National Brothers and Sisters Day

At Cortney's Top 10 Senior Banquet

Not to be confused with National Sibling Day...which is on April 10...which I missed.  National Brother and Sister day was invented by the Kardashian Klan to further sink their claws in an already withering society.  Ha!  No.  I did some research and found....not much.  According to holidayinsights.com Brothers and Sisters day is a day to cherish your siblings.  They then say, "Sure, there are times when you love your brothers and sisters.  And there's times when you want to disown them.  All in all, having a brother and sister or two is invaluable.  The older you get, the more you learn to appreciate them."  So I can honestly say I've never wanted to disown my brother or sister.    

Christmas 2006 (I think)

"Celebrate Brothers and Sisters Day by touching them in some way."  HUH?  I'll just have to cherish mine from afar.  And in honor of them and today, I thought I'd share a few stories about them and us growing up:

• As my sister and I are only 11 months apart and both girls, we had a head start on bonding.  My brother is four years younger than I am so there was a bit of a gap but he grew so fast the three of us were quickly the same size.  This worked out well for many activities....including dress up.  My cousin, Holly, who may as well have been our other sister gave us lots of clothes-including dress up clothes.  It was always like Christmas when she sent clothes to us.  Bubba soon found himself in a sassy black velvet princess cut with indigo satin full skirt and netting underneath.  Then came the pearls.  All was fun until Dad found out.  Not so fun after that and Bubba has never put on another dress.

At another banquet and with Jeremy!

• My dad worked for a text book company when I was little and one day brought home a huge binder full of sample wedding stationary (invitations, envelopes, RSVPs, etc.).  Looking back, this could have been one of the most magical days of my life.  I loved paper at an early age and this had hundreds of samples in it.  Also, this could have been some major foreshadowing for my career path later in life.  Holly came over and she, Cortney and me all sat up late at night while Holly read the invitations aloud.  She'd do a particular voice and then we'd all fall over laughing.  Marriage was just sooooooooooooo funny.  Of course when you're little, you want to see something with your name on it.  Lucky for me, there was a Candace in the book.  It was spelled "Candice" but it was still my name.  Not so lucky for me, the man she was marrying was named "George" which as everyone knows is a totally undesirable name when you're a little girl.  Ha!  We always laughed the hardest at that one.

After one of Bubba's basketball games with Holly

• One of the things I love most about my parents is how creative they were.  My dad would bring home huge filing cabinet boxes for us to play in.  We would climb in and out, color on it, all three stand inside it, it became a fort, then a slide and when we'd finally beat the poor cardboard box back to the pulp it was in a former life, we would solemnly throw it out.  They would also get these big truck loads of dirt for us to play in.  I know you're jealous about that one.  My brother enjoyed this the most.  He would make trails for his toy cars and trucks, we'd play king of the hill and dig tunnels that my mom wouldn't let us crawl through in case it collapsed on us but were still really cool.  They gave us the raw materials and we brought the imagination.  To this day I still have one of the most active imaginations of anyone I know.  It's a gift and a curse...but mostly a gift.

Bubba's high school graduation.

OSU Research Day

• My sister, Cortney, is the most tender-hearted person you will ever meet.  She loves people and animals.  As a child, she would watch Bambi on an almost daily basis until she literally wore out the VHS.  She would make her hands look like little baby deer hooves and knowingly show us how Bambie walks.  She would tear up when (spoiler alert) Bambie's mom got shot and his mean old dad he hardly knew made him get up and run from the fire.  Her other favorite thing was horses (ok, and littlest pet shop).  But she loved to pretend she was a horse.  She'd get my brother in on this a lot of times.  What was my role you ask?  I was the horses owner.  Sometimes I was the abusive owner.  Not one of my proudest moments but always funny and entertaining.  

At Cortney's Top 10 Freshman Reception

• One time my dad found a nest of wild rabbits in the pasture.  He brought them to the house and put them in a pet carrier.  I wanted a closer look so I put on his work gloves - because according to my mom everything carries disease and I certainly didn't want that thank you very much - and proceeded to get one out to hold.  Cortney was also in the back yard.  The rabbit got away and the cat pounced.  I'm pretty sure she'd been sitting, watching and waiting for this to happen.  When rabbits are in pain, they make this horrible squealing noise.  It's safe to say this rabbit was in a lot of pain.  Cortney realized what was going on, dropped what she was doing and started wailing.  I was skipping around like an idiot - not happy about what was happening but definitely seeing the humor in everything at play.

