7 months in Tulsa

So it has been almost 7 months that we have been here in Oklahoma. In some ways it feels like it's been 7 years and in some ways, it's seems like just yesterday that we were moving here. As far as our feelings about Tulsa...I think we both realize that if we lived in a better neighborhood, we would be happier here. I work in a rehab facility where there's very little opportunity for social interactions outside of work and the neighborhood feels like a ghetto. We love the house, but would love to move it to a better place. It's so depressing to live where we do, very lower class. No one takes care of their house, their yard or themselves for that matter. Since it's looking like we will be here awhile, we are talking about finding a new place to live once our lease is up. Of course we would have to pay a little more, but I think it would be worth it to live in a better area. Living in a nicer area would also open up more opportunities to network and socialize with people more like us.
As far as the area in general. There really is a lot to do and see. We have started going downtown to McNellies and really have a good time there. We like the food and the atmosphere and especially the beer selection :)
I miss my family a lot lately. I can't wait to see them in May for Colleen's graduation! Justin's friend Bugley came to visit us this weekend. We took him to the casino and Justin took him to Grand Lake for some 'wheelin. Having friends come visit us does a lot for the morale! It's looking like Mark and Heather might be coming to visit us in June! I really hope so :)
I had a job interview this week. It didn't turn out to be something of interest for me. I am hopeful that I will find what I'm looking for. I am also looking at local colleges and universities to go back to school and get my LPC certification or possibly school counseling. I really want to be in the counseling field and it's looking like in order to do that, I will need that type of certification.

So after 7 months, we are more settled with our lives here, but still longing for home! I continue to look for a better job and Justin is working on passing his FE exam on April 9th. Once he passes that things will be a little easier for him. He's had to study almost every night for this exam and there is a lot of pressure for him to pass as his job. For me it's been very hard to be away from my family as my grandmother continues to need a lot of specialized care, and both my sisters have a lot going on in their lives. I wish I could be there for them. However, my sister Colleen will be visiting in April so I am looking forward to that! I hope that my update 7 months from now has us loving this place, so we aren't so sad about being away from home.

Friends are visiting!

We were excited to have Scott visit this week! He is a friend of Justin's since childhood. Currently he lives in Newton Grove, NC and is a pastor of two churches there! It was fun to show him around Broken Arrow and Tulsa the past few days.

Justin took him downtown yesterday and out with friends to the Full Moon Cafe where there is a dueling piano bar and a Thursday night burger special, a 1/2 pound burger and fries all for $3! They had a great time.

Also, during Scott stay, we took him to our favorite mexican restaurant, Mr. Mambo! Today is his last day here. Justin took the day off to show Scott some more of Tulsa and hopefully the oil driller by the fairgrounds. Next week Jeff (Bugley) will be coming to visit! What a great month for us to have friends from home to visit! We are also looking forward to having my sister Colleen visit during the weekend of Easter!!

Happy Valentines Day!

We had a nice weekend, still cold but relaxing. We are getting ready for friends to visit this month and next! Scott, Justin's good friend will be coming next week and then Bugley will be coming the following week! It should be a fun couple of weeks for us! It's so nice to have friends from home visiting us. We miss home so much!!

Sasha, my parents dog passed away on Sunday. This came as a surprise :( We are definitely going to miss her. She was a beautiful dog! Her best fur friend, Bailey will miss her too. They were always together and hated to be apart!

We are looking at warmer temps this week. Can you believe the high will be 72 on Wednesday and just a week ago the low was -17! This place is crazy..lol!

BLIZZARD PART 2

So we woke up on Wednesday morning this week to about 6 inches of snow on the ground. Let me remind you that nothing has melted from last week's storm! So once more, we (ok, really just Justin) had to shovel ourselves out to get to work. We went in a little late, driving the Goozer,but we made it in as the snow continued to fall most of the day. I really would have rather snuggled up in bed with hot chocolate and a movie, but, being the  ever dutiful employee, made it in to work and showed my dedication to 12 and 12. I wasn't nearly as dedicated as others  who spent the night there. I just couldn't seem to find the desire to do that...but at least I made it in when I think no one else did, who hadn't spent the night there.

Thursday of this week, we woke up to -17 degrees outside. Yes, that is the real number, not even the wind chill factored in! We actually had colder weather than the North and South Poles on this day! So in two weeks we have set all kinds of records here in Tulsa, OK. Seems that maybe not only do Justin and I bring the crime to BA, but also the cold weather.

