--L.A. and Catalina Island--

"Boats and hoes.. it's a Catalina wine mixer. POW POW"

We had a Southwest sub-area and West sub-area team meeting in Los Angeles. We all went out a day early to spend the day at Catalina Island (about 20 miles off the shore of Long Beach, CA). We ate lunch on the patio at Armstrong's Seafood where I had scallops and a pina colada- YUM! Then half of the group went to the beach while the other half of us went on a glass bottom boat ride and then rented a golf cart to tour the island- we went to the Wrigley Memorial (the gum guy, ha!), the Botanical Gardens, the casino and to have a drink on the patio off the water.

That evening when we returned from Catalina Island, we went to STK in West Hollywood. This restaurant competes with Prime 112 in Miami... both amazing! We barely missed Dr. Dre, but Chad Ochocinco was eating there a few tables away. Go Bengals!

The next two days, we had our team meetings in the Ernst & Young Los Angeles office. We went to Yardhouse at LA Live for happy hour and then dinner at El Cholo. The next day after morning meetings at the office, I headed to the airport to go back home (saw Dr. McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy at LAX).

♥ ♥ TYING the KNOT ♥ ♥

Landon's day off from work is on Saturdays, so we usually get brunch, run errands and relax together. On Saturday, April 9th, we had talked about going to brunch and then enjoying the day together as normal and then going to Siloam Springs to see Landon's friend Kurt race at the track there.... but things went a little differently:


Landon woke me up early that Saturday morning and told me to get up and get ready because we were going somewhere. I of course thought we were going to breakfast, so I take my time straightening my hair, making the bed, and getting ready. I put flip flops on and he nicely suggested I put my running shoes on instead. He made me a coffee, fed the dogs and said we would get breakfast at the gas station on the way out of town. I LOVE asking questions, so of course I'm wondering why he's being weird and ask: Why breakfast at the gas station? Do we need to pack a bag? How far are we going? What do we do with the dogs? He got some donuts and I got some fruit loops at the gas station and we drive on! Finally he said we were going golfing... so I start again with the questions: Did we pack the golf clubs? Are we taking a golf cart? Are we doing 9 holes or 18 holes? Then he makes a left into the Siloam Springs airport and I see the sign that says "Skydive Sky Ranch Skydiving" --- I start to get really scared. We have always talked about going skydiving and it was on my bucket list, but he didn't think that I would actually do it (of course, I had to prove him wrong!) We signed our lives away on the dotted line and took a short training and then finally it was our turn to get suited up and board the plane!! We had a pilot, landon, me and our two instructors all in a tiny plane with turbulance all the way up (it was over 25mph winds). Next thing I know, we are at 9500 feet up in the air and the window right next to me has been opened and my instructor is telling me to step fully outside of the plane onto the ledge and do a front flip out on the count of three!! Right after I went, Landon jumped out with his instructor as well. We had about a 30 second free fall and then coasted the rest of the way down to the ground. WHAT A FUN EXPERIENCE & A BEAUTIFUL VIEW!!! : )

Once we got to the ground, my instructor started taking my straps apart (waiting for Landon to get to the ground and stand up), then he told me to go see Landon and give him a hug. So I ran over and gave Landon a hug... next thing I knew he was telling me how I am his best friend and he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, he opened up a box with a BEAUTIFUL ring and got down on his knee to ask me to marry him. I was speechless and SO HAPPY!!!!! : )

Later that night, Landon and I planned to eat in Tulsa- just him and I. When we walked in the restaurant though, he just walked right past the hostess. I thought this is weird, what is he doing?! He opened the doors to a private room and there standing in front of us were my parents (who I thought were out of town), his parents, his grandparents, his brother and nephew, my brother and sis-in-law (who made a surprise flight in from New Jersey), and 7 of our close friends! What a great guy - What a great surprise - What a GREAT day!!! : ) We are so excited to start a marriage together and to combine our two great families!!!

Donna Curd: May 18, 1930 - April 10, 2011

To every thing there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

"MARCH MADNESS"

I have been away from my blog for quite some time... March was a bit crazy! Within 10 days, I was literally in 2 cities per day for each of the 10 days.. I went to each of the wonderful campuses in the picture below to recruit some great accounting students!! Each campus had a kickoff dinner at night then on-campus interviews the following day.. I must say UT is the hardest to recruit at for me being a proud Sooner, especially when the students at my dinner table ask me what school I went to and I reply with, "a school up north" : ) I went to Dallas the night before my long trip and had brunch with all my lovely Dallas girls- what a treat!!

On top of my own "March Madness," there has to be the popular NCAA March Madness games on top of it... I don't keep up with college basketball much, but boy do I love a little bracket challenge!! : ) The Sooners didn't make the cut and the KSU Wildcats and UCLA Bruins got knocked out earlier than I had hoped, but YAY for the UCONN Huskies for pulling in the NCAA National Championship win!! 

  

"Addie"

Husky / Lab Mix - Adopted on 2/19/2011 from Lone Pine Ranch Animal Shelter

❤❤ One Love ❤❤

"All you need is Love. LOVE. Love is all you need."

