My New Toy!

Well, I finally did it.  After months of dreaming about it (and talking myself out of it for fear I wouldn't be able to figure out how to use it), I bought a sewing machine.  It's a Brother beginners machine with a zebra print skin on it, and it is super cute.  My craft room is now complete! 

I also invested in this cute sewing basket to hold all my supplies:

And what seamstress doesn't have one of these little guys?

Now I just need to learn how to sew...

Maggie Goes to the Vet.

A few days ago I noticed Maggie was limping around the house, not using her front, right leg.  I could tell she was in a lot of pain.  After giving her a few days to "walk it off," I called and made her an appointment to see the vet today.  (Our vet was conveniently on vacation, so we took a chance on another clinic.)

If you have ever had a cat, you already know they do not like riding in the car.  So, just getting her to the vet was a job in and of itself!  But, we made it and she was a very good kitty for Doctor Baynes.  Upon feeling  her "arm," the vet determined it was her bone, rather than a growth or bite and proceeded to get an x-ray.

When the x-ray came back, she discovered Maggie must have had an injury prior to us adopting her 3 years ago.  The fracture healed on its own (as she was a stray for 2 years prior to being adopted).  When it healed, it healed strange, causing the extra white you see around her bone (right, wrist area).

She has learned how to "live with it" over the years, however, something she did in the past few days, aggravated the old injury, causing arthritis.  The solution is an injection in the joint once a week for the next month, accompanied by an oral pain reliever.  After the first month, the injections will continue once monthly ($20 per month) for the rest of her life to help her cope with the arthritis. 

I had no idea! I can eventually learn to give her the injections myself, but for now I will be taking her to the vet to get them.  A small price to pay for the joy she brings us!

Tonight was the return of "Vampire Diaries" on the CW.  We had our monthly  "Supper Club" tonight with Kirt, Laura, and Caleb at Laura and Caleb's house.  Kirt cooked a mean Mexican Chicken Spaghetti and the season premier was everything I had hoped it would be.  I'm so thankful for time with friends after a busy day at work.

Belated Labor Day Post.

Since yesterday was the Ouachita BlogAbout, I'll fill you in today on our Labor Day weekend with the Grant's in Ft. Worth. 

We left early Saturday morning to head to the Lone Star State.  One of my favorite parts of going to visit family is the car ride.  I enjoy looking out the window, listening to music, while singing my lungs out (although there wasn't much of that this trip since I was still without a voice), and having Gary's undivided attention for 6 hours straight.  We get to talk about things and just be silly together.

After a late lunch Saturday, I enjoyed some down time reading on the porch swing while the others napped.  They had wonderful weather, and their backyard was a quiet getaway. 

Saturday was a lazy day, but Sunday was jammed packed!  We attended church at Gary's parent's church in Azle, followed by lunch with some of their friends at "Uno" in downtown Ft. Worth.  Uno serves deep dish, Chicago style pizza. Yum! 

That afternoon, we strolled through both the Ft. Worth Water Gardens, and the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens.  They had huge fish at the botanical gardens, and we enjoyed reenacting a childhood picture of Gary feeding these same fish as a little boy.

Saturday evening we drove to Allen, where Gary's aunt, uncle, cousins and grandmother all live.  His Uncle Jay grilled for us while we spent time with their new 2 pound Yorkie puppy!

Monday morning we said goodbye to the family over a pancake breakfast, then made the drive back home in time to catch John Allen before he headed back to OBU.  We ate another huge meal with my family at Dixie Cafe for dinner.

Hope your Labor day was fun and family filled like ours.  We ate way too much, so we tried to compensate for some of that with an evening run tonight.  I'm still battling this sore throat, but I think it may be on it's way out after 6 days of steroids.

Here are some highlights from our weekend. Enjoy!

My OBU Story!

So today is Ouachita's birthday, and to celebrate they decided to create a "blogabout" and have students blog about their Ouachita story.  That's kind of overwhelming, because if you know much about me, you know I loved my time at Ouachita and I could talk about my OBU experience all day.  But, I'll try to narrow it down for you...

Freshman year I moved in to Frances Crawford not knowing what to expect.  I was leaving behind close friends and family, and I went in skeptical, thinking OBU had some big shoes to fill.  I felt like everyone had "the Ouachita bug."  They were all in love with the place!  But, I wasn't so sure that would ever be me. 

