Christmas Spirit Award

I was awarded this fabulous award by my fabulous friend Feather! So, my duty as the recipient is to do the following or Christmas is canceled this year...ok not canceled..just not as much fun...

• You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.
• The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.
• You must link back to the person who gave you the award.
• You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas.
• If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! :o)
• Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 45; it's up to you. But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going!
• Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment on their blog.

What I ♥ about Christmas:

• It's the celebration of the birth of Jesus! He is the REASON for the season!
• family
• carols
• twinkly lights
• Christmas trees (even though I don't have mine up yet☺)
• snowmen☺
• baking
• It's A Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street
• Alvin and The Chipmunks singing Christmas Don't Be Late
• wrapping presents and making them all pretty (and matching...all my gifts under my tree must match)
• fresh garland
• i ♥ hot cocoa
• shopping on Christmas Eve with my mom and my cousin Lindsay
• Christmas Eve at my Granny's
• Christmas pjs
• Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks☺

I pass this award on to:

• Melissa for her already having all of her seriously cute Christmas decor up!
• Lisa for all of her Christmas crafties she's been making.
• Katie for her beautiful Christmas tree and her cool gift ideas!
• Carrie for her adorable Advent "Calendar" and all her other brilliant ideas!
• Sandy Toes for her inspiring Christmas traditions she so freely shares.

Merry Christmas!

Kansas City Trip - Part 2

Picking up where I left off yesterday...

On our way back to the hotel, we just by chance (well, miracle really☺) came across the OU cheerleaders and the Pride "warming" up in front of the Marriott! WOOHOO!! How lucky were we?! They were getting ready to board their bus, headed to the game, and they stopped to do a mini pep rally right in front of the hotel!

We were so pumped and could not wait to get back to our room and load on our million layers of clothing and head to the game!

We finally arrived to Arrowhead...the lights shining bright, excitement in the air, fans filing in...

Once we were in the stadium it felt electric...or was that static electricity from it being so figgin' cold? BURRRRRRR

Here's a pic of the ESPN guys in the booth...I thought seeing the green screen behind them was kinda cool. I'm easily impressed.

Here is one of Stoops in all his glory...Stoops for President!

The seniors took the field for the toss...OU was receiving...game on!

Staying nice and cozy in my furry hat☺ Don't laugh! You would be wearing one too...it was 29 degrees and falling...fast.

Sam and Josh Heupel...two Oklahoma Greats!

The Pride of Oklahoma

Sam, Sam he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!

Me and mom wearing a suitcase full of clothes☺

This sign says "Chase Daniels (Mizzou QB) likes boogers"...LOL☺

Oklahoma 62, Mizzou 21

Sooners win! Sooners win!

Oklahoma...Big 12 Champions!

Boomer Sooner, Baby!

Kansas City Trip - Part 1

This is my Weekend Review, but it has to be divided up into a couple of post, unless you want to be here for a while☺

"We're going to Kansas City. Kansas City here we come." The Big 12 Championship was at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO...and of course, my Sooners were playing there! What an exciting and fun time!! Me, Michael, Isaiah, Mom, and Dad took a four and a half hour road trip north to Kansas City. We headed out late Friday night. Our hotel was in Overland Park, KS. It was only about a 20 minute drive to Arrowhead Stadium, so it was a great place to stay. I highly recommend it. Saturday morning, after sleeping in a little bit, we got up and had breakfast and set out for some shopping and fun before game time. Well, most of us. My Dad stayed back at the hotel..."holding down the fort." Way to go, Dad!
Isaiah ♥LOVES♥ staying in hotels. I'm thinking we have him a little spoiled. On the way to Kansas City, he asked does our hotel have an indoor pool....what about a hot tub...room service? LOL☺ I think it was satisfactory. He seemed to enjoy it.

For our quick excursion on Saturday, we ventured into Lenexa, KS. They have a great mall which is the home to the Rainforest Cafe. We thought that would be fun for Isaiah...I think we were right☺ There were lions, monkeys, fish, BIG butterflies, trees and vines...

It was a really fun place to eat! Can't you tell?

What's a trip to the Rainforest Cafe without some animals to take home. (Like we don't have any animals at home...these people are sneaky)
We also took a spin on the double-decker carousel at the mall. I think carousels are beautiful.

