The Looney Bin

Restart

2011-12-26T17:10:00.002-06:00

I'm planning the restart to my new lifestyle. I was doing really well and then like most of the world fell off the wagon a couple of weeks ago. I am still attending Weight Watchers and getting back to boxing after a few months off. I normally take this time of year to reflect on the year and where I have been and what I hope for in the next year. So this blog post is probably more for me than for others enjoyment. Besides, I'm pretty sure I have lost most of my followers.

This year has been one of changes. Not major changes, but as I stated before, lifestyle changes. I finally found a way to exercise that I enjoy, boxing. What I will never understand about this is that it is the hardest thing I have ever done as far as exercise goes. What I have learned is that is makes all the difference to be doing something that I feel confident doing and not feel bad about myself during the workout. Also have support from friends to encourage me to go and while I'm there. Just like in most disciplines having accountability is a necessity. So just knowing that a friend is expecting you to meet them there at 7 pm after work or at 9 am on a Saturday makes you want to be there for them and not let them down.

I also joined Weight Watchers in the spring. I have done WW before, but they have a new program now that make so much sense to me and makes it so easy to follow. (This doesn't mean I have been following it all the time). It has encouraged me to eat more fruit and veggies and to be aware of everything I do eat. I go to the meetings at work. I believe this makes all the difference in the world for me. As I'm attending meetings with those that I spend the majority of my week with, some of which I each lunch with. So again this goes back to accountability. I know this is going to sound crazy, but something that has made the difference for as far as tracking goes is technology. I have a WW app on my phone so no matter where I'm at I can track what I'm eating or calculate if it is worth the bite. As my leader tells us "If you bite it, your write it." I have learned to track even on the bad days. I have learned what I can eat at some of my favorite restaurants without blowing the day.

So what has been the result of all these changes? I have lost 23 lbs since the beginning of the year. I still have a lot to go, but I know I'm doing it the right way. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm also learning what to do so when I am done losing I won't just gain it back as I will continue eating the same foods. I'm learning now to enjoy foods I have never eaten before. I have a Spaghetti Squash baking in the oven as I type this. They tell me it can replace pasta. And even better it is 0 points alone.

I have also taken sometime this year to reflect on what is in my left that causes me more stress or anxiety that is not good or necessary. After 24 hours in the hospital for stress and anxiety you realize it is more than just something you should do, but need to do. As I look toward next year I'm only going to hold one office in a group outside of work. This is very exciting for me. I'm looking forward to getting involved in my church in ways that feed me and fulfill me as I give.

As I'm almost fully recovered from my hip surgery I am so excited to have that behind me and know that 10 years worth of pain is gone. Prior to this I honestly thought I was going to be in pain for the rest of my life.

As always I'm looking forward to my travels for 2012. Next year I will celebrate my 10 year anniversary at work. This means I earn 5 more days of vacation, which gives me 30 for the year. I am taking a long weekend with my mom and older sister in January to go to a place to scrapbook for the weekend. I am going on the annual KLOVE Cruise the first week of February. I will go to Grand Rapids, MI (AKA Frozen Tundra) for work for 3 weeks in February and March. There is a family reunion with my mom's side of the family in San Antonio in October. And we will see what else may happen.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Control. What's that?

2011-09-29T20:27:00.004-05:00

So this could turn out more random than I'm planning. I have learned over the years the best way I process and deal with things is to just write and get what is spinning through my head out. So I'm sitting here on my couch attempting to position my right leg in just the right position that doesn't hurt. The pain in my hip this week has been nearly unbearable. I'm counting down the days to surgery. A week from now I will be at my parents house, laying as comfortably as I can in their spare bed.

As most of you know I like to have at least an idea of how things are going to go. I wouldn't call myself a control freak, but I'm not the most spontaneous of the bunch either. I have learned so far though this process of surgery that we now live in a world that surgeons are so terrified of law suits that they are as vague as possible when giving information. So I don't have a grand idea of what to expect after surgery. What I do know is that "everyone recovers differently." I think what I would like to know is what generally happens. Will I be able to at least lay comfortably? When will I be able to walk? Will I really only be out of work for 2 weeks? When will I be able to function on my own again and come home? How long will I have to go to physical therapy? When do I get to kick a boxing bag again? Yes my doctor did answer all the questions he could. But they basically just tell you "everyone is different." Well, no duh.

I sure hope I don't go stir crazy. I have all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls to watch, books downloaded on my Kindle, magazines to read, and I have a project to work on if I get to a point I can do that.

Thanks for your prayers. My surgery is at 1:00 on Thursday. (I'm kinda concerned about being hungry as I won't be able to eat after midnight.)

Fighting Discouragement

2011-08-08T18:14:00.002-05:00

A quick update on my life

Well, for those of you that don't know I have been doing Weight Watchers for about 3 months. I have lost my first 5% of my weight. Trying to stay focused through the hot summer months has been challenging the past couple of weeks. I have decided having a great leader and going to meetings is what is helping me be successful. I also have some great support for my family and friends. I go to meetings at work, so I have the support at work also.

