Looking Back {on 2012} Part I

For me 2012 was a year of personal growth. As the year began I found myself searching for meaning and purpose in my life. It was a year of challenges, but those challenges eventually turned into triumphs, and as the year came to a close I felt at peace. I had learned to seek happiness for myself, instead of waiting for it to find me. 

January

We celebrated the new year in Texarkana for Britt and Dustin's wedding weekend. It was such a memorable weekend and a wonderful start to 2012. 

At some point in January it became a reality that Brandon actually had to leave for three months, starting at the end of March. I began worrying about what this meant for me. I didn't have anything holding me back in Corpus, but I started to wonder if having a job would make the coming months easier. I looked into possibilities outside of child life, and I considered going into teaching. After weighing all my options I decided against it. I didn't want to jump into something just because I was scared of the challenge ahead. 

February 

I spent the month of February taking advantage of my time with Brandon, since I knew he would be leaving in a matter of weeks. Although we squeezed in as many date nights and fun outings as we could, it still felt like there was cloud of sadness hanging over us. Even though we tried not to think about it, we knew that we were quickly approaching the biggest challenge we had ever faced as a married couple. 

Towards the end of the month I made my first Austin trip of 2012. Shell and I experienced the Campus Candy Store for the first time and attended a Texas Country benefit concert that was close to my heart.

March

I realized I had spent so much time trying to figure out the next step in God's plan that I hadn't even noticed His presence in the present moment. I began to see Him working in my life in ways that I hadn't even considered. I learned to accept the stage I was in, and life seemed fun again. 

We spent a weekend in Yoakum before Brandon started his rig training, and at the end of the month we began our Dallas adventures. 

April

I did a lot of traveling in April. I was either in Yoakum with my parents, in Austin with Michelle, or in Dallas with Brandon. I had a lot of time to myself, which I spent running, reading, and just thinking about life. 

We also celebrated my PaPaw's 90th birthday, and we felt so blessed to have him in our lives. 

April was also the beginning of Courtney and Kyle's wedding festivities. My maid of honor duties included a day in College Station for Courtney's bridal portraits, a day I will never forget.

Stay tuned for parts two and three...

6 Things I learned during TX/OU weekend

1. Old men from OU are mean.

We were sitting at the hotel bar on Friday night waiting to meet one of Brandon's friends from work. There were just a handful of people down there, but one group in particular stood out. It was a table of eight or so men decked out in their OU attire. They appeared to be in their mid to late sixties.

As I was walking back from the restroom one of them shouted, "Hey, come over here! What does the back of your shirt say?" {I was wearing a Longhorn shirt that one of my friends gave me when I graduated. It was from the PINK line at Victoria's Secret, and the back read "PINK Loves Longhorn Alumni". It's a really cute shirt.}

I {being the sweet and innocent person that I am} walked over and let them read the back of my shirt. I thought to myself, 'Aww, these sweet old men are still coming back for the rivalry!'

Wrong. About the 'sweet' part. The trash talkin' began.

Old man: "There's no way you've already graduated!"
Me {in my sweetest voice, wanting to represent my team well}: "Yes, sir! I sure did!"
Old man: "What year did you graduate?"
Me {again, smiling and trying to be nice}: "2010!"
Old man: "Oh yeah... Well how did OU treat you when you were there?"
Me: "We actually did really well against OU when I was in school."
Old men: "Oh, yeah right! Haha! That's a lie!"
Me: "Well, we did go to the national championship. That's what I remember!"
Old men: "Oh yea! And how'd that turn out for you???"
Me: "Yeah, that was a tough game. Colt got hurt, and..."
Old men: Laughing.

2. I'm way too nice to stand up to them.


When I realized that this group of OU fans had no interest in having a nice conversation with me I decided to walk away.

Me: "Well I was going to be nice to ya'll, but since you're being mean I'm going to leave."

Good one, Emily. Nice comeback. For a kindergartner.

I walked back to my group saying my real comebacks in my head...'How can you say that's a lie?? I'm pretty sure you're so old you can't even remember how we did against OU!'... 'At least we went to the national championship!'...'How'd that season turn out for yOU??'

As I walked away one of the men shouted, "Hey, you can't wear that shirt! You haven't graduated!"

Seriously??? Did we not just discuss this??

3. Piano bars are my favorite.

I kind of already knew this, but Friday night just proved me right. After visiting with Brandon's work friend we headed to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. We walked in, ordered drinks, and got escorted right to the front row. Score!

Sitting in the front really made the night. We were right in the middle of everything; the battle of the Texas and OU fight songs, the men vs. ladies competitions, singing on the stage. Multiple times.

This night definitely made my list of funnest nights ever.

