30 days, 30 posts!

I did it!
I finished NaBlPoMo, woooo hoooo!
I blogged 30 days in a row, during a Holiday, football season, school projects, and road trips. They weren’t all quality posts, but they were posts all the same. I will probably do it differently next year (did I just say that?!) It was kind of fun so I’ll probably do it again. Even though I listened to Garrett say “you have time to blog, but you don’t have time for me” a few times. He’s sooo needy. (:
Thanks for baring with me, while I posted 30 days in a row….

almost over.

As my first semester back in school comes to a close, I am super, super busy.

Sometimes managing my time is tough.

There is no doubt some people are feeling neglected…

Hate to be the one to break it to you guys but it’s only going to get worse from here…

I wish every weekend started on wednesday…

What a great holiday weekend we had around here. Thanksgiving was wonderful (as always) hopefully I’ll have pictures posted soon! The dishes I decided to make were gobbled up and everyone told me they loved my (my favorite).

Friday I headed out to a store or two and decided that saving a few dollars was hardly worth navigating through all those people! Then I headed down to Norman for dinner (which wasn’t very good) at a new place Lemon Grass. Then it was a movie (that also wasn’t very good and got turned off quickly) and a little bit of homework.

Saturday morning I was amazed that I had another day without having to go to work! G played games while I worked on homework and then we headed to brunch at La Baguette (our fave!) After that it was football and more homework. Followed by the breaking of a curse….I watched a game with Garrett and his parents and we WON! (first time that’s ever, ever happened and that dates way back) Obviously we won the football game and I was giddy!

This morning I met Scott (who was driving through OKC) for breakfast, we had some good chatting time, it was good to see him. Then I spent a few hours at the library, more homework at G’s parents, followed by Charleston’s (yummy) and a movie (Red) it was kind of silly (and not in a good way).

Now I’m home and snuggled in bed with the Kuddlebug, I am sooo ready to get these next two days out of the way. I have big projects due both tomorrow and Tuesday…but it should be smooth sailing after that.

Also, I told Meg from Life of Meg that I posted about the swap she is doing…but I didn’t! and so then I felt like I lied to her, add that to the fact that my Sooners beat her cowboys and I was feeling a little guilty (about the lying only though).  To make Meg feel better about her team’s loss, head on over to her blog and sign up for her Mitten Mixer Swap! and PLUS it’s going to be a ton of fun, so do it!

Boomer Sooner!

I cannot believe it.

I went into tonight’s game with only a small ounce of hope.

15% seemed like a fair chance.

I thought for sure all dreams of my Sooners playing in the final Big XII Championship game were gone.

I was ready to congratulate those other fans.

All before we even kicked off.

When it was time for the game to start I thought I was going to be sick.

BUT….

{via}

We scored first.

Maybe I was wrong.

It sure was a crazy game.

One where I could hardly watch.

The kind where I couldn’t help but hold my breath.

The kind of football you want to watch when you don’t care who wins the game.

I probably didn’t have enough confidence.

BUT…

{via}

Our team had enough confidence.

They played their hearts out.

Even when things weren’t going our way.

Through mistakes.

and missed calls.

Our team held it together.

They played through the craziest 4th quarter

But….

{via}

They never let us down!

They never gave up.

Not the Coaches.

Nor the players.

They held it together.

They did it on the road!

They WON!

For the EIGHTH time in a row!!!

today was a laid back leftover kind of day. i decided not to brave the stores.

We are so…

 

full of…

food

fun

family festivities

football

fellowship

farfetched fables from funny Franklins

fabulousness

<

Good Intentions

I had awesome plans to take pictures to show you of all the food I cooked today in preparation for tomorrow.

I was going to take pictures of  the fun night Garrett and I had tonight despite our change of plans.

I thought about taking a picture of the black mask that has been raved about on so many blogs and telling you my take on it.

I could make a list of all the things I’m thankful for.

I should get a conversation started about everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving food.

but…

I am just going to go to bed!!

Getting in the Mood!

                                                              

                                                    

My first red Starbucks cup of the season!

