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.

Potential: Best Weekend Ever

I know, I know, I probably shouldn't say things like that, but this weekend really has the potential to be quite amazing. My bff M-Trizzle turns the big 2-5

This girl LOVES to celebrate her bday, so tonight should get pretty rowdy (i.e. Cretia's and/or Knox Street....) HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE!!!

Then of course, it's the infamous Red River Rivalry Texas/OU

or OU/Texas weekend here in Dallas. A bazillion Texas and OU fans (as well as people who just like to party) descend on Uptown, the West End and Fair Park to drink, cheer, then drink and cheer (or cry) some more.

It also seems to be visitor's weekend with my friends, tons of people have out-of-town guests coming to visit! So, good reasons to celebrate + football + fun, new people = potentially amazing weekend.

I'll check in Monday to let you know how it turned out!!