Show Us Your Life Friday - Show Us Your Hometown....Tulsa, Oklahoma

I live in a small town now and it's a suburb of my hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Tulsa is one of the prettiest cities around.  People that have never been to Oklahoma think it's going to be all flat plains and are usually surprised to see tons of green trees and hills.  I grew up in those hills in South Tulsa.  It was an ideallic childhood and the perfect place to live.

Tulsa just built a brand new baseball park for our minor league team the Tulsa Drillers.  It's right in the middle of downtown near our new arena, the BOK Center.  My husband works in one of the skyscrapers in downtown Tulsa, which means he gets to sit on the 28th floor and watch the daytime baseball games.  Lucky guy!!!

Great view of downtown Tulsa from the ballfield

BOK Center - the spot for all the great concerts...we recently saw the Black-Eyed Peas and Ludacris there.  It was the best concert ever!

Tulsa also has some great neighborhoods.  The older neighborhoods have so much charm and character.  This house is in the Brookside area.

This house below is in an area called golf ball hill. It's called that because on top of the hill there is a huge white water tower that looks exactly like a golf ball.  The area is so hilly that I was terrified to drive my Jeep I had as a teenager there.  It was a standard and I was scared I would roll down the hill.  I made my friend Kevin drive all the time.  I was such a chicken!!!

 It's about two miles from Oral Roberts University and where a lot of the top administrators of ORU lived when I was a kid.  The houses are built among the trees and some would be considered modern architecture, some very similar to the architecture of Oral Roberts. 

This house is in Maple Ridge, an area with more traditional houses.  It's a gorgeous area and people work very hard to keep it that way.  Many of the Designer Showcase homes are in this neighborhood.

We have a huge 60 or 70 foot Golden Driller statue at Expo Square, one of the spots where tons of conventions and craft fairs, also home and garden shows are held.  This area is known as the Fairgrounds area.  You do not want to try to drive around this area during State Fair time.  It's a busy, busy place!

Since Oklahoma is an oil state, I think we are the only place with a huge oilman.  They even dress him up sometimes.  I think a local radio station even put one of their t-shirts on him last year. HA! 

I actually grew up very near Oral Roberts University, the private Christian college that the Roberts family built.  Twenty years ago, when I was in high school, it was a very successful college.  They even had the City of Faith hospital across the street from the college.  They had a medical school and it was considered one of the top colleges in the nation.  They closed the hospital in the early 90's and it's now an office building.  The family has recently come under scrutiny for some financial dealings and the owner of Hobby Lobby donated close to 100 million dollars to save the college.  I think he is now the President of the University. 

When I was a kid, the Roberts were a family that drew a lot of curiosity.  They had a family compound of houses near the university and we would drive by as teenagers, trying to see where they lived.  It would have been very sad to see this college close, since it is such a large part of Tulsa history.

The praying hands are at the entrance to Oral Roberts University. People from all over the world come to take pictures in front of this landmark.

One of the most beautiful places in Tulsa is Southern Hills Country Club.  It's where the PGA Golf Championships have been held and is the club with the most elite membership in Tulsa.  This is "old money" Tulsa, as people in town would say.  A lot of oil families belong to this private country club.  Tulsa is full of multi-generational families that made their fortunes in the oil business.

I was on my high school golf team and would volunteer every year at the Fore Tulsa golf tournament at Southern Hills.  I was the name placket carrier and loved every second of it.  First of all, because I was able to walk a historic golf course, and second, because I was able to meet tons of famous golfers.  That was heaven to me!!!  (This is BT people....as in Before Tiger time)  This is a very old money type of golf course.  I can only imagine what the older male members think when people yell after Tiger tees off,

"It's in the hole!" 

It makes me cringe.  I can't imagine what the 80 and 90 year olds think!!! HA!

And, for the record, I'm completely ashamed of Tiger Woods and not a fan anymore.  He makes me sick. (Just had to put that disclaimer in.)

The best place to walk around and window shop in Tulsa is Utica Square, an outdoor shopping center with the best stores, Banana Republic, Saks Fifth Avenue, Coach, Miss Jacksons and restaurants with outdoor seating when the weather is nice. 

Utica Square is also one of the premier places to live in Tulsa.  Many, many mansions were built in this area.  Roy Clark has a mansion just a few miles from the shopping center. 

