Back To School

There's nothing like sitting in class for two days and being one of only two students in the class. Yee.Haw. I'm taking an Access database course to refresh my memory on all the stuff I forgot that I had learned in college on this stuff. I showed up for class yesterday, and the teacher told me it was going to be me and one other person.

Pretty sure if it was just me, we would have gotten out each day like 3 hours early. I'm a fast learner and usually don't ask questions unless I need to. Just my luck the other classmate knows NOTHING about Microsoft, so the teacher is having to go through the lessons super slow to accommodate. Grrr...

Lucky for me, I am a good sneak and know how to multitask while listening. I have been able to chat with my sister via email all day while the teacher explains everything to the old man. I do have to be careful though, since we aren't doing a lot of typing, I have only been able to write one liners to my sister, as doing a big paragraph would draw attention to myself. Not. Cool.

You gotta love going back to school. These are the good ole days.

Excuse me, Teacher, may I use the restroom? Yes! Finally a restroom break...Gotta go.

Our Anniversary

Yesterday was our first Anniversary. It was a good day. We followed tradition and ate a bite of cake from our wedding cake last year and drank some of the punch that was frozen for us following the wedding. I gotta say, I don't understand this tradition or what the value of it is. The cake was, of course, disgusting--it was hard and crusty, and the punch was watered down from the ice melting. But we did it nonetheless.

However, we did get excited and exchange gifts on Friday--but that should be no surprise. We always get excited about opening presents early. :)

This is us on our Anniversary day...doesn't Mike look just so excited to be there?

The torturous, unwelcomed visitor is caught

So, when Mike got home from work, my dad came back over to help search for the snake. They tilted the washing machine to its side and put a mirror under it to try and find him. Apparently, tilting the washer tumbled the snake into the tub. So, after a long, torturous day of not knowing whether or not the guy would be found, alas, he was found. My dad carried him out on the end of his hoe to the road.

After an entire day of him torturing me, he deserved nothing short of the death penatly, of course.

When it was all over, Mike asked me what I had named him. I told him anything that tortures me like that all day and sends me into such panic does not deserve a name.

Here is the ill-fated little punk just moments before his death:

A Friday Fiasco

Today is my Friday off, and I usually take these days to clean my house and catch up on laundry so my Saturdays will be free. I worked diligently to get my kitchen clean and decided to put a load of laundry in while I was cleaning. Sorted my piles and went to the garage to start the water in the washing machine. Put my soap in and went back to get my load of jeans. I was pretty darn close to getting that load of jeans in when I saw a black tail something like a lizards flash under the rim of the washing machine. "Ahh, what are you, a little lizard," I asked outloud. Leaned in a little closer to get a better view, and I sure got a better view--OF A SNAKE--coiled up under the rim of the washer! Yes, I admit it, I screamed. Like a girl. I knew I had to shut the lid on the washer so that he wouldn't crawl out, but how?! I was NOT putting my hand anywhere near that machine. I found a broom and slammed the lid shut--pretty sure he got a nice little jolt as the lid came crashing down. I stood there panicking, jeans now on the floor. EEEWWWWWWW!!!! Heebie jeebies. Heebie jeebies.

I ran inside to call Mike--voicemail. :( Called my parents and Mom answered. "Does Dad have plans today? Think he could come over and get a snake out of my washing machine?" Oh yes, she had the audacity to laugh at the situation, of course, because it wasn't her. Dad came over, and like a true Bookout whipped out his camera for me to take pictures while he saved the day. Yeah, okay, so I aleady had thought about it and had mine ready.

We went into the garage and opened the lid. He was not there. He had changed sides, probably thanks to the jousting I gave him by slamming the lid shut--serves him right. We moved my car out of the garage and moved all the clothes laying around in case he needed lots of room and made a mess. :) He drained the water out of the washer and didn't realize when he did that the machine was also on a spin cycle, so when we opened the lid again, he was completely gone from under the rim. :( "He's probably somewhere in the body of the machine now," Dad told me. He worked for about 15-20 minutes trying to get the top of the machine off, the entire time reassuring me by saying things like, "He'll probably die in here and stink up the whole place." Or "If I can't get this lid off, I'm going to have to leave him, but you can still do laundry." Oh. Right. I can do laundry, but Dad is afraid to put his fingers in the lid to look for the button to push to get the top of the machine off?! I. Don't. Think. So.

After all that time, he came to the conclusion that the washer was too heavy for him, and there was nothing for him to do by himself. So, he left the snake in my washing machine. Oh yes, he's still in there. Dad's advice as he was driving away, "Keep your cars locked and the windows up. He has special keys to get inside." N-I-C-E.

