nyc weekend

we had such a great time this weekend on the birthday trip to manhattan. we had the fun of having time to catch up with a lot of our good friends - jay's college friends and my girlfriends from home. we did a little sightseeing, a little shopping, and a lot of eating! we stayed at the alex hotel, which was excellent - and big bonus for me, had a really nice (complementary!) gym that had fresh fruit and water out all day long. love it!


the first night we went to morimoto, a sushi place started by the iron chef. jay's college buddies, dave and brendan live in soho and had scooped it out - it was EXCELLENT!!! i would highly recommend it.later that evening we went to 1 oak, a club started by one of jay's other college friends, scott. what a cool place - i've never seen so many people out and about so late on a wednesday.
; )


thursday we did some of the traditional nyc stuff, checked out the progress at ground zero (which was honestly not much) : ( and payed our respects. we also went down to wall street at 4pm. this is of course as it was closing and surprise, they ended the day on a high - we must be a good luck charm. that night we met up with my friend shonnie and then jay's friends for dinner at a brand new tapas place in soho, boqueria ( it just opened last week and was good!)


friday jay had lunch with his friend, devin and then went up to visit his alma mater, columbia. i went to see my friend, shonnie - got to visit her office, her cute apartment, meet her roomie, and go to central park. so fun! we met up with our friend leighanne later on at a tex-mex place for margies, then joined a big group of jay and his friends for a wonderful dinner.



saturday we watched some college football and did a little more sightseeing before heading back that evening to enjoy some family time with my parents on sunday.

whew! it was so much fun - but always good to be home and with our pups. it's also nice to live in a city where it's 75 degrees and sunny in the middle of november...

happy, happy engagement, mary and whit!!

the happy couple!

two of my favorite people got engaged this weekend, and i couldn't be happier for them. whit did a great job, took mary to napa and picked a beautiful spot for the proposal. oh, and a really, really gorgeous ring!

congrats, you two. i can't wait for all the fun that is in store for you both.  you guys are such a great couple.

below are some pics from last night. they flew in from san fran yesterday afternoon and meg and i threw together a little impromptu engagement party at jay's and my place. so fun!

kappa girl so young so fair, has given her heart away...(we are fake "passing candle" for those of you that don't know...yes, the silly-happy was kicking in)

post-party-dinner, louie's

the ladies

god bless america, we are so proud and praying for our new fearless leader. history has been made, and i am so excited!

amazing

i have known david and amy for many years, when they came to serve on staff where my dad is also a minister. they are a wonderful couple that has wanted children for so long. a few years ago they decided to pursue adoption, and many, many of us have been praying for them in this quest.

i've been following their recent journey to their little girl, ella, which has been a VERY long and difficult road. this week they have gone to africa to finally begin the process of bringing her home and lucky for the rest of us, have documented the trip on their blog. following these posts and realizing what they are experiencing as a new family has been so moving to me, i had to share a link to their site. if you have a moment and would like to read something that will inspire you and absolutely make your heart smile, here it is: aroundtheworldand2kids.wordpress.com.

our prayers are with you in your new journey. congrats to you all - ella, you are BEAUTIFUL!

confession...

so tomorrow is the presidential election. you know, the one that elects the president of the united states...the "most powerful leader" in the world. so why is it that i am online reading about bcs bowl predictions, every possible scenario of the bcs breakdown of the big 12 south, and reading random peoples' predictions of where my team will end up? i'll tell you why. because i am ridiculous. i am completely insane for college football...and this year is sooooooo exciting!

BOOMER SOONER!!!

p.s. just look at that picture of bradford...you think he wants to win?? i'd say YESSSSSSSSSS! keep it up, boys!

we had a big crew to norman this weekend for the game.  and to say OU played well would be a major understatement.  they displayed total dominance and our defense was amazing.  good times!

jay and i both early-voted this week downtown. unbelievably, the records building must be a great place to go (fyi, dallas folk) because we had zero wait! i am definitely ready for this election to be complete, because there are a lot of crazies out there that really think the world is coming to an end if their guy doesn't win - frankly, i am sick of hearing their crap! newsflash: i can guarantee you we will all be okay either way. that said, i still hope my guy wins...i am excited.

fun sidenote: for the first time ever, jay and i didn't cancel each other out!

now, everyone go be good little citizens and cast your ballot...

happy housewarming to us!

we were asked to put our cheesiest "happy housewarming" face on for this photo  ; )

we had about fifty of our dear friends show up for a very fun houseparty friday evening.  everyone enjoyed our new place and we had so much fun being able to play hosts again, we just love to entertain!  thanks to everyone for making our first "event" in our new home a fun one.  

all clean, before the guests arrived

college friends

cute pic of the boys

they were tasked with the best dancer, jay did NOT win!!  ; )

backyard kids

happy, happy birthday, hubby!

happy birthday, to my best friend, my husband, and the greatest doggy-daddy i know!!!

