Happy birthday, Sydney!!

This is a day late...how could I be such a terrible aunt? I did send her presents and I called her last night (I'm not THAT bad). She is so incredibly sweet and cute. She told me all about the cool presents she got and sounded so happy!

I can't wait to see you, Miss Sydney!

I love you!!
Aunt Jenni

Feelin' good.

Big school project completed: check
Charli to vet: check
Clean house: check
Laundry done: check
Treadmill working: check
Lawn service called: check
Car maintenance: check
Bug spray people scheduled: check
Final exams: in progress

Life is running smoothly...for now...
:)

For my Family

This morning I learned of a fellow blogger's tragic loss of a family member. It was shocking and very sad and my prayers go out to her and her loved ones.

Sometimes it takes witnessing such a loss to make you hold those you love closer. I have an amazing family and would of course be devastated if I were to suddenly and without warning lose one of them.

To all of my precious, beautiful family, I love you so very much.

Sending hugs and kisses to all I hold dear,
Jenni

April 22, 1889

Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889

The land run started at high noon on April 22, 1889, with an estimated 50,000 people lined up for their piece of the available two million acres.

A number of the individuals who participated in the run entered early and hid out until the legal time of entry to lay quick claim to some of the most choice homesteads. These people came to be identified as "sooners."

By the end of April 22, both Oklahoma City and Guthrie had established cities of around 10,000 people in literally half a day. As Harper's Weekly put it:

"Unlike Rome, the city of Guthrie was built in a day. To be strictly accurate in the matter, it might be said that it was built in an afternoon. At twelve o'clock on Monday, April 22d [sic], the resident population of Guthrie was nothing; before sundown it was at least ten thousand. In that time streets had been laid out, town lots staked off, and steps taken toward the formation of a municipal government."

A Glorious Evening!

It was a beautiful day outside...blue sky, a nice breeze and lots of sunshine. After work I got my oil changed, cleaned out my car, went for a run and made a yummy dinner. It was so nice to get out and run in the sun...it seemed like everyone and their dog was out enjoying the weather! As soon as I got home I cranked up the Juiceman again. This time it was oranges, apples and grapes. For the main course I nuked a sweet potato and made an amazing spinach salad (baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sunflower seeds and Annie's Goddess dressing). YUMMY YUM YUM!!Hope you had a great Monday!

Eating clean: late afternoon

I am so full...I can't believe how simple fruits and veggies can keep me so full! Here is my late afternoon meal. I juiced a bunch of organic carrots with part of an apple. I decided to heat up the mixture just a bit to make it like a cup of soup. I've also got roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds to munch on as well as a beautiful banana (not pictured). This is so simple and good. I'm having so much fun! I'm also drinking water today. Still feeling great! I thought I would take a nap earlier (I am a big fan of afternoon weekend naps) but I am not even tired! That is a very big deal for me. Woo-hoo!
Update: I could not even finish that cup of juice!! I am so full and satisfied. I'll save it for later!

Detox: Midday

Here is my midday snack...very filling and delicious. The juice is a combo of apples and carrots. I actually sprinkled some herbs and a tiny bit of olive oil on my veggies. Probably not the route for a 100% detox, but to me this is a day to eat clean. The sun finally came out and I am headed out for a long, easy walk in about an hour. So far I feel great!!

How I spent my morning...

This is The Juiceman. Actually, this is The Juiceman II. My brother introduced me to The Juiceman back in 1996. It is awesome. I haven't used it in a long time but decided today was Detox Saturday and I will be juicing several meals. Last night I spent some time chopping veggies, washing fruit and preparing for my day of detox. I will have plenty of vegetables, fruit, juice, herbal tea and rest.

So, here is what I started with this morning (please disregard the cheesy formica--my adorable house was built in 1940). Isn't it a lovely bounty of fresh fruit?? I've got a mango, a few oranges, red grapes and 2 apples. Yum.And voila! Here is the sweetest, freshest nectar you can imagine!!! All natural, organic goodness. Seriously, it's hard to believe that nature can produce such sweetness without any additives or assistance!! People are always amazed at how good this stuff is. This batch made two large servings. I had some for breakfast and will have some more later. All in all, it took about 10 minutes and that included chopping the fruit, juicing and cleaning The Juiceman.

More to come!!

Can't get enough...

Oh, cauliflower...how I do so love thee.

I cannot get enough of this stuff! I'm now buying two heads at a time! For now I've just been eating it raw but the next batch I think I will roast, then maybe even try a soup. I also have been heavy on the broccoli lately...I've just had this immense craving for raw food. Jenna has been experimenting with actually going RAW once a week. I may even try that sometime. The recipes look amazing!

In other news...I have officially signed up for golf lessons. I played as a kid but never really took it seriously. Now I can't wait to get out there and re-learn it all. Then I can play with Dad and my bro!! That sounds like a lot of fun.

I'm also considering signing up for swimming lessons at the Y. Yes, I know how to swim, but I really don't have a clue when it comes to form for laps, etc. I've always wanted to swim freestyle but my hair gets in the way, I lose my direction...all around poor form. So I'm excited about the probable cardio workout I'll get from those lessons!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! I'm off to class this afternoon...only 3 more weeks left of semester! I can't believe it. Thank goodness there is a guy in my class I've been crushing on all semester ( a younger man by 4 years!)--he makes it very worthwhile!! :)

He's Baaack!

