A Weekend in Chicago: Travel Video

Last Saturday we drove 13 hours in the car with R to Illinois for a family weekend to celebrate my grandpa turning 80. We stayed overnight at my grandparents' house, and in the morning we drove into Chicago with my immediate family and extended family.

We went to a Cubs game, ate pizza, saw the bean, and walked over 22,200 steps just on Monday alone. Jordan, R, and I flew home Monday night. We partied hard, and we still haven't recovered, but we did it! R is a traveling rockstar, and I honestly cannot believe all the things we've done with her during her first year of life.

Once again, we had a rough traveling experience coming home. You may remember what happened to us coming home from Virginia in March. Our flight was cancelled, and we had to stay overnight and take an early flight the next morning. Annoying for adults, but when you add a baby to the mix it's SO FUN. It's just how I wanted to spend a day of paid time off. Read my sarcasm.

Well, friends, learn from our mistake and never book the last flight of the day. Our flight home from Chicago got, wait for it, cancelled. Mechanical malfunction or some other nonsense. Long story short, after weighing our options we decided to have American rebook us on an 8:30 pm flight to Dallas. We could stay at my parents' house and fly to OKC in the morning. Not my favorite but acceptable. But THEN, the 8:30 flight got delayed and delayed and delayed again and didn't leave Chicago until after 11:00. R decided sleeping wasn't as fun as crawling around the airport terminal making friends, so Jordan and I took turns chasing her around for hours.

We arrived in Dallas around 2 in the morning. We were the only flight and still had to wait over a half hour to get our bags,even though we didn't actually check anything, but when they gate checked the car seat and our suitcase they decided to put it through baggage claim. By the time we got to my parents' house it was after 3 in the morning. We got up at 6 so my sister could drive us back to the airport for our 8 am flight.

What I'm saying is, I was extremely well rested.

I practically kissed the Oklahoma ground and swore never to leave again. Or, at least never book the last flight of the day because only terrible things happen when you do that. BUT WE MADE IT. And I have another story for the blog. So there's that.

In related but not as terrible news, Jordan and I bought a video recorder as a joint birthday gift, and I took it for a spin in Chicago. I filmed a bunch and used iMovie to put it all together. I think making videos is my lost calling, because it is so fun to make these even though I stay up way too late working on them. The video should be embedded below, but if it's not you can click here to watch it on YouTube. Hope you enjoy! All in all it was a fun weekend with family, and we certainly packed in as much as we could in just two days.

p.s. If you are interested in how we budget for travel, click here.

College Flashback: My Trip to Greece

Every time I mention that I went to Greece, someone asks me to write a post about it. I don't know if it's Greece specifically that people want to hear about or if they're just surprised by the fact that I've actually been to Europe.

Either way, I decided to dig out my Greece pictures and take you on a flashback post. Hope you enjoy!

During January term of my senior year in college (2008 for those doing the math), I took a class in Greek mythology. I got 3 credits for the class, traveled around Greece for 11 days, and all I had to do was pay something like $1,200 (I can't remember the exact amount) and read a book on Greek mythology. I think I won that round.

Greece is the only place I've ever been in Europe, and I honestly think that if I never again get myself across the pond, I'll still be satisfied.

So here's a snapshot of my time there. There's obviously way too much to detail out extensively (seriously, I have like 1,000+ pictures from the trip), but I'll hit the highlights. Due to some cancelled flights, we actually got to spend THREE extra days in Athens. All of those days were spent basically just wandering around on our own. Our class was part of a tour, and for the rest of the week we took a guided bus tour all over Greece to see the ruins. We also took a one-day cruise on the Mediterranean, which is pictured later on.

NOTE: The following pictures are not in any kind of order of the trip. I did, however, resurrect my trusty Shutterfly book that I made of our trip many moons ago so I could have an accurate description of the pictures for you.

On our first actual day of touring sites in Athens, we visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The picture above this one is another view of the temple. It was really neat because we could see the Parthenon too!

We took a one-day cruise from Athens to three Greek islands on the Mediterranean Sea: Poros, Hydra, and Aegina. On Poros we got to see a special ceremony called the "Blessing of the Waters." It happens once a year during Epiphany, and it was really special that we were there for it!

