Julie's Journey

Bye Bye Blog...at least for now!

2009-02-09T08:06:00.001-08:00

I obviously haven't been keeping up with my blog the last several months. I thought it would be a great tool to record life's journey and document it with pictures. My goal of taking more pictures to post on the blog has not been accomplished.

Between work and wedding planning, I am burnt out from spending so much time in front of a computer. Working a full-time desk job is a challenge for me coming from active careers as a dancer, a fitness specialist, and a wellness coordinator. I am trying to rid myself of some of the clutter and online distractions and the blog is the first thing to go! I'm sorry for my 3-4 fans out there, but maybe I will pick it back up when I have children. I have set some pretty heavy mental and spiritual goals for myself this year and I plan to spend more time working on those.

I love this picture that I posted from my Colorado trip in 2007. It's so serene. I hope that everyone finds peace in their lives and takes the time to reflect on the beauty that naturally occurs around us and forget about the distorted perceptions of beauty that our society has developed! Poor Jessica Simpson!!!

I've Been Tagged...

2009-01-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

OK, so just when I was ready to call blogging a past-time, Johnna tagged me. Because she is such a good friend, I have decided to play along. The instructions were to:
1. Go to the place where you store all of your pics on your computer and open the 4th folder.
2. Open the 4th picture
3. Post the picture and give an explanation
4. Tag 4 people ( I skipped this part...I don't even know 4 people with blogs)
The pic posted here is from my "C'ville (hometown) Friends folder. The lovely lady on the left is my best friend Jess. She's been my best friend since our parents carpooled to pre-school. She likes to make fun of my blog! We only get to see each other about once a year at Christmas or maybe a wedding. This pic is from our friend Nick's wedding in September 2007. The beautiful chick in the middle is another wonderful friend, Beth. She married one of my best friends from high school, Josh. She will tell you that she didn't like me at first, but I guess I grew on her. I can't imagine a trip back to C'ville without an evening of wine with Josh and Beth. I actually spent many nights as a 3rd wheel on their couch during weekends home from grad school...FUN TIMES!
Great Girls, Beautiful wedding and an all-over fun weekend in the Burgh!

Friend moves out...Fiance moves in.

2008-11-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

Well I really have dropped off the blogging wagon. I knew it had been a while, but didn't realize it had been 2 months. I have discovered Facebook in the last month or two so that's taken over my online interests. I also don't think I have too many bloggers out there reading this profile so I've kind of lost interest. Feel free to comment and prove me wrong if that's the case.

Anyway, last week Katie moved out after 4 years of living together. It was truly bitter sweet as I felt sad that she was leaving, but excited for the new chapter of my life to really begin. Ryan and Odie moved in and we have been crazy busy getting organized and making my house, our home. It's nice being here together and not having to worry about who's driving across Plano this evening, if there's food at my house for Odie, if Ryan needs to drag over his work clothes or I need to pack my hairdryer...It's nice just to start settling in and enjoying each others company.

As for Katie, her house is really coming together. She got new paint and carpet and is really making it her own. It is funny to see it go from Ryan's bachelor pad to Katie's first house she bought on her own. It's an exciting time for all of us and there is a lot to be Thanksful for!!!

Little Buddy!

2008-09-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

I never understood the connection that people had with their animals. I never really understood until I met Odie! Odie is Ryan's dog and therefore soon to be my dog, or maybe we should refer to him as my step-dog. He is the sweetest little buddy!! Odie will be staying with me for a few days since Ryan went home to Florida and his sister is moving home this weekend. He is the best little snuggler and truly appreciates every ounce of attention he is given. I'm sure we will go on many walks this weekend and keep each other in good company while Ryan is away. I am convinced that Ryan is some sort of dog whisperer that he was able to train Odie to be the little "robot dog" that he is. So yes, now I understand how dog can be a man's best friend. Cats on the other hand...I'll never understand!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the Road Again...

2008-09-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

OK so not really quite yet. I still have to get a new helmet and have my bike inspected. I truly believe that Ryan (and Paul) did a fine job putting the bike together, but I'm not taking any chances. My new bike is much prettier than my busted up KHS. Once I can afford to get rid of all the old components that survived my crash, it will really look sweet! I am afraid that a cool bike will make people think I am supposed to be faster though. Let's just hope I keep this one in one piece!
I know that I promised an accident pic in an earlier post. I have now decided that I really don't want my friends and family to see my "elephant man" look, but here's one that's not so bad. I wasn't too swollen at this point. Like Ryan says, it was like a free trial of collagen in my lips. I don't think it's a good look for me!

Brain's no good if it's on the road!

2008-08-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I found that quote in my title from Trek's website, which ironically was the maker of my cycling helmet. Oh how true it is!!

