WE (HE) MADE IT!

Bobby graduated from the Simon School of Business this morning and I couldn't be more proud of him! I joke and say "WE" did it, because although he was the one in school, we really did go through this chapter of our lives together. We moved here almost two years ago not knowing a single person. Over 3,000 miles away from our family and everyone and everything we knew, no place to live, I didn't have a job, just took a dive into the complete unknown. It was scary. We only had each other and that was enough for us, but throughout our time here we quickly built friendships that will last far beyond our Simon chapter. We are so thankful for those friendships, especially now that we are all going our separate ways this week. Most every one of our friends are leaving this week, as well as us.  It is going to be so strange not seeing all of the same faces that we have seen for the past two years, especially not knowing when or if we will see many of them ever again. I know I will definitely see a very select few, but I know we won't see everyone. It is an odd feeling...It is one of those things "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened". Although it is sad thinking about the probability of never seeing a good amount of the people we have met here in Rochester ever again, we are so thankful and grateful for the time that we had with each and every one of them. Each person contributed to making our time here in Rochester worth it and memorable. It is a time in our lives that we will never forget and a chapter in our journey that has changed us forever.

So, here we are with 5 short days left in our Rochester/MBA chapter of our lives, not knowing what the next step is going to be, where we will end up, and knowing everything can change overnight...but yet again we are doing it together. Taking the plunge in to the next chapter of our lives; marriage.

I couldn't ask for a better partner in this life than Bobby. He truly is my best friend and I wouldn't want to be on this journey with anybody else. I love him and am so beyond proud of him he will never know. I feel so lucky and so blessed to call him mine and I am looking forward to the next few months...they're going to be chaotic, stressful, joyous, emotional, and probably some of the most memorable months in our lives and I can't wait to watch it all unfold!

So proud of all of the MBA graduates of 2013, but especially proud of MY graduate! :) 

7.5 weeks to go...

WOW! We only have 7.5 weeks left here in Rochester until our lease is up and we are on our merry way. I was talking to my mom the other day and saying it out loud that we only have 8 weeks left here is crazy, and today I made my hair appointment for 6 weeks from today and that is May 31st, my last day of work is May 30th. It is so sad :( At times it felt like business school was dragging, but now it just seems to be flying by faster and faster and there is so much going on all of the time that it is hard to even stop and enjoy the moments! We have something going on every weekend, I am working 40+-50 hours a week lately, enjoying every waking second with my girls, trying to fit in time with friends, planning the wedding, figuring out our next move, etc etc! The list goes on! LIFE is just happening so fast and it is a whirlwind.

Tomorrow a group of us are running the Color Vibe 5k and I am excited! Aside from the fact that the temperature just literally dropped 35 degrees in a 6 hour period and it is supposed to be 37 degrees tomorrow morning...it should be a great time! It was SO nice yesterday, 75 degrees, sunny, amazing...tomorrow 37 cold and windy BOO! Oh well, it will still be fun and I can't wait! There will definitely be pics to come of that! :)

Bobby is still very actively job hunting at the moment. The job that we were so excited about turned out to NOT be at all the company we thought it was and it ended up being a blessing in disguise that that didn't pan out. We would not have been happy there so I am really relieved that that nightmare is over and we are onto better opportunities. I have pretty much stopped worrying/stressing. I know he will get the right job for him/us and everything will work out how it is supposed to. I have just put it in God's hands and trust that he will guide us down the right path. All I do know is that we are getting married in 125 days and that's all I really care about right now :)

Speaking of, we have picked out our invitations and I will be ordering them soon!!! EEK! So crazy! Everyone keeps asking how the wedding planning is going etc etc and to be honest I rarely even think about it! I know there is still a lot to be done, but oh well I know it will get done why stress out about it? I am just really trying to enjoy my last weeks here and focusing on spending as much time with the people I love here as I can before we part ways. I will have plenty of time this summer to work on the wedding, all of the major things are done and it's just the little busy work left. Aside from the invitations, I don't have much else to do until after we move.

I finished P90X! I am so proud ;) I have not had time to post final progress pics or measurements but I WILL this weekend and you can find those on my fitness blog :)

Well, that's about as much energy as I have. Time to get ready for bed and ready for the happiest 5k in the world tomorrow! ;)

