this is who i am...

pop

2010-10-10T18:52:00.002-05:00

This is probably one of my favorite pictures I have of Ben. It was taken at the zoo in Seattle. I love the vibrant colors of the bird and I think the blue background is striking behind both Ben and the bird. Plus this picture is a simple reminder of a fun day.

hot & cold

2010-10-09T21:10:00.005-05:00

yes, i changed the layout again. every time i consider breaking up with this blog, i end up doing a total makeover instead. i really don't want to end things, i just wish things could be like they used to be. i need inspiration. i guess i should stop waiting for a big exciting thing to share, and just start sharing the small stuff again, like i used to. i have a full list of people i follow who are faithful to their blogs, so they keep me motivated to hang on. maybe this time it will stick.

soup soup dee doup

2010-10-02T19:22:00.004-05:00

I'm working on a nice fallish dinner of brocolli cheese soup with French Bread on the side. The recipe I am using is a mock of the Panera one that Ben found online. It seems promising so far. The recipes I have used before have always called for processed cheese, so I am hoping using sharp cheddar while vastly improve the taste. And while it still might not be healthy necessarily, it has to be better than the processed cheese. The photo below is pre-cheese, but it is already looking delicious-nice and creamy. I am stirring it obsessively, as I have had a bad experience of letting the soup stick and burn. Embarrassing. Not this time!

Also, I whipped up some rice krispee treats for dessert. I buy them frequently during the week at work so I finally decided to do the wise thing and make my own batch. Although it might not seem so wise if I eat half the pan...

Happy Fall!

Here's the soup recipe:

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1. ½ an onion, finely chopped
2. ¼ of a cup of melted butter
3. ¼ of a cup of flour
4. 2 cups of chicken stock
5. 2 cups of half & half
6. 2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese, the sharper the better for more flavor
7. 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg
8. 1 cup of finely chopped carrots
9. 1/2 lb. of fresh broccoli
10. Salt & pepper
Directions
1. Finely chop half an onion and Saute it in a saucepan in you 1 tbsp. of melted butter
2. In another pan at medium heat, cook the melted butter and flour. Regularly whisk for around 3 ½ minutes.
3. Keep whisking and gently add the half and half
4. I know your hands getting tired but keep whisking and add the chicken stock
5. Let this liquid lightly simmer for 20 minutes
6. Add all of the broccoli, carrots, and onions
7. Cook over low heat until all the vegetables are tender and soft
8. Add salt and pepper to taste, and when you do taste, don’t burn your tongue. It’s hot. Reminder* the salt in this recipe really helps to bring out the flavor of the cheese, so don’t forget it.
9. Pour everything into a blender. Use the equivalent of a “mix” setting.
10. Take it out and put it back in a pot at low heat. Slowly add the cheese and stir constantly until it is uniformly melted and blended in and then sprinkle in the nutmeg.

chiefs 'n chopper...

2010-09-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

90 day evaluation tomorrow at work, meaning we have reached the 3 month mark since our move to the OKC. time flies when you're having fun!
i am trying to maintain working out 3 times per week. about a month ago i went for a consultation to learn the proper way to lift weights, so that has helped add structure to my work out. my cardio probably needs a little tightening up. currently all i do is play basketball (by myself), but it does involve a lot of running back and forth across the court-which is much more exciting than running on a treadmill.
i skyped with my new little niece for the first time today! Evie will be 3 weeks on Saturday, and she is just adorable-of course! hard to believe that both my siblings have children now-a new generation is upon us!
fall may finally be here...the past few mornings have been very cool and crisp, and it has stayed fairly mild all day. ben and i are giddy about the arrival of what we like to call "sweatuh weathuh"
ummm...the chiefs. 3-0? what?? craziness. needless to say, it has been a fun season so far. thankfully, danny has directv and we are able to watch every chiefs game at his house.
speaking of the chiefs...this is a pretty great video of Dexter McCluster rapping about driving safety. we watched this over and over-hilarious!
well, i think that's about all i've got this evening....i'll leave you with this little tidbit from founder's day in Piedmont, OK:

one-we are the cardinals...

2010-09-03T17:21:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again...I have fallen in love with high school football over the past few years thanks to having the opportunity to watch the Raytown South Cardinals. It's tough knowing that I won't be able to watch them this year. Now that we are in OKC, we will have to find a new team to follow. Since Ben works in Piedmont, OK it only makes sense that we should follow their team. So, Piedmont Wildcats it is. Tonight is the first game, and I am thoroughly looking forward to it, but it is hard not to think about where I really want to be tonight. The Cardinals will always hold the number one spot in my heart, but I suppose I will have to find a little room for another team.

Here is a photo from last week's game, taken by Darryl Woods, Sr. of D Woods Photography.

home

2010-08-29T19:46:00.006-05:00

Here are some shots of our apartment. We really lucked out on this place, it has been great so far. We actually just had our new bedroom set delivered today, which inspired me to finally post some photos.

The outside of the building. It has 4 units-we are on the top floor, and on the right unit-the one with the blinds open. They stay open all the time, Debs loves sitting in the windows watching-which is great, because we have tons of windows, as you can see. Not sure if you can see it, but there is a lot of ivy growing on the other side of the building. Very charming.

Pretty Cool.

I love that we have a doorbell.

Just inside front door. This is the one room that is not done yet. Currently it is storing some random items that we still need to figure out what to do with. Hopefully the mattresses will sell on craigslist very soon. Eventually this will be our dining room. Note the floors-this photo does not do them justice. They are the original floors, and they are gorgeous. I love the dark finish.

View of fireplace in room that will be dining room. I love the fireplace, even if it is not a working one. It's nice to have a mantle for my lovely colorful votive holders.

First view of living room.

Second view of living room.

Third view of living room.

Little nook that was advertised as dining area, but we decided to make it the office. And Debbie's restroom-there are trade offs that have to be made when living in a small apartment! I am currently researching litter box solutions for small spaces, so hopefully we will have a better place for it soon.

Deck off of kitchen. Looking forward to using this space more when it cools off.

The kitchen is across from the little office nook. I love the exposed brick.

Perfect little nook for Debbie's food. Note the little swish of her tail in the photo. :o)

Bedroom view from door. Love the new dresser and the nice big mirror.

Debbie staring intently at the "other cat" in the mirror. She's cute.

New bed and nightstand.

Nice big closet! Good thing it's big because it's the only one in the whole apartment. But hey, it forces us to keep our possessions to a minimum.

Bathroom, right off bedroom. Love the convenience.

So there you have it, our humble little home. We have loved our return to apartment living. We enjoyed our house, but it was way too big for us-we had 3 rooms that we never used in our house! It's nice too be back in a space that is just enough. We plan on staying here for several years.

things & stuff

2010-08-29T19:35:00.004-05:00

Here are some photos that I have take over the past few months:

Sweet Debbie resting on our bed:

Baby O with his little monkey friend:

The boys hanging out in the man cave:

Goodies from our local cupcake joint, Cuppies and Joe:

Beautiful OKC sunset from the rooftop of a parking garage downtown:

Ben making friends with a little pup at an antique furniture store:

Yummy french toast from Coffy's Cafe in the plaza district:

Cowboy jazz at Coffy's Cafe:

Beautiful candle lit mantle:

go for it

2010-08-29T19:27:00.003-05:00

It all started with an innocent email from my brother...

He emailed to mention that there was a job opening in the accounting department where he works, and he told me that it would be really cool if I could work there and how much I would love the company. He said, no pressure, of course-he was just putting the information out there and saying that he would love living in the same town as us.

A few weeks went by and I didn't really think too much about it, until one night when I casually mentioned it to Ben, and he, much to my surprise, said "go for it!" So I immediately called Danny and we chatted about it, and the next day I was sending him my resume to forward on. Two weeks later I had an interview, one week later a second interview, and less than a month later we moved to Oklahoma City. I can honestly say (for both Ben and I) that we never even considered Oklahoma City as a place we would settle down. Not that we have anything against it, it just never even crossed our minds. I think we both assumed we would end up back in a bigger city at some point in the future. Also, the idea that our family would move for my career never even occurred to me. That thinking comes more from me because Ben has told me in the past that he would happily move if there was an opportunity for me in another city. I just never thought I would have the courage to break out of my comfort zone and attempt to do anything else.

We have now been here for two months and couldn't be happier. I have a great job for a great company that really takes care of its employees. My work challenges me every day (in a good way) which is what I was needing, I think. I have learned so much, and there is so much more to learn-my coworkers say you never stop learning new things in this job. Ben is back in the newspaper business-he is the news editor for the weekly newspapers in two different towns that are outside of OKC. In his words, he feels like he is home. He is a great journalist; I am so thankful that he has been given another opportunity to work in the field.

It was hard to leave our parents behind in KC, and we miss them so much. I loved living near them for several years. The good thing though, is that although we left family behind, we have the opportunity to live near other family that we have only seen a few times a year for the past 6 years. It has been great living near Danny, Megan, and sweet little Owen. We are fortunate in that we get to have good quality hang out time with them at least once a week. Usually we just relax at there house-which is fine with us. The boys love playing video games, and Megan and I have taken up sewing as a hobby. And Owen just sits there playing with his toys and being his adorable self.

Life is good. It feels good to be here and know we are going to be stay for a while. I would not change the past six years for anything-I love all the places we have lived and the adventures we have shared together. But at the same time there is a certain comfort in feeling settled. I look forward to all the new adventures that are in store for us.

project

2010-03-26T22:03:00.002-05:00

I think I am going to work on the project of moving all the posts from my old xanga site into this site. I enjoy reading over my old posts, as it is sort of a diary of my life, but I tend to forget about xanga, which is where I got my start blogging.

Unfortunately, after fiddling around with it for a while, I still wasn't able to figure out how export from xanga to blogger. I am left with the option of copy/paste, which will be quite time consuming.

Anyone know of a more efficient way to do this?

distracted

2010-03-26T11:48:00.005-05:00

So all you readers out there...(not readers of my blog, but readers in general...bookworms, if you will) what do you do when you are faced with the dilemma of starting a book, but not necessarily enjoying it?
Let's back up. When I go to the library (about twice a month to load up), I usually get 5-10 books. But my read rate of those usually is around 25-30%. My thought process is that I like to get a broad selection of books, just in case some of them turn out to be not so interesting. Normally, I have no issues stopping a book I have started if it has not grabbed my interest. In fact, I have been known to close a book after I read the first sentence. I remember from 12th grade Creative Writing class that you are supposed to grab you reader in the first sentence (the clincher, I believe it was called?). So I have no issue putting down a book if it hasn't "grabbed" me. In fact, now I try to do that "pre-screening" before I actually check it out-as not to waste my time.
But here is my issue. Like I said, I don't have a problem not finishing a book if I have lost interest, but there is a distinction that I should clarify. About 90-95% of what I read is fiction-with fiction, I don't mind not finishing a book.
Non-fiction is a whole different issue. I read so little of it, but the small amount I do read I have this horrible guilt if I find myself not enjoying the book and returning it to the library before finishing it. Why is that? What is the difference? I am not sure if it is because I am dealing with real people and real stories, that I feel guilty for not finding their story more interesting. Whatever the reason is, it really bugs me!
We should get to the truth of the matter-this post is about Helen Keller (see previous post). I am about 40 pages in and while some of the book has been interesting, and I have learned a few things, I am not overly excited about it-or necessarily looking forward to picking it up at night. And I actually feel guilty for that! Is that crazy?

Someone please reassure me that I am not the only one who feels this "reader's remorse".

overcome

2010-03-17T23:24:00.004-05:00

Last night I checked out Helen Keller's "The Story of My Life" from the library. I didn't have that book in mind when I went, but as I was browsing the non-fiction shelves it jumped out at me. I know very little about Helen Keller, but from what little I do know I am fascinated. It is so difficult for me to comprehend how someone with such limitations could accomplish as much as she did. Not because I think she was mentally incapable. I know that was not the case. It just amazes me that she was able to learn to communicate so effectively without the benefit of sight or sound. It truly was a miracle. I look forward to reading her amazing story.

how to be popular

2010-01-21T11:56:00.006-06:00

I find myself getting bored during my lunch hour so I usually end up surfing the internet. Recently I have discovered Dear Abby's website and I must say I have been thoroughly entertained by some letters I have found. Abby completes each days letters with a quote, or word of advice, or sometimes an ad for something you can order.
I found this one to be particularly amusing from May, 5 1995:

"For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more attractive person, order "How to Be Popular." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.) "

Maybe I should order one, so I can brush up on my party skills...

crunch

2009-09-15T20:50:00.003-05:00

I'm so glad fall is upon us. I was talking with a coworker the other day and she commented on how she wasn't looking forward to fall, because to her it is such a depressing season. This made me so sad. I would imagine her reason was really based a lot on the fact that she just loves summer so much, so she hates to see it end. She also mentioned not liking watching the leaves fall, leaving the trees bare.

There are so many things that I adore about this season, sometimes I think I could live in a world where it was perpetually fall. Oh, I suppose it would get old at some point, but I look forward to this season more than any other. I love the way fall smells-so crisp. And the colors of the leaves are so captivating especially when they are the backdrop to a Friday night football game-which is a fall activity I look forward to each week.

Someday Ben and I will have a fire pit. I can't wait. I love sitting around a fire on a cool fall evening.

