holiday party bus 2008

so i'm moving as fast as i can here, geez.  i've already had some requests for pics from the big night last night...patience, people, patience.  ; )

we had a great group last night for the party bus (for you attendees - you guys were good at party-bus-ing, my friends). the crew toured the park cities for some holiday lights, hit a couple of dallas hot-spots, watched jay "dance" (if you can call it that) and even with having to witness the former, still had a great time. ; )  we have done this a couple of other times, but this will definitely become a part of our holiday traditions going forward...join in on the good times bus next year if you missed this trip!  some pics below, click here for more.

jay, "trickdancing"

i'm not sure why, but it was fun!

all about the a-towners

nice danny, nice.

championship

sometimes it is fun being a girl in an all-boy office.  however, this week may just take the cake.  i will go ahead and give myself props...

i am in two fantasy football leagues.  last week, team superkaty clenched the playoffs and won my spot in the championship.  in both leagues!  at this point i am not sure that i even care if i win, i have just SO enjoyed wearing down the all the guys by beating them to get here.

that said a victory sure would be nice!!!!  everyone who wants the chick to win cheer for adrian peterson and the fav-re this week.  let's hope that adrian will put up another 47 fantasy points like he did a few weeks ago.  ; )  

baby addison

my good friends wes and rachel just had a little baby girl, addison. so first off, i'd like to say congratulations to them both!

little addison is having some medical problems and i am writing to ask you all to pray for her (and her family) as she works her way through these early struggles. you can stay updated here on her blog!

pranks make me giggle

hilarious - you only have to watch the first 30 seconds to get a good laugh.

walk score

while reading the paper (dallasnews.com) yesterday morning i found a link to take my "walk score." intrigued, i clicked on the site. since then i have been doing some thinking, and apparently my neighborhood's walk score has a big impact on my happiness as it relates to where i live so i thought i would share.

in recent years i have lived in several different neighborhoods. uptown and the m-streets, both of which have very high scores of 89 (uptown) and 82 (m-streets) were my favorites. the best parts of these neighborhoods are their proximity to "everything" and the fact that i can walk to do most anything.

walkscore.com even has a sidebar that allows you to see the scores of famous sites, like the apartment building where they lived on "friends" or the brady bunch house. enjoy!

i'm a nerd, i know.

katy trail update

dallas runners, rejoice! finally, (according to the friends of katy trail blog) the lights are actually in progress to be installed on the katy trail. this means that even with the dreaded pitch-black evenings of the winter upon us, we will soon be able to again jog after 6pm on the trail. in all reality the lights will not all be installed until we are freed from the bitter angst of early-evening darkness, but at least part of the trail will be lit up. maybe we can run sprints back and forth under the first few lights that are installed...

Lights coming soon

The pre-construction meeting for the Lighting contract took place Thursday morning at the office of Victory Park. Good news the contractor will officially begin work on lighting installation on Jan. 2, 2008 and expects to be done by the beginning of May

a different kind of final four

i have been participating in what is essentially an online opinion poll on si.com. it's interesting to watch, and even if it is essentially meaningless, i'm still happy to see OU in the final four. according to the poll, we beat boston college in the first round with 83% of the vote and were victorious again in the second round, over georgia with 53% of the vote. you can click here to vote in the "final four" round yourself, Oklahoma vs Ohio State and Florida vs USC.

i don't know how i feel about the prospect of the bcs vs. a playoff, because i can definitely see there are advantages to both (as well as disadvantages, especially in regard to losing the bcs as it relates to some of the "powerhouse" programs).

on our trip to vegas i read stewart mandel's book, bowls, polls and tattered souls. it is an interesting read for the college football fan. he provides some good insight into both possibilities, the playoff and the bcs. as much as i know that the bcs probably favors a school like oklahoma, a playoff system would be a blast to watch. i still haven't made my mind up on this whole thing yet, but i guess that doesn't really matter, as it's not my decision to make in the first place.

oh well. i'll just keep voting in my little fake online poll and wait for our bowl game in january.

miracle dallas

beginning this evening and running through the 30th of december, dallas-ites and their visitors can enjoy a festival-o-fun at victory park. outdoor ice skating, treats and drinks, and holiday films?!? count me in. best of all, it benefits a good cause!

