FNL Overdose

One of my favorite shows is coming to it's season finale next week, and I am just sick about it.  Friday Night Lights. 

I love this show, but no one in my household shares my affinity for it.  So I DVR it, and I watch when no one else is around.  Well, I was a few weeks behind, so today I caught myself up.  I had five episodes to watch, and I took today's wide open opportunity to view every single one.  It was fabulous!  Now I know why Principal Tami Taylor's job is on the line after she gave counsel to a very young, unwed mother-to-be.  Even though she followed protocol and did everything exactly as she should, politics are plenty at Dillon High School, and she continues to be a target.  And I know that Tim Riggins, the ex-football star who threw his college scholarship away, really does have a thing for that Becky girl, even though she is considerably younger than he is.  Boy, is he cute!  Oh, and I couldn't believe it when the Panthers destroyed the East Dillon football field right before the big rivalry game.  It was hilarious when the Lions players retaliated by spiking the entire Dillon High Panthers field with toothpicks, thousands of them!  But the game has been moved to a neutral field, devastating to East Dillon, and that will be held next week in the finale.  All the while, Coach and Tami's daughter, who BTW aced her east coast collegiate interviews in Boston, has decided maybe she wants to run away with Habitat for Humanity and some rebound guy.  The baby was finally born to Tim Riggins' brother, Billy,  and his wife, right before Tim and Billy got arrested for operating a chop shop.  The finale will probably leave us hanging on that one.  Vince, the star quarterback, cannot decide whether or not to be in on the revenge for Calvin's death.  Too bad the season ends next week.  I can almost predict all the ways they are going to leave me hanging!

But with the end of the FNL season, comes the beginning of the NCAA football season.  REAL football!  You gotta love it!

Wild Men

The boys of summer are having a fabulous time in SoCal.  I have gotten a few texts from them, and they seem to definitely be living life on the edge.  They stopped for a snack yesterday at the Heart Attack Cafe at the Orange County Fair.  They told me they had deep fried butter and chocolate covered bacon.  Neither sounds very appetizing to me, but I think they were just trying to get me wound up. 

I know Chase wanted to show Mike his favorite little hole in the wall eating establishment, Chronic Tacos.  No doubt, that is on their list...

Last I knew, today they were having lunch with Chase's boss, Michael, then were off to the X-Games.  Good times.

I remember when the kids were little, and they would watch the X-Games on television... then they would go outside and build ramps to skate off and ride their bikes off of...  It's amazing we didn't have more visits to the emergency room.  We were pretty lucky that way.

Oh, and they also had to send me a text to tell me that it was 75 degrees there.  I responded with a sarcastic two word phrase that isn't fit for publication, and informed them that it was 98 here at home.  And to think, only three days ago, I was saying "Aloha," and "Mahalo," as if they were part of my regular vocabulary... and watching the palm trees sway in the wind. 

Wild July

It has been a wild month at our house...  We have done more than our fair share of traveling, and I am anxious to get back into my own home and bed. 

Mike started out around the 14th, by going to Costa Rica.  He went for a long weekend, and the day he returned home, I left for the islands.  Nice week in paradise.  And the day after I got home, Mike is leaving again.  He is off to the OC to see Chase before his internship ends, and he returns to school.  So I know they will have a fun weekend.  They have planned all sorts of man--fun things.  Hmmm......... 

But I bet they won't be doing anything like this --  sitting with friends on the beach, watching the sun go down.

And I bet this won't happen to them...  What are the odds of being 5000 miles from home and running into someone you know...?  Well, I now know that it can happen.  Bon ran into someone she knew from Dallas.  Crazy!

I have said it before, and I will say it again.  It is a small world.

But I know Chase and Mike will do all kinds of sweaty, fun man things.  Eat meals with no vegetables.  Who knows what they will find to get into?  Hopefully, they will take pictures.  I need blog material.  :)

Last Day in Paradise.....

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to Maui.  Always hard, it just isn't a fun thing to do.  You miss beautiful scenery, like this --

The four of us decided we could just watch the waves roll in forever.  It is a view you never get tired of seeing.  Or hearing....  waves breaking are just very calming and relaxing. 

