I fly out of Oklahoma tomorrow morning before the sun comes up.

Why is it that even when you’re flying before the majority of normal people are even waking you have to be at the airport at least an hour early to check in?

I think that’s ridiculous.

So much so that I want to arrive a little later tomorrow- but Will won’t let me.

Because he’s boring and isn’t a risk taker like I am (ha ha).

I’ve never flown for “business” before.

Granted the entire human public probably has at least one, but for some reason I’ve been thinking about it like its something really fun and grown up.

You know- because waking up before God, applying your make-up in the car, and sitting next to all sorts of weirdos “on business” is LOADS of fun.

Ha.

Every time Will and I would fly in the mornings I would cringe at all the “business people” travelling around us. Obnoxiously talking extra loudly on the phone- informing the entire world of their latest win or new business prospect. Their gigantic laptop bags the size of a large marsupial. The way that none of them ever.use.mints…

Cringe.

Retired blogger Sarah is a frequent business traveler (and never violates any of the abovementioned annoyances, I’m sure) and I’ll never forget her trick for how to cope with a smelly nearby passenger- she puts nice smelling lotion under her nose and it fights the funk for the flight’s duration. It makes me laugh every time when I think about it (I’m not sure why), but it’s a very good and practical idea. One I would highly recommend. As someone who has used it many times myself I will say it works amazingly- unless you’re on a transatlantic journey. Then? Not so much. You’re pretty much on your own on that flight. Every stinky man for themselves.

Was flying ever fun to you? When I was little it was a big deal and so.much.fun. Now it’s the biggest frustration that keeps me from where I am and where I want to be.

It is right about here -> in which I would be extremely positive and try to think of fun and exciting ways to make flying bearable. But yeah- why tease ourselves? It’s just a day trip, so the nice thing is that I’ll be able to sleep in my own bed.

Instead of lamenting over getting up at 1:58- I’ll watch The Mentalist, try to enjoy my two hours of sleep, and anticipate my 8:00 Venti Skim Latte. On business.

Venti Skim Lattes.

Heart.

Tomorrow will be great, I know it.

And hey- if nothing else it will provide a plethora of blogable material.

That’s right, my friends. Today I’ll be crossing the Red River into Longhorn country.

It’s time for the (not so annual) annual BTS weekend!

I met Sarah while vacationing back home in 2006 and we had a really fun day full of lunch and facials!

Last year Sarah, Theresa, and I were united in Texas for a weekend of fun which included a Rodeo, shopping, and relaxing (and it was a that point I was certain I wasn’t chatting online with hairy sweaty fossils with Dorito crumbs stuck in between their neck fat).

This year is gearing up to be lots of the same- fun friends, fun memories, and fun plans.

To think we all met on the nest is always so crazy to me.

Here’s to another weekend of fun.

More to come.

<3

I’m pretty sure we lost from the second Will and I got on the airplane.

Although- it didn’t seem so at first.

We rode the same plan as Heisman quarterback Sam Bradford’s parents as well as Jeremy Beal’s parents.

Good sign, right?

We thought so.

We ended up getting delayed on our way there, which was a bit of an annoyance- yet we didn’t think it was the end of the world.

Ha.

We got to Miami late and had to wait almost an hour catch the Enterprise shuttle to get a rental car.

That whole slogan, “Pick Enterprise, We Pick You Up” is a HUGE lie. Apparently that holds true for all places except Miami.

We waited forever and finally caught the shuttle to enterprise.

When we got there we should have known there was going to be a problem. A mass of people, all clad in game gear, was standing outside waiting for a shuttle to take them to their hotels.

Hmm- that seems strange, right?

Will got in line and waited.

We waited, and waited, and waited.

Will finally got to the counter and the manager turned the lights off- all in attempts to say that Enterprise no longer had any cars- despite people making reservations for cars 3 weeks in advance- and that they were closing for the night.

Bad sign?

We thought so…

Yeah- Will wasn’t humored.

They offered to take us to our hotel and bring us back in the morning for a car.

Um- no.

They briefly mentioned trying to go to their sister company’s office to see if they would be able to honor our reservation.

