Show and Tell during lunch

My lunch partners are MIA today. They do this every once in awhile; vanish without telling me. So today, it’s just me and my frozen meal, which consist of meatballs and hot applesauce. Seriously, why do they give us dessert in these frozen meals? Who likes hot applesauce? Really, raise your hand. Anyway, since I don’t want to look like a wack job and talk to my frozen meal, I decided to spend lunch with you guys, my Blogger Friends.

Yesterday morning I woke up with the feeling that I had nothing to wear; which is silly. I have enough clothes to cloth a village in Africa! But after work I went shopping. Now before you start judging me, know that I went shopping with my gift cards. I spent zero money.
Here are the shirts I purchased….

This shirt came from the clearance rack at Old Navy. It was $14.00, it had been $27.00. It's pretty light sweater so I thought it would be good for spring and fall. Then I remembered it would be good for summer as well. My office is sub-zero even in the dead of summer.
As you can see, I'm modeling the second shirt. Totally, kidding. The second shirt came from my favorite store Ann Taylor Loft. It too was living on the sale rack. Gotta love sales! I figured this shirt would be good for work, and I do not own anything this color. Ok, so in the picture this shirt looks yellow, mine is more of a yellow/green. It's a weird color, but I thought it would look good with black, white, or gray pants.

I bought another shirt at the Loft, but I couldn't find a picture online. It was only $9, and it's really cute. I'm sad there wasn't a picture to show you, because it was my favorite purchase. Oh well, imagine a yellow button up shirt with little flowers. Cute, huh?

Alright folks, lunch time is over. Thanks for spending lunch with me. It's been real.

Happy Birthday The Cousin....

This past weekend The Cousin had her 29th birthday. Since I’m trying to be a good relative this year, I felt it was appropriate to dedicate a birthday post to The Cousin. Also, she’s been a reader since day 1! She’s even helped me write post, and she’s inspired tons of post. SO as my good friend Elizabeth Barrett Browning always said, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…..

1) She’s my #1 emailer. Seriously, I start and end my day talking to her. We vent to each other all the time, which I appreciate greatly. For example, yesterday I sent her an email stating all the things that had annoyed me about yesterday. There were four things.
2) She knows everything that’s going on in Hollywood. I like to call her my straight Perez Hilton. Ok, not really, but the name kind of fits.
3) She’s my cousin! There’s no greater love than family love! We always keep each other in the loop on family news, and sometimes there’s a lot of news- big family.
4) The Cousin and I have big plans for her son. We are thinking he is going to be awesome at football and make it Pro. This means we get our beach house we’ve always wanted. Back in the good old days (3-4 years ago), we planned on our rich husbands buying us the house. Now, we’re banking on her son to buy us the house. We have about 12-13 years to get him awesome at football!
5) She’s a great example of the saying…when life throws you lemons you make lemonade. She’s a pretty strong girl if you ask me.

The Cousin, is a great cousin, one of the best! I’m very thankful she’s my cousin and friend! Besides, I have to keep her around so I can get that beach house. I’m kidding! But really, I want a beach house.

Happy Birthday The Cousin. By the way, your present is I watched Ameircan Idol last night. I know it's just what you wanted.

I ran. I walked. I finished.

The End.

Friday Fun Facts

Sunday I’m running OKC’s half marathon. Folks, I swear this is the last post about me running the half marathon-until nex year. Oh and, besides Monday when I give an update on the race. But after Monday, I promise, no more post about running! I mean it this time. But with all that said I have to talk about running today. Sorry. Enjoy Friday Fun Facts…it has to do with Half Marathons.

A half marathon is a road running event of 21,097.5 meters. Yikes! I wrote an entire post about this last year. I was scared of the 21,097.5 meters.

In 2008, Running USA reported that the half marathon is the fastest growing type of race. Look Mom, there’s lots of crazy people out there.

The female world record is 1:06:25, set by Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands on October 14, 2007. FYI- Multiple her time by 2 and you get my time. Shut up!