We practically had the beach to ourselves...  okay, so that is an exaggeration, well, it was anything but crowded.  We spent so much time on the beach, just taking in the scenery, the action, and people watching.  It was beautiful, except for a couple of hours of wind, which provided all of us with plenty of exfoliation by sand blasting us with the straight line winds blowing the sand into every open orifice. 

No more scenes like this.  We thought we were so funny by using our similar credit cards to split the bill by 4. 
No more of that.  The hardest part of the trip is now.  Arriving home.  Facing piles of laundry.  Unpacking the enormous suitcases that I hauled through the airports. 

We just couldn't get enough of this!  You never get tired of watching the sun set.  Bea-u-ti-ful!  It doesn't get a whole lot better than this.  We acclimated so quickly -- maybe we should just stay.  No, we have to leave. 

It's been a rough week in paradise.  But by now we have landed, and are on our last leg home.  Gosh, it's a long way.  Not complaining!

turtle day

One day while on the trip to Maui, we went snorkeling down by Black Rock.  The waves were pretty calm, and the crowd wasn't too big, so we set out. We hadn't been in the water very long when some people started pointing and swimming to one area.  We followed along, to see what the ruckus was all about, and some kid said there was a turtle very near the place where we were.  Melissa was on a mission to see a turtle, so down we went.  Not only did we see a turtle, but it was about 4 feet in diameter and about 4 feet away from us!  Mission accomplished, Melissa came up, threw off her mask, spit out her snorkel, and yelled, #@*& $%*! -- at the top of her lungs.  Hilarious!  By far, one of the funniest things that happened that day.  Later, when I talked to Mike, he said that he had seen a turtle in our garage at home, and a water turtle leaving a pond near our house that same day.  The turtle sightings were many all over the United States.

Funny things have happened every day, but they are things like, you know, maybe you had to be there.  One thing that has happened was that I have been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy.  This diagnosis was made by one of my traveling partners, and she is an RN that works for the premier cardiology practice in the Permian Basin.  She told me that my EF is 21.  I don't know what that means or how much time I have, but I have decided to make the most of it.  She keeps telling me to take it easy, and so the girls have been very encouraging and helpful.  I think it would probably be best if I just stayed here permanently.  Nurse Dianne, previous to the trip, received her own diagnosis.  Apparently, it is airborne, because I caught it from her.  A good disease makes for plenty of opportunities for humor.

We did have a situation with the rental car which required me to call Roadside Assistance.  First of all, it was a disappointment from the word go.  It was dirty, inside and out, had dents and scratches all over it, took me forever to get it checked out because you have to diagram all the dents and scratches before you leave with it... but when the air conditioner quit on the opposite side of the island, and we had a hot ride home, I was fit to be tied.  The short, happy version of this story, is that they brought us a new minivan, quite a bit nicer than the first one.  The sad thing is, we only had it for a couple of days, before we had to use it to drive ourselves back to the airport.  :(

Luckily, Dianne has been in charge of moving the cone for us to save our parking place; Bonnie has been in charge of all exercise, worship, and skinny dipping sightings; and Melissa contributed beach tunes and all technical support.  Mel's allergies, that she does not have, according to OKC Allergy Clinic, were much better in the tropical climate.  She might have to stay here, too.  The doctor is still out on that one.

Bird Brain

I still have birds on the brain...  I haven't been able to get great pictures of all the great birds we have in the yard.  But I did get this picture last week of the swallows right before they left the nest.

They are darn cute, but they make the biggest mess.  The day after I took this picture, they all flew out of the nest and followed their parents around the yard.  That was about a week ago, and I still think they are hanging around the yard, but they don't really use the nest. 

But in this last week, I have also seen some Scissortail Flycatchers.  If they really do eat insects, they are more than welcome in my yard. 

I see them frequently, and wonder if maybe they have a nest in one of the Hawthorne trees in the front yard...

But, by far, the most exciting bird I have seen --

THE HUMMINGBIRD!  I was so thrilled to see one on the back porch!  It was fluttering around all the purple petunias, and I probably watched it for 15 minutes or so.  Of course, my hummingbird feeders are empty, and it is a two person job to refill them....  Who would have guessed?  The hottest day of the year, and I see a hummingbird on my back porch.

4th of July - delayed posting

We had a fun and relaxed 4th of July.  Gant was in town, and so we kind of celebrated his birthday since he won't be here on the actual day later this month...

