a glimpse into my life {via facebook).

i've decided to try something new -- but you know me and new blog ideas ... we'll see how long this lasts.

i don't always have time to blog every day, but i do post to facebook pretty reguarly, which in essence is micro-blogging.  i thought it would be fun to capture images of my facebook and save them to look back at in the future. 

a few weeks ago i did research to see if any company changes your facebook timeline into a book {kind of like what i do with the blog}, but alas, i've not found anyone yet.  there was one company, but it would only pick and choose a few things to make into a small little book.  not exactly what i had in mind. 

 

 

travis's surgery.

my poor guy.  about a week ago travis had surgery to have his wisdom teeth removed.  he had been in pain for weeks.  he had a regular cleaning the last week of february that just seemed to make everything so much worse.  he was supposed to go in on the 4th to have one particular tooth worked on {the walls of the tooth are really thin, and they were going to cap it -- or something like that}.  when he went in on the 4th, though, the dentist said there was too much trauma in travis's mouth already, and they would need to wait until after his wisdom teeth were removed and his mouth had healed a little better.  they also told him he needed to get in for surgery as soon as possible.

travis agreed, but the earliest the surgeon had been able to schedule him for surgery was march 19th.  at the time of the dentist appointment, that was still three weeks away.  the denist started calling around, and was able to get travis in with a surgeon in tulsa for the next week on the 7th. 

we made it through the week with travis's mouth still hurting every day.  the dentist prescribed lortab to help with the discomfort, but it didn't seem to help much.  i spent tuesday and wednesday {on an exhausting trip} in houston and then took the day off on thursday for travis's surgery.

until then, travis had never had any kind of surgery and had never been "put under."  he's my strong, tough guy, so he didn't act nervous about it {but i think he might have been because he brought it up a lot}.  i told him i couldn't wait to get funny videos of him.  one of my friends from stillwater recently had his wisdom teeth removed, and his wife posted the funniest videos of him to facebook. 

we woke up early and got to the surgeon about 30 minutes early.  we waited in the car for 15 and talked about trip ideas for my birthday. then we headed into the office.  we checked in, paid, and they immediately took travis back.  he later mentioned that he thought we would have time to sit.  i don't think he was quite ready to go back when he did.  i stayed up front in the waiting room and emailed on my phone, then spent the rest of the time on facebook and pinterest.

when they called me back to get him, i wasn't quite prepared myself.  i got to the recovery room and he was sitting on a table with his back against the wall.  his face was so swollen and his eyes looked a little black and blue.  his eyes tend to be a little squinty anyway, but they were even smaller and swollen.  he was wearing a baseball cap and they had a "sock" with ice packs in it wrapped around his head -- it reminded me of a little rascals or norman rockwell picture.

the doctor walked passed the room and travis through his hands up in the air awkwardly giving the man two thumbs up.  other than the clunky movements, he seemed to have his wits about it.  he hates being out of control of his brain so i think he was working extra hard to be aware.

we walked to the car and he told me he needed the pharmacy.  pronto.  we got him settled in to the car, and i thought he might pass out right there.

the office said our first stop was for something sugary and cold -- either an ice cream, frosty, or soda.  wendy's was just 1/2 block away so i pulled in and grabbed him two large frosty's and a large doctor pepper.  what can i say?  i wanted to make sure i had plenty on hand to get him through the day.

he started to eat the frosty with gauze in his mouth.  it hadn't been 30 minutes and our instructions were for him to take the gauze out every 30 minutes.  i assured him that the dr.'s office had given permission to remove it while eating, but he didn't believe me until i called the dr.'s office back {and the receptionist kindly said, "you don't want him to choke, do you?" to which i laughed and said, "of course not; i just couldn't convince him without a call to you."}.  we got a little bit of the frosty down him, then repacked his mouth, and he slept for the rest of the ride.

