New Favorite

When in Florida (and Georgia), I didn't use this product.  The wonderfully high amounts of moisture in the air kept me from using any type of conditioner.  By day three in Oklahoma, my head was itchy and my hair strands were literally breaking in half.  I wanted to go home.  But then, I remembered that I had this...

And with one use my hair was back to normal again.  I guess I'll have to stay here a little while longer...

How SWEET it is....to visit Dallas...with Kaci!

This past weekend we visited The Ablutz Family in Dallas.  The invitation was so appreciated after spending two days in our new, but empty, house.  Yes, we were excited about the house, but after cleaning all day it was a little disappointing when we didn't even have a place to sit and relax.  We strategically left out sheets and comforters for the air-mattresses, but when bed time rolled around we realized that we strategically left that bag in Dowling Park.  We had to space our showers apart so that our limited supply of towels would be dry for the next person (eeewww, gross--I know), and I had the bright idea of buying cereal and milk...only to realize that I had plastic cups but had forgotten the spoons.  Yes, we were ready to visit friends and relax!

Kaci asked me what I wanted to do in Dallas.  I requested Sprinkles Cupcakes and shoe shopping.  Just for the record, my Dad lived in Dallas for a lot of years...so I've already been to Reunion Tower, Dealey Plaza (the site of JFK's assassination), all of the major sports fields/arenas, and anything else you can think of.  (I just don't you to gasp and sigh over the fact that I choose Sprinkles Cupcakes and shoe shopping over the breadth of possibilities.)  Kaci, being the soul sister that she is, decided not only to take us to Sprinkles, but also to introduce us to her less-famous, favorite treat spots.  

Her instructions for the day: "Wear loose clothing and be ready to leave at 8:00am." 

0845: First Stop!

The specialty here was cake balls...they were really good...so creamy and dense.  I've never tasted anything like them.  And I've eaten a lot of cake balls. 

Did I mention that this was Girl's Day Out?  We had so much fun.  The only thing missing was my mom...

Kaci & Lear...and you're probably thinking that Lear can't get any cuter.  But wait...

And that was breakfast...Now back to the car! 

Now just imagine with me...we just ate all of that sugar...and so early in the morning.  Our heads are spinning a little and our stomachs are aching.  I'm craving anything with salt...like a slice of pizza, or some bread and butter...anything.  But we have a schedule to keep, and Kaci as our guide.

Kaci doesn't play.   

1100:  Next Stop!

 Yes, this is what it looks like to be on a sugar high.  

They were every bit as good as I imagined they would be.  Mine was the coconut cupcake.  I want to try the other flavors, but I don't know that I can now that I've tried that one.  I think I'll always need to get the coconut cupcake...

*We did shop for a little bit between cake stops.  We were just really thankful to be shoe shopping and not swimsuit shopping.

1400: Final Stop of the day...

Isn't this place cute???  And they had every type of bundt cake that you can imagine.  We tried lemon, and bought a mini red velvet cake to take home to share with the boys.  The cakes were good...so moist, like a rum cake--but without the rum.  I was so glad that we took this home though, because we were all beyond the point of really enjoying sweets.  And that's sad.

And this is how we felt...

And one last picture just because I can't get enough of Lear. 

 

It was the perfect Girl's Day Out.  Thank, Kaci!!!  I'm going to diet and exercise vigorously so that we can do it all over again...soon! :)

We Have an Address Again!!!

And we are sooooo excited!!!! :)  Tomorrow we pick up the keys, and our household goods are scheduled to be delivered on Monday.   We are pretty far behind the schedule that we had in our heads a week ago, but....at this point we are just so thankful to have the ball rolling.  YIPPEE!!!! :)

Welcome to Lawton

So our first full day in Lawton (Thursday) was a little less than glamorous.

I had a pretty positive outlook about moving.  In my mind, when I thought about moving, I referenced my move to Columbus.  Lots of people complained about Columbus, and I didn't think that it wasn't that bad.  When people complained about Lawton, I just thought--Oh, it won't be that bad.  I didn't even worry.  After my first 4 hours here, I began to think that not worrying was a huge mistake.  :/

Just kidding.

But, we had a bad day.  A really bad day.

We started with our Plan A: Going to the on-post housing office with the resolve to sit there until they gave us on-post housing.  We were pretty confident with this plan as  1) We knew there was a lot of housing on Ft. Sill and 2) We thought that telling them that we are volunteering to take a station here would make them like us more...or something.  It didn't work.

So we left post and began exploring our list of rental properties.  I've never seen so many outdated, smoky, dumpy, wallpapered houses--with doors rotting and cracked windows/glass doors (thank you, wind storms) in my life.  We ended the day less than discouraged.

That evening, after stuffing ourselves with comfort foods at The Cracker Barrel, we drove around to explore a few more neighborhoods.  The sky turned horribly black and the wind started blowing so fiercely that everything was flying through the streets.  (Everything=paper, clothing (why?), dirt and hail.)  And we made it back to the hotel just before the tornado sirens started going off.  Did I mention that it was a bad day?

After crying, praying, and remember that God does have a plan for us, we set out to continue the search on Friday. 

We have found a few places that could work, but nothing that we feel great about yet.  A number of the places would require us staying in a hotel for another couple of weeks until the house is available, etc.

The good news is that last night we met up with our friends, Beasley & Charli, from Fort Benning.  Beasley is currently in the Captain's Career Course.  Seeing them was like seeing Americans in Paris...I wasn't sure if I should cry or just kiss their feet.  We've had so much fun with them and they've been so gracious to let us crash at their place.  They've also taken us to some great restaurants in Lawton.  Tonight we went to a place that was featured on The Food Network...who would have thought?  More on that later.

For now, it's back to house hunting.

Ted's Cafe Escondido

I haven't had many bad Mexican meals in my lifetime...though I do tend to choose my favorite Mexican restaurant in each town that I spend over 48 hours in.  I visited Oklahoma City in 2008 and was introduced to Ted's--it was the best Mexican food that I had ever had.  I've been craving the soft, fluffy tortillas--dipped in queso (yum!)--ever since.

We left Dowling Park on Tuesday morning.  It was a sad day, and we knew it was coming...but knowing it was coming didn't make it any easier.  Thankfully, Margie had agreed to travel with us--to help with driving and to make the transition easier.  We all had so much fun together...and it's not over yet!  We dropped her off with her family in Oklahoma City last night.  She is coming to help us move in once we find a place and schedule our household goods to be delivered.

Driving into Lawton wasn't as bad as what I'd braced myself for.  It's actually very pretty, with some mountain ranges in the distance.  Now, it looks like my activities will consist of shopping at the pawn shops, taking out a loan, or getting a haircut...but again, I'd braced myself.

Now that we are so close to being settled, I'm really ready to have my stuff back and in order again.  We haven't seen our own bed in over a month...and every day it gets harder and harder to find our stuff in the cars that seem to get messier by the minute. 

And just so you know, I can't wait to share our European adventures with you.  From the looks of things, I'm going to have a lot of free time once we finally find a place to settle.  Until then, I hope you can enjoy Lawton, Oklahoma with me.  :)