Another banquet...

Always stand by a statue.

Not sure what happened at this one.

• My dad's parents lived on Wilmar Farm for a long time when we were kids.  That farm was the best.  If you were sick, you got to go stay with them instead of go to school and they kept us during the summer too.  We rode the bicycle, played in the barn with the cats or in the basement of the house where my grandma stored her canning and best of all, played in the creek that ran the perimeter of the property.  One evening, Holly and my mom were there too and we all had a big mud fight.  Possibly one of the funnest things to ever take place at the creek.

So we hit the banquet circuit pretty hard for about a solid year.  The joys of having a genius sister.

At the movies

• Another favorite past time of mine is scaring people.  There's something so fun and rewarding about jumping out from somewhere and the other person being terrified.  One night my mom and I were in my room watching Gothika.  My dad and brother went outside and at the exact moment the movie was at the peak point of suspense, they banged on the window.  My mom and I bailed out of bed, screaming and then paralyzed with fear until we figured out what had happened.  And when our hearts returned to their normal pace and we had changed our pants, we all had a good laugh about that.

OSU Basketball game.  Bubba has beads in his beard!!!

Our house in Stillwater.

The three of us had such a fun time growing up.  To this day I miss living with them.  There was always someone to hang out with, always something to do.  From the secrets and experiences we share to the bond we will always have, I love them and am so thankful they are mine.

April Recap

Another month has flown by and it seems I have less and less time to write.  Every day I'm loving Norman more and more and it finally, officially feels like my home.  I know where things are.  I don't have to use my phone's map feature for the most basic of places and I have friends and a social life again.  Life is good and I'm so very happy to be living mine.

April has been an especially fantastic month.  No huge reason alone...things have just been good. Settle in for the rundown and a few photos:

I had my evaluation at work.  Many of you know I was supposed to have this in March (and was really excited about it) but then got the dreaded flu and had to reschedule (which I was really upset about).  But everything went very well.

Pink from JP and yellow from Laura.

I got flowers at work from both JP (my boss) and Laura.  Laura works next door and is the director of the union as well as a great friend and has the greenest thumb of anyone I've ever met.  She picked the flowers from one of her rose bushes.  (Laura's daughter, S, is Jovie's BFF.  You've seen her HERE and in the photos below.)

S and Jovie going down the slide, both in their summer dresses.

Just a girl and her dog friend in the kid jungle.

A couple of days after work I got to pick S up from daycare.  We went to Hobby Lobby, picked up Jovie, went to PetSmart to get Jovie a dress, went to the park, picked up dinner at Taco Loco (the local taco trailer) and then took her home where we had a tea party and jumped on the trampoline.  Nothing wears me out like kids do.  I was so tired when I got home, as was Jovie.

Precious baby L.

My cousin had a beautiful baby girl!  This is girl #2 for her and her husband.  You've seen them all HERE when she was preggers.  My sister and I are going to visit this weekend so be on the lookout for another photoshoot post - this time with a family of FOUR!

Flour clouds.

My transmission had to be replaced due to issues stemming from the wreck I had in January.  It's been such a long process to get it fixed - from body work to the broken suspension and now the transmission, which took two weeks alone to complete.  Luckily, the owner of the table who hit me had insurance and they paid to have everything repaired.  Now the little magic car is good as new and I'm happy to have her back.

With Jill and Deb on the staff retreat.

The third week of April we had a staff retreat.  I enjoy those.  It's always nice to spend time as an office.

OU Stadium just after the bad storm.

So his is a little bigger than mine...

On Friday the 13th, we had a club event...and a bad storm.  People were here from many other states and enjoyed leadership sessions during the day.  That evening we had a Switzer Family Vineyards wine tasting with Barry Switzer at the Switzer Center.  I was on my way over with all the wine when Jennifer called me and told me there was a tornado on the ground on 24th and Lindsey....which is very near my apartment....which is where Jovie was.  Luckily my apartment complex wasn't hit but the street near where I live was and all the power lines were out.  I didn't have electricity the entire weekend but other than that everything was fine - even Jovie.  Our event went on as planned after some weather-related glitches and everyone seemed to have a good time.  P.S. I'm in love with Barry.

