An Oklahoma Granny

It Was a One, Two Finish

2012-07-17T13:22:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night the NCRA Southern Sport Mods raced at Humboldt, Kansas.

G1 had an okay night.

Then on Saturday night both boys, G1 and G2, took to the track at the Hutchinson, Kansas fairgrounds for their Grand National races.

While G2 raced the NCRA circuit last year, this year he's been focused on racing a Factory Stock at the NASCAR home track in Salina, Oklahoma. Saturday night the Factory Stocks had the night off so he decided he'd like to race at Hutchinson too.

So the boys would race together.

Note: G2 normally races under the #9 regardless of what class he's racing in but the car he raced Saturday night was the yellow #10. (Video to follow in case you'd like to watch the action.)

It was a SUPER GREAT night for the boys! And I wasn't able to be there. Insert very sad face here.

Daughter kept me informed via text messaging of how many sport mods would race, what heat each of the boys were in, where they would start, where they finished and where they would start in the A Feature.

Just before the A Feature race was about to start she called to let me know. I was on pins and needles. And I was praying. Whenever the boys take to the track I pray. I pray for their safety and the other drivers' safety as well. I pray that the boys do well but above all that they are safe.

Then I got a text. The race was currently under yellow (caution) after about 7 laps. (It was a 15 lap race.) G1 was in the lead and G2 was right behind him in 2nd.

That sure got my heart to pumping!

Finally I got the call. Daughter was crying and yelling, "Mom! Mom! He WON!!!! He WON!!!!"

It was a special time for AD, Daughter, her husband and most of all for G1 and G2.

Daughter always videos the races and so I was anxious to see all the excitement. I could hardly wait. The next day it was celebration all over again.

Then yesterday, Monday, we celebrated again with a special dinner here at the house. G1 said there was a video out on YouTube so we checked that out. It's pretty cool because you can hear the announcer as the race progresses. Best of all, that video captured the celebration just after the one-two finish.

If you'd like to watch all the action, here it is. I must warn you that there are 3 races on this video and it's like 45 minutes long but if you fast forward to 28:40, that's when the sport mod race starts.

Determination and Progress

2012-07-09T07:41:00.000-05:00

After my last post I had some requests for "before and after" pictures of Son's weight loss. Since he continues to work on losing more weight these pictures are titled "At the beginning" and "Current."

He is very determined and his progress is amazing!

At the Beginning

This is the best photo I had of Son from December, 2011 when the family got together for Christmas.

Current

This photo was taken yesterday at a mall in Oklahoma City when he and his family met up with Eskimo Joe and Buffy.

Amazing, huh?!

Races and Vampires and Fireworks - the List Goes On

2012-07-07T11:56:00.000-05:00

It's been well over a month since I've posted anything. I just can't seem to get my act together for some reason and post more often. Or it could be that most of the things I do is the usual everyday mundane stuff which doesn't make for very interesting reading.

We're about mid-way through the racing season. G1 is currently leading the points race for NCRA Sport Mod Rookie of the Year and he is 5th in points overall. G2 is currently the points leader for the Factory Stock class at Salina Highbanks Speedway near Salina, OK. Salina is a NASCAR Home Track and as of July 5, G2 is 9th in the Division IV standings. AD and I are very proud of both the boys and their accomplishments.

My 2012 movies-that-I-want-to-see list has gotten a bit shorter since I last posted. AD and I have now seen Snow White and the Huntsman and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. I don't read reviews regularly but it seems I heard neither of these films got very good ones. It doesn't matter. I enjoyed both of them, but then I'm fairly easy to entertain. AD was pretty surprised I wanted to see Abe Lincoln hunting vampires since I'm not a blood-and-guts-movie kind of girl. I only covered my eyes once. BUT, I don't think I could read the book. Nope. Not me. Books are usually way more detailed than movies and I don't think I could handle any more than what was in the movie.

Last Sunday AD's family, Son's family and Daughter's family joined us for an early Independence Day lunch. I think it turned out pretty well. AD grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. I made these yummy chicken salad and strawberry roll-ups along with potato salad, Eskimo Joe's baked beans and deviled eggs. Brownies and chocolate no-bake cookies were served for dessert. (Click on the links to get the recipes.)

Thankfully I'd done most of the prep work for the lunch on Friday and Saturday morning. We had extended the invitation for our get-together a couple of weeks before we found out that a rained-out/hailed-out race for G1 was rescheduled for Saturday in Wichita, KS. (Third time was charm.) We didn't get home until 2:30am on Sunday. That's ok. 6 hours sleep ought to be enough for a person, right?

G5 turns 5 this coming Wednesday. We won't be able to make it to his party so we gave him his gift a few days early. It was a fold-up wagon and we think he and his family will find it useful when they make their many trips to the zoo, to soccer games and most importantly, on their Disney World trip this coming December. (Note: I have a wagon too. It's used to haul my scrapbooking supplies to crops. It makes it so much easier than making several trips to the car to carry in all the things I just know I'll need.)

The kids had fun riding 4-wheelers, popping a few "fire crackers" (those little things you throw on the ground and they pop) and sliding on the slip-and-slide made slippery-er when this Oklahoma Granny splashed a bit of dish soap down it. Girlie thought that was great. She wasn't as concerned with the fact that it was more slippery. She liked that she had bubbles to slide through and said, "It's just like I'm taking a bath!"

On Wednesday evening, the 4th, G1, his girlie friend and G2 came over with a few fireworks to shoot off. That's one of the perks of living in the country - you can shoot off fireworks. Although you have to be careful, especially when it's as dry as it is here. I even managed to get a few good pictures. It was special that the kids wanted to share their time and fireworks with us.

Now before I close I've got to brag a bit on Son. Since January he's really been watching what he eats and he's been exercising BIG time all in anticipation of their Disney trip. He's lost close to 100 pounds! In 6 months! And yes, his doctor is aware of what he's doing. Both AD and I are very proud of his accomplishment.

Well, that's about it for now. Keep cool, keep hydrated and make sure your pets have plenty of water.

