It's all in the perspective

I'm having a bit of blog envy right now. Strangely enough, it all started on FB. I read a comment someone posted on a friend's (OK, an ex-bf's) wall, and it led me to Google, which led me to a blog. The blog was my ex's high school girlfriend. I remember his stories about her. She seemed kind of fascinating. Her blog totally proved that she is.

She's lived in Texas and in England, both to write greeting cards (how cool is that?!). She's witty and seems to be so full of life. And she's a talented photographer. She is now living in Miami studying photography. (I would kill to study photography.)

A few weeks ago, one of my very favorite bloggers, GFF, posted about Blog Envy. I'm sure it's something we've all felt. Someone else seems so much freer, so much cooler, so much smarter, more talented, funnier ... Well, Miss TX/England/Miami (much like GFF, actually) seems all of those things to me. So much that I even overlooked a comment in one of her posts that mocked my beloved Oklahoma (something about actually using the words "cool" and "Oklahoma" in the same sentence).

It's definitely my fault for neglecting this blog like I have. Some days I feel too busy to get down all I need to (part of that is due to the fact I don't really tell short stories), and sometimes I feel like I wouldn't have anything nice to say, so why bother to begin with (which is why I didn't write a marathon post immediately after the run).

Miss TEM, with all her world travel and amazing photos of places I may never see, seems so much wiser and worldly. I'm definitely not worldly.

I started to feel a little down on myself ... and then I started thinking.

I'm a pretty patriotic person. I've always been that way, but it's increased more and more over the years, starting first with my love of the Fourth of July and our family reunions, then the report I did in the fourth grade on Molly Pitcher, building with my high school experience at Girls State, and rocketing to the next galaxy once I fell in love with an Army guy.

And obviously I love Oklahoma. I am so proud to be from there, and I am so proud of the reputation we Okies have as being such great, friendly people. You can talk to anyone in Oklahoma, whether you know them or not. I've had some surprising and great conversations that way. (It's taken me a long time to realize people in most other places don't do that. Not that it's stopped me from trying!)

Oftentimes people somehow know I'm from that area (and this was even before I got my necklace). It happened with a kickballer on another team (he actually wanted to guess I was from Nebraska, "or one of those nearby states," he said. For a guy born & raised in VA, he got pretty dang close!). It happened to me once when I met a new coworker in Dallas. (I asked if it was because I exuded awesomeness.)

I've had people marvel at my knowledge of state facts (doesn't everyone know their state bird, state tree, state flower, etc.?). Sometimes I actually even remind myself of the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, with his ability to tie everything back to Greek culture (obviously for me it would be Oklahoma). What most people don't know is that it was leaving Oklahoma that made me love it so much. Absence definitely made my heart grow fonder.

Here in VA, I've heard comments like, "You're so from Oklahoma!" (I took that as a great compliment) and "How big is the town you're from?"(For the record, 18,000. Pretty decent size for Oklahoma.)

I may not be worldly. I might enjoy using the word "y'all" a bit too much. I will never quit trying to start up conversations with strangers at the grocery store.*

I am the all-American girl next door. A small-town Okie. A meat & potatoes girl. A butcher's daughter. A NASCAR sister. An Army wife.

My world may be smaller, but it's the perfect size for me.

*For the record, I'm not the crazy lady who mumbles to herself. I'm a fan of talking to people in similar situations. Real-life example: Scanning an aisle at the store, noticing a woman next to me doing the same. "I swear, they're out of everything today!" (No, this woman did not respond. This happened in my first few weeks of moving to Dallas. She stared straight ahead, unmoving, as though I didn't exist. I really wanted to cry.)

27

Today's my 27th birthday, and so far, it's been a pretty good day.

Instead of getting up to run 3 miles for our marathon training, K left the decision up to me before immediately cuddling up next to me. I'm pretty sure he was just looking to get out of the run without being the one to take the blame. I was happy to oblige.

I woke up feeling nice and rested, and I was in a great mood. K slipped a small box by me while I was getting ready this morning. I was immediately in love with what was inside.

I had already decided to wear a new shirt I'd been wanting to wear for a while now. I really wanted to wear the necklace, but it wasn't the best fit for the ruffly shirt. In fact, with the ruffles and the shiny chain, it almost looked Guido-ish.

Should I change shirts? But I wanted to wear this one. It's the perfect birthday shirt--bright and fun and cute, all at the same time.

But I didn't want to wait to wear the necklace either.

My solution: It's my birthday. I'm wearing them both! And there's not a damn thing anybody can say about it.

I know people

I've never really been a big pageant person. I don't have a problem with pageants, but I haven't ever really set out to watch one.

I've seen the Miss America Pageant a few times. I've never really watched the whole thing, but I've dropped in on it from time to time when there wasn't much on TV.

Tonight, though, for the first time ever, I'm planning on watching the pageant. The whole thing.

Because this time, for the first time ever, I know one of the contestants!!!!

I've actually known M!ss Oklahoma, T@ylor Tre@t, for several years. She's a few years younger than me, so I never knew her very well, but we are friends on facebook (and it was her doing back before she was M!ss Oklahoma). She's always been a very sweet, nice girl. She's really smart, very talented and very driven.

I can't wait to cheer her on tonight!!!

Merry Christmas!

Go figure: I've spent every Christmas of my life until this year in Oklahoma. I've never seen a white Christmas.

This year, I'm in Pennsylvania with K and his family. There's snow on the ground, but it's all left over from last weekend.

And Oklahoma gets a ridiculous blizzard. My hometown got 10 inches of snow.

