This past year was pretty crazy for Josh and I. Last December, my grandfather passed away, Josh had law school finals (the whole month before finals is just not fun) and we found out the condo we were renting had sold (it was on the market, so it was not a total shock).
We ended up finishing our move into storage and to my parents' home during a rainy, chilly Christmas Eve. Our house was still being built, and wouldn't be ready until February. We had a good Christmas. A few weeks later, I was able to track down a Wii shipment at a Target. I woke Josh up and we drove to SuperTarget - only to be the oldest Wii customers by about 10 years. We set it up that day, and had a lot of fun playing it with my family.
A few weeks later, in January, Josh and I went to check on the status of the house. On the way back, we went to Petsmart to get Sadie some toys. We came out with Perry, since it was dog adoption day and I couldn't let him go.
It took Sadie a while to get accustomed to Perry, but they were used to each other by the time that we moved to our house in mid-February. It also helped that Perry grew in size - he could not only stand up to Sadie, but he was finally trained to do his business outside (a great change). When we first brought Perry home, Sadie would frequently stand over him. A few months later, Sadie was running under Perry.
I had carried over some vacation, which enabled me to take the week of Josh's spring break off in March. This helped us get settled in the house. Immediately following the vacation, I went on my first overseas trip. During my business trip, I was able to view the Dutch countryside, Antwerp and Brussels. In Antwerp, I was able to sight-see for a couple of hours. While walking through the city, I saw the Cathedral of our Lady and the Town Hall. I had never been anywhere like Antwerp before - the cobblestone streets and different types of buildings were incredible to see.
A week later, I traveled to Santa Barbara for business. I did not venture far from the hotel (I was there for less than 48 hours, and most of those hours were spent working or sleeping). I did, however, get a great view of the Pacific from the hotel.
April was a much quieter month. I was able to participate as a witness in a fake trial for Josh, which was a lot of fun. In May, my sister Alicia and Josh's sister Bethany both graduated, which meant we spent a weekend in College Station. Since it was time for Josh's Corps of Cadets fish (freshman when he was a senior) to get their senior boots, Josh also was able to catch up with a lot of his buddies. It was right around that time that we started dog training with Sadie and Perry. Having two dogs can be great - but it makes training much harder. As soon as one dog messes up, the other one is back to square one.
In June and July, Josh and I joined a gym and started cooking more (and eating healthier foods). He also started his summer job at the City of Houston as an intern . There he was able to try several jury trials - and he won all of them! June 4 was our second anniversary. This year, we spent our anniversary at dog training. One day we will actually celebrate our wedding anniversary!
In August, Josh went back to school to start his third (and final) year of law school. I got accepted to graduate school for a master's degree in education - a day after school started. Since my co-worker resigned, I ended up traveling more than expected, and will now not be going to grad school - after much thought and prayer, I thought it was better to spend more time with my family... especially with my workload getting much, much higher (still hasn't gone down - but I do like being busy).
In September, the work travel ramped up. I was doing training at regional meetings, and the first was in Kuala Lumpur. I got the necessary vaccinations, packed and headed over on a long flight. Including layover time, it took over 30 hours. Even if you're able to fly business class, flying overseas is just not fun - I often get off the plane feeling more disgusting than I do outside in Houston in the middle of the summer.
In Kuala Lumpur, I was staying at a hotel overlooking the Petronas Tower and the KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre). We even were able to eat at a place in one of the towers and could walk in the corridor connecting the two towers (which is normally closed off).
It was incredible to just be in Kuala Lumpur. I never had thought that I would be able to go to Asia - especially for a business trip! The sights were amazing, but the best part of the trip was meeting all of my co-workers. It's one thing to NetMeeting with, e-mail and call people, and its a completely different thing to see them face-to-face.
One day was set aside for team building, and it was a lot of fun. We first visited a pewter museum and factory - the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre. After the tour, we were able to experience the "School of Hard Knocks" - where you can mold your own pewter plate.
After that, we went to a batik store, where they handpaint all of the batik. Following that, our group went to the Batu Caves, which were incredible to visit.
A week after I returned to the U.S., I went to a seminar and meeting in Las Vegas. Josh was able to accompany me for the first two days. The first night we ate dinner at the Bellagio Buffet (a wide range of food, including some great cream of asparagus soup), then we walked from the Bellagio, where we stayed, to the end of the strip!
The next day, Josh ended up winning over $400 playing craps - and he only started with $60! We actually came out ahead in Las Vegas. That night we had a cocktail hour in the Bellagio, followed by dinner at Michael Mina, a great seafood restaurant in the Bellagio. I had the Dover Sole (my favorite type of fish), while Josh had the Kobe Beef. Unfortunately, he got sick that night and only had a bite or two of his dinner, which meant many of our dollars went down the drain - paying for a barely eaten meal!
By the next night, Josh was feeling better. We were both glad he was, as it was his last night there and we were having dinner at Picasso restaurant, which was incredible. While everyone in our group got a similar menu, the food was amazing. There are several original Picasso works of art in the restaurant, and the table at which we were seated had a prime window view of the Bellagio fountains. Our favorite part was the Pan Seared U-10 Day Boat Scallop with Potato Mousseline and Jus de Veau.
Following the great dinner, we went outside to watch the Bellagio fountains move to "Singin' in the Rain." Soon after, Josh had to leave for the airport. The rest of the trip, I mainly spent time working, but did have a lot of fun.
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