Friday Confessions....

1. I am obsessed with monograms. I want them. On everything. I never really wanted to monogram anything while Eric and I were dating b/c that seemed silly, anticipating that someday we'd get hitched and I'd change my name. In retrospect, I realize that was silly, but whatever. So yeah...recently I've gotten a little cray. I want monograms. On sheets. On towels. On robes. It's a problem. (I haven't purchased a ton of monogrammed stuff, but I've certainly registered for a few things. If you come to a dinner party at my house someday, you might be wiping your mouth with our initials. Whatever. You'll get over it.)

2. I don't watch Law and Order SVU unless it's random late night reruns. But last week, I caught it and assumed it was a re-run. I got HOOKED on the plot and then realized it was the dang season finale. Well hell...now I want to know what happens and have to wait until September. Arg. If you watch it, you'll be with me when I say: How did she not know he'd be in her apartment?! Gah. Duh.

3. I can't decide what to get my bridesmaids. Well wait... I can decide. I have approximately 1,467 ideas and can't commit. That's a better way of putting it. My friend told me to knock stuff like that out as soon as I saw something I really like...just to take it off the checklist later. Well...when you're freaking indecisive like me, you can't help but wonder if you'll like something more LATER. What did you get the lovely ladies who stood beside you on your big day?! ( <--- See...saying it like that adds pressure, people! haha...)

4. Eric and I signed up at a new gym this week AND I just booked a session with a personal trainer next week. Wahoo! Wait.. I guess the real confession is that we had a fitness test at the new gym and um...my arms are sore from the 10 (snaky) pushups I did....two days ago. *head hung in shame*

5. If you saw my instagram, then you already know, but I impulse bought this dress yesterday. Been eyeing it on Banana's site, logged online, saw that everything was 40% off. But no...that's not what sold me. It was seeing that they only had my size left in this dress! That never happens! It was a sign. (It totally wasn't b/c today, they added more sizes), but in that moment, it was a sign. My fingers just click click clicked the keys and a few minutes later, I had an email thanking me for my order. Whoops. Really do like it, though. Hope it fits! I can wear it to bridal showers...or...something... *sigh*

Cheers to the short week that actually felt like a short week! (Sometimes it seems that folks try to cram 5 days of work into 4 days, right?!). Happy weekending!

Randomness...

Hi ya! Look at me.. back after only a week! :) Better than last time!

Some randomness....

Just watched the Healing the Heartland concert and got teared up multiple times. My state is hurting, but also thankfully healing, with help from generous volunteers and donations. It's devastating to see the current state of Moore, OK but also inspiring to hear the heroic and heartwarming stories that have emerged. Moore isn't on national news on a regular basis anymore, but it's on our local news...and on our hearts and minds.

One thing I've read people ask from other areas of the country is why kids were even in school with such a severe weather threat. Those people obviously aren't from around here...and it kind of maddens me a little bit. If we pulled students from school on days there "might" be a tornado, there would be no school held the entirety of April or May in Oklahoma. People say 16 minutes isn't enough warning time. As a native Oklahoman, I can tell you that 16 minutes is an eternity in the land of tornados. It's a hell of a lot more time than those poor people in Joplin had only a few years ago. It's the difference between life and death. Tornadoes can form from a regular spring thunderstorm, touch down, and wipe out an entire neighborhood in a matter of minutes. They're unpredictable and choose their own path of destruction. Sure, they can predict what looks like the makings of a potential tornado...but if they run the sirens for every "might" end up being a tornado, it's a little like crying wolf. And people quit paying attention. I've been one of them, so I can say that's accurate.

As an Oklahoma native, I can't tell you how many times the sirens awaken us with threats of possible devastation. Thank God for those sirens. But, just to give you an idea just how frequently we experience them, friends and I used to play drinking games to the weather reports in college...(wall cloud= one drink, "rotation"= two drinks...and so on...haha). I mean, this is no laughing matter, but I'm just saying...we're no strangers to bad weather. We know the difference between a watch and a warning, a wall cloud and a funnel cloud, flood sirens and tornado sirens, and the safest areas in our homes....or wherever else we could get in a matter of 30 seconds, 5 minutes, or whatever level of warning we have. (Yes, those locations are different for Eric and me. More warning time= safer location). We know that it's supposed to get insanely quiet before it hits. We know that once it does, it allegedly sounds like a freight train. But, most of us have never really been in a beast of a storm like that. We're ready...well...if you can ever really be "ready"...if that moment ever happens...but thankfully...most of those storms pass, leaving behind only a sleep-deprived Okie complaining about the overnight sirens.