Another exciting change in fall-bringing out the long sleeves. I love long sleeve shirts. Not so much sweaters though. Just long sleeve shirts. I look forward to wearing long sleeve shirts and I have to be careful not to push it and start wearing them too early. The timing (the temperature, rather) has to be right, or else the experience of wearing the long sleeve shirt might be a disappointment. If it is too warm, I have to push my sleeves up, which causes the sleeve to stretch out and then when I push them back down it just doesn't feel right. So I have to be patient and wait for the time to come. It's not quite here yet this year, as we are still reaching almost 80 during the day. I have a new long sleeve shirt that I bought at the thrift store that has the potential to become my favorite shirt this fall/winter. I am looking forward to seeing if it will live up to my lofty expectations.

One of my all time favorite fall activities is crunching leaves. There is nothing quite as satisfying as finding that perfect leaf and feeling the crunch of it under your foot. Fall is crunching leaves. Crunching leaves is fall. That pretty much sums it up for me.

My hope for this year-as it is every year-is that we will have a decent amount of mild weather before it gets too cold. I guess we will wait and see.

Progress

2009-08-01T22:12:00.007-05:00

Today I finished a project that I started over a year ago, when we moved into our house. At that time, I painted the living room ceiling white, but I stopped at the dining room, intending to finish sometime soon after. That soon after ended up being a year. So sad. I guess this really speaks to how much I hate painting. I woke up with a rare surge of motivation to finish it this morning, so I got going on it before I could talk myself out of it!

*see top right of picture-yep this is how my ceiling looked for a year.... shameful....

**oh yeah, and that's ben throwing debbie up in the air

Ben worked on the bedroom-he actually was able to use the rest of a can of green paint that we used in the kitchen to do an accent wall in our room. We are going to change the kitchen color from green to something else-not sure what yet! We had been thinking about green for the bedroom, and this morning it clicked-why don't we finish the can from the kitchen. Glad we were able to save ourselves a bit of money there. Oh, the projects never end. We are going to really try to get organized and try to finish projects a little bit at a time. Slowly but surely, as money and time will allow-that's the plan.

It is such a feeling of accomplishment to complete something! I keep looking up at the ceiling thinking, wow no stripe anymore! Ben's next task on his list is cleaning out the gutters. There are actually little plants growing in the build up in the gutters. What proud homeowners we are-let me tell you!

Debbie continues to be a huge hit at our house. We look forward to coming home to see her every day. She's still a snuggler, but if you met her you'd never guess it. She gets really nervous when other people are here, and she really doesn't act like her normal self. She gets really jumpy and sometimes she will hiss at our visitors. :o( This makes me sad. She'll be a year old in September, and we will have had her for a year in October. It's hard to imagine life without her now.

*Here is a current shot of her.

*Quite a change from her first day with us last October!

Well, I should probably call it a night. I am tired, but there is more to be done tomorrow. The laundry and my kitchen are in desperate need of attention, as is usually the case on the weekend.

Goodnight.

P.S. Sleeping with the window open tonight...loving this cool spell!

life

2009-07-19T20:17:00.004-05:00

We had a nice trip to Columbia this weekend to celebrate with Gramps as he turned 98 today. It was nice to get acquainted with some family members that we don't see often-some that I had only met once!

We are taking Megan up to Omaha for a little mini-getaway next weekend. It should be a fun trip-none of us have been there so it will be fun to explore a new city. It will also be nice to spend some quality time with her before she moves up to St. Joe for school. We are going to miss her, but we are excited for her as she embarks on this new adventure.

We are still on track to adopt, but we are kind of in a lull right now. We have completed our required 30 hour foster care course, and all that is left is a 12 hour course geared toward adoptive parents. Unfortunately, we were out of town for the first class in July, so we couldn't do it this month. The next course isn't offered until September, so we have a bit of time to wait. We do still have some paperwork to complete (of course) so I need to get on the ball to make sure we are all set when the time comes. And we can be looking online at any time for the profiles of kids we might be interested in. That sounds weird saying that... :o)

We did score a free dresser today from Grandpa, so that makes me feel like we have something accomplished! At least the kid will have a place to store his/her clothing! It is still hard to fathom the fact that we will be parents soon. I am ready. We are ready. Their room is not necessarily ready (like I said, all the mystery kid has now is a dresser!), but that stuff will fall into place once we find out who we are getting. I can't really buy clothes for a child now, when I don't know the age or gender! But as far as just feeling like we are ready to begin that next stage in our lives-we are there. I am ready to distribute some of the ridiculous amount of love I have for my cat onto a little one that is craving love and attention.

I have a feeling I will update this blog more when we get a child, but I really want to try to keep everyone updated on the process, as there several of you that have inquired. Hopefully, once September roles around I will have more to report.

times are a changing

2009-05-23T13:40:00.006-05:00

life has been busy as of late. fortunately my job has not been busy lately, but ben just goes and goes for his job. he works so hard, but fortunately with owning your own business also comes flexibility which is nice. factoring in the season tickets has only increased our busyness but we have enjoyed watching the royals play. then of course, there are ben's softball games on friday nights.

on top of this, our thursday nights for the past 8 weeks have been occupied with our most current life changing decision. after much discussion lately that really begin when we were first married, we have decided to go forward with adopting a child. the decision to do this was not difficult, it feels very natural for us-definitely the right step. but the decision to actually take the first step to begin the process was scary! so many questions to be answered.

we have been in our training sessions on thursday nights, learning about the foster care process, which is required for us to get licensed. our last class is next thursday. our next step will be to enroll in a class for adoption training, in which an additional 12 hours of training will be required. once we complete that course and all of the paperwork required we will be licensed. then it will just be a matter of finding our child and being selected to be their forever family.

we are looking within the age range of 2-6, and we have no specific gender or race in mind at this point. for some reason, when i imagine this mystery child, it is a boy, but that is no indication really of who we will get. we will just have to see! we would also be open to a sibling group (could not be any more than 2 at this point) if the situation were to present itself.

i have been overcome with so many feelings during this process. feelings of joy, fear, anticipation, wonder and even inadequacy. are we equipped to handle the special needs of a child who has endured so much trial during their short life? i don't think God would have given us such a strong desire to adopt a child if we were not, but there is so much to learn. some of which we can prepare for, but a lot of which will only be learned through experience, as is the case with natural parenthood.

and of course there is the question of biological children. i still see us trying for biological children at some point in the future. we just made the decision that we would like to adopt a child into our family first, without even having the knowledge of whether or not we will be able to have children biologically. we wanted the decision to adopt to be 100% by choice and not necessarily dictated by our ability to bear children. please, please don't misinterpret this as me saying there is anything wrong with adopting only when a couple is unable to bear children of their own. that is definitely not the case. we just decided to go about things in a different way, and we liked the idea of having this child integrated into our family first.

so needless to say, there is a lot in store for the felder family over the next few months. our 5 years of carefree time for ourselves will soon be over, but there will be so much more to gain!

if there weren't enough excitement in becoming a mom in a few short months, i will also be adding the title of aunt for the first time! danny and megan are expecting a baby in november and i could not be happier for them! my parents are very excited to become grandparents twice in the same year! but that goes without saying, of course!

bells

2009-04-25T09:39:00.004-05:00

today i am looking forward to the pleasure of watching one of my friends get married. amy and i met when i switched from westridge elementary to blue ridge elementary in 4th grade-but i think it was in mrs. spigarelli's 5th grade class that we really hit it off. one of my favorite memories is passing notes to each other in a secret code that we had made up. the notes would say things like, "will you sit by me at lunch today?" so cute! and the answer was always, "yes".

15 years later, though we don't see each other too often, she is one of my oldest friends. i love the comfort of an old friend. it's so fun to share stories from "back then".

congratulations amy!!!

i'm also excited to go to the wedding with my lovely wedding date, sarah, who is a wonderful friend of 20+ years. actually, come to think of it we only went to one wedding together last summer....but she is still my standing date. sarah and i love going to weddings and have both found husbands who do not like going to weddings. (shocker) while some wives may choose to drag their unwilling husbands grudgingly along sarah and i delight in spending the time together without being pestered by our (wonderful, of course) husbands who will be ready to bolt as soon as they say "i do". that way we can ooo and aah and gossip (catch up on old times...) all we want without our husbands trying to drag us out the door. it really is better this way all around-we are happy and they are happy. a beautiful story of marital comprimise...and we will live happily ever after.

as of late...

2009-03-29T12:17:00.005-05:00

we have been in our house almost a year now. we have done a few projects, but there is still much to be done. we are currently on the verge of a kitchen remodel. looking forward to new cabinets, counter tops, floors, etc. we were fortunate enough to get the first time home buyer tax credit, which will be funding our project. we are also hoping to paint the exterior of the house soon.
we have loved living in raytown for this year. we have made a lot of new friends and have really integrated into the community. we even got 2nd place in the kickball league at the park last summer! you can see our trophey on display at benetti's coffee experience. (watch out, we're coming back this summer and anything less than first will be unacceptable!) i love being part of a community that i can be proud to call my own. it has also been great living close to our families, we love spending time with them.
i have been at St. Luke's for one and a half years now. this is actually the longest time i have spent at a job since i graduated college. it has been good, i really have enjoyed working there. i have made some good friends there, which always makes going to work much more bearable. we on taking over the accounts payable for St. Luke's North hospital on April 1st, so although things have slowed lately, they are about to pick up again!
little debbie is about to turn 7 months old! as cheesy as it sounds, she has been such a wonderful addition to our lives. still, 6 months after bringing her home the first thing we do every day when we get home is go straight to debbie and pick her up so we can love on her. she survived all her baby shots and getting spayed and declawed. she loves to find small spaces to snuggle in. once we couldn't find her anywhere-we were both getting a little worried as we looked for 5-10 minutes; and then deb just hopped out of a box like nothing was wrong. other places we have found her have been inside the linen closet, in a bag of trash, in ben's laptop bag, the dirty clothes hamper... we have bought her a few kitty toys, but her favorite thing to play with is a ball of aluminum foil. go figure! i learned that cats should not get cow's milk because most of them are lactose intolerant, but i discovered whiska's cat milk. debbie literally goes crazy over this stuff. as soon as we pull it out of the fridge and get a saucer out of the cupboard she starts meowing like crazy! well, i could go on forever about deb so let's move on!
ben has officially been co-owner/editor of the raytown post for about 5 months. he loves it. he works so hard on it, and as a result he has gotten quite a bit of positive feedback from the community. i am so proud of him! i've enjoyed going along with him to high school games that he covers. we followed the ray south cardinal football team to a state championship in the edward jones dome in st. louis, where ben got to cover from the sidelines. that was so exciting! and it was heartbreaking when they lost in the final seconds after a hail mary pass into the end zone by the other team. :o( more recently i enjoyed following along with the raytown girls basketball team to the sectional game. i love watching sports, so this has been a great outlet for that.
we are going on a trip to florida in late june with ben's family. i am looking forward to a nice, relaxing time away from work. ben's grandparent's host this trip for the entire family ever summer after one of the grandchildren graduates from high school. this will be the third that i have been a part of. we will be staying in condo with an in ground pool, a hot tub, a game room....yeah i am pretty excited.
the trip is due to the fact that our megan is graduating from high school. i can hardly believe this, and the thought of it gets me all teary-eyed. she recently found out she was accepted into missouri western university in st. joseph, mo. i am so proud of her! and i am glad she won't be too far from us. it has been amazing watching her blossom into a beautiful and intelligent young woman. god definitely has great things in store for her!
in just a few short days, baseball season will be here. we are especially excited because this year, we made the decision to purchase season tickets to the royals. we got a half season plan, that includes 2 seats. i cannot begin to tell you how excited my precious husband is for this. he has pretty much wanted to do this forever. we are looking forward to seeing all of the new renovations that have been done over the offseason. kaufman has always been a beautiful stadium, so we are excited to see all of the new additions.
danny and megan are visiting in 2 weeks! we have not seen them since christmas, so it will be great to hang out with them for a few days. we will all be going to the royals game on saturday to see them play the yankees-should be a fun time! it has been quite a while since i have been to a game with danny or my parents.
well, i should probably quit now, as i have written a novel. also, i have mounds of laundry to do and a kitchen to clean up. i can't stand to start off the week with a messy house, so i must get these things accomplished today!

fresh

2009-03-08T13:04:00.002-05:00

slept with the window open for the first time in months.

love spring...please come and stay for awhile.

dusk

2009-03-07T17:34:00.004-06:00

i am sitting in the living room and none of the lights are on, but the front door is open and all of the blinds are open. i love that transition from day to night. light to dark. i have always loved this time of day. i have been sitting here for around 30 minutes and the space around me has slipped unnoticeably from bright and cheery into that blue-grayish dim that comes at dusk.

sweet debbie is a sleeping silouhette on the back of the couch, her back rising softly with each breath.

a soft breeze is coming through the windows, and i detect the faint voices of kids taking advantage of the last few minutes of daylight on this gorgeous day.

bliss.

out?

2008-12-21T11:51:00.003-06:00

i miss blogging. i guess maybe it is suffering, as facebook and things like it are becoming more popular. it's much easier to leave quick status update, then to write a paragraph update....

i think its contagious. as some quit blogging, it dies off for others. i find myself less motivated when a lot of the blogs i check are not being updated regularly. also, for me, blogging was a good way to keep my family updated on the happenings of our lives while we were living far away, but now we (most of us) see each other more often, so it seems as though there is not as much to "announce".

i am looking forward to the holidays, but honestly feel as though they are already over. the season starts so early, that i feel like we have been "celebrating" for a while now. i am mainly just excited to have my whole family together. it has been a while since we were all together for christmas. i am excited for the 8 (wow!), well 9 if you count brucie, of us to be crammed into my parent's living room. there will be fun times, of that i am sure!

imagine if...

