I'll Be Home for Christmas....

Mike and I went to Utah for Christmas! It was a whole lot of fun hanging out with our families and leaving all our cares here in Oklahoma! Here are some pics to sum up our stay!

Singing Christmas Carols

Playing Games

Building Gingerbread Houses

New Blanket from Grandma

Christmas Morning and our new GPS

We hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas because we sure did. Thanks to all our family and friends who made it really special!

Let it Snow

We are in Utah, and right now, as I type this, it is snowing outside. And it is absolutely beautiful. Snow is one of those things that you don't know how wonderful it is until you never have it anymore....like in Oklahoma.

Let it Snow!!

Bus Stop Forecast

I went outside today without a coat on

AND I DIDN'T GET COLD!

I love Oklahoma weather sometimes.

Matching Shoes

I may be the biggest dork ever, but it just so happens that I don't really care. I did a little Christmas shopping yesterday, and came across a pair of mens shoes on clearance that I wanted. So I bought them. Merry Christmas to me....from me. Then I came home and showed Mike and pretty much begged him to let us go back and buy him a pair so that we could have matching shoes. He gave in....fairly easily. So now Mike and I have matching shoes. And it really makes me so excited! I feel like a 3 year old, I really don't want to ever take them off. I love having the same shoes as Mike. We are like twinners!And don't worry, in normal every day wearing circumstances, I wouldn't let Mike wear his black church socks with them. And I am hoping he would never want to.

Dear Utah, I miss you but don't worry, I will be there in

days! Please provide us with good flying weather so that we can get there on time.

Love, Me

Thunder Game

My work has season tickets to the Oklahoma Thunder and this past Friday, I got the tickets! They played the Boston Celtics, so needless to say, we lost pretty bad. But we still had a great time and our seats were pretty decent!

The parking garage that we parked in downtown for the game, gave every car the chance to get their money back for parking by giving the chance to shoot a free throw. If you make the shot, you get 5 dollars cash. Yes, Mike is just that amazing. He definitely made the shot. I am so proud. Here is his proud and crisp 5 dollar bill.

I have to admit though, my favorite part of the night was going home to my new KitchenAid Mixer that my parents got us for Christmas! We got it on our porch that day and I couldn't have been more excited! I just hugged the box and kept whispering I love you to it. And of course, I was up early the next morning putting it to use by making some chocolate chip cookies.

I am counting down the days until we get to go home for Christmas. Its a double whammy for both Mike and I. We get to see our families and I don't have to go to work and he doesn't have to go to school!

Only

13

days to go!

Thanksgiving in Houston

Mike and I were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving in Houston with Mike's brothers family! We spent a relaxing few days just hanging out with family and playing with our cute niece and nephew! We did some Black Friday shopping, ate some amazing Costco pizza, and went to Kemah...which is a town right on the coast. They have a pier with rides, games and restaurants. We ate at an aquarium restaurant, which the kids loved. We are so grateful to have family still so close to us here in Oklahoma! While we were there, our car got hit while parked in front of Mike's brothers house. Dumb guy just didn't pay attention while pulling out of his driveway. So now, our car is in the shop....being fixed after being hit for the 6th time. Next time it gets hit, I am getting rid of it. It has a hex on it or something.

And the Holidays Begin.

Congrats to our good friends who had their baby boy yesterday! He is super cute! Welcome to the world Little Link!

Also, New Moon is stupid. We had hopes. It was better than Twilight, but still really stupid. What a waste of $13.25.

We are going to Houston for Thanksgiving to spend it with Mike's brother and his family. We are so excited! Plus its a small getaway from school and work.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Wheels and the Grossest Hot Chocolate Ever

With me finally having a job, and how demanding of my time my job is becoming, Mike and I decided that we probably needed to get him a car to get to and from school. He started looking for something super cheap, that was functional, and he test drove a few.

We ended up with this little beauty:Haha, the two toned leather really makes me laugh. But in the end we paid $2900 and it is a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it only has 98000 miles!! Mike is just happy to have control over when he goes to school and leaves school.

On another note, Mike and I went to breakfast this morning at McDonald's. With all the wonderful advertisements for their Hot Chocolate, of course I had to try some. Yeah......ew. It must come out of the same machine of the coffee. It pretty much was coffee. So Mike, being the generous guy that he is, took it back up and got a new one. The stupid lady behind the counter didn't say a word and just glared at him and got him a new one. And then guess what, he brought it back to me and we tasted it again. Worse this time. Not even close to Hot Chocolate. So Mike took it back up and just asked if we could get a soft drink instead. The stupid lady, who also happened to be the manager, just glared at him and handed him a cup for a soft drink. Anyway, moral of the story, don't drink McDonalds Hot Chocolate unless you really like the taste of coffee.