Blizzard of 2011 in Tulsa

It all started on Monday Jan 31st 2011...We had been hearing reports all day from the weather forecasts predicting a lot of snow. So off we went like everyone else in this area...to the grocery store to get some food and some fire wood just in case the power should go out. Everything around us was already starting to report closings for Tuesday. Overnight we got an inch or two of sleet which then led to snow early in the morning on Feb1st. Overnight we heard "thunder snow", a first for us! That day we got about 14 inches of snow with blizzard like conditions all day long. We made history this day in Tulsa in terms of snowfall and with the amount of closings! For the first time since it's first printed newspaper, the TulsaWorld news wasn't able to print their newspaper! It was amazing to witness the strength of this storm.The wind was so strong and the windchill was bitter! Temps stayed in the teens or lower all day long. We of course never made it to work that day! When the snow finally ended we tried to start digging out a little. Justin worked on making a path to the front door and getting the Goozer out from the snow. We watched as really stupid people in small cars tried to get down the street, only to keep getting stuck. We just couldn't believe anyone would try to drive on this street with all the snow and sleet, especially in a small car. We had our neighbor Vicki over for dinner on Tuesday night for some of my homemade meatball sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies.

On Wednesday there still wasn't a way we were going to get to work. At about 9am we stayed glued to the tv as rescue was taking place and the news was getting us informed. Earlier that morning a truck of 8 people plunged into a river not too far away and only 5 people survived. It was very sad.

The roads continued to remain slick and hard to drive on, especially in our neighborhood! Justin spent most of the morning using a borrowed snow shovel (better than the shovel he had been using) to shovel the driveway. And he was busy making snow videos too! We went to lunch at Mambos with Derrick and Jessica-it was open! We love Mambos and Justin could literally eat there every day! Then we went to Courtney and Chris' for some snow fun with them. Courtney makes the best Kalua hot chocolate drinks with caramel on top! We explored a little and I took some pictures. It was a good time hanging out with friends on a snow day!

Thursday we still weren't able to get to work! Justin shoveled Vicki's driveway and we got out for awhile for lunch and picture taking. We were starting to feel like the snow was never going to melt. We had record lows that morning of negative numbers! We finally made it back to work on Friday only to have it start snowing again all day long. We left work early and it was an exhausting scary ride home as the roads had gotten even worse by 3pm and all the new snow on the ground. The forecast calls for more snow on Sunday and all next week...I think we now live in Alaska..haha

dreary cold winter...

So sorry for not updating sooner! It's been a busy couple of months. Between Christmas shopping, busy work schedules and getting ready for our trip to NC...December flew by! Both Justin and I enjoyed our visit to NC for Christmas. We got to spend time with friends and family. My grandmother fell and broke her hip, but we managed to still enjoy Christmas with her in the hospital. It snowed in Raleigh for Christmas and we had major delays getting home. For us the flight home was one of the worst we've ever had to deal with,  but we were glad to make it back. Coming back to Tulsa after being home for a week was difficult. But getting back to our routines and hanging out with our friends helped.


My 34th birthday was spent hanging out with our friends  Derrick and Jessica (our neighbors down the street) and we all went to dinner at Outback and then to the Hard Rock Casino. We played the penny slots and only took in $10 to spend. I came back with 6 dollars and Justin lost his money...lol! It really was a cool place to visit though with all the memorabilia. Just was a bit scared by the machines and it took him awhile to relax and have fun, but once he did, he had a good time. There's often really good entertainment there, like Vince Gill was there this past weekend. We also got to hang out with Marcial and Cassie and eat some Sushi. They are the owners of the house we rent, very nice people. I even got Justin into a movie theatre!!!! We went to see Little Fockers which was very cute and we loved Robert Deniro in it!

Justin is studying for his FE exam in April. He has been very good at spending an hour or more a night studying. While he's been busy with studying and exercising the mind, I have been exercising the body. I have been on a health kick, working out and eating good. I gave up diet drinks this past week, which was a good thing! Trying to be healthier!

I think we are getting more settled with time. We can't wait till the warmer weather to get outside more. Recently it snowed here and we got to go to the park and play a little after work. I will try to put some pics up of the snow soon. I'm trying to start a new hobby of making jewlery which looks like fun. I will update you on that...

Trying to think of anything new in Tulsa that we've experienced to share...I think less and less really surprises me these days.