Wrapping up the school year....WOOHOO!

So, we're nearing the end of school, with only a couple of finals left....and couldn't be more excited and ready! I wrapped up my dietetic internship FINALLY (the supervised experience you have to do to be eligible to sit for the exam and be a registered dietitian "RD")....now all I have to do is study my booty off and pass my RD exam (everyone can start praying now haha)...and then a final in the two classes I'm taking, sports nutrition and skeletal muscle physiology....Wally has finals in Greek, Organic Chem, & Petrography....but next Monday we will be free, free at last!! Then we will be going our seperate ways for a month, starting the middle of May :( boo! (Needless to say we are not looking forward to this)... Wally will be in Las Vegas, NM with UTA on his field camp trip (Rock camp :), not too exciting but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do right? ...I am going to a sports dietitian conference in Florida and to my cousins wedding....then summer school (yuck!)

Details for the pictures below...Wally (if anybody knows him, this award TOTALLY fits) received the "Red Raider Congeniality" Award at the TECHspys (Texas Tech Athletic Awards Banquet) last night, an award for the most likeable, all around person/athlete at Tech. These awards are voted on by all the athletes from every sports, both men and women, at Tech, so needless to say, I was pretty darn proud of my awesome hubby (I guess everyone else thinks so too lol ;).

We have also been lovin our sweet puppy CHAMP!!! We went to the first vet visit, and he apparently is a giant....he was over 22 pounds at 9 weeks! He cracks us up, but he is really smart too, and catching on to things were teaching him pretty quickly....potty training, sit, walking on a leash, and all that fun stuff. He is super friendly, and he loves meeting new people and doggy friends too! Come visit if you haven't met him yet, you will fall in love (yes he is that cute :)!!!

All dressed up for the TECHspy awards

Wally going on stage at the TECHspys to get his award

Wally's best friend Rob, and yes he is pretty much just part of our family!

Champs favorite chew toy, a small look alike lol!

Cuddleing with Wally (they are both grumpy when they wake up)

Our new family member CHAMP!!

So, Wally is the best and sweetest husband in the world!! I have been begging for a puppy pretty much since the day we got married, but I have been rather persistant lately....Anyway, after finding out that Zack's (my college roomate Shannon's fiance) aunt had 8 week old golden retrievers on sale Saturday morning, we jumped on the incredible opportunity to actually finally get one! We called, reserved a male, and she met us in Lamesa Monday afternoon so we could get our puppy! Sunday afternoon, we had gone to Petsmart to get all the supplies we needed, including food, treats, dog bowls, play ropes, rubber ducky, a basketball, and bones.....and he loves them all! He is so friendly, sweet, playful, and social, but judging by the size of his paws, he is going to be huge!! He cracks us up at how much of a golden retriever he is....he can't stand to not be in the room with you or playing with you haha :)! We have had a blast with him thus far, and know he is going to be such a great dog! Enjoy the pics, and videos soon to come.... we can't wait for everyone to meet Champ, he will love you, we're sure!




The wonderful first bath!!!


Cuddeling in the back yard taking a nap

Tug of war with the next door neighbor playmates

Wally at the Texas Tech Athlete Talent Show

So, as most of you know, Wally is really talented in the music department. This year, Texas Tech athletics hosted the second annual talent show to benefit the Special Olympics. Each team either nominates a teamate or performs as a team, and performances range from dances, singing, playing musical insruments, and other random things....anyway, the men's basketball team nominated Wally for the second year in a row (very smart I think ;)!) He ended up getting second in the show, but was definately one of the crowd's favorites! Enjoy the video of Wally singing "Hallelujah".

So the video wouldn't upload but its on youtube!!!

Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdRmr8fdr0g

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

So I had my 23rd birthday this week (kind of a boring one if you ask me)....not one that you are really excited about or looking forward to anyway. I had a fun day though, but I had to start a new rotation in my internship this week, which meant I went to work around 8 and until 5 no one knew who I was, much less that it was my birthday....so that stunk.

But my amazing husband was super sweet and took me to lunch to my FAVORITE place, the infamous HOME CAFE....by the way, if you have not tried this awesome Lubbock local restaurant, you are truly missing out!!! Back to my birthday, my mom and I went after I got off work to Bless Your Heart, where I am way too obsessed with frozen yogurt, and it just so happened that "Dreamsicle" was the flavor that day, the best yogurt known to man!

