A New Favorite

I don't know if you are experiencing what I've been experiencing all week...stuffy head, unable to breathe, runny nose, and a very sore throat. If you are, I've found something you should try. After blowing my nose all week on school grade toilet paper, I broke down and bought a box of tissues yesterday. These weren't just any tissues though. These were Puff's tissues with Vick's. It's like a shot of Mentholatum up your nose! I love them. It opens my nostrils for a few minutes of sweet relief. You should try them!

Nominated...

Guess who was nominated for Teacher of the Year! I was pretty surprised yesterday when my principal called to tell me. I don't know what the process is or how this works, but I'm very flattered that I was nominated.

Danielle's Baby, iphone, car...

Danielle's baby - Jackson was born last weekend and it's killing me that I couldn't be there for his arrival. I'm really hoping we can come visit him this weekend. I've seen a few pictures on facebook and he looks so cute. I can't wait to hear all about it.

iphone - I've been holding onto my Christmas money for a while now, waiting to buy a new iphone. My contract date with At&t is finally up this Friday...which means I can get a discount on a new phone! Best Buy is running a special with their rewards program. If you are a rewards member (free to join) you can get a $50 discount on an iphone, but the offer expires this Saturday. Perfect timing! I should be able to get my new phone for $150 which is pretty incredible considering all that it does. The new ones even have a built in navigation system! Awesome!

Car - Chad's been working with my windows. All of them are up now except the rear passenger window. Hopefully he can get the last one up soon. I think we decided that if it won't go up that he'll just shove something in the door panel so it will just stay wedged up. The problem is, we don't want to spend a lot of money to get it fixed because my car isn't really worth that much. However, I'd like to drive it as long as I possibly can and get the most use out of it. As long as he can get my window up, I'm fine with the fact that they may never roll back down. The drivers side window still works and that's really the only one I ever use anyway. It's been really nice outside the last week and a half, so I've just been walking home from school. It's about 2 miles, so I've been counting that as my excercise since I can't drive to the gym. It's worked out well. I hope my car will be drivable by this weekend though.

Book Suggestions???

Does anyone have any suggestions on a good book to read? I'm about finished with Confessions of a Shopaholic and I'm planning on picking up another book soon. I don't have any in mind, so any suggestions you can give will be helpful. Thanks!

Valentine's Weekend '09

Here's a glimpse of our weekend....
The flowers my wonderful husband surprised me with. I used to not really care about getting flowers...that's changed. I love getting flowers!!!! These smell really good too.


We were given 4 tickets to the OU/Texas Tech basketball game for Saturday. I was so excited when Chad called to ask me if I wanted to go. I hadn't had a chance to watch Blake Griffin play in person yet. Here's one of the pics I got of him... sorry it's so blurry.
Well, that's where our adventure began. We tried to find some people to give the other 2 tickets to, but we didn't have any luck. We figured we might as well get some money back for the guy that gave us the tickets. So when we got to the Lloyd Noble Center, I rolled down my window to sell some guy the tickets. The transaction went well until I tried to roll my window back up. It was stuck. We tried using the drivers side buttons, nothing worked. After we parked, Chad pulled off the door panels and tried to get it to go back up, but again, no luck. He explained that he didn't just drive 4 hours to sit in the parking lot. We needed to go watch the game....I was having a hard time understanding what we were going to do with all of our stuff. (We were planning on spending the night at my parents house, so we had all of our clothes and bathroom stuff in my car.) He suggested that I just try to hide it as best as I could. I told him to go on inside, and I'd meet up with him in a few minutes. I was sorta having a nervous breakdown on the inside. I thought whatever we left in my car wouldn't be there when we got back since my window was down. I thought they might even take the car too. I was ok with that, but then I started thinking...what if they stole some papers that have our information on it. I'm probably over-paranoid about this because I don't really understand how identity theft works. I just knew I didn't want to have to deal with it. So I started gathering up all the papers in my car...everything from insurance to doctor's bills to bank statements....I know, the car is probably not the best place to keep those things. I've learned that now. I was frantically cramming everything I could into my purse. Then I started thinking of other things I didn't want to have stolen...like my planner and bc pills. So I packed my purse full of as much stuff as I could carry and went to meet up with Chad and watch the game. At this point I'm a little shaky....I'm ok with someone stealing my car. What I'm not ok with is this big mess in my purse. Messy things stress me out. Especially messy purses. My mom understands this. Whenever she's driving, she usually hands me her huge, heavy purse that's crammed full and asks me if I can find her chapstick. AGGGHHHH! I don't know what it is. It's ok if things are a little messy, but I can't handle it when things are disorganized. Anyway, I was eventually able to settle down and we had a blast at the game. When we walked to the car afterwards, everything was exactly like we left it. I was pretty surprised, and relieved.

