Merry Christmas!

As of 5:31 today I will be officially on vacation. Not going anywhere, but just taking some time off to do what we want. That being said, I don't know how much/if any I will be blogging on my vacation, so I wanted to wish you all a very wonderful Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to us!

So, following the Mike/Amy Christmas tradition, we opened our Christmas presents to each other this weekend. :) Merry Christmas to us!! We decided that since we don't have kids and we pay the bills in our house, we can do what we want...including having Christmas 9 days early!!

We're like little kids. We just can't wait! Woot! Woot!!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

So since I've been so busy getting in the Christmas spirit, I completely overlooked a very special and important date: the second anniversary of my blog. When I started this thing over 2 years ago, I honestly thought it wouldn't last more than a 10 day fad. I have enjoyed the last 2 years of being able to put my thoughts, frustrations, comments, and the highlights of my life on paper...errr...the electronic kind.

So--Happy 2nd Anniversary Blog! Glad I still have you around! :)

More travel

I've never had a passport before. I've never traveled abroad before. Mexico is as far outside of the US as I have traveled. But yesterday, I finished step one of one hundred (not really 100, but who knew there was so much to getting a passport??): I filled out the application. YAY!

Step one: CHECK!

Turkey here I come!!

The Office

Being snowed in this weekend, I was only able to get one productive thing done, and was able to do it in a record 2 days.

Mike and I watched the entire second season of "The Office" on DVD (yes we are a little late on this bandwagon) and watched all of the season 3 episodes that have aired to catch up. After all that I only have one thing to say:

JIM & PAM!! JIM & PAM!! I want Jim and Pam!! Screw Karen. Bring back JIM & PAM!!

Stuck but having fun

What do you get when it's someone's birthday, there are 10 inches of ice and snow on the ground, and it's a family tradition to go out to eat to the birthday person's choice restaurant ON their birthday? You get five and a half hours of family FUN.

We had to be crazy to even attempt to drive 30 miles from Sand Springs to Texas Roadhouse in honor of my sister's big celebration of turning 2-8, but we are one dedicated family. So we all (6 of us) piled in my parents' car and slowly but surely sled our way into the parking lot and had a wonderful meal.

After dinner, it was of course dark outside, which means the 10 inches of snow and ice were refreezing on the roads, and they became "slick as glass." I know this because my dad repeated that phrase 572 times on our drive home. And if it weren't for the idiots that thought they were invincible driving 50 mph on the ice-covered roads, our evening might have been a little more uneventful. We watched at least 4 cars spin in circles on the highway right before our eyes and countless cars on the side of the road stuck. However, it wasn't until we were 500 feet from our exit off of I-44 to Sand Springs that the evening went from long to longer. We came to a dead stand still. About 3/4 of mile ahead of us, a semi and two cars had collided (which we later found out from the trucker who had a CB in front of us). After 15 minutes we realized we were going to be sitting there a while, so Dad put the car in Park.

It's not everyday that you can get out and stand in the middle of the highway, but we did. And we documented it. Oh yes-what better way to make an hour and half wait on the highway more fun than to take pictures of it?

Happy Birthday Sista! I know this was one of the more memorable ones!! :)

Having some fun while we wait...and wait...and wait...

Mike running to Braum's to make a pitstop.

Cheri' hanging outside.

Shopping

You should be very proud of me. Not only do we have ALL of our Christmas shopping finished for all of the immediate/extended family, the presents are already wrapped and sitting under our Christmas tree.

Think of me as you are out fighting the crowds in the next few weeks...but please don't start throwing things at me. :)

Brit

While sitting at the Carrie Underwood concert waiting for it to begin, Canaan and I made a pact that if Britney Spears makes a comeback and goes on tour again, that we would go if she came through Oklahoma.

Better yet, I heard a rumor that she may sign a 3 year deal to do a show in Vegas. Our Annual Meeting is in Vegas in 2008. :)

I'll admit, I'm obsessed, but I can't help it. I just love her.

More travel drama

So I flew to San Antonio yesterday, and learned something new in the process. Since I was only staying one night, I didn't bother checking any luggage-I just fit everything I needed into one bag(!!!). I was careful to buy trial size items of everything I needed so that going through security would be a breeze. I was careful to seperate my liquids into a seperate ziplock bag and have everything ready for a smooth transition through security.

When I set my crap on the conveyor belt, the woman on the other side said "Your ziplock bag is too big. Go back to the first check point and see if she has one smaller." Sigh. So I did. And I threw my oversized bag in the trash, then proceeded back through the line. Of course, it wasn't over...it never is for me. They pulled my bag off the conveyor belt and told me they needed to search through it. The conversation went as follows:

Her: Do you have a tub of something in here?
Me: Well...I have some Noxzema in there.
Her: Where?
Me (digging through my bag): Right here. I didn't seperate it with my liquids because it is not a liquid. It's solid.
Her: Liquids, gels, or pastes.
Me thinking: It's not a liquid, gel, or paste, it's a SOLID!
Her: Do you have a ziplock bag to put this in?
Me thinking: Did you not just see me throw my only bag away because it was too big??
Me: No, you just told me to throw it away...
Her: Secondary check!!

A man walks over and says, "Ma'am, this is 14 oz. You are only allowed 3 oz. You can put it in your checked luggage."
Me: I didn't check any. I'm only staying one night.
Him: Well, what do you want me to do?
Me thinking: Let me have my friggin Noxzema and go on my merry way.
Me: ...
Him: If you don't want to check your bag, I'll have to toss it.
Me thinking: I just bought it!!
Me: Pitch it, it's not worth it.
Then I cried as he threw my brand new $8 tub of Noxzema in the trash.

What did I learn yesterday: Noxzema is a liquid, not a solid. Next time I fly I just need to pack every item in my bag into a ziplock bag and put them all in seperate tubs for inspection.

I friggin' HATE terrorists. They owe me an $8 tub of Noxzema.

Concerts

This is the week of concerts for me. I am very excited. This Saturday, Mike and I are going to see Switchfoot at Cain's. Switchfoot is our favorite band. We saw them live under the St Louis arch (awesome!) on the 4th of July last year, and when they came to Tulsa in March this year. They are putting out a new album in a few weeks, so I am anxious to hear their new stuff this weekend. Woot!

Then Sunday I am going with some friends to see Carrie Underwood at the Pavillion. I am super excited about this one because I love Carrie. Not just because we went to NSU at the same time (Go Riverhawks-lol, don't me started on our new name...), but because her vocal talent is flawless. She is amazing! Woot! Woot!

Without Water

I now have a great understanding of the phrase "You don't know what you've got til it's gone." We were without water this morning. We've been having some problems with our shower leaking. So Mike took the part that was bad with him to work this morning to get a replacement after work...hence, no water.

At least I got some warning. He told me last night he was taking the part and asked if I could go a day without washing my hair in the morning. Since my hair is so thin, the answer was an obvious no. It'd be staticky (is that a word? ha) and nasty by lunch time if I didn't wash it this morning. So, I filled some pitchers with water so I would have some to wash my hair in the sink this morning, then took a shower last night.

Long story longer: Went to wash my hair this morning in the sink and the once-warm water was now ice. cold. Pretty sure I screamed like a freight train going 75 mph, trying to stop from hitting something on the tracks only 20 feet away. It was freakin' freezing...on.my.head. My brain hurt when I got the nerve to finish.

Even knowing that the water was off, out of habit, I still turned the knob to brush my teeth expecting water to come out. Doh! What an idiot. Even something as little as flushing the toilet...not going to happen.

This could get interesting.

CMAs

Obviously, no one every taught Faith the importance of having a "gracious loser face."

'Bout time

Miracles do still happen. Someone owes me 20 bucks.

Soap box

It's started. It's officially started. I saw my first Christmas commercial earlier this week. The stores have had Christmas crap up for a few weeks now. Wal-Mart had a sign up this weekend that said "52 shopping days until Christmas." I give it until this weekend before I start seeing Christmas lights up on the houses in my neighborhood.

What is the matter with people?? Halloween has barely been buried, and I'm certain it isn't cold in the ground yet and people are moving straight through to the end of December. I feel sorry for Thanksgiving. I really do. It's like it just gets brushed over like dust under a rug.

This just happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves: decorating for a holiday before the next one in line has passed. So, in honor of my biggest pet peeve being violated, let's take a moment of silence for Thanksgiving, as it will soon be long forgotten.

*pause*

Okay, that is all. Stepping off my soap box now.

"Tag, you're it!"

I played "Tag" with my 5 year old niece this weekend. It was just her and me playing, so you can imagine how lively of a game it was...we went back and forth tagging each other for about 15 minutes. After some time of running around, she ran over to the wall, tagged it and screamed "BASE!" It was to my astonishment the words that proceeded from my mouth when she screamed "base:"

"One, two, three, get off my father's apple tree!"