New Addition

There has been a new addition to the Graham-Rainwater wedding party and her name is Mrs. Theresa Guirola and I couldn't be more excited! I had been wanting to ask her for a LONG time, but already had my 4 girls picked already from the beginning so I just didn't know what to do. Bobby had been so OCD about having the numbers be the same that I felt stuck and pretty bummed about it. Theresa is seriously one of my best friends. We pretty much talk 24/7 and hang out every chance we get. Her husband goes to school with Bobby and they are pretty much besties too. I finally just made the decision that you know what, Bobby can get over the number thing (which he did) and I decided to just ask her! I didn't want to assume she would say yes, or that she would be able to make the trip from Florida (lucky B gets to live there after graduation!) but she began talking a lot about her trip out for our wedding etc so I was like ok she is coming anyway I NEED to ask her to be apart of it because I just feel in my heart that that would make the bridal party complete. So I asked her and she said YES!  I got her a perfect for US and our relationship card off of Etsy and had her over last on Tuesday for tea (sounds funny I know) and popped the question. I was nervous and didn't know what she would think because it's so close to the wedding, but she was definitely SURPRISED, but said yes and is beyond excited which was a big relief! I feel SO much better and like the party is complete. I feel so blessed to have met someone here that GETS me, has been through this roller coaster called business school with me, and someone who I feel like I have known forever but have really only known about 18 months. Sometimes it isn't about how long you have known someone, but what you go through together and how much you just get each other. I have people in my life I have known forever and just because of the time I have known them doesn't mean we are close...time definitely isn't the end all be all of a friendship.

It really hit me through all of this that we are DONE here in Rochester and at Simon in TWO months! 60 days and we are all going to be going our separate ways. It is beyond bittersweet. We have all been through the same struggles that nobody understands unless they have been through it too and I have built a few friendships that are lifelong and for that I am beyond blessed. As much as I complain about the weather, and the cold (which definitely does suck) it was all a part of the struggle which is a part of the journey. It was all worth it to build the relationships that I have built and that I will be taking away from this chapter in our lives. I am looking forward to making these last two months here amazing and really spending my limited time with the people who mean the most to me here. This last year has definitely shown me who my true friends are and who I will be leaving this experience with our friendship still in tact. Sad to say, I know I won't keep in touch with the majority of the people I have met here, but that is just how life is. They have all been a part of the adventure, but only a select few will continue with my on my journey in life and I am truly blessed to have those select few. <3

Life Lately

It has been awhile! These past couple of weeks have been so busy! With Bobby's interview in Houston, followed by our weekend in DC for his basketball tournament and work I haven't had much extra time to sit down and really write anything. I literally wake up at 5am, eat breakfast, get to work by 7am work till 530, come home, workout, eat dinner, shower, pack meals for the next day and go to bed.
There are definitely not enough hours in the days lately, and I thoroughly enjoy my weekends (even though they fly by extremely fast!)

So quickly, what is new:

* Bobby's interview went very well! He really enjoyed the people who were there interviewing and also got along very well with the people who currently work for the company and those in charge of the assessment center. He left the assessment center feeling confident. They told them that they would know yes or no in "about" 3 weeks. Contracts etc have to be negotiated by mid April so really they said decisions on their part needed to be made in no more than 3 weeks...it has been a week so we have 2 more to go till we hear something! He received an email on Tuesday asking for 2 references so we are hoping that's a good sign! *FINGERS CROSSED*

* DC was a BLAST! We didn't have time to do any site seeing, besides our quick car tour the night we got there, because the weekend was literally jam packed full of basketball but that is ok it was still SO much fun! We ate at two delicious restaurants and just from walking around a bit and driving through I want to go back SO bad. It is such an awesome city. It was so nice to get out of Rochester for a couple of days, it was much needed!

* We got our Save the Dates out in the mail finally a couple of weeks ago...everyone was messaging me and letting me know they got them so that made it REAL and so exciting! 6 months from today is the big day! We are BEYOND excited!!!!

*P90x has been going amazingly and I am loving my results and just my overall outlook on life now that I am living a healthier lifestyle! I am definitely MUCH happier! :)

*A bunch of us signed up for the Color Vibe 5K on April 20th here in Rochester! We were originally going to do the "official" Color Run here, but it was the day after our annual Black Jack Ball and we knew none of us would be up for getting up the morning after to run so we discovered the same exact race was April 20th and decided to start a team and do it! I am SO excited for it it is going to be a blast!

* The twins are getting so big! They turned 5 months on the 17th! I just LOVE them so much they're the cutest things and such sweet easy babies. It is a LOT of work and exhausting but it makes the days go fast, I enjoy my job so much, and I just couldn't ask for much more! It is going to be REALLY hard to leave in June though...that's for sure :( I am not looking forward to it at all I love my Gabel girls.

*It's still FREEZING. There has been snow on the ground for weeks...it hasn't gotten above 35 degrees I am pretty sure and even that is rare. There is no end in sight...I am so over it and ready for SUMMER!!!!