Angel Fountain

I want to ride my...

Gargoyles

George Lynn Cross

The Shield and the Stallion

Good Lady Neustadt

I'm obsessed with these faces on the library.

The Seven Wonders

Class of 2007 gift...I think.  So....my class if I had gone here. :)

Peace, Anger, Joy

This month I've also been able to shoot photos around campus for our office and have LOVED it.  OU's campus is beautiful and the Cherokee Gothic architecture is my favorite feature.  Last week I got a private tour of the OU Airport and aviation department for some photos.  And later that week attended the Aviation Banquet.

My favorite pilot at the OU Airport.

The world couldn't handle another Timmons lady....that's why we have a baby brother.

Best Sisters!

OU's Staff week was also last week.  Last week was crazy if you can't tell.  During staff week, there are a lot of activities.  One of which is a craft/hobby/art show.  I entered and mom and Cortney came up.  Mom made dolls and potholders.  And I had some Oklahoma themed art work.  We had so much fun and did fairly well - especially considering we had no idea what to expect.

This past Saturday I made the trip to Stillwater for the Oklahoma FCCLA Alumni board meeting.  I always enjoy these meetings and even had time to stop by an estate sale where I found a beautiful cake stand for my mom for Mother's Day.  She really likes cake stands.  This probably ruins the surprise.  Sorry, mom.

Then Saturday night, I saw the Five-Year Engagement.  So funny.  I laughed the whole time.  And there's April!

And here's some cookies I made:

Cowboy Cookies.

He's One of the Good Ones

Most know him as Caleb but me and my sister (and our high school English teacher) know him as Bubba.  You see, she had both my sister and me in class and heard us refer to him as "Bubba" for two years in a row so when she had him, that's what she called him too.  We love her.  She's a good one too.

His birthday was yesterday and I could go on and on about how wonderful he is but I'll show you some of my favorite photos of him instead.  Oh, and a video.  I love my baby brother and how he's always hilarious even when he doesn't mean to be.  Happy Birthday!

Baby blue leisure suit and a cowhide chair.

Up, up, up in the fire truck bucket.

Some baseball game...which is clearly not our favorite sport.

The photo that started it all...or at least appeared on ABC World News.

He doesn't always wear blue leisure suits but when he does, he likes to have a photo shoot.

One day Jovie and I went to visit Bubba at the fire station.  In this video he was showing me how people in dog shows show their dogs.  He was in his fireman outfit and at the end he stops because some other firemen walked out.  Ha!

Hunger Games Movie Review

It's finally here!  The Hunger Games movie.  I got to see it today!  Without further delay, this post will mostly be a......rave!  I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  If you've been reading the blog, you saw all the casting posts and my thoughts on them.  While Jennifer Lawrence still would not have been my first pick for Katniss (her face is just too full for someone from the Seam) she did do a remarkable job.

Some observations from book to movie (these are my opinions - not law - just what I think) There are no spoilers unless you haven't read the book:

• When Katniss and Gale are in the woods at the beginning, they see a hover craft in the movie.  I suppose this was to illustrate the Capitol because right after that it cuts to a shot of Effie.  
• HELLO, EFFIE!  Elizabeth Banks was phenomenal.  As was Woody as Haymitch.  And Lenny as Cinna.    
• Back to the woods.  I just had a real hangup with this whole woods scene.  Katniss and Gale's relationship seemed a tad forced and not nearly as natural as the script was getting at.  Also, Katniss was trying to take out a deer and then Gale stops her.  Deer was never mentioned in the book, that I remember anyway.  And Gale had a valid point, how is she going to haul a 115 pound deer back to town and trade for it on the day of the Reaping.  Silly movie Katniss.
• Buttercup was terrible!  He was black and white in the movie.  That doesn't make sense.  They couldn't at least find a yellow cat?!?
• There was no Madge in the movie.  I really wanted to see a Madge.  Madge was supposed to give her the Mockingjay pin.  She wasn't supposed to be given it for free at the Hob and then give it to Prim and then Prim give it back to her.  IT WAS SUPPOSED TO COME FROM MADGE!  In the book I liked that it came from Madge because she was the Mayor's daughter and, I don't know, just saw it as a whole other level of rebellion.  Like the fact that the Mayor's daughter had it to begin with was a slap to the face of the Capitol.
• President Snow was downright terrifying in the movie.  Nicely done, Donald Sutherland.
• In the movie, Haymitch wasn't at the reaping.  There was no spectacle.
• Other than no Haymitch at the Reaping, that part was basically right on.  It was intense and moving.
• OMG the scene where Rue dies.  I'm not ashamed to say I shed a few tears.  It got to me more than I thought that part would.  Especially since I knew it was coming!  Also during that part, my brother-in-law Jeremy got up and we all accused him of it being too much for him.  He said he didn't want everyone to see him cry.  Ha!  
• I would have liked to have gotten to know the other Districts better in the movie.  Like what district produces what, but only because I find those types of things interesting. 
• The people of the Capitol looked EXACTLY the way I pictured them.
• Stanley Tucci is the perfect Caesar Flickerman...even though he told Chelsea Handler his fiance told him to take the part and he has no interest in this type of book at all.  Score one for the fiance.
• In the book I was team Gale and in the movie I'm team Peeta. :(  I'm so torn.  But Josh Hutcherson was so convincing and gave such an earnest performance and I still see Liam Hemsworth as a dumb jock. 
• Loved the Tracker Jacker scene.
• Maybe it's just morbid curiosity, but I wanted to see the hover craft come and collect the bodies and they didn't in the movie.
• Also in the movie, it wasn't clear that the dog mutations were fallen Tributes.
• One thing I loved about the movie was that it showed what was going on back home while Katniss and Peeta were in the games.  It also shows the game's control center.  Fantastic, futuristic electronics.  The inner workings I found interesting.
• It wasn't as gory as I thought it would be.
• We watched it on the IMAX and at times it was hard to see exactly what was happening because the screen was so big.  I definitely want to see it again on a smaller screen or sitting farther back.

So that's my initial take on it.  I thought it was an amazing adaptation and can't wait to see the other two. Let the casting for Catching Fire begin!  

March Update

With Quinton Carter, Denver Broncos free safety and OU alum.  He was one of the sports headliners.

March of Dimes Sports Headliner Banquet
Was it for an excellent cause?  Yes.  Am I happy to work for an organization that supports such a cause in a major way?  Yes.  Was this banquet the most poorly produced event I've ever attended? Yes.  Though awkward at times on stage, it was entertaining and a great evening with good friends.

With Chris Harrison, MC of the event and current host of The Bachelor/Bachelorette.  

Then I got the flu and feel like I lost a good week.  I missed my performance evaluation.  Eeeek!  If you know me, you already know how upset I was over this but not to worry, it's been rescheduled for the 27th and my boss is awesome and completely understanding and also we didn't want anyone else in the office to get the flu - and no one else has.  Whew!  Poor Jovie had to mostly live in her crate during this time.  I could hardly take care of myself much less a dog.  Not a proud moment for me as a dog mom but we made it.

Tomorrow my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law are coming to see the Hunger Games with me!  Bubba was supposed to come also but now he has to work.  I asked him if his bosses knew the Hunger Games comes out tomorrow and he said they must not.  Clearly.  I reread the Hunger Games book in preparation for the movie.  Dad did too.

Mom and Bubba's birthdays are coming up next week!!

Jovie wrapped in mom's (not quite finished) scarf.  The colors work for the Byng Pirates OR Gryffindor.

I knitted mom a scarf.  Yes, I know winter is over but I've recently had time on my hands.

And this is a piece I just finished for Cortney and Jeremy.  The heart is over Mulhall/Stillwater....I hope..

Rachel Got Married!

And I got to design her wedding invitations!

I meant to post this sooner.  Really, it was negligent of me but I'm getting it up now!  Rachel, who I affectionally refer to as "Pocky" occasionally, is a dear high school friend.  Her nickname comes from our cheerleading days.

