Where do you even begin an "update" post when you haven't blogged in 6 weeks??

Are you wondering if I'm still alive? Maybe not, since I'm sure there are all of about two people that even keep up with my blog anymore. I've been a terrible blogger the last few weeks (six and a half, to be exact!) and I feel terrible about this. Mostly, I feel like I've neglected myself. SO much life has happened since I last posted on my blog and I love the way writing allows me to sort through my thoughts and write about life experiences that I always want to remember. I've missed my blog!

Ok, it's time to catch you all up! Where to begin...

Well, the last time you heard from me, Luke and I were still in New Jersey. This is no longer the case! Over Labor Day weekend, Luke, I, and the pups packed up our apartment and car and drove 1700 miles from New Jersey back to Texas. It was crazy y'all, but waaay better of a trip than either of us expected. The pups did great and we were even able to stay the first night with friends in North Carolina, which was a HUGE blessing. We made it to Texas just in time for a Labor Day BBQ with my parents on Monday evening and it was the best welcome home possible!

After our first night in Texas, we got back in the car and headed down to Corpus Christi for a few days to catch up with family and friends. We had many lunch, dinner, and coffee dates with friends and family over those four days and it felt so good to be back in South Texas! I don't think I had realized how much I'd really missed my old stomping grounds until we were back. Luke, on the other hand, kept saying, "I love it here. I'm never leaving again. Why did we leave Texas in the first place?" Ha! Saying this Texas boy is happy to be home would be an understatement. :)

As if life hadn't been enough of a whirlwind up to this point, that next Saturday I hopped on a plane to Vegas for my company's annual convention. I spent almost an entire week in Vegas attending general sessions, meetings, break out sessions, and a trade show, although the pictures below don't quite depict this, ha! Lucky for me, I work with an amazing group of people that know how to both work and play hard. We had a great convention and I just know this next year of work is going to be the best yet!

 

(P.S. Luke stayed in Texas while I was in Vegas and helped my dad get a few things done around the house and ranch. He's the best son-in-law!)

Since I've gotten home from Vegas (about two weeks ago), work and school have both picked up like crazy! Between my job and taking two courses this semester, I feel like I'm talking marketing and information systems 24/7. Over the next six weeks, I'll travel to Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Austin, West Texas, and New Jersey (twice!). Throw a couple of quizzes and mid-terms in there and this girl has a full plate! But I must confess that I'm loving it and I'm so glad that I decided to go back to school for my MBA when I did.  As stressful as some days can be, I know that I'm right where I'm supposed to be. 

 

{Left to right: homework, working from my parents' house while the baby sister studies, my 1 year appreciation gift from my company}

 

So, I think that's about the best recap/update I can give you guys at this time. There are quite a few questions I haven't answered, such as, "Where are you and Luke living?" and "What's Luke up to these days?" But answers to these questions will have to wait for a later date. Let's just say both are a work in progress and that God is good. Once I have more updates, I'll share, I promise. :)

 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Local art show + Morristown adventures

This afternoon, right after church, Luke and I were driving home and noticed an art show going on just a few blocks down the street from our apartment. An art show featuring local art, plus some homemade goodies, jewelry, etc? We were sold! So, we went home, put the pups on their leashes, and walked back down the street to see what kind of trouble we could get into...:)

{Lunch right after church. We love summer and sitting outside for lunch!}

{This is what my husband does EVERY TIME I ask him to take a pic with my iPhone...}

{Exploring new places around out little town}

{Loved the art show! I will buy local art over mass produced art every day of the week. Luke and I walked away with 4 pieces that we're going to hang in our apartment like a collage. I also bought some homemade body butter that smelled like honeysuckle. I can't wait to use it!!}

So far, Luke and I are loving summer in Morristown! Every weekend there is something going on, and even if nothing is going on, there is always NYC just a few miles away. Finally, we're smack dab in the middle of our favorite season. :)

Lately.

As you can tell from my last two posts here and here, two of my best friends came to visit Luke and I last weekend. I still have a third post to write that wraps up the awesome weekend we had, but it can wait until tomorrow or next week. For now, here's a little update on what's been going on around here lately...

We are loving spring in the northeast! Growing up in South Texas, Luke and I have never experienced a real spring, trees that bloom like it's going out of style, or tulip and daffodil-line streets. If you walk through the neighborhood behind our apartment building (where we like to walk the pups) it smells like dogwood and cherry blossoms. This is my favorite season up here so far!

