At long last, here is the poor little thing in her alien "Satellite" collar. But it's really kept her calm and kept her from hurting herself. We think we're going to leave it off her tonight and see how she does. Poor thing--she can hardly hold her head up! 

Poor Faith!

I can't wait to post pictures of Faith, hopefully tonight. Poor little thing....she got "fixed" on Wednesday. She's been pretty sore, but the pain medicine she's on has made her CRAZY! She's jumping and running and doing all the things the vet said not to.

So, I had yesterday off work and I noticed her stitches were coming out. So I took her back in, and it turns out she's chewed the knot off because she's been licking at the incision so much. So, in order to keep her from doing that through the weekend, she has to wear one of those big satellite collars! She is so, so sad and I feel so terrible for her. She keeps running into things, and the collar is too big for her, so it weighs her head down. But she looks so silly in it!

Anyway, hopefully we'll be able to take it off by Sunday! She is very depressed, but it makes her very clingy and cuddly....she wants to be right next to me and John and she's enjoying the babying, I can tell.

Well, Matt and Robin and the boys plus Arni and Nina are headed to Disney World! They will be gone for a week, and the collest part about it is that they've managed to keep it a secret from Easton and Mason for a year! They're telling the boys about the trip on the way to the airport Saturday. I can't believe they don't know about it. John and I were invited, but we bought a house this year....so Merry Christmas to us! I'm sure they will have a great time and I wish I could be there to see Easton and Mason's faces when they find out where they're going.

I got a really awesome gift the other night from our Tulsa clients. They gave each of us from the agency team a 30G video iPod! We were blown away and now we're trying to figure out how to use them. Luckily, Jeanna in my office is an iPod expert--I even downloaded a couple hundred songs from her today. I also downloaded an episode of "The Office" just because I wanted to see what it looked like on the tiny screen--pretty nice!

The only downside is that John had bought me an iPod for Christmas, because he's such a great husband and knew that I wanted and iPod more than anything! But, we decided to keep the free iPod and he could get me something equally as wonderful. Hey--you can't pass up a free $350 gift, right? Anyway, I think he should put that money toward a trip or a car, hint hint Honey!

Speaking of Christmas gifts. I've had a hard time deciding anything I want, other than the iPod. I think I have frustrated a few people with it, but there is nothing that I really want or need that I don't already have. That's a good thing, right? Our life is very full and I'm very happy with the things that we have. Looks like gift cards are the way to go!

Any ideas on what to get John for Christmas? He's like me--doesn't have very many items on his wish list.

I'll post pictures of ou poor alien kitty very soon!

You'll notice that the bottom of the tree in this picture does not have any ornaments on it. The whole tree is like that for a reason. Faith really likes to play with the ornaments. Not that taking them off the bottom helps, since she climbs to the top of the tree. The other night, John heard what he described as a "squeaky noise" in the living room (after we went to bed). He came out, flipped the light on, and Faith flew out of the tree. I didn't see it, but I had visions of the squirrel from "Christmas Vacation" in my head! All around, Faith is a very "helpful" cat. She likes to help with the tree, wrapping presents, cooking, typing on the computer, etc..... 

The other day, I told John I thought Max was losing weight....heehee! 

I'm bragging on myself....look at how good my cookies look! 

Don't be frightened by her eyes, it's just the flash! Look at how big Faith is getting! She used to fit in the palm of John's hand! 

Cameron and me...he's 7 years old now! 

Christmas Baking

Crazy baking lady is back....for a moment. I got in the mood last night to bake, and boy did I ever!

I baked 3 loaves of pumpkin bread (from scratch) last night, and made the dough for my Grandma's sugar cookies to refrigerate overnight (from scratch). I also made my favorite holiday treat, chocolate-dipped peanut butter ritz crackers. My grandma makes them every year. I did all of that last night, and tonight I'll actually be baking the cookies.

When I was in college, I had a dear friend, Stacey, who loved to cook and bake. I used to go over to her house and she would teach me how to make all kinds of things, and my favorite thing to make was chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I haven't done much of that since Stacey and her husband moved away, but last night I thought about her as I was mixing and making a mess! I also thought a lot about my grandma--luckily she was home when I called her twice to ask advice!

