N is For...

New.

Well dear friends, it's been a while hasn't it? A new month meant new changes in my life and I've been a busy bee trying to deal with them all. But now that I have a free minute, I think it's time I shared the news!

First thing's first, I got a field promotion. What's that you ask? Well, it basically means that I now have a ton more responsibility, but no increase in pay. Ugh. Yay! I am now the acting senior on an audit and am basically in charge of running the ship. Most days I feel like I was thrown in the deep end without my floaties, but I'm slowly learning to swim. Hopefully one of these days I'll get the hang of it!

I relate to this kid.  Only I don't wear goggles to work.

And while I'm busy being the big boss man, Ben is preparing for his last day at the firm. Yep, he accepted a new job at a recruiting firm and is making a big career switch. It's going to be a change for sure, but I think he's going to be awesome at his new job. And if you know anyone looking for an accounting or finance position in the Dallas area, let me know and I'll pass their info on to him!

Like I said, new changes going on around here. But I'm hoping things will slow down soon, once we both get adjusted to our new roles, and I can have more time to do the things I want to do [like blog!].

M is For...

Mexico.

Exactly 3 months from today I will touch down in Puerta Vallarta for 7 days and 6 nights of relaxation. As I plan to spend 90% of my time there in a swim suit, I think it's about time I whipped this post-busy season body back into shape. I've slowly been getting myself reacquianted with the gym this week and am pretty proud of my two workouts thus far. I spent some time on the elliptical, pumped a little iron, did a few situps and ended it with lunges and squats [can't ignore that tushy!]. While I don't think I'm off to a bad start, I'm clearly not very creative [or knowledgable] when it comes to working out.

What exercises do you do to get ready for beach season? Any workouts in particular you think I should try?

L is For...

Luck of the Irish.

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, but here in Dallas we celebrated the holiday on Saturday with the annual Greenvile Ave. St Patty's Day parade. For those of you unfamiliar with this parade, let me break it down for you. It's basically the one day a year the city of Dallas pulls the giant stick out of its ass [pardon my French] and lets its green-clad citizens run rampant in the streets. The day begins with a parade that literally any one can sign up to be in. The "floats" are mostly trailers or old buses that are covered in green banners. Overweight men and semi-naked women ride the floats and throw beads, candy and the occasional koozie [if you're lucky] to the parade-goers. After the parade everyone heads south to the block party, where drinking and dancing in the streets is not only legal, but highly encouraged.

I began my St. Patty's day morning with the half-mile trek to Greenville, mimosa in hand. Not having eaten yet that morning, I decided it was probably a good idea to get some food in my belly. Naturally a state fair-esque corndog was my meal of choice. And let me tell you, it was delicious.

Nom noms.

Having sufficiently satisfied my appetite, we set up camp along the parade route. Despite the fact that not a single thing about St. Patrick's day screams "family activity," there are always hoards of small children running around. We did our best to get a spot away from the rugrats, so that we could focus on the real goal of the parade: catch as many beads and koozies as possible. We were mildly successful in this mission, coming out with a couple strings of beads each and one koozie amongst our group.  Growing tired of the parade and running low on alcohol, we decided it was time to journey forth. We began our walk down to the block party, stopping to pick up much needed libations along the way.

For an entire day filled with drinking, I got a LOT of exercise.

Once we arrived at the block party, Amanda and I decided it was time to kick things up a notch.


Yes, that's right, we went straight for double-fisting.

After we spent some time hanging out at the block party, the boys decided it was time to leave.  Amanda and I decided it was time to dance.  This decision was strongly influenced by the delcious margaritas some nice ladies offered us on their way out.

Our spastic dance moves drew quite the crowd.

Once we got our fill of whipping our hair back and forth [a dance move I came to regret the next day...my poor neck], we finally gave in to the boys and made the long trek home, where I promptly passed out and took a 4 hour nap.  Despite my utter confusion when I awoke at 8:15 pm, it was a fabulous day.  Here's to you St. Patrick!