13 miles in the cold

This weekend Sister #1 and I will be running a half marathon.

We are super excited. 

 Sunday the temperature is expected to reach a high of 27. Did you read that...high of 27!! Folks, that means at 8am it will be probably be 14 degrees! Personally, I think that is butt freaking cold! Who wants to run 13 miles in 10 degrees? No one! Oh, and let's not forget the ice pellets they're predicting. By the way, what are ice pellets? Is that like sleet? If so, why didn't they just say sleet? I'll tell you why, because the weather folks are trying to be dramatic. 

The ONLY positive for the butt freaking cold temperatures is the new running clothes I've bought. I'm buying ultra warm running gear. 

Chili Cook-Off

Today, is the chili cook-off at work. I've prepared my prize winning chili for the contest. Last year, this chili won Most Original Chili and a $10 gift card to Chick-fil-A.

Blogger World, I give you my winning chili...

Ok, I realize this picture is not the most flattering food picture. I'm sorry; I've never claimed to take great food pictures.

My prize winning chili is called Chili with Chipotle and Chocolate.  I found the recipe in an 1997 Cooking Light Magazine. No joke!

Folks, wish my chili and I luck! I'll walk away with another gift card! There's talk that this year's gift card will be a Starbucks card.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Blogger World!!!

Unlike Pepper, Bodacious loves to dress up!

Weekend Update

Even though the weekend has come and gone it doesn't mean I still can't share all the fun things I did. 

Friday night, I started my weekend off with some Halloween festivities.... a spooky ghost tour in a cemetery.

However, after the tour we decided it wasn't necessarily a spooky tour; it was more of a history lesson that took place in a cemetery. All-in-all a great time! Well, I had fun.

Saturday was another college football game. Have you ever wondered what two adults look like after standing in the rain for six hours? Folks, please allow me to ease your curiosity..

I'd say this picture was taken at hour four. We're still smiling. 

Sunday,I discovered a tasty treat! 

Blogger World, saltine crackers and chocolate is delicious!!! I highly recommend everyone try Trisha Yearwood's Sweet and Saltine recipe. It's simply, quick, and delicious. 

During Sunday night dinner, The Sisters and I carved a pumpkin for the family contest. I think this one might be a winner.

There you have it...my weekend. 

Update and New Challenge

Two weeks ago I challenged myself to only have my beloved Nonfat Chai on Monday mornings. If you remember, I became very alarmed when all my pants were feeling a bit snug! 

Blogger World, I'm happy to report that I have completed my two week challenge. I only had my favorite Starbucks drink on Monday mornings. 

The purpose of this challenge was to see if it made a difference in the way my clothes fit. 

After this challenge, I don't know if I noticed a big difference in my clothes, but I do feel better. The past two weeks, I've substituted my Nonfat Chai for Green Tea. Folks, if you are drinking Green Tea you need to add it to your diet. It's good for you, and it's tasty! I challenge everyone to add a cup of Green Tea to your diet. 

Since I rocked this challenge, I decided to set a new two week challenge for myself. 

For the next two weeks I am challenging myself to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. 

Fall Favorites

Here in Oklahoma we sometimes do not experience all four seasons for an adequate amount of time. For instance, some years Fall is only two days and Winter is 5-6 months. True Story! 

However this year, I believe Oklahoma is going to have a Fall, which makes me very happy. I love Fall,   which is why I'm posting my Fall Favorites.

1. Football

Who doesn't love a good football game?  Over the past month I've attended quite a few football games, and I've enjoyed each game! 

2. Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

To be honest, I bake these muffins throughout the year. However, they are best in the fall. There's something about cooler temps and pumpkin that I love. Wouldn't you agree?

3. Comfortable Clothes

This is the time of year when it is socially acceptable to run around town in my most comfortable clothes. Also, the cooler temperatures allow it possible to run around town in yoga pants. 

4. Cracking a window

It's nice to be able to open all the windows throughout the house. Also, it saves on the electricity bill! 

5. Fall Decorations

Personally, I love Fall decorations. I like the use of pumpkins, leaves, branches, and gourds as decorations. The picture above is my front porch. Ok, not true. This is not my front porch. #1 I don't even have a front porch. #2 I live in Oklahoma; there's no way I could have a pillow and blanket on my front porch without blowing away. In two hours it be blown to the next county. But if I did have a front porch and I didn't live in Oklahoma, it would be decorated cute! 

There you have it...my Fall Favorites

A New Problem

Blogger World, I'm going to be real with you for a second....

Recently, I've noticed my pants feel a bit tighter. The tightness is in the waist, butt, and thighs. Luckily, my pants still fit in the calves/ankles. Otherwise, this post would be me having a complete meltdown. 

At first, I assumed all my jeans had been shrunk in the drier. I mean, that has to be the logical explanation of why everything feels so tight.

Right? 

Wrong, it's because I like to eat.

Therefore, due to recent events, I have decided to make a slight change to my diet. For the next two weeks I'm going to cut my beloved Nonfat Chai from my diet. 

