Thanksgiving and Such

To begin this blog, let's take a quick poll...So, who has FELT an earthquake since last Tuesday? Anyone?....Anyone?....HA! I didn't think so. This just proves my last blog's point. I realize they have measured some earthquakes, but I haven't felt a single one since my quake-causing husband has returned home. I'm just saying...Everyone knows, I can't resist any opportunity I'm granted to showcase my right-ness.

So, Thanksgiving? It comes every November, but somehow it doesn't seem possible to be that time of year again. I don't know if it was my wedding or maybe the immense stress this semester's schoolwork has placed on me, but this one totally snuck up on me. One thing that will be new this year is the designation of which side of the family we spend which holiday with. This year, we are going to be with his family for Thanksgiving, while my side won Christmas. It is going to be strange to be away from my side of the family for one of the holidays, but I am optimistic (Shocked? It occaisionally happens) about the start of this new tradition of holiday-swapping between families. I'm super pumped about cooking/baking and most likely burning/ruining some treats to take with us to Thanksgiving! I have always loved the idea of cooking and baking, but, the majority of time, I end up screwing something up - not super bad, but enough to make my cooking mediocre, at best. For instance, I just choked down the chili I made because I added WAAAYYY too much chili seasoning. It only makes sense to half the seasoning when you half everything else in the recipe, huh? Ooopppsss....However, the extreme spice of it really cleared out the sinuses. Another thing I am looking forward to is the Christmas gift exchange we will be having at Thanksgiving since we won't see them during Christmas. Hope his side of the family buys into that ol' theory of "giving" is better than "receiving," as I have yet to complete shopping for their gifts.

Shake it Like a Salt Shaker, Polaroid Picture, etc.

I know, I know…everyone is about as tired of HEARING about the earthquakes as we are HAVING the darn things. However, I doubt anyone has heard the real reason we are being abundantly and overly blessed with the quakes. I have my own theory and all the “fault” (I know, I know… people are also tired of hearing quake-associated puns) should be placed upon one person, and one person solely: my husband. He has the innate, uncontrollable and inexplicable ability to cause and attract trouble. I love him dearly, but hear me out. Remember our freak snowstorm/blizzard/snowpocalypse? Guess who left the state and, most likely, caused an unnatural shift in the polar caps or something? Yep, my husband did. He was gone for two weeks and left me here – alone – to shovel my way out. By the time he came back, there was hardly any snow left. Guess who has also been gone for the last week during our record-setting freak earthquake outbreak? Uh huh, the hubs. I was, once again, alone when the Friday night “pre-shock” hit. Did I just have a weird dream? Perhaps some crazy drunk drove right through my house? Or MAYBE, I am going banana sandwich (this was, at the time, my first thought). I turned to my Twitter page (I love social media) to see if anyone else had the trippy experience, which was a much more appropriate second plan after my initial reaction to run through the streets in sheer terror. Luckily, others had posted about the quake, which meant, for the time being, I was still, at least, mildly sane. But, I have good news. Rest assured he is on his way home now, so this should restore the natural balance of the Earth’s tectonic plates. Wonder what will happen next time he decides to leave me? Tsunami, asteroid impact (we got close), volcanic eruption, perpetual darkness, the return of dinosaurs…

When I told him about my theory he laughed, but he also posited his own interpretation. He believes that my high-strung and turbulent emotions in response to his absence have been the catalyst to all of our problems. Tu shay…

You really want to be scared? Read if you dare.

I have suffered from a blogger block this week. I had, until this moment, no idea what to please my nine readers with. I considered telling you about my husband I's trip to Hallo-Marine (at the Jenks aquarium), but there really wasn't much to tell. To sum it up, you really need to have a kid to go to these things. I am thinking of looking into borrowing one for certain kid-geared events (Halloween and Easter). It would keep quizzical, judgemental glances from being directed our way. You know these people are wondering whether A. We misunderstood what the event was, or B. We are those creepy "Hey kid, want a ride?" people. Aside from the uncomfortable looks, my husband managed to smooth talk his way into a purse-ful (my purse, of course) of chocolate treats and I got to see some fish. Overall, win-win I suppose

What I really want to "scare" you with is some Halloween candy fun facts. I have a "love-hate" relationships with the folks at Eat This, Not That! on Twitter. They provide me with quality information and quite shocking nutritional/caloric information about meals at popular dining establishments. I love them because they help the waistline, but detest them entirely for ruining my complete enjoyment of certain meals because I am paranoid about how many thousand calories I am consuming. They recently tweeted some super scary facts about that delicious Halloween candy that is so tempting. Enjoy....