One of my favorite moments was during one of the table vs. table competitions. The pianist asked one member from each table to go up on stage. {Amber was our representative.} The people on stage had to learn a set of hand motions to a song. As the pianist played the song, the people on stage tried to teach the hand motions to the people at their respective tables. The table with the best performance won.

Since hand motions weren't really Brandon's cup of tea, Michelle and I competed for our table. We were standing up {at the front of the bar, remember?} putting all of our energy and effort into learning these motions. We were taking this competition very seriously. The song was played over and over, and each time it got faster. Each time it played our motions got bigger and bigger. We were really getting into it!

Right when we started to get the hang of this little dance the pianist announced, "Extra points will be given for skin!" Skin. As in showing skin that is usually covered by clothing. Except Michelle and I heard skiing. Like snow skiing.

We simultaneously looked at each other and said, "Skiing!" And we immediately started pumping our arms back and forth as if we were maneuvering ski poles. I was thinking, 'Oh yeah, we got this. No one else is pumping their arms as fast as we are!'

That's because no one else was even pumping their arms. They were all glancing around the room to see if anyone was brave enough {or intoxicated enough} to show skin.

And Michelle and I were at the front of the bar skiing like crazy.


4. Some people don't know what being a fan really means. 



At the game on Saturday there were some girls sitting behind us who apparently thought they were better fans than the rest of us. They screamed at us in their highest pitched voices to yell louder, the entire game. Forget the fact that one of them yelled "Let's go offense!!" when we were on defense, twice. And nevermind that one of them missed the entire first quarter of the game.

We got to the stadium almost an hour before kick-off. We've read Orangebloods on a regular basis. We've kept up with recruiting. And coaching. And the recovery status of players on the injured list.

But if being a fan were based on the price of your handbag or how revealing your game day attire was, these girls would have won. Hands down.

5. When you go back to watch your alma mater's football team, things may not be exactly the same as you remembered.

Like I told those mean OU men, when I was at Texas the football team did really well. I have fond memories of watching the 'McCoy-Shipley' duo play and seeing Will Muschamp get our defense fired up on the sidelines. Oh, the memories.

Now I've watched almost every game since I graduated, and I know that our team has struggled since that year. Please don't rub it in. But for some reason I was still expecting to see Colt-and-Jordan-like-plays on the field. I mean, that's how it was last time I was at the Cotton Bowl? Boy, did I miss those two.

If you pay any attention to college football at all you know that the TX/OU game was a complete nightmare. For Texas. I don't even know what to say. Except that I've never attended a game like that, one where Texas played so poorly. It was disappointing. That's all I'm going to say.

6. State Fair cotton candy is the best cotton candy EVER.

Michelle and I have always loved cotton candy. We've eaten cotton candy everything; ice cream, fro-yo, lollipops, the-cotton-candy-they-used-to-sell-at-Movie-Gallery-in-Yoakum-that-isn't-even-very-good-but-we-ate-it-anyway-because-it-was-still-cotton-candy. You could say that we are cotton candy freaks! 

We had been looking forward to this cotton candy all weekend, and after the game we headed straight to the giant cotton candy stand we had spotted earlier in the day. It was a long walk through a giant crowd of people {we could hardly even move}, and as we shoved and elbowed our way towards the stand Brandon said, "This better be some good cotton candy..."



{Oh, yeah. We each got our own bag. BTW- We were tired from lack of sleep and standing for four hours,
and the humidity was awful so our hair looks kind of gross. But the cotton candy was good!}

Oh, it was! It was amazing. I wish I could have bought enough to last me until State Fair next year.



And because I have no where else to put this picture...

{Breakfast at the fair: corndog, margarita, fried s'more}



Although we came home with a loss, this was definitely one of my favorite weekends. And I'd say I learned some pretty valuable lessons!

Absence makes the heart...

Go crazy.
Or at least that's the case for me.

~~~

For the past three months {twelve weeks, 5 days to be exact} Brandon has been in Dallas.

We knew when he took this job that there would be a three-month training course he would have to attend. That's three months that he would have to leave our home and live somewhere else.

Without me.

We knew this, but we tried not to think about it. We tried, I tried, to tell myself it would never come.

But it did.

~~~

On March 24th we went to a wedding in the Austin area. And the next morning we said goodbye. Brandon drove to Dallas, and I caught a ride back to Yoakum.

"I can do this," I told myself. "Maybe it will be like a vacation...I'll go to Dallas, Corpus, Yoakum, and Austin, and it will be fun!"

That thinking lasted about six hours.

Sunday evening, after I got to my parents house, we started gettting ready for church. I walked into my room to change clothes, and it hit me.

I opened the closet to choose a shirt, and I realized it wasn't my closet. Sure it had my old prom dresses, my tucked-away trinkets and suvenirs, and my wedding gifts that I don't have room for, but it wasn't my closet at my home. {And, I only had about three shirts to choose from for church, ha!}

I started crying. And my mom and dad immediately began to comfort me.
I got the feeling that they knew this was coming.

