Day 365: December 31, 2011

Happy New Year!! I had a fantastic 2011 and I'm looking forward to 2012! Thanks for reading along with my Year to Remember blog. 2011 certainly was memorable. I enjoyed soaking up every moment of 2011. My theme for 2012 is Make it Count!

For New Year's Eve, I celebrated by having dinner with my mom, Darrell and Grandma at one of our favorite places. Then, I met up with one of my good girl friends, Megan, and we shared a bottle of champagne and then went to a party hosted by one of my oldest friends, Tiffany.


Handsome Frankie wearing a bow tie to celebrate NYE!

Megan and I at the NYE Party!

Tiffany and I at the NYE Party!

Day 351: December 17, 2011

I love the holiday season! One of my favorite things about this time of year are the parties!! This year, the firm holiday party was held at the Ritz in Dallas. I went with my girlfriends and we had a great time!

Day 347: December 13, 2011

Tonight, I hosted Girls Night at my apartment. I made Turkey burgers and sweet potato fries, and served my favorite wine. My girl friends brought the salad and dessert.

We had a great time visiting and catching up before everyone heads out of town to celebrate Christmas. I am so blessed to have amazing girl friends.

Day 310: November 6, 2011

I am thankful for my amazing girlfriends. They always know what I need to hear and when I need to hear it. They always have listening ears and helpful advice. And they're always willing to get frozen yogurt after a bad day.

Day 275: October 2, 2011

I went to Joe T Garcia's in Fort Worth for dinner. There was a bit of a wait, but it was totally worth it. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful Texas 'fall' weather. The food was delicious and the margaritas were amazing.


I'm already looking forward to my next trip!

Day 260: September 17, 2011

I love wine! I've expanded my taste for both red and white wine. I went to Grapefest, a fun wine festival near Dallas, with a few of my girlfriends and we had a blast trying all different types of wine. It was a lovely evening.

Day 241: August 29, 2011

As I travel around the US for work, I've gotten to experience many neat things, like great restaurants, cool (and not so cool) places, and shopping!


I went to my first H&M store in Hollywood, California. I've been to several other since then, including St. Louis and Indianapolis. Dallas finally got an H&M and I've been itching to go! I had the day off work and it was the perfect day to grab one of my girl friends and drag her along as my shopping buddy. Even though it was over 100 degrees outside, I got some cute clothes for fall. Bring on the cooler weather.

Day 233: August 21, 2011

For a fun girls night out, my usual crew of girl friends and I went to the Cock and Bull, more commonly known as C&B. It is a dive bar located in Lakewood.


We enjoyed a couple beers, dinner and each other's company.

Day 230: August 18, 2011

As a special treat this summer, the firm I work for has sponsored a couple happy hours.

It's a nice excuse to have a couple drinks, mingle with coworkers/friends, and enjoy the non-busy season.

Day 227: August 15, 2011

This summer has been filled with time at the pool, good books, time with good friends, good food and plenty of frozen yogurt. It makes the extreme heat more bearable.

Yumi-Licious is yummy indeed. Especially when consumed in the company of good girl friends on a hot summer evening.

Day 212: July 31, 2011

I went on two bike rides this weekend. To beat the record setting Texas heat, we had to start early!


Saturday, I rode with a girl friend, Amy, around the lake twice and up the trail once, for a total of nearly 40 miles.


Sunday, Darrell and I did two laps around the lake for nearly 20 miles, making my weekend total just about 60 miles.

Day 204: July 23, 2011

I may be a Native Texan (and proud of it), but until today I had never floated a river.

We rented tubes from Rockin R' and floated down the Comal River (which may be easily confused with the Gruene River). The river is spring fed, so the water was nice and cool and felt great in the hot Texas heat. It was a ton of fun!

Day 202: July 21, 2011

Happy Birthday Megan!



My good girl friends and I celebrated Megan's birthday by going to Cane Rosso in Deep Elm followed by a night of fun and dancing at The Slip Inn. We had a blast!

Day 199: July 18, 2011

Monday night has become girl's night and TV watching. Last night we tried a new take out place, Angelo's Italian Grill.



We had a large Sausage Pomodora Pizza and Baked Ziti with Meatballs, and of course wine and dessert. We were happy, and well fed ladies.

Day 192: July 11, 2011

On Monday, a few of my closest girl friends and I got together to watch TV, drink wine, eat Vietnamese food, and enjoy delicious dessert. Needless to say, we had a fantastic evening, full of laughs.

We watched Shameless and Weeds.

Day 191: July 10, 2011

I got into running during busy season 2010. I don't love running as much as I love biking, but I've made amazing friends through the sport. This weekend, I attended a farewell party for one of my dearest running buddies; Joel and his wife are moving out east for a new job opportunity.

I ran my first half marathon March 28, 2010- the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll in Dallas.

I've since ran two more, one in Disney World, October 2010, the Inaugural Wine and Dine Half Marathon.


And the 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Dallas on March 27, 2011. Four days before my client issued its financial statements.

Due to a challenging busy season, I had very little time to train for my third half marathon. Joel offered to 'bandit' the course and run the first 8 miles with me, even though he ran a full marathon just a week before. He kept me on pace and entertained for the first 8 miles. He snapped the picture of me above around mile 7. My next 5.1 miles were certainly quieter, and far less enjoyable. Nonetheless, I finished the race. And went to work the next day, with very sore legs. I'll miss running with Joel.

I'm planning to run my fourth half marathon on March 25, 2012.

Day 190: July 9, 2011

One of my dear friends, Lauren, is a horse trainer at a barn in the DFW area. She absolutely loves her job. She was in a horse show competition on Saturday, and a few of my girl friends decided to go to the show and support her. It was my first horse show experience.

Lauren looked like a natural. Her love for animals and her job is refreshing.

Day 184: July 3, 2011

On Sunday, I had a few of my girlfriends over to celebrate the Fourth of July. We worked on our tan at the pool, sipped on cocktails and indulged in delicious dips and tasty treats! To top off the day, we watched Addison's Kaboom town firework show. What a great day!

Day 152: June 1, 2011

Today, I went for nearly a 3 mile run down Katy Trail after work.




I made a pit stop at Katy Trail Ice House. This is a great place to meet friends, enjoy a beer or Sangria and relax after work or after a run (or both!). I went back in April and have been back several times since.

Day 113: April 23, 2011

On Saturday, I went for a 46 mile bike ride with a few cycle friends, it was the last big ride before MS 150!



This was a new route for me, down through Mesquite and Sunnyvale and back up to Dallas. It was a good ride.