There's been some changes round these parts

Figured it was about time for an update... That and Anthony has the car at the copy shop & I'm late for work and have already done everything I can think of to bide my time until he gets back.

ANTHONY: school is in session and my goodness is that boy happy. He really likes his classes thus far. Oh, he had his first voice lesson yesterday and his teacher, Bill, told him there are no major flaws they need to work on, just "polishing" things up. Hooray! Anthony accomplished his goal of fixing the big stuff while an undergrad.
He's been studying hard and learning his role for L'Incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea). He has a big death aria (aka he sings a song as he dies).

Anthony has also been invited to audition at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. The audition is next weekend in Albuquerque and he & I will drive with a soprano from OU and a Tenor from Oklahoma City University to the audition. Fun stuff. If anyone wants to meet in Albuquerque (such a funny looking word) we'll be there Sept. 10 & 11.

Today Anthony auditioned to song the National Anthem at one of the OU home games. His text to me when he was done with the audition said "It went well. A couple of mediocre low notes but my high F was money!" So, if he's selected to sing at one of the games you just might see/hear him on tv or something. I don't know.

Speaking of OU games, any first semester student (like Anthony) is not allowed to buy tickets outright and your name is put into a lottery to "win" the opportunity to buy tickets. Well, Anthony was selected in the lottery so he can buy one ticket for each home game. Want to know the best part? All I have to do is show up at some office in a few days to show them my smiling mug & marriage license and I get to buy a ticket too!! OU games here we come!! First game is this Saturday... we've been warned to stay off the roads or get stuck in hours, literally HOURS, of traffic.

ALISHA: did I ever tell you I got a job? I work for NorthCare as a CHBS (Comprehensive Home Based Services) worker. Families are referred for services by DHS Child Welfare. "CHBS services are intensive, in-home interventions designed to preserve, strengthen and restore the family. CHBS service goals include the prevention of further incidents of child abuse or neglect, and family reunification. Case managers (that's me) provide comprehensive services suited to each family's needs, including: child health care, parent-child bonding, home safety, budgeting assistance and problem solving, crisis management, parent-child visitation and family reunification."

In other words; if there are allegations of child abuse or neglect DHS goes into the home and completes the initial steps, then call us. We go in and teach the family what to do if their children are sick, teach discipline techniques, teach parents how to better interact with their children, help clean up homes to make them more safe for children and loads of other stuff. Cases are usually open about 6 months so hopefully by the end of that time the parents have learned some techniques to make the whole household better, and in most reunification cases (where the children were removed from the home and we're trying to get them back in) the kids do end up coming back home. Yay!!

I like my job thus far. My first day was August first and I've already got 6 cases. Average case load is 10-14 so I'm doing pretty well I guess. I like most everyone I work with, so that's good too... don't feel as awkward in the office as I have in some other places of employment.

What else... I'm getting my paperwork ready to submit to OU to see if I'm accepted for the Masters of Social work program. It's all due October 1st, so well see what happens.

Thats about all that is going on with us. Toodaloo.

I skipped a year

Do you know what it's like to be 25 when you go to bed and 27 when you wake up? I do. Apparently that's what happens when you don't remember how old you are and just assume you're 25 when in reality you're 26.

So... 27. I feel ancient. Curtis sent me a text that said "holy crap you are getting old" and to further rub it in Lauren told me my "wrinkle cream" is in the mail. Little does she know I was in the mirror fretting over my under eye wrinkles just last week. I'm getting more gray hairs as well. I used to say I'd gray naturally and wouldn't color my hair. That was until the other day I used this waterless shampoo that you spray on and leave for about two minutes then brush it out... I walked into the living room looking like I was 65 (the stuff is gray/white on the hair) and Anthony's horror filled expression about made me jump under the covers and never emerge, but I had to buck up and catch him as he practically fainted due to me old age appearance.

Ps. thanks to everyone that text, called & sent cards, it made my birthday that much more special :)

Our first three months in the fiery depths

I should start out by saying that Oklahoma isn't Hell, but by golly is it hot. It was up to 116* last week. And the humidity!! Lozzy day is it humid here! Today it was actually 96* and I was wishing I had a cardigan. I'm ruined I think.

