pancakes as large as your head + branson travel video

This post contains pictures and stories and a travel video of our trip to Branson a few weekends ago! I already shared the main logistics of our trip and a few pictures here, so read that first if you missed it. If all you want to see is the video I made of our trip, scroll to the bottom!

Okay first things first. Let's talk about one of the most important aspects of any vacation: food. Jordan and I have been mostly disappointed in the food on our past few trips, but we more than made up for it this time. Have you ever been eating the most delicious meal and then you get full and feel really, really sad that you just can't cram down any more food? Well, it happened more than once on this trip and I'm not complaining.

The fun part was that even though we do budget for travel, we still usually keep an eye on our spending and try not to go crazy on food. But as I mentioned in my previous post, our hotel was so stinking cheap that we basically threw caution to the wind when it came to our meals. We didn't care about prices and tipped big and did crazy things like order dessert! 

This is what it feels like to be a movie star! I assume.

I am our designated Family Vacation Planner, so I created a list of breakfast, lunch, and dinner places for each day we were going to be in Branson. The majority of our eating spots were based on recommendations from friends, and they did not disappoint. On Sunday we had the most delicious brunch at the Keeter Center.

Much Ado About Nothing

I think my social media fast is sneaking its way into my blogging, because my motivation to sit down and write is becoming less and less as the weeks pass. Don’t get me wrong: the ideas are flowing, but I just find myself wondering what the point is and feeling like everything I post about is lame. I do other things than blog during R’s weekend nap, and when evening rolls around I watch something on Netflix with Jordan and then go to bed early to read.

MTV needs to start a new show about me, is basically what I’m saying. Although I’m not sure viewers could handle this kind of suspenseful programming.

I’m starting a new Bible study through Philippians with some girls from church this week, and our weekends are starting to fill up as we count down the days until Baby Boy makes his arrival. I’m honestly not even nervous about adding a fourth to our family of three. I’m just so darn excited to meet him! My next appointment is next week, where I’ll take my glucose test and enter into the glories of the third trimester, where I wonder with each passing day just how big my stomach can stretch before it pops right open.

In the meantime, I filmed a vlog. I used to do them occasionally, but it’s been a while and I thought it might be fun to mix it up while I try to recover some will to write anything down. Hope you enjoy!

If you can’t see it below, click here to watch on YouTube.

A few notes:
1. The lighting is terrible. This is why I will never be a famous vlogger. Where do all these people get such bright light in their houses? They probably are home in the middle of the day to do vlogs not at 7 at night.

2. The box to my right (your left) is R's convertible carseat box that she uses to color inside. I should have moved it before filming so we don't look like we just have random boxes lying around. Which... actually, nevermind. We do have random boxes lying around.

3. I did not ask Jordan to video bomb me for comedic effect. He did that purely out of the goodness of his heart. He also doesn't know I didn't edit that part out, so.... joke's on him. Ha!

The Chair Pictures: A Video of Months 1-12

Miss R is ONE YEAR OLD today! Oh, what a blessing she is. I pretty much summed up all my thoughts about being this girl's mama in this post, so I won't try to write anything else because I am over here feeling ALL THE EMOTIONS.

A friend on Instagram said this is my "happy to not be in labor day," and ain't that the truth. Amen. I reread R's birth story the other day just for fun (ha!), and, just, ouch.

Last week I was trying to put some thoughts together about my first year of motherhood, and I jokingly said to a coworker, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." We laughed about it, and then later I was like, "Actually it was the best of times and the worst of times." So I went and looked up the whole first paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities, and what do you know. Charles Dickens was talking about more than just life in London during the French Revolution. He was talking about motherhood. Symbolism, baby. No, seriously, read this: 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities (<--- cough *screaming baby* cough) insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

I mean isn't that perfect?

As you know by now, I've taken a picture of R in her gray elephant chair every month for her monthly updates, and at the same time I took a short video. I've put them all together for you, so please enjoy this 30-second montage of my baby girl from one to twelve! If you can't see it below, click here.

Happy birthday, my little love! Month Twelve recap (the last one!) will be coming soon, along with a recap of her first birthday party. Once I stop crying.

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.

Currently: August [The Vlog Edition]

^^^ This is a screenshot. If you press the "play" button, nothing will happen, but you will probably feel dumb.

So I made this video yesterday and decided I would just post it now instead of waiting until Monday. A little weekend treat, if you will.