After that, I went to the Red Raider game against Baylor. The game didn't turn out so well, but I did get to see one of my dear friends, Jordan Secord, who was my co counselor at Camp Travis in Eagle Mountain my first year as a coach....she is amazing! She works for the Baylor athletic department as an academic coordinator....AKA a team mom haha!!

And yes, best for last, Wally had gotten me an incredible pralines and cream ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, where we are $1 scoop night junkies. I got the treat of him and Robert Lewandowski singing happy birthday to me with 23 candles burning on top of my cake (by the way, blow out candles fast on an ice cream cake, it melts rather quickly.) Our great friends, Brad and Tara Newton also came to join the party! It was so fun to spend some good quality time with the people I love!

I have been really busy lately, so I haven't got to write in a while, but I will get the video of Wally performing in the talent show soon, I promise (He did so good!) and also enjoy the pics of good ole Farwell High School Bball. My cousin Collin is a freshman on Varsity (go Coll, you're a stud). Both the boys and girls (my awesome cousin Laney is a junior on that team) both won two games into the playoffs! I also got to go skiing with Macey, and Laney, and we went to Casa Blanca and celebrated an early birthday the weekend before. I had a blast because the snow in Ruidoso was incredible....fresh powder....its glorious!!!

Anyway, its warm in Lubbock FINALLY, so I am so ready to welcome in the spring! May your day be filled with much JOY!!! Until next time.....

CRAZY Lubbock weather

So Lubbock weather....WoW!!! You have really out done yourself this time....these past couple of days have been crazy! It started Wednesday when all the weathermen were having a cow, telling us that a huge winter storm was on the way....with ice, sleet, snow....the works....but who believes those guys when it's 70 degrees on a clear, sunny January afternoon? Not me, but I found out quickly that I should have. I woke up Thursday morning, excited about getting to spend a day observing in the OR at UMC, to fierce rain that had been going on all night. The temperature was now dropping however, and the rain of the past had now become ice!!! (Not fun trying to hurry and get to work when your windshield is completely frozen and iced over!)...anyway I was not prepared going out the door, I borrowed Wally's waterproof jacket which was way too big, wore tennis shoes, and had no gloves (BAD mistake I would learn)....as I tried to walk in to the hospital, I was miserable and looked like an idiot....my umbrella turning inside out becuase of the ridiculous wind, and my socks soaked becuase there was water (really cold water) everywhere! So I finally made it into the OR, and wasn't able to see outside for the rest of the day....simply heard the craziness from others who had gotten calls aboutthe heavy snow falling, roads closing, schools cancelling...WHOA!!! We finally get done about 5:30 and I make the freezing trek out to the car, my hands already painfully cold when I get there....little did I know I would have about 4 inches of snow and a thick layer of ice to try to scrape off my car before I could drive!!! My hands hurt so bad by the time I was done, but I got in pushed the accelerator, had to brake, and then all the snow that was on top of the car slid forward....needless to say round 2 of scraping happened.....GRRRRR I just wanted to get home! Wally called me to make sure I was ok (yes I took that long haha)....anyway, I was glad I made it home safe. Rob came over and we thought we could build a snowman, but it was too powdery, so it turned into snowball war and snow angels....fun times anyway....Enjoy the pics, stay warm, and drive safe!!!

Big XII Opener TTU vs. OSU

The Red Raiders opened the Big XII Conference against OSU at Historic Galligher Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They came out great, but couldn't get a shot, and OSU couldn't miss. They lost, but are back in action on Wednesday in Lubbock against Mizzou. They need all the fan support they can get so come out and cheer em on! We got to sit in the very front row right behind the bench....it was awesome and we were literally in the middle of the action! It was exciting to go to my first away game too! I snapped some shots of Wally, and his good friend and teamate Rob in action (the warming up pictures are hilarious!!) Well, until next time, have a great week!

Oklahoma City Memorial

I was super excited to share my trip to Oklahoma City and Stillwater with you all! Wally flew out Friday night with the team to get ready for the Big XII opener against OSU in Stillwater and I flew to Oklahoma City Saturday morning and met Wally's parents. It was a great weekend, with lots of fun activities, so this post is a little long, but enjoy!

