Okie Sister

Gonna Make You Sweat

Holy heat, Batman! It's hot outside.

I thought the dancing slugs were a nice touch.

Gone, but not forgotten

RIP

My daughter's dog, Mr. President!

Goodbye little buddy, I'll miss you.

What I'm Doing With My Summer Vacation

They say you can’t serve two masters.
For some time now, I’ve tried to actively hold two rather addictive hobbies. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I can either be a Blogger or I can be a Genealogist, but I don’t have time to do both simultaneously. With genealogy, it’s either feast or famine. For a while you can’t progress any further or maybe you just get burned out from the search. Other times, like now for instance, there is so much information to input that it’s hard to keep up. So, this is what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks, updating my family tree. At some point I’m sure I will start blogging and reading all my favorite blogs again, but for the immediate future I’m taking a little break.

A Spreading Epidemic

Do you suffer from it?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I'm glad I cut the first peony of the season and brought it inside to enjoy.

Afterward, the torrential rains arrived in Oklahoma and spent the past two days beating every living plant and flower into the ground.

It's been a long time since I've seen so much water.

Included in this was about two inches in the corner of my den that Hubby was trying to get up with the wet-vac about 1 a.m. this morning.

It's never a dull moment at our house.

Shades of Ricky Bobby

 

Brad Keselowski wins his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Race for independent car owner James Finch. Unfortunately, Brad spun out Carl Edwards in the process. One of the most dramatic "in the air, on fire" wrecks I've seen.

That cracked me up when they compared Carl's sprint to the finish line to the Ricky Bobby scene in the movie Talladega Nights. If Cousin Carl would have only thought to rip off his clothes.

I have a lot of respect for how Carl talked about the crash in his after race interview.

 

On a side note, don't miss the upcoming June episode of Man vs. Wild where Will Ferrell eats reindeer eyeballs and rappels down glaciers in Sweden with series host Bear Grylls.

Newspapers and Toilets and Gummy Bears, Oh My!

It’s 3:13 a.m., do you know where your newspaper’s at?

I do. Mine slammed up against the front storm door, scaring the dog into barking.

 

The girls had been outside earlier in the night growling at something in the alley too. Luckily, Unfortunately, I was already awake from the earlier barking incident. Hubby already resigned himself to the Lazy-Boy in the den for the rest of the night.

 

I had been laying awake for quite some time trying to determine what was making the annoying noise I was hearing. Finally I got up and opened Hubby’s bathroom door. The water in the toilet tank was running. I had to remove the tank lid and stick my hand down in there to shut the water off. That’s what you want to be doing at 2:30 in the morning, isn’t it?

 

Next I watched an episode of Chopped. It’s a show on the Food Network that pits chefs against each other. They have to come up with tasty dishes using mystery ingredients they pull out of a basket. The dessert round had them using blackberries, kiwi, wonton wrappers, and gummy bears. They always throw some odd item in there to see how creative the chefs can be.

 

It was after the gummy bear round, when I was trying to go back to sleep, that the daily news arrived and rattled the whole house. It reminded me of when my house makes contact with the baseball of the teenage boys next door. Over the eight foot fence we built on that side of the house!

 

Have I ever told you that one of the boys next door doesn’t have any legs? Every now and then I catch a glimpse of him running across my front lawn. That would be running on his hands. I swear I do a double take every time, it’s so unexpected and it’s usually seen just out of the corner of my eye. It’s only a blur because he can run so dang fast! Isn’t it amazing what some people can do? Like those paralyzed folks who can paint by holding a brush in their mouth. Or look at Stephen Hawking; he’s incredible. We humans have an awesome ability to adapt.

 

I’ve always heard that if one sense is weak, another sense is stronger. Is that an old wives’ tale? Or is it true?

 

My eyesight is bad, I wear glasses. Also I don’t hear so great, but boy my sense of smell is strong. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. On one hand, I usually can tell when something in the oven is done just by smelling it from the other room. Also I think if there were a fire, I would detect the smoke before the flames. On the other hand, I about gag when somebody with too much perfume on walks past me in a store.

