Tulsa State Fair

I'm really behind in blogging, but we've had a lot going on lately, and I've made myself promise to start blogging more regularly. I wanted to make sure and blog about our trip to the Tulsa State Fair a couple of weekends ago with our friends Matt and Erica. This is the third year Matt and I have attended the Tulsa State Fair and one of the only reasons we go every year is that the first weekend of the fair, they host the Oklahoma State Sugar Arts Show where cake decorators from all over the world compete in a huge wedding cake competition. The cakes are just incredible and amazing and so fun to look at, and they keep us coming back every year. This year the theme was mansions and monasteries, and each cake (in the master level competition) had to be inspired by an actual house. There were some really cool ones this year and the best part was the timing that we made it to the fair. The wedding cake competition is one of the most popular attractions and the lines for browsing the cakes are terrible. Everyone is stopped taking pictures, talking about the cakes and walking in different directions, and there are usually so many times, when we are just stuck standing still in line. This year, we got to the fair about 30 minutes before it actually opened, and whether we were supposed to or not, we managed to get into the QT center about 15 minutes before the fair started. We were able to walk through at our own pace and take our time looking at the cakes (some of which were still being set up). We'll definitely remember this trick next year and make sure to get there early.
I'm a pretty huge Food Network fan, and one of my goals at the fair is to try and spot as many Food Network celebrities as I can. They host weekly cake competitions, and this year I spotted three of the competitors I've seen compete in the challenges. I excitedly point them out to Matt, and he usually doesn't recognize them. This year, he remembered two of the three though.

Matt took lots of pictures of the cakes. Here are some of our favorites.

These first three weren't part of the wedding cake competition but there was a separate category for chocolate and lower levels of cakes


The detail work on the cakes is amazing. We were impressed by the hand painting on this one.



All the elements on the cake must be edible. Sometimes the flowers look so realistic, I swear they are real.


This was my favorite cake this year:
Besides the cake competition, the other reason we go to the fair every year is for the famous fair food. After looking around at some of the other exhibits, we stopped for lunch. Matt got an Indian Taco, and I had a corn dog and we all shared some fries. I enjoyed everything I ate, but regretted it later that night. Good thing the State Fair is just once a year
After lunch we walked around outside and looked at some of the other buildings, and then ended the day with another favorite, ice cream. Last year at the fair, we stumbled across a booth selling ice cream from this place and immediately fell in love. All four of us had been craving and waiting for that ice cream for a whole year. There aren't any stores in Oklahoma, so we have to depend on the state fair each year to fulfill our ice cream needs. Their ice cream is the smoothest, creamiest ice cream I've ever eaten, and we savored each cool, creamy bite. After our ice cream we headed back home for the day to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Going to the fair each year is one of my favorite Fall traditions.

Miss Priss

Rhapsody was way overdue for a trip to the groomers, so I dropped her off this morning on my way to work. Typically when I pick her up, she is sporting a super cute bandanna that eventually ends up in her toy box. This time when I picked her up, this is the dog that came running out:






I was literally cracking up when I saw her. If you know my dog, you know she is anything but feminine and prissy. She's the dog that goes out of her way to find mud puddles to run in when we take her on walks. I thought she looked precious though and had to share. And secretly, I'm glad Matt's out of town, because those little flowers would no longer be in her hair if he were home right now.

Orange Power

We're coming to the end of the weekend, and this one was a great one. Matt and I were talking today and we both commented on the fun we had this weekend. The highlight of our weekend was watching OSU beat Tulsa! For the first time in seven years, we didn't buy season football tickets. There were several reasons we decided to opt out this year, and although I think we made the right decision (or I guess I should say Matt made the best decision. If it was up to me, we would have bought them.), something just seems a little off this year, not spending most of our Saturdays in September at OSU's football stadium. We're glad we got to make it to at least one game this year, and I think we picked a good one. It was full of great plays and exciting moments, and since it wasn't televised we would have missed all but one or two of the big plays that made the sports highlights. During that game, OSU broke the record for total offensive yards that was previously held back when Barry Sanders was playing for OSU. We saw great catches, big runs, and huge interceptions. I won't say we totally got our money's worth, because we literally paid an arm and a leg for the tickets, but I'm still glad we went.

Our house was full of orange on Saturday!

Barry decided he wanted to go to the game with us, and our friends Matt and Erica also had tickets, so we all rode down to Stillwater together Saturday afternoon.

Being in Boone Pickens Stadium at the start of an OSU game is always a great experience. The air is thick with excitement and anticipation (and because it's the Pokes, usually a bit of anxiety too).

Our seats were almost at the top of stadium, but we had a great view of the field.

Final score!

