sometimes i feel like everything is moving soooo quickly that i don't have time to stop and process what's going on. there's a whirlwind of events happening simultaneously and there doesn't see to be enough time for me to fully savor every single moment and to completely realize just exactly how much God has blessed me. i think blogging helps me to slow down for a second...

This is a shot in the Westin Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. I went there in late October to receive a "Rising Star in Technology" award at the Women of Color conference. It was a neat experience - the women who won the more prestigious awards had very inspirational stories of their experiences, be it in life, career and/or family.

These are the stairs in our new house! This picture was taken in early November. Things are progressing quite nicely and we are scheduled to close next week! I can't believe I'm going to be a homeowner...although I won't be living there till next year after I get married. But, it'll still be fun and exciting to pick out furniture, decorations, appliances etc for the house. The only down part is the massive credit card bill that comes at the end of each month, as well as the mortgage payment. But that's all a part of "growing up", right?

My brother and his gf got season football tickets, not because they're big fans of Michigan football, but because they wanted to sell the tickets and hopefully make some money. Pat hadn't been to the "Big House" before so my brother and his gf were kind enough to give us tickets. We went to the UM vs. Indiana game...not the most exciting of games, but it was still fun. It was nice to be back in Ann Arbor and walking through the streets to the stadium with the rest of the 100,000 fans. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful, warm autumn day. I miss the college days of going to all the games!

A while back, I decided I wanted to become a big sib in the Big Brother Big Sisters program. The matching process took a while because there was first the application, then the background check, then the interview, then the matching process. I finally got matched to an 11 year old little sister back in October. This is a picture of us at the Pistons game against the Wizards on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It was her first Pistons game at the Palace and we had a great time because it was a very exciting game, despite the loss. What a great first game for her to go to - I asked if she wanted to leave after the end of regulation, but she opted to stay for both overtimes.

Another picture of our house - closer to the final stages. Actually, I think everything is installed by now...this was taken just this past Friday. Can't wait to get the keys and to help Pat move in! We still have a lot of stuff to buy...basically everything. But fortunately, Pat has a bunch of stuff to hold us over for a bit. He moved all his stuff from Chicago here...it's all sitting in my parent's garage right now.

Anyways, its late. Its been a long day of shopping for house necessities. I need some rest....