cRaZy wEeKeNdS.

The day that Groupon entered my life was the best and worst thing for my wallet. I am saving money on great deals I find in my daily emails. The company caters to my needs and my location. Unfortunately, Groupon also encourages me to spend money of stuff I would never buy in the first place.

For example:
I have never experienced a "blow-out" just for fun. Going to a hair salon for anything other than a cut or color reminds me of prom. I saw this deal on Groupon for a blow-out and "conditioning shot" at a salon just one mile away from my apartment. Instead on the normal $75 Dallas women spend on this sort of treatment, the coupon was for a mere $19.Okay... how could I not?! Click. Purchase. Submit. SOLD.

I walked in on Friday and told the lady "I have a Groupon for something. I'm not exactly sure what for..." And she took me to the sink to wash my hair. Then she brought be a glass of red wine. Someone to play with my hair while I sip on wine was worth my nineteen bucks right there!

It never fails that I am paired up with the hair lady with some crazy twisted life. This one proceeded  to tell me that her ex-boyfriend is now sleeping in the same bed as his ex-wife. The ex-wife called my hair lady to tell her that this sleeping arrangement is no big deal, a pillow barrier separates the two of them, and she was just calling to be the bigger person and not keep any secrets. This is also the first man my hair lady had dated since her ex-husband. Oh, and now my hair lady wants to go to law school.

Wow my life is boring.

So long story short, she continued to play with my hair, curled it, teased it, sprayed it, and finally my hair was ready to make an appearance on the red carpet. Truth is, I was only going to grab sushi with Tanner that night so I felt pretty silly sporting this large, Texas 'do. I tipped her $5 and then immediately put my hair in a pony-tail. Will I ever purchase a blow-out on Groupon again? Probably not. Was $19 worth the wine and free soap opera? Yup.

You would think a 22 year-old living in Uptown would have some very wild weekends. What is more wild than a blow-out on a Friday evening? Putt-Putt golf on a Saturday night.

Yup, Tanner and I are 22 going on 60.

But ya know, whatever! Putt-Putt was extremely entertaining and I would go again this weekend. Tanner beat me (without much effort) so that just means I need more practice. After Putt-Putt, I was home in bed by 11 PM. I am however, very excited to have actual plans this weekend. On Friday after work I will be booking it to Houston to see some long lost friends and shower one with wedding gifts! Allaire's Monograms and Mimosas wedding shower on Saturday will be a celebration and a picture-worthy reunion. Be on the lookout!


If you ever want to be shown a wild weekend in Dallas, you know who to call.

Spare Tire.

I heard a question asked the other day, and it really hit home with me.

Is praying your steering wheel, or your spare tire?

I have prayed for as long as I can remember. As a child, my parents would tuck me in bed and remind me to "say your prayers" as they turned off the light. I pray at night to thank God for blessings that are undeserved and the ones I take for granted. Once those thank yous and IOUs are covered, I roll over and fall asleep.

Until recently, I only prayed at night. Or when there was a crisis. Prayer was my spare tire. When prayer is your steering wheel, you incorporate prayer throughout your whole day. At every decision, cross road, and speed bump. Prayer should be your GPS.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God
Philippians 4:6
 
Since I'm in a city unfamiliar to me, I whole-heartedly trust my GPS. I would be so lost without it. I would give up and cry in frustration. A GPS is my only hope for guidance when I am going down an unfamiliar road. A little satellite up in the sky can see my every movement, and let's me know the second I turn down a wrong path. My GPS corrects my route and adapts to where I am. A driver who refuses to use a GPS is just plain stubborn.

So why is it so easy to trust a GPS and not prayer? Prayer is your only hope for guidance. Without prayer, people give up and cry in frustration. God, up in the sky looking over the whole entire world, sees my every move and would let me know immediately when I am going down the wrong path if I would just listen. Prayer would correct my path the minute I go astray and adapt to my circumstances. Refusing to trust prayer and be in charge of your own life is just plain stubborn. I know all of these things to be true and yet, it is so easy to make prayer a spare tire.

I want to make prayer my steering wheel, to guide my every decision, the choices I make in work, with myself, and my relationships with family, friends, and Tanner. When you fully trust in prayer, you no longer feel like you are dragging an 18-wheeler behind you. A burden is lifted when you know you are being guided by the holy spirit - a God that knows all things and sees all things. Where to begin? Start by praying to make prayer your steering wheel.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:5-8).

 

 

 

Pure Barre.

Instead of buying a gym membership once I settled in Uptown, I decided to use the resources I had available in my "backyard" and jog the Katy Trail. I love the Katy Trail. It never fails to leave me wishing I had a golden retriever to pant along side me.

I would visit the Katy Trail at least every other day until mid June. Then the trail turned into a 100+ fire burning oven. The fact that people are still breathing on the Katy Trail in August is beyond me. I am hoping by the end of September I can visit my friend Katy again, but until then... sorry sista. You will not be hearing from me!

To beat the heat, I signed up for air conditioned Pure Barre classes. I didn't know what to expect, but because I used to dance and play competitive softball and volleyball, I anticipated the class to be fun and different.

If you are anything like me, if you aren't the best at something the first time you try it, you become incredibly frustrated. That is why Pure Barre has become a bit addicting for me. It is so challenging because I am not the best in the class by any means. Pure Barre has now become a game I can't quit until I "win." I was completely lost the first class. Women next to me would twist their face in pain while I felt nothing. After 55 minutes I was incredibly sore, but I did every exercise and thought "Okay, that's not so bad. I must be in better shape than I thought."