Will and I decided to take a chance and walked over to the rental place. A tiny hole in the wall kiosk sort of place.

Nice.

Apparently a lot of Enterprise customers had the same idea. There was a line almost out the door all full of people hoping that this company didn’t give away all their cars just as Enterprise did.

We waited, and waited, and waited once again.

Will finally got to the counter.

The Oklahoma gods were looking out for us because we got the very.last.car.on.the.lot.

Everyone else was turned away.

Good sign?

We sure thought so.

We were the proud renters of a white Dodge minivan.

Oh yeah baby.

We loaded up and returned to the airport to pick up Ross and Rachel (we took different flights).

While we waited I made a video recapping the evening. As you will see- Will was not humored.

At all.

HA HA I look freaking hilarious in the freeze frame Flickr used. Nice.

We got Ross & Rachel, went to the hotel and called it a night- or late morning… whatever.

The next day we donned our Sooner gear and were ready to go to Miami!

We should have known we were destined to lose…

We got on the elevator and were on our way down (with a dozen other people, some OU fans, some Gator fans… fun times). As we arrived to the ground level, the elevator got stuck.

We couldn’t get the door open.

Bad sign?

We thought so.

This insane Gator fan started to panic and freak out. She began yelling and beating on the door. She started trying to pry it open yelling, “You don’t understand! I’ve got to get out of here! You don’t understand! HELP! HELP!”

We don’t understand that you’re psycho and need to calm the crap down in situations like this?

Yeah- we pretty much understood, lady.

All of a sudden we started to go up again.

Um- not a good sign.

We got to the 2nd floor and there was this huge jolt.

Yeah- I was thinking I was about to meet my Maker right there in a Miami elevator.

What a bad way to go.

We finally somehow got back to the ground level- with this woman going absolutely insane and really freaking us out. Ross and Will were trying to calm her down, but it wasn’t working.

The door finally opened and we tripped the lady on our way out.

Kidding.

But don’t think it didn’t cross my mind.

Bad sign?

We thought so…

The rest of the morning and afternoon was great. We went to Hard Rock for lunch, walked around, and took pictures. We went to South Beach and had fun there too. It was a really good afternoon.

Good sign?

We thought so…

We went back to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for the big game. We arrived at the stadium ready to claim our title. This game was ours for the taking.

Well- at least we thought so…

As soon as I entered the stadium I ran into a couple that used to teach me in Sunday school! Too crazy. They moved to Florida and got tickets to the game. I hadn’t seen them in years. What a small world.

I took that as a good sign.

While we were wandering the stadium we decided to get dinner.

As I was waiting in line I ran into my ex-boyfriend’s parents!

Random, right? I mean, I know a lot of people I knew were probably going to be at the game, but in a stadium that size I didn’t figure I’d run into one person- let alone a whole freaking family!

I hadn’t really talked to them since the breakup, so it was nice to catch up.

After my 2nd random encounter we had dinner and were on our way to our seats when…

I ran into not only my ex’s parents- but the whole entire family.

I was going to play it off like I didn’t see them (mainly because I’d seen my ex a few times since the breakup and he totally ignored me), but my ex actually called me over and we talked. He got to meet Will, and I met his wife.

It was sort of nice because things had ended badly. It was sort of like closure because we’re past all that now (I mean it was like 6 freaking years ago) and are both really happy in life.

So- I figured I ought to count that as a good sign.

We got to our seats and were ready for the big game.

Can we please glaze over this part?

Thanks.

I should have known it was going to be a bad game when the Gator girl in front of us flicked Will off.

Yeah- I probably should have taken that as a bad sign.

The game was slow the first half, and well- you know how the 2nd half ended.

We left the stadium bummed about the loss and decided a huge pile of fast food may dull the pain.

Well I thought that…

We drove around for literally an hour trying to find a place that was open.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Don’t drive-thrus in Florida stay open late!?!

Apparently not…

We finally found a Wendy’s that had a drive thru open late. At this point it was 1:15. “Yes!! It says the drive thru is open until 2!”

As we approached the drive thru we noticed that the drive thru was open until 2 on Fridays thru Saturdays.

It closed at 1:00 Mondays-Thursdays.

