite enjoy reading, and I like to pass along the books that I read to friends so that they might enjoy the book themself! Hence why I started a book blog where I review the books I read in a layperson, not a real book reviewer, sort of way. Take a look if you have a sec today - I just updated - http://samablovesbooks.blogspot.com/

San Francisco post still to come - still haven't got that internet working because when I got home last night I got trapped in the Friday Night Lights Season 4 DVD that just came in the mail from Netflix!

And I'm back...

2010-09-08T11:35:00.000-05:00

I have safely returned from the land of sunshine and 75 degree days to a tropical mess here in H-town - no thanks to Hermine (and apparently I missed the whole tropical storm forming in the Gulf over the weekend thing - clearly I was enjoying myself too much to care about Texas this weekend, tsk tsk).

I had an a-mazing time in Northern Cali. No worries - I plan to have a detailed blog post up by this weekend if I can get my stupid internet to work at home. But until then, I'll leave you with these little morsels that Candice took this weekend:

I am in L-O-V-E with him!

The Ridge Winery

In the City.

Leaving on a jet plane...

2010-09-03T10:49:00.000-05:00

A weekend of:

This:

Plus these wonderful gals :

Plus this little nugget:

And this wonderful Hubby of Sarah's:

Equals:

ONE AMAZING LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

I'll see y'all on the flip side :)

Re-discovered ..and it feels so good...

2010-09-01T11:26:00.002-05:00

When I was packing for my move last week, I "re-discovered" all of my dvd collection. Why did I re-discover it, well because I had all my dvds stuffed into the cabinets of my tv stand that I never opened apparently. So, as I packed them into boxes, I realized that I do in fact own a lot of dvds, and good ones at that (although some might argue with me on that). In my new apt, I prouldy displayed all of them on a book shelf next to the tv stand (who would have thought?), and I'm excited to watch them and remind myself that I do in fact own a lot of movies that I can watch at a moments notice. A few of the faves that I re-discovered:

Probably my most favorite Romatic Comedy, they just don't make them like this anymore..

A favorite of mine at Christmas time - I might just pop it in before then though.

I have the first two seasons of this on DVD - yea forgot about that AND I l-o-v-e this show with all my heart.

And who could forget about this classic - never gets old.

I conveniently forgot that I owned the entire series of Sex and the City - an effort to obtain all seasons lasted for a good five years, how could I forget? I look forward to re-watching all of it!

So - as you can see, I have quite a bit of dvds on my hands ( and that is just as sampling) that I forgot about that I'm looking forward to watching again (for the millionth time). That's one thing moves are good for - reminds you what you own..among other things.

happy movie watching!

All moved in...

2010-08-31T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well, Saturday was the BIG move! The movers arrived bright and early at 7:45 a.m. The move was happening whether I was ready or not. Five hours later, I was moved in at my new apartment. It didn't help the process that I lived on the third floor of an aparment building, nor that I was moving to the second floor of a duplex. But the movers got it done. With a slight soy sauce episode (oops - my fault), we got everything put into my new place in one piece.

The boyfriend was a big help that day also, and my sister and brother in law, Erin, and Lauren came over that afternoon for Margarita Moving day. Kate, Erin, and Lauren were a big help in unpacking the kitchen, bedroom, and living room. By the way, did I mention I LOVE my new place? Its so much bigger, with much more storage space, and I finally don't feel like I'm living on top of myself! I made dinner for the boyfriend and I on Sunday night, and it was fab to have such a big kitchen to cook in. (can you tell I'm excited?).

I still have a lot of unpacking and decorating to do. But that will come with time. Trying to find places for all my stuff can be a process. And the bathroom needs some shelving units put in before I unpack that bad boy.

Here's the bedroom, and my new bedspread that I am in l-o-v-e with!

Callie had a few freak out moments along the way, but I think she's settling in nicely to her new abode. Lots of window sills, and its fun to roll around on the hardwood floors. Did anyone else's pets go crazay when they moved to a new place? Or is it just mine?

Callie loves boxes.

So now I begin the decorating and making my apartment feel like home process. That's the fun part, right? Can't wait to host my first get together!

This week - is the week before Labor Day weekend, so its sure to be slow, but can't wait for this weekend!

The fun that awaits

2010-08-26T11:18:00.002-05:00

I'm in the midst of moving - which if you read my earlier post, I hate moving, well packing. The packing, however, is managing to come along, and I've managed to do a little each night so it was seem as daunting on Friday night with the last minute things (like the big pile of clothes in my bedroom).

In order to get through this "fun" period, I've planned actual fun things for the month of september/october to look forward to. Here are the actual fun things I have coming up:

1. Trip to San Francisco/Palo Alto to visit a college roomie - Sarah - who just had a baby in May, and Candice, one of the my other lovely college roomies, will be joining us also. I've never been to that part of the world, nor have I seen Sarah in like three years, nor have I met her new baby boy, nor have Sarah, Candice, and I been together in the same place in three years, so I'm pretty pumped.

The last time we were all together, we will miss Heidi that weekend!

2. Trip to Dallas to visit some more college friends. Most of my college friends moved to Dallas after college. A select few reside here in Houston, and I have the pleasure of seeing most of them on a monthly basis (Mel, we need to work on that...). But, the Dallas friends, I haven't seen in a while. Because most of the time when I got to the Dallas area its to visit my family. Well, I planned a special trip up to Dallas to see them! Can't wait.

I love this photo, I'm not sure Elaine does since she de-tagged herself in it on facebook...tsk tsk

Elaine and I at Baylor Homecoming 2008

This is Brian. The first guy friend I had at the ole BU
(he's an eligible bachelor Ladies, shoot me an email if you want his digits ;) )

3. Trip to Fredericksburg to drink wine and do girly things. (the boyfriend will be gone for over a week coming up - he's going hunting in Canada, long way away, so I planned girly things for while he is away).

Fredericksburg will no doubt be fun with these girls.

I cannot wait for the above three activities! Now, just gotta get myself moved in to my new place, and I'll be set!

Liz is a Red Raider Grad

2010-08-24T13:53:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I travelled to the land of dry heat and flat lands - a.k.a. Lubbock, Texas. My little sister Liz was graduating from Texas Tech University, Sic em! The weekend was full of celebrating Liz and her accomplishment.

The graduate!

Friday night I flew from the humidity to the dryness, and headed to our 4 star accomodations at the La Quinta Inn. Holler. I lucked out and had my very own room for my weekend jaunt. The only pain in the rear was that the toilet didn't work. Yea. That's awesome. After refreshing myself and calming the static from my hair, we headed to dinner at Ruby Tequilas. I have so-so feelings about this restaurant because when I ate at it in the dirty-H I got fish tacos which were more like quesadillas with a garnish of tilapia. Anyways, I was hoping my faith in the RT would be renewed, if the ginormous sangria-rita drink didn't do it, then surely the fried avocados would. I left feeling pretty satisfied.

Dad and I at RT

Liz and her bf Josh at RT

My parents room became party central for the weekend because they upgraded and got a love seat in their room, luckies. So we partied in their room to the wee hours of the morning, okay okay, till midnight, I'm old, what can I say?

The next morning, we wanted to treat ourselves to the free breakfast at the LQ, but were severely disappointed when we realized that the line for the waffle makers was about 100 people deep. Alas, we mosied on over to the Cracker Barrel for some delicious pre-cooked breakfast.

That afternoon was Lizzie's graduation. The good thing about an August graduation is that it only last 1 1/2 hours. The bad thing - it was freakin hot. I was so very excited to see my little sister walk across the stage and graduate. It brought a tear to me eye. She's been through so much and I'm so proud of her for getting to that day.

The family (minus the oldest sister)

That night we had dinner at Las Brisas, one fine steak establishment in Lubbock. After lots of wine, steak, and desserts - in which I burned the crap out of my mouth, who knew caramel off a sizzling plate would burn your mouth, we headed back to our hotel for another party in the parents room - this time involving champagne, mmmm.

At dinner

The next day, we finally got to enjoy the LQ waffle maker. It did not disappoint. My sis and her bf whisked me away to the Lubbock airport and I flew back to the humidity, where atleast my hair isn't an electric current.

Lover of Treadmills

2010-08-23T17:12:00.001-05:00

It's Houston. It's hot. Its humid. Basically its a sauna. And, unless you get up at the butt crack of dawn to do your runs, its pretty miserable (heck its still miserable at the b.c.d., but a little more bearable then at 6 pm). So, if I miss my early morning Saturday long runs with the running group I'm in...which has happened more often than not this summer...I do my "long" runs on a treadmill. The farthest I've run on the 'ole treadmill is 6 miles at 24 hour fitness. Their machines only "allow" you to run for 60 minutes (it's a courtesy thing apparently for the millions of other gym goers wanting to use the machine). But, give me a little break, I was there on a random Saturday afternoon, and there were like 5 million treadmills open all around me, so I took my time. And, I actually didn't mind running the 6 miles on the ole tmill (let's see how many nicknames I can give it before this post is over, I'm at 2 so far..). I had a t.v. and plenty of water, and I wasn't pouring sweat into my eyeballs, my contacts appreciated it. I ran 7 miles two weekends ago with the running group, and it was nice running outside, actually going somewhere. But, alas, I missed by running group this past Saturday because I was lounging on a floaty in Lake Travis. So, tonight my friends, I will be attempting to run my first ever EIGHT miles on a mill. In my boyfriend's living room (he conveniently owns a t-m, which helps with "the whole don't use the gym equipment for longer the thirty minutes when there is a wait" problem). I plan to put on the Bachelor Pad and plant myself on the tm for 88 minutes (or however long it takes to run the 8 miles). Wish me luck!

Coming up - "Oh crap - i'm moving in 4 days and have half my apartment to pack still"

Five years later...

2010-08-20T10:26:00.000-05:00

My aunt told me something once and it really stuck - one day you'll look in the mirror and think, who is this person staring back at me? Because I certainly only feel 21 years old... So maybe I'm not that far off from 21, but man has the time flown the past five years.

Five years ago this month I packed my stuff up from my parents house in Arlington, and moved down to this heat and humidity filled sauna. Moving in August in Houston may not have been the brightest idea, but alas, it's what I did. I moved into my first place that I would live in all by myself. A one bedroom apartment. All mine. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that yet, considering I lived with some great girls during college, but I figured it would atleast keep the distractions low for when I needed to focus on that law stuff. I knew a handful of people in Houston (two of which were related to me). And I could not locate the nearest grocery store, CVS, or target. I definitely wasn't in Waco anymore.

Five years ago this week, I attended law school orientation. I remember walking up to the law school, and thinking, what have I gotten myself into. I didn't know a soul. The law school building was, for lack of a better word, ugly, and there was a strange "thinking" man statue out front. I remember thinking - this is really where I am about to spend 3 years of my life? Really? It wasn't the picturesque red brick buildings and green lawns of my college years. So maybe I was being a bit superficial, can you blame me? Despite my feelings, I was generally excited/nervous about the years that lay ahead of me. What did these three years hold for me? I was about to find out...I checked in, received a name badge, "section B" tag, and told to go stand over there.

