Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Time flies when you're swamped!

By the time I finished my work last week, I had worked about 60 hours. This included working until about midnight Friday, although that day was much better than the previous days, since the majority of Friday was spent waiting on other people to sign off on what I'd done through the week. I was able to step away for a bit that night to go to the gym and get in a decent workout, which felt awesome. I had missed my gym. And my sleep.

Saturday, I slept in until 10:15-ish. When I woke up, I looked at the clock, rolled over and made myself go back to sleep. I knew I needed it. At around 11:15, I got up. I sent K a care package and ran a few errands. I went to the gym in the afternoon, and then I cleaned up around my apartment. That night, I went to dinner with Brit (work friend), Jeremy, a couple other friends, and Brit's friend from high school, who we're trying to fix up with Jeremy. Their first meeting went pretty well. It wound up being a nice, relaxing night.

Sunday morning, I wanted to sleep in again, but I made myself get up and go to church. I'm so glad I did. It was a nice sermon, and we sang lots of really good hymns. The whole service for me just really had a good, positive feel, and I really enjoyed it. When church was over, the choir director approached me about playing with the orchestra in a couple weeks! I really want to, but I haven't played my clarinet since May of 2005. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sound awful. I'm excited about the thought of playing again, but I'll probably be out of town the weekend they play in church. I told the director that I'm really interested, but I'll have to let him know. He said if I can't this month, I can keep it in mind for March. Yay!

Later that afternoon, I went running with Jeremy and a couple of his friends. We ran 4 miles. That's the longest I've ever run at one time in my life. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but if I'd been by myself, I'd have stopped WAY before we did.

I really just need to get used to running. I don't think my posture is quite right when I run because I don't feel like I get enough air, and sometimes (although not quite so much Sunday) my back hurts a little too. My ankles were definitely sore from running outside since I'm not used to it, but I was proud of myself for finishing. Even if I did announce to my three running buddies at about mile 3.25 that I hated them all. (I told them when we were finished that I didn't really hate them.)

Jeremy and I decided we hadn't tortured ourselves enough for the day, so we went to the gym that night to do a shoulder circuit. It was nice to just be in there for weights and the sauna, since we'd already done our cardio.

My day at work today was good. The workload is looking MUCH more manageable this week, which is not really a major feat, since last week's workload was absolutely impossible. It feels good to know that I made it through that hell week and that we probably won't have to one like it again. I can handle it from time to time, but it really starts to wear you down working such long days day after day. It was just so exhausting!

By the end of the week, I was starting to feel like I was trying to get sick. That was frustrating, since I'd managed to be around plenty of people who were sick over the last month and a half, but I'd managed to stay healthy. Completely steering clear of work and even my computer for the entire weekend, though, left me feeling so refreshed this morning.

We were also having a blood drive in the building, so I donated blood. It always feels good to do something like that. Today was also my one-year anniversary at work, so my supervisor celebrated by surprising me with some yummy brownies she made. They were very cake-like, complete with chocolate sprinkles. They were really rich -- and delicious!

After work, I went over to Jeremy's, where we watched one of our friends kick butt on Amer!can Glad!ator!!! It was so cool to see her on TV! I've never gotten so excited before watching a reality show!

Another cool thing about the past few days -- and a good part about them being so hectic -- is that the time has gone by faster. Sunday (the 27th) was the two-month marker of the deployment. That means it's now 13 months until K is home for good, although it's only seven before his R&R. Obviously there's still so much more to go, but these two months have gone by faster than I thought they would, which is a pleasant surprise. Plus, the second month proved to be easier overall than the first.

I've done well with sending K a care package every week. I'm getting his Valentine's Day care package ready now, though, so I can send it out Saturday and be sure he has it in plenty of time for the holiday. Just because he's deployed doesn't mean he gets to miss out on the mushiness!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Something to look forward to

I'm working late again tonight. Ick.

I heard from K the other day, and he's doing well. He told me they recently got to choose when they want to come home for R&R later this year. K will come home in September. I'm really excited to know when he'll be here because it really gives me something to look forward to and a shorter countdown! Plus, if he's home in September, he'll probably be here for our anniversary.

Here's hoping all these busy days go by quickly so September gets here fast!

Is it Friday yet?

Guess who just signed off from work?

Yeah.

