"Outside My Box"

I have really been looking for "fun" NEW ways to spend some of my time lately, so Rich and I have been trying to step outside our box a bit!! It's so easy to get wrapped up in everyday life and not try new things, which is sometimes monotanis in a marriage! After Haley passed away, Rich and I "went in to a shell" so to speak. We felt guilty doing or trying anything new, so we simply didn't really do much of anything!! As time passes and as hard as it is to accept this, we both know that life does go on and we cannot continue to live our lives without moving forward.

Our focus has always been geared towards Brenna through all of the sadness over the past couple of years, but we are now beginning to again refocus on each other and ourselves!! And I have to say....I have really enjoyed "coming back to life".

Last night, we went to a new place called KilKenny's Irish Pub down on Cherry Street in Tulsa! Wonderful food, beautiful atmosphere and just plain "neat" to be somewhere NEW around this town!! Brenna and her friend Madi were old enough to go with us, and being that it was a week night, the people were pretty "tame" and oh yeh, and the Bread Pudding was AMAZING!! So..... fun time with friends last night and the weekend is just beginning!!

I will continue to "step outside my box" tonight as a group of about 15 of us are going out for my friend, Lara's birthday!! This sounds crazy, but oh-so fun!! We are heading to a 2 hour ZUMBATHON.....and then after we zumba the night away, we are all going downtown to Casa Laredo, Latin Grill and Tequila Bar. Not much of a drinker so this ought to be fun!! 15 girls who loves to zumba and a dance floor at midnight! All I have to say is..........watch out!! LOL!!!

And then wrapping up my weekend, Rich and I are going to a place called Ciao's to enjoy some dinner and a little Jazz music!! I'll be sure to give you a review!!

So, I guess my message in this blog today, is to "step outside YOUR box", try something new with your family or friends and be sure to let me know about your experience!!!

Well...my "Big News" is coming up next week. Oh my...I am getting a little nervous about sharing, but hopefully it will be inspiring to some of you! That is my goal!!

"Tune" in Tuesday....And everything else I wanted to blog about this week!!

Well....looks like I have 2 hours left to bring you "Tune in Tuesday"!! I really want to know the secret of this "blog" thing! Please do tell how some of you awesome bloggers blog everyday?!?!?! That is just amazing to me....as I can barely bring it to you once a week!!! Have you all found simplicity, or am I not managing my time right????

So, tonight I thought I would just "catch up" with all the fun things I have wanted to share all in one night.

We'll start with our "Tune in Tuesday" winner!! You all have NO idea how hard this is for me, because I LOVE music and I have so many I want to share with you! Last weekend me and my friend Cheryl went to the Casting Crowns and Kutless concert in Tulsa. Music does so much for the soul, but Casting Crowns music can just make you feel good inside and bring you closer to God all at the same time! The voices of this group is just unbelievable..... So, I have to pick Casting Crowns this week!!! I have a few pics in this weeks slide show of our evening at the Spirit Bank Center, fun fun!!

Well...we may be getting old, but we are never too old for a little midnight fun!! Last weekend, we also decided to go cosmic bowling with a bunch of friends. Bowling was from 11pm-1am, so around 9:30 that night...I wondered how I would ever make it. Got to the bowling alley and completely forgot what time it was!! Had a BLAST...if you've never been cosmic bowling, you SHOULD go!! Great music, neon bowling balls and lots of fun!! Check out the skeleton ball that the guy next to us had...creepy, but cool!!!

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE...Not only do I love music, but my love for Zumba is making me want to dance a whole lot more lately!! Last week, Brenna's OM team held a Father Daughter dance at her school. It was sooo much fun!!! I was the DJ and it was hard to hold this DJ down. I had to sneak in a few dance moves every now and then. The dads and daughters were so busy dancing...nobody noticed. Check out the photos in the slide show of Rich and Brenna....doing "DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, DOWN"!!! Definitely a night that Brenna and a lot of other girls will always remember!!!

And finally....speaking of music (do you see a trend here???) Miss Brenna had her piano / guitar recital this past weekend. She has played the piano for about 4 years and the guitar for about a year 1/2. I am always so proud of her!! She was definitely born with musical talent!!

Ok...well, there you have it...a fast forward of the past 10 days at the Palmer house!! I am going to try harder to bring you our fun (LOL) life at a slower pace from now on!!

I love my life....my family...my friends....and I am happy to share all this with you!!

**Remember..."The News" is coming on or around March 1st!! It's been keeping me motivated lately!


Jenn~

"Tune" in Tuesday.....

OK...so as I'm transitioning into the world of blogging, I find so much I want to blog about, but such little time to blog!! Of course, that is one of the many reasons why I am "Seeking Simplicity" :) I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to spend lots of time updating your blog as well as reading others?? I'll keep working on it and hopefully give updates more than every 10 days!!

For those of you who know me pretty well, you should know I have a love for music!! I love going to concerts now that we have the new BOK Center in Tulsa. I am very versitile in the types of music I listen to, but have recently been "stepping" outside my box to find new stuff and experience music that maybe I wound't have normally given a chance.

I have found that the more trials you go through in life....the greater your love of music becomes, even if it is hard to listen to at times. When Haley was so sick and fighting for her life, each song I heard brought on a new meaning!! Although I love music that is upbeat in tempo....I have found that if you really put the lyrics first, there is much more GREAT music out there than you realize!!! So I thougth it would kind of be fun to share some of my music favorites on "Tune in Tuesdays" and in return, maybe you will leave feedback on some of your favortie artists or songs!! I would love to hear them!!

This week was kind of an easy to pick, because I have recently bought his new CD, Battle Studies, and EVERY SINGLE song on this album ROCKS!!! My Artist of the week is John Mayer!!! He writes his own music, plays one mean guitar and sings effortlessly!! His lyrics will get you "lost in the music" to say the least. He even has a duet with Taylor Swift on this album called Half of my Heart. One reason I chose John's CD this week, is it would be the PERFECT Valentine's Day gift for your "sweetie". Rich and I love listening to his music! Let me know if you decided to try out John's music and let me know what you think!



My next blog will be aobut my girls....Just FYI!!