bill flies an airplane

For those that don't know. My husband is in flight school to get his pilots license. He's been working on this for several months now. He typically gets up early in the morning to meet his instructor and fly. On Thursday he flew by himself for the first time. He sent this email to me and his family after the flight...

"Quick update on my training.

I wasn't able to fly for 3 weeks because of the usual issues. But yesterday I went back up for 2hrs with my instructor and did 8 or so full stops at 52F. The winds were crossing the runway so my CFI stayed in the plane and it was a great experience. A few planes working in the pattern and it was fun to watch everyone navigate with the wind. With my confidence back up I was given permission to fly solo this morning from ADS to 52F.

I arrived early at the baby bird this morning and waited until 7:00 to taxi out. The winds were 10@330 so I took of on runway 33 behind all the big planes. Its a different perspective going that way but it made my trip to 52 F a little bit shorter. As I climbed above 1200msl the winds really picked up and I could tell I was going to have to crab into the wind to go out above Lake Lewisville. My indicated airspeed was 120mph but I was probably only doing 100mph because of the headwind.

I have never landed on runway 35 at 52F so I did some more thinking about that on the way over. As I entered the pattern I couldn’t help but think about the trees at the end of 35 but they were easily cleared with only 20 degrees of flaps. My airspeed was right at 65mph on final so I didn't see the need let out more flaps. The ground effect was pretty strong and the little bird floated down 1/2 the runway before landing. I had to fight the urge to drop the nose and bounce it so just listened to the whine of the stall horn as I coasted down the runway.

As I taxied I could see the weather rolling in, so I made the decision to not shoot any more landings at 52F. I was concerned about the winds continuing to pick up and possibly shifting across the runway. As I left 52F it turned out to be a good decision because the winds were definitely picking up. As I flew over the lake I could see some white caps that weren't there before. As I came back over the lake I got handed back to ADS tower and they asked me to make a left downwind for 33. My only experience landing on 33 has been to make a right traffic pattern over the tollway and those large buildings. I definitely like the left pattern better. It was easy to pick up the runway on final and I felt like the runway had a tracker beam drawing me to the numbers. I did a no flaps landing and was asked to expedite my runway exit for some waiting traffic behind me. No doubt they were going faster than me so I scooted out of the way.

I always laugh when the 150 comes peddling in as some biz jet is sitting idling at the hold short line. I always wonder if those pilots would trade places to go pleasure flying in a 50 yr old C150 instead of jockeying around grumpy customers. Being able to fly out of ADS is a privilege I hope isn't taken away from us."

He is really enjoying this new challenge and I am just praying for his safety. :)

what i'm loving wednesdays

I am loving Fall TV shows starting back up! It's almost a little overwhelming. There are so many new shows I want to try out, then there are the shows that I've been watching for the past 10 seasons. Let me fill you in on some of my favs...

The Rachel Zoe Project. Who doesn't love RZ? I die. This season she is without her trust sidekick Brad, but she is preggers and still full of personality. She has a new clothing line coming out, and I basically want it all. Too bad it's all WAY out of my price range. Ba.Na.Nas.

Another fav is Modern Family. This show is seriously hilarious. This is one show that the husband and I actually enjoy watching together. I typically have to DVR all my shows and watch them after he goes to bed. When Modern Family is on, I know that is something we both enjoy.

Some other favorite fall shows are, Desperate Housewives. I started watching this when it first started, and rumor has it that this is the last season. This show has had its ups and downs, I think ending it this season is probably needed. Some of the plot lines have gotten a little strange, but I do still love all the characters. Another fav is, Grey's Anatomy. I've been watching this one since it began too. I have a feeling it could be coming to an end as well. I just can't help but love the drama week to week.

There are several new shows I've wanted to catch this season. All of them comedy's. First is 2 Broke Girls. This premiered on Monday, but I missed it. I've heard nothing but good reviews on this one. Also, The New Girl. I did actually watch this one. It was just ok. I am going to give it another episode to make up my mind if I want to continue watching. The acting was just sub-par. And finally, Up All Night. I missed the first episode of this one too, but caught the second episode tonight. It was pretty funny. I like these 30 minute sitcoms.

Now all we need is some fall temps outside to go with the fall shows! Happy Wednesday!

tasty tuesday: so much to share

I've been real behind on my Tasty Tuesday posts, so I have several things to share with y'all. Lets jump right in!

