Thunder Storms

I have officially experienced my first legitimate thunder storm.  Well at least to this souther California-raised girl it was legit.  Because it was way more of a storm than anything I've ever experienced in my beach-bordering habitat.  I recently returned from another trip to Indiana and the Miller family (more to come on that later).  It was in this state that I had a sleepless night listening to big booms and watching the walls of my room light up every minute or so.

It was the kind of thunder storm that shook the whole house.  No, that is not an exaggeration.  And it also sometimes thundered for a good 10 - 15 seconds without stopping.  And the lightening was blinding and frequent.  Oh, and there was golf ball-sized hail too.  Again, this does not happen in my neck o the woods. The biggest hail I have ever seen was so small it melted as soon as I blinked and hit the ground.  So I would guesstimate that it was about the size of a grain of rice, or less...

So here is the Indiana hail.  It could eat California hail for breakfast.  While I am not afraid of thunderstorms, and in fact find them quite exciting, I wish this one would have come earlier in the day.  The loud booming of thunder made it impossible to sleep.  So I, being completely unselfish and ever so thoughtful of other people, made bf David wake up and hang out with me in the wee hours of the morning so I was not sitting up alone.  I have no memory at all of what we talked about since we both were in a state of sleep-deprived delirium.  But I am sure it would have been entertaining to listen to the next morning had we recorded our conversation.  No matter.  I am ever more convinced he is a good guy since he did not complain in the slightest about being awakened in the middle of a nice sleep simply to be a second awake person in the house.  I figured waking up his mom or dad might lose me some brownie points.  Or maybe it would confirm that I actually am a stereotypical high maintenance California blonde who is going to brainwash their sweet perfect country-raised baby boy.  Ok, maybe that is a bit over the top.

Who Am I??

Today started off very uncharacteristically.  I woke up sometime between 6 and 6:20am, without an alarm!  (Oh, and its Saturday!) And I was quite awake.  I knew I was picking up Jessica from the airport shortly after 7, so waking up early was expected.  But not THAT early!  And the amount of energy I had was strange.  I actually made my bed, throw pillows and all.  Then I swept the downstairs (our black lab Sadie slept in the kitchen and seems to shed enough fur to create another dog) and vacuumed.  Then I started to clean the bathroom, my regular Saturday chore, which I usually do at the last minute before bed!  I checked and it was not even 7 o'clock yet!  I texted my mom to tell her of my productivity, and I also asked her to tell me who I was.  Because the real Erin would never have done all that before 7am on a Saturday.  Weird.  But I felt good and was wide awake and smiling to pick up Jessica at the airport at 7:15.

She wanted to go back and take a nap.  But soon discovered some other person had taken over the body of her friend and created a chipper morning person.  So instead we made egg scrambles, more French Breakfast Puffs (to replace the ones that flew away a few days ago), and started a blog for Jessica.  Then I let her take a nap while I showered.  How nice of me.  We have much more planned for our sunny weekend.  But here are some more Oklahoma pictures.  I need something to do because she is still sleeping!

Its  76 degrees.  Yes, thank you, I would love to be getting some sun on a quad in Oklahoma.

The sun is shining with a light breeze. A relaxing fishing session by the pond would be fabulous.  (Do not be deceived into thinking Courtney is holding this fish.  She is simply holding Mike's thumb to give the allusion she is touching something so wet and slimy)

Ah, how I loved having to open and close gates each time we entered or exited a pasture.  It would probably be a tedious and boring job to a real farmer.  But I loved it!

I wish that my shadow could be seen on this grassy pasture again instead of on the tile of my kitchen floor.  And I haven's seen a hay bale in far too long.

Another wonderful summer activity: Hay bale jumping!  But in all honesty, I jarred my back pretty good when I landed.  I had not anticipated the ground to be so far away.

This.  Oh this picture.  It is by far my most favorite.  This is Mr. LaBash.  An Oklahoma neighbor.  And a cranky, cantankerous, skeleton of a man at that!  Mike's cows had escaped into Mr. LaBash's yard on accident.  So I got the pure joy of getting to experience rounding up cows for the first time in my life.  I did not do much, there weren't many cows and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.  So i stood back and took it all in.  While taking pictures of Mr. LaBash unbeknownst to him.  He surely would never have allowed me to do that.  I miss the smell of the cows and the hay, and even Mr. LaBash barking orders and complaining.