Way back in the day...

Another oldie but a goodie (college roomie Sarah!)

Lainey's wedding.

Five years later, I'm now a second year, almost third year attorney, I survived law school, met a boy and fell in love, changed hair color multiple times, and made some amazing friends (many of whom I met that day five years ago). And I now know more than a handful of people in this humid city by the bayous.

My birthday this past May.

I wouldn't do anything different the last five years (okay, maybe a few things, but those aren't blog topics). I like where I am now, who I am now (still a little rough around the edges, but that's okay), and what I've done with my life.

I can't wait to see what the next five years hold for me.

Half crazy...

2010-08-16T11:27:00.000-05:00

I'm now officially signed up to run not one, but TWO half marathons! That's a full marathon if you put the two together! Back in May, I signed up for the San Antonio Half, which is in November. I've been training for that race since May, this past Saturday I ran my first ever 7 miles (without walking). I was proud of myself, considering 8 months ago I couldn't run half a mile. I'm pretty sure after the run on Saturday every inch of me was pouring sweat, thank you Houston heat + humidity.

Anyways, back to the point of this post - two weeks ago I signed up for the Houston Half lottery (it's so popular that they did a lottery system this year for people to run in it). I found out today that I made the cut! So, I'll be officially running the 2011 Houston Half in January!! I'm pumped! So here are my races to look forward to -

First: San Antonio Rock n Roll Half Marathon in NOVEMBER.

Second: Aramco Houston Half Marathon in JANUARY.

Let the training continue!

Training this week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: Cross
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 3 miles

Saturday: 8 miles (I'll be lounging on the lake on Saturday, so this will more likely be Sunday...)
If you have any good training ideas, or cross training ideas (i'm really bad about that), let me know!
Also - I need to start ingesting protein stuff when I run, I tried the gel stuff when I did the MS150, and it made me want to vomit, so any helpful ideas on gels/protein stuff that is quasi tasty?

Overdramatic, that's me.

2010-08-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

I can be overdramatic. But this time I'm really trying not to be. And, part of me thinks that I'm not. But that part gets kind of clouded by the part that is being over dramatic. What exactly am I blabbering on about? My finger. As you read in a post a few posts ago, a week ago last monday, I almost sliced the tip of my pinky finger clean off. It takes talent. Well, I didn't go to the ER. Maybe I should have. But I have my ex-ER nurse sister who took care of it.

Where does the being over-dramatic part come in? Oh it still stinkin hurts. And I'm not sure if I was being over-dramatic this morning when I couldn't bend the finger, so I called my internist this morning, and spoke with the nurse. She informed me that my own doctor had just done the same thing a month back and it took THREE weeks for it to feel normal again. Which, I guess is confirmation in and of itself that I'm not being over dramatic. Did I mention that I can't bend my finger at the top joint? Yea apparently that's what happens if you don't bend your joints for a week, they lock up. Who knew? Did I mention that my finger is swollen too? Yea, because it is. Apparently fluid accumulates in the other tissue when it can't accumulate in the ... well other tissue. Who knew? Not me...they don't teach you about fluid accumulation in law school.

So, in case you were thinking to yourself today - hm, I wonder how Sara's finger is? Well its about the same as it was last week. The only thing that's changed is that I'm pretty sure I will have a numb pinky finger tip for the rest of my life, (if things continue to feel the way they felt this morning) and I think I successfully didn't cut the skin off too much, so that its re-attaching itself, which is a nice thought.

I can tell you one thing though - I'm getting pretty tired of holding my pink up in the air as if I was sipping tea 24 hours a day. I'm giving people the wrong impression that I do have manners.

Excuse the blurriness - taken on the 'ole iPhone 3GS (sooo outdated, I know).

So, am I being overdramatic? The question remains...

SaranoH

2010-08-10T11:41:00.001-05:00

I love my name. Don't get me wrong. But it's given me more than a few headaches in my life. Who knew a 4 letter word could do so wrong. My parents obviously picked my name. I'm named after my grandma, whose name was Phyllis. She told my mom to never name a daughter Phyllis, but she loved the name Sara. So, here I am. My parents thought they made life easy for me when they named me Sara. My dad likes to tell the story that he contemplated naming me Sandy, if you know my last name, well then you know why that's funny.

Why, is a name such as Sara, so hard? Because of the other spelling of Sara, the one with the H - you know what I'm talking about..

For as long as I can remember, I have received the following responses (true stories) when I tell someone my name -

"Is that Sara with an H or without?"

"Oh, your name is Sara(h), how do you spell that?" Me: "No H", "Oh, well my aunts second cousin's mom's name has an H on the end...and she's kind of weird, so its a good thing you have no H" or "Oh my boyfriend's mom's sister has no H and she's awesome". Me: "well thanks?"

"So, your name is Saranoh"...? Me: "Sure" ... ten seconds later receive a piece of paper with my name spelled as "Saranoh", go figure.

In any case, I love my name. Like I said. But I'll forever be "Sara - no - H", and well I guess I'm fine with that, because I am named after Phyllis, who I've been told was an amazing person. And, well atleast it gave me an inspiration for a title for my blog..

FNL

2010-08-05T16:29:00.000-05:00

I have a new obsession - Friday Night Lights, the tv show, not the movie. It is currently streaming on netflix. I watched the first three seasons in less than a week. I'm horribly addicted to this show. I love the characters, that its set in Texas and deals with our obssessions with football in this great state, and is very relatable. I know I am about 4 years late on the bandwagon, and I'm not sure why I was hesitant to watch it before. Because all I can say is that it is by far my favorite show on tv right now. Period.

I pulled a Julia Child

2010-08-03T11:58:00.000-05:00

Last night, I made my first Julia Child recipe soup ever. It was easy and I have to say very tasty - I made the potato and onion soup (I know there is probably a catchier french word for it), its the first recipe of the book, I strive for difficulty, what can I say.

But that's not what this post is about - this post is about my finger. My pinky to be exact. Have you seen Julie and Julia (the movie, not the people)? If you have - you know in the movie where they show an SNL clip of Dan Akroyd (you may have actually seen this clip other than in the J/J movie) - well that was me, last night. Except there wasn't quite as much blood flow, although there was a lot. I sliced the tip of my left pinky finger almost clear off the tip of my left pinky finger. Ouch. I was doing what any good cook would do - cutting a baguette with a sharp knife over the sink with my hand on the other side, and what do you know, my finger got up in the mess. It wanted to be a part of the slicing I suppose. Knife lessons anyone? In any case, after a frantic phone call to my sister (the ER nurse) and my mom (the retired gyno nurse), I wrapped the pinky in a bandage, bag of ice, and towel, and sat with my hand above my head for the rest of the night. The pinky was throbbing, and still is, as I type this (its difficult to type with no pinky I tell ya what). No worries though, I'm alive and survived the pinky slaughter of 2010. Next time I'll move my finger out of the way.

Here's a pic of the finger in the splint:

And ... here's a pic of the finger the morning after the slaughter of 2010 (its gross so don't look if you vomit at the sight of blood):

Pack em up, move em out.

2010-08-02T14:41:00.000-05:00

I. hate. moving. But I am. Why? Because 700 more square feet appear bright in my distant future. Its not that I hate moving, insomuch as I hate packing, and unpacking. And its hard to move, without doing either of those. I guess I could move without packing, but I'd miss my things I think. I'm also what one may call a "procastinator". Gasps heard around I know. Its a fact that I've been spending most of my life trying to curb and fight, but without much success. I'm especially good at procrastinating when its something I loathe doing, like packing. And, in the 20 year school period of my life, I found I always had my best ideas a late night during a cram session, despite having two weeks on the project.

When I made the decision to move back in June, I decided that this time, this time I would not procrastinate with the packing thing. I looked my boyfriend in the eyes and said, babe, I will not wait till the last minute to pack all my crap up. I layed out a two month "plan" of attack on the Sara Fortress. July would be sort and throw away month, while August would be serious packing month. So that by the time the last week of August rolled around, I would be lounging in my packed apartment, eating bon-bons. It hasn't exactly played out that way, because, well there was just too much fun going on in July to spend sorting and throwing away. Thus far, I have devoted a meager 5 hours to the process of moving. And unfortunately, while today is only August 2nd, the end of August seems to be quickly approaching (atleast in my head). And I still keep coming up with reasons not to pack. And well, I guess the only good accomplishments that I've made are 1) i've bought boxes and 2) half of my bedroom is sorted and packed. How's that for not procrastinating? Do not dismay my friends, I still plan on getting the packing done so that I can be lounging and eating bon-bons the last week of August.

Proof that I have in fact packed some boxes (that's my Callie leering at the birds outside the window)

I will have the packing done. Do not doubt me on that. What I can't promise is that the unpacking portion will get done in a timely manner...that's a whole other topic.

Random Wednesday

2010-07-21T14:03:00.001-05:00

The past few weeks I haven't blogged, but I have been doing things. Here's a random assortment of what I did and what's going on now in my life:

I'm moving! Now, before you get your panties in a wad thinkin I'm moving out of Houston, let me clarify - I'm moving 5 minutes from my current abode. I've resided in a 700 sq. ft. apartment for the last 4 years of my life. An apartment with a closet and a half of storage. That's not much. I'm growing out of my apt. And yes, I do realize I live by myself, and I shouldn't take up that much space, but I do. Deal. I have a lot of crap - I blame my mom. And, then there is the 3rd floor thing. While I appreciate the safe-ness of being on a third floor, my arms do not appreciate it when I have to carry things from my car in the parking lot to the third floor. Maybe I'm just lazy. In any case, I'm moving to a duplex, a top floor of a duplex. That is, drumroll please, 1400 sq ft! That's double what I have right now. So much closet space I will not know what to do with myself. I'm pretty stoked. Its 2 bedrooms, 1 bath (so, please come visit!), hardwoods, big kitchen. And only on the second floor! Fab. I'll be moving this fall and I cannot wait! I'm not sure my cat will know what to do with all that space.

PT and I went to Boerne for the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun. I spent an entire day swimming, laying by a pool, and reading an entire book. Its a hard life.

I cleaned my office - which means my friends you'll get to see what it looks like for the very first time. When my assistant offered to come in and pick it up everday at the end of the day, I decided it was time to act 27 and keep it tidy. It also helps that I am not tremendously busy at the moment, leaves more time to organize. Did I mention I love the feeling of throwing things away?

Random thought - sometimes when I"m in a meeting and its really quiet, and i'm bored, I wonder what it would be like if I just let out a huge scream. Seriously. I imagine myself doing it. It will never happen, of course, but the thought entertains me.

It's been raining everyday in Houston. Mostly around 4 pm. Although today it did rain in the morning. The palm tree outside my window appreciates it I'm sure.

I'm up to 6 miles in my half marathon training program! I haven't yet run the 6 miles, but I plan to this weekend.

I'll be seeing WICKED for the first time this weekend! I'm stoked. First year of law school, on a whim I downloaded the soundtrack and now know it by heart. I haven't ever seen it, but who cares. Atleast I'll be able to sing along.

