I'm thankful for...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Depsite what you think, it's not Christmas. No, Thanksgiving. I hope this isn't a surprise to anyone.
Since Thanksgiving is a great time of giving thanks. I thought I would honor Thanksgiving by sharing my...Thankful List.

1. These people....
These people, or otherwise called my family, put up with me, support me, run with me, fix things at my house, worry when I fly to Japan, and tell me I can pass my MBA accounting final when I think I can't.
2. Starbucks...
They wake me up when I come to work dragging. Today, the Starbucks by my office was closed-as in the doors are shut forever. It was a sad, sad morning. I said a four letter word in their honor of being gone.

3. H&M...

H&M, I only get to visit you once or twice a year, but it's a real treat when it happens. This is the first H&M I found in Tokyo. I'm pretty sure my eyes sparkled when I saw this H&M.

4. Running Shoes...

I'm very thankful for my running shoes. I'm sure Sister #1 is thankful for these shoes as well. You see, if I haven't ran in a couple days I get annoyed, frustrated, and angry. It's always better for everyone if I run a at least three times a week. These shoes make it possible.

5. Fiber One Bars...
You didn't think I forgot about these, did you? Ahh. I am very thankful for these. They have gotten me through many starving attacks. I would say at least 4 a week.

Blogger World, Happy Thanksgiving!

Weekend Update

Blogger World, it was another crazy jammed pack weekend. It’s all part of OK Chick’s living in the fast lane, or not.

Friday
Friday night I had a dinner party. I love saying the phrase- dinner party. It makes me feel so Pottery Barnish and sleek. Granted, I was still dressed in my smelly aerobics clothes when guest arrived, so I didn’t exactly look like the people in the catalog. However, the food was good and that’s what people care about. I served my guest stuffed chicken breast, green beans, rolls, salad, and apple pie.

Saturday
Folks, this is where is gets a tab busy. I’m just going to warn you, I have the ability to accomplish more in one day, than most people accomplish in a weekend. It’s a gift.
First off, I started my Saturday with two aerobics classes. No, I’m not crazy. At aerobics we are having a contest, and I’m trying to win. They are giving away a cute bag, and I need a new cute bag.
After all my calorie burning and errands running, Sister #1 and I headed to Hometown, USA to pick up some basketball tickets. As we were driving to Hometown, we got sidetracked. Ok, I got sidetracked. This weekend I was in the market for a new kitchen table. Since I was driving by so many furniture stores, I stopped at one to browse at their selection. As luck would have it, the first store had exactly what I waited. I found and purchased my new kitchen table in less than 30 minutes.
Finally, Sister #1 and I made it to Hometown, USA. We ate a quick lunch with the fam and rushed off to Norman for some basketball. Since OU was playing a no name school my dad graciously gave Sister #1 and I his tickets. The game turned out to be a close exciting game. I don’t know if that’s good for OU, but it was good for us fans.
When the game was over, Sister #1 and I hiked through the parking lot to a tailgate party. My coworkers were having a huge football tailgate party, which included a big cook-off. Sister #1 and I chatted with my coworkers and ate way too much food. We dined on ribs, brisket, goat, sausage, potato fries, pulled pork sandwiches, and most important- cookies. See, now you know why I did the two aerobics classes.

Sunday
Sunday was my typical Sunday. I went to church, cleaned house, and read the paper. I did have a small amount of excitement on Sunday. My excitement took place at the grocery store. I saved over $43 with my coupons. I know $43! You know that’s a sweater at Gap, right?

There you have it...OK Chick’s weekend in the fast lane.

Friday Fun Fact

Today’s Friday Fun Fact is an odd one, odder than normal. I discovered today, November 21, is the 36 annual World Hello Day. World Hello Day was begun in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel in the fall of 1973. Since then, World Hello Day has been observed by people in 180 countries.