Three Reese's Peanut Butter Cups = More sugar than a glazed donut
Nine Twizzlers = Wendy's Double Stack burger
Butterfinger "Fun Size" = 100 calories
3 "Mini" Twix = 150 calories

From the Cooking Light website:

Assorted Hershey's Minis (1 mini) = 42 calories (Personally, I feel compelled to sample one of each)
Mounds Snack Size Bar = 80 calories
Kit Kat Snack Size = 70 calories
Reese's Pieces Snack Size = 67 calories

Now, who had AT LEAST one of each last night? =) Scary, right?

Oh, well...the holiday season is upon us. Throw on your expandable waist, stretchy pants and oversized sweaters! Thanksgiving here we come!

My Sober (Yes, it’s possible) Adventures at Oktoberfest

This was my first time to ever go to Oktoberfest, and I must say I rather enjoyed myself. I have lived here my whole life and I have never been. I think my desire to go this year stemmed from missing out on the state fair and my fascination with the Eastland-mall style tents that reminded me of a day when it was safe to be east of 169 on 21^st street (True Tulsans will catch the now-ghetto mall reference).

I am not a big drinker and I do not drink beer whatsoever. I gag if my nose gets too close to it – gross. So, you might wonder (as I did) what in the world could I possibly enjoy at a “fest” geared almost entirely to the celebration of beer?

·         Well, for starters, I got an excellent parking spot (Reason I loved the “fest” #1). I parked on the east side of the river and enjoyed a leisurely stroll with my husband across the bridge. Bad parking situations are a huge pet peeve of mine. I have been known to become so irate with terrible parking situations (i.e. Tulsa State Fair) that I simply go home because I do not have the patience to tolerate the jumbled up mess and idiotic drivers who cause the already horrendous problem to be even more of a cluster.

·         Unbeknownst to us, Oktoberfest started at 11:00 a.m. and we inadvertently managed to arrive at 11:05, which was absolutely wonderful! There was hardly anyone there and we almost had free reign of the place (Reason I loved the “fest” #2). As much as I hate jumbled up parking messes, I hate jumbled up swarms of people much more. I detest strange people bumping into me; even if you exclaim, “Oh, I’m sorry!” I will not forgive you.

·         Most of all, I loved the food! Even if you don’t enjoy beer, you can always enjoy the huge variety of food (Reason I loved the “fest” #3). The husband consumed a bratwurst faster than I believed was humanly possible; I enjoyed my giant pretzel. Together we tried a Bavarian cheesecake strudel, which was absolutely fantastic and every flaky layer gives me more reason to return next year.

·         I didn’t know what lederhosen were prior to my visit to Oktoberfest, but after seeing everyone and their dog (not a figure of speech, in this case) wearing them, I caught on quickly (Reason I loved the “fest” #4). Definitely don’t see suspenders every day.

I believe I will be returning next year, even if it's only to try the other flavors of strudel!

My Top 8 - Fall Edition

Thought I would share something a little more light-hearted for this week’s blog post. To be entirely honest, I wanted to post something that required little to absolutely zero thought, as I have been suffering from post-wedding stress disorder – trust me, it’s a very real thing, just ask my victim…I mean, husband.

Fall is my most favorite time of the year.  There are certain things (sights, sounds, smells etc.) about it that just make me innately, inexplicably content and thankful to be alive. Here is a list of my top eight fall-errific things:

1.       Pumpkin-flavored things. It doesn’t matter what it is; if it’s pumpkin flavored, I’m going to try it. My most beloved pumpkin-flavored treat this fall is Cherry Berry’s Pumpkin Pie frozen yogurt. The 71^st & Garnett location has the treat and I highly recommend it. Like them on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/cherryberry71standgarnett?sk=wall

2.       The OMG-is-something-burning-smell?!?! when the heater is turned on for the first time for the season. It’s slightly alarming and unnerving; yet, entirely delightful at the same time.

3.       Crunchy leaves. I will wander into oncoming traffic in order to step on a ridiculously crunchy-looking leaf and hear that satisfying sound.
4.        Halloween festivities. I adore Halloween, but the kid-version. I hate scary movies. I am already paranoid enough. I have also been known to – inadvertently – physically retaliate when someone in a haunted house infiltrates my personal space. Therefore, I steer clear of adult-themed Halloween activities and opt for more demure – albeit, childish – ones. You can find me cruising through the hay bale maze at the local pumpkin patch and kicking it with the kiddos at Hallow-Zoo-een (the Tulsa Zoo’s perfectly safe and only mildly frightening trick-or-treating festival). Learn more about it at http://www.tulsazoo.org/

5.       Craft shows. Dear God, I love craft shows. I love them even more if instead of “show” they use the word “fair” or “bazaar” in the name – I mean, who doesn’t love a good bazaar?