I have also been boxing since April. I am loving it. I love that I have found a type of exercise that I love and only have to do it 3-4 times a week and it is only an hour committment.

So here is where the discouragement comes in. As many of you know I have been having hip pain for many (over 8) years. They diagnosed me as having bursitis and basically was told I would just deal with the pain and hope that exercising would work the pain away. After I started boxing I thought it was getting better, however it has been worse for the last month or so. I finally went to the doctor and told him I was sick of being in pain every day of my life and I was too young. I have also lost some rotation of my hip. He decided we should do and MRI. I got the results today. I have a torn Labrum. This is the ligament that is between the top of my femur and bottom of the hip joint. Which is the exact area they thought I had the bursitis. So now I move on to a specialist. I plan to hopefully be able to just tell him that I'm sick of trying everything besides surgery and it hasn't worked. So I'm really just ready for surgery, even though I know this means I will have to stop boxing for some time.

Please pray that I'm able to keep my focus on getting healthy even through these bumps in the road.

What's that funk?

2011-04-03T19:41:00.004-05:00

So overdue isn't any where near the right word to use for how long it has been since I posted to the blog. Since I last posted I have been on a cruise, to Vegas, to St. Louis and spent some time at home. So you would think I have a lot to say, but not sure that I do. I'm totally attacking this post with no idea about what is going to come out. So this may be more of something I should have kept to myself, but you all are lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to get to read it. I'm not even sure if anyone still checks this. This past week I was in a major funk. I think the funk has been building for a few weeks, but it hit the high point this week. Not sure how to really describe the funk, but I just was kinda grumpy and my patience was pretty much nil. I account it all to filling my life with so much that I haven't had time to breath. Besides work, I have been pretty busy with church stuff. I love my church and church family. We are currently in a big transition with our sanctuary under renovation and some additional areas in the church. As chair of the Christian Education board this puts me in charge additional items on top of our normal duties on the board. We also currently have an interim Pastor. I can't tell you how much I am enjoying him at the church. He really has made me think a lot and just reflect on my life. During Lent I have been going to a small group at his house with some others to just go deeper in to the sermon's and I have just really enjoyed the time. I spent last weekend in St. Louis. It was great to spend sometime with one of the college girls driving there. Just catching up and seeing where she is in her life. The most exciting part of the weekend was that we got to see our good friend David on Saturday, just 3 days after his double lung transplant. Talk about inspiration. The moments this week that my funk got the worst I just thought about him and realized my life isn't really so horrible, so I need to just suck it up. Then I spent some time with my family and the kids, prior to driving back to KC with my mom. Always enjoy spending time with them. The beginning of March I went on a spontaneous trip to Vegas with Tiffany. We walked a lot, saw a Cirque de Soilei show KA, ate and shopped. It was great to spend the time with her. I love having people in my life that I can be my true self all the time and they love me for me. And we can just pick up where we left off. We also played a lot of penny slots. Speaking of friends that you can just pick up where you left off it has been great to see some of the Kearney Girls more regularly. There are 4 of us living in the KC area now and we have been very intentional to keep the 3rd Saturday of the month to spend time with each other. Again great friends that love you for who you are and there for you any time. I'm also looking forward to seeing Katie next weekend. She keeps me grounded and understands so many of the struggles I have in my life. Such a great sounding board. She is one of those friends that you can just call and you don't have to leave a message cause you just wanted her to know you were thinking about her. We spend most weeks just playing phone tag, but we know we are thinking of each other. This week I have two things I'm really looking forward to. I'm going to Lawrence on Wednesday with my friend Kristi to go to a concert to hear Matt Wertz. He was in high school with us and is such a great singer. Look him up. Then Thursday is girls night to the theatre. We are going to see West Side Story. I'm so looking forward to the time with the girls and the show as I have never seen it. Let's see what else? Oh yes, the cruise. I had a great time with a new cruising friend, Linda. Another great friend. The new stop we added this year was Key West. I loved Key West and look forward to going back next year. We already booked for next year. So you would think I had traveled enough this year, but I have a few more trips in me. I will be going to Wichita in May to visit Mike and Liz (and to get Tiffany a Cranky Turkey Sandwich). Then I believe this summer Katie and I will be traveling to Colorado for a relaxing time together. So please keep me in your prayers as I'm attempting to get out of my funk. I think the final straw this week was a visit to the doctor at which time he decided to put me on blood pressure meds. Yes this was the kick in the butt I really needed to get going in the right direction. Also my hip that has been giving my issues for over 10 years is now hurting more than ever. We may have to do an MRI and not sure what is going to come from that, but not looking forward to it. Thanks for listening (reading).

Reflecting

2011-01-23T20:25:00.002-06:00

This week has been a lot of reflecting for me. I found out on Tuesday evening that a former high school and college classmate decided to take their life. This was not someone I was really close with, but we had mutual friends that were close. When I first heard the news I was just in shock. This person I always remembered with a smile on their face and a friend to everyone. Thanks to technology I learned very quickly that he had touched the lives of so many in our class. I went to the services yesterday and again, just amazing how many people were there to pay their respects to the family. Then after the services we had an impromptu high school reunion. It was so great to see after 15 years and such a tragic event we can all get together and put behind us all that happened in high school and just enjoy each other company.

