Drinks courtesy of JEM... a coffee/hot chocolate toast with Chet, JEM, and Kelly at Shades of Brown on Wednesday! :)
Pita bread and hummus appetizer... I got cracked up by the amount of pita bread we got - one piece per person - thanks, Zoe's Kitchen! lol
Happy Boss's Day to my Dad, and to anyone else who's a boss! ...Or to those who are just living life "like a boss." lol Whatever - any reason to celebrate will do!
My happy new CR machine... after 11 years, it was time for an upgrade! It's much nicer, and was a really good deal. =)
The Jaceman hanging out in my car for a minute, going back and forth to the back to see my puppies, and pressing every button he could find! (This was when Mom and I met at the halfway McDonald's to exchange the girlfranz.)
T-Swift and her cat. Her caption here just made me laugh! :)
...Thanks to T-Swift and to Lucy and Pippa Wilson, cats are growing on me. :)
Random, but kinda funny. This = a stupid Facebook quiz about finding your mental age based on your personality. Chet's was 21, Rachael's was 16, and mine was 90, the oldest of all the Myers-Briggs types. Grrrreat. Perhaps this explains why I'm so unfazed by the idea of dying. lol
And finally, a super old-school pic from early CHA days... Bill Russell, Kathleen McNeil (upside down), Josh Shirley?, Heather Tipton, Rachael, Me (half covered by the swing) - thanks, Rach! ;) - notice our coordinating red and blue shirts and pants with white sweaters with our names on them - we were nothing if not super-cool ...and patriotic lol), and Tiffany Wilson!
FRIDAY: Met at the Wilsons at 4:00, Dinner at Chick-Fil-A, took my car to the airport, nonstop Allegiant flight, Richard and Donetta (Chet's aunt and uncle) picked us up at the airport, midnight snack and chatting in the kitchen, bed around 2 am, bug incident, sleep around 2:30!
SATURDAY: At Universal by 8:20, actually inside Universal by 9:00 (tickets took forever), Fun Rides, lunch and Butterbeer at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, More Rides, Hogwarts Express Train to Islands of Adventure side of the park, left around 5:30, trafficy memorable drive to Disney Springs, short boat ride at sunset then Jeff's b-day dinner at Earl of Sandwich, Ghirardelli dessert, random dancing fun with the outdoor concert! Back to Richard and Donetta's where everyone showered then went to bed earlier than the day before and slept really well!
SUNDAY: Disney MGM Hollywood Studios at 9:00am, Fun Rides, Chet sold a house, JEM bought us ice cream, more rides, back "home" for a happy pizza lunch and two mini-naps, Monorail to Magic Kingdom around 3:30, pictures, fast passes, rides, long lines, dinner at a Mexican restaurant, more rides, Electrical Parade and cookie Ice Cream sandwiches, awesome light show and fireworks around 10:00pm, then I seriously had to sit down and told them to ride everything they could till the park closed! #funpeoplewatching #introverttime Back home around 1:00, everyone showered and packed, then went to bed.
MONDAY: Up in time to leave at 7 for the airport, stopped at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, slept through most of the nonstop flight back, drove back to the Wilsons, drove home, mini-nap, had my tire fixed at Lexus, met Mom at the halfway McDonald's to pick up the girlfranz, crashed into bed!!