Pretty sure I am NOT doing laundry until that bad boy is found and killed. And I am certainly not going back into that stinking garage alone. Good thing we pulled my car out.

What do people think of me?

So, I sent an email to some of my closest friends that read:
1: Think of the first word that comes to mind when you think of me.
2: Run a Google image search on that word. (any word)
3: Reply to this entry & post one of the pictures from your search, but don't tell me what the word was.
4: See if I can guess the word. :)

These were the images that were sent back:





In a summary, my friends think I am an organized, cheery, hooker on drugs....N-I-C-E!

She stole my fish!!!

She better LOOK OUT. This kid is liable to do anything.

Happy One Year!

Mike and I finally hit our first wedding anniversary (this Sunday). I have to say that this has been one of the best of the close to 7 years that we have been together. So, in honor of our anniversary, I have made a list of reasons that I know I definitely married the right person:

1) We agree on all the major decisions in our marriage: to skip over the healthy food at the store first and go straight to the junk food, the importance of jumping over the foot board like Tarzan before getting into bed, and what our answering machine message will say...I mean, uh...house payments, ways to save money, yada yada yada...
2) We can have an entire conversation in "snort" and know exactly what the other is saying.
3) I can wake him up on Sunday mornings by bursting into the song, "Good morning, good morning, good morning, it's time to rise and shine!" and he doesn't throw pillows at me (though I am sure the thought has crossed his mind MANY times.
4) He can rev up his engine at a signal light with the impression that he is going to race the dude in the Mustang next to us, but I know he's really just trying to get the Mustang all rialed up to go, then will laugh as the Mustang speeds off to race and we just take off at our normal speed.
5) He understands my need to buy movies and shoes, while I understand his need to buy stuff for his car...even if neither one of us needs it.
6) We both know that there is a time to be serious, but it's usually not very often--the more silliness, the better. There is never a dull moment in our home.

Well, it's all down hill from here. ;) Yeehaw. Woo hoo. Snort.

Arena football

Mike and I got free tickets to the Tulsa Talons arena football game on Saturday night. First let me tell you that I am a fun girl to go to a ball game with if
A) I know one or more persons participating in the sport
B) The cheerleaders are halfway decent
C) I understand what is going on in the sport or
D) I am merely going to socialize

I must not have been in a very cheery-go-get-'em mood, because I was so annoyed with the morons behind me that kept "accidentally" whacking me on the head with their inflatable cheer sticks. I'm pretty sure they didn't realize they were hitting me, but after the third or fourth time of me blatantly turning around and giving them the "eh, hit me one more time and you're going to think 'Go Talons!'" look they got the general idea.

I did find it amusing that the two boys who were sitting in front of us entertained themselves, not by watching the game, but by beating each other over the head with the inflatable batons. The funny thing was that the other just sat there and took it while the hitter just beat the crap out of his buddy. Then they'd laugh and switch positions.

The cheerleaders pretty much sucked and I came to the conclusion that I could have successfully been a Talon cheeleader, as the hardest thing they did was ruffle their pom poms together and yell "Go team."

All in all, it was nice to get some different scenery, and I had never been to an indoor football game before, so it was pretty fun. I even learned something new: kickers wear two different shoes. Good thing they aren't trying to make a good fashion statement. :)

The grass is coming down!

A couple of months ago Mike was mowing our back yard with the lawn mower that someone bought us for our wedding a year ago. Our back yard is full of limestone rocks, and as you can imagine, Mike ran over one and the blade on the mower bent pretty bad. After fidgeting around with it trying to get it to start again he discovered that oil had gotten into the air filter, so we went and bought a new filter and a new blade. Turns out the shaft* was bent too, so now our mower cut so deep into the grass when it mowed, it pretty much balded our entire backyard of the only grass it had. It looked really sad. :(

So, a month later my sister got a new lawn mower and told us we could have another one that had been given to her, but that a part was broken on it we would need to fix. Turns out that with the cost of labor, the part would cost almost as much as it would cost us to buy a new mower.

