The New 'Do Courtesy of Clary Sage College :)

So today I decided to treat myself to a little pampering and thanks to the girls at Clary Sage College (a cosmetology school here in Tulsa, http://www.clarysagecollege.com/clients), I am feeling so much better.

My sister Mandie gets her hair done by cosmetology students quite a bit in Manhattan and has always had wonderful experiences at a fraction of the cost. So while I was a little nervous about it, I figured that I can spend $12 at the Hair Cuttery or I can spend the same amount of money to have a student who is working with the best products available and being supervised learn something.

Britiney (I think I got that spelling right) was my stylist and she just really got it perfectly!

My hair was so super damaged from me not taking care of it and the fact that since I became preggers my hair & skin have no moisture. She ended up having to take 4 INCHES of wet hair off. That springs up to about 6 inches in curly hair. I also got a sensational deep conditioning. The final look is cute and sassy. I can't wait to start to playing with headbands and scarves and have some fun with my new shorter do :D

Sprout Update: 20 weeks and growing

Well, I've made it to the half way point in my pregnancy. I'm now a healthy 21 weeks and everything is looking great :)

Sprout is growing at an amazing pace! Right now he/she weighs in at approx 13oz and is resting quite comfortably on the right side of my tummy. I think the gurgling noises of my stomach are too much for the lil one to handle.

The ultrasound was amazing! The tech went from head to toe showing us each and every little part of our tiny sprout. Everything from all 10 toes to the heart to the stomach even onto the bladder! Sprout's head is way down low in my abdomen with the feet pretty much up by rib cage. Apparently the kid likes to stretch it out. And is now looking like a little person in there.....kind of.

Apparently our child is a little camera shy. While the tech was trying to get a good picture of Sprout's adorable mug, he/she was busy moving his/her hand in front of the face. We were able to get a couple of good pictures but, with the baby looking straight at the camera, our child looks more like an alien form of Skeletor than a cute lil baby :)



If you turn your head to the right, you can kind of see the shape of a face. I'm going to be honest, the tech had to point out all the features for me to really see it.

My favorite picture from the ultrasound came from the fact that the little one has his/her feet planted firmly under my rib cage. So far, he/she has been very kind in the not kicking me too hard but, the kicks are getting stronger. Dustin was actually feel a couple of good ones over the past few nights :)



So, that's the brief Sprout update. I should have a belly picture soon enough. I just feel weird having one taken of me for some reason but with Christmas coming up, I'm sure I will have some to share!

Catching Up & Looking Back: A Year in Review

Wow....it has been a year. Slowly Oklahoma is no longer the strange land it was a year ago. Don't get me wrong. It is still very strange but at least there is some familiarity to it now.

Admittedly, I have been a bad blogger. It was kind of a topsy turvy summer but things are starting to even out and life is chugging. So let's catch up.

GRACIE

Our little 5lbs bundle of fur is now a 30lbs 6 month old chewing monster. If this mutt doesn't prepare me for having a toddler, nothing will! She is extremely lucky that she is not only cute but does manage to behave herself 70% of the time.

She still loves her naps and chewing on things but we have started to find less destructive activities for her to engage in.

Here's a walk along the river at 10 weeks old.






Her first camping trip in Keystone State Park





Her first hike at Turkey Mountain





And the always favorite activity, lounging with Dustin :)




A VISIT FROM MY SISTERS :)

In August, I was incredibly fortunate to have my sisters visit for a couple of days. We picked them up in St Louis and did some local touring but, really it was mostly just a chance to relax and enjoy time with them since it had been so long.



Maggie enjoying a beverage Joe Momma's in downtown Tulsa.



Mandie & Maggie at Pops in Arcadia, OK



A visit to Oklahoma City



Playing at the 41st Street Plaza





Back in St Louis



OTHER SUMMER HAPPENINGS

It's official. I despise and do not look forward to Oklahoma summers in any way shape or form. When the heat index is 110 for three or more straight days, I call that excessive.

Dustin and I did have the chance to take in a bunch of Driller's games this summer which is always a great time :) We were able to take in the second to last game played at the old Drillers stadium. They will moving to their new ballpark, Oneok Field in downtown next for the 2010 season.