My family actually had to postpone Christmas until Sunday, since the weather was so bad. All the highways in OK were actually shut down yesterday evening, so my uncle was stuck in Kansas, and my aunt & uncle & cousins couldn't make the hour-and-a-half drive to my hometown to be with my dad, brother & grandparents.

I think it might make it a little easier on me that my family Christmas isn't taking place today. So while I'm spending time with my new family, I won't be missing out on my family's Christmas (well, I will, but it just won't happen today).

It also proves that Christmas really is just another day on the calendar. True, it's a very important date as far as religion goes, but what most of us look forward to most is celebrating the joy of the season with our families. When I go to Oklahoma in January, most of my family who will gather this Sunday will be able to join me then. There won't be a Christmas tree, prime rib (which became our preferred Christmas meal after my dad, mom, brother, grandparents & I couldn't take the thought of looking at another turkey or ham after all the ones we saw at my dad's store), or Christmas movies on TV, but the part that counts most -- my family members -- will be.

So today, I'll be counting my blessings. My family members are healthy and happy. My friends are well. My husband is home.

And although it may not be fresh snow, I've technically got myself my first white Christmas!

If you're a vegetarian, you might wanna skip this one

Our trip to OK and TX was great, but super-fast, as usual. We spent a LOT of time in the car.

We landed in Dallas in time to meet Miss Heather and B for dinner. K and I were so excited to get REAL Mexican food again (and to see Heather and B, of course)! We tortured our friends by ordering Sangria swirl margaritas, which apparently no one in North Carolina or VA is aware exists. (If you haven't had one, you're seriously missing out!)

After lunch, we went straight for OK to see my family. (Well, with a quick stop on the side of the road so I could show my home state how excited I was to be back.)

My dad made us his delicious steak for dinner. Since he's a butcher, it's his job to know how to make the best steak in the world. And he's very good at that job.

Not too long after dinner, K and I headed up to Norman so we'd be there for all the game day festivities the next day. ER drove up to come to the game with us. She also brought us some delicious cupcakes that were every bit as good as they looked.

For the "game day festivities," we met up with a few friends and walked around Campus Corner. We enjoyed pizza at one of our favorite pizza places to visit (even if it did originate in Stillwater).

K and I were sure to wear the jerseys I had made for us! (I blurred out our last name, since I'm pretty sure everyone who has it is related to K.)

The game? A little scary in the first half, but that's to be expected when your QB has been out for the entire season. I'm just glad he's back! I was also glad to have my new camera with me to capture some great pictures of the action.

I even got a cool shot of the mascot crowd-surfing. Here's a semi-fun fact for you: Many Sooners call these mascots (there are two) the horse-pig, since they look like half-horse, half-pig. The mascots are a new addition to the University of Oklahoma. They came along in the fall of 2005, just a couple months after I graduated. Our real mascot -- the fabulous two-horse-drawn Sooner Schooner -- isn't able to travel to all the away games, and some programs won't even allow the schooner on their field. The horse-pigs were someone's solution to that problem. I must say I'm not a fan of the mascots either, since everyone knows all football fans stick to tradition. This move did knock them up a couple notches in my book, though.

Since ER, her sister (who was also at the game) and I are all former OU band members, we watched the post-game concert. When they "gave the go-go" (Sooner band translation: started playing the drum intro to "Boomer Sooner"), we were all super excited to get to give the longhorns-down, as opposed to the No. 1 finger. See, the end of the game marked the beginning of OU-texas week, which all college football fans know about. (And if you were reading my blog this time last year, you might remember that I've even accidentally sacrificed my car due to my love of this week in football.)

After the game, I convinced my friends to eat dessert before dinner. See, one of the things I'd missed most about Norman is my favorite dessert. It's an amazing custard place that was started by an OU grad just 5 years ago. In October and November, they have their special seasonal pumpkin pie custard that is Ah.Maze.Ing. When I realized our visit to Norman would coincide with the appearance of this delicious treat, I was almost as excited as I was when we booked our trip to begin with. My pumpkin pie custard was every bit as yummy (if not more) than I remembered it to be.

Sunday morning, we headed back to my hometown for more time with my family ... and more meat (oh, the life of a butcher's daughter). Mmm, pork chops!

Monday, we headed back to the Dallas airport, but not before stopping for lunch at Potbelly to fulfill another food fix we can't take care of in VA.

This was a fast trip, but we'll head back in December or January. With so much delicious food that we can only get in OK and TX, we may have to get a one-way ticket and jog our way back to VA!

Merry Christmas, Oklahoma style!

I'm heading to Oklahoma tonight for bridesmaid duty! I'm really looking forward to my friends' wedding, and I'm so excited to get to be a part of it.

One thing I'm also excited about is that this time of year in Oklahoma, there's no way of avoiding hearing a certain little jingle. It's been around for decades, and it's really become Oklahoma's own little Christmas carol. (I'm so not exaggerating -- we used to sing this thing on bus trips in high school!)

Give it a listen! Hope you think it's as awesome as we* do!


*By "we," I mean Okies. :)

Of all the scenarios I imagined, this one came COMPLETELY out of left field

It was Thanksgiving night. My dad's girlfriend came inside the house and woke my dad, who was sleeping on the couch. She was trying to tell him something about Ringo, his dog. She told Dad that it sounded like Ringo had been attacked. She heard him make strange noises, and then it sounded like something attacked him. "Whatever it was, it was big," she said. Then she heard Ringo whining.

I ran to the bedroom to grab my coat as my dad, still out of it from his nap, tried to process what his girlfriend was telling him.