I'm finallllyyy getting my hair cut on Saturday. If you've seen me in the last month, its freakin long. I'm not doing anything drastic, but I do plan to cut a few inches off.

This is where I sit for 50 hours a week (give or take 10 hours):

My Office

Yes - that's a birthday balloon. That balloon has been alive for almost 3 months. Pretty impressive.

You thought I was lying - there is in fact a palm tree outside my window. I'm on the 12th floor...go figure.

The much anticipated Mexico Vacay Recap 2010

2010-07-06T16:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do realize it has been a month and a half since my vacation to Mexico. But, my friends, I did this on purpose. See, now I can re-enjoy my vacation by posting about it and looking back. Atleast that's what I'll tell myself... I know this post has been greatly anticipated by my faithful 5 readers, so here ya go:

Playa Del Carmen - May 21 - May 25, 2010

Mexican vacations seem to be a habit for the boyfriend (hereinafter referred to as "PT", i'm a lawyer, can you tell?) and I. We went on our first once two years ago right after the bar exam. We spent 8 days in the glorious Cancun sun after 2 months in the unglorious bar exam sun. Last year we went to Playa Mujeres and spent a week lounging around after spending a year lounging around (hardly) as baby attorneys. This year, we went to Playa del Carmen for 4 1/2 days, a mini vacay after another years as quasi baby attorneys. This time, however, we didn't go alone. PT's brother and his wife, my sister and her hubby, sister's hubby's mom, dad, brother and his gf all went. And what a good time we had! We went to Secrets Capri in Playa del Carmen (or Riviera Cancun)...

Day 1:

We flew in Friday afternoon to Cancun, and hopped on our own fancy 15 passenger van for the 30 minute car ride to the resort. Thanks to PT and I's warnings, we were able to successfully avoid the "welcome to cancun" aka timeshare stalkers as we left the airport.

Upon our arrival at the resort, we were greeted by a friendly staff, but more importantly some champagne, yum (and a wet towel, that I always feel like Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer when I get it). We checked into our room - which happened to be next door to PT's brother - TT (ha, laugh away). The. room. was. awesome.

View from our balcony.

And being the absolutely wonderful gf that I am - I had communicated with the concierge the week before and arranged for the room to be decorated for PT's birthday (which was the day before). He was surprised!

We quickly put on our swimsuits, and headed down to the pool to meet up with my sis and the rest of the group (they had been there since Wed.). The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging and sipping on Pina Coladas. Ah, we were in paradise.

That night we grabbed dinner at the "Mexico Buffet". The food was delish (you'll sense a pattern here).

Me and PT

TT and Kara

Katie (the sis) and Steve

Day 2: (Saturday)

We grabbed some breakfast buffet (a fave of mine at these resorts), and the headed to the pool. From there we proceeded to spend approximately 12 hours laying by the pool, swimming in the pool, floating in the pool, and drinking in the pool. I'd like to say that we did something more productive this day, but we didn't.

My view from the lounge chair I basically used until we left on Tuesday.

That night, however, PT and I went to the Italian restaurant with TT and Kara. It was tasty. The food at this resort was a lot better than the other two resorts we went to. And there was no diet on this vacay, so I sampled almost all!

Day 3: (Sunday)

Today was another lounge day that began with breakfast at the buffet. Between breakfast and lunch, I layed by the pool (see above). We got lunch at the outdoor taco stand. It was delish. Aftwerwards, PT and I went to the spa and did a couples massage. It was very relaxing. My favorite part (other than the massage) was that along with the massage, we spent about 30 minutes in the "hydrotherapy" area of the spa. It started with 10 minutes in the steam room (where I sweat by a** off), and then a cold shower, followed by 10 minutes in the sauna. I'm pretty sure after that 20 minutes by pore were pretty wide open. After the pore cleansing, we went into a pool and spent time under 3 different water massagers, followed by a foot treatment, then 10 minutes in the hot tub, followed by a quick dip in the coldest water i've ever been in. I'm not sure what the point was for that, I'm sure they told us, all I know is that PT made fun of me for how I reacted when I got in, until he got in.. I felt completely relaxed after that little water episode. And we still had the massage to go, which itself was 80 minutes of heaven.

After we finished pampering ourselves, me went back to the pool and hung out for a while longer, and then headed to dinner at the International Buffet. This turned out to be a tasty buffet with food from all over.

Brothers at dinner.

Day 4: (Monday)

This day we said goodbye to Kate and the gang, as they headed back to Houston. We decided to venture off the resort this day and went to Cancun. We went on a jungle tour on these speed boats, and then went snorkeling on a reef. It was really fun until I got back to the resort that night and had a nice life jacket tan on my back, oops. But the actual adventure was pretty fun. Not as many fishies as I hoped but I did get to hold a baby starfish in my hand.

After snorkeling we had about 2 hours to kill in Cancun so we went next door to "El Shrimp Bucket" and partook in the seafood buffet (did I mention I was off my diet?) and watched some Mexico soccer.

You can tell PT looks thrilled I took this picture, and probably thrilled I put it on my blog. Atleast he doesn't have a tomato forehead.

After that, we went back to the resort and hung out in the pool till 8 p.m. and grabbed a late dinner at the steakhouse. It was a great final night, and we were all wishing we had one more day.

The next day, we woke up and ate more breakfast, then caught a flight back to the real world.

It was a great vacation, very relaxing and I had an awesome time. Can't wait till next year when we go back!

"Please silence cell phones now."

2010-07-02T11:20:00.002-05:00

Last night I went and saw Eclipse. I'm a fan, what can I say? I've read all of the books, and enjoy the movies (yes, with all the cheesiness that they entail). In any case, thats neither here nor there. I had a thought as they flashed the "please turn off cell phone" message - what would life be like without cell phones? Then I remembered, I spent a good part of my youth without a cell phone and I managed just fine.

Take for example High School, I did just fine without a cell phone freshman year, and that's because I had a pager. A green one to be exact that fit snuggly in my right jean pocket. My best friend Cindy got one, and so that meant that I of course needed one. Pagers are an interesting device. Especially without a cell phone to call anyone back on. We devised a code system to alert the other what was needed of them and whether to in fact locate the nearest phone to call them back. This became a precarious situation when a phone was unable to be located, but we managed.

The other styles of communication we had in high school were of course the regular land line phone apparatus (which was used a lot in high school for late night convos) and of course the note passing in high school. Ah, the note passing. I would spend a good amount of class time (sh don't tell my parents) devising perfectly scripted notes to be passed during period. Sometimes they were in color, sometimes in code, and sometimes included games. But they always contained the most important information regarding who was dating who, what the latest crush did, and what the weekend plans entailed. They were a staple of high school life. So much so that we created "note" books. We in fact simply passed spiral notebooks back and forth. And if we didn't cover the neccesities during the school day, we simply used the land line to call one another that night.

Senior year I was given a hand me down cell phone from my mom. And I received my first ever own cell phone number (which is the same one I have today). I'm trying to recall how often I used that phone, but to be honest, I cannot recall using it very often. There just weren't a lot of people to call on that cell phone, and I had limited minutes, if at all any, and texting just wasn't in the picture then.

(Caveat: My cousins are 12 and 14. I remember when they were 7 and 9 and both had cell phones. And texted. All. the. time. I'm not sure what they were texting. Because at 7 I don't remember there being anything interesting that I had to say, other than what bow I would wear in my hair that day.)

So, I managed to survive high school without a cell phone. But I think it was because I didn't understand how useful the cell phone would become. Let me correct that, how essential the cell phone would become. I can't imagine not having a cell phone now. As I looked around the movie theater last night, I realized that potentially every single person in that theater had a cell phone, and it also appeared that most were looking at something on it at that precise moment, including myself.

There is some criticism of always being accessible, however. It is nice some days to place the cell phone in a corner of my apartment, and not think about answering it. It is, almost, freeing. Take for example the "Chicago incident". Last fall I went to Chicago for the first time ever with a debate - like team I coached at my law school. Imagine me, as the coach, the one who was to be the responsible one, standing in line waiting to board the plane to Chicago realizing that my phone was, in fact, still sitting in my car, in the airport parking lot. Begin freakout. As I weighed the options of how fast I could run to my car, and get back through security to make it to the flight which was already boarding, I realized that I was going to be without a cell phone, in Chicago. At first, I freaked out. How was I going to call my boyfriend? How was I going to stay in touch with all the people I talk to in Houston (keeping in mind that I'm not really a phone talker so that probably wouldn't be an issue)? More importantly, how was I going to be able to check my email 30 times a day, and stay on top of what everyone was doing via facebook? My life was coming to a hault. But then, I got to Chicago, and spent 4 days without my cell phone, and realized that it was in a way freeing. That not having the ability to check my email or stay connected via the internet, was peaceful. And, guess what, I survived. My life did not crumble into a million pieces, I did not cease functioning, and I managed to make my way around Chicago without the help of the handy gps feature on my iPhone. That's not to say that everytime I park to go the airport I don't spend a few minutes making sure that my phone is safely located in my purse, because while it was a freeing experience to be sans phone for a few days, its not one I'd like to repeat any time soon, how's that for dependence?

So, I guess the point of this story is, life would be entirely too difficult to manage without a cell phone now. But I suppose that's because we are used to having a life with a cell phone, and not because life is actually easier with one. Or, maybe it is?

Weightloss Journey

2010-06-29T10:14:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends, I know it's been a while. It's been a busy June for me, but things seem to be slowing down for July (that is until I find out whether this one case is going to trial in two weeks, then it might get busier).

In case you were wondering - I had a fabulous vacation to Mexico. I know I promised a post about it - and I'll post about it after this post with lots of photos (yes a month after I returned, but the memories are still fun!).

Weightloss. Well, back in January, I went to a doc appointment, and was weighed (as usual) and was horribly shocked when I was told my weight. I mean, when did that happen? Then I thought back over the past year and a half of working, and eating out at lunch almost everyday, and the lack of working out, and knew the answer. I had put on 18 lbs since the end of law school. 18. After recovering from the shock of the scale, that evening I vowed I would not let myself gain any more weight. See, I could tell something was awry - my work clothes were tight, even the work clothes that I had bought a size bigger were tight. And I definitely could not fit into the 6 pairs of designer jeans that I stared at longingly in my closet. Something had to be done:

Weight Watchers. I got back on the WW bandwagon. The next day I signed back up (after a failed attempt a year earlier). I found this time around I was better at keeping track of the points, and adjusting my eating habits to fit the points system, and I realized I felt better eating healhier and opting for a salad at lunch rather than the usual fries or chips (not baked chips, let's not deceive ourselves, they aren't as good as the regular kind). And it was a rude awakening, realizing the amount of calories I was consuming.