We stayed at my parents house Saturday night and then left for Miami on Sunday. Chad got some stuff to cover my window for the drive home and fixed it all up. I'm so glad he takes care of that kind of stuff. I didn't even have to mess with any of it. It held up for a while, but as we were driving on the turnpike, it slowly started coming off. We stopped a few times and he patched it up, but I don't think anything could have really held it together for the whole ride. It was super windy. About the time we got to Tulsa, it was pretty much shot. It was super loud and FREEZING cold, but we finally made it home in a little over 3 hours. In the video, I'm yelling as loud as I could. We both had earplugs in so that definitely helped. There wasn't much left to do but laugh about it. I'm glad he was such a good sport about the whole thing. I wish that would rub off on me a little more. My nerves were pretty much shot.

Danielle's Valentine's Day Quiz

Happy Valentine's Day!

I enjoyed reading Danielle's answers, so I thought I'd post this one too. The questions are copied from her blog.

What are your middle names? Suzanne and Oliver

How long have you been together? Since September 2005...so almost 3 1/2 years. We've been married 6 months and 6 days.

How long did you know each other before you started dating? Maybe a couple of weeks. We both knew we liked each other pretty soon after we met.

Who asked who out? Chad. He asked me to go to the fair with him and I couldn't resist.

How old were each of you when you met? I was 24 and he was 26.

How old are each of you now? I am 28 and he'll be 30 soon.

How long did you date before becoming engaged? Over 2 1/2 years.

How tall are each of you? I am 5'3. He's 6' something...he's watching a basketball game right now, so I'm not going to ask.

Whose siblings do you see the most? We don't see either as much as I'd like. I guess we probably see mine more??? I don't know. However, the last couple of times I've seen my family, Chad wasn't with me.

Do you have any children together? Nope....just us.

What about pets? No.

Did you go to the same school? No. I went to OBU. Chad went to NSU for a degree in engineering and then to OU HSC for his Doctorate in Pharmacy.

Are you from the same hometown? Nope. I'm from OKC. He's from Tahlequah.

Who is the smartest? Um...that would be Chad. He's very smart.

Who is the most sensitive? Me. I don't remember being sensitive until the last few years. Sometimes my hormones kick in and I get my feelings hurt over really insignificant things...then it's like my whole world is caving in. I HATE it when I get in these little funks.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? Well, there's not much of a selection in Miami. Our favorite place is definitely Milagros....it's Mexican. Other than that, we eat at home most of the time.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? I don't have a map in front of me, but I think Playa Del Carmen (Mexico) is farther than Vegas??? Our honeymoon was in Playa Del Carmen. I can't wait to go back!

Who does the cooking? Me. I don't really make anything fancy, but I try to have dinner ready when Chad comes home. He does the grilling though. Anytime we have steak or chicken on the grill, he takes care of it. I love those nights.

Who is more social? It depends on who we are with. If I'm around people I know, it's probably pretty even. If we're with Chad's friends or people I don't know, he's more social. Sometimes it takes me a while to warm up to people.

Who is the neat-freak? Probably me. Chad keeps things pretty clean, but I like to have everything in it's place.

Who hogs the bed? Chad hogs the bed. I hog the covers.

Who wakes up earlier? I do, but not by choice. I have to be at work 2-3 hours before he does. I HATE getting up early, especially knowing that he gets to sleep. I can't wait until summertime!

Who has the bigger family? Chad. He has 3 sisters. I have one brother.

How do you spend the holidays? If by holidays, you mean Christmas, we spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with his family. Hopefully this continues to work out for every Christmas. I really don't want to do the every other year thing.

Who is more jealous? Probably me. I get jealous over the small stuff like when he's playing games on his iphone, I want to play too. I also get pretty jealous over the remote control sometimes. He likes to have it ALL THE TIME. Most of the time it's ok because we usually agree on what to watch. I just feel like however much time he spends watching UFC, he should have to spend equal amount of time watching girly shows with me.