Oh, I hope my review is good to me.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The one where I talk a lot about food

Things have been so crazy hectic lately! First, thanks to everyone who delurked. Most of you I know because you're awesome and have already commented at least a time or two, but Janelle rocks for really, truly delurking. It was cool to find out who at least one of you are.

As for the rest of you, even if you didn't choose to say hello, I'm still glad you stop by. And a note for the person who keeps finding me by searching for "g!rl un.buttoned jeans," please try this instead: "ru!ned wedd!ng dress ok!ahoma" (of course, with the correct letters in place of the exclamation points). Or you could try "4 day$ in Hawa!i." Either of those are MUCH more flattering ways to get here.

And on to the updates ...

Work has just been getting busier and busier. Thursday night I worked pretty late, and Friday night, I worked even later. It was exhausting. This week is actually supposed to be the "hell week" before things die down. I'm hoping it really does slow down after this. These extra hours are really adding up (and I don't get overtime)!

Piper has been acting better at work (thank goodness!). I've made her start sleeping in her crate again instead of on my bed. That way, if she's not so used to being around me 24/7, she won't become a whimpering punk when I walk away from my desk. It seems to be working. I've also made sure she always has a bone to chew on during the day. She stays pretty occupied that way. And gassy. But at least I'm the only one who complains when that happens.

My weekend went by fast. I slept in until 10 on Saturday, then lazed around a bit the rest of the morning. That afternoon, I ran a ton of errands. I sent a care package to K, got my name changed with my cable company (finally), and went in search of a few things I need to complete my living room, which I'm redoing (pictures to come later!).

I ran a few more errands before meeting up with Brit (a friend from work) and a friend of hers from high school (they're the girls I spent New Year's with) for appetizers and bellinis at Johnny Car!no's, which I know I've mentioned on here before is my absolute FAVORITE.

We hung out for a while and met up with a couple other girls to continue stuffing ourselves, this time with Mexican food and margaritas for dinner. We were actually supposed to go dancing after dinner, but you all know how I really feel about dancing, and you all know what it takes to really get me dancing. And since I was driving, that wasn't going to happen.

Plus, we had waited so long for a table at dinner that by the time we ate and were able to leave, it was close to midnight. With the slow pace of the night leading up to that, I just wasn't wanting to suddenly pick things up and try to get into dancing. Brit gets queasy pretty easily after hardly any alcohol, so her one margarita had left her feeling ready to go home. We called it a night, which I wasn't disappointed about.

I went to church Sunday morning. ER's family is in town right now, so I sat with her, her sister and her mom. We left immediately after the sermon and headed to lunch, which I hadn't realized was going to be with ER's entire family. I knew all but about 4 of them anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. ER's grandma told the 4 I didn't know that I'm pretty much part of the family. :)

After lunch, ER, her sister, her mom and I all went to see 27 Dresses. It was a pretty good movie. It wasn't the "oh-my-gosh-I'm-buying-this-as-soon-as-it-comes-out" chick flick I'd hoped it would be, but it was a cute movie. My opinion of it may have been slightly skewed from the beginning, since it turns out ER's mom likes to sit in one of the closer rows to the screen. ER's sister commented during the previews that she was glad we weren't seeing an action movie, so I guess I wasn't the only one who was feeling dizzy being that close to the screen. And who knows, the movie might have been absolutely perfect if I'd been about 10 rows back.

The rest of the day was somehow filled with more errands, but I did manage to find some time to just relax on the couch. I didn't make it to the gym all weekend, but I decided it was OK since I was pretty productive and needed the down-time.

Today we celebrated one of my co-worker's birthday at work. The day was filled with all kinds of totally unhealthy food. It was awesome.

And then I attempted to work out at the gym tonight. I just couldn't get into it. I had no energy, which is when I realized I really hadn't eaten anything good for me all day, and I just felt disgusting. I was frustrated at myself, and I completely understood what GFF means when she talks about feeling gross after unhealthy food. I usually have pretty good willpower when it comes to crappy food, but for some reason, today it all just snuck up on me. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't eaten cheese enchiladas at lunch. Or if I'd had time to eat a real dinner, other than microwave soup. And I'm sure the piece of the lunch brownie with whipped cream, the piece of the yummy chocolate chip bread my boss made, and the two mini-pastries I tried that we had in place of a birthday cake didn't help either.

