Friday, May 23, 2014

A Quick 26 while 26 Update

This first month of 26 while 26 has been a slow-achieving month to say the least.

Yesterday, Mallory and I went to the the ribbon cutting for the new zip line across the river. Looking up at the sky trail, I'm a little curious how crazy I must've been to add this to my list of goals to achieve this year. Deep breath, Newton.


Here's a video of the Mayor taking the zip line across the river. Looks pretty fun right?!

The last of May's #LetteredLetters are going out in the mail today. Nine people will have some very happy mail in their boxes this weekend!!


I'm also making some slow progress on my new tastes list too. Joe let me have a bite of his sushi when we went to GoGo, so I've officially added Super White Tuna to the list!


Gouda is also a recently acquired taste. But my love for Gouda is really no surprise, seeing as how I've never met a cheese that I didn't love. And if you think I took a snack break long enough to take a pic, you'd be wrong. #CouldntBeAVegan

I must give a big "thank you" to Josh for taking me to see "The Other Woman" last weekend - it's May's "Movie in the Theatre." There were quite a few movies in the previews that had us saying, "Okay, that'll be the next one!" I don't think this particular goal will be a difficult one to complete...


I'm so incredibly grateful for a 3-day holiday weekend. Even if it's going to be rainy, it'll be nice to have a slow and restful weekend!

xoxo, E


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Graduating... again

For the past 9 months, I have been a student in the first class of the United Way's Board Serve Central Oklahoma Program. After many evenings spent learning how to be a good board member, last night was graduation day!

The primary purpose of the ceremony was to match each of us with the nonprofit organization whose board we would serve on for the next year.

I have to be honest - I was pretty nervous about my match. I could tell we were going in "plaque order" and I could see where my plaque was on the table. When we could tell it was going to be my turn next, Brandi and I both got super nervous. I could not have been more delighted when they called out that my match was Safe Kids Oklahoma.

It's no secret that I have a passion for kiddos, so I have full confidence that this is going to be a great experience.





Big thanks to Brandi for going with me last night to celebrate - and take photos!


Upon further review, we couldn't stop laughing at this photo - it totally looks like we're holding hands! Love ya sis!

xoxo, E


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Little Miss Tour Guide

I had the chance to spend some extra-special girl time with Bobbie and Miss Cam this past weekend at the OKC Zoo! I've been wanting to go and see the baby gorilla, so when Bobbie texted on Sunday morning to ask if I wanted to join them at the zoo, I jumped at the chance to go and see the animals.

Little Miss was a superb tour guide and activity planner. She directed us towards the rhino as soon as we entered the park. According to Cam, he was about to go swim in the pool...



Up next on Cam's agenda: the giraffe exhibit. 

However, I got distracted by the buffalo statue along the way... I know you're all SHOCKED by this. It cracked me up when Cam called him a zebra. We had to talk about how he just has a zebra hiney but a buffalo head.


We also got distracted by a few more animals and a rhino statue...



Finally we arrived at the giraffe exhibit!



Just around the corner from the giraffes, we saw a couple of zebras. Bobbie asked Cam what color the zebra was, and her reply was a simple, "No." I told Bobbie that she was kind of right since white is the absence of color. That little one is wise beyond her years. ::wink wink::








It's official. I love baby gorillas. I was so captivated by this little monkey!




Also, the chimpanzee's were having so much fun on their jungle gym. Yes, that's a Thunder blanket the monkey is carrying. Everyone in our city knows how to properly Thunder Up!


We finished our fun morning with a ride on the carousel and a group selfie!


I am so glad I was invited to spend the morning with Bobbie and Cam at the zoo. Seeing the animals through the eyes of Little Miss was pretty awesome - especially when she looked at me wide-eyed and said, "Do you hear the bird?!" It was a cardinal, so I had the chance to share a little bit about the North Carolina state bird with her!