Running. I posted about this a while ago, but I joined a running club. It was a half marathon - 5/1 training program. And it start out slow, which was what this running hater needed. I got into it. It felt good to be running 3 - 4 times a week, and the results started to show. My endurance picked up. I didn't actually ever run a half marathon after this training session. But in May, I started another half marathon training, and did sign up for a half - to be run in November in SA! And this time around I'm running the whole thing, not that anything is wrong with 5/1 because it does work, but I decided that I needed to give a shot at running straight through. So far its going well. I'm up to 3.5 miles straight of running, which, 6 months ago I would have laughed if you told me I could do that. On Saturday, I will be running my first 4 miles straight and I'm excited to see if I can do it!

A combo of the two above things has led to a weight loss since January of 20 lbs! I know what you are thinking, its taken 6 months to get back down 20 lbs, but it took 1 1/2 years to put it on, so I"ll take it. I'm so excited about the weight loss, and it has encouraged me to continue to eat healthy and to continue working out on a daily basis. Its amazing what that can do if you just stick to it. And, my work clothes fit again, and are a little baggy, and those 6 pairs of designer jeans, yea I can fit into all of them. Its a nice feeling.

Difficulties

2010-05-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

I'm having a couple of difficulties this week...

Difficulty #1:

How to fit everything I want to take to Mexico in ONE carry-on...

I have a confession to make, I am an ... overpacker. It's true. I take too many clothes with me on vacations. I justify it most of the time because you never really know what you'll need till you get there, and who wants to be forced to wear a pair of shorts and tank when you could have rocked the cute sun dress? Its about choices, really. And probably, a result of last minute packing, but that's neither here nor there.

Well, we have decided we are going to "carry-on" our luggage for our trip to Mexico this weekend. Initially I thought it was to avoid the extra baggage fee, but there isn't one on trips to Mexico. Its apparently for the ease of getting on and off of the aircraft and to our destination in the quickest way possible (which I am happy about because the baggage claim in Mexico tends to take a while). So, I purchsed myself a brand new carry on bag. And its...small. Yikes. It's 21 inches tall, and well not that wide. The other night, I stood in my bedroom and stared at my small suitcase, and faced the impending dilemma of how in the crap am I going to fit everything into that small bag. That's the difficulty. So, this will now force me to "plan" what I am going to take, and try to consolidate the necessities from the "options". How I am going to do that, I have no idea. But one way or another, me and my carry on will make it Mexico...I hope.

Difficulty #2:

Focus...

I leave for relaxation, fruity drinks, lounging, laughs, and fun in two days. And while I do have a palm tree outside my office window, it's not the same.

It probably doesn't help that I perused the Resort photos over my lunch break either.

But, in any case. I can't focus. I have deadlines and projects and I can't think past what drink I'll have when I first get there, and which swimsuit I want to wear first. Oh dear, Friday better hurry up and get here.

versus

Not the same.

Vacation

2010-05-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

In 4 days - I will be looking at the picture above in real life. Oh, I cannot wait! And for that reason, I know this week is going to drag on and on and on...

AND - in 3 days, the boyfriend will be turning 3-5!

What a fun week ahead!

27th Birthday Festivities

2010-05-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

I celebrated the 27th year of my life a few weeks ago. And it was a-mazing! I had the best birthday week that a 27 year old girl could want. Here's a rundown -

The fun began on Saturday night with Karaoke madness at Spotlight Karaoke. I can safely say that we rocked the mic singing "Stay" by Lisa Loeb and "I like Big Butts". If you didn't know that I am a world class karaoke singer, then you just don't know me.

Backstreets Back, alright!

We rocked some awesome tunes.

They have my heart.

Law escuela amigas

I heart them.

The BEST boyfriend a girl could ask for!

That night was so much fun, and I had some amazing friends come out to help me ring in my 27th birthday!

Actual Birthday:

On my actual birthday, Cinco de Sara, I once again had an a-mazing day!

I went to work of course that morning. It was pretty low key because all the partners were out of the office that week. I received some beautiful flowers from my parents:

And, then I received some more beautiful flowers from my boyfriend:

I went to lunch with my sister, Katie, and with a bestie of mine, Alisa. We went to The Daily Review, and it was delicious. We sat outside and enjoyed yummy food and very nice weather!

That night, Patrick took me to dinner at a local hot spot called Backstreet Cafe. We sat outside on the patio, and the food, once again, was delicious.

Me at dinner at Backstreet cafe

Happy Birthday Cake, it was delish.

After dinner, we went to see Date Night, which was just okay. Didn't love it, didn't hate it.

Weekend:

That weekend, I went to A-town to see the family to celebrate my birthday, again, and to celebrate Mom's day. That weekend was really really fun! Friday night, we had third row tix to the Rangers game. They were the best seats I've ever sat in at the Rangers game. We were right above the dug out on the first base side,and for once the players all looked life size.

On Saturday, my dad and I went to "Frontier Day" at the Stockyards in FtW. It was weird to see all these people seriously dedicated to this time period. Then we went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Modern Art Museum. That was really cool. He was a strange man. That night, my parents took me to dinner at Tillman's Roadhouse in F-dub. It was probably the best food I have ever eaten! I'm not kidding.

All in all, I had an amazing birthday. My boyfriend spoiled the crap out of me, as well did my parents and my friends. I am truly blessed with amazing people in my life. Thank you to all.

Do I look like i'm 50?

2010-05-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I went to visit my family for my birthday and for Mother's day (I'll post more on that later). It was a great weekend, but the only thing that became quite hilarious was people's apparent desire to consider me a 50 year old (not that there is anything wrong with being a 50 year old).

Take instance #1:

On Friday night, we went to a baseball game. While we were sitting there, these three, girls came and sat in front of us. Their skin was the color of oompa loompas and their shorts barely covered their arses's, and they all had the same hair color. In any case, they came to sit by the guys who were previously sitting in front of us. They began taking an array of photos of, well, everything. But mostly themselves. So, after watching this go on for about 30 minutes, I asked if they would like for me to take their pic for them. To which they responded excitedly, yes! I took their camera and took a group photo of them. When I was finished, I handed the camera back to the lead girl and she responded with "Thank you, Ma'am".... When did I become a "Ma'am"? It was as if the world stopped, my dad laughed, patted me on the back, and said, you don't look like a "Ma'am". I said thank you, but he is of course, a little baised. I looked down at my clothes, to make sure I wasn't wearing mom jeans or that I didn't have some other type of clothing that made me look like a "ma'am". Sure enough, I was all clear in my tank top and shorts. But apparently, looking mature, not orange, and wearing shorts that don't show my arse, makes me a "ma'am", who knew.

Instance #2:

On Sunday, we went to brunch for Mother's day. Afterwards, my mom and I went to CVS to get some "necessities" (which by the way, when my mom and I go to CVS we always ending up buying everything but necessities). I walk up to the check out counter, happily hand over my CVS rewards card (which I am glad I could find because nothing is worse then being asked for your rewards card and embarrisingly having to say "I do have one, I just don't have it with me"). The check out lady scans my purchases, I pay, and then as I am about to walk away, I hear "Have a very happy mother's day, ma'am."....awkward pause..."Uh...thank you?" Apparently, the CVS woman thought that not only was I a "ma'am" but that I also MUST have had children already.. Silly me. I appreciated the nice message from the check out lady, but "Hey, have a good day" might have done more for the ole self confidence.

In any case, after this weekend, I'm taking a closer assessment of my appearance, just to make sure its clear that no, I am not a "ma'am"..yet, and hey its okay that I don't have children.

The 27th Celebration of Cinco de Sara

2010-05-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

I turned 27 today at 6:35 a.m. I didn't wake up for that moment but I reflected on it at 7:30 when I did wake up. I think 27 is a good age. I'm not a fan of the "odd" number birthdays but I think this will be a good year. It's hard for me to imagine that I was 17 ten years ago. Most days I still feel 17. In honor of this, my 27th year of life, here is a recap of my 26th year of life in hopefully the least boring way possible (and yes I am consulting my planner to remember - my paper planner that I still use everyday, I like the writing down of things rather than the typing in of things into an iPhone - its cathartic):

Ran an entire 5k for the first time without stopping.
Ran 8 miles (on a 5/1 interval).
Went back to blonde.
Maintained the same job at the law firm.
Went on vacay to Mexico with the boyfriend in July.
Went to several fun concerts.
Was lead attorney in my first bench trial before a federal court judge.
Won my first trial in front of a federal court judge.
Took my first deposition.
Travelled to NYC on business for the first time!
Celebrated my two year anniversary with the boyfriend in San Antonio.
Hired a maid (this is momentous because I finally gave into the hatred of cleaning, I can afford it, so why not, even if I only live in a one bedroom).

I'm sure there is much more that I did in my 26th year of life, but that list will have to do for now!

I arrived at work today to find a bouquet of flowers from my wonderful parents (picture above - ignore the messy desk, I'm in the midst of drafting a 25 page response to a motion - its intense), a cake from the law firm, and a balloon that sings from my legal assistant. I'll recap tomorrow about all the wonderful things I did today on my 27th celebration of Cinco de Sara.

Random act of kindness.

2010-05-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

My apartment building is, well, like a compound. Its surrounded by gates which you cannot gain access to without the special "card" (walk though gates - drive through gates). As a tenant, a card was bestowed upon me for my use. I kept it in safe keeping for 3 years, and at some point last fall it became "lost" or rather fell out of my car somewhere in Houston. What they don't tell you is that this card costs $50.00 bucks to replace, that's a new pair of shoes. And I'd much rather spend my $50.00 on a pair of shoes then a new "card". So, rather than spend the $50.00, I have a refined system to get into my apartment (which my boyfriend thinks is ridiculous and that I should just go get a new card, but I stand firm). I wait in the bank parking lot across the "street" from the entrance for a car to enter the gate, and then I annoyingly follow behind that car. Sometimes, I even try to sneak in the out gate. Yes, friends, all these efforts so that I do not have to spend $50.00 on a new card. Some call me frugal, others call me smart. I take the latter position.

Well, last night, as I was waiting in the bank parking lot with the food I picked on my way home from work from Whole Foods, the hot food that was getting colder as I sat and waited for someone to come through the gate, the "out" gate opened and a truck rolled through. As this was happening, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice if that person in the truck stopped and swiped his card on the "in" gate side to let me in? And what do you know, that's exactly what he did. He rolled through the gate. Stopped, got out of this truck, and let me in. For that he got a very friendly wave and smile.

And this folks, is why I love living in Texas.

A hatred for balloons.

2010-05-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

Unbeknowst to me, my cat, Callie, is horribly afraid of balloons. I did not realize this fear until this morning. I noticed she was avidly avoiding my living room. She was hiding under the bed, crouching near the door way, and not being her usually friendly self. So, I picked her up, which normally does not bother her, and carried her into the living room - begin freak out. She jumped off of me (which felt awesome) and ran to the window sill across the room and began making these deep meow noises that I didn't know that cats could make. Then the shaking started. The whole time she was staring at this busshel of Happy Birthday balloons that were hanging from a chair in my dining room (my dining room is a part of my living room - the joy of living in a 750 sq ft one bedroom apt). I removed the balloons and it took her approximately three hours to stop shaking and for her poofy tail to shrink back to its regular size. Needless to say, my happy birthday balloons are now residing in my closet. And my cat is now back to her normal happy self.. Who knew.

