Snow Week!!

Snowstorm 2011

Happy Snow Week to most of the U.S.!!!  This week a huge snow storm hit a lot of areas including Tulsa.  We got a record amount of snowfall....14 inches!!!  Thats huge for Oklahoma!

The storm came in Monday night, with some freezing rain first then the snow started sometime in the middle of the night.  These weren't just little flakes, these were huge flakes! And they came down fast, it only took about 12 hours to get the 14 inches.  So with being off work for two days, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself.  So we played in the snow a bit, ate lots of food, played some Wii Monopoly, and chilled by the fireplace.

Here are some pics of the last couple of days: 

Ricky prepared to shovel some snow

Playing out in it

My apartment complex

Of course the snow just started falling again today, they are estimating a couple more inches...lovely.  I could probably get my car out of the spot at my complex, but who really wants to drive in this stuff if you don't have 4-wheel drive?? Not me, that's for sure.  The good news is I just remembered today that my apartment complex has a gym!  So maybe I can work off all this junk food I've been eating the last couple of days.

Busy January

The last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy.  So I thought I would give a quick recap.

Thunder game

The week after vacation Ricky has a week long training in OKC, so I was getting adjusted to post holidays and vacation life.  Mainly catching up on my DVR from the week long of spring premiers I had missed while in Hawaii.  The next weekend my friend had just bought her very first house and we had a girls weekend to help her paint.  Sorry, what happens on girls weekend stays with girls weekend, but lets just say it felt like we were right back in college.  Good times.

Getting the crowd involved :)

This last weekend Ricky and I met my parents in OKC Friday night for the Thunder game!  What I thought was going to be a blowout game turned into a double overtime WIN for the Thunder!  It was quite an exciting game and we had excellent seats!   Following the game, Ricky and I headed up to meet up with some friends at a karaoke bar which was SO MUCH FUN!  Ricky sang Family Tradition while I sang Total Eclipse of the Heart with the girls.

tried my best to get the pop bottle in the pic

Saturday morning we got up and drove to Arcadia to Pops.  If you don't know what Pops is go HERE.  Ricky had never been, and since we weren't too far away we decided to go.  He picked out 2 6-packs of different types of pop.  Did I mention that it was like 76 degrees that day?!?! Crazy for the end of January.  After Pops, we headed to Kingfisher so I could show Ricky where I grew up, I mean the tour took maybe 15 minutes ha but at least now he knows.  We had about an hour and a half to waste before meeting up with friends for dinner in Okarche so what else do you do in Kingfisher to waste time?  Go to Wal-Mart!  We met up at Eichens for dinner as mentioned in THIS PREVIOUS POST.  Ricky had to experience Eichens before he left.  :)

Life is great, trying to fit in all the activities as we possibly can before he leaves for training and deployment. Please keep us both in your prayers, his safely and my sanity while he's away.

A week in Paradise

Just landed on Maui

Sorry I'm a little behind on posting about my vacation in paradise.  Ricky's parents wanted to take a family vacation before he leaves for deployment and they asked me to come along.  This was like back in October that they asked me, but wouldn't tell us where we were going, only that it was somewhere tropical.  His mom wanted to wait until Christmas (we were leaving NYE) to tell us our fabulous destination.  But about two weeks before Christmas she let it slip lol.  We were headed to HAWAII!

Cabana for the day :)

Ricky with the Arizona memorial in the background

We left out NYE at 8 in the morning from Tulsa and were supposed to land on Maui at 4:00 but due to flight problems we didn't land until 8:00...meaning we didn't get to the hotel till about 11 (this was 3:00 oklahoma time) so Ricky and I grudging stayed up until midnight at least to celebrate then crashed for the night.  I won't give you a play by play for the rest of the week, but it involved a lot of sun, fun, and relaxation.

Celebrating our 10 month anniversary

A couple touristy things we did were visit Pearl Harbor and a luau.  Pearl Harbor is just as amazing in person as you can imagine and I really enjoyed spending the day on Oahu.  After a week of vacation we headed back to the real world...sadly.

View from our room

Top Events of 2010!!!

I know I'm 8 days behind on reflecting on 2010, but I have been in the paradise of Hawaii :)  I'll put a post on that later, but first to recap 2010.

Girls in Vegas

1) January started off the year right, with a trip to Vegas!!  This was my first trip to Sin City and my girlfriends and I went there to celebrate Kristyn's 21st birthday!  We had such an amazing time!


2) On March 2nd, Ricky and I had our first date :)  I have no picture for the night (he might have thought I was crazy and never seen me again).  But we had an amazing time.

3) At the end of April I completed my 2nd Half Marathon (as stated in a previous post).  It's was such a great accomplishment for myself.

One of the first pics of him :)

4) In May, Megan and I experienced our first real life "tornado". It was frightening to look outside and see these huge trees blown over and lying in the street.

5) In June, Ricky and I decided to go away for our first weekend together.  We went to Branson and had such a great time.

Girls in St. Louis

6)  In July, Amy, Megan and I roadtripped it to St. Louis to visit Kara.  We did all the touristy things including: St. Louis Cardinals stadium tour, Budweiser brewery, and City Garden.

7) September brought around OSU Football and I loved it for the next 3 months :)

8)  In October Ricky and I headed down to Dallas to a Dallas Cowboys game.  It was his birthday present from me :)











9) December brought around the amazing holidays.  Between Ricky and I we had 5 Christmas's.  But it was so great to spend all that time with family.

10) I spend the New Year on the beach in Hawaii with my favorite :) Perfect way to start 2011

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.