Talk about irony.

We couldn’t catch a break!

So- we just headed back to the hotel.

The next day was pretty much full of airport stuff- which is generally never fun.

We got in Friday night, and it was so nice to be home.

The doggies were very happy to see us, as you can imagine.

My house is a mess, but I’ve vowed not to clean it until tomorrow.

Sort of a mourning thing, perhaps?

All-in-all it was a really fun quick trip.

I know I painted a depressing picture with all the “bad signs,” but I was sort of kidding about all that.

Sort of.

We had a nice time. It was really fun to go with another couple too. It made the trip a lot more fun.

So, we didn’t win our eighth this week and that’s pretty unfortunate. I have no idea what this means for the next season, Bob, Sam, everything…

I just know I’m sort of glad the season is over and now my husband can focus on going thru footlockers with me (ha ha).

Hope you guys had a good weekend. boomer sooner <3

That’s right my lovelies, tomorrow we’ll be going for our 8th National Title.

I realize that my audience is probably not nearly as enamored by the whole idea of screaming until you’re hoarse for men in tight pants to collide into one another in hopes of “scoring,” but as this is such a big part of my married life- I have an obligatory role to post about this very subject.

It seems weird actually living in the states and being available to go to such a game. Before it was a whole big “thing” in which we’d plan a whole vacation around a holiday or a football game. This year we’re here and it’s just a hop, skip, and jump away.

Well- kind of…

It’s hard to believe that a whole year ago Will and I were in Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl.

Remember? Will got pink eye and we were forced to spend our first whole day in Phoenix at a very questionable AM-PM clinic.

Oh- and OU lost by the way.

I’m hoping Lady Luck will be with us this year. I mean- bad luck can only last so long, right?

Let’s hope so.

It’s one of those risks you take when you plan a trip like this- but you simply have to go because you never know when you’ll make it back. I mean, the last time we won a national championship I was a senior in high school (crazy!) It’s just one of those things where you take the risk and go do it and have no regrets.

Did I tell you guys that Ross and Rachel are going with us? I’m very excited. I mean- not only are we going to the Big Dance, but we’re doing with friends.

A getaway with friends!

I mean- we all know what implications that means when a couple goes away on a trip together, so I have to believe the same holds true for friends (um- minus the drooly makeout sessions of course). I think it means our friendship has gone from “hanging out once a month or so” to “I think these could be our new couple BFFs, Will.” Ha ha

Anyway- I know by now not to be all-

“BOOMER SOOMER! We’re going to KILL THE GATORS!”-

and all that crap- because I have all too often felt the sting of defeat in these big games.

Instead, I will simply wish the Sooners good luck in hopes that this year will be our year. A little Sooner Magic wouldn’t hurt either.

Heading to Miami…

Talk to you guys soon!

There’s something I need to confess today:

I hate buying new purses.

Yes, I know as a grown woman I’m supposed to love the idea of a brand new gorgeous bag, but the truth is- I don’t.

I hate purse shopping. I hate trying to find the “perfect bag.” I hate the idea of having to trade purses to match outfits- yes- I’m the one you gasp at for wearing browns and carrying a black purse. That’s me.

I find a purse and pretty much drive it into the ground. I carry so much unnecessary crap inside that you’d think I had mothered a basketball team. My purse probably weighs the same as a bucket of bricks. In fact, I’m pretty sure one of my shoulders permanently hunkers lower than the other. The thought of switching all that crap from one purse to another tires me. I’d rather just stick with Old Faithful. In fact, the purse I have now? Yeah- I’ve had it since the fall of 2006.

I plan on trying my best to make it through at least 2008.

I know that means by the time I finally break down a buy a new purse a whole new president will be in power,

we could be on the cusp of flying cars,

and Kuwait may have seen snow for the first time-

but that’s seriously how much I hate purse shopping.

I hate it almost as much as jean shopping- almost (I’m pretty sure shopping for jeans is the worst experience ever. In fact, I think that’s how they punish female criminals in some small countries).

From the outside, my current purse doesn’t look too bad. In fact, I still really like it.

The inside, however, leaves something to be desired.