check out http://www.miracledallas.com/ for more details.

viva las vegas

we took a trip this weekend with a group of good friends to las vegas. i am not a gambler, however, i consider myself a well-educated college football fan. well, at least educated enough to put money on a few games. the sports book is definitely my niche. 3-out-of-4 ain't bad. i collected my earnings this morning before we left.

first off, congrats to our boys for being the first big 12 team to win back-to-back big 12 conference titles! as to the bcs and the NC game - i won't get into OU getting ripped off, because every team in america has their own argument in this this regard (as it relates to the bcs). i'm very happy we won the big 12 again and consider it a privilege to play west virginia, which is a great team...however, i do feel for mizzou. their only two losses this year were to OU, which is the #3 team in the country (according to the polls). they beat kansas and illinois, who both got bcs bids. sorry guys-of-mizzou, i agree, you were completely ripped off. just know as OU fans, we feel the same way. good luck ohio state - no one wants to play a home game against lsu.

a few fun pics from our trip...

i predict OU v florida next year in miami

columbia boys

cuties at pure

i'm just sayin, i am the queen of the sports book

reunion of the pups and mom

tales of jackie o and sir abthernabther

frontburner, one of the few sites i check with daily frequency, has recently added a list of blogs to their line-up. of course, these blogs are well-written, anonymous and ever-so-interesting, much unlike this blog.

yesterday, i found one blog that is only about a month old, but has absolutely captured my attention. it's called so dallas and it is so hilarious.

be sure to read the first entry, on "jackie's" purpose of starting the blog. genius.

another blog that has quickly captured my fancy (which are words that alibaster himself would surely use) is
from the desk of alibaster k. abthernabther.

alibaster plays the role of "world renowned entrepreneur, best selling author, yacht racer, hot air balloon enthusiast, culture connoisseur, bon vivant, pleasure seeker, taste maker and opinion taster." and shares his feelings via
well-written, clever letters to those whom he chooses to share his thoughts with.

his writing reminds me a lot of gordon keith, of whom apparently alibaster counts as a friend (as do i). kudos to you, alibaster, keep up the informative writing and hot-air balloon riding. i love the 'stache.

bedlam

we made the trek this weekend for last home game of the season, the OU vs. osu game, also known as"bedlam."  after hearing all year about a hyped-up okie state offense, we were definitely a little bit apprehensive about this ever-important game.  but the boys took care of business (big-time!), and it's on to next week...the big 12 championship in san antonio.  

go sooners!!!!

season tix?

looks like i won't be getting my premium seat package at the new cowboys stadium after all. holy crap those things are expensive. $50,000 just to get the right to buy the actual $340 ticket, dang! i guess it's corporate seats or bust for me.

i gotta go.

i'm starting the lobby here at work to ensure the bank buys in...

oops

props to you, kevin colvin, on a hilarious costume. however, next time you might just want to take the day off. this is a great story. i bet we all know people that have made the same type of mistake. it just probably didn't end up on cnn.

you know, being in banking myself, i might hire a guy based on having this good of a sense of humor. but lying about it? why? the fairy costume is so cute. ; )

i pray my fifteen minutes of fame involve something a little less embarrasing. dang, you gotta feel for the guy. i don't envy the call he is getting about now from his parents...sitting at work, browsing cnn, only to find a picture of their son dressed in a fairy costume, holding a busch light (who drinks that stuff?!). do you think when he called to tell them about his great new internship in banking they thought it would end up like this? i think i might have some questions. you?

dang it that costume is funny. jay? halloween next year? HA!!

woot!! go OU

my friend, sweet, sweet mary, joined us for the OU game this weekend.  we had such a good time and a LOT of laughs.  OU is now #3 in the nation and we are hoping that things keep going our way.  we attended another coaches' party last night and stoops is definitely in good spirits, which is always a good sign.  after all, he's a man, he's 40!!!  

i know the joke is old to some, but not to me, apparently.

mary and katy...boomer sooner-ing!!!

girl of his dreams...