I ran out of the house, outside the gate, and down the long driveway to the street. I called Ringo's name the whole way, but I never heard a sound -- no footsteps on the gravel, no barking, no whining.

I got to the end of the driveway and tried to decide which direction to go on the road. A car was heading toward me from the right. It slowed and moved to one side of the road. I headed that way, calling Ringo's name again.

My dad and his girlfriend live out in the country, so there are no streetlights. I couldn't see a thing. Luckily, another car soon headed my direction. Just as I heard my dad start his pickup to head our way, I saw through the headlights of the oncoming car the silhouette of two dogs standing in the middle of the road.

I ran toward the dogs, waving my arms to warn the approaching car. I didn't want the driver to wreck in an attempt to avoid hitting them or watch the dogs get hit right in front of me. The car slowed, and I noticed Ringo seemed to be limping. He was definitely hurt.

Just as I reached the dogs, my dad pulled up in his truck. For some reason, the second dog was sticking very close to Ringo, like it had no choice.

Then I realize it didn't. The dogs were somehow stuck together, end to end.

I tilted my head to the side and tried to figure out what had happened. How could their legs be caught? Or were their tails twisted together (but how could that happen?)? What could have ...

Oooooooh ...

My dad started laughing and told me to wave the other car on by us. He immediately called my grandpa to find out how to ... ahem ... separate the dogs safely. Evidently the solution was a bucket of water.

My dad headed back to the house, and moments later, his girlfriend came down the driveway, carrying a bucket. She didn't want to be the one to douse the dogs, so I did. It worked.

The other dog, who -- rightfully so -- seemed pretty upset about the whole thing, immediately bolted down the road when she realized she was free.

Ringo, though ... Poor Ringo. He was bleeding, and he seemed to be in pain. We tried to get him to follow us back to the house, but he was more interested in checking on his manhood than paying attention to us. I wondered if we'd have to take him to the vet.

Somehow, though, after just a minute or two, Ringo seemed to be back to normal. In a split second, he seemed to forget his pain. We watched incredulously as he bolted off, disappearing in the direction his lady friend had gone just moments before.

Short-term memory. One-track mind.

Typical male.

Homecoming: not just for old people

So I'm a little behind in writing about it (it involves pictures), but two weekends ago, I went up to Norman for homecoming. The last four drum majors of the Pr!de of Ok.lahoma marching band made it their mission to make alumni band more appealing to the ... um ... more recent alumni.

ER and I took the bait. And I'm glad we did. It wound up being a nice little reunion with several friends we hadn't seen in the last few years. (And we learned it had been eight years -- 8 !!! years !!! -- since we were freshman in the Pride!)

College bar chandeliers are awesome!
















We got to practice in the indoor practice facility, which was built while we were in college. It was pretty cool to be back in there again. It's definitely a part of Sooner football that not many get to see.
















































After our little rehearsal, we made sure to get some pictures alongside some of our favorite parts of the university. Also, unlike when we were in band, we got to watch the homecoming parade!

As ER and I walked across campus, I could not believe how insanely happy I was to just be in Norman, doing the game day thing, and kind of reliving our band days. The only thing that could've pushed it over the edge into pure, utter perfection is if K had been there -- but, as I told ER, if K had been there that day, I might have exploded from excitement. (Yes, I'm aware I'm a dork, but don't make me remind you how ridiculous of a fan I am!)

ER and I alongside Boomer or Sooner (they look the same). They're the awesome horses who drive the Sooner Sch.ooner each time OU scores.





























































As we waited for pregame to start, ER and I got to see the awesome new scoreboard on the south end zone. We marched pregame and halftime, which was neat to do again (but a little nerve wracking, considering our "alumni" uniforms left us pretty easy to pick out on the field). Like many games in our college history, we saw Toby Ke!th (he's a Sooner fan!). We won the game (yay!), and afterward, a group of us went out for pizza and beer on campus corner.
















































































I'm thinkin' it's safe to say ER and I will be doing alumni band again next year.

361 days until the next one!

For as long as I can remember, the Fourth of July has been my favorite holiday. I just love the excitement of it. The fireworks, the food, the patriotism of the day ... It's kind of funny I wound up being an Army wife, since it somehow manages to make the holiday that much more meaningful and enjoyable to me.

Part of the reason I've loved the holiday for so long is that every year on the weekend of the Fourth of July, my dad's side of the family assembles for our family reunion. While I've often heard other people groan about their family reunions, I always look forward to mine. My dad's side of the family is full of really great, fun people who I feel really thankful to be connected to. I've only missed our reunion once, and even though it was a good Fourth, I really missed it. I decided that was the last reunion I would miss if I could help it.

These reunions have been going on for decades, even since my dad was a baby. There's a scrapbook that floats around during the reunions, and it's got pictures of my dad as a teenager in tiny mustard yellow shorts (since that's what they wore in the '70s). The reunion is a meeting of the families of my dad's dad and his four siblings. They're all getting older now, and one of them passed away a few years ago. More and more each year it seems like the reunions I look forward to so much are nearing an end.

So I was really excited when my dad called me in May to tell me that the cousin I babysat for in college was going to hold the reunion at his house in Norman this year. My cousin and his wife are two of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, and they've got three adorable children. My cousin is a successful doctor, and they built their amazing new house while I was still in college. I was excited to see what they'd done to it and to have a great excuse to go to Norman.

I stuck around Thursday night to go to a big fireworks show in Dallas with some friends, so I woke up early Friday morning so I could head to OK for the day. I arrived at my cousins' house while all the guys were still out playing golf (it's tradition!), so I caught up with aunts and cousins and helped sample chocolate-covered strawberries.

