Pray For Rain, etc.

We need rain here in West Texas like you wouldn't believe. It's bone dry, and truthfully, a scary time for those families that depend on the weather for their livelihoods. As a farmer's granddaughter and daughter, the need for rain has been a constant in my life. Growing up, I don't remember a dinner prayer or prayer otherwise that didn't ask (lately beg) The Lord for rain.  Every time that I talk to my dad and brother...they just sound exhausted and desperate...and out of control.  The work load doesn't lessen but the return lessens by the day as they watch their work fail. It's pretty disheartening. Thankfully faith has been a constant in my family too. I know that God has always provided and He will continue. So...please pray for rain and for the farmers and ranchers that face the elements day after day! 

While I'm being a downer, I just saw this at the bottom of my page as I was online shopping at Anthro. 

Insult and injury.  I love anthro and think that Lubbock could support one. I also forgot to type in my free shipping code so there goes an additional $13! 

Getting to the good stuff. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I made a quick trip to Durango, CO today to set up a new office and got to see my all-time favorite---Eileen. She works with me and she and her husband live in beautiful Durango. She's been commuting to Farmington for the past 2 years and we have finally opened an office in Durango for her! We played a little more then we worked. We had a great lunch downtown and then made a trip to Eileen's house to show the rest of the team the paradise that she calls home. 

I got a quick picture of her weeping willow and creek but I'm disappointed that I didn't take more pictures. Eileen always invites me to stay at her home whenever I visit the offices in her area and it's incredible!! I've seen herds of elk, a moose, a momma goose and her goslings. Living there must seem like a non-stop vacation!! 

You'll have to look closely to see the momma goose with her babies. They are so much bigger than the last time I saw them! 

The flight back (landing) was a little dicey. A small plane coupled with the wind storms that we've been having in Lubbock made for a very thankful girl once we were back on solid ground. 

ht

Leaving Las Vegas

Was tough to do...but 3 days really is long enough in Sin City. Speaking of sin...gluttony was by far my favorite. Seriously y'all...Vegas may have the best food and shopping in the world! The options are plentiful and the quality is amazing. That applies to the food and shopping! So yeah...I was a glutton. 

Now that I've confessed, I'll tell you what we were up to. Jay and I met our favorite 'couple' friends, Dustin and Leslie, for a mini vacay. Dustin and Leslie (and Baby Hayes) recently moved to OKC and we miss them terribly so this was a great chance to get away and catch up. We did a lot of going to bed before midnight (sad), sleeping late, eating big meals, shopping (girls), gambling (guys) and hanging out by the pool. In short, it was amazing. All it took was losing $20 in a slot machine to solidify my need to have something to show for the money I spend. I was much happier at Neimans, Nordstroms and David Yurman than any smokey casino...the Tory Burch boutique didn't hurt either! We saw a couple of shows and thankfully Leslie got a little out of control one night...someone needed to keep us from being the lamest guests in all of LV. 

All-in-all it was a great time with great friends and we're already talking about where to go next year!! As a side note, the Tommerup's thankfully dodged all the tornados that were in their area even though they clocked several hours in the storm shelter on Sunday and Monday...

I didn't take as many pictures as I had hoped for but here are a few!

On our way.

The only proof I have that we were actually in LV. 

My personal favorite. 

Les took a break from her quest to find a karaoke bar to take a picture with me. 

How did I end up with Justin Beiber?!

Pretty cute guy!

Tommerup's at breakfast the last morning. 

Glad I got that trip 'in the books'. 

ht

Meet the Cast

If I'm going to blog about life 'As told by Hillary' then I probably need to introduce the main characters.  

Let's start with me. I'm Hillary...I live in Lubbock, Texas and work full-time as an audiologist in an adult/geriatric retail hearing aid practice. I love the geriatric population and helping the hearing impaired so it's a good fit for me. I'm very passionate about working and couldn't have been blessed with a better work 'family'.

I'm married to Jay. We were married on September 19, 2009 in Lubbock. Jay owns a landscape company that has really flourished over the past three years. He just graduated with his MBA from Texas Tech and we'll see where he goes from here. We're huge Texas Tech fans! 

We have three dogs that occupy most of our attention. Stella is a precious pug with a super sweet disposition and eerily human personality. I got Stella 8 years ago and she's at the top of my list for who I want to spend time with. Pugs are my favorite!! Ally is an 8 year-old weimaraner with very typical weim qualities (e.g., demanding, persistent, needy, loving, intense, beautiful, etc.) She's a handful...but as loyal a friend that could exist and a great guard dog (as I listen to her bark at the neighbors as I type).Job is our 9 year-old pointer that immediately grabs the affections of everyone he meets. He's a regal dude that has never met a stranger and will welcome you with a bark whether you've been gone for 5 minutes or 5 days.  

That my friends, is the cast of characters that will frequent this site. I love the idea of having a place to document the big and not so big events of my life and I'm excited to see what shape this takes for me. 

Okay, so I thought I was done but then I remembered that I'm a new-ish AUNT! This is my nephew, Owen Graham, sweet guy extraordinaire.  He surprised us with an early arrival on Valentine's Day and we've been loving him ever since. I got to see him tonight at dinner which equals a great night for me!

Here goes round two!

ht

Look who's blogging now!

It's my very first blog post and the innagural post of As told by Hillary. Let me start by saying, blogging is something 

that I've always wanted to do but never thought I would actually do...I guess I better not get a ahead of myself 

considering this is the first post.  I love reading the blogs of other young women...some I know but most I don't.  

I am often encouraged by Kelly Stamps' blog http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/and can get lost for hours in 

Nina Helleny's accordingtonina.com.

I hope you will all follow me on my blogging journey as it will no doubt be an interesting one! 

ht