My birthday is on Wednesday. I had a fabulous friend birthday celebration last night that included margarits, shots, and a karaoke bar. I will do a birthday celebration post later this week.

I've returned, and probably for good.

2010-04-30T14:05:00.000-05:00

It may be that I've become introspective or retrospective, or some sort of spective as I round out my twenties, but I've felt the itch to blog lately, keep a journal (for the more personal matters), and start keeping better track of the pictures I take. So, to indulge this itch, I have decided to start back with the blogging.

A little refresher course for all of my five blog readers - I am 26 and 360 days old. I will turn the ripe age of 27 on May 5. I am "single" in the realm of I am not married. I have a boyfriend, the same one for the past 2 1/2 years. He is 34 and 345 days old. Quite the age difference, I already know. But we even each other out. We met in law school almost five years ago and are moving happily along our merry way. As you may have inferred from that last sentence, I am a lawyer. I have been one now since 2008. Most of my time during the day involves lawyerly activities where I try to convince myself that I am not just playing "lawyer", but that I am indeed an actual attorney. Sometimes its hard to convince myself of that. You laugh, but it happens.

I have recently taken up the sport of running. I was an avid running hater. I loathed it. Really I did, and sometimes I still do. But, in January, my secret running lover self emerged from some random place. Don't ask me how it happened because most days I can't answer that question for myself. All I know is that I joined a "running club" in January, and began running at 6:30 am every saturday morning thereafter. And as a result of this new "love" I signed up to run my first half marathon in November. Yes, 7 months away, but I decided that'll be how long it'll take to convince myself that I can actually run 13.1 miles. I'll keep y'all posted on that one.

I would describe my interests to you, but then what would that leave for you to keep reading about in my future posts? I have to do something to keep you around somehow..

So, what's the point of all this, I read a lot of blogs in my down time. They entertain me. Most of them involve babies or married people. I thought it might be an interesting perspective to read a blog about a 27 year old who isn't married, and who has no kids. So, please don't expect pictures of cute little babies or daily accounts of my routines with my husband. Not that I don't enjoy reading those myself, because I honestly do, so keep on trucking with those posts my friends. What you'll get from me are hopefully witty (although most of the time i'm not), interesting (in the eyes of the beholder), detailed (or not so detailed) ramblings of my daily experience and encounters as I attempt to navigate my way through the remaining years of my twenties. I can't promise a post everyday, but I can hopefully guarantee they'll be a little entertaining when they do happen.

Enjoy my friends.

I've disappeared, part 2.

2010-02-23T10:57:00.002-06:00

Where have I gone the last two months? Wow. Its really been that long since I last posted.

I won't attempt to catch everyone up on what I've been doing. Let's just say there were:

- two weddings mixed in there (tracy and jennifer)

- the busiest work time I've ever had (and still the busiest right now, trial in March)

- a bachelorette trip to Florida for Jennifer's wedding

- two business trips (one to Dallas, and one to NYC)

- my first ever deposition, my second ever deposition

- my first blizzard experience during my business trip to NYC

- my first time in Connecticut (for the first deposition)

- an office move to a new building

- my first time coaching the Pace moot court team, and their subsequent placing in the top 3 of 84 teams at the competition last weekend! (finals baby!)

- joining a running training program with Houston Fit to train for a half marathon, and so far sticking to it.

- my first time to run 3 1/2 miles

- visiting with Elaine and Brian when they were in Houston briefly.

- some serious Olympics watching.

- some serious Lost watching.

- some not so serious Bachelor watching (yawn).

- Book club meetings with the girls

- quality time with friends

- quality time with the boy.

- Christmas at home in Arlington.

- New Years in Boerne with Patrick's family.

- Almost losing my mom to a heart attack in December, and NEVER EVER EVER wanting to do that again or feel what I felt on Friday December 18th for 20 minutes when I didn't know if my mom was okay or if she was going to make it while i was stuck in Houston 4 hours away. (if you don't know the whole story of this, well you can ask, i'm not afraid tot alk about it.)

- My mom surviving a 95% closed vein in her heart, and being strong and persistent in her continued recovery.

- Appreciating my family even more than I already did (if that's even possible)

That about sums up my last two months. Hopefully I will post more soon once life slows down after March 16th...

I've disappeared

2009-12-16T16:53:00.003-06:00

Me and the Sis at Thanksgiving

Me and one of my besties at the Baylor/Tech game!

With the boy at the Baylor/Tech game, he's ridic.

Well I horribly failed at that blog posting month. Sorry bout that. And apparently I am failing at posting in December also. Things are busy right now, what with the hoildays, and finishing up things at work before I take time off for the holidays. I promise more posts over the holidays, especially when things slow down and I am hanging out at my parents house.

I leave you with some fun photos from Thanksgiving tailgating at the Baylor/Tech game!

Much Love.

Shoe Size

2009-11-10T14:07:00.003-06:00

My shoe size is .... well ... large. I wear a size 11 (gasps). I'm tall so it's okay. I figure if I had smaller feet I might fall over. Now, I've come to terms with my shoe size over the years and the obstacles it presents. For one, I can't just stroll into DSW or any department store for that matter, find a cute shoe, and automatically know they have it in my size. Because, more likely than not, they won't. Instead when I go into a shoe store, I approach a sales person, and quickly ask "Do you carry any 11's", if they so "No" then I know to turn around and not waste my time. Secondly, size 11's go quickly because generally stores will only have 1 or 2 in an 11. Suck.

Now, all that in mind, yesterday I went to Luke's Locker to find my first pair of nice running shoes. I'm sort of getting into this running thing, and so I decided I needed a good pair of shoes and to have someone check out how my foot looks when I run (and not to mention the current shoes are giving me some massive shin splints). I get my foot measured and he watches me walk. Now comes the awkward moment (more for him, than me) but he (he being the sales guy) leans in and whispers in my ear "I think you need a size 12"...then looks around in case anyone overheard him tell me that I need that big of a size. I calmly smile at him and nonchalantly state "It's okay, I know I have big feet, I've come to terms with it" to which he graciously and awkwardly smiles back and says "ok, I'll go see if we have any size twelves". He brought out...drum roll please....4 boxes of shoes (the entire collection of size 12 woman running shoes in their inventory). He apologized for this fact and I told him it was okay, atleast he had 4. Luckily a pair of asics fit perfectly and helped my bad arches. Anyways, the point of the story is - I'm okay with my shoe size, but I am not okay that stores/designers refuse to carry size 11s.

RIP Chelsea Earle

2009-11-08T15:11:00.004-06:00

On Wednesday, November 4, 2009, this world lost an amazing woman. Chelsea Earle passed away to go and be with her savior. I received the news Thursday morning as I was packing for Chicago. I am saddened at the loss of this wonderful person. Chelsea was 26 years old. She was a woman filled with God's love. She was a happy person and a genuine friend. She had a loving spirit and was a beautiful person inside and out. I could go on and on for paragraphs about her, but if you knew her you already know all those things. Chelsea and I met when I was in seventh grade. We both attended Camp Crucis together and were fast friends. Throughout the following 5 years we attended church youth events together, as well as more camp sessions, and were never at a loss for conversations or laughter (I have photo albums filled with these exact moments). I'm sad to admit that over the past eight years we lost touch. Her death brings life into focus. And makes me wish that we had stayed in touch. Life tears people in so many different directions and I hope that I am able to not lose touch of those people, like Chelsea, who made an impact on my life in the best of ways. I will miss you Chelsea and I know you are at peace and in the loving arms of Jesus Christ.

Chicago!

2009-11-04T14:05:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow I will be heading to the windy city for the first time in my life, and for free! What might you ask am I going for? Well, I am an official moot court coach at my law school. I have been coaching the Appellate Lawyers Association Moot Court Competition Team the last two months and we head to the competition in the windy city tomorrow. I have never been to Chicago, but I have always wanted to go. Any tips? Advice?

Wish my team luck! The students have worked really hard to get to this point and I'm excited to see how they do this weekend!

Kolache Fairy

2009-11-03T09:55:00.003-06:00

Dear Kolache Fairy,

(That's what I call the copy service man who delivers Kolaches to us on random days to lure us to his copy business, its a tight market out there for copy services, Lawyers produce a lot of documents). It's always a surprise when you make your random appearances. Take for example today, all I had to eat for breakfast this morning (which I generally eat at my desk because I always run behind in the morning) was a plastic cup of Raisin Bran Crunch (the normal choice) that I bought from Rumi downstairs (Rumi runs the little convenience store in my building, he slips me free things most days - like a biscotti this morning). But lo and behold, you appeared, with the most delicious, buttery kolaches known to man. I'm not sure where you buy these delicious creations, but they taste wonderful in my mouth. So thank you Mr. Kolache Fairy for the tasty treats you randomly bring to my law firm's breakroom. Maybe one of these days I'll send over some documents for you to copy for me!

Best,

Sara

Weekend Update

2009-11-02T16:17:00.004-06:00

This past weekend was a blast! Here's a little recap:

Friday:

I went to see Mary Poppins with my sis, Erin, and Alisa. Before the musical we had a tasty dinner at Sambuca! The musical was great. Very entertaining. Then I met up with Patrick at his firm party, and we had a late night meal at 59 diner.

Saturday:

On Saturday night, we had our halloween party! It was a success. So much fun to get dressed up as a 50s glam Housewife with Alisa. It was a late night filled with dance parties and lots of laughter. Can't wait till next years party!! Posted below are some pics from the night.

My fellow 50s housewife

With our rhinestone cowgirl.

My co-worker Justin went as "The Most Interesting Man in the World"

Being a good housewife.

The sister and I! (we had a fog machine, courtesy of a random purchase by the boyfriend)

SNL!

Me and the boy, you can't see it but he went as Hank Williams Jr. I even bought him a littl red guitar to wear.

The shock game was a big hit!

We tried to change it up a little.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend. Sunday I didn't feel so hot, so I just lazed around and did chores/read.

Much Love.

Post 1 of that Nablopomo. (or something like that)

2009-11-01T17:43:00.004-06:00

Patrick and I celebrated our two year dating anniversary last weekend (it was on Oct. 17). I cannot believe that it has already been two whole years! I'm truly blessed to have such a loving, caring, encouraging, intelligent, romantic, and hilarious boyfriend. Thanks babe for a wonderful two years, and for working hard to get the weekend off of work (he normally works all weekend, not by choice..).

Riverwalk

Us on the riverwalk (the sun is apparently in his eyes).

On the balcony of our hotel room, we stayed at the Westin Riverwalk, it was loverly.

At our "anniversary" dinner at a yummy italian food place on the Riverwalk. It was a perfect night!

We arrived on Friday night, and went to a wine and champagne bar. The next day we relaxed and then had lunch at a mexican food place on the riverwalk. Then we went shopping and ended up heading to the San Marcos outlets where he bought me my anniversary present (a new purse/wallet). We went to dinner at this italian food place and we were able to sit on the patio and people watch and enjoy good conversation. Afterwards, we went to this pub called "Dirty Nelly's". It was an irish pub with a piano singer and peanut shells on the floor. It was awesome. Sunday we picked up some breakfast tacos and headed come. I had a wonderful trip and it was fun getting to spend the whole weekend together!