There's a rematch next September in Tulsa, and we're hoping to get to go.
We did do more over the weekend than just bleed orange though. My parents came in on Friday night. Jason and Andrea came over too, and we visited and played Settlers. Saturday morning we went out to breakfast and then ran some errands. We came back home and played more Settlers and watched a little football until it was time to head to Stillwater. We always have a great time when my parents come to visit.
The only downer to the weekend was that Matt headed back to Florida tonight. Hopefully, he'll only be gone for one week. I'm praying the really long trips are behind us now. Life is SO much better when he's home. We're staying positive though and counting our blessings tonight.

God's Timing is Perfect

I know I've talked a lot lately about Matt being in Florida for work. He's been out of town for 9 of the last 11 weeks, and it's been a rough time. If you remember from my last post, I had an especially difficult time coping with him being extended for an extra week at the end of August. We had both planned for him to come home for two weeks on August 20. We were both praying (and some other people too) that he would be able to come home on the 20. Instead on Thursday the 19 we found out that he was being extended and would not be able to come home until the 27th. I was extremely upset for a lot of reasons. I missed him so much and wanted him home. Turns out God had other plans, and looking back now, he was taking care of all the details.

If Matt had gotten to come home on the 20th like he was supposed to, he told me that he was sure that the way the project had been going that he would have only been able to stay home for one week and would have had to fly back to Florida on August 30. Because he was extended that extra week, he was able to be home the week of the 30 and went back to Florida yesterday.

I had been praying for weeks that Matt would be able to be in Oklahoma for the time when Barry's mom passed away. She had been sick for several weeks and I was concerned that Matt would be gone when she passed and wouldn't be able to make it back for her funeral. I needed him with me for emotional support, and I know Barry and my mom needed him home too. Joyce passed away on August 31 just a few days after Matt got home. God was working out all the details and out of the 3 weeks Matt has been home since the middle of June, he was in Oklahoma during the week of Joyce's death and the weekend of her funeral. If he had not been extended that extra week, he would have been in Florida the week she died, and it was unlikely that he would have been able to come home for her funeral. Our God is so good. When I think back on God's timing and how he worked everything out, I'm reminded of one of my all time favorite verses.

Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Even in the stressful time of Matt being away and the tearful conversations of him telling me he was extended, God was working the situation for good to increase our faith, provide for our needs, and show His grace in our lives. He knew the day of Joyce's death and orchestrated that Matt would be home for her funeral. He continues to prove his faithfulness in our lives over and over again.

A Few Things That Brightened My Weekend

All this week I had been counting down the days until Matt came home from Florida. He was supposed to be home on Friday morning after spending 10 days there, and I was ready. We knew there was a chance he might get extended, but I was really thinking he would make it home on Friday. On Thursday night during a tearful conversation on both ends of the phone, we coped with the fact that he had to stay in Florida for another week. After I got off the phone and recovered slightly, I immediately began dreading the upcoming weekend. I hadn't made any plans because I expected to be soaking up much needed quality time with my hubby. I just knew the weekend would drag by and I would constantly be thinking about how I wished Matt was home. Now, believe me I still wish Matt was home right now, but some unexpected things happened this weekend that kept it from being as terrible as I was expecting. Here are a few things that made my weekend a little brighter.

- A cuddly puppy
Rhapsody must have known I was having a bad night on Thursday, because she slept cuddled up against me the entire night. Usually, since Matt has been gone, she sleeps at the foot of the bed on his side, but Thursday night she was lying cuddled up against me the whole night. She was pushing me off the bed at times, but I didn't mind that night.

-Flowers from my hubby
I answered the door Friday afternoon to see these pretties greeting me with a sweet note from my husband. They cheered me up when I saw them for the first time and have continued to brighten my mood all weekend whenever I look over and see them.

- Texts and emails from friends
Starting Friday morning, I got multiple emails and texts from friends checking on me, asking if Matt was coming home and offers to hang out to cheer me up when I told them he got extended. I was reminded of all the great people surrounding and supporting me and Matt.

- Visit from my parents
I called my mom Friday morning to let her know that Matt got extended and she mentioned that she and Barry were looking to take a break for the weekend since family would be in town to take care of Joyce and decided to come up to Tulsa and keep me company. That was great news for me after another tearful morning. They were great at distracting me from missing Matt. We ate out, shopped, visited and played settlers.

- Long sleeved t-shirts
When we were out shopping on Saturday, I tried on some long sleeved t-shirts at Old Navy and I seriously got a little giddy when I put it on. Buying long sleeved shirts means that Fall is just around the corner, and I'm so ready for cooler weather and college football!