{He gets so shy when people want to celebrate him. Cutie!}

On Thursday, Luke turned 27. Such an old man! ;) Luke isn't big on celebrating birthdays (don't ask me why!), so we kept it low-key. Everyone in the office got lunch from Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate and then after lunch, while we went back to work, one of Luke's employees snuck out and picked up a chocolate molten cake and vanilla ice cream from Applebees. We surprised Luke with his little cake and candles and sang happy birthday to him. This was even more celebrating than I imagined, but Luke was a champ. I'm so glad he works with and for such great people!

When we got home from work that day, there was a package waiting for us from my mom with some birthday goodies. She'd already sent us both something for our birthdays back in March (I'm in March, Luke is May), but I had needed something from home. Instead of sending it by itself, she added a few more birthday presents for me and Luke. Luke got some shirts and a new man-loofa w/body wash and I got a scarf and new sandal wedges! Both the wedges and scarf are perfect for spring. Thanks mom!!!

On Friday, we took the dogs to their first-ever dog park. I know, bad puppy parents, right? But until we moved to the northeast, our dogs had yards to play in and dog parks just aren't as big where we're from. We were a little nervous about how they'd react to the other dogs, but they LOVED it! I have to say, our dogs were pretty popular; every dog wanted to play with them. :) After they'd had enough time in the small dog area, we took them over to the large dog area. No, they are not large and Brooklyn wasn't the biggest fan, but Bentley went crazy! He runs really fast and the little dogs just couldn't keep up with him, but in the large dog area, he was out-running the labs and German shepherds! I was also surprised that he wasn't scared of them chasing him. We met some really nice people and had a great first experience. We'll definitely be going back!

Our first hometown parade.

We live in a very Irish town, full of history and tradition. So when we heard that Morristown's St. Patty's Parade was happening this weekend, we knew we needed to check it out! 

Saturday's weather could not have been more beautiful, or more perfect for a parade! The sun was shining and I even took off my jacket because I was getting hot (PTL!). The streets of Motown filled up quickly, with people of all ages trying to claim a good parade-viewing spot. Vendors were selling hot pretzels, hotdogs, and St. Patty's accessories (necklaces, hats, etc). I think the pups enjoyed being out and about even more than Luke and me! Brooklyn and Bentley were the center of attention of both adult and kids. We probably had 20 different people stop and pet them! Of course, they couldn't get enough attention. :)

{Yikes! This guy took dressing up for St. Patty's to a whole new level!}

We had so much fun at the parade and really enjoyed having so many people hanging out in our little town. Apparently after the parade, everyone goes to the bars and drinks green beer the rest of the day, but we opted for afternoon naps and a little relaxation.

Hope you had a nice weekend!

A Christmas surprise.

So, it's been snowing like crazy in upstate New York and all the way up New England, but all that North New Jersey was forecasted to receive was some rainy, slushy stuff. So this evening, we went outside to let the dogs out and much to our surprise...

It was snowing!!!

Of course this prompted a photo op. :)

Thanks to my sweet momma for the Christmas PJs and thanks to God for our second white Christmas ever! Second, you ask? Why, yes. Do any of my South Texas friends and family remember Christmas Eve 2004? That was NUTS!

{And Tim Lawley--if you see this, I borrowed your pic. Hope you don't mind. :)}

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas Eve!

Snow day.

It snowed today. Lovely little white flakes fell from the wee hours of the morning until about 5pm this evening. I loved waking up to snow falling and watching it outside of our windows all day. It will probably be melted by tomorrow, but for now, I'm going to continue ooing and aaahing over this freshly fallen white blanket. :)

And of course, we couldn't pass up a little family photo-op!

These pups aren't too sure what to do in all of this snow, but we think they love it!

Happy Snow Day from New Jersey!

Back together.

These three are officially in NJ to stay. My heart could not be more happy!

I flew back to the east coast on Saturday and Luke pulled into town on Sunday with the Uhaul, the pups, and his good friend, BJ, who helped him make the 1800-mile drive. There is so much to catch everyone up on, but for now I'll leave you with this picture from our quick, 30-minute walk to grab lunch this afternoon. I still cannot believe our entire family is back together, and in New Jersey of all places! So, so thrilled. :) 

Swooning over Spring.

1) I love when we "spring forward," because it means more daylight. Which means that I can now sit out on my back deck with the husband and pups in the evening enjoying life. And this is perfect.

2) Luke mowed the yard last night and everything is so green (thanks rain!). Bentley loves to play outside, so we hung out in the yard for a little while. Isn't he adorable? 

3) Spring has sprung and wildflowers are everywhere. These were picked for me by a sweet friend and are now brightening my kitchen.

I.LOVE.SPRING.

Miscellany Monday: Weekend Edition

Today is going to be rough after the relaxing weekend I had. Why is it that the weekends go by so quickly and the weeks so slow? One of life's mysteries, I guess. :)

1) The puppies got a lot of lovin' and got to play outside a ton this weekend, which resulted in some pretty sweet naps. Normally our babies have to hang out in the house without us because Luke and I are both at work, but they had me home all day Saturday. Good times for momma and the pups!