(and my new short hair, that didn’t get straightened this morning)

The Littles

Every year I make a point to try and attend sporting events for all my cousins. This year I really only made it to things the youngest three were doing.

 

Olivia is my mini me, the things she does crack us up because she looks/sounds just like I did at her age…sadly, this apparently goes for sports too. She seems to be a little bit scared of the ball, and I think she rather be shopping then running…but she has a really good attitude and tries so hard out there. Most importantly she is improving (which is more than we can say for me)

  

Charlie on the other hand is some kind of soccer freak, he totally understands the concept and scores goal after goal, while the rest of the kids are looking for flowers or waving to their parents. When his dad asked him about how hard he was playing he said “I have no trophies and I want a trophy so I have to win” they decided not to tell him everyone gets a trophy because it’s so fun to watch him!

  

This is B’s first year in football wearing full pads, he’s the quarterback. A few years ago when he started football I used to ask him why quarterback was the best position on the field and he’d answer “because the quarterback gets all the girls” ha! Smart boy! He’s such a little leader out there and I just love to watch him, I hope his love and ability for football keep developing because I would love to have a high school football player to cheer for! (no pressure though!)

             

My absolute favorite thing about Thanksgiving is getting to hang out with these guys (and he bigs too). I love that even though I’m so much older than all of them they never fail to save me a seat at the kids table.

I wish weekends were 5 days and weeks were 2 days...

Well another weekend has come and gone. 

But this week is such a short week we can't even be to sad to have to go to work tomorrow. 

We decided maybe we were the Sooners' bad luck because both road games we went to we lost, so we decided to stay home and let the boys have a fighting chance. Sadly, it turns out we WERE the bad luck. We won (which is not sad) They even looked good! I hope this doesn't mean we'll have to miss the bowl game!

Since we weren't traveling to Waco we had a pretty easy going weekend. Saturday we had brunch at our favorite La Baguette yum! We've tried a few other places lately and nothing has quite lived up to our favorite little spot in Norman.

Today was one of those days where I stayed in my pjs and watched football most of the day. It was wonderful and much needed. I'm up a little too late for a Sunday night but I only have to work two days this week so I think I can make it. 

I got my Thanksgiving dishes all planned out (we have 20-30 people for Thanksgiving and everybody brings stuff, it's kind of pot lucky, it's always been that way and I love it) I'm making 3 side dishes and 2 desserts nothing as ambitious as last year though! Because I still haven't recovered from those 150 little tiny pies I made....

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We finally had a great away win! Boomer sooner!

Boomer!!

Tomorrow is game day!!!

My favorite day of the week!

The many hats of me

Garrett was carrying the camera the other day and he decided that I should be in a few pictures...

Picking out hats for me to wear was like too exciting for him...

I was a good sport and tried them on AND let him take my pictures in the store....

he was so excited for me "to show my sister and put them on my blog" (:

This one was his favorite...

silly boy!

Swap til You Drop

I signed up for two Holiday Swaps this week and I am so excited to get my partners and start shopping for both of them!

I've only done one previous swap and I was kind of disappointed with the whole situation, I worked really hard finding the perfect gifts for my partner and she never even let me know she received them. ): 

But....I'm super excited about the ones I signed up for this time!!

The first one is actually for my Littlest Love Kuddles!

It's a pet swap! 

How fun is that??

This one is being hosted by newly discovered (by me with help from ornament swap Laura)

  KJPugs 

The Rules:

If you have a pet, and are a blogger, you can participate!!! And we want you to!!! Here are the rules:

1. You have to have a living, breathing pet. Unfortunately, your pet rock is awkward.
2. Each pet has to be signed up individually, so if you have 3 pets – fill the form out 3 times! (It’s that easy.)
3. Deadline to sign up is Wednesday, November 24th
4. Deadline to send your gift to a cute little pet is Friday, December 10th
5. If you sign up you are promising to participate. No one likes a holiday Grinch!
6. Please keep the gift under $10 – it doesn’t cost a lot to send some love!

Seriously, go here and sign your pet up right now!