he woke up when we pulled into the pharmacy drive-thru window.  the pharmacy tech looked inside, laughed, and said "you've had a fun morning so far."  they said they would get it filled in 30 minutes or less.  since the pharmacy is just up the street for our house, i took travis home, got him settled into bed, and then headed back to cvs.  the prescription was ready so i paid for it and headed back home.

travis was ready for the meds when i got there.  he laid in the room for a bit with ice packs on his face and a heat pack on his head for an ongoing headache he developed.  poor guy.  he has just had such a rough go of it over the past few weeks.

he settled into bed, but he didn't fully rest for most of the morning/early afternoon.  he kept getting up to come see what i was doing in the living room and to kind of pace the house.  he did a funny little dance and said he wanted to make sure he didn't disappoint since he knew i was looking forward to him acting crazy.  then he said, "i'm sorry i'm not acting nuts. i'm just too STRONG!"  i love him.

later in the afternoon, he passed out.  and slept for hours.  i woke him up a couple of times to take his medicine because i was terrified to let him sleep through his med time and then wake up later from intense pain.  {he told his surgeon about this yesterday at his one week check-up, and the two of them came to the conclusion that i just wanted him drugged up.  nice, guys}.

friday i had to go to work but made sure he had all of his meds and water close by.  my mom was coming up that day, and i knew she would be around to help take care of him.  when i got home that night he was going crazy because she had talked his ear off.  my dad always said she would talk to a telephone pole if she thought it would listen, so i really wasn't surprised.  she loves travis so much, though.  i know she just wanted to make sure he was alright.

yesterday was his check-up/stitch removal.  the doctor said everything was healing fine, and they would want to check him again in six months.  i guess i should have mentioned they were able to pull the top two teeth {but with how impacted everything was they were concerned that his sinus cavity would be punctured or partially collapse -- thankfully neither scenario took place}, and then they could only cut out part of the two lower teeth.  they pretty much cut them in half horizontally.  they were both lying over a nerve and they couldn't be certain just how they were lying on the nerve.  they couldn't guarantee safe removal without nerve damage {and permanent paralysis} so they had to cut out what they could and leave the rest.  we'll have to keep close watch that those don't get infected, otherwise they'll have to take them anyway, and of course all the risks remain.

for now, he's feeling better ... but this morning is concerned that he has strep throat.  and his tongue has been hurting because several of his tastebuds have swelled up. his poor mouth!  i just don't know what has happened in the past month, but it has been one thing after another for him.

keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  he's a tough one, but i know this has not been a fun time for him.

houston travel {feb 19}.

haley is always asking me about my work and what it's like to travel all the time.  i've tried to convince her it's not always as glamorous as it sounds, but i don't think she believes me.  =)  i had an overnight trip for the 19th and 20th, so i sent her a few pictures of my stay.  she's never been on a plane before, so i sent her a quick shot from the plane. 

when i got to the hotel, i sent her a few pictures of the place i was staying {definitely not the omni, but what are you going to do? #firstworldproblems}.

i didn't really have a view of much, but i tried to give her a look at everything.

i was supposed to meet up with a couple of friends from conocophillips for dinner, but their conference happy hour was running a little long, so i decided i would get a quick little snack of wings.

this is what room service delivered.  hardly a little snack.  and such a funny display.

i haven't been eating a lot of meat over the past year, but i tore into these wings.  i'm a little embarrassed to post these pictures.

in the end, i was glad i had ordered them because dinner plans with the COP-ers didn't work out.

the next day on the trip home, we got stranded in oklahoma city for a bit.  snow was falling in tulsa and bartlesville and the cloud cover was too low to land.  it was a bummer because the roads and runways were fine; we just couldn't land.  i was grateful they took us to okc instead of back to dallas or houston.  we ended up sitting there for about three hours.  they brought in pizza for us and i had time to visit with rick thompson.  it could have been worse, but i was so glad to finally get back to bartlesville.

mom's birthday {feb 16}.

