23rd Lap Around the Sun!

October, AKA the best month ever, has begun and my heart is already so full!

To start, I'd like to give my guy a HUGE congrats on passing his SIE exam! Alex majored in economics at CSUN and didn't really think about the financial planning industry until a good friend of ours, Rick Gruber, introduced him to his advisor, Sam Schwartz. I majored in Financial Planning and brought him to an alumni informational event where he learned about just how awesome this field is. And now he's ahead of me! Funny. Still super proud :)

PASS :)

In July Alex and I joined Everett Country Club and we played in the Couples Club Championship last Sunday. I have always wanted to join a country club and compete in one of these events. Cool to be able to do so at a younger age. As a couple, we probably have the lowest combined handicaps at Everett, so we weren't expecting anything at all in terms of the net. But, we had good hopes for the gross standings. We played with Bob and Christine Potenza for the day. They were such great company and made for a fun round of golf. It's funny, even though I have played competitive golf for 13 years, I still get nervous! I noticed during my senior year of college golf, that my nerves came at randoms times throughout the round. They would come at like the 12th hole rather than the usual first tee jitters that most people get. With help from CSUN's sport psychologist, Ashley Samson and UCLA softball legend Sue Enquist, I was able to conquer some of those nerves during season. However, it was a little more difficult Sunday and my nerves got the better of me for most of the round. The format of the tourney was best ball, where we take the better of Alex and I's score, and together we shot 72 (Par 71 for the day). The winning score was a nice 68 and so Alex and I just missed out on some pro-shop earnings. There's always next year! Time to keep grinding and practicing those helpful mental tricks.

The very next morning, Alex and I woke up at 4 to drive down to Portland to watch Alice and the Huskies play at the Molly Collegiate Invitational cohosted by Cal and Oregon State at the gorgeous Waverly Country Club. It was a brisk 40 degrees in the morning, but it warmed up to a beautiful sunny day. Alice opened up with a 79 with 4 beautiful birdies (including a chip in on 16!) and a bunch of clutch par saves. She was able to bounce back with a fabulous 68 in the afternoon with 6 more birdies! She ended the day at the top of Par-3 scoring and tied for first on the birdie board.

Go Dawgs!

Hole 16, 17, and 18 were along the river. So pretty!

Our signature sissy pose. Dawg edition. Next to 1/3 really cool club house buildings

We watched round 3 on Tuesday, another nice sunny Oregon day. No birdies this time around, but a bunch more par saves. Good enough for a top 10 finish for the youngest Duan. The Dawgs finished 6th out of 12 teams. I got to see so many golf friends this week and it made me so happy! Golf is great. It brings you to amazing people in unbelievable settings. Alex nerded out a bit at the course because it was so finely manicured and had some cool bunkers.

We finished out our Tuesday with a trip to the Pioneer Place mall for an over due new phone for me and a box of Voodoo donuts! (I had the iphone 6 before... It was time).

Good things hold pink boxes too;)

Bucket List✅

So Thursday, my guy surprised me (kinda) with Seahawks tickets! Which, if you know me and my love for the Seahawks is a BIG deal!!! I've like the Seahawks since the third grade and I chose them as my team because at the time, during the Seahawks v. Steelers Superbowl, people around me were rooting for Pittsburg because they had "better outfits". And of course, I didn't like going with mainstream opinions, so I decided to root for the Seahawks... whatever Seahawks were;)

Again shout out to Debbie for the awesome tickets! It was an unforgettable experience and a VERY close game! But oh man, being a part of the 12's is definitely an experience unlike any other. It gets incredibly loud and people lose their voices. (People being Alex, a true Seahawks fan) Such a fun night, such a great gift :) Before the game, we went to the Derby, which is part restaurant, part holder of many super nice cars. They had delicious candied bacon and these real-deal wings. Very tasty.

And onto the weekend we go!

October has always been a birthday filled month for me. My birthday is on the 4th, my Uncle David's on the 6th (And on the lunar calendar we have the same birthday- he reminds me every time I see him), my dad's on the 9th, and a good friends' on the 5th, 18th, and 22nd. Now I have Alex's lovely aunt Vikki's birthday on the 1st and mom Wendy's on the 5th too to celebrate. See, I told you October is the best month! Get to celebrate someone all month long!

Friday was rather low key. I went on a run and later got to nerd out on some arts and crafts as I helped make decorations for the double party we were having to celebrate Vikki's big 5-0 and Wendy's birthday. For dinner, the fam got together with me to eat a wonderful meal at Din Tai Fung down in U-Village. The next morning, Alice and Julianne made me breakfast at Alice's apartment. Fun getting to catch up with Boolianne before she heads off to Stage 2 of Q School and with the latest trend, my sister and I make a meal and then do our nails.

Afterward, we headed over to Vikki's house to set up for the big birthday bash. Turned out to be an awesome party! Met a lot of family and friends of the Hulls and what a great time we all had. Nice to see all the planning and preparation we did come to fruition and also to see all these hard working people enjoy themselves.

Coming up: two more college tournaments that I get to watch including, the Huskies' home tournament at Sahalee and then I get to see my CSUN MataDORitos tear it up at Seattle U's tournament held at the ever-pure Tacoma Country Club. And after that, depending on when Alex's visa arrives, we are headed off to China! Exciting things to come!

Keep enjoying all the Fall wonders during the greatest month of the year:)