This is a new building in the Utica Square area.  I think it's luxury apartments and an office building.  It's really pretty in person.

The only downfall of growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma is tornado season.  This is a picture of what happens when a tornado (this one from 3 weeks ago) hits a convenience store.  Scary stuff.

I have never personally been in an actual tornado (I'm knocking on wood right now).

20 Year High School Reunion

Why am I dreading my 20 year high school reunion so much? I mean, it's the same people that I see on Facebook all the time.  I think it's because I'm not the perfect size 6 or 7 that I once was.  I actually have the figure of a 38 year old mother.  Wait....I don't want the figure of a 38 year old mom. 

Since December 1, I've gone to a diet doctor that would give me shots of a hormone called HCG twice a week.  It was supposed to make the inches just melt off of my abdomin and hips.  I lost 10 pounds by January 1st but have gained and lost the exact same 4 pounds every week since then.  I started out eating a 1,200 calorie a day diet.  I was going nowhere with the weight loss.  Then I switched to Weight Watchers and have forgotten to log my food into the website for the past 2 weeks.  I've walked on the treadmill and walked around the block.  I've even tried jogging down the nature trail near our house. 

Nothing.

Except a rash on my ring finger making it almost impossible to wear my wedding ring and my face breaking out like crazy from the hormones.  Needless to say, I stopped taking that shot.  It caused much misery.

I think the pressure to look good comes from the fact that I went to a relatively wealthy school district.  I mean, I live in a small town now and the women I graduated with are actually having botox parties.  I'm not sure I even know anyone that lives near me that gets Botox or even cares to get Botox.  A lot of the boys friends have parents that are just glad to have jobs.  One of the girls that will be at the reunion is going to Dallas to get her outfits for the reunion, so that no one will have her same outfits on.  Are you kidding me??? 

I've wasted so much time wondering what to wear, how to do my hair, what would make me look the skinniest, what people will think of me, will they think I'm fat and ugly now?  I know those are really silly things to worry about during the times we are going through in the world, but darnit, those are the thoughts I can't get out of my head.  My high school best friend is a marathon runner who just completed the Boston Marathon and my other high school best friend has 5 kids and just told me that she's gained 20 pounds since high school.  Ummmm.....I would do anything if 20 pounds was all I had to lose.

I guess I'm just going to be thankful that I've got beautiful children and an awesome husband.  I'm going to be proud that I did something against the norm and chose to live in a small town where I feel safe and your neighbors know who you are and who you're related to - good or bad. And...I'm going to enjoy visiting with best friends that I haven't seen in 10 years.  Ten years is too long to go without seeing someone you spent many, many memorable moments with during high school.   Ok-now I'm talking myself into getting excited!

 

Wicked Weather

Yesterday Oklahoma was hit by some of the worst tornadoes we've seen in the past 5 years. We'd been warned all weekend that it would be a bad day for storms but I really didn't think that 5 people would lose their lives. It started suddenly at about 5pm during rush hour in Oklahoma City, then continued going east towards Arkansas.  I feel so sorry for the people that had to endure this tornado because this is the same area that was close to being hit by the Oklahoma City tornado of 1999.  I heard on the news that some of the injured people were saying they couldn't go through this again. So sad.

We didn't get any bad storms over our area. I'm so thankful for that.  I get really nervous about tornados but I also think they are so interesting.  I took Meteorology in college thinking that would be a fun and interesting class.  Ugh-it was so hard.  I think I got by with a high C.  Not my finest moment in college.  
The worst part was that a girl on the bus with the boys told them a tornado was coming so they were freaking out when they got home.  I had to pull up the radar on the computer to show them that we were ok.  Kids think it's so funny to try to scare their friends.

Other random notes about what's going on in our lives:

-This weather is driving the dogs nuts. They have all kinds of nervous energy. 
 wish they would do more of this.

-Soccer has ended for the season.  T-man's team is tied for first place in U12.  I'm so proud of how far they've come this season.  It's so exciting to watch them work together to make goals.  The boys are learning to be aggressive and push back when the other team is applying pressure on them.  I have to admit, the aggressive competitor in me loves that!