Once the late arrivals and the guys got to the house, we started lunch. We caught up on the details of each other's lives since we last saw each other. There were pregnant bellies and children walking around who were just babies in their mothers' arms last year. Cousins I remember from when they were toddlers are now 16, and for some reason, it still catches me off guard to see that they're old enough to require more clothing than the simple underwear they insisted on running around in as small children.

There was playing in the pool, fishing in the pond ...

































eating to our hearts' content, riding in an awesome golf cart (we're all Sooner fans!),

















playing with a hor.ny toad (I hadn't seen one of those since I was in elementary school!),

















and three flavors of homemade ice cream, a family tradition that goes all the way back to when my grandpa and his siblings were little.

















There were hugs and laughter and lots and lots of pictures. There were prayers of gratitude for the blessings we have and prayers of protection for the men and women away from their families on such a patriotic day.

Many times through the course of the day I found myself looking around at all the wonderful people I'm so fortunate to have in my life. We may only all get together once a year, but it's a time I always cherish and look forward to very much.

When the final tradition of the day -- putting on our excellent fireworks show -- was over, I couldn't believe it was already time to go home. We all said our goodbyes and got ready to go our separate ways. We made the most of the final minutes, with about 10 of us piling into the golf cart for a silly ride to our cars (seriously, 10 people). We laughed and chatted a few minutes longer before climbing into our cars to head our different directions.

I wasn't even completely out of the driveway before I was already looking forward to next year's reunion.

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains

A year or so ago during one of many trips K and I have made to Pennsylvania, I was talking to one of K's cousins. I don't remember what we were talking about, but K's cousin asked me about tornadoes.

"I had a friend who was in Oklahoma once when there was a tornado warning," K's cousin told me. "He said when the sirens went off, everyone immediately went inside. He said you guys take those things really seriously."

I can't imagine the look I must have been giving K's cousin as I wondered (a) if his friend had dreamed the whole experience, (b) where all the people around him were really from, or (c) where his friend really was when this event took place. If he actually was awake, fully conscious and in Oklahoma, then everyone around him must have been from out of state as well.

The last thing an Oklahoman does when tornado sirens go off is go inside -- unless you're a kid and your parents make you. Anyone who's a teenager or older immediately goes outside, and for some reason, we all get on the phone to talk to people outside our neighborhoods -- sometimes even in other towns. I don't know why, but it's just what almost all of us do.

If you live in Oklahoma long enough, you're bound to learn a lot about tornadoes. It just happens. Eventually, you get to where you can look out the window and announce very confidently that it's "tornado weather." Step outside, and you can be even more certain when the air just has this certain smell and feel to it. It's not something we can explain; we can just tell.

My first real encounter with a tornado came when I was in the third grade (there were a few before then, but not quite as close a call). In one night, seven tornadoes ripped through my hometown. My cousin and her mom were in town visiting my grandparents from Oklahoma City, and my brother and I were at their house as well. Because my grandma is always paranoid about the weather, we had the news on TV so we could keep up with the radar. Suddenly the cable went out, and it got eerily quiet.

I thought the storm was over. My grandma and aunt knew otherwise. They ordered my cousin, brother and me to go to the bathroom in the center of the house and get in the bathtub. We did as we were told. My aunt and grandma ran in and out of the tiny bathroom, tossing pillows and blankets on top of us.

My brother was the unlucky one to be at the front of the tub, and for some reason that night, the faucet decided to drip. As we were struggling to breathe under the smothering weight of a household worth of extra blankets and pillows, my poor brother was having to endure the likes of Chinese water torture.

We could hear Grandma and my aunt calling back and forth to each other from the front and back doors of Grandma's house. The storm got louder again, so their voices did too so they could hear each other as they stood watch on each side of the house. While this was going on, the rotating funnel (it hadn't touched the ground yet) passed directly over the house. My aunt, who was at the back door, was nearly sucked out of the house when it passed. For a few seconds, between the storm and the shouts of my grandma and my aunt, it was pretty loud.

But just as quickly as the panic had started, it was quiet again. This time, the storm was really gone.

I have dozens of similar stories from the rest of my childhood in Oklahoma. In every one of those experiences, each time the tornado sirens went off, my parents would usher my brother and me into the spooky, this-thing-is-definitely-haunted basement of our 100-year-old home, and then they'd immediately run outside to watch for the storm. Every. Single. Time.

A few weeks back, when I had to take my car to the shop to get my "oil light" taken care of, I was giving my personal information to the man who was checking in my car at the garage. He commented on the area code for my cell phone number. "Is that Oklahoma?" he asked.

"Heck yeah it is!"

The man told me he'd lived in Oklahoma "in that town Garth Brooks is from" (it's called Yukon) for a few months. He said he was very happy to move back to Dallas. I bit my tongue. The man surprised me with his next statement: "I just couldn't get any sleep there!"

I was confused. He continued: "The tornado sirens went off almost every night!" He told me he remembered one night in particular when he was staying in a hotel and the sirens went off. Every person staying there that night had to cram into the lobby. They were all a little nervous about the fact the tornado sirens were blaring, and they had no idea what to do in such a situation.

"There was this one guy, though," the man at the garage told me, "who stayed outside in the parking lot the whole time just watching the storm!" He looked at me as though he was waiting for me to react in horror, even shock at the least.

I just smiled. "I guarantee you he was from Oklahoma!"

It's a wonder I made it home safely

I've said a few negative things on this blog about Texas as a state, so when I come across something about living here that makes me smile, I feel it's only fair that I blog about that too.