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The second swap is an Ornament Swap, hosted by my new blog find Laura @ Luckiest In Love

Who doesn't love getting new Christmas decorations? 

(or anything in the mail for that matter?!)

I've been keeping my eye open for cute ornaments but I really want find out who my partner is so I can find something that is perfect for her!

Here are Laura's Rules:

• You can either make or buy the ornament for your partner, but I’m setting a $10 price limit. Don’t feel like you have to spend the whole $10 either! There are some beautiful ornaments out there for much less! :)
• Your ornament should be shipped so that your partner receives it around (or before) December 9th. I want everyone to be able to enjoy their ornament for the whole holiday season!
• If you’re feeling festive you can include holiday treats or just a nice note along with your ornament – Everyone loves getting fun packages!
• I’ll leave the sign up open until Sunday, November 21st. I’d like to get everyone paired up before Thanksgiving and get the information to you guys shortly after so no one feels too rushed!
  
  
  You can sign up to swap ornaments here.

One of those days....

Today was one of those days where you pray you don't run out of gas before the station, are late to work, lose your keys, are late to a test, nothing goes as planned, you wish you had stayed in bed.

Everything worked out as always.

And it wasn't a total waste of a day, but it was trying....

The Boys.

About this time every year I start stressing out about Christmas.

The whole process of buying gifts for people and telling people what I want overwhelms me.

Well, that's not entirely true, I could buy a million things for my sister but outside of her it's pretty much impossible for me to know what to get people and I want everything to be perfect without spending a ton of money.

My biggest problem comes in the form of teenage boys, there are quite a few in my life and I never have any idea what to get them. I know what they like and most of it is high tech gadgety stuff, stuff their parents can buy them. Seriously the one that turned 15 (omg my sweet baby cousin is 15!?!) on Saturday told me he wanted an Ipad and a Segway. That's a little bit outside of my price range...I can buy them Itunes gift cards but that gets old, and I know I won't be the only one buying them, which makes it kind of boring oh another Itunes card... It's just hard and I usually put it off until the last second when I'm running around looking for something, anything for them to open.

 Ideas would be greatly appreciated!

It cracks me up that Florida has it's own section in the travel area at the bookstore...

Boomer!!

Sooner!

Friday night at our house...

We had a pretty low key Friday night...G went to visit his grandparents...I did some grocery shopping and cooking...and the bug laid around.

We're all home now and getting ready to start a movie...

Kuddles cracks me up in this picture...she cannot believe this is her family!

There was no way to get a flattering picture on the laptop in this position so G hammed it up....

That's what he thinks I look like it pictures....

gluttonous

Garrett bought a Wimgo coupon for a new restaurant Boneyard Grill and we decided to give it a try...

We had to make sure we use all of our alloted money, so we ordered a ton of food and gave it all a try...

Boneyard Grill was pretty good, wish it was closer to us...but I think we'll be heading back!

When we were done eating a ton of bbq we walked next door to the gelato place (and we were pleasantly surprised to find Sara Sara cupcakes there too) to get some ice cream.


Please know that we did not even make a dent in this food, we brought a HUGE amount home and should be  eating it all weekend.

I can't think of a clever title.

Instead of doing one productive responsible thing after work today, the pup and I caught up on this seasons 16 and Pregnant episodes! It was glorious!!

An Award.

Jayme over at The Simple, Sweet Life gave me an award!! 

There is no acceptance speech required (thank goodness, because public speaking is not my thing) but there are a few rules....

1. Thank the person who gave it to you (Thank you Jayme!!)

2. Link back to the person who gave you the award

3. Share 7 random things about yourself

4. Pass it along to 7 other blogs you enjoy

7 randoms...

1.  My sister caught my hand on fire when I was in 6th grade and I suffered 3rd degree burns.

2. I'm very superstitious when it comes to football games. A new OU shirt must be worn to an easy game first, after it gets a win under it's belt I'll wear it to harder games. I also wear the same shoes, jewelery, and undies on game day. (crazy I know)

3. I love to make lists, if I get to check things off of the list it's a bonus!

4. I've never made a Christmas list, I hate telling people what to buy me (it really annoys my family).

5. I buy new pajamas every time I go on a trip.

6. One of the most important requirements for picking my major was choosing something where I didn't have to give any presentations. (I really hate public speaking)

7. I'm so terrible at painting my own nails, when I try people usually think I let a child do it! :)

I have a problem.

