Casey's Creations- Pinterest Challenge- Key Ring Holder

We saw this on Pinterest a few weeks back.

We don't have a key ring holder but it's on my list of things to eventually buy.

I showed Casey this picture and he said "I can make that for you". I said "OK!"

Casey hit up the antique/junk store the town north of us and was able to find the right letters!

He got the K - E - Y - and the S for $6. He also purchased the hooks for $3. The rest of the supplies (wood and paint) he already had on hand. So for $9 we have an awesome key holder!

I like our design better than the original!

Did I mention I have a very handy husband??

Geocaching 101

C3 discovered Geocaching this weekend! We love it!!!

Up until a few days ago I really wasn't sure what Geocaching was. I thought it was people going out into the woods looking for geodes! Ummm... I was a bit off.

After Googling it and going to geocaching.com I realized this was something C3 would love.

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

We spent a good part of the day looking for geocaches in our area. It was a lot of fun. Colton really enjoyed the treasure hunt. At a lot of the containers you could swap items.  

We downloaded the free Geocaching app to our iPhones first. Visited about 4 sites with limited information from our free app, so we decided to bite the bullet and purchase the real deal... and it is totally worth it.

We are already planning our next geocaching day and thinking of fun places to hid our own for others to find. I don't know how it has taken us this long to find out about geocaching, but we are hooked! 

Shamrock, OK

 Last weekend the weather was perfect for a drive. We headed out to the nearly abandoned town of Shamrock, OK. At one time this little town had over 10,000 people living her. Now there are less than 100 people living in Shamrock. I guess Shamrock wasn't very lucky.

Above is the Gymnasium.

No idea what this use to be?

 Above is a car dealership.

 The old buildings and the perfect sunny day made for some pretty neat photos.

I love to drive around and get lost on a nice sunny day.

On the way home we crossed over two one way bridges. They are called "Scaredy-Cat Bridges" 

Oklahoma really is a pretty state.

Casey's Creations- Reclaimed Window

I'm not sure how much I have talked about this on my blog, but I have a very talented Husband. I am going to start posting "Casey's Creations" to highlight his work. Currently he makes his creations for fun and for friends and family. One day I know he would like to be putting his skills to work and make some money at it too.

Casey recently turned these old windows into artwork for our home!

When we lived in South Carolina we had to actually take our garbage to the dump. Casey found these windows in the "free" pile at the dump. He saw the bigger picture for these bad boys.

After breaking out the glass, refinishing them, and

adding a shelf he created this for our dining room!

 (notice the longboards under the windows, he makes those too!)

I love them!

He talked about selling them on Etsy....I said no way!

We have two more windows to turn into art, so he can sell those two, but I'm keeping these guys!

Ed Galloway's World's Largest Totem Pole!

While Casey was helping the neighbor with a project Colton and I decided to go on an adventure. We headed to the WORLDS LARGEST TOTEM POLE!

Who knew we lived so close to this! Only a 35 min drive northwest of our house.

We were the only people there, good thing for the self timer on my camera!

This totem pole is just a few miles off of Route 66, northeast of Tulsa OK.

Ed Galloway finished the World's Largest Totem Pole in 1948. It was built as a monument to local Native American tribes, and also something for him to do after he retired.

He thought it would be a good place for youngsters to visit.

Sixty feet tall, six stories, 30 feet in circumference, the pole rests on the back of a turtle. Sculpted and brightly painted renditions of spirit lizards, owls, and headressed Indian chiefs climb to the pinnacle.

The totem pole is constructed of concrete over a scrap metal and sandstone rock skeleton

Ed built other sculptures on his property, though none as big as the Totem Pole. An Indian arrowhead sticks up out of the ground; stylized birds and smaller totem poles are spread across Totem Pole Park.

Ed Galloway was a wood worker. In the fiddle house that the built you can still see the 100's of fiddles that he hand made.

In the decades following Galloway's death,all the sculptures began to

 deterioratefrom weather and neglect. The bulk of the pieces in the

Fiddle House were stolen in 1970 and never recovered.

In the 1990s, a large restoration effort was undertaken by the Rogers County Historical Society, in concert with the Kansas Grass Roots Art Association and the Foyil Heritage Association. The outdoor sculptures were restored and repainted, and the Fiddle House was brought back from the brink of collapse.

Colton and I had a great time exploring the grounds, looking at the animals on the totem poles, and seeing a bit of Oklahoma history.

Feeling Inspired!

 This last week I was in Dallas/Ft. Worth for a work meeting. I typically don't talk about work on my blog, and I wont be going into details; but I left the meetings feeling inspired and excited for my future in 2012 and beyond.

Our meeting was in the ballroom of The Texas Motor Speedway. What a great view. I have never been to a Nascar event, so i was a bit surprised on how BIG the track actually was.

We had a lot of great speakers and I feel motivated to do more within my position.

 We were taught lots of great tips for selling, relationship building, and growth.

We talked about setting goals, writing them down and telling someone.

I have never actually had a new years resolution but for 2012

 I would like to set some  personal professional goals:

1. Understand better what is going on globally and locally. 

2. Enhance my "language" skills.

                 - Public Speaking

                 - Professional appearance

                 - take a language course

3. Self Education

                - Included non-fiction work related books in my 26 book goal for 2012

                - Take Supply Chain Management course/courses

The Healing Stone, Skiatook Ok

Today on my birthday I wanted to get out of the house and explore something new in Oklahoma. We headed out to Skiatook (about 30 mins away) to pick up a chair at an antique shop. I googled the area before and found a few links talking about the Healing Rock. Perfect! I'm fighting a cold, its no fun to be sick on your birthday, so hopefully this will work!

This natural monument was once called Teepee Rock and considered a healing site by the Osage and Quapaw Indians in the late 19th century. It is said to have mystical healing powers.

Hugging the Healing Stone hoping the mystical powers will work!

The rock stands 12 feet high, has a 17-foot base, and is 14 to 16 inches thick.

 The Healing Stone is located on Lake Road on Skiatook Lake. A 1/8 mile access trail is located behind the Corps Of Engineers project office.

 Back in the early 1980's when plans to build Lake Skiatook were being made, it was clear that The Healing Rock would end up underwater.

 Locals campaigned to save the rock, and in 1985, the Corps of Engineers

 moved the rock to its current location today. 

 Colton took this picture above. He loves taking pictures, and he's pretty good at it.

I'm feeling better already :)

I had a wonderful birthday outing and could not think of a better way to spend it!

2012 Polar Bear Plunge!

I ran/swam Tulsa's Polar Bear Plunge on Jan 1st, 2012! My co-worker above has done it the last 4 years and talked me into it! I'm glad I did it, but it was SOOO cold!

 The race was 2 miles, and 3 pools!

We were given a little liquid courage before the run, I'm not sure it worked!

As you can see the pool temps were COLD!! In the 30's!!!

No pictures were taken of me jumping into the pools :(

Actually I'm sure that is a good thing, who knows what kind of funny face I was making.

 Colton was excited to wear my metal after the race.

 Getting ready to cross the finish line! At this point my body was numb! I was ready to change into warm dry clothes.

 My little Polar Bear!

My cheerleaders!

I have not decided if I want to do this again next year. The water was colder than I expected. I mean I expected it to be cold, but I didn't expect my body to freak out. Other people seemed to be fine in the cold water, where I felt like I could hardly move. Right now I don't think I will be running it, but who knows how I'll feel in a year from now.

I'm official!!

I got my American Red Cross Donor Card today!