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The Year: 2007
The Place: Oktoberfest, Tulsa

So Oktoberfest is coming up here in just a few weeks.  It was listed in USA Today's "Top 10" Octoberfests to attend (of course, in OK, we spell it OKTOBERFEST).  I haven't been to any other events, but I can tell you that the Tulsa fest is a pretty fun one.  We did not go last year because Emmy was just a babe and I wasn't ready to leave her very often.  And we did not attend in 2008 because...well...I don't know.  Maybe we did attend but nothing major happened.

But in 2007?  That was a fun year.  Thursday night is the "trial" night aka Corporate Night.  During the day of corporate night there were some pretty crazy storms that passed through Tulsa.  No tornadoes, but some fierce winds.  Well, as the evening approached it seemed that the winds had subsided and it would be safe to go out that night.  Things were going well, lots of general milling and meaningless chit-chat happening, and not much happening with the weather. 

Chris and I went and got a $500 pitcher (not really that much....I exaggerate you know) of brew, bought some pretzels and German food and found the Samson table under the big tent.  After finding our area, we promptly put down the food and drink and did the chicken dance- like all good Tulsa Oktoberfest attendees do.

The big tent was filled with picnic tables for seating, and instead of sitting on them the conventional way- we were sitting on top of the table facing another Samson couple just talking.  A few winds blew in and slightly inflated the tent.  My civil engineering husband, with concentration in structural, leans to me and says "if a big wind comes in, be ready to run".

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" I thought to myself.  This tent ain't goin nowhere.

But, lo and behold, what happens less than 5 minutes later?  A HUGE gust of wind comes in, practically picks up the tent, and then it quickly crumbles to the ground.  My Indiana grade school drills come back to me and I start to duck and crawl underneath a picnic table for safety.  Apparently Chris' Oklahoma drills came into his mind and he grabbed me and started running towards the exit.  But when you put together a person ducking, and one person running, it basically looked like I was in a headlock being dragged out of the tent.

We get out of the tent, and Chris tells me to "stay right there, I'm going back in to help people".  So I stand there, in the wind, in the rain and eventually in the hail.  I take my hoodie and put it over my head for shelter.  I have to wring it out every 2 minutes.  I'm staying plenty entertained b/c as people find their way out of the tent, it looks as though they are running from King Kong waving their arms in the air like a rhythmic gymnasts ribbon.

Other people decided that standing out in the open in 80mph straight line winds is not a good idea, so they jump into port-o-potties....really people?  Portable toilets?  For shelter in the wind?

Wow.  Anyhow, I'm happy to report that no port-o-poops fell over on the geniuses that jumped into them.

Eventually the storm does its damage and passes through.  As we are leaving we see alot of things:  people searching for beer pitchers that survived the wind and rain, people with head wounds with blood running down their head, people sobbing, and people just looking lost.

Chris and I make it back to our parking spot at the OSU med center.  We found a tarp to cover one of the seats and stopped later at a gas station for a garabage sack for the other seat.

It was cold.  It was crazy.  It makes for a good story.

Were you there?

The Master

bedroom, that is.

I'm so excited for the 2nd week of the 2nd installment of Kelly's "Show Us Where You Live" Fridays.

What a great idea. I enjoyed peeking at everyone's living rooms last week. All I have to say is that there are some great rooms out there, and some great designers. I could use help from SO many of you!

So I will apologize in advance for the quality of my pictures, I snapped these before jumping into the bed. There was the illusion on the camera display that these pictures looked crisp and clear with absolutely no blur. HAH. Maybe I'll take more pictures tomorrow when I get home from work when I have some nice sunlight to work with. Until then......let me present.....our master bedroom (which really isn't all that big. I guess the architects of the 1960's didn't find it necessary to have a big, luxurious master area)

Our queen size bed (hubby is really pushing for a king size) with bedding from Kohls, lamps from Hobby Lobby and pictures that were taken during our trip to Italy and Ireland 4 years ago.

MY NIGHT STAND: lotion that I put on every morning (I swear I'll be wrinkly by 30 because my skin is so dry), Jungle Juice to put on my mosquito bites to kill the itching, OU coaster even though I AM NOT a Sooner fan, old iPhone that i use as an iPod now, Lorex video monitor base, Nook, "Financial Peace", "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" and The Pioneer Woman's cookbook.

