In one month from today I’ll be headed to Chicago for what feels like a monumental sort of occasion.

P turns 21.

21/

It just doesn’t feel real for so many reasons. It makes me feel old! I remember her in nothing but my mom’s heels and a blue tu-tu. I remember her having Memorial Day concerts in our living room for our family. I remember her puking in my hair when we were on vacation in Iowa.

Let’s just say I have a lot of stories-

as does she.

Anyway, I’m sure we’ll talk more about that next month.

I thought I’d just commemorate that the countdown has begun. I’m pretty darn excited about it. Should we throw her a surprise party? The more the merrier, right? I’m sure all my blog friends in her apartment wouldn’t be weird at all.

Maybe we’ll grease the tracks for next year. 

If we’re going to be, or stay, friends there are a few things you probably need to know upfront.

1. If you give me a gift, and it’s in a pretty bag, there’s a good chance I’m going to keep it and use it the next time I have to give someone a gift. Yes, I’m a bag recycler. I said it.

2. I can’t go shopping with anyone besides P. Ever. I can have good intentions and really try to shop with friends but I just can’t and I end up wandering aimlessly, totally surrendering to the fact that I will not find something. I have no idea why.

3. I’m pretty sure I have a small degree of ODC. I am always afraid of leaving my straightener plugged in all day so I have to check, and recheck about three times before I can finally walk out the door. If it’s going to be a really long day away from the house, I’ve also been known to take a picture of the outlet to reassure myself that I really did unplug it and will not burn the house down.

Wow.

Pretty sure I divulged just a tad too much there.I’m confident you all think I’m crazy now. Or even crazier?

Moving on…

4. If we ever went on a road trip and we made the joint (AWFUL) decision that I would be the one to drive I would likely definitely get us lost. I’m one of the most spatially challenged people I know. It’s a talent, really. In my defense- unless the sun is rising or setting how in the WORLD are you able to know the cardinal directions!? I mean if it’s high noon and the sun is shining brightly in the “middle” of the sky are you freaking telling me that if I’m stranded in a jungle I’m going to know I’m headed due north!? I think not. Geez. Thankfully, there’s an app for everything.

5. I honestly do not think any dessert could ever be “too rich” and it annoys me when people say it. I’ve finally had to come to grips with the fact that the annoyance is me, because, after all, there are probably desserts that are “too rich.” However, it hasn’t deterred me from rolling my eyes anytime I hear someone say it as we stand over an office birthday cake.

That’s it for now. Happy Monday!

Ooh - wait can I add a freebie number six? It annoys me when people say “Happy Monday!” yet it doesn’t annoy me enough not to do it myself. Because I do. All cheery. And annoying. Such a contradiction.

More to come.

1. We hardly ever have bread in our house. Like ever. Likely because I’m capable of eating an entire loaf in two days.It would be like an alcoholic keeping a bottle of Jose Cuervo in their pantry. Probably not a good idea.

2. There’s almost always a load of clean laundry piled atop the chest in our bedroom. I think Will would kill over if it was missing, so I like to keep it there for consistency’s sake. And to keep him alive.

3. I really love my sister. I know you know that, but recently (like the last couple of years) I’ve really, really grown to love her more. I think it has to do with our ages and where we are in our lives.

4. I really like the Bridget Jones movies. A lot. I’ve decided most either love or hate them. There’s not really an in between.

5. I like Extra Spearmint gum. I personally feel it’s the best.

6. I hope I made the right decision with a two year masters program. It has pros and cons. The pro is that you definitely aren’t as inundated as you are with a one year accelerated program. The con is that you spend two years of your freaking adult life doing school when you could have been done in a year.

7. I don’t own a coffee maker and I’m a grown woman. It’s probably more common than I think, but it’s sort of weird to me. Although Will doesn’t, I love coffee, and now that I’m back to school feel as though I may rely on it more. Perhaps I should invest in one.

8. I bought my first Scentsy last week. I think women are WAY too fanatical about that stuff. Yet, I became one of them and gave in and bought one. I’m skeptical because Will and I really like the Glade Plug-ins, mostly because we have Boz and Lucy inside with us and like to have a continual flow of good smelling-ness throughout our house at all times. With a Scentsy it only works when it’s on. Eh who knows. Perhaps I’ll be a crazy fanatical convert too. I’m just ready for it to come in!

