After 91 hours without electricity, we finally have power again. What a wonderful feeling to come home to a warm house and lights. I slept in my own bed last night and it was fantastic. It's good to be back.
Now maybe I can focus on Christmas...it IS only 10 days away. Yikes.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Things I have learned in our ice storm...
Only the first 30 minutes of having no power are considered "fun."
You can "jimmy" a combination of C and D batteries to get your radio to work if you don't have enough of one size.
My hubby should not be left unattended with our seance of candles...he tends to catch his hair on fire.
Hearing large trees snap and fall in all directions surrounding you while sitting in pitch black is very scary.
One should make sure the neighbor's trees are trimmed BEFORE an ice storm hits, or you might be left with trees on your power lines.
Seeing your power box ripped from your house makes for interesting conversation starters.
Wal-Mart doesn't have generators and loses electricity too.
Years of growth in a tree can be demolished in a split second.
Gas stoves come in handy.
Seven layers of thick blankets still don't keep you completely warm when your house is 50 degrees.
The devastation of the trees can look as bad as a tornado or a war zone.
People find interesting means of entertainment with no electricity and no heat.
No one is safe in a yard full of trees that are falling.
You learn who your true friends are when you are without electricty and they are not.
Pictures truly are worth a thousand words.
Here's to 41 hours without power and counting.
You can "jimmy" a combination of C and D batteries to get your radio to work if you don't have enough of one size.
My hubby should not be left unattended with our seance of candles...he tends to catch his hair on fire.
Hearing large trees snap and fall in all directions surrounding you while sitting in pitch black is very scary.
One should make sure the neighbor's trees are trimmed BEFORE an ice storm hits, or you might be left with trees on your power lines.
Seeing your power box ripped from your house makes for interesting conversation starters.
Wal-Mart doesn't have generators and loses electricity too.
Years of growth in a tree can be demolished in a split second.
Gas stoves come in handy.
Seven layers of thick blankets still don't keep you completely warm when your house is 50 degrees.
The devastation of the trees can look as bad as a tornado or a war zone.
People find interesting means of entertainment with no electricity and no heat.
No one is safe in a yard full of trees that are falling.
You learn who your true friends are when you are without electricty and they are not.
Pictures truly are worth a thousand words.
Here's to 41 hours without power and counting.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Happy Birthday Blog!
Today is my blog's third Birthday. I can remember it like yesterday when I wrote my first entry and pondered whether or not my new-found addiction would last...guess this post goes to show, it has.
It's been a long journey, but I have enjoyed it. Some of my favorite posts from Amy's Island past:
Sitting In Traffic
The Reason Explained
Spandex Dog
Make Light of a Busy Day
Letter to My 10-Year Old Self
It's been fun...here's to many more!
Happy Birthday Blog!!
It's been a long journey, but I have enjoyed it. Some of my favorite posts from Amy's Island past:
Sitting In Traffic
The Reason Explained
Spandex Dog
Make Light of a Busy Day
Letter to My 10-Year Old Self
It's been fun...here's to many more!
Happy Birthday Blog!!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
Yum
As the holidays are upon us and all of the Christmas parties and gatherings bring you lots of wonderful holiday treats, sweets, snacks, and goodies...and as you stuff your self with plenty of turkey and ham, with all of the sides that accompany it like mashed potatoes, yams, and stuffing...and as you are so full you can't possibly consume anything else...just remember one thing:
On this day in 1931 Alka Seltzer was sold for the first time.
Happy Eating!
On this day in 1931 Alka Seltzer was sold for the first time.
Happy Eating!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Food
In the middle of all the Thanksgiving drama, my sister and I decided that we would go down the night before and spend the night at my grandma's, then get up in the morning and help her prepare the food. Many of you know my food making talent...or lack thereof...so imagine my surprise when we were getting ready to go to bed that night and my grandma asks what time my sister will be getting up the next morning to prepare the turkey...say what??
(When I agreed to help in the kitchen, I was under the assumption that my grandma would be doing most of the cooking and I would just be there to help do things like peel potatoes and easy stuff like that...I am FULLY aware of my inability to cook.)
Wrong. Apparently my sister had made a deal with her that Cheri' and I would do ALL of the cooking. By ourselves. Meaning, if I botched up the potatoes, we wouldn't be having potatoes. Talk about stressful. But, hesitantly I agreed.
So my sister and I got up at 8:30 the next morning to get the turkey ready. I had already made myself very clear I would NOT be touching the raw turkey, but I would get my butt out of bed to supervise (aka watch my sister and make fun of her if she messed anything up). She did okay until it came time to get the gibblets and the neck out of the inside. Gibblets were no where to be found.
Me calling my mom: Hi Mom. Is it possible that our turkey didn't come with gibblets? We can't find them anywhere.
Mom: No, Amy, that's not possible. Look harder.
Me: Cheri' is looking very hard and none can be found.
Mom: They are probably in the white wrapper that's on the end of the turkey.
Me: (long pause) Hmmm...well that sucks. We threw that away.
So we dug it out of the trash, washed it off before my grandma got up and continued on our mission (my grandmas makes gibblet gravy-blech). After the turkey was in the oven, we spent the rest of the morning getting everything else ready.
I was in charge of the easy stuff: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (I really only wanted to put the marshmallows on top b/c that's all I eat of those), salad, cold stuff (pickle tray), deviled eggs, corn, and I helped a little with the stuffing. My sister did all the meat and cut it and made the stuffing.
All in all, everything was edible (thank goodness) and everyone was stuffed after we ate. But after all of that, I can guarantee only one thing: I will NOT get volunteered to help cook next year. :)
(When I agreed to help in the kitchen, I was under the assumption that my grandma would be doing most of the cooking and I would just be there to help do things like peel potatoes and easy stuff like that...I am FULLY aware of my inability to cook.)
Wrong. Apparently my sister had made a deal with her that Cheri' and I would do ALL of the cooking. By ourselves. Meaning, if I botched up the potatoes, we wouldn't be having potatoes. Talk about stressful. But, hesitantly I agreed.
So my sister and I got up at 8:30 the next morning to get the turkey ready. I had already made myself very clear I would NOT be touching the raw turkey, but I would get my butt out of bed to supervise (aka watch my sister and make fun of her if she messed anything up). She did okay until it came time to get the gibblets and the neck out of the inside. Gibblets were no where to be found.
Me calling my mom: Hi Mom. Is it possible that our turkey didn't come with gibblets? We can't find them anywhere.
Mom: No, Amy, that's not possible. Look harder.
Me: Cheri' is looking very hard and none can be found.
Mom: They are probably in the white wrapper that's on the end of the turkey.
Me: (long pause) Hmmm...well that sucks. We threw that away.
So we dug it out of the trash, washed it off before my grandma got up and continued on our mission (my grandmas makes gibblet gravy-blech). After the turkey was in the oven, we spent the rest of the morning getting everything else ready.
I was in charge of the easy stuff: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (I really only wanted to put the marshmallows on top b/c that's all I eat of those), salad, cold stuff (pickle tray), deviled eggs, corn, and I helped a little with the stuffing. My sister did all the meat and cut it and made the stuffing.
All in all, everything was edible (thank goodness) and everyone was stuffed after we ate. But after all of that, I can guarantee only one thing: I will NOT get volunteered to help cook next year. :)
Thanksgiving is over
Thanksgiving has come and gone one more time, and sadly, I am thankful for that. I realized something this Thanksgiving that I think I always knew, but just never wanted to say outloud. I don't like Thanksgiving. I mean, don't get me wrong-I love the opportunity to give thanks for all the blessings in my life, and having time off of work is always nice. But I noticed something about Thanksgiving this year that just seemed to explode more this year than in years past. Thanksgiving brings out the negative in my family--too much stress and drama, and if it's all the same to me, I'd rather do without all that. I never have cared for the food, so I really wouldn't be giving up much. So despite my previous annoyance with people to skip Thanksgiving and go right into celebrating Christmas, I think after this year I have changed my opinion and it's very possible that next year I will do the same.
Mike and I decided that to avoid all of the chaos and drama next year, we'd just bump our New York vacation up a week and go during the week of Thanksgiving. Solves that problem. :)
Mike and I decided that to avoid all of the chaos and drama next year, we'd just bump our New York vacation up a week and go during the week of Thanksgiving. Solves that problem. :)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
This week I...
survived without speaking any negativity or complaining!
cropped at the scrapbook store for 7 hours.
ate my first of many more Thanksgiving feasts.
remembered how much I do not like Thanksgiving food.
came in second place out of 5 by granny bowling.
made a trip to San Diego and back to Tulsa in 48 hours.
ate dinner looking at the ocean.
stayed in the hotel that the San Diego American Idol auditions were held at for next season.
watched many more episodes of "Heroes." (I've only got 3 eps left to be caught up.)
realized we only have 5 and a half weeks left until Christmas.
wrote letters to NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX to show my support of the WGA strike.
ate my second round of Thanksgiving feast...and now I am stuffed.
cropped at the scrapbook store for 7 hours.
ate my first of many more Thanksgiving feasts.
remembered how much I do not like Thanksgiving food.
came in second place out of 5 by granny bowling.
made a trip to San Diego and back to Tulsa in 48 hours.
ate dinner looking at the ocean.
stayed in the hotel that the San Diego American Idol auditions were held at for next season.
watched many more episodes of "Heroes." (I've only got 3 eps left to be caught up.)
realized we only have 5 and a half weeks left until Christmas.
wrote letters to NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX to show my support of the WGA strike.
ate my second round of Thanksgiving feast...and now I am stuffed.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Say "no" to Negativity
Sunday morning our Pastor preached about complaining and negativity, and how it is one of the things that God despises. At the conclusion of his message, he challenged the congregation to make a commitment to go one week without speaking anything negative, no complaining, no sarcasm, etc. He gave us all a form to sign and date it and if we failed to make it the full week, he challenged us to resign and date it and restart our week of no negativity.
Now, I knew this would be a challenge, considering we like to gossip at lunch and when we do crop nights at the scrapbook store (which we happen to be doing this Friday night). BUT, I accepted the challenge and signed my life away.
I made it until Monday at lunch when a woman walked into Subway with some funky pantyhose on that I just couldn't pass up making fun of her for. Oops. So when I blew it, I told my sister (who was eating lunch with me) that I might as well say all the negative things I had to say before resigning....But I couldn't think of any. Sigh.
So, I have decided I may need to take a vow of silence for a week until I succeed. Either that, or walk around with my eyes closed and ear plugs in my ears.
What?? I just can't help it. Some people just need to be made fun of.
Now, I knew this would be a challenge, considering we like to gossip at lunch and when we do crop nights at the scrapbook store (which we happen to be doing this Friday night). BUT, I accepted the challenge and signed my life away.
I made it until Monday at lunch when a woman walked into Subway with some funky pantyhose on that I just couldn't pass up making fun of her for. Oops. So when I blew it, I told my sister (who was eating lunch with me) that I might as well say all the negative things I had to say before resigning....But I couldn't think of any. Sigh.
So, I have decided I may need to take a vow of silence for a week until I succeed. Either that, or walk around with my eyes closed and ear plugs in my ears.
What?? I just can't help it. Some people just need to be made fun of.
I'm sad.
REALLY sad at the news of the first day of the offical strike of the WGA. I am sad because of what this could potentially mean to an obsessed TV watcher like myself. I've been glued to all internet sites with updates on this strike and am hoping for a quick resolution so that my favorite shows, and yours, will not be drastically affected in their production. I'm going to be SUPER upset if "Lost" doesn't get to air as promised starting in February.
I understand the frustration of the WGA members and agree that they should get paid more for the DVD sales-it's only fair, since they are the whole reason the show exists in the first place. I just hope the networks realize this. SOON.
Here are some more sites with updates if you are interested:
WGA (the official website)
Strike Watch Blog
I understand the frustration of the WGA members and agree that they should get paid more for the DVD sales-it's only fair, since they are the whole reason the show exists in the first place. I just hope the networks realize this. SOON.
Here are some more sites with updates if you are interested:
WGA (the official website)
Strike Watch Blog
Monday, November 05, 2007
New obsession
Mike and I started watching the first season of "Heros" on DVD. We really knew nothing about the show at all when we first started watching it, just that everyone thought it was a great show. I'm really trying to be strong and not read ANY spoilers about this show so that every episode will be a surprise. I'm even avoiding media stories about the current season (2) that is on TV now, so that I don't get spoiled for season 2.
And after 4 discs, out of 7, that we have watched so far, I have only a few things to say:
Watching 11 hours of "Heros" in one weekend has caused me to have dreams that I also have a super power to "save the world." AND...
I Heart Peter Petrelli.
And after 4 discs, out of 7, that we have watched so far, I have only a few things to say:
Watching 11 hours of "Heros" in one weekend has caused me to have dreams that I also have a super power to "save the world." AND...
I Heart Peter Petrelli.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
We survived
It was a very long two days, but we survived...and the Maroon 5 concert was awesome...worth all the drama.
We...
flew to Dallas on an on-time flight (YAY!!!).
rented our car and drove straight toward Houston.
realized how much time we would have before the concert so we stopped at The Woodlands mall on the way in.
bought some stuff.
tried to find something to eat downtown and everywhere we went was either closed or had too long of a wait.
ate concession food instead.
made fun of the pre-opening act with others we befriended around us (he sort of sucked).
counted down the minutes until The Hives got off the stage so the real concert would start.
screamed, sang, hooped, and hollared during the concert.
screamed, sang, hooped, and hollared during the 30 minute encore. :)
drove straight to Dallas getting sleepy about 2:00 am.
found a parking garage near the airport and slept in the car for two hours before the car rental place opened.
returned the rental and boarded our ON-TIME flight home at 8:00 am.
made it home by 9:30 and were able to catch 2 hours of sleep before Mike's big ceremony. YAY!
A special thanks to my sister, Kristi, and Candice for the calls/texts throughout the night to make sure we were still alive. :) It was greatly appreciated.