This weekend, my friend Melissa's son turned 7. I couldn't believe it! Melissa and I have been friends since high school, when Cameron was born. I was with her through all the hard times she went through being 16 and pregnant, and I went to see Cameron the night he was born. He feels like my own kid and now he's in first grade. He's tall and gorgeous, a great reader and he wants to be an artist when he grows up. I don't have kids of my own, but it must be overwhelming to a parent how fast they grow up. Of course, it doesn't feel like it's been 7 years since high school either! Anyway, Happy Birthday Cameron--it's so much fun watching you grow up!

It's going to be a busy week. Love the holidays! Stop by my house anytime--it smells like yummy baked goods.

Let it Snow!

You know what snow in Oklahoma means: 1) we get very excited over very little and 2) no one knows how to drive.

Yes, the ground is blanketed in white, and it is still falling huge flakes. And it is freezing....currently we're sitting at a bitter 14 degrees with winds gusting at 20 mph. It is COLD!

But, winter has come....and we love it! For a little while. It really is just too cold for me to even pretend to torture Max and Faith. If it wasn't so cold, I'd let them out to see what they think of the snow. What great pictures that would make!

Pray for me tomorrow....big day with work, VIP coming to town and it looks as though his plane will be delayed and our event may be canceled! Why is it bad weather NEVER happens on a day when it would be ok to stay at home in bed??

Here is the backyard in the snow. Not A LOT of snow, but snow nonetheless. And it's still going! 

It's snowing! Here are my poor, already-dead flowers braving the first snowfall! 

Random Thoughts

Ok, so apparently I went a little melancholy on the last blog, so I just deleted it. Sorry to anyone who suffered through it! Sometimes your mind just wanders....

It's been such a nice, laid-back week at work. I'm usually out of the office a lot traveling to Tulsa or in meetings and this week I've been in the office every day. Now, obviously, I would not like to do that all the time and I admire anyone who does! But, it's been kind of nice to have time to get e-mails caught up and even to do a little mindless surfing on the internet (not a lot, but you all know you do it!).

My mom has a friend, Bill, that she's been hanging out with a lot. Really nice guy, huge OU fan, fits right in with John's sense of humor. And, on top of that he has an absolutely gorgeous 6-month-old grandson, Donovan. I ate dinner with them last night, and got lucky enough to introduce Donovan to one of the pleasures of life: pancakes. Boy, he liked that. He even traded me his pacifier for more bites of pancake! He is a lot of fun, and seriously gorgeous. I should put a picture on the blog of him. Anyway, I have a lot of babies in my life, and it maks me realize how much...I like to play with them! No, you're not going to get me to say anything. With all these babies around, who needs one of their own?!

John is on his second night of working with his Dad and Matt in the evenings for the holiday season. John's dad does an awesome job of creating the sets for a church here in town and their Christmas show, and he gets John and Matt to help. It's great for some extra present money, and they do a great job. But, he'll be gone A LOT in the evenings til Christmas.

I think the worst part about Christmas (which also might be the best part) is not the shopping for presents. It's AFTER you've shopped and wrapped, the waiting for Christmas day to arrive is the hardest thing. We got some really good presents this year (Still lacking for three people) and I can't wait for everyone to get their presents and open them! It's killing me not to tell everyone what we got! The worst part is I keep buying John little things here and there, and then I can't wait to give them to him, so I end up just handing them over. Plus, all three presents under the tree for him so far he has already seen. I am no good at surprises.

Well, I'm going to head out and watch "Lost" from last night. Or maybe "CSI:" from last week. Or "Desperate Housewives". Sigh....I'm such a TV hog!

You're all going to hate me, I know. But we have almost ALL our Christmas shopping done! Plus, while OU was kicking OSU's butt on Saturday, I decorated the house, our tree, and wrapped presents. It was so exciting to have a new house to decorate. The tree looks perfect in our front windows. Only 3 more people to shop for! 

Here we are, looking full and thankful on Thanksgiving! We were lucky to spend the day at Arni and Nina's, with all of John's family. It was so nice! 