6.       Candles that smell like desserts. Bath and Body Works has awesome food-inspired scents this year. I can fool guests (and my new husband) into thinking I baked.  You can fake-bake too! http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?page=1&cm_sp=LN-_-VIEW+MORE-_-+Candles&cp=4090262.4090363&categoryId=11323030

7.       The return of the flu and other related illnesses. Hold on, let me explain. Getting and having the flu or any other illness is no fun and I am not saying I enjoy being sick or my loved ones being sick. HOWEVER, I enjoy the presence of these infectious problems for multiple reasons. The first being that they provide an exceptionally legitimate excuse for taking sick leave, when perhaps, one is not as sick as one may indicate to one’s boss (Disclaimer: I would never in a ba-jallion years ever do this). It’s only courteous to stay home if you might be feeling something coming on. It is irrelevant if it ever actually does “come on.” The second reason to love the flu season is my most obnoxious co-worker is highly sensitive to getting sick, which equals less time in this person’s annoying presence. (This is a joke...of course, I mean I love ALL my co-workers...equally...and would never wish them harm...ever. What?! I promise!)

8.    The cheap decorations in the “$1 bins” at Target. I’m not sure of the actual name of these “bins,” but I like to refer to them as such because the majority of the items in them are only one dollar. They are located, at least at the Targets I frequent, immediately as you walk in – the perfect location for maximum enticement. This year, I bought adorable Halloween-themed kitchen towels and even cuter socks, which I may or may not be wearing right now.

May you all have the fortune to enjoy these fall things this season!

It's Facebook Official

This is my second attempt at blogging. You would think I would be more comfortable with this; yet, oddly enough, it is still slightly awkward to "put out there" whatever it is that I am thinking, which, recently, has not been much of anything.

I did make my Facebook fan page, which means that I am, officially, a fan of Owasso Volleyball Club. I contemplated making a fan page for myself, but the pessimistic side of me wouldn't allow it as there is a high probability that no one would "like" it -- including myself. Fortunately, a former assistant coach of mine suggested I make one for Owasso Volleyball Club, a non-profit volleyball club that I used to coach for. I coached with OVC for three years and loved every minute! OVC is fortunate to have a wonderful board of directors and an even better coaching staff (it's still fabulous -- even without me). OVC was created in order to provide an affordable alternative to the extremely expensive volleyball clubs in Tulsa. OVC still prides itself on its financial accessibility and has now grown to serve the greater Tulsa area.

For these reasons, I am, most definitely, a fan of OVC. There is also an added bonus to creating the OVC fan page. I am looking into doing my graduate creative project over OVC. For the project, I hope to increase awareness of OVC and create a successful marketing approach for the organization. This Facebook fan page could help out with that goal.

Even though creating a fan page and posting it to my personal account did make me feel a little strange, ultimately, I think it was a good learning experience and could help me out with my project later. I suppose I am a fan of creating Facebook fan pages.

Check out my Facebook fan-tastic page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Owasso-Volleyball-Club/159596720800623

Will Blog for an "A"

As the title suggests, I am beginning this blog journey at the request of my professor. She is determined to get us into social media no matter how many tantrums we throw, but, just like our mothers would say, it is for our own good (and I recognize that).

So, here we go. I have typed, deleted, re-typed, criticized, giggled (at my cleverness), then deleted again (nope...that's just stupid) more introductions to this thing than I dare to mention. So, no words of wisdom, slick puns, snarky stabs or thought-provoking statements from me...this time. I'll work on it, I promise.

Confession: I knew NOTHING about mass communications before I started this program. I was testing the waters I guess. Well, that is part of it, and I also knew an English degree wouldn't get me where I wanted to be (don't ask me where that is though). If I think too hard about it, I start to realize how incredibly stupid I was for shelling out tons of cash to take classes in a degree field I didn't even research beforehand. Not sure what I was thinking, but I must say, I am so glad I didn't over-analyze it because I do believe I have fallen in love. I mean, how neat is it that I get a grade for playing on Twitter, starting a blog and keeping up with media gossip?

This class in particular has been quite eye-opening. I had a Facebook, but that was the extent of my social media activity. I didn't really even post on the thing though...to be honest, I used it for creeping on other people. However, because of this class, I now have a Twitter (which I do post on), I have a blog (which I am attempting to post on), and I, occasionally, post on Facebook, but I still mostly use that for creepin' (some habits die hard). Without the gentle push this class has given me, I would be in a communications degree field with little knowledge of social media and its immense impact on the field. My new (and still growing) knowledge of social media will be the biggest thing I take from this class. Well, that and my AP Stylebook and me should get to know each other better. So, I owe my professor a HUGE thank-you for expanding my horizons and showing me what I have been missing.