9. I actually dreamed about APA citation last week. Who does that!?

10. Go download the YouVersion app if you haven’t already. It’s definitely been so great for me to have the Bible on my phone. There’s absolutely no excuse for me not to read it! In fact, I’ve spent several mornings reading as I blowdry my hair in the morning. So efficient.

More to come…

I’m definitely getting my fair share of family this summer.

Ha- when you put it that way it sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it?

The truth is, it’s not bad at all. In fact- it’s pretty darn good!

This past weekend was spent with my dad’s side of the family in Iowa celebrating my Gran’s 80th birthday. I hadn’t seen her since my wedding, 6 1/2 years ago. Which, yes, officially makes me the worst granddaughter ever. It was nice to get to see her and celebrate her special day. I was also able to spend time with the rest of that side of the family which was really great too. It’s funny how you can simply pick up where you left off with your extended family. There’s something comforting about being able to do so.

So to bore you I’ll give you a super short yellow and black striped Cliff’s Notes version of the weekend:

-Thursday night I flew into Chicago, where my sister is moving into her totally great and grown-up new apartment. I spent the night at her new place while my parents stayed in a hotel.

-Friday morning we had The Bongo Room for breakfast (yes, although this is a Cliff’s Notes recap, The Bongo Room is worth mentioning) followed by shopping and getting some things finished for P’s apartment. Then we made the 6 hour drive to Iowa where we met up with my Gran.

-Saturday was the big birthday bash. It was nice to catch up with our family and celebrate the big occasion. We all got t-shirts in honor of the day which were color coated by family. We had a photographer come and take pictures of everyone which was fun too. Then we had an “after party” (Um, I use this term very loosely. It was a far cry from a Jay-Z song) and spent some more time together.

-Sunday was spent travelling home.

So there’s the recap. Now, let’s camp out a little on Saturday. It was a good day. However, it’s a day with family which definitely means there was a bit of drama to share, right? I mean, let’s be honest- who doesn’t have something to talk about after leaving a large family gathering?

Family is an interesting thing. We all know it. We all talk about it. Because it is.

I can treat P like yesterday’s old rolled up ragged newspaper that’s been rained on and peed on by Gus, the neighborhood wandering dog- but if YOU treat my sister like yesterday’s old rolled up ragged newspaper that’s been rained on and peed on by Gus, the neighborhood wandering dog you’re in big trouble!

Because then you have to deal with me. And I’m really scary.

And mean.

...

Really- I am!

Okay, so I’m not.

But you get my point. Some innate protective wolverine-like nature comes out in us when someone is mistreating our family. I’m sure we’re all familiar with this feeling.

I had the privilege of meeting my uncle’s first second third fourth wife for the first time this weekend. I had heard plenty about this woman, but the stories really didn’t do her loquacious and rude character justice. You had to see her in the flesh to really experience the full affect.

So we get to the party and the very.first.thing out of her mouth is directed at my sister- “Oh… you dyed your… hair,” she said in this really condescending tone.

Ha.

I was expecting a, “Hi! How have you been?!” With the potential for an awkward and uncomfortable obligatory hug.

“Why did you do that?”

Sidenote: How is it that a grown woman can go 50 years on the Earth without learning basic extended family gathering etiquette?

To which my sister, utterly shocked, stammered something somewhat coherent. Only I don’t really remember because I had my head cocked to the left with my mouth opened thinking how incredibly CRAZY this woman was. WE DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU. As you can see, my uncle totally married her for her sweet, graceful personality.

So we immediately moved onto other, more jovial family members. Only an hour later to have her say something about it again. “So… do you dye your eyebrows? I mean, because you’d have to, right? That’s NOT your natural color.”

I’m so confused! This is my Gran’s birthday! When did this become an episode of MTV Boiling Points?

“Am I about to win $100 Grandma Betty? Is there a camera crew hiding in the bathroom that will jump out the second I get ready to deck this lady?”

Why is this lady randomly asking my sister about her hair color? Why do I feel like I’m in a really strange scene from Silence of the Lambs in which this lady is going to ask to wear my sister’s hair or something utterly terrifying like that?

By this point I think we’re all not only shocked at her blunt comments, but also really irritated. I don’t care if my sister’s hair was painted like the American Flag- you’re not part of our family so get over it!

Geez.