Hmm...I can't really think of much else right now! I am sure there are more things but those are the major high lights of our life lately. There is a lot going on all of the time and that is pretty much how it is going to be for the next 6 months until the wedding, but I can't wait! It is all new and exciting things..life changing things! I will have to get some pics of the girls up here soon you wouldn't believe how much they have grown! Especially Claudia haha Until then! Have a great weekend! :)

BIG Week!

I can't believe this week has finally arrived. We have been awaiting this week since December and it has been a long, anxious two months! Bobby flies out to Houston this afternoon for his final round interview with his top choice company. It is a two day assessment center, so much, much more than just a normal interview! It lasts from 8am-9pm tomorrow, and 8am-5pm on Thursday. The top 12 candidates from the US will be there, and I believe they pick 3 people for the job. It's an International Talent Rotational Program, meaning we would be living in 3 different countries over the next 2 years IF he gets an offer and we accept. It is pretty much our dream situation since we love to travel and have always wanted to live abroad, which is why we have been so anxious and stressed about it. He has made it this far from over 3,000 applicants worldwide so it is a big deal! He seems to be excited about these next two days, which I am glad because I am just straight stressed haha After this, from talking to people who are currently in the program, it will be another 4-6 weeks before we hear if he gets an offer or not! UGH...another waiting game...hate that game, it is not fun!

He is also meeting up with someone who works for another company down in Houston who is working on getting him a job too. A job that would also be GREAT! If everything goes well with that he will probably be flying back down to Houston in the near future. It is great to have a couple options, but definitely doesn't help the stress...It is also pretty scary to think we could possibly be moving out of the country in September, but it is a dream. I guess it is true what they say..."If your dreams don't scare you they aren't big enough." It is scary and beyond exciting all at once...mixed in with stress and anxiety waiting to see what even happens! Two totally different possibilities, two completely different paths...aaaah I wish we could just fast forward through the next two months so we would know one way or another what we will be doing! I am hoping that since there is so much going on in the next few months that it will feel like it fast forwarding haha

Prayers and good thoughts appreciated!!! xoxo

Scholarship Weekend

This weekend was/is Scholarship weekend at Simon. Prospective students come to Simon and compete for scholarship money from the school and then depending on how well they do (how much they receive) generally make their decision to accept or decline admission to Simon. Anyway, they usually bring their significant other (partner) along with them as well to check out Rochester, see if they like it and would want to move here, etc. Being a part of the Simon Partners group (a group of boyfriends, girlfriend, fiances, wives, husbands of Simon Students) we are in charge of taking the prospective partners out and "convincing them" that Simon is where their partner should go and that they should support their decision in coming basically. We tell them all about the partner's group and what we are about; basically a support system for other partners since we are all basically going through the same stresses and experiences as they each other.

These weekends are always fun, you get to go to dinner, breakfast, lunch, art gallery, etc all on Simon's dime. You get to meet new people who are looking to coming to Rochester, share your experiences, both good and bad and really help them with this big decision. It is always a good time, and who doesn't like getting wined and dined? We always have the coolest driver take us from place to place who just adds to the fun. The people are always (for the most part) very friendly and eager to find out about the Simon school and about the Partners program. A lot of MBA programs don't offer the partners program, but they really should. It's an incredible resource to have for when you are relocating for something that you will rarely see your partner for the next two years! haha You can vent to each other, hang out, and you really create wonderful friendships that will last a life time that you otherwise may not have made.

It was kind of a reality check this weekend when we were talking about our time here, and realized that we only have 5 more short months left in Rochester and then we will be on our next adventure. As much as I say Rochester isn't my favorite place, and I would never live here long term. I still owe it a lot of thanks, because regardless of how different it is than CA, and how COLD it is, and how it really isn't somewhere we would prefer to live. It still gave us an awesome experience; both with creating new relationships with people as well as allowing Bobby and I to build upon our own. It is really sad to think about all of us parting ways and starting a new chapter in our lives, and really makes me appreciate the time we had here. The 20 months REALLY flies by, and when it first starts it feels like it is going to last forever, but now here we are 5 months out from graduation and time only continues to fly by faster and faster. Before we know it we will all be at their graduation and preparing to move to where ever is in store for us...hopefully in the next month to 6 weeks we will have somewhat of a destination for where we will be going next...a lot will be happening in these last 5 months and it is definitely going to be a whirlwind!

One year down, One to go!

Today Bobby is officially a 2nd year MBA student and has finished his first year! He had his last final this morning and I can't believe how fast the time as gone! I feel like we just got here, but we have already been here for 10 months, it's insane! I'm so proud of him; GBC president, Dean's Leadership Award, Presenting an award at this year's Commencement, 2nd Year MBA candidate at one of the top Business Schools in the world, on top of working on a huge business deal in WY he has a LOT to be proud of he has achieved so much over the last 10 months. He makes me incredibly proud every day and I can't wait for him to be graduating this time next year and to marry him soon after! I pray this next year goes by just as fast (if not faster) I am SO ready to marry this man already!!! (and get out of Rochester haha).