So as I have been reflecting I have been trying to put my life in perspective. What is important? What is worth stressing over? When is it time to wave the white flag and ask for help?

Then at church today the service was focused on depression and how real it is and that being sad is true emotion and is okay. However we need to be aware of when our (or someone else's) sadness turns into depression. Then know it is imperative and okay to ask for help when/if you have reached that time and need help. Remembering that even Jesus wept (John 11:35).

So, I'm not really sure where I'm going with all this, just thought it was good to share. I hope you are able to spend some time this week putting life in perspective.

On a lighter note - I can not tell you how excited I am to go to Manhattan next week. I looking forward to a road trip with some dear friends. I know there will be many laughs, possibly some tears, and many memories made and remembered. So glad to have true friends in life that even if we don't see each other regularly we can just pick up where we left off when we do. Love you KG.

Memories

2010-11-28T15:51:00.008-06:00

So I was going through some old photos this weekend and came upon some great ones from college. I decided to scan some and post them to Facebook. So I know some of you have not given into the FB calling, so here is a taste. Enjoy!!! I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving.

The Kearney House. The photo is blurry, however you can see there are a few on the roof. The ironic part of the photo is that I'm not on the roof and I'm the one that ended up climbing on roofs for a living.

So we all remember how many issues the Kearney house had. Here is evidence of one of the issues. Erika had to hold the phone in just the right place so Michelle could talk on it that day.

So Michelle tells me this photo was staged and at the time we thought it was hilarious. Who knows why we thought it was so funny. What I think is funny now...the scrunchies on Tiff and Erika's wrists.

All the roommates in the same room. This happened so rarely, so we took a photo almost every time it did happen.

Those of us "lucky" ones that stayed in the Kearney house for the summer, moved our beds to the living room and created what we named the orphanage. We only had 2 window AC units for the entire house and we didn't want to sleep in our own sweat.

Erika and Michelle hanging off the balcony at Erika's apartment. Another time we probably thought we were hilarious.

Road Trip and other Random Thoughts

2010-11-10T21:41:00.003-06:00

So this past weekend I went to St. Louis to see my sister and her family. So driving by yourself across the state of Missouri is not the most exciting of road trips to take. So while I was driving I took notice of some randomness around me. I did take notes. Don't worry I was safe while I was writing and driving. So here is what I have share with you:

There are plenty of places to stop and get BBQ along the way but here are just a few for you to choose from: Red Shanty BBQ, Biffles BBQ, Apple BBQ and Double J (not JJ) BBQ.
There were a lot of tumbleweeds blowing across the highway as if I was driving across the wild west.
At one truck stop there was a Wendy's and DQ in the same location. I found this interesting as they are both places to get decent ice cream. I guess one is more known for the ice cream and the other is more known for the burger.
If you want to detour off of I-70 you can go down to Jefferson City and tour the State Pen. Seriously there was a billboard advertising this.
This one is just for Tiffany, Bucksnorts. Not sure what it is but there were billboards for this place all over.
I stopped in Columbia and at the QT there was a family stopped and the had a car seat in the back with and adult. Oh, and you can't forget the car seat that was in the front passenger seat facing backwards not even in a base. It was strapped in only with the shoulder belt. So sad.
There was a Budget Inn on the side of the road that was such a budget price they could only afford to have the UGET INN lit up in lights at night.
Stopping at a Rest Stop in the dark at 8:20 pm is not one of the most pleasant things to do. Next time I will keep driving to place with more people and that I don't have to run across a wooded area to get to the bathroom.
My fave may have been the billboard for a Flying J truckstop that said "Best Burger on the Highway" Not sure that is much of an advertisement. Just sayin'.

So on another note - I was driving home tonight and saw 2 houses with Christmas Lights up and then one house with their curtains open and they have their Christmas tree and decorations up and lit. Is it not a little early.

That is what I got for you today. Enjoy.

Before and After

2010-10-25T20:44:00.005-05:00

So getting the photos in order is more work than it is worth to me I hope you understand.

This is the AFTER of the bathroom, notice no wallpaper and mirror

This is the before - notice the "beautiful" light fixture.

The before of the kitchen.

Before of the bathroom - I do not miss the wallpaper one bit.

AFTER - New light fixture and drapes

Another view of the after.

I couldn't have done any of this without the help of my parents. They are the best.

Go KSU

2010-10-25T20:42:00.002-05:00

Nothing really much to say here except how cute is this K-State Fan?

I'm alive

2010-10-21T19:09:00.003-05:00

I know you all sit on pins and needles everyday wondering if I have updated my blog. Well, here you have the update. Probably not going to have any readers as you have all probably given up on me.