Much to my surprise, it didn't take long before I had caught "the bug."  Ouachita became my home, and looking back I see how it has molded me in to the woman I am today.  Ouachita taught me to think for myself.  Being away from home challenged me to question the things I believed in; political beliefs, as well as religious beliefs.  I guess you could say I learned who I was at Ouachita.

Freshman year:  The first friend I made at Ouachita was a girl named "Tate"  (her real name was Stephanie, but I wouldn't learn that until Sophomore year).  Then, midway through my freshman year, I moved in with Laura. These two girls remain to this day two of my very best friends.  We had an instant connection and stayed attached at the hips all 4 years, even though we all pledged a different social club. 

Me with my rommate, Laura.

Our entire hall had a unique bond.  Some of my fondest Ouachita memories are just spending time in the rooms of the girls on FCE2.  We played flag football together, studied together, and even got in trouble together... (but the fun we had at that hall slip and slide was totally worth the punishment!)

 

I participated in Tiger Tunes with Campus Ministries, was elected to serve on Student Senate, joined the campus activities board, had a work study in the photo lab, pledged Tri Chi with the TC pledge class of 04, and was elected to compete as our pledge class representative in the Miss OBU pageant.

Sophomore year: I lived with Laura, Tate, and Rachel (who also lived on FCE2 with us) in Mattox, started dating Gary (that is a story in and of itself! It's also posted on this blog for your reading enjoyment), and added a second major, Christian Studies, to my first major, of Mass Communication. 

Gary, Tate and I attended church at Fellowship, Arkadelphia.  My advisor and professor in the Christian Studies department, Dr. Duvall and Dr. Jackson (another one of my professors in Christian Studies) were the co-pastors.  We were in Dr. Jackson and his wife, Mona's Kgroup that met at their house every Sunday night.  We developed a close relationship with their family during our time at OBU.

I continued to serve on Student Senate, CAB and as an active member of Tri Chi.  I participated in the Tri Chi Flight Attendants show, where we won 3rd place!  And in the fall, I was honored to be chosen as a Kappa Chi little sis.

With Gary at KX rush.

The roomies in Mattox!

Junior Year:  This was probably my favorite year at OBU! I moved back in to Frances Crawford East and worked as an RA.  I still remained active in the same activities, serving as Secretary of the Student Senate and Pledge Mistress for Tri Chi.  Gary and I continued to get more serious.  In the fall he gave me his Kappa drop and in the spring he asked me to marry him!  I was in both the Tri Chi and Kappa Chi Tiger Tunes shows.  The Kappas placed as Chimney Sweeps and the Tri Chis won 1st place as Girl Scouts!!  Gary graduated in the spring of 06 and I was sad to see him leave OBU.

KX Chimney Sweeps.

Laura and Tate were also asked to be KX lil sises, making us all members of the same club for the first time ever. Even though we were no longer roommates our bond was stronger than ever. 

Homecoming 2005

My Closet OBU friends!

Laura, me and Tate: KX lil sises.

Tri Chi PC 04 Tiger Tunes 05

KX/TC Toga Mixer.

Tri Chi Rush.

Tri Chi 80s night TWIRP 2005.

Senior Year:  I finished my time at OBU in 3.5 years, so my senior year was only 1 semester, but I made the most of it.  I served as the president of Tri Chi and participated in my final Tiger Tunes shows with Tri Chi (hairstylists) and Kappa Chi (Outlaws).  Kappa took home first place!  I was on the homecoming court for Tri Chi, and Tate was crowned homecoming queen. 

In 3.5  years: I had received a 1st class education, learned life lessons, and developed lasting relationships. I read the scripture at the December commencement and tried not to cry as my Ouachita story came to an end.

My best Tri Chi friends.

Homecoming 2006.

But my story didn't end there.  I see it continue every day.  We meet people all the time who have a connection to OBU, and we have even developed close friendships with OBU alumni we didn't even hag out with during our time at OBU. 

I met my husband at Ouachita (Dr. Jackson married us in Jan. 07), my closest friends at Ouachita, and I leaned who I was at Ouachita.  I work with Laura at my salon in North Little Rock, and I was in Tate's wedding this past May.  I'm looking forward to attending Tiger Tunes next month, and my younger brother started his Ouachita journey this year.  Ouachita will be a part of who I am for the rest of my life, and for that I am very grateful.

I'm leaving out so much, from rush parties, to mixers, to club outings, but I did the best I could.  You can read about other Ouachita stories here.

