Weekend Wrap-Up

This past weekend Kelly and I both had places to be so we decided to divide and conquer.

Friday Kelly headed out of town after work with Thad, Wes, and Ryan to go to their college roommate, Neill's, wedding in San Antonio. They stopped in Austin on the way down to spend the night with Thad and Wes' uncle. From what I could get out of Kelly, they had a great time together and enjoyed the wedding. I had Friday afternoon off so I made a quick stop at Hobby Lobby to load up on crafting supplies (1/2 off! Woo Hoo!) and then headed to my parents house to spend the afternoon with my Mom and brother, and then my Dad (and Cooper) joined us for dinner.

Saturday I was so excited about my trip to New York that I woke up at 7:00 am and got busy cleaning the house and packing. I managed to sweep, vacuum, do the dishes, take Cooper on a walk, shower, and pack all by 10:00 am!

Our flight to NYC left at noon and was definitely one of the most exciting SWA flights I've ever been on. Since it was a ferry flight, there were no paying passengers on our aircraft. It was all SWA Employees heading to the Big Apple to help kick off our service at LaGuardia International Airport (LGA.)

Michelle and I as we talk across the aisles...

Monica and I after we'd changed into our LGA opening shirts for the photo op as we exited the plane...

A view from the cockpit... (They left the cockpit door open the entire flight so we could go up and look at all those controls!!)

Finally above NYC...

Getting closer...

And closer...

We FINALLY landed! Southwest is now in New York City!

As we taxied to the gate, the NYC FD welcomed us with a water arch...

Here's a view from inside the plane...

What a wet welcome...

All the Employees welcoming the ferry flight...(don't you LUV their yellow shirts?!)

Once we landed we grabbed our bags and headed to our hotel (which was in a great location at 39th and 6th.) Before we all headed to dinner, we stopped by to see the famous Southwest Porch at Bryant Park (just a stones throw from our hotel.) The last time I was in Bryant Park was when I was in high school and we were in NYC for a choir mission trip. It was such a crazy feeling being back there almost 10 years later on a work trip.

The Southwest Porch was one of the many ways we celebrated our entrance into the New York market. Fitted with tons of Southwest decor, the porch provided sandwiches from 'wichcraft and even had a special ale brewed specifically for Southwest Airlines.

Here's a quick pic of Times Square. No matter where you turned, Michael Jackson was sure to be seen or heard.

Sunday Morning was our official kick off for service in the city. I had to be at the airport by 5:30 AM! Yikes. The morning was busy passing out Customer give aways, stuffing bags, putting up signage, and welcoming our Customers to our first flight out of LGA. About mid-morning, I put on our Spirit Jr. costume to break up the hard work... (I only got to wear it for a brief moment, but it was fun just the same.)

After we got two flights off the ground and in the air, it was time for our press conference at the ticket counter. Doesn't the new "pass through" concept look amazing??





And of course, it wouldn't have been an official Southwest event if our Rapping Flight Attendant didn't make an appearance. Here is David with his back-up dancers, the Spirit Jrs.

Monday as we headed out of town, Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty were on our flight. We are celebrating Freedom Week at Southwest Airlines and what better way to share our freedom than to pass out FREE goodies to our Customers.

All in all it was a great weekend, but I was definitely glad to be back home. There's just no place like home...but New York City comes in a close second!

On the road again…

Exactly one week after returning from Vegas, I hit the friendly skies again—but this time it was with Kelly and my family. We headed to Palm Springs for 5 days of sun-filled bliss!

This was my parents and brother’s first time to use my flight benefits and they were so excited to travel “Employee style.” We headed out after work on Wednesday May 13 for what turned out to be a LONG day of travel. The first leg of our trip was from Dallas to Phoenix (with a quick stop in El Paso.) We switched planes in Phoenix and headed on to Orange County. We landed in Orange County at 10:00 p.m. California time (which was 12:00 p.m. Dallas time!) We were exhausted, but no stopping here…we still had to get the rental car and drive 2.5 hours to Palm Springs!! Fortunately, I didn’t have to drive so I slept most of the way to the condo. Even though it was a long haul to our final destination, we were so thankful we traveled during the night and were able to wake up in sunny California on Thursday morning.

