Throughout the Decades

Have you ever wished you had lived through a different time? I sometimes wish I had been alive in the '50s. It seems like a simpler time where moms stayed home with their children and baked all day. But then, again I do like my freedom! I found this website, www.yearbookyourself.com. You should check it out! It's so much fun! I can't wait to do Ty!

(The corresponding year is above the picture.)

1952

1956

1960

1966

1974

1976

1978

1982

1984, The year I was born!

1990, Check out those bangs!

1994: ah, the perm! Who hasn't had a perm!?!

1998

Ew, E.Coli!

For those of you who don't live in Oklahoma, there has been an e.coli outbreak in the northeastern part of our state. It is centered around Locust Grove and the surrounding areas. They still haven't traced it back to one particular item of food. At least 41 people have been hospitalized and one person is dead. I never know people that are affected by these kinds of things, but my parents just so happened to eat at one of the surrounding towns, Pryor, last Thursday. My dad has the e.coli! Poor dad! He has been so sick! He is feeling better than he did earlier in the week. Luckily, my mom has not gotten sick and I think she has made it past the incubation period.

One of my friends is originally from Locust Grove. She and her husband just happened to go home to visit family this past weekend. Thank goodness they did not eat at the main restaurant with this problem. Unfortunately, her husband's grandpa did and has been infected. She said this restaurant, The Country Cottage, has the nicest owners and they even catered her wedding. It is a sad situation for everyone involved.

Please pray for everyone that has been affected by this. There are several children in the hospital with kidney failure because of this. I had food poisoning once in college (from McDonald's, just in case you were wondering). It was the worst thing ever and it was just a small case. Have you ever had food poisoning? Do you know anyone that has been affected by this outbreak?

Sorry for the lack of pictures today, but I'm sure you didn't want to see any pictures that would relate to this topic! Your welcome!

Vintage Finds

I visited Guthrie yesterday in between meetings at UCO. Guthrie was Oklahoma's first state capitol. The city was founded during the Oklahoma Land Run in 1889. It is a very historic place. It has a unique downtown shopping area with lots of antique stores. My boss and I only had time to visit two antique stores and a chocolate shop. I found so many great items. Beautiful dishes, tablecloths, old windows, etc. I had to refrain myself. I can't wait to go back and spend a whole day perusing the aisles of the antique stores. I love small towns with unique downtown areas. I grew up in a small town with no stop lights. That's right all you city folk, NO stop lights. We had one main street and while I loved growing up in Elgin I always wished we had a historical downtown area. Elgin is growing by leaps and bounds but it will never have that charming area. (We got a Sonic when I was in college--it was a big deal!)

See the Chocolates and Coffee store. I love me some chocolates!

1898--I adore old doorways.

My vintage find--an old tablecloth!

I have some red plates that will look great with this! Don't you love it!?!

**I have great news! My flooring is going to be installed Saturday! After weeks and weeks without flooring in my kitchen it is finally going in! I can't wait to pick up the sheets that have been lying on the floor protecting our feet from rough concrete and sticky adhesive! I will have pictures up next week of the new floors!!**

Baking Saturdays

My Saturdays are usually spent baking, cleaning and running errands. (And lots of napping with my BFF!) I like to put off all my household chores until Saturday. Basically I am too lazy during the week to get them done!

I made no-bake cookies Saturday afternoon. I don't think I have ever made them before. My mom used to make them when we were little. They are the easiest things! I am going to start making them more often.
I went to the library Saturday after lunch. I love the library! I know, I know I am such a nerd! This was my first time to check out a DVD. I had never seen Some Like it Hot before. Probably because it was released two years after my popsicle was born. (you know my dad, have you ever seen Wicked? Well, I am obsessed with the play and Glenda the Goodwitch calls her mom and dad, momsy and popsicle.) The movie was in black and white. It was a very cutesy, corny movie and I loved it!

If you are looking for a good book, check out Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I am reading this book for a second time. I love it. It's based on the book Hosea from the B-I-B-L-E.

My Saturday, Partner in Crime! He killed his turkey! It looks all sad and deformed!