To participate in World Hello Day all you need to do is say hello to ten people. Sounds simiply enough to me. You know, I kind of like this idea of a World Hello Day. If anything it makes us speak to each other instead of txt messaging everything. Also, do you remember that day Starbucks told me if I just said hello I might get a date? See this could be a way for me, or you, to get a date. I think I will participate this year. Therefore, in honor of World Hello Day I would like to say- Hello Blogger World.

Ramblings...

Today my friends, is a gobble gobble Ramblings. Yeah, that sounded cuter in my head-now it just sounds dumb. Anyway, on to the Ramblings…

My normal work radio station has started playing Christmas music 24/7. They began Christmas music 24/7 this morning. Blogger World, you know nothing pisses me off more than Christmas music being played 24/7-way before Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I like Christmas music. I love Jingle Bell Rock like everyone else. But, how about we enjoy Thanksgiving before Christmas is shoved down our throats? I like to celebrate one holiday at a time, and I like Thanksgiving before Christmas. If I were elected president, I would make a law that no one could play Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving.

Oh speaking of the day after Thanksgiving, Sister #1 and I have already planned our Black Friday shopping. My coworker sent me a website that has collected ads from many different stores. I would like everyone to check out CVS’s ad. They are giving away free stuff. I’m so going there. Hey, we are in a recession, I need all the free stuff I can find.

Tonight, I am teaching a class. A coworker has asked me to teach his class tonight. I guess he thinks I’m real smart, and have lots of knowledge about my job. I’m taking the Burt Smith approach to class- handing out candy. If I’m really bad, at least the audience will be buzzing with a sugar high.

I would like to dedicate Daniel Powter’s Had a Bad Day to the following people:
1) Automotive CEOs-better luck next time. Word to the wise, don’t come begging for money when you flew to the meeting on A PRIVATE JET! Goofballs! You could have at least flown commercial.

2) However, at least the goofball CEOs didn’t lose a tool belt in outer space. I have two hundred bucks that says this will be her first and last space mission. Actually, I have no idea if this is her first mission, for all I know she’s a regular out there.

Blogger World, I'm Rambled out. Until next time....

Dude, Where's My Car???

Today, I had lunch with my wonderful friend Holly. She’s currently taking a week long sabbatical and made time to meet me at the mall for a tasty lunch.
Our lunch was fantastic. Holly brought me a piece of pie, chocolate covered pretzels, and $8. The $8 was from a garage sale; I usually don’t make my friends pay to have lunch with me.

After lunch Holly and I exited the mall together. When I walked over to where I thought my car was parked I found a red BMW in its place. Needless to say, that’s not my car. I then walked a row over, didn’t see my car. I walked one more row, still not my car. I turned and walked back through the rows, incase I missed my vehicle. Nope, nothing, NO CAR. I guess you could say I might have started to panic at this point. It’s not that I thought my car was stolen. No, I was freaking out because I had lost my car. I hate to admit this, but I’ve done this before. I have no idea why I cannot keep up with my car after lunch at this certain mall parking lot. I keep up with my car at other parking lots- Target, Old Navy, Wally World…you know places with big parking lots. However, at this certain mall, after lunch, I lose my car. Anyway, I ALWAYS find my car, like I did today; it just takes a few extra laps. And I always walk away feeling stupid and annoyed. The positive spin to all this? I burned off the chocolate covered pretzels before I went back to work.

Stop judging me. I know, I’m not the only one who has lost their car in a parking lot. Shut-up you are all lying!

Weekend Update

Folks, it’s happened again. OK Chick had another fun weekend. I’m on a roll!

Friday
Road trip! Sister #1, Sister #2, and I left Friday afternoon for the great state of Arkansas. The land of the hogs. Although, the hogs had a by that weekend so there was no hog watching for my family. Instead most of the whole family (the whole stinkin’ family not just my family) met in LR for a wedding. Yes, another wedding where I had to provide a gift.
One of our aunt/uncles lives in LR so the Sisters and I crashed at their house for the weekend, while my parents stayed with another aunt/uncle. After the Sisters and I arrived in Little Rock it was all fun and games, literally. We had an intense game of LCR, Skip-Bo, eating pretend fried chicken, and eating chocolate fondue (the real stuff) with our kid cousins

Saturday
My five year old cousin woke us up at the butt crack of dawn. I really can’t get mad at her for the early morning wake up call. Sister #1 and I did the same thing to her dad when we were kids; expect Sister #1 and I were more obnoxious with our wake up calls.
Since I was up so early I decided to go for my long weekly run. Oh my goodness. Little Rock has some HILLS! I’m not talking little Oklahoma hills; I’m talking huge Arkansas hills. Did I mention they were big hills?
Needless to say, it was hard and I thought a couple times my heart was going to pop out of my chest.