this year we weren't really sure what to do for my mom's birthday.  last year we had such a great time, but travis and i were both still a little tuckered out from the holiday festivities.  we've had a tea party for mom before so i didn't want to do the exact same thing again {even though she did love it}.  i was racking my brains trying to come up with something because i needed to get the cake ordered from seana.  i kept coming back to the tea party idea.  all of the sudden, it came to me.  mom has a tea pot that travis and i got her a few years ago from pier 1.  she loves this tea pot.  i asked sierra to send me a few pictures of it, and then i sent it seana's way. 

seana is staying super busy with her cakes.  i need to stop telling you guys what a great job she does. we were doing mom's birthday on saturday but seana was booked that day.  she was able to deliver it to me on friday, though, so i worked from home and waited for her to arrive.  here's what she came up with.  

 

isn't it awesome?? i don't know how she does what she does, but seana is incredible.  and the cakes always taste as wonderful as they look, which isn't always the case with some bakers.  {for this cake we did a white cake with raspberry filling}.  thank you, seana!

on saturday, everyone met up at spaghetti warehouse.  travis had to go to muskogee so he wasn't able to make it, but sierra, dakota, mom, dad, haley, justin, lindsay and parker were all there.  i would love to say that we had a fabulous time and the food was delicious ... but unfortunately the service was terrible, the food was bland and most people didn't like what they ordered.  spaghettti warehouse had been suggested because everyone was tired of the same ol' places.  in this case, however, branching out was not a good idea.

sierra was really sick and hardly ate at the restaurant.  by the time we all got back to our house for cake and ice cream, she was even worse.  she laid around freezing to death and looking miserable.

we sang happy birthday and cut into the beautiful cake.

 we wrapped up with gifts.

everyone was pretty tired afterward and ready for a nap.  sierra was still feeling terrible, so she and dakota headed to mom's house.  dad treated mom to a movie for her birthday.  and me?  well i turned into the germ queen and started spraying with lysol any and everything i thought sierra might have touched or come in contact with.  haley probably thought i was nuts.  she can't miss any more school, though, and this stomach bug that everyone has is super contagious this year.  better safe than sorry!

i love my mom so much.  she brings so much joy into my life, and i wish we had time to visit her more.  i'm glad we have designated time when she comes up every two weeks, but we don't always get to sit and talk.  i'm so grateful to have grown up with her as my mom.  i love you, mom.

happy valentine's day, my loves {feb 14}.

groundhog day update.

in february i  posted about our groundhog day visit to the lears' to surprise steve with a cake.  i didn't have all the pictures from my camera for that post, and wanted to provide a few more pictures.

could this cake be any cuter?  i just love this tiny little phil.  as i mentioned in the previous post, steve insisted that i get his picture in front of the fireplace with his groundhog day ribbon and his cake.

he cracks me up.

happy groundhog day, steve.  now what to do for next year ...

oh so yummy lasagna.

last saturday i posted about several yummy things haley and i spent the day whipping up.   i promised you i would post the recipes, and i don't want you to think i'm a liar, so here we go.  {also, this stuff was so amazing, i want to make sure i get the recipe saved before i lose it}.  but we can pretend this is all for you.  ;)

i didn't have a recipe when travis sprung on me at the grocery store that he would like lasagna for dinner.  i'm not really a lasagna person, so i've never made the stuff.  my mom is a fantastic cook, but i always hated lasagna nights growing up.  of course i jumped on google {what else is a girl to do in the middle of the grocery store when her husband wants a dinner she has never made?}.  i came across a recipe that sounded pretty yummy {and boy was it ever}!

you can find the original recipe on allrecipes. going back and looking at the recipe now, i see that it says "takes a little work, but it's worth it." not sure i would have made it had i seen that message in the beginning, but the guy is right it IS worth it. 

the original recipe calls for 1 lb of sweet italian sausage and 3/4 lb of lean ground beef.  travis didn't want me to use sausage, so i used two lbs of ground beef. it also calls for fennel seeds, which i omitted.