We...
flew to Dallas on an on-time flight (YAY!!!).
rented our car and drove straight toward Houston.
realized how much time we would have before the concert so we stopped at The Woodlands mall on the way in.
bought some stuff.
tried to find something to eat downtown and everywhere we went was either closed or had too long of a wait.
ate concession food instead.
made fun of the pre-opening act with others we befriended around us (he sort of sucked).
counted down the minutes until The Hives got off the stage so the real concert would start.
screamed, sang, hooped, and hollared during the concert.
screamed, sang, hooped, and hollared during the 30 minute encore. :)
drove straight to Dallas getting sleepy about 2:00 am.
found a parking garage near the airport and slept in the car for two hours before the car rental place opened.
returned the rental and boarded our ON-TIME flight home at 8:00 am.
made it home by 9:30 and were able to catch 2 hours of sleep before Mike's big ceremony. YAY!
A special thanks to my sister, Kristi, and Candice for the calls/texts throughout the night to make sure we were still alive. :) It was greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Finally
So Friday is finally the big day that I have been counting down to for months...the Maroon 5 concert. I'm really excited, but I have to admit, this 2-3 hour event has turned into a big stress ball and when it's all said and done will have cost me about $700 and a few gray hairs.
To make a long story longer, Mike was scheduled to get his certification through the Assemblies (church) this past weekend. It wasn't until AFTER we purchased the Maroon 5 tickets for this weekend that they decided to change the ceremony to THIS Saturday at 2:00 pm. Originally we had planned to drive down to Houston on Friday for the concert, spend the night, and spend all day Saturday driving back home. Because they changed the dates on us, we have had to be creative to find an alternate solution.
Turns out there are no flights from Houston to Tulsa that would get us back earlier enough Saturday to make the mandatory ceremony. So after a lot of thought, suggestions from co-workers and family, and even offering to sell the concert tickets out of sheer desperation, this is the resolution we came to...and not a very pretty one at that:
Fly from Tulsa to Dallas Friday morning, rent a car and drive to Houston. Enjoy the heck out of the concert we've been so eager to watch for a few years now, which starts at 8:00 (which means M5 won't start playing until maybe 9). Fight the crowds out of the Toyota Center and in lieu of sleeping (who needs sleep), drive straight from Houston to the Dallas Love Field Airport to check in our car and catch a flight home that leaves (fingers crossed) at 8:00 am. Go home, crash for a couple of hours, then go to the ceremony (which I hope we don't sleep through), and then go back home and pass out.
So, if I could get a volunteer to call me, oh about every hour or so between midnight Friday and 5 am Saturday morning just to make sure we are still awake, that'd be just fine with me. Otherwise, I will apologize right now to any one that may receive a call from me during those hours requesting jokes/stories/quizzes or the likes to keep me chatting and awake.
The only thing I have to say about all of this is that Maroon 5 better put on the best frickin' concert I've ever seen to make it worth our while.
To make a long story longer, Mike was scheduled to get his certification through the Assemblies (church) this past weekend. It wasn't until AFTER we purchased the Maroon 5 tickets for this weekend that they decided to change the ceremony to THIS Saturday at 2:00 pm. Originally we had planned to drive down to Houston on Friday for the concert, spend the night, and spend all day Saturday driving back home. Because they changed the dates on us, we have had to be creative to find an alternate solution.
Turns out there are no flights from Houston to Tulsa that would get us back earlier enough Saturday to make the mandatory ceremony. So after a lot of thought, suggestions from co-workers and family, and even offering to sell the concert tickets out of sheer desperation, this is the resolution we came to...and not a very pretty one at that:
Fly from Tulsa to Dallas Friday morning, rent a car and drive to Houston. Enjoy the heck out of the concert we've been so eager to watch for a few years now, which starts at 8:00 (which means M5 won't start playing until maybe 9). Fight the crowds out of the Toyota Center and in lieu of sleeping (who needs sleep), drive straight from Houston to the Dallas Love Field Airport to check in our car and catch a flight home that leaves (fingers crossed) at 8:00 am. Go home, crash for a couple of hours, then go to the ceremony (which I hope we don't sleep through), and then go back home and pass out.
So, if I could get a volunteer to call me, oh about every hour or so between midnight Friday and 5 am Saturday morning just to make sure we are still awake, that'd be just fine with me. Otherwise, I will apologize right now to any one that may receive a call from me during those hours requesting jokes/stories/quizzes or the likes to keep me chatting and awake.
The only thing I have to say about all of this is that Maroon 5 better put on the best frickin' concert I've ever seen to make it worth our while.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Painters
As I mentioned yesterday, I am changing offices next week. One of the requests that I had for my new office (which is currently my boss's) is that the wall paper on the main wall to my half of the space be removed and the wall be painted to match the rest of the space. The wall paper was a gigantic map of the world-wall to wall, so unless you are a geography teacher (like my friend Jeff), you can see where my desire to remove it stems from. Plus, it would completely clash with my wall decor. :)
The wall paper was removed yesterday, and they were scheduled to paint it this morning. My boss came in to tell me that the painter was wrapping up the quick paint job on the wall so I walked with him down to take a look.
Making a wise crack, as I entered his office I said, "Wow! You're gonna get high today from smelling this paint all day."
To which the painter curtly responded, "I hate to break it to you, but you can't get high on latex...it's water based paint. You might get sick, but not high."
(Me staring at him blankly)
"Yeah, I know. It was just a figure of speech."
Thanks for butting into my conversation. Have a nice day. :)
The wall paper was removed yesterday, and they were scheduled to paint it this morning. My boss came in to tell me that the painter was wrapping up the quick paint job on the wall so I walked with him down to take a look.
Making a wise crack, as I entered his office I said, "Wow! You're gonna get high today from smelling this paint all day."
To which the painter curtly responded, "I hate to break it to you, but you can't get high on latex...it's water based paint. You might get sick, but not high."
(Me staring at him blankly)
"Yeah, I know. It was just a figure of speech."
Thanks for butting into my conversation. Have a nice day. :)
Monday, October 15, 2007
Random Ramblings
Driving to work in the dark makes me feel like it's already winter. And when I think it's winter already, my mind starts thinking about Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and...Christmas shopping! You know, I always say that summer is my favorite season, and it IS! BUT, whenever fall finally gets here, I think deep down I really enjoy the season and all the fun stuff that comes along with it...like the fair.
We went to the fair twice this year. We went Friday to the Switchfoot concert, which was awesome! They never disappoint me and I always leave their shows super pumped about seeing them again soon, then I have to listen to their CDs for like two weeks straight. However, with the Maroon 5 concert only 10 days away, I've been jamming out in my car to nothing but M5 since the Switchfoot concert.
But back to the fair-we usually only go for the food. And with the concert as the only exception, that is the reason we went this year too. Between Mike and I, we ate: An Indian taco, fudge newberg, cheese on a stick, chicken gyro, cheesecake on a stick, funnel cake and lots of pop. I feel fat just thinking about it now.
Upcoming CD's I plan to purchase: Carrie Underwood "Carnival Ride" on Oct 23, Britney Spears "Blackout" on October 30 and One Republic, sometime this fall. I can't wait.
Speaking of Britney, I think I've been reading too much Britney coverage lately. I had a dream last night that she and I hung out together for a day. But in my dream, it was pre-post partum Britney...not crazy Britney.
We went to a costume party on Friday and hosted one at our place on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I always enjoy dressing up-this year as Mrs. Pirate. (I'll post pics soon) Saturday we went on a scavenger hunt around my neighborhood, which was fun, although I was surprised how many houses told us they didn't want to help us. LOL Only a handful closed the door in our faces without saying much. :) We ended up having a tie because our team "borrowed" a few items since I knew the neighbors, so the other team didn't think that was fair. I guess it wasn't, but still our stuff was cuter than theirs. :)
My aerobic class was officially cancelled because they couldn't find a teacher to commit. BUMMER. I'm really sad about this, because Monday nights were the only nights I was actually excited about working out. ha ha I need to think of a good motivational reward for working out consistently...suggestions?
Next Thursday, I am changing offices at work. I'm moving three offices down and sharing an office with my co-worker/friend. We are quickly running out of space here at work and cube land is rapidly taking over our floor. :( I agreed to split an office with Canaan since she is my friend. :) ha ha I've been in my current office for 4 years, so I'm afraid I may continue to walk in on the newbie since I am a creature of habit. A few things I will miss about my current office: the printer is right outside my door; the elevator is a straight shot from my office (ha ha), and the view of the parking lot from my window that has created many funny blog stories. I think I may have a window watch party my last day in this office. But I'm looking forward to some things too: new furniture, sharing an office with my friend, and we've talked about getting a fish...which sounded like a good, fun plan until she mentioned taking turns cleaning out the fish bowl. :( I'm the person that wants pets with no responsibilities, so I'm going to have to think really hard before committing to a pet, which has been temporarily named Fred. :)
Mike and I have already started Christmas shopping, but we still have a long way to go. We didn't want to be bombarded with hundreds of dollars worth of presents all at once like last year. Hopefully we can stay on top of this, since Christmas season is also Birthday season around my family.
Okay, I've rambled plenty...if you are even still reading this, I'll be surprised. :) Congratulations...you've made it to the finish without killing over. Two kudos for you.
We went to the fair twice this year. We went Friday to the Switchfoot concert, which was awesome! They never disappoint me and I always leave their shows super pumped about seeing them again soon, then I have to listen to their CDs for like two weeks straight. However, with the Maroon 5 concert only 10 days away, I've been jamming out in my car to nothing but M5 since the Switchfoot concert.
But back to the fair-we usually only go for the food. And with the concert as the only exception, that is the reason we went this year too. Between Mike and I, we ate: An Indian taco, fudge newberg, cheese on a stick, chicken gyro, cheesecake on a stick, funnel cake and lots of pop. I feel fat just thinking about it now.
Upcoming CD's I plan to purchase: Carrie Underwood "Carnival Ride" on Oct 23, Britney Spears "Blackout" on October 30 and One Republic, sometime this fall. I can't wait.
Speaking of Britney, I think I've been reading too much Britney coverage lately. I had a dream last night that she and I hung out together for a day. But in my dream, it was pre-post partum Britney...not crazy Britney.
We went to a costume party on Friday and hosted one at our place on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I always enjoy dressing up-this year as Mrs. Pirate. (I'll post pics soon) Saturday we went on a scavenger hunt around my neighborhood, which was fun, although I was surprised how many houses told us they didn't want to help us. LOL Only a handful closed the door in our faces without saying much. :) We ended up having a tie because our team "borrowed" a few items since I knew the neighbors, so the other team didn't think that was fair. I guess it wasn't, but still our stuff was cuter than theirs. :)
My aerobic class was officially cancelled because they couldn't find a teacher to commit. BUMMER. I'm really sad about this, because Monday nights were the only nights I was actually excited about working out. ha ha I need to think of a good motivational reward for working out consistently...suggestions?
Next Thursday, I am changing offices at work. I'm moving three offices down and sharing an office with my co-worker/friend. We are quickly running out of space here at work and cube land is rapidly taking over our floor. :( I agreed to split an office with Canaan since she is my friend. :) ha ha I've been in my current office for 4 years, so I'm afraid I may continue to walk in on the newbie since I am a creature of habit. A few things I will miss about my current office: the printer is right outside my door; the elevator is a straight shot from my office (ha ha), and the view of the parking lot from my window that has created many funny blog stories. I think I may have a window watch party my last day in this office. But I'm looking forward to some things too: new furniture, sharing an office with my friend, and we've talked about getting a fish...which sounded like a good, fun plan until she mentioned taking turns cleaning out the fish bowl. :( I'm the person that wants pets with no responsibilities, so I'm going to have to think really hard before committing to a pet, which has been temporarily named Fred. :)
Mike and I have already started Christmas shopping, but we still have a long way to go. We didn't want to be bombarded with hundreds of dollars worth of presents all at once like last year. Hopefully we can stay on top of this, since Christmas season is also Birthday season around my family.
Okay, I've rambled plenty...if you are even still reading this, I'll be surprised. :) Congratulations...you've made it to the finish without killing over. Two kudos for you.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
In San Antonio I...
walked on the Riverwalk.
ate ribs at Tony Roma's for the first time.
sang kareoke to "Love Shack" with some co-workers.
managed to stay clear of any foot injuries for the first year.
paid a butt-load of money in cab fares...mostly to the golf course.
tried a variety of cheesecakes-all seperate occassions.
had dinner in the Tower of the Americas.
worked out once...with half-hearted effort.
made up for my fruitless workout with all the walking I did.
was amazed at how much coffee our geo-guys drank.
talked on my rental phone. A lot.
missed my husband and my doggie.
was sick the entire time.
rode in a golf cart.
saw Tony Parker's house.
ate more than my fair share of Mexican food.
went to Dick's Last Resort.
took more medication in two weeks than I've taken in my entire life combined.
ate a Texas-shaped waffle. Three times.
met "Hints From Heloise" columnist, Heloise.
ate a ton and had a blast-admist all the work. :)
ate ribs at Tony Roma's for the first time.
sang kareoke to "Love Shack" with some co-workers.
managed to stay clear of any foot injuries for the first year.
paid a butt-load of money in cab fares...mostly to the golf course.
tried a variety of cheesecakes-all seperate occassions.
had dinner in the Tower of the Americas.
worked out once...with half-hearted effort.
made up for my fruitless workout with all the walking I did.
was amazed at how much coffee our geo-guys drank.
talked on my rental phone. A lot.
missed my husband and my doggie.
was sick the entire time.
rode in a golf cart.
saw Tony Parker's house.
ate more than my fair share of Mexican food.
went to Dick's Last Resort.
took more medication in two weeks than I've taken in my entire life combined.
ate a Texas-shaped waffle. Three times.
met "Hints From Heloise" columnist, Heloise.
ate a ton and had a blast-admist all the work. :)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Top 20 Songs (imo)
I am copying this idea from Heather and Canaan. Ever since I read their posts my mind won't rest as I kept thinking of songs I wanted to add to my "Top 20 Songs" list. So here they are in random order...
1. Sway, the Michael Buble version-there's something about this song that brings out the ballroom dancing girl inside of me. I just love it!
2. Starts With Goodbye, Carrie Underwood-While I love all songs Carrie has, this one has just a beautiful melody with wonderful lyrics about change and moving on.
3. You're Still the One, Shania Twain-For the obvious reason, this is mine and Mike's song, which I sung to him at our wedding.
