Gotham City

I am notorious for not updating my blog. If I got paid to do it I would be a serial poster. Be thankful I don't get paid to do this.

The past two weeks have involved New York City, a county fair, ridiculously good chili and some weather making me long for fall (just like every other basic white girl).

While in NYC I didn't take as many pictures as I hoped. However, I did get a few. I plan to return to that city and truly explore it. I have never been one for "touristy" areas. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when I was leaving. That may sound harsh but at 4:30am the only people out were the taxi drivers and city workers making that place tick. You could see the skyline, the architecture, and the stars above the glow of the city. 

A big "Thank You" to my Aunt KK and Uncle Steve for inviting me to tag along on the trip to NYC! Although I keep thinking in the back of my mind I was invited to keep KK's things in my purse...

Holy Mutha Of Cheese Fries!
These were the best we ever had.
I may not be a Yankee fan but I am a fan of the food in Yankee Stadium.

Royals won the series 2-1!

Sunday was Derek Jeter Day at Yankee Stadium. There was a ceremony before the game including guest like Cal Ripkin Jr. and Michael Jordan. Between innings there were video messages from celebrities, athletes, sports commentators, coaches and more thanking "The Captain" for being a positive light to the sport. One might not be a fan of the only team Jeter has ever played for, but you have to be a fan of Jeter. 

"No Day Shall Erase You From The Memory Of Time."
Virgil
This was from the September 11 National Memorial.
A must see if you are ever in NYC.

Washington Square

I can navigate the Underground in London and the Metro in Paris, but the Subway in NYC would be the death of me.

Tavern on the Green. IF! I ever get married the reception must look like this.

I would go back here in a heartbeat.

When I returned to Oklahoma the weather turned cool. It was spectacular. This was last Friday. I was about to have a weekend full of football, cooking and decorating with my mom.

This was last week
Dress: Lilly Pulitzer
Shoes: Jessica Simpson

I had a lunch date with Miss Q last Thursday while her mom and grandmother helped with the county fair.

Cake Bread

Mixing colors for Teagan's Birthday Cake.

I made some hella good chili. And yes, those are Fritos in it.

I am such a Southern Lady.
Deviled Egg Recipe is on POINT!

Teagan's Batman Birthday Party!

This is what Monday looked like.

I wore this to work on Monday. I was cleaning and painting all day. One of my students took this picture of me.

Wednesday, September 17
Pants and Tee: Banana Republic
Kimono: Jazz-E-Jewelz Poteau, OK
Shoes: Target

ROYALty

The past few weeks have seemed to be a whirlwind and I don't exactly know where to begin. 

Two weekends ago I spent the whole time with my mom. Serious pool time was the priority. It was a very laid back and relaxing weekend. 

I did a crab boil during that lazy weekend. Let's just say any Steel Magnolia would have been proud. 

The next work week was short. Hello Labor Day weekend! Tuesday I went to my parent's house because I had to vote in the run off election in Oklahoma. I spent the night at my parent's house and found an old shirt my mom had with her face on it. I think I look just like her!

Nothing finer than a woman who votes!

Mom said she thinks it was made at Six Flags on a vacation. It will be in many blogs to come. 

I took Friday off to go to Tulsa to watch my cousin Lane's last baseball series against the Drillers on Thursday and Friday night.  

That is our favorite Natural in the background. 

Saturday we headed to Springdale, AR for what we thought would be a weekend of watching baseball and then getting home early Sunday evening. This did not happen. 

Saturday afternoon L called his mother to tell her he was not playing that night. We were all bummed to not get to watch him play but in the back of my mind I knew something was up. We spent the evening running around Fayetteville and letting all the kids swim and play. 

Now before I get into what happened Sunday, let me give you a little background on the month of September in baseball. Crazy. Shit. Happens. With L being on the Royals 40 Man Roster there has been the possibility of him getting called up to the major league team all season, but September is when you see a playoff push and call ups happen with just a phone call. 

Sunday afternoon as we were getting ready to head to the ballpark my Aunt Shelley got a call from L (Shelley is L's mom).

L: I'm not playing tonight. 

S:What? Well, we will come to the game anyway. The First Baptist Church is coming so we need to be there. 