I never thought I'd say this, but I never want to eat that much crap in one day again. Here's hoping tomorrow is MUCH healthier. And includes meat somewhere in there.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

My copy of whatever calendar the rest of the blog world seems to have must have gotten lost in the mail. I never know it's NaBloPoMo until a few days into November, when I'm catching up on reading other's blogs and they're talking about doing it. BlogHer? I had never even heard of it until I read someone else's blog about how excited she was to have gotten a ticket. And I never know when Delurking Day is.

What's funny is I had thought a couple weeks ago about asking my lurkers to give me a quick hello in the comment section. Then, this weekend (once again when I was catching up on reading), I learned that I had missed it (it was last Thursday)!

So since most of you stumble upon my blog on Wednesdays, today is MY Delurking Day. Those of you who found yourselves here because you were looking for an Afghan!stan map (my gosh, there are lots of you!), OU/t.exas pictures, a d!sgustng wedding dress or because your masseuse moved the blanket a little too much, feel free to say hello.

And for the person who found me by googling "I hate Pens@cola," for the record, I think it's lovely.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

In the doghouse

Piper's had a bit of trouble with sep@ration anx!ety lately. If I walk away from my desk to where she can't see me, she immediately starts whining or barking, and a lot of times, she continues barking until I come back.

For a while there a few months ago, she was doing really well at this. Not so much lately. And I got an email about it this morning saying several of my co-workers have complained.

If you have any tips for how to break her of this, PLEASE share!!!

(I don't act excited to see her after being away from her. I ignore her for a while so she's not rewarded for any barking or whining she does while I'm gone. She's not getting the hint from that alone.)

Braggin' on the hubs

K called me yesterday afternoon. He's doing really well, and he's finally been able to catch up on sleep in the last couple days. He stays really busy there, as you can imagine.

When I heard from him last week, he was very vague about what he was doing. He told me he was planning a mis.sion, and if things went well, it would be "really, really good."

Well, when he called yesterday, he told me the mis.sion went great. And when he told me the results of the mis.sion, I was really surprised. I had no idea what he was doing was so big. What came out of the plans my husband made is something big enough to be reported on the news.

I don't know if I can share it on here, but I had to brag about him. He makes me so proud!

Monday, January 14, 2008

More on the text message

No news on the text message from Saturday -- probably because I didn't do anything about it.

To catch you up on things with my mom, here are some quick facts:

  • Last time I saw her: Christmas of 2006 (I actually think it was Dec. 23, because that's my dad's birthday, and I remember getting to see him on his birthday that year.)
  • Last time we spoke: end of April
  • Reason we stopped speaking: She was driving me nuts on wedding planning. ("You need to pick a reception site soon. Those book up fast." "I know, Mom. But we've only been engaged a little over 48 hours. And it's Tuesday night. Nothing is open. I'm looking for places this weekend." "Why are you having a night wedding? Why don't you just do it in the afternoon so you don't have to serve food for everyone?" "Mom, people are flying in for this wedding from all over -- Washington, Georgia, D.C., Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Ohio ... The least we can do is serve them a little bit of food in a buffet, which is the cheapest option." "Why are you having an open bar? It sounds like you're just wanting to throw a party for everyone and pay for it. I think you're forgetting the whole reason for the wedding to begin with." "Mom, we're not having an open bar. We don't know what will work with our budget. That will probably be one of the last decisions we make a couple months before the wedding. We'll be paying for it, so you don't have to worry about it." And I had to bite my tongue from telling her of all people, she has no business telling me I'm forgetting the reason for the wedding. She's the one who cheated on her husband!)
  • We exchanged a few emails from June through early September about the Florida wedding. After a series of emails where my mom brought up past arguments and talked about everything but the wedding, which was the purpose for the emails in the first place, I gave up. About three weeks before the wedding, a friend of my mom's called me out of nowhere and was telling me how upset my mom was that she wasn't coming to the wedding. I emailed her again, reminding her that the decision was still hers on whether or not she came. She gave me her standard immature response about how she felt like the decision was made for her. I wasn't going to beg. She made her choice.
  • There has been no communication between the two of us since the fore mentioned email. She didn't call me, email me or text me on my wedding day. As far as I know, she hasn't seen any of the pictures. I guess my stepsisters could have shown her an album online, but who knows? And unless my stepsisters have told her, she has no idea that I have a dog or that K is in Iraq. As far as I'm concerned, it's all her own doing.

