Beer Cart Friday

To tack on to my day of wonderful feasting...

TODAY IS BEER CART FRIDAY AT WORK!!!  What is this you ask?  Why, this is just the greatest thing since sliced bread. 

When: Fridays (but not all, so when it comes...its a big (and tasty!) treat!)
Why: Because why not?  My company works - and plays- hard!
Where: The office.  You keep working, the booze are brought to you!
How: Via cart and whichever willing participant has signed up to push the cart for the day!
Time: Beginning at approximately 3pm
Evidence: See below.

Food Frenzy Friday

So in true "girl fashion" I am going to list out all the things I have, or will, eat today and then complain about it after.  Ready? Go!

There was an event in my office this morning which, of course, was accompanied by food.  Being that I sit down the hall from the Cafe, I am in prime positon to snag the left-overs.  Ergo, I ate a (free!) Einstein bagel (with strawberry cream cheese...yum!) spread and 3/4 of a sausage and egg burrito.  Oh, and I grabbed an apple juice (which is such a nice treat when I actually remember we keep that on supply).  Successful breakfast. 

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you know we get lunch brought in every Friday.  Today was no different.  What did we eat today, you ask?  None other than a College Station original: FREEBIRDS!  Yum.  Burritos, chips & queso, cookies, and brownies?!  Yum.  Successful lunch.

We have an intern event tonight that we're hosting at Lonesome Dove in Fort Worth (followed by a comedy show at one of my favorite clubs, Four Day Weekend!).  The three-course menu includes things that have had my mouth watering for the past few days in anticipation.  Lobster tail? Pork tenderloin? Salads with foods so fancy I can't pronounce their name? Chocolate mouse cake? Unlimited wine?  Done deal.  This is sure-to-be a 'successful dinner.'

Ah.  So is anyone salivating with hunger and jealousy, yet?  Don't get me wrong, folks, when I'm not being provided meals by BCG, its peanut butter sandwiches and rice cakes for me!  (I hate cooking).  So when I am allowed the luxury of having my meals planned, cooked, delivered, served, and paid for by someone else, I'm all about it!

Now for the complaining part:  My plans for tomorrow include pool, pool, and more pool.  My thoughts on exposing my sure-to-still-be-there food baby?  Well...I'm channeling negative thoughts about it.  However, upon weighing the options, the food won out (as it always does...)

Happy Friday and Happy Nom-Noming!

Lions, and Tigers, and Clowns, OH MY!!

Tonight I went to the Circus, which is something I haven't done in years!  I might be safe to say decades, even!  Steph bought tickets in April/May-ish and (sadly?) I've been looking forward to tonight ever since.  One of my favorite childhood memories is of going to the Circus and being completely mesmerized by all the animals and clowns and trapeze artists!

Was it as great as I remembered?  Sadly, not at all...it was still a great show, don't get me wrong, but it didn't have that magical essence it held when I was a kid.  And there were hardly any animals!  There were elephants and tigers...and ponies, llamas, and a dog.  Oh.  And a Longhorn.  Really?!  C'mon Barnum & Baileys, give me some bears growling and lions jumping through flaming rings!

There was also a lot more dancing than I remembered.  I kinda felt like I was in a dumbed-down version of the "SYTYCD" tour.  I guess I just have very high expectations when dancing is concerned.  To be expected, of course.

All in all, a good show and a good time (even though it seems my post would suggest otherwise)!  I must just be in a critical mood!  But the kids loved it so that's good - maybe this will be one of their favorite childhood memories!  (And who knows, maybe my parents were thinking the exact same thing as I am now back when they took me!)

Here are just a few pictures and videos of the night:

I wanted to throw up while watching this - I was so nervous for them the whole time!

My sweet Kenna :)

Precious Rynn :)

I LOVE the trapeze artists - they've my favorite!

Thanks Ringling Bros and Barnum & Baileys for a great Thursday night!

Meet Steph

So I've come to the conclusion that in order to get to know me, you'll need to know a little about my friends as well.  So I've decided to periodically feature one of my awesome friends, share a few of our stories, and post a couple of our pictures together.  So without further adieu, may I introduce to you... ::drum roll please:: ...Stephanie!

Steph and I knew each other in high school and we would hang out occasionally, but it really wasn't until we both got to college that we became best friends.  ::Think Rachel and Monica:: And if you know us at all, you'll know how fitting that FRIENDS analogy is being that we're both obsessed with that show!

Our friendship has been one to withstand distance (we went to separate universities), differing life directions (she has kids, kids hate me), and the wear and tear any normal friendship experiences.  But through it all, we've been by each other's side: through kids, new jobs, heartbreaks, and big life moments - we've seen it all!!  

So here's my little pictorial tribute to our friendship!

(Please excuse the bad hair and bad clothes seen in some of these photos)

Spring Break 07

Summer 07

Hurricane Harbor

Bowling

Please check out my phone.  This was before 'smart phones'...that's how long ago this was!

Steph's 20th birthday in Denton!

Sophomore year in college.

Steph and me at her baby shower!

So, so precious.

Ok, I just had to sneak one in of these two!  More on these cutie pies in a future post :)

New Years Eve 2010

Finally both Dallas-ites again!

The Londoner.

MAVs game!

 Eli Young Band concert.

 Love you, Steph!!

Big Fan.

If you've been following my blog, you've caught snippets of information about my sister, Cynthia.  You'll know that I think she's fantastic, that she's much more musically talented than I could ever hope to be, and that she's someone truly worthy of admiration.

