Thanksgiving & Black Friday

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I spent it with my friend Nikki Roylance and her family. Her Dad was released from our Branch Presidency a few weeks ago and so I know her parents really well, and they were kind enough to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner. It was really yummy! After dinner, Nikki and I sat down to strategize our Black Friday plan of attack. I was so excited that I had someone to go with instead of by myself. We started our shopping at none other than WalMart!

The Line of course was long, but we were out of there by 10:35! Next we went to check out Target and Kohl's, the line for Target wrapped completely around the entire building. We didn't want to wait in the very windy cold so we went to Sonic to get a breakfast snack. Then we went to the mall and got a few things from stores that opened at midnight. We went back to Target and it was 12:40am and there was still a line to get in the store! We hopped in line and were quickly in the store. We wanted some movies there and didn't think there would be any left but we were surprised when they had A LOT left. The line for Target was really really really long too, but it moved pretty quickly. I also was on the phone on and off with Mom and Lynne, even though we are 1200 miles apart, we still got to do Black Friday shopping together... sort of :)

We went to Kohl's next to see if we could get a few games but they were all out and the line at Kohl's was super long and very slow. We went back to the mall to go to a few stores and then wait for JC Penny to open (we wanted to get the $30 boots). We had walked into Bath and Body Works and I was going to buy some stuff when I realized that my credit card was no longer in my pocket! I lost it!!!!! After a heart attack, we retraced our steps and checked Nikki's car, but couldn't find it. I immediately called and canceled it, but it's still annoying and a hastle to go through!

By about 5:00am we were finished! Nikki's trunk was full and neither of us wanted to think about how much money we spent! We decided to end our adventure at IHOP with breakfast! After Nikki dropped me off I had to wait for my bank to open to go and get a new credit card ordered, then I collapsed on my couch for some much needed sleep.

So this is my haul! I bought a small Christmas tree to fit in my apartment and I'm really excited to set it up and decorate it! Of course I bought a ton of movies to add to my collection and then some makeup to try out! Despite the credit card mishap, it was a very successful Black Friday!

The End of Days

Since moving to Oklahoma, I have survived droughts, extreme heat, fires and now not one but TWO earthquakes!!! This past week has been filled with unexpected events! I had gone to bed at 11:00 tuesday morning when a fire broke out at my apartment complex. The fire started around 11:30am in one building and spread to another. I remember hearing the fire trucks in my sleep and hearing a lot of extra noise than normal but I had been up all night so I was pretty tired. The maintenance staff for the complex was coming around that day anyway to test the smoke detectors and change out filters in the heaters.
I woke up about 2pm to let them in and they were saying how it was probably hard for me to sleep through all the commotion. I had no idea what they were talking about! Then I checked my phone and had some missed calls from some friends and the missionaries (who also live in the complex). I then went outside and looked and saw what had happened. It was a pretty devastating fire, at least 6 apartments were completely ruined and 6 others pretty badly damaged. I haven't heard what started the fire yet, but it certainly was a sad and unfortunate event.
Saturday morning at 2:14am I felt my first earthquake. I was up watching a movie when I felt things shaking. At first I thought it was my upstairs neighbors being super loud as they ran up and down the stairs (which happens ALL the time), but my t.v. and computer were wobbling which doesn't happen. The shaking lasted about 10 seconds or so. I thought there is no way that was an earthquake, especially in Oklahoma of all places! I waited about 15 minutes and checked the news and sure enough, we had an earthquake!
It was a 4.7 and the epicenter was about 80 miles west of Tulsa. It was felt statewide and even north into Kansas and south into Texas. It was the talk of the day! Saturday evening I had just gotten off the phone with Jen, telling her all about the earthquake that morning when we had ANOTHER one! At 10:55pm, I was once again on my computer with a movie on and it started shaking again. It felt stronger than the first one and lasted just a little bit longer! I couldn't believe there was a second quake! Once again I checked the news and this time we it was a 5.6 and again the epicenter was about 80 miles west of us.
I've experienced some crazy things here in Oklahoma, but I certainly wasn't expecting earthquakes! I wonder what will happen next!