The weather in Texas and Oklahoma is a lot alike. We both deal with tornadoes, humidity, a practically nonexistent spring, and incredibly hot summers with awful droughts and water shortages. Weather from day to day (outside of the summer) is completely unpredictable in both states. Wearing shorts in the morning only to see snow falling later (or vice versa) that night is something that I've experienced in both states.

In college, though, I was always surprised to hear Texans and Dallasites complaining about the Oklahoma winters. "It's freezing here! It doesn't get this cold in Dallas!" they'd say. I figured maybe it had something to do with that wind sweeping down the plains, but I couldn't imagine winter in OK would be as different as they made it sound. I guess I was wrong.

I'll never forget the first "winter storm" I encountered after I moved to Dallas. All the local news stations were doing regular weather updates before there was ever even a drop of precipitation. Yes, snow and ice were in the forecast, but it was still sunny outside! Our department at work (at my old job) called a quick meeting to let us all know that we could leave early if we needed to so we could be sure to be home and safe before the weather got bad. We discussed arrangements for work the next day in case the roads were "still" slick. I was amazed to hear of the many, many businesses that were closing early (like 11 a.m.) that day while the weather was still fine simply because of the fact snow was in the forecast for that afternoon. And of course (unpredictable, remember?), the weather was nothing near as bad as expected. In fact, what actually hit was ridiculously minor. The roads were fine the next morning.





(from Monday's snowfall)








Until March, it hadn't really snowed in Dallas this year. We got a whole inch on Monday night (it was mostly melted by Tuesday morning), and when the forecast called for more snow this afternoon, it was all anyone could talk about. Many of my co-workers started leaving to work from home as early as lunchtime.

When I left work shortly after 2 (any excuse to work in my pjs!), it was only raining, as it had been all day, but the roads were already as jammed as during rush-hour traffic. I passed two accidents on my 1 mile of highway driving. Once I got home and turned on the TV, all the local stations were showing was weather coverage. One station had even overdramatically labeled it "Major Winter Storm."

Even though the snow stopped hours ago, the gym tonight was completely dead, as were the roads on the way there. Many businesses and schools are opening late or are completely closed tomorrow just in case the roads get slick tonight. My office is waiting until tomorrow to make a decision. Just in case, I brought everything I'd need to work from home tomorrow so I could be prepared.

The forecast is showing our chance of snow extends into tomorrow. I'd just feel much better knowing I didn't have to worry about being out on the road in case another Major Winter Storm comes and dumps a whole inch of snow on us again.

I don't get it either, and I was there!

Sorry to keep you all waiting on my post about this weekend. When I got home Sunday, I was exhausted and didn't want to do anything but unpack and sleep. I started writing the post last night, but honestly, I'm kind of confused about the events of Saturday night. I was there, and I remember everything, but really, none of it makes sense.

Friday was great: I rushed to Norman after work and made it in just enough time to throw on my hot red dress, touch up my makeup and head to dinner. Our original dinner choice had an hour wait, so we headed next door to the same place we ate at last year for the girls' birthday. It wound up being just the four of us old roomies, which was awesome. We had a great dinner, caught up and took a few pictures before heading to a couple bars on Campus Corner.















We had a great time there. Rachel and I managed to see a few guys we went to high school with, and I met several of the guy friends of hers I've heard about for so long but hadn't met. It was a good, silly night, but nothing crazy.















The next day, we slept in a bit and then started getting ready to go out for lunch. Most of my close girl friends are very low maintenance, so I usually am the last one to be ready. Not with these girls. I waited for over an hour before they were completely dressed and ready to head to lunch (and I think I'm the only one who showered, since the bars from the night before were smoke-free and I was the only one who hadn't showered before going out Friday night, since I had so little time)!

Lunch was nice and calm, until about halfway through, when I looked up and saw a familiar face -- S@m Br@dford, OU's awesome quarterback who will totally win the Heisman before he graduates -- entering the restaurant. I was really excited the rest of our meal, and the girls laughed at me for being such a dork. Of course I had to get a picture with him!



















After lunch, we had decided we were going to go ahead and get ready for dinner and then head to the movies to see Jumper. When we got back to Rachel's apartment, though, the cold, rainy weather made us feel more like staying in. We watched Hairspray at her place before having to stop before the movie was over so we could get ready to go to OKC for the night. The other three girls started getting ready 30 minutes before I did, yet I still managed (once again) to find myself dressed and ready to go about 30 minutes before them.

The Asian bistro we went to for dinner was a really neat place. It was very hip, and the food was really good. I ordered the sweet & sour chicken, which would have been completely awesome if it wasn't drowned in sauce. (I'm not a huge fan of sweet & sour sauce to begin with, but even Rachel, who says she loves sauce of any kind, thought it was overpowering.) The two birthday girls shared their green tea ice cream with us. It was yummy!















After dinner, L.indsay had to leave us to head to another friend's birthday celebration, but the rest of us headed to the trashy dance club I was dreading. A friend of Rachel & Jess!ca's had told us at dinner that she'd drive us that night, so Rachel, Jess!ca & I headed to the bar for drinks as soon as we got to the club. I knew I needed to get started on the liquid courage necessary for me to get through the night at that club and also decrease my judgment enough to make myself think I look good when I dance.

Our DD had a few friends at the club who were visiting from Tulsa, and I started talking to a really awesome married couple in the group. I'd been talking to them for a while when the other girls (Rachel, Jess!ca & our DD) came up to let me know we were leaving to go to some hot new bar they'd been hearing about. Someone had put us on the list there, so we were going to check it out, but we'd come back to the trashy club after.


And this is where the night started to go downhill
We walked the block and a half to the new "it" bar, which wound up absolutely sucking.