Simon Games

What a glorious day! It was about 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, the perfect day for some Simon Games! Every year Simon's GBC puts on "Simon Games" where the school (and partners) can participate in a variety of games. Today we played: Ultimate frisbee, kickball, volleyball, cricket, soccer, kan jam, beer pong, and civil war! A great mix of non-drinking and drinking games. We had so much fun, got a little sun burned, but enjoyed being outside in the warm sunny weather all day! We were there from 11-7....8 hours! We had food catered, 2 kegs, and an abundance of fun people! I must say, cricket is the most confusing, complicated game ever! I think we went over the rules 10 times and I still didn't get it! They compare it to baseball, when really, its so nothing like baseball besides the fact that they have a bat and a ball and you have to hit the ball as far as you can and run. Every other rule is so crazy and complicated I could not keep up, but its always fun to try to learn a new international game lol.  The dean even joined us and he loved it!

Playing volleyball was probably my favorite. I haven't played volleyball in YEARS, and even though the competition wasn't that high, it was still a lot of fun and made me miss it! I may try to look for a city league or something and check out signing up, maybe it will be during the winter and give me something to do! haha

Tomorrow is supposed to be another beautiful day, even warmer than today I think! I think Bobby has homework and stuff all day, but I hope he will make some time to spend a little bit of time with me outside, if not I will just go for a run or something. Our pool isn't open yet...it is so weird living somewhere that pools are not open year round! They open up memorial day weekend (so next weekend) through Labor Day I think...that is definitely something I miss! Being able to lay out by the pool or go to the beach in December :) But I am so glad that summer is fast approaching and I am very much appreciating this weather we have finally been able to have! Now I see what they mean when they say people to FULL advantage of the nice/warm weather here because it IS very limited! I plan on doing the same! :)

Black Jack Ball

The night finally came and went. The long anticipated Black Jack Ball was last night and it was the most fun I have had in a LONG time! I had an amazing dress I couldn't wait to wear, I was excited to hang out with all of our friends and drink, eat, and dance and we did all of that! The ball was held at the High Falls in Rochester at a cool industrial type venue. They served us appetizers, had an open bar, and also served a great italian dinner! I think the thing I was most excited about at the actual ball was the photo booth! And that's EXACTLY why I am having it at our wedding....everyone LOVED it! We definitely took a good amount of photo booth shots, always so much fun! They also had casino games (not real money gambling of course) on the top floor which was fun, I didn't participate e in that but all of the guys seemed to enjoy it.

After the ball was over they had the party bus/shuttles take us to the after party at Pearl night club where we had our own private room and bottle service. It was so fun to kick off the heels, put on the flat and just dance ALL night! I had been looking forward to this and it was definitely SO much fun and I am sad it's over...can't wait till NEXT year! Our good friend is in charge of it next year so we are going to make it bigger and better! ;) 

Welcoming May

April is almost over. This year continues to fly by and I am excited for May! Not only because its my birthday month, but also because black jack ball is next friday and it is the home stretch for Bobby to be done with his first year of grad school! I still don't have any official birthday plans, but that's ok I guess I plan on doing plenty of celebrating on friday at the ball. Having a birthday on a Wednesday is super lame, maybe Bobby and I will go to dinner or I have been tossing around the idea of doing a big group dinner somewhere the weekend after so we will see. I definitely don't want to have to plan my own birthday celebration so who knows what will happen lol

Today marks the one hundred day countdown to the one year mark! I SOOO can't wait to reach that bench mark it feels like such a long time coming, yet time has really gone by so fast so I hope these next 100 days fly by too! I feel like they will because we have a lot going on this summer, like my brother's wedding in Alaska (that I STILL need to buy my plane ticket for) and also visiting friends and family in California, in addition to whatever else....work boo! Speaking of wedding I found the most perfect shoes for the wedding and I couldn't help but buy them! They're the perfect color! I got them in the mail today and it made me really excited! I am going dress shopping tomorrow so I am going to bring them and wear them with the dresses I try on haha They are a lot taller than I thought they would be, and I don't plan on wearing them the whole night, I plan on changing into flats for the reception so it will be good to have them and be able to talk to the bridal salon/alterations people about ordering the right length for my dress to be able to take that into account.