 

-On that note, why didn't my parents push me to play more sports in school??? I have such an aggressive little girl in me that would have been super competitive if my stupid shyness hadn't gotten in the way. That is one of the great tragedies of my life.  Shyness destroyed many opportunities for me.  If I had only conquered that early on in life.  I'm super outgoing now but deep down inside, I still suffer greatly from shyness and low self-esteem.

-We're looking at soccer camps for the boys to attend this summer.  The local university has a camp that they can attend in June.  We might go with a friend from town.  Hopefully his Mom and I can coordinate car-pooling, which would make it so much easier.

-H-man got a notice at school that his reading score on his Dibels test was at the level that requires him to attend a summer reading academy. Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!!  I was freaking out about it until I called the principal and he explained that H-man only missed the cut-off by one point. Since his score was so high, we can buy a program at the bookstore to work on at home.  So.....no summer school.  Whew!

-I am so busy at work.  They are starting projects faster than I can get the paperwork done.  But, I've found out something.  I love busy paperwork.  I much prefer being the background person who works on all of the paperwork.  People find that stunning since they think I would be the outgoing person that wants to sell or speak to large groups.  No way!

-I am loving the Real Housewives of New Jersey!!! Teresa is my hero.  I'm buying her new cookbook, Skinny Italian.  Can't wait to try her recipes.

-My Aunt Gail and Uncle Sherrod are coming to Oklahoma City to see the college softball championships in late May.  We're going to go pick them up and hopefully my Mom and her sister can go shopping and have a lot of hanging out time.  That would be so good for my Mom.  I can't wait for the boys to see them, and for them to see how big the boys have gotten.

-The boys and I have been miserable with allergies and sinus junk.  How long can this stuff go on??? I've complained so much on Facebook that one of my high school friends actually emailed me to ask if I was pregnant.  HA! Now that's funny scary!

We made it 2 days without a yellow card

Small Fry had been warned by his oh so strict third grade teacher that he had one more yellow card during his last week of April before he got Saturday school.  Saturday school is when they punish the parents and make the kids come in on Saturday morning from 8 until noon.  I wrote a huge note to the teacher and told her that we had definite plans that couldn't be cancelled if he got Saturday school.  I then begged Small Fry to just sit in class and not talk to anyone unless he set foot on the playground.  PLEASE do not get a yellow card!!!! I was desperate!  I just wanted him to get through April because they start from scratch at the beginning of each month.  Four yellow cards in a month equal Saturday school-ugh!

Well...he made it through the end of April and I was so proud!  He said he just sat in class and didn't talk to anyone.  YAY! That's what I had wanted!

I've been so sick lately that I forgot to remind him to be super good-we only have about 20 days of school left.  Well....what do you know.....he came home today with a stinkin' yellow card.  It never ends!  He said he was trying to help her move an eraser off of the projector that he thought she wanted off and she told him to switch his card to yellow.  He just thought he was being helpful.  So confusing for a child. 

The other day I was talking to a friend from another school district and she said they aren't supposed to give yellow and red cards anymore. It's considered aggressive discipline or something like that.  I'm gonna have to investigate that one!

Speaking of school, my wonderfully civic hubby went to the 8th grade center this morning to present the Teacher of Today and Student of Today award to a few lucky individuals.  It's presented by the local Masonic Lodge and since my hubby is a good Mason, he volunteered to do it.  Cute!!!  He even called me afterward to tell me he did a good job.  I think he was proud of himself.

Totally off subject-loooooved the Real Housewives of New Jersey.  I was asleep at 9pm last night and my hubby came in the bedroom and woke me up to watch it.  He knew how important it was for me to see it...and it didn't disappoint.  I love those women!!! I think I'm a little Teresa mixed with a little Caroline.  Teresa is hilarious!  I loved watching them make "the sauce".  I guess an Oklahoma family would sit around breaded cube steak for chicken fried steak or something like that.  Maybe peeling potatoes for fried potatoes.  I wish I was born into an Italian family-the food is soooo much better!

Stinky Sinuses

UGH! That's all I have to say for today.  I was up all night last night because I couldn't breathe.  My sinuses started bugging me about three days ago and I hoped they would just quietly stop hurting.  No...such...luck!
Sunday morning, I woke up at 6:30 and my throat hurt so bad I just went into the living room and looked through Facebook.  I did a little housecleaning on Facebook.  If I hadn't directly talked to someone in the last 6 months, I defriended them.  Nothing personal, just too many random people to keep up with and it was knocking my true friends and relatives off of the status update.  FB really is a great tool for keeping up with relatives that live far away.