Quotables:
"Iced Caramel Macchiato!! I'm having my first one when we get to the airport!" -Chet
"Okay. Why are you announcing that to me?" -Sarah
"Don't you like those?" -Chet
"Yeah." -Sarah
"Well, you're welcome for saving the moment for you!!" -Chet
"I love clumps of vanilla!" -Chet, trying to be excited
"I said pumps, not clumps." -Sarah
"Oh, okay good!" -Chettles :)
"We're leaning towards Pippa!" ~Karli (on the name of their adorable new kitten) :)
"Tell him daddy can take a nap!" ~Chet (when Jeff text me about our flight and I told him it was delayed 2 hours)
"Where will you eat? Table for 1 for me. Sadsauce." ~Text from JEM
"Then we'll end our trip with a fireworks show and a song about dreams coming true! ...I still can't remember the name of that song." -Chet
"It's "When You Wish Upon a Star!" What is wrong with you!? Didn't you ever see Pinocchio as a child?" -Sarah
"He was too busy watching Juwanna Mann!" -Karli :)
"His childhood was stolen... by a naked butt!" -Sarah
"Can you see Kyle?" -Chet, on the first flight
"Yeah, he's sitting next to a blonde woman." -Me
"Blonde or Blind?" -Chet lol
"Is this where I turn?" ~Richard (confused as he was driving us back to his place from the airport, going back and forth a bit)
"Hmm, maybe I will put my seat belt on after all." ~Me
Around 2am the first night:
"Lindsey! Lindsey!! Come here, quick! I'm trapped!" ~Sarah, grabbing the fan from the kitchen then seeing a huge black bug...
"Everything okay out here?" ~Chet, half-asleep and blind without glasses, coming out of their room
"There's a huge bug!" ~Sarah
"What did you think I was gonna do!??" ~Me
"I don't think that's a bug." ~Chet (touches it, then it proceeds to crawl all over till he grabs a napkin and killed it)
"That was a giant cockroach!!" ~Sarah
"Umm, maybe you can take the floor bed now." ~Me
(Sarah and I laughed about all that for about 30 minutes after we went back to bed, and after she prayed for me to be able to go to sleep. ...We learned later that it was a Florida water beetle, which I googled, and it's basically a giant cockroach with front pincher legs, so not uber comforting. But we never saw another one after that. An albino lizard, yes, but no more disgusting bugs!)
"This is the torture chamber!" -Worker at the Shrek 3D show
"Yes, it is!" -Chet Lee (annoyed about Jeff wanting to do that "ride" - lol)
"Did Michael really have two!? Ohmygosh, that is so much sugar!" ~Jeff (on Butterbeer)
"YOU had two-and-a-half!!" ~Chet
"I know - that's how I know!" ~JEM :)
"He didn't like the Butterbeer like I didn't like The Mummy!" ~Jeff, who was a bit sweaty and pale after The Mummy roller coaster! (referring to Kyle, who was not a big fan of the famous Butterbeer)
"Ha-ey, y'aaall, I lahk that!!" -random Texan passing me
"Y'all is not a word, by the way!" -grumpy worker at the end of a ride
"Y'AAAAALL!!" -overexcited waitress
~Random people commenting on my "Y'all" Oklahoma shirt at Universal Studios -- I kept forgetting I was wearing it and had an awkward facial reaction to all of these!!
"The attention to detail is so amazing!" ~JEM (x10) at Harry Potter World! :)
(It was pretty impressive!)
"No, I can't do it! This guy is actually handicapped... I've got to draw the line somewhere!" ~Chet, seeing a handicap vehicle approaching as we were about to take the last open handicap spot in his aunt's SUV
"Pretty sure everyone left out the fact that we'd be going upside down!!" -Jeffrey after the Rockin' Roller Coaster lol
"Yeah, and when I writed... wait, did I just say writed? We need to go to sleep!!" ~Sarah, discussing personality tests in our room when we were both freakishly tired
"We're gonna take a tiny precious nap!" ~Me to JEM and the Wilsons
"Mockey needs her beauty sleep!" ~Jeff-Ed
"Whatever! You napped twice too!" ~Me
"Hey, I'm not denying it." ~JEM
"TU won today!" ~Jeff (checking his phone and announcing that to our car of non-sports fans)
"Okay, Jeff, we're done with football!" ~Chettles
"Ohmygosh, there's the castle! ...It's smaller than I imagined it. Is it a mini-sized version??" ~JEM, seeing Cinderella's castle from far away on the monorail - lol
"You're doing that again?" ~Me
"Yes! I've got to find my personality while we're on this trip!!" ~Sarah Elizabeth
"Everybody put your hands up for the photo!!" ~Chet, at the beginning of Splash Mountain
...Pic = Me, Sarah, Chet, and Karli with our hands up; JEM holding on tight with his head bowed down! lol
"Lindsey! Will you take our picture!?" -Chettles (upon seeing the Property Brothers from HGTV)
"WHY!??" ~Me, not knowing who they were and thinking he was asking them to take our picture right after we got drenched on Splash Mountain
"I kinda feel like I took a hallucinogenic before I came in here." -Sarah when we entered The Laughing Place song in Splash Mountain :)
"...and that's how you get hepatitis!" ~Sarah, talking about when it's important to wash your hands
"So Splash Mountain was fun, huh!? ~JEM, the master of the subject change
"I need them to make an adult-sized stroller so someone can push me around the park!" ~Me, looking at all the kids being wheeled around and feeling super jealous "We'll remember these comments when inviting people for our next trip!!" ~Chet Lee, when JEM and Sarah and I were not quite as jazzed about the light show and fireworks as he was
"This chair is free; right?" -Super awkward guy (he and his daughter sat down for a while at the empty chairs at my table when there were at least 10 empty tables within my line of sight) #seriously?