read: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21696643/


see the site! http://nygirlofmydreams.com/

**follow up 11/13/07 - click here to see the couple on "good morning america!"

fighting baylor bear football news

baylor football fans can rejoice, because it looks like guy morriss is out. who will the new coach be? hopefully for the fighting baylor bears, someone that can recruit! poor guy, i bet he wishes he never left kentucky.

do you realize this means that (with almost 100% certainty) three out of the twelve schools in the big 12 will have new coaches next year? wow!

powerful message

i have huge tears swelling in my eyes after reading this fca devotional. everyone knows i have a complete addiction to the rush of a good workout, so i really wouldn't call myself someone that takes it for granted. but wow, it definitely makes me grateful for the healthy body i have and certainly thankful to God for granting me with that health. it is not something to be taken lightly.

READY: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
-James 1:17

SET: My morning run had been a battle of both mind and body. It had been incredibly cold outside--below freezing--and being pre-dawn, it wasn't the best time of day for speed work. I'd been frustrated for most of the way, asking my muscles to wake up and run faster when all they wanted to do was go back to bed. When I arrived back at my apartment complex, I had thoroughly convinced myself that I'd never do a morning run in the cold again. (I'm sometimes a bit of a drama queen.)

As I climbed the steps up to the building, a woman came out the door. She looked to be a classy mid-40s woman, dressed in business attire for a day at the office. She smiled at me, and I smiled back, still lost in my negative thoughts. But then I noticed the hitch in her mobility. She hobbled slowly down the steps, one hand on the rail, the other clutching a cane. I didn't see a cast on her leg, so it appeared that this was
more than a temporary injury.

As I passed her, I greeted her, and she looked up and smiled again. "Good morning," she said pleasantly. "Did you enjoy your run?" "Yeah," I lied. "It was a little chilly, but it was okay." "Good for you," she answered sincerely, looking me straight in the eye. "Good for you." I didn't have to ask her to elaborate on her message. I could tell exactly what she was thinking: "Don't take this for granted."

I walked into my building feeling like a scolded puppy, completely convicted. Once I was in my apartment, I dropped to my knees and thanked God for the amazing time He'd allowed me on the road, and I humbly took back my recently established no-cold-morning-run rule.

How often do we take our sports and our bodies for granted? As a runner, I'm quick to grumble when my legs are heavy or the wind is strong. But that should never, ever, ever be the case. Each day of competition or training is a gift. It is a gift from our Lord who has given us the ability to race, to compete. He knows how much joy it brings us, and all He asks is that we use those gifts for His glory to love and serve others and to bring them closer to Him. Today, enjoy your training. Enjoy your competition. God didn't have to give you the ability, and He can take it away at any time. But for now, while you can, maximize it and show the world how to win for Him.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jill Ewert is the editor of FCA's Sharing the Victory magazine and the Huddle Leader for the Kansas City FCA Endurance Huddle.

3-0

they say 30 is the new 20. i sure as heck hope so, because today i woke up T-H-I-R-T-Y.

thirty?

really?

growing up, i thought of thirty year-olds as people that have mortgages, spouses, jobs, kids, responsibilities...wait. crap. well, i can subscribe to a few of those things, but some i refuse to buy into yet. age is just a number, correct?

it seems like i just graduated from college. i am still in shock that i was old enough to get married last summer. i didn't feel old enough.

and the thought of having kids? frightening. i feel like i would get in trouble with my parents if i called and said i were pregnant. i mean teen pregnancy is bad, right? ; )

my dad and sister-in-law have already told me that being 30 is great. they say it gives you "credibility" with others when they hear you are 30. well that stinks! i felt completely credible yesterday and was unaware that i was not, in fact, previously credible. i think it's just a nice way of saying that i am getting older. and because i am a glass-half-full-kinda-gal, i'm going to embrace this and move on.

well...maybe tomorrow. ; )

pre-birthday weekend

what fun!! we did the stars game friday night, OU game saturday night, and dave wilcox on sunday night...

friday we took a VIP adventure of the AAC courtesy of our friend, tim. he has a neat-o package that allows for a great, healthy dinner and drinks below the arena and underground parking. not to mention great seats!

saturday we headed to norman for the OU v aggie game.
as expected, we trounced a&m 42-14.
it was glorious. no matter how bad aggie is, it's always fun to beat them.