L: Well, I might not be there. 

S: Why?!?

L: I will be on my way to Kansas City. I got called up. You can't say anything until the organization releases it though. 

This is were we had to start lying and getting our act together. We had to go to the game or people from our hometown would know something was up. My aunt Shelley and I helped L unload his Tahoe since it was loaded to come back to Red Oak and not KC.

The moment the Royals organization released the last season call ups social media went crazy. Phone calls, text messages, tweets, posts were coming in so fast that we couldn't keep up. 

There were about 12 of our family members in Springdale that weekend and without any question we all knew we were going to KC Monday morning for L's first Major League game. From Springdale, KC is only about 3.5 hours. 

No one could sleep Sunday night. It was like waiting for Christmas morning. We woke up earlier than our alarms and got on the road. I road in the back of my aunt's Enclave with three little girls. If I never have to watch an episode of Dora the Explorer again I will be happy. 

Once in KC, we stopped for some new Royals garb and went to the ballpark after some Kansas City style BBQ. 

As I walked into Kauffman Stadium and looked out on the field I found tears in my eyes. My little cousin L was warming up as a Major League Baseball player. He was living a childhood dream with the number 45 on his back. 

We watched batting practice and just took in the moment. Deep down we knew he probably wouldn't play that night but seeing him in uniform and supporting him was all we wanted. 

The Royals were playing the Texas Rangers that evening. It was a gorgeous night for baseball. We met up with our family from KC.  L's high school baseball coach, who is also our cousin, came as well as others from RO. 

In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Royals' DH came to bat. He was walked. Then we saw the number 45 come out of the dugout to pinch run.  We went crazy! 

L had a smile from ear to ear. He only played that inning since the Royals didn't take their last at bat but we were there. 

After the game we drove home on a high. The 5.5 hour drive home was worth it. I got home at 4:30am, took a shower and crawled into my bed for a few hours. My head was in a fog all Tuesday long. 

Car ride to KC. 

My favorite KC Royal. This was L's rookie jersey. 

The fabulous five! It was a bitter sweet moment with my Ginny not being there. She would have been beaming with pride and joy. 

L on first!

L sent this snapchat Monday night. I usually don't screenshot things but I had to keep this one. 

We are all still on cloud nine and it just keeps getting better. 

As I type this blog, I am on a plane headed to NYC. The Royals have a three game series with the Yankees and I am going. Thanks Aunt KK and Uncle Steve for the plane ticket! 

Cheers and Be Royal,

C

Breakdown Rant, Another Saturday Night and Sequins

I have been staring at my computer for hours trying to figure out where to begin. So, I got up, walked away and began to think how to explain the past few weeks of my life. There have been ups. There have been downs. There have been moments of emotional pain, physical pain and there have been some of the highest of highs. The past few weeks have not been documented well with pictures, but only with memories that keep being played over and over in my mind. It is the song stuck in my head and I find my self singing it in my sleep unless I am in a medically induced slumber. 
The past few weeks have been trying.
Who ever said becoming an adult was fun is a big fat liar.

Before this sounds like a spoiled little brat pity party, please know I have a wonderful life. That is hard to dispute. There are just certain points when in a person's life when he or she just needs to have a breakdown. A mental, emotional, physical, take a hot shower, crawl in your bed and cry breakdown. 
I am on the verge of this.

Maybe it was the recent suicide of Robin Williams. I broke. How can we not beat this? Is it because he channeled all his love, laughter and energy into other's happiness? It isn't the fact he will never add lib while presenting an award or he will never be able to play Mrs. Doubtfire again. It is the simple fact of the people who were close to him will never have him on earth again. 
While I was watching coverage of his death on the trash TV channel the anchors showed his last tweet. It was to his daughter, Zelda, on her 25th birthday in July with an Instagram picture of she and him when she was a small child. They both looked so young and happy. It got me thinking about my own parents and how lost I would feel if something happened to them.
My relationship with my dad is a strained one. We have both made life choices causing us to be distant. People make mistakes, but we are given the ability to think, reason and learn from those mistakes to become a better person. He is working on himself and I should must do the same. 
Burning bridges is not an option.
Even though my dad is by no means a social media guru and doesn't know Instagram from a Teddy Graham, I do want the social media world to know I do love my ornery dad. 