4. Please Remember Me, Tim McGraw-This song never gets old to me. I could hear it a million times and I'd still want to hear it again. I love the lyrics of this song a lot. It's a very sad, apologetic song.
5. On Fire, Switchfoot-Even though Switchfoot is one of my favorite bands and it was really hard to just pick one song of theirs that I loved the most, this was the first one that came to my mind. The message of this song is one of hope beyond our current situation and beyond the desperation that we feel. It shows a direction to turn when you know there's more to life than what you feel. I love it, love it!
6. Fly, Mike Watson-This is the song that Mike wrote to me and sang at our wedding. I may be partial to it, but I love the sweetness of its melody and it takes me back to the happiest day of my life-when I married my very best friend.
7. Senorita, Justin Timberlake-JT is the bomb and this song has a fun beat. That's all I need to say about that. :)
8. Cold Hearted Snake, Paula Abdul-My best friend growing up, Audrey, and I made up a dance to this song and we thought we were hot stuff. So hot that we entered the talent show in elementary to (another) Paula song which brought me nothing but heartache for the next 11 years. Ha ha There's a story there, but too long of one to tell right here. Anyway, this song makes me think of my childhood, which I love to think about.
9. (They Long to Be) Close To You, The Carpenters version-I love the richness of Karen Carpenter's voice, and this song does a good job of showcasing her talent. When I was young, I would dance to this song in my bedroom and pretend that I had a voice half as good as hers. Ha ha
10. Can't Stop Prasing His Name, from the Chi Alpha Live CD-Since my life revolves around praise and worship, my list wouldn't be complete without a P&W song on here. This song, whether slow or fast, is very powerful and one of my favorite P&W songs to sing and play.
11. The Little Girl, John Michael Montgomery-This is the only song that makes me cry every single time I hear it. Okay that's not true...Christmas Shoes makes me cry too.
12. Blessed, Rachael Lampa-This song is a perfect description of my life. And Rachael's voice is a power house on this song, which inspires me to further pursue music.
13. Ain't It Funny (both versions), Jennifer Lopez-I love songs with irony and this song (the fast version) is a perfect example of such irony. And the slow version makes me think back to when I was in the Miss NSU pagaent and I had to walk in an evening gown to this song. LOL Oh the memories...it actually is kind of funny. :)
14. (I Got That) Boom Boom, Britney Spears-Before her crazy, psycho days, I had no problem admitting that I was a huge Britney fan. I still like her music, and this song has the best beat ever to dance to. Anytime I hear this song, I turn my radio WAY up and jam out like it's the last time I'll ever dance again. I can't help it...I just love it.
15. Breakdown, Mariah Carey-This song takes me back to when Mike and I were dating. It was popular when we first starting dating, and even though the lyrics are some-what depressing, it makes me think back to when our love for each other was still very new. Plus it's a very wordy song and I used to be impressed with myself for knowing all the lyrics. LOL
16. Perfect, Alanis Morissette-This song takes me back to my 10th grade year in high school, which was a very difficult year for me. I had a lot of personal family issues this year and playing this song made me feel better about venting.
17. Figure It Out, Maroon 5-Another of my favorite bands, it was again, very difficult to narrow it down to just one song. I LOVE love love the beat of this song. It makes me smile to blast it on my radio and jam out when I hear it. If you ever drive by my car and I'm completely jamming out, it's likely that I'm listening to this song. :)
18. The World Is a Vampire, Smashing Pumpkins-This song cracks me up and takes me back to my favorite year of school-my 9th grade year. This was the best year for me and I have so many wonderful memories from that year. However, every time I hear this song or think about this song, I can remember Nick Swaim coming into our typing class and singing this song almost every single day. What a riot.
19. I'm a Believer, remade by Smash Mouth-I smile when I hear this song because this is the song that Mike and I walked out of the church to when we were pronounced husband and wife. I loved breaking the rules and not being so traditional. It was fun. :)
20. Lady Marmalade-Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil Kim, Mya-This song reminds me of my college days. The girls on my floor made up a dance to this song and performed it at one of our formals. It was hilarious. It also makes me think of my sister, because that is her ringtone on my phone. :)
1. Sway, the Michael Buble version-there's something about this song that brings out the ballroom dancing girl inside of me. I just love it!
2. Starts With Goodbye, Carrie Underwood-While I love all songs Carrie has, this one has just a beautiful melody with wonderful lyrics about change and moving on.
3. You're Still the One, Shania Twain-For the obvious reason, this is mine and Mike's song, which I sung to him at our wedding.
4. Please Remember Me, Tim McGraw-This song never gets old to me. I could hear it a million times and I'd still want to hear it again. I love the lyrics of this song a lot. It's a very sad, apologetic song.
5. On Fire, Switchfoot-Even though Switchfoot is one of my favorite bands and it was really hard to just pick one song of theirs that I loved the most, this was the first one that came to my mind. The message of this song is one of hope beyond our current situation and beyond the desperation that we feel. It shows a direction to turn when you know there's more to life than what you feel. I love it, love it!
6. Fly, Mike Watson-This is the song that Mike wrote to me and sang at our wedding. I may be partial to it, but I love the sweetness of its melody and it takes me back to the happiest day of my life-when I married my very best friend.
7. Senorita, Justin Timberlake-JT is the bomb and this song has a fun beat. That's all I need to say about that. :)
8. Cold Hearted Snake, Paula Abdul-My best friend growing up, Audrey, and I made up a dance to this song and we thought we were hot stuff. So hot that we entered the talent show in elementary to (another) Paula song which brought me nothing but heartache for the next 11 years. Ha ha There's a story there, but too long of one to tell right here. Anyway, this song makes me think of my childhood, which I love to think about.
9. (They Long to Be) Close To You, The Carpenters version-I love the richness of Karen Carpenter's voice, and this song does a good job of showcasing her talent. When I was young, I would dance to this song in my bedroom and pretend that I had a voice half as good as hers. Ha ha
10. Can't Stop Prasing His Name, from the Chi Alpha Live CD-Since my life revolves around praise and worship, my list wouldn't be complete without a P&W song on here. This song, whether slow or fast, is very powerful and one of my favorite P&W songs to sing and play.
11. The Little Girl, John Michael Montgomery-This is the only song that makes me cry every single time I hear it. Okay that's not true...Christmas Shoes makes me cry too.
12. Blessed, Rachael Lampa-This song is a perfect description of my life. And Rachael's voice is a power house on this song, which inspires me to further pursue music.
13. Ain't It Funny (both versions), Jennifer Lopez-I love songs with irony and this song (the fast version) is a perfect example of such irony. And the slow version makes me think back to when I was in the Miss NSU pagaent and I had to walk in an evening gown to this song. LOL Oh the memories...it actually is kind of funny. :)
14. (I Got That) Boom Boom, Britney Spears-Before her crazy, psycho days, I had no problem admitting that I was a huge Britney fan. I still like her music, and this song has the best beat ever to dance to. Anytime I hear this song, I turn my radio WAY up and jam out like it's the last time I'll ever dance again. I can't help it...I just love it.
15. Breakdown, Mariah Carey-This song takes me back to when Mike and I were dating. It was popular when we first starting dating, and even though the lyrics are some-what depressing, it makes me think back to when our love for each other was still very new. Plus it's a very wordy song and I used to be impressed with myself for knowing all the lyrics. LOL
16. Perfect, Alanis Morissette-This song takes me back to my 10th grade year in high school, which was a very difficult year for me. I had a lot of personal family issues this year and playing this song made me feel better about venting.
17. Figure It Out, Maroon 5-Another of my favorite bands, it was again, very difficult to narrow it down to just one song. I LOVE love love the beat of this song. It makes me smile to blast it on my radio and jam out when I hear it. If you ever drive by my car and I'm completely jamming out, it's likely that I'm listening to this song. :)
18. The World Is a Vampire, Smashing Pumpkins-This song cracks me up and takes me back to my favorite year of school-my 9th grade year. This was the best year for me and I have so many wonderful memories from that year. However, every time I hear this song or think about this song, I can remember Nick Swaim coming into our typing class and singing this song almost every single day. What a riot.
19. I'm a Believer, remade by Smash Mouth-I smile when I hear this song because this is the song that Mike and I walked out of the church to when we were pronounced husband and wife. I loved breaking the rules and not being so traditional. It was fun. :)
20. Lady Marmalade-Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil Kim, Mya-This song reminds me of my college days. The girls on my floor made up a dance to this song and performed it at one of our formals. It was hilarious. It also makes me think of my sister, because that is her ringtone on my phone. :)
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Since I last blogged I...
Went to the Scrapbook Convention and spent lots of money.
Realized just how many obsessive scrappers besides me there are in Oklahoma.
Got sad news that my aerobic class is moving to a night I can't attend.
Had a picnic on my back patio.
Watched "The Notebook" with my dad.
Finally ate at the Tulsa Cheesecake Factory-YUM!!
Got my hair chopped off.
Swam for the last time this year. Sniff.
Repainted and redid the decor in my main bathroom.
Got very excited about "The Office" season 3 DVDs coming out.
Became a little overwhelmed when I realized I have less than 2 weeks until Annual Meeting.
Drove to work for the first time completely in the dark before the sun came up.
Started getting excited about "snack week" and "jeans week" next week!
Hung out with friends.
Thought my laundry pile never would diminish.
Laughed at Simon for poking his nose through the blinds to see out when I closed the blinds on him.
Did a lot of little things in-between.
Realized just how many obsessive scrappers besides me there are in Oklahoma.
Got sad news that my aerobic class is moving to a night I can't attend.
Had a picnic on my back patio.
Watched "The Notebook" with my dad.
Finally ate at the Tulsa Cheesecake Factory-YUM!!
Got my hair chopped off.
Swam for the last time this year. Sniff.
Repainted and redid the decor in my main bathroom.
Got very excited about "The Office" season 3 DVDs coming out.
Became a little overwhelmed when I realized I have less than 2 weeks until Annual Meeting.
Drove to work for the first time completely in the dark before the sun came up.
Started getting excited about "snack week" and "jeans week" next week!
Hung out with friends.
Thought my laundry pile never would diminish.
Laughed at Simon for poking his nose through the blinds to see out when I closed the blinds on him.
Did a lot of little things in-between.
Friday, August 24, 2007
31 days...
until my favorite time of year...Fall TV Premiere Week! Unfortunately for me, I will be in San Antonio for our Annual Meeting, so will likely miss the entire week of all TV show premieres, so my DVR will be completely full when I return two weeks later to catch up! :)
Here's a preview of what my line up will be:
Monday-
7:00-7:30: How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
9:00-10:00: CSI: Miami (CBS)
9:00-10:00: October Road (ABC)-Starts mid-season
Tuesday-
8:00-9:00: Chuck (NBC)
8:00-9:00: House (FOX)
9:00-10:00: Damages (FX)-Unless the season is over by then
Wednesday-
9:00-10:00: Lost (ABC)-Starts in February
Thursday-
8:00-9:00: CSI (CBS)
8:00-9:00: The Office (NBC)
I am still very bitter about investing 9-10 weeks into 4 new shows last year only to see them get cancelled that the only new show I am taking on this year is "Chuck." And that's only because the previews for it look SO dang funny! Any other show will have to wait until they are picked up for a second season before I will watch.
What shows will you be watching?
Here's a preview of what my line up will be:
Monday-
7:00-7:30: How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
9:00-10:00: CSI: Miami (CBS)
9:00-10:00: October Road (ABC)-Starts mid-season
Tuesday-
8:00-9:00: Chuck (NBC)
8:00-9:00: House (FOX)
9:00-10:00: Damages (FX)-Unless the season is over by then
Wednesday-
9:00-10:00: Lost (ABC)-Starts in February
Thursday-
8:00-9:00: CSI (CBS)
8:00-9:00: The Office (NBC)
I am still very bitter about investing 9-10 weeks into 4 new shows last year only to see them get cancelled that the only new show I am taking on this year is "Chuck." And that's only because the previews for it look SO dang funny! Any other show will have to wait until they are picked up for a second season before I will watch.
What shows will you be watching?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Oink Oink
I've had four Jamba Juices today. That's right. FOUR.
I blame that solely on my boss. Well, both of them actually. One for bringing a large ice chest full of them to work today, and the other for talking me into trying all of the different flavors (yeah, he had to try real hard to talk me into it. I promise.).
I've been a little oinker today. But they were yummy!!
I blame that solely on my boss. Well, both of them actually. One for bringing a large ice chest full of them to work today, and the other for talking me into trying all of the different flavors (yeah, he had to try real hard to talk me into it. I promise.).
I've been a little oinker today. But they were yummy!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
OCD
Last night at Carl's Jr, some of the kids in my youth group started teasing me about the weird OCD things that I do. They made me list all of my quirkiness, which got me thinking about why I do some of these things. And I couldn't come up with a reason, so I'm just going to list them for you instead:
1) I won't step on sewer grates or grates of any kind on the ground. I always walk around.
2) I write words and a certain "heart" shape in the air with my finger. Randomly.
3) When eating a bowl of cereal, I have to eat one or two pieces dry before I put milk in the bowl.
4) Speaking of cereal, if there are different colors (i.e. Trix, Fruit Loops, Cap'n Crunch, etc) I must eat one color at a time.
5) The clock in the car must always be displayed.
6) All of my DVDs must be alphabetized.
7) The clock in my bedroom must be set 10 minutes fast.
8) When on a phone call, I doodle words that I hear in the conversation.
9) When I sit down at the piano, I have to play a "C" chord first.
10) The clothes in my closest must be organized first by style, then by color.
11) I always take my shoes off when I drive home from work. No other time.
12) I can only write with a certain blue ink pen in my Planner.
What are some of yours?
1) I won't step on sewer grates or grates of any kind on the ground. I always walk around.
2) I write words and a certain "heart" shape in the air with my finger. Randomly.
3) When eating a bowl of cereal, I have to eat one or two pieces dry before I put milk in the bowl.
4) Speaking of cereal, if there are different colors (i.e. Trix, Fruit Loops, Cap'n Crunch, etc) I must eat one color at a time.
5) The clock in the car must always be displayed.
6) All of my DVDs must be alphabetized.
7) The clock in my bedroom must be set 10 minutes fast.
