"GFBF"

“Wine is part of the food chain it makes meals”

We had our first dinner club meeting and I think it went really well. It was Friday December 2, 2011 at The Egyptian Campisis in Dallas on Mockingbird Lane. The idea just kind of hit me out of nowhere one Sunday afternoon. I remember one of my friends telling me about something she is part of that is similar to this. Everyone had such a great time all hanging out at a concert we went to a few months back and kept on commenting about all getting together more often. It just so happen Jason and I were trying to get a dinner date on the calendar to go out with some friends that had never been to Campisis.  Then we thought of other friends that we should invite because we had not seem them in awhile and well one thought led to another and here we are.

It is the First Friday of every month; we will go to different cities and invite everyone. Jason came up with the club name GFBF “Good Friends Better Food”.  I thought it had a jingle and was witty enough. I felt a little corny calling it a club, but it is easy and that is what I wanted this to be. I originally emailed all my girl friends and said three strikes and you are kicked out. This means if you RSVP yes and then do not show up you will get a strike. It is so third grade and I love it. I do not want to make reservations for 10 and only have 3 show up. There is an evite that goes out that I use to inform everyone of our next location which I take from suggestions. I also use the invite to figure out how many people will attend, so I can make a proper reservation.

The next dinner is already on the calendar and everyone is looking forward to it. There will be some returning and some new faces. It will be interesting to see the success rate as time goes on. I hope people keep coming and inviting more. I think it is a great way to network.  I found great joy in seeing people exchange numbers and becoming new face book friends.

Next outing will be to one of my all time favorite places in Arlington. Campo Verde this was Kyle’s idea and I think everyone is going to be pleasantly surprise with the atmosphere. This place rocks!

http://www.campoverde.us/

I will keep you posted on the progress. Please let me know if you are involved in something like this. I would love to hear suggestions and other ideas.

My first autographed book

I wrote a post awhile back with the letter I had sent to Ms. Handler hoping she would sign and return the books. To my surprise the books were signed and she even picked up the extra postage.  I could not believe it. It was like my birthday all over again. I made sure to stay true to my roots and like a good Ole Fashioned Southern girl I mailed her a thank you card and for the fun of it placed this picture in it. I figure Chelsea might appreciate some Texas made Vodka. I wonder who the lucky person will be that gets the second book. Maybe I will keep both of them for myself. 

This is proof that you never know what you may get if you do not try for it.

Chelsea you rock!

31

I must look back over the last year and see what I spent my grand year of 30 doing.  It went by quickly, but I felt like I did a lot as well. I think this is a good sign, because I must have lived in the moment for some of it.  I feel as though I have truly learned how to appreciate, want and need some alone time. It has taken me a long time to get to this point, but it sure does feel good.

The most important for me this year is that I GOT A JOB!!!! I spent 29 and 30 being either unemployed or in a temporary position. It was awful and I could not be more excited. I took Friday the 21st off and spent the day shopping, hanging with some old friends and going to Wills Point's homecoming football game. 

Let me see what I can come up with before I go back and look at photos, read blogs or check calendars. I know that I got 14 inches cut off my hair and donated it. That felt good, but I really miss my long hair. Since then I have not colored my hair and for the first time since I do not know when find out what my natural hair color is. It has been a grueling process, but I think by next year I will be there. I joined a gym and got a two year membership. We have worked out a lot. I am ubber proud of us. I took my first cycling and zumba class. I got to travel a few times to some new places. Kemah, Houston, New Orleans, St. Louis and Costa Rica. I really kicked off babysitting on the side and made a few extra thousand dollars. I went to the Dallas Arboretum for my first time. I scratched a handful of things off of my bucket list. Like ziplinning, traveling to a a few remote locations and a few things I did not know that I would enjoy so much. Chocolate massages and swimming in Volcanic water. They would have been on the list for sure.  I joined a few clubs and organizations that I have been wanting to do for some time now.  I got rid of some stuff in a yard sale. I hope to get another one going next year. We made it to church a lot more than I have in the past few years 