I slept pretty much the rest of the day Sunday but at around 1pm decided to take a shower and flat iron my hair so I wouldn't have to worry about it on Monday morning.

Well......

As I was flat ironing my hair, I dropped my beloved CHI straightener and it BROKE!  NOOOOOOO!

Even with the worst headache on earth, we all piled in the car and went to buy me a new one.  Without that CHI, I would have a ton of curly hair and I really don't feel comfortable with my curly hair. 

This morning, I felt even more horrible so I texted my Boss and told him I was staying home.  I've slept most of the day, with body chills and feeling like I have a 105 degree fever.  I had to ask my Mom to come get the boys for soccer practice and soccer pictures.  That always makes me feel so bad but I just couldn't do it today.  Hopefully, I'll feel better soon.  I can't handle the sinus headache much longer.

Soggy Saturday

This morning we woke up to pouring rain and two scheduled soccer games, both out of town.  I hoped and prayed for the text messages saying that they'd been cancelled but no such luck.  Mr. H and I split up the duties and I took Tater Tot to his game, which was about thirty minutes away.  I grabbed my standard baseball cap and threw my hair in a ponytail so I could avoid the inevitable mess of crazy, curly hair that results on rainy days.  T-man was super excited to play in the rain and mud because it means more sliding and falling in the muck the entire game.  Boys love the dirt...especially 11 year old boys that play very rough!

T-man did a great job in the game, as did all of his teammates.  We ended up the game with a win - 9-6.  His team is really starting to work together and pull off some great passing plays.  It makes me so proud to see them do such a great job!  My sweetie scored two of the goals too!

After the game was over, it started raining really hard so we decided to go into town and look around the mall.  T-man wanted a new pair of running shoes since his foot seems to be growing a size a month. HA!  He now wears a 7, which is close to my size.  He's already 5' tall at 11 years old.  He's going to be bigger than me before I know it!  The big decision today was whether to get him slip-on Vans or more running type shoes.  I personally don't really like Vans so I was pushing hard for the running shoes.  Anything resembling the skater boy look scares me to death.  That's a total stereotype but I figure that's my Mom perogative.  I let T-man look for himself though.  After he looked at the Vans, he decided the Under Armor running shoes were his favorite and I was super happy because they were actually cheaper.  You have to love that!

We went into one of the kids shoe shops and I was stunned to see a ton of Ralph Lauren Polo tennis shoes.  Just...like...the...80's!!! Please, please, please let preppy come back!!!  I had to have a pair of white canvas with navy and I bought a cute pair of plaid canvas shoes for Small Fry. I wanted to surprise him!

We also had to stop into Abercrombie because they have the cutest t-shirts!  T-man got one with an Indian Chief on the front-he loves that because Mr. H is Indian and T thinks he acts like an Indian Chief sometimes. Tee-hee!

He also had to have this Bulldog shirt since that's the schools mascot.

The cutest thing about the entire shopping trip was when we bought T some Aviator sunglasses in one of the kids shoe shops.  They were Vans sunglasses and he thought he was so cool that he'd check himself out in every mirror in every store we walked into.  That's right-he wore his new sunglasses inside....he's cool like that!  Maybe that self-esteem that I always try to instill in my boys has backfired on me! HA!

I heard from a co-worker yesterday that Hobby Lobby was having some great sales so we headed there next.  I scored some great stuff!

A glass beverage server that I'd been eyeing forever-50% off!

A new outdoor rug for the back porch

A few things to hang on T-man's wall collage that I can never seem to finish-ugh

We finally made it home after a great afternoon of spending some nice mother-son time together and Mr. H and Small Fry had spotted the ice cream man in our neighborhood.  They had saved us both an ice cream sandwich in the freezer.  You can't find a better end to a relaxing afternoon than that!

My baby turns 9

Today is the 9th birthday of someone that means the world to me-my baby H-man aka Small Fry. This adorable, blondie is the exact replica of my Daddy - charming, ornery, easy-going, carefree, funny, clever, happy and a Momma's boy.  Everytime I see his charming smile, I wonder how on earth I was able to create such a beautiful little golden haired tooter.  And...if you know me, you know that I mean Tooter in the best way possible.  In the South, he's what we call a "mess"!