8) When on a phone call, I doodle words that I hear in the conversation.
9) When I sit down at the piano, I have to play a "C" chord first.
10) The clothes in my closest must be organized first by style, then by color.
11) I always take my shoes off when I drive home from work. No other time.
12) I can only write with a certain blue ink pen in my Planner.
What are some of yours?
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Note to Self...
When you pull into the garage, be sure to pull all the way in before closing the garage door. Otherwise, you will be left with two deep scratches on your back bumper that will cost $300 to replace.
Thank goodness for $0 deductibles and good insurance. :)
Thank goodness for $0 deductibles and good insurance. :)
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
PGA has its pros...
and I don't mean the Pro golfers.
Thank God for the PGA being in Tulsa this year-and that's not because I'm really into golf. I'm definitely not. The sport bores me for one...probably because I just down right suck at it. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that since the PGA is in Tulsa, the city ordered the construction crew on the 71st street/Hwy 75 area to open up all lanes of traffic again (instead of just two lanes we now have four). I'm assuming they did that to help with the traffic in that area. But I'm definitely not complaining about the reason. I'm just happy they did it. For a week I get to enjoy driving to work without the annoyance of the orange and white barrels.
Woo hoo!!
Thank God for the PGA being in Tulsa this year-and that's not because I'm really into golf. I'm definitely not. The sport bores me for one...probably because I just down right suck at it. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that since the PGA is in Tulsa, the city ordered the construction crew on the 71st street/Hwy 75 area to open up all lanes of traffic again (instead of just two lanes we now have four). I'm assuming they did that to help with the traffic in that area. But I'm definitely not complaining about the reason. I'm just happy they did it. For a week I get to enjoy driving to work without the annoyance of the orange and white barrels.
Woo hoo!!
Monday, August 06, 2007
Lord of the Flies
Something happened between this weekend and last at our house because in the last few days Mike and I have been noticing more and more flies in our house. Buzzing around-being annoying like they do. I thought we had a few, but I had no idea how many until Mike grabbed the swatter Saturday night and just went to town killing. Of course, in true Simon fashion, he tucked his tail and ran for the bedroom because he's a wuss and frightens at the drop of a hat. So I went into the back bedroom with him and closed the door as Mike continued away wiping out flies with the swatter.
Fifteen minutes later Mike comes in to let us know that he's killed an army of flies. I walked into the kitchen and sure enough, there were about 20 laying helplessly dead on my kitchen floor...not counting the ones he killed by the window and blinds. I couldn't believe it. I think a couple got in and had babies!! They multiplied like rabbits.
This morning I got up to make my breakfast and heard that taunting buzzing sound around my head. Ugh. They were back. I grabbed the swatter and just tore into them. Before you know it I had killed like 5 and had plenty more to demolish. After a few minutes I realized that I was making comments outloud to them:
"Come on suckers!"
"Land you punk!"
"I'm gonna squash you like a fat kid on a bike."
"Who wants to die next?!"
Then I wondered if it was wrong that I got such pleasure out of extinguishing so many at one time. Heck no, I decided and continued swatting away.
After 10 minutes had passed and they all lay helpless on the floor, the sink and the counter, I felt powerful...like a Queen. Like I could conquer the world. Then that power quickly fizzled as I realized how long it was going to take me to clean them all up.
Fifteen minutes later Mike comes in to let us know that he's killed an army of flies. I walked into the kitchen and sure enough, there were about 20 laying helplessly dead on my kitchen floor...not counting the ones he killed by the window and blinds. I couldn't believe it. I think a couple got in and had babies!! They multiplied like rabbits.
This morning I got up to make my breakfast and heard that taunting buzzing sound around my head. Ugh. They were back. I grabbed the swatter and just tore into them. Before you know it I had killed like 5 and had plenty more to demolish. After a few minutes I realized that I was making comments outloud to them:
"Come on suckers!"
"Land you punk!"
"I'm gonna squash you like a fat kid on a bike."
"Who wants to die next?!"
Then I wondered if it was wrong that I got such pleasure out of extinguishing so many at one time. Heck no, I decided and continued swatting away.
After 10 minutes had passed and they all lay helpless on the floor, the sink and the counter, I felt powerful...like a Queen. Like I could conquer the world. Then that power quickly fizzled as I realized how long it was going to take me to clean them all up.
This week I...
watched our speakers at church catch fire. During service.
spent two hours at Guitar Center finding replacements for said speakers.
took Simon to get his hair shaved off.
laughed at Simon when I picked him up from the groomer's. :)
got surprised and momentarily overwhelmed when I looked at my calendar and realized I only have 6 weeks until Annual Meeting.
layed out and caught some not-so-obvious rays at the pool.
reunited with two very great friends. At the same time. In the same place.
drove to Pauls Valley, America for my nephew's birthday.
shopped with a million other folks just to save a few bucks.
didn't buy anything in the process.
danced enthusiastically to songs on the radio to stay awake on the drive home.
watched "Kiss the Girls" for the first time and loved it.
spent two hours at Guitar Center finding replacements for said speakers.
took Simon to get his hair shaved off.
laughed at Simon when I picked him up from the groomer's. :)
got surprised and momentarily overwhelmed when I looked at my calendar and realized I only have 6 weeks until Annual Meeting.
layed out and caught some not-so-obvious rays at the pool.
reunited with two very great friends. At the same time. In the same place.
drove to Pauls Valley, America for my nephew's birthday.
shopped with a million other folks just to save a few bucks.
didn't buy anything in the process.
danced enthusiastically to songs on the radio to stay awake on the drive home.
watched "Kiss the Girls" for the first time and loved it.
Friday, August 03, 2007
My dog
My dog, Simon, is really funny. He makes me laugh. A lot. But, as much as I love him, sometimes, he's a little annoying.
Whenever I have a day off or a chance to sleep in, he doesn't like it. Starting around 7:30 or 8, he sticks his nose in my face to wake me up. If I don't wake up, he licks my face. Usually, I push him away and roll over and that satisfies him for another 15-30 minutes. Then he comes back and does the same thing. All he wants is for me to get out of bed and go into the living room with him. So sometimes, I will go open the blinds in the living room for him to look out, then go back to bed...but before long, he's back licking my face trying to get me to go in there with him.
The annoying part is that every single time I give in b/c I can't sleep anyway with him licking my face, I'll go into the living room and sit on the couch with him or fix my breakfast whatever...Five minutes later I look for him and he's back in bed in the bedroom!! You stinking dog! Tell me why I had to get up out of bed just so you could go back in there and lay down. Sigh. He really is a smart dog--I think he just wants my "spot" on the bed so he can sprawl out and get comfy. Little stinker!
Whenever I have a day off or a chance to sleep in, he doesn't like it. Starting around 7:30 or 8, he sticks his nose in my face to wake me up. If I don't wake up, he licks my face. Usually, I push him away and roll over and that satisfies him for another 15-30 minutes. Then he comes back and does the same thing. All he wants is for me to get out of bed and go into the living room with him. So sometimes, I will go open the blinds in the living room for him to look out, then go back to bed...but before long, he's back licking my face trying to get me to go in there with him.
The annoying part is that every single time I give in b/c I can't sleep anyway with him licking my face, I'll go into the living room and sit on the couch with him or fix my breakfast whatever...Five minutes later I look for him and he's back in bed in the bedroom!! You stinking dog! Tell me why I had to get up out of bed just so you could go back in there and lay down. Sigh. He really is a smart dog--I think he just wants my "spot" on the bed so he can sprawl out and get comfy. Little stinker!
Monday, July 23, 2007
The camping/float trip blog
A group of friends went camping with us Friday and then we floated the Illinois River on Saturday. I've been excited about this trip for over a month and was really happy when Friday finally arrived. I went to Wal-Mart to buy all the food and then packed all of our camping gear into Mike's car. The plan was to have 3 people ride in our car with us, but I quickly realized that would not be happening...seeing how the trunk and the backseat were stuffed to the brim and I was holding in my lap Mike's guitar and some other miscellaneous items. Lucky for us, two of the three that were planning to ride with us called to say they were running 2 hours behind and would just meet us out there. Whew! Problem 1 solved.
When we got to our meeting destination we did a little rearranging to fit one more person in our car, and our 3 car caravan headed off to Tahlequah. Our car is the front of the lead and made light of the fact the other two cars were dragging behind us. We get about 10 minutes outside of Tahlequah (on Hwy 82, which has zero shoulder on it), and Mike delivers the bad news: "My car just died." Oh goody. Lucky for us, 25 feet ahead is a turn off, so he makes a hard left and puts it park. We have about an hour and a half left of daylight. The next 30-45 minutes played out like this:
Problem 2 became: What the heck is wrong with his car? (I gotta say, it was a little humorous to watch 5 guys hovered underneath the hood trying to "figure it out" while us gals chilled in the backseat.
Problem 3 quickly became: If we can't get his car fixed, how the heck are we going to get 12 people and all their gear into two cars to the campsite, which is still 30 minutes away?
Solution 2 was suggested: Call AAA. Problem. We don't have AAA. Next.
Solution 3: Call a wrecker. That will cost $200 or more. Next.
Solution 4: Peter take all the girls to the campsite and start setting up camp since we only have about 45 minutes of daylight left. The rest of the guys will go to AutoZone in town get a strap or chain so Brandon can pull Mike's car into town with his truck. Then AutoZone will run a diagnostic test on it to see what's wrong. Sounds good. Let's do that.
Problem 4: My cell phone gets no service at our campsite. How do I call the guys to give them an update and check on their status?
Solution 5: Use the campground's phone to make lots of long-distance calls. :)
Done. Now what? The part Mike needs won't arrive to AutoZone until 2 pm the next day.
Problem 5 surfaced: How do we get 5 guys back to camp (with all the gear from Mike's car) in a truck with only 2 seats that are currently filled with people and a bed that is jammed full of camping stuff?
Solution 6: The car that was running late was just arriving into Tahlequah, so they will stop by Autozone and pick up a load and the truck will carry the rest.
When they arrived at camp, I swear it looked like the cartoons where a load of characters were squished in a box, you remove the box and they are still holding the box shape. :) Quite humorous really.
So we camped. And played some volleyball. And laughed. A lot. Ate some dinner. Made jokes about not being able to keep our fire alive b/c the wood was wet. Played/sang some tunes around the no-fire. Laughed some more. Went to bed.
Woke up to float the river after breakfast. We had 3 rafts rented for 12 people. The plan was to float until 1:00ish then Mike and I would split from the group and high-tail it back to camp, run to Autozone, replace the part and head back to camp to pick up our group by the time they finished floating the river.
That didn't happen. Well, part of it did...up until the part where Mike replaces the part and we head back to camp. He goes to replace the part and viola! The timing belt had shredded. Sigh. Dollar signs flashed through my mind and I quickly saw the look of disgust and frustration on Mike's face. Poor guy. "It's just things Mike" I tried to reassure him. "It's just stuff that can be replaced. It could have been a lot worse."
So we call his folks to get a trailor and come get us and tow the car home. The rest of the group (most of it) went on home after they finished floating. A couple of them stayed to hang out with us. We ate dinner at Mazzio's and waited for Mike's parents to rescue us. When they finally arrived, we loaded the car, and drove 50 mph all.the.way.home. Took 2 hours. We got home at 10:00...and were very tired.
Mike has always hated camping. Now I'm not so sure I'll ever get him back out there to camp again. Needless to say, it was an adventuresome weekend. :)
When we got to our meeting destination we did a little rearranging to fit one more person in our car, and our 3 car caravan headed off to Tahlequah. Our car is the front of the lead and made light of the fact the other two cars were dragging behind us. We get about 10 minutes outside of Tahlequah (on Hwy 82, which has zero shoulder on it), and Mike delivers the bad news: "My car just died." Oh goody. Lucky for us, 25 feet ahead is a turn off, so he makes a hard left and puts it park. We have about an hour and a half left of daylight. The next 30-45 minutes played out like this:
Problem 2 became: What the heck is wrong with his car? (I gotta say, it was a little humorous to watch 5 guys hovered underneath the hood trying to "figure it out" while us gals chilled in the backseat.
Problem 3 quickly became: If we can't get his car fixed, how the heck are we going to get 12 people and all their gear into two cars to the campsite, which is still 30 minutes away?
Solution 2 was suggested: Call AAA. Problem. We don't have AAA. Next.
Solution 3: Call a wrecker. That will cost $200 or more. Next.
Solution 4: Peter take all the girls to the campsite and start setting up camp since we only have about 45 minutes of daylight left. The rest of the guys will go to AutoZone in town get a strap or chain so Brandon can pull Mike's car into town with his truck. Then AutoZone will run a diagnostic test on it to see what's wrong. Sounds good. Let's do that.
Problem 4: My cell phone gets no service at our campsite. How do I call the guys to give them an update and check on their status?
Solution 5: Use the campground's phone to make lots of long-distance calls. :)
Done. Now what? The part Mike needs won't arrive to AutoZone until 2 pm the next day.
Problem 5 surfaced: How do we get 5 guys back to camp (with all the gear from Mike's car) in a truck with only 2 seats that are currently filled with people and a bed that is jammed full of camping stuff?
Solution 6: The car that was running late was just arriving into Tahlequah, so they will stop by Autozone and pick up a load and the truck will carry the rest.
When they arrived at camp, I swear it looked like the cartoons where a load of characters were squished in a box, you remove the box and they are still holding the box shape. :) Quite humorous really.
So we camped. And played some volleyball. And laughed. A lot. Ate some dinner. Made jokes about not being able to keep our fire alive b/c the wood was wet. Played/sang some tunes around the no-fire. Laughed some more. Went to bed.
Woke up to float the river after breakfast. We had 3 rafts rented for 12 people. The plan was to float until 1:00ish then Mike and I would split from the group and high-tail it back to camp, run to Autozone, replace the part and head back to camp to pick up our group by the time they finished floating the river.
That didn't happen. Well, part of it did...up until the part where Mike replaces the part and we head back to camp. He goes to replace the part and viola! The timing belt had shredded. Sigh. Dollar signs flashed through my mind and I quickly saw the look of disgust and frustration on Mike's face. Poor guy. "It's just things Mike" I tried to reassure him. "It's just stuff that can be replaced. It could have been a lot worse."