(I'm having a trial period to make sure I do not become a crazy woman)

(You understand)

WAIT... I take that back. 

I'm still going to have my beloved Nonfat Chai on Monday mornings, because Mondays are tough. The only thing I have to look forward to on Monday is Bible Study and Castle. I need my Nonfat Chai! But all the other days of the week...no drink!

If anyone else would like to join me in this diet change, please do. I would love a buddy. 

Thank you for your time! 

Insta-Lately

If I had an Instagram account I would post these pictures. However, I do not have an Instagram account, which is why I'm posting the pictures on my blog. Enjoy...

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having a tea party with Snow White. It was delightful. She made the best tea. 

I have crazy friends. For example, sometimes they like to wear glow-in-the-dark headbands. 

UCO scored a touchdown off the kickoff. It was a slight miracle so I snapped a picture. 

At last night's game UCO handed out these fun things. We were very excited. 

Look at all the yummy vegetables I picked from the garden. 

Ramblings

It's been awhile since I've Rambled. Enjoy...

Tomorrow is Ask a Stupid Question Day. I wanted to give everyone plenty of time to start preparing their stupid questions.

People.com had an article posted about Kayne West, aka Kim Kardashian's baby daddy. In a recent radio interview Kim's baby daddy was quoted saying... he's the No. 1 rock star on the planet and he's here to push the boundaries of everything we think we know about art, music, fashion, and culture.
Shut up Kayne! No one likes you  You named your baby North! You didn't push the boundaries when selecting your child's name!

Recently, I joined an indoor soccer team. Last night we had our first game. Folks, I have not played soccer in over 17 years; so it is fair to assume I would be bad. Those assumptions would be completely accurate. I am not good. I repeat, not good!

Finally, new TV has begun!!! I'm very happy to have my TV friends back. I've been so lonely.

Every year my office has a chili cook off. Last year, I won Most Original Chili. True story. This year I'm going for Most Original Chili again,and I found the perfect recipe. It's a Pumpkin Chili.
Blogger World, it's bound to be delicious. I love pumpkin and I love chili. How could it be horrible?

Speaking of TV....
I have a new favorite show, Duck Dynasty. Have you seen this show? It's so funny, I highly recommend the show! I know, I'm sure everyone in the world has already discovered Duck Dynasty. But the off chance that you are behind like me you should start watching the show. Now, I've only seen Season 3, because that's all they had a Target, but I know the other seasons have to be just as funny. I'm sad that my expensive cable does not provide the channel A&E. There's no way I'm getting expensive-expensive cable just to watch Duck Dynasty. Seriously, I'm not.

Did you hear the news? Bill Clinton and McDonald's are teaming up to create a healthier menu. Surely, I'm not the only who remembers when Bill Clinton would stop into McDonald's to grab a Big Mac in the middle of a jog? Anyone else? Ok to be completely honest, I don't really remember Clinton doing that but I do remember the Saturday Night Live skits about his McDonald's habit. Anyway, I'm sure this will be a great thing. It appears McDonald's will encourage milk, water, or juice in a Happy Meal instead of soda.
You know, I could have teamed up with McDonald's and told them the exact same thing...but whatever.

Fantasy Football update...
Last week I lost my first game. I was so disappointed in my players. This week I'm hoping for a victory. I made a couple changes to my line up, mostly because three guys had byes this week, but I like to pretend it's because I knew what I was doing. I don't.
Mercy I just checked my score. Right now, I have 8 pts which is great except those 8 pts came from my quarterback. Sam Bradford, I needed more from you! I cannot win with only 8 pts.

Folks...that's all the Ramblings I have for today.

Over and Out

The Saturday I went to two football games

Saturday was one for the books. This is the first time I have ever attended two college football games in one day; hence why I said it was a day for the record books.

My morning started off in Norman, OK watching OU. My dad had an extra ticket to the game and I was the chosen sister to attend. I'm kidding. Sister #1 did not want to go and Sister #2 had to work. I was the chosen sister by default. Whatever, I got a free ticket.

My dad and I had a fun time. The game was a blowout. I received an awesome one arm tan, and walked about 5,340 steps; which is 600 less than how many times I heard Boomer Sooner played by the band.

The highlight of the game was seeing Blake Griffin. Yes, him and his brother were at the game and sat right beside us.

OR we were 54 rows apart. You know, in a big old stadium everyone is one big row! One big happy sweaty family.

Moving on...

After leaving Boomer Sooner Land it was back home to watch the first home game for UCO!!! Sister #1 and I are season ticket holders...kind of a big deal.

Ok, so we are not a big deal for being season ticket holders. Our season tickets cost $35 and parking is free. UCO is a much smaller college compared to OU; much smaller.

No famous people were in attendance at the UCO football. Oh wait, I take that back. A group that sat behind us were part of the 1998 football team, which was the greatest football season UCO's history. Well, according to the man who sat behind us. He said they had an undefeated season, but were cheated out of the championship trophy. The man thought he was hot stuff. Sadly, he was not.

