Merry Christmas!

This had to have been the best Christmas I have had thus far in my lifetime!  It was crazy busy but I had so much fun spending time with Ricky and I's families!   It started Thursday night where Robertson Tire had their company Christmas party.  Then Friday morning Ricky and I headed to Seminole to spend time time with Myers/Shaw side of the family.  There I met a whole new set of people and they were all so nice and kind and welcomed me in with loving arms. Ricky and I taught them all how to play Mexican Dominoes and had a blast!  Saturday morning we we to Ricky's parents house to see Ellie Kate get up and walk downstairs where Santa had brought her all kinds of toys!  

Ellie Kate as Jessie the Cowgirl

Ricky and I on Christmas day

That evening we headed over to Ricky's mom's side of the family to celebrate with more food and family.  It was a good time seeing all of them.  We left there a little early because we were headed to Hobart that night to my parent's house.  We got there about 12:30 and to bed we went.

Jake opening a  huge gift! 

Sunday morning we woke up and had Christmas with my siblings and were entertained by my nephew Jake as always :)  Then my dad's side of the family came down and we had lunch and played dirty Santa.  The rest of the day and Monday were relaxation days.  We did however play more Mexican dominoes and I taught Ricky how to play Sequence.  We came back home Monday evening for some R&R.  But not for long, we have to get packed because we are headed to Hawaii Friday!!!!

What's Next in running

So I've been thinking a lot lately about "What's Next?" This post is going to be about my physical activity.  Let me give you a brief background, I started running March of 2009....pretty much like this:

I trained on my own with the C25K (Couch to 5K Program).  Upon completion of that I finished my first 5K in May that same year and was so proud of myself.  So then I thought..."What's Next?" A friend of mine decided to train with a group for the 15K happening on Halloween...I thought "this is crazy, but I want to do it"...so I did.   I trained 3-4 days a week through heat and cold (mostly heat) and completed the Tulsa Run 15K.

First 5K

Tulsa Run 15K

Only a month after my 15K was the Route 66 Half Marathon...about 4 miles longer than the 15K and I decided since I was already so close, why not go ahead and complete it too.  So I did ha. Then I wanted to train for another half in the spring. So I trained for the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Half Marathon.  And completed it as well.  

2nd Half Marathon

1st Half Marathon

3rd Half Marathon

So when the fall training came around again this summer, I had decided I wanted to train for the full marathon.  Little did I realize just how much time that consumed!  The time restraints plus a couple of running injuries burned me out quickly.  I was just tired of running....but didn't want to give up.  So I backed down to the half training (still having injury problems) and finished my 3rd Half Marathon.  So now here I am, and not quite sure "What's Next?" 

For the present time, I'm doing some speed interval training on a treadmill (because I'm being a weenie and not running in the cold) and really would like to get more weight off before I run more long distance.  I might start at the bottom again...doing 5K's and try to increase my time and stamina.  So stay posted and I'll keep you updated on my running adventures.  

Way too long...

Sorry everyone, I've been slacking in the updating department.

Thanksgiving has come and gone and so much has been happening!  I had an excellent Thanksgiving split between Ricky and I's family.  I had so much to be thankful this year!  The first few things that come to mind when Thanksgiving is mentioned are: fall, family, and football ha.  Three of my all time favorite things :)  While at Thanksgiving dinner at Ricky's parents, everyone was discussing Bedlam football coming up....so in the spirit of things, Ricky's mom went and got little Ellie Kate ready for the big game.

Ellie Kate being a Cowboy's cheerleader :)

Bedlam had finally arrived, the day I was excited and scared to death for.  This was the first real test for Ricky and I's "House Divided".  All in all, the game ended sadly but my relationship stayed in tacked haha.  It was a beautiful day to tailgate and enjoy the last home game of the season for the Cowboys.

The clan at the game....with the Sooner fan :)

With Thanksgiving behind us for another year, it was time to gear up for Christmas.  So the next weekend I had some time and put up the Christmas tree in my new little apartment.  I used the ornaments that my grandmother had made, some of them wood that my grandpa had cut out and she had painted, and others that she had crochet.  Since they are both in heaven, I always get a little teary eyed when I put them up because I remember all the good times we would have at their house for the holidays.