So the party continues and she continues to offend and control all the conversation and monopolize everyone’s time- and then we move to the after party. After a couple of Smirnoffs she’s now touching my sister’s hair and pulling it up at the nape of the neck, “trying to find her natural color” while talking to my dear old Gran.

Which means my sister doesn’t want to hurt my Gran’s feelings or make a big deal of this crazy lady’s antics on her big birthday. However, at that point we were so out of there. What a weirdo. I’m pretty sure she won’t be around at the next family gathering. Only… after meeting number four I’m terrified to meet number five!

So that was one of the weird familial moments I thought I’d share.

This weekend should be much less eventful, which is definitely a good thing.

This weekend Will and I are headed to Branson to celebrate his dad’s 60th birthday. This weekend will only be spent with his parents and his brother and brother’s wife. So while I anticipate blog-able moments, I highly doubt I’ll be able to share how someone asked Will to wear his skin (shudder).

I’m definitely looking forward to this trip. It will be super quick, and mostly spent in the car, but it should still be nice. Regardless of the fact that Will’s dad is into virtually every travel oddity in the world. “There’s a 25 foot ball of belly button lint 5 miles away! Let’s stop in and check it out!”

Yes, it will be an interesting trip but in a different way.

More to come…

Hi!

So it’s somewhat late, I’ve had a long day, and I’m sleepy (read: boring). However, I wanted my first “real” post in half a year to be a little different so I made a few boring videos!

My face is hilarious in this one.

And because I feel really bad for being such a terrible blogger and friend I wanted to embarrass myself as a peace offering. Please excuse the fly-aways, sausage fingers, and giant zit.

1. There are a freaking exorbitant amount of people from Oklahoma reading my blog.

You have no idea how much this mortifies me and drives home the fact that I totally need to move to a remote island, adopt a super cool “pen name,” and write freely where the odds of me bumping into someone at a coral reef is no where near as likely as bumping into someone at Ted’s. Do I really wanting my backyard knowing the wind blew my skirt up sky high right in front of my father in law? I’m thinking no.

2. I really dislike fake flowers.

That is all I will say about this subject.

3. I hate going to the grocery store by myself.

It’s like this whole “thing” with me. I mean, of course I’ll do it- I’m a freaking grown woman for crying out loud- but I would way rather Will go with me.

I’m such a weirdo. Perhaps we will discuss this oddity in another post. The shopping part- not the weirdness part.

4. I’m into trance music.

I think I might have told you guys that before, but it seems to surprise most people when they find that out about me.

What?

Is it strange that some proper Oklahoma suburban wife would listen to stuff like that (ha ha- the answer is a big overwhelming YES)?

5. I’m going to Chicago this weekend.

I guess this isn’t a “confession” per se, but I hadn’t told you guys yet so I thought it was time to share. P and I are going to have a super quick and AMAZING girl’s weekend full of the most fun we’ve had together since the cruise.

We are going to see Tiesto in concert!!!

(crickets chirping)

Okay- so I know that’s like dolphin squeak to most of you- but trust me, it’s like huge, huge, huge.

Tiesto is the modern father of trance. He truly epitomizes what trance music is today. Trust me- it’s a big deal. I can’t even put into words how much I’m looking forward to this trip and how amazing this concert will be.

I downloaded his newest album today to get me ready for my trip. I had listened to it last week and didn’t really like it, but today I decided that for the most part I really do. To humor me you should download Century ft. Calvin Harris, Fresh Fruit, and Who Wants to Be Alone ft. Nelly Furtado from his newest album, Kaleidoscope. They’re the ones I’m listening to the most right now. I think the Nelly Furtado song is way hot.

YAY for an amazing girl’s weekend!

I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it.

So that’s my big news/"confession."

Anything you need to get off your chest?

Going over my sister’s grocery list and having full detailed discussions about the food she plans on buying.

You’d be amazed at how fascinating 100 Calorie Packs, avocados, and yogurt can be. 

So there’s like a slew of things-

very important things I might add-

that we need to discuss.

Only

I’m lying and there’s really not much worth sharing.

Actually…

I could share some pretty freaking HILARIOUS text messages back and forth between myself and sister involving all sorts of random topics.

But for the sake of sparing our pride it’s best I do not share.

