Excited!!

So So excited!!!  My bestie Mikki will be here tonight!  She is visiting from Charlotte, NC and I can't wait to show her around Dallas!!  I have missed her like crazy.  Be Back in a few days with a recap of our great times :)

Dad comes to visit!

    This past weekend my dad came out to visit!  He hadn't been out here since September 2011 and I hadn't been home since December 2011.  This whole living 1500 miles away is tough :(  Anyways, he flew in thursday night around 9PM and I picked him up after work.  By the time we got home we were all exhausted so we just went to sleep.  Friday morning we were up early; J left for work around 7AM so my dad and I enjoyed some coffee and then headed to the gym.  We had a great workout then headed back home to get ready for the day.  We decided to check out Northpark mall, mostly to look at all the things we can't afford.. ha ha.  We had lunch at Kona Grill and it was delicious.  After we had spent a few hours at the mall we went to Central Market (our favorite place) and got a few things to snack on for later.   Once J got home later that afternoon we went to dinner at Village Burger bar and then got some delicious fro yo from yummilicious :)  Saturday, J was off work, so my dad decided he wanted to make us a big breakfast.  We had eggs, pancakes, muffins and some delicious, crispy bacon. My dad really is a great cook, I have missed his meals!  Once breakfast settled, we decided to tackle a new activity that none of us had ever tried...stand up paddle boards!  It was so much fun.  I wish I was able to get more pictures, especially when J fell off 3 different times!  He was little annoyed at first but once he got the hang of it he was fine.  My dad was a natural (He was a surfer for most of his young life) so I never really had any doubts.  We spent about an hour at white rock lake and an hour is plenty enough to tire us out.  We headed back home to shower and relax for the afternoon.  That night we celebrated my dad's 58th birthday at his favorite restaurant, Morton's Steakhouse.  Every time we have been there has been a great experience and this time was no exception.  The service is always wonderful and the food is amazing.  They had a special going on, for 45.99 a person you got a salad, a 6 oz filet, one side and dessert.  There portions are huge so that meal went a long ways.  It was a wonderful night.  Sunday, dad I went to Katy trail to get in a nice run.  For a 58 year old guy, my dad is  in great shape!  We walked about 2.4 miles and then ran back the same route.  After our run we went to have brunch at one of my favorites here in dallas, Dream cafe.  I had a delicious belgium waffle and my  dad got the tuna melt.  After our bellies were full we laid out by the pool for a bit until it started to rain.  It doesn't rain much here so it was a very welcome sight.  We decided for dinner that night that we would pick up some things from Eatzi (another favorite place).  They have tons of pre-made items that were awesome and it was so fun to pick out separate things that we all wanted.  My dad had to go back on monday and it was such a bummer.  Even though we didn't really do anything special while he was here it was nice to just do the normal things that we would do together if I was living back in florida.  I am so glad J was able to be off for a few days with us.  That doesn't happen often so I was very thankful.  It was a fantastic weekend.  I am already excited to go home in November and see the rest of the family :)
     This next weekend coming up probably won't be as relaxing...I am heading to Camp Esparanza for the week.  This camp is a week long camp for kids ages 6-16 that have or are currently undergoing treatment for cancer.  I know it is going to be a lot of work but I very excited to get the chance to see these kids having a great time and not stuck in the hospital.  Most of the time I see these kids is when they are sick and really not feeling like themselves so it will be nice to see them in a happier environment!  I'll be sure to document what the week was like.

Love, Shannon

Happy fourth of July!!

It's the fourth of July and my hubby and I actually both have off!  With his crazy schedule that doesn't happen often.  We haven't done much today though.  We went to the nerdiest place on earth here in Dallas; a computer mega store that my hubs loves.  Not so much fun for me.  Once we got home I laid out at the pool for a bit and then made us a lovely spread of hot dogs, potato salad and chips.  So fancy of me, I know :)  Hopefully in a bit we are going to head out for some ice-cream!  Hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July!  God Bless America!

Shannon

A year already....

So obviously I haven't been that great at doing anything with this blog :(  My best friend just told me that she is starting a blog so she has inspired me to get going on this again.  Wow, a lot has happened this past year!  Actually, starting today, July 1st, my hubby is no longer an intern!  He made it through his first year of residency!  I could not be more proud of him!  He has worked so hard.  The hours have been grueling but he has done absolutely wonderful through it (even if he is miserable most of the time  :(  He worked last night so now he is getting some much deserved rest.

This first year in Dallas has been great for me.  I absolutely love my job!  I work with the most amazingly brave kiddos.  My co-workers are great as well and I made several close friends.  One of my closest friends, sadly for me, has moved to Boston with her boyfriend.  I know it is a great opportunity for her but not so much for me.  In the time that I met her we have done 10 races including 3 triathlons and 2 half marathons, she was my racing buddy. I guess the silver lining to her leaving is that this next race season I will save a lot of money since I probably won't do as many.  Hopefully early next year I can make a trip to see her!