He's shy but gregarious. independent but very much a Momma's little guy, mouthy to his brother but adoring in every way towards him and caring but carefree.  This little guy loves fishing, playing football, soccer, basketball..well, pretty much every sport.  He loves the Atlanta Braves because his cousin plays minor league ball for the Mississippi Braves, which to him means he's the greatest pro athlete ever to grace the earth!  He loves going to OU football games and looking for Boomer and Sooner, the real horses and the mascots, but especially his favorite players.  He still rubs my upper arm, which has always been his "pinchy" since he was a breastfeeding baby.  His favorite thing to do when he sees his dog Allie is to feel of her big ol' jowls that hang down - he will sit and feel her jowls forever and that dog won't move an inch.  He completely got the "feeling" things from me.  I still love to squeeze my favorite pillow when I sit on the bed-I have no idea why! HA!  I have to remind him at bedtime not to hug Allie too tight when she sleeps with him.  He will completely cover her with his arms and legs while going to sleep-he adores her and his Beagle Baylee!  He's the kid that always cares that others are being treated fairly and nicely - he was super upset that the teacher this year gave a boy in his class a warning card for behavior on the boy's birthday.  He also is the snacker in the family-which reminds me of his Uncle Keith! I actually have to hide the candy and sweets or he would eat them non-stop throughout the day.  He sneaks the gum out of my purse and I go in his room to retrieve it almost weekly.  Little toot-see what I'm talking about?!  Every night when he goes to bed, he still wants me right there to tuck him in and give him a big kiss and hug.  He'll ask for another hug if the first one wasn't tight enough!  I loooove that!  When he gets dressed in the morning, he sometimes doesn't match at all and he doesn't care...it's just clothes.  I found a pair of shoes in his closet the other day that I bought 3 months ago and he had never worn.  Instead, he had taken the shoelaces out of the new blue Vans to put in his old soccer cleats because they needed new laces. He had forgotten that he had brand new shoes to wear.  He'll sit in the backseat of the car and work diligently texting someone and when I look on the phone, he's just been typing in random letters so his brother will think he has a lot of people to text on his phone too.  He'll walk around all day with food stains or Crystal Light stains on his face and it doesn't bother him one bit-silly guy! 

But most of all, this is the baby that saved me.  He was 8 months old when his Dad and I got divorced.  He was barely more than a newborn when it became a house with just us and his 36 month old big brother.  He was the reason I knew I had to get up every morning and keep going.  He was the reason I got up with a smile on my face and took on the world as a confident, positive, happy single mom.  This little baby was going to have a terrific life and I was going to make sure of it.  He still deserved a wonderful infancy and toddlerhood filled with love, happiness and positive people.  His brother was the reason too but my baby never had a chance to know what a family with a Daddy at home was like.  In fact, he acts like it never affected him.  He still thinks everyone has two Christmas's and two houses with extra Grandparents.  When we moved in with my parents, this little 1 year old sweetie would get up early every morning and run into his Dan-Dan (Grandpa) and sit in his lap, begging for a sip of his black coffee.  They would sit for an hour or more before waking any of us up.  That was their time and I'm so thankful for it since he only had his Grandpa till he was 3.  

This is also the little angel who at 3, one night after my Dad (Dan-Dan) was killed in a car accident, told me that he saw Dan-Dan after the policemen came to our house and Nana and I cried real hard (which was the police telling us about the accident).  He told me that his Dan-Dan had come into the room he was watching TV in and helped him change the channel and sat and watched cartoons with him, then walked down the hall to make sure Nana and I were ok.  He was barely 3 and I truely believe that happened with all my heart because of their relationship.  A 3 year old can't make something like that up.  It was the most comforting thought in the world told to me by a toddler.  I'll never forget that conversation and I will always treasure the gift he gave me by telling me.

At IHOP-where he wanted to have his birthday dinner!  He loves IHOP!

Checking out his soccer cake with his cousin Joshua

Reading birthday cards and looking for money like a typical 9 year old

Opening presents - he got the ITouch he had been wanting so bad thanks to his Nana

His big brother with his Nana Jack and Grandpa Arch (His Dad's parents)

Goofing around with his cousin and big bubba

Nana and Momma - so proud of what a big boy he's become

He loves his Grandparents!  He had all of them at one table! That makes for a happy little guy!