That was a rant, but just saying...my heart continues to go out to my fellow Oklahomans (including the displaced animals) just down the highway from me...

So hey.... how about I climb up from the depth I just accidentally went to and mention my Memorial Day weekend... It was stellar, friends!

From pool time to my friend's son's birthday to a visit from Ashley to quality time with Eric, I can't complain one bit. Made it even harder to head back to work on Tuesday...

Jenny, Sarah, Ashley, me (obviously)

Are you in Tulsa? B/c if so, you need to order the (off the menu) ginger roll at In the Raw. Hellllo amazing. And yeah, those are fried pieces of goodness on top of it. Ashley always laughs at the fried rolls we have in Tulsa compared to her current home in LA. Reasons Oklahoma is overweight....haha... 

Hiking Turkey Mountain with this guy! 

I didn't even try this... haha... 

So there's some deep thoughts/soap box courtesy of Jackie with a hard turn to random Memorial Day weekend photos. Sometimes I don't know why you guys follow my randomness...haha...but I really appreciate it. :) Have a great rest of your week, friends.

Few and far between...

My posts just keep getting fewer and less frequent, huh? Sawwy. :( It's not b/c I don't love the blog; it's a cycle where I get behind and then think "eek.... so much to catch up on!" Besides, we all hang on Instagram, right? (Making myself feel better). 

Anyhoo...here I am, so I'm going to make use of it... 

What's been up in the land of Jackie? Let's see...

* Today marks 5 months until our wedding day!! 5 months from this very second, Eric and I will be married! 

* Along those lines, we took some more engagement photos! Remember when we took some in the fall? Our photog was sweet enough to offer that we grab a few more photos in the spring when the days are longer and weather is consistently better. :) I really wanted some in a field and he found the most perfect field for us behind Gilcrease museum. The ticks Eric found on himself the next morning were totally worth it! (Really...haha...oops). 

(We just had 'em last Monday, so I took a screenshot from the computer, but don't have the images yet)

* Work has gotten SO busy. I mean superbusy (all one word). Don't get me wrong...I love it. Things are going really well! But, there's certainly not a lot of down time at the old oficina lately. That said, I'm still walking to my car by 5:30 most nights, so I can't complain...even if it's fast and furious from 8-5:30 or so.

* Speaking of Fast and Furious, Eric and I are stoked (I said stoked..I know...came outta nowhere for me, too) to see Fast 6 this coming weekend. Did I tell you I used to have a obsession thing for Paul Walker? I did.

* Speaking of movies, (look at all these segways I've got going on), Eric and I have seen a movie every Sunday for the past three weeks. Kinda random and fun down time before the busy work week starts. :) We've seen Ironman (awesome), Star Trek (awesome), and Oblivion (not as awesome).

* Kinda digging some websites I just discovered. Might be old to some of you, but new to me! Tory Burch's ex has his own (awesome!) line of stuff...for cheaper? Yes, please. And why hadn't I discovered The Everygirl yet? Or Breakfast at Toast (one of the Everygirls).

* Have a question submitted to the artist about background color, but once she answers, I'm so buying this for my office... Perfect for a communications manager, no? :)

site. 

* Winston no longer freaks out on walks (YAY!) so I've been taking the dogs out to enjoy the beautiful weather before the summer heat bears down on Tulsa...

* Eric and I are starting to talk more "where should we do this honeymoon thing?" :) I want to be gone a long time. Well..I mean...preferably at least 10 days..not including travel time. We've looked at everything from the Philippines to the Virgin Islands to Mexico. Who knows where we'll go. It'll be quiet, relaxing, and beachy...that I know for sure. Oh...and it'll have good food. We like food.

* Bummed that all my fun shows are going off for the summer. Anyone watch The Mindy Project? I really want her and Danny to get together...Just saying. And New Girl...who will Schmidt choose?! I'm glad Pretty Little Liars is back on in a few weeks...

* I've been reading Lean In. Good stuff, people. Good stuff.

* I have 8 friends having babies from June-September! Bananas! Love it, though! I can't wait for some of the little ones to start making their appearances! I'm not ready for babies of my own yet (besides the furry kind), but I sure do love being Aunt Jackie! :)

Yeah, this was a whirlwind of randomness. I'll try to be better about the blogging, but no promises. I CAN promise I'll be on Instagram...likely posting photos of my normal camera subjects, Winston and Gracie dog. :) Happy Sunday, friends! Let's get through this week b/c we have a LONG weekend ahead!