It's Been a While!

2012-05-14T13:11:00.000-05:00

Although it may seem like it, my blog hasn't been totally abandoned. It's just that I've been busy (same song, 4th or 5th verse.)

But I think what you're about to read will make up for the time I've been out-of-pocket. Note that it is a LONG read, but well worth it if you're in need a some really good belly laughs.

Last week G4 celebrated his 10th birthday. I made a trip to Oklahoma City this past weekend and took him and Son to Frontier City to celebrate the big event.

G4 thought he would like to ride Geronimo. Son, being the great dad he is, rallied to the request and took him on the ride. (Side note: when Son and Daughter were growing up I didn't want them to be afraid of trying new things. So I sucked it up on more than one occasion and took them on thrill rides telling them how much fun we were about to have while silently praying that God would protect me. And them too. They, of course, loved every ride.)

We float through the air with the greatest of ease.

I had a lot of fun watching father and son experience Geronimo while taking pictures as fast as I possibly could. I wish I had been able to video it too! (There are videos on YouTube of this ride in case you'd might want to see what it's like. Just search Geronimo Frontier City.)

Anyway, this morning Son posted an account of the experience from his (HYSTERICAL!!!!) point of view on Facebook for all his friends to read. I asked if I might share it with you all (I hope there's still a couple of you out there) and he said that was fine. So, with no further ado, I give you -

My Big Fat Geronimo Swing Near Death Experience

As a set-up to what I'm about to write, here's a couple facts you need to know:

1. My mother took my (now) 10-year-old son, Jonathan, and me to Frontier City last Saturday, May 12, as Jonathan's birthday present from my parents.

2. Jonathan LOVES to ride rides. All of them. I enjoy them all too, if I'm wearing my motion-sickness patch thing behind my ear. Getting older SUCKS. But the patch--while horrifically expensive--works wonders.

3. I am *terrified* of heights. Yet I still love roller coasters. Go figure.

4. Jonathan IS NOT afraid of heights.

5. All I'd eaten that day was two bananas for breakfast. This will come into play later.

6. I'd also drank a souvenir cup filled with water. This, too, will come into play later.
There is a ride at Frontier City called the Geronimo Sky Coaster. Or Skycoaster. Or SkyCoaster. No idea how to spell it. It's not that important. For two people to ride it, with tax, it's about $25. And Jonathan wanted to ride it. With me. So, being the "I've got to make sure my kids don't know how much of a wuss I am" type of person, I agreed to take him on it. All the while praying that he would back out at the last second.

He did not.

So, at 3:20pm (our appointment time), we walked into the little hut thing where they strap you into your straight jacket harness thing. A guy with a fairly good English accent (but you could still tell it wasn't authentic--so I'll call him Faux English) met us, and put these things on us. You know those lead sheets they make you put over yourself at the dentist's office when they're going to take x-rays of your teeth? This harness is like that, just with about nine hundred more straps, buckles, and a stirrup attached to it. Mine was red, Jonathan's was pink. Red is the largest one, pink is the smallest one. Jonathan wasn't happy about wearing pink, but he got over it. Hey, he's a tiny 10 year old. About the size of a normal-sized 8 year old. Sometimes life sucks like that.

So Faux English asks which one of us was going to pull the rip cord, and which one of us was going to grab the loop. No idea what he meant by the "loop," but because it was Jonathan's birthday present, he would be the one to pull the rip cord. I asked about the loop, and FE said that, when we were near the end of the ride, they would put this loop out for one of us to grab onto to slow us down so we could get off. He said it would feel like trying to pick up a 50lb suitcase. Because Jonathan doesn't weigh 50lbs, and because I knew I'd want to get off this thing in a hurry, I jumped at the chance to be the one to grab the loop at the end of what FE kept calling our "flight." FE then had us grab our stirrup, and wait for our turn.

My mother was sitting in the small witness stand area, waiting to take pictures of us. There was a small crowd in there, but I could see Mom, and she could see me. She mouthed something to me, but all I could make out was "do you want me to take pictures?" Of course I wanted her to take pictures. I needed someone to document that I was doing this, because it would likely NEVER!!!! HAPPEN!!!! AGAIN!!!!!

I then noticed that, because of the amount of water I'd had to drink that day, I really needed to pee, and I mouthed that to Mom. She laughed. I thought about getting out of the harness and running to the bathroom real quick (the people in front of us hadn't had their "flight" yet), but because of how difficult it is to get into the straight jacket, I decided to wait until afterwards. Besides, it would give me something to concentrate on rather than the stupidity I was already feeling.

I did take the opportunity to tell Jonathan and FE that, if I wet myself, Jonathan was buying me a new pair of underwear and shorts. FE laughed.

Then walked us to our doom.

We made the walk out to this rolling hangman-esque platform, climbed the seven stairs (yes, I counted them), and were standing at this railing, looking out into this green pond and a large circular wooden platform that I honestly have no idea what it's used for. Making a quick calculation, I figured out what purpose I would make of that platform. When the string we're going to be attached to snaps, that's pretty much where I'll land. I didn't think I could stick the landing, other than to possibly plummet through it, thereby leaving this life in some kind of demented Grand Finale.

Because Jonathan is so short, they had this little bench thing for him to stand on, me standing beside him, and someone's behind us hooking us up to this piece of yarn no larger than the tip of my pinkie fingernail. There are three guys in front of us, on the ground. We were about seven feet up, as they could easily stand directly beneath us without brushing the tops of their heads against our feet. The obvious leader of this motley crew has those long rat's nest dreadlock thing going on on his head. I'll call him Rat Fink, because it fits. Internally, I'm really trying to hold it together, because I'm seriously terrified at that moment.

Another guy (I'll call him the OBGYN for obvious reasons here in a second), took our stirrups out of our hands and helped us into them. And by that I mean he put them on the floor of the platform and had us stand on them. He told us that no matter what, make sure and keep your legs stiff so they don't come out of the stirrups. Not going to be a problem, I assured him. Oh, how right I was!