Those words haven't come out of my mouth in over a decade and a half. I still can't believe some of the things that my archaic mind pulls up when I'm least expecting it.

Bubble gum

I freakin' love Super Bubble Bubble Gum. It is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Blowing "super bubbles" makes me happy.

That is all.

Pictures from California!!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

California recap

We flew in to Sacramento, rented a car and drove south to San Diego. We stopped where we wanted to stop; we ate what we wanted to eat; we stayed where we wanted to stay; and we had a dang good time doing it.

What I now know about California:
1) In the war against Pepsi vs. Coke, Pepsi wins 95% of the time-woo hoo!
2) I no longer feel the need to move to Mexico to experience the Spanish culture...I can just move to California--there is no difference between the two.
3) Seals and sea lions hang out on the shore along the beaches.
4) You do not want to be driving a PT Cruiser in the middle of LA rush hour traffic. It does NOT get up and go when you need it to.
5) There is no shortage of malls in this state...some cities have more than one sitting right next to each other.

What I love about California:
1) It's consistently warmer than Oklahoma-year round.
2) It has some of the best scenic views I could ever imagine.
3) They have some of the biggest Halloween stores I've ever seen (which came in handy right before the holiday).
4) The same streets run through the entire state, in every city.
5) They have plenty of interesting free tours to take for tourists like myself (we went to the Jelly Belly Factory and the Taylor Guitar factory to see how both were made-very cool!).

What I hate about California:
1) There are more Spanish speaking radio stations than English.
2) Fog. Enough said.
3) The airports are too crowded.
4) Jack-in-the-Box took away the strawberry-banana shakes...ugh! :(
5) It's expensive.

It was a blast! Pictures to follow...

The time has finally arrived

Mike and I are leaving for vacation in California tomorrow. We are flying into Sacramento, renting a car and just driving south to San Diego, stopping wherever we feel like it. I am very excited. The Planner in me is stressing just a little by the fact that we have NO concrete plans other than our flights and car rental. I have no hotels lined up...and only a brief list of places we know for sure we want to see. We are relying solely on his GPS unit to get us everywhere. Those that know me, know why this stresses me out. I am a Planner for a living, which means I like to have every detail planned out and ready BEFORE we get there. This trip will be a true test of my ability to "relax" and enjoy myself without the pressure of having to be anal about everything that we do...we'll see. :)

I am in vacation mode in the worst way. I have been here pretty much all week, but have forced myself to stay focused and get the things done that I needed to before I leave. It has been very hard...especially when random people stop by to ask me about my trip and offer suggestions on places for us to stop at while we are there. Don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate their suggestions and comments. I just wish we were there already!!

California here we come!!! :)

Kids crack me up

I went to the orthodontist yesterday, and usually they get me in and out in 15 minutes. They switched offices about six months ago, so I ended up sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes with a crowd of people. While I was sitting there waiting to be called, a mom with 3 boys and a girl about two years old walked in and made themselves comfortable on the couch.

I watched as the oldest boy played with his GameBoy while the little girl played in the corner with some toys. The two middle aged boys, about 7 and 9, watched over their mother's shoulder as she looked at a magazine with Halloween costumes.

Finally they were called and the oldest boy got up to go back. His mother followed and took the little girl, but told the 7 and 9 year olds to wait out there for her. The 7 year whined pretty good for about 2 minutes until she finally shut the door in his face and he gloomily shuffled back over to the couch and plopped himself down exasperated.

He picked up the magazine his mom had been looking through, tossed through the pages for a few seconds, then suddenly just chunked it down on the table while letting out a huge sigh and exclaimed, "There's nothing good to read here!!" Then he threw himself back on the couch and yelped, "Darn Yankees!"

Halloween

Well, Halloween is upon us, and with it comes costumes...kiddy costumes, adult costumes, dog costumes. You name it. So you would think with all of the Halloween novelty stores that come to town in honor of this trick or treat occasion, I would be able to find a decent costume to wear.

So what's the problem? Well, probably the most obvious--all of the stinkin' costumes in every store/magazine that I've seen all shout out one thing: skank/whore/ho. Somehow I don't think I could pull off wearing the slutty nurse or the naughty maid getup to the work costume party (during work hours) or to our church harvest carnival. I can just hear it now:

Me: Oh hi Pastor! What do you mean-a costume with my rear-end hanging out and my boobs flashing all the children is inappropriate??

I went as Audrey Hepburn last time and won first place at work. I know I can't compete with that...but please, I'm open to suggestions. Anyone. Help. Me. Please.

New Orleans

So, I'm back from New Orleans...with lots of pictures, numerous stories, five pounds lighter (not really, but it feels that way after sweating so much in the city), and a torn tendon in my foot. The trip in itself was a lot of work, since I was there for business, but I did get to have some fun too. But at the end of the day, all I can say is "There's no place like home."

Here's one of my favorite stories that happened while I was down there (I won't bog you down with too many b/c I'm sure you don't really care-ha!)
The last Thursday night I was there, I was sound asleep. I had gotten into bed about midnight and was extrememly exhausted, so it didnt' take long to fall asleep after my head hit the pillow. However, at 5 AM I woke to the god-awful sound of the hotel fire alarm going off. My heart started racing, and I wasn't exactly thinking clearly at the hour, so I'm scrambling around to find my shoes, my ID, my camera, and my phones. I race out the door into the hall to discover I am the ONLY one in the hall. I think to myself "what the heck?? I know I'm not the only one who can hear this annoying cattle call." So I keep running to the stairs booking it down 3 flights and out the door to the outside. "What is going on??" There is no one outside. Starting to get more annoyed, I walk around to the front entrance and see like 20 people walking back inside. So I called one of my co-workers who happened to be staying in my hotel. Here's how the conversation went (or to the best of my recollection...it WAS 5 AM):

Me: Hi-are you outside?
Her: No, I started getting my stuff together, but decided to call the front desk, and they told me I didn't need to go out-that they would let us know if we did.

DOH! Why the heck didn't I think of that??

So I went back upstairs and tried falling back to sleep...but it took forever b/c my heart was still racing and a million things were going through my mind. How annoying.

It's good to be back!! Pictures to be posted soon.

Trip

So, I'm in New Orleans right now for a couple of weeks. It's that time of year again-our Annual Meeting for geonerds that I help coordinate. I probably won't get to blog much, so I wanted to let you know why. After the meeting and I get back to T-Town, I'm going to buckle down and get serious about blogging again. ;)

Happy Two Weeks guys!

TSA is an oxymoron

I love reading stupid material that contradicts itself. :)

I am flying to New Orleans for a business trip in a couple of weeks, so I have been keeping a close watch on what will be permitted in my carry-on. I am a little frustrated that I will now have to re-evaluate my entire packing system to accommodate not having any liquids of any kind in my carry-on, then hope that the airline doesn't lose my luggage and leave me stranded without any of my necessities. That would really suck.

In any case, check this out-straight from the Transportation Security Administration website:

NO LIQUIDS OR GELS OF ANY KIND WILL BE PERMITTED IN CARRY-ON BAGGAGE. THESE ITEMS MUST BE IN CHECKED BAGGAGE. This includes all beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, toothpaste, hair gel, and other items of similar consistency. Read our Permitted and Prohibited Items list for more information.

Then a few breaths later they state:
Customers are asked to:
Not pack food or beverages in checked bags...

Wait, hold the phone-we can't put beverages in our carry-ons and we can't check them either??

Sigh.

To compensate, I better get two complimentary drinks on my flight instead of the usual "here's half a can of pop in a tiny cup. Thank you, have a nice flight."

Bizzare

While driving home from work yesterday, something interesting, yet a little bizzare caught my attention. Driving on the other side of the road coming at me in the opposite direction was an African American man on a bike. That's not what was unusual.

The man was dressed head to toe in a Santa suit with a large American flag standing inside a small trailor he was pulling (on his bike-mind you!) with banners that said something to the effect of "Fight for Freedom."

It never ceases to amaze me what the crazies here in Tulsa will do to get attention. Next thing you know there will be a rally led by all things imaginary. Maybe the Tooth Fairy will be there and can give me the money for my last two teeth I didn't get paid for!

Happy Fall TV

There's more than just the warm weather that I love about summer. I love the break...from television. Since my shows are in reruns through the summer, and I refuse to add any "just summer" programs to my plate, I take a 3 month hiatus and actually live life a little. I get to stay out past 7. It's awesome.

