What have we been doing?

The last two weeks we have been home have been absolutely crazy busy! One more week of craziness with VBS next week at church every night after work, and keeping my nephews one night. After that I plan to do some organizing, sitting around, watch a movie, and catch up with my friends and my unread magazines. So what have we been doing?


Michael began coaching a little league team for a boy we go to church with. They have one practice and one game a week. I snagged this picture of Michael getting his breakfast on his way to his game last Saturday. So far they are 0-2.


We went out with some of our "longest standing" (as Michael says) friends for dinner the other night at the Cheesecake factory. I had never tried their strawberry shortcake dessert and it is one of Amy's favorites so we tried it out. It was great as all of their food is. Amy is due with their first baby in one week! I was so glad we were able to catch up with them before they become parents. Can't wait to meet Kaitlyn!


Last Saturday night we ran in the Downtown Dash 5 K race. Here we are together.


Amy, Heather, and Me pre-race


I went to Stillwater last weekend, had lunch with some MFT girls and went to a baby shower for a friend from grad school. It was really great to see those girls! I miss them so much!


I went to lunch one Friday at Nonna's with Amy and Heather. We had this AH-Mazing dessert!


Oh...and did I mention we moved in the last two weeks. We moved to manage one of the apartments shown in the back of this picture. We will be renting our house over the next year and then we will make some decisions about renting our house, selling our house, area we want to live in, etc. Things are mostly unpacked at our apartment, and things at our house are in disarray as we need to put some things in storage and donate some things.

WHEW!! I am ready to go to bed before 11, be home before 9, and find my watches!! :)

It was a great vacation...

My nephew turned 6. Here he is with his dairy queen Oreo ice cream cake, and the candles that kept relighting. It took him a minute to figure that out...so cute!


Another sunrise


Enjoying our favorite DQ treats


Michael hanging out in the ocean


Goodbye palm trees...I'm glad I couldn't anticipate how stressful this first week home was going to be, and just enjoy our time. It was great!

It is a toss up...

I can't decide what the best part is:
-Not having a schedule
-Walks on the beach with my husband and family

-Eating fish and shrimp that were swimming in the ocean the day before

-Beautiful sunsets

-Spending time with my super cute nephews

-Knowing that for this week away from work I am getting paid to relax

-Dairy Queen snickers blizzards

-tons of sunshine

Sunrise over the ocean

Sunset

What are you known for?

Last week at church someone asked the question: 'what are you known for?'
Are you known for your house, car, the job you have, the way you treat people, etc...

I thought it was a good question. I had a pretty stressful week last week getting ready to go out of town, and was at wal-mart late that night after church getting a few things. The lines were long and a lady got in line right before me. She turned and looked at me, and said "I bet you have to work tomorrow and I don't, so go ahead of me". It was a small act, but it meant a lot to me. It seemed like a good example of 'being known for how you treat people'. What do you want to be known for? And what are small things you can do every day to work toward be known for that?

Lion King

I saw the Lion King tonight with my dad and sister. It was my dad's 4th time, my 3rd, and my sister's 2nd. It is an incredible show, if you ever get the chance you should see it, or if you get the chance to see it again that is good too! :)

Love the Spring

A few favs these days...

#1 I am loving this coconut scrub that is only $3. Smells amazing and leaves skin soft.


#2 Bamboo sheets. I got some sheets at Target that were partially made out of bamboo. They were originally $90 on sale for $22. They are super soft and light!

#3 Coconut Hershey's Kisses. I don't know if these were just for Easter, but they are really delicious- if you like coconut.



#4 Creamy nutmeg wallflowers and candles from bath and body works. Love this smell! And the candles burn down evenly.

She lied...

I had a camera and I took this picture at the memorial marathon. OK...
she didn't lie, she just didn't know.

Memorial Marathon

Michael and I ran in the memorial marathon this past weekend. I left the camera at home, so no pictures. We ran on the same relay team this year. Michael ran the 12K leg and I ran one of the 5K legs. They had predicted 80% chance of rain and slight chance of hail for that day. Luckily there was no rain or hail! Michael trained really hard for his leg and I was really proud of him. Here are some quotes from him:

"The wind was brutal around the lake"

"My favorite part was the Carl's Jr cheeseburgers"
"It was a really cool experience and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year"

They really have people standing at the finish line handing out cheeseburgers! I had never eaten a burger from Carl's Jr until the memorial marathon last year- and not one again until this year. Of all places to eat a cheeseburger!
I cried several times about the many inspirational people we saw- men in full military gear with backpacks on completing the marathon, a woman a prosthetic leg pushing someone else, people in wheelchairs... it is always amazing to me to see what people can do with their bodies and how many people come together to remember people that lost their lives in the tragedy of the bombing.

