Quote of the day

In my diligent search to discover the grand purpose of my life, I came across the following quote that I felt like summed up everything very well. When I initially read it, I felt very satisfied inside, as if I'd been given the answer and it was much simpler than I could've ever imagined:

“God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God’s purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven.

All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.

As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go.” –St. Ignatius of Loyola

It is a constant struggle for me to continually recognize the simplicity of faith as I tend to over-romanticize and over-analyze most things in life. I went through a confused phase where I thought it was a little selfish of God to require our entire hearts and souls and lives, but then I came to this revelation that it's the most selfless thing of Him ever to allow us to share in His glory and magnificence - both of which are a) greater than anything else in the whole entire world and b) WORTHY of our entire hearts and souls and lives.

I find it tough sometimes to persevere in my faith, yet am hopeful that the Holy Spirit will provide me with the encouragement to move forward, allowing the quote from St. Ignatius to come to full fruition in my life with 100% honor to God...

I hugged Marc Broussard!!!

On Thursday night, I attended my 4th live Marc Broussard concert at the House of Blues in Dallas. He has become one of my all time favorite artists, and has AMAZING talent when it comes to vocals.

The concert itself was phenomenal. Not only is MB a complete rock star, but we found out that night before arriving that Ryan and Leah, Jeff and Dana, and a few others happened to randomly be attending the concert as well. Singing at the top of your lungs with friends by your side always makes for a much more entertaining night...

Promptly after the encore, we somehow found a door that exited right to the street, right in front of Marky Mark's bus, and right in front of the door he was walking out of!!!

[pause for dramatic effect and a moment of extreme excitement!!!!]

K grabbed him first and shook his hand. Marc then extended his hand to me, but I totally ignored it and went in for a hug. He was so sweaty and his back was completely wet, but it was still heavenly. K mentioned the last time we saw him in concert was in Austin with G-Love & the Special Sauce. All I could manage was a breathless, "I saw you in Lafayette too!" I'm sure he's played there all of a thousand times since he's from Louisiana, but I thought surely he'd remember me singing in the front row...

He gave us a nod, a wave, a "thanks guys," and was off to the bus. I'm kicking myself for not having a camera, but the memory of this beautiful and excellent hug from a musician that I greatly admire and love will forever remain at the forefront of my mind.

Freak Balls

After an evening at the driving range last night, K and I decided to make a trip to Target to buy golf balls for a tournament that he's playing in this week. You might be initially shocked by the "evening at the driving range" statement, but I'm proud to report that I took a golf lesson this past weekend and am working to improve my game with the end goal of being able to play with clients in the future. As a female banker, this is an amazing skill to have and could ultimately result in acquired business down the line. [Work with me here in pretending that I'll be that good one day.]

On the Target golf aisle, we ran into the head of JPMorgan Asset Management. For some reason, I felt inclined to introduce myself to him, sweaty, frazzled, golfed out and all. I heard him speak at a luncheon a couple months ago, and met him briefly; however, the likelihood of him remembering me is probably zero given the mass amount of individuals that introduced themselves to him that day.

He ended up being the nicest guy in the world. At the lunch [which I referenced to assure him that I wasn't a stalker], he spoke of several books. Of course he had to ask me which ones I'd read since then, and I sadly had to report none. I'm glad I was honest because the follow up would've been, "So, S, tell me what you particularly liked about that book." Tap dancing at Target around 8:45 on a Monday evening is not my forte. But I digress...

So they have these golf balls called Freak Balls, made by Top Flite. We had absolutely no golf ball purchasing strategy going in, and after seeing the name decided that Freak was so the way to go. K says, and I quote,"These have good luck written ALL over them!!!!!!!!" I think the their motto of "Unleash the Freak" is hilarious, and agree with him that they're a great buy.

I am here to report that the head of JPMorgan Asset Management does not agree or endorse Freak Balls. After the introductions, he politely gave us a lesson in Buying Golf Balls 101. The lesson began with opening up the Freak Ball box in the middle of the shopping aisle to determine whether or not the balls actually said Freak on them, which they did. Upon this revelation, he strongly recommended that we go with something a little more professional, especially due to the fact that K's tournament is 1) related to his occupation and 2) will support client attendance.

