Goin' to the Chapel!

It's a little late, but BestMomEver and Dad don't know the password to their own WiFi network at home (yes...I know....) so it hindered my abilities to blog while I was away.

But, better late than never, right?

Just before Christmas, my oldest friend got hitched to a most wonderful man.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs.Hoff!

Their wedding was an absolute blast, from start to finish. Beautiful, elegant and so much fun! Hope you enjoy Jamaica!!

Waterworld

You probably know by now, it's been raining in Southern California. Like, a lot; its made national news. This morning BestMomEver and I went to the club for a 6am workout...sweet. And this is what the golf course looked like:

It doesn't usually have a lake in the middle of it. Not even a little river.

 Guess Dad isn't playing golf any time soon!!

Adios Amigos

I'm trading in turning leaves for palm trees!! Heading a little place I like to call America's Finest City. Lots of pics to come later!!

"I hate football"

I know exactly how the kid in this video feels, because it's how I felt when I turned the Charger game on this past Sunday...

Happy Birthday BestMomEver!

Loving. Classy. Elegant. Compassionate. Generous. Beautiful. Thoughtful. Insightful. Timeless. Active. Encouraging. Talented. Calming. Intelligent.
The BestMomEver.

Mommy, I am so grateful for you today. My life would not be nearly as full or fantastic if you were not part of it; I am the woman I am because you have been the best role model I could have ever dreamed of. You're my best friend, the shoulder I oh-so-often cry on and I wish I could be there to spend your special day with you. Enjoy it, because no one deserves a wonderful day more than you.

Putting up with LittleBro 

Enjoying the oldest restuarant in California

Exploring the world with me! (Yum, baklava!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BestMomEver!

Meh.

I want to move somewhere that I can ride a bike everywhere. No more cars.

Poor little Puff, my sweet VW, is sick, very, very sick. And it's costing me a fortune. I think it may be time to retire her.

Anyone have a car they want to give me? That'd be great, thanks.

Happy (whatever day you're celebrating!)!!!!

Today I'm very grateful to celebrate two WONDERFUL things:

My parents' 27th wedding anniversary!

After all this time, they've still got the moves!
Dad, thanks for hitting on your flight attendant 28 years ago :)

And this beautiful girl's 25th birthday! (Wow, you're kinda old...)
I wish I could be in California to celebrate with her!

(Can we go back to being 21 and celebrating at Mattito's?!)

Hope you all have a wonderfully special day, love you!

Dicembre

It's December! I have so many fun things going on this month, I'm glad it's finally here!

First, these two lovely ladies are coming to visit me this weekend:

(Forecast: College level craziness)

My favorite cousin graduates from UT on Saturday!

With a bon voyage party and an engagement celebration, this weekend is going to be super fun/busy...then it all wraps up with one of my favorite SMU traditions:

 Celebration of Lights!


And of course, in just two short weeks, I'll be in the this amazing place, for 10 whole days:

I love my life.



Gobble Gobble

I know, I've been a bit of a neglectful blogger; the combination of a cold that wouldn't quit and a camera that kept mysteriously leaving my posession left me without much to share!

Dad and BestMomEver get here today to spend turkey day with LittleBro, me, and Dad's family. Lots of food, family and feuding fun!

Have a safe, delicious and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Love, Yana

I Heart Dubya

Today SMU held the official groundbreaking ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Policy Institute, set to be open in 2013. I watched it live via webcast and I was very impressed! Both President Bush and his wife Laura were incredibly gracious and complimentary of my wonderful alma mater and, as always, Condie Rice was great too!

My favorite line of good ol' Dubya's speech: "We believe you can spend your money better than the American government can spend your money."

I hope Obama and Nancy Pelosi were taking notes!!

Ugh.

I think one of the worst things in the world is being sick, 

but not sick enough to skip work and stay at home in bed. 

Bleh.

I want my mommy :(

End of an Era

Oh Wade. There's isn't much else to say; the fans have finally gotten what they've been screaming for basically since he came on board.

Wade Phillips' first year with the Cowboys was also my first year interning with them. T.O. joined the sqaud, it was Romo's first year as the starting QB and Wade had replaced Bill Parcells in an attempt to bring a more dynamic look to the Cowboys' defense. All seemed well and good. The Cowboys went 13-3 that year, but failed to make it to the Super Bowl as expected (also ruining my potential book idea, rude).

Fast forward three years: T.O. was run out of town, Romo was run into the ground and Wade is hiding somewhere eating a wedding cake, or three. (According to The Ticket at least.)

So, I feel like I should say a formal goodbye to Wade, his incessant mumbling and wish him the very best as he returns to the simple life of huntin', fishin' and settin'.

Wade and Jerry at training camp 2007



Adios, Wade

And good luck Jason Garrett, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now!

Learn your ABC's....

Alcohol. Beaches. Costumes.

There aren't many words to describe this weekend other than awesome, amazing, epic and, yes, I'll go out on a limb and say it: PERFECT.