My Monday morning started early--before the sun was up! I took Nuts out this morning and this was what I saw: a gorgeous T-town sunrise!

Recipe: Sour Cream Enchiladas

This was a favorite meal of my family's growing up. I love to make it now because the leftovers taste great! And I am not a fan of leftovers!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs. ground beef



• 1 onion



• 1 can cream of chicken soup



• 1 small can evaporated milk



• 8 oz. Velveeta cheese



• 1 pkg. taco seasoning



• 1 small carton sour cream



• 1 small can chiles (optional)



• 10 flour tortillas

As you can see this dish is extremely cheesy! I had to take a few enchiladas out of the dish so you could tell what it was. I do not add the onion or the chiles, because I am an extremely picky eater.

Directions:

• In a sauce pan, over low heat, heat soup, milk, sour cream and cheese until melted. Stir frequently.



• While that mixture is melting, brown beef with onion, drain and add taco seasoning.



• Heat tortillas in microwave until soft.



• Fill tortillas with meat mixture and spoon a little bit of the cheese mixture on there as well and roll up.



• Place in a 9X13 baking dish (spray the dish with PAM first) and cover with the cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
  I always have some cheese mixture left over to eat with tortilla chips while I am waiting on the enchiladas to bake! It is yummy!

For all you working gals: Try this: Stouffer's Skillets. I only like the Chicken and Vegetables one. They have an alfredo dish as well but we didn't like it as much. It takes about 15 minutes to cook and all you have to do is throw it in a skillet. This is what we had for dinner last night. We love it! (But it really only feeds two people.)

I'm Obsessed with....

...Aprons! I think aprons are so fun! I like to sew them, okay I have only made one. But more than that I LOVE to buy them! It is hard to find cute fabric in Oklahoma so it is hard to make a really, really cute apron. Chesley and I went to JoAnn's last night to look for fabric to make her neice an apron for her 2nd birthday. We couldn't find anything! We will have to keep looking. I found this apron in Eureka Springs at Feather Your Nest. I'm a little obsessed with that store, too. Check out the cute buttons on the bow.

This is the apron that I probably wear the most. My SIL, Sarah bought it for me as a bridal shower gift. It is a Jessie Steele apron.

I have several more aprons that I need to take pictures of to showcase. I have a vintage apron that belonged to my great grandma. It is so cute. She must have been extremely tiny, because it barely fits around my waist! (Not that I think that my waist is extremely tiny!) My photographer, Ty, isn't too keen on taking my picture while I am wearing an apron. It probably doesn't help that I always ask him to do it as soon as we get home from school/work and he has just sat down on the couch and started watching sports center!

What is your current obsession??

Changes

I haven't dyed my hair in over 2 years. I used to dye it all the time and have been almost every shade under the sun. But for the last 2 years I have been all-naturale, until now. Take a look at my new hair color. It is still pretty dark but is fading a little. It should fade at least another shade into an auburn color. Isn't that weird that you have to wait about a week after you dye your hair to get the shade that you want?!? I need to go buy some shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair. Any suggestions?

Here is my old color:

The new color:

My photographer, Ty, took these pictures and this one was an accident but it turned out the best to be able to see my color. It was soooo bright outside and he counted to like 10 before he snapped the picture. My poor little eyes couldn't handle the sunshiney brightness so I ducked my head right as he finally snapped it.

Yesterday, I travelled to Stillwater because my office facilitates an honors class called Medicine in the 21st Century. We have a different speaker come in each week to discuss a topic. My boss is out of town on a family emergency so I got to teach the first day of class all by myself! Granted it was only an orientation to the class and going over the syllabus, but I was excited!

My cousin, Tara, who is 3 months younger than I am and got married a week before me had her 1st baby, Aiden Grant, last Wednesday. They live in Stillwater, so I went to visit while I was there yesterday. He is so cute and tiny! Look at his beautiful skin tone. He is darker than me! I was over there forever just holding him.