Tomorrow I'll post about my FUN weekend (Mary Poppins and Halloween Party).

Oh, and just for your knowledge, when a finger smacks and ceiling fan that is going on high speed, it doesn't feel awesome. In case you were wondering.

Oh, and I lost my keys (all of them) twice this weekend. No worries, I found them both times.

Much Love.

Happy Halloween (a day early)

2009-10-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

I know what you're thinking, Silly Sara, Halloween is tomorrow! Well friends, I won't have time to blog till Sunday because of my fantastically fun weekend. Tonight starts off with a dinner, and Mary Poppins! Tomorrow is our spooky halloween party! Hope everyone has a ghoulishly delicious weekend.

Nablomo (or something like that)

2009-10-28T17:14:00.001-05:00

I have decided to participate in the national blogger month, where you blog everyday. I can't promise exciting posts, but I can promise one everyday!

In other news, I had a great weekend last weekend celebrating me and the boys 2 year anniversary. I will post later with pictures! I cannot believe its already been two years!

Hello Weekend

2009-10-16T11:35:00.003-05:00

The weekend, it is almost here. And I am looking forward to this one, not for any distinct reason - nothing planned really, but because it looks like it's going to be relaxing AND with beautiful weather!

My weekend holds a little bit of the following:

- Watching "Paranormal Activity"

- Reading "The Help" (such a good book) I might try to find a nice place outside to read!

- Watching DVR'd shows from the past week.

- Hanging out with the boy.

- Zumba at 24Hour fitness. Not sure what this class entails but the description sounds fun, that is if I can get myself up at 9:30 am to make it, haha.

- Seeing Jamie's new casa!

- Halloween costume shopping with Alisa! Not sure yet what I want to go as...any suggestions?

- Grocery shopping at the new HEB!

- and this isn't fun but planning my budget for the next two weeks, blah. a necessary though.

Happy First Fun Fall Day of Nice Weather to All!

Pinot and Picasso

2009-10-13T11:18:00.007-05:00

A few Fridays ago, Alisa, Erin, and I attended Pinot and Picasso. P&P is a night of wine and artsy painting, who could ask for more? You bring your own wine and they supply the canvas, and all the painting supplies needed to create a masterpiece. And create masterpieces we did (with the help of a few bottles of wine). They bring in a local artist who teaches you how to paint the picture for the night (we selected this night because we would paint a sunflower on a purple background, and well we love purple, and flowers). They take you step by step and teach you how to blend, shadow, merge colors, etc. It was one of my absolute favorite nights in Houston to date. I will definitely be going back.

Alisa and I before we started painting.

Erin looks so sophisticated painting.

I look just plain silly, haha.

Paint Paint Paint

I was apparently explaining something very important to the girl sitting next to me that I just met.

The Final Product! Yes, ladies and Gentleman, I painted the above. It is now proudly hanging on my living room wall.

A Vino Weekend

2009-10-13T10:25:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was GREAT! I ventured to Arlington for a quick visit with the family and to attend a wedding.

Friday:

I rolled into town around 8 pm after a very rainy/stormy drive up from Houston. My Aunt Barb was in town from Oregon visiting and so the whole Johnston clan (my mom's bros/sis's) got together to celebrate her visit. My dad grilled and we sat around and chatted and drank vino. It's a lot of fun hanging out with them now that I'm an "adult". My Aunt Barb is my mom's closest sister in age, and the one I take after the most. In fact my sisters used to tease me when I was younger (in hopes to make me cry, which wasn't hard when I was younger) that I was her child and she didn't want to raise me so she gave me to my mom (yea you could see how that might make a 5 year old cry). But alas, my mom reassured me that in fact i was her child.

Saturday:

Slept in till 11:30 am which I haven't done in I don't know how long. My mom made breakfast (which I love) and then we watched Bones and relaxed. That night we went to the wedding of Jaclyn Stewart (a sorority sister/family friend). Her parents and my parents have known each other for 30 years, and I rushed her when she was at Baylor for my sorority. It was a beautiful wedding and she looked gorgeous. The wedding was at a church in F-dub, and the reception at the Petroleum Club in downtown F-dub, with a wonderful view of downtown. It was a great time chatting with my parents and sister and their friends and drinking good vino and dancing.

Sunday:

Woke up late again and had a tasty waffle breakfast. I stayed around to watch the Cowboys game with the parents (it was nerve racking to say the least). Then I drove back to Houston.

This week is super busy. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I am coaching two moot court teams this year (one in the fall (Chicago) and one in the spring (New York)). We had our first Chicago practice last night and it was really fun! I'm looking forward to helping these kiddos in the coming weeks, and so hopefully have a win in Chicago Nov. 6/7! I also don't remember if I have mentioned it, but I am applying to join the Houston Junior League. I am excited for this opportunity. I have always enjoyed volunteering and have felt that it has been severely lacking in the last few years. And I look forward to meeting more women in my community and really diving into what Houston has to offer (since I plan to be around here for a while, all things being well). Tonight is the Interest Meeting, and the applications are due on Oct. 26. I also have another moot court practice on Thursday, and Spinning with Alisa on Wed. This weekend is Patrick and I's TWO year anniversary (crazy) but we are planning on celebrating it Next weekend since he is super jammed at work this week and weekend.

Oh and did I mention that I am in LOVE with the new Michael Buble cd? Jen (Rus) McCrady introduced me to the MB back in college and I've been sold since. I'm listening to the new cd right now!

Much Love.

Yay: Getting more involved.

Dang: Humidity.

I have a confession to make...

2009-10-08T16:14:00.003-05:00

- I hired a cleaning lady to clean my one bedroom apartment. Yes, I know, it's one bedroom. But let's face it, I'm lazy, and didn't inherit the "love to clean" gene.

- In reference to the above, I leave dishes in the sink (gasp) and sometimes leave wet clothes in the washing machine for a day or two, only to re-wash them on day 3 (gasp). I know, its hard for me to admit these things to y'all.

- I don't drink the last inch of liquids in anything. I'm not sure where I learned this or why I do it, but its a subconcious thing (whether its water bottles, coke bottles, beer bottles, you get the point).

- I have been talking myself out of working out for the last week. It's really rather amazing at what kinds of excuses I can make...

- I screen phone calls. I really don't mind talking on the phone, at all.

Whew, now that I have come clean, that feels great!

Where in the World is Sara...

2009-10-08T15:59:00.002-05:00

I just know that is probably most likely what you are thinking. Where has she gone? Has she gotten the role of a lifetime in a movie? Has she been signed a book deal to review chick lit? Is she sitting on a beach somewhere? I'm afraid to report, that unlike any of those exciting things, I have been simply working, hanging out, and living life. There are a few noteworthy things from the past few weeks:

- Went to A-town for 5 days and visited the familia. During that time, my mom and I "lunched", got manis/pedis, shopped, and watched Mad Men season 1. That Friday the boyfriend flew into town (didn't know he could fly, did ya?) and visited my fam for the weekend. On Saturday, the boy, the mom, the dad, and the uncle attended Grapefest in Grapevine. We had a grand ole time sampling wine, shopping (well that's the part my mom and I enjoyed), and people watching. That night, I passed out on the couch while my dad grilled steaks and the boy and uncle watched football. That Sunday we headed back to the Houston. All in all a grand visit!

- Last weekend: the boy and I saw Zombieland. Yes, Zombieland. I am one of those girls that really enjoys "scary" movies (I'm serious). It was an awesome movie! Very witty and entertaining, and really not scary. On Saturday, Alisa and I ran in Race for the Cure. It was mucho crowded (32,000 people - Good job H-town, way to represent) but well worth the pushing and shoving to get to the start line (what can I say, I like to throw elbows). That night the boy and I went to a bbq at my sister's house. Lo and behold all three sisters were present (the youngest one escaping a-town and the sickly parents, drove down to h-town that day, a pleasant surprise). We watched the Aggies lose, and ate some darn good steaks and mashed potatoes (which may have been a bit spicy, but who says 3 tbsps of chipotle powder is too much? Not I!). Sunday was a perfectly lazy Sunday. The boy and I grabbed brunch, then proceeded to watch the Texans win and the Cowboys lose (and I read the last of Dead Until Dark (new post on my book review blog, check it out)).

- This week has been good thus far. Just trudging along till we make it to the weekend and I can go visit the familia once more!

I promise to post sooner (I know I said that after the last post, so you probably don't believe me, which I understand).

Much Love.

Yay: Cool weather FINALLY tomorrow
Dang: Dang office fridge is out of Diet Coke.

Much needed update

2009-09-16T11:52:00.002-05:00

Well Friends, I realize its now September 15, and I haven't posted in about two weeks. Oops. Time got away from. I've had a fun last two weeks, here is a bullet point list:

3rd row Texans game tix on the 50 yard line, can't beat that. Only thing that would have made it better is if (1) they had won and/or (2) it had been the Cowboys game.

Boerne weekend trip over labor day to visit Patrick's dad/stepmom. We had a great time of sleeping in, laying by the pool, playing WII, watching Inglorious Basterds, and relaxing! I love that place.

Football season! I LOVE football season (it might be my early years as an elementary age cheerleader that spurred this). But something about the Fall and Football makes me smile. We have already watched a TON of college football (including my UH (law school) win over Oklahoma State last weekend, and the OU upset the weekend before, and the Baylor (sic em) win over my dad's alma mater Wake)

My leg is almost healed from the garage incident. Still a nice indent and bump that my nurse sister told me would take a few months to fully heal. And when I squat down to get a file out of the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet, it hurts still. Bummer.

Signed up for the Race for the Cure in H-town with Alisa. I'm excited to get back into this. My sorority's philanthropy in college was Breast Cancer awareness and we always participated in R4TC.

That's about all the updates I have. Exciting life I lead! I'll have more to post after this weekend!

Much Love.

Yay: New Iphone (yes I gave into the trend)

My bruised leg for your viewing pleasure

2009-08-31T15:42:00.003-05:00

This pic was taken on my camera phone so quality is minimal, the reddest part is where the garage door handle hit....

Notice the bump on the upper right side, no that is not my muscle...swollen lump. awesome.

Random weekend update

2009-08-31T09:12:00.002-05:00

Random weekend - fun/painful. I'll explain.

Friday:

Went to see Time Traveler's Wife! And I loved it. I read the book about three years ago so it wasn't fresh enough in my mind to remember a whole lot, so I found the movie surprising and entertaining. I cried at the end, a lot. Which can always be quasi embarrasing in the movie theater. I love Rachel McAdams, and to ponder time traveling boggles my mind.

Saturday:

Patrick's mom/sister were in town for the weekend. So I had brunch with them, and then headed to my law school to help out with a writing workshop. AND I was told that I get to coach an actual moot court team this year! Yay!