This is what Max likes to do when we're wrapping presents....sleep in the other room! 

Faith REALLY liked to help me wrap presents this weekend. Her favorite part was the bows. She was helping me pick the very best bow from the bottom of the bag. Don't worry--we got her out of there before she suffocated! 

There was a lot of THIS going on--sitting and digesting our very full stomachs! We all watched "Christmas Vacation" together (after the Cowboys game, of course!). Here's Matt and Robin... 

Mason had a little accident the night before Thanksgiving, and came to lunch with a new trophy--a sling to help heal his broken collarbone! 

The Children Are Alive!

Yes, we spent a whole weekend with Easton and Mason and they are still alive. In fact, they were GREAT! They were very well-behaved and entertaining. Easton and I went on Friday night to a Boy Scout chess tournament (he won all the games he played--pretty impressive), then we went to the late showing of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". He thought it was pretty cool because it was late, it was Harry Potter, and we didn't take Mason. Anyway, I hate to admit it (and my sister won't let me forget) but the movie was pretty good! It made me want to see the other ones.

We got up Saturday morning and the boys played while we watched OU get robbed by a couple of stupid refs. Have I mentioned that Texas and every school in it sucks? That morning, John started feeling pretty lousy. So I took both boys to the movies to see Chicken Little. By the time we got home, John was even sicker and had been throwing up all afternoon.

So, John was in bed most of the weekend. But that's ok--the boys were great! We had a good time just the three of us--I think they like me!

I'm off work until Monday! Tomorrow my agenda consists of staying in my PJ's for as long as possible, then catching up on my shows while John puts Christmas lights up on the house (he's feeling better).

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a few things I am thankful for:
1) My loving husband (who puts up with more than anyone will ever know)
2) Having almost our whole family in the same town
3) All four grandparents still alive and well
4) My kitties (Yes, Faith AND Max)
5) An awesome church family
6) An amazing family who gave me and John amazing childhoods
7) OU Football
8) A cozy, warm home of my own
9) Melissa
10) Being healthy
11) Gilmore Girls and Grey's Anatomy
12) Weight Watchers ice cream sandwiches
13) Old Navy jeans
14) TGI Friday's
15) Laura Marie, who is always there when I need her

What can I say--I am so, so, so blessed. There is so much love in my life. John and I are so wealthy in ways we could never imagine. There are seriously days I sit back and wonder what more I could ask for. I am thankful for my life, and for those who make it a joy every day (even when it doesn't seem like it)! I hope you are as blessed as we are, and that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Nothing Spells November like Food, Family, and Football

Well, we've got an exciting weekend ahead for us. We will have children for the weekend--Easton and Mason to be exact! Matt and Robin are headed on a little anniversary trip to Branson and the boys are staying at our house. But it will be fun! We have lots of fun stuff planned. We're going to see "Chicken Little" tomorrow and we're ordering pizza and watching movies tonight. They might scare the cats, but other than that we should be fine!!

We went to our class Thanskgiving dinner last night at church. I love it--two Thanksgiving dinners in one week! We had turkey and mashed potatoes, and rolls, and so many desserts you can't even imagine. There are three recipes I want now--broccoli/rice/cheese casserole, gingerbread cake, and this amazing peppermint/chocolate "bark" that Kristin Gates made. It was unreal....however, none of those items are Weight Watchers-friendly. Maybe they can be tweaked, since John and I are doing so well right now. Oh well, we'll see!

Well, how about my Sooners?! They are making a comeback. No, we won't see a BCS Bowl or anything this year, but when we beat the Red Raiders this weekend we'll be headed to the Cotton Bowl. Not too shabby for a year that started out with a home loss. I love football, I love Rufus Alexander, I love Malcolm Kelly...and I still hate Texas. I don't think I'm even going to watch the Rose Bowl ths year, because who can I really root for? The only good thing about USC is that they're keeping Texas from being #1, but I have no love or like for them either. Have you seen the ESPN commercial with the little kid trick-or-treating as a Trojan and he knocks on the door of a UCLA fan? It's funny.

