Spice Up Your Life!

Yes, the rumors are true. The Spice Girls are reuniting for an 11 date reunion tour. I was never a huge Spice Girls fan, but the fact that they are getting back together gets me excited. Robin dressed up as Sporty Spice in high school for Halloween with some of her friends. I would make fun of her for it, but I do things like that all the time and she looked awesome. Anyway, I get really nostalgic about things like that. Bands reuniting makes me happy. Currently The Smashing Pumpkins, my all time favorite band, is also reuniting. Their new album comes out in July and I can hardly wait. One of the first things I found out about Kody was that he shared my love for the pumpkins. The first gift he ever gave me was a DVD he burned with four SP videos. It is probably my favorite gift I have ever received. I'm determined to see them live one day and now that they are back together my time has come. Maybe I can catch the Pumpkins and Spice Girls back to back. Now that would be a fun weekend.

My Green Thumb

I have an open blister on the inside of my left thumb. It's from mowing the yard. Who knew mowing could be so detrimental to your hands! It feels like I spent four hours in the batting cage without gloves. Now that can mess your hands up. It has been raining and raining and raining some more in Tulsa over the past few weeks. It has really limited the number of opportunities we have to work in the yard. Finally on Sunday we had our chance! Even though the weather was good, the grass was still wet, but something had to be done. We weren't sure when we would have clear skies again. Because the grass had gotten so long we decided to bag the grass instead of just letting the mower spread the grass clippings everywhere (much easier). Since I had to mow with the bag on the mower it added what felt like 50 pounds of wet grass. I haven't worked up a sweat like that in a long time...and I work out! My shoulders were pretty spent after pushing that thing around for an hour. I was quite pleased with myself. Don't worry, Kody was working too. I actually enjoy mowing. I think it is because I never was allowed to mow growing up. My parents always thought I was going to run over my foot. Plus, since my dad is a doctor we always heard about the types of patients he saw in his clinic: mowing accidents, car accidents, and the worst of them all...trampoline accidents. The first time I told them I mowed the yard in Tulsa they said to me, "Make sure you wear shoes, Ginny". Really? Am I not going to wear shoes? Silly parents! Anyway, since I never mowed growing up I don't mind mowing now. It makes me feel very capable. I take pride in making our yard look nice. I weeded all the flower beds as well. It looks quite spectacular. Our rose bushes are a beautiful bright pink and the grass is really green, thanks to all the wonderful we weather we have had. I really just wanted to tell everyone I had a painful blister on my thumb. Give me sympathy. I need it!

Tricky Zippers

I used to get embarrassed pretty easily, I don't as much anymore. Today that is a good thing and I will tell you why. I'm wearing these really cute Capri pants. That's not the embarrassing part, unless of course I think they are cute and they really aren't. Anyway, they button and zip on the side, not the front. I'm sure you can see where this is going. After I go the restroom I always double check the side and make sure they are zipped up all the way. Zippers have a funny way of tricking me so I have to try to out smart them. Today the zipper won. I came out of the restroom and headed to the kitchen at the office to heat up my lunch. I talked to a few people, nothing too exciting and then I made my way back to my desk. I got up to refill my water bottle and noticed my left thigh felt a little cool. I looked down and , yes, my zipper was unzipped. Not a fourth of the way, not half way, but fully and completely unzipped. The zipper runs a good six to seven inches from my hip bone, so if anyone was paying attention they probably got a pretty good show. Lucky them. That is probably as close as I will ever get to a strip tease and I can't say it was too enjoyable. The truth is no one probably even noticed and I'm quite thankful for that. I'm confident that the zipper will not win again. I've experienced defeat once and I'm not a fan.

Tip of the day: Check your zipper. Even if your hot there are better ways to get a cool breeze than having an open airway in your pants.