"I had dreams about Disney World last night!" ~Chettles, randomly popping into our room to announce that
"Oh, fun! What did you dream about it?" ~Me, while packing my suitcase
...(turn around to see that Chet's already gone) lol
"The one time it's okay to say yeasty is with bread!" ~Sarah, discussing our Dunkin Donuts breakfast on the way to the airport
"What's that smell!?" ~Me, on the plane
"Ugh, I don't know..." ~Chet
(Look a few rows forward to see that a dog has pooped in the middle of the aisle mid-flight - really gross, and weirdly funny!)
Pictures:
Stopping at Chick-Fil-A for dinner when we learned our flight was delayed 2 hours!!
Chet's first Iced Caramel Macchiato, with extra clumps of vanilla! ;)
Ready for takeoff... Sarah was a row behind us and snapped this happy picture. :)
At the entrance for Universal Studios!!
In our claustrophobic cubby hole hiding from the rain! lol
Mossy's favorite ride! lol
Chet Lee's favorite painting!!
Disney Day -- Parkhopper passes and MagicBands!
Classic group pic by the castle!!
(TK went to visit his grandparents on Sunday, so he was only there for Universal)
JEM and Sarah got "1st Visit" buttons - yay, Disney!!
Fulfilling Sarah's childhood dream going through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse! #bridgepic
Before we got soaked, Sarah took a selfie of our group on Splash Mountain!!
Chettles took a selfie with the Property Brothers after Splash Mountain!
The magical fireworks show at the end of the night!
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Happy fall decor on our way out of the park after midnight!
Memorable Rides:At Universal -- Transformers, The Mummy, Shrek show, Harry Potter #1, Men in Black, ET, Harry Potter #2, Spider-Man, & Jurassic Park (for everyone but me and Karli, who were happy to stay dry). At Disney -- Rockin' Roller Coaster, Star Wars, Muppets show, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Spinning Teacups, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, & Snow White! (I skipped the last four to avoid extreme foot pain - #noregrets.)