Blowing out the candles!

I love that he still gets embarrassed when we sing Happy Birthday to him!  He's done that since he was a baby!!!  Silly boy!

This is what your teeth look like when you eat a ton of blue icing-he thought it was hilarious!

This is what you feel like when you eat too much blue icing-ugh.

 This is the original "team" - I've always told my boys...as long as the three of us have each other, everything was going to be fine.  But, luckily that changed 6 years ago when we met Mr. H to.....as long as we have each other and Mr. H, who they love to call Dad now that we all got married last summer, everything will be just fine.

Because...now we're a complete team!

Happy Birthday Baby!!! 

Your Mommy, Daddy and Big Bubba love you more than you will ever know!!!

White Boxer Allie loves the wind in her hair

Our precious puppy Allie loves to go on car rides.  When I pull into the garage everyday, she comes out with the kids to greet me and jumps onto my lap trying to get in for a ride.

She's kind of spoiled....just like we like her!

TheRHOK's

MckLinky Monday

~April 19, 1995~

Where were you?

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Alfred Murrah Bldg. bombing in downtown Oklahoma City.  The bombing happened at 9:02 am.  At that moment in time, I thought that nothing on earth would happen that could possibly be any worse than that moment in time. 

The morning of the bombing, I was sitting in my office at an aerial photography and mapping firm in Tulsa near the airport.  It was my first job and I'd only been there for a little over a year.  I was 23 years old and had been married for less than a month.  

I remember my boss, Lyn, calling into my office and asking me to try to call ODOT (Oklahoma Department of Transportation) and get a hold of the man he was talking to on the phone when the phone hung up.  He had been talking with Bob Myers, our ODOT contract person and they heard something loud like an explosion in the background of the call.  Lyn said that Bob Myers had commented that he thought maybe a boiler had exploded in the basement of the ODOT building.  Then the line went dead.  We tried and tried but the call wouldn't go through again.  A few minutes later, our accountant in the office, Tricia, called over the speakerphone and told me that there was an explosion in Oklahoma City.  I honestly thought it was an oil refinery explosion, since we are in Oklahoma and that's the most common explosion we hear about in oil and gas country.

We barely had the internet back in 1995 so we couldn't go to CNN.com or any other news sites.  We just kept working and wondering what was going on.  A little after lunchtime, my sister called from Atlanta and told me not to watch the coverage of the explosion until I got home.  She said it was really bad and an entire office building had exploded.  I remember thinking to myself that it must have been a natural gas explosion.  It's amazing in the days of Facebook, Twitter and 24 hour news coverage that we still didn't know the magnitude of the situation and kept working like normal for the rest of the day.  I do remember that our phone lines were quiet that day and we just figured that it was a slow workday. I think that might be the reason why I was so stunned when I got home and turned on the news.  I had no idea that it was that horrific.  My husband was at one of his last college classes that night and I was so upset, I wanted him to come home. I didn't want to be alone.  

I never would have thought that someone would purposely bomb a building.  And, in Oklahoma.  We're the heartland of the country. I always felt lucky that I lived in a place that never had anything scary or frightening happen.  This was absolutely unbelieveable. 

I didn't have children then, but now that I do and know what a Momma Lion I am....it would have hit me so hard that day.  Back then, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a child like the mothers who had left their children in the daycare on the bottom floor of that building. It was unimaginable then and even more so now that I'm a Mother.

I did find out later that my cousin who is a counselor at a school in Oklahoma City counseled the boyfriend of one of the victims. He was the boyfriend of the girl who had to have a leg amputated in the rubble in order to get free.  Her leg was crushed and the only way to get out was to amputate it right there on the spot.  Horrific. Well, my cousin counseled the young man for a long time because he had pressured his girlfriend to go to the Social Security office in the Murrah Building to get a social security card for their young daughter.  Can you even imagine the guilt he felt? 

That day forever changed Oklahoma.  Most people in Tulsa knew someone, somehow who was affected by the tragedy.  My family has several OKC firefighters that worked for weeks on end to help in the recovery effort.  I knew several people who went down to the site to help. It was the topic of discussion everyday at work for a long time. 

I have to admit that I was leary of being in a large office building, especially a government office building, for a long time after that day. 