So we call his folks to get a trailor and come get us and tow the car home. The rest of the group (most of it) went on home after they finished floating. A couple of them stayed to hang out with us. We ate dinner at Mazzio's and waited for Mike's parents to rescue us. When they finally arrived, we loaded the car, and drove 50 mph all.the.way.home. Took 2 hours. We got home at 10:00...and were very tired.
Mike has always hated camping. Now I'm not so sure I'll ever get him back out there to camp again. Needless to say, it was an adventuresome weekend. :)
Thursday, July 19, 2007
My day just got a little brighter
I just read that Switchfoot is going to be at the Tulsa State Fair this year...for free! 
That right there is reason to celebrate folks!!
That right there is reason to celebrate folks!!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Where did my energy go??
My aerobics class got cancelled last night, so I thought to myself, "I'm already here...might as well do something productive." So I started lifting weights and then suddenly the blue plastic caught my eye...a jump rope! Fun!! I used to do the "Jump Rope For Heart" every year in elementary and I can remember always winning the endurance award. I could jump rope for a very long time. And it was fun.
So, I picked up the jump rope and walked into the empty aerobics room. I noted the time on the clock so I could time myself and started jumping at a fairly slow pace. "Oh this is easy," I thought to myself after the first 30 seconds..."I'll speed it up." How bout a few "double-unders." Yeah. Way to go. You're going strong. Surely I'd been jumping for a good 5-10 minutes. I looked up at the clock. WHAT THE?!?! Only 2 lousy minutes had passed and I was quickly running out of breath and energy. I do NOT remember jumping rope being this difficult. Glad I attempted this in a room by myself. Others would have pointed and laughed I'm sure. I even verbalized to myself how pathetic it was that I couldn't jump rope consistently for more than a couple of minutes.
I'm embarrassed to say I only lasted 10 minutes. Oh what I wouldn't give for the energy level of my 12 year old self.
So, I picked up the jump rope and walked into the empty aerobics room. I noted the time on the clock so I could time myself and started jumping at a fairly slow pace. "Oh this is easy," I thought to myself after the first 30 seconds..."I'll speed it up." How bout a few "double-unders." Yeah. Way to go. You're going strong. Surely I'd been jumping for a good 5-10 minutes. I looked up at the clock. WHAT THE?!?! Only 2 lousy minutes had passed and I was quickly running out of breath and energy. I do NOT remember jumping rope being this difficult. Glad I attempted this in a room by myself. Others would have pointed and laughed I'm sure. I even verbalized to myself how pathetic it was that I couldn't jump rope consistently for more than a couple of minutes.
I'm embarrassed to say I only lasted 10 minutes. Oh what I wouldn't give for the energy level of my 12 year old self.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Say "no" to DFW
I'm a little late in posting this, but I needed some time to cool off before my ranting and raving became incomprehensible. So, you know I went to San Antonio last week for a business trip, which went fantastically well...until the trip home. Of course.
We had some delicious Mexican food, laughed a lot, got some work done, and had lots of time for stories, BUT I should have listened to my body when it gave me those stinking creepies as I noted that we would be flying through DFW to get back to Tulsa. Sigh. "Bad weather" they said. Of course.
We finished with our meeting early and bumped us up to the earlier flight which put us in DFW at 4:20, as opposed to 8:30. YAY. We deboard and go to the reader board to see where our gate will be. Flight to Tulsa scheduled for a 5:20 departure now bumped to 5:45. So we get ourselves front row chairs at Chili's, order drinks and food, and "people watch" the folks that come up to the reader board and leave in disgust.
However, our 5:45 departure quickly changes to 6:15...then 7:15. More drinks and food please. Coming right up. And alas, 8:15. Just leave our tab open ma'am. Thanks.
Meanwhile, the flashbacks from the last trip through DFW were starting to haunt me, and I started to get annoyed. Really annoyed.
Two transvestites, 10 super cute pair of shoes, a man with a broken leg, a woman who kicked the air, nachos, cheesecake and 6 drinks later, the boss comes back with great news: "Don't trust the reader boards, no one knows anything right now." Great. Then, to top it off, our flight just disappears off the board. That can't be good. It wasn't-it got cancelled. So the bosses are in line to get us on the next flight out to Tulsa, as there were only two left. Turns out, we were the last people to get on board the next flight, which really wasn't even a guarantee since there were rumors that the flight was overbooked. Great news for me (not)...I had a "C" boarding pass (we flew SWA), while the majority of my group had "B." Of course.
Thank God-when the time came, they took my ticket and my co-workers had saved seats in the back of the plane. Whew. BUT, I have pretty much decided that it would probably be worth a few extra bucks and an extra hour added to a trip if it meant avoiding DFW. That place is just a magnet for people like me with the worst traveling luck.
We had some delicious Mexican food, laughed a lot, got some work done, and had lots of time for stories, BUT I should have listened to my body when it gave me those stinking creepies as I noted that we would be flying through DFW to get back to Tulsa. Sigh. "Bad weather" they said. Of course.
We finished with our meeting early and bumped us up to the earlier flight which put us in DFW at 4:20, as opposed to 8:30. YAY. We deboard and go to the reader board to see where our gate will be. Flight to Tulsa scheduled for a 5:20 departure now bumped to 5:45. So we get ourselves front row chairs at Chili's, order drinks and food, and "people watch" the folks that come up to the reader board and leave in disgust.
However, our 5:45 departure quickly changes to 6:15...then 7:15. More drinks and food please. Coming right up. And alas, 8:15. Just leave our tab open ma'am. Thanks.
Meanwhile, the flashbacks from the last trip through DFW were starting to haunt me, and I started to get annoyed. Really annoyed.
Two transvestites, 10 super cute pair of shoes, a man with a broken leg, a woman who kicked the air, nachos, cheesecake and 6 drinks later, the boss comes back with great news: "Don't trust the reader boards, no one knows anything right now." Great. Then, to top it off, our flight just disappears off the board. That can't be good. It wasn't-it got cancelled. So the bosses are in line to get us on the next flight out to Tulsa, as there were only two left. Turns out, we were the last people to get on board the next flight, which really wasn't even a guarantee since there were rumors that the flight was overbooked. Great news for me (not)...I had a "C" boarding pass (we flew SWA), while the majority of my group had "B." Of course.
Thank God-when the time came, they took my ticket and my co-workers had saved seats in the back of the plane. Whew. BUT, I have pretty much decided that it would probably be worth a few extra bucks and an extra hour added to a trip if it meant avoiding DFW. That place is just a magnet for people like me with the worst traveling luck.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
San Antonio
Ahhh, I just love being in San Antonio...with the hot, muggy sunshine beating down on me. It is so greatly appreciated after being beat to death with 30 days of rain. Even if it won't be long-lived...I'm going back to Seattle bound T-Town tomorrow.
Just wanted to gloat. Thanks for listening. :)
Just wanted to gloat. Thanks for listening. :)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Random
I was 5 minutes late to work today. Five. I have been on time or (gasp) early for the last 2 1/2 weeks (since I changed my schedule to 7-4:30)...until today. Wah! I should get a gold star for being on time/early for that many days in a row. It's like a record for me. Seriously.
I did an hour long aerobics class last night for the first time in 10 years...and I'm not sore today! Except my abs. Two gold stars!
Oh yeah--Happy 4th of July!! Got any exciting plans?
I did an hour long aerobics class last night for the first time in 10 years...and I'm not sore today! Except my abs. Two gold stars!
Oh yeah--Happy 4th of July!! Got any exciting plans?
Monday, July 02, 2007
This week I...
celebrated my 3rd wedding anniversary.
ate at Charleston's...TWICE (YUM).
watched my first "4th of July" fireworks display this year.
laughed out loud when Mike asked me if it was supposed to rain this week.
went to another baseball game.
went to my first East Coast Swing dance lesson...And loved it!
got a temporary crown on my back tooth.
offically changed my work schedule from 8-5:30 to 7-4:30.
bought more scrapbook stuff to make me feel better about 20+ consecutive days of rain.
laughed at Simon who decided to sleep under the bed with his butt and back two feet hanging out.
started getting excited about my time off for the holiday/vacation.
got told I "could get thrown in jail for doing that."
listened to my dad lecture for 3 minutes about how excise tax was the government's worst way to steal our money.
got excited for a split second when the sun teased me with only a moment of brightness.
ate at Charleston's...TWICE (YUM).
watched my first "4th of July" fireworks display this year.
laughed out loud when Mike asked me if it was supposed to rain this week.
went to another baseball game.
went to my first East Coast Swing dance lesson...And loved it!
got a temporary crown on my back tooth.
offically changed my work schedule from 8-5:30 to 7-4:30.
bought more scrapbook stuff to make me feel better about 20+ consecutive days of rain.
laughed at Simon who decided to sleep under the bed with his butt and back two feet hanging out.
started getting excited about my time off for the holiday/vacation.
got told I "could get thrown in jail for doing that."
listened to my dad lecture for 3 minutes about how excise tax was the government's worst way to steal our money.
got excited for a split second when the sun teased me with only a moment of brightness.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Letter to my 10-year old self
(Note: I got this idea from a stranger's blog that I happened upon, and was touched with the idea so much, I wanted to do one of my own.)
Dear Amy,
Although given the opportunity for you to read this, I don't know that you would actually take my advice, but here it is...for what it's worth. Take it to heart and listen to it. It will help you in a way you can't imagine.
You will not walk the "teacher" path that you have always dreamed of achieving, but don't give up on this dream. It will take you to a University that will offer you a career path that even in your wildest dreams, you can't imagine. A career that is fun and exciting and will encompass one of your great passions: traveling.
Spend as much time as possible with your church friends. There will come a time when you won't see them again and all you will have are the wonderful memories that you have created together. The one where you spend a week with Tiffany will be one of your most treasured and will constantly remind you of your innocence.
In 6th grade, go ahead and give mom the schedule for the end of the school year events. She won't disown you for dancing to a Paula Abdul song in the talent show. If you choose not to give it to her, the outcome will be much more severe. And the guilt will go with you until your wedding day. It's not worth it.
You will see and hear a lot of things in your home growing up. Especially in junior high and high school. You will cry-a lot. But always remember, you are loved very much. I wish I could tell you that things will get better...but they don't. But through this time, it will teach you everything you need to know to give great love to those around you and to appreciate the ones you love.
Your sophomore year will be filled with many laughs, as well as heartaches. You will become best friends with a girl who will bring a lot of happiness to you during a time of great struggle. Share your secrets with her, because she is a great friend who listens. Hang on to that friendship-she will come back into your life years down the road.
When you are 14, Dad will be rushing you to get into the car while you are trying to listen to a song in the house. Go ahead and jump in the car, turn the key to hear the song on the radio and enjoy the ride into the garage door. Dad won't be mad at you and he'll get a new garage door out of the deal.
Your freshman year of college will be a year of loss. You will lose one of your very dear childhood friends, and this will change you for the rest of your life. It is because of this loss that you will gain a great fear of dying in a car accident. Get ready for it, because it will linger with you for many many years. Spend more time with your Uncle Gordon. It is this year that the surprise news of his leukemia will take him home to be with Jesus in only three short weeks.
At 17, you will meet the man you will marry. You will know this right away, but it will take you a few years to adjust to giving up your independence. It is worth it in the end. He will love you in a way no one else can. And he will show it. Don't listen to anyone else but your heart, because only you will be able to make the right decision. Fight for the one you love, and years down the road, he will do the same for you.
Although you can't imagine it now, your sister will become your best friend. You will fight and you will laugh many times between, but she loves you more than anything. Be nice to her more often and don't fight so much over petty things. She will need a good friend in the years to come and you will need to be that friend for her.
Don't be so upset your junior year in college when you get your rooming assignment in the mail. The "surprise" roommate will become one of your very best friends, and living with her for 2 years will be a blast! God knows what He is doing when He messes up your plans. Thank Him for it. Daily.
A time will come when you will want to put your music aside for a break. Take the break-you deserve it! But never lose your desire to play the piano and sing. As promised, God will use you to minister to others through your music, and eventually will inspire you to write your own. This will be a major common bond between you and your husband, so never give it up completely.
Guard your heart and stay focused on only the things that God has put in your life. If you choose not to do this, 2006 will be a very difficult year for you. You will make mistakes. Big mistakes that you thought yourself incapable of. But in making those mistakes, be truthful with the ones you love...and they will forgive you. It will be a huge challenge, but learn to forgive yourself also.
June 26, 2004 will be the happiest day of your life.
Sugar and Curly won't be the only pets in your life. When your husband begs you to get a dog, give in to his request. By doing so, you will bring home someone that will be one of the greatest loves of your life.
Take in all the beautiful scenery you come along and take a lot of pictures along the way. You will not regret it. Keep God first in your life and you will have nothing to worry about. He will hold your hand through the trials and give you strength to make it through each day. Love unconditionally. Your life will be filled with struggles and disappointments, but it will also be filled with lots of laughter and victorious memories. When you get my age and look back on your life you will see that you have been extremely blessed with the life you were given.
Sincerely,
Amy (Age 26)
Dear Amy,
Although given the opportunity for you to read this, I don't know that you would actually take my advice, but here it is...for what it's worth. Take it to heart and listen to it. It will help you in a way you can't imagine.
You will not walk the "teacher" path that you have always dreamed of achieving, but don't give up on this dream. It will take you to a University that will offer you a career path that even in your wildest dreams, you can't imagine. A career that is fun and exciting and will encompass one of your great passions: traveling.
Spend as much time as possible with your church friends. There will come a time when you won't see them again and all you will have are the wonderful memories that you have created together. The one where you spend a week with Tiffany will be one of your most treasured and will constantly remind you of your innocence.
In 6th grade, go ahead and give mom the schedule for the end of the school year events. She won't disown you for dancing to a Paula Abdul song in the talent show. If you choose not to give it to her, the outcome will be much more severe. And the guilt will go with you until your wedding day. It's not worth it.
You will see and hear a lot of things in your home growing up. Especially in junior high and high school. You will cry-a lot. But always remember, you are loved very much. I wish I could tell you that things will get better...but they don't. But through this time, it will teach you everything you need to know to give great love to those around you and to appreciate the ones you love.