We spent the majority of our days being lazy, laying out by the pool, golfing, shopping, going to the movies, and eating, eating, eating! Mom and I did manage to walk almost 3 miles every morning and we even did the Shred DVD two of the days we were there! We stayed at a condo at the Arnold Palmer Private Residence on the 7th hole of the course. Every morning we would go out and drink our coffee on the porch and watch the golfers start their first rounds of golf. What a way to relax!

On Friday we headed to LA! Our first stop was The Castaway Restaurant in Burbank. This was my brother’s suggestion because he saw The Castaway featured on the travel channel a few weeks before our trip. They had amazing food and the best views of downtown LA. It was such a quiet and quaint place in such a busy and loud city! Our next stop was the Getty Museum in Malibu, CA. Mom read up on this hot spot and thought it would be a great place to visit. We loved touring the museum and soaking in this Malibu oasis. Before heading back to Palm Springs, we thought we’d try and spot a few celebs heading to the beach so we snooped around and found a local market where celebs have been known to drop by every once in a while. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any one famous while we were there…oh well!

All in all we had a great trip and it was so nice to get away and relax at such a beautiful resort! Too bad we can visit the Arnold Palmer every weekend!

Viva Las Vegas

OK, last time I posted something worthwhile I had just returned from Las Vegas and was about to head out of town to Palm Springs but I didn't have a chance to fill you in on my trip. So, it looks like I’ve got a lot of catching up to do…and it’s only been a month.

Viva Las Vegas!

I headed to Las Vegas on May 5 to work the Southwest Airlines Spirit Party. A Spirit Party is an Employee appreciation celebration with incredible entertainment, live bands, light shows, special guests, all housed at incredible venues. This year the Spirit Party was held on Freemont Street in downtown Las Vegas. We had two blocks of Freemont Street blocked for our event!! Once it was all said and done, there were over 7,000 guests that showed up! We had food and drinks, an Elvis impersonator, an amazing cover bank, and Miss USA just to name a few.

I arrived on Tuesday and spent ALL DAY working hard… laying by the pool working on my tan! That night we all got ready for a night out on the town and headed to Diablo’s Cantina at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino for some to-die-for Mexican food.

{Leslie, Mallory, and Me}

When we finished dinner we headed to Caesars Palace to see CHER!!! I was never a huge Cher follower, but after seeing her show, I have to say, she was AMAZING! She looks great for her age and can still send goose bumps down your spine! We had 6th row seats and were two seats over from the stage—it was fabulous!! (Of course, they wouldn't let us take any pictures from inside the auditorium.)

And as if that wasn’t exciting enough, when the concert was over, our group headed to PURE, the nightclub in Caesars! We were there the same night Brooke Hogan was having her birthday party, so we got to see the famous Hulk Hogan and his entourage!! (I know, I know. Hulk Hogan isn’t all that exciting, but when you’re there in person…it’s pretty exciting!!)

It was late when we left PURE and we had to be up early to set up for the party, so I headed to bed…but in a city that never sleeps, I could still hear the party at the pool from my room! Here’s the view from earlier in the day…

The next day we spent the majority of the morning getting Freemont Street set up for the event. The volunteers at the party were responsible for checking ids, distributing wristbands, taking canned goods for the food drive, and manning the crowds. It was a long, but very exciting and fun filled night! (Side note: In the picture below you can see that I’m bringing the fanny pack back! Some of the volunteers were afraid we were going to lose our cell phones and cameras the night of the event, so we bought $2.00 fanny packs and sported them all night long! Call me a dork, but I loved having my hands free all night long!)

{Jaclyn, Kim, Me, and Freya}

I was exhausted after the trip and it took me almost two days to fully recover! But nonetheless we had a wonderful trip in Vegas and I can’t wait to go back!!

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

Nothing like a family vacation on the horizon to make the day DRAG by.

We leave for Palm Springs today after work and I couldn’t be more excited!!

