Texas Showdown.

Did you watch the Great Texas Showdown of 2013 last night? I did. Yesterday, Texas Senator Wendy Davis led the Democrats in the Texas Senate in a filibuster to prevent the passing of a bill which would practically end women's right to abortion. Watching Sen. Davis stand for over 10 hours and speak passionately about why the bill was very reinvigorating. It is unfortunate she and the other Democrats had to lead such an effort, but it shows that democracy is still alive and well in this country. Furthermore, we witness the extremely unethical behavior od Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Texas Sen. Robert Duncan, and the most failed parliamentarian in history, Karina Casari Davis. She failed to correctly interpret the rules and properly guide others. Sadly, Governor Rick Perry called another special session to attempt to force the bill through. The Texas Republican politicians should be ashamed of their appalling behavior.... relentlessly trying to derail women's rights, trying to call a vote after the midnight deadline, lying about when they called the vote. I'm so glad we have people like Sen. Wendy Davis to advocate for what is right.

Clinton-Davis 2016, anyone?

Quote of the Week.

"No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the Week.

"You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger."

- Buddha

Quote of the Week.

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become."

- Buddha 

Quote of the Week.

"Don't find fault, find a remedy."

- Henry Ford

Quote of the Week.

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."

- William Shakespeare

Quote of the Week.

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

- Albert Einstein

Quote of the Week.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

- Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Week.

"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well."

- Voltaire

229 Days.

There are only 229 days until I get to marry my best friend! The past few months of wedding planning have been interesting and rewarding. Who knew so much went into a single day? It'll be worth it in the end. We're definitely making every day count along the way.

Yesterday, Lynn and I took a day trip up to McKinney, Texas, to explore its historic downtown and the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary. It's only about 30 minutes north of Dallas depending on traffic. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we enjoyed some corned beef and cabbage at a popular, local restaurant named The Pantry. That definitely gave us the necessary fuel for a our adventure at the Heard. The Heard has a regular museum collection, rescued animals in a sanctuary, and miles of natural, outdoor trails. This place is definitely worth a repeat visit in the future.

Over the next several weeks, we have some more wedding & honeymoon planning to accomplish. We need to buy our wedding rings and book everything for Italy. I also need to buy my suit for the big day. I'm going with a grey suit and eggplant purple bow tie look. The ties have already been ordered for Joseph, Nate, and myself.

Speaking of honeymoons and registries -- Lynn and I succumbed to peer pressure. After receiving lots of perplexed and confused responses regarding our honeymoon registry, we decided to nix it and create a traditional registry at our favorite store -- Target. You can find it here: http://www.target.com/wedd/registry/fJklInkF9dM5_Srm93xc7g

Happy Birthday to My Mom!

Today is my amazing mom's 50th birthday! She's the best mom in the world. As many of you have heard me say countless times before, she's one of my best friends. Aside from being incredibly loving and a great listener, she's also one of the funniest people on the planet. I'm blessed to have such an awesome mom. Instead of making 'over the hill' or 'golden year' reference, I'll just let her know that she's dearly loved. My older brothers and I would not be where we are now without her unconditional love and support over the years.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Honeymoon Update!

Howdy folks! Guess what? A while back, Lynn and I briefly talked about where we wanted to go for our honeymoon in November. We originally wanted to go to Italy, but opted for an easier (yet just as fun and romantic) trip to Disney World. At the time, we thought an international trip was too expensive and unrealistic.

Well... we changed our minds! We're going to Italy! Currently, we're planning for about 10-12 days in Florence, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Rome, and Naples/Pompeii.

We updated our honeymoon registry too -- http://www.thebigdayregistry.com/Honeymoon-Registry-151852-Italy-Thomas-Close-Lynn-Trinh.html

Quote of the Week.

"I must of a prodigious amount of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up!"

- Mark Twain

My Bucket List.

While listening to the radio this morning, the people were talking about creating bucket lists. Seemed like something fun to do. Here's mine:

1. See the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis
2. See polar bears in the wild
3. Road trip to all 49 continental states and Canada.
4. Visit Antarctica
5. Walk on the Great Wall of China
6. Cruise to Alaska
7. Travel to Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and Pompeii
8. Learn Vietnamese
9. Learn archery
10. Write and publish a book
11. Go to outer space
12. Plant and maintain a garden
13. Help design and build a house
14. Teach a college class
15. Visit Easter Island
16. Hike the Appalachian Trail
17. Visit all 20 of the largest national parks
18. Learn sign language
19. Learn to play the piano
20. Visit the pyramids in Egypt
21. Go on an African safari
22. Ride the Orient Express
23. Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway
24. Get a corgi or beagle named Tiberius
25. Visit every museum in Washington, D.C. 

Wedding Update & Website.

Wedding planning is coming along well! There's a lot that goes into a wedding. Lynn and I have actively been searching for our favorites.

So many updates: Lynn has the material for her traditional Vietnamese outfit (ao dai). I found my ao dai last Sunday and it's already made. Also, Lynn found some invitations she really likes. Our plan is to have the invitations printed with both English and Vietnamese on them. We have appointments to try sample cupcakes at a few bakeries over the next few weeks.Best part of today: Save the Dates arrived in the mail today. We plan to have those mailed by the end of the month.

Over the next several months, there are still several things to finalize. I need to find a tux or suit to wear for the vow ceremony portion of the wedding. Also, I need to decide what my brother Joseph (best man) and friend Nate (groomsman) will wear.


Instead of registering at a store for tangible gifts, we've opted to register for Disney's Fairytale Honeymoons. Since we already have many household items, it didn't seem like we needed much else. Instead, we discovered the honeymoon registry and fell in love with the idea of making everlasting memories at magical Disney World in Orlando, Florida. http://disney.honeymoonwishes.com/Honeymoon-Registry-159558-Walt-Disney-World-Resort-Thomas-Close-Lynn-Trinh.html

Most importantly, I wanted to share our wedding website. http://www.lovetlc.wedsite.com/

Quote of the Week.

"He who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

- Alexander Hamilton 

Quote of the Week.

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

- C. S. Lewis

Happy New Year!

It's a new year! 2012 proved to be a great year -- I got engaged and promotion at work. I hope 2013 will be even better. Between my graduation from Johns Hopkins and wedding, it will definitely be amazing. Tonight was great. Lynn and I spent most of the evening at our friend Crysta's house. Her parent's invited us to their family's new year's celebration. So much fun and so many great memories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a great 2013!

Quote of the Week.

"No man was ever wise by chance."

- Seneca

Quote of the Week.

"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them."

- Walt Disney