Playing Catch-Up

Hey folks, it's been a while since I've caught you guys up on my goings-on, so here goes!

School Update
At the end of August, I started my third (of six) semester of my speech pathology grad program. It really IS going by so fast! I worked with kids over the summer, so this fall it was time to work with adults (we have to have experience in each for our degree). I was pretty nervous because I just didn't know if I would enjoy or be good with adults. But as it turns out, I LOVE it! Still undecided what direction I will go with my career, but I am enjoying my adult practicum SO much more than expected. I can't say any details about where I work or who my clients are due to HIPAA, but I'll just say I love them all. Most have had neurological injuries such as strokes and traumatic brain injuries. I love seeing how motivated they are to work and get better. The day one of them said to me "I want to tell you I was wrong...I thought I could never read a book again, but I CAN and I am really enjoying it" just absolutely made my life! So that definitely gets two thumbs up. Not gonna lie, though, I'll be glad when the whole "being a student and going to class/having exams" part is done though! If I ever say I want to get ANY more degrees/go to more school, please PLEASE do not let me! Been there, done that...no more! Turns out I'm pretty much over the student lifestyle. Oh well, it's worth it for the end goal.

Life Updates
I've been spending lots of quality time with my wonderful friends lately, which I just love! Here are a few of the highlights:

Ollie comes home
In mid-August one of my very best friends (and roomie from law school) brought her son Ollie home from Uganda. After two years of watching Rach and Jesse go through the struggles, setbacks, joys, and disappointments of international adoption, their coming-home day was filled with emotion. I definitely did the ugly cry...but so did Cat. We ugly cried together and it was beautiful. Ollie has flourished at home - he is the happiest, funniest little guy. They could not be a more adorable family!

Cat, Erin, Sarah, and I gathered at Sarah's house on the morning of their arrival and made some awesome signs for Ollie. Lolly couldn't be there in person but she was obviously there in spirit with this lovely head-on-a-stick sign we made for her. If you can't see it, it says: Our names rhyme! #besties  We felt it was a fitting tribute to Lolly's fun personality...and hey, what's more fun than scaring a jet-lagged, overwhelmed baby coming to America for the first time by sticking a dismembered head on a stick in his face?!  (Luckily, Ollie did not seem to notice that the rest of Lolly was not attached to the stick...he was totally OK with it).

A group of at least 30 people gathered at International Arrivals in DFW airport to wait for the Leos family to make their official homecoming. There were LOTS of new friends for Ollie in tow:

Some of them MIGHT have licked the airport floor...yay germs!

This was just a practice run for when they came through the doors...rest assured all eyes were on them and  many tears were being shed when the real moment came!

And here he is in his grand debut...Mr. Jesse Oliver Leos! I stole this pic from Rachel, taken after they got home from the airport to find signs and gifts waiting for them at home. Ollie is so loved!

You are such a blessing, little one! 

Restaurant Week 2013
Every year I love to take part in Dallas Restaurant Week and hit up at least two new restaurants. This year I was lucky enough to try THREE! Steven and I went to Capital Grille and Cafe Pacific on our own and Stampede 66 with friends. We really enjoyed all the delicious meals and tried not to feel guilty for the week of extreme gluttony. No pics from our solo dinners...we suck at selfies (note to self: take more selfies, never say "selfie" again). But here's a couple pics from our group date to Stampede 66, a Texas-themed restaurant that is VERY Texas and VERY Dallas. We loved it so much!

Erin, me, and Cat: purveyors of food and fine (or pretty much ANY) wine

My love

Visit to Tyler
A couple weeks ago I drove out to Tyler to visit my mom while my dad was away on a work trip. We donned our best Aggie gear and watched the A&M/Bama game. Despite our screaming and jumping around, the Aggies lost (though they did give a good showing)! I love spontaneous trips to Tyler and spending time with my mama!

Gig 'Em! 

Brunch Bunch
A couple of Sundays ago, it was time for Second Sunday Brunch Bunch. This has been such a fun group that combines so many things I love: friends, food, festive cocktails, and lots of fun! In case you missed earlier mentions of this awesome "club", it basically consists of a close group of girlfriends gathering on the second Sunday of every month and selecting a restaurant from a huge (and well-organized, thank you Cat!) spreadsheet of Dallas' best brunch spots. We have checked off quite a few to date! This time we went to Hattie's, a sweet southern food joint in Bishop Arts. In addition to the normal excitement of brunch bunch, it was an especially momentous occasion since it was Laura's first brunch outing and FIRST cocktail post-baby! Her smile says it all here:

Finally, a chance to use all those breast-milk alcohol test strips from the baby shower!

Sarah and I split a monstrosity of fried chicken, bacon, and gravy called The Biggie. It was quite delicious, but I was so glad I didn't attempt to take it down alone!

My half of the aptly-named Biggie



For more on our Brunch Bunch, check out Cat's posts documenting our delicious adventures!

Well, I guess that's all for now. I think will start doing weekly wrap-ups rather than every few months, so stay tuned for those! See you soon!