A lovely weekend...

Robert and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day early with a trip to Simply Fondue in downtown Fort Worth. It’s right next to the Scat Jazz Lounge (another favorite) in the basement of the old Woolworth’s building. We’d been to the one in Arlington on many occasions but we really enjoyed the Fort Worth location because our seating was so private. We had a chocolate martini that was to die for. I think we rolled out of there because we ate so much. Delicious!

Not to limit ourselves to one day of gluttony, we went to my mom’s house for a Valentine’s themed dinner party the next night. She used her Martha Stewart skills to create really fun tablescapes for the “young adult” table and the adult tables. She broke out some Caymus, champagne with strawberries and all of the couples brought a dish. Mom made filets for the girls and ribeyes for the boys. It was a ton of fun. The dessert was homemade meringue with a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with homemade raspberry coulis and a few fresh raspberries for good measure. Who wants to sit in a stuffy restaurant? Why not enjoy the day of love with the ones you love? It was perfection.

And Sunday we topped off the weekend of good food with a Sunday afternoon dinner with Robert’s parents. We had char sui pork with all of the fixings – yum! Robert and Calvin dug out old photos from high school. It’s so funny to look back and see how different everyone looks.

And *drum roll please* the big wedding news. We’ve set an official date now.

January 9, 2010!

We finally booked the chapel and reception site. It was pretty eye-opening to see how competitive the wedding market in Fort Worth is. It’s easy to get your church but not so easy to get the perfect reception site. I might have been a little pickier than most because I’ve worked on big events before though.

Now the fun begins – the graphic design, the dress shopping and my favorite part – asking our nearest and dearest to be a part of our big day!

I'm going to MySpace your Facebook...

This week has been a whirlwind. My poor office misses me.

On Tuesday I left with our Leadership Cleburne class to go to Austin through Wednesday. It was a fun trip complete with an introduction in the House. Our Sen. was filling in for the Lt. Gov. and making good use of the gavel! Our Rep. and Sen. for Johnson County stopped by for lunch with us and then we spent the afternoon enjoying some of the history the city has to offer. Austin is a very unique Texas town filled with very unique people. I'll just leave it at that.

After a very cliche Texas dinner (steak and margaritas), we went out to the one place you just can't miss when visiting Austin - 6th Street. We had a lot of fun and that's probably part of the reason I'm really exhausted today. On Wednesday we did a little more touring (Texas State Cemetary and the Bob Bullock Museum). I recommend the Texas Spirit movie. It comes complete with special effects that include a snake bite, grasshoppers, hurricanes and more. Oh, Texas. I'd also like to recommend lunch at Serrano's (downtown) on the patio. Perfection.

I think the best parts were the social time we had on the way down and the way back. We have an awesome class full of fun people. One of my favorite parts included explaining MySpace and Facebook to some of our older class members. "OK, so I'm going to Google your MySpace and MySpace your Facebook?"

It was such a joy to pick up my puppies from The Grand Pet Resort after I spent the first half of my day in Dallas for work. They were so excited to see me. It felt really weird going to bed last night without telling them goodnight. I felt empty without them! There will definitely be some serious games of fetch happening and lots of belly rubs tonight when I get home from work (I'm trying to catch up on everything from this week!).

Check back next week for some exciting wedding news!

Days go by...

January has come and gone fast. 2009 is shaping up to be a quick year!

What's new in our lives? Mostly the same old routine. Robert is going to class three nights a week and of course working full-time. Poor guy was sick this week with the stuff everyone is getting (fever, sore throat, etc).

I've been working hard and going to the gym almost every night. It's amazing that I now crave my workouts! Stacey and I tried the yoga class on Tuesday - it's harder than it looks. My trainer said we were doing some of the advanced positions. That makes more sense now.

Next week is going to be crazy - I'll be in Austin, Hillsboro, Dallas and Cleburne for work. I love it and I can't wait to go down for the legislative session!

Yes, wedding planning has commenced - slowly. We've booked a chapel but haven't formally announced the date yet. We're working on the contract for a reception site right now. We're also asking our nearest and dearest to formally be a part of our special day. After that, we'll have a date! (...and we're already working on the honeymoon - two weeks of adventure if Robert can swing the class schedule...)

Jack's newest favorite pastime is going to Fort Woof, our local dog park. He loves to play with his best friends Freddy and Avery. We went this morning and the poor guy is tuckered out. Molly thinks she is too good for the dog park! It's hilarious to watch the dogs chase each other. Jack is the unofficial greeter. He likes to go to the gate and welcome every new dog with a wagging tail. He may run for Mayor of Fort Woof next year if he keeps that up.

Robert and I did yard work today. I worked in our back yard garden (soil amending, trellis installing, pruning, cleaning out the bed, etc) and he worked on the lawn. Much better. I can't wait for the official start of spring. Our tulips are already coming up out front and our jasmine is already blooming out back. I think this wonderful "winter" weather has our plants confused. I'll take 75 degrees and sunny over 40 degrees any day!