So, they get us hooked up, and Rat Fink tells us to grab the blue bar in front of us. Now, there's two bars in front of us. One is padded, the other is not. I immediately reach for the padded one. RF tells me, no, not that one. The other one. This should have been my first clue that things are probably not going to go well. But, I grabbed it, as did Jonathan. RF tells us that we're going to feel a slight tug and... I didn't hear the rest of it, because all of a sudden, my shoulders were jerked out of their sockets by this "slight tug" and we are all of a sudden parallel to the ground. It took me a minute to remember to breathe again.

At some point soon after, I hear Jonathan yelling in my ear that "DAD! YOU NEED TO GRAB THAT ROPE!" Apparently, Rat Fink had said--THREE TIMES--that I needed to grab the white rope that's laying there. I just couldn't hear him. So, I looked around, and, lo and behold, there's a white rope about a foot behind the blue bar that my fingers currently had a death grip on. Through sheer force of will, I released the bar, grabbed the rope, and then pulled it up so that Jonathan could grab it as well.

RF asked me if I had any questions. Why yes, yes I did. My number one question is, How many different ways can I die on this thing?

RF laughed, and told me that, while every ride at Frontier City has redundant backups in it, this one had the most. Somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty-five. There was absolutely no way we were going to die on it today.

Oh, Rat Fink. Ye of little faith. I'm absolutely positive that I can find a way to die on this thing that you've never considered. Ways that have probably never even occurred to you.

He then instructed Jonathan and I to link our arms together, and to stay that way "through [our] initial descent." After that point, we could unlock our arms, raise them, and fly. When they got us to the top, they were going to yell "3! 2! 1! GERONIMO!" and Jonathan would pull the rip cord, and we'd have the best time of our lives. Yet another reason to call him Rat Fink. Because he's a bold-faced liar.

They moved the platform back, and we started our ascent. My immediate thought was "just don't pee yourself" as I needed to go. A few seconds later, when I could see most of the major metropolitan area, it became "justdon'tpeeyourselfjustdon'tpeeyourselfjustdon'tpeeyourselfjustdon'tpeeyourselfjustdon'tpeeyourself" followed by "breathe, Jason, breathe!" as I noticed I had started to hyperventilate. And still, we were ascending. Somewhere about the time that I could make out what I'm going to assume is the Lower 48, I made the decision that, no matter what, I wasn't going to pee myself, nor was I going to scream like a little girl.

About the time my vision started going black around the outer edges from the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere where we were (I swear I could see the entirety of the Northern Hemisphere), I think I mumbled "Oh, dear God. I want to get off this thing." I say think, because Jonathan said "Yeah, Dad, I'm having second thoughts, too." A little late, son. A little late.

I remember distinctly someone (I couldn't tell who, as everyone down there were ants) yelling the code words. Jonathan asked "did he just say Geronimo?" All I could do was nod once.

And then the earth was rushing up at me at the speed of light.

I felt my entire body go completely rigid, as--truly--I planked that ride. Every muscle in my body flexed. Somewhere along the "initial descent" I noticed that there was this horrid noise emanating from the very air around me. At first, I thought it was the screaming of the wind, but then I noticed that my lungs and throat were burning. It. Was. ME.

Right before we smacked head first into the earth, I felt this jerk, and, suddenly, we were shooting up into the sky again. I did notice (as we broke the sound barrier) a very brief glimpse of a camera, and I knew it must be Mom. Right about the time when I could suddenly inhale again, we turned (arms still locked together), and started rushing towards the ground again.

Then I heard these people shouting at us to unlock our arms and fly! WHO ARE THESE FREAKS AND WHY ARE THEY TELLING US TO UNLOCK OUR ARMS?!? But then Jonathan started insisting on it.

I have no idea where I found the will to straighten out my arms, what well of will I had buried deep within me, but I did it. I unlocked my arms from Jonathan (who's arms just shot straight out!), and did my best to do the same thing.

Back and forth, we swang. (Yes, I know that's not a real word. But it's my story. Just deal with it.)

About the thousandth time of going back towards the Execution Team, RF (I believe) yelled out to me to "grab the loop."

He didn't have to tell me twice!

I stretched as far as I could towards the loop, and brushed it with my fingertips. It was just barely too far away from me. Sheer panic had long since set in, and it just successfully intensified.

RF yelled that, on the next trip back, I should be able to grab it.

So back we went, out over the grandstand area.

On every other trip back towards the grandstands, when we reached the summit of our ascent, we turned around and headed back down, face first. This time, we did not. So we were now going backwards. My stomach twinged, and I had this brief thought of "this is not good. My anti-motion-sickness patch is either gone or not working." Or, maybe, my body's ability to get motion sick is even too powerful for that tiny little band-aid patch.

As we're approaching our initial position, I started yelling "GIVE ME THE LOOP! GIVE ME THE LOOP! GIVE ME THE LOOP! GIVE ME THE LOOP!" and they pushed it out towards us. Unfortunately, because we were backwards, it was at my feet, and I couldn't reach it as my body was still in full flex mode. I did everything I could to bend in half, and I just barely hooked it with one of my middle fingers, but I couldn't hold on.

So back we went.

On our next trip towards the masochists, I'm yelling "GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!" and Rat Fink took the time to just shrug at me. Someone yelled that they were going to have to do it by hand.

WHAT THE CRAP (not the word I used in my head) DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?!?

So back we went.

And then I noticed that I truly wanted to vomit. If I had had anything on my stomach, I knew I would have. Fortunately, the bananas I had had for breakfast were long since gone. As it was, I could feel the bile in my throat. So, now not only am I in serious pain because every muscle in my body was still in full flex mode, I badly needed to pee, but also I wanted to vomit. I began to pray that Jesus would either let me die, or he would get me the heck (again, not the word I was using in my head) off this thing. Just trying to hold it together. For Jonathan.

We swung back towards the heathens, I'm screaming "GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!GIVEMETHELOOP!" and someone yells "TWO MORE TIMES AND I WILL!"