The music was bad, the place was so crowded you could hardly move, and the bartenders sucked. In fact, the bartender had skipped over Jess!ca and me and helped these other two people -- a girl Rachel called my attention to, who I realized was a sleazy girl we went to school with who was a few years younger than us, and some greasy older guy she was with.

Jess!ca got the bartender's attention, and when she looked up at me, I gave her our drink order. She was just starting to make the second line-jumper's drinks at that point, so I added after telling the order, "Just after you're finished with those drinks. I think those other people jumped ahead of us."

The bartender looked up at me. "That girl had been waiting in line for several minutes."

"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about her. The guy."

The bartender looked at me again. She said in a snotty voice: "He's paying for her drinks. Don't tell me how to do my job." I was frozen in shock, since I had been polite and hadn't intended to step on any toes, and I certainly hadn't told her how to do her job. I could understand her frustration about being busy, but I hadn't said, "You helped them first." I had said, "They jumped ahead of us." I wasn't accusing her of anything.

Since I wasn't positive the two people had jumped ahead of us (maybe I just hadn't seen them?), I didn't say anything else. After I paid for our drinks, though, I asked Rachel if the two had actually cut. Rachel told me she watched them walk up to the bar after Jess!ca and I had been standing there a couple minutes. The bartender was a liar!

Since nothing about the bar seemed to be good (a few others with us had their own list of complaints), I was ready to leave. Jess!ca and I decided together that we would walk back to the trashy club. Only when I talked to another couple there with us who was wanting to go back as well, Jess!ca decided to stay, since someone had come up to her and was buying her drinks.

I headed back to the first club with the couple, and I hung out with them and the Tulsa people. By the time the club was closing, Rachel and the group who'd gone to the crappy bar had returned, so we headed outside to get to the car.


When the night gets confusing
It was raining and cold out, so Jess!ca and some random guy headed toward her car so the rest of us could stay dry. Rachel and I stood under an awning talking to two guy friends of hers. When Jess!ca and Random Guy came back, we all realized that none of us could drive, and our DD seemed to have left with her boyfriend.

Luckily, Rachel's guy friends were OK to drive us. We climbed in Jess!ca's car, where we all came up with a plan. The guys would drive us to their house, which was on our way home to begin with, and we'd sober up there. I'd drink a ton of water and drive us back to Norman safely (and soberly).

We got to the guys' house, and all of us went inside except for Jess!ca and Random Guy. After 20 minutes or so, she was at the door asking why we'd left her in the car. Rachel explained she thought Jess!ca had wanted some alone time with Random Guy or something. They knew very well how to get out of her car and come inside the house with the rest of us. Jess!ca started going on and on about how she didn't trust the guys whose house we were at, and she didn't want us in there any longer. Rachel and I tried explaining that these were friends of Rachel's, and she'd known them for years. Jess!ca was still uncomfortable and insisted that she drive us home, so we left the house.

As we headed the less than 20 miles back to Norman, Jess!ca and Rachel were each still trying to figure out where there was a miscommunication. Jess!ca was trying to explain to Rachel why she didn't trust the two guys we were with, and Rachel was trying to figure out why Jess!ca was upset about a plan she had originally agreed upon. Soon, they were yelling at each other in frustration.

Random Boy was still in the car, and instead of being smart and quiet, he spoke up from time to time, and he wasn't helping the situation.

I realized quickly that he had a bad habit of calling girls "honey," "dear" or other such obnoxious pet names. I tried telling him that girls don't typically appreciate that, and I asked him to stop. I asked him three times. He started calling me "Mizz" instead. I reminded him of my first name many times.

Random Boy still insisted on speaking up, even though Rachel and Jess!ca were really yelling by that time. When Random Boy called me a pet name again, I screamed at him. I yelled at him and cussed at him, and I told him he wasn't helping the situation and needed to hush. Except I told him really, really loudly.

And he hushed.

For a while.

Then, the rest of the night, he kept saying stupid things about how one of us was going to stab him, which came completely out of nowhere.

So there the four of us were -- Jess!ca, Rachel, me and Random Guy -- heading back to Norman. It became clear that Jess!ca had just completely forgotten a portion of the night, which happened to be when we had all decided on our plan to sober up at the guys' house. She had also completely forgotten that the guys were friends of Rachel's. After we finally got all that cleared up and the argument was over, we all three became very annoyed with Random Guy, who was still whining about how one of us harmless, tiny girls was going to stab him.

I tried carrying on a conversation with Random Guy in the hopes he would wake up and realize that we were all absolutely harmless and really nice girls. I even apologized for screaming at him, despite the fact it was completely warranted because he hadn't listened to my numerous polite requests to stop using demeaning pet names with strangers. He was stupid, though, and didn't get any better.

Honestly, the events of Saturday night probably make as much sense to you as they do to me. I didn't realize how confused I was about the night until I tried explaining it to L!ndsay the next day on my way back to Dallas.

I know there's more to the story than I initially realized, but I still don't understand why Jess!ca was so upset. Random Guy probably doesn't sound like a jerk from what I said above, but he absolutely was. Plus, the guy is 26 years old and still lives with his rich mommy and daddy. In Oklahoma (The cost of living is very low in OK. Pretty sure he can afford to move out by now. Especially the way he was throwing around money).

Jess!ca, Rachel and I went to lunch together on Sunday, and we talked more about the previous night. Things were better between all of us, and we had to laugh at the chain of events of the night and the fact that some wimpy guy was afraid of us and somehow convinced we were going to stab him.

Friday night and Saturday afternoon were so great that it was sad to leave with such a confusing, random night like Saturday night.