I finally came to terms with it’s weakness this past week.

A few months ago I noticed a small hole in one of the pockets. Nothing too big, but slightly annoying. I also noticed that every now and then a lip gloss would get stuck inside “the abyss” due to the hole. Not that big of a deal- I mean- if one is going to hold the No New Purse conviction, you have to be prepared for a few annoying holes, right?

Well, last week it was as though the angels of purse heaven staged an intervention. A moment so intense that it brought me to a tearful confession:

“I...I’m out of control.... I need help.”

I had been searching for a lip gloss I had in my purse just the day before. Where was it!? Why couldn’t I find it? Ah- it must have slipped into “the abyss,” inside the linings of my old and worn purse. I stuck my fingers in the little hole that had developed and noticed that the “little hole” had grown significantly!

In fact- had I known the hole was so freaking huge I totally would have smuggled way more diet cokes and skittles into the movie we saw last week (just kidding of course...kind of).

As I stuck my hand inside the abyss I was astounded at all the little cylinders I felt within.

For months now I’ve sworn up and down I’ve lost several of my favorite lip glosses. I had simply blamed it “on the move-” which I’m finding is also a GREAT way to explain why I seem to have “lost” some of the bad gifts I’ve received over the years.

As I continuted to dig I began to pull lip gloss after lip gloss out of the abyss I realized I had a problem. I realized I probably needed a new purse.

The first step is admitting you have a problem, you know.

Not only that but I felt a little guilty when I pulled out a.brand.new.bottle.of.perfume. that had been missing for ALMOST A YEAR!

That’s right, my friends, almost a year! I had always secretly blamed this one girl I shared a vehicle with because she would always tell me how much she loved the smell. I figured she had stolen it.

The truth was that it was hidden inside my 30 pound trunk.

Yeah- I suck.

So- while I was very happy to have found some of my favorite lip glosses, I also realized that I probably need to begin thinking about getting a new purse.

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely before those flying cars roll out.

Anything you need to confess today?

Well lovies- it’s here.

You’ll have to go to a sports blog to get the play-by-play pre-game stuff (because I know how my female audience LOVES to talk all about sweaty 200 pound college boys colliding into one another), but you’ll get everything else right here.

I’m preparing to jump in the car with Will and 2 of our friends (Friends! Friends! Did I tell you guys I have Friends now? I have people, people! Sorry...as you can see I’m still very new to this concept and often find myself smiling and singing for no reason. Food tastes better, the sun shines brighter… you get the picture… ) to head to the Big D!

Wow- this post is really choppy.

Do you realize I just inserted a whole freaking paragraph right in the middle of the above sentence?

!

How do you guys read this crap?

Very carefully, I suppose.

Anyhow-

I’m siked about Texas-OU OU-Texas.

I figure if all goes to hell I’ll find myself in a trans-fat-fair-food-comforting stupor.

“Where’s Brittny?”

“She’s over by the basketball throw rubbing fried snickers all over herself. I think she’s gone off the deep end.”

Yeah- I figure this weekend won’t be all lost if we lose.

There’s always fried snickers.

Some may say I sound like such a pathetic fan.

These people have never indulged in a fried snickers.

<3

boomer sooner

I’m back from Waco.

Back very victorious, highly sunburned, and slightly fatter.

I think the highlight of my day occurred when a grandma turned to her little granddaughter and said, “I’m pretty sure grammi is not going to be able to find anything she likes to drink here. She’s going to have to wait until after the game.”

I’m pretty sure grammi wasn’t referring to coffee either.

Ha.

It’s the little things that make me laugh, really.

Anyhow, the trip was fun.

Fun in that- drive 30 hours to get there, have a quick dinner with Dr. Vet (ie:Will’s brother) sleep for 4 hours, drive 2 more hours to get to Waco, watch the game, and turn straight around and drive 32 hours to get home and clean poop off four dogs’ butts- kind of way.

Yeah, fun in that sort of way.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a little lot. I had a good time, it just went very fast! A win is always fun.