 

Hubby and I have an ongoing battle about household cleaners. Here he is being fantastic and cleaning some area of the house, and I’m in the other room opening windows and turning on fans. I actually get choked up and start coughing. Plus, it’s not uncommon for me to get a headache too. When he’s done, I throw any offending cleaning products in the trash. When he goes to the store, he buys more cleaning supplies. It’s a vicious cycle.

 

(If you know of any non-smelly cleaning products, let me know.)

 

I finally fall back asleep just after remembering that I closed the lid to the toilet seat. I was thinking I should probably get up and open it in case Hubby doesn’t turn on the light.

 

I’m awake when Hubby does come back through the bedroom. I tell him about operating on his commode in the middle of the night.

 

OS: “It about drove me crazy trying to figure out what that noise was.”
Hubby: “That must have been a short trip.”

Fruitylicious

Did anyone notice a fruity theme running through my posts the past few months?
That’s because my oldest brother sent me a fruit of the month club gift for Christmas. How exciting to find a box of delicious fruit waiting on the porch each month.

First there were the pears. They arrived in December and were a chilly 30°. I had to immediately bite into one. Crisp and juicy. Hubby made me a pear pie just like his mother used to make. I almost cried.

When my recent surgery was delayed for a week, I started to feel like I was catching a cold. What a perfect time for a box of Vitamin C enriched oranges to appear. Those, along with lots of rest, kept me healthy.

I just wrote about the wonderful grapefruit. I ate those for breakfast.

Now, what to do with this beauty?

My first thought was to launch into a Carmen Miranda routine, “Chica Chica Boom Chic.”

 

Actually, I’ll probably whip up my daughter’s favorite pie.

Pineapple Ice Box Pie

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 small container Cool Whip
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 1 (9-inch) baked pie shell

Blend all ingredients together in mixing bowl and turn into baked pie shell. Chill for at least 4 hours in refrigerator before serving.

Note: You can also use a graham cracker crust.
From The David Wade Show which aired on the ACTS Network. I watched it when I lived in Arlington TX in the 80’s.

Okie From Checotah

Carrie Underwood won the top honors at the Academy of Country Music Awards last night, being named Top Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year. I haven’t been so proud since Reba McEntire earned this honor in 1994. You Oklahoma girls Rock!

And thank you Miss Carrie for taking the opportunity to “hit on” that adorable Matthew McConaughey - hey - hey in your acceptance speech after he announced your win. Again, Oklahoma girls Rock!

If you didn’t watch the program, Matthew told a story about “getting lucky ” in 1987 after telling some girls he custom made boots for George Strait and he even had the next year’s design out in his car if they would like to see them.
Carrie in her speech told Matthew she wanted to see those boots.
It was the funniest line of the night.

The ACM show is about the only award program that I watch these days because it doesn’t contain political BS in the form of acceptance speeches. The show is filled with musical performances and only a handful of awards.
Of course, leave it to an outsider to the county music world to cross this line. Jamie Foxx, who was there to introduce George Strait, rattled on about everything other than Strait, and then he asked the audience to clap for Obama. It was weirdly out of place and uncomfortable. Jamie, know your audience dude.

This crowd was more inline with John Rich’s moving anti-bailout ballad, “Shuttin’ Detroit Down.”

Cause in the real world they're shuttin' Detroit down,
While the boss man takes his bonus paid jets on out of town.
DC's bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah while they're living up on Wall Street in that New York City town,
Here in the real world they're shuttin' Detroit down.

Another lowlight of the evening was Miley Cyrus and her coat tail clinging father, Billy Ray. When will this Hanna Montana fad be over? I can’t wait for these two to fade back into the woodwork.

A highlight of the evening came in the form of Trace Adkins.

When he was good, he was very good indeed.
But when he was bad, he was horrid Badonkadonk.

Trace gave a surprising performance accompanied by the West Point Glee Club. The song “Til The Last Shot’s Fired” can be downloaded on iTunes with the proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Trace won Single of the Year for “You’re Gonna Miss This,” a personal song he wrote when his oldest daughter was getting married. It was added to his greatest hits cd and was never intended to be released as a single. His response when it was, “Go ahead, ain’t nobody gonna play it.” Last night after winning he said, “Glad I’m an idiot.”

