it's a hard knock life

I don’t have a claim to fame. The only thing I can boast about is that I have met 3 of the men from The Bachelor as well as a few other celebrities. It's not much but it's something. I know this seems silly but how often does a girl living in OKC get to meet someone famous?

The first Bachelor I met was Aaron Buerge. I went to his restaurant in Springfield, MO. He was there and so graciously came to my table and took a picture with me.

The second Bachelor I met was Bob Guiney. His band came to OKC and played downtown. My friends and I went to the concert and met him. The third was John Paul Merritt. He was actually a contestant on The Bachelorette. He hails from right here in Oklahoma City so meeting him wasn’t so hard. He has a restaurant in town and I see him at Hornets’ games every once in awhile.

The only other two celebrities that I have met are Mark Harmon and Hilary Swank. Mark Harmon was in OKC for a celebrity charity something or other. He and his entourage just happened to be at a swanky place that my friends I were hanging out at. He came over to our table, talked to us for a bit, shook our hands and bought us a drink. I happened to meet Hilary Swank when I was living in Portland. I worked at Old Navy while I was in high school and she came through my check-out line. How random. I recognized her from her stint on Beverly Hills 90210. Yes I watched that show…and loved it!

Meeting celebrities is not something I aspire to do with my life. I don’t really seek them out…I have just happened to run into them. It’s really kind of dumb when you think about it. They’re just regular people. Regular people who happen to be extremely famous and make a lot of money! I don’t even really know what to say when I meet them. But it’s sure fun to brag about later. Maybe I can step it up a notch and run into an A-list celebrity. Brad Pitt perhaps? I think he’s from the Midwest somewhere.

A few nights ago I was getting ready for a Hornets game when all of the sudden I got a cramp in my left foot! Now, usually if I get a muscle cramp I’d just stretch it out and it would be fine (most of the time anyway). How exactly do you stretch out your foot? I tried everything…stretching my toes, walking on it, and extending my foot every which way it would go. It was awful and nothing was working. That’s when my roommate told me to eat a banana. Amazing! 10 minutes later…no more foot cramp. Sometimes my roommate is so smart…sometimes.

Today I got an email from a friend on how useful bananas are. I went to the store after work and bought a whole bunch of them! I hope these are true…

Depression According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Blood Pressure This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Heartburn Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Mosquito bites Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Ulcers The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Stress Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

I've been in Colorado this past week and just got back into town last night. I grew up around Denver and think of it as my home (well...one of them. I claim Portland as well). Over the weekend I took a walk (or drive) down memory lane. I drove through my old neighborhood and saw the house I grew up in. It's amazing how quickly things change. The dirt hills behind my house where I rode my bike with the neighborhood boys is now a sub-division. The vacant field where the prairie dogs used to play is now a Walgreens. My elementary school still looks the same though. I wonder if that mean gym teacher still works there? Sometimes I wish that we would have never moved away and things would have stayed the same. I wonder how different my life would be right now if we stayed in Denver? I would have missed out on a lot of things good and bad. I never would have gone to Jr. High in Detroit (which I hated) or moved again and gone to High School in Portland (which I loved). I would have different friends and possibly different life goals. It's strange to think of all the possibilities. Where I am right now is not where I imagined myself to be at this point in my life.

I would love to move back to Denver sometime or at least some place similar. Here are some reasons why:



Having a view of the mountains every time I leave the house. It's great for those of us who are directionally challenged. The mountains are always to the west so you always know which way you're going.



Trees! Some things you just don't get much of in Oklahoma.






Snow! Not only that but a place that can still function while it's snowing. Hello Oklahoma...we need to take a lesson from our neighbor to the northwest.



There are many more reasons but I seem to be out of appropriate pictures.

I had the opportunity to attend the Michael Buble concert a few nights ago with a friend. Michael (we’re on a first name basis now) has an incredible voice and, as if that weren’t enough, he’s also extremely good looking. This was probably the most entertaining concert I’ve ever been to. I thought he’d probably just sit on a stool and sing the whole time. This, in all honesty, would have been fine with me. I just wanted to hear him sing…he could have stood behind a curtain and I still would have enjoyed it. However, he can do a lot more than just sing. He cracked jokes, did a few impressions and even had a “catwalk off” with one of the members of the band. I loved it. I could have stayed in the Civic Center all night!

As fabulous as the concert was, I really want to talk about the lady that I had the pleasure of sitting next to. When I first sat down she reminded me of my Grandma. A really sweet looking older lady that was dressed very well. This is where the similarities ended. As soon as the lights lowered she pulled a flask out of her purse. I have to admit that I was shocked. We had pretty decent seats on the floor and there were ushers all over the place. She didn’t care. Obviously, she was there to have a good time. This was a fairly classy event…many people were dressed up in tuxedos and formal dresses (not me, but many others). But there’s always one person who can crash even the classiest of affairs. The more she drank, the more she chair danced. Yes, I said chair danced. You know what I'm talking about...when people think it looks cool for the top half of the body to be moving, arms flailing, while they are still seated in a chair. It was embarrassing really. Toward the end of the concert she hit me with her elbow…that’s how intense her chair dancing became! By the last song she had sucked every last drop out of that flask and something tells me that she would be having more before the night was over. Leave it to me to sit next to the one crazy person in the whole auditorium.

Crazy drunk lady aside…I had a blast at the concert and highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go.

I never really understood why women get offended by the term “ma’am” until this weekend. Saturday morning I got up early to go to the office. Yes, I worked on the weekend. I had to get a head start on the week since I’m leaving town in a few days. I had a huge headache and was feeling groggy so I stopped by Sonic for a large cup of caffeine. When the girl brought me my drink she smiled and politely said, “Have a nice day, ma’am.” I’m sure she meant nothing by it. However, in my mind I was saying to this girl …can I please see your I.D. because you do not look old enough to be legally employed here. There was just something about being called ma’am by a young pre-teen looking kid. I didn’t like it.