Don't let this smile fool you, after choosing to ride on the upper deck, Isaiah was freaking out. He was holding onto the pole for dear life. How can a little dare-devil like him be afraid of a little 'ol carousel? (It was kinda funny...does that make me a bad mom?).

That's Isaiah and "Mr. Seal".

I think you can see the "freaking out" a little better in this photo☺ Don't worry. He's not scarred for life or anything. It's not like a I forced him to the upper deck. THAT would make me a bad mom. (I'm still trying to make myself feel better for laughing)

Well, that was Day 1 in Kansas City. I'll be back tomorrow with more pics.

Hope you all had good weekends!

Show and Tell Sunday

Lisa over at the Pumpkin Pink Cottage does Show and Tell Sunday. I decided to join in this week because I have a few things I wanted to show and tell about☺

Here's a pic of me and my new glasses...do you like?

(I just deleted two close-up pictures because I realized just HOW bad my eyebrows look. They need waxed in the worst way....see, now you're going back up and looking at my other pic, right? It's not quite so evident in the above pictures, but it was all you could see in the one's I deleted. I'll have to save a close-up for after my eyebrows get waxed.)


Here's my what I won from Lisa's Twilight Giveaway! (don't be fooled, there is no chocolate left in the Godiva package...it's all gone)

Here's my cute Christmas slippers that I bought at Target! I love 'em!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

P.S. I'm in Kansas City at the Big 12 Championship☺ Boomer Sooner!

Cookies With Grammy

What is the holiday season without baking cookies with Grammy?!?! While visiting Michael's parents, Isaiah had a chance to do just that. He didn't have his apron, so one of Papa's t-shirts was a good stand-in.

You can tell by the look on Isaiah's and Grammy's faces that this cookie baking is serious business. I think they were making a "snake" cookie here. These can never be just your normal run-of-the-mill cookies...no, you have to make snakes and robots...and cars. I know, real "Christmasy", huh?

Here's one of my favorite cookie recipes:

OLD FASHIONED SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

Sift together in large bowl:
3 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add:
1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Add:
1/2 cup thick sour cream

sifted flour mixture

Preheat oven to 375-400F degrees.

Beat at low speed until well blended (1 1/2 minutes). Roll out lightly on floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut and sprinkle with sugar. Put on prepared cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes at 375-400 degrees.

YummY

What is your favorite recipe? Post it on your blog and let me know ☺

Friday Confessions

Wow, where do I start...hmmm.

Oh, ok, I just thought of a good place.

1. Last Friday, remember, Black Friday...I was supposed to be at Starbucks by 3:oo AM...well, that didn't happen. See, I spent the night on Thanksgiving night with my mom and dad. My aunt stayed the night too. We thought we would be able to get up earlier and leave earlier. YEAH RIGHT! My mom hit the snooze button on her alarm clock for like 4 HOURS! Seriously, we woke up at a 6:45...I should have been standing in line at Target on my second cup of coffee by 6:45!!!! I was in panic mode. My mom and aunt were laughing hysterically at how upset I was that we overslept. It's Black Friday people! Only comes around once a year!! So, I guess my confession is that I woke up late on Black Friday, did not get hit my first store until 7:15 (pretty good for waking up at 6:45), and acted like a crazy woman in the process.
2. I cleaned the downstairs of our house spic and span, but the upstairs was a different story. I threatened Isaiah within a inch of his life that he could NOT let ANYONE up those stairs. I think my exact words were "Do not ask anyone to come upstairs and play, do you understand Momma?" "Not Grammy or Papa or Uncle Thom...NO ONE!" I think his response was, "Ok, Momma" (while giving me this look like he was definitely going to rat me out later). So, what happens? A few hours after Grammy and Papa arrived, Grammy mentions that she's tired and Isaiah invites her right on upstairs. What did I do? Freak out of course! "No, no, no, no." "Remember, Isaiah?" "What did Momma say?" I finally had to fess up that upstairs looked like a tornado had hit and I would be totally mortified if ANYONE went up there. So, no one went upstairs, but EVERYONE knew that it was a mess.
3. I found a new addiction at Starbucks...bad, bad, bad...like I needed another one. Espresso Truffle. I just have one word, YUMM-O!
4. I've been eating out every day for lunch. I had promised myself that I would bring my lunch and I haven't been. Being off for Thanksgiving really threw me off. Now I know why we can't have 4 day weekends all the time...we would just be catching-up, taking off, catching-up, taking off...
5. I bought the NKOTB (You know what that stands for, right?) Greatest Hits CD and I've been listening to it everyday in my car. I know every word to every song. It takes me back to 6th grade, french-rolled pants, banana clips, side pony tails, unit belts, and stone-washed jeans. It takes me back to a specific night in 1990 at Skelly Stadium here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was 12 and I was madly and deeply in "love" with ♥Joey McIntyre♥ (weren't we all). I remember crying at the concert...I think my mom threatened to make me leave if I didn't "straighten up" (yeah, she was sitting in the row behind me with 3 other mothers). We knew every word to ever song and had every piece of memorabilia you could think of...NKOTB Trapper Keepers, buttons, posters, trading cards, pencils, stickers, shoe laces, t-shirts, night gowns, dolls...you name it. Besides Kirk Cameron, they were my first celebrity crush. You know you melted when you heard "Please Don't Go Girl".
6. It's December 5th and I still don't have a Christmas tree up or lights on my house! What is wrong with me? That's totally un-american.
7. I decided to make my own Christmas cards...it's December 5th...they're still not done. Maybe I should turn them into Happy New Year's cards?