I will now stop talking about OU football. I will NOT- I repeat will not- go on and on for 4 hours about how I’m totally nervous about OU-Texas next week,

and how I’m so stoked about eating a fried snickers and complaining about being fat,

or meeting up with my ex-blogger friend Sarah for a corn dog at halftime,

or stressing out over each punt the Sooners have to kick, or any point Texas puts on the board.

I refuse.

Ha-

I said “stoked.”

Pretty sure that’s on a list of Things to NEVER EVER Say Again.

Ever.

Sorry about that.

Stoked…

What was I thinking?

There are many, many times throughout the day when I think I really need to begin a list of words I hate. P and I talk about starting this list ALL THE FREAKING TIME, but never do and then I end up forgetting some of the words that I hate until I hear someone use them in a sentence- which in most cases causes me to break out into a disgusting upper lip sweat.

Words I hate.

There are so many. So very many…

Just a few basic ones include:

raunchy

mole

herbs

stinky

ranch

feet

bean

grease

Ew. That’s so freaking disgusting. Those aren’t even my good ones. There are so many more.

I kind of froze when I realized I was blogging about something so stupid, so my best words are tucked away in the educated part of my brain-

because everyone knows I do not use that part of my brain when I compose these lovely little morsels of fantastic-ness I call “posts.”

Ha.

Okay guys, so you all have to leave a word you hate in the comments block so I can add them to my list and begin my petition to outlaw these words from every day vocabulary.

Yeah- freedom of speech proponent, that’s me.

Okay, enough about all that crap…

I added pictures not once but twice to my flickr account this week- impressive right?

I go over a week without blogging, but darnit, those pictures are going to get posted!

Oh, speaking of the lapse- followed by my last post of nothingness- yeah, you’re not going to have to suffer through one of my saddy-whiney posts (ha- not right now, anyway) as I mentioned before. I think I had built everything up, and composed the post in my head so many times, that there wasn’t really a need to actually follow through and type it out because it had been mulled around for days and days to the point where sitting down to right something really wouldn’t do my feelings justice.

Hello run-on sentence!

Anyway, no boo-hoo post (for now). You’ve been spared.

As for other things, I really need to clean my house.

I have this awful fault of feeling the need to stress out loud (and yes, I harbor feelings of stress about the state of my house, even though most would consider it clean).

Not only do I feel the need to stress out loud, but I also feel the need to do so over and over and over.

Oh- and that goes for everything.

P and I have this same weird quark. We find ourselves repeating things to others all the time and driving them crazy. For instance- if I’m eating a piece of cake and love it, I’ll rave on and on until someone wants to smear it all over my bangs. Or if we ate something really bad, P and I will go on for hours about how sick and large we feel.

We’re seriously weirdos.

Anyway- now that you have yet another confirmation of my strange ways- the house.

Needs cleaning.

Slightly stressing.

I don’t plan on doing anything tonight because frankly, it’s been a very long 30 hours and I’m ready to sleep. Tomorrow we’re going to to ANOTHER church, and perhaps after that (and after I go to the gym to run my chick-fil-a, ice cream, candy bar, etc, etc,etc off from this weekend) I will take care of the house.

Ranjii! I miss thee!

Sigh…

Why can’t we find cheap labor around here?

Ha- laws.

And rights.

That’s why.

Yay for the freedom to say awful words like “raunchy” and “bean” and also get paid decent wages.

I still sometimes forget I’m living somewhere so great.

But seriously, Ranjii?

Call me.

What else??…

Church.

New one.

Will and I have sucked with church lately (sucked with church… hmm, that’s a new phrase). This summer has been a freaking whirlwind.

Whirlwind.

What’s worse than that?

...

I can’t think of anything right now.

Whatever the case, this summer was- whatever’s worse than a whirlwind.

We arrived in America on memorial day and had to immediately start house hunting so we would have a place when I started work.

I started work on 9 June and lived with the inlaws until the 30th, which was the day we closed on our house.

3 days later, on the 3rd, my sister arrived and stayed 2 weeks.

2 weeks after that, I went on my cruise!

I got back on the 26th and the following weekend (I think!) Will was off to Indianapolis for his game.

Followed by a week off (I think...)

And then my dad visited,

followed by my mom & sister’s visit.