This is a "Currently" video, where I talk about what I'm currently creating, wishlisting, hoping, eating, and watching. (Linking up with Jenna!) I tried something new and added a faint song in the background just to spruce things up (and to cover up the annoying buzz that my stupid computer does when I film something).

I really tried to not think about trying too hard with this. Part of my problem with videos in the past has been that I'm trying too hard to appear comfortable, which I think makes it all seem forced. Hopefully I did better with this one. Let me know what you think. One change I would make next time is losing the water bottle, but apparently I needed something to do with my hands. I hope it doesn't make you want to beat me over the head with it. But I'm 38.5 weeks pregnant and thirsty! Don't hate.

The video should be embedded below, but if you can't see it, watch on YouTube here. Happy weekend!

Scenes from downtown Nassau, Bahamas (plus a video!)

In my last Bahamas post, I showed you some pictures from the Atlantis resort. On Monday afternoon, we had the opportunity to take a bus into downtown Nassau to eat lunch and spend an hour or so walking around the shops. It inspired confidence that our bus had a giant dent across the front.

^^^ They drive on the other side of the road in the Bahamas (and by "other side of the road" I mean for us American folk). These "yield" signs were cracking me up. Driving there reminded us of the crazy drivers in Nicaragua!

I told you last time that one thing that surprised me was that Atlantis is like its own little area of the island. We had to drive over this bridge to get outside Atlantis and into the downtown area. What stood out to me the most was just how colorful everything is. I mentioned the color of the water in my last post, but in Nassau we got to see how colorful the streets and buildings are. It was so fun!

We ate lunch at this absolutely delicious place right off the water where some cruise ships were docked. It had the best view, music, and food and was personally one of my highlights of the trip.

After lunch, we walked around a bit and enjoyed some scenes from the island. We watched some guys diving for puff fish and conch shells. Fresh from the ocean!

In conclusion, I put together a short (less than 2 minutes) video! It's not the greatest quality because when I uploaded it to YouTube something funky happened. Movie editing is not in my skill set. 

Also, apparently the "Under the Sea" song I used for 30 seconds at the beginning is copyrighted, so this video is blocked in Germany...? Random. Also x2, YouTube says "ads might appear" on the video because of the song, so sorry if that happens. But I'm too lazy to change it now so just deal with it.

If you can't see it on the blog, view the video on YouTube here.

*If you can't hear some of the audio in the second half, Jordan and I asked each other: "What is your favorite memory from the trip?" Jordan said the color of the water and meeting the OBGYN in the line for pizza. I said walking around Atlantis and seeing the OBGYN. Because I will never stop talking about that.

Read part 1 of our Bahamas trip here.

Ask Anything Answers: Part 4 [A Vlog]

I'm back with another answer to one of your "ask anything" questions! 

If you haven't noticed in previous vlogs I've done, the lighting in my apartment is awful. But last Saturday morning I realized I actually had a chance to make a video that wasn't going to be yellow! The downside was that I was still in my pajamas with crazy sleep hair. And glasses. Basically I have no shame.

Also, yes the video is making a weird sound. That's my computer! I can't fix it, okay? It's a refurbished Mac from 2008, and let's just say it's currently dying a slow and painful death. Add that right under my windshield on the list of things I don't want to talk about. #sendmoney

This vlog is only answering one question, and I am very interested to hear your answer to this one, so feel free to leave a comment after you've heard my answer!

The Question:
How do you determine the boundaries around what you're comfortable sharing about yourself, your family, and your friends? Do you have friends who have asked not to be on the blog? I'm curious about Jordan's take on what you divulge about him on the blog.



*If you can't see the video, watch it here.
**I realize it may look like I've strategically placed myself to the side so my race medals are presented in full glory, but really it was just the only way to avoid showing you the pile of crap that's sitting on our futon and the giant Cubs poster on our wall that needs to be dusted. This is real life.

Previous blog posts mentioned in the video:
-Post with the picture of my aunts
-Post recording what Jordan said while playing a video game
-On Sleep Rage
-Getting fired
-On faith: This and This

You might also like: 
Ask Anything Answers: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

To submit more questions, click here! Happy Friday!

Ask Anything Answers: Part 2 [A Vlog]

Hello! I'm still working away in Salt Lake City this week, but I made another vlog to answer more of the questions you asked me, so I hope you enjoy. 