As I said earlier, the family was in town for a wedding. My second cousin was getting married. Yes, I know my second cousins. I also know my third cousins, but we just call them kin folks. Most of my family attended the wedding. When I say my family, I’m referring to all my dad’s brothers and their families-the WHOLE family. There were probably about 15 of us in total.
The wedding was a typical wedding…you know everyone looked beautiful, blah, blah. My cousin was the groom, so he and all my other cousins looked like penguins.
The reception, which is always my favorite part of weddings, was held in a country club. I will say the reception was nice, good food, and the wedding cake was tasty! But that’s all I can say about the reception. An hour into the reception my family disappeared. See my uncle is a member of the country club where the reception was held, so we all snuck away to go sit in the bar. Yes, leave it to my family to spend a good chunk of a reception to sit in a bar. But hey, at least we were together, and that’s what being a family is about, right? It was actually pretty fun- a great bonding experience.

Sunday
After good-byes to everyone in Arkansas, it was back to Oklahoma. When Sister #1 and I made it home we had zero time to rest or unpack. Actually, we had exactly one hour to get dressed and ready for our final weekend event, Coldplay concert.

What a great concert. Coldplay put on an awesome two hour show. This was the second time I’d seen Coldplay in concert and they did not disappoint. I highly recommend seeing them in concert, you will not be disappointed!

Blogger World, another weekend has come and gone. It was a good weekend. I had a great time hanging out with my cousins/aunts/uncles, eating good food, running freakin' mountains, and road tripping it with my Sisters.

Quote of the Day

Today’s Quote of the Day goes to my aunt Bettye…

“I just can’t get over how beautiful you girls look.”

Sister #1’s response:

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you shower, fix your hair, and wear make-up."


* I suppose the whole "dolled up" thing really does make a difference in my appearance. I guess I could try it while I'm in Arkansas.

Friday Fun Facts

Friday Fun Fact is brought to you by the music world. Today someone in music history is celebrating a birthday. Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad, better known as Frida- from the group ABBA, is celebrating a birthday. Actually, she’s celebrating her birthday tomorrow, but close enough. I bet you are wondering what ever happen to Frida? Or maybe you are wondering if Frida was really in ABBA? She was by the way, I looked on their website. Since Frida isn’t singing disco hits anymore, this is what she does to pass the time….


Today she leads a low-key life, devoting herself to charity work. However, Frida has guested on records by other artists: her most recent recording was the lead vocal on the song ‘The Sun Will Shine Again’, included on former Deep Purple keyboard player Jon Lord’s 2004 album Beyond The Notes.

Right. I'm going to be honest, I have no idea who any of these people are? Deep Purple? Yeah, moving on….

Fact number two is something I do know! On this day, back in 1980, Blondie had the number song. Any guesses on the song? I’ll wait……………………………………..
No, you’re all wrong, its Tide is High. This happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time. In closing, let’s all take a minute to sway back and forth to Tide is High. You might not know this but Blondie is a 12 time Grammy winner. Yup, saw it on YouTuc


Happy Friday Blogger World!

Happy Birthday Sister #1

Blogger World, I would like to introduce you to Sister #1 (ignore me in this picture, you know me). Sure, I’ve talked about her, but I don’t know if I have fully introduced you to her. Today marks a special day for Sister #1. It’s her birthday, her 25th birthday to be exact. Since, I sucked as a sister last year and didn’t post her a birthday dedication; I figured this year I would do a grand birthday dedication. Folks, let me introduce you to one of my awesome sisters.