WOW! I’m tired just typing.

Anyway, it’s been a busy summer full of travelling, visitors, and oh yeah- a huge move across the world!

We’ve tried 2 churches, but I still want to try one or two more, so we’re going to do just that tomorrow. I just really want to get plugged in somewhere, so hopefully we like this place. We’re just going to service tomorrow and based on that we’ll decide about Sunday School.

Ha Sunday School. I think most people have transitioned to calling it Bible Study nowadays. Sunday School sounds so… hard.

Anyway, That’s that.

I already mentioned feeling chubby this weekend, right?

Darn.

See? Told you I obsessively repeat myself.

Wow.

I think I’ve reached the end of my ramblings.

What else can I possibly say to make you beat your head in the wall any harder?

(this is getting really long, right?)

Okay, I’ll wrap it up- but only if you tell me some of the words you hate too!

Ready? Set? Go!

It’s been over a week since my last post so I feel the giant need to post something- anything- so that a 9 day old post isn’t sadly hanging on to dear life any longer.

Sorry I’ve been MIA the last week, my mom and sister were in town. It was so wonderful, guys. It was the best.

It’s been hard having them gone- I miss them already! I hope to post pictures in the coming days, as well as post a really annoying bleeding heart type post.

Because I KNOW how my bloggy friends LOVE when I whine and cry.

Right?

Ha.

Will and I are off to Waco tomorrow.

I have absolutely no idea why.

Why?

Why would we drive all the way down there to see a game we’re sure to win?

(knock on wood)

(knocking on wood more...)

(one more time for good measure...)

Anyway, I’ll be out and about in the big town of the Baylor Bears this weekend, but I hope to post soon.

Like I said- I simply had to post something.

Aw, what a committed blogger right? (ha)

What I Had For Breakfast Today:
Kashi Go Lean Cereal

What I Should Have Had For Breakfast Today:
Plain Yogurt with a Banana, Blueberries, and a touch of honey & cinnamon

What I Wanted to Have For Breakfast Today:
Plain Yogurt with a Banana, Blueberries, and a touch of honey & cinnamon…

and a huge pile of chocolate chip banana pancakes drenched in syrup…

and perhaps a chocolate peanut butter shake- with fries.

As you can see, I still have my “Cruise Appetite.” I’m hoping I’ll snap back into reality soon, but I totally blame Holland America for all my binge eating urges.

Yes, comments are back up. I missed you guys.

Let’s be friends again. <3

As promised, I’m preparing to write more than anyone will ever care to read- but hey- I promised one huge puke fest of information so that’s what I’m going to deliver!

I posted my pictures early this morning. I went to bed at 2 Friday night and 2 last night because I was saving, naming, and organizing 50,383 pictures. Just looking at them makes me so happy. Guys, it was the best trip I’ve ever taken and I so wish I were enjoying it all over again. Here’s an extremely short recap of the amazing and adventurous 20 days- oh- and like I mentioned in my last post, my pictures match accordingly in the Mediterranean Cruise Collection so follow along. Ha ha I sound like a teacher.

Day 1- Surprisingly enough I found P with no trouble at all. The Rome airport isn’t all I was building it up to be. We met at the baggage claim, got on our bus, and went to the ship! Easy enough- thank goodness.

Day 2- We were in Florence and Pisa this day. It was a 12 hour tour so we were exhausted at the end. Plus it was hot- so yeah, sweaty girls aren’t fun girls. In Florence we say several beautiful churches and made time for some authentic gelato. P and I also wandered to a quaint little tavern for some famous Italian Chianti. It was such a great day. The night on the ship- as every night- was spent in the formal dining room, watching the cheesy show, and people watching (which consisted of nicknames and making up stories about who they were and where they came from)- followed by late night tea and or ice cream and burgers.

We were so healthy.

Day 3- We were in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It’s so beautiful there. We saw the palace and the church where the famous Princess Grace lies. We also saw the Monaco race track and the extra famous Monte Carlo Casino. It was really hot that day so P and I ended up sitting on a bench near the casino and chilling out. My parents called while we were lounging, so that was a nice surprise. It was a really nice day.