I was actually happy to make it back home to Dallas, where I could catch up on the sleep I didn't get Saturday night.

I think it's going to be a little while before I head back to Norman!

Because it's not my birthday

I'm heading to OK this weekend to help two of my roomies from my senior year celebrate birthdays. One of the girls' is today; the other's is Sunday. We're supposed to go out for dinner tonihgt and then head to a bar that I love in Norman afterward. I'm excited.

The birthday girl wants to feel pretty, so she's going all out. She was supposed to get her hair done this morning, and she's getting her makeup done this afternoon. She's wearing a dress out. To a sports bar in a college town.

The other birthday girl is getting a new haircut today too. She's also wearing a dress out tonight.

And so is the 4th roomie. Which means I will wear a dress as well so I don't screw up cute pictures by being the only one not in a cute dress. Even thought it's about 30 degrees in OK today. And I'm recovering from the flu.

Tonight should be fun, though. Cold, but fun.

It's tomorrow night I'm definitely not looking forward to. We're going to eat sushi for dinner (hate it) and head to a dance club (yuck) after -- a trashy hip-hop dance club!

Although I've managed to list mostly negatives here, I think it'll be a good weekend, all in all. The four of us old roomies always have a blast when we get together. I just have to get my complaints out before I get to OK so I can put on a happy face even if I can't breathe through my nose.

Things that are definitely awesome about this weekend, no matter what:

1. I am getting off work early to make it to OK in time for dinner. In fact, I'm leaving work in 7 minutes!
2. I am leaving Piper here to be taken care of in Dallas. She's adorable, but I'm looking forward to a break since I'm the little pup 24/7.
3. Guaranteed fun with the girls.
4. I'm going to Oklahoma!!!

Is life ever going to slow down?

My Christmas was really relaxing. I went home to OK to see my dad, grandparents and my dad's girlfriend. My brother flew in from North Carolina, so we were all together again.

I went to OK after work on Friday, which had (disappointingly enough) turned out to be a full day for me (I had thought I'd get off work early). I went to lunch on Saturday with my high school boyfriend's mom, who has been like a second mom to me since I was 17. When we walked outside after our two-hour lunch, I was excited to see snowflakes falling from the sky!

I rushed home and took Piper outside. I made sure to film it on my digital camera so K could see her reaction to the weird white stuff falling from the sky. I took a few cute pictures of her playing in it. To be honest, I don't think it was enough for her to really be confused or excited about what was going on. She did enjoy the freedom of running around in my dad's fenced-in yard with no leash, though. At least K will most likely be here for Piper's real first time in accumulated snow.

Sunday was my dad's 50th birthday. We went to church and then to his store for a late breakfast. He and his girlfriend (who works there too) had quite a bit of work to do to prepare for Christmas orders the next day, so we were there for a few hours. After that, it was pretty relaxing. My dad made his awesome steak (no one can grill 'em better than a butcher!), and we watched The Bourne Supremacy (my brother and I had gotten Dad the boxed set for his birthday, and since my dad had bugged his girlfriend for so long about renting the movies because he hadn't seen them, we had given him his present early and watched The Bourne Identity the previous night) after.

Monday was spent at the store again for a large part of the day. We closed early, though, so we got to relax at home that night. On Christmas Day, we opened presents at about 9:30. We had a nice Southern breakfast of bacon, eggs, and biscuits and gravy for breakfast. As I was washing the dishes (I volunteered), K's dad called me. Since his family was all together, they passed the phone from person to person so I could have a quick conversation with everyone. In a matter of a few minutes, I had managed to talk to K's dad, brother, cousin, cousin's wife, great aunt and one of his aunts. It was good to hear from them all.

That afternoon, we headed to my grandparent's house. My cousins were in with their spouses, and all my aunts and uncles were in. The only person missing was K.

He actually called me right after dinner. He only had 30 minutes to talk, and he had used part of that time to call his family. I had expected that, since his family was all together, so I knew we wouldn't get to talk long. He sounded good, though, and it was great to hear his voice again.

My family got plenty of time with Piper. My brother thinks she's pretty cool, and my cousin's husband wants to kidnap her for himself. My dad actually seems to think of her as a granddaughter, which is funny and actually cute. (At one point during the weekend, my dad left the house to run an errand. Piper had followed him to the door, and she started whining when he pulled out of the driveway. She's only done that with K, me and one or two of my co-workers she really likes.)

Before I knew it, it was time for me to pack up my car and head back to Dallas, since I had to work on Wednesday. I was surprised how sad I felt to be leaving the house. It had been nice to see everyone again, but getting back in my car and making the drive home somehow made me miss K more. Maybe it's because you're supposed to spend Christmas with your family, and that very important part of my family was not there.

It was a good trip, though, and even though I was sad to see it come to an end, I was ready to get back to my own home. It was hard to get up and go to work on Wednesday. It was rainy out, and I knew a lot of people would be off work that day. I called my dad on my drive to work, and he told me it was snowing in Oklahoma. In fact, they managed to get about 3 inches that day. Go figure, I missed it by a day!

Yesterday was really slow at work, but today picked up. In fact, I'm even having to work from home tonight so I can finish a project and hopefully not have to work late tomorrow. Don't these people know you're not really supposed to work the week between Christmas and New Year's?!

Can't (and certainly didn't) please everybody

The weekend in Norman was fun, but it didn't quite go as planned. I kind of saw all that coming when K told me on Wednesday that three of his guys were coming with us. I knew two of them, so I didn't mind, but that meant everything about the trip would change -- we'd no longer be staying for free at a friend's house, but we'd have to find somewhere where we could all stay. We might have to worry about finding tickets for other people, which would be next to impossible, since the OU-M!am! game has been sold out for weeks.