(i hope i didn't ruin it by putting up a picture of you in cabo - another trip to mexico is not your birthday surprise, but i thought i would try and make up for it - so i booked us a trip to nyc...pack your bags, we leave on november 12th - SURPRISE!!!.) 

 

we had a great weekend - friday night we relaxed and went with some friends to see "w." interesting flick. saturday we got up bright and early and headed for the mothership in norman. our sooners took care of business and we got to go watch the late games at the coaches party, which is always such a treat. sunday we declined watching the end of the cowboy game and took the pups to lee harvey's to enjoy the afternoon and let them romp around with other pups for a while - we counted this as mckenzie's b-day party...she had a few french fries as a special treat.
; )

lined up and ready for action

score!!

my buddy, matt mcmillan, coaching coordinator, at the party

jay with some of his ku friends that were in town for the game at the tailgate

mom with her b-day girl and norm

happy 8th birthday, tuna!!!

fifteen minutes out - the 14th is upon us.  and we love the sweet, sweet, tuna.  i cannot believe she is in her eighth year of life.  she is norman's best friend and our favorite little bundle of joy.  'kenz, sorry your 7th bday was in santa monica and this one is at home, but we will try and make it great, even if you are stuck in dallas...love you, little one!!

dallas, october 11-12, 2008: the death of all things good in football

at half-time, we were still winning...

well i must say, aside from our thursday night flag football team win, this was a disappointing football weekend for us - sooners and cowboys, oh my! and insult to injury, we lost our star LB for the sooners, ryan renyolds, and our QB for the 'boys, romo. poo. for those of you who are worried, we are still alive and doing just fine. there is still a lot of football left and heck, there were some good points - the weekend was fun, okie state beat mizzou, and baylor won! wowie!

okay, so it's not the best case scenario for me, but hey, i'm looking on the bright side...

friday night...our sooner babies

those who didn't-go-to-OU-but-would-die-defending-it-gameday crew...again, pre-game

jaty, fake switzer, and craig

corby and fake switzer

corby and his "murse" - me making fun of his man-purse...

it's BOOMER SOONER week in dallas!!!

the red river rivalry is here!!! this game will no doubt be an exciting one, as always. i am riddled with anticipation and cannot even begin to tell you how hard it is to focus (on a pretty busy week, i might add) on work. college gameday will be here - "hi kirkie!" and all the college-football-world will be watching. i can't wait to get out to the cotton bowl and feel the electricity.

texas fans, get ready for a lot of this...

you're gonna hear the name "juaquin iglesias" more than you'd like on saturday

and demarco murray will be running past your guys a lot like the above...

sam bradford. enough said.

i heart phil loadholt. 6'8" 340 lbs, my favorite of the "big boys"

BOOMER SOONER!!!

it's never a good sign

when you go to cnn.com to check in on this mess and the latest update reads...

"dow suffers worst point drop ever"

hmmm.

it's also not a good feeling that our boys in washington aren't able to come up with ANYTHING that will work.

icky-icky-poo.

d.c.

last thursday, jay and i jet-setted up to d.c. for a few days. jay had some meetings and i decided to get out of our almost-complete-but-not-quite-finished house for a break from the dust, clutter, and noise. the dogs had a well deserved break as well, norman to wuf spa and mckenz' spent the weekend with her grandparents and their yorkies.

we had a great time. friday we walked every square inch of that town, seeing monuments, congress, the white house, and everything in between. i think my favorite was the FDR memorial. not necessarily because of it's structure, but more because of it's statement. it was very fitting for his style and really showed who he was as a leader and a person. my favorite part is pictured below. the quote:

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those
who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

that evening we were able to visit with a good friend of mine from college, stacey mac, and her hubbie, sean. it was so fun to see her, meet him, and catch up - good times, guys!!