sunday we went to the dave wilcox show. he never disappoints and played a wonderful set. i was in tears more than once, laughed a lot and enjoyed his voice and story-telling abilities, which are incredible. julie and i even got a pic with our longtime friend, mr. wilcox himself! the intimate concert series will definitely become a player in our lives. especially since the venue is only a block away!

julie, dave, and me

polls

the poll i had up for months is over, and according to the readers of this blog, obama will win the presidential election. i should clarify that the question stated "if one of the four below wins the nomination," so people were choosing as if he were the democratic nominee. still, i clearly don't have a balanced group of readers, because the american public seems to think otherwise. i guess we will see...only time will tell.

now i have a new poll up...so take your pick! (and yes, i know that oklahoma is in all caps in the poll. it's my attempt to abuse the power of persuasion on you people.)

29+1 birthday party, part I

anyone that knows me knows how much i love birthdays. because of this great love, i submit all of my friends to at least one full week of celebrating with me (thank you kindly). since this birthday is a special one, my friends will be subjected to even more celebratory madness, and i must say, they are all being exceptional sports about this whole thing.

and so it began - saturday was birthday party I, the beginning of the series...

birthday party I was all put together by jay, who put on a great show. he had primo's cater and provide a margarita machine (yum!). and he got together a great group of friends to come out and celebrate with me. i had so much fun that i forgot to take a billion pictures (as i normally would have).

i did have time to grab a few. below, some pics from the day:

they say blondes have more fun

fun set-up!

"milk-monster" aka lily and "the tuna" aka mckenzie

my nephew, nathan LOVES mary

wonderful story!!!

these california wildfires are such a tragedy. i have been so heartbroken watching the coverage of all of these poor folks that have lost so much.

however, i just saw a story on cnn that has me in tears - happy tears! it's a sweet story about a golden retriever from california and his family that have struggled through the last few days, losing their home in the fires. nothing like a story about a noooorman (this dog looks so much like him!!) to brighten your day.

click here to watch the story about this sweet golden retriever, teddy.

happy birthday, hubby!!

33 loooooong years ago jay was ushered into this world. although he is now entering his geriatric years, i still just love him to pieces. so everyone out there, raise your glass to jay!!! HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

thought i would share a jay and judd photo in honor of the day:

celebrating another OU orange bowl victory

we started celebrating his b-day yesterday. corby and i got a few of his friends organized enough to get a tailgate together and courtney helped me out so that i was able to suprise him with tickets to the cowboys/vikings game. this was a special cowboy game, where we declared we were not cheering for either team, rather just "offense"...meaning that we wanted adrian peterson to have a great game because we love him, but we still wanted the cowboys to win. very confusing. gave me tired head.

some pics from the day...

tailgate

all-day-adrian-peterson

cowboy cheerleaders

won't be the cowboys stadium for too much longer, so i got a pic!

what-a-game!!!

wow, college football is so exciting. i can't believe i just sat through a night of watching rutgers and south florida play, but wow, those are some fun teams to watch!


thank you, rutgers! BOOMER SOONER!!!! now it's just time to watch us roll up those polls...

memorial show for carter

in memory of a great man...a great show, a great cause.

click here for tickets.

katy's turning 10!!

i think this sounds like a blast. i've always loved the katy trail, and since we moved, norman and i jog on it daily. that said, i feel a big obligation to make sure her birthday bash is a good one.

dallas friends, email me if you want to join, because i will be there. we love you, katy!!

Celebrate Katy's 10th Birthday!

Nov. 4 2007, 2-5 p.m. at Reverchon Park

The Friends of the Katy Trail is celebrating our 10th birthday with a party featuring the Ben E. Keith International Beer Garden, free food and cake, and fun for everyone!

We have entertainment and activities for all ages and fabulous food from Campisis, MooYah, Pokey O's and Primos.