Your sophomore year will be filled with many laughs, as well as heartaches. You will become best friends with a girl who will bring a lot of happiness to you during a time of great struggle. Share your secrets with her, because she is a great friend who listens. Hang on to that friendship-she will come back into your life years down the road.
When you are 14, Dad will be rushing you to get into the car while you are trying to listen to a song in the house. Go ahead and jump in the car, turn the key to hear the song on the radio and enjoy the ride into the garage door. Dad won't be mad at you and he'll get a new garage door out of the deal.
Your freshman year of college will be a year of loss. You will lose one of your very dear childhood friends, and this will change you for the rest of your life. It is because of this loss that you will gain a great fear of dying in a car accident. Get ready for it, because it will linger with you for many many years. Spend more time with your Uncle Gordon. It is this year that the surprise news of his leukemia will take him home to be with Jesus in only three short weeks.
At 17, you will meet the man you will marry. You will know this right away, but it will take you a few years to adjust to giving up your independence. It is worth it in the end. He will love you in a way no one else can. And he will show it. Don't listen to anyone else but your heart, because only you will be able to make the right decision. Fight for the one you love, and years down the road, he will do the same for you.
Although you can't imagine it now, your sister will become your best friend. You will fight and you will laugh many times between, but she loves you more than anything. Be nice to her more often and don't fight so much over petty things. She will need a good friend in the years to come and you will need to be that friend for her.
Don't be so upset your junior year in college when you get your rooming assignment in the mail. The "surprise" roommate will become one of your very best friends, and living with her for 2 years will be a blast! God knows what He is doing when He messes up your plans. Thank Him for it. Daily.
A time will come when you will want to put your music aside for a break. Take the break-you deserve it! But never lose your desire to play the piano and sing. As promised, God will use you to minister to others through your music, and eventually will inspire you to write your own. This will be a major common bond between you and your husband, so never give it up completely.
Guard your heart and stay focused on only the things that God has put in your life. If you choose not to do this, 2006 will be a very difficult year for you. You will make mistakes. Big mistakes that you thought yourself incapable of. But in making those mistakes, be truthful with the ones you love...and they will forgive you. It will be a huge challenge, but learn to forgive yourself also.
June 26, 2004 will be the happiest day of your life.
Sugar and Curly won't be the only pets in your life. When your husband begs you to get a dog, give in to his request. By doing so, you will bring home someone that will be one of the greatest loves of your life.
Take in all the beautiful scenery you come along and take a lot of pictures along the way. You will not regret it. Keep God first in your life and you will have nothing to worry about. He will hold your hand through the trials and give you strength to make it through each day. Love unconditionally. Your life will be filled with struggles and disappointments, but it will also be filled with lots of laughter and victorious memories. When you get my age and look back on your life you will see that you have been extremely blessed with the life you were given.
Sincerely,
Amy (Age 26)
Row, row, row your boat...
When I was younger, my friend Audrey and I would go camping in our backyards. I have a lot of wonderful memories from those "campouts." But I remember one specific time that we had made plans to camp out all week--it rained the very first night and we were so bummed about that. The next day I overheard my dad talking about how God had answered his prayer for rain. Here's how the conversation proceeded:
Me: DAD!!!!! You PRAYED for rain?!?!
Dad: Yes, Amy. We need the rain.
Me: But DAAAAD!! Audrey and I want to go camping this week, and we can't if it rains. So will you PUHLEEEESE stop praying for rain? Just for this one week??? Or can you ask God to stop the rain just for this week?
Dad: I'm sorry Amy, but we need the rain. I won't ask Him to stop it.
I walked away so heart broken because I really wanted to camp out that week.
From that moment on, whenever I wanted to make any plans that involved being outside, I'd call my dad up and ask him if he was praying for rain because I was planning something outside and I needed to know if it was going to get rained out. :) Becuase if Dad prays for rain...it rains.
I heard this week that it has rained here in Tulsa the past 20 out of 24 days. I've already traded in my car for a boat, and have been paddling to work. I finally called my dad this morning:
Me: Hi Dad. So I was just wondering if you are still praying for rain, because I think it's okay to stop now.
For the love of all things holy, PLEASE make it STOP!!!
Me: DAD!!!!! You PRAYED for rain?!?!
Dad: Yes, Amy. We need the rain.
Me: But DAAAAD!! Audrey and I want to go camping this week, and we can't if it rains. So will you PUHLEEEESE stop praying for rain? Just for this one week??? Or can you ask God to stop the rain just for this week?
Dad: I'm sorry Amy, but we need the rain. I won't ask Him to stop it.
I walked away so heart broken because I really wanted to camp out that week.
From that moment on, whenever I wanted to make any plans that involved being outside, I'd call my dad up and ask him if he was praying for rain because I was planning something outside and I needed to know if it was going to get rained out. :) Becuase if Dad prays for rain...it rains.
I heard this week that it has rained here in Tulsa the past 20 out of 24 days. I've already traded in my car for a boat, and have been paddling to work. I finally called my dad this morning:
Me: Hi Dad. So I was just wondering if you are still praying for rain, because I think it's okay to stop now.
For the love of all things holy, PLEASE make it STOP!!!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Happy Anniversary!
After being together close to 9 years, you'd think the surprises would stop, but my wonderful husband has surprised me yet again. Today is our 3rd Wedding Anniversary, and for my gift Mike got us private swing dance lessons! I took a semester of ballroom dancing in college and we have always wanted to take it together, but haven't been able to find a place that did lessons on Friday nights. But he found one! We start this Friday and I am SO excited!!
I have the best husband in the world!
Happy 3rd Anniversary Babe-I love you!!
I have the best husband in the world!
Happy 3rd Anniversary Babe-I love you!!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Weird
Most people know that my current employer is the same one that hired me right out of college. I did my final internship with them and then a full-time position became available 2 months into my internship that I applied for and received. I've been with the company 4 years next month. During those 4 years the woman who hired me left to do independent meeting planning and one of my (now) friends hired on in her place. And even since then, my friend has moved into another industry and I switched positions into hers. Which brings us to today.
I was going through my filing cabinet making room for some files of meetings I just completed. I stumbled upon a file that the woman who hired me had created. Inside were the resumes and interview notes for myself and 2 other candidates for the intership I received here before I came on full-time. Now THAT was weird.
I was going through my filing cabinet making room for some files of meetings I just completed. I stumbled upon a file that the woman who hired me had created. Inside were the resumes and interview notes for myself and 2 other candidates for the intership I received here before I came on full-time. Now THAT was weird.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Rain rain go away!!
I feel like it has been raining for 326 consecutive days. I'm tired of the rain. I miss the sunshine. Please make the rain stop. If it doesn't stop, I will be forced to trade my car in for a boat...and I don't know the first thing about picking out a boat. Ugh. :(
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The past two weeks I...
had dinner with a group of geo-guys.
made some new friends.
missed my niece's first dance recital. :(
played water volleyball and water basketball...and sucked at both-of course.
went to some historical sites in San Antonio.
ate dinner on the river at the Riverwalk.
missed a high school graduation.
layed out by the pool. A lot.
got my hair done.
had a Birthday party for my dog.
had lunch with a good friend.
have seen enough rain to fill a swimming pool--maybe 2.
bought new clothes. And jewelry.
started running again.
made close to $300 at my garage sale (woo hoo!).
listened to the new Maroon 5 CD at least 20 times.
stuffed 650 packets of information.
tried Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt (YUM!).
and plenty more in between!
made some new friends.
missed my niece's first dance recital. :(
played water volleyball and water basketball...and sucked at both-of course.
went to some historical sites in San Antonio.
ate dinner on the river at the Riverwalk.
missed a high school graduation.
layed out by the pool. A lot.
got my hair done.
had a Birthday party for my dog.
had lunch with a good friend.
have seen enough rain to fill a swimming pool--maybe 2.
bought new clothes. And jewelry.
started running again.
made close to $300 at my garage sale (woo hoo!).
listened to the new Maroon 5 CD at least 20 times.
stuffed 650 packets of information.
tried Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt (YUM!).
and plenty more in between!
Monday, June 04, 2007
Turkey Pics!!
Feel free to speed up the slideshow because there are a lot of pictures...and I mean a LOT. :)
Friday, June 01, 2007
Happy Birthday!
Today my little Stinky Pot is 3 years old! Happy Birthday Simey Boy!! Wish I could be there with you to celebrate today. We'll eat cake on Tuesday. Miss you Pooh!
*And Happy Half Birthday to my sista*
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
I love my job!!
Besides the obvious reasons why I love my job (i.e. travel, friendships, cool bosses), I now have another reason to add to my list.
I am in San Antonio right now working a meeting (that starts tomorrow). At 5:00 this evening my hotel contact calls my cell phone and asks if I have plans for the rest of the evening. She has two extra tickets to the San Antonio Spurs basketball game and wants to take me (box seats)!! Heck yeah I wanted to go. I freakin' LOVE basketball, and like I would pass up an opportunity to watch an NBA Western Conference Championship that sent the Spurs to the NBA finals.
It rocked the house! Although I was a little disappointed that the Spurs held the lead (from the very start) by at least 20 through the ENTIRE game. Yawn. Oh well, the excited atmosphere was fun and I loved it!
Stupid me forgot my camera at home on the desk the ONE time I really needed it. So I won't be posting pictures until my hotel contact emails them to me tomorrow. :)
Woo hoo! Go Spurs Go!!
I am in San Antonio right now working a meeting (that starts tomorrow). At 5:00 this evening my hotel contact calls my cell phone and asks if I have plans for the rest of the evening. She has two extra tickets to the San Antonio Spurs basketball game and wants to take me (box seats)!! Heck yeah I wanted to go. I freakin' LOVE basketball, and like I would pass up an opportunity to watch an NBA Western Conference Championship that sent the Spurs to the NBA finals.
It rocked the house! Although I was a little disappointed that the Spurs held the lead (from the very start) by at least 20 through the ENTIRE game. Yawn. Oh well, the excited atmosphere was fun and I loved it!
Stupid me forgot my camera at home on the desk the ONE time I really needed it. So I won't be posting pictures until my hotel contact emails them to me tomorrow. :)
Woo hoo! Go Spurs Go!!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Venting
I'm officially annoyed with traveling...mostly just flying. A co-worker and I had to fly to Austin yesterday for a quick one night/two day trip for a committee meeting. After the meeting, we rushed to the airport to try and make our 3:15 pm flight to Tulsa. We ran. For nothing.
We boarded our flight and sat on the plane for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Apparently there were thunderstorms in Dallas (where our flight connected) and we couldn't leave Austin until they cleared. After the 2.5 butt-numbing experience, they taxied back to the gate and let us get off the plane and stretch our legs/get something to eat/use the restroom. 45 minutes later we got to board our flight. Meanwhile, we missed our 5:30 connection from Dallas to Tulsa.
By 8:00 we finally pulled up to the Dallas gate, deboarded to enter the most chaotic of all situations. People. Everywhere. Lines forever long. We got in line and when we finally reached the counter, the ticket agent graciously gave us an upgrade to the next flight out (leaving at 10:55 pm) for free. We were stoked. Changed into something more comfortable (thank goodness for clothes in your carryon!), then we went to our gate to camp out. While minding our own business, a gentleman sitting next to us asked if we were on the 10:55 to Tulsa. Bad News: it was cancelled. UGH!
So now I am sitting here in the Dallas Love airport holding a ticket to Tulsa departing at midnight. Yes midnight. I am tired and I want nothing more than to be home right now.
In Austin, I bought a couple of magazines while we were waiting to reboard the plane. As I was walking away from the counter, the cashier politely said "Have a great day." Being the optimist that I am responded with "It can only get better." What happened to the power of the tongue, b/c I'm pretty sure it only got worse from there. Sigh.
We boarded our flight and sat on the plane for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Apparently there were thunderstorms in Dallas (where our flight connected) and we couldn't leave Austin until they cleared. After the 2.5 butt-numbing experience, they taxied back to the gate and let us get off the plane and stretch our legs/get something to eat/use the restroom. 45 minutes later we got to board our flight. Meanwhile, we missed our 5:30 connection from Dallas to Tulsa.
By 8:00 we finally pulled up to the Dallas gate, deboarded to enter the most chaotic of all situations. People. Everywhere. Lines forever long. We got in line and when we finally reached the counter, the ticket agent graciously gave us an upgrade to the next flight out (leaving at 10:55 pm) for free. We were stoked. Changed into something more comfortable (thank goodness for clothes in your carryon!), then we went to our gate to camp out. While minding our own business, a gentleman sitting next to us asked if we were on the 10:55 to Tulsa. Bad News: it was cancelled. UGH!
So now I am sitting here in the Dallas Love airport holding a ticket to Tulsa departing at midnight. Yes midnight. I am tired and I want nothing more than to be home right now.
In Austin, I bought a couple of magazines while we were waiting to reboard the plane. As I was walking away from the counter, the cashier politely said "Have a great day." Being the optimist that I am responded with "It can only get better." What happened to the power of the tongue, b/c I'm pretty sure it only got worse from there. Sigh.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Pt. 2 So far in Turkey I...
rode a camel.
learned a handful more of phrases in Turkish.
went in a castle.
tried Turkish ice cream.
soaked up some sun rays on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea.
got a full body massage.
sat in a Roman arena that seats 15,000, and is still used today.
climbed a portion of the Taurus Mountains.
taken pictures of at least 4 famous (in Turkey) sets of waterfalls.
have gotten followed in every store I have gone in.
have missed my doggie VERY much.
spent all of my money.
I have enjoyed my time here, but am ready to go home. Only 17 hours until our flight leaves.
Woo hoo!! Oklahoma here we come! :)
learned a handful more of phrases in Turkish.
went in a castle.
tried Turkish ice cream.
soaked up some sun rays on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea.
got a full body massage.
sat in a Roman arena that seats 15,000, and is still used today.
climbed a portion of the Taurus Mountains.
taken pictures of at least 4 famous (in Turkey) sets of waterfalls.
have gotten followed in every store I have gone in.
have missed my doggie VERY much.
spent all of my money.
I have enjoyed my time here, but am ready to go home. Only 17 hours until our flight leaves.