Oh, and Bobbie and I decided that Cam is braver than us both. She was all about looking at the bats... and we were all about getting the heck out of there!

xoxo, E


Monday, May 19, 2014

Just Keep Chewing...

Last Thursday, I got a phone call from Bobbie that went a little something like this...

BE: Hey! What are you doing Saturday morning?
Me: I have to work at 11, but no plans before that... why?
BE: Well I have you on speakerphone and Rusty & Tessa are here too.
Me: Hey guys.
Rusty: Hey E-Town
BE: Do you want to be the 4th person on our team for the Hungryman race?
[For those of you who don't know, it's a 4-person relay race where you have to eat either a cupcake, egg roll, hamburger slider, or veggie burrito then run 1.54 miles.]
Me: I haven't run since the half!
BE: That's ok - Tessa hurt her toe and I hurt my ankle. We'll be that team.
Me: What's our team name?
[Ya know, important deciding factors here]
BE: We don't have one yet.
Me: Okay, well I'll do it if I can pick which food leg I have to eat/run.
BE: You got it.
Me: Count me in!

Well, 7:30 came mighty early on Saturday morning - especially after a week with two VERY late Thunder playoff games and multiple district block party events - but I dragged myself out of bed and made my way downtown to Automobile Alley.






Loved bumping into two of my friends in their lunch lady costumes!





It's funny - I think I was more nervous at the start of this race than I was the half-marathon. Probably because of the "eat a huge cupcake as fast as you can... then run 1.5 miles" factor. I am not made for any sort of eating contest.

Luckily, my teammates were there cheering me on and taking photos. 




Once I finished my 1.54 miles, it was time to pass the baton on to Bobbie. Our team should have been "Team Awesome." [Because, you know, we were!]





For quality control, we had to open wide before we were allowed to start our leg of the race. 


We came in with a strong finish and placed in the top 10 teams - No. 9 out of 47 to be exact. So proud of our little quad!! 



I think it's safe to say that I probably won't be craving a cupcake any time soon... but what a fun way [and a gorgeous day] to raise money for Neighborhood Services Organization!

xoxo, E

Friday, May 16, 2014

Secrets Secrets...

If there was ever a child who embodied the complete opposite of a Peter Pan Complex, it was this girl. I always wanted to be older, to be a teacher, to be on Broadway, to be able to drive, to have my own home, and to be independent -- while still knowing that mom and dad would always be there if I needed them.

I wanted to grow up.

I have definitely been accused (in a kind way) of being too serious or even wound a little too tight. I'm a future-thinker and a planner.

Now to be fair, I think this is less true of me now than it was 2 years ago, but I'm not sure anyone would describe me as laid-back or free-spirited.

Last week, I went to the Myriad Gardens to see their new Secret Garden exhibit in the Children's Garden. My primary intent was to get some good photos for downtown social media promotion. However, I found myself getting wrapped up in the magic and beauty of this little world they created.

I'm not sure if we ever read The Secret Garden (mom - you'll have to help me on this one), but I remember watching the movie.

Fast-forward to 26 year old Elizabeth: I was absolutely entranced, and I felt like a little girl again as I explored the exhibit.

Luckily, there weren't too many kids there since it was the middle of the day on a Friday, otherwise I would've felt a little bad about being a grown-up doing the scavenger hunt. I wanted to experience every bit of it!

Even though I've never wanted to go back to being a kid - aside from the summer breaks and unlimited "sick" days from school - it was pretty awesome to leave the "grown-up" at the door and just play for a few minutes.

It also didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous day in OKC to use your imagination!

















I mean, come on... so good right?

Oh, and I can't leave out the awesome "Thunder Garden." Each pillar is the height of one of our beloved Thunder players. It was so fun to play the guessing game! 




Also, these new lights are going to be SO gorgeous for summer evenings...


If you have kiddos, and haven't been to The Secret Garden yet, I highly recommend it! The exhibit closes on Sunday.

xoxo, E