Make sure and say a quick prayer for Julia, my sister, this week. She left about an hour ago to fly to France for 10 days. She's headed out there by herself and is meeting up with a friend. Sounds like a fun trip--they're headed to London as soon as she lands and then they'll spend the rest of the time in France where her friend lives. Anyway, you obviously know my fears of flying, and I've never flown across an ocean! So just pray that she lands safely, and that she doesn't run into any problems with the rioting over there.

All right, back to working hard. I only work Monday and Tuesday of next week and then I'm off! I cannot wait...I have about 2 weeks of all my shows (yes, "Lost" included) that I haven't watched. Pray for John and I this weekend, and call out patience. We'll need it, I'm sure! Or maybe just pray for Easton and Mason....

John and I went to the "Red Shoe Gala" Friday night for the Ronald McDonald House. It was pretty fancy! Doesn't he look great in a tux? When we stopped by Matt and Robin's for a picture, Mason said "Uncle John, you look funny in that wedding stuff".  

Mason the Pirate for Halloween--check out that hook! 

Easton as a Grim Reaper for Halloween... 

Faith and her new toy--red socks! 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I know, it's been a while since I last updated. But apparently, I'm a cross-country traveler!

Chicago was ok. I didn't do anything there. Flew in, attended a conference, slept and flew out. The meeting took place at the Doubletree was I was stuck there the whole time. I do have to pat myself on the back for my improving airport skills.

First, I will say that I hate to fly. I guess it's because I feel completely out of control (although I can't be any less in control than I am when I'm riding with John in the car). And yes, I understand you're more likely to be killed on the way to the airport than in a plane. But how many movies are there on car accidents? Very few--plane crashes as much more entertaining, apparently. I AM getting used to it. In fact, once those initial 5 minutes of takeoff are over, and we don't explode, I feel pretty good about the flight.

Second, many of you know that I'm a little bit of a nervous person in general. I do not like to be late to things and I don't like for things to be off schedule. So, you can imagine how the airport messes with my sense of control. I even get to the airport about an hour and a half early in OKC. I wait for a while, but my heart doesn't race and I'm less likely to be searched by security (they only search you when you're about to miss your plane!). Anyway, I don't like it when my itinerary is thrown off.

So, since I've heard horror stories about how busy O'Hare airport is and how behind it always is, I wanted to be there very early for my return flight. I left the Doubletree with 2 hours before my flight, and ended up getting right through security. What made me do this, I don't know, but I decided to see if there was an earlier flight to St. Louis (connecting airport). There was! It was leaving in 10 minutes. So I ran. I ran and ran and ran through O-Hare Airport with my 50-pound piece of luggage and 20-pound shoulder bag in my heels. Heels, running, across the largest airport in America. And I made it. I ran onto the plane and they literally shut the door behind me!

So I get to St. Louis, and I'm thinking "I don't want to wait for another 4 hours for my flight home". And guess what? They had an earlier flight to OKC that was supposed to leave 10 minutes before I landed and it was delayed. So I made that one, too. Instead of being delayed on my way home, I was home 2 and a half hours early! However, I did have bad blisters from running in heels, and couldn't wear dress shoes for a week.

I went to Missouri this past weekend, which was great to see the grandparents, eat lots of food, and watch OU beat Nebraska. I watched the game with my Grandma. I think she might have been bored but she thought I was awfully funny! Let's give a round of applause for Rhett Bomar and his sling of receivers--finally completing some passes. We may be bowling after all.

Anyone else think maybe the Hornets game was rigged last night? Seriously--they beat Sacramento by like 30 points for their home opener. They won, what, 1 pre-season game? Conspiracy theories floating all over our office today!

I also have to give the "Husband of the Year" award to John. He sent me a HUGE boquet of flowers last week for no reason except "Just Because". They're still blooming and making my office beautiful.

I'll post pics of Easton and Mason's Halloween costumes shortly.

Funny Blog

Since I'm sitting in FREEZING Chicago, with not a soul I know in the entire building I've spent most of my night shivering in front of the computer. I've read everyone's blogs, and noticed on Kyle and Melanie's (http://www.kylemelande.blogspot.com/) there is a link to Daily Dancer (http://www.dailydancer.com/).

Ummm...check it out if you get a chance. Hilarious...reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite!