My mom made a trip out here a few months ago and it was so great to see her!  It is crazy how fast the time flies!  I haven't been home since December and J hasn't been home since we moved last summer!  We are hoping to make a trip for Thanksgiving!  I can't wait and I know it will be here before I know it.    My dad will be here next week and we are going to have a great time.  He loves to try new restaurants and shops as much as I do so I foresee a lot of that happening :)  And....next month my best friend Mikki (check out her blog http://confessionsofthequeencity.blogspot.com) will be here!!!  I visited her in Charlotte in February and this will be her first time in Dallas!  Her husband and my hubs when to medical school together in Florida.  Our foursome was split up when he got accepted to residency in Charlotte.  I miss her so very much and hopefully one day we can live near each other again.  For now phone calls, mail and Skype will have to do.

Oh, how could I forget, we moved!  I swore to myself that when we moved her we were not going to go through that hassle ever again (at least for three more years)!  But, the one bedroom apartment, high-rise living was just getting old.  We found a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse about 6 minutes from the hospital and moved in a couple weeks ago.  The place is a tri-level so from the front door to our bedroom there are 36 steps!!  Moving things was a pain in the butt!  My calves were on fire the next day!  I am so glad we made the move though because this new place is amazing.  So much more room! I am not even sure where we put all this stuff in our old place :)  I'm looking forward to spending the next two years here!

Alright I think that's it for now.  I promise to keep up this on a regular basis.

Shannon

Fun Sunday!!

So today we decided to go kayaking at White Rock with my cousin and his girlfriend. We had a lot of fun and it is definitely a good upper body workout. We had planned to go out for 3 hours but changed our minds after about an hour and a half. My cousin and his girlfriend have their own kayaks so J and I rented two from the White Rock paddle company. It's about $22 for an hour and half for each person. It could get pretty expensive if you go all the time but for us it's not too bad. It was very, very hot but it actually didn't feel too bad with the breeze off the water and the shade from the trees. We did have an unfortunate incident when J tried to avoid a tree branch and he fell out of his kayak! I only wish I had my camera out at that exact moment. It was hilarious but what was even better was that when he tried to get back into the kayak he fell off again two more times....lol. It was great! He laughed and then was a little sad when he realized he had his nice sunglasses on his head when we started but now they were no longer. They are now at the bottom of the lake :( I guess he will learn for next time. Overall though we had a great time and will be back as soon as we can. We have even thought about purchasing our own kayaks but we don't really have anywhere to store them. We can rent a storage room for $35 more a month but were not sure we want to do that. Anyways, I am going to go spend the rest of this sunday being lazy!

Love,

Shannon

Some new races!!

So I haven't done any races since May (I know only 2 months but it feels longer). Luckily though I found a girl at work that wants to do her first sprint triathlon! I was all over that! I have been looking for someone to do some races with. We are going to do the Blackland sprint triathlon in September. Triathlons in Texas are different in Florida; in Florida almost all of the swim portions are either in the ocean or the river but here in Texas they are all in a pool. I actually like that better since swimming is my weakest sport. I am so excited to have something to train for and a friend to do it with! There are several 5k's and a 15k that I would like to do as well. Anyways thats all for now. Have a great day!

I love my job!!

I have been at my new job here in Dallas for a little over a month now and I absolutely love what I do and the people I work with. I am a pediatric oncology nurse and I cannot imagine doing anything else. Yes, it is hard at times but I would say the times when I see the kids laughing and playing far outweigh the bad. Working with this group of kids has really made me questions certain things in life; like what is really important to me. I know I can't always live my life like something bad is going to happen and I need to enjoy the things I have. I am working on doing that and being thankful for what I am blessed with. It really is a great feeling though, to wake up and go to a job that I love!

J started his residency about a month ago as well and so far it hasn't been that bad (I know I will regret that statement very soon)! He is starting out on a rotation that only requires him working a few times a week and only about 6 hours a day. Next month he starts at the hospital so his hours are going to be much much worse. I think at this point he is ready to really start working and seeing patients. He is going to be a great doctor! I am so proud of him.

My mom came to visit last week and we had so much fun! It was so great to have her here and to run errands, shop and try new restaraunts. She is such a spontaneous person so if we saw something we liked we went to it. J isn't really like that so it's fun to get to do that with my mom. I really miss my family but I am starting to feel like Dallas is home. I think my dad is having a harder time though with us being so far away. I can tell that he really misses us. He is hopefully planning a trip out here soon. I would like to go home for a weekend but right now plane tickets are so expensive!!

Well that's all for now! Hopefully we will hit up the park later today. Enjoy your saturday!

Love,

Shannon