She's an original.  You will never meet another person like Rachel.  She's hilarious, beautiful, quirky and fun-you can't help but love her immediately.  So when she asked me to design her wedding invitations I was THRILLED!  I knew she would have great ideas.  I'm including the questionnaire I sent her and her responses below:

1.  What are your wedding colors?  Champagne, black, dusty rose, and golds and brass as accents

2.  What is your wedding theme? Victorian/vintage 

3.  What are a few of your favorite things? (ex: lace, flowers, flourishes,  etc.) lace, dried flowers, bird houses, birds, pearls

4.  What size invitation would you like? (ex: tall/slim, square, rectangle, etc.) GIANT hexagon, just kidding… I suppose a standard rectangle.

5.  How many invitations do you need? I think 200 - 250

6.  Double or single envelope? Huh? What does that even mean?

7.  Do you want a photo incorporated? Nah

8.  Do you want any sort of ribbon or embellishment? No, I’d prefer them to be more simple.

Her responses to numbers four and six made me laugh.  I also asked her about specific wedding details (her full name, his full name, wedding date, time and location, reception details, invitation budget and we discussed invitation wording.)  Rachel did a great job of providing me with additional information:

Additional Information: (anything else you'd like to include that I might have missed!)

We are decorating with dried flowers/potpourri, crème candles that have ivory lace and pearl embellishments, and Victorian looking bird houses, and bird cages, and crème and taupe colored ceramic doves. The overall feel of the reception will be Victorian elegance so I hope that my invitations can hint on that feel. Does this make since I feel like I’m babbling on about goofy stuff.

As a designer, it's sooooooooo nice when a bride has a clear idea of what she'd like to see.  It makes the actual design process tremendously easier.  So based on what Rachel gave me, I initially sent her three options.  She and Michael chose one and we went from there.  Here is the finished product (invitation, RSVP card and envelope):

Wedding Invitation

Wedding RSVP

The envelopes were a rich, brown metallic.  She hand-wrote addresses with a white paint pen.  They were stunning.

The goal was to incorporate the wedding color scheme and themes so the invitations would coordinate perfectly with the rest of the wedding.  After all, the invitation is the first glimpse of the wedding your guests see and they set the tone for your event.  I'm also a firm believer that any invitation should be as unique as the person sending it out.  If you'd like to see photos from her big day, click here.

And if you need something designed, I'd love to be your designer!  Send me an email for more information.

Bird Theme Baby Shower

Yay! This was such a fun shower for such a great friend.  I'll hit the highlights in this photo-heavy post!  We used a pastel blue, pink, yellow and green color scheme (as they don't yet know the sex of the baby) and the overall theme was birds.  Baby bird nest cupcakes, bird nest candy dishes, egg food tags, chirps of advice, bird artwork...you get the idea. Oh and we had this baby shower in the morning, hence the breakfast food.  Enjoy!

The Food:

Fruit, mini cinnamon rolls, chips and spinach dip, mini quiche

Mini cinnamon rolls.  For a tutorial on the egg food tags, click here.

the fruit was delicious!

baby bird cupcakes!

These were from BobbiCakes.  To see her website, click here.  She is amazing.

Cupcake stand.

The best punch in the world, OJ and ice water

The Decorations:

My "baby" sign!

Baby bird

And another

Jennifer, a good friend and coworker, made this amazing diaper cake!

Baby giraffe topper

Precious!

Table decor

Bird nest candy dish.  For a tutorial on how to make these, click here.

Jennifer found these cuties at Target.  We used them as weights for the balloons.

Chirps of advice - people filled these out with their favorite child-rearing tips.

These were so fun!  If you'd like the template, email me or leave a comment below.

Then we pinned them up.  The birds were in the four shower colors.

KD and OU...a winning combination ;)

Too cute!

Advice line

Baby balloons!  Funny story about that little guy, btw.  I had him (her?) in the apartment and Jovie wouldn't stop barking.  I thought if she sniffed it it might help so I grabbed it and walked toward her.  She was TERRIFIED.  Darted under the bed and wouldn't come out until it was hidden in the laundry room.  After I put her to bed I got it out so I wouldn't forget it in the morning.  But when I got her up in the morning, she saw it and immediately started trembling.  Ha!  I mean, poor Jovie.  I put it in my car.

The Fire (yes, you read that correctly):

What good baby shower doesn't have a fire?  This wasn't planned, obviously, but as with any event, something is bound to go wrong.  This was no match for a cup of water and a generous pat down. All was well minus a few chips and that tablecloth.

The Gifts:

gift table

That's about it.  What a fun shower!