Okay, so let me look back on the calendar and see what stands out enough to be “blog” worthy.  I found out I have “runner knee” and it has hindered me from being able to run more than two miles. It makes me very sad. I was getting involved in a lot of runs, we were doing fun runs, we did the St. patty’s day 5-K, the Katy Trail 5-K, the Warrior Dash 5-K and the Dublin Dr. Pepper. They were fun while they lasted until I wound up getting an MRI done on my knee cause the pain was too much. I think this is why I found myself in the gym. I managed to make it through almost all my close friends momunemtal turning 30 birthday’s. I have a couple that are a little younger, but for most of them it was our year. That seems enough for now. 

I feel like I should also cover the things that did not go so well this year. The first one being the bad car accident my little brother was in. That same accident also shut what little communication I had with my immediate family off completely. The most devastating part of it all was the relationship between my little brother and I is no more.  Sometimes I think when I can not be hardened anymore there is a something else to put me in my place. Jason’s bike and computer got stolen at my place. His computer, well he left the car door unlocked, but his bike they straight up sniped the cord and took it.

The things I am thankful  for my health, no sickness so far. I am thankful for my friends, my boyfriend and my happiness in life. We know I am so thankful for my new job I can not even find words to describe it. I am thankful for being able to travel, life and my car. That may sound strange, but I see people walking, waiting for busses and riding bikes in the cold and I always think to myself how thankful I am for my car.

The things I hope for in 31. More church, working out, debt paid off, travel, success at work, organization involvement and happiness throughout. 

 October Rooftop Hotel Joule

November The Mauldin's Lake House

December The Mauldin's Lake House

Januray Sunset Lounge Girls Night Out

Feburary My Place

March Greenville Ave

April Bastrop, TX

May Byron Nelson

June The Mauldin's Lake House

July Kemah, TX

August The Rainforest

September Richardson, TX

Pinterest

Oh how we have fallen in love with this website. It has certainly motivated me to do several things. I would like to try and note them along the way. I came across this sandwich that is made of all things I love, so I thought I must try it. I made a trip to the farmers market, where I used my new green bags that I ordered, because I found them on Pinterest and use them all the time. Everyone should have some.

Inspiration 

Monday's Lunch 

I did not document Tuesday, but it was just as good!

Wednesday's Lunch

I ordered some of these off of Amazon. I got them all for under 10.00 dollars (that included shipping) and I already feel like I have got more than that out of them. A great purchase for sure!

I also made these cute little things to take to a tailgate for a football game. I found it hard to get everything inside them. They tend to get a little soggy, so I think make them when you are going to serve them right away. People loved them and I enjoyed making them, so I guess that is all that matters. 

I was given a case of mason jars for my birthday. That and all the pickle and jelly jars I have been saving there is no telling what I will be making. I have a few other projects on my to do list as well. I can not wait to get started. Only down fall about this site is that it makes me want to get married, get a house and have babies! I love to share with others, so they can get crazy addicted like me. Cheers to happy pining. 

While I am at it, here are just a few of the thousands of quotes I have picked up from there as well. 

 If you want something you have never had. You must be willing to do something you never have.

We are responsible for our own feelings. 

Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but takes you nowhere. 

Thank you Pinterest for helping me feel insanely creative even though I have just been sitting at my computer for the last 3 hours. 

Ha, I will say that I can not get to everything that I want to do, but I have started somewhere and that is half the battle. Thank you Kylie for introducing me to this delightful web page. More things to come.

Costa Rica = Picture Time

I realized that I wrote a huge blog about Costa Rica, but I never placed any pictures. Probably because there were like a thousand of them (literally). I have decided to challenge myself. I can only pick two pictures per day and I am allowed two extras. So, here we go.