One is the Lonliest Number

Its official, Medical School started today. I am so sad, tear! My husby is now back to studying for 4-5 hours a day. That is after a full day of classes! I never appreciated how much training doctors go through until now. I am experiencing it first hand. Medical students are constantly under stress, deprived of sleep, and are sheltered. Sheltered because they do not get to experience the real world. Ty's schedule is school from 8-5, then come home eat dinner and relax for about 2 hours and then hit the books at 7 until who knows when. We all know I am a grandma and have to get my beauty sleep, so I'm not sure what time he comes to bed. Probably around midnight. Oh, and then he studies all day Saturday. I'm talking gets up at 6 a.m and studies until 4 or 5. The same thing on Sunday, except he does break for church. Although I have seen him writing down medical related things on the bulletin. (Don't tell him I said that!)

So, now I am all alone. Just me and my bff, Nuts!

The picture above is him as a puppy, so small and sweet. Anyways, he becomes my bff once Ty starts to hit the books. Maybe I need to get out more!?! Now that it is school time, I will be travelling for work a lot more and I will get to start up some new projects at home like sewing, reading and of course, my t.v. shows will be starting up soon. It is amazing how addicted I became to t.v. once Ty started school last year.

I am glad Ty is doing something that he loves and I am lucky enough to have a job that I love so for now we are content. But man, I can't wait to have a household with 2 salaries! Or just one that is big enough to support us both and a baby! wink, wink. NO, I am not pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant anytime soon, but there is nothing wrong with planning ahead!

***Check out The Glamorous Life of a Housewife for a great giveaway.*** She has the cutest site and is giving away an adorable apron! My favorite new thing to collect...I hope I win!!

Going for the Gold

This post was inspired by the Olympics. I have been watching them every night. Although I can't stay up late enough to catch everything! I love the gymnastics (Is anyone else bothered by their hair scrunchies?) and swimming and can't wait for track to start.

Ty is president of the family medicine club at the med school. His club hosted a dinner last night for all the incoming students and their families. They had food and games. But not just any boring old game: Pseudo Sumo Suits! My sorority rented these once for an event and they are so much fun. I couldn't wait to try them out last night.

Getting velcroed in. Notice how Ty's legs stick out of the suit and mine are completely covered up. He is a full foot taller than me. Also notice how much skinnier his sumo suit looks than mine. I'm telling you if I only was a few inches taller, I would look so much skinnier. Does anyone else have this problem!?!

Check out my belly button!

Wedgie Time!

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

"Tyyyyyyyyy. "

I'm sure that is what I was saying. Some of you have heard me use that phrase several times in my whiney, little voice when I am unhappy with whatever the situation may be.

We had such a good time! You also just got a sneak peak at my new hair color. I will post better pictures of it next week.

Today is my one year anniversary at my job where I do recruitment and advisement for OSU's medical school. I have been so blessed to work where Ty's goes to school. I believe that it has really helped us stay more in tune with each other. As a med student he is constantly studying and always under stress. This can put a strain on any marriage, but working at the school has given me a better understanding of what he is going through. Thus, helping our marriage. Besides, this job being great for my marriage I absolutely love it. I am getting to help students achieve their dreams of coming to medical school. I get to plan huge events for the school. (Which is probably my favorite part.) I work with great people and have made great friends. It is a fantastic working environment where everyone truly cares about each other. I am very lucky!

On a sad note, my Papa (my dad's dad) passed away Wednesday night pretty unexpectedly. Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers.

We Have a WINNER!

Drumroll, Please......

Random Integer Generator
20
Timestamp: 2008-08-14 15:29:28 UTC

Lacey, you are the winner! Yay! Congratulations!

"Little you are so fun! I only have one set - haha! We all know I don't like to cook - but I do love all this adorable stuff you find...so maybe...just maybe one day I will have fun dishes too! :)"

You have fun dishes now! I will be contacting you soon.

This giveaway has been so much fun. I have met so many new bloggers. I love discovering new blogs to visit! Thanks for visiting my site!

Hump Day

SIGN UP FOR MY GIVEAWAY! It ends tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 8 a.m.


