Way to go Jared!!

As most of you know, Jared has been traveling a lot lately to compete in different competitions across the nation. He is getting his MMBA (and will graduate in MAY!!) and he is also taking an additional course titled New Venture Development. He has been sooooo busy with this since August, but especially busy here lately. He and his 3 teammates developed a business and worked on their business plan for about 6 months before traveling around and competing with other groups. Last weekend he went to Louisville and they didn't make it to the finals, but they won the "elevator pitch" which was basically a quick pitch to the judges, rather than their 20 minute presentation. This won them $1500... not too shabby. BUT, this weekend, they were in Cincinnati and WON FIRST PLACE overall!! They won $10,000!! They were up against 19 other teams... many of them being Ivy League schools. This was the first time that a team from the U of A won first place in a national competition! I am SOO excited for them, they have worked so hard and truly deserve it. I am so proud of him!

Meanwhile in Fayetteville, I basically have been a nomad traveling from one house to the other. I wont stay by myself because I am a big baby, so I have been staying with my sister, Mark and Charlie while Jared has been gone. He will be back today and home for a while and I am so thankful for that. They have about 8 more competitions this year, and I will go to some of them. One is in Vegas and I surely wont miss that :)

I haven't had a lot going on other than work lately. Last night we went to a fish fry at church for the first Friday of Lent. While Dad and Mark waited in line for us, Jess, Mom and I had a beer and waited for them to get to the front of the line. Charlie sat with the girls and looked at all the other kids running around. After they waited in line for about 30 minutes, they announced that they had run out of fish. Bummer. So, feeling in the spirit and craving some fried catfish, we went to the Catfish Hole! I stuffed myself and literally ate until I was sick to my tummy. I then went to Jess and Marks and slept like a baby. I don't think I have ever slept that well in my life, which is unusual when Jared is gone.

This morning I went to get a pedicure with mom and Jess. It was lovely, except for that our feet froze with those flip flops on afterwards!

Jared will hopefully be home soon, they are stuck in bad weather in Missouri right now. The GPS says 5:00 for their arrival time. I am going to the store to get stuff for a big pot of chili for when he gets home. I told him it will be his celebration meal. I think I will get some cookies from Ricks too, since those are his favorite!

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend and staying warm!
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I love this boy..

louie's best friend- Hank

This post is for my sweet, loving, angel of a companion, Louie. I dont think I have ever done an entire post about him, which is weird, because he means the world to me!! FYI.. if you are not a dog person, this will probably bore you...

I got Louie as a gift from my mom and dad for a graduation present when I finished college. I wanted my own dog for sooo long and I knew I wanted a yorkie. My mom was worried about me getting a yorkie because they are prone to health problems, and we had heard that from a bunch of people. But... when I contacted the breeder and found Louie, we were so in love. I can remember when I called the breeder and she said that she had just had a litter (well, not her, one of her pups rather :)) and that only one of the puppies survived, and it was a boy. She immediately sent me pictures of him and I adored him right away. When I went to get him (in a land far, far away) he was just sitting there all by himself in this wooden crate thing. He had to be separated from the other dogs because they picked on him. Those damn dogs :)

Anyway, we didn't know what the next year had in store for him.. To make a long story short, Louie quickly became a very sick little guy. He had a congenital portyosystemic liver shunt. We didn't know this for the longest time and thought that it was a dozen different things. By the time we figured it out, I knew that he had to have a risky, invasive surgery in order for him to live. He was about 8 months old at that point. Dr. Derik (bless that man for putting up with me) diagnosed him and told me that he would have to have a Board Certified Surgeon do the surgery. I cant remember if there was one in AR or not.. but I researched on the internet for 2 days and found a place in Kansas City that had developed a new procedure for the condition that he had. I called there and made an appointment for that week. The day that my mom and I dropped him off there was one of the hardest days ever. (I know some of you are thinking "its just a dog", but to me, he is so much more). I believe that anything you do in life, or have, you should love it with all your heart and that is what I chose to do with Louie. So, we left him there for four days and he did well through the surgery, against the odds. Jared and I went to get him when he was released and he was the definition of pitiful. But, we nursed him back to health and here we are four years later. I don't know if it is that I went through so much with that little dog at such a weird time in life (graduating from college, friends moving, etc) that makes me love him so much, or maybe I would love him this much had that not happened. Who knows.

These days, he is the best companion. All he wants in his little life is a walk, but he wants it at 5:30 each afternoon, and no later :) He literally cries and barks at us if we are behind schedule. Then, at night, his favorite time of day, he crawls up next to his daddy and goes to sleep.

I know that one day I will have a real baby and I cant imagine the love I will have for that child. Everyone says that the pups in the house take a back seat when a baby arrives, and I am sure that will be the case one day... but not for now! I truly do love that little boy and I am thankful for all the joy he has brought to our family!

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BUSY!

