Falling Into Fall

I have no idea where October has gone, but I have stayed busy with work and play!

New Beginnings
My roomie of four years, Caroline, moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. She's going to be a production assistant for CBS Films, and I am so proud of her!
We threw her a going-away party before she headed for the West Coast:

Me, Caroline, Jenna....roomies forever!

Rachel, Kayla, Caroline, Callie...plus a photo bomber!
Never forget your roots!

Care and Alaina


State Fair
I went to the State Fair of Texas for the first time in many years with a few good friends. When we were leaving, we ran into one of my best friends from TCU who I had been thinking about just the night before, and who Caroline had really wanted to see before she left for LA. God is so amazing!

Me with Jessica!

Jessica and Caroline
The photographer was supposed to get Big Tex in this too, but oh well!

Homecoming
Last weekend was TCU Homecoming. This is my second homecoming as an alum and the first one where it didn't feel strange to not be a student anymore...guess that means I'm growing up! The weekend turned out to be a blast- I spent time with some of my favorite people and there wasn't a dull moment! My little Ashley came into town and ended staying with me for the whole weekend, which was so fun. We headed to campus Friday night for the parade and pep rally, then had delicious tex mex and margaritas at Yucatan Taco Stand, one of my faves. Saturday was the TBS alumni reception and the game, where we beat New Mexico 69-0...GO FROGS! After the game, Ashley and I had sushi at another Fort Worth favorite, Edohana, explored Charming Charlie's, and then met the rest of our TBS Pink family for dessert.

Sarah, Hannah, Me, Kim, Ashley O., Kimmy, Ashley L.

Allison and I....love this pic of us!

My Little and I, cheering on the Frogs like old times!
Meridith, me, Ashley, Kayla, Callie, Audrey

Frogs for the Cure
I got to enjoy more Frog football on Friday night with Morgan at the Frogs for the Cure TCU vs. BYU game at Cowboys Stadium! We beat the Cougars 38-28 and it was fun to hang with Morgan--I'm so glad she's back in Dallas!

Morg and I!


I have lots of specific things to blog about, so stayed tuned! : ) Happy almost Halloween to all!

Going the Distance: My First Full Week in California!

Several weeks ago I took an entire week off of work for the very first time and went to visit Alex. This was the best decision I made in a LONG time! Normally my visits go by way too quickly and we are rushed to fit everything in, but having a whole week allowed to just relax and spend time together while also doing all sorts of fun things! Here are the highlights from my trip:


Saturday
I arrived in Los Angeles bright and early Saturday morning. Alex had training for the outreach program he's involved in, so I took a nice long nap and relaxed until he was done. Later that afternoon, we went to a barbecue with Erik and Alaina, Alex's roommates. I learned to play ladder ball...has anyone else ever heard of this game? Apparently people play it at tailgates, but this was my first time playing. Basically, you have two ladder-like contraptions and small ropes with golf balls on the ends of them. You stand at opposite ends of an open area facing one of the ladders, then throw each rope and try to hook it onto one of the rungs of the ladder. The top rung is worth one point, the second one is two, and the bottom one is worth three. Once you've made your three attempts, one of your opponents next to you has their chance and tries to sling theirs onto the rungs for points, while also trying to knock yours off and reduce your points. You have another teammate and opponent on the other side who try to do the same thing with the ladder on your side of the "court." Hopefully that explaination wasn't too confusing, because it was really fun!
We also had some delicious food, and it was really nice to meet Erik and Alaina's friends. From there, we went to the LA Dodgers game....my first one! The tickets were cheap, it was a nice night, the fans did the wave about 10 times in a row, and the Dodgers won! All in all, an excellent start to my trip.


Sunday
I love Alex's church in California. I blogged about the first Sunday's sermon in my last post, so check it out if you haven't already. I think about it every day and need to keep repeating to myself, "Better than I deserve."
After church, we had a really yummy brunch with our friend Clayton and his girlfriend, Tala. Alex and I went to high school with Clayton and Alex played in a band with him, so it was great to catch up and also meet Tala. The last time I saw Clayton was when we both happened to be in the exact same museum in Paris in 2008...it is crazy how small the world is!
After brunch, we headed up to USC because Alex played in a saxophone quartet for someone's doctoral recital. USC campus is so pretty, and I got to meet some of Alex's saxophone friends and hear him play. His awesome friend Ben took this picture of us that I really like!

Monday
Monday was a lazy day, which was just what I needed! Alex and I did some errands, and while he was in class, I worked out in his apartment gym. That evening we watched School of Rock, one of our favorite movies!