Hope everyone has had a great week! Enjoy the weekend☺

Two Awards...Holy Moley!

What a lucky girl I am! I've got two awards in the past few days, so I need to pass them on to some noteworthy blogs.

The first one is from my dear sweet friend Feather. Go check out her blog!

The Rules

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Here are my nominations in no particular order:

1. Melissa @ The Crazy Daisy
2. Renee @ My Glimpse of Life
3. Lisa @ Pumpkin Pink Cottage
4. Mistee @ Our Family Blog 2
5. Tabitha @ Fresh Mommy
6. Lisa @ Simple Shutter
7. Cherry @ Cherry's Jubilee

••••••••

The second award is from the most lovely Melissa! I Love her! You will too...go check out her blog :)

Here's the rules:

1. Write a post showing the blog award and linking back to the person that gave it to you.
2. Choose a minimum of 7 people to award this award to and link to them.
3. Leave them a comment telling them about the award.
4. Name 10 honest random things about yourself.

Here's my 10:

1. I've been snorkeling in Jamaica.
2. Also, while in Jamaica I went up (and back down) Dunn's River Falls.
3. I have a tattoo and I want another one.
4. I'm a cosmetics junkie...I love buying make-up...Sephora is my fav store.
5. I am my mother's only child, but I have a mixtures of 5 siblings...steps and halves.
6. I like to eat vegetables straight out of the can...no cooking...spinach, green beans, corn, etc.
7. I'm the oldest of 15 grandchildren on my mom's side.
8. My mom and I used to have a coffee shop.
9. I graduated from The University of Oklahoma
10. I am terribly afraid of spiders.

Here are my nominations in no particular order:

1. Feather @ Yes, It's My Real Name
2. Liz @ Mable's House
3. Shelly @ Cubicle Confessions
4. AndreaLeigh@ My Chihuahua Bites
5. Rebeckah @ Life With Kaishon
6. Christy @ Krazy Beautiful Life
7. Drama Queens Mum

Congrats, girls! You all deserve it! You make my blogging so much fun and enjoyable...and educational ;)

Homemade Food Gifts for the Holidays

Picture from: Parents Magazine

Every morning I get an e-mail from Parents Magazine with lots of great ideas. So, this morning I thought I would share one. They have these adorable monogrammed mugs w/ yummy goodies inside. I think this is what I'm going to make for my co-workers!

Ingredients
3 cups or 3 envelopes (3.2 ounces each) instant nonfat dry milk powder
2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Stir together the dry milk powder, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and nondairy creamer in a large bowl. Divide among 18 bags (1/3 cup each), and top with marshmallows and mini chips.
2. Attach these instructions to side of mug: Blend cocoa mix and 3/4 cup boiling water together until chocolate chips begin to melt.

There are lots of other great ideas for Homemade Food Gifts. So, be sure to go check out their website: Parents Magazine

Weekend Review

Well, this could be a long review due to the LONG weekend, but I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet...well, short at least.

My weekend really started on Wednesday around noon. My boss let our department off early. My friend Mary and I took advantage of the afternoon. No one knew we were getting off early (like husbands or kids), so we snuck off to an afternoon viewing of Twilight...for the second time. I love that movie...and Edward. *sigh*

Wednesday afternoon I went to an eye doctor appointment and got new glasses. I'll post pics soon.