The first step is admitting it.

I lock myself out of anything with a lock.

Cars, houses, my office. I don't discriminate.

Last week I locked myself out of my office and had to sit outside for almost an hour (during the middle of the day) and that was the second time in a month.

Who can forget this time I locked myself outside of the house, barefoot, braless, and with the dog?

I don't frequently have any good locking myself out of my car stories anymore because I have a key pad on my car (best invention ever!) But, I have locked keys in the car when it's running (at a gas station), in the trunk, thousands of miles away from home, pretty much any scenario you can imagine I've done it, twice.

Garrett is pretty much just as bad as I am, the first time we met in person (he knew my roommate and we had only talked on AIM) it was because he needed to borrow my AAA because his keys were locked in his car, and the first time he met my family he locked his keys in the car.

That sinking feeling when you realize what you've done is like no other.

So, this weekend on our way to College Station we rented a car. (to save miles on our cars) We left Dallas later than we anticipated and had to stop a few too many times, traffic was horrible I was driving and trying to figure out which way to go (G cannot navigate and we forgot the GPS) and it just wasn't working, so we pulled over and decided to let G do the driving.

A gas station seemed like the perfect place to make the swap and to top off the tank. (major time saver!) Garrett ran in and I started pumping the gas, while I was waiting I thought I should get my cell phone out of the trunk...I hate being away from that thing.

Being a car I'm not familiar with I couldn't find the button that opens the trunk so I had to take the keys out of the ignition and use the keyless entry to open it. No problem...

Except I guess I hit the lock button on the car, and then I set the keys on the driver's seat, no big deal though because I left the door wide open.

Then Garrett game out and was trying to sneak up on me and shut the door, with the keys inside, and the doors locked.

The good news the door was in that state where it's shut but not closed all the way (you know when you do that hip push thing to shut it) so there was a crack..

Some hero guy came up and was helping us trying to get the door open and after about 45 minutes, a few comments about just calling a "pop and lock" (is that a Texas thing?), a screwdriver, 2 hangers, a piece off of a gas station display and Zero dollars spent we busted that bad boy open and were on our way!

Helper guy wouldn't take anything for his help, but he really made our day!

We made it in time to watch our Beloved Sooners fall to the texas a&m.....maybe the keys were an omen...

I seriously lock something and need help getting in at least twice a month, tell me I'm not the only one?!?

If you're stopping for Mingle Monday, welcome! If you've never been over there take a look it's a fun way to find some new blogs and get some new readers!

You can't win em all.

The weekend was a bust.

BUT

This pictures makes me smile!

It's a Sad Day.

I have never been very good at losing. (too competitive)

I didn't take one picture at today's game. (that makes for one sad road trip!)

We're in the hotel (wishing I had some mashed potatoes)

The other fans were pretty awful! (I guess I'd hate us too)

I'd rather be a Sooner than an Aggie. (even on days we lose)

BOOMER SOONER. 

Awesome 3rd Quarter guys!

boomer

made it to Dallas!

hanging out with some too cute cousins, and one pretty awesome boy!

went to the movies, and a late dinner with the big boys...hoping for a really, really good saturday!!

besties!

I wish these two lived closer! We had such a blast when they were here!

I love that little sister of mine, she's such a good friend!

And those boys were soulmates...it was kinda strange


Also, while we're wishing on stars (or airplanes) I wish I could find that shirt....

Date Night

So I have class on Monday and Tuesday nights which means I leave the house around 8am and don't get home until close to 11pm it makes for two very long days. By Wednesday I'm exhausted and all I want to do is sleep, Garrett on the other hand is eager to spend some time with me. Recently I've been coming home and taking a short nap (or doing something responsible like laundry or dishes) then we head out for a date!

