thankful thursday: being employed

effective 4:30pm today

i will be officially 

"unemployed"

the norman veteran's center

it's a hard concept to grasp

i have been working 

since i was sixteen

i enjoy working

often holding multiple jobs at one time

i am often described as a 

work-aholic

when we received orders to italy

one of my first thoughts were 

"were will i work"

"what will i do?"

then i found out 

jobs are limited,

 hard to come by

and

honestly

the idea of not working

was 

kind of exciting
laying around eating bon-bon's, shopping, staring in the "real housewives of italy" show
then scary
how can we live on one income? how will i contribute to the "household"

now 

i just dread it

in work i find purpose

self worth

i enjoy my job

and 

i am good at it

so today

as i say goodbye to a job 

that i hold dear to my heart

and coworkers who have become friends

i am thankful

for the norman veteran's center 
who've kept me employed the past three years
tolerated my crazy ideas
and allowed me to grow as a social worker
and
a person.
 

the most wonderful time of the year

yes friends,

it is that time of year

aside from march madness

the next week

will make my sport loving heart be filled with joy

it's bowl week!

give or take a few days

to celebrate i thought i would provide you with my picks

please please please

do not gamble based on my picks

first:

how do i pick?

i pick on the bases of

how cute the tight end is

yes the tight end, i could care less about the quarter back

how pretty the team colors are

and

frankly if they have ever beat my team

the sooners

again,

please do not bet based on my picks!

so what games will i be watching?

i will be watching....

valero alamo bowl

    

  oklahoma state       vs                 arizona

san antonio

dec 29

8:15 kickoff

given mike stoops is the coach at arizona

and he use to coach at ou

this was a close call

but in the end

i had to choose

osu!

gotta stick with an oklahoma school

***
rose bowl 

         

wisconsin          vs             tcu

pasedena, cali

jan 1

4pm

this one is a tough one

i like tcu

with a horn frog as a mascot

who wouldn't like them

i like the tradition of wisconsin

at one time the university of wisconsin madison was voted 'most partied' university

i debated awhile on this one

but in the end

i choose

wisconsin!

again, please do not place any monetary bets on my picks

i am by no means an expert!

***

the tostitos fiesta bowl


                     

connecticut              vs            oklahoma

glendale, arizona

jan 1
7:30pm

not going to beat around the bush

i choose

the sooners!

  ***

the orange bowl

    

 stanford           vs        virgina tech

miami

jan 3

7:30 pm

again another tough one

who doesn't feel for virgina tech

and what the school has overcome

and stanford

is a program rich in tradition and philanthropy

and it is hard to choose when you don't care who wins

you just want to watch a good game.

because i know a virgina tech alum

i am choosing

***

all state sugar bowl

  

     ohio state           vs              arkansas

new orleans

jan 4

6:30

who would choose a school that calls themselves

"the" ohio state

and

 my cousin is an arkansas alum

so i choose

arkansas!

***

the cotton bowl

  

     lsu                    vs      texas a&am

Arlington, Texas

Jan 7

7pm

no decision to be made here:

i choose the aggies

i will keep my opinion about lsu to myself

***

tostitos national championship

  

oregon               vs              auburn

glendale, arizona

jan 10

7:30pm

anyone remember this game?

i do

simple
i choose:

auburn

again i reiterate

do not make any betting choices based

on my picks

i am a simple okie girl

who loves the sooners

and wears my football emotions on my sleeves

i hope your team wins!

regardless if i didn't choose them!

except for the sooners that is.

enjoy the next week of football!

i know i will!

an oklahoma christmas

my oklahoma christmas story:

twas the night before christmas

and santa couldn't make it

the blizzard out east delayed him significantly

so he sent his favorite elf

meet santa's elf

"oh no!" santa's elf has been caught

and the stockings were hung...

my beautiful sister

yes,

 she will cook for shoes

no lie! she's a great cook! has great shoes!

did i mention she is single?

boys will be boys

attempt one at trying to make the tractor jump the ramp

obviously this tractor is not a john deer

attempt number.......

woohoo!!! success!!!

merry christmas admiral

merry christmas maik

he ate the mince meat pie

needless to say he got coal in his stocking

poinsettias, mimosas, mimi in the kitchen

this could be a dangerous combination depending on how many poinsettias she has had

mimi's strawberry jelly + dr pepper = the best christmas dinner

this is my spot at the table!

"helping" mimi

the most amazing dinner rolls. ever.

inu and admiral meet again.

inu hid in a box

christmas isn't christmas without a whoopee cushion

my beautiful sister

did i mention she is single?

my handsome husband

i.see.you.

the gift with no tag

Christina: "Anita, it's yours"

Anita: "Oh my! It's beautiful"

Mimi: "Wait! That's mine! George bought it for me"

Anita: "ohhhhh"

and we all laughed till we cried.

what were some funny moments during your christmas celebrations?

so how am i doing:the honest truth

in eleven days

i will be 

living in italy

it has been a process

and i know the process is not over

by any means

the closer we get

the more i get asked,

"how are you doing?"

so here is the honest truth:

i am functioning

surviving

 trying to maintain a sense of normalcy

which is very difficult considering there is nothing normal about moving to italy

with every gain

there is a loss

we are gaining a chance of a lifetime

we are loosing what we knew as our life

we will have to make new friends

find a new house

i will have to find a new job

i know you are thinking stop your griping you are moving to italy!

we are gaining a chance to travel

an opportunity to try new things

(possibly a new career)

the beginning of a new chapter

i believe there is a 'honeymoon' period

when 

you get orders 

does this not look like the perfect honeymoon getaway

you suddenly remember

a "perk" of being a military member:

travel!

but then reality hits

and the 'honeymoon' is over

shortly the seven year itch comes on...

they say the best base is the one you are going to 

and the worst is the one you are leaving

the stress of pcsing

it takes a toll on your health
personally i get headaches

on your marriage

on your children
which we don't have but i can only imagine what it would do to them

on your pets
admiral and maik have never been skinnier

you can only answer the question, 

"honey what box is my belt in"

so many times before you just dump out all the boxes in frustration

i have coped 

only by the grace of god

good friends

a loving family

and dumping a few boxes in frustration

i cope by setting goals

for example

my birthday and our anniversary are in march

my goal:

a weekend getaway to venice

now that is exciting!

i will miss my friends

i will my family
the life that i once had

but i am not saying goodbye

it's just see you later
please stop acting like i'm about to die and you will never see me again


so that is how i am doing
the honest 
candid
truth


i've dumped a few boxes
yelled some
cried some
smiled a lot
and 
will be
enjoying the next eleven days


happy monday ya'll

friday fun facts: christmas tidbits

merry christmas everyone!

in honor of christmas 

this edition of friday fun facts

will center around 

fun christmas facts!

fact 1:

according to the 

national christmas tree association

the most popular live christmas tree is 

the

fraser fir

according to the website

this tree has 

excellent needle retention

and requires minimal water

both good selling points for live trees

i think this tree is absolutely beautiful!

fact 2:

"it's a wonderful life" is the most televised

christmas movie

and i must say it is one of my favorite

fact 3:

because i am from oklahoma

because everyone enjoys a good kiss

the mistletoe 

is oklahoma's state floral emblem

now go find some mistletoe

snuggle up with someone you love

and enjoy this christmas eve