This helmet, cracked like an egg, could be my forehead and I am so grateful that it is not!! I was riding with 6 other members of the Paradigm Cycling Team on Saturday. I set off at 7AM with the intention of riding 50 miles. I was feeling a bit discouraged about 5 miles in when the rest of the group sped ahead and Lauren and I lagged behind. She is my faithful riding partner though so I was thankful to have someone to keep me motivated. We had just started chatting, I couldn't even tell you what we were discussing, when I noticed a Gigantic crack running parallel on the road.
By the time it registered that I had nowhere to go, I just closed my eyes and hoped that I came out of it in one piece. My front tire wedged down into the crack and I believe I was still clipped into the pedals when I went face first into the concrete at about 17mph. My helmet is dented and cracked and my bike is totaled. I am typing this blog 5 days later, so obviously I am in MUCH better shape than I should be.
Amazingly enough, I have zero broken bones, zero lost teeth and at this point, it seems that I still have all my brain cells too...
I am not quite ready to post pictures of my ugly mug, but it gets better everyday. They put 40 stitches in my face and mouth in the ER. I got about 1/2 of them taken out today and it looks pretty good. The plastic surgeon is pretty confident that I will heal well, although it will take several months. I better be back to normal by May 2009 though!!
I appreciate everyone's kind thoughts and prayers so much! I am so thankful as this could have been so much worse, but it still was difficult to see myself in the mirror those first few days. Somehow Ryan still managed to make me feel beautiful and I love him even more for that. He has taken such excellent care of me and it has been amazing to see this side of him. I know my parents wanted to be here, but they can feel confident that I had a good home-health nurse!
I will post pictures in the coming weeks, but in the meantime...Wear your helmet when cycling and especially on a motor cycle. If your child argues with you about wearing a helmet, scare some sense into them with stories like mine. Remember, Brain's no good if it's on the road!

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered...FINALLY!

2008-07-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

What a pain computers can be!! I still have not gotten everything on my laptop backed up so that I can send it back to hp. I am pessimistically nervous that they will find several things wrong that are not covered under my warranty. In the meantime, I have diligently been working to get the address labels made for our Save The Dates. Sounds like an easy project, right? Well in the wonderful world of technology, it somehow manged to take me all week. I had originally deemed that job to be Ryan's, however he gave up days a go. He is now at Nationals for Youth Soccer and I was happy to drop those things at the post office at 10PM tonight! I know I have stated this in an earlier post, but why do all men think that women get a high from wedding planning? Maybe this is my cry for help...RYAN!! Oh, who am I kidding, he doesn't read this Blog! :)

OK, now that I've thrown him under the bus, I'll post a few pics that hopefully paint the picture of how much I really do love my fiance. He has only been out of town for a day and I miss him already!

Out of commision!

2008-07-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, first we left our camera in a cab in Mexico so I had no fun pictures of the trip to post. Now my laptop is not working. My desktop is my work computer so fun and recreational activities such as blogging are done on the laptop. Apparently I have to mail it into hp for service. In the meantime, I need to back up all of my pictures. Ryan and I got some great engagement pics taken on the 4th of July, but I don't want to release a spoiler before I mail my Save the Dates. Stay tuned for some thrilling pics of Ryan and I in coordinating outfits in the coming weeks. I know the suspense is just torture!!! Wow, as if I didn't have many readers before, I'm probably losing the crowd very quickly!! :)

Barcelo Site Visit

2008-07-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

We returned from our trip to Mexico last week and unfortunately I do not have any pictures to post right now because Ryan and I made a major tourist mistake! On your way to the Barcelo for our site visit, we left Ryan's nice camera in the cab. We attempted to retrieve it, but I'm sure it's in a beach-side pawn shop somewhere.
I did find this picture of the Palace gazebo online (the spot where we think we will have our cereomny) and I love it! I will post more details and a few pics when I get them from my friend Johnna, who we traveled with. I will say that I was very impressed with the Barcelo and cannot wait until next May!!

Happy Birthday To Me...

2008-06-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

and Katie and Lauren! It was a fun few days of birthday celebrations.

On Saturday night, we had fun celebrating both Katie and Lauren's Birthdays with dinner at Bucca di Beppo and then on to Martini Park for dancing and well...Martinis!