saturday we did some yoga, jay had some meetings, and we enjoyed a very special lunch with a potential client of jay's (jay, not sure if i am allowed to say whom?). then we found a great spot to watch the OU game, which was a big victory, pushing us into the #1 spot. woo-hoo!

the best part of the weekend was just having the chance to get away and relax - and having a really nice suite to relax in. we even had a seperate yoga room in our suite! we both desperately needed to get away for a break from house mess, work stresses, and everything in between, so this was a nice treat. good weather, great hotel, and nice, relaxing trip with just the two of us!

the SEC, their pickled eggs and other news...

this past weekend jay and i joined our friends, chris and courtney for the arkansas vs. alabama game. we decided since OU had a bye week we would join courtney in her hometown to watch her alma mater play some football. we had a great time and great weather in fayetteville - that place is a blast and did not disappoint. their poor football team suffered against a tough alabama opponenent, but we all still had fun. it's so interesting to go to another school and even conference, to see how "gameday" all goes down. thanks for hosting us, chris and court! we had a great time.

i received a text message on my way to arkansas from my friend, ben. ben knew i was going to the game and decided to propose a dare. ben is friend of mine who also attended arkansas and i used to work with at JPMC. and so it was: "go to a place called roger's rec room and eat a pickled egg. i double-dog dare you." okay people, i am my father's child and will never turn down a "double-dog dare." so ben, see below. the evidence:

seriously. it was the grossest thing i have ever seen. thanks again, ben!

i almost gave up at this point - the guy behind me said, "oh i eat 'em all the time." look at this man. this did NOT comfort me.

yuck.

(at this point my mom is reading this mortified. sorry, mom! - however, i can guarantee my dad is laughing aloud, a strange sense of pride that the dare was conqurered - hey dad, another one bites the dust!) ; )

whew. glad that one is over.

now we are back and football-focused on a big game this weekend for our #2 ranked sooners against #24, tcu. we are also focused on getting this house to it's full completion. the paint is starting to go up on the cabinets and built-ins, after which we can paint the rest of the living areas and then hopefully move in our applicances and the rest of our furniture while they finish up some of the last details. we are hoping they can move quickly this weekend while we are in D.C. - jay has some work up there and i have decided to join him for the weekend and escape the "workspace" that is our home!

will report back soon...

hizzy progress

i've decided to give up on exactly when this house will be a completed project. along the way we have added project after project and are finally truly nearing the point of completion. applicances are purchased and waiting to be installed, floors are complete, crown molding, baseboards done-skee. after some additional paint and a couple of cabinet doors, we should be ready to roll.

the granite went into the kitchen today, which i hear is a good sign you are nearing the finish line. there has definitely been a lot of progress since the last time i posted pics, so i thought i would share where we are as of now (crackberry pics, sorry if they aren't the best). if we don't add anything else to the list of things-to-do, i should think we are within a couple of weeks of being a completed house, therefore ready for the big housewarming party!! ; )

granite is in...now if we can just get the rest of the doors and some paint, we are ready!

yes, that is a bunch of our furniture tight-wrapped in the living room. ; )

i heart tony romo

i have liked tony romo from the start. his story, his personality, and his play. i just read this story in the dallas morning news and was literally in tears. what an absolute stud this guy is...i am so incredibly impressed and happy to know that he really is the "real deal."

way to go, romo!

scattered post...

this post will be a bit scattered, as i have been the last few weeks! but i thought i would send out a little update...

we officially moved into our unfinished house on monday and spent the night there for the first time last night. it's really coming along - i will post updated pics soon. sorry, my camera is kinda on the fritz, so they will either be iphone/blackberry pics or i will have great news with a new camera - but soon!

the first OU game was a huge success, with a 57-2 victory. we play cincinatti this week, which will definitely be more of a challege. they are a very good team. we are both excited to see our full team play a full game this week, since last week most of the game was played by 5th string freshmen and sophs. ;)

also great news, my friends josh and erica had a baby boy yesterday - almost a 10 lb baby boy, so he's a big boy! they have posted more pics on their blog, but this cutie patootie, drew is below. congrats, guys!!



***update, found out a few hours after posting this, our baylor kkg friend, brittany, and her hubby, jay, had a baby girl, elle!! maybe drew and elle should meet!! ; )

all that said, we are doing good, just really busy...so so so sorry if i haven't been calling, posting or emailing as much!!