And you know what the best part is about going on a trip…PACKING! I don’t know why, but I love to pack. I get some sort of satisfaction out of seeing how much stuff I can cram into my small suitcase. Then I run around the house bragging to Kelly. (Like he really cares. He thinks I have a problem.) But seriously, I love it.

I love it so much that this weekend when we were at my parents celebrating Mother’s Day, I helped my Mom get her bag ready for the trip. Exhilarating I tell you!

On a completely different note, I started the 30-Day Shred DVD this weekend! So far, I’ve done 4 days and I feel great! It’s only 20 minutes long, and gives you just enough energy to get your day started. Instead of hitting my alarm 3 more times, I just wake up when my alarm goes off and then get to work with the DVD. I’ve only lost a pound so far…probably water weight, but hey, I’m on the right track! I find myself eating better and feeling better throughout the day. So…I’ll keep you posted on how it progresses. (And yes, I’m taking the Shred DVD to Palm Springs. Hope there’s a DVD player at the condo…)

Well, I wish I had time to tell you all about my trip to Las Vegas last week. But I’ll have to fill you in on the LIVE Cher concert, laying out by the pool, dancing it up at PURE, meeting the Rapping Flight Attendant, and spending three whole days in casinos when I get back from Cali!

Until then, I hope you all have a great rest of your week and enjoy the weekend!

Chicago meets Roomies!

As my college roommate Emily said, "Chicago, meet the roomies." And that's exactly what we did! On April 15th, Jennifer, Emily, and I headed to the Windy City! We were in desperate need of a girls trip. At least that's what we told our husbands :) After we got together during spring break, we decided we needed to get out of Texas and spread our wings in Chicago. And from then on, April 15th couldn't come fast enough. So here goes the story of our journey in Chi-Town....

First off...we weren't actually sure we were all going to make it to Chicago. Jen started out the trip with a minor heart attack. On the way to the airport her cell phone died, and she wasn't sure how she was going to meet up with me. I had her tickets, security document, and everything she needed to check in for her flight. Luckily, I wasn't too far behind her and I found her standing by the curbside check-in with a look of panic all across her face! We had a quick laugh and then it was off to check in for our flight. Meanwhile, Emily was in Houston trying her hardest to knock all the other stand-by passengers off the list so she could squeeze her way on board into the last seat on the plane. Jen and I were waiting anxiously for play by play text messages as Emily went from 13th on the stand by list to 1st! Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers! I don't think we've ever been so excited for a seat on a Southwest Airlines flight! Once we were off the ground, it was just a matter of time before we'd be running all over the city.

When Jen and I landed we were welcomed by a host of military personnel. We weren't sure what was going on but we stopped to snap a quick photo with her iPhone (she charged it before we got on the plane in Dallas), and the next thing we knew, one of the men staying close by asked us if we wanted to have our picture taken with a man in uniform. We were totally taken back by his offer and awkwardly obliged him with a photo. {See photo below. Side note, with three type A personalities wanting to capture the sights of the city, there were WAY too many pictures to post them individually. So, you will find them below for your viewing pleasure.} Come to find out, everyone was there waiting on a WWII Veteran plane to land. We didn't stick around.

Once we got our bags and met up with Em, we were off to the hotel. On our way to catch a cab, an little Italian (I think) man came running up to us yelling, "Going downtown. Leaving now. $39. Going downtown. Leaving now. $39." After we figured out it would only cost us $13/person we decided to take his shuttle bus downtown to our hotel. It was quite an adventure. First off, there was NO air and Emily was melting. Bless her heart, she was already sick to her stomach from the airplane. Then, Jen and I couldn't get past the smell of alcohol coming from the guy sitting next to us. Emily had one of those "talk your year off" passengers sitting next to her and we were lucky we didn't ram into the cars on either side of us as we passed them with such speed! We were so thankful to make it in one piece to our hotel room. We passed out almost immediately (after packing our travel bags for the next day) since we had to be up at 4:00 am for OPRAH!