See the first round of questions here.

And as always, if you have a question you would like answered, enter it here.

The video should be embedded below, but in case it's not, watch it on YouTube by clicking here. Alsooooo, I am SO sorry about the weird beeping noise. My computer is on the fritz! It's a refurbished Mac from 2008, so... yeah. It's an old grumpy thing.

Here are the questions I'm answering in this vlog, along with the times in the video when each question starts so you can skip ahead if you want: 

1. (0:53) You are alone by yourself (Jordan is out), and you choose to watch a movie. What do you watch?

2. (1:28) At what time of day does Jordan's butt look best?

3. (2:06) Tell us about your family (siblings, parents, closeness, etc). How have those dynamics changed as you have gotten older?

4. (5:00) Are you planning to run another Tough Mudder?

5. (6:26) What is your favorite type of bra?

6. (7:51) Do you have any more marathons on your bucket list?

7. (8:41) Do you and Jordan plan to buy a house soon?

8. (9:48) Will you be my bff?

I'm going to get Jordan in on some of the questions in the next answer post! Maybe I can convince him to do a vlog with me, but no promises.

Ask Anything Answers: Part 1 [A Vlog]

In today's post, I will be answering some of the questions I got in my "ask anything" post a few weeks ago. The comment box is still open, so feel free to keep adding questions! 

Click here to ask a question.

Below the video are the questions I answered in this first vlog. Next to each question are the times so you can jump to a specific question if you don't feel like watching the whole thing. The video should be embedded into the post, but if you're having trouble, watch it on YouTube here.

1. (0:30) Do you ever plan on moving from Oklahoma?

2. (1:03) If you didn't live in Oklahoma, where would you live?

3. (1:37) What does Jordan do for his job?

4. (2:56) How often have you edited/deleted old blog posts?

5. (4:25) Name a habit you are most proud of.

6. (6:00) You used to respond to almost every comment that you got, but I've noticed your responses are way down. What changed?

More answers will be coming at you soon! 

Question: Do you like the vlogs, or would you rather I just wrote down all the answers in a regular blog post?

A Day in the Life in 72 Seconds

This day in the life video was inspired by two blog posts I read recently: Amanda's day in the life video and Caitlin's video of her vacation in the mountains. 

I've done a few "Day in the Life" posts (to name a few: 12-12-12 / 2nd anniversary / 3rd anniversary / 27th birthday). I really like documenting my days and looking back to see exactly what I did on such and such day, but I'd never thought of doing a video before.

Here's what I did: 

I put my point-and-shoot by my bed so it would be right there when I woke up in the morning. Throughout the day I filmed 3- to 4-second clips of the things I did, and at the end of the day, I used iMovie to cut and combine everything into the 72-second video. Then I muted all the clips and added a song over the top. (Don't you love how I sound like I actually know what I'm talking about?)

Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and P.S. Just in case you have no faith in my ability to evade internet creepers, no, that is not the real code to my office building. I'm punching random numbers. 

Also, that thing I'm eating with a fork is Pioneer Woman's banana bread. So good. 

Also x2, no I'm not typing with one hand. I'm fake typing with one hand while holding the camera in the other. Don't judge me! This video is as real as it gets.

The Lady Okie's Closet Confessional [Vlog]

Hello, friends! Today I'm linking up with Kiki and Jenna for a closet confessional vlog.

Apparently I make vlogs now. It's a thing. I actually made another one this past weekend, but I'm going to wait a few weeks to share it so you don't think I've gone vlog crazy.

Below the video is the list of the questions I answered, and hopefully this will be a fun glimpse into my closet! I apologize for the weird lighting. I'm sitting on the floor next to my closet because I was too lazy to move my clothes aaaaaall the way to the other room. It's a hard life.

I put the times next to the questions in case you get bored and want to skip ahead. NOT THAT YOU WOULD GET BORED*
*You might get bored. I am talking about clothes after all.

I also want to add that there is no dancing at the end of this video. I just didn't want you 
to watch all the way to the end and be disappointed. I hate to let down my fans.

1. What's the newest piece in your closet? (0:30)
2. What's the oldest piece in your closet? (1:47)
3. What's the least expensive piece in your closet? (2:28)

4. What's the most expensive piece in your closet? (3:00)

5. What's the biggest bargain in your closet? (3:38)

6. What two items are you loving right now? (5:48)

Click on the button below to check out other confessionals and link up! 