Thursday morning was spent cooking and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is quintessential to Thanksgiving. That's kind of a joke. My husband likes to tease me about using big words out of context. Whatever! I know exactly what quintessential means...hold on while I google. Anyway, the rest of the day was spent with family...eating, visiting, digging through Black Friday ads, playing music (not me, them), and tossing the football around. Fun day. I'm so thankful for my family.

Friday, well you already know what I was doing :)

Saturday...I just have one word for you...BEDLAM! We also had Thanksgiving dinner again with dh's mom, dad, brother, and cousin. Oh, and we played some Wii...have I mentioned my bowling skills on the Wii? Yeah, I'm pretty good :) THEN, we watched the OU/OSU game...and what a game it was! OU won! We moved ahead of Texas in the BCS...it's all good! Going to KC to the Big 12 Championship next weekend. Boomer Sooner!

Sunday I had to take Isaiah to the minor emergency center due to poison ivy. Apparently, while he was playing outside Thanksgiving day he acquired some poison ivy. I feel so bad for him. He has it on his little face and his arms. Too sad. I'm highly allergic as well, so now I have poison ivy on my chin, neck and chest. UGH! I thought that stuff was supposed to die off during the fall?!

So, that's the concise version of my weekend. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! :)

It's BEDLAM!

Y'all know what today is? It's Bedlam! Are you excited? I am!! This is the time of year where OU (THE University of Oklahoma) faces OSU (the OTHER State University...jk...Oklahoma State University)! It is always a good game, but today's game is a more important than most. Whoever wins this game will determine their own destiny. For OU, it means going to the Big 12 Championship and on to the National Championship. The OU/OSU game is always high-energy and intense and this year will only be better. The game will be aired on ABC!

It's football at it's finest...it's Bedlam!

BOOMER SOONER, BABY!

Friday Confessions...The Black Friday Version :)

So, it's Friday...time for Friday Confessions...

• My first confession should be that I am writing these on Wednesday...there's so much badness that needs confessing between Wednesday and Friday...so, I'm sure there are things that will go unconfessed until next Friday. There's no way I would be able to actually write these on Friday morning...seeing that I'll be in Tulsa at Starbucks by 3:00AM!...so, that's why they are being written on Wednesday.
• While you're reading these, I am shopping like a fool. IT'S BLACK FRIDAY!
• I'm probably pushing people out of the way (hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do).
• I'm also probably on my second or third Starbucks of the day...you know they opened at 3:00 AM this morning...and there's a Starbucks on every corner...and in Targets!
• I'm probably ticking someone off, pulling out in front of someone, failing to use my turn signal, ignoring traffic lights, stealing a parking spot or mumbling a profanity under my breath as someone steals mine. If you've ever been out shopping on Black Friday, you know what I'm talking about (again, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do).
• I'm also probably complaining about long lines and all the CRAZY people(like I'm NOT one of them)!
• I'm buying things that aren't on my list.
• I might be contemplating taking something out of someone's basket, because it's the last one in the entire store...but DON'T...I'm not that bad, geesh!
• AND more than likely...I'm scoring good deals, enjoying the season and the sales, sharing conversation with my mom and friends, catching a movie, laughing over lunch, and making plans to do it all over again next year!

Happy Black Friday!

Thursday Thankfuls

My last Thursday Thankfuls of November. You know when I started these I was planning on just doing them through November...'til Thanksgiving, but I just love them so much that I'll probably continue doing them...for a while at least. We'll see. So, here are my last Thursday Thankfuls of November:

1. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For having the hope of a better tomorrow and the peace of knowing I'm in his hands. Like I say in my bio, He is always so full of grace and mercy. I totally don't deserve it at times, but I'm so THANKFUL that He gives it anyway.
2. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my family. They love me in spite of myself and I'm sooooo THANKFUL for that! They are the reason I am who I am.
3. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my friends. They mean so much to me. They're there for me when I need them the most. They listen to all my crazy ramblings. They love me for me. I couldn't ask for more.
4. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the yummy Thankgiving dinner I'm about to eat...and for all of the extended family that will be surrounding me...and for those that couldn't be here.
5. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for Black Friday...yeah, I know pretty pathetic...but I'm thankful for the girl time I'm going to have tomorrow, the laughs, the sales, the good buys, the start to the Christmas season, Peppermint Mochas, more laughs, good times, a movie, breakfast/lunch/and dinner out, mom and me time, time with friends, more sales, more good buys, a car full of goodies, and then finally getting back home in the wee hours of Saturday :)
6. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the fact that I get to start putting up my tree and all the Christmas decor and legally listen to Christmas music!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful blog-land friends!!! Love you all!