We walked up to the crater of the Paos Volcano. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but it looked like it went on forever. I feel as though I compare to a bird in the sky. The cloud cleared out , we took some photos. I was a bit surprised to see how quickly it went from clear to the air being completely covered with cloud. They say there are people that come and never get to see past the clouds. We were thankful that we got to actually see inside the volcano. We headed on our way to see the inactive crater that was now filled with water. It was a mile or so away. When we first made it up there we could not see a thing. It was filled with white. We ventured off to have fun taking some "jungle like" photos to appease the adventure in me and when we came back down the walk path we saw the most beautiful site ever. 

Surprised

I felt like this is something that you would see in Hawaii. Besides the fact that you can not even touch this water. It was the most magical experience ever. If the clouds had not moved on we would have never seen this. Now, I did not know what beautiful site I would have missed out on either, but the shock that ran through my veins was the epitome of what Costa Rica has to offer. Nature is amazing and I saw the changes take place so quickly right before my eyes.

Miracle

This is not necessarily my favorite picture as much as it is on of my favorite moments. They are loading our luggage up on that bad boy. We are water bound for the entire weekend. I have always wanted to travel to a place you can not transport via car. I was so excited and could not wait to hop on. Pachira here we come! Suspenseful 

These guys were everywhere. They entertained me the entire time. Especially this big fat one that had a hole close to the front door of our cabin. I could scare him back in every time we came in and out. It was kind of like having a wild pet.

Fiction

The Howler monkey was so much fun. Adrian our boat tour guide would rev up the motor while we were on our canal cruises to drive them mad. You could holler out a ew ew ew and they would reply. 

Theatrical

I took a picture of another random boat out in the canal doing a cruise. It was rather far away, but I was trying to grasp in a photo what I was actually feeling in our little tour boat. You were just completely and totally surrounded with more green than you can even imagine. There would be a glimpse of light shining through the tops of the trees or breaking in through branches. It was surreal. You, the group, all the plants and wildlife everywhere. All I can compare it to is a dream. 

Untouchable

Pools and Pools of water starting from the top and working there way down. They range in temperatures too hot to stand in to some that you will never want to get out of the. The pools are natural volcanic sprung fed. Miracle

This rain/thunderstorm was scary. I have not stood out in such a hard, cold, solid pouring down rain before. It will start out of nowhere. It will come for a little bit and then be gone. I love the rain and was excited for a little bit, but then when the lighting was striking pretty frequently and sounded so loud I hesitated movement.  Freighting.

 

Chocolate massages were pretty awesome. I can not wait to get another one.

Luxury 

I am adding this picture just because this was the main highlight of going to La Fortuna was to see the Arenal Volcano. This is a huge tourist attraction for Costa Rica. I personally felt it was just too big to grasp. If that makes sense. It was far away and without being any closer It was hard to take it for real. 

Massive

You never know what piece of beautiful you may see just from turning around the corner. We were dinning at some special place and I decided to just take a peak around the trees off the typical path and stumbled upon this beautiful flowing river. 

Noisy

This is the view of are patio while looking out to the ocean. It is by far one of the most luxurious hotels I have ever stayed in. It was beautiful, but a little too off path for me. The place seemed almost ghost town like. Quiet

Sunset 

Amazing

Daytime

Flawless

Bubble bath tub while watching a huge flat screen. 

Flawless

The night view of our 5-Star stay. 

Brite

Here we go trapping off in to the rain forest to get even closer than I even imagined. The sound of the animals being enclosed by the trees will make you question reality or science-fiction.

Fun

There were so many different bodies of water. They ranged from different colors to flows to temperatures. I had no idea there could be so many varieties in one vacation. This was one we saw from the bus window. Interesting

Ugly

This took place right before my eyes. This was out in the wild.  I can still hear the sound from the force of the chomp.

Crazy

The map of the places traveled. 

Smarter

If I ever feel I want to escape the day at my desk I will just open the files and start looking at the pictures again. I know that we were so lucky to be able to go and I do not ever want to take it for granted. It warms my heart every time I mention that I went to Costa Rica because, of the response from the person I am telling. It is an instant reminder to me of how lucky I am.

