5 for 12 (supposed to be 6. boo.)

So I have no idea what I was doing the month of May. For some reason, I didn't go to a restaurant of the month. It might possibly be because things got crazy hectic around here when Katy graduated. All I ever wanted to do once she got to town was spend time with her, plus I spent quite a bit of money I didn't have to go watch her graduation and bring her pretty flowers. Because all I wanted at my graduation was pretty flowers.

SO, I skipped a month. BUT, it was in the 5th month and not the 3rd. And I plan on making up for it in July (hopefully). But for now, I give you June's new local restaurant of the month, Oklahoma Joe's BBQ. If you're from the Kansas City area, you know that this place opened there before it did here in Tulsa. Plus I believe there may be a restaurant in Stillwater as well, which technically makes this a chain and not a local restaurant. But for me, I consider it local because the owner of the restaurant started his business in Oklahoma and even graduated from Oklahoma State University. That makes it a local restaurant in my book.

Plus what better way to kick off the beginning of summer than with some delicious barbecue??

The menu was had some traditional plates, and not-so traditional plates. I decided to get "The Hog Heaven" sandwich because it had two of my favorite kind of barbecue meats, pulled pork and sausage links. Here's what it looks like:

Now, you can't see the sausage links very well, but if I had to guess it was a whole sausage link cut into four pieces and put on the bun, then they piled the sandwich high with the pulled pork.

What can I say about this sandwich? UM, IT WAS FREAKING DELICIOUS. I do love some good barbecue because my uncle kicks ass at firing up the grill and smoking some mean ribs or bologna, so any public barbecue place has some pretty big shoes to fill. Both the meats were perfectly tender and had just the right amount of smoky flavor without being too overwhelming or the meats being too dry.
The extra barbecue sauce you can add to any of your dishes is also his own recipe, and they were actually really good too. I tested out the hot barbecue sauce on its own before adding any to my sandwich (I've had a bad experience before). It actually was not too spicy, and the base for it was just sweet enough that it didn't set my mouth on fire. So I added a generous helping of both the hot and the sweet onto my sandwich and dug in.

Even though the meat was almost perfect, I doubt that I will go back to this place again. You see, for just the sandwich and a beverage, I paid a little over $9. I didn't even get a side! Granted, I was on VERY limited funds when I went, but still! The sandwich by itself was over $6 and the sides were $2.29 A PIECE. Great food, but not good enough for me to want to pay that price again. Especially when I have family members that cook meats better. Plus, if I'm going to spend $9 for barbecue, I'd much rather spend $9 on a Big Daddy's meat potato.

Who knows, I may change my mind about going back to the restaurant. It is about a mile and half from my house, I don't have a grill/smoker, my uncle who cooks BOMB barbecue is roughly 40 minutes away, and the Big Daddy's in Broken Arrow is no longer open for business. And Lord knows I love me some good barbecue food. But then again, there is also a Dickey's open now, and I can get a sandwich and 2 sides for $9. Plus a take home cup and I'm looking at $11 and some change. For more food.


OKAY ALL YOU TULSA AREA PEOPLE! HELP ME OUT! I need some ideas for where to go for my TWO places of the month for July. The only other thing I have right now is Back Alley Barbecue that recently opened in the Blue Dome District in downtown Tulsa. And trust me, I will definitely still be going there, but I can't go to two barbecue places in a row!! I would love some suggestions as to where I need to go...you know, that little hole in the wall that everyone HAS to try...I'd even be willing to drive a little to get to the restaurant! Just PLEASE help me out!

Beware of the Attitude Assassins

If you've been around for a while, you know that I work for a bank here. I've worked for the bank for a little over a year and I love my job. You might also know that my job has absolutely nothing to do with what I went to school for, but I also loved the courses I took in college too.

I have been in training for the past couple of days to help me become a better banker to each of my clients. The title of this post is one of the motivational speaker's MANY quotes. That along with "The Glory and the Responsibility Are Yours!" Motivational speakers are weird. But this workshop that I took I think will actually benefit me in the long run, so long as I am able to implement things like I'm wanting to do.

With that being said, I'm still working on getting there. I'm not completely miserable like I was a few weeks ago. I've found my sanctuary in my family, my TV shows, my books, and the wonderful fresh produce I'm getting to eat because of the summer season.

I am looking forward to July. I love 4th of July, it's one of my favorite holidays EVER. And, I get a day off before then too, so I get about a 2 and half day weekend in the middle of the week. It's super exciting. I also am taking a vacation in July!! Don't get me wrong, I've gone on vacation a few times in the past couple years, but this is the first HUGE vacation I will have take in a while. AND, it's going to be a nice and relaxing vacation. I'm going on my first ever cruise and I couldn't be more excited about it!