Mouth Melting Mmmmm

Speaking of my Oklahoma obsession.... I am an avid supporter and fan of The Pioneer Woman who lives on a ranch in Oklahoma and has a cookbook, a published love story about her husband and her, and fabulous blog, which I read most everyday.  I recently got her cookbook for my birthday and tried out my first recipe from it: French Breakfast Puffs.  But I made them for dessert instead, which of course works too.  One of my college roommates, Nicole Pickle, came over and we baked these together.

I know, you are now having to wipe off your computer key board because you just drooled all over it.  And thats ok because that is the only natural response.  I know I did.

We made two different sizes just 'cause.  The problem was that while the little ones make it seem possible to eat less,  its misleading.  It is not possible to stop at just one or two.  Just ask my mom.  She ate ## (kept a secret to save her dignity) after remarking she was glad we had made smaller ones for her to eat since she didn't want a whole big one.

Basically these are sweet-ish (not to to be confused with being from Sweden) muffins rolled in melted butter then coated in a cinnamon-sugar concoction.  And those of us eating them decided they were by far one of the best things we have ever eaten.  Ever.  Thats no understatement.  How can you go wrong with butter, sugar, and cinnamon.  You just can't.  Thanks Pioneer Woman.  Here is the online recipe.  

Oh and they were super easy.  Oh and totally healthy.  Oh and they freeze well if needed.  And they can walk, or fly or something.  Cuz they seemed to disappear while I was at work the next day.  Hmm.....

Oh and maybe one of the above statements was a lie.  But its not really important to know which one.

A Beautiful Day

Today I wore holey jeans with a T-shirt and drove with the windows rolled down and my blonde hair blowing in a tangled mess.  It kept getting in my mouth while I was singing along to Bruno Mars' CD.  Today was just gorgeous.  Its days like this that make me miss this:

Driving the quad along the dirt roads behind the little white house.

And this:

Fishing with Courtney (who by the way won't even touch fish if she catches one) 

And definitely this:

Sitting in the back of the pickup with Mike & Anna driving along the highway at dusk to look for deer

This too:

'Tuckadawg' (Tucker the dog) sitting in my lap while we drive through the pastures at sunset.

Did I mention I have this obsession with Oklahoma?  I have been there once with Courtney, for a week, two years ago in August.  I have never been to a place that has made more of a lasting impression in my mind.  It was where I was first introduced to Sonic Cherry Limeades, tooth rot, and bugs the size of a baseball.  Gosh I loved it, despite the fact Courtney about killed me by jumping out of the driver's seat of our moving pickup anytime a bug flew in the window.  

Don't worry, I will most likely speak of my Oklahoma obsession on many more occasions.  You will get sick of hearing about it.

Its pretty

I found a blog the other day to check out.  She is an interior designer and has so much good stuff to see on her blog.  And she is based out of North Carolina, so of course that makes it even more exciting since it is so pretty and there is so much history over there.  Anything east coast or in the south usual makes me happy.  I get tired of the more modern looks of SoCal.  I love seeing how people take old and make it look fresh while still retaining its original look.  Well Bryn, the mentioned blogger, has given me some inspiration for redoing my room.  I have been slowly working on it for a couple months and am constantly looking at some of these blogs of women with serious interior design abilities.  Thats one beauty about the internet.  I can get inspiration from all over the US.

Aging

The most noteworthy birthday text I received today had this Bible verse attached to it:

Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16

This was sent by bf's father, who turned 60 yesterday.  It made me chuckle.  Humorous truth.  Gotta love it.  One of his daughter-in-laws, Nicole, also told me last month that 23 is the age to start using anti-wrinkle creams.  Oh gee!  I am far too young for all this aging talk!  But please!

History at its Finest

So tomorrow, April 7, is my birthday.  Here are some noteworthy things that happened on this day in history.  My birth of course being far more exciting to the general public.

Henry Ford died in 1947.

The civil war erupted in Rwanda in 1994.

John Wayne won best actor Oscar in 1970.

William Wordsworth is born in 1770.

Lewis and Clark depart Fort Mandan in 1805.

Here are some well known people I share a birthday with:

I wonder if they would ever celebrate together?  The Pioneer Woman would be terribly jealous of the middle one.  Click here to read a comical story of an encounter with James Garner in an elevator.... Its a personal favorite of mine.