I must admit, when the fall tv season starts up I become this person...this monster, if you will. Someone that you wouldn't even recognize if you had only met me in the summer time. I become the TV Nazi. I can't help it-my shows are important to me. I feel like I'm a part of the show-I know the characters and everything about them. I know how they felt when so-n-so broke up with them or how happy it was when they finally got married in the end. I have a lifetime of hours invested in these lives, so why wouldn't they be important to me?

So, please note the following as we approach a new fall tv season:
Do not call me during the hours of 7-10pm CST any day of the week (well, weekends are okay).
Do not try to start a 30 minute conversation at 6:59 pm CST.
If you must communicate with me during 7-10 pm, you have a two minute window every 15ish minutes. Talk fast and only give me the important details.
If you invite me to a social event that happens to fall during this time frame, it is highly possible that I will be "sick" and unable to make it.
When I go out of town and have to record all of my shows for a week, please expect me to be unavailable for the entire following week upon my return. I am busy playing "catch-up."

These guidelines are for your safety only. Failing to meet these guidelines, MAY cause horns to creep out and claws to emerge. I take no responsibility for any injuries you sustain while violating these guidelines. Consider yourself warned.

So, who wants to come over and watch some TV with me? Come on, it'll be fun!!

Crikey!

What a disappointment. I'm sure gonna miss that bloke.

Doctor What?

One thing I really despise is going to the doctor. I had an appointment today-not for anything major. My appointment was at 11, so I thought I'd be nice and arrive like 15 minutes early so that they could get all my paper work processed and could get me in to my appointment on time.

WRONG.

Thirty minutes pass, and I am starting to get a little antsy. By the time 45 minutes passes, I'm sending text messages to friends letting them know how annoyed I am. After an hour, that's right-an hour, of just sitting there watching many people come and go before me, my patience is flat out gone.
Just as I'm about to get up and show the entire crowded waiting room just how impatient I am, another lady beats me to it and goes up to the check in desk to complain about having to sit there for 30 mintues (why didn't I complain sooner?!). I decided that if that woman got to go in before me after only waiting 30 minutes, I was going to be livid. Thank goodness, the door opened at that time and the nurse called my name. The nurse weighs me and takes my blood pressure then takes me to the little room where I am supposed to meet with the doctor.

I sit in that room and wait ANOTHER 15 mintues for the doctor to come in. By that time, I've had enough time to read 16 magazines, make 5 phone calls, plan out my entire dinner menu, polish off a box of Reese's Pieces, and still have time to twiddle my thumbs.

Next time I have an appointment, if I'm not going to see the doctor until NOON, don't freakin make my appointment at 11.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

I think I may throw up.

"I, like, cry, when I listen to it, it's so good."

As Chandler Bing might have said, "Could you BE more arrogant?"

Ugh.

This week I...

battled through my first (and hopefully only) case of strep throat-I do not wish it on my worst enemy.
looked at a bajillion and one Honda Accords searching for the "right" one...no such luck.
decided I am addicted to Reese's Pieces.
wished it were a little cooler when I walked in my backyard and it looked like fall because all of the leaves on my trees have already turned colors and fallen off.
had a dream that something was holding my covers down and yanked Simon off the bed in the process.
got a little excited when I realized I'm going to New Orleans in six weeks.
came to the conclusion that kids who are still in school are lucky-they have no idea how easy they have it right now.
replaced the second battery on one of our cars in less than two months (DANG HEAT!).
discovered the battery was the problem AFTER we had already replaced the starter (dang liars at O'Reillys).
got a little bummed when I realized I'm going to be in New Orleans working BOTH weeks of the fair.
went to the scrapbook vendor fair and bought lots of scrapbook stuff.
came to the realization that it's too hot to do anything.

It's hotter here than

a bowl of melting lava.
burning charcoal.
a sun-bathed cement parking lot.
Matthew McConaughey with his shirt off.
extra spicy salsa from Los Cabos.
an entire box of Hot Tamales in your mouth at one time.
apple pie right out of the oven.
a lightening stricken tree.

But is it hot enough to bake cookies in your car?

Good-bye Old Friend

I'm taking my Cavalier to the auction Tuesday. After three years of semi-faithful service to me, it has run it's final course with me. Poor thing-I just can't afford to keep fixing things that go wrong with it. I wanted a Cavalier for many years, and now I have had one. It's time to move on to something else...something that isn't a decade old.

As Mike was detailing the Cavalier this weekend, I started thinking about the past three years that I have had it. It's really been a good car to me most of the time. I guess I can't blame it for user error, such as the two times it ran out of gas.

So today I am wishing my old car farewell...may it find a home far better than mine. Maybe it will beat me to Mexico.

Language barriers

For those of you that know me well, know that I love the hispanic culture. I've been to Mexico five times in my life and absolutely loved it there. I love the people, I love the food, I love the music, I just love the culture. I honestly think if I wasn't so happy here in Sand Springs, America, my heart would be just as happy living in Mexico.

However, there are a few things that I would do before moving there...namely-LEARN SPANISH fluently. I would not expect to live there and never learn to speak the native language. That would be...well, selfish on my part. Even on my five trips to the deep southern part of Mexico, I did my very best to speak Spanish to the vendors, the people on the street, everyone except the Americans traveling with me. It's just respectful.

So, tell me why I have a hard time reading this article and feeling sorry for them. I just can't. If you are going to move to America (which I have no problem with), be respectful enough to learn English. It's one thing to visit and speak your native tongue...it's another to MOVE HERE and expect us to change everything for you.

*Steps down off soapbox*

Fashion what??

Hot of the presses, ladies and gentlemen...the new fall preview from the Victoria's Secret catelog.


Never mind the trendy crop pants in this picture...all I can see are the RED SOCKS she is wearing with SANDALS. All of my life I have been told that is a HUGE fashion no-no. Sigh. I will not be caught dead wearing socks with sandals. I won't do it. You can't make me.















And this picture...where do I begin on this picture? Should I start with the bubble butt poof skirt or with the hooker black laced leggings? Oh leggings. My stomach hurts. I think I need to go throw up.

Have some trees.

There's nothing like coming home after a long day of work to a hot house with no electricity and a group of men that speak no English working away in your backyard cutting down your trees.

Some of the trees in our backyard run up against the power line, and about a month ago we came home to a note on our door and several trees in our backyard tagged with orange spraypaint. Basically, they were giving us fair warning that they were free to dismantle those trees whenever they made time whether or not we agreed to it.

A month came and went and to be honest, I had completely forgotten about it...until yesterday. Apparently, one of them cut the electric line when they were cutting trees, so not only did we come home to a house with no electricity, we had been without it for eight hours and counting.

Came home from church last night with the remains of their work: a huge pile of tree limbs sitting in our front yard.

Now, I can deal with the no electricity for 8+ hours, no A/C, and a stash of trees in the front yard. What I had a problem dealing with today was sitting down to a nice big bowl of cereal for breakfast, only to cover it with a nice surprise: nice chunks of milk curds. I nearly tossed my cookies.

I'm totally sending the electric company a bill for $1.86...they owe me some fresh milk. Ugh.

This week I...

went to New Orleans for a business trip. On my trip I...
attempted to go on a walking tour of the city with my boss, but had to change the plans when it started pouring down rain on us.
vowed never to wear sandals with short heels on them any day I would be walking more than 4 hours.
ate at Emeril's and got a little sad that he wasn't actually there.
got very excited to recognize a few places on Bourbon Street that were used in the filming of "Double Jeopardy" (my all-time fave movie).
tried my very first beignet.
feared for my life when the cab driver rolled down his window and proceeded to yell and scream at the driver next to us for trying to pass us (pretty sure the phrase "You are STUPID!" was used at least 15 times).
pretended the airplane shaped crackers we got on the plane were real airplanes and practiced "taking off" and "landing."
successfully completed 5 sudokus on paper.

This week I...

made home-made ice cream for the very first time.
caught some rays on the air mattress in the pool.
called Simon a wuss when he hid in the closet for 2 days hiding from the fireworks.
ate cotton candy and snow cones.
talked for like 6 hours in a row (I am training a new co-worker this week).
went to Champions on Ice and waited for one of them to fall...they didn't.
started getting excited about my trip to New Orleans next week.
ate lemon meringe pie for breakfast.
only worked 2.5 days (woo woo!).
watched "The Lake House" in a very small, stinky theater room.
celebrated the fourth of July on the top of a hill with about 150 other people.
saw about 10 Tulsa firework displays simultaneously on top of that hill.
ooohed and aaahhhed with the best of 'em.
found it very difficult to go back to work after the holiday.
felt like it was already turning fall in my backyard when I went to water my flowers and saw a ton of dry leaves already on the ground b/c it's been so hot.
jammed out to some cool songs with my dad after the Ice Capades.
jumped in a jupiter jump. Alone.