Other than that, it was a pretty quiet end to the summer but for one last little bit of news......

DRUM ROLL PLEASE



Dustin and I found we were expecting on August 18th.

Sprout is due to make his or her Tulsa debut around April 22nd.

So far I've had a relatively boring pregnancy which is always a blessing. We are not going to find out what the sex of the baby is until his/her arrival in April so, we've spent a good bit of time guessing with absolutely no scientific data to back up our beliefs :) Next ultrasound is in 2 weeks on Dec 3rd so be looking for a new picture!

LOOKING FORWARD

Dustin and I have had some challenges over the course of the past month. Mostly regarding my job situation but I can honestly say that I'm incredibly optimistic and excited about the next year :)

Hopefully I'll be a better blogger in sharing it with the few readers I have left :)

Introducing Gracie

Dustin and I had talked about adopting a dog. Who hasn't at one point or another. But to be honest, I didn't think we would until we settled down more and started a family involving our own DNA.

And then I met Gracie.

Gracie is a puppy with one of those rescue stories that makes you realize how important it is for people to choose rescue dogs. Gracie's real mommy was brought from another town's animal shelter to ours to be euthanized because she hadn't been adopted. When she arrived in our town, our animal control officer (who is AMAZING) realized that the dog that was to be put down was pregnant. On May 22nd, a litter of 4 adorable lil pups were born in a cage in the shelter. By Monday morning, 2 of the litter had been adopted, leaving Gracie and her brother. I got the text early Monday afternoon from Dustin that Gracie & her brother would be the pets of the week for paper. By Monday evening, Gracie had a home.

So now I'm the mommy to a cute lil 4 week old bundle of fur. Besides the whining through the night and the chewing on anything she can get her mouth around (apparently ankles and calf muscles are quite tasty), she's a good pup. Her favorite activity right now is sleeping (except at night apparently). She's going to put a little different spin on where & when Dustin go on our adventures but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We'll be spending alot more time exploring parks and teaching lil Ms. Gracie how to hike.

As a little public service announcement. I really do encourage everyone to adopt from your local shelter before a pet shop. There are so many good animals that need home so Save a Life, Adopt a Rescue Animal :)

Weather Forcast: It's Gonna Be Hot!

When I moved here and I complained when it hit a humid 85 degrees, everyone told me "Wait til late July and August when it REALLY heats up."

Weather forcast for the JUNE 23-27

Tuesday: 101
Wednesday: 100
Thursday: 101
Friday: 102
Saturday: 101
Sunday: 97

That is just the high temperature and does not take into account the heat index which right now at 8am CST is 85 degrees.

Since returning from our trip, the temperatures have not dropped below 95 and we have had not had one drop of rain. There are no storms in the forcast, although yesterday there were a bunch of puffy white clouds.

It's gonna be hot!

I found a great quote when getting ready to write this blog and it pretty much sums up my past week.

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land. ~G.K. Chesterton

Dustin was forced to take a week long furlough from work. So, last Monday, we set out on a 5 day adventure that was to span from Tulsa to the Oklahoma panhandle with a short jaunt into New Mexico and back again. Somehow we ended up on a 5 day adventure that involved the Oklahoma panhandle w/ a tree limb almost hitting us to a cold night in the mountains of New Mexico and ending with a night under the big bright stars of Texas.

First Stop: Black Mesa, scaling Oklahoma's high point

We headed out way too early on Monday, our first stop was Black Mesa State Park near Kenton, OK. Black Mesa is located on the panhandle of Oklahoma, an area larger than the state of Connecticut w/ a booming population of 30,000 people (and I'm guessing 10 times as many cows).


Slapout, Oklahoma is one of the first towns we came across on the panhandle. Population: 3.

When Dustin and I travel we tend to get distracted by roadside attractions (you will see that trend) and when we saw the Gloss Mountain State Park, we had to stop. The Gloss Mountains or Glass Mountains (depending on which story you believe), are series of tall red mesas right before you reach the panhandle in Major County, OK. They get the name Gloss (or Glass) from their sparkley appearance due to the gypsum found in the rock.