-Thriving Marriage Retreat
This one might sound weird that I went to a marriage retreat when my husband is in Florida, but it makes sense I promise. One of my old professors from grad school helps with a grant through the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative to give the ENRICH marriage inventory to couples attending the thriving marriage retreats. On Sunday of the retreat past alum and current students of OSU's program go over the results of the inventory in individual feedback sessions with the couples. Just so happens, there was one in Tulsa this weekend. These are a great way to make a little extra money, get a chance to interact with a different population of clients than I typically have exposure to and best of all, reconnect with old friends from my graduate school days. During breaks we catch up and tell funny stories about our time in the program. I went to these all the time when I was a student because the clinical hours counted toward graduation. Most of the retreats are in Guthrie, which is too far to drive for me, but every once in awhile they offer them in Tulsa. It was great timing and brought back old memories.

-Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake with a great friend

After the retreat this afternoon, my friend Deborah and I went to dinner since she was in town for the retreat. Another of our friends recently started a job at Cheesecake Factory, and we decided to eat there. We enjoyed delicious cheesecake and great conversation. I've been lucky to get to see Deborah several times with summer. She's a great friend, and it was nice to catch up on life.

Four

Growing up it was totally normal to have four additional members of my fan club. I was oblivious to the fact that most kids didn't have four, because it was normal to me.

They were at every...

Birthday party

Dance recital

T-ball game

Awards assembly

Piano recital

Children's choir concert

School program

Graduation

Wedding event

All four of them have been present at every major and minor milestone in my life. Most kids were lucky to have 1 or 2 grandparents at their activities. Some probably felt blessed to have 1 or 2 grandparents even living when they graduated college or got married, but I had the unusual opportunity of having so many memories that involve all four of my grandparents. In fact it was so normal to see all four of my grandparents together that one time (not sure how old I was, probably 7 or 8) I interrupted Granny and Momoo talking to each other at my brother's baseball game and inquired to how they were related to each other in my family. Momoo laughed and said that they weren't related to each other, but were just friends. At that age, I couldn't even wrap my head around the possibility that my grandparents weren't bound by something more than that because so much of the time that I saw them they were together.

I have a unique and special relationship with each of my grandparents, and although as a child I took those relationships for granted, now, as an adult I recognize the incredible blessing I've had to be able to cherish countless memories with each of my grandparents. And after news we discovered in the past two weeks that the time we have left on earth with Papa is limited, I know I will never again take for granted the relationships I have with my grandparents or all the childhood and adult memories that they are a part of. I am truly blessed with precious relationships and incredible role models in my life. They each have had an influence in the woman I have become.

What I Did This Summer

Thankfully, working in a school setting means extra free time in the summer. Unlike a teacher's schedule, I didn't have the summer off, but my work schedule was much more flexible, and I had a significant amount of down time at home during the week. Since I knew I would have extra free time and that Matt would be gone for most of the summer, I made a long list at the beginning of the summer of things I wanted to accomplish with my extra time. I was looking over my list today, and there are only one or two things left that haven't been checked off, so hopefully I can get those out of the way this week or next before school starts again.
I am most definitely a list maker and am much more productive when I can physically check something off (the goal oriented personality comes out). I had my one big list that was overwhelming when I first made it in June and then usually weekly I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish including things on my big list and then other chores and projects that came up during that particular week.

My work week this summer has varied but typically I worked about the same amount of hours each week. I usually had one day of the week where I was off and didn't have to go in to work. I also usually had one day that was a full work day (7-8 hours). The other 3 days I worked part time usually in the afternoons (2-4 hours). Since I frequently get asked what I do with my extra down time, here's a list of things that are crossed off on my summer to do list.

Wash windows

Wash blinds (worst. job. ever. I saved this for last. I was a wet, sweaty mess by the time I finished)

Clean out guest closets

Clean out bathroom cabinets/drawer

Wash base boards

Clean light fixtures (take them all down, soak and wash them)

Reorganize file cabinet in office

Reorganize/clean laundry room cabinets

Update photo albums (print out pictures from computer and put them in photo album)

Back up digital pictures on CD's

Clean refrigerator shelves/drawers

Reorganize recipe binder

Clean out bookshelves in office

Clean out desk/CD's in office

Clean out coffee table/end table cabinets

Deep clean shower

Have carpet stretched and steam cleaned

Clean out storage cabinet in office

This list combined with other weekly chores (cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, errands, appointments, etc.), kept me from getting too bored but still allowed me to enjoy a leisurely schedule. I'm really thankful that I have a job with a flexible summer schedule so I get a chance to get caught up on household chores and things that only need done once or twice a year. I know I would be overwhelmed if I had a 40 hour a week 12 months a year job and had to squeeze all these things in on evenings and weekends. It was fun to play the role of part-time stay at home wife too. I could get used to it. Matt told me not to though :)