Long story short, the conversation continued and we ended up talking all the way to the check out. Not only is this guy awesome, but his sister works at a company that is s a prospect of mine, and I had lunch with her about a month or so ago. She is equally as awesome, and I was so excited to make the connection.

I'm selfishly hopeful that he'll remember my name down the line, just in case my job ever becomes in jeopardy. After all, how many other employees do you think he's ever talked about Freak Balls with at Target??

You know you've made it big when....

...you're on the Vino 100 Dallas website.

One of K's friends notified him of our picture posted on the internet while playing golf today. We've never been back since this single sighting that occured maybe 2 years ago, and I can't say that we really even recall being photographed while we were there. Good to know now...

Fun weekend....

Oh man. What a fun weekend! I am so thankful for the time in which K and I have to grow closer to one another. This foundational year of our marriage has been tough at times, but wonderful overall. We've come so far, learned so much about each other, and have truly experienced what it means to love one another unconditionally. We keep each other laughing, and most of all enjoy each others' company to the extent that I couldn't imagine doing anything without him.

We didn't necessarily have anything on the agenda for this weekend, but it ended up being so relaxing and great, filled with a variety of fun activities:

1. Dinner with Ryan and Leah. They are sincerely genuine, true friends who we're able to really share our lives with. For the record, the best part of the meal [outside of their company, of course] was the Central Market mac and cheese. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
2. A bike ride around White Rock Lake that ended early due to a serious fall onto my left hip after clipping K's back wheel. Lesson learned to leader: always signal. Lesson learned to follower: always keep a safe distance behind the rider in front of you.
3. 21 the movie. I wish I was smart enough to learn how to count cards.
4. A trip to the Arboretum. This is one of my most favorite places in Dallas next to the State Fair. I absolutely love walking through the green grass in my bare feet. So refreshing, reminds me of being a little kid.
5. Catch in the backyard with my new Derek Jeter glove from Academy.

The best part about it all is that somehow I've managed to escape the Sunday gloom thus far - the dread that seeps up inside, knowing that you're required to attend work the next day, back to the monotous grind that engulfs you Mon - Fri. As I write this at 7:45 pm, I'm of course reminded of that terrible feeling, which usually comes much earlier in the day for me. It's now time for me to give in to the winding-down / preparation-for-the-week phase in which I start thinking of the massive To Do pile in my inbox and woefully wish for a long vacation....

The Beauty of 7-11

Sometimes I eat lunch at 7-11. Like today. I am a creature of habit, and by default find myself always indulging in the same thing every time I go: 1) a hot dog with onions, pickle relish, and cheese from "the machine," 2) a jalapeno and cream cheese taquito, 3) peanut butter M&M's, and 4) a Dr. Pepper slurpee.

It's a wonder I haven't had a heart attack yet, and have managed to keep my weight below 300 lbs.

This is only my 2nd trip this year, the first of which was initiated by my boss. Big Gulps and chili cheese Fritos apparently remind him of his college days. In fact, he's the one who made me aware of the new headquarters that 7-11 just built. In the past we were required to take the DART train to get there, but the new location happens to be within walking distance of our office!!

Although we were slightly overdressed in our business suits and flip flops compared to the sea of construction workers there on their lunch break, we still had a glorious meal. Oh thank heaven for 7-11...

My bro is the bestest!

Growing up my bro and I aggravated each other. I wouldn't say we fought a lot, but there were definitely times that we nagged, etc. Once when we were little he hit me in the head with his He-Man plastic tiger [the green one with yellow stripes - what was his name again?] I told him to stop because he was going to hurt my brain. His response was, "You don't got a brain." Thanks, bro. This is one of my most favorite pictures of us back in the day:


My family moved around a ton because of my Dad's job. As a result, there were times when my brother and I were actually really close. We'd move to a new town, know no one, and end up playing Gotcha [the basketball game], catch in the front yard, 500 with the football, Nintendo, Battleship, you name it. Apparently we also liked to sit on the floor and run pennies down our legs:

From king ranch chicken in college to post-A&M parties in nola, we have some great memories together which I'll always cherish...

We're both all grown up now. He just accepted a job offer in Stockton, CA, and I'm so proud of him for persevering and being brave enough to make such a big change. He has such amazing potential and is turning out to be a wonderful person who I admire and respect. Long story short, I love you bub bub!!