Today, I also have a random, last minute afternoon off. Bobby left to NYC with his dad at 5am with my car, and my key to Kieran's dad's house was on those keys so his dad said he was already planning on taking off work early so he would just leave a little earlier and pick him up and spend time with him since he has been out of town...guess it works out for everyone because I haven't been feeling great today so I am just going to eat some soup and curl up on the couch and rest. I have been feeling kind of dizzy and light headed for some reason, so I will take full advantage of the "me" time and enjoy it. I am going to my friend Theresa's house later tonight for a Simon Partners meeting, we are starting a new year which means new officers for the club so the 4 of us are meeting to discuss future plans. :) This weekend is also another experience Simon weekend, which means another weekend of being wined and dined by Simon and taking the prospective partners around Rochester and showing them a good time! This is a definite perk of being an officer!

I am also going dress shopping again tomorrow and I can not wait! I had them pull two specific dresses, but I have also found more I want to try on that I hope they have! I am seriously so anxious to find my dress maybe I will tomorrow! :) We shall see!!!

Time Flies

Well that was a quick week! That's how long it has been since I last posted and I can't believe it's been that long time is seriously flying by...April is practically over already and it seems like it just started! My last post was about my 30 day challenge of working out every day for 30 days, well I have missed one day so far but I figured I needed a day off your body needs to rest and repair itself so that's ok. I have gone to the gym and done something for 9 out of the last 10 days! :) I am super exhausted today, I worked from 7:15-530 yesterday and 7:30-6 today, but I am hoping to still make it to the gym since I don't think I will be able to go on Saturday because we have an all day wine tour with a group of our friends which I have been looking forward to for a month now! Wine is definitely needed at the end of this week!

I got the urge this week to go wedding dress shopping again and I actually feel like I am READY to commit to a dress. I have already gone dress shopping 3 times, but really didn't feel like I was ready to commit to a dress because it still seemed like the wedding was so far off and I was scared to buy a dress and then have major dress regret later when new dresses come out, but now that we are about 90 ish days out from the one year mark I am starting to get  a sense of readiness to pick my dress, which is exciting and scary! I have (I think) changed my mind completely about what style/fit of dress I want, because of the dresses I have tried on already, taking into consideration that our wedding is in hot hot August and 100% outdoors comfort is going to be KEY. I want to have FUN at our wedding and I don't want to at any point be the least bit miserable from being uncomfortable so I am leaning towards a much more comfy style than I was thinking before. I want to be able to sit, dance, move to take pictures etc without being restricted in my dress. My personal style is very comfy/casual so why should that change on my wedding day...I am still going to pick an amazingly beautiful dress (of course) but I know I can find that AND be comfortable too. So, I made an appointment for next friday at another bridal salon in Rochester because they have two specific dresses at their salon that I found online and want to try on, so I am praying I love how they look on me and it just further solidifies my change of heart on the style of dress I want. If they don't....I may lose my mind because I swear I have tried on almost 30 dresses at this point LOL It's a little bit ridiculous and I am very ready to check DRESS off my list :)

Speaking of dresses, I still need to find a dress for the Black Jack Ball on May 4th that Simon is hosting. It is now almost 2 weeks away and I have no idea what I am going to wear! I was really wanting to wear a long evening gown, but I haven't found any I like enough to pay $300+ for so now I am thinking a nice cocktail dress like the one I wore to the GBF Gala will be fine and a lot easier on my bank account. Especially since we just had to shell out an unexpected $300 to fix a radiator hose and sensor in my car! GRR! Because my car has been at the dealership I have been playing taxi for Bobby, having to pack up Julia and come back to get Bobby and take him to school and pick him up after...another reason why I am exhausted I am SO sick of driving haha We should be getting my car back tomorrow so I am glad I will no longer have to play chauffeur.

It's almost the weekend! Can't wait for some WINE!!!! :)

GBF Gala Weekend

Holy cow! This weekend was a lot more exhausting than I ever imagined it would be, but it was SO much fun it was definitely worth the amazing lack of sleep we got! The GBC (Graduate Business Conference) started on Thursday afternoon and last until last night/this morning when most people just had breakfast and then went to the airport to fly home. I had worked Thursday and was just waiting on Bobby to let me know what the plan was for the night. He had a dinner Thursday night after all of the meetings, etc so he called me at around 10pm and said that there was an after party in the suite are the Hyatt which was the hospitality suite that Simon had booked for the weekend. It was basically just free alcohol all weekend long for all of the students and GBF members that were in town for the conference. So I had already packed all of my things for the weekend knowing we were staying at the hotel that was provided for us all weekend. The place was packed with students from all over the world; Switzerland, Denmark, India, you name it. The GBF (Graduate Business Forum) is made up of the top 50 graduate business schools in the world and every year they get together for this conference and this year Simon hosted. 38 of the top 50 schools in the world were represented at the conference this weekend. We met so many awesome people and actually ended up meeting a guy who also graduated from Chapman and lived on the same street as us in Orange! He's the incoming president at Anderson School of Business at UCLA so we talked to him a lot and Bobby hung out with him...another funny connection was the outgoing president of UCLA was from Stockton! haha So, Bobby and those two talked a lot! It's pretty amazing that with everyone being from all over the world you still meet people with really close connections such a small world!