How long did it take to get serious? Good question. I don't know that I can answer that one. I think we were pretty serious from the beginning.

Who eats more? Chad, but I can come pretty close.

Who sings better? We are both awesome! HA!

Who’s older? Chad

Who does the dishes? Me, but someday we'll have a dishwasher! Most days I don't mind. The warm water and the smell of dish soap is kinda relaxing. However, there are some days that I just want to sit down and not mess with all of it. Chad does wash the blender when he makes his protein shakes, which I appreciate.

Who snores? Neither of us, thankfully.

Who’s better with the computer? Chad, for sure.

Who drives? Most of the time I do. I'm the least likely to get pulled over. However, sometimes he'll take the wheel. I'm pretty sure my driving drives him crazy.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me.

Who eats more sweets? We both eat too many sweets.

Rock Band Party

Chad and I had a few people over last night to play Rock Band/Guitar Hero. Most of them were people Chad works with, but they're pretty fun to hang out with. Well, one of the guys that came over is in some sort of class at NEO and he needed to make a commercial for one of his projects. He decided he would make on of us playing Rock Band. I don't love being on camera and I don't love acting, but I figured I should be a good sport and help him out. However...to my surprise, he brought over a box of pink and blue wigs for us to wear while we performed. As much as I don't like acting and being on video, my dislike for dressing up is even stronger. I don't know why. I just don't really enjoy doing those things. It makes me feel really awkward. Perhaps this awkward feeling stems from earlier experiences....

like the time I had to perform a monologue in 9th grade...terrible experience. My drama teacher made me rehearse mine in front of the entire class for an hour one day. She just kept telling me "More emotion Amanda.... You need to express it with more emotion." Blah. I'm not really an emotional/dramatic person...especially around people I'm not that comfortable with.

or the time in high school when I was asked to help out with a skit at church. This was a very frequent thing. They all knew I didn't like being a part of the drama group, but they also knew I wouldn't say no. One particular incident that I remember was when we threw a going away party for our youth minister. I don't even remember what the skit was about. I do remember someone begging me to help out and saying to me "Amanda, all you have to do is walk around the room playing a kazoo. There's going to be a big group of people doing it. You don't have to do anything else. That's it. Just play the kazoo and march around the room." So I agreed. Next thing I knew, I was wearing hobo clothes, a clown wig, and face paint as I marched around the room. I don't remember anyone ever mentioning that part to me.

or the time in college when we helped our friend Drew make a music video. He knew I had a banjo and thought that would be great to use in his Dixie Chix video. He approached me saying, "All you have to do is sit on the couch and act like you're playing the banjo." Ok, not a big deal. Sounds kinda fun. Before I knew it, we were making a full video complete with acting, dancing, and lip syncing. Did I mention how much I love to dance??? How about dancing on camera????Right up there with dressing up like a clown.

Anyway, all of that really makes me sound like a big stick in the mud. I'm not really. I like to have a good time...just preferably without video cameras, dress up clothes, and wigs. However, last night was actually pretty fun....and funny. I was a little surprised. Usually I really dread those kind of things, but it wasn't bad. They're a pretty fun group of people.

Happy Birthday Hunter!

I can't believe Hunter is already 7!!! It seems like it was only a few days ago that we were at the hospital waiting for his arrival. I can't believe he's already 7! I wish I was there to tell you in person, but Happy Birthday Hunter! I love you! I hope you have a very special day today. I am proud of you and I hope to see you soon.

First non-OKC haircut

I finally got my haircut last Saturday! It had been over 6 months since my last haircut. I tried a few times to get an appt in OKC, but it just didn't work out. Last week I decided it was beyond time for a haircut and I was just going to have to break down and try someone new. This makes me soooo nervous. I've had a couple of terrible haircuts here and there (particularly the one in 9th grade), so it takes me a while to get used to someone new and trust them with my hair. Anyway, I asked Stacy and Mindy for their recommendations since they're both from Joplin. I figured the bigger the city, the better chance I have of picking someone stylish. Totally judgemental, I know, but some of the people around here don't really seem to know much about style...or care for that matter. Not that I'm all that up on fashion either, but I'm used to living in a city that is a little more style conscious and being around people that can tell me what looks good. Anyway, I called and the person Mindy recommended could get me in that Saturday, so I went with her. I miss going to my regular hair place and having Candice do my hair, but I think this girl did a good job too. I will continue to use her while I'm in Miami. Thanks for the referral Mindy. I'll try to add a picture soon.

