I have the same dream about TJ

Shareholders Week

       I'm going to start this post by posing a question: Have you ever gone running in a sauna? A steam room? How about both?

 WELL, WE HAVE!

               Last weekend TJ and I ran the Walmart shareholders 5k here in Bentonville.  When I saw that they were have a 5k I thought it would be fun for us to do so we got signed up.  Now, the race started at 6:30 and with the heat and humidity here I thought that 6:30 in the morning would be perfect.  Well, after TJ had signed us up he said to me "it's going to be hot as hell running at 6:30".

I said "it won't be that bad in the morning", and then I realized.

6:30 in the evening!

         It was 87 degrees that day with 97% humidity.  I hate this word but there is no other word to use... it was moist.  The course had a steep decline for the first half and then you had to double back to a steep incline.  Did I complain?  Yes.  Yes I did.  I did the Salt Lake Half Marathon in April and I can tell you that the first seven miles were way easier than the 3 miles I ran here.

          Let's back track a little.  Walmart Shareholders week was awesome!  There were amazing concerts like Tim Mcgraw, The Zac Brown Band, REO Speedwagon, Barenaked Ladies.  The Shareholders Meeting (which I was not able to go to) was MC'd by Jamie Fox and the entertainers were Enrique Iglesias, Mariah Carey, Lee Dewyze, Mary J. Blige, Josh Groban and Cheryl Crow.  Pretty unreal.  Here are some pictures from one of the concerts.

         This looks a ton smaller than it really was.  We were in the lower bowl of the Razorbacks basketball arena, so I couldn't get a full picture of the upper bowls.  That is China in front of us.  England, Brazil, Chile and a bunch of other countries were represented and they all had matching T shirts with their own cheers for their country.

                                          It was a really fun week.

Barcelona

       Here I am in Spain lovin life.  How did I get here?  Well as you know I am a buyer for my families business and one of our designers, Pronovias, is based out of Barcelona and that is where their design house is located.  Once a year they have a huge launch party and invite all of their top stores throughout the world to come and preview their next years designs and to buy for the next year.  That's how I got here.
      The picture above was taken as I was walking into their fashion show (which might I add was the most beautiful runway I have seen to date).  I love how the male model behind me is pulling a Zoolander.  Right before the photo was taken he was getting mad at a lady taking pictures, but he made sure to turn on the charm when they were taken.  Here are some photos from the Pronovias 2011 Fashion Show.

                                          This was the Finale.  I wish I had taken pictures throughout
                                         the whole show, but I was a little distracted
      
                                        Here are picture of my parents and I on the "Red Carpet"

       I took some picture of my parents where the fashion show was held.  It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  I was so sad that TJ wasn't there with me.

                     Then came the real work.  The next day we went to The Arts hotel where all of the dresses were on display and we had to buy.  About four hours later and an interview given to Women's Wear Daily AKA WWD (this is the Bible in the fashion industry) we were finished and left with 26 beautiful new styles for 2011.

    With only two days left it was time for sightseeing.  Get ready for tons of pictures.

                                                          Segrada Familia.  AMAZING

                                                            The Barcelona Cathedral

                                                        Hung out with some street performers

                                                                Flamenco Dancing

After this photo was taken, we were flashed by a man.  Always a great experience to share with your parents
                                                            whether home or abroad.

On the last night we were there we found out it was St. Joans Day.  A celebration to kick off summer.  It was pretty awesome and the streets were PACKED with people doing the same thing as this video below (video coming soon).  This was just a small party.  There were even school marching bands all decked out in their gear having their own little parade down the street!  A great way to end my Barcelona buying trip.