world's best lasagna from allrecipes.com {with my edits}

original recipe makes 12 servings 

• 1 pound sweet italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
   

1. in a dutch oven, cook ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. season with sugar, basil, italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  {this made the house smell amazing}. 
2. bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. in a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. {haley and i did this while the sauce was simmering and just put it in the fridge so it would be ready when it was time to assemble the lasagna}.
3. preheat oven to 375.
4. to assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce {the original recipe called for six noodles, but even overlapping them a bit, i wasn't able to fit six in the bottom of my pan}. spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture {so yummy!!}. top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices {i used shredded mozz, but would like to try it with the mozzarella slices in the future}. spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese {i did 4 layers of noodles to be able to use all the noodles i had cooked.  on the very top of my noodles, i only had meat sauce and cheeses}.  cover with foil: to prevent sticking, spray foil with cooking spray
5. bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. cool for 15 minutes before serving.

holy moly. look at that ricotta.  that was my favorite part of this entire dish.

and here's the finished lasagna in all its melty goodness.

travis posted on facebook that it was absolutely delicious, and haley said it was one of the best lasagnas she's ever had because most of them have a lot of sauce and this one doesn't go overboard on the sauce.  later travis told me it was the best he's ever had -- he just wished he could enjoy it more, but his mouth has been hurting so badly.

so there you have it.  a lasagna for the books.  i have an idea this will find its way into my kitchen again. 

date night with the loves {feb 2}.

oh the loves.  i miss the loves these days ...

over the past two or three weeks, travis's mouth has exploded.  it's terrible.  i feel awful for him because he's so miserable.  there's nothing i can do.  a week or two before he went to the dentist he ended up getting several painful lesions in his mouth, and they just seemed to get worse.  his wisdom teeth were also starting to bother him a lot.  he went into the dentist last week for a regular cleaning and i think that just made the problem worse.

in addition to everything going on at home, i feel like we've been completely disconnected from our friends the loves.  travis and matthew work together, but i haven't even been getting updates about them through travis because his mouth has been hurting so much, he hasn't felt much like talking at the office and only does so when he has to.

the saturday night before haley came to live with us, we had a fun date night with matthew & crystal {and as i'm typing this, i realize it's no wonder i miss them so much!  it's been over a month since we last saw them!!  there was a time when we would see them a couple of times a week, and at least several times a month.  now it's been almost a month and one week!}.

you know, now that i think about it, i couldn't tell you where we went to dinner.  i'm sure it was some place delicious, but i really just don't remember where.  interesting ...  that's one of the main reasons i keep this blog.  looking back, reading these stories, i can always remember the events crystal clear.  but if i don't capture them, they are kind of like dreams and have a way of escaping me. 

after dinner we did head over to red dirt saloon for a little pool {for the guys} and a little dancing {for the girls -- and once or twice with the guys}. 

 

i don't have any pics of matthew, but we just love the loves.   i'm off to get a new date on the books.
as far as travis's mouth goes, i'll keep you posted. 

1 month.

dear haley,

today you have been with us for 1 month.  in some ways it's hard to believe it has only been in a month and in other ways it seems like it was just yesterday that we were having christmas dinner at our house with you and your dad.

i'm so glad you've come to stay with us.  i wish didn't have to be this way just because it means your dad would still be here with us; but we love having you here.

over the past month we've met brittany and millie {and i've waved to gary from the car}.  we seem to hear the most about millie from you.  i know we have so many more of your friends to meet.  i try to check in with you about brittany from time to time.  it's so tragic that you and she lost your dads within weeks of one another.  i hope you are somehow able to comfort one another during this time.

you've done such a great job catching up on your school work.  you still have a few lessons to go and an upcoming science fair project, but i have no doubt you'll have everything caught up in time.  quite the undertaking my dear.  it must be so difficult for you to focus at at time like this.