Hope you all had a great holiday!

I Hate Charlie

There's nothing like being in a dead sleep when suddenly you are blasted awake with a tremendous cramping in the back of your leg...you know the one: a Charlie horse. I was sound asleep dreaming peacefully about fields of flowers and kittens and special treats, when all of a sudden I'm jerked awake with a horrific cramp in my calf. It startled me so much, that my body physically went into convulsions and I accidentally knocked poor Simon off the bed. :(

I hate Charlie. And his dang horse.

Just because

I'm trying to teach myself that change can be a good thing. I have always struggled with it...maybe that's the reason I still live in my childhood home or that I park my car in the same spot every day or that I get ready for the day in the exact same order every.single.day. Because I hate change.

But recently, new changes have started taking place in my life, and surprisingly they have been for the better. I got a new job at work. I'm still at the same place doing Meeting Planning, but now I am entering a whole new realm of meeting planning that I didn't have before. I am very excited about this change. And, I have a good teacher, so that helps.

So, along with the other changes going on in my life, I have created a new URL for my blog. This is something that I have needed to do for a while, but have been putting it off for so long because I didn't really know how to get in touch with some of the readers that I have to let them know. It made me a little sad that I had to close everything off to them in hopes of them finding me again. But I had to do it. Things were getting out of control, and this was my only solution.

So, let's raise our glasses and let's make a toast. A toast to a life with lots of change.

Good change.

Driving

I was minding my own business yesterday as I was driving home from work...pulled up to the signal light to turn left. Was watching the light waiting for it to turn green, then BAM! I sat there a minute then thought to myself, "Um, I think someone just rear-ended me."

I looked behind me and sure enough, the car behind me was backing up. I got out of my car and the old lady (I'm not exaggerating when I say old lady either) in the front seat was rolling down her window.

Me: Are you okay?
Her: Yeah, stupid me. My purse fell in the floor and I reached down to pick it up.
Me: (while inspecting the back of my car) Well, I'm okay and my car is fine, so I think we're okay.
Her: Yeah. Okay.

No apology. Nothing.

As I got back in my car and drove away I thought to myself, what just happened there?! I better not be super sore tomorrow. That would really suck.

But today is tomorrow and I still feel fine-thank God. That could have been really bad.

From now on, she better just let the stinking purse stay in the floor instead of trying to reach down and pick it up while driving. Maybe Mike was right-all people over 60 need to retake their driver's test.

Good grief.

Oh to be famous

Jenny once said I hit her on the school playground. No one would play with me the rest of the day. Now, where's my million dollars?

Goldilocks and the Three Bears...in Reverse?

All the cool stories about bears hanging out in backyard swimming pools or more recently, eating poridge in the kitchen of somone's home, always happen in places other than Tulsa. I want a cool bear story of my own.

Vacation Bible School

So way back in the days when I was a very cool kid...(please keep all comments to yourself, thank you!), our church put on some really good Vacation Bible Schools. You remember going to VBS? Where you sing all sorts of cheesy songs, learn a scripture verse, have a bible story, make some cool crafts that your parents keep on display in the living room until you move out of the house, and eat some great snacks?

I've had my years of good VBS experiences, that's for sure. But in the more recent years, my role in VBS changed...I no longer was a childish girl who was a participant...oh no, I was a volunteer to help organize it. Prior to getting married, I was always recruited to do the songs. "Oh Amy is great at doing motions to monotonous children's songs! Let's recruit her!" Needless to say the kids loved it. So I did the music for about 3 years, then decided I had long served my term for helping with VBS.

Wrong.

I have since graduated from loud-mouhted child participant, to overzealous song leader, now to the Vacation Bible School Director. That's right, I volunteered/got nominated to completely direct our church's VBS. This is the first VBS my church has ever had (the others were at my parents'.) It starts tonight and will run every night through Friday. Despite the fact that it has taken up a LOT of my time organizing this bad boy, and despite the fact that I struggled to get volunteers to help me, I gotta say in all honesty, it's going to be a blast this week. The kids are going to love it. I am going to love it. Come Friday, I will be relieved that it will be over, but in the mean time, I'm going to enjoy the ride. It's finally arrived after all this planning. I live for these moments--when all your hard work pays off and you see it all come together.

So, while we wait for some more exciting pictures from this week, let's relive some of my finer moments (oh yes, Doug, that's you sitting to my right):

This week I...

got annoyed when my newly tanned arms started peeling. Ugh.
went to the store to buy a new pair of shoes. And bought three.
got excited when I remembered that season 3 of Lois&Clark comes out on DVD Tuesday.
snorted when I laughed with a group full of strangers.
laughed at myself for what a dork I was for snorting.
realized it isn't a good idea to where a skirt on a windy day.
ran two signal lights on the way to work. In the same trip.
became addicted to a new cheesy, internet game.
watched the Britney Spears Dateline special.
wore my Mardi Gras hat in the office to make a seemingly long day go by a little faster.
got made fun of for my cool, gold hat.
told myself I need a vacation.

Update on the Chinese email

I wrote the dude back and asked him to reply in English...his response:

"Sorry I sent reply to wrong email."

So maybe he really WAS talking about the Wu black dragon.

And it's a relief to know my name has not been changed to Wang Xia. :)

Bi-lingual?

I love it when I get emails like this:

王霞，

可能是里面用了中文，你找吴青龙拿到原文，都改成英文，然后在做成ＰＤＦ文件。他哪里有字体的具体要求

张延庆

This is a response I got to an email I sent to this gentleman.

If anyone reads Chinese, please feel free to translate. Meanwhile, I'm going to get my Chinese dictionary and start looking up characters...

Crooked Crooks

*steps up onto soap box*

I love hearing about stupid crooks. But when a crook turns out to be an imbecile, my blood boils. I heard on the radio yesterday about this crook who went into an AutoZone to rob them. He held the clerks at gunpoint and demanded all of their money. The point came where the clerks were able to wrestle the gun free and apparently starting beating the crook up while one of the clerks called 911. After all was said and done, the crook came back with a lawsuit against AutoZone for beating him up and putting him in emotional and physical danger. WHAT THE HECK?!

The attorney who took this crook's case should be shot. That is just rediculous.

*steps off soap box*

Let's All Go to the Circus

Barnum and Bailey finally came back to T-Town, and Mike has been wanting to go for like years (okay, so I have too). So we got tickets and went Tuesday night. Other than the concession stand people robbing us of all our money and the little boy behind me that would beat me over the head with his light-up stick whenever he got excited, we had a blast!

Some of the highlights (I would have gotten more of a variety, but my camera battery died after the tigers):

This week I...

finished a suspense novel in three days.
partied like it was 1999 for Simon's 2nd birthday.
wore fun, dog party hats for said birthday.
went to my nephew's 1st birthday party (man, I partied a lot this week!).
burned like a french fry because I stayed in the swimming pool an hour and a half too long.
played a game of basketball with friends.
(let me rephrase that) ran and danced around the court to pass the time until someone accidentally threw me the ball.
failed to make a basket the entire time the game was going.
realized that playing basketball was not my calling in life.
got groceries at Wal-Mart...on a Sunday...WITH.EVERYONE.ELSE.
laughed out loud 763.5 times.
ran through the rain barefoot.
bought tickets to the circus.
changed my outfit seven times in one day.
hand stuffed 718 packets of information into envelopes.
felt sorry for the recipient that will receive the envelope with a hint of blood on it from my paper cut.

Happy Tuesday all!

Happy Birthday Simey Boy!

Today is Simon's 2nd Birthday. We are having a little get together at mom's tonight to celebrate. I got him his own beef flavored birthday cake, and finished wrapping his presents last night. He is so excited about his birthday today. :) He is equally excited about running in Grandma's big back yard and digging in the dirt...

Happy Birthday Pooh Bear!!


P.S. Happy Half-Birthday, Cheri'!! :)

Way back when...

First of all, thank you to my big sister for sending me this very dated picture. I know she will be mad at me for posting this, but it is too classic to avoid it. This picture is cool on so many levels. Let me point out a few of the obvious:
1) The very blue and green 70s table cloth.
2) Dad's very big "Chips" sunglasses, which he still wears (some things never change).
3) Mine and my sister's very stylish doo's. (All of that credit goes to my mom-thanks Mom.)

With all good memories, also come the bad. As I recall, it was here (well, at the playground to the left just beyond the photograph) that I lost my very first and only imaginary friend, Angel. She died from lightening that struck her. My mom wouldn't let me save her because it was storming too bad and I had to go inside. I am, of course, not bitter about this...after all, she was only an imaginary friend.

Oh the joys of being a Preacher's Kid, where the closest playground was in walking distance, and the ride to school was in the church bus...or van, whichever was more embarrassing for a 7th grader.