A popular goal is to run a half marathon in each state of the United States and the District of Columbia. At least four runners have completed this series. I should do this! It could be part of my SCTs!

The current biggest half marathon in the world is the Great North Run, held annually in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, with 52,000 runners expected in 2009. Holy Cow!

Safe the Earth, Plant a Tree

Today, is Earth Day. I found this great list of easy ways to go green. Check out the list and see if you can add any of these suggestions to your life. I think it's important we try to take care of the earth. The earth isn't our permanent home, but we should keep it clean while we are here. We keep our houses clean, so why wouldn't we keep the earth clean and green? Come on people, it's not rocket science!

Last year I added reusable grocery bags to my life. I love them! As a bag lover, I'm always looking for excuses to buy cute bags. Hopefully, you can find something earth friendly to add to your life.

"Listen up, you couch potatoes: each recycled beer can saves enough electricity to run a television for three hours." ~ Denis Hayes

Waddle on friends

In honor of the OKC Marathon, I’d like share my favorite running article. My friend Paul sent this to me three years ago, and it’s still one of my favorites…

Looking up, I see the finish banner and clock. I pick up the pace; releasing the energy I’ve been saving for the final kick. I am gasping for air; my heart is pounding. I am going to have a PR. I am going to break 30 minutes for 5-K. What?

John Lennon may have been the Walrus, but I am the Penguin. I am the runner you’ve seen whose legs look as if they are tied together at the knees. I am the runner whose stride is the same as his shoe length. And I am not alone.

Why a penguin? Because metaphors usually used to describe runners–fleet-footed gazelles, cheetahs and winged-footed Mercury–don’t have much to do with my running style. I tend to resemble a penguin waddling across the frozen tundra more than a thoroughbred in the homestretch.

If you’ve seen a penguin run or walk, you know what I mean. Penguins walk as if their feet are killing them. Penguins, waddling and scurrying, are the ultimate expression of will over form. Their feet move as fast as possible, but their bodies are barely propelled forward at all.

Those of you who are gifted runners have seen penguin runners at races. Well, you’ve seen us at the races where the course is out and back. You rarely see us finish, however. We’re the ones who are finishing as you are getting in your cars to go home. Actually, penguins are easy to spot. We keep moving farther and farther away from the starting line before the race begins. As the really fast and pretty fast runners complete their prerace warm-up and position themselves for the perfect starting spot, we penguins keep getting pushed back. In small races we can still see the staring line, but in bigger races we’re so far back we almost need a water station before the starting line.

Once the gun goes off, as the cheetahs and gazelles speed away from us in search of PRs and age-group awards, the penguins settle into the middle of the back of the pack. It’s then, when we finally have the course to ourselves, that the real race for the penguins begins–the race with our fears and insecurities. We are not racing anyone but ourselves. In many cases we are not running to anything, but away from everything.
My running shoes have become giant erasers on my feet. Every footstrike rubs away some memory of a previous indiscretion with food or smoke or drink. Every successful mile releases me from the grip of the demons of failure. Every starting line is another chance to prove that my past will not determine my future.

When I am running, in training or in a race, I imagine myself as strong and swift and elegant. When I am running, I imagine myself striding gracefully through life with courage and pride. When I am running, I forget my failures as a child or parent or friend or lover. Through running, I create myself as I have always wanted to be. And I have discovered that I am not alone. As I have admitted my own fears and hopes, I’ve discovered that many in the running community share those fears and hopes. We, the webbed-footed wonders, are about to come into our own. And we will run to undo the damage we’ve done to body and spirit. We will run to find some part of ourselves yet undiscovered. Together, we will continue our odyssey of affirmation.

For all the other Penguin Runners out there, good luck!