A Party for Two

On Sunday night, Mike and I threw a Christmas Decorating Party for ourselves. It was my childish idea, but we had a good time. We put up our Christmas Tree, we watched Elf, we had Hot Chocolate in our fun Christmas Mugs.....and the most fun of all, we hung the mistletoe. Christmas is the best time of year!

See Buddy the Elf on the TV?

Lucky for us, this picture took a couple of tries to get right...

And It Begins

Today was a great day for very simple reasons. One of these simple reasons was that Mike and I went to Michaels and bought this years Christmas candle. There is a specific Christmas smell that I love, and it is very particular. Finally last year, I came across the perfect candle that captured what I think Christmas smells like. And to make it even better, the candles are super cheap. 2 for $8 was what I got them for. So this year of course, I bought 2. Simple pleasures.

And for the update, the job is going well. It is stressful and the commute is a nightmare, but it will come together when I get more settled. The boss gave me $1000 to decorate my office! So I had a good time walking through Hobby Lobby and picking everything out. My position is actually a brand new position so as of right now, my desk and computer are being ordered so when its all put together I will take a picture and post it.

Skateboard Genius

Happy Official Halloween to everyone yesterday. Mike and I celebrated by going to the OU vs. Kansas State game. We had a great time. Pretty much half of the crowd left during halftime to go and get ready for their drunken Halloween Parties that we could overhear all of them talking about. There is of course, something that always makes me laugh when surrounded by people like this. Anybody ever heard of a pocket shot? Well I have now. And the girl in front of me had a special thing for the rum pocket shots. It really is just a shot of alcohol in a plastic bag thing that you can just buy at the store. So she spiked her beer with rum......twice. Wow, pocket shots must be an alcoholic's dream come true. But she did make it through the entire game though....without falling over.

Something yesterday that made me smile: Mike and I are driving to Walmart and we see two little girls that had put cardboard boxes on top of skateboards, found some nice thick sticks, put on their helmets, climbed into the cardboard boxes and proceeded to row themselves down the sidewalk. So adorable.

Only in Norman

Happy Halloween Everyone! Yes, I do realize that according to the official October 31st holiday, I am a day too early. But only here in Norman would they change Halloween to accommodate the OU football game. In watching the news this morning, I received confirmation that Norman residents are to go trick-or-treating tonight, because the game is tomorrow night. Wow. Really, what else can you say? Except for I thought I was going to be able to get out of buying candy because I am going to the game tomorrow but apparently I was wrong because Halloween this year is October 30th.

Something today that made me smile: I was driving today with my windows up and my music on when I realize that I hear some really loud music coming from somewhere outside my car. This is not so abnormal, considering that there are punks all over this great nation that like to listen to their rap or rock way too loud. But this situation was abnormal, because it was classical music. So I turn my music off and roll my window down, and realize that the music was coming from the truck next to me. Some older man was blasting his classical music. His windows were even rolled up but it was still so loud. I couldn't help but smile.

Finally...!

I did it! I finally got a job. It is the job at the manufacturing company that I was talking about before! I am the official Accountant/HR/Inventory Manager/Do Practically Everything! They are even giving me the pay I asked for! I start next Wednesday. This is a good thing, but also very bittersweet. I really am going to miss the Food Network and my institute class. But thats okay, paying for things with money that we actually have is way better. I thinks this calls for a celebration.....Chili's 3 courses for $20......here I come.

Oklahoma Mixture

Last week I had a job interview with a manufacturing company (the gas industry is huge here). I am working through a recruiting company so they are working on my offer for me. But I talked to the lady yesterday and she said that I am their "top candidate". Wahoo....I almost have a job. The commute is awful....40 minutes each way, but the pay is good and I can't just keep turning down jobs. I just have to face the fact that there is nothing here in Norman.

We got our tickets booked for come home for Christmas! We are really excited to come home and spend time with our families and see some friends. We fly in late December 19 and then we will be in Utah until December 30. We can't wait to see everyone! Less than two months away.

I am in the process of painting my beautiful free piano. The color remains to be revealed but I promise it will not disappoint!

I went to the Goodwill today and bought two lamps and a lamp shade for a total of $6.50! I love finding good things for cheap!

This past weekend Mike and I were finally able to make it out to the temple for the first time. The temple is super small.....the LDS chapel next to it was actually taller! Definitely different than the Jordan River Temple that we are used to. This picture that we took of us in front of the temple is not really attractive of us because it was bright and windy but I thought it was interesting that we could take a picture of ourselves in front of the temple, and actually get pretty much the whole temple in the shot.