SERIOUSLY?!?!? DO YOU REALIZE I WANT TO PUKE ALL OVER YOU RIGHT NOW?!?!?!?

Yet, ever the trooper, Jonathan says "It's just twice more! You can do it, Dad!"

On the next trip back he said "now just once more!"

And, suddenly, we were done with the two trips.

But there was no loop.

The Rat Fink had lied to me yet again. He yelled "One more trip, and I'll get it to you!"

I had long since given up all hope of getting off this "ride" alive by this time.

And we made the trip again.

Lo and behold, on the trip back, I could see the loop. PRAISE JESUS!!!!! My hands shot out, and missed.

RF yelled "NEXT TIME!", so I died a little, made another trip, and, this time, successfully grabbed onto this loop like it was the only thing left in the universe. I felt my shoulders tug a little, but, honestly, I was so awash in relief that I was getting off this Ride To Hell that it didn't bother me. So, I have no idea if it was like picking up a 50lb suitcase or not.

I don't remember them getting the rolling platform under us, nor how I came to a standing position. The next thing I know is that I'm once again unhooked from that string, holding my stirrup, and OBGYN is telling me to go down the stairs. I began to panic, as I couldn't find Jonathan. OBGYN said he had already gone back to the hut. Leaning heavily on the hand rail, I made it down that long flight of stairs, and took the long walk back to the hut. My mother was standing at the end of that path way, shooting pictures and telling me I'm dripping with sweat.

I hadn't noticed.

FE was in the hut, as was a de-harnessed, exhilarated Jonathan, who was still whooping it up he'd had such a great time. FE helped me out of the lead cape of death, and I stumbled my way out of the hut and into civilization again.

And then I really noticed that I desperately--bordering on the most needful feeling I've ever felt in my life--needed to pee.

We made the trip to the bathroom--slowly--but it still took me a couple minutes to relax enough to go. Yes, I needed to tell you that. Just as the icing on top of this particularly grim cupcake.

I met Mom and Jonathan when I got back out of the bathroom, and Mom called Dad, then had me tell him of my experience. She laughed the entire time.

But, I made it. I rode that thing. And I'm still alive.

I WILL NEVER RIDE IT AGAIN.

What Is Going On?

2012-04-24T10:10:00.002-05:00

Hello! Anyone out there?

I haven't written a post in awhile - a long while it seems. There's just been way too many things going on.

I hadn't even planned to post anything today. I just logged on to connect with some of my blogging friends.

Now I have a headache.

What is going on with Blogger? It took me a good while to even figure out how to get to my reading list. Then I could only pull up one blog at a time. (I usually pull up several at a time, read them, comment if I have anything to say, close them out and pull up some more.)

So now I've used up the time I allowed myself. Does anyone have any tips on navigating this new Blogger? I could sure use some!

Who's the Fairest of Them All?

2012-04-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

We went to see Mirror, Mirror on Sunday afternoon. There were LOTS of kids in the theater. Some of them were fairly young too.

I know AD wasn't that thrilled about going but I think he's feeling a little guilty because racing season is upon us and we'll be spending a great deal of time on the road this year. G1 is going to race in the NCRA Southern Sport Mod series this year. G2 will be racing a Factory Stock at the track in Salina, Oklahoma for the most part. But that's another blog post for another day.

Julia Roberts did a wonderful job playing the wicked queen/stepmother to Snow White and I did enjoy the movie. The dwarves weren't exactly what I expected but they were certainly an interesting group of guys. Prince Charming was easy on the eyes but I'm not sure he was quite up to standard as princes go (the character, not the actor).

I keep thinking about those younger kids that were in the audience. I'm hoping they didn't have nightmares Sunday night. There were a few scenes that, in my opinion, were pretty scary for smaller kids. At least they would have been for me at that age. (Flashback to 20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea when the squid attacks the Nautilus! Also another story for another time.) And I remember hearing that Julia Roberts commented her own children wouldn't be seeing Mirror, Mirror anytime soon.

So that's one movie crossed off my "to see" list.

Hunger Games Books and Movies I Want to See

2012-03-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

I finished reading the Hunger Games series of books early (1am) yesterday morning. All in all I liked the books. I think the 2nd one is the best of the 3 but you have to read the first one to know what's going on and then you have to read the 3rd one to find out what happens.

For those who try to compare the Hunger Games series to the Twilight series - all I have to say is that's like comparing apples and oranges.

We hardly ever go to the movies mainly because of the cost. But we did go see the Hunger Games last Sunday afternoon and they showed lots of trailers for new movies coming out.

I better start saving my money because there are several I really do want to see. And I'll plan to go to the matinees so it I can save a little.

So here's my list:

Mirror, Mirror - I've heard it's sugary sweet but this version of Snow White will balance out the second movie I want to see which is

Snow White and the Huntsman - a VERY different take on Snow White's tale!

Dark Shadows - I'm just going to have to go into this movie knowing that it's just based on the 60's soap opera and definitely NOT a remake. In case you haven't seen the trailer, the movie looks like a comedy with Johnny Depp in the role of Barnabas Collins.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Son read the book (it's still on my "to read" list) and it just looks interesting. I'll let you know.

The Three Stooges - Ok, so this isn't at the top of my list but I figure this one is right up AD's alley and if he sees any of these other films with me I'll owe him.

Breaking Dawn (part 2) - I CANNOT wait for this one! But it doesn't come out until November.

and the last movie on my list is -

Lincoln - This is a biographical drama directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. It comes out late this year, I think in December. There wasn't a trailer shown for it so I'm going to have to look online for one.

So, are there any movies you particularly want to see this year?

What I Did Last Friday

2012-03-27T14:35:00.000-05:00

Those of you who've followed my blog for a couple of years or so might remember that in 2010 Son and I made a day trip to Dallas for a book signing of one of our favorite authors, Joanne Fluke.

Last Friday we did it again and G3 went with us. Ms Fluke was in Fairview, Texas at A Real Bookstore (yes, that's the name of the store) signing her newest book, Cinnamon Roll Murder.