First up is Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken. I've really been trying to utilize the crock pot a little more lately. The crock pot is one of the best inventions ever. I would hug the neck of the person who came up with it. I'm convinced it was a really smart woman. I digress. So, this is one of the best crock pot recipes I've ever made. Super simple, and you can cook it on high for about 5 hours and it's all done. I used Mexican rice instead of white rice. It came out more like a gumbo, but it was super delish. I topped it off with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese. YUM!

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Up next is Chicken Roll Ups. Again, a super easy recipe to throw together. I can see this being a big hit when I have kiddos running around wanting dinner ASAP. But until then, the husband approved it and that is all that matters. I used the jumbo crescent rolls, instead of the small ones. That means you get to add more of the yummy goodness into the inside. This is a picture of my chicken roll ups, but here is the link to the recipe.

Chicken Roll Ups

Ok, finally I made these amazing Asian Chicken Lettuce Cups. Who doesn't love Pei Wei lettuce wraps? Well, these are pretty darn close. Did I mention healthy? When I got finished making these, my initial thought was, "Bill is soooo not gonna enjoy this!" Well, I was wrong. He went back for seconds. WHOA! Next time I'm going to make some brown rice to go along with it to complete the meal. PS: the recipe calls for turkey, but I used ground chicken.

Asian Lettuce Cups

So y'all know they say the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach? Well, these are all hubby approved recipes, so I highly recommend them. Have yall been watching Pioneer Woman's new show on Food Network? This post makes me think of one of her latest episodes, "Lad Approved Meals." Sometimes its hard to please the husband with your cooking, and for the most part I've been lucky, but when he goes back for seconds you know it's a success. My heart always flutters a little when he asks for more. A wife's job well done. :)

emmy style - top 5

Confession: I didn't even watch the Emmy's this year. I just can't get into awards shows. However, I do try to pay attention to the fashion. Here are my top 5 looks from the 2011 Emmy Awards...

5)Katie Holmes- She isn't her usual polished self, and I sorta like that. She caught a lot of grief for the fact that she wasn't very glammed up, almost dressed down, but the simplicity of the look makes me like it even more. I love the color, and the simple belt to go along with it.

4)Lea Michele- There was A LOT of red on the carpet this year. I mostly liked the back to her dress. I would have liked this dress even more if it had a longer train. Then again, it might have been too much with the big shoulders, low back, and train. Either way, it was a lovely dress.

3)Cat Deeley- Gotta love the glitter. I definitely would have worn my hair in a different way. Glam it up girl!

2)Evan Rachel Wood- This dress reminds me of my mother's original Barbie Doll, and the fancy evening gown it game with. It looked perfect on her.

1)Nina Dobrev- And, my favorite of the night. This beautiful red gown with amazing structural details. I wish I had somewhere to wear this!

Happy Monday!

weekend wrap up

Weekends seem to fly by these days. With all the football I have to watch, errands to run, and projects to get done around the house, the weekend just feels like a big blur. Now I'm sitting here watching Sunday night football and listening to the thunder, thinking how I can't believe it's already time for another work week! Good news is, Monday's after a Cowboy victory are much more enjoyable than if we've lost.

We're actually celebrating two wins this weekend. The Razorbacks played Troy on Saturday night. Bill took my Dad with him Saturday morning to head to Fayetteville for the game. I stayed home since I've been gone the past 2 weekends. I painted the second guest bedroom, did some re-decorating of the guest bath, made a much needed trip to Ikea, and of course watched football. The Cowboys played San Fran and won in overtime. It was a stressful game, but thank goodness they pulled it out. Unfortunately, we came out with several injuries.

I thought I would take the time to give y'all an update on our child... Lucy dog. She is a funny creature. She loves her crate. It is her safe spot. She has an old pillow of ours, and she positions herself at the very back of the crate, and snuggles herself into the pillow. Sometimes in the mornings, its hard to tell if she is even in there. Speaking of mornings, she is not a morning dog. Guess she takes after her momma. She's typically pretty grumpy in the mornings. It takes a miracle to get her to do her business. She is very protective of us. She barks at every car, person, or leaf that blows by the front of our house. She is the most ferocious dog that is scared of her own tail. Yup, she is scared of anything that is out of the ordinary. Most of all, she is terrified of trash trucks. Friday's are not good days for her at our house. She is definitely a baby though. She loves to cuddle with me on the couch, and she gets more attention than any pet I know. We love our little pup.

