Thanksgiving Break

I welcomed this past week with open arms. It is always so nice to have absolutely no obligations for a few days {and to wake up without having to set an alarm clock}. We woke up Thursday morning and did our annual family Turkey Trot at the local park. 

We went out for breakfast afterwards and spent the rest of the day lounging. We took our family Christmas pictures and then headed to our close family friends house for Thanksgiving dinner. 

I had to work on Black Friday and this picture pretty much sums up how my brother and I felt about having to work the day after Thanksgiving....

 

We really do love our jobs, I promise!

I did get a little Black Friday shopping in with my baby brother...

The rest of the weekend was spent completing various Pinterest projects. I could kick myself for not posting "before" pictures, but I will post all the "after" pictures later. 

Formula One

Last weekend, Christian and his family drove to Texas for the Formula One race in Austin, Texas. The venue was the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the US. We had a great time!

A crash on the Lamborghini race

LSU game

I drove to Shreveport this past weekend to visit Christian and attend the LSU vs Alabama game. I thought UT went all out for games, but LSU tailgates like no team I have ever seen tailgate before. We are talking miles and miles of people tailgating. The game was at 7pm and we started tailgating at 12.... so it was a lonnnnggg day. Although LSU lost, it was a great game. 

I could spend all day in a photo booth. They are SO much fun and make me feel like a kid!

Tailgating

I love snow cones!

Record crowd!

House Hunting {is not fun!}

Let me tell you, rental house shopping is NOT fun.... especially when you are trying to do it 500 miles away! With the housing market the way it is, and us only planning to live in Shreveport for 3 1/2 years, we decided to rent instead of buy. Ideally, we would love to move in January/February of next year, but most renters want you to sign ASAP, so that is another obstacle we are facing. 

Here is what we are looking for:

• 2+ bedrooms
• 2+ bathrooms
• walk in closet in master bedroom
• in a safe neighborhood {#1 choice is South Highlands}
• hard wood floors
• central air {yes, these homes are OLD!}
• 2 car garage
• curb appeal 

Here are a 2 homes we have our eyes on:

We also experienced our first "renter's scam" today. Basically, a home is listed for sale on popular websites like Trulia. A scammer will then copy the listing word for word {pictures too}, and list it for rent. They leave no contact information, so you must contact them via the contact tab on the website. They will then email you back letting you know that yes, the house is for rent and not for sale, and that they had to move for the military and will have to do everything via mail-- basically wanting us to send them the deposit and first month's rent and they would mail us a key. haha! I knew right away something was up, so I called the realtor who was listing the house for sale and she informed me it was a scam. I even looked up the homeowner's name in the white pages and the scammers use a fake email with the homeowners name. Crazy!

So the search for the perfect rental house continues....

Shreveport, Louisiana

It's official! Christian has accepted a position in Shreveport, LA for the next 3 1/2 years. I am excited for this new chapter in our life and like the old adage says, "You go heaven for the weather..." {you can look up the rest} :) Just kidding! I know we will make the best of it and I look forward to having Christian closer. 

New Jersey

From Virginia Beach, we drove to Baltimore for the night. Christian flew out early in the morning and I drove up to Woodbury, New Jersey to visit my Grandmom. I love being able to visit my Grandmom and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful relationship with her. I was also able to see some of my cousins while I was up there, so that was a bonus!

Cousins in Hopewell, NJ

My Uncle Andy

Grandmom, Uncle Billy and my cousins who live in Woodbury, NJ

Grandmom, Mr. Bob, Aunt Ro, and cousin Ali {from Pennsylvania}

Poppop {My Dad's father}

My amazing Grandmom and her friend Mr. Bob

I had a wonderful East Coast vacation! 

Washington D.C./New York City/Virginia

From San Francisco, I flew to Washington D.C. Christian had a 4 day conference, so I joined him for the last 2 days. Afterwards, we took a bus to New York City to take in a few days of Chinatown shopping, delicious food, and the Feast of San Gennaro. 

When we left NYC, we headed south to Richmond for the Color Run and then on further south to Virginia Beach. 

Georgetown Cupcakes in Washington D.C. ALMOST as good as Kara's in SF, but not quite. 

The Feast of San Gennaro was going on last year when we visited NYC, so we are going to try and make it a tradition to go every year. It is a huge Italian festival that takes place on Mulberry Street. Lots of food and games!

We ate wayyy too many cannoli's!

 For our 2 year anniversary, Christian surprised me with tickets to The Book of Mormon on Broadway. The show was AMAZING. Definitely for mature audiences though!

After the Color Run in Richmond, VA. 

 Virginia Beach, VA. 

San Francisco/Alcatraz/Tiburon

We drove to Austin at 4am on Friday morning and arrived in San Francisco at 9am. We rented a 15 passenger van and drove to our hotel, which was only 2 blocks from Fisherman's Warf {where the start of the Alcatraz swim was}. We went straight to packet pick-up and then had lunch at Boudin. We then toured the city, ate at Kara's :), tested the water {soooo cold without a wetsuit}, headed to dinner, then got ready for the race. 

Kara's cupcakes

 Love this city!

The night before the race. This was the outside temperature. 

The long process of getting our wetsuits on. 

Boarding the ferry to take us to Alcatraz. 

I finished!

The water was 58 degrees and extremely choppy on race day. The swim was definitely challenging. We spent the rest of the day walking and touring more of the city. 

Driving the 15 passenger bus down Lombard Street. 

Oxygen bar and massages after the swim. 

On Sunday, we drove to Tiburon for the RCP Tiburon Open Water Mile. It was a nautical mile {2000 yards} and the conditions were so much better than Alcatraz- still cold, but not nearly as choppy. 

The Tiburon Swim group. 

Tiburon Harbor. 

 I finished!

Wetsuit hickie. 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival.

As always, San Francisco did not disappoint. I love everything about this city and I look forward to coming back and visiting again. 

Now I am off to Washington D.C. for some Christian time :)

The Escape from Alcatraz

In 2 days, I will begin my annual month of travels. This year, my first stop will be San Francisco for the 17th Annual Alcatraz Invitational. I am going with a group of Master's swimmers here in San Antonio. 

A ferry will drop us off here.....

And we will swim in the 60 degree San Francisco Bay {in a wetsuit} all the way to shore. 

The hardest part is reading the details of the swim, which are totally psyching me out:

"Indeed, some swimmers never make it. The swim, while only about 1.75 miles, can be a difficult test.... the San Francisco Bay runs like a river and swimmers must angle themselves properly and have enough strength to battle the side-current. If not, the current will carry them past the destination point and under the Golden Gate Bridge where boats are waiting to pick them up. Not to mention several species of sharks, jellyfish, sea lions and seals make the bay their home. The creatures reportedly don’t bother humans, but can still cause a mental block for swimmers to overcome." 

The thought of eating one of these after I finish is my motivation:

Hands down the BEST cupcakes in the US.... trust me!

The next day, we will be swimming the Tiburon Open Water Swim.  

I will post pictures {via Instagram} along the way!