But we did a few other things too.

Son's family had visited the Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma the Monday before our trip. Son was kicking himself for not picking up some things from the gift shop so, because it was right on our way, we decided to stop.

It's a fun museum with LOTS of action figures but also other things like vintage lunch boxes, toys and books from the 50's and 60's (Hopalong Cassidy, Zorro, Gene Autry and of course, Roy Rogers!) and a wonderful tribute to Oklahoma cartoonists - including Don Woods and his friend, Gusty.

Once in Texas we made a stop at the Twisted Root Burger Company in Roanoke for some pretty tasty burgers.

Next, we traveled to Grapevine, Texas for a visit to the outlet mall there. Son and G3 enjoyed some time going through the Legoland Discovery Center as well as the aquarium that is also located in the mall. I took the opportunity to do some shopping.

After that, we made our way on to the bookstore. Ms Fluke was as entertaining as ever and we enjoyed hearing her talk about all the characters in the 15 (at this point) book series.

It was a long day but a fun one to be sure.

I haven't even cracked Cinnamon Roll Murder yet. I've been busy reading the Hunger Games series. I just finished the second book and will hopefully be starting the 3rd one tonight. I just have to get that series finished so I can look at all the photos that was taken on our day trip. Yes, the Hunger Games series is that addicting! And the movie is pretty good too.

Maybe then I'll get the chance to change the header on this blog of mine. LOL!

Spring Break and . . . RAIN

2012-03-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

The school kids in this area are on Spring Break this week. . . and the weather forecast is

RAIN!

100% chance today and tomorrow, 70% on Wednesday and 20% on Thursday. Friday is supposed to be cloudy and then sunny on Saturday.

Too bad for the kids - maybe some of them will travel to other places this week where they will have sunnier weather - but the fish in the ponds, rivers and streams in this area are doing a happy dance. Water levels have been so low for so long that the rain is more than welcomed.

Hopefully the amounts that are predicted won't cause flooding.

AD and I mowed for the first time on Saturday, then took the opportunity to plant some bulbs yesterday. AD did the actual planting. I just told him where to plant them and pulled a few weeds that are trying to make their way into the garden.

Next up - putting up some tulle, yes, I said tulle - to try and deter the barn swallows from building their nests under the eaves of the house. Rubber snakes didn't do the trick last year. We have high hopes for the tulle. I'll let you know how it works.

Spring has definitely sprung as they say.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week regardless of the weather in your area.

This and That

2012-03-04T11:06:00.000-06:00

This past week sure has been filled with wild weather for a lot of folks. Thankfully not us.

My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones, homes, businesses, etc to tornadoes and storms.

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Last night our news channel reported on the homecoming of some of our military. It brought tears to my eyes watching as families were reunited together.

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The rear-end of my car went out a little over a week ago. It's fixed now but AD says we need to look for a new car. With gas prices being what they are and where they're expected to go, we need to find something that gets much better gas mileage!

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Sonic has brought back those 2 goofy guys for their tv commercials. Ugh!!!!! I'm sure lots of people think they're hilarious. I'm not one of them. The next time I get a survey from Sonic I think I'm going to have to include that in my comments. Like anyone will care but at least they'll know there's one person out their that thinks they can do better commercial-wise.

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Last September was Girlie's Fancy Nancy birthday party. For whatever reason I just haven't gotten around to scrapbooking photos from the party. Now I'm glad I haven't. Son told me that Michael's now carries Fancy Nancy scrapbooking paper and embellishments so when we went to Tulsa the other day I bought some. I'm all set for a crop I'm going to next weekend.

                                        *********************************

I was glad to see Elliott Sadler win the Nationwide race yesterday. He hasn't won a race in a long time so he was due. We've followed Elliott's career since way back when he was driving a car sponsored by Phillips 66 and we've met him a couple of time. SUPER NICE guy! and you gotta love his Southern drawl.

                                       **********************************

That's about all I've got for now.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead of them!

Wow! It's Been 2 Weeks

2012-02-27T13:43:00.000-06:00

Tracy left a comment that she hoped I was ok since I hadn't posted anything in 2 weeks. Wow! Time sure does fly. I am fine.

Here's some of what's been happening the last couple of weeks.

AD celebrated one of those milestone birthdays - you know the ones that end in 0. His started with a 6. We had a family celebration at the house. On the menu was chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes. His birthday cake was pineapple upside down cake because it's his favorite.

We're very proud of G3! He's one smart kid and his scores on standardized tests prove it. Son told us last week that G3 will be attending a school for special advanced studies next year. Way to go G3!

Joanne Fluke's newest book, Cinnamon Roll Murder, is on bookshelves tomorrow. Son and I attended one of her book signings a couple of years ago and had so much fun that we're planning a trip to Dallas next month when she'll be there signing her newest book.

Pinterest is just the best! You can find anything out there. Kiwis are one of my favorite fruits but let's be honest, they are a real pain to peel. A while back I found a tip on how to peel a kiwi. Then this past weekend I bought a few to try out the technique. Let me tell you - it worked better than I could have imagined! I see kiwi on my grocery list more often from now on.

Last but not least - we rushed home from church yesterday to watch the Daytona 500, the beginning of Nascar's race season, only to watch hours of rain delay commentating (is that a word?) and then hear the announcement that the race was cancelled until today. It was scheduled to start at noon EST which was a bummer for all those fans who had to work today. The rain continued though and now the race is scheduled for 7:00pm EST tonight. AD is happy. Daughter is happy. That makes me happy. I just feel so bad for all the fans that were in Daytona for the race and couldn't stay over.

'til next time. . .

Super Bowl Wrap Up

2012-02-06T10:58:00.000-06:00

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night?

If so, did you watch it with a group of people or stay at home?

Did you partake of typical Super Bowl junk food?

Were you pleased with the outcome?

What did you think of the half-time show?

How about those commercials? Did you have any favorites?