HUBBY'S NIGHT STAND: Bible, my Bible, "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters", OU coaster, Chapstick (this is proof positive that women are more complex than men, just look at the list of crap things that reside on our night stands)

ONE CHEST OF DRAWERS: This, along with a 4drawer, vertical chest of drawers belonged to my parents. They received/bought this furniture when they got married, back in 1965. The finish was a wood veneer. Now? It is satin black with new pulls and knobs and I absolutely love it. I guess what was old is now new again. It is well made furniture and I hope we keep it for a LONG time.

JEWELRY TREE: my attempt at organization. I bought a smaller tree b/c I didn't think that I had very much jewelry. Much to my surprise, I overloaded this poor little tree very quickly.

CLOSETS: Just need to brag on my husband a bit. All of the bedroom closet doors (except the nursery) were once on rollers and were sliding doors. I can't begin to count how many times I'd be looking in the right side of the closet only to need something on the other side. Then, as I stood there looking in the left side- I would find myself needing something on the other side. Murphy's Law at its best I suppose. My talented hubby took our old doors and put them on hinges. Sounds easy but it involved so much work and I'm so proud of him. We aren't quite finished with this project, but we will get there...someday.

Thanks for swinging by and taking a look! With hope of all hopes, if Kelly repeats this home tour next year- our closets will be completely finished with door knobs and all!

a girl and her daddy

I am a daddy's girl through and through.  As a child, one look from my father and I knew I was in trouble.  One tiny word of encouragement and I was on top of the world.

They say that little girls have their daddies wrapped around their little fingers, but I think the saying goes both ways.  I would do just about anything for my father, and I know that Emmy will one day be the same.

Right now, she's actually a mommy's girl.  It's pretty much a direct result of me being the primary caretaker for the last 13 months.  But now that she is older, it seems that Chris is able to help with much more.

I'm cherishing this time that I'm her #1.  Someday that will change. At some point I'm sure that friends, sports, her driver's license, boys, shopping, etc will be #1. 

But when it's all said and done, when Emmy has cycled through all other #1's, I hope she realizes that....

daddy holds the top place in her heart.

(well, the #1 mortal...hopefully God always ranks first)

My transformed den

 So I figured it was time to participate in Kelly's "Show us where you live..." Fridays. 

Chris and I poured lots of time and love into this room.  Before we moved all of our belongings into the house, we stayed here and painted in the evenings after work.  We had enough at the house to shower, get ready and eat dinner.  We didn't have a clock, just a radio.  We would paint and just lose track of time, some nights we wouldn't go to bed until midnight.

Here is a BEFORE picture (picture that was from the house listing)

Wood flors, wood panel on the walls, wood door, wood blinds, wood ceiling fan, wood bookshelves with scalloped edging, wood doors on bookshelves...need I say more?

Here is our transformation:

This is the view as you walk into the house.  We added a mantle and a Buck stove (wood burning).
Wood floors, door and beams are the same- everything else has been painted.  This was definitely a labor of love, primer, tape and paint! (If you are a soap opera person, the screen shot is that of As the World Turns.  The series finale was today, so sad.  And if you are very observant- you'll see the red lights on the monitor.  I was trying to convince Emmy to nap)

The wall of pictures (frames from Exposures). This is also the "dump spot": diaper bag, shoes, purse, magazines, a stroller box that's 2 weeks old, shoes, camera bag, etc.

The view from the rocking-recliner (many hours were spent in this chair when Emmy was a newborn)

Another view, this time with the pertussis commercial on TV.

Since I posted a pic of all the other walls, here's the last one.



Date Night

My mom, Chris and I are watching Date Night and we are about 20 minutes into it.  Funny so far!

The first few minutes of the movie were funny but all too realistic.  The part where the friend thought that having sex twice a week was "sparse", the part where Phil walks in the door and Claire is all dressed up and at first he doesn't notice her, the part where she realizes they may be stuck in a rut....it's the opening scene on this movie but I think it closely mirrors reality too.

Lately, I have kind of felt like I am stuck in a rut.  A rut at work, at home, etc.  How do you get out of these ruts?  Ya know, besides a trip to Bora Bora?

12 months + 1

*finding new ways to play with old toys, an abacus turns into a walker, anything rectangular becomes a phone, etc

*can locate these parts of the body: head, eyes, belly, toes

*taking some steps, usually just a few at a time, but took 10 on thursday night (aug 26)

*another round of diaper rash, loose stools and puke...i guess just sensitve skin and digestive system.