Anyway, since we've been here in Oklahoma we've gotten to see some pretty cool things. We've made quite a few trips to OKC (Oklahoma City) and have seen the Stock Yards, Bricktown, and the OKC National Memorial. We also went to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History here in Norman (I'll post about those later).

I also invited myself on a trail ride with Erica & her friend Megan. So very glad I did.

I learned to saddle a horse. Pretty cool stuff.

I got to ride Ellie, a regular sized horse while Erica & Megan rode these ponies. It was hilarious though... Their heads only reached my ribcage as we rode along.

Megan is such a stud, she rode bareback. Her fanny was so sweaty by the end of the ride.

Look at all that sweat where the saddle was. Sad!!

Thanks for the day Miss Ellie. I enjoyed your company.

Ok, now let's talk about "critters."

This Alligator Snapping Turtle was in the middle of he road the other day. My visiting teaching companion & I were on our way to a visit and I just had to pull over to get a photo. She, having been raised in TX/OK, warned me not to get too close... apparently these are mean little guys.

(I stole this one from the internet so you'd have a better idea of how blasted ugly/creepy/cool these guys are)

I saw my first Armadillo!! Too bad it was dead. That didn't stop me from pulling over (and totally blocking traffic I might add. Oklahoma doesn't believe in shoulders or turn lanes) and getting this shot. Apparently Armadillos are nocturnal so there's a much higher chance of seeing them out in the country at night.

I've not turned into one of those people who stop to ogle and take photos of cows, I promise. All these poor cows were sharing shade of this tree and I thought it was too beautiful not to share. It's really quite sad when there are literally 50 cows sharing shade like this.

This is Herbert. He lives under our door, but most recently he's been living in the weird space under the neighbor's door, there's more bugs over there. That guy must not have used half a gallon of Raid when he moved in.

A few random notes.

Oklahomans are WORSE THAN IDAHOANS when it comes to double parking.

Also, there's something about old cars and HUGE rims.

Interestingly this is not the only car I've seen like this.

I've discovered Flea Markets. This is my favorite so far, it's on SE 44th in OKC.

The first day I walked in I thought of my dad & dad-in-law. I think they'd both cry if they saw this place. It was SO cool!!!

The first time we went we spent over an hour wandering around but didn't get much of anything.

The second time there we found this gem for $20. Bobby, the little old fellow who sold it to me, had an accent as thick as molasses, I liked him.

We call this painting the SS Leonard, it hangs in our breakfast nook (wherein we do not have a table and therefore do not eat breakfast).

Last but not least, did you know I married a super hero?

I am officially unpacked and moved into my new apartment. Would you like a tour? Of course you would. These are a few snippets of my favorite things.


This is the kitchen table. This is where my roommate and I spend time chatting because, as you can see, this is where her PC is set up and where I can usually find her if she's not at work. This also happens to be the table where I was sitting when a cockroach decided it wanted to share my breakfast.

This is the raid I bought to kill that cockroach, and his aunt and his grandma and his little dog too.

This is our couch, circa 1962ish. Check that baby out! Isn’t it marvelous!? I tell you what though, it was a beast getting it in through the many doorways and entryways!!! And those foot stools! Boy oh boy, they may not be much to look at, but they sure add to the comfort level!

This is the TV that we watch when we sit on the 1962 couch. This baby weights a total of like 25,000 pounds and took 3 people to get it into the apartment.

This is the temperature guage. This is the first time in a week that it has dropped below 81 degrees. In fact, even though it is set at 73 it usually fluctuates between 81 and 85, which is very sad.

It’s a good thing we have these babies on our ceilings, or we might be numbers 12 and 13 to die because of the heat in this state so far this summer.

This is my bedroom, and I don't know what to do with all the space. I'm currently looking into getting a comfy chair or love seat or something to replace the fan.

And check out all my closet space!!! You could fit a twin-sized mattress in there!!! (If you ever come to visit, I guess you know where you're sleeping... I promise I'll keep the door open.)

And for the Pièce de résistance, check out this lamp!!!!! I bought it for a whopping $7 at a flea market in South OKC and think it just might be the best $7 I've ever spent! If they had a dress made like this lamp, I'd... well I'd wear it just for fun for a few minutes, but that's besides the point. Awesome lamp. Awesome!!!


I hope you enjoyed the tour, and I hope it prompted you to want to come visit! The door is always open (figuratively, not literally cause Dad would shoot me if he found out my door was always open).