AD and I watched the game at home. I'd kept my team pick to myself until the game was over. As it turned out, AD was rooting for the Giants too.

As far as snacks go, there was some peanuts sitting on the kitchen counter along with some leftover Christmas cookies I'd pulled out of the freezer and some Valentine candies in dishes on the bar.

While we watched "at" the half-time show, we weren't really that interested in seeing it. Instead, we chose to eat supper during that part of the broadcast.

I thought there were some decent commercials but few that compared with commercials of the past.

I didn't keep a list of my favorites but probably the commercial that stands out most in my mind was "Detroit".

Of the ones I can remember and off the top of my head, some of my favorites were (and I apologize to my "cat" friends on this first one) the Dog burying Cat/Doritos commercial, the Ferris Bueller all grown up ad, the Dog getting into shape/VW commercial and the M&M commercial. The Audi/Vampire commercial was mildly amusing in my opinion.

Maybe I missed something but I thought the Coke commercials fell short this year and, being a Ford family, I didn't care for the Chevy Silverado commercial at all.

Oops! I almost forgot about the opening - Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's rendition of America the Beautiful and Kelly Clarkson's National Anthem. I thought they all did a great job!

And finally, hopefully AD's Dallas Cowboys will make it to the big show next year.

Next up - race season!

Something Fun to Do

2012-01-31T09:20:00.000-06:00

Remember photo booths?

They seem to be making a comeback.

Seems to me you used to be able to put a quarter into the slot and come away with a strip of 4 small photos. Nowadays I've seen costs of anywhere from $2 to $5 for those same 4 photos.

And if you're like me you were/are never ready when the flash goes off. That makes for some funny shots for sure.

A day or so ago while doing a quick scan of Pinterest I found www.photoboother.com. You can choose one of 6 frames, upload 4 of your photos, hit the "develop" button, then share, download to your computer and/or place an order.

Of course I had to check it out. Here's what happened.

Fun, huh?

Where, Oh Where . . .

2012-01-24T10:53:00.000-06:00

. . . has Oklahoma Granny been?

Well, I've been around. I've been visiting my favorite blogs, sometimes leaving comments, sometimes not.

It just seems there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done that NEEDS to be done and do the things I WANT to do too.

Is it like that for you?

I haven't even taken many pictures lately, hence the header you see above. It's from 2011. I don't mean to mislead you. We haven't had any snow at all this year unless you count the few flakes that fell last week - or maybe it was week before last.

With the exception of a handful of days that you could say it was truly cold, we seem to be having a very mild winter. That's kind of nice right now for those who don't care for the cold but I'm afraid we'll have a ton of bugs this summer.

Oklahoma needs rain! We have a good chance for some of the wet stuff tonight and tomorrow.

Rainy and/or cold weather is the best time for comfort food, don't you think? I bought a new cookbook a couple of weeks ago. It's one of those marvelous church cookbooks that translates to tried-and-true recipes.

This one is filled with lots of recipes that are new to me and I've picked out several to try.

I'm going to share one with you that I have already made. Both AD and I really liked it. It's called Goulash but it's not like any goulash AD and I have ever had. If you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Goulash

1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 onion, chopped (I used dried onion because AD isn't a fan of onions)
1 box Macaroni & Cheese
1/2 stick of butter or margarine
1 can chili (no beans)
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
1 can Ranch Style beans
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)

Brown the hamburger and onion and drain well.
In a separate pan, cook the macaroni and drain it well. Stir the butter into the macaroni and then the packet of cheese that comes in the box.
Mix the mac & cheese into the hamburger mixture along with the chili, Rotel tomatoes, bean and drained corn. Heat through and enjoy.

NOTE: When AD and I talked about the dish we decided it might be good to kick it up a bit the next time by adding a bit of taco seasoning or some diced jalapenos.

Inquiring Minds May Want to Know

2011-12-26T16:27:00.000-06:00

A BIG Thank You to those who voted for you favorite gingerbread house.

To the Stitchin Schoolmarm and Lynn - AD and I had already tallied the votes and the grand and consolation prizes had been given out on Christmas morning before I read your comments. Not to worry though. It didn't make a difference for the grand prize winner.

House #1 was the big winner and was designed by G1. He received a gift bag containing a box of HoHo's and a box of Ding Dongs with a tag that read, "Ho Ho from your Ding Dong Granny."

Ok, well I thought it was funny. . . .

Second place was House #2 and belonged to G2. If this had been one of the boys' dirt track races the announcer would have said something like, "G1 edged out G2 by one car length" when the checkered flag fell.

In 3rd place was House #4 was designed by G2's girlfriend.

G1's girlfriend's house came in at #4.

The consolation prizes were a package of Reese cups, a package of Hershey bars and a box of Skittles. The runners up got to choose their favorite in the place where they came in. G2 chose the Reese cups, his girlfriend chose the Skittles and the Hershey bars went to G1's girlfriend.

**********

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Ours was a little hectic but a very good day and we couldn't have asked for better weather. We were at AD's mother's home in the afternoon for lunch. Her home is very small and with 32 people in attendance the good weather made it possible for the kids to play outdoors.

*********

Did anyone venture out early this morning for the after-Christmas sales?

We haven't done that in years. This year though we decided we really needed a new tree for next year. (My family prefers artificial trees. Does that make us a "green" family? You know, because no trees are harmed in the decorating of our home.

Anyway, I'd checked out all the local stores a few days before Christmas and found the one that would work best for us. This morning we drove into town and when the doors were opened there were still some available so we're all set for next year.

Of course I had to look around in case there were a few more bargains to be had. I picked up some wrapping and tissue paper, a few bags of candy (who cares if they're wrapped in Christmas colors?), a couple of Oklahoma University ornaments for AD and the most beautiful angel tree topper. Instead of sitting atop our new tree next year though, I think she'll be sitting on top of one of our bookcases.

**********

As 2011 draws to a close I'd like to thank each and everyone who drops by my blog for a visit. I so enjoy reading comments that are left.