Pumpkin Patch

As you can see from the photos, we had quite a day at Chester's Party Barn/Pumpkin Patch Saturday. We headed out in the morning with Matt, Robin, the boys and Julia. It's a pretty neat little set up. Pony rides, petting zoo, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin "chunkin", a giant maze in corn stalks, food, and fun! Perfect to get ready for fall and Hawloween. John got pretty serious about pumpkin bowling and roping a hay bale!

After the Pumpkin Patch, we were only about 10 miles from Okarchee, and you know what that means! Fried chicken at Eischen's!! So, we headed out there, met Arni and Nina, my mom and Bill and ate to our heart's content.

It was a beautiful day and perfect for being outside, though I got sunburned (figures)! But I think everyone had fun, especially all the good food.

I also spent a good portion of my weekend kitten shopping. No, Crazies, not for me so calm down! Robin and Matt have been thinking of getting a kitten for a while, and being the crazy cat lady that I am, I went with Robin to look. So Robin and I visited a few shelters and a few Petsmart Adoption centers to find just the right cat. We found her yesterday at Pets and People in Yukon. She's 9 weeks old, and she's all black with bright green eyes. Her name is "Elphie" (after Elphaba from the book/musical 'Wicked').

Anyway, it was a busy weekend, but a lot of fun. Friday night I spent the evening with my book club. We'd just finished up "Wicked" (ok--they finished it and I got close!). I always have fun at our monthly meetings--food and girlfriends! Our new book for next month is "The Girl's Guide to Hunting anf Fishing", although I hear it's not about hunting and fishing. Guess we'll see!

I'm in Chicago for a few days for a conference. I'm glad to have the opportunity, but I sure hate to travel by myself. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is NUTS. Good thing I've had plenty of time to make my way around. Now I'm ready for hours and hours of lectures and panels on food quality and agriculture. You're all jealous, I can feel it....

John roundin' up the cattle....:) 

The boys leading us all through a long maze through cornstalks. They are master navigators! 

Mason riding the smallest pony--just his size! 

John and Julia watching the pony ride 

Robin and the boys picking the perfect pumpkin to take home. 

Julia and I ready for our day at Chester's. 

Here we are at Chester's Pumpkin Patch! 

The Weekend

Had a great, but busy weekend. Saturday I got up before dawn to head to the annual Race for the Cure. I'd like to say I volunteered to go (because I would have) but it was for work. It's probably my favorite event of the year as far as work events go. Lots of pink and lots of smiles. Anyway, I was done by 10:30, which is usually when I START my Saturdays! Then I ran around with Melissa for the afternoon before coming home to watch the Sooners play Kansas. Thank goodness we won--I couldn't take much more. Also--we had junk food night at the house! Chips and cheese dip, s'more cookies, Funyuns, Pringles, and homemade hot fudge sundaes! Not to mention Mom and her friend, Bill, came over and brought Earl's ribs and brisket. My stomach was STILL aching this morning when I woke up! Totally worth it though.

Many of you know that not only are we Sooner fans, but John has been a Notre Dame fan since before I met him. We've been waiting for a long time to see them back on track, and this season has been exciting. However, yesterday left John a little angry. Let's just say Notre Dame should have beat USC. That's putting it nicely. The ONLY good thing about USC is that they are keeping Texas from being #1. Texas sucks. And so does USC.

I love college football!

As you can see from the pictures, I did A LOT of gardening this afternoon. It was a perfect day outside--sunny, breezy, and about 75 degrees. I would have kicked myself for staying inside! And I did it all on my own. The first time Mary and Nikki helped, but it was all me this time. I think it looks good, and hopefully I won't kill the plants. But it was time for a new look. Maybe it will bring cold weather, since it's mid-October and still warm outside!

John's mom, Nina, had a total knee replacement surgery two weeks ago. Luckily, she's doing really well and is gaining strength every day. She was lucky enough to come home this past Saturday, and John has spent a lot of time keeping her spirits up. She still has a long way to go, but we have no doubt she'll be better than normal in no time.

Busy week still lies ahead. Faith is doing great, and she's a lot of fun. Brings a little excitement to our boring lives!