Amy joined us out later and then brought us Neiman Marcus chocolates to our Tuesday night Birthday Dinner. Thanks Amy!!!!!!
We had a great time on Saturday night (hence the famous red carpet pose). I have to say I was also truly impressed that 23 of our friends showed up for another dinner outing for our B-days on Tuesday. I have no pics to post of that event, but thanks to all who made it out. We have an awesome group of friends!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-14T13:10:00.001-07:00

"Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad." (Author Unknown)
In honor of Father's Day and my dad, Jack's, ridulous sense of humor, I wrote this short poem:
I love you Dad because you are so funny.
I love you even though Mom says that you really wanted to name me Bunny.
I love you Dad because you never hesitated to help me move so far.
I love you even though you wouldn't buy me a car.
I love you Dad for supporting our family and being such a respectable man.
I love you for keeping me on your Family Share Plan.
I love you Dad for all of the selfless things that you did.
I love you because secretly I know I am your favorite kid.

Have a great day Dad. I wish I could be there with you!!!
I'll go ahead and give another shout out to my Mom who was here in the Bid D visiting me last week. It meant to much to have her here to wedding dress shop with me. I really enjoy our time together. I wish we could see each other more often, but thanks to Dad's Family Share Plan, we still get to chat almost daily.

Just Study Already!!

2008-05-30T15:26:00.001-07:00

Another STOTT Pilates Weekend! This post is going to be my constant reminder that it's time to just finish my STOTT Pilates instructor exams already! I am teaching several classes a week and getting plenty of self-practice hours. I have just built up a mental block against studying my anatomy. I am going to take an anatomy refresher class this Saturday with the hopes that it will get my brain in gear.
Time to break out the flashcards.

My Mommy...

2008-05-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah, my Mom is coming to visit in less than a week! Because my parents live in PA, I don't get to see them very often. My mom and I are really close and I am happy that we will get some quality time together. I have been putting wedding dress shopping on hold with the hopes that I could go with my mom so It will be so fun to share that experience with her. Also, I just had to include this pic with my dad. If you know my dad at all, this picture of him might make you chuckle!!

Wedding Update

2008-05-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

I am excited to finally report some wedding details! We will be getting married May 8th, 2009 at the Barcelo Maya Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
The Barcelo Maya Beach Mexico Resort is an all-inclusive complex made up of 5 different hotels. I am hoping that with all of the different hotel options, it will make it easier for our guests to travel to our wedding on all different budgets.

The ceremony will be at 5:00 so that should give everyone plenty of time to hang out at the beach all day before the party gets started. Our reception is going to be on the beach after sunset. The Barcelo is one of the only resorts that offers a beach reception which makes it unique. It's going to be so much fun to be on vacation with several of our friends and family members. I can't wait!!!!

MS 150...What A Ride!

2008-05-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived 160 plus miles of cycling this past weekend. Yes, it's false advertising as the ride is actually over 160 miles, but the cause is worth the extra effort! I had a great time riding with Team Liberty Ford. Paul Stone, our team captain (and Ryan's business partner) was a great leader. He kept everyone motivated the last several months to raise money, ride hard, and most importantly to have fun!! Our 21 member team raised $15,000 thus far!
I won't pretend like it was all fun times from start to finish. We started out Saturday morning in Frisco freezing our lycra butts off! The temperature was in the 40's and the wind was out of control! We were not at all prepared with extra clothing and assumed it would be warm as soon as the sun started to rise. We were still cold at lunch, but our fingers and toes began defrosting by that time. It was much more enjoyable riding in the afternoon! It also made it easy to forget about being cold at lunch with the energy of all the other riders, the enthusiastic volunteers, and the thankful people who suffer from MS that gave us high fives in the lunch line.
We did a total of 86 miles on day one so I figured the foot massage at the finish line was well-deserved!

After a great night of sleep in a comfy Hampton Inn bed, we were off to an early start at Texas Motor Speedway. Most of our teammates did a lap around the speedway together and then were off to complete another 74 miles. Ryan rode with the big boys (and Lisa) on Day 2 and thankfully Lauren served as both my riding partner and psychological support team throughout the day. The course was pretty hilly on Day 2 and it felt good to watch other riders walk their bikes up the hills, while we cycled past.
The last rest stop was a quick break to refuel with some water and cold Blue Powerade (my favorite beverage of the weekend) and then it was on to the last 9 miles into Sundance Square, Fort Worth. I'd like to act like I felt wonderful all 160 miles, but that last leg was pretty tough. Everything started to hurt and I wanted those awful spandex shorts off my body!! My smile could not possibly get any bigger than it was when I saw the Finish Line sign. OK, it probably got a little bigger when I saw Ryan at the end of the Finish Line (he had of course already been there for a long time...we won't admit how long though). My awesome roommate, Katie, was our cheerleader at the Finish Line. She is such a trooper. She and our friend, Patty, got to Sundance Square hours earlier to reserve the perfect spot on the patio at Flying Saucer. Thanks ladies for being there to cheer us on! Thank you to everyone that supported me! It was a great experience and I am already ready to upgrade my bike.

Ryan is already planning for MS 150 2009. If you could see my tan lines right now, you would agree that it would not be the smartest thing to do a week before my wedding. We shall see...