2008-12-21T11:31:00.007-06:00

the other day i was looking through pictures of debbie as a 4 week old and for an instant i thought, "won't it be fun to show these to debbie when she's older?"

then i felt sad, because i won't be able to do that. well, i guess i could try to show her, but she'll probably just run away when i try to hold her down.

sometimes i wish debbie could talk to me...i bet she has some interesting things to say.

i haven't lost my mind, really....i just like to imagine....

actually...you should go

2008-11-26T20:01:00.001-06:00

here

same paper, new owners, new site

you should go

2008-10-19T18:38:00.000-05:00

here

introducing.......

2008-10-08T19:56:00.006-05:00

my sweet little debbie!!
finally, after years of wanting a kitty, i decided to go for it. debbie came to live with us on saturday. she's a feisty little thing, but she's a sweetheart. nothing beats having little debbie purring while nestling her head in the crook of my neck. i always said if i had a kitty i would want her to be a snuggler, so i think i found the right one!

playing with aunt meggie

mesmorized by the green focus light

she loves to snuggle with ben

mew

the perfect cliche...a kitten and a ball of yarn

p.s. scott-this was the exciting thing that was coming.....hope i didn't get your hopes up.

:o)

stay tuned...

2008-10-01T20:49:00.001-05:00

...exciting things ahead

puppy love

2008-09-17T20:23:00.005-05:00

she coasts down the street and honks her horn as she turns into her driveway.
she gathers her things and climbs out of her car, keys in hand.
walks to the porch, unlocks the door, opens it, and with an uninhibited joy in her voice, she proclaims, "hi buddy!"

you can't help but smile at the excitement she has every single day to come home to her four legged friend.

she lives accross the street, and i don't even know her name, much less anything about her. but i can tell you one thing for sure - this woman loves her dog!

holy moly

2008-08-31T17:25:00.002-05:00

sorry to disapoint you, this is not really a post; more like a declaration of the fact that i have completely ignored this blog all summer!
i am not making any promises of a return...we'll see how it goes.
maybe i'll do another redesign, that usually inspires me to come back.

ben-again

2008-06-12T22:50:00.004-05:00

what's that i see......the rally cap??

awesome (free) seats, super close (once again, free) parking, AND a special midweek edition of the all time best promotion....buck night!! but alas our royals still could not pull out a win for us to make it the perfect night. oh well, it was still a great night.

quote of the day

2008-05-04T22:10:00.004-05:00

this weekend ben and i drove down to the booming metropolis that is butler, missouri to spend some time with the lovely prichard family. our visit was great, they were wonderful hosts and they fed us yummy food. it was some much needed relaxation time for us, so we were grateful that they let us crash at their place.

anyways...on to the quote of the day...

this morning benjamin, the 2.5 year old, came into the tv room where ben and i were sleeping and jumped into bed with us. he was squirming around and hiding under the covers, and then he started climbing on ben. so i said to ben, "is he bothering you?"

ben said, in a monotone voice "world hunger and gas prices bother me; children are a joy."

it cracked me up. and the funniest thing as that i reminded him of it this evening and he doesn't even remember saying it! ha!

speaking of the environment...

2008-04-20T08:28:00.002-05:00

check this out!

this "interview" occured the day after i posted my last post, so it seemed sort of ironic. although i guess earth day is coming up so talking about the environment is all the rage right now!

baby steps

2008-04-14T21:14:00.002-05:00

good news

it's nice to see steps being made to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. have you ever really stopped to think about how much trash we produce and how it has to go somewhere? don't. it will make you feel sad and scared.
actually, yes think about it. and think about the things you can do on a daily basis to reduce the shameful amount of garbage in our overflowing landfills.

one of my goals for work this year is to print less: only when necessary. we do recycle, but the less paper we use initially the less we have to order, the less that has to be produced, and so on. okay, i'm realistic, i know that my decision to be print responsibly won't be saving entire forests, but what if everyone made the same decision? who knows?

wendy's observation of the holy season

2008-04-11T23:31:00.004-05:00

ashley (my coworker) ordering at the wendy's drive through - "i'd like a fish sandwich"

drive-through guy -"we only sell those during lent"

me- "baaaahahaha"

for some reason this really struck me as funny. that is just about the last thing i expected to hear from that little drive through speaker.

hmmm...well there you go...

bedtime

2008-04-10T22:47:00.003-05:00

i'm still here...don't take me off your blogroll yet!
i feel like i'm never home lately, and when i am home i'm tired and lacking inspiration. so i veg and watch hgtv. it is giving me good ideas and insight for our house hunt. we are hoping to buy a house this summer once our lease is up. i am excited and nervous and just filled with anxiety about the whole idea. in a good way. we found one we really like, but we're still early in the process and a few months from the end of our lease, so we're kind of at a standstill. which is fine; just a tad bit stress inducing.
i'm going to the royal's game tomorrow. i'm excited! i haven't been to a game in a few years, so it should be fun. it's buck night!! 1$ hot dogs...mmmmm...
work is going really well. it's still insanely busy, but i enjoy the challenge. and the overtime $$$

goodnight...

it works

2008-03-22T22:18:00.002-05:00

my blog is dying...perhaps a makeover will bring her back to life. maybe some brighter colors?? i've just lost the motivation...but the list updates are fairly easy, so let's do that.

i made 57 chocolate chip cookies today. benny had been begging me to make a second batch, since we (and his coworkers) ate up the ones i made tuesday night. they are fantabulicious. do you want my secret? you know you do. okay here's the deal. i used to make cookies a lot, and they tasted okay but they always came out really cakey. (i call them cakies) so i went online and did some google searches to try to figure out my problem. after some research i decided to use real butter in my cookies instead of margarine. oh my word, that made all the difference. they always come out perfect now! oh and i use my baking stones instead of a traditional baking sheet which keeps them from getting crispy.
i got a promotion at work!! remember how i mentioned the lead in my department who quit with no notice? well, i got her job! the announcement hasn't been made yet, but it will be soon. i was pretty nervous about it at first. i didn't know how my coworkers would respond to the newest employee (i've only been there 5 months) and the youngest employee being promoted above them. but i'm not worried anymore. i've proven myself to be a very good worker, so they'll just have to accept it! plus i think most everyone has figured it out by now, and i haven't gotten beat up or threatened yet, so that is promising.
we watched the trevecca men's basketball team play this week in the NAIA tournament at municipal. it was fun! good memories of watching them play in college. they won the first game, but then lost in the second round.
i'm into american idol this year. ben rolls his eyes at the mere mention of the show, but i don't care. it's been fun. my favorite is michael johns. i have a crush on him. don't worry, ben knows.
we are headed up to minnesota in a few weeks for a quick weekend trip with ben's family. the royals are beginning the season with the twins and the felder men will be there to watch. the felder women will be entertained by the mall of america. i've never been there. we tend to avoid malls in fact. but it will be fun to hang out with the girls. really i just want to eat a soft pretzel dipped in cheese while i'm there. that's all i really need.
ben got a scooter! we have come to a place where a second form of transportation is necessary, but we were not about to get another car, so ben finally got the scooter he's been wanting! it's pretty nice, and it get's great gas mileage! it came with 2 helmets, the second one is pink, just for me! it's pretty cute (helmet, not scooter), but i'm going to have to get used to riding the scooter. i'm pretty uneasy about it right now. i'm kind of a fraidy cat.
i can't think of anything else right now...

tagged!

2008-02-24T20:27:00.004-06:00

I was tagged by red letter girl! I am supposed to list 7 random things about myself that you may not know. This will be tough, but here it goes:

i have never dyed my hair. no highlights, nothing.
i have regrets of not playing volleyball in high school, and have actually convinced myself that i would have been the star of the team had i played. maybe it's better that i didn't play, just to avoid the disappointment of not being the best.
my photo was on the front page of the kansas city star when i was in 2nd grade. it went with an article about breakfast programs at elementary schools. it was an adorable shot of me trying to decide between apple and orange juice, so deep in thought that my lower lip was jutting out a bit. i guess it was a tough choice.
i have never seen an episode of LOST.
i started out as an english major in college, but i changed it because i hated my world literature class. i guess the thought of 2-3 more years of literature was unbearable.
in 7th grade i had to give a speech and my topic was how to make macaroni and cheese. it was the worst speech ever, but fortunately everyone was too busy talking and laughing to pay attention to my meek little voice. i was glad. "talk amongst yourselves" is my speech giving motto.
when i was in school and the teacher would pass back tests i would always try to see what everyone around me got on the test. it made me feel better about myself if i did better than everyone sitting around me. (i know, that really is horrible. i am a jerk)

OK...here's the rules:-

List 7 random things about yourself that people may not know.

- Link the person who sent this to you, and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.

- Post the rules on your blog.

- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I am tagging...dawn c, matt, amy, dawn w, rachel, megan, and scott w

I don't know how you all feel about being tagged...so feel free to not do it. It ain't no thang.

no turning back

2008-02-17T17:32:00.002-06:00

i'm off in a few minutes to a bible study group at church. we have various groups (called movement groups) that meet throughout the week and everyone is encouraged to be a part of one.
i'm really nervous, but at the same time excited. we've been going to revolution for almost 4 months, but we really don't know anyone that well yet. it's really hard to get to know people when you only go on sunday mornings, which is what we've been doing. we say half-jokingly (the other half just frustrated) that we are sick of introducing ourselves to the same people every sunday.
so tonight we're going to a group. i think it will be okay, perhaps uncomfortable at first, but being in relationship with others was never meant to be easy.

happenings

2008-02-12T21:39:00.002-06:00

i watched american idol tonight. it's funny how watching this show gives me the illusion that i can sing. i dance around with my spatula as a microphone thinking, "surely i could make the cut!" weird.
i received a letter from the community blood center with my blood type. it's o+. so all you a's, b's, ab's, and 0+'s out there: if you suffer an injury with massive blood loss...i got your back. (special thanks to megan for sharing her extensive knowledge of blood types with me)
works sucks at the moment. we had a lead in the department quit last thursday with no notice. thank you so much. fortunately we have a new person starting tomorrow, and a temp starting thursday. as much as it sucks to have people quit, it does present the opportunity for unlimited overtime ($$$!!!) so i can't complain too much. and as nice as this coworker was, i will not miss listening to her talk to herself. or the whistling. or the singing. or the times where she and another coworker would converse with one another with their voices sounding like they were mentally retarded. that was actually pretty offensive, and i am relieved that it is over. i wish i would have had the courage to tell them that they were being inappropriate.
ben and i have plans to go to the true/false film fest in columbia, mo in a few weeks. i'm really excited. i love weekend getaways, and it's been a while since we've gotten the chance (or had any money). the nice thing is that ben's grandparents live there, but they are away in arizona for the winter, so we have their house to stay in. partaayyy!! (just kidding, grandpa) it is always over a holiday when we are in columbia, so it will be cool to be in town when all the college students are around. usually it's dead when we are there. i'm looking forward to seeing some great films; perhaps if i am feeling ambitious i will attempt to review one or two on here.
it's cold.

first

2008-02-06T22:10:00.000-06:00

before, nice t-shirt...way too big:

after, cute bag that makes a statement:

front:

back:

inside pocket:

This turned out pretty well, for my first project. It was nice to get the practice on all the detail work, and with the zig zag stitch. And I'm glad to get practice on stuff I have around the house before I purchase any fabric. I enjoyed making it and hopefully I will actually use it. The fabric is a bit stretchy, so it won't hold too much before it gets saggy but it should still work fine as a purse.

Goodnight

saturday

2008-02-03T08:43:00.000-06:00

lunch and bowling were really fun yesterday. it was great to see everyone, and as usual, i wish we all could've hung out longer. it's weird, we all live in the area, but it still feels like we're all so far away from each other. or maybe i just feel far away. it's just really hard to get 9 people together at one time, i'm amazed that we did it and only one person couldn't make it. (we missed you Anna!)

Anyways...here a few pics. I always plan to take more, but then I get shy and feel like I'm bothering people when I bring out the camera. Last time I went bowling (in Seattle) I had this same affliction so rachel took the camera for me and started taking pictures!

So anyways...the pics.

sarah found debbie's ball, shhh don't tell debbie!

natalie looking at her camera

nice form, cina! she beat me by 5 pins over the course of our 3 games...grrrr!!

lori and sarah, buddies since the mid 80's

cassie, cina, sarah, natalie, and amanda having ridiculous amounts of fun

the best part about the day? natalie came back to the table and told us the the lady up front said that we all looked like we were having so much fun, were we old friends or something? natalie said, yes we all went to high school together. awww...i'm glad that our fun was so apparent to those around us!

a million different things...