Me {crying}: "I just don't know what to do!" ..sniff, sniff... "If I go home to my house I'll be so lonely, because no one is there!..But that's where all my stuff is...And if I stay here I won't have any of my stuff!"

Mom {in her very calm I'm-always-going-to-take-care-of-you voice}: "Emily honey, you can bring as much stuff here as you want! You can bring your whole closet if you want! We want you to do whatever you need to to be happy here."

Me {still crying}: "I know, but I'm a grown up now and I should be at my own house."...sniff..."I shouldn't have to stay with my parents."

Dad {in his very wise voice}: "Emily, you have the rest of your life to be at your house. It's okay if you want to stay with us while Brandon is gone."

Me {a little less emotional}: "Okay." ..tiny sniff.. "But I'm going to need some more clothes."

~~~

And at some point during the following weeks I went down to our house in Corpus to get more clothes. And shoes. And hair stuff, and swim suits, and my yoga mat, and weights, and my favorite blanket, and after a few more trips I had everything I needed.    Thank goodness!

~~~

I've now spent the last three months hanging out with my mom and dad. I drove to Dallas every few weeks and stayed with B for about a week at a time, but I spent most of my time in Yoakum.

We've stayed pretty busy. And after 2 couples showers, 3 bridal showers, 2 funerals, 2 softball tournaments, 1 5k, 1 weekend in Austin, 2 weddings and at least 4 trips to Dallas {for me}....

...After 89 days...

B is coming home!...

...On Friday! And I can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes me, how happy this makes us!

Check back soon for P's side of the story...

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was full of friends, food, music, and fun! On Friday we went to Taste of Addison with a few of our friends from B's work.



{Taste of Addison}



When we first found out about this festival {which included lots of food, drinks, and great music} B told his friends that we may not go since I was running the next morning. Yes, he was about to turn down live Texas Country music, for me. I told him that we could definitely go, and we agreed to not stay too late. 



{Our view from the Dos Equis tent}



We got there and walked around a while. There were carnival rides, arts and crafts vendors, several concert stages, and lots and lots of yummy food. Once we decided which of the sixty-something restaurant tents we wanted to eat at, we got in line to place our order. I had seen people carrying margaritas that looked so good. Boot cups, pinapples, coconuts, glo-in-the-dark cups... You name it, they served margaritas in it! But, B reminded me that I had a race in the morning, and since I am a major lightweight when it comes to alcohol, I decided against the margarita in the oh-so-cool cup. Oh the sacrifices of being a runner..ha!



{Dinner from Taco Diner}



We ate, visited with friends, sat in the special guest Dos Equis tent. That's right, we were special guests...



{Inside the special guest tent..Sarah and I were matching!}



And after listening to a little Wade Bowen we called it a night. It was a fun, relaxing evening. And did I mention it was all free??

The next morning we got up and went to my first 5k...

{Read more about the 5k here}

We then headed to Mansfield for a softball tournament that B played in with our friend, Hunter. Hunter and B were roommates in college, and it was so good to see him and his wife, Lindsey! The tournament was at the Field of Dreams complex, which was really nice.



{Each field is designed after one of the historic major league fields.}



B loves playing softball, and he hasn't had the chance to play in almost a year because of his work schedule. So it was fun to get to watch him play again :)



{That's B... He did great!}



After our long day Saturday, we spent Sunday relaxing and hanging out at the hotel. It was a great weekend :)

First 5k: Completed!

We have had such a fun weekend! The best part, for me, was running my first 5k. Here's how it went...

I had been looking forward to this all week. It was the day of my first 5k. The day I would accomplish my goal. For some people, people who have been running for years or people who are natural born runners, this wouldn't seem like much of an accomplishment. But for me? It was huge. It was something I set out to do months ago. Something I worked hard to accomplish. Something I am proud of.

Let me start by saying that B has been my #1 fan. From day one. And this hasn't changed.

On Friday night he handed me two 12oz. bottles of water and told me to finish them both before we went to bed {in preparation for my run}. Does he know how small my bladder is? Even though there was no way I was going to drink all that water right before bed, it made me smile to know he was just as excited about my run as I was :)

We got ready for bed, I laid out my running clothes, and we set our alarms for 6:30a.m.

As soon as my alarm went off my first thought was "Why do people schedule these things so early in the morning??" I am not a morning person.

We got dressed quickly, I grabbed a water and a granola bar, and we were on our way.

We got there with plenty of time to check in and warm up. I got my race-timer-thingy {the strap that goes on your ankle and tells you your time at the end}, pinned on my number, did a quick warm-up run, and it was time.

Everyone's advice to me was to remember to run at my pace. They said to stay in the back and told me not to worry about keeping up with the other runners. So my plan was to start off in the back of the group from the starting line. But it all happened so quickly that I just had to jump in and go.