I know it has been forever since my last post.... Its been one wild week to say the least. One thing happened this week that was really exciting.... I won my first tennis match!!! YAY! I played singles and won 6-1, 6-4. Toward the end of the second set, I was so worn out, I thought I was going to drop dead on the court!! I realized that I am really out of shape. But nevertheless, I won and it was really fun and a great experience. Our next match is a week from today, but I am an alternate so I will just be there to cheer on my team. I also joined a new gym this week. It is right by our house and super cheap, I have been twice since I joined... better than nothing, right?

Then on to the part of the week that was not as fun. On Thursday I had to go to the doctor and have a heart monitor put on for 24 hours. It is not a big deal, they just want to see the reason that my heart beats really fast. The thing was pretty annoying and I didnt get any sleep with it on. I had this big, bulky, fanny pack looking thing around my waist and cords everywhere, I couldnt even shower in it... total pain. On Friday, I went to the doctor at 5:00 to have it taken off and the woman ripped the sticky stuff off so fast it felt like my tummy and chest were being waxed. Ouch! SO... after all that was over, it was finally Friday (the 13th) and the end to a very hectic work week so I thought I would go to the mall and do some Valentines shopping and chill out. I walked in the door at Dillards and went up to the bathroom. I hung my purse on the back of the door and before I could even put toilet paper down (I know, TMI), the hook on the bathroom door broke and my purse fell to the ground. I immediately thought about my camera that was in my purse. It was in the case, but on the bottom of my purse. Sure enough, I pulled it out and it wouldnt turn on. I felt like I was going to scream!!!! I seriously couldnt catch a break. I remembered that Jared said the battery was dead when he tried to take pics of me playing tennis, so I just hoped that was the case. I rushed home to charge it and it turned out that the camera was fine, but the lens was broken. I felt better at this point that the camera was ok, it could have been worse. Later that evening, Jared and I were quickly walking the dogs so he could get home and do his paper that was due at midnight. We got back to the house and he went straight to the office to do it... only to discover that his computer had crashed. Of course it had!! So, to put it lightly, the past 48 hours have been expensive around here!! He got a new computer and I am borrowing my mom's 18-55mm lens (like the one I had) until my birthday, when I will ask for a better one (18-105mm). That was the first part of our weekend. Lovely, huh?

Things got much better on Valentine's Day. We had a perfect night together, we had dinner at Bonefish, then came home to watch the Notebook. We watched The Notebook on our second date, and I think Jared secretly likes it :)

Things are looking UP around here and Jared and I are convinced that our bad luck streak is a thing of the past. But rest assured, the next time it is Friday the 13th, I am staying in my bed!! :)

Jared has been getting ready for his first competition for his New Venture Development class, it has kept him really busy lately. It will all be over in May... how I long for the day :)

I am off to have dinner, watch Desperate and get a good night sleep... to get ready for another crazy week.

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!!!

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Wow, that was FUN!!

Effie, Brita, Anna, me and Steph Like old times :)
This was us..... 8 years ago on BID day.

Me and my sweetheartOur cute boys!! They are the best.. Jimbo is missing

Silly Boys

Hanging out on the back porch

And they're off...

I bet this one, because he was wearing pink. And I won!!

Spears, Brita, me, Effie and Jess

Spears and Jake

Mark and Jess

baby Hank!!

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This weekend was sooooo much fun!! We went to Hot Springs on Friday after work and met up with all of our friends at dinner. It was so good to see everyone!! Dinner was so tasty, I think it may be my new favorite restaurant! I had a caprese salad and a cheese ravioli dish. Yum!

After dinner we went to Anna's lake house, which is absolutely beautiful and amazing. We stayed up until almost 4 am Friday night just catching up... the girls on the couch talking, and the boys playing poker. We woke up Saturday and headed to the races. We had a blast betting on the horses and hanging out with great friends. We bet a few dollars here and there, we didn't exactly know what we were doing... all in all, we broke even and had a wonderful day. After the races, we went back to Anna's lake house and had a home cooked meal that her parents and Effie's mom made for us. It was awesome! I will post more later, I need to get ready for bed and a good night sleep.... somehow Monday is already here again?! The weeks seem to FLY by!!

I hope everyone has a great week!

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Splish Splash

Have you ever seen anything so cute in your life?! I went over to Jess and Mark's yesterday to play with Charlie and got to help with bathtime. He was having a play date yesterday afternoon with his friend Grethcen, and I told him that he had to get all cleaned up since a girl would be over :) He splashed around for about 30 minutes while Jess scrubbed every knook and cranny. She is the best mom and so good with him, I have never seen a happier baby. He is so lucky to have people that love him as much as we all do. Since we live right by each other, I am able to see him almost every day, or every other day. Now that he is getting older and getting a personality, I want to see him all of the time. I feel like he really knows who we are all now and I want to make sure he doesnt forget me :) Don't think that's happening. We love him so much and can't wait to have a little cousin for him to be best buddies with!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I better get to cookin my SuperBowl treats. We were supposed to go to Mom and Dad's for a party, but their cable is still out from the storm, so the party was moved to Jess'. Go Steelers!!!!

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