2008-01-30T21:00:00.000-06:00

a list:

ku is losing right now. i really don't follow them at all, but ben sure is disappointed
last week, i had the joy of participating in a tutoring program for burmese refugee children, whose families are being sponsered by my church. the kids were really sweet and i look forward to going back. i'm scheduled for every other thursday night.

tonight we had macaroni and cheese for dinner, homemade by chef ben. it was amazing. i am already looking forward to eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
work is busy. i know same old, same old. but there is relief on the horizon, as the tax stuff that has pulled 2 people away from their daily responsibilities (which has been allocated to the remaining 4 of us) for the past month is drawing to a close.
we never went on our christmas lunch at work (see? too busy) so we've postponed it until february. that sucked 1 month ago, but now it's almost february! yippee! i suggested a tasty italian restaurant on the plaza, but was quickly met with rejection. i got an "i can't eat italian food." (what the crap?) and a flat out "NO!" jerks. whatever, it's a free lunch i guess wherever is fine.
i'm eating mexican food and going bowling with some friends this weekend. what a lovely duo.
still nothing on the sewing front. the enthusiasm is not gone though. i've got the machine all set up, but the budget has been pretty tight as of late, so i've yet to begin any projects. my mom did offer to let me have some of her thread that she never uses. that was really sweet of her.
1:03, 3 possession game...it's not looking good for ku...
i'm (somewhat) following the presidential race this time around. i'm no expert, but i think i can keep a conversation going at the least. i'm put off by the silliness of it all...endorsements by chuck norris..."the cry" by hillary...and the latest...barack's cold shoulder to hillary at the state of the union address. put off, but entertained nonetheless. i'm afraid that i may be more interested in the sensationalist headlines then those which spell out policies. i'm planning to cram this weekend in order to be prepared to cast my vote on super tuesday. (not sure if it really works that way, but oh well)
speaking of barack obama, he came to kc. here is a picture of him speaking. but more importantly look at the crowd behind him. ben pointed this out to me this morning and i just cracked up. the funk is like a giant among little people! no disrespect, of course, i'm sure it's just a weird angle :o) or maybe he was photo shopped in...

i finished the kite runner, by Khaled Hosseini last week. i can't describe it, it's just an incredible story. here is the back cover. there were parts that made me so angry, i had to put the book down, and other parts that made me burst into tears. you should read it. this author has another book out that i'd like to read soon, a thousand splendid suns.
i chopped some hair off this week. about 5+ inches. and in a rare moment of weakness (just kidding) i succombed to a recent fad and cut some bangs. this is taking some getting used to seeing as how i haven't worn bangs since 1994. my hair is resisting and pleading for me to play it safe and leave the part in the center. but the damage has been done. i like the cut, it's different. and my sister in law said it makes me look older. i took this as a compliment, since i am so frequently mistaken for a high school student. ("oh honey! you're married?! how old are you??" gag. or even better, "what grade are you in?") pictures later.
ooo ben shaved his beard off! i've been begging him to for weeks! but, unfortunately he left the 'stache. He looks like a porn star. (his words, not mine) niice.
ben broke the garbage disposal. just now. i hope my landlords aren't reading this!! shh... now he's pacing the house looking for a light of some sort so he can investigate. i hope he doesn't chop his fingers off, he doesn't have health insurance. oh, um and that would suck if he chopped his fingers off.
i'm clearly running out of gas here. it's almost bed time anyway.

i'll try not to stay away so long...

just what's going on

2008-01-13T20:44:00.001-06:00

this was a nice weekend. on friday we went to see a new exhibit by tomoko takahashi at the kemper museum of contemporary art. it was an interesting exhibit. then megan came over to spend the night. we had plans of staying up late playing games and playing guitar hero, but after one board game we were dozing off so we went to bed. it was fun though. we had a yummy breakfast in the morning, and then the 3 of us went to benetti's coffee shop in raytown and played an othello tournament before dropping off megan back at her house. we went inside to chat for a while and ended up staying the whole evening. it was fun hanging out, eating pizza and ice cream and helping out with taking the upholstery off their couch.
this morning was church, and the felder's joined us for the service, then we went to a yummy buffet that has chinese and mexican food. what a great combination!! this afternoon ben and i both took naps and have been doing some cleaning up around the house. and that's about it for this weekend. it flew by, but it was fun!
not much going on this week, for me that is. i am signed up to donate blood through work on tuesday. my first time. i'm a little nervous, but trying to keep this in mind. and this. work is going well. i am enjoying it and it is keeping me busy. i have been able to get some overtime hours in which is helpful.
ben starts classes at the community college this week. rockhurst doesn't start for another 2 weeks. and his regular work schedule will begin this week. he's looking forward to getting back into school.
hope you all have a wonderful week!

congratulations...you owe me 10 cents

2008-01-08T19:58:00.000-06:00

i received this text message today:

"i'm engaged! ben proposed to me yesterday and it was so lovely! i thought u should know. the wedding is in july! i'll probably need ur addr sometime bc ur invited!"

well, ben's fiance, either i'm i really big jerk of a friend, or i have no idea who you are. i'm thinking (and hoping) it's the latter.

so congratulations on your engagement, whoever you are. and by the way, i do not have text messaging on my cell phone plan, so thanks for that extra charge.

(if you are reading this, and you are my friend, and you just got engaged, and his name is ben....my sincerest apologies)

here

2008-01-05T14:51:00.000-06:00

(see above the machine: the super-cute and colorful sewing basket from my mother in law)

it's here! i got a nervous feeling in my stomach as i was opening the box. i hope i like it. not just "it" as in the machine, but "it" as in sewing. i set it all up and got started reading the manual. it was pretty helpful, but i was itching to start so i didn't make it very far through it.

so i got it all threaded with my lone spool of thread. i spent the whole amount of christmas money on the machine, so that left nothing for the other stuff right now. fortunately i had a spool of black thread leftover from some hand sewing i had done this summer.

once i got it ready i went straight to my closet in search of a black article of clothing that may need some sprucing up. my eye caught a black cotton skirt that had a spot about 3 inches long where the seam had come out. jackpot!

it was fun, but much to my dismay the fun didn't last very long as the seam was quickly mended.

when i get some extra cash, i'd like to scope out the thrift stores for cheap clothes with fun patterns that could be revamped into something new. and of course, i'll need to get some more thread!

i have a few projects in mind, one of them would be shortening the dress from amy's wedding into a tea length:

it may take me a while to get up the courage to take the dress under the scissors, but at least i know i'll have the right color thread whenever i'm ready!

i'll need red thread for the other project i'm thinking of, and a bag of polyfill. it should be a fun one, i'll definitely post pictures.

a few things learned:

-i will definitely need better lighting in my sewing room. i opted not to use the closet after all, so i set it up in the library/office. but the lighting in there is horrible. the light on the machine helps a little, but not much.

-i think i will wear my glasses when i sew in the future. i was focusing so hard that i was forgetting to blink so my contacts kept blurring over on me.

well, it's time to watch some playoff football, and possibly indulge in a bag of kettlecorn.

later,

oh!

2008-01-02T19:40:00.000-06:00

this summer ben and i had made plans to meet up his a few of his coworkers and some of their family at golden gardens, which is a beach/park that was close to where we lived. the six of us ended up meeting up with a group of coffee geeks from england, one of who had ranked first in a world barista competition. they brought a roaster and beans and planned to roast the beans over a camp fire. over our camp fire! they even had a film crew with them! it was pretty cool. we had to leave before they finished, so i don't know how it turned out.
i'm not sure what made me think of this, but i had to share, as it very well could have been one of the coolest things i did in 2007.

pressure

2008-01-01T11:56:00.000-06:00

i feel this odd sense of pressure to blog this morning. not just any blog, but the typical "reminiscing about last year" sort of blog like i did last year. like i mentioned, i have some ideas on how to recap the year, but when it comes down to it i really don't feel like rehashing everything.
funny thing is, my idea really started because i wanted to talk about the best movie i saw all year. so i thought, i'll just save it and do a best of 2007 post on january 1st, including best film, best book, best new city, etc. but that just grew to be a really intimidating idea because i felt the need to come up with a wide array of categories, and quite frankly, i was blank.
so...why don't i just tell you the film i saw and leave it at that?
it was The Namesake , based on the book by jhumpa lahiri, and it follows the story of a family who immigrates from india, the struggles they encounter, and particularly the son who feels resistance to his parents desire to raise their children under the Bengali tradition of their roots.
it really was a beautiful movie, and i was immediately inspired to place the book on hold at the library. i finally got my copy a few months later and sped through it. as is usually the case, the book was much better than the movie. it was so interesting getting this insight into the tension that immigrants may encounter of raising their children in america, while still wanting to honor the culture that they came from. if you get the chance you should really read this book and watch this movie, you won't regret it.

in other news, we are having my parents over tonight for a little birthday dinner for my dad. i am excited, i love having visitors!!

happy birthday doodles!!

last

2007-12-31T18:46:00.000-06:00

i've never been much for the new year's resolutions...a few things have crossed my mind, but nothing i feel i could commit to. so what's the use in trying, right?

i do like heidi's idea, so maybe i'll tag along with her in RMOY, requiring more of yourself. i like the open ended nature of this resolution. it has, as my favorite character would say, "so much scope for the imagination" plus, it leaves little room for failure.

i've been thinking all day of some clever way to end the year on my blog. nothing has come to me, but i do have some ideas for how to begin it tomorrow...

so long 2007...

sew excited...

2007-12-30T10:11:00.000-06:00

After years of thinking about it, and several months of talking about it I am well on my way to having my first real hobby. Thanks to the Christmas gifts of very generous family members, I will soon be the owner of my very first sewing machine. And as of last week, I was the owner of a very cute and colorful sewing basket, filled with sewing notions! I ordered my machine on overstock.com, and it should be arriving in 5-10 days. I am thrilled to the bone. I woke up early this morning and couldn't fall back asleep because I was thinking of all the sewing fun that was coming my way!
The ideas are swimming around in my head, but I'm not too worried about trapping them just yet, because for one thing, I need to learn the basics of sewing before I can start projects. And for another thing, I know that there are thousands of websites out there that will provide me with a constant flow of project ideas.
I had tons of reasons why I should not pursue sewing as a hobby, the main one being the expense of starting up, and I almost gave in to those reasons, but I stood strong and decided that I was going to do it. I can't wait. I even have a request already for a project. My beautiful little sister in law would like purse...and a purse she will get! It may take me a while to hone my skills but when I do, watch out! We may turn one of our closets (it's really a very LARGE closet) into my little sewing room.
Here is the machine I ordered. I will post more pictures once it arrives and I get my room set up.

Yippee!!

it snew.

2007-12-23T09:25:00.000-06:00

yesterday was a perfectly beautiful day. i did go in to work for a few hours, which wasn't really the beautiful part. around 1:00 i got a call from my sweet husband telling me i should come home because the roads were getting bad. so within about 6.5 minutes i was out of there. obviously it didn't take much to convince me that there are better things to do on a saturday!
on the way home it was slow-going, everyone was being cautious as the little ice pellets were blanketing the streets. once again, not the beautiful part.
soon after i got home the ice pellets had transformed into glittery, fluttering snowflakes and this, my friends, was the beautiful part.
i love the snow. i always have. it was a different kind of love as a child. a love that got me something in return. translation: a day off from school filled with sledding, snow angels, and snowball fights. and yes, even the occasional bowl of snow ice cream.
now as an adult, i can't really appreciate it for all the same reasons. because despite a thick blanket of snow, my work is probably not going to be closed. and though i have the option of not going if i don't feel i can make it, that day is probably coming out of my PTO. though st. luke's is MUCH more generous with PTO than any other job i've ever had, those hours are still a precious commodity this early in the game. so that means trudging through the snow, scraping the windows, and just plain being jealous of my sister in law, whose school just ran across the banner on the news, announcing they are closed for the day.
and though the occasional snowball is fun (although not really, because usually it's coming towards me at a high rate of speed from the hands of that sweet husband i mentioned before), it just doesn't seem as fun to stay outside for hours rolling around in the snow until my whole body is numb. things change, i guess.
but i can still appreciate the snow for it's beauty. there is nothing quite like sitting up on my knees on the couch peeking through the blinds and watching those flakes fall. and hearing the wind howl outside makes me shiver with delight. i like the simplicity that a snowy day brings. the feeling of being cooped up inside, knowing that there is an uncontrollable force, that is granting you the wish of a day spent at home, snuggling on the couch.
i'm a little disappointed about the sun shining outside right now. this is not the kind of sun that has to elbow it's way through the clouds to make an occasional brief appearance. the sky is cloudless, and the sun is at center ring. don't get me wrong, i love the sunshine, but we have a whole summer for that. right now, i want the sun to go into hiding so that snow will linger a bit longer.
i'm thankful for the seasons that change, and for the beauty that each season brings.

anvil lasagna?

2007-12-22T16:46:00.000-06:00

Last night we had dinner at the Felder's house, along with my parents. Upon invitation we were told that this was going to be game night, which always gets me excited. My newest game, not necessarily a new game, is electronic catch phrase. You basically have a key word or phrase and you have to get your team to say it by giving clues, and within a time limit. It's pretty fun, and everyone seems to get wired up when we play this game. So anyway, it was my dad's turn, and the category was people. Up popped a name on the screen and he had no idea who it was. He started getting frustrated and was trying his best to get his team (tom and ben) to guess this person. He said their first name sounds like "anvil", and their last name is sort of like "lasagna". Not surprisingly, the guys had no idea who he was describing. And the girls were pretty stumped too. So finally the time went out, and my dad passed the game to Megan, where she cracked up and said, "It was Avril Lavigne!!"

Ha!!