Our first morning in Chicago was an early one, but that didn't seem to phase us as we were too excited to experience the adventure of being on the Oprah Show. The filming that we attended wasn't live but should air sometime this month. {Be sure to check back for updates on when our episode will air.} After going through several security check points, we finally made it inside and had amazing seats (7th row, dead center!) There were even cast members from the musical "Mary Poppins" in our audience! So cool :) We didn't have a special guest on our show, rather Oprah featured Hometown Heroes and talked with the various groups via Skype. It was a great experience to see how they tape the show, cut to commercials, break for hair and makeup, and interact with the audience! Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Once we were finished at Oprah, we couldn't wait to get our hands on some Chicago-style pizza! We headed to Giordano's to split some bread sticks and a thin crust cheese pizza. It definitely hit the spot. Once our bellies were full, we headed out for a long day of shopping and sightseeing down the Magnificent Mile! We stopped by The Drake Hotel, H&M, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Hershey's, and Ghirardelli just to name a few. By the end of the day we had shopped til we dropped and were ready to head back to the hotel for a little R&R.

We couldn't decide on where we wanted to eat dinner, so we finally agreed on P.F. Chang's. I know, I know. "P.F. Chang's? There are a million place to eat in Chicago," you say. Well, it actually turned out for the best because that night our waiter told us about a delicious restaurant that we should try the next night, Bijan's, before we headed to the theater...And if we had never gone to P.F. Chang's, we would have never discovered our hole-in-the-wall find, Bijan's! So, after we split some Lo Mien noodles and Honey Crispy Chicken, we set off for the John Hancock Observatory for what we thought would be a low-key, relaxing end to our busy day.

Well that couldn't be further from the truth! When we arrived at the observatory we grabbed a table, ordered a drink, and began soaking in the Downtown Chicago skyline. A table close by opened up and we moved to it so we could sit by the window. Well, not 5 minutes later, a very"over served" couple came in and plopped down right behind Jennifer and Emily. I had a direct path to see the couple, but only Jen and Em could hear what they were saying. After a long while of very inappropriate behavior, the sleaze bag gentleman leaned in for another kiss. Or so I thought. I glanced at Emily and her face was surprised to say the least. The gentleman wasn't leaning in for a kiss, he was PROPOSING! Right there, in the middle of the observatory! But this wasn't your typical proposal, it was more like the couple needed to get a room-LITERALLY! They were all over each other, slurring through their words, barely able to communicate. Unfortunately, I don't think the poor girl remembered any thing the next morning. Too bad!

After our wild experience we decided to head back to the hotel to crash! The next morning we took our time getting ready, grabbed a bite for breakfast, and then headed out to see some more of the city. We walked across the bridge down to Millennium Park, saw the Bean and the Pritzker Pavillion and stopped in at Park Grill for a quick bite to eat. Then it was off to State and Madison for some more shopping. We hit up H&M again and a few other shops close by and then made our way to grab a bag of the famous Garrett's Popcorn before heading back to the hotel to get dolled up for the evening. We ate dinner at Bijan's and then walked to the Oriental Theater to see A Chorus Line! We had great seats and, as Em pointed out, we could see all the fancy foot work :) And in typical theater fashion, it truly was "One Singular Sensation!" What a wonderful end to another great day in Chicago.

Saturday morning was spent packing our bags, checking our flights, printing our passes, and squeezing in some last minute shopping, but before we could leave Chicago--we had to make one more stop...Gino's Pizza! We definitely saved the best for last! It was a great way to top of our much needed girls trip. We gathered our bags, made our way to the airport, and headed home. All in all, it was a wonderful, magnificent, fun-filled trip--and we can't wait to do it again!

Well, thanks for reading my novel today! Take a peek at the photos and see if you can recognize some of the hot spots from our trip.

Chi-Town or BUST!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Today I leave for Chicago with my college roommates. Can I get a WOO HOO for a girls trip?! Even though our trip was kind of last minute, we had no problem organizing, coordinating, and planning our every move! We're leaving right after work and will stay in Chicago until Saturday. We have a pretty packed agenda and I can't wait to tell you all about it!



I thought it would be fun to take a quick stroll down memory lane and post some of my favorite pics from just a handful of the memories we've shared over the years. Hang on, here we go...