My journey with pills

I go to open my pill bottle this morning to retrieve my daily multi-vitamin and giggle as I look at the variety of colors I have. I stop and think about where the pill bottle in my purse started and where it is now. When I was in my youth to my early 20's I refused to take pills. It did not matter if it was Advil, birth control or even a vitamin. I hated trying to swallow them. I could tolerate the pain and I just did not like pills. I find it hard to believe that now I am looking down and see at least five different kinds.

I think it was in my mid 20's when I started carrying around some Tylenol. It was not even for me. I started noticing people always asking for some. I compared it to a band-aid; it cannot hurt to have some. I enjoy being able to help others when needing something, so it was now a staples in the items I carried in my purse. Then I noticed that no one would ever want my Tylenol. They preferred Advil or aleve.  You cannot blame a girl for trying. I realized if I wasn't going to take it then there wasn't really any need to be carrying Tylenol around. I could not really figure out the difference in when people wanted Advil or Aleve, so I carried both. I think it is fair to say it was not until the age of 29 or 30 when I learned the difference in these two. I have also observed how many friends needed pills for heartburn, indigestion and gas. At the beginning of last year I also started getting an allergy and was introduced to Zyrtec (aka a miracle pill) is a saving grace when needed. I never knew when I was going to need one, so that was my first pill to carry that I needed and wanted. Thank goodness it is an itty bitty thing. It is very easy for me to swallow.

Now when I open my pill bottle I have an assortment of pills in there. There are my vitamins, Zyrtecs, Allegra Ds, Aleves, Advils, Imodiums and Benadryls. Sometimes I will put some fruit and veggies pills in there as well. Since I don't have the heartburn and indigestion I think I will have to just let me friend suffer or fend for themselves. There seems to be a variety of those medicines and they have preferences in which ones to take for what as well.  

I remember a long time ago one of my friends said to me, if something is wrong and you can take a pill to make it better, why not do that? I found myself contemplating this statement she had made for years and even still to this day. I am a little better about taking pills. I try to take vitamins however; I really prefer the chewy kind. I will still wait out a headache or cramps, but if they hurt badly enough and I don’t want to deal with them I will not hesitate taking the pills. My nose drives me so crazy that as soon as it happens I will always grab the Zyrtec. It probably helps the fact that it is so small.

I think I have the basics covered in the bottle. I wonder what the ages 30 to 40 will bring to the mix. Maybe I will need some Tums, Rolaids, Gas-X, Beano or that bottle with the white liquid in it. Maalox I think it is called. Ha, who knows? I will be thankful for what I have for now, hopeful there isn't more and laugh at what people may think when they see me dump out an assortment of pills when looking for the one I want.

Anticipation

This weekend is going to be a jolly good time. I am sitting here at the factory eagerly waiting for the 5:00 whistle. I am interested to see if what I anticipate at this moment for the weekend will be what actually happens. 

After work I am heading home to meet J. We will go to the gym and sweat our fat out. Maybe not all of it, but more than we would if we didn’t go at all. It amazes me how much weight he has lost and I am still at the same exact digit we started. Oh well at least I haven’t gone up a number I suppose. After workout we will pick up some Subway for dinner or some sort of sandwich or maybe we will get manicures and pedicures and then something to eat. How this plays out will depend on time all together.

Saturday morning will be for baking. Maybe we do some baking on Friday night and then Manicures and Pedicures on Saturday. Yeah, that sounds like a better bet. I hope to get a little workout in on Saturday. If my package arrives at his house we will make a quick run over there to pick up. I did a little online shopping this week.  Then we will get ready and head to the SMU game. I am excited because I didn’t get to make last weeks. I hope the weather is nice.

Sunday, we will go to Church and then have lunch. I was thinking that we may be able to go to the movie and finally see The Help. We have been trying to see that for the past three weekends now. We shall see if it happens or not.

Here is to some good baking, a win for SMU, a weekend workout session and a movie.