So, now that I have started this blog I'm not sure what I'm going to post. So it could be pretty random (which I know some of you love)

Last week I came home late one night (10 PM, yes that is late) and Chloe decided to be her crazy self and was running laps around the house. She jumped up on the banister by the stairs and started walking it like a balance beam as she has done thousands of times. However, this time she did not have her balance and fell of down approximately 8 feet on to the stairs. She was limping all over the house and I had to decide if I was going to take her to the 24 hour vet clinic or wait until the morning. Well, she didn't seem to be in horrible pain and was able to go up and down stairs and jumped on the bed so I took her the next morning. $200 and some x-rays later we learned she had torn some ligaments in her knee. Surgery was not needed, but she did get some pain pills and pretnizone (sp?). She is almost walking normal. Needless to say she has not been up on the banister again.

I have had a very busy October. I spent one evening in Lawrence with Tiffany and Ryan. It was like old times. (not that we all lived together before) We cooked dinner, watched a movie, went to church in the morning. Then the next weekend we had a family reunion with my mom's first cousins. They were all here in KC. We also went up to Weston, MO to the Irish Fest. The whole weekend was fun and I will consider the Irish Fest again in the future. This past weekend my mom and dad came out and we painted my kitchen and bathroom and did some other redecorating. Mom and I also cut down and overgrown bush. We got compliments from the neighbors friend on our use of a chainsaw (he is a professional tree trimmer).

Not sure if I have mentioned before how much I love the McRib from McDonald's, but I do. I know so gross, but I love it. They are back right now and can't wait to have one very soon.

So on that note, that is what you get for now.

What I've been up to....

2010-07-20T15:38:00.009-05:00

So the summer is half over. I look back and wonder what I have been up to and then looked through photos and realized. So here you have it.

I went to New Orleans with the Youth Group from church. It was so amazing to see the damage that still exists from Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath 5 years ago. We painted this house for an amazing woman Terri. The group we worked with is called Beacon of Hope. It is a great organization that provides labor to homeowners in the area to help them get work completed that they can't do on their own. The homeowner provides all the supplies and we came and did the work. We also started clearing some lots in the Lower 9th Ward. The grass was about 6 feet tall.

This was the last dinner I had with some former roommates before Tara and Josh moved to
South Dakota. We will also be losing Christy and Aaron to Texas here soon.

Then I went with mom to STL to visit Sara, Eric and the kiddos. We also went to the Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw Concert. Fun times were had by all.

Some of the Kearney Girls and I had a fun evening at Starlight seeing Little House on the Prairie.

A couple of weekends ago my very good friend got married. It was a great weekend to celebrate Leslie and Michael.

My mom and I just returned from a week in Naples, FL. This was a true vacation. We spent the morning at the beach and the afternoon shopping or just relaxing. We also got to catch up with some old friends that I haven't seen in 18 years. Great times were had by all.

When I win the lottery this is my home I have picked out to move to in Naples. Feel free to come and visit anytime.

Here we are after a few beverages. Jill and mom went to high school together. Then the family lived up the street from us when we were young. Jennifer and I kept in touch over the years even after they moved to Colorado. Now they all live in Florida and I may join them any day now. The life there is so relaxed.

Here are mom and me on our first day there on a boat ride with Jill and her husband Larry. We stopped at Snook's Inn for a beverage in the middle of the trip. What a great life.

I hope you all have had a great summer also.

Observations and Updates

2010-05-24T20:02:00.002-05:00

So every month I tell myself, "I will be a better blogger this month." Then every month I let myself down. Well, if this is the worst thing I do, then I'm okay with that. However, I know that is not the case.

These past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy at work. Not sure what is making them crazy, but nothing seems to go exactly right. Which means for long days and short nights. I am proud of the fact that I refuse to work from home. Before I left today I was talking to one of my co-workers and how I needed to get home so I could mow the grass. He told me to just go home and get it done. I said I have too much to do at work to leave. He suggested I just leave and work from home later. It felt really good to just say I don't work from home. I'm really proud of this. I actually leave my work computer in my car, so I don't even get tempted. I don't understand how people with families actually work from home. I mean it is just me and Chloe, but I need that separation.

I have been trying to remember my random thoughts and observations as I'm out and about as that is when they most often happen. So here is what I remember and can make from the notes I have made while driving. I went into McDonald's one day and saw on the door that they have "free wi-fi," there was a warning that the wi-fi will only work on computers that are equipped with wireless internet. Pretty sad we have to give this warning.

On the radio the other day there was an ad for 24 Hour Fitness. Then at the end it said "not all locations are open 24 hours" My question - how can it be a 24 Hour Fitness then?

I have a few other notes, but I can't tell you what they mean.

A couple of weekends ago I took a road trip with Ryan, Tiffany and Hudson to Wichita. It was a great weekend to spend with them and to celebrate Mike and Liz's marriage. I remembered that I did enjoy Wichita. I would not have hated moving there. It would be more fun to move there with friends though. I also learned that just cause a hotel has a pool doesn't mean they have a hot tub. It was a great time to spend with other friends from college, some of which I haven't seen since college.