We heard about this place (Pachinko Parlor) downtown that does sushi in a new way so we headed out to try it. The atmosphere was really fun and they have a ton of rolls that don't contain any fish at all! While I will eat sushi it is not my favorite (and if we're being honest I can only eat a few pieces before my gag reflex kicks it). It was perfect for us! Garrett can satisfy his craving for sushi and I can eat meat (that's been cooked!!) They only seafood in those rolls is the shrimp in the coconut shrimp roll!


After dinner we tried the Creme Brulee (because no matter how full the boy is he will not pass up some creme brulee). This one did not disappoint!


Then on the way out we saw that Sara Sara Cupcakes was next door (and it was open!!)


We had to get some to go! (Garrett picked two of the same, so boring!) The cupcakes are very dense (g says they are more like muffins) I thought they were super yummy!


I love this new trend we've started of spending some time doing something fun on a Wednesday it's way less hectic than going out on Friday or Saturday and helps the week move by so much faster!

(I've really got to get better at taking pictures of us instead of just the food we eat, you have no idea how many food pictures I have on my computer!)

Pulled Pork Sammies!

I'm so excited that Sarah decided to host a crockpot recipe party.

Unfortunately my crockpot spends most of its time collecting dust (I prefer to cook lots of meals at once and stick them in the freezer for a later date). I do make steal cut oats pretty regularly and beans for beans and rice (neither of those are very exciting). I recently came across this recipe for Pork Sandwiches that is really easy and pretty tasty!

1 Sweet Onion, sliced
3lbs Pork Butt
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Barbecue sauce (whatever your favorite is)
1/2 cup Yellow Mustard
3 TBS tomato paste
1 cup Chicken Broth
The juice of 1 Lime

Place onions in the bottom of the crockpot. Season pork with s&p then place the Pork on top (fat side up). Mix together the bbq sauce, mustard, tomato paste, chicken broth, and lime juice. Cook on low about 6-8 hours. Remove, let rest 5-10 minutes, chop up.

Serve on buns with extra bbq sauce!

OR if you're coleslaw kind of people you can make some easy spicy coleslaw to put on top:

1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Mayo
Juice of 1 Lime
1 TBS of hot sauce
1 package of coleslaw mix (with the bagged salad)
Salt and Pepper

Whisk together sour cream, mayo, lime, hot sauce mix in coleslaw season with s&p and let sit in the fridge at least 1 hour.

 

Happy November!

They do Halloween all crazy around here in Oklahoma, the official Trick-or-treating night was on Saturday instead of Sunday (except in Norman, because there was a home football game). Last year it was on Friday instead of Saturday (because of the football game) in some places, other places it was on Saturday. The point is this...I never know what day things are going on.

What's that in the Grass?

I'm convinced that the powers that be don't like Halloween or trick-or-treating so they try to throw us off and confuse us by switching the days around. It kind of makes me sad.

It's a Kuddle Bug!

At the last second Garrett and I decided not to go to the OU game so we had to run to go get some candy for the kiddos, and the pickens were slim! But, I was super excited because this year we were at his parents house and there are lots and lots of kids to come get candy from us!

Don't be fooled by that look she was super excited to be dressed up!

We ran out of candy even with me rationing it one piece per child (which pretty much made me feel like a failure as an adult). This means next year I'm sure to over compensate and have the very most candy in the neighborhood.

Kuddles the caterpillar got lots of compliments.

The shortage of candy ended up working out though because we turned off the lights right at kickoff and lets be serious here, there was no way I was answering the door during a football game.

Tell me that bow tie isn't too cute!

Kuddles hated the doorbell ringing, and the small children at the door. It's like her two least favorite things in the world happening at the same time. She got lots of compliments despite her rude behavior. I made her wear her costume even after the trick-or-treating was over. She only gets to dress up once a year!

I think she's looking for a family that won't make her wear clothes!

Her Halloween PJs were another story, she wore them for a week! Its starting to get colder here which means she'll be wearing clothes more often. It's for her own good (and a little bit for my amusement)

The best little dog!

Hope you had a super Halloween!

I cannot believe it is November! This year I am participating in National Blog Posting Month, 30 posts in 30 days and I'm so excited!