Letters from OK Chick

Dear Friend,

No, I will not have a garage sale at my house. Why? Well for starters, I don’t want to clean out my garage. Also, I don’t want to get up at the butt crack of dawn, on a Saturday, for a garage sale. I’m sorry. If you want to have a garage sale, then have it at your own house!
Sorry,
OK Chick


Dear Judy Jazzercise,

Thanks for choreographing a routine to Beyonce’s Single Ladies. Seriously, I love the song, and it’s the perfect song at 5:30am. You never let me down Judy Jazzercise.
Your #1 Fan,
OK Chick


Dear Guy #5,

You are the dumbest male I have ever met. Guy #5, please, for heavens sake take some notes:
#1- If a girl says she had a hard stressful week, don’t ask about her week and then not respond to the details of her week. Show some freakin’ sympathy.
#2- Don’t talk about politics when a girl says- I just want a relaxing night that doesn’t require a lot of brain power.
#3- If you recently moved to OKC, you can’t argue about how long road construction has been going on around town! Because you have NO CLUE HOW LONG THE CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN GOING ON- YOU JUST MOVED TO TOWN!!!
Don’t bother calling- EVER,
Ok Chick


Dear Quaker,

Thanks for making instant Peaches and Cream Oatmeal. It saves me on days when I’m running late, which is every day.
XOXO,
Ok Chick


Dear Coworker,

I feel zero guilt for not giving you another check to your charity. I do not care if you give me a pin for your charity. I don’t care if the pin means I get to wear jeans all week. I’m tapped out! I have no more money!!!
Your Heartless Coworker,
OK Chick


Dear Starbucks,
I think you put crack in your drinks? Today, I did not stop for a nonfat Chai, and now I have a huge headache. Huge, I tell you! Could you guys please lay off the crack, it's giving me a headache.
Thanks,
OK Chick

Well, I feel better.

Today's, Friday Fun Facts has turned into my Soapbox

Excuse me, excuse me. Can everyone hear me? I have a secret I’m ready to confess. Please, lean in so you can hear....
Twitter. I don’t understand the point of Twitter. I don’t get the phonon. Yup, no clue. What is it? Wikipedia defines Twitter as…

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers).

Personally, I still don’t get what’s so great about Twitter. Maybe I don’t get it because I know I do not need Twitter. I already have Myspace, Facebook, and this blog. I feel that’s being plenty social. Heck, I’m not even this social in real life! But even though I don’t understand the craze, others understand.

Today, Queen of TV, Oprah, has decided to become a follower. I know this because my favorite morning TV news show and EVERY MORNING DJ in OKC mentioned it on their shows. It was everyone’s top story. When I first heard the story I thought to myself…cool Oprah is going to cause something else turn to gold. But then I kept hearing the story, over and over again! Is there not enough news worthy stories in the world to report, besides Oprah joining Twitter? I’m fine with people joining Twitter, but does it need to be a top news story? Did we fix the economy? Are the pirates that occupy the sea captured? Do we have a winner for this season’s American Idol? Is the stock market back on track? No. The answer to all these questions is No! Why in heaven’s name, do we care that today Oprah is going to send her first Tweet between the hours of 4 and 5? We shouldn’t care, but we do care, because we have become a society that has to be in everyone’s business! *Sigh* I just don’t get all this, and I probably never will. I suppose that is ok, since I still have Myspace, Facebook, and this blog.

The Cousin + OK Chick = Crazy

The Cousin and I email all day, and when I say all day...I mean all day. We basically email about nothing. The main daily topics are TV, food, friends, and our nonexistent boyfriends. Sometimes, we'll throw in some family talk, but not very often. Today's email came to me at 7:20am...

So, I am admitting I have a problem. I just can't find a support group for me. Here is what happened last night.....
I was laying in bed reading and watching Chelsea Lately because I am a multi-tasker and can watch tv and read at the same time. Well, E! News did a special report and said Zac Efron was engaged! I know!! OMG!!! They said more info shortly like they always do!! How did I not know this??!! OMG!!! The first thing I thought of was Twitter!! So, I jumped up and ran to my computer just thinking twitter twitter twitter!!! I them tripped on my sheets and fell out of bed and hit my shin on my dresser. That didn't slow me down though!! It is now bleeding but all I could think of was twitter. Crap, there was nothing on twitter and as I hit the fourth gossip website to find out details E! News came back on. Some random girl in Australia purposed to him and he said yes. IT WAS A FREAKIN' JOKE!!!!! I was so mad I felt like throwing my tv!! I then looked down at my blue fuzzy socks to see that the left one was now turning red.
I think I have a problem.....