I will be leaving on Saturday to go with the youth group to New Orleans. This will not be like any other trip I have been on with the youth group. The first major difference is that I haven't been spending every week with them for the past 2 years. So, it will be and adjustment for me and the kids for me to just jump in as a leader again. I will need to earn their respect again and work on my patience. The other major change is that we will be staying in a Hilton. We got a great deal on the place. We normally stay on the floor of a church basement. Please pray for the kids and the leaders as we go on this trip. We will be continuing the Hurricane Katrina clean-up in the 9th Ward. Really sad that we are still doing this work 5 years later.

Before I leave for the trip I will be going to see Sex and the City 2 with the ladies. I'm so excited for a night out with the ladies and to see the movie. I need to rewatch the first one before we go to the show on Friday.

I think that is all I have for now. I hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the beginning of summer.

Randomness

2010-04-25T11:33:00.002-05:00

First an update on my life. Nothing exciting so that will be short. I have been supervising at work for a few weeks and it is going great. I have a great team and really enjoy them. Things are starting to slow down at work and we are seeing the end to working on Saturdays. I don't work every Saturday, but just the thought that we have some that are coming in is daunting. We are hoping that come May there will be no more Saturdays.

I have agreed to go on one of the youth mission trips this summer. It has been a few years since I have spent any long period of time with the kids so I hope I still have the patience for them. We are going to New Orleans and work in the 9th Ward doing Katrina Relief work. I'm excited to go to New Orleans and to continue the efforts of Katrina relief work. We took a trip to Alabama the spring after the hurricane and it is so amazing to think we are still doing work 5 years later. We will be down there the week of Memorial Day.

I had a little scare at my house last Sunday night. Shortly after 10 pm someone started pounding, not knocking, but pounding on my door. Then they started ringing my doorbell. If you know me at all you know I was already in bed at this time. I looked out my window and no one was in the driveway. I freaked out and called my mom. I'm not sure what I thought she was going to do from 30 miles away. So then I saw the person walk away and it was my neighbor. So I thought maybe I forgot to close my garage door. I went and checked and that was what was going on. Made me feel good my neighbor was so concerned and wanted to tell me. However, if he would have just knocked nicely I probably wouldn't have freaked out so much.

Some random thoughts for you...

I'm currently sitting in Panera and there is a whole crew of older folks having coffee after church. I hear this woman who is probably 70 (could be a bit younger) say "I went to the Michael Jackson concert" This will be us years from now I know. Only it will be me saying "I went to the N'Sync Concert"
I always think it is funny that when you come into Panera and order and you have you computer over one shoulder, newspaper in one hand and they ask "Is that for here or to go?" Would I have hauled all this crap in here if I was just going to take it back out to my car?
Another quote from the crew "I love my family. They are devout Catholics, but none of them go to church."

That is about it. Have a good one (or month) until my next update.

Random Thoughts from my Saturday - For you Entertainment

2010-03-27T16:41:00.003-05:00

Well, once again I went out shopping this Saturday morning. Here are some of the people and things I encountered for your enjoyment.

I was at Kohl's and they were having "early bird" specials that were ending at 1 o'clock. So these two women, who based on their carts had been there since they opened at 6 AM. Were freaking out cause it was now 1 and they weren't done shopping. They were cutting in line to ask the cashiers if the sales stay in the computers after 1. I'm like seriously if you really needed the sales that you were wanting you should have gotten in line a long time ago.
I then went to Hallmark. As you all know most Hallmark stores are small and you can hear anything anyone is doing or saying across the store. Well, for Easter they have the rabbit stuffed animals that sing or talk or laugh or something totally obnoxious. Some wonderful Johnson County mother brought her elementary school age boys into the store. these rabbits are right when you walk in the door just asking to be played with by the kids. So the mom starts shopping and then kids begin and continue playing with the rabbits. I was about to hurt the kids. Then the mother begins to scream at the kids across the store to stop. I had to quit shopping and leave before there was an altercation with me and the kids.
Then I meander over to Target. The place was so busy there wasn't a cart to be had. I didn't really need anything, but was looking for some possible bday gifts. So I was wandering around and just got some great people watching done. My fave was when this little girl was skipping down the aisle and asked her dad why he wasn't walking like her. He was not amused and just said he wouldn't do it.
Oh my, I almost forgot the most entertaining part of my day. I went to Taco Bell for lunch. I go in to order and was standing there about a minute and finally this girl comes out from the office and asks if I have been helped. I tell her no and she takes my order. Then when I order the enchirito she tells me they are out of red sauce. I'm like, you are Taco Bell and red sauce goes on everything, how are you out of the stuff? She then tells me that is why she is in the back room trying to get another store to give some to her, but they are all selfish with their red sauce. Who knew it was such a hot commodity? So then after I change my order and I'm waiting for my food I see this random guy just having some really random conversation with a couple of women. I then notice after they all get their food the random guy sits next to another random woman and her teenage son and continues to talk their ear off while they are all eating. Needless to say, I find a table as far away from them as possible so the random guy won't decide to talk to me. While I'm eating I hear a guy come in and start asking about a certain burrito and the chic that was trying to find the red sauce is trying to explain to him how amazing this burrito is and what a great deal it is.