^^^We took a three-day bus trip around Greece. We stayed at various hotels along the way and saw some cool sites and ruins all around Greece. It was awesome! One of the things we saw on the trip was the Corinth Canal. We passed over it on the bridge but stopped to take pictures. It was built to connect the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea.

^^^I honestly don't remember if these were pictures on an island during the one-day cruise or if these are pictures from when we went walking around Athens. But I love how Greece actually does look in real life like it does in the movies!

^^^This picture was taken on the last day of our bus trip. (Can you see me? I'm the one blending into the background wearing all brown. WHY???) We made a few different stops on our way back to Athens. This is the "Lion's Gate," which is also where the Tomb of Agamemmnon was discovered in the 1800s. 

I remember our tour guide saying that it is very rare to get a picture with the gate where there aren't a bunch of tourists. We went during the off season, and it was nice because at all the places we went, there weren't too many people!

^^^The Central Market was one of my favorite places. I remember there being SO much food and so many different kinds. I mean look at all those olives! One thing I remember distinctly about this part was that as we walked around, people were totally staring at us. They were trying to talk to us in English and asking where we were from. One vender even had us take a picture next to his meat stand with, I kid you not, a literal dead pig's head.

^^^On day 2 of the bus trip, we visited Olympia, which is the site of the ancient Greek stadium where the very first Olympics were held. The picture above is my friend Lauren and I standing on the track & field arena, where they would do all the running events. Isn't that crazy? People would sit on the grass on the sides, and the men (only men were allowed to participate) would start on those stones, sprint to the end, and then come back.

^^^This picture is also from Olympia. This was the Greek Temple of Zeus (not to be confused with the earlier picture of the Temple of Olympian Zeus). It was destroyed in an earthquake, and the 6x13 columns all fell, leaving exactly what you see in the picture--a domino-type effect.

^^^These are the Roman Baths (I'm pretty sure that's what this is, but don't quote me on that). I didn't have this picture in my Shutterfly book, but that's what the caption is on my flash drive. 

^^^This is the Theater of Epidaurus. It was built in 400 BC and was used until 400 AD. It is actually still 99% intact today because rain and erosion caused the whole thing to be covered in dirt until it was discovered many years later, so it was very well preserved. The acoustics in this place are insane. The theater seat 15,000 people, and anyone sitting anywhere in the entire theater can hear even the smallest sound from someone standing in the middle. Even today, no one knows how they were able to create such an acoustically perfect theater.

^^^Lauren and I on top of Fhilopappos Hill. You may recognize Lauren from other posts on this blog. She's still one of my best friends and was a bridesmaid in my wedding! We were friends before going on the trip, and it was fun to share the experience with her.

From Fhilopappos, you get an amazing view of Athens and the Parthenon. We actually walked up this hill (it was a tiny mountain kind of) a few times during the 11 days we were there. On our last night, we watched them light up the Parthenon, which was really cool.

Then I got home and slept for days and days. I found this gem on the flash drive and decided to share. One thing I won't forget about that trip was the 8-hour layover in DC after an 11-hour flight from Germany. We were those people passed out on the airport floor. I don't ever remember being so tired.

It was the trip of a lifetime for sure, and I'm so thankful I was able to go! Given the chance, I would most definitely go back!

Have you ever been to Greece? 

What location is top on your travel bucket list right now?

Keep it Local: Oklahoma City Eats

Today I am continuing my tour of OKC by sharing some of my favorite eats! These are by no means all of the delicious restaurants that Oklahoma City has to offer, but these are ones I've found that I really enjoy.

^^^ Planet Sub. The bread is made fresh in the store every day, and it smells so good in there! And not like it smells in Subway. You know what I'm talking about. They have a full vegetarian menu and delicious non-veggie options too, which I look forward to eating once Baby Bum has left the building.

^^^Roxy's Ice Cream Truck! They have had a food truck for a long time, and they just opened an actual shop in the Plaza District (hipster town, according to Jordan). The hand-dipped ice cream is gooood. Plus, hello, who wouldn't want to buy an ice cream cone from a truck like this?

^^^Kitchen 324 is a great place to eat if you want to be a little fancy. They make all their bakery items fresh daily, and the menu is full of options using local, fresh ingredients. It's really nice inside, and you feel like you're being fancy but the food isn't too expensive.