CBE

2007-12-15T22:03:00.000-06:00

home for the holidays...not so much

2007-12-11T19:42:00.000-06:00

well, my attempts to carry on a theme with my posting have once again failed. who would have thought that it would only take two posts about the holidays for me to get bored? i just can't be confined. i need the freedom to go out on a limb of randomness every now and then. (or every time i post) i'm just amazed that i have managed to keep the same layout for almost 8 months. that's crazy! it really is time for a change...

anyways,

how about instead of conjuring up another holiday memory, i'll post a video; something i've never done before. i don't know how many people actually watch videos when they are posted on their friend's blogs, but it's worth a try. this one is really funny, i promise you'll laugh.

well, i laughed at least.

via videosift.com

home for the holidays...two

2007-12-06T21:49:00.000-06:00

i've received a lot of gifts in my 24 years. many of them i've forgotten about, but there are some that still stand out in my memory. here are a few:

least expected gift: digital camera from ben, a few years ago

most random gift: hot glue gun, upon opening the gift, i said, "is this mine?" turns out, my dad was recognizing the part of me that likes to make crafts and it totally went over my head

most common gift: bath and body works stuff, every year, it was a given

gift i've used the most: probably the blue old navy hoodie from danny, this thing has been great and still has lots of life left in it

sweetest gift: our first christmas (dating), ben gave me a cross necklace. and i can't lie, when he pulled the box, i was totally thinking, "RING??!!" i think he wanted me to think this...

most awkward gift: silk granny panties "thanks mom!"

gift that i almost didn't find: baby sitter's club set of 3 books, we found it after we were done opening gifts and had started to clean up. score!

most unsurprising gift: purse and wallet from amy, we picked out our gifts together at the store, then wrapped them up and acted surprised. :o)

most practical gift: electric heated mattress pad, i think tom and marla felt sorry for us in our cooold nashville apartment...(we are using this now, and it's great!)

best all around gift: hands down, no question, anne of green gables movie on vhs, i was THRILLED to finally have my very own copy of this great movie. i am never going to stop loving this story. would you believe i'm reading the book right now? i try to reread through the series every few years. love it!

okay, enough about me. anybody have some gift memories they'd like to share?

best, worst, scariest, most random, funniest.....

ok, go!

home for the holidays...one

2007-12-02T10:28:00.000-06:00

i have always loved the christmas holiday. everything from the lights to the parties, i love it all. last year ben and i decided to do things differently concerning gift giving/receiving, but that has in no way changed how i feel about this holiday. i can definitely still enjoy it without the presents!

there are so many memories that come to mind around this season; it's fun to reminisce about how each year was spent. there is one particular christmas that always comes to mind, mainly because it was so unique than any other christmas.

it was my junior year of high school, and my dad was going to make a trip down to nashville to visit the farm, pick up lumber etc. so I decided to join him. we also were making a stop at trevecca to get amy. instead of coming straight home, the three of us had plans to spend a few days at the farm with some family before christmas. i was excited, as this was the first time to see any extended family during the christmas holiday. also, my dad told me that we would be able to chop down an evergreen on the farm and bring it in to use as a christmas tree. this really excited me!

we arrived at the farm and made our to the front room, where much to my dismay, i discovered uncle corneil had already cut down a tree and brought it in! i was so disappointed! gone were my hopes of searching out the perfect tree. my disappointment was soon forgotten when i took a second look at the tree. it was massive! mind you this was an old farm house, with high ceilings, but this tree still looked enormous in the room! it wasn't so much the height of it, although it was very tall, but it was the incredible girth that was unbelievable. the most hilarious part of this was the fact that my uncle had brought it in and simply propped it against the wall! no pretty stand, no pretty tree skirt, just a massive, scraggly evergreen propped up against the wall.

it was so raw, so imperfect. i immediately loved it. we had to drag out a ladder to decorate the thing! i have distinct memories of my cousin jeremy and i decorating while cousin matt and sister amy sat and laughed at us, or at the tree, i'm not sure which? feel free to correct me if i'm wrong, but i have a feeling that's how it went down.

another part of the evening that i enjoyed was pulling out all the old decorations that had been around for years and getting to hear the stories that each ornament recalled from my dad and my uncle. i love hearing stories from my dad about what things were like when he was a kid. i won't lie, he had some strange things happen, but i love hearing each and every story! so what a great opportunity for him to share and for me to soak it all in!

one down

2007-11-30T19:54:00.000-06:00

i conquered a fear today.
i had blood drawn as part of the process employees must go through in order to receive a lower rate on health insurance rate.
i was really scared, as i've never done this before, but you know what?
it didn't even hurt.

yippee!

that feels better

2007-11-26T19:26:00.000-06:00

i'm feeling reflective today. and a bit melancholy. i'm not really sure what put me there, but the side effect has been a slight feeling of weepiness. do you ever feel like that? where maybe a good long cry is just what you need? i was listening to christmas music on the way home from work today and i was getting choked up over the songs! i swear, i've turned into my mother. growing up, i remember she would cry about things that in my eyes, just didn't make sense. i would say, "mom, why are you crying?" and she would just blubber more and say, "i don't know!" then my snotty little self would just tell her how weird that was and roll my eyes or something.

now i do the same thing, and the strangest thing is that it still doesn't make sense. my tears or her tears. repeating her behavior hasn't brought clarity into the situation, mainly just more confusion. i don't mind though. i like the fact that i feel things through my tears. maybe someday i'll have a daughter who will call me weird when i am getting emotional over ordinary things. and that's okay, because i will just laugh and say, "get ready, soon this will be you!"

even now my eyes are brimming with tears. and i bet yours are too mom! i love you, and i'm glad we have this in common. (there, NOW i bet you're crying.)

what the crap?

2007-11-10T13:19:00.000-06:00

okay, i know there are people who can't see very well. but seriously, in an age where our electronics are progressively getting smaller and more compact, who would buy this?
(it's a universal remote, by the way)

nevermind

2007-11-08T20:46:00.000-06:00

i was all set to blog and then i lost interest.
later?

Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger

2007-10-24T22:42:00.000-05:00

Tip of the Hat:

A tip of the hat to La Fonda El Taquito, a nice little mexican restaurant here in Kansas City. Like most mexican restaurants, they provide complimentary chips and salsa. This is great, but my problem is usually the excessive amount of salsa most restaurants bring out. Some even bring a few bowls: mild, hot, etc. This can be very wasteful, as I rarely find that the party I am dining with finishes all of the salsa that is provided. But, at La Fonda El Taquito, they just bring you the chips, and they have a little bar set up where you can pick the salsa you want and how much you want. No more waste!

Wag of the Finger:

A wag of the finger to The Cheesecake Factory. I was there today with a party of nine. We all got our drinks first and we had barely gotten a few sips in when our waiter began bringing us full cups and taking away our cups that were still 3/4 of the way full! This continued until we got our food. I was astounded at the amount of waste! I found myself feeling anxious about this and would grab my cup anytime the waiter came near so he couldn't take it away! I guess this is "good service." I call it ridiculously wasteful.

In other news, today was my first official day of work. I spent Monday and Tuesday at St. Luke's orientation doing fun things like diversity training, customer service training, learning about benefits, getting a TB shot, etc. Glad to be done with that stuff! When I arrived this morning, my boss informed me that as a celebration for Accounts Payable Appreciation Week (which was actually last week...who knew??), the entire department was going out to lunch today on the company's dollar. Heck yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Not a bad first day! So that's what I was doing at The Cheesecake Factory today (in case you were wondering).

I think I am going to like my new job. The tasks will be similar to my last job, which is great, but I think the work environment will be a little better. As in less stressful. And the office is a little nicer. As in we are not crammed in like sardines. There are nine people in the dept, and they all seem very nice so far.

courage

2007-10-19T13:46:00.000-05:00

when ben and i were youth pastoring at a church in nashville there was this girl who came to church a few times with one of our regular girls. she was about 14 or 15 and i can't even remember her name. she was a little eccentric, in looks and in personality. she had a major chip on her shoulder, but it was heartbreaking because it was so obvious she had put up that wall because she was constantly made fun of for the way she looked and the things that she said. so who could blame her for being angry? i got a few chances to talk with her one on one and was able to learn that underneath this layer of defensiveness that she had as a result of the hand life had dealt to her, she really was a sweet girl.
she liked to sing, and she liked to recite pieces from plays. she even asked me once to come into a room where no one else was so i could listen to her recite. i won't lie, it was a little awkward, but i was humbled that she trusted me to listen to her, and she wasn't half bad. then she told me that she wanted to sing in front of the other teens in the microphone.
have you ever heard the phrase, "social suicide?" i hear it often in those cheesy high school movies that i still seem to enjoy watch. i mean, it's not like she was at risk of losing much, she was already kind of at the bottom of the social ladder, but she was just going to open herself up to a whole new line of attack from her peers.
of course i wasn't going to tell her that. i simply said that if that's what she wanted to do she could do it. she was terrified, but determined. so we told the punk junior high boy who was messing around with the microphone to step aside so she could sing.
she hesitated, and then began. i am pretty sure she sang that song from Beauty and the Beast, (Tale as old as time...) we all stood around, watching and listening this awkward, yet beautiful, expression from a girl very rarely got positive attention.
she finished, and no, the other kids didn't storm the stage and lift her on their shoulders, like the ending of some sappy movie. they didn't really do anything to be honest.
but the most important thing that they didn't do?

they didn't laugh.

i don't know if she remembers that night, or if it really mattered that much to her. but i gained a new respect for that girl, as she brought to light a whole new meaning of the word courage.

the land of dreams

2007-10-17T23:17:00.000-05:00

Eyes heavy; they flutter and fall
To sleep
Everything goes dark, just for a second
I’m awake again but not in my bed
I’m somewhere I’ve been with people I’ve seen
But she is not who she is in real life
And he doesn’t really know who I am, yet we are friends

In this world
Things don’t make sense, but I don’t seem to notice
At this moment in time, this is my reality

There is a baby in my arms, I don’t know his name
I was told to watch him, by that person who I don’t really know
I talk to the little boy and rock him to sleep
He wiggles, then snuggles, and soon he is breathing softly
I feel sure that I could stay like this
Forever

Soon I stir, and though my eyelids are shut tight
I know that I am awake, morning has come.
I keep my eyelids shut, my hand is resting on my stomach
It feels like he’s still in my arms, that sweet baby I never knew
The end is inevitable; it’s time to get up

What does it mean? Always wondering, never knowing.
These places I go while I sleep, these things that I do
It all seems so real, I believe every night that it is.
Sometimes relieved that it was only a dream
Sometimes disappointed
Always intrigued, and wanting to know more
Maybe tonight when my eyelids fall
I’ll figure it out

one more

2007-10-14T12:47:00.000-05:00

i've had a nice weekend so far. friday i had lunch with jackie-o, then ben and i played some tennis. he beat me 6 games to 2. :o( then we went out to dinner with my parents to a nice little mexican restaurant in raytown. i spent the night with my parents so i could go help my dad out with selling at the flea market on saturday morning, but thunderstorms cancelled those plans.
i did end up going to the thrift store saturday morning and finding a few things to wear to work, which was good.
megan is spending the weekend with us, since her parents are in iowa, so that's been fun. the two of us played a killer game of monopoly last night that lasted about 3 hours! problems arose when the bank ran out of money, and finally after a long torturous battle, megan defeated me! we were so tired when it was all finally over!
we are watching the chiefs now (they're winning!) but we are leaving in about 20 minutes to go to a play at the KC Repertory Theatre. Our first play in KC! They don't have great deals if you are under 25, but we paid $12 for back row seats. We'll see how that goes.
well, i have one more free week before i start my job. i am excited to start, it will be nice to have something to do during the day! and of course the money will be nice.

hope everyone has a great week!

happy day

2007-10-10T17:59:00.000-05:00

Much to my relief, I am once again an employed member of society...
I had my first interview with St. Luke's Hospital on Monday with HR for an Accounts Payable Associate position. Then I went yesterday to interview with the directer and the supervisor of the A/P department. I felt like the interview went very well, but I got the typical answer: "We have more applicants to interview, so you should hear from us by the end of next week." I was disappointed, because it really seemed like a good job, but I didn't know if I had that long to wait for it. I was hoping to have a job by then.
So I was shocked when I received a call from HR today telling me they were about to check my references. Then about 10 minutes later she called back and said my references checked out and she offered me the job.
Needless to say, I was very excited!
My start date is October 22, so I am looking forward to my last week and a half of time off. And now it can truly be carefree since I am finished with the job search and going to interviews!

things and stuff

2007-10-07T23:04:00.000-05:00

another few weeks has gone by without blogging because i "can't think of anything to say." things have been pretty uneventful. i'm still on the search for a job, although this past week i had 2 interviews and i have another one tomorrow. i really feel like i'll get an offer on one of those three this week. this really needs to happen for many reasons. i've been pretty bored lately, but mainly we just need the money! but God has always provided and come through for us so i am trying to just focus on that. unfortunately, despite my saying that, i still spend a lot of time worrying.
i hung out with some friends from high school about a week ago. that was a lot of fun. it was nice to catch up with everyone. i look forward to our next get together. i'm hoping it can be a girl's night at my house complete with movies, games, junk food, and laughing at old yearbook pictures!
i got a bicycle. we found one at a thrift store for $15. it needs a little bit of work, but ben feels confident that he can fix it up for me. i am pretty excited. i have no plans to commute on my bike, like ben does, but i am looking forward to leisurely rides on some trails. i miss being active, and i feel like i have don't have much of an outlet for that these days. or else i have to work a lot harder at it than i used to! growing up, i loved getting together with the youth group and playing sports, and i was guaranteed that opportunity at least once a week, at wednesday night church. plus, there was always p.e. at school. i would love to find some place where i could get together with other people like me who really love to play sports (volleyball, softball, soccer, basketball....whatever) and who also happen to be out of shape and not that good. there's probably stuff out there, i haven't really looked.
i'm glad fall is here. there is just something really serene about this season. peaceful. cool days, light jackets, friday night football games, leaves changing and eventually falling...ahhh.

fernie

2007-09-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

today i had the pleasure of spending the day with an old friend. back in the 8th grade i got my first job cleaning house for an elderly woman at my church named fern. i worked for her all through high school and even the summer after my freshman year of college. she is so sweet, and it was great to be able to help her out and keep her company for an hour or two every week. and the cash was nice too, especially when i was not working anywhere else!
i've seen her a few times since we have been back in town and sunday night she asked if i wanted a job helping her clean out her garage. it was so sweet, because she knows that i am still looking for a job so not only am i low on cash, but i've got a lot of free time on my hands! i accepted and we spent this morning cleaning, then we ran some errands (since she doesn't drive anymore), and the came back and had lunch together on the sun porch.
it was so fun! we had a great time chatting and catching up on what's been going on the past few years. i am going to try to make it a point to visit her every now and then. i know she gets lonely and loves to have company!

our house

2007-09-21T12:06:00.000-05:00

the outside...we live on the main level and our landlords live upstairs

the front porch

porch furniture provided by our landlords

living room

living room

living room

dining room

dining room/living room in background

huge closet in dining room

kitchen

we finally got our recycling bin today...i was excited!

kitchen w/ dining room in the background

spicy kitty

spare room/TV room/office/library

bathroom

bedroom..we are going to change the yellow to dark blue

big closet! we each have our own side

cedar chest started by my grandpa and finished by my dad. i had to leave this behind when we moved to seattle so i was happy to get it back!

ceiling fan!!

living room is in the front of the house, then the spare room is in the middle, and the bedroom is in the back of the house

i'm feeling...