AND this my friends, is why we email all day! I was laughing so hard I about spit out my Pop-Tart. You can only find this type of crazy in family...which is why I love her.

SO I'm not Paula

Sadly, last night I did not make the Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy. I know, I’m a failure; a complete failure. Paula would never do that to her family- her gorgeous sons. But here’s the deal, last night I had to attend a Pampered Chef Party. In a way, I was still channeling Paula Dean. I mean, I was buying kitchen stuff that will help me become a better cook. I’m sure my new small scoop will make all the difference in my cooking skills. Actually, it will. Now when I make cookies, using the big tub of pre-made cookie dough, they will come out in perfect symmetrical circles. I will look like an awesome cook, when really I just scooped some pre-made cookie dough onto a cookie sheet. Hmmm, maybe you should call me Sandra Lee. Anyway, no Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy last night; but Thursday night I’ll be all over that BCG! Mark my words. I’ll end this random, yet useless post on this fact:
Today, April 15th, is both Tax Day and National Glazed Ham Day. Why not celebrate sending off your taxes with a big glazed ham?

Just call me Paula...

Blogger World, tonight I’m getting creative in the kitchen. A million years ago, I read a series of books called The Savannah Series. It’s a cute chick-lit series that takes place in Savannah, Georgia. In all three books the main character makes reference to her favorite breakfast food- Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy. I’ve been dying to know what Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy taste like, so tonight I’m going to try to be Paula Dean. You know she's my cooking hero, and everything she makes is amazing,?Well, I think it's amazing.
I will keep you posted on my end results. I KNOW you guys will be on pins and needles the whole day and night wondering how my Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy turned out.



The recipe:
Chocolate Gravy
1/3 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
1cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, milk, and water. While stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Continue stirring until thickened. Stir in butter and vanilla.

The Hopeful End Result:

Shake it like a polaroid picture

Don’t worry; we won’t be shakin’ anything today, or ever. The post title has nothing to do with today’s post- NOTHING. To be honest, this morning I heard the song, and thought it’d be a fun post title. So for all you that were prepared to shake it, I’m sorry to disappoint you. However, I am going to talk about Date 2 with Guy #5. Hopefully, that brightened your spirits?

Guy #5 and I met through a friend. She thought we’d be prefect together. I’ve discovered we’re not, and now I’m questioning if this friend even knows me! I’m kidding, it wasn’t that bad. Since I didn’t do a break down for the first date, I figured I’d do a break down for the second date…

Food (5)
I don’t even have to tell you guys how much I enjoy food. So food is high on my list!
Guy #5 took me to one of my favorite restaurants-good thing. HOWEVER, he did not pick the restaurant-very bad thing. When he picked me up I asked where we were going to eat. He replied- I don’t know, where you want to go. STRIKE ONE! Guys for the love of goodness, when you ask a girl out on a date HAVE A PLAN! GOT IT- have a plan! Side note on this issue: Guy #5 did this on our first date too, but I let it slide because it was a first date. But despite the strike one, the food was amazing! I’m giving him a five because he agreed to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, but at the same time I took five points away because I had to pick the restaurant. If I didn’t like this particular place so much, I’d deduct six points. Yes, I feel that strongly about this issue.
Conversation (4)
He talks, therefore he gets four points. Actually, at the restaurant we had good conversation. We talked about our faith and views on religion. However, after our religion conversation it was difficult to find other topics.
Here’s the problem he enjoys his job, which is something I really like in a guy. But, he and I work in the same industry, to be more specific the same department, just different companies. So when he talks about work (which he does often), it’s like having a conversation with one of my coworkers. And I don’t want to have a conversation with one of my coworkers on a date. I would say most of our date was spent discussing work. I even tried to steer the conversation to other topics, but it always led back to work. By the end of the date I took the SCREW IT attitude and just let him talk about anything, which was work.
Politeness (9)
Guy #5 is very nice. He’s a genially nice guy. He is polite and seems to be a caring guy.
No complaints in this area.

