First day of a NEW job!

Today was my first day back with Wells Fargo :) This time around, I am working as a Lead Teller! I was super fortunate to receive a promotion with our move to Texas. I also lucked out because the branch I am working at is only 6 minutes from home!  I will be working full time-- grown women style! haha. All of my coworkers are so awesome and friendly. Our local grocery store is in the same shopping center as my Wells Fargo branch, so Colin and I went grocery shopping after I got off. While we were there, the cashier told us that Tom Brady comes in ALL the time and that he lives right across the street!! Im wishin' and hopin' I run into him sometime ;) or all the time!

We made sure to have an awesome weekend before I started work. On Friday we went to Rudy's BBQ, which was incredible! Texas definitely gets an "A" in the food department. Colin and I loaded up on the food...we got turkey, ribs, and brisket with sides of baked beans and creamed corn. We were pretty excited and gained about 10 pounds by the time we left.

On Saturday we went to a FC Dallas soccer game with our friends Katie & Corby from our ward :) They also brought their super cute daughter Jade. It was tons of FUN! Dallas played Colorado, and they weren't expected to win. So... it was awesome when Dallas won 3-2! As they say, "Dallas 'til I Die" haha.

We are living life to the fullest here in Texas. We deeply miss our family and friends! We think about each of you often and LOVE you TONS :)

Dinner DISASTERS!

I will be the first to admit, I'm no Bobby Flay in the kitchen. I usually can cook up some tasty meals, but this week, my blonde moments have gotten in the way a little bit.

Each week I make a menu that maps out what meals I want to cook (it makes grocery shopping a little easier). For Tuesday I planned to make a chicken coconut curry. The recipe calls for coconut milk to make the curry sauce. When I got to the point of needing the coconut milk, Colin discovered that I bought coconut WATER!!! hahah. We had to use tons of cornstarch to thicken up the sauce.
Not only did I screw up the sauce, I added WAY too much jalapeno to the sauce. It tasted "hotter than the fires of hell" as Colin put it. Oops!
We prayed that the food would be somewhat edible...and all I can say is that miracles do happen!

For tonight, I planned to make a beef stroganoff with egg noodles. I was really hoping to redeem myself from the night before so I was putting lots of time into making this dinner. I cooked the meat all day in a Crock Pot to make it super tender. As we sat down to dinner, Colin noticed that our beef stroganoff was made of pork!!!! 

Colin: Jess, did you know that this meat isn't beef??

Jess: Yes it is, I bought stew meat.

Colin: Um Jess, stew meats come in pork too.

Jess: Oh....DANG IT!!! NOT AGAIN!!

SO EMBARRASSING!!!! But so funny. Gotta love a girl for trying. We just sat there and laughed the whole dinner. We figure that we at least have some good stories to tell our kids, haha! Cross your fingers that tomorrow's dinner turns out better. Or maybe we should just eat out....

Exciting Updates

First, the most important update of all: Colin is HOME! It was so great to see him after what felt like forever :) Distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder. Now we really appreciate any time we have together.
Colin has been in New York the past two weeks for training in his new job. Even though it was hard to be far from home, he had a great time in Manhattan. His hotel was in Time Square, he did morning jogs in Central Park, and he ate at really cool restaurants! How lucky is he, right?!  This is his company's building in Time Square:

Colin also had some time to do some touristy stuff like seeing the 9/11 Memorial site, the New York LDS temple, the Flatiron building, and go to a Yankees vs. Red Sox game! Awesome!

New York LDS temple

Yesterday was Colin's first day at his office in Dallas. Look how studly he looks at work :) I am so proud of him!

The day Colin came home, I attended the temple before picking him up at the airport. The Dallas temple is so pretty and very small. Its much smaller than the temples I am used to in Utah. One lady mentioned to me that I was the youngest girl she has ever seen there haha. She was upset that I was already married because she has 4 sons that she wanted to me meet...lucky for her, I have a younger sister ;) 

I also received a job offer yesterday from Wells Fargo for a Lead Teller position! I feel so grateful for this, especially after feeling like I might not get the position. The branch I'll be working at is only a 6 minute drive from home, which is so lucky. It is also across the street from a Country Club and a Four Seasons Hotel so I'm sure I will have some fun experiences there lol. Not to mention that this branch is closed on Saturdays!!!!!!!! Way happy about that haha. Colin celebrated this accomplishment by taking me to see The Dark Knight Rises (super good movie!) and taking me to sushi. It was fabulous fun. 

We are continuing to love it here in Texas. We feel like our little life is coming together just as we planned.... and it's only going to get better :)

I want to give a special shout out to all of the amazing people who went out of their way to lift my spirits while Colin was away. I appreciate all of the phone calls, Skypes, and text messages that made me feel less lonely :) I have the greatest family and friends. I love each of you so much. Your efforts were GREATLY appreciated!