Waiting for November

It is the middle of June and all I can think about today is Thanksgiving and Christmas. Perhaps that is because I am quite obsessed with the holiday season. It gets me all excited inside like Disney World. This year I have a dream. My dream is simple, yet it still seems unobtainable. This year I want to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner at our house for my family and Kody's. Yes, I want to cook a full Thanksgiving dinner by myself. I'm not sure what sparked my enthusiasm, but whatever it was I love it. Maybe it is that I have been craving the cranberry orange relish that my mom and I make every year or it could be that I've been religiously reading various food websites over the past year. A few of my favorites are:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/
http://kraftfoods.com/kf
http://www.foodandwine.com/
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/

Take a gander, they are all simply fabulous and educational. After researching as much as I have, I feel like I am prepared and ready to take on the challenge of preparing a holiday meal. The only problem will be getting everyone to my house.

Other exciting holiday news is that Kody and I are going to the Florida / Florida State game the Saturday after Thanksgiving at The Swamp. Yes sports fans, we will get to witness the current NCAA Champion Florida Gators on their home turf in one of the greatest in state rivalries in the history of this great nation. We leave in twenty one weeks and three days. The countdown is on.

A Few Fun Side notes:

Yesterday I locked my keys in the trunk at Target and Kody had to come bail me out. Fun.

A girl that I work with just saw Issac Hanson at a coffee shop in Tulsa.

I have already chewed half a pack of Orbit Citrus Mint gum today. My jaw hurts.

Good To Be Home

It feels so nice to be home. It feels like we have been going and going and going. We have been out of town the past five weekends and it is starting to have an effect on me. I need weekends to recover from my weekends. It is a brutal cycle and it must be stopped! Unfortunately it won't until September because wedding season is in full swing. Don't get me wrong, I love weddings and showers, it was just easier when I lived in the same town as all the action and not an hour and a half away. Tonight I fully plan on vegging out and watching some quality television.

I got to see a lot of friends over the past few days. Tiffany's wedding was beautiful and we all had a lot of fun. Angela, Lauren and I went to Lottinville's (yum!) for Angela's birthday lunch. They brought us a seven layer chocolate chip cake with a sparkler. It smelled like the fourth of July and tasted like Heaven. Kody and I invaded Tyler and Darin's and had game night, one of our favorite past times. We played Cranium Pop 5. Tyler and I pretty much got owned by the boys. It's a little tough to take, but I feel like next time is our time to prevail...we get a little competitive. We also cooked dinner for my parents for Father's Day. We grilled steak, roasted corn and veggies, and had a fabulous salad, plus we had Baskin Robbin's ice cream cake. Splendid!

Every time we go back to Edmond I miss it. This weekend was no exception and for one big reason, the Randy's M&M's Tent Sale. If you have never been to the Randy's Tent Sale you must make an effort next time. It happens twice a year and my family usually schedules the day around it. There is just something exciting about a cheap movie! Kody and I purchased four: Fever Pitch, Munich, The Constant Gardener, and Miami Vice. Those should keep us busy over the next few days.

I don't feel entertaining today so I'm sorry if I bored you. Happy Birthday Kinsey! I'm going to go eat an apple now...

The Amazing Almond

Over the past couple of years I have become a lot more health conscious than I used to be. I wouldn't call myself a health freak, but maybe a health enthusiast. I read as much as I can about fitness, food, and nutrition. I find it simply astounding how much the things we eat effect our bodies, minds, and moods. I used to be a very picky eater and I still am, but I am trying to make myself branch out. My newest food obsession is none other than.....the almond.


Almonds scared me for awhile. I have never really liked nuts plus I didn't want to "waste" calories on a few little nuts when I could save them for ice cream! Half a cup of Cherry Garcia or 28 nuts?? Cherry Gracia all the way! Not anymore. I still love my Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, but I have found there is room in there to go a little bit nuts. (Don't you love my play on words?) For those of you who are still resistant, I would like to give you a little background and information about the almond. Here are my top 10 reasons to love almonds:


10. They are high in fat AND good for you. That's because most of the fat is monounsaturated which is the same good for your heart fat that is in olive oil. Yum yum.