Christmas time typically means lots of holiday parties and get togethers, and this year doesn't disappoint.  Lots of activities coming up which include friends, Christmas lights, food, gifts, and laughter.  

And then I ran 13.1 miles.....Again....

This past weekend was a whirlwind, that's for sure.  It all started Thursday night where I had a much needed girls night.  Nothing makes girls night better than mexican food and a chick flick haha.

Me and Megan getting ready to enjoy HP 7

Friday night we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1!!!  It was so incredible!  I can't wait for the final part to come out next summer.




Saturday was such a whirlwind.  I had a coupon to one of my all time favorite clothing stores, and I just couldn't resist using it, so I went and bought quite a few things and because of all the sales and coupons, I saved $130! I got a few other things finished and made it back home to finish watching my Cowboys beat Kansas.  After a much needed nap I headed over to a friends house that was hosting a birthday party for Megan!  It was of course a Harry Potter themed party :)

Sunday started off early as we headed to Veterans Park in Tulsa to run a ridiculous amount of miles.  Ricky was gearing up to run 26.2 miles while Bryan and I were mentally preparing ourselves for 13.1.  I personally had a really tough time with this one, even though this was the third half marathon I had ran.  But I still managed to finish!

The thing with the pop is that Bryan and I decided to give up pop until the race, so for 5 months neither of us drank any type of soda.....it was so tough, so of course Megan has us some at the finish line :)

First pop in 5 months

Ricky did fantastic for his first marathon!  I'm so proud of him and not sure I could ever do that.  He wanted to take a picture like some of the Olympians do haha.  

To top off the weekend, Amy, Megan, and I went to see Wicked Sunday night.  This was my 4th time to see it and it was just as good as the first time.  And of course I still cried even though I knew exactly what happened.  I LOVE Wicked!!!!

That concludes this eventful weekend, next up....BEDLAM!!!  Go Cowboys!!!  

ORANGE POWER!

Veterans Day

Yesterday was Veteran's Day and I felt like a post needed to be made about it.  I remember attending Veterans Day Assemblies all through school and when I was younger, I only liked them because we got out of class.  It wasn't really until I got to high school did I understand the meaning of it all.  There are several people that are near and dear to my heart that either have served or are currently serving in the Military.  I wanted to give respect to a few of them.  
First of all, my grandfather.  Who served in World War II.  Sadly he passed in October 2008.

My grandfather, second from left

Next is a good friend of mine from high school.  He is currently serving.

Chase with his beautiful new wife

Next, is one of my all time favorite teachers.  He served proudly 27 years before becoming a teacher at KHS.  Sadly he passed in March 2008 from cancer.  You are truly missed Mr. Lemon

Mr. Lemon, on the left

Finally, my amazing boyfriend.  Who has already spent a year in Iraq and is going back to Afghanistan in March.  I am so proud of you Ricky!

My favorite :)

A very appreciative thank you to these men and hundreds of thousands more.  Thank you for fighting for our freedom!  
They Did Their Share

On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.

Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years;

In the jungle or the desert,
On land or on the sea,
They did whatever was assigned
To produce a victory.

Some came back; some didn’t.
They defended us everywhere.
Some saw combat; some rode a desk;
All of them did their share.

No matter what the duty,
For low pay and little glory,
These soldiers gave up normal lives,
For duties mundane and gory.

Let every veteran be honored;
Don’t let politics get in the way.
Without them, freedom would have died;
What they did, we can’t repay.

We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy Halloween!!!

Just wanted to post a pic of us as pirates this year!  We had a great time!  

Two Cowboys games in one weekend

Last weekend was one of the best ever!  It all really started Thursday night where I experienced my very first Oktoberfest.  It was sooo fun!  We had a really good time, even though we did the chicken dance about 6 times throughout the night.

