Busy with Newness

Caleb and I attended Connecting Point at our church to become new members.  We left totally excited and encouraged.
Caleb was out of town this week for work, so I stayed busy.  This was the first time for him to be out of town for three days.  A "new" thing I could have done without.
Martin Luther King Day provided for my first planning day with my district.  It was a useful and helpful experience.  We started the day with The Marshmallow Challenge.  This is a real thing - 20 spaghetti noodles, one large marshmallow, 1 foot of tape, some string, and scissors.  Check it out
http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html  My group's creation was one of only two standing creations.  We were able to build it up to 21 1/2 inches.  A small victory - second place marshmallow construction! 
I attended The Porch kickoff with Robyn and Lindsey.  Jason Castro, from American Idol and a member of my church, had a concert.  He won my heart...I bolted home to buy his cd on itunes.  It hasn't stopped playing at our house.

My district has an auction to raise money for our school.  Each teacher offers a "gift of time" and is bought by a student.  Wednesday was my gift of time.  I treated four adorable students to an ice cream party at Wild About Harry's.  I had never been, but their ice cream was scrumptious!  Then we had a fun time of games with the other first grade teachers and their students. 

The list continues:
lunch at The Corner Bakery
homemade fondue - flop.  melting chocolate in the microwave - delish
watched The A-Team for the first time - five stars, loved it!
dinner at Primo's - yummy, will be back
ate my first SMASHburger - it won't be my last

Groupons Expire...not on my watch!

Caleb and I are such suckers for a deal.  We love groupons, living socials, restaurant.com... We have racked up quite a few deals, and we are really good about using them and enjoying them.  But much to my surprise, groupon recently notified me that two of my deals were about to expire.  Ahhh...I took that to mean only one thing, we had plans!  It was time to use them.  Sunday was a snowy day in Texas -very exciting, but pretty rare.  We had plans with the Fabs to use our winery groupon and that snow was not going to stop us! 

 We went to McKinney Texas to visit the Landon Winery. 

Since it was a snowy day, we were the only customers.  This meant we were treated like kings with our very own wine connisseur to share all kinds of random information with us. 

We enjoyed a wide variety of tastes and a delicious cheese board.  

Saturday Caleb and I headed out to Glen Rose, Texas to use our groupon to Dinosaur World.  We made our first stop at The Ranch - a delicious BBQ joint.  I really wanted to capture the essence of the inside of this place, but with all of the Mexican money hanging from the ceilling, and the locals and a forest of mounted animals staring at me, I decided this was not an appropriate time to pull out my camera.

I did however work up the courage to take a shot of the outside - not quite as fascinating as what is indoors.

Next stop, Dinosaur World.  

As a newcomer to Dallas, I sometimes find that I fall into the tourist traps.  There are often places recommended online or in books that might not should be...today was no exception.  

This place really boasts that it is a sight to see.  Perhaps if I was a six year old boy I would agree.  There are over 100 dinosaur models you can walk around the learn about.  Many of whom only a small part of a bone has ever been discovered, yet scientists have somehow managed to replicate the entire dinosaur including skin color. 

There was a museum which contained real and replicas of dinosaur bones that have been found in the area. 

Caleb decided he would like to see something a little more official, so we drove a bit further to Dinosaur Valley State Park. 

This is home to three different locations of dinosaur tracks. 

We had a great day and it was a fun adventure, but we probably won't be back next week. 

Bachelor, Fish, Finances...Oh My!

1. The Bachelor is back and better than ever! 
He loves her, he loves her not...
Monday I attended my first ever Bachelor drafting session.  I enjoyed the Bachelor in college - what else do LU girls do when they have to be in the dorm for curfew?  But never before have I been to an actual "fantasy football" version of the Bachelor.  Our fabulous host, Michelle, led the way.  After a delicious meal, we cozied up to check out this season's true romance.

We all watched the first episode, taking note of our favorites and being sure to note the most wacky women. 

Then, we drew for selection order.  I was fifth and selected Ashley S (she received the first impression rose).  I find her to be adorable and would like for her to be my friend.  We completed the first round draft picks and I was third for round two - selecting Chantel (the one who slapped him). 

I don't have much hope in either of my selections, as I plan to root for my darling friend Amanda's pick - Emily...but will be sure to tune in and cheer Ashley S. on!

The highlight of the whole event had to be the record keeping poster!  What a hoot!  At the end of each episode the girls who do not receive a rose, are graced with a big, black, Sharpie X across their face.  How could this weekly gathering get better?! 

2. One Month To Live
Some of my school friends and I have started a book study/bible study covering One Month to Live by Kerry and Chris Shook.  It is all about living life with no regrets.  This week was the first time we met together to discuss what we have been reading, and it was so very encouraging.  I am so thankful and feel so blessed that God has placed such amazing friends in my life.  We are reading the book a little slower than pace, because there is just so much to take from it!  I encourage anyone and everyone to pick up a copy for themselves! 

3. Moneywise
Caleb and I started a new financial class offered at our church, Watermark.  We love our church but this is our first Thursday night equipping class.  It is a five week series, and we are looking forward to learning more about what God has in store for us and our finances.  We are going to read The Treasure Principle.

4. Dallas World Aquarium
Saturday was my first visit to the Dallas World Aquarium.

It is like a walk in an aqua wonderland - full of aquatic life but much more!  I saw animals I have never seen before...

like the arapaima - which can grow up to a couple thousand pounds.  It is bright green and hot pink - my camera did not do this baby justice! 

 Seahorses aren't what I thought they were.  The aquarium had exotic, branch-like seahorses unlike anything I had ever seen.

I fed a parrot a big blueberry!  It was pretty exhilirating, and he was a hungry little fellow. 
The aquarium takes you on a journey through all of the layers of the rainforest - there are so many fun animals to see and learn more about.  We had a wonderful visit to the aquarium.

Well...I'd say I'm off to a roaring start

A few minor details to clear up - a week will consist of a calendar week - Sunday to Saturday.  With the NEW YEAR starting on Saturday, and me always overly eager at the beginning of a new idea, I decided I couldn't let that one day go by without documentation.

Week 1- December 26 - January 1

New things:
1. I started a blog. I'm not sure whether my inspiration was from Julie and Julia or my recent obsession with trying new things in my new city - but here goes!  Hopefully, it will be a fun way to report what I am up to!

2. Caleb and I hosted a dinner party for our newlywed church group - we love them so!  Firsts for this event included: first time using the downstairs lounge, first time hosting all of our group, first time of us all getting together at the same time apart from our mentor's house. 

3. House of Blues for NYE 2011.

First time at the House of Blues 

First time for an Old 97's concert 

First NYE celebration as a married couple 

Sadie, Amanda, Me 

nice pose fellas 

second fun NYE with these two 

4. I cooked dinner in our tagine (a super special present from Caleb's dad) Is anyone familiar with this? 

It is quite the cooking contraption.  From North Africa, it uses steam to lock in moisture while cooking the food slowly - making for a delicious meal! 

Next time, I plan to cook a more authentic Moroccan meal...maybe that will be my next new thing!