Mac and Cheese

Random: For dinner tonight, Mike and I had brats and mac and cheese (don't mock, I really do actually make real meals sometimes). But not just any mac and cheese.......mac and cheese shapes!! They were shaped like pumpkins and cats and bats. I LOVE mac and cheese shapes so much! They were so conveniently placed on the end of one of the aisles at Walmart, which means they were completely impossible not to buy. Every time I took a bite at dinner, I went "Mmmmmmmm" super annoyingly loud. That is just how much I love mac and cheese shapes.


I officially started my calling today at church. I teach the 9 year olds in primary. And there are like a million of them! I didn't have to teach today, but I sat with them during sharing time and man is this going to be a tough calling. A lot different than Miamaids thats for sure. But it will be good, always good to have a new calling and try something new. Mike has a calling too. He will be teaching the 14 to 16 year old Sunday school class. But he is an amazing teacher, so I am sure that he will be fantastic.


I met a guy at church today who happens to be the "Undergraduate Professional Development and External Relations Director" for the Business School at OU. He asked if I was working and I told him that I needed a job and he told me to email my resume and he would help me out. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. And to think that I was complaining to Mike because we were too early for church....!

Job Update

Just to keep everyone posted, the lady called yesterday and offered me the job. I turned it down. I just decided that it wasn't worth taking it to pass up other opportunities that I am still crossing my fingers for. A better job will come along.

First Job Interview in Okie

I had my first job interview since I have been here. It was for a company that does commercial roofing and waterproofing. The job interview seemed to go well, but I don't know how much I really want the job. I haven't been offered the job, so I may very well be jumping the gun. But I want to have a decision made so that if they do actually call and offer the job, I will know what to say.

 

So the pros and cons of this job:

 

PROS

Its a job!!

Its income!

My own office.

Insurance

Its accounting

 

CONS

Its a pretty long commute (45 minutes in traffic)

The pay isn't wonderful

I would also be doing payroll...blah

You have to take a lunch hour

 

So to some, my cons list might seem retarded. But these things really do matter to me. But do I have room to be picky? I mean, this is my first interview in the two months (time is flying!) since I have been here. But also, I do have a college degree, and should be able to get a job with that degree. So really, I am taking suggestions on how to make this decision.

Happy Birthday!

Mike's 24th birthday was on Friday, and using my large amount of free time (still not having a job), I spent all morning while he was at school preparing for his birthday. I baked a cake, cleaned the house and decorated. Now, the cake....I do realize that Mike was turning 24 and not 4, but in all our watching of "Cake Boss" and "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network, somehow we had a conversation about Mike wanting a cake that looked like a soldier. So that is what I did. A soldier cake. I shopped all over for a cake pan that was shaped like a soldier, but apparently that isn't very popular these days so it was all free hand. This was the final product....that I have to say I am pretty proud of. We went to lunch and we also went and saw "Fame". I was a little disappointed in the movie, because I was really hoping for a musical. Mike keeps trying to convince me that it was a musical but it wasn't. A musical to me means that they break out into song at any given moment. This movie had planned music. Like the singing came when they happened to be in choir class. That is not a musical. It was good though. The theatre was another story which I am going to have to write another blog about for my scale of suburb comfort. For his birthday, I got Mike some well needed OU clothing, to wear to all the games, I got his watch repaired, of course, a box of Swiss Cake Rolls, and I took some vinyl lettering that he had had since before we were married and actually put it to use. Since we aren't quite permanent here, I didn't want to hang it on the wall, so I put it on a mirror. It turned out really cute and I think he liked it. It says "One of man's greatest joys is doing something that someone once told him he could not do." Mike says thanks for everyone who sent him cards!

Presenting the Mr. and the Mrs.

My beautiful sister got married on September 15, 2009 to her sweetheart in the Draper Temple! She was the most beautiful bride and I am so happy for her. According to the weather it was supposed to be a monsoon but the day turned out beautiful and warm and absolutely perfect. Mike and I were lucky to fly in for the wedding. I flew in nearly a week before the wedding to help my mom with the last minute touches. Mike didn't fly in until the night before the wedding and I missed him like crazy. We really enjoyed being together in Utah and having just a few days to spend together without him being in school or studying and of course, enjoying being with family!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

We miss you guys, and everybody else too!

Utah!

I leave for Utah tomorrow.

I am excited.

So excited!

OU is still better

Yes, WE KNOW, OU did lose to BYU.

But we don't care.

We still love our Sooners.

We still love our Heisman Trophy Winner.