I also want to say how much I enjoy visiting you in your blog-homes. I feel like I've made some wonderful friends I never would have met otherwise.

Wishing each of you a very Blessed and Happy New Year!

You Be The Judges

2011-12-24T00:01:00.001-06:00

G1, G2 and the girlfriends were up for a bit of gingerbread house decorating.

I told them I would post pictures of their creations on my blog and ask readers to vote for their favorite.

I also told them there would be a small prize for the winner.

Below are pictures of the houses with a brief description of each.

House #1

Santa is apparently visiting this little house at the moment. His sleigh is visible up on the roof. There is a pile of pretzel logs sitting beside the house just waiting to be put in the fireplace. Notice a path has been cleared of snow to welcome visitors.

House #2:

This darling little cottage features a fenced yard and is all decked out with Christmas decorations including a tree, a snowman and candy canes leading up to the front door. The lamp post on the left side of the door lights the way for visitors.

House #3:

The children that live in this house have been busy building a snowman and an igloo. On the right side of the house and just at the base of the statuesque angel, a fire has been built in anticipation of roasting a few marshmallows with neighbors and friends.

House #4:

The final gingerbread house features a chocolate door and windows along with a roof decorated for the Christmas season. The owners' beautiful Christmas tree beacons visitors to stop in for a visit and the licorice gumdrop chimney promises them a warm place to sit and chat for awhile.

There you have it - our 4 gingerbread houses for 2011. Please leave a comment today (Christmas Eve) with your favorite - #1, #2, #3 or #4.

G1, G2, the girlfriends and I thank you for helping choose a winner.

2011 Christmas Tree

2011-12-16T09:47:00.000-06:00

As I was cruising around blogland this morning there were many bloggers sharing photos of their Christmas trees so I decided to post the above photo of ours.

The couple in the photo is G2 and his sweet girlfriend.

By now you probably know I'm hooked on Pinterest and all the interesting ideas that are being shared. Earlier this week I was able to get those 2 to come over and let me try a couple of the ideas I've seen recently. The above photo was one of the results.

I think it's my favorite of all.

Today is also one of those extra-special birthdays for G2's girlfriend.

Wishing her an extra-special Happy Birthday!

Frog and Traffic Jams

2011-12-13T09:16:00.000-06:00

What was your first thought when you read the title of this post?

(My mind would not have gone to something I'd spread on biscuits or toast.)

Anyway, when we took our second trip to Muskogee to see the Nina and the Pinta we also had lunch at the Amish Country Store for the first time.

Oh. My. Goodness! I'm pretty sure we'd make another trip down there just to eat.

While we were waiting for our order to come to the table I decided to do a little shopping in the store. I looked and looked and looked.

They have lots of wonderful items to purchase - jams, ciders, snacks, candies and cookbooks to name a few.

I was so busy shopping that our thoughtful little waitress came and got me when she served our food. She said she didn't want my plate to get cold. Wasn't that the sweetest thing to do?

AD and I both chose the open faced roast beef sandwich that came with two sides. One of the sides we chose was something called Amish Casserole. That was a new dish to me and I had to ask what it was.

It's sort of like chicken and noodles but not really. The gravy/sauce is some different and there's also corn and peas in the dish. I don't know if they serve it as an entree but I could have eaten a whole plateful of that casserole and been wa-a-a-y happy!

I did ask if the recipe might be in any of the cookbooks that were for sale but unfortunately it isn't. Must be a trade secret, you think?

If anyone knows of a similar recipe I'd sure appreciate you sharing it with me.

After we finished our lunch I went back and picked out several goodies to bring home with us.

F.R.O.G. jam for one. Have you ever heard of or had F.R.O.G. jam? It's a blend of figs, raspberries, orange, ginger and the rest of the ingredients that make it a jam.

And it's mighty tasty! I only bought a small jar because I wasn't sure how well it would go over with my grape-jelly-only-loving husband. But he even admitted that it was pretty good stuff.

I think Son's kiddos will get a kick out of the name too.

I was also intrigued by another jar with the name Traffic Jam on it. Although the one we brought home with us has yet to be opened I'm sure it's a winner too. The list of ingredients includes peaches, strawberries, red raspberries, cherries and cranberries.

Yum!

Hmmm. Now I'm hungry and I haven't had breakfast yet. I think I'll go fix me some toast.

Enjoy your day, everyone!

Only 12 days to Christmas.

Have You Been to Any of These Places?

2011-12-06T23:10:00.001-06:00

Every month or so one of the guys from my graduating class sends out an email with upcoming classmates' birthdays, what some of them have been up to and usually he adds one or two funny stories.

Tonight I received on of those emails and thought these few paragraphs might bring a smile or two to some of you.

HOW MANY OF THESE PLACES HAVE YOU VISITED?

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often. I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what  country I was in. It's an age thing. . .
                                                                                           -Author Unknown

This 'n That

2011-12-06T09:10:00.000-06:00

It's cold here today. I'm thinking of baking some cookies from a recipe I found on Pinterest.

Do you do Pinterest? It's addictive!

******************

I'm gradually getting our Christmas decorations put out. Usually that's done by now.

On the upside - All the the Christmas gifts we've purchased have been wrapped.

That may not sound like much but it's a BIG deal around here. Christmas Eve usually finds me scrambling around getting everything wrapped and under the tree.

*******************

G1 got a new puppy.

Elliott trying to figure out what's up with this pup.

His name is Bassett. You're probably wondering why an English Bulldog is named Bassett. It is kind odd unless you know us.

All of our dogs and Daughter's family's dogs have names related to racing.

It started out with NASCAR names - Elliott, Smoke, Dani (Danica), Mikey, Earnhardt, Kasey and a few others.

Now the names have branched out to car parts - Holley (carburators), Hoosier (tires) and Bassett (wheels).

G1 brought Bassett over the other night to visit for the first time.

I took 61 pictures of the little guy in the span of about 40 minutes. That number even surprised me!

The photo above is one of the few where Bassett was awake.

Most of the time he looked like this.