*will not lay still for a diaper change

*can be very adament about doing things by herself

*new phrase "whoa, whoa, whoa" when in cozy coupe, or in a real car

*does gagging yourself feel good?  you do it all the time!

*walking many steps at a time

*you are rediscovering your voice and you babble while flipping through books as though you are reading

*papa has been visiting while he works in Tulsa, but when he's not here- you point to do the door and say papa's name, you miss him when he's gone

*trip to Sylva, NC to see TJ and Austin, first flight and you did pretty well.

*size 5 diaper, 18-24month clothes, size 3 shoe (but what does that matter? we've gone back to not liking shoes), 4 bottles/day (we are working on this one and transitioning to sippy)

*some days you eat table food like a champ, and other days you just want baby bananas. You always want soft food when your teeth are bothering you.

*you started eating cereal bars this month, they are very convenient....when you are in the mood to have them.

*it's the end of the month, and you are definitely a walker now!

*no new distinguishable words, but alot of "talking"

*you make us laugh, so genuinely- so often.  We love playing with you.  You like to rough-house, and that's ok because I'm pretty certain someday you will be prissy and I'll miss these days. 

*You wave your hands to music and your face just lights up. 

*You laugh at me when I spank your hand, unless I get really loud and give you "the look".  Then and only then do you realize that I'm serious.  I wish you would just stop when I say "no", I don't like to see you get teary because of me. 

*You are starting to slim down and the rolls on your legs are getting smaller, sniff sniff.

just as you are

Bunco (my sister, Jodie) got a book for Emmy titled "God Loves You".  It is written by Kathleen Long Bostrom.  I love this book because it completely emphasizes the fact that God loves you for being...YOU!  This is something that I want to instill in Emmy.  I want her to be a confident young woman who does not feel as though she needs to conform to the others or to the world to be accepted.


As a pre-teen and through the college years, I feel as thought I felt fairly true to myself.  I know there are times in middle school when I joined in on the gossiping in order to fit in.  I wish I would not have done that.  I know I hurt people.  When I knew that others were talking about me, I really could just brush it off and continue on with my day.  But I know not all people are like that- and I wasn't very cognisant of that fact.


I heard someone say once, that if all your friends from all of your different circles could be friends- then you are doing a pretty good job of staying consistent in who you are.  I feel that statement holds some truth...do you?  If you gathered all of your friends, could they get along?  Would they hold the same values?


Wow, I went off on a tangent and I didn't mean to- really, I just wanted to share this book with you.  I hope you enjoy as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with Emmy.


"God Loves You"

You can be silly or you can be sad.
You can be merry or you can be mad.
You can be grumpy or you can be glad,
God loves you just as you are.

You can be short or you can be tall.
You can be big or you can be small.
Your size and your shape don't matter at all,
God loves you just as you are.

You can be messy or you can be neat.
You can be poky or fast on your feet.
March with the others or to your own beat,
God loves you just as you are.

You can be dark or you can be light.
You can be shades of the day or the night.
Whatever your color, it suits you just right,
God loves you just as you are.

God made each part from your head to your toe.
Day in and day out he is helping you grow.
God made you special and that's how you know,
God loves you just as you are.

12 month pictures

Hi friends!  I am coming to you live from a very uncomfortable, albeit king size bed in a Holiday Inn Express in Sylva, NC.  Emmy is snoozing (Hallelujah!).  We had a long night last night (she felt like being awake and playing from 230-445am and only feel asleep after two 5oz bottles and me patting her back for 10 minutes, this could have a whole post of its own) followed by a VERY.L O N G.DAY with only a 30 minute nap.  So, back to the Emmy is snoozing part- I think she's in deep sleep.  I have some college football on the tube and she's still snoring.  I think we are OK.  I think I can blog without her waking up.

Anyway, the real reason for the post....Emmy's pictures!!!  My very talented friend Shea Casey took these (as well as our newborns and 6 month pictures).  This was by far my favorite session.  Since E's best time of day is the morning, we got started bright and early at 745.  I was a little worried bc it seemed like she wasn't very smiley- but I am super impressed by the results.  Hope you enjoy...

EMMY IN FRONT OF THE RED DOOR @ TRINITY EPISCOPAL

FAMILY PIC AT SAME LOCATION AS ABOVE

WITH HER COZY COUPE ON BOSTON AVE, BOK BUILDING IN BACK

MOMMY, DADDY AND MISS INDEPENDENT

EMMY AND THE TICKLE MONSTERS