With that, I went and got my library card yesterday! You see, last summer I went and splurged on a Kindle for myself, and with the Tulsa Public Library, you can actually "check out" ebooks for two weeks at a time! That's plenty of time for the duration of m vacation :)

Okay, so this first "post back" is super random and all over the place, but OMG have you seen the previews for Magic Mike?!?!?!!!!! SWOON. I love Channing Tatum, and I LOVE Joe Manganiello, the guy who plays Alcide on True Blood.....and by reading his IMDB profile, I realize that he played in How I Met Your Mother too......which you all should know by know that I have an unhealthy obsession.

But I just wanted to check in with you all and let you know I'm still alive. And if any of you have any pointers on how to easily change the look of things around here, I'd love some advice. I've had this design for over a year now, and it's about time for a change. HELP!! (Or if you do it for fairly cheap, can we chat?!)

Hope you all have a good rest of your week! We're halfway to the weekend!!

I have a confession to make...

If I were completely honest, I would let you know that I haven't been very happy lately. You see, I was in a situation that I thought I couldn't get out of. I won't go into too many details because a lot of it is very personal in a place where it should not be personal at all. And then I got away from the situation, and thought everything would be smooth sailing from there. And it was. It was great for about two weeks. Then I got some news that I was about to be put right back into that same situation.

On top of that, I got some more disheartening news at the end of last week. So I was broken. I cried for hours, woke up with puffy eyes, went to work still miserable from the night before, did it again, and then tried to busy myself to take my mind off of it.

Then Monday night, I finally got to talk to someone that wasn't anywhere near the situation or involved with anyone in it (but me), and he talked some sense into me. So after a fantastic late night conversation followed by a day off to do nothing but lay around all day, I finally feel better. I know the situation is going to be just as toxic as before, and that eventually the truth will come out, but all I know is that I have to try my damndest to not let it get to me this time. I wish I could say that I know it won't, but I also know how things will be eventually. You can't really change people's personalities.

So today, I woke up with a renewed sense of self, straightened my hair, put on makeup, and wore something bright and colorful. So right now, I have two more weeks before I get thrown into bull shit again, and then I just have to take it one day at a time.

I'll ask you all like I did one of my closest friends...For now, I'm okay. I'm just having a little bit of a hard time trusting people right now because I feel a little betrayed. But can you bear with me for just a little bit longer? I promise the real me will be back. I just need a little time.

Virtual Coffee

I don't normally do "coffee chat" posts, but I feel like I've neglected my blog for quite some time now. So we're going to treat this evening as if we were meeting up for coffee and I'm just gonna dump some life on you right now.

If we were actually meeting up for coffee, I'd probably have a glass of hot tea. Coffee isn't really my thing.

I would tell you that my mom and I finally made up, but neither of us apologized. And we probably won't because we're both stubborn.

I would tell you that my best friend graduated from college about 3 weeks ago, and I've seen her almost once a week since.

I would tell you that this past Monday, my best friend and I went to look at the apartments we want to move into later this year.

I would tell you that I'm probably going to die of a heart attack by the age of 35 because of how much the OKC Thunder playoff games have been stressing me out lately.

I would show you how bad I got burned on my back last Monday when I laid out by the pool on Memorial day, and then again this past Monday evening.

I would tell you that my vacation is getting REALLLLLLLLY close and I'm VERRRRRRYYYYYY excited!

I would tell you that I miss my other best friend Erika.

I would tell you that I've been spending more time alone than usual, but I'm not necessarily lonely; that I'm starting to enjoy my own company.

I would tell you that I want to start running again. Not because I necessarily am worried about any weight gain or my health, but because I miss the "me" time that comes along with running. Just me, the pavement, and some tracks.

I would tell you that I like my new position, and that it was a nice little surprise at the difference in my paycheck.
I would tell you that I'm still, TO THIS DAY, realizing who my true friends are. And that if a person doesn't want to spend time with me, I'm not going to beg them to. Or let it bother me.
I would tell you that Katy bought me a ticket to the Thunder exhibition game coming up in Tulsa in October, and that I think she's the best person ever for it.
I would tell you that an impromptu party broke out at my house on Monday night, and it was amazing.


I then would ask you to share some highlights of your life right now too. Please feel free to fill me in on your life more than I have filled you in on mine in comments below :)