Thursday, December 30, 2010

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.
 


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

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!









Tuesday, December 28, 2010

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?


Monday, December 27, 2010

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, December 24, 2010

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 
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