First of all let’s just get it out in the open; Sister #1 is way cooler than me. I’m secure enough to admit that fact. If you know her, you’d agree with me 100%. She’s more laid back, funnier, nice to everyone, and a better cook than me. People generally like Sister #1 better, which I’m happy. I don’t want sisters that no one likes.

Second, Sister #1 has impeccable taste when it comes to shoes and purses. Due to Sister #1 being short, she can wear fun heals-which she does…everyday.

Third, Sister #1 has a best friend. I don’t think it odd that she has a best friend, so don’t think that’s where I’m going with this point. But not many people can say they’ve had their best friend since kindergarten. Yeah, she’s had her BFF for 20 years. After fives years of their friendship, I finally accepted BFF as another sister.

Fourth, Sister #1 is daring. I guess a good example of this... is when she decided to play daredevil. Sister #1 and I were riding our bikes home from the swimming pool; my mom and Sister #2 were following us in the family mini-van. The security guard bar was going down, because I had just ridden my bike through the security stand. Sister #1 thought she could get under the bar before it went completely down. Nope. It went down, and fell on top of her back. It’s funny because it knocked her off her bike, causing her to roll into the ditch. My mom had to stop the mini-van to make sure she wasn’t injured, and to get her out of the ditch. See, she’s daring!

Fifth, Sister #1 is very detailed and precise. I think that’s why she’s a good accountant. Seriously, the girl has a spreadsheet for every possible thing. But Sister #1 takes her time and completes all tasks correctly, something I wish I did better. When we were kids I just thought she was slow at everything. However, I guess it was preparing her for a life of accounting. I remember when we were little; my mom would make us sit at the table until we were both done eating. I always wolfed down my food in record time, and then had to sit there waiting. Sister #1 ate so slowly. I am talking, one pea at a time slow. I would ALWAYS get so tired of waiting on her to finish. I usually ate the remainder of the food so we could go play before the freakin’ sun went down. I guess this would explain why I was the chunky one and Sister #1 was the skinny one.

See like I said at the first point….Sister #1 is way cooler than me, which is why I’ve allowed her to hang around for 25 years. I’m kidding. So here's to you Sister #1....have a great day!

Brilliant Idea #63

Blogger World, I have come up with a BRILLIANT idea. It’s better than Cookie Thursday, which you guys know is my proudest brilliant idea.

As you know, I’m single. No, I really am single it’s not an act. Since I’m not progressing with age in the dating world; I figure I might be single a few more years, or a decade. However, I feel that just because I’m single does not mean I should be punished. I mean, it’s not my fault. Ok, so maybe some of it is my fault. But today we are not debating why OK Chick is single. We’ll save that issue for later, or never. Anyway, I’m single and I’m tired of being punished.

See, even though I’m single many of my friends are not. No, they are married and starting to pop out kids- like the Bible Belt teaches us. Now if your friends are like mine, you know I have attended jillions of wedding showers and/or baby showers. Everyone knows that when you are invited to a shower you are expected to bring a present. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind buying my friends presents. This is a joyous occasion. I truly am happy that they are getting married or having a child. But my thing is; what if I never get married, what if I never have a child. Who’s going to buy a present for me? I want presents. I want the joy of registering for pots, and then having people pay for my expensive pots.

Blogger World I have come up with this brilliant idea. Folks, for my 30th birthday I am registering for birthday presents. I have chosen my 30th birthday because it’s kind of an important birthday. This is when you cross the line from young to old, or so I’ve been told. But on my 30th birthday, I am going to Target or William Sonoma or maybe both to register for my birthday presents. I am getting the dang registry gun and registering! I want a blender, ice cream scope, ice cream maker, knives, kettle, and Tupperware. I want nice matching Tupperware! There is no reason that because I cannot meet someone, that I shouldn’t have great silverware.

Registering for presents should not be for just married folks. We should demand equal rights. Single people of the Blogger World, we need to rally up and demand that we have matching plates and tools-even if we aren't married!

