Happy Halloween!

It is 6:49am.

I am awake, almost completely ready for work, and still had time to stop by my blog. This is impressive in my book!  It just goes to show that these weekly challenges are having a lasting effect :)

Stay safe tonight if you are taking your kids out trick or treating - make sure you check their candy! My sister always takes and eats some of my nephew's candy and calls it his "Halloween Tax".  Preparing him for real life I guess....

James and I will be heading out to my mom's house to hand out candy. I can't wait to see all the kids dressed up!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Challenge: Week 3 Recap and a Birthday

7 days, no coke.

I had a few headaches, but at the end of the week - I can honestly say I feel better.  I think part of it is because I proved to myself I could do it. The other piece of it is most likely because I'm drinking more water. I find that as it gets colder outside, I crave more liquids - and water is what's best for you!

I do have to admit that today (which is officially outside of last week's challenge) I had about 1/4th of a root beer.  In my defense, my addiction is not to root beer, and I didn't like it.  So, I'm going to consider myself still on track :)

In other news, today is my momma's 58th birthday!  After church today,  James and I picked up some grilled chicken from Kentucky Fried Chicken (seems like an oxymoron) and we headed out to visit my mom and celebrate her birthday. She's not big on celebrations, so it was just her and her boyfriend, James and I, and my sister and nephew. We played Phase 10.  Remember how I told you my family was big on games?  You can read about that here.  Oh, and I won!

Here's a picture of my mom and her boyfriend at my wedding.  We don't take many pictures, so you see a lot of them from my wedding. We really need to get better about taking pictures.

Isn't she beautiful?!

Happy Birthday, Momma!!! 

Quick update

Today is Thursday and I am still coke free.  

When I composed the post a while back titled Better Off?, it rekindled a dream of mine.  I've am seriously considering continuing my education and pursuing an MBA.  I met with an admissions director today - it went really well, but this is a huge commitment.  More to come on that...

I'm picking up my niece tomorrow to stay the night - she hasn't been here in a while, so I'm really looking forward to it :)  I'll be sure to post an update for y'all.

Thank goodness tomorrow is FRIDAY!!

Scratch and Sniff

First things first... I am on DAY 4 without any coke!  I'm craving it like crazy and just when I think I'm about to give in, I think about how I cannot bear to admit to the world wide web that I have failed.  So - I am still coke free.  Let me tell you a story...

My hubby and I have been trying to find ways to do things together without overspending.  With the holidays around the corner, we know we've got to be good.  (I'm pretty sure next week's challenge will have something to do with budgets)  So, I stumbled upon some old gift cards and found one for AMC theaters.  It was for $25 and I was sure this would be plenty for 2 movie goers... 

image source
When we used this card, the ticket taker started scratching and sniffing the card. He went on and on about how these smelled so wonderful.  We thought he was nuts, but enjoyed his enthusiasm.  So, guess what? I went to the AMC website to snatch this pic, and sure enough.... it is a scratch and sniff gift card. Smells like popcorn, y'all! I guess we were the idiots.

After 2 tickets, medium popcorn, the hubster a sprite (he thought this was more supportive than ordering a coke),  and me a icee (not coke and it wasn't very good), we still spent $12. OMG.  $37 at the theater on a Monday night!  It turned out to be worth it though because we had the entire auditorium to ourselves as we sat down for Argo and it was an excellent movie.   

And the biggest win of the night...

I'm not sure if there is anywhere else in the world that I'd rather have a coke than the movie theaters, and I conquered it this time!  Granted, it wasn't a healthy replacement.. baby steps.

Challenge: Week 3

Challenges from Week 1 and Week 2 were successful.  It's time for the next challenge.

Challenge: Week 3
Hi. My name is Jessica and I am an addict - a soda addict.  More specifically, Coca-Cola Classic. I drink a lot of coke, we are talking multiple cokes a day.  I shamefully admit that many days, coke is the only liquid I consume.  How "Sam I Am" from the famous book by Dr. Seuss feels about green eggs and ham, is how I feel about coke.  Here's my version:

Say!
I love coke!And I would drink coke in a boat!
And I would drink it with a goat...
And I would drink it in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
It is so good, so good you see!

Image source

Reasons I like coke:

• It wakes me up
• It tastes delicious
• I heart the burning sensation as it goes down
• I enjoy the bubbly fizz touching my nose
• I have withdrawals when I don't drink it

Unfortunately, this flavorful, refreshing beverage is not good for me... My goal this week (hopefully long term) is to not drink soda.  This my be my toughest challenge yet, but it really is necessary.