Congratulations Trace, and Taylor Swift and Jamey Johnson and Dancing With The Star’s Julianne Hough. Here’s a complete list of nominees and winners for the evening.

Now, back to our little Okie Carrie. I’ve mentioned before how incredible she always looks. She just seems to wear the right outfit for every occasion. Last night she had several different dresses. The one she wore when she sang Randy Travis’ hit “I Told You So” was well... different, to say the least. The top part is cute, but then in flows into yards and yards and yards of material. She looked like a little Barbie doll stuck down in the top of a big ol’ birthday cake. The jury’s still out on this one. What do you think of it?

 

80's Street Rock

Do you remember the good ol’ days when children’s cartoons and shows were actually entertaining? Do any of you remember these classic Sesame Street clips from the 80’s?

Last Call

When I was a teenager, I wrote a few poems. That was the last “creative” writing I did before starting this blog.
Every now and then, I hear something that pulls at me to write poetry again. Oh, if only I could create powerful and moving lyrics, like those in this song.

Last Call
Written by Erin Enderlin and Shane McAnally
Performed by Lee Ann Womack

I recognized your number, it's burned into my brain.
Felt my heart beating faster, every time it rang.
Some things never change, that's why I didn't answer.

I bet you're in a bar, listening to a country song
Glass of Johnny Walker Red, no one to take you home.
They're probably closing down, saying, "No more alcohol."
I bet you're in a bar, 'cause I'm always your last call.

I don't need to check that message, I know what it says.
"Baby, I still love you,"

Don't mean nothing when there's whiskey on your breath.
That's the only love I get, so if you're calling

I bet you're in a bar, listening to a cheatin' song
Glass of Johnny Walker Red, no one to take you home
They're probably closing down, saying, "No more alcohol."
I bet you're in bar, 'cause I'm always your last…

Call me crazy, but I think maybe
We've had our last call.

I bet you're in a bar, it's always the same old song.
That Johnny Walker Red, by now it's almost gone.
But baby, I won't be there to catch you when you fall.
I bet you're in bar, 'cause I'm always your last call.

Hold The Mayo

First the Spice Girl Robbery, and now this. What is going on in this town?

APARTMENT COVERED IN SAUCE

By Malinda Rust, Staff Writer

Lawton Constitution, April 2, 2009

Common condiments, like ranch dressing and taco sauce, can be damaging, as one local woman learned Tuesday night. 

According to a Lawton police report, a woman called police at 10:30 p.m., when she came home to find most of her house covered in the red and white goo courtesy of her exboyfriend. 

The report said the woman left her house, located in on Southwest Douglas Avenue, around 9 a.m. and returned about 4 p.m. to find the man standing outside. He got in the car and “demanded a ride home,” the report said. When she refused, he slammed his fist into her dashboard, so she took him home to avoid further confrontation. 

When she dropped him off, the report said he told her, “Wait ’til you see what I did to your apartment.” She didn’t wait and went straight home to find her couch, living room and bedroom had all been covered with condiments, totaling almost $400 in damage.

Spot Cleaning

Here's a colorful new business on Lee Boulevard.
It's a combination laundry mat and car wash.

 

This section in the middle is what really caught my eye.

 

Asleep On The Job

Hubby and I ate out yesterday for lunch. I had a chicken sandwich with bacon and guacamole. Or so I thought...

Upon returning to my office, I sat down in my chair in front of the computer. Several minutes later, I woke up disoriented and groggy, with my hand still on the mouse. I stumbled into his office.
OS: “Honey, I fell asleep.”
Hubby: (laughing at me)
OS: “I think somebody slipped a Rufee in my lunch; either that or Tryptophan.”
Hubby: “Wasn’t me.”
OS: “Isn’t that what they would all say?”
Hubby: “Dad fell asleep here earlier today.”

I immediately rush over to the carbon monoxide meter, thinking that maybe I had been gassed. One of the drawbacks of having your office in an auto parts and repair business, is that sometimes the air is not so fresh. Just last week a guy came in to drop off his car, “It’s smoking a little bit.” When the mechanic started it up, this is what happened.