Musical Memories: JEM and Chet singing Maroon Five's Sugar on the way to Disney; a capella group performing, JEM and Sarah harmonizing to Whitney Houston, Sarah and Jeff dancing to polka music, Jeff dancing to Thriller, all of us dancing the Macarena at Downtown Disney (aka Disney Springs), me singing the Laughing Place song and freaking Sarah out, watching a video of the Star Spangled Banner Bellagio water show the last morning because "It's tradition!" :)
Happy Birthday to my dear friend Jeffrey Edward, also known as JEM, Mossman, Pete Moss, Fun Pete... and occasionally, at least in his own mind, "Daddy!" LOL
He's at a work thing in Florida and will be at Harry Potter World tonight... hopefully it will be enchanting and magical! lol ...Chet, Karli, Tall Kyle, Sarah, and I are flying down on Friday to join him for a fun long weekend at Universal and Disney!! #getexcited So anyway, in honor of his 35th birthday, here are 35 times that "JEM" was a gem: 1. Cutting his plans short to meet me at Yolotti on 8-26-2013 because he could tell from my voice on the phone that I was not okay... not our typical fun times, but probably my favorite memory with him. 2. Reminding me that only Christ can be my foundation, not any other person! 3. Flinging a giant cockroach toward me... no, jk... but I did appreciate getting a text before his next party that he was spraying his house just for me. lol 4. Being willing to pose for all my photos, and starting a new random tradition of putting things on top of his head in pictures! lol 5. Asking awesome and memorable questions (like the North Korean prison tramp stamp) on our road trips to Sam n' Ella's! 6. Convincing me to do the Vegas hike by saying, "If you're looking for memories and great pictures, this is the way to go!" lol #finesse #canivery 7. Confusing Senior pics with Glamour Shots and earning himself a new nickname! lol 8. Belting out the wrong words to popular songs at least three different times. :) "Too late to compromise!" "Bullets don't make bullet holes!" "I wanna take you on an ice capade!" 9. Hosting awesomesauce parties and get-togethers at his place... he's a fantastic cook and attentive host! :) 10. Being very generous and creative in putting together Jay & Bethany and Chet & Karli's engagement parties! 11. Baking tasty sopapilla cheesecake for us the first time we came over for a game night! 12. Saying "Let Daddy take care of it" when Laura couldn't reach the top of a doorway. :) 13. Cracking us up with his hilarious stories, including some embarrassing moments! 14. Buying OneRepublic tickets for me and Chet Lee as a fun and generous surprise! #mockeyandtheboys 15. Feeling sorry for J-Biebs (before he knew who he was) when he said he'd like a Hummer, thinking "Aww, how about a '91 Honda Accord, buddy!?" 16. Confusing The Parent Trap with real life and insisting that Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson were married and had twins! lol 17. Painting himself into a corner in his garage, then pouring the paint directly on Malori's garage floor, although his unique method was not appreciated! lol 18. Posing with Chet and Michael as horses for a #horsebros pic that still cracks me up whenever I see it! 19. Dancing at weddings (or on "very tame" cruises) with zero inhibition, having a blast and entertaining the crowd! 20. Renting an SUV for our OKC road trip and taking us on the "best sidetrip ever" to Pops! :) 21. Keeping a gym diary that also keeps track of Chet's moods. lol 22. Making epic cheesy exercise videos for Karli's mom! "Oh, Melissa, you startled me!" 23. Sending hilariously random texts (often based on whatever memory just floated through his mind), including: "Little Bird" and "Will the girlfranz be at the party?" :) 24. Refusing to trust Hop Bunz because they have a "Z" in their name! lol 25. Bringing Chet back some orange marmalade just so he could sing it to the tune of Lady Marmalade! :) #stillhaveitonvideo 26. Saying, "Make it a great day!" as his motto. :) 27. Wanting a Bellagio fountain for his front yard, and a herd of buffalo for the back! #dreambig 28. Calling lemon gelato "lee-mahn" and the lady behind the counter confusedly asking, "What!?" lol 29. Planting sage (twice) in the Wilsons' backyard and calling himself "the quasi lawn/garden boy!" :) 30. Texting me, "If they won't give us 12 straws, ask for 3!" about Chet's 25th bday party! 31. Inviting the girls to the 2016 Bearathon race! #yay 32. Reverting back to his Texas accent when he met my Mom (who is from Texas also). lol "Nahs to meet you!" 33. Apologizing "on behalf of PSO" when the power went out at his house during Kevin's party! lol 34. Sending thoughtful, anonymous gifts/cards when he knows someone could use some encouragement! 35. Announcing, "Guys, I have to tell you something... ...about Justin Bieber!" as we began our OKC road trip! And finally, a through-the-years Flipagram featuring J-Biebs... I originally had it to a OneRepublic song, so the pics keep going for about 30 seconds after the song ends. lol
Happy Fall, y'all! =) Brace yourself for a plethora of pictures!
