TriWaco

Last weekend, Bill and I traveled to Waco for another triathlon. This time he did what is called an Olympic distance. Its like double the distance of the sprint, I don't know the specifics other than you run a 10k. Bill did really well. His goal was to finish in 3 hours and he finished in 2:56! He was pretty tired afterwards, but I'm super proud of him. Some friends of ours that we knew from Arkansas, who now live in Austin, were also in Waco for the race. We had dinner with them Saturday night, and then I got to hang out with Jennie, while her hubby Justin ran in the race. It was so good to catch up!

Jennie and I before the race began. This is a picture that ended up on the Waco newspaper website.

The swim was in the Brazos river, which has several extension bridges over it. It was actually the longest single-span expension brindge when it was built back in the 1800's. We were able to stand on the bridge and watch as all the swimmers took off.

Bill coming in from the bike to transition to the run.

The finish was also on the bridge, which was really cool. This is Bill coming into the finish line!

Bill after the race with his medal. Way to go hubby!

As of now, we don't have any races scheduled. There might be one in Arkansas the he does. Which gives us a good excuse to go back home for a visit!

big girl job

Over the past month, I have been a busy girl. Yes, busy getting a new job! Don't freak out, I still work the Dallas Cowboys. I just got a promotion. As you know, I've been a manager for the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shops for the past 2 years. First, in Garland at Firewheel Town Center. Then, in Frisco at Stonebriar Centre. A little over a month ago, I was asked to come in for an interview for the assistant buyer position. I met with our new Director of Retail Operations, and both the current buyers. I was super nervous, because it has been a while since I've had an interview and I was up against 2 other managers for the position. Both the other managers have been with the company a lot longer than I have, and are just as deserving of the position as I am. A couple weeks went by with no answer, then I was asked to come in to meet with our CEO. I figured it was another round of interviews, but when I went in, I was offered the position! Woo hoo! A week later, I'm out of the store and on my 3rd day at the office. So, I am the new assistant buyer for Dallas Cowboys Merchandising! So far its been lots and lots of info! I'm sorta on information overload, but I know it will take a few weeks to settle in and get the hang of things. I've already been given 2 pretty big projects, and it will only pick up from there. Anyways, I know this is a boring post with no pictures or anything, but I wanted to let everyone know about my new "big girl" job! :)

its miller time

last weekend i drove down to Austin to meet my friends for the weekend, and to celebrate Blake and Laura's wedding. I went to high school with Blake, and was so thrilled to be a part of his wedding celebration. We stayed at the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental, which is a super fancy and old hotel. Friday night we had dinner at Trulucks. This is a really great steak and seafood place. After stuffing ourselves silly, we met up with the wedding party at a place called The Belmont on 6th street.

all the PA kids: Blake (the groom), me, Carla, Michelle, Patrick & Spencer

"To the Blue and Gold..."

We had a fun time out on 6th street Friday night. I haven't stayed out that late in while! The next day we woke up and had lunch at a cute place on Lake Austin called the Hula Hut. It was super hot outside, so we made our way to the mall to waste time. While we were there we all got our makeup done for the wedding. That was fun!

The wedding was at a really pretty Methodist church downtown. Laura's dress was sooo beautiful, and the flowers were amazing.

Me, Carla, & Michelle outside the church

The reception was out of this world! Every little detail was thought out. My favorite part was the grooms cake! It was a replica of Razorback Stadium!

The Grooms Cake! Woo Pig Sooie!

The beautiful bride and groom

The girls with the groom

The wedding lasted late into the night, so we just crashed after that. There was A LOT of dancing! The next morning we all woke up and headed home. It was a great weekend hanging out with friends and seeing people I haven't seen in a while. I believe that caps off my wedding season!

Iron Brothers Tri

This past weekend Bill competed in his second triathlon. It happened to be the exact same length and at the exact same locations as the 1st one he did a month ago. My camera battery died, so unfortunately I didn't get many pictures. And, the ones I did take came out blurry because it was so humid outside!

Anyways, Bill did great! He wanted to beat his time from the 1st one, and he did! He finished in one hour, that's 3 minutes faster than last time. He's really been working hard and getting his weight down, eating healthy, and staying in shape. It payed off. He finished 4th in his age group and 49th out of 150 overall.

So proud of the hubby!

Bill crossing the finish line!

Lucy got to come this time! She loved playing with and sniffing the other doggies. And she enjoyed lots of pats on the head from people!