Woo hoo!! Oklahoma here we come! :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
So far in Turkey I...
rode a Yacht on the Mediterranean Sea.
haven't gotten a good night's rest yet.
learned how to say "Please pick up my empty tray" in Turkish.
washed my face each night sans wash cloth...only a hand towel.
have breathed in enough cigarette smoke to warrant X-Raying my lungs for spots.
laugh a little on the inside every time they bring me a Coca Cola with no ice and a slice of lemon.
have taken lots of wonderful pictures.
have eaten some interesting food.
watched a lot of Turkish TV.
discovered that the birds here are a lot nicer than the ones in Tulsa, America.
unwillingly saw some guys catching rays in speedos.
tried Turkish Delight.
And I still have 5 days left! Woo hoo!!
haven't gotten a good night's rest yet.
learned how to say "Please pick up my empty tray" in Turkish.
washed my face each night sans wash cloth...only a hand towel.
have breathed in enough cigarette smoke to warrant X-Raying my lungs for spots.
laugh a little on the inside every time they bring me a Coca Cola with no ice and a slice of lemon.
have taken lots of wonderful pictures.
have eaten some interesting food.
watched a lot of Turkish TV.
discovered that the birds here are a lot nicer than the ones in Tulsa, America.
unwillingly saw some guys catching rays in speedos.
tried Turkish Delight.
And I still have 5 days left! Woo hoo!!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Interview Questions
Canaan says I don't blog enough b/c she needs more reading material at work, and my sister finally gave me my turn at answering 5 Interview Questions...so here are my answers:
1. If you could be a superhero with super powers, what would you be, what powers would you have, and why?
I would be the Mind-reading Blinkster. I’ve always said if I had a super power it would be that I’d have the ability to read other people’s thoughts at my whim, because well, that would just be some useful information. But since it says “powers” that means I can have more than one (YAY!) so my second power would be that I’d have the ability to blink my eyes and things would be done. For instance, I’m working on cleaning the house, and *blink* it’s already done. Or I’m taking a 17 hour road trip to theGrand Canyon and the drive is BORING, so *blink* I’m already there. Or even better, I’m trying to think of creative, but legit answers to complete my employee review discussion form and *blink* the answers automatically appear. :) Now THAT would be cool. Being invisible would be cool too.
Keep the good times rollin' and do the following:
01. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
02. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
03. You will update your weblog with the answers to the questions.
04. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
05. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
1. If you could be a superhero with super powers, what would you be, what powers would you have, and why?
I would be the Mind-reading Blinkster. I’ve always said if I had a super power it would be that I’d have the ability to read other people’s thoughts at my whim, because well, that would just be some useful information. But since it says “powers” that means I can have more than one (YAY!) so my second power would be that I’d have the ability to blink my eyes and things would be done. For instance, I’m working on cleaning the house, and *blink* it’s already done. Or I’m taking a 17 hour road trip to the
2. If you could invent something to make your life a little easier what would it be?
I’d create a remote that would allow me to fast forward, rewind, play, pause, stop, at any point in my life. You know like the movie “Click.” Only it wouldn’t have a negative effect on my life. If I was having a crappy day, I’d just skip through it and start a new day…no repercussions.
3. If you had a million dollars how would you spend it?
First I’d pay tithes to my church. I know that sounds cliché, but I really would do that. Then I’d pay off my house and my car (probably upgrade to a bigger house). I have always said that if I had enough money I’d pay off my parents house and my in-laws' house. I hope that given the opportunity, I’d follow through with that. I’d have to blow some of it on new shoes and stuff I don’t really need, but want. Of course I’d have to feed my scrapbooking habit. Travel. And then invest the rest.
4. Since you have many hilarious stories of ‘dumb’ things you have done, please share the one embarrassing story about yourself that you find most intriguing.
While playing “
Here’s how the conversation went from there (names have been changed to protect the stupid—other than me, of course):
Girl 1: OH! It’s a tool that an archeologist uses!
Me: An archeologist?!?! They dig for bones!!
Girl 2: You mean an architect…or a carpenter.
Me: No! It’s not a carpenter! A carpenter builds carpet!!
(crickets chirping….)
(roars of laughter)
Me thinking: Did I seriously just say those words out of my mouth?!?
Needless to say, we did not win the game. :(
5. If you had one Post Secret that you wouldn’t mind us in blogworld knowing, what would it be?
There's something about drains and grates on the ground that bother me. I can't walk on top of them. I always go around.
Keep the good times rollin' and do the following:
01. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
02. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
03. You will update your weblog with the answers to the questions.
04. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
05. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The addiction begins.
Well, after a long agonizing day last Tuesday, Mike and I finally have Dish Satellite. Unfortunately, Mike was out of town on a business trip the first day/night we had it, so I had to enjoy it alone. He called me to tell me good-night and asked what I was doing. This is how the conversation played out:
Him: What are you doing?
Me: Watching E! News.
Him: Oh great....it's started.
Me: Hey now, this is 100% your fault. I blame you completely.
Him: Yeah, you're right. I'm the one who pushed cable.
I called him the next morning and admitted that having cable was going to be a problem for me. I stayed up until 1:00 am watching E! and then was late to work the following morning because I got caught up watching music videos on VH1. He told me not to turn the TV on in the mornings if it was going to be a problem. Hello?!?! I don't have the self-discipline...even if I have gone the past 26 years of my life without it.
Thank you very much.
Him: What are you doing?
Me: Watching E! News.
Him: Oh great....it's started.
Me: Hey now, this is 100% your fault. I blame you completely.
Him: Yeah, you're right. I'm the one who pushed cable.
I called him the next morning and admitted that having cable was going to be a problem for me. I stayed up until 1:00 am watching E! and then was late to work the following morning because I got caught up watching music videos on VH1. He told me not to turn the TV on in the mornings if it was going to be a problem. Hello?!?! I don't have the self-discipline...even if I have gone the past 26 years of my life without it.
Thank you very much.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Drivers Beware!
So I'm a little late posting this, as it actually happened around the beginning of this month, but it was too good to just ignore...so better late than never.
These are two pictures that I took of an incident that happened in my work parking lot. They look like pictures that you'd seen in an email forward of "graphically enhanced" photos, but I assure you, they are legit, with no enhancements.
My co-worker and I came to the conclusion (although we did not witness it first hand) that the woman-yes woman-driving the car must have been yapping on the phone, digging in her purse for her lipstick, while accelerating around the corner. Lucky for her she didn't drive right into the pond that sits only a few feet away.
The car pushed the rock she landed on 2-3 feet and chipped on a huge chunk on the corner of the rock.
All in all, I give the tow truck driver mad props for actually getting this car off the rock in the first attempt. It was angled in such a way he had to "jack knife" his tow truck.
Go ahead...insult away (blonde/woman driver jokes, etc). I know you can't hold back.
These are two pictures that I took of an incident that happened in my work parking lot. They look like pictures that you'd seen in an email forward of "graphically enhanced" photos, but I assure you, they are legit, with no enhancements.
My co-worker and I came to the conclusion (although we did not witness it first hand) that the woman-yes woman-driving the car must have been yapping on the phone, digging in her purse for her lipstick, while accelerating around the corner. Lucky for her she didn't drive right into the pond that sits only a few feet away.
The car pushed the rock she landed on 2-3 feet and chipped on a huge chunk on the corner of the rock.
All in all, I give the tow truck driver mad props for actually getting this car off the rock in the first attempt. It was angled in such a way he had to "jack knife" his tow truck.
Go ahead...insult away (blonde/woman driver jokes, etc). I know you can't hold back.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Announcement
Effective this Tuesday by 5:00 pm CDT, Mike and I will have officially left the Dinosaur Ages and joined the rest of America: we will officially have the Dish Network WITH.....
DVR!! Woot! Woot! This calls for a celebration! :)
DVR!! Woot! Woot! This calls for a celebration! :)
Monday, April 02, 2007
Tonight is the big night!!
Amazing as it is, the NCAA bracket is down to me and one other girl, who also knows nothing about basketball. If Florida wins, she wins. If Ohio State wins, I win.
So, because you all like me so much, and how I know that you would do anything for me...please watch the championship game tonight and route HARD CORE for Ohio State!!! I can't say that I'll share the pot with you...I mean, it's only 50 bucks...but I will definitely think of you all when I'm spending it!!!! And if they lose, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore if you didn't route hard core.
Thanks much!!!!! :)
So, because you all like me so much, and how I know that you would do anything for me...please watch the championship game tonight and route HARD CORE for Ohio State!!! I can't say that I'll share the pot with you...I mean, it's only 50 bucks...but I will definitely think of you all when I'm spending it!!!! And if they lose, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore if you didn't route hard core.
Thanks much!!!!! :)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Attention Drivers!
(steps up on Soap Box)
Notice to all drivers:
When it is clearly stated for at least a mile that the left lane will be closed ahead for construction, and you see the traffic is already backed up in the right lane, don't speed by the line of traffic to cut in at the front of the line. It is rude and very inconsiderate, and all it does it make me want to beat your car/truck with a baseball bat. We are all running late and are frustrated about the construction, but now because of your selfishness those of us that have waited patiently in the long line have to wait longer to accommodate you butting in front.
AND, if you decide to disreguard this notice and race up to the front of the line anyway, you do not have the right, as a driver or a human being, to get pissed off/flip off/curse at the drivers that choose not to feel sorry for you and allow you to merge in.
Thank you, and Happy Driving!
(steps off Soap Box)
Notice to all drivers:
When it is clearly stated for at least a mile that the left lane will be closed ahead for construction, and you see the traffic is already backed up in the right lane, don't speed by the line of traffic to cut in at the front of the line. It is rude and very inconsiderate, and all it does it make me want to beat your car/truck with a baseball bat. We are all running late and are frustrated about the construction, but now because of your selfishness those of us that have waited patiently in the long line have to wait longer to accommodate you butting in front.
AND, if you decide to disreguard this notice and race up to the front of the line anyway, you do not have the right, as a driver or a human being, to get pissed off/flip off/curse at the drivers that choose not to feel sorry for you and allow you to merge in.
Thank you, and Happy Driving!
(steps off Soap Box)
Friday, March 23, 2007
Update
Just because I wanted to see it in writing, I wanted to say that I am currently in First Place on my bracket. I know that doesn't mean anything and that it could change in just one game, but it's still fun to log in and see "Watson1" listed in first place. Ahhh.
I have never been so stressed out watching a game as I was last night watching the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game. Ohio State won by one point in the last 5 seconds of the game. I was only stressed out so much because I have Ohio State going all the way. If they lost last night, my bracket would be dead. So YAY! I can breathe again until they play again. :)
I have never been so stressed out watching a game as I was last night watching the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game. Ohio State won by one point in the last 5 seconds of the game. I was only stressed out so much because I have Ohio State going all the way. If they lost last night, my bracket would be dead. So YAY! I can breathe again until they play again. :)
Spring Break
Can I just say, for the record, that I am loving spring break week?? Even though I don't get a "spring break," I am thankful that all the morons that usually slow my drive into work down are off on the beach getting fried. Ahhh, I actually made it to work on time every single day this week. Go me. :)
Monday, March 19, 2007
This week I...
worked out three times (met my weekly goal-yay!)
watched basketball like I was a professional addict.
pinched 2 people that weren't wearing green on St Paddys Day.
got my hair colored a shade darker.
watched "John Tucker Must Die." (cutesy girly movie)
watched my 6 year old niece play soccer.
sang "Happy Birthday" to Mike three times.
ate at Ted's to celebrate Mike's new job, Mike's birthday weekend, and my new cute hair.
watched "End of the Spear." (don't waste your time)
ate lunch at the Cherokee Casino.
gave Simon a bath because he was a Stinky Pot.
got depressed when the dentist told me all the work I needed on my teeth and how much out of pocket expense I would have because of it.
watched "The Office" newpeats. :)
put a countdown on my fridge for my trip to Turkey.
went to Wal-Mart to get groceries...with the 80 million other people that did the same thing.
caught a kid burning a bird house in our backyard.
laughed on the inside when said kid ran up to apologize when he realized we were watching him...his exact words: "We aren't doing drugs or anything...I'm just obsessed with fire, so I burned one of my bird houses. We're sorry." (Because THAT makes me feel better!)
sighed at the realization that another week had come and gone.
watched basketball like I was a professional addict.
pinched 2 people that weren't wearing green on St Paddys Day.
got my hair colored a shade darker.
watched "John Tucker Must Die." (cutesy girly movie)
watched my 6 year old niece play soccer.
sang "Happy Birthday" to Mike three times.
ate at Ted's to celebrate Mike's new job, Mike's birthday weekend, and my new cute hair.
watched "End of the Spear." (don't waste your time)
ate lunch at the Cherokee Casino.
gave Simon a bath because he was a Stinky Pot.
got depressed when the dentist told me all the work I needed on my teeth and how much out of pocket expense I would have because of it.
watched "The Office" newpeats. :)
put a countdown on my fridge for my trip to Turkey.
went to Wal-Mart to get groceries...with the 80 million other people that did the same thing.
caught a kid burning a bird house in our backyard.
laughed on the inside when said kid ran up to apologize when he realized we were watching him...his exact words: "We aren't doing drugs or anything...I'm just obsessed with fire, so I burned one of my bird houses. We're sorry." (Because THAT makes me feel better!)
sighed at the realization that another week had come and gone.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
March Madness!!
For the third year in a row, I filled out a bracket for March Madness...ME! Can you believe it? This, from a girl, who only three years ago thought that brackets were something that were on braces, and knew nothing about upsets. Work does one every year (well for the past 3 years now), and I am amazed to say that I actually won the pot of loot last year!!
I know I'm not lucky enough to win a second year in a row, but I sure gave it my best shot. I even came in second place the first year I filled one out, which was surprising, seeing how I filled it out based on who had the best colors and the cutest mascot. :)
So here's to year three, hoping that I will at least get in the top 5 (which shouldn't be THAT hard since there are only 9 of us playing). Please, Lord, I need to at least be in the top 5. I would really feel worthless if I came in last place. I don't take losing well.
The first three games are started...for the next few weeks I will be like a zombie glued to the computer screen and/or TV. I get obsessed. This is the only time all year long that I get THIS obsessed about anything sports related. :)
So...Woo hoo!! YAY for March Madness!!
