Thanksgiving 2013

My little brother and his sweet wife moved to Jacksonville, Florida last May.  The two are recent college grads scrimping along in their first jobs out of school, meaning it was unlikely they'd go anywhere for the holiday. And since the nearest family is located in Virginia, it seemed likely they wouldn't have any family either. I decided I'd rather spend my holiday with them than anywhere else, so I bought a plane ticket and spent the entire week bumming around their cute condo and the beach.

I arrived late Friday night. Saturday was really the only good day for the beach, so we headed out there (about a 20 minute drive) and I enjoyed every minute of it!!!

Sunday the weather really started to cool down, so we just went to church and bummed around the house. I read a ton that week. Monday and Tuesday I read, slept a ton, and worked on my Christmas cards. My brother also let me catch up on a ton of movies I hadn't seen yet. I think my favorite was The Fantastic Mr. Fox (who doesn't love a good Wes Anderson film?).

Wednesday my SIL and I trekked down to St. Augustine to visit the outlets and check out the oldest city in the United States! We visited a pirate museum, checked out the fort, and walked around the town. It was a cute city, and it would be fun to go back and spend a night there. There were lots of boutique shops and restaurants with nice patios (I love me a good patio, folks!). We also went shopping and picked out all the goods for the feast the following day. Then we met my brother and went to see Catching Fire. 

Thanksgiving Day was a marathon! I had hosted my first Thanksgiving the year prior, so my brother pretty much let me run the show. With the help of my darling SIL, I made rolls, key lime pie, pumpkin pie, dressing, and green bean casserole. My little brother was in charge of the turkey. We had a feast!

My last day with the crew, we drove 2 hours to the Orlando, Florida temple (man, do I sure take it for granted that the Dallas, Texas temple is so close!). It was a perfect day! And it was nice to be there with my little brother and his sweet wife.

It was a lovely week, and I can't wait to go back for an awesome weekend planned this June!

Once upon a time, I was super on top of my blog...until I wasn't.

To recap the past year:

I spent Thanksgiving in Jacksonville with my little brother and his sweet new wife.
I moved downtown!
I spent Christmas with my Oklahoma and Utah families.
I started rethinking my approach to career.
I've had a fantastic spring doing loads of fun things and planning cool trips!
I decided to be a catalyst for change at work to enable me to have the approach on which I've settled.

More posts and pics to follow!

On Health

Healthy is such a relative term.  We maintain healthy weights. We maintain healthy diets. We generally don't get ill. I've always generally been in the category of the latter two - generally maintained a somewhat healthy diet and haven't been stricken down with illness very often - maybe once a year I'd get a cold.

But suddenly I've found myself with neither two. My diet has gotten out of control - take this past week, for instance, when I had a burger from Jake's two days out of the week, a bratwurst from Katy Trail Ice House and the fattiest onion rings you've ever seen, a reuben sandwich stuffed with sauerkraut and corned beef, a burger from The Porch with a side of mac n cheese and fries followed by their delicious signature gooey butter cake, and a number of other unhealthy eats. My diet has spiraled out of control, and this is just one week. Let's not mention the other weeks where I ate crap most days, and I've refused to make time for even going for a walk. It should be no surprise, then, that I came down with a bout of yet another viral something or other this weekend. I'm pretty sure I'm running a fever off and on, and my glands are swollen on one side accompanied with sore-ish throat and ear on the same side. And the congestion - oh the nasal congestion, not to mention the fatigue that puts me slightly out of breath when I waddle to and from my kitchen in my little apartment.

I keep saying that this routine I have going is a dangerous downward spiral where I know my weight and diet and just overall health are compromised. I can't afford to live like this for a number of reasons, but the most pressing one is I've got a job to do and Relief Society sisters to serve. Ain't nobody got time for how I'm feeling, but especially me.

So, sitting in my bed (where I have been pretty much since 11 p.m. last night - and it's now 3:20 p.m. the next day), I resolve for the umpteenth time to make time to take care of me. To eat better, to at least go for a walk a handful of times a week, and get loads of rest. I can't keep going like this, or else my body is going to revolt against me in a horrible way.

Where did February Go?

I spent a good part of the month of February busy with new projects at work with my new team in M&A (that's merger's and acquisitions) Tax Consulting. Wait...that's not true. I spent the better part of February working on an old project with a team of people with whom I've never worked, wishing I were with my new team in M&A Tax. But the project came to a delightful close and I'm back on my new floor, with my new team, doing the kind of work that I feel great doing.

Aside from work, my life has become busy busy busy. I am now serving as the Relief Society President and I never cease to be amazed by how much energy it consumes. I am growing to love the sisters whom I serve, and I have a great presidency. Currently, my personal goals are to just figure out a balance and be able to live a healthy lifestyle. I'm struggling a bit with all of that currently, but I'm confident I can get there. Really awesome miracles are happening, and I know that really awesome miracles can happen in my own life.