Mike's dad mentioned that our church had a riding lawn mower that had only been used once or twice since it was bought two years ago, and we could have it if it worked. So we went up to the church last night with Mike's tool bag and some jumper cables to see about getting this beast to start. Mike pulled the seat up and worked on it for a while, trying everything: charging the battery, adding new gasoline, cleaning the spark plugs, spraying some starter fluid on it--you know...all the important stuff. And every time he tried to start it, it would turn and sound like it wanted to start, but the poor thing just couldn't catch its breath to start. :( After Mike said he'd tried everything he knew, he unattaches the jumper cables from the truck, then says, "You know, some lawn mowers have to have the seat down for it to start." I just looked at him dumbfounded like "We've been sitting here for 30 minutes and the problem was THAT easy?!" Of course when he set the seat back down, it started right up! I almost wanted to get out of the truck and do a little jig! So we hauled that beast home.

Meanwhile, our poor grass has grown about a foot high and I'm pretty sure I have even heard a few neighbors snickering under their breath as we drive by and talk about how WE are the ones making the value of the homes in our neighborhood go down because we are letting our grass stay high. Excuse us if we have had some minor lawn mower technical difficulties. I can assure you that the grass will be mowed today. Calm down people!

*Any attempt to sound lawn mower intellectual is merely coicidental. I am only quoting my husband on these terms.

My age

You Are 33 Years Old

33 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Hmph. I don't know which is worse. Acting 33 when I am really 24, or still getting ID'd for a rated R movie...

My Deadly Sins

Your Deadly Sins

Gluttony: 60%

Lust: 40%

Pride: 40%

Sloth: 20%

Envy: 0%

Greed: 0%

Wrath: 0%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 23%

You'll die choking on a cookie in bed.

How Sinful Are You?

Wow! I better go throw those boxes of cookies away...no more of those for me. I might choke on one in bed and die. :( What a tragic way to go.

And I didn't even go to the movies

You know the lump you get in your throat when you are watching a sappy movie, but you are trying hard not to let the tears fall down your cheek? I have that lump in my throat now. But sadly, I am not watching a tear-jerker movie, nor have I lately. This silly lump showed up in my throat last night for no apparent reason. I tried eating multiple snacks to try to dislodge it and drinking lots of fluid, but to no avail. The lump still lingers.

I had a lump like this once before, and it took 6 days for that silly thing to finally move all the way down my throat. That was the most annoying 6 days of my life. Well, maybe not, but it ranks high up there with being pestered by mean boys as a child and getting a kernel of popcorn stuck in my teeth with no help from dental floss or a toothpick.

I caught myself twice today hacking like a cat with hairballs trying desparately to dislodge it, but I realized how unprofessional I sounded and had to apologize to my two co-workers who are housed beside me for making inhumane noises while they were trying to concentrate.

I succumb to this fate. This overpowering force is too big to try and fight down. I accept the fact that this lump will remain for the next few days. No amount of crunchy snacks with multiple edges will knock it loose or no amount of soda will wash it down. It is with me wherever I go. We will celebrate together the day I wake up and find that this horrific reality has finally become a memory.

Squirrel rendezvous

I'll be darned if another blasted squirrel did not get the "Only cross the road in the squirrel crossing area" memo, as he was plastered to the pavement like mud stuck to a kid who has been playing in the sprinkler all afternoon. It nearly broke my heart as I drove past him out of the parking lot during lunch this afternoon. I did breathe a sigh of relief as I was thankful it was not me who had run him over.

I did smirk at the sight of him on my return to the office and was pleased that my animal activist co-workers had not scooped this one up and put him in the grass. That was just disgusting.

Penguins were sighted at ORU this weekend!

I now have a greater appreciation for the banquets' side of the events that I host. Saturday I helped my parents' church do a fundraiser by helping out with the Miss Oklahoma banquet following the pageant. Now, I have thought seriously all day about writing a very creative recap of the eventful evening, including a full description of the penguin costumes that we were required to wear (okay--so it was just black pants, a white tuxedo shirt, and black bow tie), but the mere thought of said event makes the painful memories of my tired and blisterd feet seem all too real again.

So, instead, I will just make a list of things that need to be dually noted before this group participates in another event like the one mentioned:

-When giving the dress code instructions, the organizer should present the fashion commandments, and specifically mention ALL fashion faux pas', including but not limited to, Thou Shall Not Wear White Socks With Black Shoes and Thou Shall Not Wear White Shoes With Black Pants...No. Exceptions.

-After setting 600 place settings, then redoing them five more times, we don't give a flip which way the knife should face.

-After spending 8 hours, in close quarters, on our feet, we will be grouchy. It should be expected.

-When above mentioned grouchiness arises, humor must be used as a mechanism to keep all workers light and fluffy...just like the eggs that were served to the attendees...that's right--girls in formal gowns eating light and fluffy eggs at their banquet.