Well I hope that entertained you all for the day. I'm now getting ready to head to a greek restaurant for dinner for a friends bday. Always fun to go there, stuff your face and see the skinny belly dancers.

Cheese

2010-03-22T22:15:00.003-05:00

I just didn't really think of all my random thoughts the one about cheese would create so much entertainment. Well no worries, I no longer have to worry about cooking without cheese. There is one good reason I didn't spill any big news about the boy I was spending time with as it was very early. We have decided to move on our separate ways. We are really just in totally different places in our lives and the whole cheese thing you know.

So that is your 3rd update in a week from me.

Per Request

2010-03-20T14:56:00.002-05:00

So I had a request for some random thoughts. I typically build up random thoughts and toss them all on the blog after I have many of them. Since I have not been thinking of them this could be interesting. I'm currently sitting in the office on a very snowy Saturday (aka the first day of spring). I'm literally watching the clock until I can leave.

As mentioned before...why in the world has winter not left. I'm so ready for warm weather and to quit having the heat on in my house.
So I'm not a big bball fan, but I can so easily get caught up in March Madness and seeing the underdog pull out a win. I don't fill out a bracket or anything of the sort. I just watch the scores and see who is winning.
I listen to my IPOD most of the day in one ear. Since I listen to it about 6 hours a day I have to change out the songs every few weeks. So currently I have some blasts from the past. I have quite a bit of Jennifer Knapp which makes me think of our great days in the Kearney House and miss my girls.
I sit near the spanish team here at work and there is a guy that is standing up and yelling at someone on the phone in spanish right now. Pretty annoying. Mendy where are you when I need you. Hence the reason I sit here with my IPOD in my ear.
Were down to only 45 more minutes here in the office.
I just don't totally understand how someone could not like cheese. Doesn't cheese make everything better?
I think I have said this before, but why could I lay in bed all morning on a work day, but when the weekend comes I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed at 7 am. So annoying. Now I need a nap. (40 minutes to nap time)

Okay that is all I can pull out for now. That was not my best attempt. I will continue to think and provide more at a later date.

About time for updates

2010-03-14T11:01:00.004-05:00

Well I though it I should finally update you all on my life. I really don't have a lot to complain about. I got a promotion at work. I will start supervising effective April 1. This is the same position I held prior to going to the field to climb on roofs. I'm really excited to start superivising again. I really love being in this position and helping those on my team develop to bigger and better things.

It has been some time since I have seen many of you. Since October I have decided to get serious about my health. I have lost 25 lbs since then. I still have a long way to go, but I'm seeing progress.

I'm looking forward to some travels and weddings coming up this spring and summer. I'm going to take a weekend vaca in Wichita with the Classen's for Mike's wedding. I haven't been back in Wichita since I was traveling there all the time for work. I'm looking forward to the time with the Classen's and excited for Mike and Liz.

In July my close friend Leslie is getting married. I'm so happy for her and Michael also. They will be getting married here in KC.

Then right after that my mom and I will be traveling to Naples, FL for a long weekend of rest and relaxation. This is my Christmas and Bday present to her. I'm hoping to see some family friends while we are there that we haven't seen since I was a Freshman in high school.

This weekend has been a fun weekend spending time with many friends. My friend Katie has been in town the past couple of weekends from Goodland, KS. I love spending time with her, she helps keep me focused and understands a lot of what I struggle with in life.

Today I'm excited to have lunch with some of my former roommates from after college. We don't see each other enough and really need to cactch up. There is a lot of change in each of our lives.

I will be walking in the March of Dimes walk on May 1. For those of you that don't know March of Dimes raises money for premature babies and research. This cause is very close to my heart as both Troy and McKenna were premature and in the NICU when they were born. I'm trying to raise $400. If you would like to donate, any small amount would be appreciated, you can click on the box on the right of my blog.

I have also been spending time with an old friend from high school. (this friend happens to be a boy). Not too many details for you all now, just a teaser. We are really enjoying each others company and have fun together. I excited about the potential of the relationship. I will update more as it develops or undevelops.

How about ending on that note. Sorry to do that to all of you. You can beg all you want, but that is all you are getting for now.

I love and miss all of you that I don't see often.

March of Dimes

2010-03-03T20:56:00.001-06:00

I will be walking in the March of Dimes walk for babies on May 1, 2010. I'm trying to raise $400. If you would like to make a donation you can go to my website to make th donation.

Thanks for any help.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/uswlao44

Laura

Reliving those college years...

2010-02-06T14:12:00.008-06:00

So I just returned from my 2nd KLOVE Friends and Family Cruise. This year we went to the Bahamas. It was perfect weather and a great time of friendship and fellowship. I really felt as if I was at a youth or college retreat to relight my spirit. This year it was much more focused on worship. So I kinda felt as if I was reliving college a bit. Here are some photos so you all can relive with me (at least my college friends)

I got to see Bob the Tomato

Had my pic taken with Larry the Cucumber.