A night out on the town after attending one of our first football games as roommates:

Having a little fun after a long day of Christmas shopping:

(only in Texas could you shop for Christmas gifts in tank tops!)

Supporting each other through many awards, accolades, and achievements along the way:

Sharing the excitement after some SHOCKING news:

(Emily was the first to get engaged!!)

Posing for a photo shoot to capture our time spent together in college:

(Little did I know they were distracting me as my soon-to-be-husband set up for our engagement later that night!)

Celebrating another milestone--my Theta Ring Pass:

Enjoying ourselves on our last night out as college roommates:

Rejoicing that Jen was finally engaged:

(Now we have all six rings: 3 Aggie Rings and 3 Engagement Wedding Rings)

Living it up at my bachelorette party:

Attending numerous showers as we all prepared for our early days as newlyweds:

Spoiling Emily for her bachelorette party:

Reuniting after all the wedding festivites were behind us:

Anxiously waiting to make our next memory! Chi-Town, here we come!

San Diego, CA

For our two year anniversary Kelly and I decided to head back to sunny California! We went to San Francisco last year for our anniversary and loved it! We both love the sunshine and wanted to go somewhere warm where we could layout and enjoy the weather. So, San Diego was our choice! (I also had a little encouragement from this lady. I have to pause for a moment and give her a little shout out! She's the one responsible for introducing me to the blog world, San Francisco, Twitter, and San Diego. Thank you, Susie! What would I do and where would I go without you?)


We headed out west last Friday afternoon. As we waited for our flight we spent the first couple hours of our trip doing this:

Thank Heavens for the iPhone!!

The first stop on our trip: El Paso, TX! Exciting, I know. But really it was because we got to visit with our beloved Thad! (We're so ready for him to move closer and we miss him terribly!) He picked us up from the airport and then we headed to dinner at a local Tex-Mex restaurant, Jaxon's.

(WHOA--Just discovered the ability to upload multiple pictures at a time. Thank goodness! Hopefully it will make this post so much easier/quicker!!)

OK, back to our trip. It was already getting late, and we had an early morning curtain call at the airport the next morning, so we headed back to his apartment to watch some TV and get ready for bed. Saturday morning we set out on the second leg of our trip: San Diego, CA! As we flew over the harbor, we were able to sneak a couple of aerial-view photos. In the picture on the right you can see the bridge going across the harbor to Coronado Island. You'll see a close up picture of the bridge later...

We made it safely through security, over the sky bridge, on to the car rental location and in no time, we were all set and ready to discover the city! Our first stop was Carl's Jr. Kelly had been talking about the Six Dollar Burgers at Carl's Jr and he couldn't wait to get his hands on one! After all, we were on vacation. Why not splurge on a fast food hamburger?!

(Just look at that grin on his face. He was a happy camper!)

After we had our bellies full of Carl's Jr. we headed on to our wonderful hotel! We stayed at Liberty Station right by the airport and it proved to be a central location for all of our outings! San Diego is an easy city to get around and everything seemed to be 10-15 minutes from our hotel. Great location? I think so! The two photos on the right are taken from our balcony. You can see the harbor and just on the other side of the water is the Naval base. (Side note: I promise not to post EVERY picture from our vacation.)

After we settled into our hotel we headed to Ocean Beach to soak up the sun. All along the coastline in San Diego you will find dozens of tide pools. Ocean Beach had several tide pools you could walk down to and later in my post you will see the famous tide pools in La Jolla, CA.

(Note: It is difficult to take "couple" pictures when there's just two of you on vacation. So, you'll see a lot of "single" shots from our trip.)

Right after I took this photo I walked down to where Kelly was standing and promptly slid down the hill. I landed on my elbow and scraped it up pretty badly. An immediate bruise formed causing it to be a tender spot for the rest of the trip. Thankfully, I'm healing quite nicely.

These purple flowers were growing everywhere. On the rocks, on the sides of trees, on the hills...everywhere. Please excuse the crooked picture. This is a result of an uneven camera surface -- the hood of the car. Once we were finished with the tide pools, we headed up the coastline about a mile to the public beach. After we spend the afternoon laying out, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for a night out on the town. Our first stop was La Jolla. The pictures below are taken at the top of a very steep hill leading to the ocean in La Jolla. At the bottom of the hill is where you will find the famous tide pools. We didn't make it down into the tide pools because it was getting chilly, but they were cool from a distance just the same!