It's not like there aren't dozens of other options:
Water - I hope I can stick mostly with this
Juice: tomato, orange, apple, cranberry, etc
Tea
Coffee

Juice would be the easiest replacement for me, but I'd just be replacing one sugary drink with another one. So I'll try to limit my intake there.  As for tea and coffee: yuck!  Can you acquire a taste for unsweetened tea?  I acquired a taste for beer, so I hope tea works the same way ;)

As if I don't have enough reasons to stop drinking coke, here's another one.   I've told my husband for the last year that if he could stop smoking cigarettes, I'd support him by giving up something I love and not drink coke.  Well - I'm so proud to say that he has gone almost 2 MONTHS without smoking.  It's time for me to make good on my end of the deal.  Wish me luck!

Forgetful

I have the 'remember' gene of a 95 year old.

My long term memory is crystal clear - just ask anyone I'm holding a grudge against.  But my short term memory is horrible.  Remember yesterday when I gave you all the reasons James and I do not ride to work together? If not, you can review that here. 

I need to add this to the reasons we should not ride to work together: I forget things and have to turn around often.  

On Monday, I got all the way to work - coke and snap into it Slim Jim (oh yeah!) in hand, walked all the way to my desk and realized... I do not have my laptop!  I had to take the walk of shame into my boss's office and explain that I had once again forgot my laptop at home.  She was very understanding, but I was still embarrassed.

Then, on Wednesday, we were celebrating 3 managers birthdays with an indian taco lunch.  I was determined that I would not forget to prepare purchase the items I was responsible for: shredded cheese,  sour cream, lettuce, and onions. I know - tough stuff; I'm still pulling the whole "I'm too young and inexperienced to make real food" and it is still working ;)  I assume I'll be able to pull that off until I have kids.  

So, on my way home from work Tuesday, before my wonderful anniversary dinner, I stopped by Braums to pick up these important items.  I hurried home, put them in containers - even chopped the onions myself (tear), and then put them in fridge.  Then Wednesday morning, 20 minutes into my drive to work when my stomach was growling and I was already thinking about lunch, I realized I forgot again!  So, I called my peer to let her know I'd be late. Once I finally made it in, I was teased by my team about being so forgetful. I'm the youngest one in the office by the way.

On a good note, every time I have to turn around and come home - I get one more minute with my awesome dog Oliver!

2 Year Anniversary

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary.

It all started yesterday when I decided James and I should ride to work together. Buckle up, folks.

James and I work about 5 blocks away from each other, yet we very rarely ride to work together - despite the fact that our drive is at least 30 minutes each way.  Minutes = gas = money.   Why would we do that?  I'm so glad you asked.

Let me tell you why:
1. I like to get ready in the morning at my own pace.
2. James and I are horrible at being in the same car together. If he's driving, I'm telling him what to do.  If I'm driving, he's telling me how to drive, what station to listen to, and to roll down the windows.  I loathe rolling down windows...
3.  I'm a manager and my hours do not end at 5pm on the dot.  I sometimes work 15 minutes longer, sometimes 3 hours longer.  James will not patiently wait for me in the parking lot - instead, he calls every 3 minutes, texts every 45 seconds, calls his BFF and complains about me, and is fuming mad by the time I make it to the car.

I digressed.  Yesterday morning - I thought it would be nice and romantic if we rode to work together on our anniversary. I already pumped myself up before hand, reviewing how I would act, promising myself I'd be extra accommodating, thinking before telling him how I feel about his driving, everything he could ever hope for (minus rolling down the windows).

So, I casually mentioned this marvelous idea to him and he flat out said, "no".   I almost got upset until I realized why we couldn't ride together.. he still had not purchased a card to give me and planned to do it at his lunch hour. Ugh, men.   I actually don't care too much about the card - could've lived without it, but it was fun to see him squirm a little bit to have to admit that he was waiting until the very last moment :)

Here's a picture of James in the driveway at 6pm - not realizing that I can totally see that he is writing on the card that he just picked up... again, poor planning.

He actually redeemed himself on the lack of planning, because once he came inside, he told me he made reservations at the Melting Pot.  This is the very first time James has ever made reservations, so I was happy :)

There was a Thunder game going on downtown, so parking was awful - but we managed to swipe the last parking spot just across from the restaurant.  Then, we were early, but no worries... they sat us early at a very special table called "Lovers Lane".  It was the perfect little room to ourselves.  The surprises continued at the table... 2 long stem roses were waiting for me (1 for each year married). 

Dinner was amazing - all four courses:

1. Cheddar cheese fondue
2. Caesar salad
3. Shrimp, chicken, steak, pork, duck
4. Chocolate fondue

To top it all off, James even had a picture made of both of us at the table.  He never splurges on things like that!  It was a wonderful evening!