YEAH! My Best Friend Is Engaged Too!!

2008-04-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

I got a little worried when I was receiving phone calls from Jessica on her vacation in Aruba. You see, Ryan was the smart one who stated that she probably got engaged. I, on the other hand, was racking my brain trying to figure out why she is calling me from paradise!! Jess is a doctor and she leads a very busy life! We knew her engagement was in the future, but I don't think she expected it at this time. What a great surprise. It is going to be so fun to be engaged at the same time. Jess and I have been best friends since pre-school and have shared a lot of memories. This next year is going to make our memories even sweeter!! I love you Jess. Way to go Adam!

Here's a pic of the first time the 4 of us hung out together...We are looking forward to many more fun times!!!

Get Ready To Ride!

2008-04-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's kind of hard to believe that this coming weekend is the MS 150! We've been training pretty hard and I am ready to ride! I did my longest training ride with the Richardson Bike Mart group this weekend...55 miles! Apparently I am an overachiever as the course is only 50 miles. OK, truthfully I got lost for a little while. I think that Lucas, TX is too far to drive my car and I managed to ride my bike there on Saturday! I was exhausted afterwards, but it felt good to know that I have gained a lot of strength the last few months. It was nice to end the evening with a Mambo Taxi at Mi Cocina in honor of our friend, Jill's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL!

Wedding Plans...or lack thereof!

2008-04-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

I hope nobody is looking here for any wedding plans! I've only been engaged for 2 weeks and it's already a bit overwhelming to think about where and when. Actually we feel pretty good about the idea of getting married at sunset in Mexico!

My mom is vacationing in Italy for another week so I plan to put her to work when she returns to help me do some research. The poor woman is finishing her masters and now she is getting more work from me. Wedding planning is fun though, right!!??????? :)

Our Engagement

2008-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited to report that Ryan proposed in Montana this past weekend (and I obviously said yes)! It was truly a picture perfect engagement...although I suppose I am a bit bias. I knew that when the day came it would be special, but I was honestly blown away by the thought he put into it. We took a private guided snowmobile trip up Big Mountain. I was just enjoying the sunshine and the gorgeous scenery and had no idea that he was holding my ring the entire trip. Our guide, Bob, pulled off at a perfect spot so that we could "take some pictures". While I was getting Ryan's camera out to take a pic of him, he put my ring box in the snow. I was pretty surprised when I reached down to hand him his gloves and BONUS--found the ring. He asked me to marry him when we were knee deep in fresh powder and I answered with, "What do you think"...not really the most romantic acceptance, but like I would say no!!! I am super excited and will be sure to blog when we start making some plans. The first 2 pics are of the exact spot where it "All went down".

Taylor Wedding

2008-03-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks John and Melissa for inviting us to share in your special day! Our first "Dallas Friends" wedding and we had a blast! You both looked gorgeous and Bryson was definitely the cutest ring bearer we've ever seen! Congratulations and Good Luck!

2008-03-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Annual St. Patty's Day Parade on Greenville...What a fun time! I had to cut out early this year to see the LA Glaxy FC Dallas game, but it was worth it to see
Beckham with his shirt off!!

MS 150

2008-03-09T11:14:00.001-07:00

This May I’ll be cycling 150 miles through North Texas to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis. I am currently training several hours a week so I have the hard part covered. Now I’m asking you to commit only a few short minutes to go to my link below and help my fundraising efforts. http://www.ms150.org/dallas/donate/donate.cfm?id=210872

As many of you may know, I was touched at a young age by one of my dance instructors who suffers from MS. Please help me to support the National MS Society’s efforts to end this devastating disease. I'll be sure to post pics after the event is over and I am immobile for a few days!!!

Some of my Favs from 2007!

2008-03-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

Because this is all new for me, I figured I would start by adding some of my favorite pics and moments from 2007...

Wine Club

The Morkie...

At least I still have Odie!!!
In The Burgh...
Ry actually took this awesome pic of Pittsburgh!
Ohiopyle, PA

Who knew Western PA was so beautiful?!

St. Augustine. Much warmer in May than in February for Ryan's Birthday!

Nick and Becca's Wedding

Thanksgiving

Colorado

Christmas

Care Coach Team

2008-03-07T19:30:00.001-08:00

What a great group of women (Our Care Coach Team)!

I was inspired to start blogging by the passing of Baby Lilly. I have looked at her blog about 100 times this week. I realize how important it is to cherish your time here on earth and how neat it is to have a place to share life experiences with friends and family. Check out beautiful Baby Lilly's blog and continue to pray for Jennifer and Richard. What a sweet, sweet little girl! http://babylillyspad.blogspot.com/