^^^ We recently discovered a new burger place called The Garage. YUM. The menu has a lot of unique burger options, and I loved the fries (always important). They sell root beer out of the bottle (a selling point for Jordan), and the prices are good. Our friends came to visit us from Illinois over Memorial weekend, and we took them here for dinner on Sunday. They agreed that it was really good! Worth a stop if you're in the area.

^^^ Last but not least, if you're ever in the area, you MUST stop in at S&B's burger joint for a side of fried green beans (yes, we do fry everything. God Bless America). I reviewed S&B's here, so click through to see more pictures of this awesome burger place. I have sampled nearly half the menu (including ordering a turkey burger!) and have never been disappointed.

Have you ever eaten fried green beans before?

Does your city have food trucks?

Ask Anything Answers: Part 5

1. What's your favorite TV show?

Friends is my all-time favorite. However, I also love Castle, My Boys, Alias, and Parenthood.

The only show I watch semi-regularly that is currently on the air is The Middle. I watch Downtown Abbey, but I'm still on the season from last year.

2. What's your best tip for bloggers?

Have fun. I know that sounds too easy, but seriously. Unless you're making a ton of money off your blog and it's your job, your blog is a hobby! It's like exercising or scrapbooking or cooking or anything else you like to do. If you don't like it, don't do it! So make sure you're having fun with your blog and blogging about things that YOU want to blog about. If you start caring too much about what other people think, that's the best way to stop having fun and the fastest way to kill your blog.

3. What do you and Jordan do for fun?

I'll be honest. This question caused me some anxiety.

Truthfully, Jordan and I aren't very exciting. We don't travel all that much, and we don't work out together or cook together much anymore (we did that while we were dating, and then it kind of died). So I was sitting here having a panic attack like DO WE EVEN HAVE FUN TOGETHER?

We like playing Skip-Bo. If you don't know what that is, you need to rethink some stuff. We go for frozen yogurt dates or out for ice cream occasionally. As I mentioned in my anniversary recap post, lately we've been rewatching Star Wars so we can be ready for the new movie coming out this winter. When Jordan watched the trailer, he had tears in his eyes. I'm not joking.

We always read at night before we go to sleep, and even though technically I guess we're not really interacting, I like doing that with him.

When we're on road trips to Texas, we play 20 questions sometimes. Jordan is very good. He stumps me almost every time, which is saying something about his items and my lack of ability to ask good questions.

So, basically we're not very fun? I guess? I don't know. What do YOU do for fun?

4. What is the absolute best trip you have ever taken?

Okay, I obviously can't choose best trip ever, because I've been on so many great ones. But three trips immediately stood out to me when I thought of this question:

1. Family trip to Hawaii in 2002 (couldn't find any pictures)
2. Trip to Greece during January term, senior year in college 2008

3. Mission trip to Nicaragua in 2014. We went with a group from our church, including Jordan's parents.

Read more about our trip to Nicaragua!

sights from the bus

the vet care and eye clinic 

the medical clinic we set up in a remote village

sightseeing and ziplining

5. What are your greatest pet peeves?

These are the first ones that came to mind:
-People who say they're going to come to something and then don't come
-People who don't use turn signals
-People who say they don't like a food item even though they've never tried it
-People who misuse the word "literally"
-People who slow down to look at an accident that is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY, thus causing an unnecessary traffic jam and making me late to work.* 

*This is a hypothetical scenario that didn't just happen to me last week.

6. What are your guilty pleasures?

-Hershey's chocolate. I'm not a huge fan of candy bars, but I'm a sucker for the plain chocolate.

-One Tree Hill. This show is so stupid. I hate myself when I watch it, but it's a good fluffy show to watch while I'm scrapbooking.

-Sometimes I feeling like blogging is a guilty pleasure because I probably could be doing something more productive with my time.

-Anything on this list.

That's all for now!

Want to ask a question? Click here.

See also: Ask Anything 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Keep it Local: Lunch Walks in Downtown OKC

I am in the process of going through the reader survey responses (which I promise to share with you at some point), and I was surprised to see that a lot of you (over 70%) either Love or Like my Oklahoma posts.