So it's been a while...

Sorry it's been so long. I feel like I've been pretty busy, but at the same time I feel like not much is going on. I no longer have my laptop, so I'm using Chad's computer. I have no idea where my pictures are stored on here, so there may not be any pictures for a while. Rather than fill you in with all the little details on the last month or so, I'll just highlight a few of the majors....

Today is our 6th month anniversary!!!! Yea! I am continually amazed at how blessed I am. I have such a great husband and I love being married to him. I am really trying to just take every day in and enjoy it for what it is. I know that as we go through life together, things will get more and more crazy and hectic...especially once we start having kids and when Chad has his own pharmacy. Since we don't know when that will happen for sure, I'm trying to soak up every free evening we've got. I just love spending time together. The last 6 months have been even better than I could have imagined. I could really go on and on here, but I'll spare you all the sappiness.

I had the flu or something like it last week....I really hate taking sick days from work. I'd much rather use my sick days as free days off to do something fun. However, staying at school wasn't really an option. Thankfully it only really lasted 2 days. I came home after my 1st class last Monday, but I waited until Chad came home to start throwing up. I really thought I was about to die. I was glad he was here to comfort me and clean up after me.

Sunday School - We've been going to Christ Church in Grove for several months now. Just this month they started a Sunday School class for our age group. I am so excited! We went yesterday and I really enjoyed it. There are several young people at this church, but it was hard to really get to know any of them when we were just seeing them for a second or two before and after the service. Next week we're all going to get together and go bowling. I'm so excited to get to know some of these people.

Las Vegas - Chad had a Pharmacy Conference in Vegas a couple of weeks ago, so I tagged along for a mini vacation. I had so much fun, unfortunately Chad was in class all day so we didn't get to do much together during the day....which left me a lot of time to shop! I bought a few things, but I mostly just looked around. We did get to eat and play at my favorite place in Vegas...ESPN Zone. We stayed at MGM Grand and they even upgraded us to a super-nice room one night that was about the size of our house. It was pretty fabulous.

Hunter's basketball game - I was in OKC for Danielle's baby shower and I got to see one of Hunter's basketball games. It was so fun watching him play. The poor guy had been sick and was coughing pretty much the whole time, but he managed to play the entire game. I wasn't able to be there for his game this last week, but I heard that he made 7 baskets! Go Hunter!
He's the one dribbling the ball in the picture...

Danielle's baby shower - Hopefully I can find some pics to add to this one. It was so great to see everyone! And what an occasion to get together for!!! I can't believe that Jackson is almost here. I really can't wait to meet him! Hang in there Dan, you're going to be a great MOM!

Deer Creek Test Scores - Oklahoma's State Department of Education requires testing for high school students...along with many other grade levels. These tests are a huge deal. The school that I taught at last year received the highest overall student achievement award for the state. We had a score of 1482 out of 1500!!!! These students worked really hard and did a great job. I was so excited when one of the teachers I taught with last year called to share the news with me. Apparently because they did so well, we all get a bonus! Wahoo!

New Years Resolutions - I made a few resolutions in January. Some of them I've kept up with pretty well and some of them I've kinda slacked off on...like working out. One of the goals that Chad and I set together was to go through the Bible together. This is kinda embarrassing, considering that I've been a Christian for so long, but I haven't ever just read through the Bible. I've gone through different devotional books. I've read passages here and there and I have my favorite books in the Bible that I like to read, but I feel like I'm kinda missing a big chunk of important stuff. I figure if it's in the Bible, it's in there for a reason, right? So Chad and I are reading it together. So far, some weeks we've been really consistent, and some weeks we've let other things get in the way. We are making progress though and I'm excited to see how we'll grow through this together. Spiritual leadership is one of the qualities I admire most in Chad and I love it when we spend time together talking about the things that are most important. If you'd like to read along with us, I can send you the link for the reading plan we're using.

I'm going to go fix some dinner...tonight it's Parmesan Encrusted Talapia...it's in the frozen section at Sam's. If you have a Sam's near you, you should get some. It's sooo good. I'll try to post more often so it's not so long and random. I hope you all have a wonderful week.