I'm stuck on what to do for this text message. In a way, I miss my mom too, but just a part of her. Unfortunately, it's a part I rarely get to see -- the cool, normal part of her.


I have heard many times from many people who know my mom well that they think she is bipolar. It makes sense. She's exhausting! Do you know anyone who has forced a preacher to stop accepting their phone calls? My mom has!


And the trouble is, my mom thinks she's normal. See, right after my parents separated, my mom changed a lot. But not nearly as much as she thinks. My mom used to get angry at the drop of a hat. This was the yelling, manipulative, abusive woman I grew up with. Once I was out of the house for good, she became a Christian. Overnight.


All of a sudden, she was worried about everyone else because they were all going to hell. Even my grandparents, who go to church pretty much every single Sunday. My grandmother, who has never had a drop of alcohol in her life and who is the picture-perfect cooking, baking, non-cursing, baby-loving, innocent, worrying grandma who gets "tickled" when someone says something funny -- my mom is convinced she's going to hell.


Since her religious awakening, she gets emotional at the drop of a hat. Which isn't so bad in itself, except she's still unstable. She's always had this way of twisting anything you say into something offensive to her or something completely different than what you meant. And the emotional mom, instead of getting angry and yelling like the mother I knew all my life, just starts crying -- often to the point that she can't breathe or speak. And then she hangs up on me.


After typing all this out, I'm thinking that any form of communication with her just isn't a good idea right now. My life is just less dramatic this way, and it's less stressful for the most part.


At church yesterday, though, I couldn't help but feel like this part of our reading was speaking directly to me:



Most merciful God,
By baptism you grafted us into the body of Christ,
Promising us forgiveness of sin and newness of life.
But we fail to live as forgiven people.
We keep destructive habits and hold grudges.
We allow our past to hold us hostage
And are reluctant to welcome newness.


What I can't figure out is have I learned from my past, and I know it's just not time yet? Do I need this time to grow and move forward without my mom in my life?


Or am I holding a grudge and letting my past hold me hostage?

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Out of the blue

I got a completely random text message today: "I luv and miss u very much."

No name had registered on my phone with the message, and I didn't recognize the phone number. I had no idea who it was from.

Could someone have accidentally sent me that message? Surely not. You don't accidentally send a message like that to the wrong person.

Just as I went to scroll through my entire contact list to figure out who would have sent me that message, a light bulb went off in my brain.

It was from my mother.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Overdrawn

In every sense of the word -- mentally, physically, monetarily and patience-wise. Today sucks.
  • I have -$64 in my checking account. It has been that way since Wednesday, and it will stay that way until Tuesday, when I get paid. All this is due to the post-Christmas crunch, in addition to a $190 carpet-and-couch cleaning bill (so glad it's done, though), a $90 dentist visit, a $65 follow-up dentist visit, a $40 eye exam and a $20 leash I had to buy since Piper chewed through her other one.
  • Piper rolled in poop again today. This time, it was just a spot where some had been, but it was enough to get her fur icky and leave her smelling gross. I had to give her a quick spot-bath, since I knew I would be too busy at work today to come home to let her out at lunch. So I was a bit late to work. We don't have to be in at a certain time, but it means I'll be here that much later today because I have so much to do.
  • I am stressing out about this extra project at work. I feel like I'm doing everything but sending a singing telegram to my boss saying, "Promote me!" I like the project I'm working on, but it's more stressful than my actual job. Hopefully it all pays off when we have our reviews in a few weeks.
  • One of our two microwaves at work is broken, so when I went to heat up my lovely frozen food for lunch, two other people hopped in before me. Awesome. (I threw my lunch back in the freezer and walked off. I feel that semi-tantrum was perfectly logical.)
  • I haven't sent K a care package yet this week, which means I'll have to get one ready tonight or tomorrow. I just feel better when I always have one en route to him. Especially since our entire relationship right now is me sending care packages and emails and him calling when he can.
  • I had an awesome workout on Wednesday that I'm totally glad I did, but when you add to the above list the soreness I feel on the back of my thighs and my butt with every step I take, it's not as great anymore.