I know I'm not lucky enough to win a second year in a row, but I sure gave it my best shot. I even came in second place the first year I filled one out, which was surprising, seeing how I filled it out based on who had the best colors and the cutest mascot. :)
So here's to year three, hoping that I will at least get in the top 5 (which shouldn't be THAT hard since there are only 9 of us playing). Please, Lord, I need to at least be in the top 5. I would really feel worthless if I came in last place. I don't take losing well.
The first three games are started...for the next few weeks I will be like a zombie glued to the computer screen and/or TV. I get obsessed. This is the only time all year long that I get THIS obsessed about anything sports related. :)
So...Woo hoo!! YAY for March Madness!!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Oakland vs. Orlando
Mike and I went to Mazzio's last night for the buffet. We sat near the TV and the Oakland vs ORU game was on ESPN. As we were eating our pizza, three little boys about the age of 9 or 10 came over to reserve two tables for their families. They had just come from their own basketball game, and were still in uniform.
They were so delighted to see that a basketball game was on TV. This was the conversation Mike and I witnessed. We couldn't help but chuckle as we eavesdropped.
Boy 1: Look a ball game is on TV!
Boy 2: Cool! I wonder who is playing.
Boy 3: You two hold our tables and I'll get closer to see.
(Boy 3 walks closer to the TV and squints.)
Boy 3: Looks like Oakland and Orlando.
Boy 2: Are you sure? Because from over here it looks like Oral Rob.
Boy 3: I know, it's the Orlando Robbins.
(All 3 boys stare at the TV puzzled.)
Boy 1: I don't think it's the Orlando Robbins. The white jerserys say "ORU."
Boy 3: Exactly. Orlando Robbins University.
Boy 1: Nuh uh. It's Oral Roberts University.
Boy 3: Oh. So the white jerseys are ORU.
Personally, I am going to start calling them the Orlando Robbins, because that sounds so much more fun. :)
They were so delighted to see that a basketball game was on TV. This was the conversation Mike and I witnessed. We couldn't help but chuckle as we eavesdropped.
Boy 1: Look a ball game is on TV!
Boy 2: Cool! I wonder who is playing.
Boy 3: You two hold our tables and I'll get closer to see.
(Boy 3 walks closer to the TV and squints.)
Boy 3: Looks like Oakland and Orlando.
Boy 2: Are you sure? Because from over here it looks like Oral Rob.
Boy 3: I know, it's the Orlando Robbins.
(All 3 boys stare at the TV puzzled.)
Boy 1: I don't think it's the Orlando Robbins. The white jerserys say "ORU."
Boy 3: Exactly. Orlando Robbins University.
Boy 1: Nuh uh. It's Oral Roberts University.
Boy 3: Oh. So the white jerseys are ORU.
Personally, I am going to start calling them the Orlando Robbins, because that sounds so much more fun. :)
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Office Addict
I'm a little concerned about my well-being. Okay, I'm a lot concerned. I'm convinced that my sub-conscious has a thing for "Jim" from the Office. Because twice I've had dreams about him. That was, of course, around the time when I watched both seasons one and two of "The Office" straight through. So I passed it off as too much "Office" on the brain. BUT, I haven't watched any "Office" for like two or three weeks (since they are reruns) and had another dream about John Krasinski and Jenna Fisher yesterday.
It's official...I think I need professional help.
It's official...I think I need professional help.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
I can do it!!
So after taking a two month hiatus from consistently working out, I'm headed back to my usual routine: weights and cardio at LEAST 3 times a week. I blame my hiatus on my "busy schedule." I know, what a lame excuse but it's true. Okay, so it's just an excuse. If I really wanted to work out I would have made time. After all, I do have a membership to a 24 hour facility. But who wants to go burn fat at 11:00 at night? Certainly not I, so I opted to just skip, and in the mean time, the spot on the couch is getting a burning impression of my rear-end...which I blame entirely on my TV addicition. If it weren't for so many dang good shows on TV right now, I wouldn't find the need to sit in front of it nearly 10 hours a week (which will decrease as Idol kicks off more folks). I've finally decided that I'm just going to have to treat working out like an appointment, so that it doesn't get the boot when something better comes along that I want to do.
All that to say this, I have to bribe myself every year to get myself to stay motivated working out. It's not that I want to lose weight. I merely want to burn some fat and tone up for the summer. I have to think of something to buy myself or give myself that I wouldn't just go out and buy myself just because. I have to REALLY want it-hence the bribery. :)
So, this time if I work out at least 3 times a week for four weeks straight, I will reward myself with these super cute sandals. It's really going to be worth it...even if they are 62 bucks. :(
All that to say this, I have to bribe myself every year to get myself to stay motivated working out. It's not that I want to lose weight. I merely want to burn some fat and tone up for the summer. I have to think of something to buy myself or give myself that I wouldn't just go out and buy myself just because. I have to REALLY want it-hence the bribery. :)
So, this time if I work out at least 3 times a week for four weeks straight, I will reward myself with these super cute sandals. It's really going to be worth it...even if they are 62 bucks. :(
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
To Austin
I just got back from Austin-another work trip. Overall, a good trip, but felt like forever. That was probably because our meeting let out early at noon, so the three of us got to sit in the airport for five hours. That's right, FIVE. HOURS. Ugh. Pretty sure I've mastered the art of Sudoku, as I successfully completed at least 13-some more frustrating than others. ha!
On the flight down there, I witnessed something very funny. We had a very flamboyant flight attendant, who I thought was a hoot. Apparently the grouchy woman and her gripey husband sitting in front of us weren't so impressed with his gimics. She ordered a coffee. He was handing her the styrofoam cup as he was saying "Watch out it's really hot," then proceeded to drop the cup on her...it was empty. I'll admit, I jumped when he dropped it. I really thought it had something in it. She did NOT find it quite so amusing. In fact, she yelled at him, and he spent the next 45 minutes apologizing to her. I felt sorry for him. Why do people have to be so grouchy when they fly? Seriously. He was just having fun.
On the way home, I don't know what we did to deserve the severe punishment that we received. A man sat directly behind us...with MAJOR B.O. I mean, the kind that wreaks so bad you literally throw up in your mouth a little. Or a lot. It was disgusting. We giggled like school children as we put lotion on our hands to sniff to help ease the stinch. For an hour we had to endure that God-awful odor. I feel like throwing up just thinking about it.
It's good to be home...
On the flight down there, I witnessed something very funny. We had a very flamboyant flight attendant, who I thought was a hoot. Apparently the grouchy woman and her gripey husband sitting in front of us weren't so impressed with his gimics. She ordered a coffee. He was handing her the styrofoam cup as he was saying "Watch out it's really hot," then proceeded to drop the cup on her...it was empty. I'll admit, I jumped when he dropped it. I really thought it had something in it. She did NOT find it quite so amusing. In fact, she yelled at him, and he spent the next 45 minutes apologizing to her. I felt sorry for him. Why do people have to be so grouchy when they fly? Seriously. He was just having fun.
On the way home, I don't know what we did to deserve the severe punishment that we received. A man sat directly behind us...with MAJOR B.O. I mean, the kind that wreaks so bad you literally throw up in your mouth a little. Or a lot. It was disgusting. We giggled like school children as we put lotion on our hands to sniff to help ease the stinch. For an hour we had to endure that God-awful odor. I feel like throwing up just thinking about it.
It's good to be home...
Brit
I haven't said much about her since her shaven-head taboo stunt, mostly because it caught me completely offguard, and I was, well...speechless. I didn't know WHAT to say.
Now, it just makes me sad for her. I hope she finds the help she needs.
Now, it just makes me sad for her. I hope she finds the help she needs.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The news
I mean no disrespect to the dead when I say this, BUT:
I was tired of hearing about Anna Nicole Smith BEFORE she passed away. Now, I'm just annoyed. Give me something about someone or something else that they haven't rehashed for the last 150 hours. Please.
I was tired of hearing about Anna Nicole Smith BEFORE she passed away. Now, I'm just annoyed. Give me something about someone or something else that they haven't rehashed for the last 150 hours. Please.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Heebie Jeebies Warning
***DISCLAIMER***If you are an animal rights activist or a lover of animals, particularly the rodent population, please stop reading now. You have been warned.***End DISCLAIMER***
Many of you know that Mike and I bought my parents house from them when we got married, so technically I have lived in the same house for 20 years. In all of those 20 years, we have never had a mouse problem. I am blaming the unusually cold winter this year as the reason for our ongoing mouse problem this year. There is some space between our dishwasher and our lower cabinet in the kitchen that the little rodents have discovered. We never knew they were keeping warm in there until we started seeing the evidence: mouse poo.
So Mike and I invested in some mouse traps to rid ourselves of what we thought was only one or two mice. We bought the little clampy kind that remind me of a chip bag clip holder, that way it would be a quick death (snap their neck) and we wouldn't have to touch the mouse to release him into the dumpster (I keep saying "we" although I solely mean Mike). We were so excited when we caught our first one, thinking we had conquered what would soon become an ongoing battle. Here the winter will soon be coming to a close in the coming months and I'm not kidding when I say we've now discarded close to 20 mice. Yes, 20!! Dear God, they are reproducing faster than we can get rid of them.
It's become a habit now before I do anything in the lower cabinet to open the door slightly and check to make sure the trap is still in place before bending down to get something out. If I don't see the trap, I know it has released the jaws of death on its prey which has bounced the trap out of its normal spot. (My ongoing fear of finding a rodent down there reminds me a lot of my surprise snake friend in my washing machine two summers ago. I STILL check for a dang snake everytime I open my washing machine lid. For a refresh on THAT story, click here and here.)
So yesterday, we got home from church and I was starting to make lunch. I needed something from the bottom cabinet, so I opened the door and glanced to "the spot" and to my dismay, it was gone. It was now mouse-filled in the front of the cabinet instead of on the side. Had I been a cursing person, I'm sure explicit profanties would have spilled out of my mouth at that moment. But I quickly slammed the door and managed to squeal "Oh DEAR GOD!" as I ran and jumped up on the couch. Mike, who was in the other room hollered, "Another mouse?" I answered back giddy, "YES!" He paused for only a moment and then hollered back, "You're standing on the couch, aren't you?" Realizing my childish actions, I lowered myself down on the couch and retaliated, "No...."
He came into the kitchen and opened the door for about 10 seconds, slammed the door and quickly squealed "Ohhh nuh uh!!" The.Mouse.Was.Still.Alive....in the trap. Pretty sure I threw up a little in my mouth. I spent 10 minutes psyching him up, to get the mouse out of the cabinet and discard him in the dumpster outside. I made him put on rubber gloves. Then, like a scaredy-cat, I buried my face in the pillow on the couch and plugged up my ears so I didn't have to hear the mouse moving in the Wal-Mart bag Mike put him in. He came back in and we talked about how that was the grossest thing he's done in a while, and how he actually felt bad knowing the mouse had not died as instantly as we originally hoped.
As if THAT wasn't bad enough, I got up this morning, ate my breakfast, and just because I wanted satisfaction that we had finally killed them all, I opened up the cabinet, and what do you know...there was another one dead in the trap.
I want to move.
Many of you know that Mike and I bought my parents house from them when we got married, so technically I have lived in the same house for 20 years. In all of those 20 years, we have never had a mouse problem. I am blaming the unusually cold winter this year as the reason for our ongoing mouse problem this year. There is some space between our dishwasher and our lower cabinet in the kitchen that the little rodents have discovered. We never knew they were keeping warm in there until we started seeing the evidence: mouse poo.
So Mike and I invested in some mouse traps to rid ourselves of what we thought was only one or two mice. We bought the little clampy kind that remind me of a chip bag clip holder, that way it would be a quick death (snap their neck) and we wouldn't have to touch the mouse to release him into the dumpster (I keep saying "we" although I solely mean Mike). We were so excited when we caught our first one, thinking we had conquered what would soon become an ongoing battle. Here the winter will soon be coming to a close in the coming months and I'm not kidding when I say we've now discarded close to 20 mice. Yes, 20!! Dear God, they are reproducing faster than we can get rid of them.
It's become a habit now before I do anything in the lower cabinet to open the door slightly and check to make sure the trap is still in place before bending down to get something out. If I don't see the trap, I know it has released the jaws of death on its prey which has bounced the trap out of its normal spot. (My ongoing fear of finding a rodent down there reminds me a lot of my surprise snake friend in my washing machine two summers ago. I STILL check for a dang snake everytime I open my washing machine lid. For a refresh on THAT story, click here and here.)
So yesterday, we got home from church and I was starting to make lunch. I needed something from the bottom cabinet, so I opened the door and glanced to "the spot" and to my dismay, it was gone. It was now mouse-filled in the front of the cabinet instead of on the side. Had I been a cursing person, I'm sure explicit profanties would have spilled out of my mouth at that moment. But I quickly slammed the door and managed to squeal "Oh DEAR GOD!" as I ran and jumped up on the couch. Mike, who was in the other room hollered, "Another mouse?" I answered back giddy, "YES!" He paused for only a moment and then hollered back, "You're standing on the couch, aren't you?" Realizing my childish actions, I lowered myself down on the couch and retaliated, "No...."
He came into the kitchen and opened the door for about 10 seconds, slammed the door and quickly squealed "Ohhh nuh uh!!" The.Mouse.Was.Still.Alive....in the trap. Pretty sure I threw up a little in my mouth. I spent 10 minutes psyching him up, to get the mouse out of the cabinet and discard him in the dumpster outside. I made him put on rubber gloves. Then, like a scaredy-cat, I buried my face in the pillow on the couch and plugged up my ears so I didn't have to hear the mouse moving in the Wal-Mart bag Mike put him in. He came back in and we talked about how that was the grossest thing he's done in a while, and how he actually felt bad knowing the mouse had not died as instantly as we originally hoped.
As if THAT wasn't bad enough, I got up this morning, ate my breakfast, and just because I wanted satisfaction that we had finally killed them all, I opened up the cabinet, and what do you know...there was another one dead in the trap.
I want to move.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
It's snowing...
AGAIN!
So, I officially decided...like three days ago...
I'M READY FOR SPRING!!! NOW.
So, I officially decided...like three days ago...
I'M READY FOR SPRING!!! NOW.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