Afterwards, I hit up the galleria for a little retail therapy.

Then I headed to Patrick's to hang out with everyone. Well...patrick's roommate has a scooter/moped. Its pink. And Patrick decided (upon my urging) to give me a few lessons in the art of moped riding. I was riding along just fine, that is until the speed bump intervened, and I ran into a garage going about 20 mph. Ouchies.

Hurt Sara

Now, my right side took the brunt of the impact b/c I tried to turn at the last minute, and as I turned I fell down on my left side. My right quad ran into the door handle on the garage and has a good cantaloupe size bruise/bump and hurts like heck. Even now as I sit in my office it is throbbing. My right arm is really sore, my left ankle has an injured ligament and I have some road rash on my left arm. Awesome. Guess I won't be riding on a moped anytime soon. No worries about all the other physical damage(the dented garage, and the smashed moped), we've already taken care of those.

Sunday:

Nursed my wounds on the couch watching Dexter Season 2 on demand. Then went to see Depeche Mode with Kate and Steve (Patrick was supposed to come, but alas, his surgery happened). It was a fun/interesting concert. I know a lot of DM's older songs (like from the 80s/90s), not so much their newer songs (which they played a lot of). But I had an enjoyable evening chatting with my sister and brother in law and singing the songs I do know.

This week:

Not a lot going on this week. Looking forward to the three day weekend coming up and the four day week that follows. I have a hearing on Friday, and just other projects to complete during the week. Getting lunch with Alisa today, and seeing the boy tonight.

Patrick Update: Well...Patrick is still healing. He has another two weeks off from work to recover. He is allowed to drive now so I think he doesn't feel as shut in (he wasn't allowed to drive for two weeks after the surgery). Pray for quick healing!

Much Love!

Yay: My new shoes!

Dang: the bruise on my thigh.

Update

2009-08-17T10:04:00.001-05:00

After a four hour surgery, Patrick is recovering at home. His herniated disc in his lower back was pretty awful (according the doctor, but put into Sara terms). And his pain/numbness should go away substantially. This past weekend was spent playing nurse and taking care of my boy. He'll be off week for 3-4 weeks, which is definitely needed. Let's just say the three inch long, 20 stapled wound on his lower back (not to mention the cut off vertebrae) needs time to heal. Thank you for all of y'alls thoughts and concerns. It was a pretty stressful/scary two days.

Much Love.

Weekend update to come soon.

Prayers

2009-08-13T17:13:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends. Just thought I'd send out a prayer request. My boyfriend, Patrick, was in a car accident back in February. He has a lot of back pain as a result, and numbness. He went to the doctor today and the doctor ordered immediate surgery on his back. Turns out he has a herniated disc (ruptured disc) in his lower back that is causing nerve problems. His surgery is tomorrow morning. I will be there. Please if you have a moment say a little prayer. This type of surgery is common for neurosurgeons, and I pray that it goes smoothly like they say it will, and that he will have relief from his back pain.

Much love.

Hair Standstill

2009-08-12T09:44:00.003-05:00

This always happens. I want to grow my hair out, and I finally do. But now I need to do somethign to spice it up. I have hair that is long, all one length (minus the front "bangs" but are really just grown out layers now). I haven't gotten it styled in a long time (think spring time). And I am officially bored with it. I do not want to go short. Since I just spent months growing it back out again. But I am looking for something fun and cute and easy. Any ideas? I was thinking long layers? I wish I could say I am the type of girl who never leaves the house without fixing my hair, but that is a lie. I would say, three of the five days of the week, I put it up in a pony tail and most of the time wet (I like my sleep, what can I say?). This probably isn't helping my desire to spice up my hair do. Ho hum. If you know me personally, and you know what my hair looks like, can you provide some ideas that you think would look cute? I definitely foresee a cut in the near future...

Who doesn't love this face?

RR365 Dish2:

Tex Mex Mac n Cheddar: Tasty. Although it took longer to make than expected because I have zero experience in making a "roux" and messed it up the first time. It was a little grainy, might have been the cheese I used, but still came together and was good. I did have a minor sauce overflow onto the stove top b/c milk when it bubbles is hard to stop from overflowing (tip anyone?). Patrick even decided I should add corn and jalapenos for next time. I just might!

This sign is hilarious - had dinner with Maggie on Monday night and it was posted on the stair well of the restuarant, it basically says if you are drunk don't use the stairs, use the elevator.

In other news: Jennifer Leist asked me to be in her House Party for her wedding! I'm super excited and blessed to have her as a friend, and can't wait for all her wedding festivities!

In Vegas, at Pure.

Weekend in a Nutshell

2009-08-10T11:02:00.004-05:00

The weekend went by way way too fast. It was a nice, relaxing weekend!

On Friday:
Went over to Kate and Steve's for dinner (pot roast, mmm) with the boy, and we played Dominoes and hung out for a while.

On Saturday:
I did domestical activities, read from Vision in White and Julie/Julia, and watched about 4 Dexter episodes (i'm addicted). That night went to Cedar Creek to celebrate Steve's 30th Birthday with everyone. It was such a great time. Got to see both sisters at the same time, can't beat that!

Me and my beautiful sisters, Kate and Liz.

On Sunday:

Had brunch with the boy. Went and did some grocery shopping at the new HEB! And then hung out with Patrick and made dinner. We watched The Unborn, which neither of us really liked, oh well.

RR365 Dish 1:

I made "Smoked Turkey Shepherd's Pie" for Patrick and I on Sunday night. It turned out tasty. Next time I'll let it simmer longer because it was definitely runny, and the carrots weren't exactly cooked all the way through so they were crunchy. But it was tasty! Can't beat Mashed Potatoes, mmm.

This week should be a relatively good one, I think. Who knows might actually happen.

I posted another book review on my book blog (nerdy but fun) - check it out: http://samablovesbooks.blogspot.com/

Much Love.

Yay: Surprise lunch with my little sis today

Dang: Laundry.

Simple Things in Life

2009-08-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

I seem to find myself blogging about the simple things in life a lot. Well here's another one - the new HEB that just opened across the highway from my apt! When I lived in Wacky Waco for four years I shopped at either Walmart, or HEB. Both had good sale items and good food. Well, when I moved to Houston, I was sad to see that there wasn't an HEB or a Walmart anywhere nearby. I shopped at Kroger instead. Which, don't get me wrong, I like Kroger, a lot actually, and I know the Kroger by my apt very well after 4 years, and I even recognize the checkers, but its not HEB. Well, my friends, a new HEB just opened on Wed. AND its across the highway from my apt. AND its a new "hybrid" HEB, which means, its a Central Market and HEB mix. All the fun food of Central Market and all the fun sale items of HEB. I'm thrilled. I didn't make it to the grand opening, because to be honest, I googled yesterday to find out when it was opening. BUT I will be making a stop there today to buy items to make dessert for tonight (I love baking) and then will make a trip on Sunday to buy groceries for the week (i'm now trying to make recipes only from the Rachel Ray 365 Cookbook, we'll call it RR365 for short, because I love that book and I dont' use it often enough and hopefully it'll encourage me to cook more, and I love the Julie/Julia project and so it sounded fun to try my own, downsized version of it). In other words, yay for the new HEB!

Looking forward to:

2009-08-05T17:22:00.000-05:00

BAYLOR BEARS v. TECH RED RAIDERS on November 28th at the new Cowboys Stadium. SIC EM Bears!

Random Weekend 101

2009-08-02T21:36:00.002-05:00

This weekend turned out to be very random and very fun!

Friday I left work, and then Maggie and I went to Mixers and Elixirs at the HMNS. It was super fun. They had an 80s band that played that night, and so it was catered with snack food you might find at a sleepover (gummi worms, goldfish, chips, popcorn, snickers, rice krispies). Afterwards we met up with my sis/bro in law, patrick, and erin. While hanging out, we came up the brilliant idea to go to Lake Charles on Saturday since it appeared none of us had any real plans for Saturday.

Saturday - we took the impromptu road trip to lake charles, la. I'd never been to Lake Charles, but I heard it was fun. We rolled out around noon with 7 ppl in my bro in laws tahoe. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the casinos, people watching, and having a good time.. It was very spontaneous and random. We came back last night around midnight and i passed out from exhaustion. I didn't win any money, but that's okay. My $4k vegas win last april 08 i think guarantees me to have bad luck from now on. On our way back from Lake Charles, we stopped at Dequincey, La. at Charlie's Cajun hole in the wall. An entire buffet of fried food, not kidding. I had a great time and would like to go back to L'berge Du Lac for a weekend getaway, it was a really nice resort.

Today. I have done nothing other than watch movies, a load of laundry, the dishes, make a run to Chili's to get to go food, and hang out with the boy. It has been and is the perfect day of veg. Exactly what I needed after my spontaneous road trip yesterday.

This week should be good. Nothing really planned except for work.

Much Love.

A Few Mishaps...

2009-07-30T10:16:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd share a few embarrasing stories from the past week.

The story of the burnt steak:

Well, as y'all know, Patrick and I were going to see Phantom on Saturday night. I had this brilliant, albeit naive, idea that I'd make a romantical dinner of mashed potatoes, green beans, steak, and salad. Now, in my romantical head I had visions of setting up my kitchen table with candles, wine glasses, perfectly cooked steak, and plates, so that when Patrick arrived it'd be ready to go. Well...my mind is a lot more confident in my cooking skills. I set out to Central Market that day to buy the ingredients. I was following a recipe because I had never cooked steak on my stove before. I started to cook the steaks on the skillet, and Patrick arrived right as I was throwing them on the stove. And while he sat and watched TV, and I cut up the potatoes, I realized that yes, in fact, the skillet was smoking, and friends, I live in an apartment. Which meant it did not take long for the ENTIRE apt to fill with smoke, and the smoke alarm to go off, and me to freak out. We ended up running around in a comedy of errors. All doors/windows were open, with the Callie Cat safely barricaded in the bathroom. Needless to say, that once the smoke cleared, the steaks were burnt, charred more likely on one side. Oops. I have a wonderful boyfriend who insisted on still eating the steak. I've learned my lesson though. Don't attempt a new recipe when you are on a limited time frame, yikes.

The story of the broken heel:

I had a hearing on Monday morning. During this hearing, I was rocking on my black heels (as I do when I am nervous), about half way through the hearing I feel something break on my shoe, I look down, and sure enough, my heel snapped off. I tried not to think about it. And as I started to walk away from the Judge's bench, I thought surely its still attached somewhat (and not wanting to direct attention to the broken heel because there were approximately 30 attorneys waiting behind me) I decided to simply act like nothing happened. Well, that didn't work. Sure enough I look down and realize that in fact I have lost the heel somewhere in the court room. When, all of a sudden, another attorney, bends down, picks up the lost heel, and says "Ma'am, I believe this is your heel" in front of everyone. I mean, what can ya do at this point. I laughed, took my heel, smiled, and graciously basked in my embarrasment as I left the courtroom, and proceed to walk back 6 blocks to my buidling in downtown, pretending I had a heel on my left shoe. Luckily I had another pair of black shoes in my car. Whew.

