Gobble, gobble

I'm not a big fan of change and I'm a huge advocate for keeping traditions. I'm an "if it's not broke, why fix it?" kind of gal. That brings us to the next thing on my list: cook with my mom for Thanksgiving. Being the baby of the family means I may never be solely responsible for Thanksgiving dinner, but I found it important to know how to make my mom's delicious meal. I've always admired and loved her simple homemade cooking. The older I get, the more precious time is and I would hate to miss the opportunity to learn all her secrets.

I stayed over the night before Thanksgiving to get started on the prep for the next day. We got up bright and early Thanksgiving morning and got to cooking. We prepared a feast! Turkey and dressing (I stuffed the butt stuffing), green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, coleslaw and a ton of tummy desserts. We got in some quality time together and both decided it would make a great annual tradition.; and I might just have to test my newly learned knowledge and cook a Thanksgiving in July meal.

Take an Unmapped Out Road Trip

Well, it feels good to break through the first 10 and on to 11 although I’m definitely losing steam! One Saturday afternoon in April, Kelly and I were lounging around the house being unproductive and bored. It seemed like a great opportunity to check one off the list. The kind of opportunities that are fewer and further between once you start a family. We loaded up the car for an overnight stay and headed out to nowhere in particular. We made a quick stop on the way out of a town at QT to stock up on some road trip snacks: Twizzlers, sunflower seeds and 32 ounce drinks. We drove in multiple directions for awhile, mostly east, and then made our first stop in Chouteau, Oklahoma for some Amish jerky, cheese tasting, and yogurt nibs. We saw some funny signs and stopped to pose with a few monuments along the way.

Yum.

Another one off the list! After Kelly’s grandma made us this insanely good but labor intensive lasagna a few years ago, I knew I wanted to tackle a Martha Stewart recipe. I came across one for Yankee Pot Roast. It sounded really good and gave me the opportunity to make my very first roast. Something about making a roast just feels very 1950’s housewife. I was looking forward to it and it gave me the chance to use my Dutch oven Lydia had gotten me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I took my time and slowly followed the recipe. After about an hour, it was all prepared for its three hour “roast” in the oven. I decided to invite family over feeling not right about Kelly and I tackling it on our own. It was huge success and we only ended up with enough leftovers for me to take to work for lunch the next day. If only I could share the smell! Buon Appetito!

Eat Tapas

While we were cruising the Caribbean Thanksgiving weekend, I was looking for opportunities to check another one off the list. On the boat, they have a cool little wine bar called Vines. With the purchase of wine, you get free tapas and/or sushi. Tapas! On our last night we got in our best dressed and headed over to vines before dinner. I selected a white wine flight and Kelly got a red wine flight (a sampling of select wines). With that we got three types of Spanish appetizers: a lamb lollipop, (I was excited to see that since they have them on Top Chef all the time!) cheesy focaccia bread and lamb rib chops. It was all very delish! 9 down, 21 to go!

Bang, Bang - Part 2

I shot a gun. And I hated it. Shooting one did not help subside any of my fears. Kelly and Sam were headed to the “shooting range” to sight in their rifles. Kelly thought it would be the perfect time for me to tag along and shoot his 22. We showed up at the “range” and there was already about 10 other people setup and shooting. This “range” as I keep calling it is a field filled with rednecks and homemade targets. I shot 5 rounds and was finished. I couldn’t stop physically shaking. By the time I was ready to try again, another 15 people had shown up. I questioned Kelly about the safety and sanity of the situation and he reassured me that it was perfectly safe. Not sure when I will shoot guns again. The only way I would consider it is to go to an indoor range. Not a month after we were at the outdoor range, I heard on the news that I man was shot in the neck and leg and almost died at that exact range. A woman knows best!

Road Trip!

It’s hard to stay motivated. But that’s a fair statement in general which is why it’s to no surprise that it’s been awhile since my last post. I have since then however, completed another item off my list: take a girl’s road trip. When my Arkansas girl JRam told me she was tying the knot and having her last single weekend in Dallas, I thought it would be the perfect weekend to check this one off the list. After signing myself up and finalizing the plans, I wasn’t sure what I had gotten into! In order to start this trip, I had to drive 2.5 hours to Ada, Oklahoma to meet up with JRam and Jillian to then make the rest of the trek to Dallas. I headed out bright and early Saturday morning. We made a couple of pit stops on the way but made it into D-Town in excellent time. We had an amazing night on the town and milked the bachelorette party status for everything we could from an upgraded limo ride to VIP high roller status at the club. It was an unforgettable night and a great way to spend JRam’s last weekend without a ring on it.

Vegas Baby!

One of the BIG things on my list was to go to the airport and fly somewhere on a whim. It helps that Kelly and I are crazy, impulsive and spontaneous. Thats why we go together so nicely. When I say on a Thursday afternoon "Let's go to Vegas this weekend!" Kelly says "Okay." The next thing we know we are planning a weekend getaway. Purchasing last minute tickets wasn't an option when we realized they would cost $2700! With A LOT of help from my mom, we decided to fly standby. She set us up with a flight from Tulsa to Dallas at 12:45pm. Playing the game of flying non-rev is always risky. My mom refers to it as a 'crap chute': you never know what you're going to get. We didn't make the flight. My mom informed us our best bet would be to drive to northwest regional Arkansas airport and fly out from there.

After a couple hour drive we were able to catch a 3:40 flight to Dallas. We got to Dallas and had a couple hours before trying to catch a 7pm flight to Las Vegas. There's only one thing to do when you have a layover: have a margarita! Afterall, vacation time has officially started even if 24 hours earlier you didn't know you would be on vacation. Lucky for us, there was a Papasito's right across from our gate. Papasito's= yummy margaritas and amazing food. I got this fantastic grilled chicken sandwich smothered in cheese, pico de gallo and avocado. Kelly got a combo platter with a taco, enchilada and bomb grilled shrimp.

After we wrapped up dinner, we checked in at the gate. Another long list of standby passengers awaited us with us being #23 and #24. Knowing we wouldn't be getting out of Dallas anytime soon, we regrouped and decided we needed to get closer to Vegas. My mom looked and found we would have no trouble getting to Los angeles. Off we went. As Kelly put it "it's not like we have anything better to do!" we made it into Los angeles late Friday night. We caught a shuttle to an el dumpo motel Aka the Travellodge. I can tell you that you don't get much for $90 a night in LA.

The next morning we headed back to LAX to try to catch a flight to Las Vegas. We were finally successful and arrived in Vegas around noon. We were extremely excited to finally make it after our long journey. The weekend was a crazy blast. We walked for miles all over Vegas, gambled, hit the clubs, hungout poolside and took in a show. It was an awesome unexpected weekend. By the end of trip we had spent time in Tulsa, Arkansas, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago. Mission accomplished! 6 things checked off my list, 24 to go! If you want to start your own list, check out 43things.com. They even have a mobile app.