STATE FAIR

Not only is State Fair a great movie but it's a great time!  Saturday one of my favorite fall activities took place.  The Tulsa State Fair was in town!  We know it's going to be the same stuff every year but we always go.  It's just fun to walk around and maybe bump into some people you know.  I for sure got my corn dog this year and it was just as yummy as I remember it.  And I got some lemonade to go with it of course.  And guess what?  That was all I ate.  Surrounded by major diet wreckers and I stood strong and only ate what I went for.  

As a kid I don't ever remember playing the fair games on the Midway.  I don't think we even got an option of playing them.  I didn't play any at all this year but our friend that was with us LOVES him some fair games to we strolled the Midway, stopping at each game and checking it out.  Some people from our group played some and I just had the best time watching.  This was probably one of my best experiences I've ever had at the fair.  Zach Rowell and my cousin Kaycee got the bright idea that we should find the old time picture booth and all get in there together - there were seven of us.  When we finally found it some of us were holding back like they didn't want to participate but in the end they gave in and it's pretty much the best picture every taken.  I could not stop laughing when all seven of us plus the three workers were all getting dressed in the world's tiniest trailer. It was so funny and a moment I will soon not forget.

It turned out to be a really great night with great weather (I wished it was just a little bit chillier) and great people.  Two of the guys with us were visiting from out of town so it was nice to spend this time with them.  Without further ado, here is the Tulsa State Fair 2011.

Me and Jason - in from the Navy

The school bus ride is one of my favorite parts of going to the fair.

Cousin Kaycee and Sister-in-law Lindsey

Win something Travis!

My brother Adam

This kid next to us was awesome! He just kept winning stuff.

I'm not sure why I'm giving him this look.

The man I totally love!

Gotta have your Converse

This must have been a serious game

Last chance to win something

And he got it!! We were all cheering and celebrating like he was at the NBA Finals

Fair Gang

Camel ride

Petting Zoo time 

What creeps me out about this picture is not only the fact that I thought this thing was going to peck me but also the fact I know that I'm probably in that guys picture in the background.

Aaaaannnddd we all took our shot at posing for this.....

(even the banana)

Saved the best for last.....

On a side note - I won cleanest desk at work this past week for Customer Service Week.  I was really hoping to get Funniest Co-Worker.  Better luck next year.....

Monday Monday

(yep, that's the best title I could come up with)

It's October!!!! Yay!! I'm so excited for this time of year to be here.  I have already made one slip up so far - I haven't taken out my fall decorations yet :( I know, I know, the shame.  Hopefully I can get around to that this weekend.  Might be kind of hard though since we are headed out to the Tulsa State Fair on Saturday.  Woo hoo! As trashy as the fair can sometimes get I love walking around looking at all the booths and displays and of course people watching.  Rest assured there will be no reports of me and a terrible ride incident cause I DONT DO RIDES.  Don't trust 'em, don't want to pay for 'em.

If you read my last post then you know I've been suffering from Routine Rut.  I have to say that this past week has been better.  I've been more conscious of my time and how just 10 minutes here and there can really get a task done.  (Except for finding fall decorations.)  I'm feeling pretty good about time decisions last week.  Last Thursday and today I am working a later shift for training reasons but I made sure to make it to the gym early in the morning and got that task out of the way.  It felt so good to leave the gym knowing that I wasn't lazy and my workout was already done for the day.

My eating wasn't all that great this past week.  I had a few slip ups but I will do better this week.  Especially because I have to get something yummy from the fair.  I passed up the corn dogs last year and that's just not happening again.  I didn't benefit at all from skipping it so gosh darnit, I'm having it! 

On my quest to eat better there is one thing that I just cannot fully give up - SWEETS!  A little tiny treat every day is recommended if you don't want to end up face down in a bowl of Cool-Whip. 

Here's a little something I put together that is simple, low calorie and just fancy enough that you'll want to sit at the table to eat it.  I think it's a great little snack for kids so they don't feel like they are eating just plain 'ol pudding.