I would not consider myself old by any means. Lately, though, it seems like I’ve been getting little reminders of my age everywhere. On my last birthday my little brother told me that I was getting close to 30. What does he know? He’s still in high school! 30 is still several years away for me. A few nights ago I had dinner with some old college friends and we began reminiscing about moving into the dorms freshman year. One person brought up how many years ago that actually was. Later that night another person pointed out that we are fast approaching a reunion year for our high school graduating class.

Getting older is not something I enjoy. On my 18th birthday I remember being upset that I was officially an adult. I didn’t want to celebrate my birthday and even told people not to buy me presents (although I could never turn away a present). At this rate I’m on track to have a mid-life crisis before I actually reach mid-life…whenever that is.

A friend recently reminded me of one of these stories. It made me laugh so I thought I’d share…

I’ve only had a few injuries in my life. Two of them come to mind right now and neither of them were serious. I wish I could say that I injured myself while doing something cool…but I can’t. Instead, I just label these as “sports injuries” to avoid the actual true and embarrassing stories of how they occurred. I’m not sure why I’ve decided to post this on the Internet.

The first story takes place during my freshman year of high school. A friend of mine convinced me to try out for the cheerleading team. If you know me then you understand why this is so embarrassing. I was the girl who made fun of the cheerleaders. I am not the "cheerleader type" and I can’t imagine myself cheering from any place else other than in the stands as a spectator. Well, I went through the whole cheerleading camp week where you learn the routine and practice every day. It then came time for the try-outs. We had to run out onto the gym floor by ourselves and go through the routine. I didn’t get very far. I was running into the gym towards my place in front of the coach and other judges. The last thing I remember is hearing a loud snap. When I woke up I was lying on my back with a bunch of people standing over me. I had dislocated my knee cap doing nothing more than taking a few steps into the gymnasium! My dad came to pick me up thinking that my injuries weren’t as bad they were. So he took me home and ate dinner. I was very upset with him over this. My version of the story is that he took me home first because my mom had cooked that night and he didn’t want to have to re-heat his dinner later on. He will probably tell you differently. But since this is my blog I’m going with my version. I sat on the chair with my leg propped up and cried as loud as I could until he took me to the hospital. Long story short…I ended up having to wear a brace on my leg for a few months and take physical therapy for my knee. I could not play any sports my freshman year. So during basketball season I was the team manager rather than a player. Did you know you can letter in being a team manager? At least you can in Oregon. I am so proud of that “MGR” patch on my letterman jacket!

My second injury happened this past year. It was the middle of the week and I woke up early. As I got out of bed to head to the shower I hit my toes on the bedroom door. I didn’t realize that the door was partly closed. It hurt and I heard something pop. At this point I screamed a word that I am not proud of and nearly started crying. I must not have screamed loud enough to wake up the roommates though. They never came to check on me. I finished getting ready and drove to the office. My car is a stick shift and it was extremely painful to push the clutch in with my left foot. Luckily I worked in a clinic and was able to walk upstairs and see a doctor. He confirmed that, yes, my toes were broken. I had to tape my toes together and wear a special shoe until it healed. The shoe was ugly…royal blue with a white rubber sole and huge velcro straps across the top. It really didn't go with any of my clothes. I also had to trade cars with a friend of mine until my toes healed enough to use a clutch again.

I guess I should feel lucky that my injuries, up to this point, have only been minor. I just wish I had a good story to go along with them.

Yesterday was all about the Sound of Music sing-a-long at the Museum of Art! I am always up for finding new and different ways to be entertained and when I heard about this I couldn’t pass it up. As, Jamie Stephanie and I entered the theater we were given a bag of “magic moments.” This was a bag of goodies to use throughout the show. I soon found out that a sing-a-long is very interactive and requires more than just singing. I also came to realize that a sing-a-long consists of dressing for the part. This was the part I did not participate in. The costume contest portion of this event revealed many people dressed up as Maria, Captain von Trapp and his children, and many other characters.










Here we have Stephanie, Jamie and I with a nurse and a nun from the show. The nurse was very giddy and loved to sing. The nun had a belt on with climbing tools and proclaimed that she was on a mission to "Climb Every Mountain." Her next goal was to conquer the Arbuckles. Next we have Jamie and Stephanie showing off some of their "magic moments."










Above is my invitation to the Captain's Ball that the Baroness suggested he throw. The next picture is a few of the entrants in the costume competition. On the left is a guy with name tags all over his shirt claiming to be "a name I call myself." In the middle is a man dressed as a brown paper package tied up with string. On the right is a gentleman dressed as one of the nuns from the Abbey. I don't know who the random lady is on the end.

We were led in vocal warm-ups at the beginning of the show by a nun. Then we were set free to play along with the movie. The words to all the songs were displayed at the bottom of the screen. I sang my heart out as did many other people in OKC. As a side note...there are a lot of vocally challenged citizens in this city and I believe that many of them were at the sing-a-long. It was fun nonetheless.

This is Sister Margaretta singing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." She was a very entertaining nun and when the song came on during the movie she wasted no time in hopping up on stage and leading the audience along.

What an entertaining way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It is something I have never done before and will probably never do again...unless they come up with a sing-a-long for Grease. I love those songs!

No...I'm not pregnant. However, my sister-in-law is and she's having a boy! I'm trusting the doctor on this one because I actually can't see for myself that it's a boy. I know he's going to be really excited to meet his Aunt Krista!