I spent Wednesday night calling literally every hotel in Norman. I finally found a vacancy at the Super 8. We'd all stay in a suite. Perfect.

ER, though, had planned on the OU-M!am! weekend being a big us weekend. Originally, it was supposed to be a bachelor/bachelorette weekend. We'd go out separately -- the guys, and the girls -- on Friday night, and then we'd all go to the game on Saturday, then party together Saturday night. It slowly started changing, though.

We were all supposed to stay with ER's sister and her husband at their house in Norman. And since ER's brother-in-law isn't "a big bar guy," the guys would stay at home and play Nintendo Wii. Now K loves the Wii, but he has one of his own. He doesn't want to drive 8 hours to play a video game. Not to mention the fact that if it was truly supposed to be a bachelor/bachelorette weekend, sorry, but it doesn't matter what ER's brother-in-law prefers to do -- it's supposed to be about K.

Plus, K and I only get to see each other two days a week. It's no big deal for ER and her boyfriend, who work together and practically live together anyway, to miss a Friday night together. K and I have so little, and there's the fact he's about to be deployed. We don't give up those few nights we have very easily.

Last weekend at our OU watch party, ER and a guy she hung out with all through college (I became better friends with their group of friends my junior and senior year) were talking about their two favorite places they couldn't wait to visit in Norman. Those places are OK, but I could go to Norman every weekend for 10 years straight and never visit them, and I wouldn't miss anything. Those bars are all right, but they're not my style. I always liked the ones that more people go to. The bars they like are a bit out of the way, and they're more for a low-key night. I don't like to get trashed and dance on tables or anything, but I like to go to the bars where I'll see people from college -- the sports bars on campus corner with the awesome music.

The fact that ER and her boyfriend decided not to go to the game (partly, I was informed, because of the fact they don't get paid before Florida) meant K and I were less likely to spend time with them. ER decided to have a watch party at her sister's house, and she even started calling it "my watch party," which was fine, but it was one more sign of the evolution of the weekend from a bachelor/bachelorette weekend to a weekend she was planning to fit her preferences, but I felt like she was still calling it mine and K's weekend.

When I found out we had more people coming with us to Norman, I called ER to let her know the weekend probably wasn't going to turn out as planned. I tried to get it across to her as best as I could.

K, his friends and I wound up leaving later than planned for Norman, since we had to pick up another tag-along at the airport. ER and her crew left earlier and went straight to her sister's. I'd wanted to just go the hotel and relax, since we had an 11 a.m. game. I wanted to rest and chill so I'd be ready to go for the game the next day. But as we got closer, it became clear the guys with us -- including K -- were not interested in driving so far to sit in a hotel. Since I love Norman so much, I was down for going out too. I wound up being the designated driver, though, and our group decided to close down the bar. I was exhausted, but I still got up early Saturday for the game.

K and I had a blast at the game. We watched the game with (I did have "sat with," but that's a lie, since there's no sitting in Sooner football!) a college friend of mine and two guy friends I ran into from high school. One of K's best friends just got back from three years of being stationed in Korea. He's a grad student at OU, and he and his wife stood with us too. It was an awesome game, and we killed M!am!. Woohoo!

That night, we all went out to dinner, then had drinks at a friend's before heading to campus corner again. I told ER about our plans, in addition to several other people. ER never called me to tell me whether they were coming. They were all interested in a different restaurant that's too hard to seat such a large group.

We had a great time Saturday night, and I was able to see so many people I rarely get to see outside of Norman. I went to text message ER to tell her we were out, but I realized I'd forgotten my phone at the friend's house where we'd had drinks before going out. I knew she'd be upset, since she'd already called me that night to tell me she felt kicked out of the plans.

It was a good weekend all in all, but K and I always manage to find ourselves spread so thin between everyone we want to see and feel obligated to see. No matter where we are -- OK, Pennsylvania ... sometimes even Dallas and Louisiana. There's never enough time, and we only have two days together at a time as it is.

I talked to ER tonight after the gym, and as expected, she was upset. She wasn't angry, but more hurt than anything. I can understand, but I felt like she was giving me a guilt trip. She told me she was spending $650 on plane tickets to see us get married in Florida, but we couldn't even meet up in Norman. I had apologized to her, but she kept saying more things about it. I know she's upset, but I hate having to apologize for something when I don't feel like it's my fault.

I know I could've done a better job about communicating our plans, but the thing is, we just had way too different groups for things to work out. The people I was there with wanted to party and have a good time (and I was more in that group), and ER and that group wanted to do the more relaxed nights with the Wii and the artsier bars. I feel like Norman is my turf, and it's ER's too, but when I go back, I want to do what I want to do. There were just too many people involved for that to happen and for everyone to be happy.

It was a good weekend, but I'm frustrated about that. I'm going to keep quite on my frustrations unless things with ER don't get better in the next couple days. If she still sounds upset in a couple days, I'm voicing my frustrations. It's only fair.

On a happier, non-venting note, here are some fun pictures:





They always have fun stuff waiting for everyone in the student section.









Danielle and I managed to run into each other inside the stadium!







So the jersey and necklace? Yeah, those made a nice sunburn on the left side of my neck. It'll look awesome in the Florida wedding pictures (hopefully all evidence will be gone by then!).





I miss my old roomies! We always have a blast together!







Our classy room at the Super 8 had one mirrored wall in each room. It was nice -- except the opposite. I definitely thoroughly inspected the sheets before going to sleep here!