Then the 3rd night of the cruise it was like reliving the Passion Conference. This is the time that I really reflected on my life and where I was at and what was all going on with me. I reflected on those that have helped shaped my life and those that I miss that lead me in the right direction that are no longer in my life. We had Louie Giglio speak and Chris Tomlin lead worship. What a night. It was unfortunate that it was only and hour and a half. Everyone was talking about how amazing it was. I just kept saying imagine doing that for a week straight. Then I realized that it has been over 10 years since I went to Passion and felt old.

Louie Giglio - such an amazing speaker.

Christ Tomlin - an amazing night of worship

The first night The David Crowder Band was there to lead worship, this made me feel as if I was at a youth retreat with the kiddos and missed my time of being a youth leader.

I hope you all are having an amazing beginning of 2010. I hope you enjoyed reliving our college days with me.

At this point in my life...

2010-01-11T18:52:00.002-06:00

1. I've come to realize that my hair: has at least one gray hair (I was just informed of this this weekend when I got my haircut)
2. I've come to realize that when I talk: I hope someone is listening.
3. I've come to realize that if I make a mistake: I get very upset with myself
4. I've come to realize that all I really need is: love
5. I've come to realize that I've lost: some amazing role models in my life, my grandparents.
6. I've come to realize that I hate: those who disrespect my friends and family
7. I've come to realize that if I were to get drunk: I talk a lot.
8. I've come to realize that money: won't solve all my problems
9. I've come to realize that when I get old: I will still be friends with those that are my true friends.
10. I've come to realize that I'll always be: true to myself.
11. I've come to realize that I have a crush on: no one, at least no one I know personally.
12. I've come to realize that the last time I cried: was due to exhaustion
13. I've come to realize that my cell phone: is my life line
14. I've come to realize that when I wake up in the morning: I calculate how much longer I can lie in bed.
15. I've come to realize that before I go to sleep at night: I have to make sure I'm in the right position, on my stomach.
16. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking about: how does only one nostril fill with snot and where does it come from?
17. I've come to realize that my life: is maybe not a boring as I think it is
18. I've come to realize that when I get on Facebook: I don't know what I am doing there and why I'm on there for so long.
19. I've come to realize that today I will: go to bed early.
20. I've come to realize that tonight I will: go to bed early.
21. I've come to realize that tomorrow I will: have to go to the dentist even if I don't want to.
22. I've come to realize that I really want: to go on a date.
23. I've come to realize that the person who is most likely to repost this is: no one.
24. I've come to realize that relationships: are sometimes a necessary evil.
25. I've come to realize that love: never fails
26. I've come to realize my best girl friends: are very different, but amazing each in their own way.
27. I've come to realize my best guy friends: are the brothers I never had and will stand up for me in any situation.
28. I've come to realize food: is also a necessary evil.
29: I've come to realize that this summer: is going to be one of the best in a long time, I'm hoping.
30. I've come to realize heartbreak: is real, but you learn a lot about yourself from it.
31. I've come to realize that my ex: which one? is crazy for dumping me... ha ha.
32. I've come to realize that my sisters: are 2 of the best sisters ever.
33. I've come to realize that crying: is great at just the right time.
34. I've come to realize that death: teaches me a lot about who I want to be.
35. I've come to realize that if I'm sick: I want my mommy.
36. I've come to realize when I'm bored: I eat
37. I've come to realize that my children: are all adopted kids that have taught me a lot in life
38. I've come to realize that work: isn't as bad these days as it has been in the past.
39. I've come to realize that family: is what life is about
40. I've come to realize when I go shopping: I buy more things that I don't need rather than what I do need.

Random Thoughts for your Holiday Enjoyment

2009-12-23T13:59:00.003-06:00

So I went out to run a few errands today and saw some random things so I thought I should share them with you. Believe it or not I took notes so I wouldn't forget. So here is what I got for you:

Why is it impossible to sleep in when you are on vacation, but any day I have to work I can't roll my butt out of bed early enough?
Thinks it is nice that I was out today (two days before Christmas) shopping and only wearing a sweatshirt and was not cold. Makes me happy to not have wear a bulky coat when going in and out of stores.
I was driving through the Wal-Mart parking lot and saw a guy that was collecting all the carts that was approximately 55 years old wearing a bright pink scarf on his head with an even brighter pink cowgirl hat. There may have been fur and rhinestones on the hat as well.
Why is it that when your feet are cold if you just change your socks they get warmer. Were the socks cold? Maybe no one else does this.
Why would you ever buy a jar of pickled watermelon rind?
Not sure if your grocery store has pre-made cheese balls, but my Hy-Vee does. Typically I like to buy one every once in awhile for a party. Well I recently was a the store and saw they have made the cheese balls, but put food coloring in them and made them into the shape of Santa, a tree and the best was the wreath. The wreath was decorated with candy corn (I assume left over from Halloween).
In the frozen food section I saw and tube of frozen creamed corn. Like you know how you buy frozen sausage. Just found that a little odd.
So I have been making banana bread as I mentioned in my previous post. I have been defrosting the bananas in my microwave. Well today I warmed up left over pizza and it tasted like bananas. Not sure if that was from the microwave or the fact that the bananas have been in the freezer and the smell made it to the refrigerator and into the pizza box.

