stormin' and shakin'

Earthquakes and thunderstorms.  In the same night.  Only in Oklahoma.

I love this place.

toto, i think we are in kansas

So, I'm working on the whole catching up thing.. I sifted through the rest of my summer pictures and came to the executive decision that summer was over so no more summer posts. 

I will start from September.

Oh, September. [the curse of September]  I can't, well I just won't, explain the curse of September right now.  September has passed for the year, so therefore, I'm over it.  But just know, there is one, and it's real.

The first weekend in September we had the pleasure of visiting some dear friends in Wichita, KS.  It was tons of fun and can't wait to go again! 

The girls did girl things {antique and thrift shopping} while the boys did boy things [football, video games, wings, and beer].  Not a bad setup, huh..

We first ventured out to the farmer's market.

 

I always enjoy a good market.  I picked up an aloe vera plant, and we got to enjoy this man's wonderful singing.

Next, we spent hours at antique shops, thrift centers, and a Goodwill.  We found some awesome finds - maybe that will be my next post.. all my good buys.. But anyways... On our way to Goodwill, it began to rain.  My dear friend seemed slightly confused why I was so happy to see rain.  We had not seen rain in so long in Norman that it felt, looked, smelled very refreshing.  I couldn't help but snap several shots of it.

Then, I caught myself watching the raindrops race each other.  You know how you used to do when you were a kid?  It was a strange memory that made me feel like I was 6 years old again.

After scrummaging around at Goodwill and sadly watching a gorgeous white rocker walk out the door as we were arriving, we went home to our husbands and watched a little football with them.  The next morning, we went to this amazing restaurant for brunch before saying goodbye to our friends.

We had a wonderful weekend and were sad to leave, but we had to get back to our little furry baby and get ready for the next week.  When we returned to Norman, we too went and had a little lunch date.  We knew we wanted good beer and a patio.  The Library? Of course.

It was the perfect end to the perfect weekend.

rakin' it in

Wow. July.

Really? July?

Well, I'm a little behind :) I actually hate being behind on life.  It may not look like it or seem like it, but I do.  I'm working on trying to not be, but life happens.  Weird huh...

So, for now, I will just post something simple.  My newest addiction, unfortunately, is Pinterest.  I know I know.. I'm behind on that too (see...).. And actually, I haven't been on in awhile, but here is an idea I picked up from there and had to do myself.

the rake necklace holder

rustic. simple. {basically} free.

I picked up this rake head at a local boutique/antique store for $2.  I was just looking around their place outside where they have some items.  And what did I spy?  A rake head.  A red rake head.  I picked it up and looked at the price tag - holding my breath..how you do when you find something you have to have, but know it's priced way more than you are willing to pay... And to my surprise, it was only $4!! Well, they were having a sidewalk sale that day, and I got this rake head and a cute brown and black patent clutch for a total of $3.  Sold.

I took it home with me, sprayed it with a clear coat of spray paint (to keep the rust from getting on my jewelry, but still being able to keep the rusty look), and hung it in my bathroom.  It was perfect.

To top it off, I remembered we had an old rake that was here when we moved into the rent house.  On the end of this old, rigged rake that didn't work worth a you-know-what was a perfect rake head.  So instead of my husband throwing the whole thing away, I told him to keep the end, that I had a project for it.  Kind of confused, he went ahead and kept it for me.  I'm not sure if I will keep it for another necklace holder, a gift for a friend, or I've also seen them used as a wine glass holder.

I love that I have a [free] back-up rake head.

7 + 4 = 11

well, one thing is for sure in life, i've learned - it always changes.  some things that have changed over the past few years are traditions.  i never thought of them as traditions, but we did certain things the same way every year - no questions.  one of those traditions was going to the fireworks on our boat on lake tenkiller.  but this year they decided to shoot them on the actual 4th (crazy, i know)... since i had to be at the grown-up job the next day, there was no way we could watch them.  so we had to settle for a different 4th of july...

 

norman's 4th of july fireworks show.

apparently, it's quite the spectacle.

still trying to figure out the new camera settings...

nothing too fancy though.

got some crazy light shots

i was just glad we got to see some fireworks on the 4th.  i love fireworks. 

all was not lost though - we still went to the lake.  even though we failed following through with our traditions, the weather did not.  

it rained.

and it hailed.

i can never remember a 4th of july without rain.

i also got to see this cute face - my nephew, bryson

now, no one could be mad if they saw that.

jazzin' in june

we finally made a jazz in june.. here are the only two pictures i snapped to prove it.

after listening to a few jazzy tunes, we came home to our dog.

me: babe, get a picture of me and tank.. we never take pictures just the two of us...

these 3 pictures are only a select few of the many, many failures...

now i remember why i don't take pictures with tank.

however, we did have some success.. 

so this is tank.. our black golden retriever and our pride and joy.

we wouldn't trade that face for the world.

"the list"

so i just revisited "the list" i made for myself of things i wanted to accomplish in my two weeks vacation..

well, i finished #1 -- whoo hoo!! but only a brief celebration because it was not nearly long enough (which i knew it wouldn't be -- still need some more literature to review...) and now the "fun" part begins.. data processing and analyzing.. and then, eventually, writing the dang thing... the thesis.

