Bet you can’t guess what I’ve been up to.
Looking forward to sharing everything as I re-join the blogging world. Hang on, these next few weeks of catching up are going to be action packed!
For now, I leave you with Ellie; my fur child.
Roomie went out of town for the evening. It left me with a house all to myself. I can say after almost a year of this, I’ve finally discovered exactly what to do with my time. Since I had a little time before she left I loaded up on some yummy drinks and a good magazine. My “What to do’s” are now filled with a bottle of Raspberry Framboise and either working on something for a client or reading Southern Living. Yes, I’d rather spend the night in laying low rather than hitting up a bar or club. I’m not your typical college girl. I gave up the bar scene a few months after I turned 21 and never looked back.
Yes, the clock says 5:20. That may be early to some, but since it’s after noon, I think I’m in the clear. Although, I can’t say if there was anything left in the bottle a hour later. You’ll never find that evidence. I had a great time relaxing in a quiet house. There wasn’t any yelling to turn down Randy Travis and if I wanted to turn the TV up as loud as I wanted, I could. I’m starting to fall in love with being home alone, I just hope I can kick Roomie out more often. I’m starting to like my alone time.
A glass full of yummy goodness. Now, if I were at one of the hang outs that I go with my friends to, this exact same glass would be $8. However, I’m a smart College Girl. I bought the entire bottle for $10. I’m going to have to start buying the huge bottle of the stuff, especially when this summer rolls around. Then I’ll be sitting outside with the fire going, toasting marshmallows and drink Framboise. Can’t wait.
This week should be written in the books as one of the most accidental prone weeks I’ve had in a very long time. I’ve lost some blood and torqued my knee once again. It’s been a heckuva week to say the least. I’m sure ya’ll read the story of the nice adventure I had with nearly slicing through my finger. Now, for the story of how this clutz decided she needed to add just one more injury to the list for this week. I’m working really hard to get myself back in shape. With that said, I’m also not trying to kill myself with putting in all this hard work either. I decided with all of this gorgeous weather Oklahoma is having that I’d go for a walk. A walk that I set out on with no intentions of having to hobble back to the house.
You see, I’ve already had problems with this same knee before. I participated in my alumni dance recital with a great group of girls last year. It marked the 20th anniversary of the dance company that I danced with for forever, so it was a no brainer that I’d participate. I actually left the company just before I had my Senior Solo on account of one of the worst injuries I’ve ever had. Some of ya’ll may remember, but I did quite a bit of nerve and tendon damage with one silly fall. A fall that ended my dancing career. Everything I had worked for was toast and I never danced again, well until the alumni recital. Now, last year I don’t recall exactly what I did, whether it was a leap across the stage or a pirouette, I torqued my knee. There’s the background on my dancing injuries, now for the new.
Plain, short and simple. I stepped off a curb the wrong way. Yes, that’s right :: the damage this time involved a curb. Laugh all you want, I can now. Although, I’m hoping next week will be better. I manage to somehow always injur myself when MM can’t come over and take care of me. At least with him not coming to my rescue we all know that I can take care of myself. I’m an adult after all.
Now to sit back and take it easy. Break out the icy hot and all the ice my knee can stand. I’m not a fan of being down for the count, so hopefully this recovery will go by quickly and I’ll be back to my normal self in no time.
Off go the Pro Riders
The Starting Line for MM
When you give a Kid a Flip Video Camera…and tell him to have fun!
Last Lap, Goooo MM!
The day for me, kicked off at 4:45AM. Yes, that’s AM…as in morning, a very early morning. Have I mentioned I hate waking up in the morning? I’m sure I have. There is nothing good that ever comes of waking up when it’s still dark outside. Pops just said that MM must really be something if I was going to drag myself out of bed at that hour. Yes Pops, MM is something. It’s hard to believe we have as many things in common as we do.
I did pick us up Orange Hi-C on the way there. I LOVE Orange Hi-C from Micky D’s, which is just one of the many things I have in common with MM. I’ve been drinking it since I was a kid and no that I’m pushing 26, I’m not going to stop now. I wound up beating MM to Choctaw….by a long shot. You see, he told me to be there at 6, so I was there by 6. Problem is – he wasn’t. Turns out his alarm didn’t go off and it took me calling him to get him on the road. What he would do without me, I’m not too sure.
I met some of his family at the track and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be. Since this was MM’s turf I let him take the lead. Racing is an entirely different world compared to what I did growing up. I mean, I did soccer, the swim team, I danced and even golfed. I did grow up riding 4wheelers or Quads as their known as in the motorcycle realm. I’m familiar with 2 strokes and yadda yadda yadda other things that are associated with motorcycles, which didn’t surprise MM.
