AXA Awards Banquet

This weekend was the AXA Awards banquet for Dylan's office. He, as usual, received the RBG Associate of the Year for the North Texas Branch as well as making Centurion (surpassing certain #'s). Dylan's parents came in town to see him get his awards and spend some time with us.

Dylan is also the #1 DSF (Developing Sales Force, everyone in their first 5 years) in the NATION! They mentioned it but he didn't get an award for it. He will get recognized and get an award next month when we go to Disney World.

After the awards were given they had a mind reader there named Robert Channing. He was UNBELIEVABLE! Everyone had a note card and we all wrote down the most embarrassing time in our life, any number, a nickname, any question at all, and something else I can't remember. He was blindfolded and his eyes were duct taped. All the cards were in a bowl and he would pick one out, crumple it up and then call out the person and answer their question or tell them what was on the card. I mean I have NEVER seen anything like it before.

Here are some pictures from the Awards... Yeah Dylan for another GREAT year!

Weather

The weather here has been so nice lately. Tuesday it was in the 80's, and has been in the 70's everyday since then! Weather like this gets me all excited about spring and summer. I CAN'T WAIT!

Birth and Birthday!

Today is my Grandpa's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

My cousin Rachel also had her baby today!

So...Welcome Avalin Emma to the World!

Academy Awards

We had an Oscar watching party last night, well kind of. It was just Dylan and I and another couple but it was fun. I don't think I have ever really sat through a whole awards show before. Here are my thoughts after watching last night.

1. I didn't understand why the performances were so lame and from the same movie (Pretty much). I must not have been listening at the beginning because later when they announced the best song in a movie, the nominees were all the musical performances from the show. Good idea on paper, not so much for entertaining purposes.

2. Jessica Alba is not "Glowing" with her pregnancy. She looks awful. Sorry, but she does.

3. Cate Blanchett, now she GLOWS.

4. John Travolta almost slipped and fell on his way to the podium to present an award, then didn't even poke fun of himself for almost falling when he started talking. Like it never happened! It would have been funny if he just mentioned it or something, like when Jennifer Garner almost fell a few years ago. Make fun of your self a little people!

5. John Travolta looks old. And Scientologists are WEIRD!

6. It lasts entirely too long. I fell asleep before the best actor and movie. Had to read about it on the internet today.

7. Whats up with Gary Busey???

8. Tilda Swinton could have at least put on some mascara. I mean it IS The Oscar's and she WAS nominated. Had The Academy known that she was going to show up the way she did, I doubt they would have handed her that award, at least not on live TV!

9. Petra Nemcova...does she just date anyone famous? I mean Sean Penn is not exactly what I would call HOT these days.

10. John Stewart is NOT funny.

11. Can someone explain to me why Jack Nicholson always wheres sun glasses? I'm sure there's a reason, I just can't figure it out. It really looks ridiculous. Like when you see people in a club at night wearing sun glasses when its REALLY dark??? How can they see anything?

12. I'm VERY happy that they allowed Marketa Irglova back out on stage. When she started talking and the music took over, I just thought that was so unfortunate. She gets an Oscar and then doesn't get her 3 seconds of glory?!?! So that was nice they let her come back out to speak.

13. Regis should probably just retire. He was interviewing George Clooney saying how he owns the red carpet every year and owns it and blah blah blah. George corrected him and said, umm, not actually this is only my second year to be here. Regis said, Oh really? then changed the subject.

14. Thought it was nice for Javier Bardem to speak spanish in his speech so his mom could understand him. Very sweet.

15. Kristin Chenoweth is so cute!

16. Loved Penelope Cruises hair, thinking I may do that for the wedding.

17. Cameron Diaz looked great and even made fun of herself while presenting. That's what I'm talking about. You mess up and just laugh about it.

18. Why was P. Diddy there again???

Its All Coming Together

I just got back from a trip to Mexico. I left on wednesday and flew home on saturday. I needed to take care of some more wedding stuff and they had a fare special so I went for it. Everytime I go back I like this place more and more! Its so pretty and has so much to offer.

When we get married we will be staying on a resort, but we will get the best of both worlds. The resort and the local flare. 5th Avenue, which is a well known area for restaurants, bars, shops, etc is a half block up the street from the resort so if you get tired of seeing the same places in the hotel, you can walk around the town a little.