As for gifts... for those of you who don't know, the traditional gift for the 2nd year of marriage is cotton.  This was pretty tough, so James and I just decided that we'd go buy new sheets for our bed.  We wanted a nicer set with higher thread count, so this was a really great excuse to make that happen.

Wow.  I just re-read that last paragraph and it is official.  I have exited the young, fun years and entered the older, more practical self.  I didn't think this day would come so early....

Friends, Food and Football

 On Wednesday evening a couple of our friends, Chris and Susannah, came in to visit from San Antonio.  Here's a rundown of our activities.

Wednesday night: Got everyone settled in, then I snuggled up to my book (still reading Gone Girl).  I hit the sack early - after all, I had to wake up on the first alarm Thursday!

Thursday night: I started baking a smash cake for a precious little girl's 1st birthday.  Once the cakes were out of the oven and the icing was made, we went to Toby Keith's I Love this Bar and Grill for dinner.  It was SO good!  I ate the barbecue chicken with mashed potatoes, jalapeno corn bread and fried okra.

This is a shot of the river walk and Toby Keith's in downtown OKC.  It has really built up a lot. I just know OKC has great things in store!  Click here for more info about this restaurant.  

Friday: Remember this was my early start day.  When I got off work, I met my SIL and Susannah to shop at a craft show called Mistletoe Market.  I love all things Christmas, so it was a ton of fun!  I walked out with a few things to make my own wreath with.  Once I get in the crafting mood, I'll be sure to blog about it.  Once we left Mistletoe Market, we gathered the guys and headed off for an evening full of fun at the casino. 

We landed in bed around 3:30am (I'd now been up for 22.5 hrs!) and had to get up at 8am to get started on one of the most important days of the year.....

OU Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

Saturday morning I almost lost it. I woke up, still tired and in a total panic.  In less than 2 hrs, I'd have additional company over to watch the football game and I had not prepared one single thing to eat!  It was storming outside, cats and dogs kind of a storm.  And to top it off... my recently purchased satellite was cutting out because of the rain!  Our electricity even cut off for about 20 minutes.  Oh no.

After several demands to the Mister about what his responsibilities were, Susannah and I loaded up and did what any other person in our position would do.... we ordered 125 buffalo wings so someone else would be responsible for the cooking. There, food catastrophe averted.  Here's a glimpse at our setup...this really doesn't do it justice.

 We were stuffed and had about half of the wings left over! My next 5 meals were buffalo wings and needless to say, I don't want wings again for a long time.

The Sooners pulled out another victory over the Longhorns! We all took a nap once the excitement died down and the boys went Best Buy.  They brought home this game...

I would like to consider myself a board game expert, but this game was one of my toughest cases.  I am a stickler for understanding and following rules.  This game took me a good 30 minutes of studying the directions before we got to begin playing. The top right corner says this is for ages 14+.  I'd like to know what 14 year old could follow these directions!

Once we figured it out - it was a lot of fun. The best part was that the directions referred to the player as a 'she'. The men HATED that.  Makes me smile.

Then came Sunday.  Our guests began their 8 hour drive back to San Antonio and I slept and read for the rest of the day.  What an exhausting weekend!

*I am taking a 1week break from the weekly Challenge.  It's already Tuesday, so we will pick back up on Sunday *

Challenge: Week 2 Recap

So - I'm a bit behind.  Let's catch up!

Last week's challenge was off to a rough, rough start.  Monday and Tuesday I was a complete failure.  Not only did I not get up on the first ringing of the alarm... I hit the ol' snooze button even longer than usual!   You'll be happy to know that I pulled it together and Wednesday and Thursday, I woke right up, drank Spark and had some time to reflect before I hit the road.

Then, there's Friday.

We've been doing a fundraiser at work to raise money for a Christmas party.  If your place of employment is like mine, you'd know that the deteriorating economy has taken a toll on extra funds. So, the management team decided that we'd serve biscuits and gravy for breakfast - $1 for a biscuit with plain gravy, $1.50 with sausage gravy.  That's a total steal, right?!  And for a great cause ;)

So - I was feeling confident about my 2 days in a row of waking up early on time, so I said I'd come in a little earlier than usual.  Breakfast setup starts at 6am, so if I figured if I would come in at 7:30 to work the table for a couple of hours.  I realize that this is only 30 mins early, but hey - every single minute feels like hours! On my way out the door Thursday evening, my boss (whom I love) mentions that they are one crockpot short for the morning.  I cringed a little, but immediately thought of my co-worker having one, so I gave Claudia a call.  And, as luck would have it - she left it at her mom's house a couple of hours away.  So....yep, you guessed it - they wanted me to be there at 6am with crockpot in tow.  Whoa - 6am!  I do not like to disappoint, and since I failed so miserably on Monday and Tuesday... this was the universe's way of letting me redeem myself. 