It was a plenty warm day.  But the sky was blue and full of fluffy, photogenic clouds.  We had probably 7 cameras among the 8 of us....  so we snapped and snapped away!

 
We just kept snapping.  And posing.  You never know when you are going to get that phenomenal picture.  You don't!  So we kept trying....

And here were the wonderful red velvet cupcakes, made specially for the occasion by Cups, LLC.

And it just wouldn't have been the Fourth of July without some sparklers and a few fireworks! 

And we had a very patriotic and festive Fourth of July, 2010!

Some things I will see...

There is so much to see in Maui!  We are going to give it the college try, but no doubt we will fall short in some area.  But right there at the place we will stay for the week, there is one of these.....

It is brand new and very nice...  other than the fact that I wake up at 3:30 or 4:00 am for the first few days, I would say that this is out of the question.  But when you wake up, you wake up -- and they have this cool new weight room.  It is slightly inviting.  Even to a nube like me.

Frankly, I would rather sit on my hind quarters and look at the lovely view.  I can easily sit there and just watch people and listen to the waves, ALL DAY.

And after a full day that started at 3:30 or 4:00 am, I am doing good if I can make it to see this...

But, oh, it is SO worth it.

Travel Can Be Hard

There are a lot of hard things about going on a trip or vacation.  Usually, you have to work doubly hard to get things taken care of that will need to be done while you are gone.  And you have to do them in the same 24 hours that you have every single day!  No extra hours to help you get it all done!

But if you want to see the big, beautiful world, you have to make some concessions.  You might have to stay up late packing...  You might have to pack and repack in order to fit everything in your suitcase...  You might have to make arrangements for someone else to do your job for you while you are gone...  You have to gather up all the travel documents needed, make reservations and plans, -- frankly, you need a wife.  I have been saying this for years, and Bon reminded me of it today as she was checking things off of her list.

By the time you read this, she will probably be wearing one of these in her hair.  She will be planted under the umbrella, and deep into her novel. 

Mel, poor thing, traveling takes its toll on her.  Last year she got sick.  By the time we tracked down the right meds, we had lost a couple of days -- not completely -- just a bummer for her.  As you see, she can sleep anywhere, so the random flight delay will not keep her from catching a few winks.

This was one of our many trips to the drugstore -- we became very familiar with it -- and we started calling the things we bought there, souvenirs.  We had a lot of meds for motion sickness, Benadryl cream for a rash, I can't even remember what all we bought there, but we just started calling it all souvenirs, because it was cutting into our budget for other things.  I took this pic of Melis at Long's, that's our favorite drugstore, because it is super convenient to get to.  She had a basket full of souvenirs.

Just remember when you travel, as in life, that you can never be too prepared.

Intent

It is my intent, to go on vacation, and take it easy.  Call me silly, that's just what I think.

Look at this....  I think I will have some of this!  Seems like it is called The Black Pearl.  Mama's Fish House, here we come!

And then the next day, I intend to go to Roy's, and enjoy the specialty dessert, their Chocolate Souffle!  Isn't the presentation what it's all about?  Sweet.

You know how sometimes friends share a dessert, or maybe even an entree?  That is not possible with Roy's Chocolate Souffle.  You order your own.  You order it early.  You eat every bite.  Those are the rules.

One of the closest things to Heaven on earth.  Just sayin.

Distraction Trip

Remember the trip that I mentioned we would be taking Bon on as a distraction? 

Well, we have departed.  We left our homes, and we are enjoying the beach while our husbands hold down the fort.

That means, that yesterday we navigated the jungle of air travel, and have safely reached our destination.

We conquered a few of these...............

And we maneuvered through places like this...................

And because you are reading this, hopefully, we have arrived and are no worse for the wear.  We are hoping for some restful days at the beach, some good meals, -- I doubt there will be any laughing -- and maybe some fabulous new pics!  Bon's sister, Dianne, will be joining us.  She lives in Texas, but we invited her anyway. 

We will try and post when we can, but we have a lot to do.  We're thinking of you!

Lucky me!

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to get to care for my friend's 17 month old daughter just for the day.  She lives out of town, and her dad was the primary carekeeper, but I was able to help one day while he went into the office.