Ricky and Shane doing the Chicken Dance

Friday night Ricky and I headed to Stillwater for the famous OSU Walkarounds.  This time-honored tradition is a favorite of mine and I'm glad Ricky finally got to experience it :)

Ricky and I at Walkarounds

Saturday we got around and headed to the tailgate for the game where we had sooo much food!  The Cowboys ended up losing the game :(  But we still had a great time.  

Me and my parents at the tailgate

Ricky and I at the tailgate

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Dallas!!! It was finally time for our mini-vacation!  Once we finally got to Dallas we went straight to the stadium because we wanted to take a tour....as did hundreds of other people haha.  By the time we got there the VIP tours were sold out so we ended up doing a self guided tour which was still cool because we got to go onto the field and into the locker rooms.  This stadium is soooo amazing!  I was just completely blown away.  

Us on the field in the endzone

Me in front of Dez's locker!  Go Pokes!

Monday night it was finally game time and it was so fun seeing all the Dallas Cowboy fans tailgating in the parking lot on the way in and cheering along with them.  This was my first NFL game so I was taking it all in. Even though they lost, it was so fun.  Plus I got to see Dez play again and he had an awesome night.  There are so many more pics on facebook if you would like to look, these are just the highlights :)

The view from our seats

At the end of the game

Gearing up for a fabulous weekend of football!

Only two more days until an amazing weekend begins!!!  There is a lot going on and I simply can't wait!  Friday night Ricky and I are driving to Stillwater to the famous Walkarounds.  Then staying for the football game on Saturday or Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska!  Of course the game is preceded by some awesome tailgating.

Sunday we will be headed down to Dallas to celebrate Ricky's birthday....or well enjoy his present anyways haha.  I got him tickets to the Monday Night Football Dallas Cowboys vs. NY Giants!  We are spending three days down there and it will be nice for a little vacation.  Pics and stories to come!!!!

The Thrill of Unpacking

I just wanted to show you some pics of what my apartment looked like 2 weeks ago when I moved in and what it looks like today.  

 Here is a pic of it the day after I moved in.  I texted these two pictures to my mom asking her if she could teleport to Tulsa to help me go through all of these boxes....

<---The dining room full with odds and ends and also 5 boxes of China....yep 5 boxes.....

The living room that doesn't even look  ---->

like a living room.  I had boxes mixed in with furniture and couldn't walk anywhere.

 The final product.  My parents came this weekend to bring me the table and some other kitchen items.  We had a wonderful time in Target buying all kinds of stuff to decorate and make it feel more like home.  We also put all 5 boxes of China into the China cabinet....the good news.....I have enough China plates to feed about 50 people...the bad news....I have a table for 4.....haha

The finalized living room.  Looks and feels so homey :)  I love my little apartment.  It's the perfect size for me.  

Tribute to the house on 55th

I have been meaning to do this post for a week now, but I've been super busy so I'm just now getting around to it. Since I have recently moved, I wanted to give a tribute to the amazing house on 55th where I had so many memories....

Me and my amazing friend Megan moved into this house 2 years ago.  And these are just a few highlights of how much fun we had.....

This picture is from the first weekend we were both in the house.  We invited a few of our friends over to watch the OSU vs. Texas game on TV (with Megan playing the fight song on her computer everytime we scored).  It also happened to be the premier weekend of High School Musical 3 (don't judge).  So of course we had to celebrate that as well.  So here we are with our awesome HSM3 plates about to eat the cake we make for the occasion.....

<--- Halloween came around and of course we had to carve pumpkins.  Here me and Megan are fighting with the little plastic carving sticks.....i won :)

Here we are carving  our pumpkins in the kitchen  ---->

Christmas '08 came around and Megan and I are both huge Christmas lovers, there we had two trees......but when I pulled mine out of storage it was missing a leg :( So we had to improvise....

We also had a Christmas Part that year where me and Megan made all sorts of good food.  (see below)

Another memorable moment was the night we went to Wal-Mart at midnight to get the Twilight DVD....yep we were those people....