And we still are better.

BYU was just lucky that Sam got hurt.

The game was super fun anyway!

And the stadium was awesome!

Political Science!

Mike got his diploma! Now he officially has his bachelor's degree! Good job Mike!

No Costco?!?!?

Another opportunity to give something a rating. But to preface.....I have always been a Costco girl. I love Costco. The sights, the smells, everything about it makes me happy. I have been to Costco every year on my birthday for quite a few years and I wouldn't rather spend my birthday any where else. Not too mention the pizza, the hotdogs, the frozen yogurt.....so delicious. Well when my membership came up for renewal in May, I decided I had better double check that there was a Costco in Norman, OK.....even though I was confident that there would be one at least close to where I lived. WRONG! There is absolutely no Costco in the entire state of Oklahoma! What a miserable state! Well when it comes to bulk, the only other option I could think of was Sam's Club. Bah. I really just wanted a Costco. After I got over my slight stage of depression, and actually got to Oklahoma, and experienced the grocery stores here, we headed to Sam's Club. And it was GREAT! I couldn't believe how happy I was with it when I was constantly comparing it to my beloved Costco. But it really was nice.
So I am very happily surprised, leading me to give Sam's Club an 8!

All Grown Up

I just dropped my big boy off for his first day of Law School.

I am such a proud wife.

The beginning of 3 years of loneliness.

He will be here:

{Picture from OU College of Law website}

And for the time being, until I find a job, I will be here:

Man I am gonna miss that guy.

Looking for cheap hobbies if anyone has any suggestions!

Scale

Well I have started a new game since I have been in Oklahoma. To let everyone know about my new home, I am giving things, places, people and experiences ratings. It is a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being poor and 10 being superb.

It all started because of the grocery stores here in Norman. And let me just say.....LAME! There are two main grocery stores that are near me: Super C Mart and Homeland.

Its hard to explain but they both feel so country. Its that small, dirty, filled with old people thing that really just makes me uncomfortable. I live in a college town but I have yet to see anyone at these grocery stores shopping under the age of 65. There is a Walmart here, which is pretty nice, but I have never been one to enjoy doing my grocery shopping at Walmart, but I actually think that I am going to start. I have given Norman grocery stores a 2.

Oklahoma Fashion

Don't get me wrong, I love clothes just as much as the next girl, but here in Oklahoma, the fashion, or maybe the lack there of, is not quite what I had expected. I am not quite sure if they are going for the "just rolled out of bed" look or if they are going more for the "just went running" look, but every girl here seems to own, and constantly wear running shorts. And not just any running shorts, they have to be Nike running shorts. And not just any Nike running shorts, they have to be these Nike running shorts....{picture from Nike.com}

They come in all different colors, so any color is acceptable, but they have to be these shorts. It is just the strangest phenomenon. Mike and I were in Target the other day, and it must have been the day of freshman orientation because there were a lot of college students there with their parents. Without exaggeration, nearly all of the girls that we saw had on these Nike running shorts. It was the strangest thing. We started counting how many we saw because there were so many, but we ended up losing count. Then we went to Walmart and the same thing happened. Everyone must get a pair of these Nike running shorts. I have yet to buy myself a pair, but have highly considered it just so I can be like the "cool kids".

We Made It!

Well after over 1200 miles and 2 really long days, we finally made it to our new home in Norman, Oklahoma. Mike's parents had a little truck trouble so we had to drive a little slower than normal, with them pulling the heavy trailer. But all in all, we made it. And Oklahoma isn't too bad. Other than the heat and humidity, which are absolutely miserable. But we are still in the process of unpacking, so pictures of our cute house are yet to come. But here are some pictures of the drive.

Our New Home!

Practically down to hours...

Well we are almost there. In 4 days we pack up everything we own and drive 18 hours to an unfamiliar place without any source of income or knowledge of anything around us.

Isn't life just exciting?!

I have been packing all week and am pretty much ready to load up the trailer and head out. Mike and I both had our last days of work last Friday so this whole week we have been two unemployed people looking for something to keep our time occupied. Mike is still finishing this last semester at the University of Utah, so he studies and I pack. We have done some fun "Utah" things this week though. Monday we went downtown and walked gateway and layed on the grass at temple square. And of course, whats downtown without coming across a few creepy people on Trax. Yesterday we enjoyed eating at La Frontera (one of our "Utah" favorites) and then took a walk on the Jordan Parkway. Tonight we are headed up to the mountains for a hotdog roast and s'mores. Because there are NO mountains in Oklahoma so we have to enjoy it now. And who knows what the rest of the week will bring. Moving is starting to make me quite restless though. Now it just needs to get here. All this anticipation is killing me. Who knows, probably the next time I write, Mike and I will be official residents of Norman, OK!

