Day 138: Gas Prices (3/9)

I always try and fill up with 100% pure gasoline because I get better gas mileage for the money. However, I can't stand the thought of spending $3.65 per gallon; just spending $3.49 is aggravating. The thing is if I filled up with the pure gas I would only be spending $2.54 more.

It's all deceiving and horrible way to spend $55.67 of my money.

I remember when I started driving and the gas when from $0.98 per gallon to above a dollar and I was upset. If only I could go back to the prices just above a dollar!

I could go on and on about politics and company greed but honestly I don't know enough to argue any side but I do know I AM PAYING WAY TO MUCH FOR GAS!!

Day 88: Things that go Bump in the Night (1/27)

Does the punching bag look scary to you?

Of course not but how many times have I walked out of my bedroom at night and been started by it?

At least three!

Day 18: OSU Tragedy (11/18)

There are so many things that I want to remember about this day, so I thought I would use my blog as a reminder. The pictures above were found and seen on various websites. 

For those of you that may not know November 18, 2011 will probably go down in OSU history as a day of loss. We lost so much today.

• Kurt Budke- OSU Women's Head Basketball coach died in a plane crash on recruiting trip. The plane went down over AR sometime Thursday evening. It wasn't confirmed until Friday, November 18, 2011.
• Miranda Serna- Assistant coach traveling with Budke was also killed in the plane crash.
• The pilot and his wife, the Odermiers, were also killed. They were OSU Alumni. 
• The OkState football team was heading to the BSC National Championship game with a record of 10-0. We were ranked #2 in the BSC standings. The team was played Iowa State {an unranked Big 12 team} and was beat in double overtime 37-31. In losing this game we lost:
• The BSC National Championship game
• Brandon Weeden lost the Heisman Trophy

How can you be so upset with a 10-1 team, who by all means still has the opportunity to win the Big 12 Championship {something OSU has never done} and head to a BSC Bowl game {still a huge achievement}?

I don't want to lose anymore, I want to remember. Here are things I want to remember:

Orange is that day that you moved into the dorms as a freshman w/ lines for the elevator. It’s meeting those friends that would stick with you for life. It’s remembering those dorm buildings, even though they may not be there anymore. It’s wearing orange the Friday before the first game & every Friday after that. It’s KURT BUDKE, MIRANDA SERNA, Barry Sanders, John Smith, Garth Brooks, Mike Gundy, Eddie Sutton… it’s you and me. Orange is putting your arm around the shoulder of the stranger next to you to sing the Alma Mater. It’s making the switch to saying “Power” instead of “Orange.” It’s remembering Lewis Field & admiring Boone Pickens Stadium. It’s knowing that it’s left hand up to make an “S.” Orange is when it’s good for a Cowboy First Down and Ten. Orange is Pistols Firing – Touchdown Oklahoma State. It’s “...O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A Oklahoma STATE” no matter where you are when the state song is played. It’s the big smile on your face when you walk past the orange fountain. It’s going back to the place you worked in college & remembering it as the best job you ever had even though it paid the least. It’s a cabinet full of Joe’s cups. Orange is knowing that it’s time to go home when you hear “New York, New York” or “Shoulda Been a Cowboy.” Orange is the one you tried to let down easy & the one you’ll never forget. Orange is wanting to get out of Stillwater for four years & spending the rest of your life wanting to go back.

Proud and Immortal,
Bright shines your name.
Oklahoma State,
We herald your fame.
Ever you’ll find us,
Loyal and true.
To our Alma Mater
O – S – U!!!!

This is the link to an article that I found touching {it made me cry} the day after the loss of the Iowa state game. 

OklahomaStateScout.com: November 18, 2011, is a day Oklahoma State will never forget. It was a day where OSU fans, players and coaches awoke to the news of tragedy and went to bed with the bitter taste of defeat.

A statues that I am proud of on Facebook the morning after. {I know that there is a typo but I couldn't delete it!}

I love this blog http://www.pistolsfiringblog.com. I read it daily and enjoy it, however thought the day I found this to be my favorite couple of lines.

I will always be 

PROUD

IMMORTAL

LOYAL &

TRUE!

Day 112: Remembering September 11 (9/11)

Today we went to the OSU football game against Troy. It was 9/11 and there were several tributes made throughout the day. However,  my favorite was when The Spirit of Oklahoma (the OSU band) played during halftime. It was beautiful and heart-felt. 

It never ceases to amaze me when a stadium of over 13,000 people can have a moment of silence and the entire stadium in eerily quiet!

A few words that I took from the Boston Globe about Remembering 9/11:

Last Saturday, September 11th, people all over the United States and the world took time to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania nine years ago. Progress on the rebuilding of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan is now becoming more evident as One World Trade Center topped 36 stories recently, on its way to 1,776 feet by 2012. The building, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is now growing at a rate of one floor per week, after years of political, security and financing issues plagued the $11 billion multi-building project. A push is underway in both New York and Pennsylvania to complete memorial projects before next year's 10th anniversary. Collected here are photos from this weekend's memorials and of the rebuilding progress so far.