Then there’s the fact that we have a mouse in our garage that we’ve been trying to catch for um

like two weeks now

but that sneaky bastard keeps outsmarting us.

It’s a genius mouse.

A genius mouse!

Like the freaking Einstein Bill Gates Macgyver of all mice.

I hate that guy!

So we’ve tried everything

and yet he’s somehow managed to escape from everything we’ve planted.

Except…

this week he was no where to be found,

and the cheese we left out remained untouched.

Which freaks me the crap out because:

A. It’s inevitable some awful smell is going to start permeating the garage because by some freak chance we actually managed to kill the guy with who knows what.(And don’t you love how I just assume it’s a guy? I mean we all know it has to be! He eats and leaves without cleaning up after himself! Enough said.)

B. There’s a bigger more skilled Einstein Bill Gates Macgyver of all mice that ate the late Einstein Bill Gates Macgyver of all mice and is now going to way, way, way outsmart us.

Like we’re going to walk out to our cars one day and he’s going to be smoking a pipe reading a Sherlock Holmes novel and asking for me to bring him his slippers.

Nice.

Anyway, it’s been eerily quiet this week and I’m not sure I like that. I mean, unless of course he is in fact dead and there’s no second mouse lurking around the corner.

Then we’re good.

Then of course there’s the fact that it’s GAME DAY.

Okay

Like in one hour it’s GAME DAY.

Yes.

I still say it with excitement in my voice. Who cares if we blow this year (okay I’m totally lying. I most definitely care if we blow this year… this is simply a psychological tactic to prepare myself for any potential future disappointment), I’m excited about game day.

I’m also excited about Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Bowl.

We’ll be indulging after the game tomorrow. Hello fatness! Who am I kidding? I’ll get one bowl and be done (um… I hope anyway), but it’s still more economical to do it that way.

Sure Brittny… keep telling yourself that’s why you need pasta soaked in alfredo sauce.

Ramble Ramble…

I guess I need to get off so I make sure I’m up early enough to work off a small fraction of my lunch at the gym tomorrow morning. Hope you guys had a great Friday!

I <3 Chicago.

I already knew that because I've been there before, however this past weekend reaffirmed it once again.

I had the most amazing weekend with my mom and sister, and it's something I'll treasure for a long time to come. Especially since I have no idea when all three of us will be together again all as once.

I flew to Chicago Thursday night and was greeted by my parents and sister. We had a late dinner at Gino's Pizza- which was amazing. Nothing welcomes you to Chicago quite like a deep dish pizza blanketed in layers of cheese at 9:00 at night.

Friday morning my dad took off for a short trip with his brother for a guys weekend in Indianapolis, so it was just us girls left on our own to shop and have a wonderful time.

Saturday morning we started off at Panera Bread followed by shopping, shopping, and more shopping. I haven't been shopping in AGES. Will and I are on the Dave Ramsey plan and we've got that "gazelle intensity" to get out of debt and make sacrifices other places. Anyway, it was so.much.fun. to buy new clothes. My mom is the best. So we did that all day Saturday- followed by The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was a great day- and I was actually a tiny bit sore from all that walking. I don't think that's good! What does that say about my gym workout?! Perhaps I need to change up my routine?

Sunday was a lot of fun. My sister stayed the night in her apartment the night before so my mom and I got an early start on all the Labor Day sales followed by a trip to the Shed's Aquarium.

Along with the entire state of Illinois.

It was insane.

A zoo.

An insane zoo aquarium.

It was still fun. This was my second time to go. I went with my dad the first time so it's cool that I got to go with my mom this time. After Shed's my sister met up with us and we had some coffee and had a relaxing afternoon followed by-

The Blue Man Group that night!

It was such a fun show and I'm so glad we went. Guys, my mom was freaking cracking us up so much. I don't think I've heard her cackle or laugh so hard she cried as much as I did that night. It was classic and I simply can't do it justice in this blog post. The funniest part was at the end. There's this whole "thing" with strobe lights and loud music and toilet paper being pulled from holders all over the auditorium. My mom kept yelling at me and P to "Pull! Pull! Pull!" while she was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face and while the strobes were going and the music was pumping. P just looked at me and yelled, "I feel like we're at a rave with our mom!" Too funny.

Anyway, that was lots of fun.

After the show we went for a late steak- which is where I caught the end of the OU game.

And saw all I really needed to see.