2007-09-20T23:10:00.000-05:00

-not so productive...
i've read 4 books since saturday.

-insomniatic (probably not a word)...
i've been staying up later, and having more trouble falling/staying asleep. this is very unusual for me.

-stressed...
i just really need a job. this could be contributing to the above issue.

-slightly encouraged...
about a job application i just filled out online. we will see...

-excited...
about my front porch and the fact that it is helping me meet my neighbors (and their cats)
why did we ever start moving our large porches to the back anyway? so sad...

-glad...
that tomorrow is friday, which means it's almost the weekend and i will have 2 guilt-free days of not looking for a job.

-thankful...
that i have a washer and dryer that don't require quarters to operate

-happy...
that we got a check for $60 in the mail today, though it was not necessary (you know who you are...in case you are reading this)

-hot...
the air conditioner and ceiling fan just aren't cutting it! but i am not one who can sleep uncovered. it makes me feel vulnerable. it's amazing how safe i can feel under just a thin sheet.

-disappointed...
at how boring this post is. it sounded better in my head.

goodnight.

mew

2007-09-18T18:09:00.000-05:00

today i was out taking a jog/walk and i had the pleasure of meeting a little kitty cat. he was black and small and so cute! he came walking up to me so of course i had to stop and pet him. i hung around for a few minutes petting him and entertaining him with with a blade of grass. then i turned around to walk back home and he started following me! so i pet him some more, then walked away and he kept following me!
i had visions of this sweet little collarless kitty following me all the way home and sitting with me on the front porch while i pet him and gave him a bowl of milk. and then ben would come home and fall in love with him. and then our landlords would see him and say, "i know i said no pets, but you can keep this sweet little kitty if you want."
and i would finally have a kitty of my own!
well, needless to say that didn't happen. he followed me for a block but then he got distracted. i kept turning back to see if he was following, but nothing.
and later i kept hoping i would here a "mew" coming from the front porch and i would open the door and there he would be.
but no, that didn't happen.
oh well.

later on this afternoon i had another pleasure. the pleasure of sitting on my front porch during a thunderstorm. it was delightful, you should come over and sit with me during the next thunderstorm.

judy m.

2007-09-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

i was hanging out with my parents tonight and the subject of class rings came up, so my dad asked if i wanted to see his ring. i said sure, though i didn't know he had actually gotten one. so he goes to his little office area (my old room :o( ) and pulls out his high school yearbook. meanwhile, my mom is following him saying, "don't you show her that picture! i hate that picture!" ignoring her, my dad begins flipping through the pages and finally pulls up a picture of his high school sweethart, judy m. and there on judy m.'s finger is his class ring! he was cracking up and acting all proud of himself, and my mom was going off, the same way she always does when he brings up judy m., or judy f. for that matter. :o)
they can be pretty cute sometimes...

the update

2007-09-11T21:37:00.000-05:00

Here is a full-fledged bullet point update, bullets inspired by ariah:

Ben and I moved to Kansas City. I sent out a "here is our new address" email, and I got several replies from people saying, "What? You moved?" Yep, we did!

Ben got a job at a coffee shop in Brookside, he starts Monday. He is excited as this place seems to be a lot like where he came from in Seattle, and there should be lots of room for growth.

I am still on the search for a job, and just trying to maintain my dignity in the process. I know it's only been 2 weeks, but this process really brings me down. I just feel so lost, I have no idea what I want to do.

I miss Seattle. I was watching This Week in Baseball (random) on Saturday and they were highlighting the Mariners. It made me have happy/sad tears. Not like I was a huge fan, but memories, you know?

Oh, and today I was looking up a bus route and so I googled "kc metro transit" and the first link that came up was King County Metro Transit, which is Seattle's metro bus site. Awww...I really miss bus 31!!!

Our house is really nice, we feel like we got a great deal. Our landlords are really nice and are even allowing us to paint as we please. That is part of the reason we haven't posted pictures yet. We want it to be all done first! The other part is laziness...maybe.

We have a front porch that is to die for. It is huge and covered and perfect for sitting. Our landlords are going to be putting a swing out there for us. And some chairs.

Oh, we had a thunderstorm a few nights ago and it kept me up! I haven't been used to the rain being that heavy, and the lightening, and thunder! I think I heard thunder once while living in Seattle. I have never been a huge fan of thunderstorms, so that is one aspect of Kansas City that I am not looking forward to be reacquainted with.

Despite what a lot of people seem to think, Kansas City is very busable. There is a bus stop right at the corner of our street (we are the second house from the corner). The bus on that line comes about every 10 minutes and it intersects with the MAX, which is the city's newest rapid bus line. The MAX takes us downtown, to the city market, to the plaza, crown center, and so on... It's still not quite like Seattle in terms of getting from the suburbs to the city, but if you live in our area, it's great!

It's nice being close to the fam(s). I love being able to hang out without any pressure...no time limits.

My parents hooked us up with some furniture that they weren't using, so we were grateful for that.

I am looking forward to hanging out with some high school/youth group friends that I haven't seen much of in the past 6 years!

We went to Jacob's Well the first Sunday we were here. We enjoyed the service, and their pastor is a great speaker, but it's a really big church...so we're not sure yet...

We are visiting St. Paul's this week to hear Tom preach and Megan sing, and then we'll get back to talking about where we want to go long-term.

We haven't played tennis in at least a month. I am really missing it. We have courts right down the street, but we've been so busy with getting settled in that we haven't ventured out yet.

It's starting to cool down here, which excites me. It seems like we haven't felt really nice fall weather in several years. I'm hoping this will be the year. I even broke out a cute new jacket today that I got on sale at Old Navy, but it was a bit premature. I was just excited! And I was embarrassed when I got off the bus to meet Ben and he informed me that the tag was still on my jacket. Smooth.

I'm done for now. Pictures to come!

road trip

2007-08-28T11:13:00.000-05:00

Reflecting at the reflection pool at temple square in Salt Lake City.

We've been on the road since Friday night, and it has been quite an adventure! Our first stop for a meal was in the lovely Astoria, Oregon. We stopped at a delightful cafe and listened to live music while we ate. It was so cute, it turned out the man who was performing was the bartender!

Throughout that night and the next morning we continued our trek down highway 101 (California here we come) and finally arrived in the beautiful city of San Francisco. We spent all day Sunday exploring the city, and took lots of pictures! (see my flickr on the right)

Yesterday we arrived in Salt Lake City, after a long, desolate drive through the desert. Downtown SLC is very cute, it's smaller, but still has some great big city features, like a light rail. Last night we had a ridiculously comfortable nights sleep on a tempur-pedic mattress. Those commercials don't lie, it doesn't transfer motion!! So comfortable!

We are on our way to hang out a coffee shop downtown, and then we will be on our way for the last (long) leg of our trip.

I am excited to get to KC, but it has been nice having some time to relax before we get there.

i tried.

2007-08-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

well, i guess i sort of bombed on my posting everyday until i leave seattle thing. but that's okay. i should have anticipated how busy things would be.

our trip to nashville/atlanta was great! we saw lots of friends in nashville, and lots of friends and family in atlanta. the wedding weekend was so much fun, there was a lot going on, but it was great! and the wedding was beautiful! you can go to my flickr site on the right to see the pictures from the weekend.

sorry to make this so short, lunch break is over!

bye!

loving seattle, day six: the ferry

2007-08-16T02:50:00.000-05:00

What a fun way to travel! I think I got the chance to take 3 trips across the ferry, and each one of them was spectacular! The first was with Mark and Christa and the kids to Poulsbo, then the second was to Mars Hill Retreat, then the third and most recent was a day hike with Lorrie, Justin, and Morgan. Fun times!!

Well, since it's almost 1:00 am here, and I need to leave the house in 2 hours to head to the airport I'm going to have to make this a short post. We are headed to Atlanta for my sister's wedding!

Also, when I came up with the idea to post every day until I moved, it slipped my mind that I would be out of town for four of those days. So forgive me if I am not back until Monday, I've got a busy weekend ahead of me!

bye!

loving seattle, day five: the theater

2007-08-15T01:59:00.000-05:00

Ben and I had the privilege of attending one play in Nashville, but it wasn't until we moved to Seattle that we really grew to appreciate the theater. Fortunately, because we are both under 25 we were able to take part in this without going broke at the same time. In the past year I have been able to see 5 plays, each of which was incredible in it's own unique way. The picture above is from the most recent play I saw, The Clean House. This one was hilarious, heartbreaking, and inspiring.

The others I saw were Mitzi's Abortion, Doubt, The Lady from Dubuque, and My Name is Rachel Corrie.

I have attempted to review one or two of them in the past, but I feel like I always fall short in really capturing the essence of the show. I guess all I can say is...go to a play.

Go to a play.

You wont' regret it. Nothing could have prepared me for the incredibly authentic and breathtaking experience of witnessing the actors and actresses completely in their element. The amount of raw talent required to go before an audience undertake some of these intense issues, such as the question of abortion and dealing with a terminal illness, is simply astounding.

I am thankful for the opportunity to experience incredible theater and look forward to taking this new tradition to Kansas City.

loving seattle, day four: Not a Number Cards and Gifts

2007-08-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Wallingford has a lot of unique places to shop, but I must say that the most unique place is Not a Number Cards and Gifts , located in the heart. They have tons of bumper stickers, humorous greeting cards (some created by local artists), action figures, lots of toys, and we can't forget the line of "Jesus Shaves" merchandise.

They cover everything from politics to religion (or shall we say sacreligion) and everything in between. You can walk into this store and easily spend an hour just browsing all of the unique items they have to offer.

I have enjoyed browsing this store, and even getting a chance to talk to the owners. This store is a great part of Wallingford!

loving seattle, day three: riding the bus

2007-08-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

(this is me trying to not to smile)

I remember being intimidated by the bus system at first. How do I put my money in? What's a transfer? Pay as you leave...Pay as you enter?? And I thought I would never learn all the routes!
Now, a year later, those questions have been answered (well, it didn't take the whole year for them to be answered!) and I have become a regular on the king county metro transit. And I couldn't be happier. I absolutely love commuting to work by bus. What a relaxing way to get to work, not having to fight traffic, and just reading or chatting with my bus buddies.

Yes, it is true, I have bus buddies. My first friend was a middle aged woman named Anne. She and I wait for the bus together, and it didn't take long for us to strike up conversation. And then there is Anne's friend Germaine (sp?). They also met on the bus, and consequently became pretty good friends. Usually once Germaine gets on they start gabbing with each other, but they let me in to talk every now and then!

And then on the way home there's a girl around my age, who moved to Seattle from Michigan to pursue her art career. We wait for the bus together in the afternoon, after work. Our first conversation was a result of a visit from the ever so friendly bus stop kitty, Scratchy. We started chatting and finally just a month or two ago we realized we didn't know each other's name. Turns out her name is Lori too! Awww...

I look forward to getting to know the bus system in Kansas City. We would love to learn to rely on it as much as we do here. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the greatest reputation, and it's seen as an unsafe way to get around. I look forward to being at least a small part of reversing that reputation. There is one newer bus line, MAX, that is a rapid service line with service through downtown, crown center, and the plaza/midtown. We have ridden this before and found it to be very convenient, so I look forward to taking advantage of it.

I will miss the buses in Seattle, but there is room in my heart for more than one public transit system.

loving seattle, day two: kabul afghan cuisine

2007-08-11T20:25:00.000-05:00

i can't lie, i was a little hesitant about trying this restaurant. i can be a bit squeamish about trying new foods at times. but kabul, being the closest restaurant to our house, was one we had to try. it is actually just across the street from our apartment building.

the first time we went i played it safe and ordered kebab murgh, which is basically chicken kebabs marinated in yogurt, garlic, and pepper. it also came with a side of rice and a bowl of veggies.

ben ordered something called ashak, which is....this:

Ashak - {Fresh pasta filled with scallions, leeks and cilantro, served with yogurt-garlic sauce and topped with ground beef uniquely seasoned with coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper, sprinkled with dried mint.}

my dish was great. ben's dish was a-ma-zing.

because it's a tad pricey, we have only been back 2 times, but both times i ordered the ashak.

yummy yum yum.

loving seattle, day one: edmonds

2007-08-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

i begin my tribute at a spot about 15 miles north of seattle where the sunsets are to die for. this is one of the few places that i have ever sat and watched the sun set completely.

and really, what better place to do it?

fresh

2007-08-09T23:49:00.000-05:00

In a little more than 2 weeks I will no longer call Seattle my home. This saddens me. Never before have I felt so much pride for where I lived than I have here. This city is beautiful and incredible and so many other things.
As much as I love living here, I am just as excited to be moving to the city I grew up in. Several people at work have been giving me a hard time about leaving a city on the coast to go to the Midwest, asking me if I'm moving there "on purpose." And despite the fact that I keep telling them I am NOT from Kansas they can't resist making jokes about me clicking my heels and saying, "there's no place like home." This provokes in me a different sort of pride, which surfaces in the form of defensiveness, especially when I had a woman tell me what a horrid city Kansas City is...so ugly. I asked her if she had been there. She said yes, once...twenty years ago. Nice.
Where in Seattle unique things I have experienced here make me feel proud to call it home; in KC I am proud because that is where my roots are.
I look forward to reacquainting myself with a place that I haven't called home in 6 years. And even more, I am excited to be living in the city, since I am not too familiar with the urban parts of Kansas City.
But...I do not want my last 2 weeks in Seattle to be spent in a blur, getting ready for the move.
I want to savor my time here.
Starting tomorrow, I am going to begin blogging daily, each day sharing an aspect of the city I love and will miss.