Festival of the arts

We went to the festival of the arts a few times last week with different friends. It was great fun as usual and nice to get out in the city and do something different.


Sister and me with the "nutella" crepe that was not really nutella


City skyline at dusk



Heather and me with the "chocolate suicide" it was incredible! Unlike the crepe.

He stole my heart...

...when he brought me home a whole bag full of strawberry starbursts. He weeded through the left over candy from an egg hunt and brought me my favorites! :)

Poll

A few days ago I posted about getting rid of 50 things. So here is a question...Does it count as one of the 50 things if it is replaced? Leave a comment: yes, no, undecided and why.

Happy Easter!

Although the crazy Oklahoma weather today was not very Spring-like we had a great Easter weekend.


We dyed eggs with the boys


My mom got me this cupcake stand for Easter. I love it! I made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing and vanilla with coconut icing.


Michael and I at my parents house after lunch.
We ran in the fun run at OC yesterday, and Michael went to OU's Red and White spring game.
We also saw the movie Duplicity and ate at the Saturn Grill this weekend. Saturn Grill has become one of our favorites. The movie was alright, but I had a hard time following some of it. Happy Easter everyone!

Milestone

On April 3rd, I finished my first year of working toward my license. Although I have been working longer than a year with the requirements and the way the hours are counted it took a bit longer. All this means is I have just one more year to be completely finished with my hours and license. I can't wait!

This Saturday I spent the day with my mom and sister. We went to turquoise cafe in Norman, our favorite breakfast place, shopped, and had fun. We searched high and low for Easter dresses, but found nothing.

We decorated cake pops, like Bakerella makes. They turned out alright for our first time, but they were pretty fiddly and we had a few kinks we need to work out. And for some reason this picture decided to turn.


While we were having fun, Michael was at the blue river with my dad on his first trout fishing trip. They caught lots of fish and we had fresh trout for dinner.

Thoughts from Real Simple

These are two of my favorite things from my recent Real Simple magazine:

- Throw out 50 things..."50 is the number of items you should get rid of including regret and old makeup, according to life coach Gail Blanke, author of 'Throw out 50 things, clear the clutter, find your life'.

So in the next few weeks, or how ever long it takes, I am going to throw away/get rid of 50 items. I also want to think about the things I busy myself with, and what is really important to me and what is not.

- "Reach out 09: I am doing this thing called reach out '09. Each day I choose someone in my life to email, phone, visit or write a letter to. It really helps me stay connected."

I have done this some, and really enjoyed it. I want to make a habit of picking someone every few days if not every other day to contact. There are so many people in my life I care about and miss, so I love the idea of making a small bit of time to let those people know how important they are.

A few March highlights...

I spent a weekend in Dallas with my mom and sister. On the way home we ate at Victoria's pasta shop in Norman. It is SO good!! They make all of their pasta from scratch.


My nephews spent the night with us one weekend. We had lots of fun. This is Isaac playing at the Full Circle Book Store. They have a children's book reading every Saturday morning at 10:15. The lady that read the books did a great job keeping the kids interested, it was really fun.


Our niece Ryan turned 8!


We went to OC's associate dinner. Michael got to pick up Archie Manning from the airport and transport him around. Heather came with me, which I was very grateful for!


This past weekend- when we were supposed to have a foot of snow- we went to try out the new Chipotle. It was alright, but I would rather go to Moe's for that kind of food. After dinner we went to see the movie Slum Dog Millionaire- finally to see what all of the hype was about. It had some pretty sad parts, but it was good. I can't believe it will be April this week!

Not enough time?

We are reading a book on prayer with our small group at church. Here is a quote from the book I have thought a lot about: "Increasingly, time pressures crowd out the leisurely pace that prayer seems to require. Communication with other people keeps getting shorter and more cryptic: text messages, email, instant messaging. We have less and less time for conversation, let alone contemplation. We have the constant sensation of not enough: not enough time, not enough rest, not enough exercise, not enough leisure. Where does God fit into a schedule that already seems behind schedule?"

I really identified with that, and often feel like life is so busy and there is just "not enough time" to get everything done. So that question at the end kind of haunts me. I have been thinking about and want to take action in how I can prioritize what is really important and daily make time for my relationship with God.

Does it get any better than this?