This is her:

Isn't she beautiful?

And so photogenic?

And super fun?

And this is her music that I've been raving about for the past three months:

Watch it on YouTube!

This is a mix of all the songs she did at a recent performance.  Most of them are covers with one original stuck in there.  I would highly suggest listening to the whole 6 minutes; it's phenomenal.

And if you're in the mood to hear an original, check this:

Watch it on YouTube!

This was a few years ago at a singing/songwriting competition.  She composed both the music and the lyrics (which are awesome).  My favorite part of the song is around 2:20.

And finally, if you still haven't had enough, you should definitely listen to her acoustic cover of Hallelujah.  It's absolutely beautiful.

Hallelujah Cover

This girl has more dedication and commitment than I have ever seen.  She taught herself how to play the piano.  She taught herself how to play the guitar.  And she has written (both music and lyrics) to over 200 songs.  I guess that's why Berklee wanted her so bad ;)  

Here she comes, Boston!

Obviously I'm a big fan.  Love you, Cyn!!

Recap of the Retreat

As aforementioned in my previous post, I experienced the wonderfulness of my company retreat this past weekend.  Here's an overview of what went down:

Bright and early at 7:00am on Friday we headed out of Dallas en route to San Marcos to, of course, float the river!  Being that we had Friday off of work, this was the perfect time.  With a group of about 20 BCGers, a plentitude of drinks and snacks, and a series of rope swings crossing our path, it proved to be quite the relaxing, yet adventurous, day!

BCG ladies at Don's Fish Camp pre-float!

After we got off the river, we headed to the Hyatt Lost Pines resort.  Upon check in were offered a mimosa and received our goodie bag full of treats including a weekend itinerary, info about the resort, and our sweet tote bag.

I like the way this hotel rolls.

Why, yes!  I'll take a free tote :)

The whole resort was absolutely stunning!  The rooms were beautiful and spacious, the grounds were organic, yet well kept, and the staff was unbelievably helpful and accommodating.  And the amenities at this place?  Outstanding!

How 'homey' is this room?!

How beautiful is this view?!

After showering and relaxing for a bit, we headed down to our Luau themed dinner.  This included delicious pina coladas and mai tais, the most scrumptious Mahi Mahi I've ever had, Hawaiian dancers, leis, and of course, great company :)  Although I peaced out early and skipped the late night party, it was such a fun night!

Sarah and me at the Luau celebration!

Ashley and Brittany at the Luau!

Saturday morning I woke up early, grabbed some delicious breakfast, went back to my room to freshen up, then headed to the pool!  This pool was...awesome!  Complete with tiki bars, a lazy river, a surprisingly fun water slide, and the most attentive wait staff ever, this might have been my favorite part of the weekend.  A good book, a fruity cocktail, and a little Texas sun make for such a great Saturday afternoon :)

Oh you know, just a typical Saturday at a luxurious pool ;)

Saturday after the pool consisted of shopping, snacking, and getting ready for that night's themed party: The Red Carpet.  I'm not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant about going "all out" being that this was my first BCG retreat.  Although I had heard good things and crazy stories, I was still a little leery as to how much people dressed up.  But I decided to suck it up and go big or go home.  The idea of the night was to either dress like you are walking the red carpet or dress as a character in a movie.  I chose Black Swan...

...and so did many others...

And this isn't even all of us...

It was fun, though!  The food was, in true BCG fashion, some of the best I've ever had!  The drinks were top notch, the live band was fantastic, and it was such a hoot seeing everyone that you typically see in suits and ties wearing tights and tutus!  The retreat committee really did put a lot of effort into making it a special night for everyone.  From the awesome prizes for best dressed to the 'flip book' party favor station, to the centerpieces on the tables, everything was well thought out!

Here are a few more pictures from the evening:

Peter Pan and Borat

Barbie and Ken from Toy Story 3

Black Swan (check the red eyes), Alfalfa, Gertie, Audrey Hepburn

Joe Dirt...minus his mullet

Lindsey Lohan (you can't see from the picture but she's wearing an ankle bracelet and heels)

BCG Recruiting :)

Friday night I actually DID make it to late night.  This took place at a rented out lake house on the property, The Litton House.  Super fabulous.  Super fun.  Around 4:00am some BCGers started getting adventurous and attempting leisure dives in the pool.  Aren't familiar with leisure dives?  Check them out here: http://www.leisuredive.com/about-the-leisure-dive/ 

My failed attempts at capturing these leisure dive greats...

I

I actually accidently fell in the hot tub (yes, fully clothed!) trying to capture this picture!

So no awesome leisure dives were documented.  Bummer.  But the rest of the night provided eventful and fun so I'm ok with that.  Sunday morning Brittany and I woke up early and headed to the spa for massages.  Their spa facilities were incredible although (surprisingly) their massages were only sub-par.  But still, not too shabby of a morning :)  After our massages and a delicious breakfast, we headed back to the big D!  

So as you can tell, I had one of the most amazing weekends with really awesome people.  Even the car ride back (which is usually a bummer of the trip) was fun being that Brittany and I jammed to solid 90s country for the entire car ride.  Restless Heart, anyone?! 

Anyway, as you can probably guess, the majority of us were dragging at work today.  We were so tired and so not ready to switch out of vacation mode!  Oh well...the super fun weekend was worth it!  Thanks, BCG!