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The Moos and Booze Road Trip

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So, we’re still here. The question that Nikki and I are asked at least three times a day is, “So when do you leave?” We don’t know. It’s Ramadan in the Muslim world and that particular detail hasn’t been nailed down yet.

Now that all the hard throwing out and packing up work is done, we decided we needed some diversions. So we planned a road trip to Alva, Oklahoma. Why Alva of all places? I have an amazing friend there, Becky McCray.

Becky has cows and a liquor store which seemed like more than a good enough reason to head to Alva, a place where neither of us had been before.

We arrived about lunch time and Becky took us to lunch at The Sandwich Shop in downtown Alva. The sandwiches, all named after people, were amazing! I had the Ralph. Roast beef and swiss cheese on a hogie roll.

Becky pointed out some details of the downtown that indicated how old it was including the horse tie ups that still remain on some of the sidewalks.

Then we went to the booze portion of our trip, Allen’s Retail Liquor Store. Nikki and I each picked out some wine to take home.

Becky thought these would be a perfect choice for me.

And then this one, which I knew would match the shirt I photographed it with. 🙂

And then, Becky took a photo of Nikki and I. Our first! And what a perfect backdrop. 😉

We’d taken enough of Becky’s busy day so she gave us a big circle to drive with things to see along the way.

We first went to the Alabaster Caverns State Park.

I’ve never been on vacation with Nikki before so we had to do the silly head thing.

Then we went down a bunch of steps to start touring the caverns. Spelunking, if you will. 😉

Yeah, Nikki had great caving shoes on but I was the one who slipped. LOL! It is slick in there!

It’s also very cool, around 58 degrees. So after weeks of extra hot weather in Oklahoma, it was great to be in the cave. Even if there were bats in there.

We also saw a spotted salamander. And he just sat there, prettily, while I took his photo.

It was a cool tour in more ways than one. Alabaster Caverns is the largest gypsum cave in the world that is open to the public. All of the other caves are limestone according to our guide, Gail.

At the end of the tour, Gail loaded us into the tram and took us back to the top.

Then we went off in search of the Gloss Mountains. These are kind of like mountains, Oklahoma-style.

Nikki was thinking “Colorado” and wouldn’t believe we had truly found the Gloss Mountains until she saw a sign. 😉

We finished our big loop and ended up back in Alva for dinner at a restaurant that will remain nameless because it was just that bad. Who ever heard of a Mexican restaurant running out of chips? They were out of a lot.

After the disastrous dinner, I decided to check with Becky before making a breakfast decision. She assured me that Cookie’s Bowl and Cafe was good. I poked that into Tam Tam and we couldn’t find it. We drove up and down the street looking for it and still couldn’t find it.

I turned down a side street and decided to come back from a different direction. Nikki said, “What is that building with all the cars?” And then, “No, that’s the bowling alley.”

Lightbulb!

Cookie’s Bowl (as in BOWLING) and Cafe’. LOL!

So, yes, we ate breakfast at the bowling alley.

We probably should have had dinner there as well. They had the most amazing pancakes that were as big as the tabletop.

After fortifying ourselves with the fabu food, we headed for the “moos” part of our trip and to see the star, Bubby.

Becky took us to her farm and the cows were EXTREMELY interested in us when we pulled up. She said it was because they knew she was going to feed them.

We met Bubby!

And fed him.

And fed him.

And fed him some more. 🙂

That other little guy is Jethro. So cute they are!

Then we got our cowgirl bath.

And we headed for home.

Many, many thanks to Becky McCray for showing us a fabu time on the Moos and Booze Roadtrip.  We had so much fun in the wild, wild west. 🙂

Stop! In the name of health

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**Note: I do not intend to appear judgmental about anyone by writing this post. It’s strictly about me and what’s right for me.**

Yesterday, I was visiting with a friend who had just come from watching over a diabetic friend who had been having an insulin reaction. She told me that her friend was diagnosed as a diabetic at the age of eight and now, over 40 years later, this is just one of the challenges she has been confronted with in living with this disease. The concern in her eyes and voice was obvious.

While walking Rabi downtown this morning, as we always do, we saw an employee of Conoco-Phillips making her way in to work. This extraordinarily heavy woman was on one of those walker devices that also contains a seat.  She was sitting in the seat and moving her way up the sidewalk using her legs. She had to stop and rest after going a little way.

How are these two incidents related? They made me stop and pay attention.

David and I stopped eating flour and sugar regularly back in November of 2009. I had started to notice that including these items in my diet, made my joints hurt. First my knees, then my hips, then my hands. David noticed that his nose would get big and red.

When we stopped eating flour and sugar, I immediately felt better and David’s nose started looking normal. We both lost weight.

I’ve been working really hard these past few weeks trying to get everything thrown out and packed up. My diet has slid. When it’s 106 degrees and you’re loading a dumpster with garbage, a cold beer sure does taste good. There were times when I just wasn’t that hungry or didn’t want to fix something myself and I’d grab a sandwich out.

So on top of all of the over use stress on my body from the pure physicality of what I was doing, I also wasn’t fueling myself for optimal performance.

I started thinking about this last night hearing about my friend’s friend and again this a.m. when I saw the heavy woman on the walker. Now, I don’t know for sure why the woman this a.m. was so heavy she had to use that walker. But what I do know is that if I put myself in her shoes, I’m that heavy because I’ve eaten wrong and hurt my joints to a point where I’m severally overweight and unable to walk on my own. I don’t want to be that woman.