Tuesday
I spent a large portion of Tuesday taking it easy (which I was so thankful to do for a lot of this trip--I needed a break!), worked out again, and then cooked dinner for Alex. I made pork chops, asparagus, new potatoes, and sourdough bread. I still have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy cooking and baking, especially for him! : ) We ended the lovely evening by watching our favorite movie, I Love You Man. I can never watch it without Alex and am pretty sure we quote it daily.

Wednesday

Wednesday was an epic day! Alex and I crossed a major item off of our bucket list and went hiking! We went to Solstice Canyon in Malibu and hiked for several hours before deciding it was time to eat lunch. The weather was gorgeous, the views were incredible (as you can see from the pictures), and it felt like such an adventure. We had never done anything like that together and I loved it!

After meeting our exercise quota for the week, we had lunch at the Malibu Country Mall and saw a horror movie being filmed! We walked in the back of the shot and hung out there for a bit before we were asked to move. It was cool! We then took a stroll along Malibu Beach.
That evening, we went on a fun date--Barnes and Noble, one of our favorite places, and Indian food. It was delicious!


Thursday
I relaxed and read a ton on Thursday. I love reading but hadn't been doing much of it because of "life" getting in the way. My trip allowed me to read again, and I've been making more time for it in the several weeks that I've been back home. Sometimes it just takes a little vacation to rejuvenate you!
Alex cooked for us that night. He made his amazing stir fry, and then we finished the evening with Jersey Shore and smores.

Friday

Alex and I hit up a different beach on this day that is just a few minutes from his apartment. It was gorgeous. I wish I could go to the beach all the time! There are all these homes/apartments right along the beach, and we were wondering just how much it costs to live there. If you're curious, too, we saw a sign that had an apartment (or maybe it was just part of apartment, who knows?) for rent for $3,000 per month...unreal!
We made Tex-mex that night and called it an early night because saturday was going to start bright and early..

Saturday
Saturday was VERY epic! We woke up at 5:45 a.m. and got all dressed up for my childhood friend's wedding, then hit the road for San Diego! We stopped in Irvine at Cars and Coffee, which I've enjoyed attending in Dallas with Alex, and now we've been in California too. I think we should take some serious roadtrips and try to hit up others around the country too! ; )
From there, we drove the rest of the way to San Diego and made it to the naval base for the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, right on the water, and Rachel looked gorgeous and so happy! It felt surreal to be there. Rachel and I were best friends as little girls, and her family moved to Michigan when we were 7, followed by California. We lost touch for a while, but had reconnected thanks to social media. I literally hadn't seen her in 16 years until her wedding day! Thank you, Rachel (now Mrs. Rosner!) and the Bourne family for including Alex and I in your special day!

After the wedding, we headed to Pasadena for dinner with Alex's community group. They were all so nice, and it was great to see the kind of support system he has there. We finished the day by stopping by a party in Beverly Hills, then finally headed home and crashed after our epic day!

Sunday
My last day : (
We went to church again, and it was another great sermon...I want my next blog to be about it and how it applies to my life these days. I also met a former Horned Frog next to me, which was so cool! After church, it was time for lunch and then Alex dropped me off at the airport. It was so hard to leave him after a wonderful week together, but he will be home in a month and I feel so fortunate to have had all that time with him. An exciting thing happened while I was in the airport...Gerard Butler was on my flight back to Dallas! I was staring at him and was literally five feet away from him at the gate... I could have been a crazy fan and touched him, but I played it cool. Still wish I had gotten an autograph or photo, but oh well...celebrity sighting success!

Alex asked me what my favorite part of the week was, and as far as activities, it was definitely our hiking excursion. I felt so alive and got to marvel at God's beautiful creation. The best part of my visit, though, was just getting to essentially live with Alex for a week and everything that our days encompassed. I hope to never take him for granted, even the little things in our daily routines, because I know what it's like to be apart, and it's hard.

Looking forward to my next California trip!

The Art of Contentment

I am currently blogging from Los Angeles, California!

I will do a full update on my trip once I am back in Texas next week, but for now I wanted to share about a sermon Alex and I heard on Sunday morning. I really love his church here and feel like this message spoke strongly to me. The sermon was titled "I Just Want to be Happy" and was part of a series he is giving about finding happiness in a city like Los Angeles. He spoke primarily about the art of contentment and referenced this scripture:

Philippians 4:10-14
"I rejoiced in the Lord greatly
that now at length you have revived your concern for me.
You were indeed concerned for me,
but you had no opportunity.

Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low,
and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble."

This hit home for me for so many reasons, because like so many, I am caught up in playing the "if only" game-- "If only I made more money," "If only I were married," "If only I had this," etc. There should be no "if only's," because our souls will never be satisfied with anything in this world. By playing the "if only" game, we are saying there is something that can satisfy us more than Jesus. That is hard to swallow, but the reality is that the worst possible thing that God can do for us is to give us everything we want. The pastor also spoke about remembering God's providence and to trust Him while we wait. As someone who likes to plan everything, I have a hard time with this. Don't I know what's best for myself and what will make me happy? I realized that I do not. God has never led me astray in my 23 years. Everything has come together for good to give me this wonderful life I have, and I have to continue to trust Him while I wait for things that are to come.

The pastor gave us ten little things to keep in mind when we are trying to achieve the art of contentment. Most of them don't need explanation, but I have given more context on several at the bottom and mixed it with my own thoughts. I plan to print this out and put it on my bathroom mirror as a reminder.

Art of Contentment
1. Better than I deserve
2. Count your blessings
3. Embrace today
4. Think about heaven
5. Think of all those who suffer
6. God is faithful
7. This is possible
8. Admit you need help
9. Contentment is found in Jesus, not "Jesus plus"
10. Draw down today on the gospel

A little background:
1. Better than I deserve. The pastor said he had an old friend whom when asked how he was doing would reply "Better than I deserve." No matter how hard we try, we all fall short of being free from sin. God sent his perfect son to save us all, and therefore, just being given salvation allows us to be better than we deserve. It is easy to forget this among all our trivial daily complaints.
2. Count your blessings. This explains itself, but I try to literally list my blessings in my prayers and thank God.
3. Embrace today. We have no chance to be content during yesterday, and tomorrow is not here yet. We can only be content today.
4. Think about heaven. Our earthly suffering and difficulties will mean nothing when we are in eternal glory with our Savior.
5. Think of all those who suffer. The world is full of people who face daily horrors. Pick up the newspaper, watch a sad movie--you will feel better about your own circumstances.
6. God is faithful. He will provide, we just have to trust him.
7. This is possible. We can achieve the art of contentment.
8. Admit you need help. Sometimes all we can do is cry out to God and ask him to help us.
9. Contentment is found in Jesus, not "Jesus plus." Our greatest heart's desire has to be Jesus, not Jesus plus something else, because that something else is more important to us.
10. Draw down today on the gospel. Focus on the good news and blessings in the present.


How are you doing today? I am better than I deserve.

Valentine Weekend in Los Angeles

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, and that's what you've given me." -The Notebook

This past weekend I was able to get a great deal on airfare (thanks to my friend Renee for giving me a heads-up!) and fly out to Los Angeles to spend pre-Valentine's Day weekend with Alex. This was our 7th Valentine's Day to celebrate together, and it was wonderful! The weekend went by too fast, as they always do, but we were blessed with beautiful weather, lots of things to do, and, of course, each other.

I arrived in LA Thursday evening at about 10 p.m. (midnight in Dallas.) The flight there was nice because there was no one in the middle seat, and I talked to a really interesting guy at the end of my row who was from Bombay and knows six languages! So cool. Alex picked me up at the airport, and we always laugh about my arrivals because the LAX airport is crazy! It has made me appreciate DFW so much! Instead of a cliche, romantic greeting after not seeing each other for a month, Alex has to pull up to the curb, and then we throw my suitcase in and jump in the car, with people honking, buses everywhere, and parking guys yelling. Very romantic, haha! This time was no exception...it keeps things interesting! : )

Once we got back to Alex's apartment, we spent the rest of the evening catching up, cuddling, and relaxing. We also opened our presents! Alex got me pink sparkly TOMS! I love them!! I have always wanted TOMS but never knew which pair to get. I didn't even know they made pink sparkly ones, so he did an amazing job! We stayed up late (2 a.m., also known as 4 a.m. Dallas time!) and then slept in a little bit on Friday morning.


Friday afternoon we went to The Grove, a huge shopping and restaurant area in LA that celebrities frequent. We didn't see any celebrities, but it was really fun to walk around and browse the stores. Alex was a good sport and went in the American Girl store and let me reflect on all the dolls I wanted as a child. We also went through the farmers' market there, which was really cool and reminded me of this huge marketplace we visited when my family was in Hawaii last summer.