Tonight I'm catching up on my DVR'd shows. I love nights where I have absolutely nothing to do!

We're engaged!

January has gone by fast and it has been a great month for us. Robert had a very long break from grad school but has started again. This semester he's taking three classes at night after work. It will be his hardest semester but after this, it should be a pretty easy walk to December (aside from the whole thesis thing). He is loving his new job as a transportation planner too!



I still love my job and I know I will continue to love it. I'm constantly challenged and I am surrounded by great mentors who are teaching me so much.



So onto the whole engagement story :)



Robert told me to pack an overnight bag on Friday. We went to the new Omni Fort Worth Hotel. I've been raving about this hotel since it opened two weeks ago. It has been called Fort Worth's "living room." It's by far the largest and most luxurious hotel in Fort Worth now. It has a Fort Worth charm.



Anyway, we arrived to our room on the top floor of the hotel with a fabulous view of surrounding skyline. I took Robert on a tour of the hotel (since I've already been on two) and then we headed down to Bob's Steak and Chop House for dinner. We are foodies so this was a special treat. I have to say that their filet was one of the best I've ever had.



After that we headed back up to the room to marvel at the skyline after sunset. Fort Worth is such a beautiful place. It was then that Robert made his proposal (and a very sweet one at that). I said yes!



After that we made our phone calls and texts to family and friends, attempted to take pictures with the automatic timer (there wasn't a high enough surface to put the camera on!) and enjoyed a slice of Texas-style pecan cheesecake for dessert.







After we work out a few details this week, we should have a date set for this fall! We're both so excited to start this new chapter of our life together and we're so thankful for the support we've had from our family and friends.

It’s the Holiday Season

Santa was very good to us this year. We awoke on Christmas to find lots of toys under the tree…a new Xbox 360 with all of the trimmings, AppleTV, an ipod touch, a GPS, a Bluetooth headset for my Blackberry, lots of spa gift certificates, etc. But the best part was being with family over the holidays. The anniversary of Grandpa’s passing is creeping up and there were a lot of little things that reminded me of him. The biggest thing was our tree, which used to be Grandpa’s Christmas tree. We put it up and decorated it with a lot of love. We also put out all of his nutcrackers and plan on collecting more from Germany in his honor. He is very missed.

Now we’re looking ahead to 2009 and saying goodbye to a wonderful year. It started out a little bumpy but got better and better. A year in which I visit Florida 5 times can’t be that bad. Robert and I both moved up in the working world to great companies and we brought home our wonderful new puppy Jack.

As his personality continues to develop, he becomes more and more a part of our family. It was hard for Molly to accept another dog in the house but now they are getting along famously. Jack is very cuddly – he melts in your arms and really shows true love for us. He has his puppy moments – like pulling out one of my pencil bushes from the garden and dragging it around the yard like a big stick – but they are all a part of learning and growing. He’s lucky I’m super patient.




Robert and I have set some big goals for 2009. By the end of the year he will be walking across that stage and will officially have his Masters on time!

So long, 2008!

Expanding the Family and other tales...

Robert and I found out that we're getting a new puppy soon. It's a "Snorkie" (Mini Schnauzer/Yorkshire Terrier for those not in the know). We've been entertaining the idea of getting another dog for a while. Robert has even visited a few shelters around town. It's not that we want to replace Molly. We really want her to have another dog to pal around with. We adore my mom's dog, Cookie, a Havanese with an incredibly loving disposition. She and Molly get along so well.

As I was looking around Petfinder a few weeks ago, I put in Yorkie just for kicks. Usually they're all older and aren't friendly to animals and small children. There were eight puppies at Fuzzy Friends, an animal shelter I volunteered at in Waco. Robert and I thought they looked adorable and we put in an application. Two weeks later, we get a call and we get second pick! It's exciting. Luckily, it'll be about a month before we actually pick up our new puppy. That will give us some time to prepare. We'll definitely be doing training classes with both dogs.

Robert and I also finished a key project in our house this weekend. It was such a small project but it has made a big difference. We have bought a lot of new furiture over the past few months and our light green wall just wasn't jiving with everything else. Now we just need curtains and a few art pieces and we'll be done for now. (Yeah right!)

Jambalaya and Jazz

Last night we spent time with the Kevin, Elisha, Cindy and Calvin. We started with going over to the Burys for homemade jambalaya (meat and vegetarian!). It was so delicious. Then we headed to the Scat Jazz Lounge for a night of jazz.

I had read about the Scat Jazz Lounge in the business press a few months ago. We went downtown and you approach a man in front of an alley. You pay him and you walk down the alley. You can't miss the sign for the lounge.

Below the sign is an elevator. We took the elevator down below street level and you push open a set of doors into an open, dimly lit lounge complete with stage, tables and bar. Adonis Rose, the New Orleans import, was on stage and the place has a real speakeasy feel. Further proof that Fort Worth is amazing place to live.

I don't drink a lot so I like to try unique things from the menu. The have some really old school drinks. They even offer bottle service.

Definitely a fun night. Now it's off to the pool to relax :)