It's so hard to fathom that those young babies in the daycare that day would be 15, 16, 17 years old.  Teenagers. They never even got the chance to live a full life.  The great things those babies could have accomplished.  Even 15 years later, it makes me so sad. 

May God be with their families on this sorrowful anniversary. 

And to imagine that six short years later, an even more horrific tragedy would occur.  I never would have believed what the future had in store for 2001.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

The weather has been so nice lately that I couldn't resist buying flowers for the flowerbeds.  I recently scored two urns from Big Lots for only $40.  They are the heavy, large urns that look beautiful on the front porch.  They were a brownish color so I brought them home and used the old standby, black spraypaint, to make them look a little more elegant. 

Lowe's had Boston Ferns on sale so I bought those to put into the urns.  I also bought a swallow fern for a pot on the seating area of the porch.  I think it will look nice next to my favorite peace lily. 

I also found a ton of beautiful purple flowers, pentas, petunias and some others that just looked good.  I'm not even sure I looked at the names-ha!

I also bought two hanging baskets since we have a ton of shephard's hooks leftover from our wedding last summer.  The shephard's hooks might be my solution to having flowers in the backyard without being destroyed by a white boxer named Allie.  I planted three bushes last summer and she promptly dug them up and ate them.  Zero evidence left.  Dogs....sometimes you just have to wonder about them!

We have two soccer games tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be just perfect with a high of 77-I love it!  I bought a red shirt to wear with my Soccer Mom pendant necklace that I made.  Both boys are on teams with the color red.....makes it a little easier on me!

In other exciting news, I'm down 3.8 pounds for the week since signing up for Weightwatchers.  I even feel better.  I did splurge today and meet my friend Jennifer out for Mexican food, but I order the chicken and grilled shrimp with grilled veggies.  It couldn't have been as bad as some of the other stuff on the menu.  Hopefully I can keep myself on track this weekend and stick to the plan, all while chugging tons of water.

I'll post pics of my newly planted flowers tomorrow.

The best week!

Guess who went to see the Black-Eyed Peas in concert?

That would be yours truly, Hautemama! 

It was the best concert I've ever seen.  And...that's coming from a girl who was an 80's concert-going fool.  I've seen lots of great concerts, but never a concert that didn't have one boring moment. Not one.

BEP must have spent 10 million dollars on their clothing and sets. 

And....I so want to be Fergie when I grow up!  That woman is phenomenal looking.  She has the best body.  She even inspired me to get on the treadmill two nights in a row.  She looked that good.

Will.i.am does a solo in the middle of the concert and he does a club DJ set.  It was awesome! It reminded me of the reason I originally wanted to be a radio DJ.  I adore dance mixes.  Music has always been so important to me!

           

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmPGpfBbnA

Here's Fergie and I together in a pic-HA!

Completely random, but really cute pics below:

This is one special puppy!  How bad is it that we put out comfy blankets for her to sleep on.  Hey-it's better than dog hair on my chair.

My friend Nancy gave this adorable frame to Mr. Hautemama.  She knows how he feels about his puppy!

Thought I would share the rock that Small Fry gave me to carry in my purse all the time.  It's just a reminder that he loves me.....that kid just melts my heart!

Spent one evening with good ol' Modge Podge and some cute black and white toile paper

Popped into Dollar General by my office looking for cheap flowerpots and came out with this cute $8 purse...I've gotten compliments everyday so far

Remembered I bought a lazy susan serving thingie at IKEA and never used it. 

Then remembered I had cute striped scrapbook paper and leftover Modge Podge

Now I have a cuter lazy susan serving thingie with stripes! And...I know it's not perfect but I didn't have a ton of time...it looks good in person.

Had a Pier One Imports frame that was a wedding gift and wanted to hang it up but didn't have the right sized pictures, so I framed cute scrapbook paper...voila!

So far....this has been one productive week!  I love weeks like this because I feel like I'm on the ball.  These weeks are pretty rare so I'm enjoying them when they happen!

We even had everyone in the family over for Easter and it was a ton of fun....I'm posting pics tomorrow.

