I'm trying...

Well I'm trying out a new layout. This one's for you, Joshy. It has plants, wood, and the ropes or loops for "In the Loop." How 'bout that?!

Our Young 11-Year-Old Dog

Dixie turns 11 this month, but she still enjoys playing with her toys. This weekend, she managed to get 3 of them in her mouth at the same time: her ducky, turtle, and slipper.

Out of the Ordinary

Last night, Josh and I did something out of the ordinary - we went to a concert. We went with my bosses to The Loft at the Palladium to see Jason Castro play. We might not have gone to this, but the guitarist, Stephen Kanicka, that's been touring with Jason, is someone that we use to teleprompt our video shoots. We all think it is very comical that one of our prompters is also someone who plays with Castro...just a weird combination of talents.

Jason is my favorite person to have been on American Idol, next to Chris Daughtry, and Josh used to make fun of me for goo-goo and gaa-gaaing over him. The highlight of last night was definitely being able to see him sing Hallelujah and Somewhere Over the Rainbow live. And maybe he signed a CD for me that I might have purchased last night.





Stephen and Jason













The Womacks













The Mortons













Jeff Kribs (wife couldn't make it)

Seattle/Vancouver

Last year we had to postpone our "big" anniversary trip. We had been planning on going to Kauai all along, but Josh surprised me in January with the idea of instead going to Seattle and Vancouver, specifically because of the Olympics. Of course, I said yes. We flew into Seattle on Saturday, 2/13. It was our first time to the Pacific NW. It was such an amazing part of the country surrounded by mountains and water. We were able to go on a hike on Mt. Rainier in the snow, tour the Boeing manufacturing facility (the largest building by volume in the world), visit Pike Place Market, go to the first Starbucks, etc. The highlight of the trip though was driving to Vancouver on Wednesday and seeing the men's 1000M speed skating medal round. Even better, we got to see Shani Davis win the gold. We cannot even describe how neat it was to be at an Olympic event with people from all over the world...something we'll never forget. Here are some pictures from our trip. (Note: our twin jackets were borrowed from our neighbors.)

The Original Starbucks.













Pike Place Market.













Koolhaas Library.













Mt. Rainier.













Snow shoes on "Paradise" - the part of the mountain we hiked on. We were standing on 20' of snow.













My cute husband loves waterfalls. This was on our way down from the hike.

















A very old tree.

















Loved the sun coming through the trees.













Boeing factory.













Space Needle.













Olympic torch.













Inside the Richmond Olympic Oval just after the event.













Shani's victory lap.













Flower ceremony. Chad Hedrick won the bronze.













Richmond Olympic Oval.













Saved the best for last. This was taken while we were in line to see the Olympic Torch. It is of downtown Vancouver using a color filter on our camera.

I can't believe I forgot my anniversary...

...of 9 years without soda (minus 7-up here and there)! Back when I was a freshman in college, I really enjoyed Coke. I might have only had 1 a day, but on January 21, 2001, I thought to myself (while in the best sandwich place on campus, Rumors), "I don't think I want sodas anymore...ever." So I haven't had any since then. My goal is to one day say that I haven't had soda in 30 years. I'm getting close. Besides the fact that they are so bad for you, I have saved so much money over the years just getting water at restaurants. And it hasn't been hard at all. I craved them at first when I went to the movies or to Sonic, but it got easier and easier over time. Josh supports my no Coke rule, but he sometimes wishes I could enjoy Sonic happy hour with him.

Happy Anniversary to me!

LÄRABAR

I have a relatively new snack obsession: LÄRABARs. I am a 6-7 meal a day kind of gal. My day usually consists of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack, dinner, snack. I'm always thinking of the next meal, and if I know there might be a chance I won't get to eat when I normally do, I'll carry something in my purse. LÄRABARs are perfect for that. Here are some facts about these tasty little treats:

-All natural
-A blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts, and spices
-Made from 100% whole food, each flavor contains no more than eight ingredients
-Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, and vegan
-No added sugars or sweeteners
-No sulfites or preservatives
-All of the vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, good carbohydrates, and healthy fats are derived exclusively from the whole, raw food used.
-Uncooked and unprocessed. A diet abundant in raw, unprocessed foods is important for health and longevity.

My top 5 flavors are:
-Chocolate Coffee
-Pecan Pie
-Banana Bread
-Apple Pie
-Chocolate

There are about 22 flavors, and so far the only one I don't like is the Cherry Pie. You can get them at Whole Foods, Walmart, Tom Thumb (limited flavors), and Costco (limited flavors but in a big box).

Rock 'n' Roll Dallas

It's been quite some time since I've posted. The real excuse is I haven't felt like being on the computer, but now that work has started up again, I am forced to get on this thing. Josh and I had a wonderful Christmas with our families and a Happy New Year with our supper clubbers. It was so great to have some time off from work!

I'm in a pickle b/c I can't decide if I'm going to run the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half Marathon. The pros are that I'm already in shape so wouldn't have to train as hard, I really enjoy the training, it would keep me in shape, and March is a great time of the year for a race. The cons are that I've enjoyed the time off from training, Jan and Feb will be cold running months, and this race won't have as much hype. But, I know it would be fun and another great experience.

If you have any thoughts about this, please pass them my way. If you want to run/train with me, even better.