February is for Babies

In February, Oliver, Henry and Mateo made their debut's to the world, and I got a chance to meet Asher in person.  I also ended up in Orlando for work, got a haircut, indulged in crab, played some Rummikub, and finally started working out again.

Kris is a Dad!!!!

On February 3rd, my friend Kris and his wife welcomed their twins into the world, Henry (left side) and Oliver (right side).  I'm so excited for them both, and can't wait to get to Minnesota see the proud parents.  I can only imagine the handful these little guys will be when they start crawling. 

Kansas City Family

I was lucky enough to get a work trip to Kansas City which allowed me a chance to meet Asher, the newest addition to our family.  He is absolutely beautiful and you can see lots of Scott and Rachel in him.  Visiting gave me time to catch up with them and help them put their stroller together.

Lee & Carole took Lucy one night so Scott, Rachel and I could go out for the evening.  You can see from the smile on little Lu's face that she has a blast at their house.  When everyone was in Minneapolis for Thanksgiving, they discovered Lucy loved riding the rocking horse my dad made, so now she has her own when she visits Grandme and Grandpe.   

I also got some quality time with my uncle Lee and aunt Carole who always make me feel so at home when I visit.  I had a great time and only wish I could visit more often.

Orlando

Work sent me to Orlando over Valentines for another conference,and my coworkers and I made the best of it.  When we weren't busy playing with green laser pointers (30x brighter than the red lasers), or sitting by cars with giant lobsters on them, we found good restaurants, including a yummy little Cuban restaurant tucked in St. Cloud Florida.  The restaurant could have done with some ambiance, but the food was great.  For DC, it was his first foray into Cuban food and I think he'll definitely be trying more in the future.  On Valentines day, I got sushi, smoked a CAO Vanilla cigar, talked off DC's ears, and finally meet Beau's fiance Nicole. 

Service Award Dinner

After Orlando it was back to Austin and time to get glammed up for the service award dinner at work.  They put together a classy dinner and nice award presentation.  We were challenged with guessing the songs and movies from the different time periods of each service award recipients anniversary.  I even guessed one right and won a $20 gift card to Best Buy. 

Trulucks

I love getting fresh seafood.  Especially if its fresh crab, prepared princess style (with the shells cut so its easy for me to eat).  Dane and I went to Trulucks and found that they even had a champagne mignonette sauce for the oysters (but you have to ask them for it).  I then delighted myself with crab, and we ended with an incredibly yummy key lime pie.  Every bite was heavenly! 

We saw Tina and Greg and snapped a few pictures. Unfortunately, they were leaving as we were starting, so we didn't get much time to visit.

Glam Girls

I've been trying to find new sunglasses for a long time.  I either break my glasses, or do a "Hobby Lobby" on my shades.  My parents gave me a gift card to Sunglasses Hut at Christmas, so it was time to go shopping.  I decided on giant "movie star" glasses to go with my new haircut.  Lisa and I model show off our glam glasses while enjoying Austin's 75 degree February sunshine (vs the sleet & storm right now in Minnesota).

BodyBugg
My personal trainer that I've been working with for the last year moved over the holidays, and I've been very slow to get back to the gym and find a new trainer.  Well, my clothes are getting uncomfortably snug, and its cheaper to find a new personal trainer than it is to go shopping for new clothes (although clothes shopping would be much more fun).  My new trainer John has a background in physical therapy, so I really feel like I'm getting my money's worth.  In addition, because traveling is where I tend to fall off my exercise regime, we've found a fix.  I'm going to try the new Bodybugg, an armband that monitors your caloric intake and physical activity.  The charts are on the web where my trainer can access it all, and then "encourage" me when I'm not reaching my goals. Maybe I'm just into techy toys, but I love being able to see how I'm doing, and having something that helps me communicate with my trainer better.  I saw it on the news during one of my travels, and it was in one of my favorite magazines Women's Health, as well as Popular Science.  I guess now we will see if it will actually help me get motivated to get in shape.  Stay tuned.

Mateo is Here!

On Feb 21st, Rafi and Jodi welcomed Mateo Roy into the world.  I promptly ran to HEB upon hearing the news (it was after 11pm) looking for signs to decorate their yard and garage door.  They were saved the spectacle because HEB didn't sell such paraphernalia, so instead I settled for a giant balloon and baby diapers to hold it down.  When Jodi and Rafi got home I got to meet Mateo in person, and I can tell you he's adorable.  Congrats to Jodi and Rafi who make fantastic parents.

That's it for now.  I'm off to go hold my new neighbor.