Coming up next... Waco Tri on July 25th. An Olympic length triathlon in Waco, TX.

halfway to 50

last monday was my 25th birthday. i was lucky enough to celebrate while i was on vacation in florida. bill woke me up to be the 1st to say "happy birthday." he came in and gave me a hug, and i rolled over and said, "uhhh halfway to fifty." ha! i am one of those people that thinks their birthday is the best holiday. i'm usually bouncing around all month long excited about it. reminding people of how close it is. this year it was different. i don't know if i was wrapped up in our vacation, or if the luster of my birthday is wearing off the older i get. either way, i had a great birthday, besides the rain and oil on the beach.

this is me with my fancy birthday cake my aunt made for me

there were two things i could think of as presents i wanted for my bday. so, that is what bill got me. well... sorta. i knew we would be in destin on my bday, and they have a fabulous outlet mall there. i looked up the stores and saw they had a Perfumania and a Le Creuset outlet store there. i am down to the last drop on all of my perfumes, so that was gift number one. a gift card to the perfumania store. i wanted to find something new, but they don't have the perfumes out where you can just sample yourself. you have to get them to spray it on a card for you. so, i just stuck with my old standby, Dolce and Gabanna Light Blue. Love it!

i did not receive a cast iron skillet as a wedding gift, nor have i gone out to purchase one in the 2 years we've been married. this is something that i've been wanting. and i've been eyeing all the lovely le creuset skillets and cookware. so this is my second gift. a gift card to the le creuset outlet store. i was able to pick out a cast iron skillet, a stockpot, trivet, potholder, and basting brush with my card!

these are my stockpot and skillet. love the cherry red!

now i just have to use them! come on over and i'll make ya some cornbread! ;)

overall, i had a wonderful birthday. i'm so thankful for all my gifts and how thoughtful everyone was. now this year needs to go really slow, because saying 26 really sounds old!

destin vacation

Bill and I just got back from Destin, Fl where we spent 8 glorious days of vacation with Bills mom, dad, and sister. We got up super early Saturday morning, I'm talking 4am early, to start the 12 hour treck to Destin. It went by pretty quickly. As quickly as 12 hours in a car can be at least. We woke up Sunday morning to beautiful weather. We spent the day out on the beach. There was lots of seaweed in the water which was sorta gross, but no oil! My mom and aunt were also on vacation in Destin for a few days while we were there. That night we had dinner with them at one of my favorite places, Louisiana Lagniappe. Its on the harbor and they have a pretty patio to sit on.

At Louisiana Lagniappe for dinner. Bill is talking in this pic, but I liked it.

The next day was my BIRTHDAY! The big two.five. Unfortunately we woke up to thunder and storms rolling in. And what was sitting on the counter next to my doughnuts when I walked in the kitchen? A ginormous tar ball!

This was the biggest one we saw all week. Most were about the size of a quarter.

So, we got dressed and headed to the outlet mall. We spent half the day there, then came back to the condo to celebrate my bday. I got some great things!

My aunt made me a cake from regular pound cake and mixed it with cool whip, then added peaches to the top. it was super delish!

It rained the rest of the day, so we gave up on the beach that day. We got dressed up for dinner and went to a new restaurant in Destin called Louis Louis. It is owned by the same people that opened Red Bar in Grayton Beach. If you've never been there, you are MISSING out! It has the same sort of vibe, and delicious food! The crabcakes are to die for! These are also the same people that own Cafe Prego in Little Rock. You know its good!

Before dinner, we were goofing around. This is what we got.

We woke up to more rain the next day. But whenever it looked clear for a minute we would run out to the beach. Unfortunately it wouldn't last long. We got caught up in some down pours a couple times. And since they are making everyone wash their feet off down by the beach, to prevent oil from getting on the pool deck and in the pool, it really slowed things down.

one good moment on the beach.

Isabelle and me with our matching swimsuits.

It ended up raining 4 out of the 6 we were there. We got a lot of shopping in. I went with my mom and aunt to seaside one day to do some shopping. Other days we went to the outlet mall.

Luckily we got one clear night to take some pics out on the beach.

Me, mom and Aunt Mel

Bill and I on the beach

The fam on the beach. We didn't really plan on a color coordinating them this year, but this somehow worked out. Love it.

Bills family left a day before we did. And what do ya know, Friday was the prettiest day we had. We literally went down to the beach at 8 am and I didn't come in until 5pm! I got a little sunburned, but it made up for the 4 days of rain!

On our last night there we went to Baytowne in Sandestin Resort and used a gift card we had gotten for dinner. We went to Poppy's on the bay and overlooked the marina. Then we walked around the little town, until once again it looked like it would rain.

All in all we had a wonderful trip. We almost canceled in fear of the oil ruining it, but I am so glad we didn't. The oil was present, but the beaches were still open and you could still get in the water. The rain did put a damper on the trip a little, but we made the best of it. It was relaxing and nice to have some time away from work. I can hardly wait until next year!