That evening, Alex cooked us a delicious stir fry dinner, and then we went out with his neighbors, Alana and Erik. We decided to go to James Beach Bar & Grill, as it is a major place in our favorite movie, "I Love You, Man." If you haven't seen it, you should, but the main characters Peter and Sidney go there and eat what are supposedly the best fish tacos in the world. Because of the fame the movie has brought the restaurant, the fish tacos are pretty pricey now, so we just went for drinks and to enjoy the atmosphere. It was definitely a happening place, and we had a great time with Alana and Erik! While there, we also ran into a girl from Coppell that I went to middle school with...how crazy is that?! Fun night, and we watch that movie all the time, so it was really cool to visit!




The amazing weekend and gorgeous weather continued on Saturday, so we went to the Getty Center, a museum that you have to ride a tram uphill to visit. In addition to a ton of paintings, sculptures, and other art inside, the outside overlooks LA and offers beautiful views and gardens. We could see everything! We picked an ideal day, because we overheard so many people say that it was normally not that clear. We walked around for quite a while, and ended the afternoon laying on the grass and relaxing. After we left there, it was time for our Valentine's date : ) Alex cooked another delicious dinner, and we had wine and watched The Notebook...my idea, of course, but luckily he is a wonderful boyfriend and watched it with me. We also had Samoa ice crea for dessert...try it if you haven't, trust us on this one!




Sunday came all too soon, but we made the most of our last day. To continue the movie-themed weekend, we went to Angels Knoll, this pretty park in the middle of downtown. It's up on a hill, and there's a trolley that takes people up the steep incline. In the old days, people paid a penny to ride it, while the poor people took the staircase. Alex and I decided to be poor people and get a little exercise! The park was so pretty in the middle of all those buildings, and what we know it as is the park from the movie (500) Days of Summer, another one that we really enjoy. In the movie, the couple comes to that park often and sits on this bench. The bench is now famous and has a plaque on it, so we of course had to sit on it and take pictures! It was really cool and another absolutely gorgeous day!



After Angels Knoll, we walked around downtown a little more, saw where the Staples Center was already set for the Grammy's that night, and then went back to Alex's apartment to get ready for his concert and my departure. : (

Saying good-bye is so hard, and it definitely was this weekend. The best news is that Alex will be home in just a few weeks for spring break! We had such a great time that I wasn't ready to leave, and I miss him already. It's hard to be away from people you love, but it really is true that being apart makes you appreciate your time together so much more. Thank you, Alex, for an amazing Valentine's weekend. I love you so much!

Snowpacolypse 2011

Out of the past 8 weekdays (including today), I have only been at work for 3 of them because of the epic amount of snow/ice that we have had here in DFW! That blows my mind..I had no idea I would still get snow days in the real world, but there you have it! It helps that I work for such an awesome place! : ) It's been a little stressful to be out for so long-- the work doesn't stop even when snow slows us down-- but it has also been a chance for me to relax some. I've also been able to do some of my work from home, which is what I'm doing today! Snow days now are very different from college though-- I miss hanging with my roomies and procrastinating on homework, haha!



Due to the snow/ice last Tuesday, we had to cancel a huge event. Every February, the Center puts on a big Lecture Series and brings in a different speaker each Tuesday evening to lecture, in lay terms, on some aspect of brain health. It's always a sell-out hit! Our first lecture was supposed to be last Tuesday, but we had to cancel. It was so sad because our speaker flew in from Canada and didn't get to present to us- he would have been great! I'm sure he was surprised at how "little" snow/ice it took to shut down a city! Last night we were our able to have our 2nd lecture of the series, narrowly missing this wave of bad weather, and it went really well. I absolutely love what I do, and the evening flew by as I worked registration, coordinated volunteers, and passed out giveaway items as guests departed. I volunteered at a lecture while I was still at TCU, but it was great to see the whole evening from an employee perspective and see our hard work executed. I'm excited for the next two! : )

I'm hoping this weather clears out by tomorrow for several reasons: 1) I need to be in my office and get caught up on everything/work on all the exciting things we have coming up. 2) I'm supposed to fly out to LA tomorrow night to visit Alex! It has been just over a month now since I have seen him...not such a long time, but long enough when it's someone that I love very much and wish I could be with every day. I have been so busy that the weeks have flown by and now it's time to go visit! We have lots of fun things planned and will also celebrate Valetine's Day a little early, so I'm sure I'll have lots to post when I return! I can't wait to see him.

Upcoming blog (at the request of one of my followers, Frances Key): Toddlers and Tiaras, where I will share my personal experience with pageants and also my opinion of shows like Toddlers and Tiaras. As soon as I find my pageant portfolio, I'll share. : )