9. Women that eat at least one ounce of almonds a week have a twenty five percent fewer chance of developing gallstones.

8. Romans referred to the almond as "The Greek Nut", because the Greek's were the first civilization to cultivate them. I'm part Greek so I have to support my ancestors.

7. You can store almonds frozen for up to a year and in the fridge for months so you don't have to worry about them going bad.

6. Almonds are really the seed from the Almond Tree which is a cousin to the Peach, Cherry, and Apricot tree. What a tasty family! Here is what it looks like....

5. They taste good with dried fruit.


4. They protect your heart against cardiovascular disease and diabetes.


3. The Bible mentions the almond ten times.

2. They don't ever go "out of season" so you can buy them all year, although they are the best during the summer.

And finally......

1. The almond skin has flavonoids. I think that sounds neat.

For those of you who are trying to improve your health or just branch out a little bit when it comes to food, try the almond. Throw some in a salad or chop them up and put them over pasta. Live dangerously, but protect your heart in the process!

Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy the Flight!

I'm not a fan of flying. I never have been and I probably never will be. It is, however, something I have had to deal with because I love to travel. I don't remember when I took my first plane ride because I was so young. I've been flying my entire life. Sometimes I think people have fears because they don't try something until later in life like swimming, onions, or skydiving. Flying is not one of those things. It doesn't matter how "used to it" I am, I will never be comfortable on a plane. Sometimes my family makes fun of me because I have mini panic attacks when we hit turbulence. Sure, I know I have a greater chance of being killed in a car accident, but at least I am semi in control of the car. I have absolutely no control over a plane. Apparently, I have control issues. Sadly, as much as I need to deal with my control issues, they are not the point of this entry. Today I read an article on MSNBC that made me feel much better about my fear of flying. Not better as in, "YAY I can't wait to go fly now!", but better in the "I'm not a lunatic after all" sort of way.

Here is how the article started:
"A pilot told nervous passengers travelling with a low-cost Spanish airline that nearly half the seats on their plane were out of use due to a safety problem but it was nothing to worry about, a Spanish newspaper reported. As passengers took their seats on the Lisbon to Madrid flight operated by Vueling Airlines on Sunday they noticed that all but three of the 32 rows on one side of the plane were taped off. The captain told them on the intercom: "We will not be able to use that part of the plane because we have a safety problem with the door at the front. Don't worry, it's only a safety problem". - MSNBC Website June 11, 2007

The article goes on to explain that the "safety problem" was with the eight emergency exits on the plane so they couldn't serve the normal capacity of passengers. Well that's comforting. At least it wasn't anything serious like they were out of peanuts and coke.

Happy Half Birthday to You

Wednesday was Kody's half birthday. Sadly, throughout my life I have noticed that the majority of the population does not share my enthusiasm for half birthdays. I'm quite puzzled by this. Why not take a time out to celebrate? Everyone needs a day to feel special, and quite frankly one day a year isn't enough for me. Growing up my mom always made a big deal about our half birthdays. I thought it was normal. None of my friends ever knew what I was talking about. "Half birthday, what's that? You're weird!" I get that a lot....the you're weird part. Anyway, something happened this year and it has bothered me since January 16, my half birthday. This was the first half birthday of my life that my mom did not call or send me something. I thought it wasn't going to bother me, but it did. It wasn't that I didn't get a present or a special cupcake, but as I have gotten older maybe the little things that we used to enjoy aren't as important as they used to be. Let me tell you this is a myth! I still love my half birthday and I will cherish it always. Because of this I have vowed that I will always make a big deal about half birthdays when I have children...in about 20 years.

For those of you who are wondering, a half birthday falls exactly six months after your actual birthday. If you can't do the simple math, go to the website below. There is a calculator that will do the thinking for you. Amazing! Also, there are some great cards and party gear made specifically for half birthdays. http://yourhalfbirthday.com/

Happy half to you whenever that may be!