I have to admit, I was about 15 minutes late (my clock is 7 mins fast) - BUT, I left my house before 6am, so it totally counts!  Here's the pic I snapped as I came into the parking lot.  I knew I'd have to prove it.

My camera was also sleepy, which is why this is blurry.  It says it is 6:18 - in the MORNING. Please make note that it is still dark outside and my clock is 7 minutes fast. Making history people!

So there you have it, folks. 2 for 2.

 
• Challenge: Week 2,  No snooze button for 3 workdays Success!
• Challenge: Week 1, Breakfast for 3 days Success!

Maybe Tomorrow?

Today... I failed miserably.  Not only did I not get up without hitting snooze, I actually turned my alarm completely off and relied on James to wake me up.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Challenge: Week 2

Week 1 Update: 
I successfully completed the breakfast challenge last week.  Although he didn't say it out loud, I know the hubster was impressed.   Sunday was the biggest day, but a couple of other times this week I made B&G bacon and biscuits.  Hopefully I can keep the momentum going as I begin this week's challenge!

Challenge: Week 2
Typically I will hit snooze each morning for about 36 minutes (snooze alarm goes off every 9 minutes, I hit it at least 4 times)... it drives my husband crazy and I know it is not good for me.  So, my goal this week is to wake up without hitting snooze. Remember we are doing baby steps, so I'll start with 3 work days. This is upping the ante quite a bit. Sleep is a prized possession for me - and I am definitely NOT a morning person.

Borrowed image from Google Images

Why do I need to wake up earlier?  To allow myself a few minutes of 'awake time' to prepare mentally for going to work, rather than flying out of bed and rushing around like a mad woman. Oh, and this would help allow time for breakfast making.

Why don't I wake up earlier?  I am weak.  Why does it seem like the few extra minutes (of lying around dreading the inevitable sound of the alarm going off again) will give me the boost I need to tackle the day? I have a real alarm clock beside my bed and I torture myself further by using my cell phone as a separate alarm. Clearly - it doesn't help.

Any ideas out there to ease the pain of waking up?  Most of you are thinking, "go to bed earlier".  I've found it doesn't matter what time I go to bed - it is equally dreadful.  

And... because I like lists, I will be keeping track of the weekly challenge successes (and probably failures) here.

• Challenge: Week 2,  No snooze button for 3 workdays
• Challenge: Week 1, Breakfast for 3 days Success!

Better off?

Are you better off today... than you were 4 years ago?

A couple of days ago, I was checking the newest posts on Facebook for the eleventh second time, and my friend (through my cake making SIL) asked "Are you better off now than 4 years ago?"  Most FB posts are less than thought provoking, but this one made me reflect. 

Let me set the stage for you.

Four years ago, 2008, I was fresh out of college and just finished a Management Trainee program with a 3rd party logistics company.  I was living in sunshiny Florida.  

For many reasons, I decided to change directions and come back to Oklahoma. Once I came back, James and I moved in with each other - before we were married (judge away).  WE were in the stage of our relationship where impressing him was still important (I fooled him, now he never gets breakfast, ha!).  

As I think about what I've done over the last four years, these are what I find significant: 

• Started working full time for the company I interned at in college, Summer 2008
• Got engaged in September 2009
• Bought a house, October 2009
• Adopted Oliver Brutus - he is so friggin' cute! February 2010
• Got married, October 2010
• Changed job titles and took on more responsibility, December 2010
• Started making custom cakes, February 2011

The last thing of significance that I can recall is starting to make custom cakes - that was in February of 2011.  That means for the last 18 months, I folks, have done NOTHING to improve my existence in this crazy world.

So, my answer to the question: Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago? 

 Yes, but not as as "better" as I thought I'd be.   

So, my action item is to start looking for ways to become better. My weekly challenge is a good start - and a bucket list is soon to follow. 

What about you - Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?

And because I need a picture for this post - here's a picture of the book I, and a million other people, are reading this week:

Image courtesy of New York Times 

I confess...

Today, I'm confessing.

I confess... I have not vacuumed in a year (my husband does).

I confess... I often go to the movies for popcorn and coke, not the movie.

I confess... I have an elliptical, a really fancy one, that collects dust because nobody uses it.  This may be a future Challenge.

I confess... I listen to Christmas music - year round.

I confess... I used the same pan this morning for biscuits as I used last night for garlic bread, without cleaning it.

I confess... I love my dog as much as you love your children.

I confess... I'd much prefer a Disney movie over any award winning films.  If it won an Academy Award - I will probably not like it.



Anything you'd like to get off your chest?