I love holidays. This year for Valentine's Day, I went to work (wearing pink, of course) and drinking my morning cup of coffee (from the coffee mug Landon got me for Valentines Day last year) and next thing I know-- flower delivery at the office for..... ME?! There's always a first for everything. I've always wanted flowers delivered to me at the office. : ) Landon and I went to the gym for our Monday workout then he cooked me a FABULOUS dinner-- Crab Cakes, diced potatoes, green beans with bacon pieces and a bottle of wine.. pretty sure I had a happy plate (don't judge!) We exchanged some gifts and watched a movie. I can't believe this is the 3rd Valentine's Day for us. Boy, how time flies!
Next holiday... St. Patrick's Day!!  

❄ Record-Breaking Snowfall- NW Arkansas ❄

February 9, 2011

***Northwest Arkansas set new records for the most snowfall in a 24-hour period. The last record was about 18" that fell in March of 1968. Bentonville, AR, where I live, received 20" of snow and Rogers, AR, where my office is located, received 22" of snow-- all in less than 12 hours!! 
 

This free picture collage made with Smilebox

~**~BLIZZARD~**~

February 1, 2011

This collage generated with Smilebox

 

January 20, 2011

❄ First Snow in Bentonville ❄

January 9, 2011

2011 -- It's going to be a good one!!

"We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

OK, yeah, the original plan of going to NYC with Landon and my family for the Pinstripe Bowl (Go Wildcats), a little sightseeing, football at local pubs and spending New Years Eve on a boat on the river with the fireworks along the city skyline would have been fun... BUT after the flights were cancelled, Plan B turned out to be great as well!  : ) Landon and I started the night off with dinner reservations at Shogun Steakhouse of Japan. We both had Filet and Scallops Hibachi (then of course the salad, soup, rice, noodles and veggies). After our bellies were stuffed, we went back and watched all the NYC countdown shows. I started with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin because it came on TV first and I like Anderson Cooper, but I think they might have had a few too many drinks before air time... so on to Carson Daly and, of course, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest. We shot off fireworks that were leftover from the 4th of July! We did a "Cheers" at Midnight EST (for Jason and Alli) and then a "Cheers and a kiss" at Midnight CST to officially bring in the year 2011!! New Year's Day began with an "All-Star Special" breakfast at Waffle House, lots of football, taking down all of the Christmas decorations (always a sad time..) and we wrapped it all up with some 32 Winds wine while watching my OU Sooners win the Fiesta Bowl!! I am grateful to bring in a new year with someone I love.. <3

*CHRISTMAS 2010*

Boy, do I LOVE Christmas! The lights, christmas tree, stockings, glittery decorations, christmas music, wrapping gifts, sugary foods, christmas movies and time off from work. As I get older, Christmas becomes more exciting to me because it's a good chance to see family and just relax together. : ) Christmas 2010 for me was a little like the movie Four Christmases, but with less drama and less crazy people!
Christmas #1 was in Aspen, CO on December 21st with the my awesome Berney family at Roaring Fork Club. We watched football, put together a puzzle, had a cheers with egg nog (for mom!) had dinner at the Roaring Fork Club lodge (might have been the best meal ever.... :P) and opened presents by the fire while watching Christmas movies. I never feel like I fully deserve all the love that comes my way during those christmas nights, but boy do I let it soak in and enjoy every single minute of it without taking advantage of any bit. Then, it was back to Bentonville for Christmas #2.... with our cool new iPad's!
Christmas #2 was in Bentonville, AR on December 23rd with Landon. We nicknamed it (while stuck at the Houston airport Continental President's Club) "Krisdon Curney Christmas." Landon got me a big flat screen tv with wall mount for my workout room, so that I don't have to look down at my tube tv from the 80s anymore when I run, that was basically sitting on my floor! I got Landon all the Entourage season DVD sets and some stylish Broncos shorts! We also both did stockings for each other this year, which was a first for both of us. : ) On to Christmas #3....
Christmas #3 was in Bartlesville, OK on December 25th, Christmas morning at the Curd Jr. household! We had coffee and danishes, then opened gifts by the Christmas tree. I always love watching the dogs open their gifts, because as big labs.. they have gotten pretty good at using their teeth to open the gifts themselves! Tanner was the helpful trash picker-upper. Next we listened to Christmas music and had some yummy brunch... can't ever have enough food during Christmas time! Nap time first (and Home Alone 2) then on to Christmas #4 that evening....
Christmas #4 was in Bartlesville, OK on December 25th, Christmas evening at the Curd Sr. household! We had wine (with my new wine opener set!), opened more gifts, watched football and had dinner. They always have Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pie for dessert........ YUM!! My first time ever to have both Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding was Christmas '09 at their house and Christmas '10 was just as tasty as I remembered! : ) What a lovely bunch of Christmases!! Next thing to look forward to-- New Years Eve....

**MY FIRST HALF MARATHON**

Seawall Half Marathon - Galveston Island, TX

Saturday, November 20, 2010

2:18

Will there be another Half Marathon to come in 2011...?