#2 - well, it's always a work-in-progress.. with going out of town every other weekend or so, i feel like i constantly have a Vera Bradley bag half-packed.. i'm almost caught up on laundry, and i love having all my laundry clean, except that i run into the problem of where to put it.. i'm sure you have the same problem.. at some point in time, not all of your laundry is necessarily clean, so there's always room for everything else, not the stuff in the dirty hamper... ugh. hence, i need to go through my clothes i don't wear and shouldn't wear anymore, now that i'm a married, professional 25yr old, blah blah blah...  i have, however, gotten the quilt and comforter cleaned!!! this is a HUGE accomplishment.. and i'm forcing the hubs to join me in weening the dog from getting on our bed.. because the next comforter i buy for our bed (which will be in the near future since the current comforter barely made it through the industrial wash this time) will hopefully be this one or one very similar... and if you don't know Tank, he is a black dog.. a long-haired black dog.. black dog + white comforter = gross. and not a happy Danielle... i did get caught up on my filing and couponing though!  well, except for this past sunday's :) but other than that, i'm pretty caught up in that department...

#3 came and gone too quickly... oh how i loved getting my hair done by Aura and my massage and eyebrows by Jenni... *sigh*

#4 has definitely been happening... when he isn't studying for school or was studying for the GRE... however, now that i work during the day and he goes to the library all day, we have the evenings together.. for the most part...  we just enjoyed a wonderful weekend together.. just the two of us.. **post of pics to follow later... maybe tomorrow**

but for now, i'm hittin' the sack :)

night night

ironing

when you burn yourself - ironing, cooking, grilling, etc - you are always cautious from that point forward so you don't burn yourself again.  you guard your hands, arms, fingers and move them slowly by the hot object, making sure to keep a safe distance.

you can sometimes become too cautious and not complete the task you set out to do.

however, you can become complacent in your motions and get burned again.

so, be careful and be aware of your surroundings, but don't become blinded or stuck in a rut.

just keep ironing.

750words

in the midst of a manic, monday meltdown (like that alliteration?...), i learned about this project at my writing camp this morning...

750words is a website where you are challenged to write 750 words (or more) each day.  it can be about anything, it is private, and you can even gain "points" and play challenges/games with your fellow colleagues to see who can get as many points as possible... nerdy? maybe.  cool? definitely.

as i was sitting there exploring the site and, of course, listening to the lady speaking at the camp, i discovered the man who developed this project - buster benson.  this "buster benson" fella is pretty awesome... after looking at some of his other projects, i could see myself spending hours reading and exploring his sites..

so, just wanted to share this gleam of awesomeness in the midst of my monday meltdown...

monday meltdown

MELTDOWN WARNING:

MELTDOWN POTENTIAL VERY HIGH FOR TODAY.  WE ARE ISSUING A MELTDOWN WARNING UNTIL LATE THIS WEEK.

WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED...

so far

1.) Write a proposal

2.) Clean the house - thoroughly clean the house (this includes, and is not limited to, cleaning out my clothes, cleaning and reorganizing the linen/hall closet, going through the stuff in the garage, and catching up on my filing and couponing)

3.) Get a haircut - scratch that - have a pamper Danielle day (massage and eyebrows by Jenni and hair cut and color by Aura and possibly a mani/pedi)

4.) me and the hubs time - this hasn't happened in I don't know how long - we'll hopefully catch up on Grey's and just chill out with cookouts in the backyard and play with our little dog child - Tank

This was the list I posted last Friday (the 13th) of the things I wanted to get accomplished in the 2 weeks vacation...

So far, I have not even put a dent in #1... started on #2, but not doing any of the things listed.... #3 will come on May 26th, so I can't really say anything about that one yet... And I would chalk up tonight and, hopefully, the rest of the week for #4... 

So, all in all, I've done pretty well :)  However, #1 is the main one I need to be working on... How does it always happen that way?

Anyways, this weekend I got some Stilwell strawberries from my mom, so I sliced some up this evening..

And they really are that red.. they're gorgeous... and yummy.

Well, got to get back to cleaning... Hopefully, since I'm on vacation and all, I can make a trip to the farmers market on a Wednesday morning for once...

Then, of course, work on that proposal...

"Vacation"

Well, today at 4:30ish, my life as an intern at Chesapeake ended and my 2 weeks of "vacation" began...

However, I don't really consider it starting until Monday (if not later) because I have a lot of stuff to do this weekend and the beginning of next week...

But, nonetheless, it has started...

And at the end of the 2ish weeks, I will begin my full-time, grown-up, big girl, 40 hours/week job at Chesapeake...

Once again, I'm excited/sad/scared... I don't know how many more overload emotion episodes I can take...

In these 2 weeks, I hope to:

1.) Write a proposal

2.) Clean the house - thoroughly clean the house (this includes, and is not limited to, cleaning out my clothes, cleaning and reorganizing the linen/hall closet, going through the stuff in the garage, and catching up on my filing and couponing)

3.) Get a haircut - scratch that - have a pamper Danielle day (massage and eyebrows by Jenni and hair cut and color by Aura and possibly a mani/pedi)

4.) me and the hubs time - this hasn't happened in I don't know how long - we'll hopefully catch up on Grey's and just chill out with cookouts in the backyard and play with our little dog child - Tank

It seems like there's so many more things to do in these two weeks, but I'm sure this will keep me busy...

mixed emotions

Well, I just took my last final exam ever.  Like EVER...

I have been going to school for 20+ years.. that's more than two decades... crazy, huh?

I feel excited, happy, sad, weird... scared... emotion overload..

My real final exam awaits in late fall of this year... I'm sure I'll have the same rush of emotions, but greater...

"80% of the final exam will be based on the one lecture

you missed and the one book you didn’t read."

the many Cs of life

One of my professors always refers to his "Cs"...

His Cs refer to things dealing with school, assignments, and what not..

Mine, I'd like to think, are essential for a happy life...

Cs for the day... commitment, communication, and compromise.