Truthfully, I'm not always a huge fan of specific city posts myself, but then again I do enjoy seeing pictures of places I might not ever have the chance to go to. And those posts do come in handy if I am planning a trip. Not that anyone really ever makes a special trip to Oklahoma, but this is me telling you that Oklahoma, despite the fact that no one ever seems to care about it except to make fun (Chandler working in Tulsa, anyone?), actually has a lot of great things to offer.

^^^This is one of my favorite buildings! I love the different colors.

I've been working downtown for over a year and a half now, and I absolutely love it. Oklahoma City is a big enough city that you feel like you're in the city, but it's not so big that you feel overwhelmed. It's really fun to learn my way around the downtown area and discover delicious restaurants and fun shops. During my lunch hour, I try to take the opportunity to walk around, taking pictures and just getting outside. 

^^^This is the downtown library, where I often go to check out books. It's awesome to have such a large library system so close!

^^^ This is the Devon Tower, the tallest building in OKC. I actually interviewed for a job here before I got the one I have now. It was the first interview I had after I got fired, and it was literally two days after the firing. When the recruiter asked me about my previous job, I started crying IN THE INTERVIEW. 

Let's just say they didn't hire me. Crazy, party of one?

^^^This is... actually, I have no idea what this is, but whenever I see this tiny building flanked on both sides by giant ones, I smile. The building on the right is a parking garage they just finished building. The floors are all color coded.

^^^Across the street from the Devon Tower is the Myriad Gardens. During the lunch hours, tons of people are outside on the lawn doing workouts, and people pass me running or walking. They've done an excellent job the last few years fixing up the downtown area so that it's really a great place to walk around, take photo shoots, and watch movies.

Have I convinced you to come visit me yet? I think you'd like it!

You might also like:

A Walking Tour of Downtown Oklahoma City

Fried Peaches and Wooden Spoons

The longer I live in Oklahoma, the more I realize how many fun things there are to do here throughout the year! To be honest, I don't take advantage of a lot of them, but last summer I did cross a few things off my unofficial OKC bucket list such as ziplining across the Oklahoma River, eating Chinese in the underground tunnels, and watching a movie in the Myriad Gardens. (Read about my summer OKC adventures here)

But one of my absolute favorite weeks of the year in downtown OKC is the annual Festival of the Arts, which happens at the end of every April to coincide with the weekend of the Memorial Marathon. I've run the 1/2 marathon, full, and 5k, and I was super bummed this year to miss the race, but I did make it to the festival a total of four times!

It helps that I work downtown, so twice during lunch walked over and wandered around. Jordan and I went with a couple from church one evening, and one day my mom drove up!

^^^We couldn't resist the heavenly smell coming from the roasted nut stand. And then later that week, my mom couldn't resist it either. (P.S. I totally tricked Jordan into taking this picture by telling him I wasn't going to include his face, just his hand holding the nuts. I fully intended to take an artsy hand-holding-something-in-front-of-a-blurry-background picture. Instagram that sucker. But then I couldn't resist the dimples.)

^^^ Fried peaches! These were definitely interesting. Lots of cinnamon and whipped cream. I found myself sucking the peaches out of their fried casing by the end. I don't know that I would get these again, but they were fun to try! Next time I'll just stick with fried pickles. You can't go wrong.

^^^Some of the artists actually work on their craft (painting, jewelry, basket weaving, etc.) during the day. I remember this guy from last year. My mom and I really loved this mason jar daisy painting he was working on. Too bad hand-painted art like this runs way too steep for me.

^^^I try to sample different foods every year. This was a pulled pork slider with mango chutney. So good and only $2! Leave it to me to find the cheapest food item they offered. Last year I bought food from the chicken 'n' waffle stand. Let's just say it was a mind explosion. So good!

^^^Every year, my mom and I go to the festival and buy a wooden spoon from the spoon lady (that's not her official name, but it's what we call her). We LOVE her spoons. There are even left- and right-handed spoons that are curved to better fit your hand as you're stirring. I have two of the left-handed ones and love using them! I thought about buying a spoon to give away on the blog, but then I just bought one for myself instead. 

I'm not sure why I even told you that.

^^^What's an arts festival without a giant mustache made out of bottle caps? Not much of a festival at all, I'll tell you. There are so many unique, creative things here, and it's fun to just walk around and look at stuff, eat delicious food, and enjoy the outdoors!