April's Princess Pudding

1 Chocolate pudding cup - 60 calories

2 tbsp Cool-Whip (or Readywhip) - 25 calories

1 tbsp Sugar free Chocolate syrup -8 calories

1/2 tsp Sprinkles - 10 calories

Calorie Total = 103

I find it delicious!

Have a great Monday!

Routine Rut

I've been struck with a few thoughts these past few weeks, maybe even months. Even though some life happenings have tapped me on the shoulder lately I still feel that my life has become very dull. Don't get me wrong, life is good all the way around and I feel that Zach and I have grown closer as a couple due to circumstances surrounding us lately. I truly love him with all my heart and I'm excited for all that our future holds.

With talk of the future I feel I need to start setting a different pace for myself and for this household. We live in a Monday-Friday routine that I think I follow because I'm, well, just straight up lazy. I like to think I'm a creative person and I enjoy being crafty and have all the tools I need to sit down at my desk and just be creative. I want to read more, I want to scrapbook more, I want to blog more.....and I don't make time for these things because my evenings usually revolve around working out and watching my television programs and my weekends revolve around cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and bills. I'm very predictable. If I'm feeling right now that I just don't have time for anything then how am I going to function when we start having babies? Maybe I need to do a load of laundry every night? Maybe I need to prepare my lunches at night so I can have more relaxed mornings? I just feel like I'm in a routine rut so tonight I did a load of laundry and ironed my clothes for tomorrow and I already feel a little better.

It sounds a little ridiculous to me that someone who has no activities, school or clubs to attend is complaining about no time to do anything.  I know, I know, it's the dumbest thing I've ever heard too.  Please, all of you who work 2 jobs, have an armload of kids and have four different calendars to keep up with it all, please don't hate me.  One day I know I will look back on this time and think of how easy I had it.  I know these things.  I'm just keeping it real with you.

I'm glad for this time of year because the schedule starts filling up fast with the Fair, pumpkin patches, birthdays, holidays and on and on and on. Hopefully all the activities popping up on the calendar will set a new pace for me and I can start the new year with new habits and patterns. Did I just say the new year?? My goodness, this year has gone by fast!!!

I welcome any tips, shortcuts or encouragement you all can give me.

Happy Autumn Eve

Who is so excited to kick off this fall season? Definitely me!!!  My monthly magazine subscriptions have been rolling in and they all have pumpkins and warm dishes and orange and red all over the covers.  It brings such a joy to my heart and gives me a whole bunch of energy.

I guess you could say I ended the summer season on a good note.....I had my last dentist appointment today until my cleaning in six months :)  It was a bitter sweet feeling.  So, as I write this I am waiting for the numbness to wear off so I can eat.  I keep tapping on my chin, but I feel nothing.  I'm so hungry and it doesn't help that I have been looking through my magazines full of yummy recipes that I really want to try out.  Must. Stop. Thinking.Of.Food.

Speaking of food, this week was my first week on my new diet plan and so far I feel I have done really good.  No days that I just feel totally guilty about.  Here's how much will power I have - the husband just ordered Pizza Hut and I didn't request anything - I'm gonna stick to my soup and crackers as planned and feel very proud of myself when I lay my sleepy little head down tonight.

I've been checking out some websites and finding some recipes and ideas that I think will really help me on my journey to eat healthy and make it a life style.  Here are some that I'm going to be trying out, maybe even this weekend.  I found these recipes on hungry-girl.com.  She's got a lot of good stuff.

Banana Pie Split

  I have a feeling that it's gonna be a good one.

Diet Soda Cake

My friend tried out this recipe this week and it was sooooo moist. It was delicious.  For sure going to make my own and try out the different cakes.  She used a devils food cake mix and diet Dr. Pepper and added a little bit of Redi Whip for some frosting.

As I come across more I will be sure to post them and if anyone has any good websites to go to please let me know.

Happy Fall.

Nitrous? Yes, please!

I had another appointment at the dentist today.....'nuff said ;)

.....and this is how I felt.....

April

Got Heeeem?