Day 4- At sea. It was full of lots of laziness, relaxing, and eating. Repeat.

Day 5- Barcelona baby! It was such a great day. Barcelona is full of amazing architecture so that was a treat. We started our trip going to 3 different restaurants trying tapas. Yum! Afterwards, we saw the famous Gaudi church. It makes me sad that it’s taken literally over a hundred years for this masterpiece to be built- and it’s still not even finished! I think that could be a good Sunday school lesson- how God uses our lifetime on Earth to build his masterpiece. P and I visited a Starbucks because we decided that’s something you must do in Barcelona.

Day 6- Mallorca! Mallorca is beautiful. The town of Valldemossa is stunning. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones have a house out there and I can fully understand why. It’s such a quiet little area. I enjoyed our time there. We also spent some time at a beautiful vineyard in the mountains there where we sampled 3 different wines. It was such a nice little afternoon.

Day 7- Remember what we did on day 4? Yeah, it was more of that. But at this point we figured out how to maximize our cheese platter ordering, ice cream trips, and late night pizza.

Day 8- Today we were in Tunisia- and it was HOT (hence why there are no pictures of us in that set). We saw Carthage, which was okay. We agree that part of it looked like they just threw some rocks on the ground and said, “Hey! Let’s call this place Carthage!” but then we saw some more areas that were more legitimate. Afterwards we went to Si Bou Said, which is a souk of sorts. P and I bought these really pretty Eye and Hand of Fatima charms which we’ll put on a necklace. Sort of a modern day BFF necklace if you will. It’s something so ingrained in the culture where we live(d) so it was special to buy them.

Day 9- Palermo, Sicily. Guys- this was the greatest excursion ever! We made our way into the mountains to see the Baroness di Salvo’s house, a very old dwelling that has been passed down. Soon after we arrived the Baroness herself put on a cooking class for us! She didn’t speak any English, so our guide translated as she made really delicious, classic Sicilian dishes. YUM! And then? Then carnage began. We figured we’d sample some small tastes of the things she made, but oh no. Not quite. Instead, they took us to this other room where we proceeded to eat,

and eat,

and eat.

Guys- we LITERALLY ate for THREE HOURS. 17 courses.

17 COURSES.

Um, hello immense sickness and fatness!

P and I finished around 3 that afternoon and didn’t eat again until a late breakfast the following morning.

Now that’s a Puke Fest.

Wait- I said I would never say that again, didn’t I? Sorry.

Oh- want to hear a funny side story? Although- I’m not sure if it will be funny since you weren’t there- but I’ll try guys! Okay- as we were feasting we were sharing a table with 2 older women. We were making small talk with them. We were talking about their families, and I had asked one of them how old her children were. The lady started rattling off the following, “Well- there’s 60, 65, 66, and 68.”

I slapped my hand on the table and called out a big hearty, “You look AMAZING!”

She looked at me like I was an idiot (and P did the same) and said, “Those are years, not ages.”

Right. Roger That.

Day 10-
Pompeii. I woke up feeling ill that morning and wasn’t thrilled about Pompeii (um- again why there’s no pictures of us that day!) Despite the yuckiness I had a great time. Those Romans were smarties. I enjoyed getting to see a few different places they inhabited while on the cruise. The Ruins of Pompeii was very interesting.

Day 11-
Rome (again). While we were on a 20 days cruise, some were on a 10 day. Today was the day we dropped those people off and got a whole new bunch of 10 dayers for the Eastern Mediterranean Tour. P and I opted to stay on the ship and have a lazy docked day at sea. It was very nice, and if I remember right, we ate too much.

Day 12-
Another day at sea like all the others!

Day 13-
Dubrovnik, Croatia! Dubrovnik is beautiful. We went and saw the city walls where we spent a few hours wandering around, seeing a church, and just enjoying the sights. It was so beautiful. P and I found a place to sit inside and hung around there for about an hour watching the day go by- as well as lots and lots of people. I’ve never seen water more sparkly than in Dubrovnik.

Day 14-
Corfu, Greece.

