The Day We Have Been Waiting For . . .

I'll let the pictures tell our story . . .

Do we look happy or what?!?! Yum! After 40 days of nothing sweet, we went all out tonight and had super delicious cheesecake! I'm so glad that's over. We didn't really clean our plates- we had to take it to go. Maybe I can't handle as much sugar as I could before lent?!?!

All Work and No Play!

Every couple years or so, the YWCA hosts a Young Women’s Leadership Summit. This year I was invited to go and really excited! It was held in Fort Worth, Texas, so we took a short (about 30 minutes) flight from OKC to DFW and spent 3 days learning about leadership, advocacy and how we are part of a bigger organization.

We were staying at the place where AA trains their flight attendants. It was the perfect place for a big conference- good meeting rooms and lots of snacks. Karla got to be my roommate for 2 whole nights! She loved it! We slept on little twin beds and the first night, we stayed up chatting for hours, just like college girls in the dorms! We learned our lesson and quickly went to sleep the next night, since we were so tired during the lectures.

It was a really neat experience and I’m really fortunate that I had the opportunity to attend. The first night we got to eat at Joe T. Garcias, which is one of my favorite Mexican food places. It was yum-my!

Erin, Mari, Sami, & Karla- on the bus

Dinner at Joe T Garcias

Me w/ chips & salsa and Karla with DDP (Mari- being silly!)

All of us from YWCA OKC

The next day we toured the National Women’s History Museum- a part of the Smithsonian- in Dallas. They had really neat exhibits from Amelia Earhart to Mary Kay to Hillary Clinton to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. They even had a poster of the YWCA from a long time ago! It was pretty neat.

Me & Karla

Karla took this picture b/c she can't believe I was wearing flats!!!

In front of National Women's History Museum

Me, Karla, Sami and Mari

We borrowed the chef's hat for the night . . .

Sami has a very little head!

Throughout the entire weekend, they called out raffle numbers and people could win prizes. Everyone that went with us was a winner, except for me! I was super disappointed. Karla said I can carry her bag every once in a while! I don’t think that’s the same as being a winner . . .

Karla and her bags!!!

This is my angry face over not being a winner!

We had so much fun, but after 3 days of intense learning, I was really ready to get home and see Ivy, Winnie and Jeremy! I missed them, even Jeremy!

Dirty Puppies

Today, so very unlike yesterday, is sunny and a lovely 65 degrees, with a slight breeze. Great day for a 5K, right?!?! Anyway, because of the nice weather, I thought it would be a good idea to let Ivy and Winnie play in the backyard. I sat in my little office with a perfect view of the backyard and peeked over at them ever once in a while. I saw them play chase with a stick. At one point, they looked like they were trying to tan- both on their backs getting a little sun on their bellies.

After they had been out there, oh say, 15 minutes or so, I realized that I could no longer see them out my office window. I hopped up from my chair and went to open the back door. And then, I saw them!

They were both facing me and digging furiously in the dirt. I open the door and scream- what are you doing?!?! They look up and freeze and if dogs could talk, I swear, they would have said- oh crap, she caught us!

The pictures don’t even do it justice. Their faces and little paws were brown- a muddy brown color. I went outside snapped a few pics and took them straight inside for a bath.

They hate baths! The entire time I kept telling them- this is what you get for digging in the dirt. Somehow, I don’t think puppies learn lessons like that!

Ivy getting in the corner- as far away from the tub as possible!

All clean!

2 Minute 5K

The YWCA has been planning a 5K for several months now. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and we originally hoped to plan it some time in April. After looking at the City’s events for the month, we realized that March 28 was our best option.

Our goal was to raise awareness about sexual assault. It was named the 2 Minute 5K, because every 2 minutes a woman in Oklahoma is sexually assaulted.

Lots of planning and preparation went into getting ready for this event. I have never planned a 5K or any other race and neither has anyone else at the YW. We’ll just say it has definitely been a learning experience.

In the days leading up to the event, the weather has been mostly sunny and anywhere from 55-70 degrees, sometimes windy, sometimes not. At the beginning of the week, we began seeing the weather reports that indicated the weather might be a little cool the day of the race. I lived in a world of denial and told myself that OK news reporters frequently over exaggerate and create hysterics based on very little actual weather truth.

Shannon and me

By Thursday, I could no longer deny that the weather was going to get bad on Friday night and it would still be bad Saturday morning.

The calls started rolling in . . . are we still having the 5K? did you know that it might snow on Saturday? Did you see that there is going to be a blizzard in Oklahoma? Is the 5K cancelled? You're still having it- how???

I wanted to tattoo- “still having the 5K” on my forehead, as well as put that on all outgoing emails and change my voicemail to say- “Thanks for calling. I can return your call; however I’m sure you are calling to inquire about the status of the 5K and yes, we are still having it- rain or shine, even snow!”

We forged ahead with our preparations and attempted to make the best of the situation. I wish I could say that weather wasn’t too bad, but Saturday was miserable! It was cold and wet and windy and there was no relief! The pavilion we rented was nice, but did not block the wind at all. It took me several hours to thaw out when I got home from the 5K.

Karla and I with the race winners


Karla and me! Do we look cold?!?!

The event planners- Shannon, Karla, Josh and me

Even though the weather was just plain awful, I consider the 5K a huge success! We raised money and awareness! And accomplished our goals!

Online registration was available for participants and over 150 people signed up and we raised over $10,000. The day of the 5K, we had about 30 race participants and about 30 volunteers comprised of staff and volunteers. I know the turnout would have been a little better on a sunny, warm day, but that’s okay! Thank you to everyone who contributed on my registration page!

We’ll be back next year for the 2nd Annual 2 Minute 5K (probably in April though)!

For an article on the 5K click here.

Here are a few pic of Ivy and Winnie playing in the snow at our house!

They were very tired after their big day in the snow!

An Early Arrival

Baby Proctor came a little bit earlier than expected! We barely made it home to OKC before he decided he was ready to arrive. We can't wait to meet this precious little baby! I know Mandy and David are going to be excellent parents.

Grayson Proctor

March 25, 2009 at 11:47am

Weight: 6 lbs 3 oz

March Trip to Tennessee

We had not made a trip to the great state of Tennessee since Thanksgiving, so we thought it was time for a little visit. Plus, Winnie couldn’t wait to meet Billy, Rita, and Alison. They were pretty excited about meeting her, too!

We left on Thursday afternoon and got to Wildersville about 1:00am- we were exhausted. Thank goodness Jeremy was driving- I think I was delirious.

We had a great weekend! And of course, everyone loved little Winnie.

On Saturday, we headed to Nashville to have lunch with Mandy and David. We hadn’t seen them in forever, so it was really nice to catch up! They are very busy getting ready for Baby Proctor, who is due to arrive in early April. The nursery was adorable. And we also got to see their dogs, Harley and Paisley, who have grown up so much in the past few months. Sadly, Ivy and Winnie didn’t get to make the trip!

We also stopped off at our condo to check things out. Other than the fact that the door was left unlocked, it was good. And hopefully, that little problem will be remedied.

We had such a great time visiting our Tennessee family and friends! We can’t wait to go back and visit soon! Maybe Easter???

The drive home was a real thrill. The pictures tell the story!