Out of date, out of style

I was meeting a friend for lunch today, and as I was waiting on her to show up, I decided to "people watch." I knew better than to do that because I usually just get mean when I do. But as I was watching the people in front of me, a woman with two small children walked right by me to the trash can to dump her tray.

It was at that moment when she walked by that I could feel my already big eyes grow just a tad bit bigger and my jaw drop slightly open. Poor thing. I guess she didn't get the fashion memo from the 90's and beyond. She was wearing very tight short spandex shorts. Yes, spandex. Those poor children--how embarrassing.

I don't care if you're a frickin' beanpole. Spandex. Is. Not. Cool....Period.

This week I...

flew to Houston for a business meeting.
took 25 seemingly interesting geonerds to lunch.
got annoyed with a cab driver, that did not know where the heck he was going, take 45 minutes to get me to my meeting and then charged me an arm and a leg for it.
got my hair re-highlighted and cut.
watched "Da Vinci Code" with $77 million bucks worth of other people.
decided that parachuting out of a plane might be worth considering as opposed to giving birth where I discovered that women are 6 times more likely to die giving birth than taking that plunge out of the plane.
washed my car....well, had the automatic car washer wash my car. :)
got in the hot tub when it was 90 degrees outside. (it was very hot!)
watched my own "Lost" marathon: the first 10 episodes of the first season.
thought seriously about starting up my workout routine again (since I'm paying 60 bucks a month for it!!!).
looked at my calendar and decided I am too busy.
ate M&Ms with a co-worker to make the time go by faster.
cried just a little when I read that the CW picked up "7th Heaven" for another mind-numbing season.
made a pact with two friends not to fall into the "7th Heaven" trap for its seemingly final season.
watched a lawn man trip and fall over his weed-eater when edging the sidewalk down below.
laughed out loud at poor lawn man.
pondered the realization that I laugh at people a lot.

Moving

I usually consider myself to be in pretty good shape...that is, until I have to do something physically challenging or exhausting, then I verbalize what a complete and total wuss I am.

I helped a friend move this past Saturday from one apartment to another, and the first apartment just happened to be on the third, that's right, the third floor. Looking back, I wish I had counted the stairs just to see how many steps I took during this phsyically demanding feat, but then again that would show my obsessive compulsiveness, and I'd hate to do that. :)

For those of you that know me, know that I am without a doubt an organizational fanatic. So you realize my delight in not only helping someone move, but helping them PACK too!! I love packing. I love moving. It brings this incredibly dorky characteristic out in me that only my closest friends get to see. I don't admit to being that dorky to just anyone.

I was in charge of the kitchen. Once we got some jamming music going, I knocked that kitchen out in no time (okay so it took a little longer than it should because I almost let my organization get the best of me when I started to organize the stuff IN the boxes instead of just packing them).

A 32 ounce Pepsi, a Whatchamacallit, 100 upbeat songs, a lot of laughter and a little sweat later, we made good progress. It wasn't until we started wrapping things up around midnight that it hit me how tired my body really was. I knew that my legs would be kicking my butt in the morning. And they did.

I'd do it all again, not just because I am that much of an organizational freak, but because I like helping my friends out. So, here's to helping friends, even if it means having sore muscles for three days. :) ha ha

Small children crack me up

So while the rest of you were probably enjoying a new episode of CSI last night, Mike and I got to sit through and endure about 50 three, four, and five year olds singing 22, that's right 22, children's song at my niece's pre-K graduation. After about 45 minutes into the songs, the kids were obviously antsy and did not want to be sitting up on the stage. On more than one occassion a child would shout out, "Teacher, can we go sit with our moms and dads now?!"

Whoever was behind having these small children sit through and sing 22 songs was beyond me. Don't they know, after having taught these kids on a regular basis, that their attention spans are all but about 30 seconds?! Lucky for us, Becca was on the front row and provided plenty of entertainment for us all. When it was her time to get up to sing with her small group, she had taken her flip flops off and spent about 5 minutes trying to get them back on as everyone waited. :) A couple of times, we caught sight of her giving the "Heman Woman Haters Club" special sign. What a riot!

The only thing that made this trip worthwhile (other than the obvious Becca), were perhaps the kid who kept falling asleep on stage, and the little boy that fell off the stage into a tree that was staged for decoration. I just couldn't keep from laughing.

A walk down Memory Lane

So when I went to my friend's My Space page just now, I was delightfully excited to hear the familar beat and words to "The Right Stuff." Let me preface this by saying I was a DIE-HARD New Kids On the Block fan, but because of their secular nature was not allowed to listen to them at my house. So what did I do? I went to my best friend's house to dance to their music, play with the NKOTB barbie dolls, and religiously watch the VHS tapes with their concerts and videos. Good times for sure!

I remember being particularly jealous when my sister's best friend actually got to go see them live in concert, and the closest that I could get to them was to pull out my pancake sized button with Joey's face plastered on the front from my secret NKOTB stash.

Is it sad that I still know the words to their songs, and can still remember the feeling of excitement that I got when I finally mastered the lyrics to the Christmas song about Santa falling from the fireplace and burning his butt? Audrey and I would take turns walking around the block listening to their tapes on her walk-man. Oh the good ole days...

It's been fun remembering all of my associations with NKOTB. For now, I'll leave you with this, so that you can enjoy reminiscing with me...

Today is...

Be Kind to Smelly People Day!!

Some people in Bend, Oregon obviously did not get the "Be Kind to Smelly People" memo:

Smelly people banned from buses
A new rule in Bend, OR, bans spitting, smoking or stinking on buses:

The regulations ban anyone who "emanates a grossly repulsive odor that is unavoidable by other Bend Extended Area Transit customers" from being in the bus station or on a bus.

Here's another person's interesting opinion of smelly people.

Dog Talk

Just got finished talking online to Mike. As I usually do, I ask him what Simon is doing or how he is doing.

Our conversation:
Me: What's Simey doing?
Him: Sleeping
Me: zzzzz.....
Him: zzzzzz......treat......zzzzzz
Me: LOL
Him: zzzzzz.....toys.....zzzzz

I love my little Stinky Pot. :) He's so predictable, and he loves his treats, his sleep, and his toys! He's a good boy!!

He also loves going to Grandma's to play with his neighbor dog friend (well, bark at him, this peep hole is as close as he gets to him).

Google

So this was a bulletin on My Space that I thought was fun, so I thought I would post the humorous results of what Google thinks I look like. Google "(Your name) looks like" and see what interesting results you get.

Amy looks like she's about two rhinestones away from a wardrobe malfunction.
Amy looks like she was hit by a train, and skipped the ER coming straight to the MTV awards.
Amy looks like a Tesco checkout girl with a drinking problem.
Amy looks like a really tall Cabbage Patch Kid who holds a little dog.
Amy looks like a bouncer at a drag bar.

What do you look like? :)

Annoyed

So there is nothing more annoying than going to replenish your makeup and you discover that they no longer carry what you have always used!!! Believe me, I have been to every Wal-Mart in the Tulsa/Sand Springs/Sapulpa vicinity, and my journeys only ended with disappointment. Now I have to start a new adventure of finding a new lipstick that is exactly the way I like it. Sigh. It took me years to find this one to begin with.

Grrr...

Young at heart

I love it when a part of my job requires me to dig out my markers and color things! It makes me feel like a kid in grade school again. Today I had to draw a grid and use different colors to indicate different things on the grid.

When I finished making the grid, I was almost tempted to just draw something on a blank sheet of flip chart paper and spend the rest of the afternoon coloring. Thought better of it when I looked down at my hand and realized I already had black marker all over it. I don't remember coloring being this messy, but it sure is fun!

Hum that tune!

Don't you hate it when you get that annoying song stuck in your head and it just keeps playing over and over in your mind? You try everything humanly possible to remove the tune from the barriers of your mind, but you just can't shake it. And, not to mention, it has to be the annoying ones...it's never any good ones that you might actually enjoying humming more than once.

I get in trouble many times at my house for singing "in the meadow we can build a snowman" because 95% of the time it's never the season of green and red jolly. I don't know why, but that song will just hit me at random moments in my everyday life...and it's always just that one phrase!! :) (Keeps me in the Christmas spirit year-round, but I'll admit, it is annoying.)

So today I have one going through my head, which isn't the annoying part...I can't remember what the name of it is!! And it doesn't really have words-just a bunch of bah dee buh dahs, so I can't even ease my tortured mind and go look the song up.

Other annoying songs to get stuck in your head:
"Blue" (the one that the entire song sings about things that are blue)
"I'm In Love With a Stripper"
"Long Neck Bottle"
"Who Let the Dogs Out"

What are annoying songs that get stuck in your head?