Friday night was the Gala! Bobby had conferences and workshops all day and I worked for a couple hours. I was able to leave work at 5 to be able to get ready so I came home where Bobby was so we could drive to the hotel room together so I could get ready. Bobby made us late (Grr) So of course I only had about 30-45 minutes to get ready so I just had to wear my hair straight, I was going to curl it but no time so oh well! It ended up in a pony tail by the end of the night anyway so it was probably a better decision. We arrived at the venue the Harro East Ballroom around 7pm for cocktail hour and met up with all of our friends, found out where we were sitting etc. We sat with a group of incoming presidents (since Bobby is the incoming President too). It's always fun meeting new people! So there were awards presentations and dinner and then it was time to dance! At 10pm the awards were done and the band came out and the bar was again open for the night! My good friend Theresa was a part of the band so I was really excited to finally see her perform and hear her sing! She was great! The whole band was awesome it was SO much fun! Bobby isn't a big dancer but I was out there ALL night from 10-1am my calves were SO sore the next day...at the half way break I had Bobby go grab my flats and put my heels in the car lol I was ready for round two! All of the European guys were SUCH a blast they were out there all night with us! The band was playing some fun oldies songs and one of the Danish guys grabbed me and we just started swing dancing LOL It was such a blast! Everyone was just sweating bullets, singing, laughing and having a good ole time I didn't want it to end! Buuuut it did at 1am...but then it was time for the after party back at the suite! :) We were again out until 3:30-4am and the next day I had to get up and meet up with Theresa and some prospective Simon Partners for breakfast, a tour at the Memorial Art Gallery, and lunch at 9:45 and Bobby had to get up even earlier for more conference events! Wow was I tired! Coffee was the best thing that could have happened to me that morning!

We all met in the lobby at the Hyatt where the prospective students and partners were staying. This weekend was also Scholarship weekend for Simon so all of the prospective Simon candidates and their partners were in town as well and the partners group always takes them around Rochester and talks with them about coming here, answers questions, and just shows them a great time! One of the girls is around my age, has the cutest little 2 year old boy, and is from Southern California too! We had a lot to talk about she was such a sweet girl! There was also another girl who was from Northern California. We went to a local coffee place called Boulder and got breakfast and coffee and chatted. The girl from Socal also had her mom with her to help her with her son and check out apartments while her bf was busy doing presentations and such at Simon all weekend. After coffee we went to the visitors center so they could grab any information they might need before going to the Memorial Art Gallery for a tour. I always love going to museums and just never think to go on my own so being able to do this with the partners (for free) was great! We took an hour tour (which was definitely NOT long enough) before heading to a place called The Gate House for lunch...SO yummy! After lunch it was around 3pm so the limo took us back to the Hyatt and we all went our separate ways. My plan for the rest of the day was to go back to the Radisson and NAP...but that didn't really happen every time I was about to doze off I swear my phone would ding from a text or someone would call so Bobby eventually came home around for about an hour before having to go to the final dinner. I eventually fell asleep around 9pm for about an hour haha I didn't really expect to go out after but of course when Bobby got home around 11pm we headed over to the suite again for another after party! HAHA I was a zombie but again it was a lot of fun...we got back to the room again around 3:30am...that was our average bed time every night this weekend.

T and me :) 

End of the night. Pony tail time! 

We checked out this morning around 10am and came home. Bobby had to meet up with someone at 1 to do some homework so I napped on and off all day and was a total bum I had no energy to do anything at all and definitely needed the day to recover! I haven't partied three nights in a row since college! It was SUCH a great weekend though and work all of the lack of sleep. Bobby got elected as the Graduate Business Forum representative of North America this weekend as well which is a HUGE honor! He always amazes me and I am so proud of him!

I can't believe it is April! We have a lot of events coming up this month too! NYC this weekend, Movie night for the partners, Wine Tour, 80's party, and probably more! Then the Black Jack Ball early next month and my 25th Birthday! AH! Time is flying by but we are having so much fun...we got some SUPER amazing/exciting news that I can't announce yet until I get an ok but this is an amazingly blessed year and it has definitely been good to us!

Cupcakes,Formal,&Partners

Wow this week has been a little nuts! First of all Bobby informed me about a week and a half ago that he had what's called GBF (Global Business Forum) the weekend of March 31st and that I was going to the dinner on that Friday (tomorrow). OK! Well I was supposed to be helping my friend T with a Simon Partners dinner that night, so right away I thought ok then I can just show up after the partners dinner with T because she was going there to sing so we could go together! Done...no. Fast forward to late last week/Monday of this week. We find out that it is a black tie option GALA and since I was invited to come they had my meal option down so now I needed to go with Bobby at the same time I was supposed to go to the partners dinner and I can't just miss dinner/come right in the middle of it so now I am dress-less 4 days before this dinner.