OU/Texas Tech Game

Saturday night's game was probably the best game that I've been to at Owen Field EVER!! For me it was more exciting than the OU/Nebraska game in 2000. OU was #5 and Texas Tech was #2...the stakes were high...the stands were loud...and the shoot-out was on!

The crowd was a whopping 85,000+! At 30 minutes prior to game time, the Pride of Oklahoma took the field and the electricity was almost visible. We were packed in there like sardines. Stoops had called us out. He said that OU wasn't the loudest stadium he'd ever been to and that the fans weren't that pivotal in a game. Reverse psychology? Maybe. Whatever it was, it worked!! Everybody was loud, proud, and on their feet. We had Bradford and Harrell in the same stadium...we were sure we were going to see some action and just praying that it was in OU's favor. The first quarter got off to a great start with OU's defense stopping the Raiders and the OU offense making the first touchdown of the game. That's key. It kind of sets the momentum of the game. No one was going anywhere...thirsty, you'll have to wait...need to pee, well that'll wait too. Mike and I hadn't ate since we left Wagoner, like 5 hours prior, but that didn't matter either. With every touchdown the excitement grew...we were screaming and yelling and jumping up and down...high-fives everywhere. They started playing that old song Jump Around by House of Pain (maybe?). Imagine 85,000 fans all "jumping around"...crazy! At half-time, the score was in our favor and the momentum was going our way. There was an interception and the crowd went wild! The second half was no different. The crowd was off-the-hook and Sam and crew were right on target. The defense was shutting Tech down. It was great! I don't think anyone thought that it would end like it did. I myself had felt good about the game, no bad feelings (like I felt when we played Texas), but never did I think we would win so decisively. BOOMER SOONER!!

Here's some more pics from the game:

*remember to pause my playlist before starting video*



Cold much?

Final score

Sooners win!

One of my favorite places on campus.

Student Union

Our favorite place to eat after a game...Raising Cane's Chicken...YUMM-O!

Boomer Sooner, Baby!

Here are pics of my No-Sew Tote Bag from Monday's blog, Monday With Martha:

Here's a pic of the final product. I don't have any of the process. Sorry, next time.

Here's a pic of the inside...that's where you use the duct tape and there are staples underneath to hold it all together.

Another look at the "seem"...you can also tell that it's covered in the iron-on vinyl, which gives it a nice protective coating on the inside.


One more pic of the tote :)
*Idea: You could make some of these and use them for re-useable shopping bags. Eco-friendly :)

My Twilight Movie Blog

Twilight is completely AWESOME! Like Melissa and others have said it is amazing...and awesome...and well, amazing. I just can't sing its praises enough. I have thought about the movie like non-stop since I watched it Friday at 5:50 central standard time. Now, don't get me wrong...I did sit there and scrutinize. There were a few parts that weren't exact from the book, but I realize for entertainment purposes the director has to change things. I get that. The casting was so right on for most of the roles. I mean Kristen Stewart, she is Bella...she is exactly like I pictured her to be while reading the books. Rob Pattinson is cute and all, but playing Edward Cullen is what makes him HOTT! I also think they were right on with Alice...she so cute and pixey like, just as I imagined her. The movie is a great translation of the book. Let me just say that it was better than I ever could have imagined and I LOVE it...and can't wait to see it again...and I don't mean waiting 'til it's out on DVD! However, I will be purchasing that as well...but I've already made plans to see it again on Wednesday (tomorrow).

Here's a pic of my ticket!

This is where we went and watched Twilight :)

It was in theater 13...not sure why I felt the need to take this picture...I'm so weird.

Here is me and Mary after the movie. I tried taking a picture while in the theater and you would have thought I had committed a crime...geez, can't a girl capture memories?!?!

Here we are in front of the theater in our "Team Cullen" shirts, you can't see them very well, but they were SO cool! (We're complete dorks)



If you haven't already seen the movie, go see it!!!