My eye-candy-love-muffin will be back in action on Law & Order: Criminal Intent this Sunday. Finally, season 8 will premiere on USA. I've missed Bobby Goren. And I haven't had a Vincent Fix in a long time. He's still my #1 guy and I'm still obsessed a major fan.

His character went through some major life-changing events last season. I am eager to see how it plays out. And Jeff Goldblum is part of the team now...not sure yet how I feel about that. I don't want anyone to take away from my Mr. Goren. But maybe Goldblum's character will add some dark humor to the show. We'll see...

Be there or be square: Sunday, 9/8 Central, USA channel.

Happy Easter!!

Even though it's a rainy, cold day here in Edmond, it was still a wonderful Easter Sunday! I just got back from lunch at my folk's house. Mom set the table beautifully with fresh flowers and her prettiest china. The food was awesome!! We then watched Marley & Me and I was pretty much sobbing by the end. Dad had to get me the box of kleenex!! How embarrassing...but what a great movie. We also enjoyed some homemade strawberry shortcake a la Mom and then watched the end of the Master's. All in all, another terrific day in this gal's life!

Hope you had a great day too!!

Why all pets should be spayed/neutered

Remember sweet little Libby? I introduced her and Gus in this post last year. Back then, Libby was pretty tiny. Well, look at her now...
She is very pregnant! I worry about Libby a lot because I don't know where she goes when I don't see her for a few days. A couple of months ago it was pretty obvious she was in heat. There were many days when she was literally surrounded by tomcats wherever she roamed! And before I knew it, Libby has this big preggo belly! See, I am not happy about this. Gus is actually one of Libby's babies from a previous litter. I meant whole-heartedly to take Libby and get her spayed last year...but it's one of those things I forgot. She is not technically "my" cat as she visits several homes around here. I do feed her and have let her in the house when it's cold. But as I have mentioned before, my cats are very territorial and aren't happy about visitors. Anyway, I feel awful for Libby--I'm sure she is tired of having litter after litter. I will FOR SURE be taking her to my favorite vet to 'take care of her' once she is finished taking care of her new kitties.

But for now I am just feeding her (when she comes around) and hoping that when it's time that she finds a safe, warm place to have her babies. If I can find her "burrow" I will try to take pictures and I sure hope those babies find homes!!!

TGIF!

Dear Treadmill Part 2,

I am happy to tell you that your part medicine will be delivered today. You will be examined and taken care of and should be back to your old self in no time. I am eager to begin spending time with you again.

So we've got a date, you and me, as soon as you feel better and get the A-OK to start hanging out again.

Until then...

Choppin' Broccoli

I was choppin' broccoli last night (and just to make my mom laugh go here and forward to about 2:40--although the whole thing is hilarious) amongst other yummy veggies. I don't know if it's because I was so sick last week or I'm just tired of meat, but I've been craving vegetables like mad. I've also been studying a lot and need the brain power. I was in the mood for a 'party dish' and chopped up some broccoli, cauli, carrots and awesome cherry tomatoes. I am having them for lunch today with a light dilly-ranch dip (basically I used lowfat sour cream, olive oil mayo, ranch seasoning and lots of dill). Heaven.Have I introduced you to my Laptop Lunch? Yes, they are mostly used by small children at school to keep their snacks and such. But it's great for adults too! I can portion out my food, it saves space and it's cute! I bought mine here about a year ago and love it.

Ta-ta for now...it's a chilly morning here and my toes are cold. But I'm looking forward to a nice Monday!

Helluva Saturday

I am feeling much better and it was a gorgeous day in the land of Oklahoma!

I started my new volunteer gig today helping out at the Edmond Historic Schoolhouse [...Oklahoma's First Territorial Schoolhouse was completed in August of 1889. Now over a hundred years later the Edmond Historic Preservation Trust has restored the school to its original state. Open to the public the first two Saturdays of each month from 1-4 and by appoinement...]. I am officially a volunteer with the Edmond Historical Society and Museum. I was supposed to volunteer with the regular docent but she was out of town. So it turns out I met up with the President of EHSM!! His name is Cameron and he is so cool...I learned a lot about the museum, the society, the Schoolhouse and Edmond in general. It was a sunny day in Edmond so we had a lot of visitors. I plan to get even more involved as they need the help. There may even be a spot on the Board for yours truly! How cool is that?? Getting involved in volunteering was one of the best things I have done this year (or ever). I met some amazing people (including Cameron's daughter and wife).

Mom, Dad and Grandma picked me up after we closed the Schoolhouse at 4:00 and we went to dinner! I felt like I hadn't seen them in a long time...it was nice to catch up. After they dropped me off I hit the office to get a few things done (I KNEW there would be a pile of stuff on my desk). Then I got some groceries (including a trashy magazine for fun) and came home to get some studying done (Business Law exam next week). I also whipped up some of these for dinner tomorrow and during the week.

All in all it was a helluva Saturday! :)

...

Stomach bug. 72 hours. That's all. Nothing else.