Stay tuned...

honk

2007-08-08T23:09:00.000-05:00

today. i honked.
i honked my horn.
not for fun. or to test it out.
i was annoyed.
at another driver. and i thought they should know.
this was my first time. in my 6 years as a licensed.
driver.
to honk.

he waited until the last minute to take his exit.
and he just cut in.
right in front of me.
i hate it when people do that.
let the honking commence.
short.
and to the point.

[wait. did he just give me an apology wave.
or did he flash me.
the bird.
the windows are tinted.
i can't quite tell. but.
i think he might be mad.]

so the annoyance of being cut off.
was nothing.
compared to the next few minutes.
that i spent in fear.
that this person was going to jump.
out of the car and come back to mine.
and yell at me. or worse.
my stomach didn't unclench.
until that monte carlo with tinted windows.
drove off in.
the other direction.

i breathed a sigh of relief.
nothing happened.
there was nothing.
to fear.
still i went on my way.
and vowed to.
never.
honk.
again.

fun-ness

2007-07-29T17:27:00.000-05:00

We had the pleasure of hanging out with the newly married Luthye's last night and this morning. Curt is up here speaking at churches in the WA district, so Beth joined him for part of the trip. We knew Curt from when we were in the youth group at St. Paul's, and then we met Beth at Mosaic in Nashville, and amazingly they ended up together! What a fun couple, it was great to see them! We had dinner at a yummy vegetarian Thai place in Wallingford and then hung out at a coffee shop. This morning we went to Trabant, then up to North Seattle Church of the Naz. to hear Curt speak, stayed for a potluck, and then went back to Trabant! Fun times.

I stole this picture from someone's facebook...I think Blaine's. (thanks blaine)

Aren't they cute!??

Hurray for friends.

thoughts on growing up

2007-07-26T01:03:00.000-05:00

(just for the record, I know that probably a lot of you reading this are older than I am, but please just let me process without saying, "oh please, you're still young!" or "you are so much younger than I am!" etc.)

I'm 24. twenty-four. 20-four. twenty-4. the big 2-4.

For the first time ever, my birthday was an unwelcome event in my life. I wasn't quite ready to mark another year which brings me dangerously close to being halfway through my twenties. I find myself envying 16 year olds and wanting to tell them to cherish every second, don't waste it trying to grow up to fast, because before you know it those years will be gone.

I know I'm not old. I've still got most of my life ahead of me, and so many more amazing and beautiful things to experience. But at the same time, I feel like I am constantly mourning the loss of my childhood. I long to relive those carefree days, where responsibilities were minimal. And despite it's uselessness (and perhaps unhealthiness) I find myself wishing I could do things differently. Nothing major, I don't have any big regrets. But small things...I feel like I missed out on a lot of experiences, because I was too afraid, or thought I would fail. I let my self-consciousness stand in the way too many times.

I suppose I could take my own advise. As I am telling the 16 year olds to enjoy their time before too much responsibility sets in, I could be doing the same thing. I don't want to miss out on my twenties because I'm mourning my teens. And someday down the road, I don't want to miss my thirties, because I am so consumed on the fact that I am no longer in my twenties. Maybe I should take that energy and channel it into doing something that is productive and that brings joy to my life, and hopefully to the lives of others.

It feels as though the years have sped by in a blur, leaving me in their dust. I am merely a child, now going through the motions of this 24 year old life, wondering if I will ever actually feel like an adult.

And maybe this is a question where I can get some feedback from the more "experienced" readers.

At what point do you start feeling like an adult?
Is it college? (not for me)
Marriage? (nope, we're just a couple of kids)
Getting a full time job? (not so much)
Paying bills? (sometimes I still feel funny writing checks, like I'm just playing, so it can't be that)

A wise friend of mine who I look up to said that she still doesn't feel like an adult. And she is in her thirties with 2 kids.

To be honest, that is sort of a relief. Maybe growing up doesn't have to be such a hard thing if I can still feel like a kid at heart.

crank it up.

2007-07-20T18:03:00.000-05:00

This is what was waiting for me when I came home from work today:

Aren't they cute, playing video games together!

By the way, in case you hadn't figured it out...Megan is here! She got here Tuesday and stays until next Thursday. We are having a lot of fun so far showing off this great city and spending some quality time with Megan.
(and playing guitar hero, of course)

last time

2007-07-04T22:49:00.001-05:00

wants to jump in
Originally uploaded by lobeth5028

last year i was doing this on the fourth of july...
do you like the sunburn on my arm?

i played tennis today, but i wore sunscreen, so that was good

oh, and i lost

but there's always tomorrow

victory

2007-07-03T02:00:00.000-05:00

i beat ben in our tennis match today, 8 games to 6.
it was a glorious moment.

back

2007-07-01T15:06:00.000-05:00

so many things...let's go back one month and start from there.

Thing #1

One month ago today I arrived in Kansas City for my super fast weekend trip. My flight got in around 11:30, so upon my grand arrival home my parents were awake, but only long enough to say hello and then they crashed. Amy and Danny and I (Megan was long gone, she was snoozing when I got home!) sat around and chatted for a while but then it was after midnight and they were ready for sleep. Pair my excitement for the weekend with still being on west coast time and I was wired. We went to bed (my sis and I decided to share a room, for old times sake) and I talked her poor ear off for the next 2 hours. I finally drifted off to sleep around 3:30 or 4, and the second I heard my mom creak the door open (around 7) I popped out of bed and I was ready to go!

Saturday was a wedding shower sandwich with an afternoon of tennis in between. It was fun showering Amy with gifts. She made us all sit up front with her while she opened. So that was sufficiently awkward. :o)

Before the trip home Danny and I had discovered that we had both recently taken up tennis. So he promised to bring his rackets home and we challenged each other to a match. It was great fun! He told me that I was a good tennis player! Awww! Here is a picture of us after the game: (we were tired!)

Saturday night, there was another shower for Amy, but maybe I won't post the details on here...

Let's just say there are a few women at the church who I didn't know could be so crazy... :o) It was fun!

Here is a picture of the lovely ladies in my family. Congratulations to my mom for surviving Amy's personal shower!

Sunday was church, and Megan brought me to tears with her beautiful voice. I was so proud!

Monday I hung out with the Felders and I even got to ride with Megan for the first time....

I survived. So that was good. It was pretty funny when Megan needed help parking so while she operated the pedals, Marla leaned over and steered. Hilarious. (you know I love you, Megan)

Wow, I'm tired.

Okay.

Thing #2

Colorado! We were fortunate enough to get to spend a week in Colorado with Ben's whole family (12 of us in all). This was a great time of relaxation and family fun!

We drove to the top of Pike's Peak. Riding up there in a 15 passenger van was pretty much the scariest thing ever, but it was a breathtaking view from the top.

be careful ben!

We spent an afternoon at the zoo in Colorado Springs.

Ben got to pet a giraffe!!

And we watched the gorillas eat lunch. They were HUGE!!

Here is Megan at Garden of the Gods

And me in the chapel at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

And Megan and I at a park in Colorado Springs.

And here is a picture of us playing Apples to Apples, which was pretty much hilarious.

I was sad for the trip to end, but it was good to get back to the city.

Thing #3

We went bowling on Friday with Ben's coworker and her husband and son. It was so much fun! I haven't been bowling in a few years, so I was a little rusty. Unfortunately I had spent the whole day trash talking about how well I was going to do. Oh well. I did get beat by a five year old in the first game. He's really good! He freaking plays in a league with his mom! And I know what you are thinking, but we were NOT using the bumpers! I wish I had pictures of him bowling, it was adorable. And I got an invitation to come bowling on Thursday nights, which I was totally pumped about.

Well, this turned into a really long post, so I will be done now. I thought there would be more than 3 things, but that is okay.

If you want to see all the pictures from my trips to KC and to Colorado, you can click on my Flickr badge on the right side of the page and that will take you to all my photos, which are organized into sets. So enjoy.

24

2007-05-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

ben surprised me with a weekend trip to portland for my birthday. i can't lie, i was sort of hoping for a sewing machine, but he did his best...

seriously though, it was a great time. we loved portland the first time, and enjoyed it even more the second time around. a lot of that had to do with the hotel we stayed in, as ben mentioned. and this time we were right in downtown, so we had a plethera of fun places to shop and browse right at our fingertips. ben spent a lot of time in powell's bookstore, while i hit the thrift stores.

i liked the quote on the wall in our hotel room. i wish it described me, but it doesn't. i'm afraid that i may be excruciatingly predictable.

i'm headed home on friday, and i am SO excited. all the peach kids under one roof, for the first time in a while. it's for sure been longer than a year since we've all been together. it's gonna be cuh-ray-zee!

365 days

2007-05-20T02:07:00.000-05:00

One year ago today I had tears in my eyes as we drove into this new place that would become our home. I excitedly watched out the window, trying to take in everything, in those few moments that would form lasting first impressions.

We drove across the floating bridges, and I commented on how I hoped they wouldn't float away while we were driving across. I still have that same thought when we drive across them.
I made a mental note to inform everyone I knew that it was NOT raining when we got here. In fact, the day was gorgeous.
I remember seeing the sign for Wallingford, and thought again about how it sounded like such a cute place to live.
I remember driving past Winchell's, and thinking "huh, they have Winchell's here too"
I remember those gas prices at over $3.00 a gallon, just like all the rumors I'd heard of the west coast!
We drove into the neighborhood of the church, and Mark and Christa's house, and I noticed a lot of cars parked on the street, which stressed me out a little.
And the intersections had little mini roundabouts, which I hadn't really seen before in neighborhoods. I like them.
We got out of the car and I saw a man who I assumed was Mark standing in the window, so I waved at him and he smiled and waved back.
And I thought about how this was sort of crazy that we were about to go stay with people who we had never met.
But then we walked in and met them and it wasn't crazy anymore, I immediately felt comfortable.
We ate strawberry shortcake that day. Yumm...
And for our first official event in Seattle we went to the University District Street Fair which was a great way to be immersed in the culture of the city and of this great neighborhood we live in.

All that to say....

We went to the Street Fair today. Actually Ben worked the street fair all day, and I went and visited for a few hours. We walked around and looked at the booths, and laughed at fat dogs, and ate expensive fair food. Good times.

Here are some pictures of us eating the aforementioned "expensive fair food"

Ben opted for the $3 corn on the cob on a stick dipped in butter (of course) and salted:

I had my eye on "the apple dumpling gang" and even the horrendous $5 price tag couldn't keep me away from the apple dumpling goodness with vanilla ice cream on the side:

And there you have it.

it's not an apartment, it's a condo

2007-05-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

last mother's day i was in kc, but my mother wasn't there, she was in the okc watching megan graduate from college. luckily i have another mom, so it was fun to spend time with her that day. i think we went to old country buffet.

at that time we were just days away from our big move to seattle. i can hardly believe it's almost been a year! It's fun to be here as the weather is changing into how it was when we first got here. it's nice to take walks around the neighborhood and reminisce about what it was like to be new to the city.

we are settled in our new mansion now (one bedroom apt.) and it is great. i'm glad we moved in here. i liked our studio, but it's nice to have a room again. we got a sweet deal on a computer desk and office chair from craigslist. $10 for both. it was funny, when we went to pick it up, it was from a guy who live in a big building with a lot of units, and we when went in his place, i said, "oh, this is a really nice apartment!" and he said, "it's not an apartment, it's a condo" it was funny, because he sounded sort of annoyed. but i don't give a crap whether he owns or rents, i was just trying to tell him it was a nice place! dang!

anyways, for all of you have have our address...it's the same, just a new apt number: 106

well, ben is working diligently on a grocery list (it's actually really cute, he's looking through a recipe book and he keeps asking me if i know what certain ingredients are. and i keep saying no.) so i need to get ready for us to go to the store.

here is the picture from jackie's visit...i know that was like SO 2 weeks ago, but give me a break.

look how perfect the weather was!! the sky was so blue!

i am okay

2007-04-29T01:01:00.000-05:00

i am an introvert. please don't feel sorry for me, or try to convert me to the wonderful world of extroversion. i like the way i am; i am happy with myself.
according to this article i just read, i represent 25% of all people. as i read through the article i felt the author's words resonating with each line i read; saying to myself, "this is me!" apparently we introverts are a vastly misunderstood group of people. so if you are among the 25%, read the article and feel comfort in the knowledge that you are not alone. and if you are among the 75%, read it and take notes as it is very likely that you are in relationship with an introvert who is confusing the heck out of you!
growing up, anytime i was asked to describe myself, the word "shy" was always the first thing to come to mind. but as i've gotten older i've come to find that i am not a shy person. note the difference below, from an article on wikipedia:

"It must also be noted that apparent shyness, as perceived by others, may simply be the manifestation of reservation or introversion, character traits which cause an individual to voluntarily avoid excessive social contact or be terse in communication, but are not motivated or accompanied by discomfort, apprehension, or lack of confidence.
Rather, according to Bernardo J. Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute, introverts choose to avoid social situations because they derive no reward from them, or may find surplus sensory input overwhelming. Conversely, shy people fear such situations and feel that they must avoid them. [2]"

i like to talk to people. but i haven't always known this about myself. it was not uncommon, as a teenager, for me to come home from a social situation feeling like an outcast, or like someone who was completely undesirable socially. but what i've discovered is that my level of openness in conversation happens to be inversely related to the number of people in the group, more specifically, the number of listeners. the more people there are, the less free and comfortable i feel to share. i find communicating with a large group of people to be overwhelming.
tonight i talked to a good friend on the phone and more than one time there were tears streaming down my face. i love having conversations like this. not only do they restore my confidence in my ability to have conversation that is less than awkward, but this is a step in fulfilling a deep desire within me (within everyone, perhaps) to know and to be known. to be free to laugh and cry with the people that i love. i am an introvert who lives in a constant state of longing to be engaged in meaningful conversation. but for someone like me, this need must be met one friend; one set of ears at a time.
so as the guests start arriving and the room fills up, you may notice me sitting back and becoming more of an observer. resist the urge to ask me if i am okay, or if there is something wrong. this is just me retreating to my natural state.
and that is okay.

the sky is pink

2007-04-28T04:29:00.000-05:00

it's 2:30 in the morning, and i'm sitting here trying to remember the last time i was awake for this. i've never really been much of a night owl, so i'm surprised that i am still functioning right now. hey, did you know that nick at nite shows the cosby show all night? at least tonight they are. i guess the combination of hanging out with the huxtables and working on my blog layout is just enough stimulation to keep me going.
ben is in kc, for a friend's wedding, and i dare say that if he were here, i would have already been asleep. i like to go to sleep before him. he makes fun of me for this, telling me to go to bed whenever i want; but i have always been this way. growing up, i never liked to be the last one awake in the house. it sort of creeps me out. so i guess since being home alone leaves me no option, i might as well enjoy staying up late and having lappy (aka: our laptop, she was given the name lappy by yours truly, after watching clips of homestar runner) to myself. as a result of this nickname, we tend to refer to lappy as though she were our child. cute, huh?
the visit from jackie has come and gone. she arrived last saturday and left tuesday. we had a great time! fortunately, the weather was absolutely gorgeous while she was here. ben and i swelled with pride as we showed off our city. we spent time in wallingford, the u-district, downtown, the market, the sculpture park and of course lots of coffee shops! it was so fun being able to share all of our favorite places with someone new! i have a picture of us, but it is still on the camera, which is with ben in kc, so i'll have to add it later.
i considered working tomorrow morning, but now i'm not so sure. i really did not intend to stay up this late, as a planned to try to get to work around 7ish. But now 7ish is about 4 hours away...
the overtime would be nice, but sleep is also nice.
i'm going to see a play with shonda on sunday and i am really excited! the play we are seeing is called, "The Clean House"
here is the summary...it sounds intriguing to me:

How tidy is your house? This acclaimed and affecting comedy by MacArthur genius grant recipient Sarah Ruhl explores four markedly different yet intimately connected women and their varied attitudes toward order and cleanliness. Could the house in question be a metaphor for life? Bingo. Delicious language, the occasional flight of fancy, and twists you wont see coming make this a play that will hit you where you live. You may want to pick up a little.
Lane, a successful and exacting American doctor, believes her home should be spotless but wants nothing to do with the cleaning of it. Mathilde, the Brazilian maid hired to clean Lanes house, is completely uninterested in housecleaning her parents were the funniest people in their village and she is obsessively focused on her search for the perfect joke. Virginia, Lanes sister, has a cleaning fetish and believes it immoral not to clean ones own home that the act of housecleaning suggests connection with and control over ones life.
Add to this cultural and philosophical collision the news that Lanes surgeon husband, Charles, has fallen deeply in love with one of his patients, a dying woman infused with an undeniable and beautiful life force. Suddenly, Lanes tidy, unemotional life is thrown into big, messy and very emotional upheaval.
The Clean House, an unpredictable and sublime rumination on the importance of laughter and mess in our lives, will move you, delight you, and remind you that our houses can never be as clean as we want them to be.

should be fun!

hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hang up and drive

2007-04-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

Washington recently passed a legislature that will ban the use of handheld cellphones while driving. I was very glad to hear that this has passed. This has always been sort of a sore spot for me. Of course, I'm not saying that I have never done this before, but I always do what I can to make sure I won't have to be on the phone while driving. It helps that I hardly ever drive anymore, I guess, but when I do drive I make every effort not to have to use the phone. And that's just the thing, how many of these conversations going on in traffic truly are urgent? I have a feeling most people using the phone are just passing the time of their commute. It is just so dangerous, no matter how careful someone says they are, it is so easy to get sidetracked by your conversation and completely zone out.

The one thing that bothers me about this is that they have only made this a secondary offense. Which means that an officer can't specifically pull you over for this, but if he has pulled you over for another offense, and you happen to be talking on the phone, you will get an extra ticket for that. I find this interesting because numerous studies have compared cell phone use while driving to driving drunk, saying the former is just as dangerous, if not more than the latter. So if this is the case, as has been found by a number researchers, why are we not taking the same precautions with cell phone use?

I do think this is definitely a step in the right direction, and I am glad to live in a state that recognizes this as an important issue.

what are you going to blog about?

2007-04-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

i don't know. nothing.

here are some pictures, i don't feel like typing:

our house in Nashville...I miss it every now and then...

Ben looking at nothing in Chicago, August 2004 (I think):

Jackie is coming here in 3 weeks. this is us, christmas 2005:

this used to be our cookie jar. his name was Fattleway:

One of my favorite pictures of us...ever. The date is wrong, I think it was december, 2003:

Okay, bye!

not the sit and reach! nooooo!

2007-03-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

I always loved going to P.E. class when I was in school. I couldn't believe how lucky we were to get to take an hour out of our day to play sports. I would put all my energy and focus into whatever the day's activity was, from relay races to basketball and even pickleball. I was pretty disappointed when I got to high school and realized P.E. was no longer required every year.

But there was always one day I hated. I remember this particularly well from middle school. Changing clothes and walking up the stairs to the gym to see this:

I despised the sit and reach. Though I've always considered my self to be fairly athletic, I have never been flexible. Notice this little show-off in the picture above, reaching beyond her toes with ease and grace. When I attempted the sit and reach, my fingers didn't even get to the numbers! So humiliating, especially for a girl who prided herself on being a decent gym class competitor. So for me, this was torture, making me sit down in front of all my classmates and show off how inflexible I was.

All of this came flooding back, when I awoke at 6:00 am, moved the coffee table, and turned on the yoga program, called "inhale". I was awake early Thursday morning, and I found the show when I was flipping through the channels. Later that day, I had the epiphany that it may be something I could actually do as a morning work out. I really didn't think it would be that hard, just move slow and breath or whatever.

Oh my word, it was so hard!! I attempted 30 minutes of yoga, and I am sore all over my whole body today! I was quite sight, with my pathetic attempt at the moves. My body was literally shaking trying to hold some of the poses, and I even tipped over a few times! I feel sorry for my downstairs neighbors!

So this was a not so pleasant reminder of how completely inflexible I am. But nonetheless, I am going to keep trying, as it proved to be a good workout. I may need to find a yoga mat, as my fleece blanket I used for padding proved to be somewhat slippery, and may have been to blame for some of my falls.

doobitty doo wop

2007-03-12T23:18:00.000-05:00

it's march 12. i can hardly believe it! the days are getting longer and i love it!
i'm looking forward to the summer, there are going to be a lot of exciting things going on...including a visit from a good friend in a few months, a trip home to KC, a trip with my in-laws, and finally...go here to find out the biggest event of the summer!

congratulations sister.

march madness, baby!

2007-03-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

Last night, Ben and I attended a Q & A session with Rob Bell, who is currently touring for his newest book, Sex God. I was very excited for the opportunity to hear him speak. This will be our third time, and the easiest yet. The first time we actually drove up to his church in Michigan to see what that was all about. And the second time we snuck into an Assemblies of God youth convention in Nashville so we could hear him speak. So this was nice...no driving...no sneaking...just going.
We sat in the front row, which I know, probably seems lame that I'm pointing that out, but whatever. I was excited.
The session only lasted an hour, but I could have sat there for many hours listenting to what he has to say. This is saying a lot, because I tend to have trouble just sitting and listening to people speak. I get soooo bored and my mind wanders. But not with him, he is captivating, and a great storyteller. The format basically just consisted of people asking him questions, and actually only one question ended up being about the book. The others were people generally wanting to know details about his church, and how he feels about various ideas, groups, etc. Some of the questions were lame, but nonetheless, his answers were always very interesting.

The weather is beginning to warm up, which excites me! I even wore my capri's to work yesterday, oh how I missed them!

Work continues to be insanely busy...it tires me and gives me a headache. But I do see relief on the horizon...we'll see how quickly it comes.

It's almost March Madness. I don't follow college basketball, but I still like to fill out brackets, just to see how many I can get right. Lame, I know, but it entertains me.

"will you go to the store with me?"

2007-02-26T21:30:00.000-06:00

there is a grocery store right next to where i work, so it is not uncommon for employees to walk over on break to get snacks or something for lunch. every now and then you'll hear one person asking another if they want to go to the store with them. in my 7 months there, i've never been asked that question. i'm not offended or upset, because, really, if i want someone to go with me, i could just ask. but still, it's nice to be the invitee every now and then.
so today, for the first time, i was asked to join someone at the store. i was so excited, and proudly said, "yes!" and i had a grand time browsing the frozen dinners with my store buddy.
my store buddy happens to be the one that i am training, and she is really nice; it's been fun getting to know her. she also happens to be my age, so she and i have a lot more in common than some of the others i work with. despite the fact that i don't like training, i am glad that i did, because i made a new friend!

33

2007-02-17T20:13:00.000-06:00

we're in Portland this weekend, which officially makes oregon the thirty third state i have been too. i hope to visit another new one soon...i really don't like odd numbers.

anyway, i have enjoyed what we have seen of the city so far. it seems like a nice place. and it's always so great to get away for the weekend. we were recalling all the cities we've visted together as a couple....orlando, denver, new york city, atlanta, chicago, cincinatti, memphis, & vancouver, and more. it's so fun to explore new places!

here are a few pictures we've taken so far...

our "cool" hotel room w/ lots of ikea furniture

ben enjoying a unique feature in our room...a chalkboard door

a foggy morning

i liked this sign

look at the grass! so pretty.

oh, and ben surprised me with a special treat. he "google mapped" sonic and found one about 15 miles outside of portland in the 'burbs. so i had my strawberry creamslush fix, and oooh baby was it good.

bye for now!

life is a gift

2007-02-15T23:39:00.000-06:00

"And maybe when a person doesn't buy the lies anymore, when a human stops long enough to realize the stuff people say to get us to part with our money often isn't true, we can finally see the sunrise, smell the wetness in a Gulf breeze, stand in awe at a downpour no less magnificent than a twenty-thousand-foot waterfall, ten square miles wide, wonder at the physics of a duck paddling itself across the surface of a pond, enjoy the reflection of the sun on the face of the moon, and know, This is what I was made to do. This is who I was made to be, that life is being given to me as a gift, that light is a metaphor, and God is doing these things to dazzle us."

~Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts

I am about halfway through this book and I am really enjoying it. Miller's use of imagery is absolutely incredible; I can almost close my eyes and feel as though I am there, experiencing this journey with him. It literally makes me want to do the same thing; quit my job, get a van and just go. But then reality sets in, and I remember that not only do I hate eating outside, but camping literally turns me into an insomniac, as I lie contemplating all the really bad things that could happen as a result of a thin piece of canvas being the only separation between me and the big, bad world. I am trying to work on calming my irrational fears, though. Baby steps, right?

I just want to learn to enjoy the simpler things in life. Those "simple" things, in all their magnificence. It's impossible to deny that pure sense of happiness and wonder that results in watching the sun make way for the moon and the stars.

a tip of the hat, to my immune system

2007-02-05T21:25:00.000-06:00

i am tired today! life has been crazy lately! i spent all last week taking care of a sick husband. he woke up last sunday morning feeling bad and ended up being diagnosed with pneumonia! poor guy. needless to say, it was a rough week at our house. ben felt miserable, so i got to wait on him hand and foot. which i was glad to do. i'm serious about that too. i love being babied when i am sick, so i try to be gracious about returning the favor.

and continuing on the subject of pneumonia, i would like to give my immune system special recognition for it's superb ability to fight off the disease filled droplets that were released into the air of our modestly-sized apartment every time ben coughed. i am so proud of my body!

(and if you don't hear from me for 7-10 days after this post, please pray for me, as it could mean that i was merely delayed in contracting the dreaded disease)

it's february!! we are getting closer and closer to summer, and for this reason i am filled with joy. i put on my favorite capri pants last night, just to see what it felt like. the winter has been long and hard so i needed some inspiration that it will soon be summer again. and as each day seems to last a little longer, i am assured that summer is approaching.

one year ago today, february 5th, i learned about esther at church, and then i came home and i prayed. a lot. ben was in seattle at the time, interviewing at mars hill, and i was home in nashville longing to hear confirmation from God about what our future would hold.

it came.

and thus began our journey. the most amazing, liberating, scary, and exciting journey we have taken as individuals and as a couple. it's so funny to look back and think that at one point i really did NOT want to move to seattle.

i am so glad we are here, i wouldn't change it for anything.