As you can read, not such a hot second date. I mean, it wasn’t horrible, but I’m not rushing for a third date. Guy #5, as I said earlier, is a really nice guy. He’s a Christian, has a great job, and seems to have a good head on his shoulders. All things I look for in a guy. I hate that I’m not interested. However, he’s not for me. My friends tell me I should give him another chance, but I don’t think that will happen. Why continue this act when I know it’s not going to work out? Oh well, it was nice to go out on a few dates.

Breakfast

Folks, you are looking at the breakfast of a true champion, me! My dentist, whom I’ll be seeing at 11 today, will LOVE ME!

Happy Birthday Sister #2....

Happy Birthday Sister #2! Today, is Sister #2’s 18th birthday. She can now vote, enter half the bars in Oklahoma, and buy lots of crap from television. It’s a good day.
One of the perks of having a baby sister, 10 years younger than you, is watching them grow up. I thought to honor Sister #2, on her big day, I’d share some of my favorite Sister #2 moments...

1. Egg Head
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that Sister #1 and I were golden big sisters. I’ll admit it, we were mean. But not hit her mean, just goofy mean. For example, one evening my parents left us home alone with Sister #2. Sister #1 and I thought it would be funny to put a bicycle helmet on Sister #2, and make her wear it around the house. I know it was mean BUT so funny. You have to understand, the helmet was bigger than Sister #2’s head, and it looked like she had an Egg on top of her head, hence the nickname Egg Head. Actually, I think the helmet was called an Egg Head Helmet. I mean really, what Marketer came up with that idea?

2. Popular Kiddo
Even though we were sometimes mean, we were also pretty nice to Sister #2. For instance, Sister #2 knew all of our friends. She was the most popular 4 year-old in Hometown, USA. All the cheerleaders and basketball players loved her. The cheerleaders would pull her from the stands to perform cheers. When Sister #2 turned six my mom asked who she wanted to invite to her birthday party. She thought long and hard, and returned with a list of guests. Of course, all her chosen guest were over the age of 12. We all thought it was so cute and funny that my mom gave her two parties- a big girl party, and a little girl party. Her big girl party was well attended!

3. Cheerleader at Heart
Sadly, my mom never produced a cheerleader, we all three played sports. However, if anyone was close to a cheerleader it was Sister #2. I guess her cheerleading days started at one week old. My mom had just had Sister #2, and a few days later my mom was found totting Sister #2 into a basketball gym. She slept through the whole game. I remember thinking that the whistle, buzzer, yelling, clapping, and scuffing of shoes would wake her up. Nope!
As Sister #2 became older she continued her cheerleading ways. For example, at the beginning of every basketball game my mom would give her a piece of paper and pencil. Sister #2 would sit in the stands taking stats. She kept track of made baskets, passes, and rebounds. One our couches thought it was so cute that she allowed Sister #2 to come into the locker room and give a stat update.

4. Not fit for the Circus
Sister #2 didn’t do dumb things growing up, like Sister #1 and I. However, she did do one stupid thing. One day, while in my mom’s classroom, she decided to stand on a basketball. I guess she thought she could balance? Who knows? But she couldn’t. My mom had to take her hospital for a broken arm. Sister #2 is also the only one of us that’s ever broken anything. She was also the first to get stitches! Job well done, Sister #2!

5. Postcards
I’m so jealous of Sister #2’s postcard collection. I don’t think Sister #2 decided she was going to collect postcards, it just kind of happened. We had a family friend that would send us postcards from all over the world, and then I went overseas for a semester and sent postcards. Before she knew it, she had quite the collection. To this day, I think the girl has postcard from all 50 states, and most countries. All family friends and extended family send Sister #2 a postcard when on vacation. I’m happy to report that the travel bug is in Sister #2 as well.