Top 5

Well it just had to come down to this. People just have to say strange and annoying things to Mike and I when we tell them that we are moving. And it has gotten so bad, and so repetitive, that we have come up with....

The Top 5 things we are SICK of hearing when we tell people that we are moving.

1) "Are you all packed?!"

(Yes, we are all packed....we sleep on the floor, eat out every meal, and stare at the wall for fun.)

2) "It will be such an adventure."

(Yep, we will eat bugs and plan on swinging on vines for travel.)

3) "It will be so good for your marriage."

(Oh, I was unaware that I had a horrible marriage.)

4) "You will LOVE the church outside of Utah."

(Apparently what they say about the church being wonderful because it is the SAME everywhere, was definitely not true...shocking, I know.)

And finally....

5) (Singing) "OOOOOOOklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain..."

(Oh thank you, I completely forgot that there was a musical named after my new home, please sing it to me again.)

And as people continue to think that they need to give me advice, I will continue to brew up my mother-in-law's wonderful idea of writing a book while I am gone about "Improving Your Marriage, Having an Adventure and Living the Church Outside of Utah."

Not meant to offend anyone that may have made these comments to us.

Less than a month...

I can't believe it. Mike and I leave for Oklahoma in less than a month! The official moving date is August 9. A few months ago when we made this decision, it seemed so unreal, but now it is getting so close and I think that it is finally hitting me. I feel like there is so much that I want to do before I go, but I am running out of time. My last day of work is July 31, and no I haven't started packing yet. I really find it very funny when people ask me if I have started packing. As much as one month is not that far away, it still is pretty far away to the point that I don't need to start packing. Plus I will have the whole week before I go to pack up my things. So if anyone has moving boxes, I will be more than willing to take them off your hands. And I promise to keep my blog updated. We will miss everyone but we will be back someday!

And congratulations to my sister who is pregnant with her first and due in February!

It Came!

My diploma finally came! Now it really is official!

One Step Closer

This past weekend Mike was in Oklahoma with his Dad finding us a place to live. It was the first time we have spent apart since the day he got home from the mission. (978 days in a row!) And let me tell you, it was tough. But he is home now and all is well. And he actually accomplished something while he was there! (Good thing, because that is why we sent him.) So we now have a deposit down on a duplex. And we are so excited. The duplex is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 car garage. So we have plenty of room, so everyone can come and stay with us! (Seriously, we really do want visitors.) Now this moving thing is really starting to come together. Now I just need a job. So if anyone has any hookups in the Oklahoma City area, let me know! Here are a couple of pictures of where we will be living for 3 years!

Happy Happy Graduation!

Well it is official, after finally receiving my final grade yesterday, I have officially passed all of my classes which means I am now, officially (my new favorite word if you can't tell) a college graduate! And I couldn't be happier! School was just great while I was there but definitely something that I do not want to relive. Sometimes I do think maybe I should go back and get my Master's because a Master's in Accounting is usually only a year, and really, a year isn't that long, and then I quickly remember how much I dislike school. Plus Mike and I decided that I am a much easier person to be around when I am not stressed about school. So for now, my Bachelor's degree is enough for me. Mike was able to walk in the graduation ceremony even though he technically has one more semester left. He will be finishing up his degree in Political Science at the end of the summer and then on to law school! So thank you to everyone who encouraged me along my road of education, mostly my parents, my in-laws and Mike. I love you all and even though I don't feel any smarter than I was before I started, now I have that little piece of paper that is supposed to get me a good job, which apparently, is what matters.

Baby Girl

We are so excited to welcome the newest member of my side of the family. My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl early Sunday morning, April 26, 2009. The labor was pretty quick and both mom and baby are doing wonderful! She is so cute, and doesn't hardly cry. This was my sister's third child, and third girl, yet the first time I have gone to see her in the hospital! I am so excited to go and cuddle her again!

Easter

I know, Easter was last week, but I am just barely getting around to writing about it this week. We spent the Saturday before Easter with my family, like we always do. Hanging out, eating and like always, playing the gift game. It's kinda like white elephant, except Grandma brings all the gifts. There are usually some pretty interesting gifts but we always have a good time.And of course, we can't forget about the Easter tree. Grandma brings the Easter tree and hangs a $2 bill and a candy bar for everyone. And yes, every year we take a picture in front of the Easter tree before everyone takes off the goodies. Sunday we had a fabulous turkey dinner with Mike's family and enjoyed hanging out with them for a little while.