I have never been to a real formal event, unless you count high school prom (which I don't really haha). I know I have nothing to wear, not just saying that because I want something new either, I literally have nothing to wear to such a formal dinner SO the search began! But I have work ALL day Tuesday and ALL day Wednesday so my only options are to go after work those days to look. Tuesday the Partners had their monthly cupcake get together for the March birthdays at 6:30...I got off at 5 and grabbed Bobby to run to the mall that is closest to us to see if I can find anything....nada. The mall that is closest to us just flat out sucks so I wasn't really expecting a different outcome but figured it was worth a shot. So, after our quick, unsuccessful trip I drop Bobby off so I can go meet the girls. Cupcakes are always yummy so that was enjoyable and one of the wives that was there showed us what she was wearing on Friday so it gave me a little direction in what to get myself.

Wednesday I worked until 6:30, ran home and ate something real quick and then Bobby and I set off to the "good mall" that is about 20 minutes away from us for shopping trip #2. I needed a dress and he needed some black dress pants. I looked quickly through Lord & Taylor before heading over to Cache to check out their dresses. I picked about 5 but kind of already knew which one I was going to like I grabbed a large thinking that that would fit uh NO WAAAYYY too big haha so they didn't have a medium only small so I was praying that it would fit and it does! Perfectly! So of course I picked the dress I fit into the smallest size ;) haha jk it was the best one anyway! DONE! Next we went back through Lord & Taylor and found Bobby some black dress pants...cool thing is they still had a 50% off sign next to them AND they told us about a sweet deal if you text in SALE to a number then you get an additional 20% off! So we got him some $125 pants for $50! It was a very successful trip! Then we had to rush to the school because Bobby had a basketball game at 9:30!! We finally got home around 10:45 pm (I had been gone to work since 7am I was beat!) Today was no different...woke up got ready, ran to T's to grab something, then to the mall and target to find jewelry and other random beauty products then straight to work! Ay yi yi! Just preparing for this dang Gala has already got me exhausted!! I am very excited though, everything goes great together my bestie Laura got to play stylist and help me pick which jewelry to wear haha love her! Now I need to pack up clothes and stuff for tomorrow day, tomorrow night, Saturday day, Saturday day, and Sunday! Simon got Bobby/us a hotel room at the Hyatt in downtown to stay at all weekend so I am going over there tonight when Bobby finishes up with tonight's dinner. He has meetings, dinners, etc ALL weekend! Forgot to mention Saturday morning is an all day Partners event...we are taking prospective Simon Partners to breakfast, to the memorial art gallery and then to lunch from 10a-4pm...come Sunday I may just sleep all day! lol It will be a LOT of fun though and I am really looking forward to it! I will be sure to take lots of pictures here's to surviving the weekend! :)

Change of Plans

Well, I last posted how overjoyed and excited I was to go to OC in a week with Bobby to see the boys, my dad, and my friends but as my luck would have it Bobby doesn't need to do business there anymore so he is no longer going. Instead he just has to go to Wyoming for a couple of days and handle some business there so I was having a dilemma with whether or not to still go or to just hold off until summer. So, I decided that it would be better just to hold off until summer since I did just go to California last month and summer isn't TOO far away from now I just miss everyone so its very hard to realize the best decision is to wait. I also want to go visit Laura in late April/early May sometime after Harlow is born so I took that into consideration and decided to just do that and then fly back home during the summer. Bobby said his plan is to spend at least a couple of weeks there, hopefully a month back home this summer so if we are able to do that it will definitely be worth waiting for.

Since I won't be flying back home, but already have the time off of work and Bobby will only be gone for a couple of days on business we will be going to NYC and Boston to spend a few days since I have never been and have been wanting to go. We also really need some good quality time together since we haven't had any in about a month! This quarter of business school has been brutal! It's the toughest quarter because it is the shortest quarter and the professors all cram huge projects, homework, midterms and finals within a 5 or 6 week time period so it has just been pure chaos from the beginning! I will be so glad when it is over and I hope that next quarter isn't so crazy! So, although I am very bummed I have to wait longer to see my boys I am really looking forward to seeing the city and spending some MUCH needed quality time with Bobby. He is the one who suggested it so I know it is getting to him too. Just gotta roll with the changes! :)

Overjoyed!

