Trippy

Did you know we went to Oklahoma and Texas for a couple of weeks? Well, we did. And I have visual proof.

We started out in Oklahoma visiting with my parents and one of my dad's sisters whom I haven't seen since I was a teenager. I had a good time with her.



I also had a mini-class reunion/get-together with some folks I haven't seen since...well...a long time ago.



Then, we headed to Texas!

Here is the hunting/fishing lodge we stayed in. It was pretty nice until the family started wandering in from their respective sleep houses. Then the AC decided that it would freeze up on us. We toughed it out for a while then headed into town to a cousin's house to swim or to shoot pool. Or both. (Not at the same time, sillies.)



This is the lane going up to another cousin's house. Her and her husband have 80 or so acres to toodle around on.



We took their off-road vehicle thingie and explored the wildlife. I miss the smell of the plants in the country.



We had to stop to take photos of this little guy (girl?).



A Texas cousin, two California cousins and I made a day of it in Lubbock. We shopped some and ate ourselves sillier at The Cracker Barrel. Chicken and Dumplins...yum.



We stopped at Sonic for a beverage on the way home and later, we had to go to Dairy Queen (Had to, I tell ya!) I had totally forgotten about the DQ Dude (Steak Sandwich). I ordered one of those and enjoyed every bite of it.



Back to Oklahoma and a quick trip over to see some friends in Stillwater. We ate lunch at Mexico Joe's. OMG, I miss those people (and that salsa and blue corn enchiladas with Sonoran sauce!)



Back at Mom's...she made me make my Granny's homemade banana pudding. I had to stir that mess for 15+ minutes! It is worth it though...



Oklahoma sent us off with a gorgeous sunset.



And Iowa welcomed us back with an also gorgeous sunset.



So I'm tired. But I'm back home where it is cool!

Africa Hot

Oklahoma is hot and wet.

Texas is hot and dry.

Either way...it's hot down here.

But the fun I'm having kinda evens it out...honing my pool playing skills...eating good snacks (ask me about the peanut butter fudge!!!)...seeing relatives I haven't seen in many years...seeing friends I haven't seen in a couple of years...

I'm tired of driving for hours on end, but just one more long jaunt and I'll be home on Friday.

Photos later.

Spring has sprung, y'all.

I made it back safe and sound from my trip to Oklahoma. I really enjoyed visiting my folks and some friends I haven't seen in a long time. I didn't enjoy the way my face became ickily oily and broke out like crazy. That happens every time I visit. I think the climate in that part of the state does a number on me.

Here's some photos of my trip.

Me at The Pie Hole. And what a hole it is. It has three or four tables (I can't remember), but it has some delish pizza. We had the roasted garlic, mushroom and spicy Italian ham. Yum.


This is me and my best bud. He loves to remind me that for the first three months he worked with me, I wouldn't talk to him. Long story short, I didn't want him hired. He wore me down. Now I don't know what I would do without him.


This is one of my favorite former co-workers. She's a hoot. I miss her like crazy.


This was dessert at Merritt's Bakery. Mini turtle cheesecake. It didn't last long. I shared. I'm nice that way.


This is me and the bride. She moved next door to me (well, as close as next door can be out in the country) when I was nine. We were inseparable until we graduated high school and went our separate ways.


And here is the family. I miss them most of all.


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We have put in a garden. It was hard on The Commander. He isn't used to waiting this late in the year to plant. We started a bunch of plants from seed and they were growing like nobody's business. The bush beans were more than a foot tall. Finally, the weather warmed up enough to take them outside.

We have jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, yellow squash, watermelons, carrots, bush beans and cucumbers. Hopefully, I can put up some salsa and pickles later on.

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Here is The Boy. I love the expression on his face.


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We had a girls' weekend in Minneapolis last weekend. After we went to Snuffy's (I had a bison burger and a chocolate/banana malt), we drove along the Three Mile Drive through the U of M Arboretum. This van tried to drive up our tailpipe. When we finally got a chance to pull over and let him pass, this was the site we saw.

Calm down? Really? Maybe we wouldn't be upset if you would back the heck up!

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Now for some tulip action.


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So now you are caught up. I'll try not to wait so long to post again.

I lied.

But not intentionally.

I had every intention of staying off the computer while I was here in Oklahoma, but since I have been up for two and a half hours and my parents are pretending to be teenagers by still sleeping, I decided I have watched enough GMA and read enough of my book, Sherryl Woods' "The Inn at Eagle Point" (love Sherryl Woods), have had my Cheerios (Cheerios or Corn Flakes, thanks boring cereal parents.) and a few sips of Pepsi, I figured, what the heck.

I'm am almost caught up on my feed reader (Cursing Mama! I see what you are doing! I'm on to you. You'll have to send me your secret restaurant names.) and have checked Twitter.

I guess I'll go back to my book. Oh, and Neil Patrick Harris is in Regis' chair this morning.


WAKE UP, PARENTS!

Noodle Head

The folks at the OKC radio station I listened to talked to Lee about noodling a couple of weeks ago. He said Gordon Ramsey was in Stillwater and they were taking him noodling. Here's proof.

P.S. Freddie Paul's has awesome hummus!

Happy 100th Birthday Oklahoma!

You're still doin' fine.

(I have a photo of the fireworks, but since I am the last person on Earth to still have dial-up, I have been waiting a good five minutes for it to load. It is late. I am tired.)

I'll also get the boy to sing "Oklahoma!" and post it for you when I can.

We got another dog. He is an 11 month old Golden Retriever named Amedeus. We don't particularly like that name (For him. For Mozart, it is just fine. Plus, I keep singing "Oooo, rock me Amedeus. Amedeus. Amedeus. Amedeus. Amedeus. Amedeus. Oh, oh, oh, Amedeus. Come and rock me Amedeus!") so we are thinking of alternatives - Ami (ah-me) and Mo are the front runners. Any suggestions? He's very tall and long-legged. Poor Cooper hits him about mid ribs. Poor squat fellow.