I kept going to classes and realized I was doing the "little" things all wrong. It took me about 5 classes  to really understand what the Pure Barre instructors were telling me,  and now my face is twisted in pain. I turn bright red and melt from sweat during the ten minute warm-up. I can't even complete a 55 minute class without taking a break or breaking out of a holding position. I think when you do every single itty bitty movement exactly the way the method is taught, the class is freaking impossible. And now I can't stop. I'm so mad I can't do something perfect for 55 minutes. I'm athletic. I'm coachable. I'm a perfectionist. Pure Barre is so frustrating because I know I will never be the best, and I still don't understand everything.

And again, if you are like me, you will not rest easy until you are one of the best in your class. I had to take the time (and still do) outside of class to watch these videos. The clips help immensely. I understand why some ladies prefer to take private lessons before joining a group session. I have to continually go back and remind myself what was said in the videos. If you did not know these videos were available to you, I hope I just changed your workout for the better x a billion.

Congrats Pure Barre. You can have all my money because I can't stop until I beat you!!!

Last thing, however much I love Pure Barre and think it's incredibly challenging and addicting, I think it is most beneficial to the women who are already fit. My muscles have become more toned and defined and the class is a huge calorie burner, but I don't believe you will go from a size 10 to a 2 with Pure Barre alone. I think healthy eating and cardio will get you where you want to be, and then you should think about joining Pure Barre to chisel those hard-to-reach places and define those muscles you already have. The scale has not budged for me since I started Pure Barre but my muscles have.

And disclaimer: I am a cookie/chocolate/ice cream professional. That could be another reason why the scale has not budged. Nothing against Pure Barre and weight loss.


That's all for now. No purpose for this blog post but to kill time. Thanks for reading (mom, dad, and Steph).

Dallas To-Do List.

I am creating my Dallas To-Do List.

I have to write down or document these sort of things. I have To-Do lists all over my desk and Post-It notes as a nice, yellow border to my computer. I learned in Training & Development that right-brain people need constant reminders or detailed planners because we are occasionally absentminded. We are also cat lovers.

 

 

Okay, back to the list.

1. Some sort of tour by Dallas by Chocolate. Um hello?! The name speaks for itself. They have more than just chocolate. They offer ice cream, wine, sometimes burgers and beer. I don't have to be heartbroken and crying in front of Grey's Anatomy to let myself indulge in some chocolate and wine. Welcome to my Monday-Sunday people.
2. Visit the George Bush Library. Not that original but I gotta do it!
3. Eat at the food trucks in Kyle Warren Park. Might save that one until it no longer "Feels Like 106."
4. See the Beatles Tribute Band "A Hard Night's Day" at the Arboretum. I know I have already been to a concert at the Arboretum but I want to go again!
5. Visit the Nasher Sculptor Center, because I have been on Pinterest and must see the big attraction as to why this place books so many wedding receptions.
6. Ride a mechanical bull? You just never know.
7. Go to the Dallas Zoo. Again, that will have to wait until I no longer can fry eggs on the cement.
8.  Visit the Ghostbar. This sounds like something I could drag Tanner to. :)
9. Drive south to the Galaxy Drive-In Theatre.
10. Ask Tanner to do this too.
11. Do everything D Magazine says I must do in order to become a true local. So far I have only had a Neiman Marcus popover. :(

 



Am I missing anything?! Please let me know what I should add to my Dallas Do's!

Little Emma.

Because I have waited too long to announce that Emma Grace Cobbs was born on July 27, 2013, she is probably crawling... walking... practically driving by now.

About 18 hours earlier, on Friday, July 26th, Tanner picked me up after work and headed out to where the Dille family was awaiting the birth of their first granddaughter. The Cobbs and the Dilles gathered together in this amazing "backhouse" (should have snagged a pic so you all would understand how amazing) and drank wine, ordered pizza, and sunk into the soft sofa cushions as we spoke in excited chatter about the new baby girl about to be born.

Wine. Pizza. Couch. Not bad at all. Totally my idea of how to bring in a baby into this new world. Child birth? Pssshhh.

Well, that lasted about an hour.

Around 8:30PM we moseyed over to the hospital where we conquered the waiting room. When I say conquered, I mean absolutely took it over. See pic:

Tanner and I were able to visit Travis and Anna in their labor room while things were still pretty calm. Then for the rest of the night, we had The Game of Life on my iPad to keep us entertained until about 3:30 AM. At 3:31AM... there was still no sign of  a baby and I couldn't keep my eyes pried open anymore. A group of us sluggishly returned to the backhouse for a 3 hour cat-nap. I never pulled a true all night-er in college, it definitely wasn't going to happen as a working woman.

At 6:30AM we got a phone call saying we should come back to the hospital because things were about to get exciting. And guess what?!!
We waited. And then did some more waiting. Then some more.

About 11:30 AM on Saturday, I was able to hold a little 7 pound 7 ounce baby girl named Emma Grace Cobbs! She is the first niece and grandchild on either side with 3 uncles to "protect and guard her heart." What a spoiled and adored little girl! :)

Emma absolutely had the right idea with the shut-eye. I went home and slept for the next 4 hours.