Oh my goodness, she was just perfect and so easy.  It was such a privilege to be able to set the whole day aside, and we played and played.  She napped and wanted to investigate every light in my house.  This is her normal routine.  I guess it is kind of a miracle that you can flip a switch on the wall, and all the lights come on.  Oh, to see it all from her eyes... I cannot imagine.

We worked on whistling.  She was really quite good at it!  Okay, I am kidding...  there are just a couple of pictures with her looking like she is whistling.  I am sure she was talking to me.  Telling me all about what she thought we should be doing.  And reminding me that her mom has a REAL blog, a good one, and it very completely and thoroughly covers her day-to-day excitement.

She wanted me to tell her all about her college options, and knowing that her parents will probably overlook one of the obvious state schools, I obliged.  I showed her all the pictures that I have in my library of the campus, and the events we have gone to....  but she wanted more information.  So we headed for the big computer.  I just put her at my desk and let her do her own research.  Who knew she was just naturally drawn to the color orange?  I sure didn't.

We spent quite a lot of time researching and planning for the day those choices will have to be made.  But we also checked out some sweet pre-school options in her area, and we found a phenomenal gymnastics instructor.  I convinced her to go ahead and put her name on the waiting lists.  You know how early all that has to be done.  Crazy!

We had a fabulous day reading books, going on a nature walk, ran a couple of errands, enjoyed a good lunch and 3 snacks.

She was so easy and flexible!  I can't wait to get my hands on her again sometime soon!  Such a little dumplin! 

Believe it or not --

I happen to have more photos of the University that might be helpful for Bon as she becomes more familiar with E's new surroundings.

Like, for instance, this could be the view from his dorm room....  it really could!

And here is our basketball coach, his name is Travis Ford.  We think we like him.  We don't agree with all of his antics, but to my knowledge, no chairs have flown. 

And the lesson here, is that you want to be sitting behind this particular goal at the end of the game, because, win or lose, the players come back and jump into the stands with the students, and they all join in singing (and they put arms on shoulders of the strangers and friends all around them) the Alma Mater, which luckily -- E learned at Camp Cowboy.  So he is good to go!

So that is what is going on in that picture.  There are at least 3 players in this picture.  The kids love this!

And then you know, we will always be there for you!  This is only part of our Stillwater contingent.  We have many others and you know many yourself!  I think it is going to be a great fit, E!

Bring your orange!!!  You are going to need it!

A few more local landmarks....

Still sharing compassion and concern for my friend who is going to soon send her firstborn off to the university.  I figured I could at least help her become familiar with some of the local landmarks.

Okay, Bon, Eskimo Joe's -- don't miss the cheese fries.  And remember, potatoes are a vegetable.

The World Headquarters..... celebrating their 35th Anniversary next week, while we go on that trip to distract you.

And this is Hall of Fame...  it is the street right in front of your boy's dorm!  Definitely the place to be on game day!!!!

The Barn is on the strip.  Seriously, they have the best cokes.  Just sayin.

I'm here for ya!

Helping a Friend

We have a friend who will be sending her firstborn off to college in less than a month.  She is....  It is gonna be....  Oh. My.  It isn't easy.  I think she knows.  She told us that Jesus was coming back and her son really wasn't going to have to graduate.  Oops.  And he isn't going around the corner to school, it is a good day's drive away from home.  She will be fine.  It sounds awful, and the dread is the worst part, but she can do it.  And we are here to help! 

She needs to know some things about the fine educational institution to which her son will be matriculating.  I think she might have visited there once.  Or twice.  So there is much to be learned.... like where her son will be living.  Right here.  Bennett Hall, one of the finest in the nation.

I mean -- if you are going to have to go and live in a dormitory, wouldn't you want it to be a traditional, nicely landscaped one?  It is going to be a nice backdrop for his studies.  I have heard that lots of studying gets accomplished there. 

There are all kinds of things that he has already been able to teach his parents about his new school.  Like the fight song, and some of the motions to go with it and other chants -- and then there are the little bits of history and famous alums.  He is excited about it, and I think that is what she has going for her.  You know, if he is pleased with how things go, it will make it easier for her, no doubt. 

I am doing my part to try and distract her from this impending separation.  My plan is to get her out of town for a few days.  Maybe with some friends....  Maybe to an undisclosed island location.....