{Sleepy heads and partners in crime}

{It's tiring chasing around a puppy all morning}

{Lazy Bentley Roo}

2) On Sunday, Luke and I made a special trip in HEB Plus to buy "fancy" groceries. And by fancy, I mean not the dinky Super S in OG whose "produce" (if you can call it that) lasts 24 hours before growing fuzz. No offense OG--your Super S saves me often when I've forgotten to plan dinner and frozen pizzas are a must. For this I am thankful. :)

For the first time in my life, I made a grocery list tailored to the 5 dinner meals I plan on cooking this week. This was good for me, because I so easily drift away from the vegetables and over to the chip or dessert aisles. Fail! My list (and the husband) helped me stay focused though. One of the meals I planned to make was white-bean chili and this ended up becoming Sunday night's dinner. 

{Ingredients}

{Final product. So YUM! And only 245 calories per serving.}

{And for dessert...vanilla yogurt with strawberry granola and blue berries!}

So, the rest of my miscellany isn't necessarily weekend related...

3) I'm loving my new tennis shoes! I've been a Mizzuno girl for a while, but after trying on every pair of Mizzunos in Corpus, I couldn't decide on a pair I liked. I did, however, stumble across a pair of Brooks that felt really good when I tried them on. Luke wears Brooks and loves them, so I decided to give this pair a try. So far, so good! They give me great support and I think they'll be good for that half marathon I've decided to run in 2012!!

4) I'm attempting to stop drinking coffee and let me just say that it has been ROUGH. I've had a pretty consistent headache since Thursday and I'm not the biggest fan. I'm replacing coffee with hot tea, which seems to help a little, but it's definitely not the same. Blah.

5) I'm buying a desk!! I'm pretty excited about this. My friend, Holly, is having a baby in a couple of months and in preparing the baby room, she is selling an old computer desk. Except, it's not that old and it's cute! The desk is from World Market and hardly has a scratch. I'm pretty pumped to take this off her hands. The nerd in me has been dying for a "work space" in the house and now I finaly have a reason to remove our Christmas tree from the new office nook and replace it with adesk. Yes, the tree is still up. Don't judge.

6) Last night, a college friend of mine (Sarah!!) who knows I'd love to run a half-marathon this year, suggested that I run the the Rock-N-Roll Nashville half-marathon with her. And I'm seriously considering it! I have a $100 voucher for Southwest that must be used this year, so why not?? Plus, this race benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the charity that mine and Sarah's soroity raised money for while we were in college. I don't know if I'll be ready by the end of April, but Sarah passed along her training schedule, which starts in February. Hey, you've got to set goals, right? Now is as good of a time as any!

Hope everyone has a blessed Monday!!

Top 5 Tuesday!

I'm linking up with Rachel from Just Peachy today! I'm not quite sure why I haven't stumbled across this link -up before, but I'm excited to participate again in 2012!! Feel free to link up as well and if you're visiting from Just Peachy, I'd love to hear from you. :)

1) Movie

I LOVED this movie! I went to see Bridesmaids before my own wedding just knowing that I would be able to relate. However, I was shocked to find out how wonderful and stress-less my bridesmaids were in relation to these ladies! My stomach hurt as I left the movie theater from laughing for a couple hours straight. My sisters and I are still quoting lines from this movie and I could watch it over and over. If you haven't seen Bridesmaids, please do!

2) TV Show

The. best. show. EVER! If you haven't watched Revenge, you are behind in great television. Suspense, long lost love, twists, turns, and revenge, of course! Just when I think Emily has a grip on her situation, everything changes. The writers of this show have kept me on my toes and I love any show/movie/book that makes me think. I will definitely be purchasing the seasons of this show!

3) Song

I think that pretty much any song by Adele is going to be my favorite from 2011. She has simply dominated the music scene with a pure, unedited sound and a heart that makes you want to slash the tires of the guy that has broken her heart. I wish her all the best in 2012 and can't wait to hear what she produces next!

4) Thing that happened

We got married! After almost 6 years of dating, I married my best friend. Long-distance, separate colleges, and different dreams could not stop God's plan to have Luke and I become man and wife. This is the accomplishment I am most proud of and I'm looking forward to a life of adventure with this guy!

5) Christmas present

This is a hard one. MY FAVORITE gift has to be our new puppy, Bentley! As far as commercial items, it is probably a 3-way tie between the diamond studs Luke bought me, the treadmill my parents gave us, and the Michael Kors iPhone/wallet wristlet my mom bought me. I am very grateful for such a loving and giving family!