Of course, it's a local joke that whenever the arts festival is in town, it's sure to rain. No joke: every single year it rains at least once during the week of the arts festival. But as you can see, the sun shone enough for me to get my almost daily dose of some cool art and delicious fair food. Until next year!

Does your city have a festival like this? 
What's your favorite kind of handmade item to buy? Are you a wooden spoon kind of person? A pottery person? Art? Jewelry? Bottle cap mustaches?

5 Stores that Make Me Want to Buy All the Things

Most of my blog post topic ideas come to me organically. And by that I mean, I'm usually doing something in real life that I realize would make a good blog post. 

This is what happened to me last week when I walked out of Whole Foods carrying $58 worth of items I had no intention of buying when I walked in there. I went to buy mangos. Are there mangos in either of those bags? Nope. No mangos, but I did manage to grab garlic bread, aged English cheese, homemade guacamole, organic blue corn chips, and salmon filets, among other random (read: expensive) items I didn't need.

And thus, this post idea was born: 5 stores I really shouldn't go to because they make me want to buy all the things. I posted this question on my blog Facebook page and got a lot of responses! I'm interested to know what stores you would add to your list. 

Here are mine (in no particular order):

1. Whole Foods

The truth? I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods, and I don't make a habit of it, but something about this place makes me want to bathe in a bath of organic orange juice.

I think it's the chalkboards. Everything is written on chalkboards in there, and I can't. handle. it. Someone stop me. I'm not a vegan, nor would I ever wish to become one (because cheese), but step one foot into Whole Foods, and I'm ready to swear off animal products for the rest of my life. VEGAN BACON I LOVE YOU FOREVER.

And don't even get me started on the tiny carts.

I walk out of there cradling my locally sourced artichoke hearts and bag of flaxseed wondering who on earth I've become. And I don't hate it.

2. Target

Funny story, Target wasn't actually on my original list until everyone commented on my FB post about it. How could I forget writing this post full of GIFs about my love of Target?

Can I say anything that hasn't been said before?

Let's just say I manage to get past the giant rack of $6 tank tops (on sale for $5.85)! I get sucked into the aisle with all the cute kitchen stuff, and it's over. Never mind that I don't have enough cabinet space as it is, I NEED another light blue mixing bowl. This one has circles on it and is only $4. Come to mama.

3. Anywhere that sells stationary/greeting cards

Basically, if I walk into the greeting card aisle I WILL be buying a card, probably 5. I'm a sucker for cute, hand-drawn cards and personalized stationary. That's all I'm going to say about that.

4. Anthropologie

OMG. I have such an extreme love/hate relationship with this store. As in, I love everything in it and hate how expensive it is. I go in there just to walk around and gaze at the pretty things, but I've never actually bought anything that wasn't 90% off, because hello absurdly expensive.

I want all their dishtowels and aprons. I want to buy ceramic door handles and tiny elephant figures. I don't know.

5. Any athletic store

This is where I can really do some damage. I have way too many sweatpants as it is, but there is always room for more. Basically my capsule wardrobe would consist of only sweatpants and t-shirts if I were a homeless teenager who didn't have an actual place of business to go to every day. Darn you, real life.

So those are my top 5 picks! 

What stores make you want to blow the budget?
___________

If you liked this post, you might like:
 5 Things Other People Like that I Don't
5 OTHER Things Other People Like that I Don't

Nicaraguan Adventure // Ziplining and Volcanoes

This is my last Nicaragua post! I'm going to tell you all about what we did on our last two days in Central America.

On Thursday morning, after three and a half days of medical clinic, we loaded up the truck and headed back to the mission house. There was a mad rush to the showers, and I am not ashamed to tell you that yours truly didn't wash her hair the entire time we were in the village.

Let's just say that when I took my hair out of my braid and ponytail, it stayed right in the same position. Didn't move an inch. DON'T JUDGE ME. I have my reasons. Okay, one reason, actually. I'm lazy.

Anyhoo, after washing every crevice about eight times with lice shampoo, we all collapsed in our beds for a nap. I don't think I'd ever been so tired in my life, and that's quite possibly not an exaggeration. (Side note: whenever people ask how our "vacation" was, I'm like, "Vacation? Um, no.")