Pedicures...


Shopping...


Sprinkles cupcakes...


...And a great weekend with my mom and sister!


Heather and me at North Park mall having crepes for dinner.
We spent the weekend in Dallas and shopped at North Park Mall, the Allen outlet mall, had pedicures, ate yummy food, saw the movie Bride Wars, laughed, and had fun. Things have been pretty busy and stressful lately, and it was just the weekend I needed!

Up for something new

Last night Michael and I went to two new places. For dinner we went to Mama Rojo. It is the new restaurant on Lake Hefner where Bahama Breeze used to be. We ordered queso and shared the chicken and steak fajitas. The service was good and super fast. The chips and salsa were excellent. All in all, it was a high quality Tex-Mex dining experience. I think the highlight for Michael was the big bowl of hot tamales (complete with a self-serve scoop) that was at the hostess stand on the way out. We sat in the area that used to be where they had live music when it was Bahama Breeze. They have converted that room into a really cool area overlooking Lake Hefner. All of the walls are glass panels and they can be raised up creating a neat open-air atmosphere. We'll have to go back in the spring or early fall when the weather is nicer and check it out.

For dessert we went to Sara Sara... the other cupcake place in town. I will give it another shot, but for now I would say Cuppies and Joe is the way to go. The cupcakes at Sara Sara are bigger than C&J, but also $1.50 more, and not as good. Sara Sara is also in an old converted house (like C&J) but Sara Sara definitely wins the prize for having the coolest atmosphere. They've got a chic "everything is completely white" motif going on. I think the only actual color in the place is the hot pink gerbera daisies. While the cupcakes are probably better at C&J, the atmosphere alone at Sara Sara makes it worth checking out.

Back to the land of the living...

I feel mostly-normal today for the first time in days after having some plague of a sinus infection with fever, non stop coughing, and headaches. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get better. Michael was out of town all last week for work while I was sick. Friday afternoon I drove down to Dallas with my sister and David to meet up with him.


I got to take my sister to experience Sprinkles. The line was out the door, which I have never seen. Although I still didn't feel so great, we had a fun time together. I'm relieved to be doing much better, and have Michael home. It is Monday...which means 24 night!!! Who knows what kind of madness Jack will stop tonight!

Eric Hutchinson

On Valentines day, we went to Tulsa to see Eric Hutchinson open a concert. We didn't care about the other band but were excited to see him. Michael found him and has been listening to him for a while and he just had a song released that is on the radio now.


The concert was general admission, we got there early and were really close to the front.


Michael and Eric after the concert. Michael bought a t-shirt and got it signed. Too bad it turned out to be an XL in kids sizes, which in no way fit him. He sent Eric an email and heard back they are sending him a new shirt for free!


Sun setting out our hotel window.

Happy Valentines Day

Flowers Michael sent to my work and the dress I had been wanting he surprised me with!


At Red Prime

I don't think I could have a better match for me. Michael I love that: you are my best friend, you listen to me talk and talk and talk... :) ,we can laugh for hours, we can tell each other the most embarrassing or disappointing things about ourselves, we can sit together quietly at home or go out and have the best time either way, I miss you when you travel and I'm excited to see you when you get home, and I think I'll stop here to save those who are ready to vomit in their mouth just a little bit! Love you!

What a week!

There was a full moon this week which some say has nothing to do with people's behavior being different, but if you ask our crisis team at work what they think about that they might have something different to say, especially with having back to back crisis appointments all day Monday. Yesterday we had to "take cover" three times at work when tornado sirens went off, one of the times while I was in session. I just had one family I had to take down to the first floor, I can't imagine how crazy it was for my friends that are teachers trying to keep all of those kids calm!
I am not superstitious but I do think it is funny that in one week we have had full moon, tornadoes, and Friday the 13th!

So what do I do to stay calm when things are stressful? I bake...I love to bake.

I got these cute silicon heart molds at affair of the heart this weekend for cupcakes and muffins. They came out easy and cleaned up well.
Well that is all the excitement around here for now! Happy Valentines week!

Update

The last weekend in January: Hanging out in Dallas with OSU girls at the Texas marriage and family therapy conference. It was SO great to see everyone.


Getting my book signed by Susan Johnson, possibly my favorite therapist and theorist, very cool that she is alive and still contributing to the field.


We went to see the Oscar nominated short films at the art museum again this year. It was fun and something different to do.


My Great-Grandmother had her 100th Birthday party on Saturday!!


Book club at La Baguette , our deserts were Amazing!