As you can imagine when Sunday rolled around I was tired and ready to rest.

WAIT... I have one more piece of football news...I won my second fantasy football game. My record is 2-0. WOO HOO!!!

Happy Friday from Pepper

This picture almost makes me want a dog. Almost.

Fantasy Football

Tonight a very important event took place.

It was draft night. One hour of my evening was dedicated to drafting the great FF players in the world!!! Ok, not in the world, but a pretty great team. Blogger World, please meet my team...

The 5 things you should know...

1.Nike is launching a line of Doppler radar inspired shoes called the “Weatherman Pack.”  This is not a joke! I cannot decide if I think this is cool, or really odd.

2. The Amazing Race starts soon. Someday I will be on this show. CBS held tryouts in Oklahoma, but Sister #1 and I didn't want to drive 2 hours to the auditions.

3. August 30th, is National Toasted Marshmallow Day. I recommend everyone have a S'more.

4. August 31st, which is tomorrow, will be the last day you can use PG coupons before they expire. Don't worry a new set of PG coupons will be out next month.

5. Last night I ate Mexican Food with this guy. As you can see from the picture, he gets excited about Mexican Food.

Hero of the Month

Antoinette Tuff

Earlier this week, Antoinette Tuff, talked suspect Michael Brandon Hill into surrendering after walking into an elementary school with a gun. Who knows how many people Antoinette saved by showing courage and compassion. What a hero! 

Your Daily People.com

Normally, when I post a Daily People.com it's to make fun of a celebrity. They tend to do some dumb things! However, today is different. Over the weekend pro surfer Bethany Hamilton married Adam Dirks. Bethany tweeted... Today was the most beautiful, wonderful best day of my life! God is more than good. Excited to live life with my husband Adam Dirks! I don't know about you, but I find this sweet and refreshing!

Happy Friday

Who's that chick

Hands down, my favorite sandals are Chacos. Not only are the sandals comfortable, they're also very stylish.

 I bought my first pair of Chacos almost 13 years ago, and I haven't turned back. Yes, I was wearing Chacos before all the cool hipster kids were wearing them around town.

Each year, Chaco has a picture contest encourage all the fans to show their Chaco pride. This year, I submitted a picture, the above picture. To my surprise my picture ended up on their website! Ok truth be told, everyone's picture gets on the website. Whatever. I still feel awesome!

Insta-Lately

I do not upload pictures onto Instagram. For starters, I'm not for sure how Instagram works. 

However if I did, these might be pictures you would see on my account: 

Breakfast. 

It was delicious. 

Sisters. 

They're weird. 

Jars of bacon grease. 

Why one might need two jars is beyond me. 

The bike I wanted to buy. 

It was $439. 

As my mom pointed out...that's an airplane ticket. 

I hate when she uses my own words against me. 

I guess you see why I do not have an Instagram account. 

My Favorites

Happy Hump Day! What better way to celebrate than with a list of my favorite things. 

Enjoy....

Fitbit

Blogger World, allow me to introduce you to my new workout gadget; Fitbit. The Fitbit allows me to monitor the number of steps I take each day, calories, and water intake. I love this gadget! Everyday my goal is to walk 10,000 steps. It's kind of a hard challenge.

What'sUp App

This $.99 app allows me to talk/text people all over the world. No, it really does.

Fox The Five

Around Christmas time I discovered The Five. I love the round table discussions. It's like The View, but only better! In fact, I DVR the show everyday. Who DVR's a news show? This girl!

Travel Purse

I love my new travel purse. I received the purse for Christmas, and I've already used it on 3 trips. When I was in Mexico I learned the purse is waterproof. So, not only does it have a 1,000 pockets, it also keeps my phone dry when I dump a bottle of water in my purse. True story.

Born Maldives

I've been rocking these sandals all summer. Needless to say, I've gone from wearing mostly black to mostly brown. It's amazing that one shoe, or sandal, has that power.

I'm all listed out. Hope you enjoyed My Favorites.

The Garden

In the spring, The Sisters and I decided to plant our first garden. We spent many hours getting the soil ready for herbs and vegetables. After our raised bed was built we planted our garden. We loaded it with all kinds of good things- tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, and lots of herbs. The Sisters and I were very excited!

May and June were very kind months to my state. We had below normal temperatures and above average rain; all components to a fantastic garden.

July has brought us a few 100 degree days. However I'm not complaining, because I'll take a couple 100 degree days over 60 days straight of 100. Today our garden does not look as green. In fact, we've already lost a vegetable. Last week, squash finally lost it's battle to bugs. RIP Squash! 

  

Everything else is going strong. The cherry tomatoes and bell peppers have done awesome. I'm sure I've picked over 100 cherry tomatoes. 

Blogger World, if you ever think about planting a garden I highly recommend it! 

I've had a blast with our garden. I'm already making plans for more beds for next year.