We are halfway to the weekend! Yay! Here is what I did last weekend:
Ty's sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew came to visit or to work depending on which family member we are talking about. We are so lucky to have such great family! Brent came up to help Ty finish off our privacy fence in the backyard. There is already a privacy fence in place on two of the sides. Amy, Lillian, Lucas and I went shopping and relaxed at the house while the boys slaved away. It rained off and on all weekend, but the boys persevered and kept building! My backyard is now my own private area. I could run around buck naked out there and no one would know. Who is to say I haven't already done just that!?! ;)

The sad, pitiful chainlink fence before.

Putting up the last panel!

Nuts liked Lucas a lot. Okay a lot is an understatement. He constantly wanted to be licking and smelling that sweet baby smell. So Nuts stayed in his cage or outside most of the time. We couldn't have him licking Lucas to death. My dog loves to lick. He is obsessed with it actually. We came up with the perfect solution. Nuts on one side of the glass door and Lucas on the other. Lucas loved it! Lillian did not. She wanted to have Nuts in the house to play with. If only he wasn't a lick-a-holic.

Please ignore how dirty my glass is. It is covered in baby handprints and dog nose prints. And no I still haven't cleaned it! (Just keeping it real!)

GIVEAWAY

YAY! It's Giveaway time! When I was in Eureka Springs I visited a store called Feather Your Nest. It is the cutest store! Go have a looksie!


I am giving away a set of 4 plastic floral plates:

The RULES: The giveaway will end Thursday at 8:00 a.m.; If you advertise this giveaway on your blog you can enter twice; The winner will be decided by Random.org. (If you don't have a google id, you can still enter the giveaway just leave me with your e-mail addy or check back Thursday morning to see if you won!)

You must answer this question: How many sets of dishes do you own? Good Luck!

Check out other great items I found at Feather Your Nest! These pics are a little blurry because they were taken with my blackjack. My work BFF and I hate it when the other is gone from work, so we try to send each other pictures of what we are seeing and doing. These are pics that I sent her while I was in Eureka Springs.

The cutest aprons and tablecloths!

I love these dishes with the ruffles!

The Natural State

Arkansas is known as the natural state for a reason. Everything is so green and lush. Ty and I spent a couple of days in Eureka Springs for my job. We went up a little early so we could explore the town. I was told that all the shops shut down after 5 pm, which is true and a little weird for a vacation destination. The drive up the mountain was beautiful. The town was very quaint. There were several cute stores that I visited. I will show you one tomorrow along with a GIVEAWAY! But back to the lush landscape of Eureka Springs...
We did a lot of driving around enjoying our scenery. We drove over to Beaver Lake and to the Beaver Dam. The water was very clear and very still. There was hardly any wind that day. As we were driving across the dam we saw a sign for a lookout point. We turned around and headed up to the point. It provided some great views. Across from the lookout point was a trail built by some boy scouts. Even though we were both in flip flops we decided to head up it aways. We didn't make it very far because it was steep and we were worried about coming back down in our flippity flops.
I have never seen so many deer consistently throughout a drive. I have seen a lot of deer clustered together before, but I haven't seen deer like this. It seemed like every new road we went down had deer frolicking through the fields. I almost hit a little bambi on one of the roads. Luckily the speed limit is really slow on all of the roads due to all the twists and turns so it wasn't hard to slam on my brakes to miss it.
Our hotel, the Inn of the Ozarks, had a small miniature golf course. If you know Ty, then you know that we played several games! We ate at a couple of restaurants including the famous Ermilio's. Ty enjoyed his food but I was so full from the big conference lunch that I only had a salad. I'm not used to having a full meal of chicken covered in alfredo sauce, scalloped potatoes and salad for lunch, so I was extremely full. Although I did save room for dessert. I saw a snack stand that sold funnel cakes and couldn't wait to get one after dinner, but they were closed. I am still craving one! Can't you just picture the golden cake covered in powder sugar! Are you craving it yet!?!
On the way home we stopped at a roadside fruit stand where we bought peaches, tomatoes, and sweet corn. I love roadside stands! I need to visit the farmers market here in town.
Even though it was a working trip we had a great time. It was a nice relaxing trip. I love visiting small vacation destinations and being able to explore the whole town.

Beaver Lake

The stairs at the beginning of our trail.