So come out to enjoy a fall afternoon at Reverchon Park and celebrate the Katy Trail's 10th Birthday


Entertainment and food are free of charge, however the Ben E. Keith International Beer Garden costs $20.

boy-toy-troy

last night, mary, jay and i (a crew recently nicknamed "three's company" since we all live in the same building and like to spend crazy fun amounts of time together) went to dinner in hp village at mi cocina.

spotted?

the great troy aikman, former oklahoma sooner* that reached fame playing QB for the dallas cowboys. mary and i could not stop talking about how smokin' HOT he is!!

this got me thinking some very deep thoughts i felt obligated to share on the blog...
damn, there are a lot of hot nfl quarterbacks! ; ) (think tom brady, tony romo, brett farve and the list goes on...)

i also decided that mi cocina is the place for celebrity sightings. we recapped at dinner the ones i can remember in recent years - peyton manning, jerry jones, luke wilson, maya angelou, and troy aikman. i decided that for dallas, that is pretty impressive.




*troy played for the sooners during the 1984-85 season.

cali

we had a great time in so cal. santa barbara is beautiful and santa monica is a blast!! the wedding went off without a hitch and was very pretty. shutters is a great place and gave us impeccable service. i was able to visit with a lot of friends that i rarely get to see...it's so funny to see a childhood friend get married. several of us there have known each other since we were eight years old! all that said, congrats, will and nell! you make a great couple.

i never want to come home when i visit that area. i can say without hesitation that in my opinion, it is absolutely the greatest part of the country. oh, and hills fans, we did make it into l.a./beverly hills area and made a quick visit to bolthouse productions, but i was to chicken to go in and see if heidi was in the office. i wish i was kidding...

santa monica

'kenz and i at the beach celebrating her 7th birthday

on the pier in santa barbara

post-rehearsal at the viceroy

for those of you that don't like/care about football, i am sorry that my blog becomes completely dominated by sports every fall...sorry for you, that is! you are missing out on a great year in football all-around.

that said, i know you don't all love it as much as i do, so i promise to put up some pics of the so cal trip this week - i'm sure i'll be having romantic dinners with justin timberlake and coffee with the girls from the hills. or maybe i'll just enjoy will's wedding and the beach with jay. either way, it promises to be fun!

ummm, can you say go cowboys!!! that was one heck of a game. our whole crew was in hysterics with all that drama. however, i must say, they have got to change the ruling on those last second timeouts. it KILLS me that they allow that crap. but who cares, because our boy, folk pulled it off twice!

28 - 21

that was one heck of a game, and we won it! what a fun day...we got to the fair early with our crew and enjoyed some good fair grub, then it was off to the game, for a day that i will not soon forget. we moved to number six in the AP poll, so life is good. BOOMER SOONER!

some pics from the day:

some of the crew at the fair pre-game

the band leader is jay's favorite

the sooners are victorious again!

scoreboard.

6 out of 8 ain't bad

happy birthday, coach!

happy birthday to one of my favorite people on earth, one that i would put at my dream dinner table anytime, barry switzer. he turns 70 today.

not only did the king (that's his nickname, but i like to call him "el presidente") lead OU to three of their seven national titles, he also took our beloved cowboys to a victorious super bowl. he is one of only two coaches to win both a collegiate national title and a super bowl (not to mention for my two favorite teams).

so sooners, let's win one for barry!!! BOOMER!!!!!!!

couldn't resist

if you want to buy the t-shirt, click here.

belmont hotel

last night jay and i joined a few friends at the belmont hotel, outside of downtown (dallas) near the beautiful kessler park area. if you have yet to check this place out, i would highly recommend it. we were very impressed. the hotel, the outdoor patio, the food, all of it. if i were ever to stay in a hotel in dallas, this would definitely be the first one i would want to try out.

looooong week

i'm so nervous about the game this weekend that i am having trouble focusing at work. is this normal? luckily we are staying very busy the next couple of nights, so hopefully that will keep me somewhat distracted.

this weekend, i'd like to see lots of this:

which would lead to this...

and make the sooner nation the happiest people in the world!!

i do want to give a shameless plug to the one thing i have to distract me friday evening when i get home from the OU parties. friday is the season premier of the greatness that is "friday night lights." seriously, if you have not watched it in the past, give it a shot. so great.

oh, and one last thing...

BOOMER SOONER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**update (10/4): i had a dream last night OU wins 71-3. foresight? i think so.