Despite all of my busy-ness, I managed to still see the Imagine Dragons in concert. They have become a band to which I love to listen, and I was really excited to see them. I definitely recommend them live (Dan, the lead singer, runs around the stage banging on all kinds of drums). They are a younger band, and I did notice a couple times when they weren't quite as tight as I would have liked, but it wasn't noticeable to my friends. I guess that's what happens when you grew up listening to your brothers' band practicing (my parents were awesome).

I also helped with the epic Valentine's Day surprise in which my roomie's best friend flew into Dallas. He was here for a job interview, but I almost think he would have come even without it. Good times were had, and I almost convinced him to move from LA to Dallas on the condition I would subsidize his fashion designing by letting him live in our loft rent free. Almost.

Additionally, I decided a change was in order and freshened up my bathing space. I've had the same bathroom decor since I was a freshman in college (about 8 years) and am very excited to unveil my new, fresh space. Thanks to my friend A who helped me decide which curtain to choose, and planted in my mind the idea that a purple color for rugs would do. When I went to the store to buy (thanks Target!) I had my heart set on a bright blue or pink, but when I put the curtain against these dark purple rugs I knew it was meant to be. The white towels I think finish it off and help it look clean and fresh. I'm inspired every time I walk in my bathroom these days. Did I mention I think it's fresh???

 

New York, NY

For $150 roundtrip, who wouldn't say no to a weekend in NYC???

Roomie and I jumped at the chance last fall and purchased these delicious tickets for a weekend in New York in January. Yes, it might be cold, but yes, it was New York. No brainer!

We flew in on Friday afternoon and immediately jumped on the Hampton Jitney to go visit our friend who is a nanny in the sleepy town of Southampton. (Yes, I will be making a trip back to one of the most exclusive vacation spots this summer where I can hit up the beach like a baller. No shame, people, no shame.)  The next afternoon the three of us caught the Jitney back to NYC for the rest of the weekend. We stayed with Roomie's friend Mike, aka the "Ginger," who was the best host any three girls could ask for.

Some highlights of our trip included Chelsea Market, Artichoke's Pizza, High Line Park, the Brooklyn Art Library, a Brooklyn Prop Shop Fire Sale, Church, the 9/11 Memorial, and just hanging around New York. We came back Monday morning to real life once again.

I just wanted to write about some of the impressions I had at the 9/11 Memorial. I don't know if it is because of the recent school shootings and untimely deaths of innocents in Connecticut and all this talk about gun control, but I am hyper aware of the interesting dichotomies in our society and the reverence (or lack thereof) for life. I was struck that among the names etched around the waterfall memorials were listed women's name with "and her unborn child." There were so many of these. And all around me I hear of "more gun control measures in place" under the argument of "if we can save just one innocent life." And then I think about the abortion debate. I'm not going to get into why I don't think abortion should be illegal, but I do believe abortion to be morally wrong in the majority of its uses. And I think about how many unborn children are deliberately aborted just because they were "unwanted." And I'm pretty sure the statistics, worldwide, show that the number of abortions performed trump the number of homicides. And then I think about the funny way people pick and choose what life for which they have reverence. That's about all I'll say on the topic, but it was fresh, and it hit me, and I was very much introspective the rest of the day. 

I couldn't get enough of this bathroom. It was magical.

My friends' digs in the Hamptons.

I could get used to that!

Freedom Tower.

One of the Waterfall Memorials at the 9/11 Memorial.

The Rest of the Holidaze

I spent Christmas, and several weeks after, down with the flu and a sinus infection. After Christmas Eve, I literally spent the entire week in my sweats on my parents' couch watching who knows what. I didn't even go see any movies! I'm still sneaking opportunities to track down the holiday flicks.

Here are some pictures:

I got pretty creative this year with my Christmas wrapping. I was quite proud.

My friends Chris and Kyle at our Ugly Sweater Acoustic Christmas Show/Party. Love these kids.

Our festive tree and mantle brought us Christmas delight all December.

I had the pleasure of watching some of my siblings and friends perform in a Christmas Concert at the OKC Civic Center Music Hall, directed by Craig Jessup.

California Adventures

I headed to California for a "work retreat" in December.  I headed up the weekend before to spend time with family and friends. Here are a few pictures from the weekend: 

Long story, but sometimes you get your ring cut off by your neighborhood fireman.

This was my first time to Hollywood and this is the star that tickled my fancy.

Then it was off to the Terranea Resort in Ranchos Palos Verdes, just south of LA.  Honestly, I would have much rather had the cash in my pocket, but it was nice to spend a week in SoCal, essentially all expenses paid, with a life coach. It was far better than a kick in the behind (as my dad would say).

The view I woke up to every morning.

Not a bad place, no?