I called Will immediately after (who was down in Dallas to watch the loss) and told him that perhaps this was good. Perhaps it's good that we are disappointed at the start of the season instead of the end like always.

He didn't agree.

Yesterday was spent doing more shopping. This time for P's room. Groceries, stuff for school, etc. It was fun. I love her place and I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that she's all grown up and in this giant city living this adult life. It makes me look at myself and realize how old I've gotten as well and how surreal it seems. I still remember being in 5th grade and having her barf on my hair while we were visiting my grandparents in Iowa. Good times.

She's come a long way from those days. She's a woman in the city. Remember this post? Its sort of the same, only with her now. She’s back in America, all grown up, and experiencing this whole new life for the first time and I’m glad I get to be a small part of it.

So that was Sunday. Oh- and we also had a ridiculous amount of food. We at at the Five Guys burger joint, followed by dessert at the Ghiradelli place (um or however you spell it) and, well, I think the list goes on from there.

It was around the time I finished my dessert that afternoon that I started to feel a little bummed.

Which is what I promised Will I wouldn’t do. He knows me so well. He made me promise not to get bummed out early and to enjoy every minute of my time with my mom and sister until the end. So- I tried to do that.

P and I walked around and she took me to “The Bean” (not the official name, but the one I’m pretty sure most people know it by). It was a nice walk, perfect weather, and really nice. Definitely a walk I appreciated and will tuck away in my little pocket of memories I want to keep forever (whatever that means...).

We had a quiet night in and watched TV and just hung out, which was nice. It’s those little things of doing “nothing” that you can sometimes miss the most when you’re away from your family.

Today came early and it was sad to say goodbye. I hope we’re all able to see each other soon, and I hate that we’re all so far away now. I guess that’s normal though, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it, right?

So here I am, back in Oklahoma (um, which is a far cry from Chicago, right?). It’s been a typical evening, followed by a typical (thankfully short) week, followed by a typical weekend.

It was nice to step out of the mundaneness for a while. I’m thankful for my trip.

And I’m also thankful for the Chicago pizza which will be arriving to my door Wednesday afternoon.

I’m off to watch TV with Will.

Happy Labor Day!

A year ago today I was embarking on the most amazing trip ever. I must say, 5 August 2009 was far different different than 5 August 2008. Instead of boarding our amazing cruiseship and getting ready for what truly was one of the best three weeks of my life, I sat in my little cubicle reading the Federal Acquisition Regulation and trying to make heads and tails of our finance guy’s pricing sheet.

Good times.

I must admit, my heart hurt a little bit today when I got up. I know it sounds silly to be all reminiscent and bummed about the “anniversary” of my dream vacation, but I was.

I guess that’s got to be normal, right?

Please tell me that’s normal.

Okay- so we all agree that my feelings today were normal.

What is not normal is looking ahead to the next 20 days of my life thinking about how I’ll be all, “Oh on the 14th I was in Pompeii” or “On the 12th I was in Tunisia. Sigh...”

I think that borderlines as a little crazy. When I stop and think about it- that trip, last year, was the last time I took a vacation! Granted, it was three weeks (Yes, my boss is amazing. I had already had this trip planned before taking the job so she let me go.)- but it was a whole year ago! Craziness. I did take two days in January to go to Miami, but that’s more of a long weekend.

Anyway, perhaps I’m just bummed because I fully realize that the next time I’ll get to do something that spectacular is when you win the lottery and give me all your earnings we retire.

I guess I am being rational, right?

Oh, and so today I went back for old time’s sake (um, which bummed me out even more) and read about all the amazing adventures me and P went on. It’s sort of funny to look back and read these now because it was our chance to say goodbye to each other before she headed to school in Dubai for four years and Will and I settled down in Oklahoma.

Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you that P is moving back to America! She’ll still be far away, but not an ocean away- and close enough for long girl weekends! I’m very pleased with this decision.

I tell you that because it’s funny how things work out. Last year i was just certain I’d never see my sister again, and here we are a year later and she’s going to be fairly close again. I guess that’s why we’re not meant to worry about things, right?

Enough rambling today. Here’s to the most amazing trip of my life, and some of the best memories I’ve ever made-

and here’s to planning something just as great in 2010, perhaps?

Um- only way way shorter. I’m pretty sure that three week vacation thing was a one time deal.