Happy News to report - I am officially moving into a bigger office TODAY! Yay!

Much Love.

Yay: New office.

Dang: The amoutn of launrdy I need to wash, dry, fold, repeat this weekend.

Mexico Vacay Day 6 and 7 and 8

2009-07-28T11:09:00.006-05:00

Days 6 and 7 and 8:

View from our balcony

On Day 6 (Thursday) - we layed by the pool once more. We were stragglers that morning. Woke up, had a buffet breakfast, and then found a hut by the pool. We stayed out there for most of the day, fluctuating between the pool and our lounge chairs. Patrick's sunburn was pretty bad on his back so we tended to stay out of the sun more often than not. I finished my pottery bowl also that day. That night we ate dinner at the Chez Isabelle restaurant (the French restaurant). It was one of the tastiest restaurants/fanciest by far. We had a good dinner and turned in early.

On Day 7 (Friday) -

On the scuba boat

We decided to take on a scuba adventure. That morning we had a scuba lesson for an hour and a half in the pool at the resort (we are not certified, keep in mind). In this lesson we learned the basics of how to scuba and scuba'd to the other side of the lazy river. Which I am sure received some funny looks, but we liked it! After our lesson we ate lunch and then vegged. At around 2:30 we went down to the beach and met the other couples for our scubaing boat. We went out to a coral reef park near Isla Mujeres and got to scuba in coral reef! We only went down abuot 30 feet, which was fine, considering my scuba knowledge was limited to what I had learned that morning. No freak outs this time. Amazing how I was more comfortable under water than up in the air. Someone told me it might be about my level of control. I was definitely in more control under the water. I LOVED scuba diving. I really want to get certified now for otu next beach vacation. We saw some pretty fish and eels. I took a lot of pics, and I still need to get those developed at Costco (cheap prices).

At the buffet

Our friends Jason and Kim from Canada!

That night we ate at the Mexican Buffet (with 5 layers of bug spray). It was super tasty. They decorated the entire place in a mexican theme. Afterwards we headed to the Alegria bar for one last night at the discoteque. Patrick sang again at Karaoke and this time it was "Thong Song" by Sisco. It. was. hilarious. He had the crowd roaring. We also got a chance to hang out with our Canadian friends one last time. It was a great last night at oure resort!

On Day 8 -

This was our departure day. Our flight wasn't until 5 pm that afternoon and our transportation didn't arrive until 2:30 so we got to have a late lunch and wonder around the resort for a while. It was sad saying goodbye to such a wonderful vacation! I enjoyed every minute and was thankful for getting to spend so much time with Patrick (he's so busy right now I don't see him very often). I felt rejuventaed and relaxed and ready to tackle the real world once more.

My upcoming weekend -

2009-07-24T11:09:00.002-05:00

Includes:

I CANNOT WAIT! Recap of the above on Monday!

Mexico Vacay Day 5

2009-07-24T10:41:00.004-05:00

Day 5:

We woke on Day 5 (Wed.) to rain and storms. We lazed around the room for a while, had breakfast, and then decided it'd be fun to schedule a parasailing excursion for that afternoon (the rain was predicted to clear up).

Resort from parasail boat

We went down to the excursion place in the afternoon. Herein starts Sara's least favorite moment of the vacation - the parasail, or "skyrider". Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I'm not afraid of things (like heights), only to be in the midst of the nonfearful activity to realize that I am in fact afraid. Well we sit into the parasail bucket tarp seat (as I like to think of it), and are informed to hold on the tiny silver arm rest as our safety precaution. And its up in the air we go. Well, at first it was neat to be up there so high and able to see the pretty water below and our resort and Isla Mujeres. When it stopped being fun was when the seat we were in (that had no safety harnesses), started to tilt, and my life flashed before my eyes (okay, a bit dramatic, but I did imagine Patrick and I falling out of it and hitting the water below from 50 ft, which Patrick told me would hurt, but prolly wouldnt' break anything). I death gripped Patrick's leg, to which he responded with - we are coming down. I said, no no, i'm fine, really. ANd took a few pics, and then screamed when the boat jerked forward and for a second it felt like we were about to fall straight down. Needless to say, we came down after that. Now, i know this post sounds wimpy, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had been better latched in. It was the fear of falling out that really got me. (and no worries, I felt pretty stupid the following Friday when patrick and i watched a 7 year old get into it with her dad, oh well).

Me before going up on the parasail

The Sky Rider

The rest of the day was fun though. Patrick went to the room to nap, and I painted pottery by the pool. It was relaxing to just sit and paint a bowl and drink a Dos XXs. The bowl is now proudly displayed in my living room!

Before dinner

That night we ate dinner at the italian restaurant "Toscana". It was pretty tasty! And then we headed to the discoteque for a night cap, then headed to bed.

Tomorrow - Day 6!

Mexico Vacay Days 2 and 3

2009-07-23T13:48:00.007-05:00

Day 2 and 3:

Here is another view of the pool

These two days were spent doing the exact same thing both days - laying by the pool, napping, reading my book, swimming, eating, drinking fruity drinks, repeat.

La Playa

These two days were exactly what I needed. Days where the hardest decisions were what to drink and where was I going to lay by the pool, and what time should be eat?

We didn't once get into the actual ocean (gasp!, other than when we went scuba diving and parasailing). The pool side lounging options were much better for us (no sand), and direct access to the pool/pool bar.

The Resort had a bunch of different pools. Luckily our room was located in building 8, which is directly in the middle of everything. We layed by the main pool most days because it again was where most ppl were located and where the food/bar was located. There was also a lazy river and a few more smaller pools spread around the resort.

On Monday night, we ate planned to eat dinner outside at The Caribbean buffet, because it looked fun, but once we sat outside for five minutes and were eaten by about a thousand mosquitoes, we moved inside. Instaed we ate at the tapas restaurant there. It was tasty, but more like a snack before dinner, we ordered room service when we got back to our room.

Cute Patootey at dinner at the tapas restaurant

On Tuesday we layed by the pool all day, and by lay i mean we were in the pool talking to another couple in direct sunlight for a good 6 hours. Yea. Patrick's sunburn on his back proves this. I got out once to re apply sunscreen to my arms and face because I felt like I was baking, only to realize that in fact I had already baked. I took one mean nap after the 6 hour pool stint though. That night we ate dinner at "The Lobster House". It was pretty good. I think Patrick enjoyed it more than I am, and I think it just made me remember that I don't really like rubbery lobster. We had a good time learning new words though from the table sitting next to us, such as "flamboyant" spoken in a french accent, said completely serious. After dinner we just walked around the resort and called it a night.

This is what your face looks like after being in a pool, in direct sunlight, for over 5 hours.

Up next - Sara's least favorite moment of the vacay on Day 4, let's just say it involves a parasail (wed.).

A Few of my Fave things that Get me Through the Day

2009-07-22T17:14:00.003-05:00

Here is a list of my fave things that get me through the work day:

1. Coffee - whether its from Sbux, or from the coffee machine in the break room.
2. Daily afternoon emails with the boyfriend.
3. Daily emails with Elaine (that start normally in the morning and end when one of us leaves for home).
4. Lunch breaks and reading a book or meeting a friend for lunch.
5. My iHome and music. I think I might be the only attorney in my office that listens to music while they work, might be the generation gap, I'll see once the two new guys start in a month.
6. Talking with Rosa and Grace (two legal assistants).
7. Staring at the construction across the street.
8. Checking my fave websites during my breaks.
9. Thinking about whatever i have planned that night.

What are your fave things that get you through your work day? I tag - Elaine, Mel., Jen Lewis

Mexico Vacay Day One

2009-07-22T09:59:00.005-05:00

Here it is.. the long awaited vacation post! I will be doing them by days (and sometimes days combined)

Day Uno:

Patrick and I flew out of Houston around 7 am (which meant we had to be at the airport by 5 am, yikes, yea it was that bad). The only thing that got me through the wake up call at 3:30 am, was the fact that I knew I'd be in Mexico in a few short hours and able to take as long of a nap that I wanted.We arrived in lovely Cancun, Mexico that morning. Headed to the Resort, which was about 30 minutes from the airport. There were approximately 3 gates to get through before maknig it to our resort, I'd say the resort was pretty secure.

After we checked in

Upon our arrival, we were met with glasses of champagne (which I loved, and drank patrick's), and hot towels (i never really quite know what to do with those, so I wiped my hands(?) and gave it back). We checked in and were given a pager that would alert us when our room was ready (we got to the resort around 10:45 am, check in was at 3 pm). We went and ate breakfast at "The Lobster House" (one of the two outdoor restaurants, it was over the pool) and the toured aronud the resort (looking like touristas with our maps and guide). We finally settled in at the "Martini Bar" in the main lobby, in which most ppl will note that I left my "pina colosas" post on Facebook, I really hadn't drank that much by that point... Sure enough around 1 pm the Resort let us know our room was ready, and let me tell ya, we were ready for it and a good 3 hour nap that followed! After our nap from about 1:30 - 4:30 pm, we decided to check out the rest of the resort and grabbed some dinner at "The Grill", which is next door to "The Lobster House" and as one might assume from the title, serves food cooked on a grill (i.e. steaks). I had a tasty filet, patrick had a not so tasty ribeye, and ate the last half of my filet instead (resort food is always hit or miss).

This is the view from The Lobster House

After dinner - we ventured over to the "Alegria Bar" - the resorts version of a discoteque. We struck up a lovely conversation with a couple from Nebraska (who knew where Gothenburg was located (small town my college roomie Heidi is from). Karaoke was that night and so of course Patrick sang "Sweet Caroline" and brought the house down. We met another fun couple that night (who we hung out with various times throughout the week). They were from Canada, eh! And were super nice and we ended up talking to them till the bar closed down (how's that for shutting the bar down our first night).

At the Alegria Bar

It was a fun and long first day, and we couldn't wait to lay by the pool the next day, and the next ...

Happy Engagement!

2009-07-21T15:18:00.005-05:00

I know you are thinking reading the title, WHAT, Sara you are engaged, and I didn't know?! Alas, I am not, but TWO of my good friends from law school are!! (one happened back in May, i'm a little slow on the post, and the other last weekend).

Happy Engagement JLeist!

Leist (as I call her, her name is Jennifer), and Ro (as we all call him, his name is Robert), started dating towards the beginning of law school. Met each other in law school (same section), and the rest is history! I'm so excited for her and Ro, and I cannot wait for their wedding this February!

Happy Engagement Murm!

I love this pic of she and Westy. Mary and Weston (Murm and Westy) were engaged last Friday! I'm super excited for them. They've been dating now since the beginning of second year of law school, and fell in love while on law review with one another (sigh). I can't wait to celebrate their wedding in March of 2010!

As of now I have three weddings to look forward to in 2010, all in a row (Trace - Jan., Leist - Feb., Murm - March!!).

Congrats y'all four. I'm happy for each of you :)

Much Love.

Yay: Seeing Phantom this weekend!

Dang: Sleepy. And i still need to post the vacay blog, sorry.