SMU Tate Lecture Series: Robin Roberts

Last night I had the opportunity to hear Robin Roberts speak at the SMU Tate lecture series. She was one of the best speakers I have heard at the Tate lecture series. I really enjoyed hearing about her life and how she has gone through so many trials in her life and beaten the odds against her not once with cancer, but twice.

She was a great speaker, funny and really made the audience feel that she was talking directly to them. She talked about what it was like the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer and how she did not want anyone to know at first, to eventually telling the GMA audience, and the world about her diagnosis in hopes to help others going through the same trials she was about to go through. She talked about her childhood and the influence her parents had on she and her siblings. She talked about her second diagnosis and how hard it was to go through that as her own mother passed away from complications of a stroke, and how she was in the room at that very moment and the impact that experience has had on her life. She told about her low points while she was in isolation and the decision to go forward with treatment after the loss of her mother and how her sister was a bone marrow match and how their bond strengthened after this experience. She said no one wishes to get cancer but has been able to use her job to be there for people as a messenger of hope. She also shared about how she came out to the world via social media and how fast the word spread as she wrote in an innocent tweet thank you to my partner who has been there for me. Many people commented and it was trending in a matter of hours.

At the end they had questions that were submitted by Twitter for the first time and a few live audience questions. One of the most interesting questions was how does she decide what to share on social media about her life and what to not share. I thought that was an excellent question when we are living in a time when so many people overshare information and learning what they should and should not share and how to decide.

It was so fun to see and hear her speak and it is easy to see her passion is sharing her life experiences with those around her in hopes of just saving one life. This was one of my favorite lectures because she was interactive with the audience and really wanted people to understand and know where she had come from and how those early years helped to form her into the woman she is today.

My favorite Tate lecture series talks I have seen are

Michael J. Fox- click here for my review
Martin Sheen- click here for my review
Dian Keaton- Click here for my review
Tony Blair- Click here for my review
George W. Bush-

What's for dinner: Appetizers Bob Armstrong Dip

I decided to try to make homemade Bob Armstrong dip. It turned out great. I made up my own recipe. Here is what you need:

• Velveeta 
• Taco meat
• Guacamole 
• Sour cream

First follow directions to make velveeta cheese. I melted the cheese and added water to it. Also, I browned taco meat and added taco seasoning to meat. Next, I bought ready made guacamole the brand Holy Guacamole and sour cream

First brown the meat and add the taco seasoning of your choice. Next, melt the cheese. After the cheese is melted add the meat, guacamole and a spoonful of sour cream. Mix together and serve and enjoy.

Surprise dinner and a movie

A couple of weeks ago, B took me on a surprise date: dinner and a movie at the Alamo Draft House in Richardson. We went once before and it was an amazing and fun experience. So the surprise date was way fun! We went to see Gone Girl. It wasa great movie. We are both glad we saw it. The movie kept you thinking to the end.

The Alamo Draft house is a great place that has great food and an all around fun feel. I really enjoyed the food and the concept of the movie theater. Instead of playing commercials before the movie the theater has fun trivia and old movies that are of the same genre as the movie that you will see. So if you went to see a thriller, all of the previews are older movies or TV shows with that theme or clips of old movies and TV shows with the theme. It is a great idea and makes the preview experience more fun.

HPISD's 100th Birthday

This past weekend Highland Park ISD celebrated their 100th birthday with all kinds of fun events. On Friday all of the schools let the students out early so that alumni and the community could tour the schools and check out their exhibits looking back at the districts past. Friday, I had the opportunity to visit HPHS and check out their exhibit and the school. In the almost 15 years since I have walked those halls, I found that very few things looked as I remembered because my senior year was the year the school began a massive remodeling project. I did have the opportunity to visit the High School in 2010 during my 10 year reunion for a tour. But, I was amazed how different everything looked in a relatively short amount of time.

It was interesting wondering though the halls, one thing I noticed was that the small auditorium had been replaced and turned into a multipurpose room. This was where the "museum" was displayed. It was really fun to see all of the older stuff that had been gathered. It was easy to see all the hard work that was put into this museum.

Sunday, the district had a huge block party at the football field, where you could see student art and a place for kids to play. Across from the football field is the indoor practice field, where the museum was placed. Each school had an area with memorabilia and history from that school. It was really fun to look back at all of the school's and how things have changed, yet remained the same. I would say what remains the same is the dedication to academic excellence and athleticism which is seen throughout the displays. It was fun to go down memory lane with those young and old. B's uncle and Aunt were also there volunteering, and it was fun to hear of stories from them about growing up in HP in the 1940's and beyond.

One thing I did notice is that there did not seem to be quite as many people there from the past community, those who I know would have enjoyed looking back at all the memories. I took B and my Mom with me. We all had a great time and were so glad we got to be apart of this once in a lifetime event. B, my Mom and I all got fun buttons made to remember the fun event. All and all we had a great time looking back at old memories while making new memories.

State Fair of Texas: 2014 trip

I cannot believe that it is already October and that it is time for the fair again. This year I went to the fair with my best friend from Baylor K, and B met up with us there. It was such a fun time. K and I got to catch up and have fun at the fair. When we first got there we got our tickets and went on a kid haunted house ride. It was very cheesy but fun to go on. Next, we made our way to Big Tex to get a Fletchers corny dog and a drink. Then, we headed to a food court and found the HP pharmacy Soda Fountain's booth, where K got a root beer float.

We made our way to the exhibit at the Hall of State. It was really cool seeing all the sports information fro the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, located in Waco. K and I had been there before during our time at Baylor. Our sorority had a crush party at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. It was fun to see the stuff anyway and just catch up. Next, we headed to check out some cars and found a really cool massage chair to try out as we waited for B to meet up with us. We also went through the log house and checked out the dogs that were up for adoption.

Once we met up with B and he got a Fletchers corny dog we headed back to see more cars and headed to see the pig races. Next, we headed back to the midway. K and I rode a ride and B videoed on his phone using slo-motion. It was funny. Then we all rode the Crazy Mouse roller coaster. There was a funny picture of us at the end. Then B and I rode the luv bug ride and I tried a fried s'mores. It was pretty good. Then it was time to head home. Until next time State Fair of Texas.