Ahoy, Mateys!

2011-12-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

Replicas of Columbus' ships, the Nina and the Pinta are currently docked in Muskogee.

AD and I made a trip down to see them today.

Actually we made 2 trips - yesterday and today.

That's a lot of driving miles but it was well worth it.

Yesterday we did some shopping in Owasso and Claremore as we made our way to Muskogee. And because we didn't know exactly where we were going, by the time we got to where the ships were, everything was shut down and it was, well, it was dark.

I was very disappointed.

AD said we could try again on Saturday. But after listening to the weather forecast he said we'd better go today as there is a 90% chance of rain tomorrow. So we drove back down today.

There were lots of school children there to see the ships and learn a bit of history.

That was a very good thing because we were able to listen to the guides too. Those kids sure had some great questions too!

The ships are in Muskogee through the 7th, then they'll be sailing off to Florida.

If you ever have a chance to see these replicas, my advice is to do it!

Black Friday Shopping

2011-11-28T09:36:00.000-06:00

Were you among the shoppers on Black Friday? Did you find what you were looking for? I hope so.

AD and I ventured out but much later than many folks. We found most of the things we went after and missed a few too. That's ok though because the stores got more than their fair share of our hard earned dollars.

The first place we stopped was Staples for a couple of things we needed for our own use. AD zipped in and out of there in no time. The next stop was our local mall. It's a small mall and we were happily surprised that it wasn't all that busy. AD wanted to go to Sears and I had to return a gift I'd already purchased a couple of weeks ago. UGH!

Those who know me well know that I HATE returning things. I will do most anything to keep from returning merchandise. But there was no way around it this time. And I have to say, the folks at American Eagle really made it easy on me. I can't tell you how much I appreciated the two clerks that helped me. I was able to exchange the item I was returning for something that is sure to make someone very happy. And I was in and out in a flash. Seriously! On Black Friday of all days.

Then we were off to Tulsa. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect. The first huge wave of shoppers were probably home taking naps by then. There was some traffic but not nearly as bad as we'd expected.

I was periodically checking my email as we made our way from store to store. When I read one from Best Buy that said they had iPads on sale I remembered AD's youngest sister mentioning on Thanksgiving that she was looking for one but there weren't any in the newspaper sale ads that she'd seen. I told AD in case he wanted to pass that information along.

Well, guess what?! The next thing I know we're headed to Best Buy. AD let the iPad out of the bag so to speak. He told me Santa was planning to bring me one for Christmas. So that jolly old elf caved in and gave me have my gift early. Santa can expect extra special cookies left out for him this year!

Oh, and that kaleidoscope picture of AD at the top of this post - I've already been playing with my iPad.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T00:01:00.014-06:00

Ok, so I set up a post to wish everyone who stops by my blog from time to time a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I set it up to automatically post at 12:01am on Thursday, November 24.

When I called up my blog just now I was surprised to see my 'noodle post' pop up.

I'm sorry about that!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving and made some wonderful memories.

Blessings to you all.

I Knew I'd Forget Something!

2011-11-22T13:32:00.000-06:00

I had a question with regard to my post yesterday about my homemade noodles.
Wouldn't you just know I'd leave something important out?!

After the noodles are cut they are left to dry at least overnight, sometimes even a few hours longer. They are ready to cook then or be frozen for future use.

After the ones I made the other day were all nice and dried, I put them into a freezer bag and popped those babies in the freezer.

Thursday morning they'll come out of the freezer just as soon as the chicken broth has come to a nice boil. Then into the pot they'll go.

I can almost taste them now.

Note to Driller: I've often said that if we had to limit our Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner to just the bare essentials, our family would unanimously choose to have chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes and homemade hot rolls. Everyone in the family, with the exception of myself, tops their mashed potatoes with their chicken and noodles.

Homemade Chicken & Noodles

2011-11-21T10:15:00.000-06:00

Last week I had some questions on how I make my noodles.

Over the weekend I made up a batch and froze them in preparation for Thanksgiving.

We're expecting 18 to 20 people and all of us are pretty fond of our chicken and noodles. So I needed to make a big batch.

I started with 8 large eggs. (Please pardon the scratched up bowl I use. It's seen its share of noodle dough over the years.)

Then I added some salt and pepper. Sorry, but I didn't measure those but it was about 10 turns of the grinders.

The eggs were then beaten with a fork.

A couple of cups of flour went into the eggs.

This is what the dough looked like after the 2 cups of flour were mixed in.

Then 2 more cups of flour were mixed in. The dough became fairly stiff.

I dumped the dough out onto about another 1 and a half cups of flour and kneaded it in.

I have to say here that sometimes it takes more flour than that to get a good stiff dough. I'm not sure but maybe the weather has something to do with it.

The dough was then rolled out as thin as I could get it. (I have a big table!) I use a heavy rolling pin now but years ago, before I had a rolling pin, I just used a heavy glass.

That's where the noodle cutter comes in. It's just like using a rolling pin except that it cuts through the dough. Because I can't reach all the way across the table, I cut one side, then went around to the other side and lined up the noodle cutter with the lines that had already been cut.

Then I use a pizza cutter to cut the strips of noodles going the other way. Some people like long noodles, some like short noodles, but we like ours kind of in-between. They're probably about 3 1/2 to 4 inches long.

Tomorrow I'll cook the chicken. I do that in a pressure cooker but boiling it is also fine.

The chicken will be taken off the bone, shredded and refrigerated. The broth will be cooled and then go into the refrigerator too.

On Thursday morning, the broth will be put in a large pot along with several cans of Swanson's chicken broth - probably 6 or 8 for this size batch. The liquid will be brought to a boil and the noodles will be added in handfuls, stirring after each.

Once all the noodles are in the pot, the chicken will be added. The noodles will cook for at least a couple of hours because we like the broth to thicken.

I do stir the noodles every once in awhile while they're cooking and add more broth if needed because the noodles do absorb some of the broth.

Oh, and as they absorb the broth, they expand. That's the reason for using a big pot.