Of course, I have many other great stories, but I’ll stop at 5. I’m sure this up there with looking at someone’s baby pictures. BUT Sister #2 is a great sister, one of my favorites. Happy Birthday Sister #2, I hope you have a great day!

Weekend Update

A weekend update with pictures. I thought I’d do something out of the ordinary. It’s always a good idea to shake things up. I like to keep you guys on your toes…

Friday night

As you can see I dined like a Queen. Doesn’t this look awesome? It was. My friend KC cooked me dinner, and arranged the plate like a restaurant.

After dinner it was off to the Dollar Movie Theater to see this great flick. It really was a great flick. I recommend the movie.


Saturday

I had date #2 with the guy from last week, which we’ll call him Guy #5. FYI- this picture isn’t us. I don’t have long hair, and we didn’t have sushi. We had sushi last week.

Sunday

I ran my all time favorite race. The Redbud is always fun! However, this year it wasn’t my favorite race…AT ALL! For starters, it was 40 degrees and the wind was blowing 30 mph. I’m not joking. Second, the race started while I was a block away from the start line. Not realizing the gun shot was for the runners, I went to the bathroom before I headed to the start line. When I came out of the bathroom, I realized indeed the race had started-for the runners. I sprinted to the start line. While sprinting like an Olympic runner I tripped and rolled down a grassy hill. I spent the first mile brushing grass off my butt, dodging walkers/strollers, and trying to catch up to the other 10kers. I ended up starting the race five minute and half minutes after all the other 10Kers.

And you guys thought my life was always rainbows and roses. HA!

I call 'em like I see 'em

Often on this blog I yap about my Millionaire Matchmaking Hero, Patti. In a way, I’m like Patti. Except I don’t live in LA, and I don’t fix up my rich friends-seeing I don’t have any rich friends. But, I do love to play matchmaker.

This week my latest couple was scheduled to go out. It was a simple get-to-know-you coffee date. I was so excited for these two individuals to meet each other. The girl is a great friend of mine, and the guy is, Guy #1. You remember Guy #1? He was part of the whole YOY. He was one of the guys who asked me out, but then decided not to TAKE ME OUT! Ring a bell? Anyway, Guy #1 and I have remand friends despite our rocky start. I was certain him and my great friend would get along.

Ok, so now let’s fast forward to the big day- the day of their get-to-know-you coffee date. Mid-morning I receive an email from Guy #1. He decided he’s too busy for a simple coffee date, and wants cancel. I can’t stop Guy #1 from canceling, so I suggest if he’s going to cancel he should do it very soon, which he does. As you can imagine, this whole thing does not set well with me. Even though Guy #1 did reschedule with my great friend, it still annoyed me that he canceled so last minute. To be perfectly honest, I was border line pissed at Guy #1. I thought it was a pretty jerky thing to do. The following reasons are why I was mad:
*Both individuals agreed on the day they would meet, that means Guy #1 agreed.
*They planned the coffee date one week in advance.
*He had all weekend to get organized so he was free for the date.
*It just pissed me off!

Later that night, I was telling Sister #1 the saga of Guy #1 and my great friend. She agreed it was a jerky thing to do, and suggested I kick him out of my matchmaking club. I don’t have a club, but Patti calls her business a club. After much thought, or not much thought at all, I realized I couldn’t agree more with Sister #1. So Guy #1, you are now officially kicked out of my matchmaking club. Please, do not let the door hit you on the way out.

Just Eat It

Happy April 1st! Who would have thought April 1st would be an important date for food? Rumor has it; today the Big Mac is celebrating a birthday. Happy Birthday Big Mac! Hurry, to The Golden Arches and receive your free sandwich!
However, if you eat too many Big Macs you will need to attend one of these. They too, are celebrating a birthday. Happy Birthday Weight Watchers! Thanks for keeping the weight off America. Well, you and Mayor Mick Cornett. ANYWAY, let’s review…Big Mac is having a party where high fat food is involved. Weight Watchers is having a party where low fat food is involved. I’ll let you pick which party you attend.
Again, Happy April 1st!