Weight Watchers - my old friend

I signed up for Weight Watchers again last week.  I had some success with it in the past and thought I would try it again.  I hate to admit it, but I've been going to a diet doctor that gives out HCG shots.  The HCG is in essence, a pregnancy hormone that tricks your body into burning the fat around your middle section before burning muscle.  I've lost 15 pounds and 4 inches off my hips but was at a complete stand-still.  I started thinking it was probably because I've now messed up my metabolism and I'm not eating enough.  Since counting points, I'm down another three pounds. I'm trying to stay away from all of the processed foods like fat free crackers.  That just makes me feel like I'm eating fake food.  For me, it's a lot of salads and sauteed veggies with lean meat.  I guess it would also be an eating plan similar to the South Beach but not high in fat at all.

I do feel better and I've even had the energy to walk on the treadmill at night.  I've learned to borrow Tater Tot's ITouch and listen to it.  He made a running playlist (Ha-running, more like walking!) and it has a ton of high energy songs like the new Black-Eyed Peas song Rock That Body (BEST SONG EVER!)  Hip-hop music is near and dear to my heart, so it's a good way to get me off of my booty and exercising.  In college, I worked at a radio station and really wanted to be a DJ at a cool station in Atlanta.  Then, I found out how much beginning DJ's make and decided that I'd rather go into PR!

The other night I danced around the living room with the boys and gave myself 1 activity point on my Points Tracker.  I was almost out of breath by the time we quit boogying.  I figure, if you can get your little guys to dance with you, make a total fool of yourself and get out there and show 'em your moves!!!!

The funny thing is.....my boys think it's totally normal for me to dance and sing to them!  HA!

Monday....Monday

I worked on my menu planning last night after finishing my freezer and pantry inventory for March.  I'm a little late to be working on the lists but it's been a crazy, busy month so far.

Here's our menu for this week (including 3 days of soccer practice until 6:45)

Monday:  Poorman's Dinner - fried potatoes with onions and hotdogs -all cooked together in a pile of        yummy goodness (don't judge, I have a house full of boys)

Tuesday:  Lemon Chicken and Spinach Salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Wednesday:  Pancakes

Thursday:  Crockpot dinner - German turnip delight (turnip, potato, onion and smoked sausage cooked together like a stew)

Friday:  Salmon Patties with hushpuppies and pea salad

Saturday:  Date night with Mr. Hautemama

Sunday:  Pork Roast stuffed with Louisianne peppers and whole garlic cloves, cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli

We'll use the pork roast leftovers for pork carnitas - soooo good!

Speaking of food, I've recently discovered the best low-fat snack evah!  It's Quaker True Delights Multigrain Fiber Crisps, Blackberry Pomegranate flavor.  I tried to find a picture on the internets, but no such luck.  You can eat 13 pieces of these delectable treats for 110 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber.  That's 2 weight watchers points.  These rice cake crisps are sweet and crunchy without the fake sweetener after-taste that low-fat snacks can sometimes have.  I had to be careful to not eat the entire bag.  They...were....that....goooood!  That's my new go-to snack at night.  I'm a night snacker, I confess.

On to my other favorite subject.......TV!  I'm a total Bravo fanatic!  I've recently been watching Kell on Earth.  She's the lady that runs People's Revolution (the clothing, fashion, pr type company) that acted like a crazy boss on the Hills.  Lauren and Whitney worked for her in LA, then Whitney moved to NYC to work there.  Kelly Catrone is a crazy, confident woman who tells it like it is.....she's blunt and so real.  That's the draw.  I tend to be pretty real, what you see is what you get.  Just not as real as she is in the show.  She borders on brutal.

I can't wait for the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion show.  I'm really not digging Alexis and Jim, the new couple on the show this season.  Jim = slimy, controlling and white trash.  Enough said.  Vicki is a whiner and I don't feel sorry for Tamra. She needs to act more like a Mom and not a party girl.  The reunion should be good!

We have parent-teacher conferences at the boys school tomorrow.  I'm slightly nervous to talk to Small Fry's 3rd grade teacher.  I call her "the Nazi" at home.  My poor child tries so hard to not get a yellow or red card.  Sadly, he gets the ol' warning card at least once a week.  I told Small Fry just to try to cruise through until summer. Next year will be a better year!  Tater Tot went to the middle school to tour his school that he'll be going to next year and his teacher told him he would be in advanced Math next year.  That's a ton of work but I love it for him!  I'm so proud of both of my boys.  They are the best and smartest little guys in the world!