Good things:

  • It's Friday.
  • K called yesterday. He's doing well and sounded good, but tired (it was 1:15 a.m. for him).
  • I will be watching chick flicks and drinking champagne tomorrow with one of my work friends.
  • It's Friday.
  • It's Friday.
  • It's Friday.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Maybe I should've been the one charging for my first massage

Saturday I used my gift certificate from K for month two of my spa treatment. I went with the massage again, but this time I had a different masseuse. Again, I had no preference for a girl or a guy, so again, I got a male massage therapist.

This guy was really nice. He's a newlywed too -- he was actually married the weekend of my first massage. He reminded me of a couple guys I know, so I was comfortable with him. Plus, with one massage under my belt, I was more relaxed since I actually had some idea of what to expect.

There were a few differences in the massage techniques of December Guy and January Guy. December Guy massaged my face more at the end, while January Guy spent more time on my scalp. January Guy used some aromatherapy stuff to help relieve the tension in my shoulder blades, but December Guy used nothing other than massage oils. Both spent a lot of time around my shoulder blades and mentioned how many knots I had (it's stressful having K overseas!).

There was one pretty big difference, though, that I couldn't help but notice.

When January Guy went to massage my legs, he only uncovered my leg. My gluteal area remained under the blanket. January Guy spent very little time massaging my gluteals, and when he did, his hands were over the blanket. There was never any contact between his skin and my derrière. And it was certainly never exposed -- all completely opposite from my experience with December Guy!

When I told Jeremy about this particular difference in technique, he pointed out that December Guy knew it was my first massage, so he knew I had no idea what to expect -- and I'd have no idea if he (or the blanket) went a bit beyond the usual massage.

The papers all clients must sign before their first visit to this spa inform you that the gluteals are part of the massage, unless you specify against it. But the paper says nothing about whether they'll be uncovered during that portion.

I guess we'll just have to see how February Masseuse handles that area (literally).

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

2007: The year of the weddings

Now that we're a week into it, I'll do my review of 2007. It's so late that I'd just skip it, but 2007 was too big of a year for me.

One year ago, K and I were just dating. I think my mom and I were just starting to not speak (for the 11 billionth time). I had never gone skydiving. I was still unhappy at my old job, but about to be offered my current one. I didn't have a dog. I hated Dallas. K had just gotten back from Afghanistan. I had just found out I'd get to go to Hawaii for free in March to be one of my cousin's bridesmaids.

It's been a big year -- probably the biggest of my life. And I just realized last week that I did not see my mother for the entire year of 2007.

Here are some of my favorite highlights:

January:
  • K and I rang in the New Year in Boston. It was an absolute blast.
  • I left the job that had driven me crazy for two and a half years and went to my current job, which is awesome. (Man, I wish I'd left sooner!)
February:
  • Went to Oklahoma to surprise one of my best friends for her birthday
March:
April:
May:
June:
  • K and I decided the Florida wedding was a definite
  • Wedding No. 3 (my college friends, in Norman)
  • Wedding No. 4 -- awesome! (ER's sister, in Dallas)
  • I found my Florida wedding dress
  • I finally got my wisdom teeth removed
July:
  • I totally saw A.ndre 3000 at the airport
  • CG visited
  • Wedding No. 5: more college friends
  • After not seeing each other for a month, I was able to visit K for a few days in PA
  • Serious wedding planning for Florida and more dress shopping for the Dallas wedding
  • K and I bought our wedding bands
August:
  • K and I got our first wedding gift: Tiffany champagne glasses!
  • I mentioned to ER that I was thinking of getting a puppy; next thing I know, I'm submitting adoption papers
  • My last birthday as a single woman: I turned 24
September:
October:
  • K, Danielle and I went to the st.ate fa!r for the OU-t.exas game
  • We started really preparing for the deployment
  • I changed my name
  • K and I went to PA and to Virginia; our trip included a corn maze and my first time ever carving pumpkins. (I also randomly ran into a blogger I read!) We also tied our record for most consecutive days spent together: 11
  • A festive Halloween!
November:
December:

It was a year of big changes, that's for sure. Here's hoping 2008 brings just as many positive things into my life!

Maybe it's just me ...

although I'd like to think I could steer the direction of a football game by just changing my shoes.

Teams I wanted to win:
Oklahoma (duh)
Kansas
Hawaii
Ohio State

Teams I SO wanted to lose:
USC (How hard is it to recruit high school seniors to go to school in southern California? Seriously!)
Georgia (Childish reason: K's ex-fiance is a fan)
LSU (I loathe everything about them -- especially Le.s M!les)
West Virginia (so we could win!)