Runners Tell All Linkup: Where I Take You Running with Me!

"Runner's Tell All" is a monthly linkup for runners of all ages, skill levels, and experience hosted by Sunshine to the Square Inch and The Lady Okie. Each month we'll have a different topic, and you can find all the topics listed here. We are accepting two sponsorship spots for each month, who will receive a sidebar ad on both blogs as well as entry links in the giveaway. 100% of your sponsorship money will go directly toward running-related giveaways. Find more information on sponsorship here. We have 2 spots available for September!

____________________________________________

This month's topic is: your training routine

As quite often happens, the idea for this post came to me while I was running. You know how they have those slogans like "I run for cupcakes"? Well, that's true. Obviously. But I think I also need to add "I run for blogging" as a personal slogan, because so many of my best ideas for posts come to me while I'm out on a run. This makes me wonder if all of life's troubles, little and big, could be solved if everyone just decided to go out for a run every now again.

For today's post, I decided that instead of writing out the ins and outs of my training routine, I would take my camera with me on a Saturday run and let you come along for the ride. Or, run, if you will.

As I've mentioned numerous times on this blog, during the spring and fall I do most of my Saturday long runs with the Oklahoma City Landrunners. They meet every Saturday at 6:30, and it's completely free (although I do pay the $20 annual membership fee because I love them and want to support them). I know it sounds all hardcore of me to say I get up at 5:45 on a Saturday morning to run, but the truth is, if it weren't for the Landrunners, I wouldn't do it.

Fall training recently started up again, and I thought it would be fun if you came along with me for an 8-mile run along Lake Hefner. (Note: the location of the run moves around from week to week, so my Saturday runs don't always look like this).

I carried my little point-and-shoot with me the whole time and stopped to take pictures along the way. Just in case you're interested, here is what your mile splits will look like if you do this: 

9:26/10:35/9:16/10:38/9:07/8:38/9:22/8:14.

So let's go! Come run with me.

^^^There's really nothing better than hearing the sound of hundreds of feet pounding the pavement. The light chatter of voices and the beeps of Garmins getting turned on. The beginning of these training runs is one of my favorite parts. That and the end, when I stuff my face with all the calories I just burned off. You think I'm joking.

^^^This is one of about 50 attempts of me to take a cool, artsy, shot of my legs and the pavement. Note to everyone: these pictures make no one's legs look good. Ever. Hashtag cellulite.

^^^Do you like how I hashtag my pictures so we can all pretend we're on Instagram right now? This is what I get for not having a smart phone. 

^^^One of the awesome things about the Landrunners is that they provide water stops along the route. For this out-and-back loop, we had water stops at mile 2 and 4, and then we caught it coming back at mile 6.

^^^It figures that the day I decide to take my camera on a run, there's a hot air balloon taking off pretty much right above me. Blogger's luck. Also, artsy shot of my leg and the pavement coming up! You're welcome. (Quick shoutout to Kari for the inspiration of blurry running pics.)

Did you like our run? Well it gets better! I have a video for you too. Oh yes. Since I can't actually take you all on a run with me, I figured a little video was as close as I could get :) Enjoy!

NEXT MONTH'S TOPIC 

(Sunday, September 21)

Your Race Bucket List

What races would you love to do if you had the time/money? 

These can be as realistic or unrealistic as you want!

Please check these girls out! 

They both are awesome running blogger friends.

Alison | Tamara

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Runners Tell All Linkup Rules

1. You MUST leave a comment on the person’s blog who linked up directly before you. This is not a linkup for the sake of linking up. This is a linkup to build community and spread the love and encouragement to your fellow runners! Don't be lame.
2. Do not share links to unrelated running posts or to your blog’s homepage, or we will have to delete your link. (I've done it before too, so I'm not joking.)
3. Please link back to either Beka or Amanda in your post so others can come here and join in! Or grab the button below and add it to your post. 
4. Have fun!

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The Lady Okie Vlogs: 3 Things Every Popular YouTube Video Has

By special request from a loyal reader, I have made another vlog! (For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, a vlog = video blog.) 

Jordan may or may not make an appearance, and there also may or may not be dancing. So yeah, you're gonna want to watch this. (There's a special outro for those of you who stick around to the end!)

It's less than 3 minutes long, which is, coincidentally, the number of hours this took me to film and edit, so I HOPE you all enjoy this video. Otherwise I wasted my Friday night when I could have been doing something productive like baking cookies.