This was my first trip to Oklahoma ever! (Can you believe that?!?) Since Stillwater is only about an hour away from Oklahoma City, we rented a car to drive there, but had some extra time on Saturday before the game that night. I had never seen the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum, so we decided that would be a great way to spend our time! If you haven't ever been to Oklahoma City to see this museum and memorial, I would highly recommend it, except it is quite a tear jerker, so don't forget your tissues! I was only 8 when this happened on April 19, 1995, but vaguely remember the events and headlines. 168 people were killed and that included 30 children that were in the daycare of this federal building. It was beautiful to see how something that was such a tragedy, meant to tear down and seperate, actually united a city and a country, and caused people to serve, help, and pray for others so selflessly! We saw and heard survivor's stories, accounts of the families that lost loved ones, detailed desriptions about that day's shocking events, the investigation and trial of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols (the bombers), etc...We spent over 2 hours there, and actually could have spent more because it was so in depth! Like I said, if you haven't ever been, I would recommend seeing it sometime for sure! I didn't get to take pictures in the museum, but got to snap some outside, where the memorial was. I will try to provide a little description, but remember, the pictures don't really do it justice.


This tree was in the parking lot right beside the building and was called the "Survivor Tree"...somehow it survived the bombing and still stands as a reminder. Tons of rubble and glass were blown into it, but it still stood. And the building behind it is actually where the museum is. The windows were all blown out by the force of the bomb, and now are mostly replaced by black brick.

These chairs are monuments for each of those who past away in the terrible event. The glass parts are engraved with their names...The chairs are placed where the building was, and the are arranged by the floor the person worked on (there were 9 floors in the building).

The "reflecting pool" is in the place where the street ran. They lowered the ground 11 feet to place the memorial. The structure on one side reads "9:01" the other, "9:03". The bombing happened at 9:02 in the morning. So you can infer the symbolism.

Our First Christmas (Yes a little late)

So yes, this post may be a little late, but I thought it was cool and I would share it with you!

This year Wally and I celebrated our first married Christmas together....so cool because as of the 27th we have been married 6 months....WOOHOO!!! :)....

I thought I would reignite the Christmas cheer by inviting you into our home and letting you take a short tour of our Christmas decor haha!

I was so excited to decorate, we got out all of the stuff the day after Thanksgiving, turned on some awesome Christmas music (check out Paul Cardall for the most amazing Christmas CD ever), and began the fun...I think Wally was into decorating for Christmas for maybe 15 minutes, but when the 3 hours mark passed and I was looking for more we could decorate, he was a little warn out to say the least....

Any way, enjoy the pics and by the way, the wreath was hand made by yours truly (had to brag just a little because it was one of the few creative things I've done in a while!)

BIG Red Raider win!

So just letting you know the red raiders won in a close nail-biter today against UTEP 86-78! It was a great game....now let's go dominate OSU Saturday! Go Tech!

Red Raider Bball update/ Nutrition Update

I thought I would just give you guys a quick update on what Wally and I will be up to next week....

Red Raiders have their last nonconference game vs. UTEP on Sunday at 2pm in Lubbock.
Conference starts vs. OSU in Stillwater on Saturday Jan. 9th.

Go Tech!!

I start back to nutrition rotations at the Covenant Lifecycle Cardiac Rehab center next week...I am excited for sure because I think this might be an area of dietetics that I want to work in!

The New "Blogger"...Enjoy

Okay, so after much contemplation, I decided I should join the "blogging" world. A few of the inspirations I've had to create my own blog....

~ Many of my friends and family have blogs, so Wally & I should get one right, so they can read and giggle about what we've been up to?

~ Look what benefits blogging has....the ability to post and share little bits of your life and keep up with friends and family through a little website...

~ People can feel like they are a part of your life...even if they are far away

~ I really enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia.

~ Probably lots more, I just can't think of them right now....

Little did I know one must be slightly savvy with computers to do so....HTML language?, creating your own templates? (What have I got myself into?) So...After a couple of hours of not knowing which button did what, and many google "how to" searches...TAADAA!!...here ya go! I hope you enjoy it!