Hope everyone has a great week!

catch up: football has begun

oh my goodness. I am so behind on the blog. I've been out of town the past two weekends, and my weeks have been super busy. I wasn't kidding when I said things get busy when football season starts. Two weekends ago Bill and I traveled to Fayetteville, AR for the Razorback's season opener. It was over Labor Day weekend, so we got to enjoy a long weekend with all of our friends. We got into town Friday evening and hung out with friends at an old college hangout. Then Saturday we woke up and had breakfast and got ready for a long day of tailgating. We split our time between some of my friends tailgate and Bill's friends tailgate. The weather wasn't too hot, so it was a perfect way to kick off the football season.

Me with my bestest friends, Michelle and Carla

Old and new friends.

Me and Lori tailgating

Me and Bill before the game

The Razorbacks won but we were all so tired from being out all day tailgating, that we just hung out at Cory's house after the game. On Sunday we woke up and headed to Beaver Lake with Cory and Amber. We met at a friend of theirs lake house to enjoy the day. Unfortunately the weather changed overnight, and it was cold and windy. We enjoyed the day anyways, and stayed the night at the lakehouse.

Since Monday was Labor Day and I took Friday off, I had a quick 3 day week and traveled to Little Rock. I drove down on Thursday night after work by myself. On the drive up, I hit a raccoon on the interstate! It was a raccoon on steroids in my opinion. I decided not to pull over, since I was alone and on a dark interstate. When I woke up the next morning, I found some damage to my brand new car. Bummer! It isn't too bad, but still upsets me a lot.

On Friday, I spent the day with my mom helping her get things ready for a bridal shower we threw on Sunday. Friday night I spent the night over at my best friend Lori and Trevor's house. We stayed up getting all the tailgate food prep done and dancing in the kitchen to our favorite college rap songs. I know, so corny. Bill came down Friday afternoon and went straight to the farm to spend time with his family.

Saturday morning, we got up super early to get ready to leave for the tailgate. We got to the golf course by 7:30am! All the girls rode together, as tradition, and the boys followed. We spend the entire day moving from tailgate to tailgate to see all of our friends. It was super fun, as always! I love LR tailgating. It's taking tailgating to a whole new level.

All the girls at the tailgate. Such a wonderful group of ladies.

On Sunday, mom and I finished the preparations for the shower we were throwing. It began at 1pm and it was lovely. It was good to see some people who I have not seen in a while. After the shower and helping clean-up I got on the road back to Dallas. While the shower was going on, Bill and my step-dad went to play golf.

So, that has been my last two weekends. Football. There is another game in Fayetteville this weekend, but I'm sending my dad in my place with Bill. I just couldn't be gone 3 weekends in a row. I have plenty to do around this house to get ready for fall and the Texas A&M game. We will have lots of company at our house, and want it to be perfect.

Cowboys Kickoff Luncheon

This week has been a whirlwind! We had our annual managers meeting at work. We bring all 30 plus managers of our Pro Shops into town for a couple of days to talk about the upcoming season, and have a little fun. For the past couple weeks, I've been an assistant buyer/event planner. It was quite rewarding to see the meeting go smoothly, or as smoothly as it possibly could, and that the managers all had a good time. We all met at the stadium for the 1st day. The buying team got to do our presentation that day. We like to have fun, so we came up with a trivia game for them. After the meeting we took everyone to Hard Eight BBQ. I haven't talked much about Hard Eight on the blog, it deserves a post all to itself, but its basically the best BBQ that you can imagine. Then after dinner we all went bowling. It was tons of fun hanging out with all our awesome managers.

The second day we met at our offices. For lunch, all the managers were invited to attend the annual Cowboys Kickoff Luncheon.


This is a pretty special event to get invited to. Actually, most people have to pay for tickets to attend. It is a big benefit for a charity near and dear to the Cowboys and Jones family, Happy Hill Farm Academy. At the event they announced the entire team of players and coaches. They gave away annual awards to players, and coach Garrett and Mr. Jones spoke to get everyone exited about the upcoming season. It was pretty exciting to be around all these people, including past and present players.

Working in this business it is easy to get acclimated, and accustomed to being at events like these, or being around players, coaches, and just Cowboys in general. But, there is always that feeling way down deep inside that is screaming and jumping up and down for joy and excitement when I get to attend something like this. Everyday I wake up, I get to say I work for the Cowboys. I work for the Jones family. I wake up every day and have to earn my Star just like the 'Boys on the field. (cheesy I know) I hope I never take what I have for granted when it comes to this job. It has truly been a blessing, and it is exciting every day to go to work and be a part of the Dallas Cowboys.

What's next? Well, Bill and I are headed to Fayetteville for the Razorbacks season opener! Lost of pics to come next week!