<-----Halloween of '09 included a costume party at the house which was oh so entertaining.  This wasn't Betty's costume, there is just a lot of history in this awesome piano dress...... (you're welcome betty)

Excellent time! --->

The last memory I'm going to share is the night we slept through the TORNADO! (ok ok some say it was just really strong wind and other say it was a F2)....I don't really care what it was, I do know that it was poweful enough to blow over these trees that were 3' in diameter and had been there a VERY long time.  

We woke up because we thought we heard something, were just kind of standing in the living room when suddenly the sirens went off.   If you have ever wondered how long it takes Megan to get a mattress off the bed and into the bathroom, it's about 5 seconds people.  At that point we looked outside and these trees were already blown over.  The storm had already passed and we slept right through it.  

There are of course soooo many more memories from the house, like the rabbit population the called 55th St. (our whole city mile really) it's home, Glee nights!, the crazy dreams I would have and had to immediately tell Megan about when she woke up in the morning, and the night Megan hadn't been asleep for about 2 days and we started watching Big Bang Theory and she made it to the theme song "BANG!" and then proceeded to pass out.  Good times, Good time......

Even though there were so many good things about living here, there are also a couple things that I won't miss......1.  Mowing the lawn  2.  The annoying yappy dog next door that liked to make sure everyone new it was time to wake up in the morning.  And finally 3.  well....that's it, there is nothing else.  So the pros outweigh the cons.  I will miss you house on 55th......

It's a slow fade.....

Normally I don't post stuff this close together, but this song came onto my iPod this afternoon and it weighed heavy on my heart.

People never crumble in a day, it's a slow fade.....

The song says it all....

It's beginning to look a lot like.....FALL!!!!

Hello Fall!

As I have mentioned before, this is by far my favorite time of the year.  Really October is just my favorite month, you have amazing weather, football, Halloween, OSU Homecoming, and this year Dallas Cowboy game :)  And it's all only a week away! haha...ok really the month of October is only a week away.

This last week has been very eventful, I started packing and moving Friday the 17th....and FINALLY finished packing and moving yesterday.  All of my stuff is now either in my new apartment (which is a mess right now), at the church that will be going to our Caring Center, the trash, or in the back of my jeep that will be going home with my parents for a garage sale.  So slowly I'm making it through the boxes in the apartment, it's just going to take some time.

No OSU football game this weekend, but we have one this coming Thursday....why do they put games on Thursday....it's very difficult to make it worth-while.  But there were a lot of other really good games on TV that I watched this weekend while attempting to unpack.

Happy Fall everyone!

More treasures and memories

On to round 2 of finding wonderful treasures!  This time I really hit the jackpot, especially for sorority stuff.  Which I feel I have outgrown, but just can't part with yet.  I found my diamond board, family tree, letter box, stool, and large bucket....all in blue and white and ADPi all over it haha.  Takes me back to the days...... But the treasures I have to show you today are more sentimental than just silly.

<---- Anyways, first on the list of sentimental things I have found is my certificate of baptism.  I remember the day I was baptized at Kingfisher First Baptist Church in 1996....

It's tradition at Kingfisher FBC to give the seniors ---->

involved in youth choir to receive a Hymnal.  I found this in my nightstand.  

<---I also found this journal that I kept during college....It was really funny to go back and read.  But sorry not spilling any of my top secrets on here :)  

This picture was taken in 2003 when --->

 we were on a mission trip in New Orleans.   We had been painting this house behind us, then managed to get into a paint fight and then it of course started raining, so we played in the rain.  Good times.  

<---Another picture in New Orleans.  Yet another paint fight ha.  I remember that trip like it was yesterday.  We helped paint and repair this elderly womans house half of the time we were there.  She was the sweetest woman.  The other half of the trip we went around to places and sang (we were a youth choir). Then of course we did some sight-seeing to the French Quarter (where we got into a powdered sugar fight from the beignets.  Little bites of heaven as I call them :) 

Today is the big move day.  But I'm sure I'll still be able to find many more treasures as I still have lots of packing to do haha.