Our New Website is Complete!!

We have been working hard to update the look of our salon's website since April.  Today is the day it is finally done!  And, It looks AWESOME! 

I want to say a special thanks to Grant Harrison who did all the photography on the site and to Jason Skinner of Studio-Worx who put the site together for us!  They did an amazing job making the salon look good. 

So please, check it out and let me know what you think, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Roll Tide and Go Dawgs!

Well, I'm still feeling pretty crummy.  I think it is only a matter of time before my voice is gone,  but until then I'll enjoy sounding like a man....

In other news, I went online to register Gary and I for the Memphis half marathon in December and it was already sold out!  So instead, this year we will be running the Dallas White Rock half marathon on December 5th.  I really enjoyed running for St. Jude's, but I think we'll still enjoy this race.  It will be nice to have done half marathons in 2 different states.  I also went ahead and registered us for the Dallas Turkey Trot (8 miles) on Thanksgiving day.  We did that one last year and really enjoyed it.

Moving on... this week has been a busy week for Gary:

This story starts in March when Gary met some big wigs from Family Dollar at a bi-annual trade show in Las Vegas. Since then he has been trying to land Jenkins Enterprises' college merchandise in some of their stores. In May Family Dollar asked him to fly out to their headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina to discuss a game plan. While he was there, they agreed to try his merchandise in 8 test stores this football season! 

So, Gary just returned from a whirlwind trip to Georgia and Alabama.  He left Monday morning and drove 10 hours to Athens, GA and spent the night.  The next day he got an early starting putting together four "baker's rack" sets of Georgia Bulldogs merchandise in four different Family Dollar stores (2 in Athens and 2 in Atlanta).  That evening he drove 2 and a half hours to Birmingham, AL and spent the night.  Today he did the same set in Alabama Crimson Tide for one store in Birmingham and two in Tuscaloosa.  Then he drove back home to me.  :)

We're hoping these stores blow through this merchandise and refill multiple times this football season, because that means he could do big business with them next year!  (Gary has even gone so far as to say he hopes the Razorbacks loose to Georgia and Alabama this year!) 

Here are a few pictures from his trip:
    

Wooooooo Pig Sooie! (I just cant' help it...)

...and then there were 3.

Lauren is back in South Korea safe and sound.  The Order of the 4 is back down to 3.  I had lunch with Kristin and Meghan today at Sticky Fingerz. 

Meghan has got me really wanting to learn to sew.  She has made some really cute things with her sewing machine!

She also made this cute flat iron bag.  We decided today that she is going to make some more to sell at the salon. 

I'm hoping she and Laura can help get me going on this sewing thing.  Maybe in the near future I'll have some cute projects to share with you.  Here is the sewing machine I'm thinking of purchasing.  (Any of you who sew feel free to send advice my way on whether or not this is a good choice.)

I've been feeling a little under the weather the past few days.  This has hindered my running.  I'm way behind on my training for the half in October!  I may be to ashamed to even share my time with you.  However, Gary agreed to run the Memphis half marathon with me again in early December.  So we'll just call the Soaring Wings half marathon my "warm up" for Memphis.

Today I made a Target stop and picked up two new CDs.  (I know, I can just buy them on itunes and put them straight on my iphone, but there is something still satisfying about have the album and book in my hands.)  I'm loving them both!  If you need some new music you should give these a listen.  Band of Horses newest album: "Infinite Arms" and "Volume 2" of She and Him. 

Meghan introduced me to this blog a little over a year ago.  I don't know these people, but I have fallen in love with their family.  Their son has SMS, and they have been working hard to put an album together using various indy artists to raise money for research on SMS.  I purchased the song "Nothing" from their album "Do Fun Stuff".  All the proceeds from the "Do Fun Stuff"album go to research on SMS.  You should check out his blog and the album!

Speaking of blogs you should check out... Laura started a blog today! Check out knick knacks of my life!

Tonight I had dinner at my parents' new house.  They are at a weird new stage in life and I'm still getting use to it.  They just downsized to a smaller house (one where none of us "kids" have ever lived).  My sister got her own house earlier this year, and my brother just moved to college last week.  They are empty nesters.  Strange.  The only thing that stays the same is that everything changes, huh? Here's my mom, sister, and I tonight after dinner:

It's back to work tomorrow.  This time of year is the slowest time of year for us hairdressers.  Maybe I'll get some reading done.  If you need a new look now is a good time to call us!