Ode to Natalie

One of my dearest, and most wonderful friends is embarking on a wonderful adventure tomorrow. Miss Natalie is moving to Nashville! I have to admit, part of me is jealous that she is stepping out & being so adventurous. I know God is going to do some really excited things. Of course, she will be missed here in our neck of the woods, but that just means that there are many trips to Nashville in my future! Watch out Nashville - here's what you have coming!

Getting in Shape

So, since I moved to my new apartment I've been considering buying a bike because we have these great bike trails and I have all these friends who have bikes who I could ride with. Wednesday at work we got this email saying that everyone was getting an extra $500 in their paycheck because it's the end of our year. I decided it was time to buy the bike. This is my bike - I think, or the closest I could find to it on the internet:

Last night I took it out for a test short test run, even though all my bike friends are out of town or studying, and it was so much fun. I haven't ridden a bike in so long, but I like it so much better than running! I think I might actually be able to work on getting myself some exercise....what a concept!

What a Trip!

I am, unfortunately, back from Maui now and it's back to the real world. Sarah and I had a great time. For those of you who don't know, I traveled with my dear friend Sarah Sherman for her job, and it was absoutely wonderful and relaxing. The plane ride there & back was my least favorite part, but I can endure that for a real vacation from work! We got in Friday afternoon and she did some work and I just relaxed and then we went out to dinner with some of her triathlon participants. That is where we saw this fabulous sunset. On Saturday Sarah had a little work to do, so I layed on the beach (I mean, someone has to do it). Then that afternoon we drove into Lahaina'i to do some shopping and some more touristy things. We walked around and did some shopping and ate at one of Sarah's favorite Maui restaurants. It was a really neat island town (in the picture below). Sunday was race day, so Sarah had to work that day. I lazed by the pool for most of the day . That night we went to the victory party for the triathalon. It was really fun to get to see what Sarah does when she's at events.

Me & Sarah at the victory party






Monday morning was my favorite part of the whole trip. We woke up at 2 am and drove 2 hours to get to the top of the volcano to see the sunrise. It was really quite incredible. We drove up the mountain to 10,000 feet, and the clouds were down at 5,000 feet, so when the sun rose it was up from behind the clouds. The pictures don't do it justice. But here are a few to try. It was beautiful. It was terribly freezing up there, so we were all wrapped up in the hotel blankets.

Me & Sarah waiting out the cold before the sun came up

Off to Maui!!!!

I'm off to Maui. My flight leaves in 4 hours! Many pictures when I come back!!!!!!!!!

Personality Test

I'm doing a personality profile thing that I got from my friend Sonia, and it wants to see what traits the people who know me would pick for me. You only have to pick 6 and it only takes a second. I would really appreciate it :)

http://kevan.org/johari?name=sarahdanae

Summer Has Arrived!

This weekend I finally felt like it was summer. Friday after work LB, Jess, I took out for the lake to take the boat for a test run so LB would know what was going on when the whole group went out on Sunday, since her family got a new boat. It was so great just to be outside and enjoy the sun and the breeze. It was fabulous, and the water felt great!

Saturday was a day full of old friends. In the morning I went to the park and read for a long time, then LB and I walked around downtown a little bit and took pictures. My sister was in town for a wedding, so I got meet up with her and some friends for lunch. Then my friend Mel was in town and I got spend some good time with her that evening. We ate dinner and I got to meet one of her friends from Houston. And to finish up a wonderful day my Baylor friend Jessica Camp needed a place to spend the night, so she came & stayed the night & went to church with me Sunday morning. I am so super excited that she's moving to Frisco this summer so that I'll actually get to see her more often!

Sunday after church a group of us took LB's boat out and it was tons of fun. We spent the whole afternoon playing in the water and just hanging out. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day!

Julia, my crazy roommate being the boat hand

Everyone on the boat (LB, me, Steph, Julia, Susan, & Sara)

LB & me

Fun Weekend

So, I've been meaning to post about this last weekend and since a new weekend is upon us, I thought I should go ahead and do it. I went home for the weekend, which is always fun. It was great just to get to spend some time with family & relaxing. I got to see MaMa, eat good food, and make homemade icecream, it was just and overall great weekend. Another high point of the weekend was getting to have sno-cones, since Dallas has none of them anywhere, it was great to be in a city where you can just drive down the street and get one! Deborah got all packed up for the big move to Oklahoma City while I was home. I can't believe she started her first job this week. Crazy! I also found out that Darby, one of my best friends from high school, is engaged. I thought I was done with the bridesmaid thing for awhile, but it looks like I get to kick it in to that mode again!

I came back Sunday night so that I could spend some of the weekend here in Dallas and not be rushed starting the week. Monday night I got to a fun concert in the park with Julia, LB, and a couple of their fun school friends. The Dallas symphony orchestra played, there were fireworks when it got dark, AND it was completely free. That's my kind of event! It reminded me of the things I would go to with my grandparents whenever I would come visit them in Fort Worth for the 4th of July. It was SO fun! Here's a couple of pictures.

Julia, Susan, LB, Me

I love Fireworks!