I hear by give anyone permission to steal OK Chick’s Brilliant Idea #63.

Weekend Update

Folks, I’m happy to report that Weekend Update is back. Yours truly, actually had a weekend; a weekend that involves something besides moving from couch to kitchen.

Friday
I still have all 10 fingers and 10 toes. Yup, didn’t nail, glue, staple, or saw off any digits while building the house. Well to be honest, we didn’t build a house. Saturday’s group built the house, my group laid sod. I know, not as exciting. But don’t be fooled, laying sod is dangerous; I could have lost a limb while laying sod. Ok, not really. I don’t know if anyone out there in Blogger World has ever laid sod, but it is hard work. I woke up Saturday morning hurting. My coworker and I had an efficient system and we were kicking everyone’s butt with the amount of sod we were laying. I personally think we worked the hardest out of everyone. I’m kidding, everyone worked hard.
After I planted an entire yard by myself (that’s a joke), I was off to Friday night’s event- Bunko. This was my first time to play Bunko and I really liked the game. It’s fun and easy and I’m good at the game. I’m so good I won $9! I’m pretty sure you can’t be good at Bunko; it’s a dice game and all about luck, but it’s cool to win. One of my coworkers asked me to join her monthly Bunko group. I had a great time meeting new people and eating yummy food. Everyone brought a snack. Of course, I brought healthy blueberry scones, and everyone else brought cookies. My poor scones sat in the corner while everyone else ate the cookies, including myself. I’m sorry, the cookies were good.

Saturday
I was able to sleep in until 9:00. You know you are old when you say you slept in and it’s only until 9:00. But, I was able to sleep a full 8ish hours and it felt great.
Most of Saturday was dedicated to cooking. Sister #1, Casie, and I spent five hours cooking casseroles. The three of us each picked out two recipes, tripled each recipe, and prepared each recipe placing them in foil containers. Afterwards we divided up all the casseroles to take home. The three of us now have a freezer full of delicious food.
When I was finished playing Paula Deen I rushed home to get ready for the next event- homecoming basketball game. I went to my old college’s homecoming. The basketball game was exciting and it was fun to see old friends. By the way, my college won the game. I don’t know if they are really good this year or if they played a bad team. They looked ok, but not amazing.
Saturday night Sister #1 and I went to Target. Here’s what I hate about Target. I enter Target with the intent to purchase one item. However, $70 later I’m leaving Target. Sister #1 and I did our part to help the economy. I don’t want to hear anymore whining about people not helping the economy.

Sunday
My Sunday morning kiddos have been patiently awaiting my arrival from Japan. They were promised a surprise from Japan if they knew the two weekly memory verses. Well you guessed it; every one of them knew the verses. I was so proud of my kids, and they were pumped to get candy with all the “signs” on the wrapper. I tried to explain that it was how Japanese wrote…they didn’t get it.

Well there you have it…I laid sod, cooked, kick butt at Bunko, and continue to change the lives of my 4th graders. A pretty good weekend if you ask me.

Friday Fun Fact

Today's FFF is about me. Would you expect anything less from me? Don't answer that question.

So today I'm going to build a house. I'm building a house with my bare hands. I'm excited. I can't say I have ever built a house. My office is volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Did you know:

Habitat began as an idea in the 1960s in Americus, Georgia. Since then, Habitat has built nearly 300,000 houses around the world. Yup it's true. I stole this information straight from their website.

Hopefully, I won't cut something off or nail a finger. I'll have a full report Monday.

Cookie Thursday

Blogger World, today is Cookie Thursday. I’m very excited to know that in about three minutes I will be receiving a hot chocolate chip cookie. I know it will be chocolate chip because I had the honor of choosing today’s cookie. I brought Cookie Boy something back from Japan. Advice for today: keep the important people happy and it makes life grand.