We took care of almost everything while we were there. Just a few things left that I'm hoping we can square away the week before we go. We even had time for a little beach and relaxing. The first time I was there we took the advice of a friend and went to this place called Veronica's and had massages. They were GREAT! So while we were there this time, we had massages...one wach day! $32 for a full body one hor swedish massage! It was great! We layed out for about an hour, I put sun screen on and still got burned a little. Nothing major but Geesh, we were only out for an hour!

Liz's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party

My friend Liz is getting married in April. She lives in Florida and was in town over the weekend. I happen to be in her wedding so 2 other bridesmaids and I threw her a shower and bachelorette party. We had lots of fun! The shower was successful and the night out was even better.

There were a few hiccups in the night but thats expected. We rented a party bus to drive us around and they came late, didn't have ice as agreed on and then didn't know where they were taking us. It was a little frustrating but it all worked out in the end and we all had a MARVELOUS time.

The bride and the hosts at the shower

The Bridesmaids and Flower Girl
Getting ready to head out. Balcony of the hotel room at The W.
On the bus headed out

The Bus Ride1st Stop, Martini Park
Back on the bus, things are starting to get a little rowdy

Stop #2, Ghost Bar Ghost Bar
And...Ghost Bar

Wedding Weekend

Last weekend Dylan was in a friends wedding. The wedding was beautiful and the weather was perfect. The ceremony was outside and it was 70 degrees. Here are some pics from the weekend. We all stayed at The Westin La Cantera so it was really nice to have a whole weekend just hanging out with old friends. Dylan and I have known Casey since elementary school so it was awesome to see him get married.

Loading the bus for the Rehearsal Dinner

Bride and Groom
Casey, Dylan, Robin (Casey's sister), and Scott, the Best Man
The guys before the wedding

Robert, Dylan and I before the wedding

Robert and I at the reception Bride and Groom leaving in a golf cart

Happy Valentine's Day

LeAnn Rimes

Dylans Dad, Uncle and Sister Maddie were in town this weekend. His Dad and sister drove in from Tulsa and Uncle Phill was in town for a GoodYear Conference at The Gaylord Texan.

Dylan wanted to have dinner with Phill friday so we made our way to Grapevine for a nice laid back dinner...so I thought. We get there and realize we are going to the Big Blow-Out Dinner for the conference. The food was great! His Unlce was saying that there was going to be some kind of entertainment, but they keep it pretty hush hush so we sat waiting patiently. A few minutes later they are introducing the entertainer for the evening and out comes LeAnn Rimes. We were in a room with about 2000 people and she is on stage. Dylan, Phill and I walked up to the front of the stage and really enjoyed her performance. She looked great, and her singing was even better.

This is a picture we got from Dylans phone.

It was a pretty good night. We went from having dinner with Phill to an intimate concert with a great singer...Who would have known???

Dylans Dad and sister got in late friday night after we had dinner with Phill. The guys golfed on saturday morning while I worked out then ran some errand with my Mom and Maddie. It was a great weekend and nice to hang with the fam.

I'm really trying to get this workout thing down. I keep looking at the count down for my wedding day and seriously freak out! My goal is to be able to wear a thong on the beach and not even think twice about it. *Grandma...please note that I said "be able to" not that I will actually do it.* But hey wouldn't it feel great to know you could if you ever wanted to. I figure I'm running out of time to be able to have a good figure that you can prance around with. Once you get married and have kids and more kids and only think about kids... Well, your body is out the window by then. Right?

So I go to this guy with a few other girlfriends a couple times a week, we do lots of weights and I don't remember the last time I've been this sore, I mean, the day after a workout I can barely move. But the strange this is I kind of like that. I mean at least I know I got a good work out, right?

I asked Dylan if he could tell a difference at all and he said yes, only because he knows whats best for him. ;o) But he said he can really tell in my attitude as well as my figure. Either way, I feel better and thats what matters, so I'm told.

I'm really going to go with this and work on getting in the best shape of my life. I'll be taking pictures that will stick with me for the rest of my life so I better look good!!! 5 months and 18 days to go...I better get moving!

Birthdays

Dylan and I have both had birthdays recently.

I went out with some girlfriends on Saturday to a place called Mantus. We had fun. Dylan was at a bachelor party that night but later showed up and surprised me.

Sunday we did the family thing and had dinner at my Mom's. She cooked a roast and made a cookie cake for us.

Miami Vice

Dylan and I have been in Florida since last Wednesday. The weather was beautiful! In the 80's and the sun was shinin'. Dylan had some meetings on Wednesday and Thursday so I hung out at the spa, I had a hot stone massage and a manicure, then the pool for the rest of the time.