It's not PC to say Happy Secretary's Day, so...

Happy Administrative Professionals Day to all you hard working office fools like myself. You get paid the big bucks to take care of everyone else's crap. So today is your day to celebrate, unless of course, you work at my company, in which we are waiting until tomorrow to celebrate so our Executive Director could be here to celebrate with us.

Oh well, pizza and cake will be had by all tomorrow--woo hoo!

When it rains, it pours...

I don't normally write anything real serious or heartfelt here, but today I am making an exception because I need to give God some praise today.

Yesterday marked one of the worst days that Mike and I have had in a very long time. Anything that could go wrong, did. I was already feeling "blah" after the weekend I had, I woke up yesterday for the second day with a throbbing headache, but I was still expecting it to be a great day--one of the better ones I'd had in a while. But as the day progressed, I just kept getting more and more bad news. By 4:30 I had the "I hate today" feeling.

We are having revival services at church this week. God has some big things in store for our church and for Mike and I...otherwise Satan wouldn't feel the need to try so hard to attack us. And boy did he try to attack us yesterday-from every direction.

Last night while Mike and I were leading the church in the praise and worship portion of the service, it started sounding like a stampede of horses were running on the roof of the church...the longer it continued I realized that it was hail...very large hail (baseball size) beating down on the building. And even as we continued to press in and continue with the music, water started coming in from the roof and the floor-something had split in the guttering or the roof because it was coming in from the ceiling and the walls. Before the night was over, water had come in and flooded a good portion of the sanctuary.

As we were driving home from church, Mike and I were quiet. Then after a long silence Mike said, "I feel like Job today." Remember the story: Satan told God, if you remove the hedge of protection around your most faithful and blessed servant, Job, I can get him to curse You to Your face. So God allowed some things to happen to Job: he lost all of his family, he lost all of his cattle and animals, he lost all of his finances, he got boils on his skin-everything that could possibly happen for the worse in his life, happened. And God allowed it. But Job was faithful-and even in all that time of hurt and struggle, he continued to praise God. He never cursed Him. So I asked Mike, "Are you still praising Him?"

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and nothing happens without purpose. So even though yesterday was a lousy day and everything seemed to go wrong in the physical sense, I know that God is taking care of Mike and me in the spiritual sense. God is faithful and He has never failed me. God has a plan for our lives. And even though we can't see the end result, I want to praise Him because I know He will come through. I do not want to put my focus on the situation, but on the revelation that God has given us. I am expecting God to do great things in our lives. And because I am expecting, I know that He will.

We were one of the more forunte ones. Mike's parents no longer have a sunroof or a back windshield. Thank God for $0 deductibles. At least we won't have to pay anything to have ours fixed. :)

Alright already...I'll give you one

But you can't make fun of me...because I'm just cool like that. :)

Bwahahaha

When it says get gas, it means it!

So I learned the hard way the first week I got my car over two years ago that when the gas light comes on it means it-Get gas! Do not pass go! Do not collect 200 dollars! Go straight to the gas station and fill her up.

I left for work yesterday morning with just enough gas to get to work and get home (with just a little to spare). While I was out running some errands at lunch I looked down and for some reason, my gas gauge had moved UP to above a quarter of a tank--while I was driving...The look on my face as I looked down at it increasing was nothing short of perplexed and intrigued. But I kept on trucking it back to work.

There is a QuikTrip right by my work, but with all of the blasted construction going on there, it is a nightmare to get in and out, so when I got off work, I opted to drive a couple of miles to the QT at 81st and Lewis. Um, to my dismay, the QT that once existed there was no longer!! Bwack! I have always considered myself one with attention to detail, but it is now clear that since I drive past that imaginary QT every single day and I never noticed it missing just proves otherwise!

So I keep on trucking knowing that the next gas station isn't for another like 5 miles...

You guessed it...5 miles was too far away...my car sputtered and croaked leaving me stranded on the side of the road still a good 15-20 minutes away from home. Lucky for me, I have good reliable friends that I can call to help me make fun of myself. I am the coolest cat alive I tell ya.

So I guess I could go one step further and let you know that I am so into making fun of myself that I actually took pictures while stranded on the side of the road...only thought better of posting them on here...I figured it would show my blogging obsession a little too much...and we all know that you all have plenty of things to make fun of me for as it is...

The pictures will remain unposted. :)

I love stupid crooks.

If you are going to be stupid enough to be a crook, be smart enough to be a good one. Unlike this lucky fellow. Only in Oklahoma...

It's so pretty outside.

I took advantage of the beautiful weather at lunch and went outside to take some pictures of our pond and the ducks...we have a new baby duck...it's so cute.

Easter sunrise

This was taken at our sunrise service yesterday...isn't it beautiful?

Hope yours was as wonderful as mine!

This weekend I...

finally joined the rest of America and watched "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
after much procrastination, finally cleaned my car--inside and out.
found some interesting goodies hidden in my car: CD cases, movie stubs, a ping pong ball, three cans of smelly good stuff, two coats, a purse, and a partridge in a pear tree.
got warm fuzzies inside when I finally received a package in the mail I had been waiting weeks for.
forced Simon to dance with me to "Baby Got Back" while I cleaned my house...once again, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
made a two-layer white chocolate strawberry cake for Easter lunch at Mom's.
watched a little kid pick his nose in the car next to me and wondered what was so tasty about boogers that enticed kids to eat them.
finished watching the final season of the "Dawson's Creek" DVDs that I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Happy Saturday all!

Make light of a busy day

Today has been a busy and hectic day...so to make light of such a long day I...

wrote my name on a mini EtchASketch that Kevin gave me.
watched a man back into a parking space and then have to move his big SUV when he got and realized the car next to him couldn't open the driver's door. :)
bought a pack of Skittles so I could "taste the rainbow."
read some interesting things that one could do with Easter peeps.
thought about putting on my Mardi Gras hat and mask while I ate my lunch so that I could scare the bajeezus out of the window cleaners if they dropped by while I was eating.
tried to think of a good Easter prank to pull on someone since I didn't get to pull any pranks on April Fool's...which proved unsuccessful.
asked myself why people feel the need to talk louder to someone speaking another language actually thinking this will help them understand better what you are saying.
smiled at the sunshine.

Happy Wednesday all! :)

This week I...

finished "The Da Vinci Code"-looking foward to the movie now.
managed to eat all of the packages of peanut butter cookies from the snack box, then transferred to the mini Oreo's when I realized there weren't any PB ones left.
skipped like a school girl to my car just because it was sunny outside and I could.
laughed out loud when my sandal heel got caught in the tar in the parking lot and I tripped and fell.
looked around to see if anyone noticed that I had fallen. They did not.
watched a good friend play basketball.
secretly wished I had taken up cheerleading in a former life while watching said basketball games.
sped like a Russian racehorse to church Sunday night only to realize I had been driving without my license.
said "Woo hoo!" at least 27 times in one day...I'm going for a record here.
became afraid for the obsession America has with reality TV when I saw that they were bringing "Fear Factor" the first season to DVD...are people really going to by that?!

It's been a great week. Happy Tuesday!

Oh the sweet children

So it's been really windy out here in Tulsa lately. I was standing at my window on the 5th floor looking down on the parking lot and something down below caught my eye: Two small girls, probably around 4 or 5 were standing by their mother's mini van hugging one another and dancing around like little girls do while their mother was working on getting another infant child out of the van and into a stroller. A piece of art that looked like a rainbow made of construction paper hanging on a hangar, probably made by one of the girls, flew out of the van and under the car next to it...both little girls oblivious to their art making a sudden dash into the wind. The mother turned her back to all three children as she worked feverishly to get the rest of her gear out of the van. The infant in the car seat was the only one that caught sight of the rainbowed paper flittering around and reached out to grab it. Suddenly, the infant's car seat starts to roll down the parking lot as the wind captured it--the infant with her arms flailing about still concerned with catching the papered rainbow. The two little girls started to dance around to the other side of the van, obviously not noticing that their smaller sister was rolling away.

By now, the smile on my face was undeniable...I wanted to go down and help this poor woman, but I knew that by the time I made it down there, she would realize that all of her children were not in the places she last saw them. Then she finally turned around and noticed...it was a little humerous to watch her running back and forth trying to round up the older girls and running to catch up to her suddenly-16 infant who decided to take a drive around the lot. As she finally gathered up her children and her gear, one of the older girls noticed the papered rainbow under the car. As they walked into the building like nothing had happened, it made me smile...it was a nice few moments of entertainment. But I definitely know now that I do not want three children...too much to handle! :)

Moms-you gotta love 'em!

