Thursday, December 20, 2012

A Quick Catch Up

Well, when you take a five month hiatus from blogging, you should probably do a quick catch up before just jumping into what's going on today. Sorry to leave you guys hanging on a few things... So, I'll do a very brief recap and then sometime before the weekend is over I'm going to blog all about our Christmas decor. (I'd be lying if I didn't admit that one itty-bitty part of the reason I brought the blog back when I did was because I am dying to share pictures of our fun trees! Brandon and I added quite a few things this year and I'm very pleased with how it all turned out!! So, pictures coming soon!)

Now let's get this party started:

Not a good sign when you are the ONLY car left in the lot.
July: The month of July was lost in an absolute whirlwind of being entirely overwhelmed by the new job. My bestest friend, Sheridan (who I also happened to be replacing at work), moved to St. Louis in June (her husband matched for his residency program at WashU - woohoo!) and left me in a swamp of work and best friendless. It was exactly as dramatic and pitiful as it sounds, trust me. Sad, sad month. Only four years and six months until she gets to move back!! Yes, I very selfishly have a countdown.
 
The girls LOVE their Uncle B.
August: Starting to get the job somewhat under control during the month of August, although it did require me to spend a few days in "enemy territory" as I traveled to Austin, Texas for an alumni event. (Ugly orange, but good food!) Brandon and I also had the privilege of keeping our two favorite girls, Blythe and Zoe, for a full weekend while their parents went to an out-of-state wedding. We had the very best time! We played at the science museum, built a big fire on the patio, watched the Lorax at least three times, made some yummy cake balls, slept in a giant fort Brandon rigged together in our guest room and somehow successfully got to school on time with lunches packed! Massive success!
 
Most beautiful beach in the world and we were the ONLY ones on it!
September: Boy does time fly! In September we celebrated our first anniversary in beautiful Turks & Caicos. It was the perfect way to top off a truly wonderful year of marriage. We were so incredibly blessed to have a healthy, overwhelmingly happy, joy-filled first year. People always say that the first year is the hardest - if this is true, I can't wait to see what the next fifty years hold! Year #1 was, hands down, the very best year of my life.
 
Happy Birthday to Me!
My mom always makes sure I have my favorite strawberry cake on my big day!
 October: My BIRTHDAY month! October was packed full of exciting adventures and therefore deserves three pictures instead of just one!

On work trips, I rarely ever have time for sight seeing,
but I made an exception for the White House. It's kind of a big deal...
I kicked the month off with a work trip to Washington, DC where I became re-acquainted with our nation's beautiful capital (I hadn't been since high school) and met some of our fabulous alumni and donors.

Boomer Sooner!
I hopped back on a plane just in time to land in Dallas for OU/TX weekend with my parents and Brandon. This is our second year for the four of us to go to OU/TX together and it has become one of my favorite family traditions... and OU has pummeled Texas both years, so we must be good luck! We drove back to OKC on my birthday and celebrated by going to see Les Miserables with Brandon's family. It was a wonderful month full of lots of fun activities!
 
This photo was taken at 2 am the morning of our Hall of Fame Dinner.
Seating 400 people including OK Supreme Court Justices, University Presidents,
oil & gas icons and the best attorneys in the state is a LOT of work!
November: My favorite month of the year - the month designated to being grateful for your blessings! This year, I was just thankful I survived this crazy month. November 1st was the law school's yearly Hall of Fame Order of the Owl event where we host over 400 of our alumni to dinner and the induction ceremony for some of our most prized alumni. In addition to the main evening event, we have our bi-annual Board of Trustees meeting AND a brand new Hall of Fame Luncheon for the recipients. All. In. ONE. Day. It was a smashing success!!
 
Zac playing some really impressive basketball!
Another one of my favorite things about the month of November is that basketball season finally tips off! Brandon and I have had the great pleasure of getting to watch my little brother Zac play quite a few games already this season. As it is his Senior year, we are doing our best to make it to as many games as possible. It always brings my heart great joy to see my brother doing what he loves and doing it extremely well! Go Eagles!
 
Thunder Up!
Speaking of basketball, in November we introduced our precious nephew Brooks to the Oklahoma City Thunder! Fun, would be an understatement. Brooks LOVED every single bit of it - the lights, the game and Rumble! He would clap when everyone clapped and for the majority of the game he just sat in my lap and tried his best to take it all in! So much for his little eyes to see...
 
There's no place like home.
Finally, it was Thanksgiving! We spent two nights at the Ranch surrounded by my sweet family. Brandon and I do our best to split holidays evenly between our families and when you know that next year you won't be home for Thanksgiving, it makes you appreciate the day so much more. This holiday will always be most special to me as we celebrate at the Ranch by playing cards, telling stories of the past, and enjoying each others' company. Since I learned how to cook a turkey last year (I still have nightmares from this story - read all about it here and here), I was designated "turkey chef" this year with my family. I accepted the position much more willingly since I had one bird worth of experience!
 
 
My OCD self has to presort all ornaments before hanging them on the tree!
 
December: And now it's already DECEMBER! Where do the days go?! Check back later this week for pictures of all our holiday decor!
 
 
Be Blessed!
Raegan

Monday, December 17, 2012

Remember Me?

Hi. I'm Raegan.
 
I used to have this blog and I absolutely loved writing little notes to you every day. Then I got this new job and it was a great new gig full of new, exciting adventures and I told you all about it and how I was so excited... and then I fell straight off the face of blogging Earth.
 
My bad.
 
Well, good news - I'm back! And probabably with a much more realistic frame of mind. See, I'm rather OCD. The old Raegan wanted to write at least five posts a week - Recipe Monday, Traveling Tuesday... you get the picture... and if the old Raegan couldn't find time to write five posts a week, than she shouldn't have a blog at all.
 
Guess what. NOBODY has time for that!
 
So, meet the new Raegan. She has a crazy, busy, wonderful job that sucks up a LOT of her time and a really handsome husband that she doesn't want to neglect and a cute little house that needs decorating and friends that she wants to be there for.
 
But here's the thing, the new Raegan really misses the old Raegan's blog. Writing a blog was fun! It kept my mind always thinking. It kept a really lovely list of fun things to write about in my iPhone notes that have just been sitting there, waiting to be discussed. It kept me in touch with lots of dear friends who live far, far away. It kept me happy because it was surprisingly therapeutic - it's a place where I could really think something through. It also connected me with a whole entire group of new, fun friends!
 
The new Raegan really wants to bring the old Raegan's blog back, but with a little more realistic approach. The blogging goals, well, I won't lie, they've taken a hit... The new Raegan is going to do her very best to crank out t-h-r-e-e little blogs a week. That means, if the new Raegan cooks something delicious that week she'll probably blog it... but if the new Raegan is crazy swamped and eats Taco Bell for seven straight days she isn't going to cook something just to put it on the blog. Sorry, the new Raegan is just trying to survive...
 
I hope you'll start following me again. I've missed you! I've missed talking to you and even more, hearing from you! I've missed sharing ridiculous and funny things that happen and I've missed sending love to people I adore. So, here's the deal. I'm going to make a promise to you and I don't take promises lightly...

I promise to do my very best to blog as frequently as possible,
but I do NOT promise to sacrifice my time with my husband, my family, my dear friends or my sweet and patient Heavenly Father in order to have more time to write.
 
 
It's important to have priorities and while I truly love blogging, it isn't in my top five. So, please be patient with me as I do my best, but refuse to sacrifice everything for this fun hobby. Looking forward to continuing this little adventure... I missed you!
 
Be Blessed,
Raegan