Fall.

The busyness of fall has officially begun.

I always thought the fall semester was the more hectic of semesters in college. When I wasn't in class, I was needed at float, pigskin practice, Kappa meetings, Kappa Sig meetings, Chapter Council, intramural games, football games, tailgates, etc. So many fun things happen all at once in the fall. Post grad life has proven to be no different.

Football is still going on, but more games are seen through a television now. Saturday mornings are occupied with your typical "Dallas brunch" instead of tailgating. Working extra hours during "fall busy season" at work has shortened my evenings, no longer making it possible to workout after work. If I want to squeeze a workout in, my alarm must go off at 5:45AM. Luckily, moments like this are captured at stoplights when you are chasing the sun.

Fall recruitment is picking up, and so will the mileage on my car. I will be attending career fairs at Texas A&M, Baylor, Trinity, Mary Hardin-Baylor, UT-Dallas, and University of North Texas. A few of those events require a 1 to 2 nights stay in a hotel, which I'm really excited about! I can't wait to spread out in a King-sized bed, watch late-night TV, use the community treadmill, and get ice down the hall!

From now on, every Monday after work will be spent hanging out with freshman girls in high school. Tanner and I decided to be YoungLife leaders this year, and we will get the chance to see these fourteen year olds grow up to be graduates, all the while pursuing the Lord. Being a leader for YoungLife has already proven to be challenging, but I can't wait to see what will unfold before me through a group of teenage girls. Signing up to be a leader was a complete leap of faith. I have never done anything like this before. I have already learned to depend on prayer, and the first club hasn't even started yet. Not only will I attend club on Mondays, I'll be back under the Friday night lights for JJ Pearce's home football games, and hanging out with the girls outside of school activities. I'm feeling nervous, excited, anxious, and... twenty-two.

I am hoping that one thing in my schedule stays the same from this summer. Every Tuesday starting at 7PM, a group of my friends and I would attend The Porch at Watermark church. "The Porch is a community of young adults in their 20s and 30s who come together each Tuesday evening to praise God, study His Word, and go out to impact the world around us throughout the week." I have truly looked forward to Tuesday nights since I moved to Dallas. What JP and the rest of the young adults team discuss in that hour and a half is so applicable to my life, every single week. Your 20s and 30s are filled with huge life changes, and The Porch does such a great job of tying work, dating, marriage, church membership, and everything else you face as a young adult back to Jesus and His word.

One huge thing I am looking forward to this fall is Baylor Homecoming as an alumni. Gosh, if you have never been to a Baylor Homecoming then I just feel sorry for you. It's the same caliber to me as Disney Land. I can't wait to see my friends performing on stage at PigSkin, drink out of red solo cups at the tailgate, and actually enjoy the Homecoming parade without having to pull all-nighters out at a very scary and abandoned float site.


In college, I couldn't believe I let myself think I was actually busy in high school. Now, I can't believe I actually let myself think I was busy in college. In ten years from now... I really hope I'm a mom that drops her kid off at school then goes shopping all day, but the truth is, I'll probably be telling my self, "How did I ever let myself think I was busy at 22?!"

Showers. Scroggins. Steaks.

WOW I'M BEHIND.

Can I give a super sonic speed edition post to fill in the past 3 weeks of my life? Let's try!

A reunion with my group of girlfriends hasn't truly started until someone pops the champagne and mixes the bubbly with a little orange juice.

Three weekend ago, Leigh and I headed southbound towards Houston for Alliare's "Monograms and Mimosas" wedding shower. Like usual, I brought home all my laundry. Thanks Mom! :)
The shower was hosted by some of my favorite Baylor mommas in the Garden Room at Brennan's of Houston.
There are something about wedding showers that make me truly enjoy being a girl.

Zoom to the next weekend: Labor Day weekend! Not only does Labor Day  mean a 3 day weekend, it also means Tanner's birthday! Just like last year, Tanner and I, and a bunch of our friends, hinted at Austin to invite us to his lake house for the holiday. Of course we wanted to see Austin, but secretly we all craved a weekend full of Mrs. Wight's home cooking. I can never leave Austin's house without my pants fitting a little tighter. However, every bite was worth it.

Tanner's birthdays are always fun for me because I have to get creative. The boy is hard to shop for since he is more stylish than I am. I usually have to think long and hard about his birthday present. Naturally, I started thinking about what to get him back in June. This year, I went with a green golf polo and a slim-fit polo by Original Penguin, and made him a picture album with twenty-three of my favorite pictures of us from the past 2 years. I also made an early morning Starbucks run and brought him a caramel macchiato and cinnamon rolls with homemade birthday cake icing before we packed the car for Scroggins, Texas.

My parents instructed that, for their birthday gift to Tanner, I take him to a restaurant that does not have a drive-thru attached. Tanner and I have never been to Nick & Sam's steakhouse so I figured a twenty-third birthday would be the perfect occasion. Let me start off by saying there isn't enough Pure Barre  in all of Dallas that could work off the amount of food I ate that night. Our waiter brought us complimentary caviar to start. Then, complimentary champagne and lobster man n' cheese for an appetizer. I ordered a filet and Tanner ordered some massive 16oz cow as our main dish. Mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus accompanied our steaks. Finally, we topped everything off with crème Brule. My stomach hurts even talking about this. The worst part, and the best part, was the fact that we were having another 80 course meal the very next night with the Cobbs at Chamberlain Steak and Chop House. I'm talking bread, salad, wine, almond crusted fish, lobster on top, and vanilla ice cream covered in strawberries and Kahlua.

There was no point in sucking in for this picture. It just wasn't physically possible.


 I just realized this post involved a lot of food. Be right back... I'm starving.

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.