My mom cracks me up. This weekend she and I ran some errands together in Tulsa. On our way home, we were driving down Avery Drive, which is a windy road along the Arkansas River that leads from Tulsa back to Sand Springs. As we were driving I looked over on the side of the road and could have sworn I had seen a beaver peeking out of the tall grass checking things out. We made light of it and joked about the possibility of it actually being a beaver.

I just came back from a meeting and had a voicemail from my mom that went something like this: "Hi Amy, it's Mom. I was just driving down Avery Drive...someone squished your beaver. Just wanted you to know."

What the?!?! Thanks Mom. I really wanted to know the ill-suited fate of my new furry friend. Sniff. Sniff. Thanks a lot.

Woo!! Woo!!

The day has finally arrived...after three years and five seasons, the final season of one of my favorite shows is finally arriving in a Wal-Mart near you today!!! Let's give it up for the latter half of TomKat and the big D-Dawson!! Woo! Woo!!

Public Service Announcement

(steps up on soapbox)
I'd like to take a moment to speak to all of you morons that toss your burning cigarettes outside your car window as you drive away: Thanks to one of you, I had to call 911 to report a grass fire that you started--heading straight for someone's house. Next time you finish puffing on your lung-cancer giving stick, be smart enough NOT to throw it out your window--especially when there is a flippin burn ban going on around here. Ugh.
(steps down off soapbox)

Kids Say the Darndest Things.

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, five, and Ryan, three. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.

Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.

"If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, "Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait."

Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus."

March Madness

So you guys know how unintelligent I am about all things sports related...well, once again I joined in the March Madness frenzy and filled out a bracket (with some help from a friend). I even enjoyed the games that I got to watch...I could really get into this stuff. :) I managed to stay in first place for a while, but then got bumped to 3rd. I thought for sure I was out of the running when Duke lost, but wouldn't you know it--I moved back to 1st place.

Low and behold I won this bad boy! I came in first place...everyone's teams are out of the running so no one has any points possible remaining. I couldn't believe it! I never win anything--especially anything sports related!! Woo hoo! I'm on cloud 9 today. ha ha

Don't you just love March Madness? Until next year when it all starts over again. :)

Seasons change, but not really...

Just when you thought you could predict Oklahoma weather... :) Spring finally hit, and wouldn't you know it, I woke up to my yard covered in snow!! That's right--all the white stuff is covering my grass. I wish I would have brought my camera to work today because the grounds here are absolutely beautiful.

So anyway...Happy Snow!! :)

Pictures from the concert

The Concert

It's been almost 9 months since the last time we saw them...last night Mike and I got to see Switchfoot again in concert. What an awesome show! We got there at 5:30, but the doors didn't open until 7:00. We chatted with a humerous couple who were standing behind us in line to pass the time. It was freezing outside. Mike and I found an open door to the arena earlier on and ended up getting kicked back outside. :( We should have hidden in the bathrooms until the doors opened. ha ha

In any case, the doors opened at 7:00 and we got pretty good seats (it was open seating). We made ourselves comfortable-for as comfortable as stadium seating can be-and waited for the opening band to start at 8:00. I was a little surprised that the opening band was given 45 minutes to perform, but they were okay, so it wasn't too bad waiting through them. :) At 8:45, they start the stage set change to get ready for Switchfoot. I'm thinking they will be able to pull this change off in like 15-20 minutes b/c there were so many guys on stage moving stuff. WRONG. Another 45 minutes passed. By 9:30 I was starting to feel old as my eye lids were slowly fading shut and my body was screaming "I'm tired." Just as I was fading away, the lights went out and the crowd went wild!!!

Their show was amazing!! I loved and enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did the first time in St Louis. The only difference was that this time we weren't sitting out on the river underneath the Arch, which I'll admit was completely awesome.

We stayed for the whole show-wouldn't have it any other way. As we were walking out and the fans were screaming "Encore" for the millionth time, the crowd goes wild again. :) Yea! They were coming back onstage for an encore presentation--what more fitting a song than their signature song, "Meant to Live." What a great way to end a show! It was awesome! I'm really glad that we got the opportunity to see them for a second time.

I'll post a couple of pictures as soon as I can get them off my camera. :)

FYI

It is not possible to eat a Baby Ruth and not make a mess...Chunks. Of. Chocolate. And. Peanuts. Everywhere. UGH.

Birthday Beast

So Mike's birthday was Saturday...for his birthday I purchased him a waist high Craftsman tool kit from Sears the week before his big day. Since the big box wouldn't fit into my little two-door Cavalier, I decided to wait until his big day to borrow my dad's truck and make the hike back to Tulsa to get it. Lucky for me his brother was planning to take him to the car show so I would have a couple of hours to make the run to Sears and back without him knowing.

As you all know, Oklahoma has been in a drought for like a million years, so the likliness of it actually raining on the big travel day to Tulsa was slim to none. Unless, of course, you factor in that it was something I was planning, and then you would increase the chance of rain to 100%. As the rain poured down Saturday morning, Dad called to tell me he didn't think it was a good idea for me to take his little truck in the rain and that having a tarp over the box probably wouldn't do much good for the box. So what did he offer? The next best thing, of course: The 15 passenger church van. Awesome. Please be warned that it has been many moons since I've driven a van, and even then it was only a mini van from my house to Mike's parents--quite a difference from the long haul to South Tulsa. But I love Mike and I really wanted him to have his gift ON his birthday so I decided to suck it up and deal with the fact that I was about to become the coolest cat alive, driving this beast in the mad-driven rain.

So I get in...Lights work-CHECK. Signals work-CHECK. Wind-shield wipers work-CHECK. Heater works-CHECK. I'm off. Despite the fact that the hoss makes a very loud chugging noise whenever you give it gas, we did okay. I tried to stay in the far lane so as to never have to pull over in front of cars...the last thing I needed was to whack the front end out of some poor guys car because I wasn't tall enough to see out the back window. I prayed silently and then verbally that the Lord would give me an easy ride and that anything that did not want to be struck by my monstrosity stay out of my way. :) Pretty sure the beast intimidated everyone that drove by me, even though I'm almost certain I saw a couple of kids pointing and laughing as they sped by. Maybe they were the haunting fears in the back of my mind that reminded me of a time when my dad used to pick me up from junior high in the much desired church van. Now THAT's another post all together. After driving this hog to Tulsa, I feel like I've endured enough trama for one day.

I made it to Tulsa. And back. In one piece. No one got hit. Mike loved his gift (thank God), and seemed to appreciate the fact that his loving wife would make such a sacrifice to get him the perfect gift. Next time I need to make such a run in such an overpowering beast, I'll be sure to invite a few friends to sit in the back, so at least I don't look like such an idiot all alone. :)

Happy Birthday Baby!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

From me and Simon

Happy St Paddys Day!! :)

Don't give up!

Working out--such a wonderful feeling...well, once I can get myself motivated to actually go to the gym then it feels good, but I have a hard time getting myself there. Maybe because this is a good representation of what I go through every time I get on the blasted treadmill...

LOL!

I could do nothing but laugh out loud when I saw this picture. I'm still laughing out loud...

Would you like to buy...

Okay, so I admit...I'm a sucker for kids that are selling crap. I think part of the reason is because every time a child comes to me and asks me to buy something, whether it be wrapping paper, candy, lottery tickets, cookies, junk, pencils-whatever, it always takes me back to a time, in my slightly more nerdy days, when I too had to sell junk for fundraisers. Bless their hearts.

And it seems to me that every organization and every school and every department gangs up on poor suckers like me and sells their stuff at exactly the same time. So by the time every kid in my neighborhood and every child at church has hit me up to buy something I am completely and utterly broke.

I'll never forget one time when a child came to my door and the parent stayed out by the road--I opened the door (that was my first mistake) and the kid asked me to buy something. It's almost like the kids bring the parents for intimidation. I took one look at this kid's dad and thought to myself, "If I don't buy something this man is going to come beat me up." Needless to say I bought something.

There is just something so undeniably heartbreaking about telling a child no and bursting their dreams of raising enough money to go to space camp for the summer. Last night a little girl came up to me after church and asked me to buy a candy bar for a dollar. I sadly told her that I had spent my last dollar bill on a candy bar that I had purchased from her sister that morning. Then with big brown eyes she looks up at me and says so sweetly, "I can take a check." OMG. Really?! They sure don't give up, do they?! What could I say to that? Yes, I'm a sucker...I went over to my purse and proceeded to write the kid a check for a dollar. Sheesh.

So do me a favor: Keep your kids away from my house and away from me. Next time, I'm just not going to open the door.

Noooooo!!!

I think I might shoot myself--at least in the leg...then I wouldn't have to follow suit on yet another ghastly fashion trend. Someone please wake me when this nightmare is over...