This is a picture of us outside out back patio at the hotel. We overlooked the canal. It was really pretty and there were lots of HUGE yachts that we would day dream about owning.

I have a friend that lives in the Fort Lauderdale area, which is where we stayed during the week, so we had dinner and drinks on Thursday night with and her fiance.

This was Liz and I walking to a little bar after dinner. Dylan would run in front of us and take a picture, that's why we are laughing.

This is me holding up the number 4. I have no idea why. Dylan would tell me to pose with the number 4 and made fun of me the rest of the trip, just because this one picture.

This was the little trio that was playing music at the bar we went to. It was really good music, Dylan even wrote down there name.

This was me waiting for Dylan to take a picture, but later found out he was recording my weird dance moves. I know what you are thinking, but yes I was sober. When I start laughing is when he gestures to me that he is recording me and not taking a snap shot.

Friday we took the Sun Trolley to the Beach and just hung out pretty much the whole day. I love just reading a book laying on the beach, listening to the waves. Its so relaxing.

Our friend, Robert, who lives in Miami came and picked us up at the hotel Friday night and we went to Miami/South Beach for the rest of the weekend. Its like a whole different world down there. We always enjoy ourselves but its also nice to come home. We hung out at all the hot spots and ate at some really nice places with world renown chefs, I also got a little shopping done on Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive. We really couldn't have had a better time, except for the overweight lady topless on the beach, I could have passed on that, but hey, I guess it could have been worse.

Chris Brown

Dylan and I took the boys to the Chris Brown Concert last night. There were a lot of other performers too...Lil Mama, Soulja Boy, Bow Wow, Sean Kingston, and Hurrincane Chris. The boys had a good time but I think Dylan enjoyed it the most. I love watching the dancing. Very entertaining.

I brought my camera but forgot the memory card in the printer. So I didn't get any pictures. I was not happy. Here are 2 pics I took with my phone.

We went to see Tiffany and the boys today. Dylan looked so cute holding Lincoln.

BANGS and BABIES

Had a hair appointment last night. Had bangs cut. Short ones, not long ones like I sometimes do. I was tired of the same old look but didn't want to get too crazy before the wedding so this will do for now. After the wedding I will do something drastic. Stay tuned...

My girlfriend, Tiffany had her twins today. They were both just under 7 lbs. Can't wait to meet them!

Another Friend, Another Lunch

Had lunch with Tiffany yesterday. She is pregnant with twins and due for a Cesarean tomorrow at noon. Her belly is GIGANTIC and she is still so little and cute. I hope we are never pregnant at the same time and if we are she can not stand near me.

So I was bored at work, kind of like now... And found this article on Brooke Burke's staying fit tips, she is on baby number 4 and has the body of an 18 year old. Well, she works out of course but she swears by this belly wrap thing called Taut, and wears it for 40 days straight after she gives birth, day and night, only takes it off when she gets in the shower. Then I found this thing called b buckle. Its a little snap on belt thing so that you can wear your normal jeans when you are pregnant. This of course depends on how much weight you gain in your legs, but at least the belly issue is eliminated.

Needless to say, I'm getting more excited about kids one day and think that it may not be the end of the world after all!

Today

Had lunch with some girlfriends today, Andrea and Amber. Its nice to see friend during the week.

Andrea sent this to me. Some good points.

Only in America do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

Only in America do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

Only in America do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America .do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

EVER WONDER ....

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Game Night

Saturday night we had 3 other couples over. We played Scene It: Squabble addition (boys vs girls), Catch Phase, and Wii all night long. The last couple left at 3:30am!!! It was a lot of fun. We were a very competitive crowd.

The weather was gorgeous so we had the windows open and the neighbors came over around midnight and asked us to keep it down. OOPS! Welcome to the Neighborhood!

New Years was nice, very low key, we just hung out at the house and played our Wii. Dylan's friend Keith and his wife Beth came over. The guys boxed for about an hour. I could only last about 15 minutes, it really is a good work out. We were sore for a couple days.

Christmas was great, all 3 of them. We had them all at our house, which was nice. We had planned to head to Tulsa but due to the ice storms and Dylan's parents being without electricity for 9 days, they opted to come to Texas. It was nice celebrating Christmas at our house, new house, new traditions, and first Christmas', it was very comforting.



Now that the holidays are over and things are getting back to normal, we are busy with getting more things done to the house, wedding plans, and planning the rest of 2008.



I'm back on the workout band wagon. Not as a New Years Resolution, but because I'm freaking out about getting married in 6 months! I have to look better than anybody else there and I have some hot friends and family!!!