So last Friday night, I went to Chet and Karli's for dinner... it was good for me not be home by myself on that specific night (a former friend's wedding), and this hangout was low-key and fun and perfect! After dinner, we talked about our upcoming Disney/Universal trip -- it's coming crazy soon!! #asongaboutdreamscomingtrue ;) Then we reminisced about past vacations and funny quotes, and eventually ended up watching Youtube videos of the Bellagio fountain show!! lol
We had "stacked enchilada casserole" with cilantro-lime rice for dinner - a far tastier dinner than the lovely Whole30 cabbage wraps. lol I'd like to try making this recipe soon! :)
Lucy Lu wanted to join us, but thought it was safest to stay in the living room. lol
I brought "Oreo delight heaven balls" for dessert, per Chet's request! lol (...then I cut the crap out of my finger later that night when I obliviously cleaned the blender I'd used as if it were just a big cup without scary blades at the bottom. #wonthappentwice)
Floppy-eared Sammers says hello. I haven't written about the girlfranz in a while, but they're enjoying life in all their fluffy glory!
And here's precious Bellsy Bells! :)
I made a down-and-back trip to have lunch and catch up with Kristin at Cheddar's, and to see the fam on Saturday! Here's T-man showing me and Jace his new video game. :)
Here's my dad's latest new car. I'm super oblivious to car changes and wouldn't have noticed without it being pointed out to me... Chettles has noticed new cars in my family more than once before I had any clue. lol
The previously burgundy coffee table that will be Rach and Josh's soon... Mom and Rach are working on painting it all decoratively!
A happy grin from my favorite tiny Miss! :) So adorable!!
Jaceman playing a game with Rach at our dinner at Don's Alley (eating there was a definite blast from the past - so many memories of eating Knuts candy and playing "I Spy..." there with the fam back in the day)!
Sunday, I joined Tiffany and Angie at the Tulsa State Fair. (Every year, I end up feeling sick and thinking I should skip it the next year, but it's unlikely that I'll go a year without at least one fair trip.) Here's Angie in the Butterfly House - that and the Petting Zoo are pretty much the coolest things there!
Their theme for the fair this year is "Goat-tastic!" #lame But I do like this mini fountain. lol
And this baby goat! #adorable
This pic reminds me of me last year. lol
Hooray for Kelly Marie winning first place for her pies in two different divisions! :)
Paintings I like and may try to replicate (all but the football one, obviously).
I wanted a pic with one of the giant stuffed animals! :)
Whilst standing in a long line for my beloved cheese-on-a-stick, a girl at the front ate a couple bites of her corn dog, and then told the vendor it didn't have enough mustard, so he grabbed his mustard paintbrush and threw some more on there... the guy behind me freaked out and called him out on it, saying he couldn't do that since she'd already eaten some and it was super unsanitary, then everyone in the line cleared out almost immediately. On my way to another food stand, I looked back and saw that line filling up with new people who didn't see that happen, and I had to laugh at myself for trying to have sanitation standards at the fair. #nopoint Always interesting and random times at the fair. lol
Here's one last pic of me, Angie, and Tiffany!