Hate to break it to ya girls, leggings are making a comeback...a very VERY unwanted comeback...

All hail the black and white tuxedos

In honor of "March of the Penguins" winning an Oscar, and despite the fact that you could barely understand their acceptance speech, I propose a toast to the little black and white fluffs. AYE!

What a beautiful day!

Not only is it like 85 degrees outside, I got 3 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies today. Pretty sure I have to treat myself like a child when I get these b/c I am usually out of control and end up eating an entire box in one sitting...it's very easy to do with the Samoas...But, in my defense there's only like 15 cookies in the Somoa box, so technically on a scale next to the Thin Mints, I haven't eaten all that many.

To be honest, Girl Scout cookies are a lot like drugs...they are so addicting and they leave you feeling cold, abused, and neglected when you can't have them...your mouth starts to get dry and your hands get shaky. Some have even been known to stagger when walking or cause you to shout out blasphemes at friends who won't let you have "just one more." And don't get me started on the cold sweats and feverish like symptoms. That's just a whole different level of addiction.

In fact, I'm feeling just a little bit guilty that I've closed my door and just polished off an entire box of Somoas. I think I'm going to be sick....but I still find myself wanting another.

This weekend I...

went to Freckles and got the Brownie Derby ice cream...delicious!
did 5 pushups and paid for them for 2 days...5 GIRL pushups. :(
called myself a weinie for getting sore over 5 pushups.
started my scrapbook of Simon. Arf.
spent some time with my college roommate. I miss her.
did two loads of laundry.
learned how to play Rummy.
won the game of Rummy I played. Big surprise.
did two more loads of laundry.
caught myself up on 6 hours of American Idol after being in Houston for 2 days.
did two more stinkin loads of laundry.
went to church. Two times.
jumped on the bed with Simon.
finished the blasted laundry.

Ahh, snow...

It finally came at a time when I could appreciate it. I, in turn, had a 4 day vacation to enjoy it--no plans...just sit at home and enjoy the snow. Well, we did have to go out and enjoy it a little bit. :)

Yesterday I...

followed a car that said on the back windshield, "Follow me to free donuts." There were no free donuts.
honked at the ducks that were in my way in the parking lot when I got to work.
snickered quietly as the ducks waddled quickly out of the "mean lady's" way.
celebrated Valentine's Day with co-workers by eating home-made German chocolate cake and home-made Red Valentine cake.
chuckled at all the last minute shoppers in the Valentine's Day card aisle at Wal-Mart when I passed through at lunch.
got a dozen yellow with pink tip roses and a basket of chocolate delivered to my work from Mike. :)
made fun of Simon's new haircut.
beat Mike at 3 games of the DVD game Scene It: Friends edition.
secretly wished that the twins that whine like mules would get the boot on American Idol.
made fun of Simon's new haircut again.
felt bad when Simey ran and hid.
apologized to Simon for saying mean things about his haircut.
laughed silently at Simon's new haircut.

This weekend I...

made my Houston space shuttle pen "blast off."
danced and sang like an Oompa Loompa after watching "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
quoted all the lines that I knew from the original Willy Wonka.
got lost on the way to Kellyville and ended up in a po-dunk town with nothing but cows staring at me.
mooed at the cows.
played on a $60,000 piano. :)
laughed at Simon as he scooted his butt across the living room floor.
had a dream I auditioned for American Idol...and lost.
learned two new songs on the piano 5 minutes before I had to play them for church.
ate so many pieces of cornbread before my lunch at Delta that I couldn't eat all my food.
had an exrutiating headache.

In the dark

A little over a week ago, I went into my kitchen/dining room and flipped on the light switch...only the light in the dining room didn't come on. We'd been having some trouble with the switch sticking and you'd have to basically beat the wall in to get the light to come on. It finally kicked the curb and croaked. So for about a week Mike and I ate in the dark, sat at the computer in dark, etc etc etc. Mike and I must have gotten fed up with it on the same day b/c I made some remark about how annoying it was to not have the light on just as he was pulling a new switch out of a Home Depot sack.

So, he unscrews the plate and goes into the garage to mess with the breakers. He comes back in and works on the wiring. He digs out his tester to see if the wires are hot again, and sure enough they are...but no light. So we come to the conclusion that he's going to have to crawl in the attic and mess with the wiring in the ceiling fan. He unscrews the center light bulb and pulls the switch on the fan--the fan starts spinning. Shortly after that he pulls the switch on the fan for the light. Viola! There was light.

Immediately we started cracking up laughing. We'd sat in the dark for about a week and all we had to do was pull the string on the ceiling fan. :) Funny thing is, neither one of us remembers turning the light off from the string. We came to the conclusion that Simon and my niece were both too short to pull the string and just decided to leave it at that and laugh about the rest. :)

Ahh, the laughter was refreshing.

It's over. :(

So it's the 30th and my birthday has come and gone...it's sad, I know. It was an enjoyable weekend. Had a few friends over Saturday for a cookout. Mike and I made yummy sish kabobs and grilled corn on the cob. For dessert, I made dessert kabobs with bananas, pineapples, pound cake, and a cinnamon butter glaze. It's making me hungry thinking about it. :) YUM!

Yesterday I didn't do a whole lot out of the ordinary for my usual Sunday routine. We went to church then met my family for lunch (which was also yummy!). Then went to mom and dad's for home made cobbler and presents. Then to church again.

So, I'm finally 25. Woo hoo! Only 364 more days til my birthday!!

I've been leaving you stranded long enough.

So I apologize for being a little out of sorts lately. I forgot to mention that I was leaving for a trip to Charlotte, NC last Saturday...January is always a busy month. Quite frankly, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm too busy to keep up with a blog anymore...

Charlotte was beautiful, even though it rained the first 3 days we (my co-worker and I) were there. We went for a conference for Meeting Planners. The conference was great-fun and educational. I always enjoy learning things about other nationwide planners. They had a trade show one of the days, so I got a lot of free goodies. Meeting professionals give some great gifts at their booths, btw. :) Mike and I have decided that we want to go to Hawaii for vacation this fall, so I stopped by all the Hawaii booths to get some information. Got some fun goodies there too. :)

My co-worker and I ended up flying home a day early. She was getting sick and couldn't stay the last night...she just wanted to be home, and quite frankly I don't blame her. There is nothing worse than being away from home when you are sick. I was planning to stay the extra night by myself, but got a call from my mom and sister that one of our friends from high school passed away and her funeral is today. I hate it when young people die...I hate it when anyone dies, but she was only 25. It's so sad.

On a side note, Mike and I finally got our hot tub. We love it!! Mike has been working so hard to get everything ready for it. He finished putting in some lights in the back to help light up the deck. Now he is working on putting in a radio out there. This hot tub was the best decision we have made. :) LOL! I can't believe how much work we (mostly Mike) have put into this house. It's like it is a completely different place than what I lived in the 20 years before Mike moved in.

Well, in case anyone else is keeping count, including today, there are only 4 days until the best holiday in the year...that's right...I'm finally going to be 25 on Sunday! Woo hoo!! I can't wait.

Until next time...

Just when you think you've seen it all

I've seen a lot of things while driving in my car: people on their cell phones, women putting on make-up, parents yelling at their kids, dogs belted up in a seatbelt, kids making funny faces...but today I think I've decided I've finally seen it all.

Sitting beside me at a traffic light was a man, probably a business man of some sort, not only sitting in the driver seat, but SHAVING HIS FACE. Shaving Cream. Razor. Water. The whole bit. You would think in the amount of time it took him to prepare the water and gather all of his shaving gear, he would have had plenty of time to just shave at home.

It's official. I've seen it all when it comes to strange things in cars.

All hail the orange and white

I hate construction, and I'm convinced that because of my lack of enthusiasm for the orange and white tape, Tulsa has decided that the major intersection right by my work needed a make-over of sorts. And it shouldn't surprise me that this long-awaited widening of the streets will take the full year of 2006 to complete...I've seen entire neighborhoods built in less time than it takes for the city to patch up one hole in the road. I had come to terms with the fact that I would have to get up a little earlier to account for the extra time it would take for the now one-lane traffic to filter through the intersection, until this morning...when I made it up to the intersection ready to make my left hand turn to go one block to my work entrace when I saw it and it hit me--like a fly being sqaushed flat by an angry woman in the kitchen who has had her can-full of the insect landing on her freshly baked pies. NO. LEFT. TURN. Ugh. So, not only was I running a little behind schedule, I know had to go out of my way to turn back around and go right just to make it that one block to our entrance. I'm going to have to completely redo my drive into work to avoid this intersection.

So, here's to orange and white barrels for the REST OF THE YEAR!