This is, in my opinion, a far cry above my first vlog. Improvement! Soon I'll be making $40,000 a month with my YouTube channel, and you will say, "I knew her when..."

Six Things You Should Know: An Amazing Vlog Starring Yours Truly

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I was tagged in a blogging game by Casey, Rachel, Emily, and Michelle. Thanks, ladies! Instead of writing out answers to all their questions, I decided to face my vlogging fear and pick six questions to answer in a vlog! 

I think this one's better than the last one I attempted and then didn't post. This is thanks to all of your helpful advice. I let Jordan watch this one, and he said it was "not the worst vlog he'd ever seen." I'm just going to chalk that up as a Win and move along.

Here are the questions I answered:

1. What recently made you laugh out loud? (:34)
2. What is your favorite thing about yourself? (1:20)
3. What did you do last Friday night? (1:46)
4. What is your biggest pet peeve? (2:15)
5. What is your favorite book? (3:05)
6. Something you don't know about me.* (3:32)

Things to note: 

-When I made this, I was going through some kind of allergy attack. I don't think my voice normally sounds so scratchy.
-I put absolutely no effort into doing my hair. I know that's obvious, but I just wanted you to know that I know.
-I am talking fast because I'm nervous. Hopefully it isn't too hard to understand me.

-*I realize that 5 ounces does not equal half a pound. I was rounding. Go with it.

I'm tagging the following ladies in this game! I'm too lazy to think of new questions, so feel free to make some up or just answer the six above. Or don't answer any if you don't want to. It's whatever. 

You get extra points in my Book of Awesome if you answer the questions in a vlog. Seriously, I would love you forever. Let's all make awkward blog videos together! Everyone's doing it.

Melinda | Hey Lou Writes

Lauren | Somewhere In Between

The Lane | Life of the Lane

Theresa | From Foothills to Fog

Allison | The Bauble Dept.
Katie | Crusading with Katie <-- A new favorite blog find via this post.

Look! I Made a Vlog! Or Not.

[source]

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I just really wanted to show it to you. Because HELLO I NEED THIS IN MY ROOM. 

All caps necessary. I'm just shouted in my head.
My brother found this and sent me a picture, and now I want it! This baby costs over $100, though, so I'll be starting up a collection fund. There will be a minimum required donation of $100.

Anyway.

What I really came here to do is tell you that I wanted to make a vlog for you guys.

I thought it would be fun. You know, so you could hear my voice and watch my awkwardness. I was hoping it would make you all love me more than you already do. And I was going to be nice and pretend like there is room to love me more while knowing that really you already love me the full amount. (I'm right, right? No, don't answer that.)

So I sat down and gave it a solid attempt. Or, should I say: six solid attempts. And each was more horrible than the last.

If you thought taking style pictures was awkward, try making a video of yourself. You'll want to die. I know I'm dramatic about a lot of things, but vlogging really is quite terrifying.

During my one hundred minus ninety-four vlog attempts, I discovered that: 

1) The lighting in my apartment is terrible, and I look like a greasy, yellow hobbit person. I think maybe to fix that you're supposed to shine a light on yourself? I tried sitting by our one window, but then I just looked like a dark shape surrounded by bright light. Yes, like an angel. I think I might be missing something.

2) I know you're supposed to look into the camera, but it's really hard not to look directly at the screen. And by really hard, I mean impossible.

3) When creating a vlog, it's stupidly easy to appear as though you have a double chin when you, in fact, do not.

4) I ramble a lot.

[source]

4a) I also mumble. Maybe this is what Jordan's always complaining about?

5) My sister watched the video I was going to post because it was the best out of the worst, and she told me I have no on-screen personality. Now I'm really depressed because not only do I not have a vlog, but there goes Life Plan M. A movie career was right before Life Plan N: "Live in a Box on the Street Corner" and right after Life Plan L:"Get a Job as a Waitress/Call Girl at the New Restaurant: Twin Peaks."

So now I'm just confused. Should I try again? Would anyone even care to watch a vlog? What does one even vlog about?

Also, what kind of stupid non word is vlog anyway? Darn you, 2013, and your made-up words!

Anyway, the point of all of this is to say that I may or may not eventually at some point produce a vlog. But don't hold your breath, and in fact, you should forget we ever had this conversation.

Good day.