Later that night, Jordan's parents celebrated their 30th anniversary (which had been earlier in the summer) by renewing their vows on the balcony of the mission house. It was Jordan's mom's only request for their anniversary. Our associate pastor was in Nicaragua with us and officiated. It was really sweet.

The next morning was Friday, the day before we flew back to the States. 

This is traditionally "free day," which basically means BMDMI has some kind of group sightseeing outing planned where we finally get to see some of Nicaragua instead of just being in the village.

This year, they did something they'd never done before: they took us ziplining in the jungle! Oh. My. Gosh. Coolest thing ever doesn't even come close to describing the awesomeness. I literally cannot think of the words to describe how fun this was, so I'm just going to do this: 

!!!!!!!

Ahem.

^^^ This is me doing the "super chica." 

(When you do the "superman" pose on your stomach, you have to go with a guide so they can hold your legs and break for you. When you go upside down or regular, you're not with anyone else.)

The best part of the whole thing was that Jordan and I almost didn't go. Just two weeks earlier, we'd actually gone ziplining in Oklahoma City at the new Adventure Park by the Oklahoma River. It had been my birthday request.

When we heard they were going to take us ziplining, I was immediately like HECK YES. And Jordan was like, "Um... we just went ziplining, and it was kind of lame." And I was all, "Yeah, but this is in the jungle." And he was all, "I don't know.... Maybe we should just go to the market."

But logic won out in the end, and we decided to go ziplining.

I probably don't have to tell you that ziplining in Nicaragua compares in no way to ziplining in Oklahoma. Sorry, Oklahoma, but you lose this round. For ease of viewing, I made this handy comparison chart for you:

Again, I really don't mean to hate on Oklahoma, but come on. Most of our time was spent standing in line waiting to zip. In Nicaragua, we were literally up in the trees for a full hour, zipping 17 cables. AND THERE WERE MONKEYS. Like, legit, real-life monkeys in the trees. This is serious.

The best part was that we had to use gloves to break ourselves. In Oklahoma, a spring-loaded stopper thing caught us at the end. In Nicaragua, we were in charge of breaking or running into a tree at the end. To break, you pulled slightly down on the line with your hand. At the end of the line, you had to hold yourself up so a guy could unclip you. Sometimes the cables were hooked to the tree directly, and sometimes we had to walk between the trees on rope ladder bridges. 

ROPE LADDER BRIDGES!!!!!

Sorry I keep all-caps shouting, but seriously. You guys. I so wish I had pictures, but since I didn't bring my camera, I'm lucky someone else got one of Super Chica. The rope bridges looked basically like this (thank you, Google):

Short story long, we were so glad we didn't go to the market with the other half of our group. Ziplining for the win.

After ziplining, we hit up Narcy's Pollo for some fried chicken. This is about the time when I started to feel sick. You see, something I didn't mention was that everyone (and I do mean everyone) on our team caught what we lovingly referred to as the Nicaragua Bug. It didn't hit us all at once, but eventually it got us all. My turn was Friday afternoon and all day Saturday on the trip home. Jordan got it once we got home on Sunday and actually took off work Monday because he still wasn't feeling well. The symptoms were different for everyone. Luckily for me it just caused chills, headache, and some nausea.

Friday afternoon was spent at a touristy site where BMDMI usually takes groups for free day. It's the site of an old volcano, which exploded back in the day and is now a lake inside a valley. The sun was beating down, and it was really hot, but it was gorgeous and fun! Now excuse me for a photo dump.

It was a little strange after being in the medical clinic all week to spend the day just doing fun stuff. Seeing poverty like that and then paying $23 to go ziplining felt kind of ridiculous, to be honest. I think the point is to keep perspective and always be grateful for what we have and realize that everything is a gift given to us from God.

With that said, I am so, so grateful for the opportunity to go on this missions trip with Jordan. We both feel stronger as a couple and as people for taking the time to serve, and I will continue to pray for the people of Nicaragua. We're already planning on going back next year!

I hope through these posts you feel like you got to share in at least a small part of the experience with us. And if you have the opportunity to go on a trip like this, you should definitely consider it. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it time off work? Yes. Is it really hard? Yes.

But I promise: it is so worth it.