When the horn blew I was standing in the middle of the group, closer to the front than I wanted to be. But I had my music playing {Pandora pop and hip-hop power mix}, and I was ready to go.

{That's me in the pink shorts.}

So was everyone else. For the next few minutes I watched out of the corners of my eyes as the other runners flew past me. I stayed positive and reminded my self that this was my run, and that no one else even mattered. But by the time I rounded the first corner I just knew that everyone had passed me.

"Don't look behind you," I told myself. "Who cares if you're last?"
{If I was actually the last runner, I did not want to know.}

I kept running. At my pace. And as I rounded the second corner I noticed that I was no longer getting passed. Everyone was starting to spread out, and I felt like this was my run. I could do this.

As my confidence started to build, I decided to glance back. Just to see if I was last.

To my surprise there was a whole group of people behind me! I laughed to myself. How silly of me to have even worried about it!

At this point I was feeling great! This was just another run, on another trail, in another city. The weather was perfect, slightly windy with the sun peeking through the clouds. As I ran I tried to soak everything in. The crowd, the runners, the great organization that this run would benefit. I was loving it.

As I ran I noticed the diversity in all the runners. There were people of every age and every race. There were doctors, nurses, and receptionists. There were married people, single people, moms and dads. There were even runners who were not people...

{Princess will begin the C25k program as soon as I get home ;)}

I finished the first half of the race and felt confident I could finish the second. I always compare new runs to places I have run in the past. I told myself "I just have to run around our neighborhood in Corpus one more time."

Before I knew it, I was getting close to the end. As I rounded the last corner I could see it. That was such a good feeling. I couldn't help but smile as I crossed the finish line.

{Mission Accomplished}

My first thought: When can I do it again?!

{Sweaty, tired, and hungry.}

My second thought: Where are we going to eat?? {Haha..}

{Post-race migas and queso..yum!}

We went to Cafe Brazil, my favorite breakfast place in Addison. It was the perfect brunch after my run.

I loved my first 5k! I am already thinking about when to sign up for another one, and today I looked into the 'Bridge to 10k' app for my phone. I do want to get a few more 5ks under my belt before training for a 10k, but it's good to be prepared, right??

**Thanks for the "Good Luck" calls and texts...You know who you are ;)

A lot has changed, but it's still the same...

I just had a wonderful visit with a friend.

We talked and sipped on green tea frappuccinos.

It was a good conversation.

A conversation we hadn't had in a while.

We talked about life, marriage, jobs, our husbands' jobs,

family, friends, houses, future houses,

new cities, previous cities, future kids,

and everything in between.

As I drove away I thought about how much had changed since I met this friend.

But then I thought about how much is the same.

We are still two girls sitting cross-legged,

sharing our hopes, dreams, and fears with one another.

Both thankful to have someone to listen,

 and understand exactly what you are saying.

And that is something that I hope will never change.

Dallas Weekend

This past weekend Brandon was in Dallas doing training for work, so I drove up and spent a few days with him. Here's a glimpse of what our weekend included:

 American Idol

Say 'Hello' to your top 13!!

As some of you know we became hooked on American Idol last season. We watched the entire season together, picked out our favorites, and we I voted like crazy (Go Scotty!!) This season we haven't gotten to watch every episode together, but we still keep up and watch when we can. As we were watching on Thursday night, we noticed one of the contestants, Skylar Laine, was wearing a Double D Ranchwear jacket! So cool!!

Fat Straw Bubble Tea

Green tea milkshake, Mango bubble tea,
Strawberry-bananna smoothie

Remember Britt and Dustin?? They just moved to Dallas a few weeks ago, and we met up with them on Saturday for our first "bubble tea" experience. I had always seen people on campus using giant straws to drink funny-colored beverages with what looked like marbles on the bottom, and I always wondered what it was. Well those "marbles" are called bubbles, and the giant straw ensures that you get some with every sip! After explaining to the lady that we had never tried bubble tea, she handed us each a sample cup and said "Just shoot it and chew it!" Ha! It was an interesting experience! And it was great catching up with our newlywed friends :)

BTW--Britt blogs too!! Click HERE to read!

Bleu Edmondson Concert

Bleu put on a good show!

Bleu Edmondson currently holds the #1 spot on Brandon's favorites of Texas Country, and he just happened to be playing in McKinney, TX this weekend. On Saturday evening we had dinner with our friend, Craig, and then all went to the concert. It was a fun night!

B and I at the concert.

We had a great time in Dallas! And some of you may be wondering where Princess (or "P" as Brandon calls her)  was during this trip...

Going for a ride around Yoakum

Picking out plants at Handy Stop

She was living up to her name and being treated like a real "Princess".

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for puppy-sitting :)