Welcome to Indiana Basketball

     So you probably know people from Indiana are called Hoosiers.  And as a state they are known for their love of basketball.  And I mean LOVE.  Like they think that basketball and breathing are in the same category for life-sustaining elements.  I was fully thrown into this obsession on my March trip out there.  It was during March madness, NCAA basketball tournament.  This is the team the Miller's would die for:

     The second born Miller brother, Mark, is an alumni for this Indiana school of 4,000.  Well Butler played some awesome basketball games.  And that is saying something because it takes a lot for me to enjoy a basketball game.  It is far too easy to make points and the variation in the game is minimal (Maybe a lifetime of soccer has me biased? I think not).  Well Mark took off for New Orleans to see his team play as they continued to win games.  And the rest of the Miller's and myself watched the games on TV each night.  Well we got a surprise at the end of the Butler vs Florida game (which was the most intense ending to a ball game Ive seen in a while!)

Please feel free to scan ahead to about the 39 second point.

     You will probably have noticed a certain upper 20's guy with a shaved head running on the court with the team.  This bald guy is wearing a blue shirt and cargo shorts, not a uniform like everyone else allowed on the court as the Butler team celebrates their win.  This is because that man is David's brother Mark, so overcome with joy at his teams victory that he vaulted the railing and a table or two to get down to his team before taking the time to think through those actions.  

Yes, only members of the team are allowed on the court.  

Yes, Mark did not think about that.  

Yes, he did suffer the consequences.  

Yes, it was worth it since he made it onto the highlights on every major news broadcast that night (as the "bald guy in cargo shorts"), and will forever be in the history books when people look back at that game ending.

     It took security about 30 minutes to find Mark in the stands.  So he was able to see them present the trophy and cut down the net before being handcuffed and led into the security office where he sat for 40 minutes before being released without any further punishment.  Those of us that were together watching on TV laughed for a good hour while rewinding their DVR over and over again to watch Mark.  We also went back further in the game because we discovered he had been sitting right behind the Butler bench and was seen on TV anytime the camera pointed that way.  It was quite entertaining.  Oh those Hoosiers and their basketball.

Now lets pause for a moment of silent mourning for the Butler loss in the final Monday night.

Thats enough.  It was one of the worst final basketball games every played by both the winning and losing teams.

Expert Hiker and Outdoor Enthusiast

I do believe that I should be given a personal thank you from the airline industry for keeping them in business with my long distance relationship.  Who's with me?  I just returned from another trip to Indiana to visit with David, the bf, and his family, the Millers.  Between us two, we have made 5 trips in the last 6 months, and two of those trips included Sam, David's "ex-roommate" as Sam explains.  This means 7 fully paid flights for the airline industry in 6 months.  Yes, Southwest and Frontier, you are welcome!  Lets not crunch numbers here.  I would hate to see how many Sonic Cherry Limeades I could have bought instead.

Here is the lovely Miller home.  The far left upstairs window is the room I call home on my visits.

And here is their late 1800's-built church where David's dad is the pastor.  It takes about 15 steps to walk from their front door to the front door of the church.

These are the woods out behind his house where we did some hiking with his parents.  I, of course, tripped on a log crossing a creek and tweaked my knee and bruised my forearm.  I am very good at impressing their rural Indianan family with my outdoor abilities.  I am sure they feel that I, an Orange County-born blonde, am a great fit for their son.

We took a trip down to the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee with David's parents, and brother Brett and wife Nicole.  This a view looking down from the top of the hike, Chimney Tops.  I am hoping my ability to scale these steep and slippery rocks redeemed my creek crossing catastrophe from earlier that week.

Spring was starting to show its colors in Tennessee!  I rarely see wild flora like this in the suburbs. Sigh. It made the driving, the hiking, and the walking around so much more enjoyable!  My first visit to Tennessee left a great impression and I would love to return in the fall when it looks like this:

More to come on my March adventures in Indiana with the Miller family.....

Aubry

This is Aubry, bf's 5 year-old niece.  She is beautiful.  Especially those eyes.

She LOVES, I repeat LOVES the great outdoors.

She probably loves them more than most anyone I have ever met.

She is quite photogenic in those great outdoors.

And she lives on 80 acres of woods and ponds, etc. so it makes for a perfect opportunity for me to snap pictures.

She seems to have endless energy outside.  And continues to laugh and run regardless of whether you ask her to stop or need to her to come inside.  But how can you get upset at this face?

It does eventually catch up with her though.... (notice the short chunk of hair in this picture that was personally designed and cut be her 3 year-old sister).

And usually when she is outdoors she wears camo.  I think she is one of my favorite people.