And then there is my mom. What did I ever do to deserve such a selfless person as a mother? She is my favorite person in the whole wide world and I would have given up on so many things if it weren't for her and her unconditional love and support. Our relationship has become such a blessing over the past year. I would rather be with her than anyone else. We are partners in crime, road trip buddies and creative cohorts. Together we can conquer the world or just make it a little bit prettier. Thanks for everything mom. I love you to the moon.

Now for the pictures.

One of my former students came to see me before he left for school. We saw this. Jesus is such a back seat driver.

Make note.

Fabulous Level: EXPERT!
My dear friend Shannon just randomly came across this beauty. It is from Miss Jackson's in Tulsa. Get ready for a black cat suit and this gem!

I went somewhere. That is all you need to know.
Dress: Lilly Pulitzer
Necklace: Marley Lilly

I look like a rapper's bae.
Top: Banana Republic
Pants: Ross

I found this at Nordstrom Rack (bank account ruined) and I couldn't leave it on the rack. I will have to check the designer but who doesn't love an orange and cream tweed with leather trim?!

 GuyJack started PreK a few weeks ago. This is his first day. When he came home he told his dad, "I just want to lay my head on a cold pillow and you read Moby Dick to me." 

Football season is close.
Top: Game Day Couture

Halloween Decorations!
It is the gateway holiday to harder holidays.

Top: Pazza Bella
Skirt: J Crew
Shoes: Kenneth Cole

This was what I looked like Saturday night. I hadn't been feeling very well since Thursday. I thought I had eaten something and it didn't set well with my lap band. I did what I normally do and went on a liquid diet but it didn't seem to help. I was in Tulsa Friday evening and Saturday afternoon my mom and I headed to Talihina. I kept getting more and more uncomfortable and that lead to pain. Finally it was so unbearable my mother took my straight to the hospital. The location of the pain made us think it might be a gallbladder attack. After being hooked up to monitors and an IV started the doctor came in to examine me. He ordered a CT Scan along with some heavy pain medication. I am usually a lightweight when it comes to pain meds. It seems to make me loopy with just a small dose. Tonight was not the same. I might relax for 5 minutes and then the pain was back again. I had to sit up. Laying on my back was out of the question; however, I had to do this for the CT Scan. That was misery. When the results from the CT Scan and my blood work came back the culprit was actually my lap band. My stomach was extremely swollen and causing me pain. Because my hospital in Tulsa is a specialty hospital and doesn't have an ER, an ambulance was not able to take me. My mom drove me right back to Tulsa to meet my bariatric surgeon but first I was given enough pain meds to make the trip. I couldn't thank my mother enough for making the late night trip to Tulsa. When we were a few miles outside of Tulsa the pain medication was starting to wear off. We met my Aunt Kalyn and friend Shannon at the hospital. The nurses hooked me up to monitors and started the regular questions. When my doctor came in he said I was the last person he thought this would be. My lap band experience has been wonderful and I wouldn't take it back for anything. He immediately started to unfill my band. I had to lay back for this and he said he would make it quick. The moment the saline started to come out of the band I had instant relief. My eyes popped open and I could breathe. I did a swallow test after the unfill. There was still saline in my band. Because of the severe swelling of my stomach he decided to completely unfill the band and put me on a liquid diet to heal.
I have an appointment in a month to have another swallow test to see how my band looks.
Many people have asked if I will have the band removed. The answer is no.
My world does not revolve around my next meal. I can focus on so many different things other than my life long addiction. I feel like a million bucks right now and I am taking this time of just having slight restriction to focus on eating healthy and becoming a healthier person. Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, texts and good vibes. You people sure know how to make a lady feel loved.

I sent a SnapChat of my monitors and this is what
Jamie Fink sent back. How sweet.

Monday was so much better except for the catch in my right shoulder from being so tense Saturday.
Top: J Crew (I think)
Pants: Banana Republic
Shoes: Kenneth Cole

Fall is so close I can taste the pumpkin.
Top: Kate Spade
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: Sperry Topsider