Teams that won (all except Kansas were pretty big wins):
Kansas
USC
Georgia
LSU
West Virginia

(Hey, at least one of my teams won!)

Friday, January 04, 2008

Love those endorphins!

Yesterday was a bad day. There wasn't necessarily any one thing that made it that way, but nothing about my day really seemed to go right.

I had been really disappointed Wednesday night by our loss. Watching that bowl game was like being tortured for four hours. Our team didn't even show. Not that I haven't seen us look like a high school team in a BCS game before -- twice even in person (Sugar Bowl in 2003, Orange Bowl in 2004) -- but it's still just so deflating. That game was so bad that Thursday morning, several of my co-workers just greeted me with "I'm sorry."

Something about my down mood had me thinking a lot about K's deployment. It really is on my mind all the time, but it especially was yesterday. I was suddenly very aware of how stressed I am about the whole thing.

I knew, though, that I really am handling this well, even if I was feeling so stressed. I've heard from many wives or family members of soldiers who have told me how hard it was while their loved one was overseas. One wife even used the words "severe depression" to describe how she felt while her husband was gone. She wrote me: "Those 15 months were the longest, saddest and most difficult that I have ever experienced. I cannot begin to imagine the toll it has taken and will take on you."

It's only been a little over five weeks (ugh, five weeks? That's all?!) since K left, but I really do feel like it'll all be fine. Yesterday was just one of those days I was simply going through the motions. But it was frustrating to have to lie when people asked me how I was doing and to have to try to be cheery in meetings.

Work was hectic, and checking my bank account online stressed me out. I've had a lot of expenses (car insurance, dentist appointment, carpet & couch cleaning) come up lately, so my last paycheck was disappearing faster than I'd hoped and planned.

On top of all that, Piper managed to chew through yet another leash at work. This leash was one I had to rush out and buy (for $30) just after she ate through the last one. That was a month and a day ago yesterday.

By the time I headed home last night, I was surprised at how stressed I was feeling. I think that may have been the most stressed out I've felt in my entire life.

I got home to find that my wireless network wasn't cooperating, so that added to my frustrations about my day. I wanted to cry by that point, but I was afraid I wouldn't stop for a long time.

Today was stressful still at work, but I got everything I needed to done. I worked a bit late, but I was still able to meet Jeremy at the gym tonight. It was the first time I'd been since last Saturday.

It felt awesome.

We ran on the treadmill for a while, then got some weightlifting in along with a trip to the sauna. As I walked out to my car, I couldn't believe how amazing I felt. All the stress I'd felt the day before, all the frustrations I still felt through my day today -- all of it -- was gone for the most part. I felt in charge of myself again, and that felt amazing.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

At least I did my part!

Even though I did my part by wearing my Game Day stuff on Game Day, it looks like some other Sooner fans did not. Considering the way our defensive line played last night, I'm guessing it was them who skipped over a step or two in their regular superstitious routines.

West Virginia played a great game last night, and we didn't. I'm sure I'll always be a proud Sooner fan, but last night was definitely frustrating!

So now begins the countdown through the many, many months until the next Sooner football game. Let's hope it has a much better ending than last night's game!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

These shoes are made for winnin'

Tonight is a big night for the Sooners, so getting ready for work today didn't involve me standing in my closet, staring at my wardrobe and wondering what I was going to wear. Since it's Game Day, there was no question about what I would be sporting today: my Sooners jersey.

I had bought a new pair of tennis shoes last weekend for running, and I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to break them in a bit. I pulled them out of the shoe box and adjusted the laces. Just as I went to slide the first shoe on my foot, it clicked that these were brand new shoes, so obviously there has not been a Sooner football game where I've worn them. And true sports fans know better than to throw off the alignment of the stars in the universe by introducing a new garment on the same day as a big game.

Immediately, I pulled the shoe off my foot and tossed it back into my closet with disgust. I reached for my trusty old tennis shoes -- the ones that had been with me for the entire football season. As I tied their familiar laces for the millionth time, I shook my head at my lack of focus that could have placed the entire blame squarely on my shoulders if the game doesn't go our way.

I can retire these shoes tomorrow. Tonight, they've got a job to do!