Anyway, today’s post isn’t about Cookie Thursday. Today’s post is about my exciting evening last night. No, it really is. No, I didn’t just watch TV. Last night Sister #1 and I went to watch OKC Thunder get beat by the Celtics. Sister #1 and I had fun at the game while laughing many times. Here are some of our laughable moments:

1. When we arrived downtown it was raining cats and dogs. Since downtown OKC has horrible parking, like you can’t ever find parking spot. Sister #1 and I parked pretty far from The Ford Center. SO imagine this… raining + cold + far from final destinations = two cold soaked girls running into The Ford Center. Sister #1 and I showed up to the game looking like wet dogs. I’m sure drivers loved watching me sprint down the street while Sister #1 brought up the rear trying to hold on to her massive OU umbrella. My favorite about all this is when we finally made it to our seats; the man next to me said wow is it raining? Yeah, I never said Okies were the smartest. Seriously, how do you answer that question with a straight face?

2. Of course, OKC Thunder has a dance team. When OKC was babysitting the Hornets we had the Hornet Hoes. Now, we have Thunder Thighs. I can’t take credit for this brilliant nickname; Sister #1 came up with the name. But it really made me laugh last night. However, I give props to the Thunder Thighs for dancing in hooker boots.

Well I guess there were only two laughable moments. I’m sure there were more but I’m at a lost. Now Blogger World, if you would excuse me I have a cookie to eat.

SCT #6 Report

The trip was amazing. I had a great time and saw many things. I saw old friends, 2 H&Ms, Mt. Fuji, neat buildings, beautiful gardens, and a bunch of American English Teachers bowl on Halloween. I never imagined in a million years that I would go back to Japan, but I'm happy I did. Here's a quick recap of SCT #6 with lots of pictures.

The first full day I was there I had dinner with my host family. They were nice enough to invite Kendon and ML as well. It was great to see my host family, and hear about my host sisters-one is a doctor and one is married with kids.

The second day ML drew me a map to a local park/lake. I walked around the lake/park for a couple hours. It was beautiful. Also, I want it noted that I never got lost with ML's map. It's because I rock at getting around forgein counties.

The second night a group of us went out for Japanese food. Here you see Kendon fliping part of our food.

The third day ML took me to his school. I guess I was like his show-n-tell. Going to school with ML was a really funny. I have so many funny stories from school. I forgot to take pictures while I was at his school. I know! But, here are some of my favorite questions students asked me...

-How old am I?

-What is my favorite washing machine?

-What is my favorite bug?

-What is my favorite alcohol? (compliments of a 2nd grader)

The rest of the trip took place in Tokyo. Here some great pics from Tokyo....

ML took me to a great park. It reminded me of Central Park, but prettier.

Tokyo Tower. Our hotel had a great view of Tokyo Tower! We even had a rooftop balcony where we could sit outside. It was nice, our view was Tokyo Tower and part of Tokyo. It was one of the best views in the city.







This is the busiest crosswalk in the whole world. No, it really is! ML and I sat in a two story Starbucks watching people cross the street. I was amazed at all the people.

This was my last meal in Tokyo, and I couldn't have asked for a better meal. These are my two favorite foods from Japan. The bread looking thing is SO good. I'm actually craving one right now. The Pocky sticks were one my favorite foods last time I was in Japan. I guess my taste buds haven't changed because I still love Pocky. I actually bought 6 boxes in the airport. HEY! I walked alot of miles this past week. I do not feel guilty that I plan to eat all 6 boxes, by myself.

Last time I was in Japan I wanted to ride this ferris wheel, but no one would go up with me. Well this trip I got to ride the ferris wheel. At the very top I was able to overlook the city.

It took about 24 hours to get there but it was worth it! For my first time to travel by myself, I feel I did pretty awesome. I never got lost and I only yelled at a lady once. I am sorry she was in my way and I was running to my connecting flight. I mean, sure- I'd only had 4 hours of sleep and not much food, but she was in the way. I probably wouldn't have yelled at her if I wasn't so hungry. Ok, that's a lie.

I think I'm turning Japanese

I'm home. I got back today. Until I have time to write a post this picture will have to do. I would like to thank these people for making my trip so great. Thanks guys...

And a huge thanks to this guy. Thanks for being a great tour guide.