Although, I now have a number to pick out for when I race. It has to start with a 3 and then I get to pick the following 2 numbers. That’s the womens numbers, which is what I’ll be racing when I do take up racing in a few years. I’m open to any and all ideas, I’m thinking 320, but you never know. I may decide to switch it up later on down the road. I sure got a kick out of seeing all the different bikes and understanding what they all were.
Since MM got injured Saturday, I played the nice girl he’s dating and wrapped his chest with an ace bandage. His cousin was joking if MM would even race since he had cracked one of his ribs and MM said I drug her (me) all the way out here, I have to race. Awwww, he’s super sweet. We got his bike to the starting line, filled it up with gas, I kissed him for good luck and then his cousins wife & I along with their kids all went to the top of the hill to see the boys off. It was definitely an exciting time. I don’t think I had ever been that excited about seeing someone race.
The first line are the Pro riders. There are always comments about a rider named Joiner. From what I’ve been told he’s always lapping people and I was able to see it first hand. He can really race too. Maybe I’ll dream big and give him a run for his money some day?
Stilll just hanging out at the starting line. They were waiting on the flag to drop.
Another class getting ready to head off onto the track.
The 700′s. They all mean something I’m just not sure what. MM is the next class so you can imagine my anticipation waiting to see him take off.
Doesn’t this make you want to get out on the track? I know I certainly do! Hopefully this’ll be something to accomplish in the future.
Forgive me for shrinking down the picture, but it was too big to fit across. Just click on it. Far left is 818, which is MM. He was busy talking to the other riders.
All set. Now it’s race time and prepare the lungs to whoop & hollar and cheer my guy on.
What did I tell ya? Talking away. He was paying attention though cause he really took off when they dropped the flag.
Here come a whole slew of riders, but none of them were MM. The lap around the track took around 25 minutes, which gave MM’s cousins wife & I plenty of time to chat. Their kiddos even shot a few videos of the riders going by.
I took pictures of random riders, just to see if I could and if they’d turn out any good. It was definitely much different than Saturday – that’s for sure.
Here HE comes!!! If you’ll watch the video you can hear all of us whooping & hollaring for him. He did a great job finishing. Him & his cousin took 6th and 7th out of the race. They both did extremely well, I thought.
Last lap. MM did amazing. Well at least I thought he did. He came in 7/18 despite having lost his helmet cam along the track and then going back to retrieve it and his cracked rib. I was very proud of him for finishing the race.
After seeing this one I want to go to all of them. So, depending upon school and studying and tests and what not. That’s the plan. Good thing they only race until June. Gruber is in a few weeks, which means we’ll be camping out for that one. I’m out of school, so I’ll be able to go and not have to worry about studying. I honestly can’t wait.
Saturday after the MLH fundraiser, I talked MM into letting me tag along to see him practice. I was trying to get a “feel” for what Sunday would be like. Since neither one of us planned on me tagging along, we stopped at good ole’ Wally World so I could get some flip flops and food. I thought I’d have to go barefoot because there was no way I was going to wear 4″ heels to the track – which just so happened to be out in a pasture. It was kind of funny when I went to get my cheap-o flip flops, I was going to get black because they don’t show dirt – MM had other thoughts. I actually got bright pink ones, they suit me.
The race for this particular weekend was at Guthrie for a charity event. I had no idea what to expect, so I was amazed at what I saw when I got to the track. Never in my life had I seen so many motorcycles in one place. It seriously made my stomach flip flop in excitement. I can’t wait to start riding….can’t….can’t…can’t. I decided to change into my MLH Bowling shirt instead of my dress, which made things easier, when it came time to get on his bike. Man oh Man do I love MM’s bike….more so being on the back of it.
Yes mom, I wore a helmet and MM is experienced he didn’t even go that fast. Nothing to worry about! I got dropped off out in the open area of the track so I could watch the other riders too. I saw MM go by once and WOW. Talk about having a huge smile on my face. It was amazing to get to see him ride without all the other riders by him. After his one lap he came back to where he dropped me off and we talked about the track. I’ve got a lot to learn! A few other riders came by and then MM took off again. This time I was completely unaware of what was going to happen….
Technically there should be a rider in this photograph, but I didn’t get him. Ooooops. Now comes figuring out my fps (frames per second) feature and aperature. Sure is nice having a fancy smancy point & shoot camera. I’m sure it’ll take me awhile getting used to shooting an actual moving target with my P&S, maybe one day I’ll move up to the Canon DSLR that I want. If MM sticks around, this would be a reason to invest in one.
