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.

Make a Difference

Some of the things on my list make me super nervous. The list talks me into it but when I get to do what I'm supposed to be doing I find myself asking "Did I really volunteer to do this?" This next thing I completed on my list had me asking that question. No it wasn't skydiving but it still got my nerves going.

Angela and I tag teamed this one as well. When she heard her work was having a blood drive, we both decided to get on board. The timing couldn't have ended up being more perfect given current events of the devastating tornadoes in Joplin. I left work on my lunch break to meet up with her. You have to read some information in a binder then you go to a "private" area to go through the application process. I had to answer about 20 questions and have my finger pricked before getting blood drawn. The finger pricking is actually the most painful part. It feels like an electric shock. We both sucked it up though and did our part to Make a Difference. It was a good feeling!

Afterward I had a cookie and some juice and headed back to work. I made the mistake of walking three flights of stairs and almost fainted. Silly me! I think everyone should have something on their list that is for the greater good of helping others. I highly recommend it.

Eat Indian Food

On the list: eat Indian food. It's always fun to try new cuisines. I've eaten a number of exotic fare in my days most of which was consumed on cruise ships. It's always easy to try new food when you know it's "free" and you can always hit the midnight buffet later.

Angela also had this one on her list so we made it a family affair. My manager Olivia loves Indian food and swears by India Palace. We each ordered something different from the menu so we could get a taste of everything. We ordered beef curry, chicken tikka masala, shrimp and lamb dishes. Kelly and I ordered the assorted hors d'oeuvers and I have to say I sort of felt transported back to San Juan. It was hard not to think of Dad with his corn fritter plate. All the hors d'oeuvers were fried vegetables. We had Indian beer and chai tea. I am NOT a fan of chai tea. We also tried Indian bread - garlic naan and spinach paratha. Overall everything tasted great. I've never seen less appealing food before though. This was a good one to check off the list but it will likely be a "been there and done that" one time event.

If I could only remember...

I will be attempting to write about this next thing I checked off of my list. Unfortunately, when you complete this task, the details for some reason get a little blurry. Here is why: Finish a whole bottle of wine by myself, with good company. It didn’t seem like the brightest idea after the fact. That much I know.

My friend Angela and I had been talking about checking this one off the list for weeks. The opportunity finally presented itself this past Saturday night. Kelly and I headed over to Vic and Sue’s, wine in tow. I selected a bottle of Pinot Noir for the occasion. I have to tell you, the task seems rather easy once you have the first glass poured but not so much as you go along. The night consisted of prank calling, singing very loudly, poker, and the rest is a blur. I told you there wasn’t much to tell. I’m not sure I would recommend this to anyone else considering the hangover the next day was brutal! I think I may still be dehydrated. 3 down, 27 to go!

Bang, Bang - Part 1

I am terrified of guns so naturally shooting a gun is on my list of 30 before 30. With each thing on my list, I hope to try new things, conquer old fears, and inspire others to do the same. When a Living Social deal came up one day for 50% off paintball, I signed Kelly and I up and had Cheri and Jeff jump on board as well.

Five months later with the deal about to expire, we marked our calendars to go one Sunday afternoon. I can’t explain how much I was dreading going because of how scared I was to play. I had heard people say how much it hurts to get hit by a paintball. I’m all for adrenaline rush inspired adventures but this one had me shaking in my boots. I thought about cancelling especially since I was already sick but I decided it was now or never.

Kelly and I put on old jeans and sweats and headed out to Sapulpa Paintball Adventure Games. It was the perfect weather to play, about 70 degrees. We got there and met up with Cheri and Jeff. Luckily I wasn't alone and Jeff was just as unenthusiastic as I was about what we were about to do. To make matters worse, we see these military guys in their camo-wear ready to go. The idea of having Marines open fire on me didn’t soothe my fears. I sucked it up, as did Jeff, and grabbed our guns and yellow paintballs.

My anxiety managed to ease as we waited in a holding area for about 20 minutes before play. We were then divided up into teams by the referee, yellow bands vs. no bands. He directed us to a field of play that had different barricades to hide behind. One team started from the top and the other team started at the bottom. The safe zone where you go when you are out is called the dead box. Play begins when each team is at their designated starting place. The referee counts to three and the chaos begins. The game ends when one team is completely eliminated. The first couple of rounds, Cheri and I did awesome. We won the first game and were the last two standing on game two. By the third and fourth games, the guys were warmed up and ready to attack. I took a gnarly shot under my arm and shoulder from two feet away. After that, I speculated the final two games. Our only complaint overall was that you had to take too many breaks in between games. I already felt like hell and after a couple of hours into it, I had had my fill.

After the initial anxiety, I had a blast. It turns out it doesn’t hurt too badly at all and it’s really fun. I’m glad I was able to conquer half of my fear and am feeling a little more confident going into part two (shooting a real gun). I would recommend everyone to try it once. I’m definitely planning on playing again and I know Kelly can’t wait! 27.5 things left to do on my list!

Eureka Springs

As part of my "3rd" 25th birthday, Kelly and I took a mini-vacation to Eureka Springs this last weekend. With my new job, it will be awhile before I earn enough vacation time to have more than a weekend getaway. We both start to get pretty stir crazy if we don't get away at least every 6 months so after talking to a few people, Eureka Springs was the obvious solution.

If you know me, I'm always up for trying new things. I did a search for unique places to stay in Eureka and up pulled this: Livingston Junction Cabooses - sleep tonight in luxury in a historic Caboose fashioned from actual rolling stock and furnished in quaint elegance for your comfort. How many people can say they have stayed in a real caboose?!? I booked it right away. It wasn't on my list but it sure was a fun thing to add to thing I've been there and done.

I was pretty pumped about going to Eureka knowing there would be several opportunities to check off some things on my list. First up, "#3- go inside a cave."A lot of the things on my list represent a way to better myself or conquer something. Going inside a cave was part of conquering a fear of mine. If you have seen the movie "The Descent" you would know what I was talking about.

We chose a cave located 30 minutes outside of town. Our tour guide, Randy, had been working the cave for the past 39 years. He was very knowledgeable and it wasn't near as scary as I thought it would be. It was very interesting and we enjoyed about an hour and a half tour. It would have been a perfect afternoon had there not been a screaming two year old during the entire tour! I would definitely recommend adding it to your life list.

Go to brunch was item #2 on my list. Eureka Springs had a ton of restaurants offering Sunday brunch. The place I wanted to go to, Cafe Soleil, ended up being closed. We drove around forever trying to find it only to eventually realize we couldn't find it because it no longer existed. Secondly, we stopped by Forrest Hills. I had an advertisement from them that said they offered brunch. We walked in, sat down, ordered water, looked at the menu, and got up and left. I do this to Kelly a lot and it drives him INSANE! I couldn't help it. There were only a handful of people in the restaurant, the menu did not look like brunch at all and they were definitely not serving mimosas! Thirdly, we went to check out Local Flavor. It had gotten rave reviews on tripadvisor.com and looked like a modern cool place to fulfill my brunch needs. We got seated and I knew right away it was what I had imagined. Kelly ordered a bloody mary (ew!) and I got my mimosa (orange juice and champagne). They had a great menu with unique fresh ingredients. I ordered a chorizo avocado omelet and Kelly got a flour tortilla dish with black beans and chorizo. I have to say I wouldn't mind "brunch-ing" every Sunday, YUM! 2 things down, 28 to go!