Friday: PHENOMENAL dinner at this place with BestMomEver and MTrizzle. Yes, the menu says "Truffle Parmesan French Fries" and yes, they are even BETTER than you're imagining.

Saturday: Spa Day. Need I say more?

Saturday evening: RANGERS WIN!

(Because they have awesome fans!!)

We watched the game with this view. Yes, seriously.

Saturday Night: We practiced the ABCs!

Elin Woods and a Greek Goddess

The Goddess with one half of LMFAO

Elin was not, of course, a big fan of Tigger the Tiger... 

Giving a golf lesson, sans cops and broken windows...

Total concentration.

 

Lots of fun, great new friends, quality time with the fam and a visit from one of my favorite Navy Seals...couldn't ask for anything more!

This weekend I'm going here:

 With this chick:



I'm going to be this lady for Halloween (golf club, white Escalade and all):

(BestMomEver is NOT super psyched about this...but too bad, because I'm borrowing her Nike pullover!)

And today I'm wearing these for the first time:

Because it FINALLY feels like Fall in the Lone Star State! Yay!

Have a wonderful, safe, spooky

Halloween weekend everyone!

Marketing.

History in the Making...

Tonight is game one of the World Series, Rangers v. Giants in San Fran. Lee v. Lincecum.

Question: separated at birth? Or case of split personality?



Giants' Pitcher Tim Lincecum



US Figure Skater Johnny Weir



Thanks EC for pointing out this little gem :)

GOOO RANGERS!!!!!

We don't tailgate, we Boulevard.

Just in time for Homecoming Weekend, a little history on the great event that is "Boulevarding" at SMU.

Go 'Stangs!!!!!

Hmm.

For lunch today, I decided some yummy comfort food from Pei Wei would be delicious. As I'm walking out of the office, I scroll to "Pei Wei" in my phone contacts and select the "work" listing (yes, there are two Pei Wei to go numbers listed in my phone, deal with it).

A chipper little voice greets me and I say "yes, I'd like to place an order for pick up please."

Chipper Pei Wei voice: (sees the computer recognizes my phone number) "Is this "Yana?"

Me: "Yes it is, I'd like --" (interrupted)

Chipper Pei Wei voice: "Will you be having the Lo Mein with Shrimp and a side of edamame today?"

Me: (pause) "Uh, yes, yes I would, please."

Chipper Pei Wei voice: "We'll have that ready for you in 15 minutes!"

Me: "But I'd like the shrimp steamed!!!"

Chipper Pei Wei Voice: "Steamed? Ok, I'll add that note. See you in 15 minutes."

...

Now, do I find a new Pei Wei location or do I just accept/enjoy how modern technology is making my life easier?

Last Fling...

A weekend in Palm Desert to celebrate one of my oldest, dearest friends and a group of wonderful girls? Sign me up!

Last weekend I hopped a jet plane to Palm Springs and celebrated the future Mrs.Hoff's bachelorette party. It was a fun-filled weekend with lots of chatting, sun-soaking and dancing. LOTS of dancing!

Me and the Bachelorette heading out for a night on the town!

 Our mariachi serenade

Showing off her zexy shoes!

 Oops, broke the ice cube tray!

Thankfully, not before we were able to use the some of the ice cubes ;)

 

 

Congrats to the future Mrs.Hoff! Can't wait for the wedding festivities!

24 and a Half

Today is October 20, which means I'm 24 and a half today. (Silently laughing at all my friends who are already 25....! Jk. Kinda.)

Right after my 24th birthday, I decided to make a list of "25 Things to Do Before I Turn 25". Cliche, I know. Some of them are more measurable than others, but all of them are worthwhile. I won't bore you with the whole list, but here are a few, and how I'm doing with them:

-Visit a new country and a new state. Switzerland! (Still working on the new state...anyone want to take a trip to Michigan? Oregon? Let me know.)

-Get a library card and USE it. (Fail, on both counts.)

-Learn to French braid. (Still haven't. Who wants to be my hair model?)

-Join a tennis league/clinic. I did two 6-week sessions at the Village and I was playing pretty regularly with the girls on Sunday nights, gotta get back into it!

-Ski a Blue Run, without falling. (Ski season is right around the corner!)

-Earn a raise. Accomplished after my annual review, yay!

-Keep in touch with friends better. While I can still improve on this one, I feel like I've definitely spoken to/emailed/seen a lot of my friends recently, which is awesome. Going to have to keep this one up!

I better get cracking on the rest of my list...don't want to have a "quarter-century crisis" over not finishing these things!

Silly Puppy.

On my way back from the always perfect paradise that is Palm Desert this weekend, I made a quick stop in SoCal to see BestMomEver, Levi the Puppy and enjoy some delicious grub from the wonderful establishment known as In N Out.

While the weather in the desert was ideal for the enjoyment of bachelorette festivities (post and pics to come later), the weather at home was down right poor. As a result, little Levi was not a happy puppy.