Another riderless shot. I hope ya’ll like looking at the track, because it looks like this is as good as it’s going to get. Now, if you believed that I don’t know what to tell you. I just kept clicking until I figured out the rhythm the riders were coming by in. I got a few shots of other riders, just not MM. He only went by once, I didn’t get another opportunity after that. Read on and you’ll find out why.
This is what I want to be doing in a few years. I’ll be 27ish by then, good grief that’s old. I can’t wait to get on a bike now. Seeing what happens on the track just made that desire that much stronger. Hopefully when I do get good enough I can talk Mom & Pops into coming out and seeing me race. Ahhhh, on second thought that might be a bad idea. Can’t do anything too extreme to cause more gray hairs on their heads.
Starting to get better at taking photos of moving objects. I was entirely too proud of myself for doing this. I just wish MM would’ve went by again, but he didn’t.
Revving the engine. Ummmm, yes! I was starting to wish I had gotten a bike years ago, when I first started my savings account. Being 9, I didn’t get an allowance for doing any of the farm chores, instead I just saved my birthday and christmas money for years and years. It wasn’t until I was a Freshman in college that I had enough for a bike and by then I didn’t have a need for a bike. Afterall, where can I store a dirt bike while I’m living in the dorms?
….I had called mom to say “Hi” and ask her if she knew what I was doing. She just said she heard a lot of noise in the background – I told her I was at the track. I’m not too sure what she thought about that, but she didn’t say much about it. About the time we hung up with each other, MM came back. He didn’t go by on the track, he came from behind where I was at and with more mud on him than when he left. Turns out MM had a bad wreck. Between snapping a bolt and cracking a rib, it turned out to be a major crash.
Thankfully MM picked me back up and took me back to the truck. Not that I would’ve minded walking back – it was super sweet of him to do that. Poor MM. He loaded up his bike and I loaded his stuff in the cab and we left for where we had left my car. I know he felt awful, he just never showed it. I told him he had to go home and fix his bike so I could see him race the next morning – which is exactly what he did…
I think this is really the first time I’ve actually been nervous/excited/scared to do something in my life. That’s probably not the best statement, there have been times I’ve been scared to do something, but barged on through and accomplished whatever scared me to death. The Ropes Course at Camp Cavett….the very first time………Jumping off a Bridge when I was a kid…..Water Skiing….and of course all the other Evil Knievel things I did growing up. I just might be the cause of a few gray hairs on my parents heads, but I do still have 2 other siblings so it wouldn’t be fair to take all the blame for the gray.
Come Sunday I’m going to be watching MM race in a OCCRA dirt bike race. It should be interesting. I love new experiences and trying new things and definitely stepping outside of my comfort zone. I’m excited about getting to see everyone race, but you never know – in a few years that could very easily be me out there. Yes, Mom’s I’ll pack my sunscreen. I did find out the plan might be to put me on a bike while I’m at the race. I’m sure I’ll make a complete idiot of myself, but I’m willing to give it a shot.
I grew up on 4wheelers as a kid, so it can’t be that much more different, can it? I just won’t mention to MM all of the wrecks or siblings I ran over as a child while on those 4wheelers. Actually, I already have. He busted out laughing. Looking back now, I guess it is sort of funny. I did run into the house, a barbed wire fence, over my Baby Bro when I was around 8 or 9 (don’t worry, I didn’t run over his head – which is exactly what I said to my parents & the only thing Paps remembers and still laughs about from that incident), ran over Roomie’s leg – not her body just her leg and I’m sure there are countless other times I did something on the farm, but repressed the memories of it ever happening.
I’ll be sure to get photos of everything going on at the race, after all – Mom & Pops met at a Turkey Calling Hunt (at least that’s what they say) thanks to one of Pops’ Buddies & Mom’s Cousin. They got married 8 months later and no, I wasn’t the reason for that either. I didn’t come along til’ at least 2 years after that. My point is, my family has met in some strange places. Gramps & Grams :: working on the WWII at Boeing (I think that’s right), Paps & Nanny :: I’m going to have to get the details, but I think in town, then they’d just sneak around to see each other – Did I mention my Great-Grandpa was a Baptist Preacher? Yep. Can’t imagine what Papaw & Nanny did when they were young. There have also been the bar stories, college stories and everything under the sun.
After I have completely gotten off subject :: I can’t wait for Sunday.
Back in the land of Norman. I made the trip home to Mom & Dad’s earlier this morning. Actually I killed a few birds with only one stone. I was able to help Pops out at work this morning and use my Super Duper Computer Ninja skills. Actually, Pops just requires simple spreadsheets. Except what there for isn’t very simple. We’re talking spreadsheets for Mycotoxin, Alfatoxin and every other toxins that are involved with his job. Of course the guys in the lab let me have it because I probably will not be running the X-Mill this year. Instead I’m opting to go to school and working on completing my 2 kick ass degrees.