There are 42 amazing photos if you have the chance to check out the website.

Day 45: The Oklahoma City Memorial (7/6)

Last week, Rennie and I were talking about the OKC Memorial and I found out that he has never been to the Memorial. He has been to the site but that was before the Memorial was erected and it was a fence with hundreds of thousands mementos hanging on it.

For those of you who don't know about the OKC Memorial, it was once the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. I know I can not do the story justice so to learn more go The OKC Memorial's website or just google Oklahoma City bombing.

The best way for me to describe it would be the first terrorism attack in the United States. I could write pages and pages about why, how, who and when but that's not the point of my blog.

Rennie was living in Stillwater at the time and he told me he felt the ground shake when it happen. At the time, I still lived in Florida. He followed the press, went the bombing site, and was even in Perry, OK when Timothy McVeigh was removed from the courthouse jail. 

However after 15 years, Rennie never made it to the Memorial. I went some years back with my family.

So I woke up this morning thinking I would surprise Rennie. It didn't work he had to figure it out before we even started getting around to go!

I didn't mind going back. I love history and museums. It's always good for the soul to remember. And that's exactly was the Memorial is about remembering. It walks you through the morning of the bombing, the hours, days, years afterwards and it honors those 168 who died.

It's a beautiful place to visit both inside and out. If you ever get the chance to visit it, I would do so.

Day 20: Rennie's Mask (6/11)

You may be asking yourself, "What is this?" Well it's almost the weekend and summer weekends mean slow-pitch softball. Still haven't answered your question have I?

As you know, Rennie and I play adult softball. Rennie has pitched slow-pitch for years. Even after his cancer he still continues to stand on the mound and pitch to men and women 53 feet away, the closet infielder to the batter.  So your still asking yourself, why does an adult softball player need a mask? Not even for batting but for pitching?!

Well, it can be dangerous. The pitcher's mound is in the middle of the field. So many players try to stay away from hitting "the middle." The reason is because it is so close to the batter, it's considered an unwritten rule to not hit at the pitcher...

...BUT IT HAPPENS, and happens often.

The reason it happens is because a batter, usually a man, hits "up the middle." It may not be on purpose (most men are able to control where they hit), it may be on accident but regardless, a man hits "up the middle." This pisses off the opposing team and the middle is now "open." Meaning that any player can hit at the pitcher and it's consider appropriate behavior.

Back to why Rennie has a helmet for pitching, when Rennie was 21 he developed cancer in his nasal passages. After the first surgery to remove the cancer, he also lost his cheek bone and part of his top jaw bone. Therefore he has a large mouth piece that supports the eye socket muscle and gives his face features.

Many other pitchers wear a helmet to protect themselves from those hits "up the middle." I have been after Rennie for years to buy a helmet but he refused, thought of himself as invisible or that it wouldn't happen to him. 

Enter into our lives, Gavin.  I again urge Rennie to get a helmet to wear for Gavin's sake. Lo and behold a helmet is bought. THANK THE LORD!!

If you don't believe me about players hitting the middle, check out softball players hitting the middle on youtube. It happens nightly and it can be deathly.

Day 17: Summer Sun Protection (6/8)

I was never really concerned about applying suntan lotion; that was until I had Gavin. Now whenever we go outside the first thing I do is apply suntan lotion and then re-apply hours later. :)

Of course that doesn't mean I apply it to myself. We spent all day outside the last couple of days, I got a sunburned, while Gavin stayed baby soft white!

Day 12: The Stairs (6/3)

Please forgive me for the poor quality of the picture. I was worried he would fall back, therefore was rushed. Believe me this is one of the better pictures!

My parents house is a two-story house, this is the first time Gavin has ever been around stairs. We did have ONE step in the rent house and Gavin liked to go up and down on it. However, I was not prepared for his LOVE of climbing stairs. I also wasn't prepared for my fear of the stairs either.

It started the first day we had moved in, I was upstairs putting together the crib when my Dad said, "Here we come." I looked out of the room and my Dad is looking down. Gavin had, on his first attempt, climbed all 18 steps.

Since that first accomplishment, we have put a baby gate in front of the stairs. And whenever Gavin thinks he wants to climb the stairs, he will wonder over there and as soon as he sees the baby gate, he will throw a huge tantrum. It's actually his "I am hurt" cry.  Gavin never cries! Well I shouldn't say never, you've seen Gavin and he likes his food, he does cry when he's hungry.

Anyway, I am just saying Gavin isn't picky as to what happens around him. He's pretty easy-going, so this comes as a surprise that he gets so upset about something. He must really love climbing those stairs.