you mentioned that in just three days it will be two months since your dad left us.  so hard to believe.  i imagine you must miss him so much.  you show a type of strength i don't know i would ever be able to display.  i shared with you that i would be an absolute mess if i were to lose either of my parents.  you seem so strong all the time.  . 

i want to let you know that you don't have to be strong all the time, haley girl.  the feelings that you feel -- the longing for your dad, the sadness, the inability to focus without thinking about him -- those are all things i would expect you to experience.  all feelings you need and should feel.  even on the days when you feel numb from the overload.  please don't feel like you have to carry this alone.  you have a huge family {here with travis and me and the pups, but also aunts, uncles, cousins, and even family you've never even met yet} who loves you dearly.  a family who cries over your hurt.  cries for the loss of your dad.   prays for your heart. and thinks of you daily.  we're all here for you.  to help you carry this and to help you make it through ... like the story of the butterfly i shared with you, you will come out of this stronger. 

thinking of you being stronger than you already are is a little bit overwhelming for me.  as i said, you seem so strong every single day.  i can't imagine the kinds of thing you will accomplish in your life after you've come out on the other side of this.  it will be exciting to watch and thinking of it gives me goosebumps.

you'll never be the same person you were before. not completely.  there is always going to be a part of you that misses your dad.  every day.  even in a few years.  and what an incredible blessing to have been able to have that kind of love for someone in your life.  and to know that he loved you just as much. 

if i could take this away from you and bring him back, i would do that.  without question.  since i can't, though, just know i am here for you, travis and i both, any time you need someone to talk to, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or even a hug.  and all those other people i mentioned before are willing to do that for you, too. you're not alone in this.  {even those puppies love to cuddle and will hold you when you're sad}.

you are so special, haley.  i hope you recognize that.  please don't be afraid to be vulnerable or sad. 

we love you so much little missy,

r h i a n n o n    &    t r a v i s

busy bees.

wow.  march 2nd already.  how is it possible that we're in the last month of the first quarter already?

today we've been busy, busy bees.  travis and i woke up and poked around the house for a bit.  then we got ready for the day and headed out to do a bit of grocery shopping.  i had planned to stop at aldi in owasso on the way home from work yesterday, but i missed the turn, and travis and i were both just so tired.

we headed out at about 9:30 and left haley to work on her vanity (she's in the process of stripping and sanding it down so we can paint it).  we hit up aldi, then the meat market in coweta, and then walmart.  i loathe running errands, but it's not so bad when i'm spending time with travis. i hate shopping at aldi, but i've found that the prices on a lot of things are almost half the price that i pay at reasor's or walmart.  sooo, even though i hate it, and going there stresses me out, i am trying to be conscious of what we spend on food.

while shopping, travis kept spotting items and getting inspired.  he put a bag of vanilla wafers into the cart.  i asked what they were for.  "you're going to make banana pudding later."  oh.  excellent.  good to know.  =)  he was teasing of course and i like to whip up stuff in the kitchen, so i didn't mind.   i picked up a box of lasagna so i could make the mexican lasagna that i made a few weeks ago and travis asked, "are you going to make me lasagna tonight."  i told him my plan, but he decided actual lasagna sounded much better.

when we got home, haley had made a lot of progress on the vanity, and travis was able to start painting it.  we all got the groceries put away, and then i called haley into the kitchen to help me make the banana pudding.  after that, we started on the lasagna (which smells amazing, by the way).  the recipe has been awesome so far, and i can't wait to taste the finished product. 

while we were letting the meat sauce for the lasagna simmer for an hour and a half, we mixed up some homemade oatmeal cups.  they're kind of like granola bars but instead of being in a bar, they're in a baking cup.  and our contain no granola.  just oats, honey, and a few fun toppings.  i'll post the recipes for everything a little later.  for now, i'm going to go remove the foil from the lasagna so it can finish cooking.  and i don't want to miss the last of lady and the tramp. still an all-time-favorite of mine.

happy weekend from the lear family!