I did pick up my golf clubs & Rod & Reel. I love my Rod & Reel. There are still things I need to do before I can just go play or go fish. I need to practice my swing, re-string my Rod and get my tackle box together. Now I just have to find someone to tag along with me to these outdoor adventures.
I’m determined to nab one of these this summer. Hopefully I can pull it off.
Tomorrow I will be embarking on a journey home. Right now all I want to do is take advantage of the gorgeous weather Oklahoma is having. Today was absolutely amazing, I worked outside all day long. I wanted to have my feet in the water, with an ice cold bottle of water and lure in the water. That’s exactly what I wanted today. Instead, I opted for 5 miles, mowing, grocery shopping and an incident that involved mowing over pampass grass. Yeah, I’m admitting it – I’m guilty. Since the weather is going to continue I’m going to take advantage of it and get back into my golfing and fishing addiction. I love my summer addictions. It’s not just yard work anymore ya’ll.
These will be all mine tomorrow. I’ll be heading straight to the range to try them out. I haven’t picked them up in years, so swinging clubs is going to be interesting. I’m betting I’ll be rusty, but I’m also hoping I can shake it off and get back into my grove towards the end of my bucket of balls. I doubt I’ll be ready to play a course for awhile, but at least I’ll be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Plus, Pops said he’d get me a new set of irons if I felt good swinging my old JR high clubs. Cross your fingers! I’ve got my eye on a set of Taylor Made’s.
Another favorite summer tool of mine. An open faced reel. Oh yes, I’m good enough to throw this and have it not backlash. I know I surprised Pops at not only how far I can throw it, but also that it doesn’t backlash in my hands. I love love love to fish. It has been an addiction since I was a kid. It’ll be in my hands tomorrow morning when I head home to get it. Just hope Pops doesn’t have it hid out somewhere and that I’ll be able to find it. He’s always stealing my rod & reel because my equipment is amazing.
I need one of these days every day. Looking forward to spending as much time as possible out in it while it sticks around. Besides I need to finish off the funky tan lines that I wound up with today. I’m looking forward to summer, just not looking forward to summer school.
Being one of those very competitive balls of fire growing up may have caused a few gray hairs on Mom & Dad’s head. I lived outside the lines and didn’t let anything slow me down. Wonder how it was keeping up with a newborn and a two year old at the same time? With being a ball of fire, you’re bound to get hurt a few times. Now, those might have been a few times too many for Mom, but I didn’t care. I was on crutches nearly a year and still had duties I had to take care of. Duties like being a State Officer for Business Professionals of America, complete my Senior year of High School and of course have a spectacular year with all of my friends before we all flew the coup and went off to college. During this particular crutches stint, I had to participate in leadership training for being a State Officer. It was hard not getting to do everything everyone else was doing and my advisor kept telling me to sit down, prop up my ankle and relax. Yeah, I didn’t really listen to her that day. I did what I wanted and pushed myself. Talk about having to really pay the next day. I definitely had to sit down that next day because my ankle had become quite swollen, almost to the point where I couldn’t rotate it. It was bad.
I came up with a way to meet every state officer there. I had two permanent markers, leftover from who knows what and I intended to use them. Use them, I did. I first let my fellow State Officers sign away and the rest is history. There wasn’t enough room for everyone to sign the ace bandage keeping the splint in place, so we gradually moved up my leg, ran out of room there and moved to the other leg. Graffiti is something I’m really not for, but in this instance I look like a “walking” billboard. I was nominated to give a speech at the end of our leadership academy. After nearly 7 years after this camp, I still can’t believe it happened. Taking off my gallon of permanent marker use was tough. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. I scrubbed so much in fact that my legs were bright red from the scrubbing and when I let the water out of the bath there was a huge ring around the tub in various shades of red, blue and black. Always leaving an impression. 
My speech turned out amazing, I talked about one of the nearest, dearest things I could ever talk about. I gave words of wisdom and that sometimes it takes fighting for something to really be able to accomplish it. Somewhere tucked in a box in my college are all of my memories and my speech from this amazing leadership academy. I made new friends here and have kept in contact with a few of them through various networking sites.
One thing is for certain though, I left a huge impression on all of these wonderful State Officers. Not only does dynamite come in small packages, but if someone is bound and determined to do something, they’re going to figure out a way to do it come hell or high water.
My autographed legs and the National President of BPA competing in what I think was the Olympics for the academy.