My friend’s friend has no options. She’s had to live with a lifelong diagnosis of diabetes and as much as she lives right, exercises, eats right, she still isn’t completely in control.

I AM in control. I only have to keep the sugar and flour out of my diet and I feel great, my weight decreases, and I sleep better. So why don’t I do this? Well, I am definitely more convinced than ever that I will be on top of it from now on.

I am going to be a grandma in March. I want to be able to get down on the floor and play with my grandkids.  I don’t want achy joints to be what stops me. 🙂

And the sign says…

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Last year, we bought my Jeep before we headed to the Mrs. International Pageant in Chicago. Because we don’t believe in credit cards, it’s been difficult to rent a big vehicle each year with a debit card. David didn’t want to see a melt down at the airport again so he bought me the Commander.

The first thing I noticed was the BIG back window. “Marketing space,” it said to me. So I contacted my twitter friend Jason, to get a sign put on the back window.

When we got to Chicago, my car made it onto the Pageant Cast’s facebook page before a photo of Mrs. Oklahoma did.

Well, as of July 31st, I am no longer the director of the Mrs. Oklahoma International Pageant. So it was time to remove the sign.

It was pretty easy to use a razor blade to remove the sign.

Then some nail polish remover to remove the sticky stuff and some Windex and…

Voila!

Turn the page.

I filled it up!

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A little less than two weeks ago, I called to have a dumpster delivered. I asked David how big it should be and he thought a 20 yard dumpster would be good. When I called, she didn’t have a 20 yard dumpster available for two weeks but could deliver a 40 yard dumpster the next day.

I said, “Wow, that’s gotta be pretty big.”

“It’s huge,” she said.

Still, she could get it to me the next day and it was actually cheaper than the 20 yard dumpster I had priced at another place so I told her to go ahead and bring it.

Well, guess what? I filled it up!

There’s something vaguely embarrassing about being able to fill a 40 yard dumpster (which is indeed HUGE) but I will tell you, it was all garbage.

As I went through the contents of the Big House, it became apparent that David and I had cornered the market on cardboard. So much of what I threw away was just cardboard boxes.

I like the plain brown type. Hey, you never know when you will need to mail something.

He likes the multicolored variety that you get when you buy something. “I was afraid we would have to return them so I kept the boxes,” he said.

I was supposed to have the dumpster until next Tuesday but after a run-in with some dumpster divers on the second day I had it, I decided I didn’t want to leave it unattended the whole weekend while I was in Oklahoma City so I arranged for them to pick it up this morning.

After I placed the “Danger of death” signs on it, I had no more visitors. 😉

It was full. There’s not much else to throw away.  I got lots of bruises.

Next week, it’s on to re-boxing the rest of the stuff we are keeping from the Big House and loading the PODS container and having it taken away.

Turn the page.

Wild about Harry

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On Saturday when I was going through boxes that have been stored, and throwing things away that we don’t need anymore, I came across the VHS recording of Princess Diana’s funeral.

If you read my previous post, Tracking with the royals, you will know how I identified with Diana and how sad I felt when she died.

After it got too, hot, I locked up the house and brought in some documents to shred in the cool. I flipped around on the TV to find something to watch while I shredded and happened upon “Wild About Prince Harry” on TLC.

Prince Harry was 12 when his mother died in the tragic car accident. The show talked about how devastated Harry was, as any child would be, to have his mother taken from him at his age, so unexpectedly.

I cried. I felt sad for that little boy then and I still feel sad for him knowing that he can never again speak to the mother that he loved so much.

The Bible tells us that we are not promised tomorrow. Tragic accidents happen every day, to people from all walks of life.

We shouldn’t take for granted the fact that our loved ones are here with us right now. Be sure they know you love them. Every day. Always.

Brandon and Geoff, I am so happy that I’m your mom. I love you, Vanessa and Nikki more than words can say.

I don’t like pina coladas

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Before I started baking cookies today, I decided I needed music. So after much consideration, I decided on The Eagles station on Pandora.

I’m done baking now and there hasn’t been a bad song yet. I’m happy.

But…they just played Escape, a.k.a. The Pina Colada Song. It’s cute and I’m singing along. And then I start thinking about what the guy is singing.

He’s bored with his wife so he starts crusing the personals section in the newspaper to find something better than the person he is with.

Boo. I don’t like that. I’m glad the people in the song ended up happily but if I found out my husband was cruising the personals looking to replace me, I’d be MAD!

Oh, and I don’t like pina coladas.

The black jacket

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Back in 2001, David was building a new company when the tragic events of 9/11 occurred. As a result of the ensuing world gone wild, our business failed and we lost the life that we had enjoyed for many years.

I had to go to work and get a paying job to make ends meet. Because I hadn’t worked in quite some time, I didn’t really have any business-type clothes. I found a nice black jacket, on sale, and built my new work wardrobe around that jacket.

I wore the heck out of that jacket. I’m sure I could come up with many, many photos of me wearing that jacket but I’ll just add a few so I don’t bore you.

Now, ten years later, in preparation for our move to Saudi and the new life we will begin, I am going through my closet and weeding out the things that I can give away and things that I can throw away.

Today, I say goodbye to this old friend, my black jacket. It’s very well loved but also very well worn and it is really time.

As I sit here all choked up over the action of throwing the jacket away, I know it’s because of this:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

I know that the reason I am able to say goodbye to my old friend is because God has restored us and is prospering us. I look forward to our future without my black jacket.