Bring on Fall and bring on the new Fall line up. I'm so excited for some of the new shows coming out this Fall and for the return of some of my favorites. I didn't follow a whole lot of television this summer. There wasn't a whole lot on worth watching. Of course I tuned into Big Brother for my yearly dose of HOH competitions, veto meetings, back stabbing galore and the Zingbot made a cameo this year. If you have never given it a try I highly recommend it. It will suck. you. in. The thing about Big Brother is that you have to dedicate 3 nights a week to it. Which played out good for me because I had nothing else to watch. Well, except for Teen Mom, The Challenge, and oh yeah, I CANNOT leave out The Francshise.

Let me just say that I am not a follower of sports. I don't watch sports, I don't follow teams and I don't have an opinion about who wins and loses. Bottom line = I Don't Care. And I may get a lot of hate mail for my next comment because I'm an Oklahoma girl but I pretty much dislike A LOT Oklahoma football. It drives me crazy to see people decked out head to toe in OSU or OU attire all the way down to their toenails. And Lord help us if one of these teams loose. You will find a bunch of pissed off people walking around Wal*Mart as if they were a part of the team. The only good thing about these teams playing is that the stores seem to be a lot emptier and I can enjoy my shopping.

With all that being said, I will now confess to you that over the summer I have become a San Franciso Giants fan. Love 'em, love 'em, must meet all of them. At the beginning of the summer Mr. Rowell wanted to watch this show called The Franchise-A Season with the San Francisco Giants. I whined about it. "No, we are not watching some crap show you want to watch. Change it. Change it to Son-in-law." (It's always on CMT by the way.) We all know who won this battle. Him. I always have to wait until he falls asleep and then swipe the remotes. I began watching the show and found myself being sucked in. It was really good. I found myself really enjoying it. Not only were the players stories interesting and it showed them being someone more than a baseball player, but these boys on this team are (in my opinion) so good looking. I was falling in love with them one by one and I wanted to see more. :)

So the reason I'm pulling for them is because I want them to do well so they will come back with a second season. I don't want to lose my Wednesday night dates. They are not looking so good right now in the standings but I guess it wouldn't matter anyways since last Wednesday was the season finale. I miss them already. Is it wrong that I want to print some pictures off of my favorites and put them up at my desk??? :)

I like so many of them but here are my top favs.....

Tim Lincecum

By far my favorite.  I think he is adorable!

Jeremy Affeldt

Chris Stewart

Brandon Belt

"The Giraffe"

Emmanuel Burris

Carlos Beltran

Cody Ross

Andres Torres

Brian Wilson

"Fear the Beard"

Ryan Vogelsong

Barry Zito

aaaannnndddd, another one of Timmy.

That's what I call him anyway ;)

If you're looking to make plans with me sometime during the week, you're gonna need to know my schedule to see when I am available. Who am I kidding? I never do anything during the week anyway. Most nights I'm in bed by 8:30. That's okay right? That doesn't make me old does it?

Sunday

9:00 - Pan Am (Premiers 9/25 - ABC)

Monday

7:00 - Dancing With the Stars (Premiers 9/19 - ABC)

8:00 - Hart of Dixie (Premiers 9/26 - CW)

8:30 - 2 Broke Girls (Premiers 9/19 - CBS)

Tuesday

8:00 - New Girl (Premiers 9/20 - FOX)

Wednesday

7:00 - The X Factor (Premiers 9/21 - FOX)

8:00 - Modern Family (Premiers 9/21 - ABC)

8:30 - Suburgatory (Premiers 9/28 - ABC)

9:00 - Up All Night (Premiers 9/14 - NBC)

9:00 - The Real World:San Diego (Premiers 9/28 - MTV)

Free Agents (Premiers 9/14 - NBC)

Thursday

8:00 - The Office (Premiers 9/22 - NBC)

8:30 - Whitney (Premiers 9/22 - NBC)

I know some of these shows overlap and some are on more than once a week but I will give the premiers a chance and just might have to record some and watch them at a different time. AS you can see I'm going to have a busy busy fall. And to think, this doesn't even include Holiday specials :)