Here he is whining to get in the house:

Just staring at me on the couch, making me feel like a terrible person. But wet, muddy dog and BestMomEver's beige carpet do NOT mix.

And here he is again, about to go on a walk:

LittleBro was not happy about this shot either. Clearly, Levi is not a fan of his new "gentle lead leash". 

Breakthrough.

Yes, I stole the main headline off today's Dallas Morning News, whatever. The Texas Rangers are going to the American League Championship Series! They take on the Yankees this Friday at the BallPark at Arlington!

Here's a great article about the Rangers arriving back in Texas, written by my friend, and fellow SMU journalism student (he's also a fellow "graduate" of the Mickey Spagnola school of Hard Knocks: Journalism edition), who's now working for the Morning News!

GOOOO RANGERS!

Reunited.

NBN and Uno came to visit me! I did my best introducing them to Texas with some yummy TexMex, a trip to the Boulevard, and lovely central air! We also got up to our usual antics of starting dance parties, funny faces and reminiscing about our high school days...always great when we're together, thanks for making the trip girls!!

Taking a little break from the dancefloor Friday night.

It's funny how our makeup bags describe each of our personalities perfectly...

Introducing them to the Boulevard!

(Yes, that's a large cow behind us, they were doing milking demonstrations...?)

Texas and Cali girls! 

And the Mustangs pulled out another win, 3-0 in C-USA!

Another great weekend on the books!!

(I will not be dignifying the terrible display of "football" yesterday with any type of post. Ridiculous.)

SO. EXCITED.

Today, one of my most favorite people on this planet arrives in Texas. And tomorrow ANOTHER one of my most favorite people on the planet will be here. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NBN and Uno are coming to visit me! We'll be reunited for the first time since our whirlwind trip to Philly last year.

(The whole group in front of the Love sign)

Uno and NBN have been two of my closest friends since high school. I'm so excited to have them here and to introduce Uno to Texas! (I'll have her in a pair of cowboy bootS saying "ya'll" before the weekend is through...) I'm going to have to stop at the grocery store and make sure I have plenty of Kiwi Strawberry Snapple, PEACHES!, and stuff for French toast....

Can you get here already please?!

(Me & NBN in front of The Bean when I visited her in Chi-town last year)

(Me and Uno when I visited her in SLO during college)



It's gonna be GREAT!

October 6

On October 6, 1993, my dad's mother, Pauline Wallis, my Mawmaw, passed away very suddenly in her sleep. It was a shocking and devasting loss for our family. I was seven and vaguely remember my dad coming in to my room that morning telling me what happened. From the little I remember (and a lot that I've been told) about my Mawmaw, she was an incredible force of nature. A traditional Texas matriarch, I think she will always be the only person that could stop my Dad dead in his tracks. She was big on family and we had tons of Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners at her and my Pawpaw's house in Lorena; one of her favorite things to do was make matching dresses for me and Cuz. (There are some GREAT photos). My Mawmaw is probably the biggest reason I made the choice to move to Texas, and I'm very grateful for that influence.

I don't have an electronic picture of Mawmaw, so one of all her grandkids will have to do.

On October 6, 2009, we had to put my childhood dog Bailey down. I got Bailey, as a surprise, for my ninth birthday. LittleBro and I had been wanting a dog, but we'd just moved to a rented house where pets weren't allowed. Apparently, Dad didn't care. He brought Bailey home late from a charity auction at the YMCA. BestMomEver, having never had a dog and having no supplies, was not very happy. Over the next few years, Bailey became part of the family. He loved walks, going to the groomer or the boarder, he even loved the vet! But, and it pains me to say this, the thing/person he loved most in this world is BestMomEver. He had to be able to see her or be near her at all times. But hey, who can blame him?

Bailey was an amazing puppy and I miss him dearly.

Bailey, last summer at Grandma & Grandpa's house for the 4th of July

I'm just glad I know that they are together! Love and miss you both!

The Difference A Year Makes

One year ago today, I got promoted into the position I have now. I'd been at my company just over six months and was finally getting into the swing of things. While I love my job now and was excited for the promotion, to call the last 365 days a rollercoaster would be an understatement. But, I made it through the first year and learned a ton, which I'm grateful for; having the support I do both in the office and through friends and family made it possible. Let's hope the next year is just as much of a learning experience, but maybe a teeny bit less stressful....

And to treat myself to job well done, I think I'm going to head out to DSW at lunch and look for some new shoes!! (Work shoes, of course).

Success.

I'm going to let pictures do most of the talking, because I'm still a little tired from all the festivities....

M-Trizzle's surprise party = success.

Finally scoring tickets to the Red River Rivalry = success.



An amazing day to tailgate with phenomenal people = success.

Finally checking a "Game at the Cotton Bowl" off my Texas To Do list = success.

Clearly, I had a terrible weekend.