After being on the road for approx. 8 hours we reached Black Mesa State Park and settled in the for the night, very very very very very windy night. When Dustin started complaining about the wind, I knew it was bad.

The next morning we headed up to Black Mesa, Oklahoma's high point. For those of you not familiar, each state recognizes their highest point in elevation and there are people whose goal is to reach all 50. Most fall short due to a little mountain in Alaska called, Mt McKinley, or the hill in Washington named Rainier but, they often succeed in hitting 48 of the 50.

Black Mesa soars to an elevation of 4,973 feet which is 1500 feet taller than Pennsylvania's. The hike itself it not terribly difficult really. Except for a 1/2 mile stretch it very flat but on a hot day, it could be brutal.















We signed the registry and left a note for my sister, Mandie :)

After conquering the mighty mesa we did some local roadside attractions because we are dorks like that but first we had to return to our campsite to get directions. That is where we found this.



This branch is easily 200 pounds and landed a couple feet from our tent. After marveling at our luck in still having a tent, we headed out in search of dinosaur footprints and a spot where we could stand in 3 states at one time.


The dinosaur tracks are on private property but, there were no houses as far as the eye could see.




Dustin was partial to the Oklahoma corner.


I couldn't decide between New Mexico or Oklahoma.


But, I did check out Colorado for a minute or two.

Stop Two: Sante Fe, where have you been all my life?

After our branch incident, Dustin & I decided that as much as we love Oklahoma, it was time to head somewhere less windy. We reformulated our plan and came up with a new one. We would stop to see Capulin Volcano then head to Sante Fe to find a campsite there. From Sante Fe we would head south to Albuquerque before heading east through the Texas panhandle to Palo Duro Canyon.

Capulin Volcano is located in northeast New Mexico in an area home to many dormant volcanos. They are truly dormant and have been for thousands of years (or so the government would have you believe).


Capulin from the distance.


The crater of the volcano sits 415feet down from the parking lot and over a 1000 feet down from the crater rim.




The crater sits at about 8100 feet in elevation. It was very cool and chilly up there.

Our journey continued onto to Sante Fe where we grabbed lunch at the AMAZING Blue Corn Cafe (thank you to the New Mexico visitor center girl who recommended it). Blue Corn Cafe brews their own beer and the food was exceptional!



Dustin and I have decided we really love Santa Fe. Like really love Santa Fe. So much so that this blog may change name at some point.






The miraculous stairwell at the Loretto Chapel. Apparently I am the only person to have never heard of this thing.


San Miguel is the oldest church in America.

Our home for the night was Hyde Memorial State Park just north of Sante Fe National Forest. We were more prepared for mesa and desert camping not sleeping at elevation. At an elevation of 8300 feet we tried to sleep through a very chilly night.



Stop Three: Rock Doodles, Boredom on a Farm and the Stars at Night are Big and Bright (name that tune)

We headed south to Albuquerque, NM to visit the petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument. These petroglyphs are found on the rocks within several canyons in the area. Some obviously pictures of something but alot were drawings that only the doodler knew and are open to interpretation. When you take 2 road weary individuals with a sick sense of humor and show them pictures to interpret, it becomes obvious that these people need serious help.









When Dustin saw this next roadside attraction he almost crashed the car.







This is Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. According to Roadside America: The Cadillac Ranch, located along the tatters of historic Route 66, was built in 1974, brainchild of Stanley Marsh 3, the helium millionaire who owns the dusty wheat field where it stands. Marsh and The Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective, assembled used Cadillacs representing the "Golden Age" of American Automobiles (1949 through 1963). The ten graffiti-covered cars are half-buried, nose-down, facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops' pyramids." I don't get it but, Dustin loved it.

We reached Palo Duro Canyon State Park at about 6:30pm and were lucky enough to get a campsite. Despite the number of people at the campground, we enjoyed relative quiet for our last night.








And so our vacation ended. We saw mesas, desert, snowcapped mountains, a volcano, evergreen forests, alot of cows, a couple of noisy turkeys, and many interesting characters on the way.

We are already planning our next roadtrip :)