A Facebook pic I wanted to post here too. #truth
Despite having 1,000 things to do, I'd like to add this to my list - the challenge is to sketch (and color if you want) something every day of October, and right now, for whatever reason, that sounds cute and fun to me. I'm coming in late, but I'm gonna try to catch up! :)
Whilst getting a cavity filled last week... Dentist Neil: "Well, did you get rid of those dogs yet?" (He likes to pretend that he's not a fan of Poms.) Me: "Never! They're precious!! ...They do bark way too much, though. I'm worried that my neighbors are gonna hate me." Dentist Neil: "Hmm, maybe you should get their throats taken out!" ...He was talking about a legit veterinary procedure where dogs are devocalized or their bark is softened, but the way he phrased it just sounded incredibly violent and made me and his hygienist look at him in disgust... then we all laughed about it. :) Dentist Neil: "He's got me hooked on this new show called Utopia. (pause) ...It probably shouldn't be watched by you. It gets a little twisty." Me: "Hmm, do you watch Breaking Bad?" Neil: "Did I ever!! Did you watch it?" Me: "No. But Laura was a fan, and she told me that it shouldn't be watched by me either!" Neil: "Really!? I think everyone should watch it! ...Well, maybe you ought to stick to watching things that are all roses and puppies!" lol
Dentist Neil: "He went out and got himself engaged, like an idiot." Me: "Uh-oh, are you not a fan of the girl?" Neil: "No, she's great! But I'm just saying, once you get married, you can't do whatever you want anymore. You know, like, maybe there are four movies out that you wanna see, but you never have the free time... then when you do have the free time, you'd feel guilty for going to see a movie." Me: "Aww, life must be rough." #sarcasm A couple seconds later... Neil: "Hey, what are you gonna have for dinner tonight?" Me: "Uh--" Neil: "Whatever you want - THAT'S WHAT!! ...I'm just saying, enjoy it while you can!" ...At the end of my appointment, he showed me some cute videos of his son, and I said, "See, now isn't that better than going to the movies all the time!?" :) (Dentist Neil reminds me a bit of JEM in his love of reminiscing and "what if" questions and generally being super entertaining. In the middle of working on my teeth, he'll often pause to chime in with a random topic like wanting to buy "the ugliest one" of Bob Ross' paintings for his living room... or to ask a random question like this:) Neil: "So what if you meet a great guy, but then he tells you you have to get rid of those dogs?" Me: "Not likely!" Neil: "Really?" Me: "How serious am I about this imaginary guy?" Neil: "He's the one - you're ready to marry him!" Me: "Hmm, in that case, if he had a legitimate reason, then maybe I could --" Neil (dramatically interrupting me): "YOUUU TURNCOAT!! Men aren't that great! You'll probably be together for like a month and then you'll wish you had those dogs back! ...Or you two will be walking along in the park, holding hands, then you'll glance over and see the dogs huddled together by a trash can, trying to stay warm! And he'll be trying to pull you along, and you'll be like, 'Oh nooo, which world should I choose!?'" (Pause.) Me: "...Wow!" Neil: "It could happen."
The night of the monkey bread fiasco at Sarah's (we'd both been coughing from all the smoke): Me: "Well, I have to head out soon." Sarah Elizabeth: "I know; it's getting late. I'm sorry for choking you with the scent of my failure!" lol At the FBC $2 Wednesday dinner before Impact Classes: "Yeah, Chet's started a business flipping houses with his friend. It's called Threesacrowd, LLC! Meanwhile, I'm gonna start Tableforone, LLC, and find something in my neighborhood to work with!" ~JEM "Oh, I'm sure there's some garbage over there somewhere." ~Chet Lee (It'd take too long to try to explain that whole thing, but it was pretty funny!) :)
The Jaceman always wants to say hi to me when I'm on the phone with Mom... Me: "Hi, Jaceman." J: "Hiiii!" Me: "How was school today?" J: "Pretty good. I have some homework." Me: "You DO!? Have you already started on it?" J: "Umm, yeah... Hey, lemme talk to Chet!" Me: "Oh, umm, he's not with me right now, bud." J: "Whyyyy!?" (That was a first, but really cute!) Judge came into my office with a really solemn look on his face... Judge: "Hey, do you still have a friend who works down at Chesapeake!?" (Awkward pause as I know Laura can hear us and I'm pondering if there's a lighthearted way to explain my "BFF" ruthlessly cutting me out of her life forever...) Me: "Yehhhs." Judge: "Well, they just laid off a BUNCH of people today!!" Me: "Oh, I didn't know... I haven't talked to her in a little while." Judge: "Boy, it was rough. I sure hope she made the cut!" (Brief pause again...) Me: "Mmmm." Hopefully he interpreted my random noise as thoughtful agreement. lol