Kansas State University: Berney Family Capital Project Fund

My parents donated a large sum of money to Kansas State University, which was presented at the Kansas State vs Oklahoma State game on Saturday, October 30th in Manhattan. This fund will provide support for the renovation and maintenance of the Kansas State Welcome Center in Memorial Stadium and the initial construction of the Kansas State Basketball Training Facility.
http://www.kstatesports.com/genrel/103010aaa.html

Jason, Alli, Landon and I met up in Dallas to fly together to the "Little Apple" for the game. We arrived Friday night and went to Kites in Aggieville with mom and dad and all stayed at Prairiewood. Saturday morning, grandma, mom & dad, Jason & Alli and Landon & I went to a breakfast reception at President Kirk Schulz's house then we went to another athletic reception before we went to our suites for the game! In between the first and second quarter, we went on the field to present the "big check." I am so proud of my parents and I cannot wait to see the project on the K-State campus when it is complete!

Curd Family Cruise - Mexican Riviera

After 2 full weeks of back to back travel to different universities for campus recruiting, boy was I ready to take a personal FUN vacation!! : ) There were nearly 50 in our Curd/Morgan group traveling on the 7-day Carnival Splendor cruise from L.A. Longbeach to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. We left on 10/10/10 and spent the first couple days at sea getting settled in our rooms, navigating our way around the ship, playing at the casino (or really watching for me, ha!), enjoying the hot tubs and lido deck pools, playing miniature golf, dinners at the Gold Pearl dining room, 24/7 ice cream, all-you-can-eat buffets and just enjoying the beautiful weather with yummy Piña colada's and Cruisers. : ) Late at night on our last night at sea on our way to Puerto Vallarta, we received a message over the PA system of someone jumping overboard, so we stopped the ship for about 8 hours so that they could search for the person, who turned out to be a new crew member. Unfortunately the man was never found. More details are in our cruise director's blog: http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/10/13/a-very-sad-day/ We arrived to Puerto Vallarta at 2:30pm rather than 8:00am, but it all worked out as carnival worked to get our excursion rescheduled for that afternoon!

Puerto Vallarta: We took a boat from the port to Nuevo Vallarta where we had our Dolphin Signature Swim excursion. WOW! We were able to hold the dolphins, pet their belly, kiss them, dance with them, take a belly ride and watch a show at the end of all the dolphins doing tricks for us! Interesting fact: Dolphins never sleep! They let one half of their brains sleep at a time so that they get the rest they need, but are still conscious at all times. We then looked around a few of the shops and relaxed with some coronas on the patio at a local mexican restaurant before returning to the ship.

Mazatlan: We took a tour of the city of Mazatlan then went to Stone Island for an all-inclusive day on the beach. We had an authentic mexican lunch, all-you-can-drink at the bar, boogie boarding, banana boat ride and an ATV ride along the beach.

Cabo San Lucas: We took a boat ride to Lovers Beach to spend the afternoon. What a beautiful place!! I have never seen waves this big in my entire life. We went snorkeling and played in the waves. Then we had a mexican lunch with Pacifico's and hung out at the local party place, Senor Frogs, for some music and Piña colada's before getting back on the ship to head back to L.A.

You will be missed...

Duane Coast: December 5, 1982 - September 16, 2010

To every thing there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Benton County Fair

"Children make you want to start life over." -- Muhammad Ali

Landon, Austin, Tanner and I went to the Benton County Fair on August 21st while it was in town for a few days! Can't go wrong with some freshly squeezed lemonade, GREAT people watching and the smile on Tanner's face as he played on the toys with his dad and uncle Landon... just a couple more inches to go and he will be able to ride the kiddie rollarcoasters - Next year!! : ) 

House Pictures- Updated!!

I know many people have been asking me to post pictures of my house, decorated. I'm obviously still not completely done, but this will give you the idea! I need some visitors to motivate me to finally get to the finished product (wink wink)! : )

IILC Video

**IILC 2010**

I attended the International Intern Leadership Conference (IILC) this year from Monday, August 2nd through Sunday, August 8th. There were over 1,400 interns from 13 countries. I was asked to be on the SWAT team which helped with the planning, registration day and pep rally, decorations and general session table goodies, random Q&A, signage, game night, general session microphone running... really most of the "behind the scenes" help that people assume "just got done somehow." : ) I had so much fun with these 5 SWAT girls: Jen Nixon (McLean), Jen Sell (Philadelphia), Dawn Thompson (New York), Natasha Stough (Chicago) and Natalie Kuns (Chicago).

We all received a free pass to the Walt Disney World park of our choice on Friday night of the IILC conference. I went to dinner on the Disney boardwalk and then on to Magic Kingdom... boy, did it bring back childhood memories of the annual Berney Walt Disney World trips!! : ) It was SO good to see all my Dallas girls again since I moved EY offices!  

Todd's visit Bentonville

Dave, Lisa, Brian & Kyle came through Bentonville on their way home from visiting the Groens in South Carolina for the 4th of July holiday. What a great last minute get-together!! We all ate at Dink's (of course) and Landon gave everyone the grand tour of the restuarant and the smoker, etc then I gave them the tour of my first home in Bentonville. Hopefully they'll make it back this way soon for a longer trip!! : )