We spent the evening walking around the expensive shops and art galleries and then watched the sunset from the beach. There was a wedding going on and we could hear the ukulele playing Bob Marley songs.

For dinner we headed to a restaurant located in the harbor on the edge of an inlet that was completely surrounded by water, Bali Hai. It was such a pretty view of downtown San Diego and the food was delicious. The pictures I took inside the restaurant didn't turn out, but here's a pic of the sign outside.

The next morning we checked out our hotel pool and the large remake of the USS Recruit that was located right next to our hotel. Apparently, the Navy used this ship as part of their training course for their recruits.

Then it was off to the famous San Diego Zoo! We had all access passes which allowed us to see everything we wanted--and more! They included rides on the 35-minute guided bus tour and the Skyfari which was kind of like a zip line over the park. I'll spare you the boring pictures of all the cute animals--you'll have to visit to get the same experience--but I'll give you a quick run down of what we did. First things first, we took the guided bus tour around the park to get a feel for the lay of the land. You can see us standing in line waiting on the bus to pick us up. After the tour was over we made a quick dash through the Children's Zoo (sorry, no pictures) and then it was off to experience the Skyfari. You can see the four pictures I took of the park in the air! So cool! Kelly looks thrilled, huh?! The Skyfari took us straight to the Polar Bear exhibit (hence the reason I'm posing with the stuffed polar bear.) In the next picture if you look close you can see the mama Panda Bear taking a nap. We had to use our "inside voices" while walking through this exhibit. Apparently, Pandas have sensitive ears. We spent most of our time watching the monkeys, apes, orangutan, and gorillas. I think Kelly was hoping they would throw their rocks at him. No such luck, but isn't the baby gorilla adorable?! We did make it to an exotic animals show, but then we tuckered out and headed back to the hotel to rest.

That night we got ready and headed to this historic part of San Diego, Old Town. There were merchants lining the streets and mexican food restaurants all over the place. Of course we had to check out the historical markers for good measure. You can see photos of the graveyard where many of the settlers are buried and near the center of the town was a catholic church. We didn't know it at the time, but while we were taking pictures of the church they were having Mass--given it was Palm Sunday and all. Glad I didn't open the doors and barge in. Oh that would have been my luck.

After a yummy dinner at one of the mexican food restaurants we decided to call it a night! The next day we set out for Coronado Island. But before we actually made it to the ferry, we stumbled upon the famous USS Midway. We quite literally stumbled upon this historical marker! Kelly missed the turn for parking at the harbor (probably because I didn't give him very good directions) and we had to make a u-turn in the parking lot of the USS Midway. We didn't take a guided tour of the aircraft carrier, but we did take a moment to pose with the statues. I took the first picture so you could see the height of this magnificent statue! The other statues were soldiers listening to Bob Hope, holding up signs of gratitude. The attention to detail was amazing--the felt almost life like when you were standing next to them. And in the last picture you can see my crazy husband up to his usual antics--looking up the nurse's dress!

After our brief detour, we were finally on our way to Coronado. You can see the picture of the bridge I mentioned earlier in my post. When we landed on the island it felt like we were in a play city. The buidlings were colorful, and with red pointed roofs to reflect the feel of the famous Hotel del Coronado. We rented bikes to tour around the island and there were all sorts of rules on where you could and couldn't ride your bike. I found that out the hard way after getting scolded by a hotel security guard. Oops. But touring this beautiful island on a bike is definitely the best way to go! By far this was the most fun part of the trip. Well, it's a close call with the Zoo. But back to the island...we biked around the edge of the water on our cruisers and stopped along the way to soak in the scenery. After lunch we spent some more time on the beach, toured the hotel, and then headed home to crash! But not before we made one last stop at Carl's Jr. You can see by the last picture that we were worn out! San Diego is such a beautiful city and I hope we get to go back soon!!