Day 15-
Today we were in Olympia!! Not only that- but in Olympia during the 2008 Olympics! Pretty cool. P and I actually got to walk the original Olympic track which was 600 Herculean feet (whatever that equivocates to!). P has a video of us walking the entire track that I posted below! We’re not very animated, totally sweaty, have no makeup on, and are walking the whole time with not much to talk about, but hey- you gotta walk the track when you’re at the Olympics! We’re such Gold Medalists. Ha.

Day 16
Santorini, Greece. Simply beautiful. You can see from the pictures. We spent some time in one of the small villages and then made our way to the black sand beach- which was gorgeous. P and I found a little outdoor restaurant and had some delicious authentic Greek food. Yum.

Day 17
Today we were in Ephesus. It was simply brilliant. I really enjoyed our visit there, not to mention we had a really great guide full of lots of information. We saw the Virgin Mary’s house, where she spent the last years of her life. Afterwards it was on to the ancient city of Ephesus. Apparently there is still so very much still covered that needs to be excavated. It was so neat to see, especially with all the Biblical references.

Day 18
At sea.

Day 19
Today we went to Valletta, Malta. It was really humid and miserable so we didn’t spend much time out and about. It was still nice to get out and walk around a little.

Day 20
Messina, Sicily. Today we did a short little excursion and saw some of the highlights- including this crazy huge clock that has this 15 minute “show” everyday at noon. It was very Disneyish.

And then the trip was over, and my heart was really sad.

Really really sad.

In fact- I feel sad now just typing about it knowing it’s over!

Did I mention I have an amazing boss that allowed me to borrow against the vacation I haven’t yet accrued rather than being unpaid? While it’s a huge blessing, it means I won’t have any vacation for literally the next year. How sad, right!?

Anyway, the trip was over and I bid my sister farewell- but there’s more to come on that.

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So moving along to the dogs- they’re a lot of work. I won’t say much since I told you about Rocky. I’ll try to post a few pictures in the coming days. It’s nonstop with 4 dogs. It’s been a test of patience- a test I seem to be failing

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So as you know- college football season is underway and Will is the happiest guy in the world. The first OU game proved to be not only a blow out- but wet. We got poured on! They ended up having over an hour delay and instead of driving home due to the rain and gigantic lead, my obsessed husband wanted to stay! Sigh. I guess it’s something we’ll remember…

Will is very excited to finally be able to utilize our tickets, and I am too.

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It seems like ever since we moved back it’s been nonstop on the go craziness. We lived with Will’s parents for a month, then P came to visit, then I went on vacation for 20 days, and then-

my dad is coming in 2 weeks! I’m so excited. He’s coming to Texas for some big racing thing and Will is going to meet him down there. After the racing weekend, he’s going to come up and stay a couple days with us, which is very exciting. I’ve been missing my family so much and it’s been hard, so it will be nice to have him here.

Not only that, but it gets better!

The following week my mom and sister are coming to stay a few days!! I can’t tell you how excited I am about the next few weeks. It will be really special for me. I’m not sure when I’ll see my family next, so I’m really happy about their visit.

I’m sure there’ll be lots more talk about all that in the coming days.

As for things now, it’s been a busy weekend full of cleaning. Will, his dad, and brother are in Indianapolis this weekend for the first Colt’s game in the new stadium. It was something they had planned before we moved back, so it’s been something Will has been looking forward to for a long time. It also allowed me a weekend of peace to clean, and man did I! Will didn’t do much while I was gone so I had lots of work to do. Plus, I can get a little fanatical so it takes me longer than most when I get in a cleaning mood. I started Saturday morning and finished at 3 today. I stopped in the evenings to get my pictures all sorted and play with the dogs. It’s been a very productive weekend!

Want to hear a funny story?

Yesterday afternoon a locust somehow got into the house and I was freaking out all day but would’t get near it because I was so scared! It ended up on the couch and I sprayed so much lysol on it that it set off my carbon monoxide detector. ha ha.

Then it ended up on the floor and I put a glass bowl over it with my purse on top- where it will stay until Will comes home to get the locust out of its little biodome! ha ha. I’m a nerd.

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I think that’s about all for now. It’s taken me a long time to write this and I’m starting to get antsy. Hope you had a nice weekend!