I think I pout and whine every single day to Bobby about how much I miss my baby boys in SoCal, and today Bobby just made me SO unbelievably happy by telling me he has to go to Socal over his Spring Break and that I get to go too!!! I had thought this whole time that he just had to go to Wyoming all of spring break for work, and that I would just be stuck here by myself while he was gone, but turns out he has to go to Wyoming, Colorado, AND Socal and he said he's not leaving me here by myself so I get to see my babies and Laura again AND my DAD because he is currently driving down to San Diego for the next few months! Laura had just texted me a couple days ago asking me when Bobby's spring break was because her and Kyle will be down there for his (which is during the same time) and I responded with a sad face because I didn't think I would be going anywhere let alone OC! Well I have the most amazing families that I work for and are seriously SO flexible and understanding whenever I ask for time off I just texted them both tonight and they were like absolutely we totally have you covered! I seriously feel SO blessed to work for such amazing people like that, they're always more than accommodating when it comes to me taking trips home...this will be #4 in 7 months! I seriously can not express how excited I am! Aus and Calvin are getting SO big and every time I see a new picture of them I swear they just keep getting older and older and I am missing out! I thought I was going to cry tonight I was so happy! Now I need to work on my tan a little bit so I don't feel so I fit in when I get there ;) haha

Another SUPER exciting thing is that I just got the invitation for Simon's annual Blackjack Ball! The GBC puts on a formal event every year, and had heard about this when we first moved here but couldn't find any information about it before last night. I SO can not wait to buy a fancy dress and get all beautified and hello I am going with the President of Simon I gotta be on top of my game right? ;) This calls for some major GTS (Gym, Tan, Shopping!) haha and the BEST part of this ball is it's May 4th...my 25th birthday weekend! What better way to celebrate turning a quarter of a century old but by buying a gorgeous dress and going to an amazing event with all of our friends?! I seriously can't think of anything better! I have already been online shopping for a dress and I don't know how I am going to pick ONE! There are just so many beautiful dresses it is going to be tough to pick one! (kind of sounds like wedding dress shopping haha) Anyway I had to share my excitement and happiness because I am just beaming right now! Two weeks from Saturday and I will be back home and I can not wait!!!! <3

Graham for President

I am proud to announce that my amazing fiancé Mr. Robert James Graham has been voted as the new GBC (Graduate Business Council) President for the upcoming 2012-2013 school year! At the beginning of the year he ran, and was voted as a first year representative for the GBC and he and another MBA candidate ran for GBC the last few weeks and we found out last night at midnight that he won! I am so proud of him! There have been numerous past GBC Presidents from Simon go on to become CEO's and CFO's of major companies; Verizon, Harley Davidson, and UBS just to name a few! It's a huge accomplishment and those are some big shoes to fill but I know he is the man for the job! This now makes me "First Lady of Simon" apparently because that is what our friends have been calling me lol I think it just makes me his personal secretary now, but same thing right? ha!

For the rest of the school year he will work with the current GBC President and learn the ropes and he will officially take over after graduation, and take on all of the responsibilities that come with it! I am a little nervous to see how this will effect our already pathetic quality time together but I am so so proud of him nonetheless! We have been so unbelievably blessed to start this new year and I am so grateful for all that God has brought us and I am so excited to see all of the big changes and exciting adventures coming our way in the next year and a half!

Recruiting Season

Recruiting season is among us here at the Simon School of Business. About 60 MBA candidates are currently in New York City getting interviewed by a variety of companies in hopes of landing their summer internship. Bobby had his Exxon Mobil interview around 10am and has his interview with Bulldog Investors at 1:30 this afternoon. After that he set up a meeting with a guy who he met through an old family friend for later in the afternoon before they head home. He had spoken with this guy earlier in the week and he wanted to set up a meeting with Bobby while he was in New York so it seems promising! I would be really thrilled if he ended up in NYC because it means I would be able to visit more often, see the city finally, AND go to Kleinfeld's for dress shopping even easier ;) Obviously we are just praying for an offer period but getting an internship for a company in the field he is most desiring would be amazing!

So, while we wait for our guys to get home from NYC my friend Rebecca and I are going get together after work and have some wine, watch wedding shows and talk wedding stuff...WINE and WEDDING my two favorite "W's" ;) She just got engaged in November so we are both planning a wedding! It has been nice having a friend locally who is also planning a wedding. It's obviously just nice having a friend locally period, but the fact that I have someone who is just as excited about their upcoming wedding as I am has been truly awesome! She is going to help me with my bridesmaid gifts/proposals too...I semi put one together and I think they are going to turn out really cute!! I just need a few little details to add to them to make them special but I have the major pieces. I also thought of another cute idea to do that I think I am going to add with the proposal so I am excited to put that together...which should be pretty easy! :) 562 days until the big day! Almost to the year and a half mark time is flying by! <3