As long as the previously stated list is passed along to the next group of suckers that agree to work a banquet for a rundraiser, there should be no problems.

Please do not throw rotten tomatoes at me

This is to inform you that I have had blogger's block for the past 3 days, hence the empty void of new entries this week. While I understand that most of you rely on my daily entries to make it throughout your days, I can assure you that I, in no way, am purposefully forcing you to have withdrawls of my dry sense of sarcasm and my generic wittiness.

Please do not go into convulsions and beat your own brains out because you have not been able to enjoy a daily dose of Amy's Island. It isn't everyday that some sort of feathered critter or inhumane act of kindness comes storming through my life, though for a while you probably thought different. I will do my best to satisfy your overwhelming whims to read something interesting next week, but please keep in mind I am only human. Until then, you might try finding something cool here.

Left Behind continues

For those of you that read the Left Behind series, and don't know, the first of three prequels has been released:


I did not know that the interest was even there to create these 3 books until my mom called me to let me know that she had just purchased the first.

I read it in 2 days...I couldn't put it down.

The synopsis: The story of Rayford Steele's and Nicolae Carpathia's lives as they start out as infants. Pretty good depiction, and probably a pretty good summation of how the Antichrist will be brought up as a child, in my opinion.

Very good read. I highly recommend.

Who would have known?

Awww, how sweet! This squirrel is paying respects to our late dogs who passed away more than 6 years ago...I didn't know that they had been that close. From what I recall, Sugar and Curly used to chase the squirrels up the trees, not befriend them...sure had me fooled.

The inflatable velcro wall

Please note that this activity should be enjoyed with a velcro suit that actually fits you. It is not comfortable or cool to try this in a suit that is too short in the shoulder to crotch area. It only makes for great fun-poking for your fellow observers.

I blame this solely on Mike who took the only adult velcro suit first.


And here is the culprit now posing upside down in the only coveted velcro suit.


Thank you Terry for taking these pictures, which will only serve to haunt me later in life. :) It makes for fun memories now at least...

Thanks to Noah for not swatting those blasted punks while he had the chance!

Other than to suck all the blood and life force out of me, and of course to annoy me, what is the point of mosquitos?! I went out in my backyard to water my flowers, and within the 20 minutes that it took me to do that, I had 27 welps on my arms and legs from those pesky punks! Those blood-sucking mongruls even bit me on my finger! I was concerned that it might have been a spider at first, because for 30 minutes or more I couldn't even bend my knuckle because it was swollen so bad. :(

I hate mosquitos.

Houston travel recap

I left Tuesday afternoon for a committee meeting I was organizing in Houston. On the plane, I sat between two men. On my left was a quiet man who slept the entire flight. What a blessing! On my right, however, was Mr. Friendly who was wearing alligator boots with sharp alligator skin points on the back. I did NOT want to hack off this dude, because God only knows what he's used those points for. I made small talk and politely laughed at his jokes when prompted, all the while looking for an opportunity to open my book and start reading. I finally found an opening! I read one chapter, then Mr. Friendly took my chapter's end (though my book was still open) as an excuse to start chatting it up again. Come on, Dude...what part of "can't you tell that I am much more interested in my book than you" do you NOT understand?! Sigh.

Arriving safely in Houston, I took a cab to my hotel. The poor cab driver didn't know where Tulsa was...Bless his heart, he thought it was in Canada. Oklahoma. Canada...yeah, I can see where he might get confused.

I took the entire committee (22 people) out for an appreciation lunch yesterday. We entered the restaurant and somehow I managed to sit at the head of the table...of 22 men! Halfway through our lunch, some random female passerby tapped me on the shoulder and said, "How did you get to be so lucky? Is it your Birthday?" as she kept walking to her seat. I chuckled to myself. Here I was sitting with 22 geophysicists who were old enough to be my father or grandfather and she managed to perceive me as lucky...I feel sorry for HER. Little did they know that only moments before I had only been thinking about how many OTHER conversations I would rather be having that were NOT geophysically related in the slightest. Note to self: Look up "azmuthal" and "Kirchhoff inversion" when I return to the office.

Lucky for me I caught an earlier flight back to Tulsa yesterday evening. I, of course, received the "let's do a strip search and search your luggage too" treatment at the Houston airport heading home. I wouldn't have expected anything less from them. And inevitably, they didn't find anything, so all it did was waste 25 minutes of my time allowing me to get to the boarding area just as the Southwest announcer called out, "We will now be boarding the C section." Other than Mr. Interested who wanted to know everything about the book I was reading, it was a relatively quiet flight home.