 

“Ya think?” Hubby had to call the fire dispatch and let them know that all the smoke billowing out of the garage did not mean that the building was on fire. This is a sad, but true story!
Anyway, I think that incident broke the carbon monoxide meter, because it didn’t do anything when Hubby hit the test button.
Hubby: “Maybe you should go home.”
OS: “I would if I wasn’t too sleepy to drive.”

Eventually I did venture home and take a nap. A long, long nap. Which is weird because I thought I had slept fairly well the night before. It was the previous night that I woke up a 3 am and could not go back to sleep. At 11 pm that night I was counting the 20 hours that I had been awake.

Okay, so now that I had this long nap in the middle of the afternoon, I wondered if I would be able to sleep through the night. At 10:30 pm, I was startled awake by my cell phone. “Yo, this is your boy so and so.”
OS: “You’re not my boy, you must have the wrong number.”
People really should not drink and dial!
Do you ever get the urge to dial these people back about 5 am and wake them up? Me either...I’m just asking. 'Cause that would be wrong and mean to dial Danville, VA that early.

I woke up again about 1 am and I thought that I had suffered a stroke.
Seriously, that was my first thought, because the whole left side of my face hurt. It took several minutes to be cognizant enough to figure out what was going on. Unlike last week when I woke up with the right side hurting because of an earache, this was completely different.
Was it my ear? A tooth? My neck? What the heck?

I finally felt under my left ear and jaw, only to discover that my glands were extremely tender to the touch. They’re not particularly swollen, just sore. Now I’m wondering how this happened since I’ve been taking antibiotics for over a week now because of that earache. Me thinks I might be immune to amoxicillin. Either that or I’m coming down with Mono or Mad Cow.

This morning I asked Hubby what the name of those "glands in your neck" are called. I couldn’t remember “lymph nodes” and I didn’t want to Google sore glands. I was afraid of what results I might get; since last week I Googled throbbing ear, and got porn.
Go figure!

Favorites - March 2009

“Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” - Ferris Beuller

Here's my monthly roundup of interesing blog posts.
Have a favorite post or blog you would like to share? Leave me a comment.

Stories:
Why I'm Afraid of Pears from Simmer Till Done
Used Cars: Thump, Thump and 1966 & Steering Rockets from JenX67
Jury Duty from Rocks In My Dryer
When You Say Soda... from The Country Doctor's Wife
Is That A Poodle In Your Pocket?, PAFF, and Love Is Love from Re-Ramblings
Microsoft and GM from Life's Moments
A Post About Nothing from Nanny Goat in Panties

Inspiration:
It Is Well With My Soul and Brownie Lessons For Life from A Gathering of Thoughts
Jogging My Memory from Momo Fali's
That's My Boy from The Otis G Experience
Ebbing from BabyBloomr
How Can You Mend... from Half-Past Kissin' Time

Recipes:
Breakfast Casserole from Hillbilly Woman
Patty Melts from JustJoyce
Bacon Wrapped Chipotle Meatloaf from A Quiet Place In My Mind
Corned Beef & Cabbage Hash from My New 30
Corn Puddin' from The Greasy Skillet
Homemade Pop Tarts and Overnight Cinnamon Rolls from Chickens in the Road
Chicken Churrascaritas from Frantic Home Cook

Animals:
Pet's Remembered from This DVM's Wife's Life
A Time To Heal from Pioneer Woman
The Herd Meets the Pack from The 7MSN Ranch
Elk Jump a Fence from Beside The Stream
Visitors from From The Front Porch
Kenya, Africa from Jackal

Funnies:
Woman, Put That Camera Down from Forever in Blue Jeans
Who Let the AT-AT Out? and Jedi Stimulus Bonus? from The Official Star Wars Blog
Butter Off Dead, Yay Toast! and Creepy Girl from Fire Horse
Dear Mom, I'm Sorry and Clay's Lunch Menu from April Showers
The Donkey Slippers from Jill Shalvis
They Make It 'Cause We Buy It from From The Marbles