That's all I have for now. I hope you have a Merry Christmas!!

Much Anticipated Break

2009-12-21T17:36:00.002-06:00

I have been looking forward to this week for at least a month if not longer. I have the week off from work and have no true plans prior to Christmas. I mean I have things I'm going to do, but they are fun and cause I want to do them. I have finished my Christmas shopping so I don't have to go shopping, but I have been going to a few stores here and there and just looking. If I find something I think I need I pick it up or I just leave. I have baked one loaf of banana bread and have a couple more to bake. Thanks to the fact that I'm notorious for buying bananas and not eating all of them before they get too ripe. My freezer is full of bananas. I'm going to spend time with friends just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

I may be crazy but I will be helping two of my great friends, Sara and Kyle, by watching their girls on Wednesday Night. They have an 18 month old girls and twin girls that are just over 2 months. No fear I won't be there alone I will have back up. It is Sara's bday and a Christmas present for them to get out alone with no kids.

So the first half of my week is relaxing and doing my own thing when I want and how I want. The second half will be celebrating Christmas with the family. I will spend most of the weekend in Liberty. We will go to church on Christmas Eve service at my parents church in Liberty. I may go to service at my church prior to heading Liberty. Christmas day is going to low key for us. That morning we will have Christmas with my parents, Amy and me. Then we will head to my Aunts for the day with her family. Sara, Eric, Troy and McKenna will not come to Liberty until the evening of Christmas. So I think we will do Christmas with them on Saturday. Then Sunday we have a bday party for Troy in Liberty. Then back to work on Monday.

Since I got my claims under control before I left for vacation I'm hoping that after the holidays I won't have to work as long of hours. This could be a dream on my part, but things were starting to settle down for everyone before I left. So there is seeming to be a light at the end of our long tunnel.

On New Year's Day mom and I are going to drive to STL for the weekend to see everyone there for the weekend and celebrate Troy's bday again with his friends. Should be a fun trip.

Then I'm looking forward to the first week of February when I will get on a big boat again with my friend Leslie and go on a cruise. I'm pretty excited about this trip and the warmth that will come with the trip.

I hope you and your families have a Merry and Blessed Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving and Random Thoughts

2009-11-25T19:41:00.003-06:00

So every year this time I like to take a moment to reflect on what I'm thankful for from the past year. I think every year looks about the same, so this year I may give you some random thoughts also.

So it may be crazy to say, but I'm thankful for my job. Even though I'm working 12 hour days I really am enjoying the people I'm working with and what I'm doing at this time in my life. Through this time I have learned a lot for myself. I have learned that stressing over the small stuff is not worth the stress. I have also learned that perfection is impossible and I can only do my best and that is going to have to be good enough. I heard myself apologizing today that I couldn't work more than 12 hours a day. Then I realized that was maybe the craziest thing I have ever said.
I am always thankful for my family. This year I'm thankful for our addition McKenna Elaine and our growing Troy. They are both so much fun. Wish we lived closer together, but we cherish our time together since we don't see each other as often as we would like.
I have some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for. I am really thankful that Tiffany and Ryan have moved back to KS. It has been great to be in close proximity. Really praying for a soon and easy arrival of the addition of baby Classen.
I'm thankful for a roof over my head, but I may go crazy tonight if my neighbors bass doesn't stop pumping before I decide to go to bed. I may have to communicate through stomping on the floor again tonight. So random thought about my neighbors for the past month or so I have heard a baby crying in the middle of the night coming from their place. So here is the weird part of this story, I have never once seen a baby come in or out of the house. The girl that lives there has not been pregnant and neither of the cars have a car seat. The crying is not like the baby is not okay just a normal baby cry. I just think it is weird. I mean there is always someone home when I hear the baby so I guess no big deal. Just weird.
I'm thankful for my desire and excitement to have healthier life. I never thought I would say this but I actual am enjoying exercising.
So this blog has been taking me a really long time to write. I'm just not really focused. (random thought for you there).

Well that is all my brain can take at this moment. More later. I have 4 days off work so hopefully in a couple of days I will be able to have a complete thought.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Great Weekend

2009-11-15T21:16:00.002-06:00

I had one of the best weekends I have had in quite sometime (I guess since KG weekend). I left work on Friday before the sun set. I can not tell you the last time I did that. I headed straight to Lawrence to hang with Tiffany. It was so good to spend time just relaxing, eating good food, watching a good movie and being with a great friend.

Saturday I went with the PEO ladies to the WWI Museum in KC at the Liberty Memorial. I know I have lived in KC my entire life, but I don't think I have ever actually been up to the Liberty Memorial. There is a lot to see in the museum pretty good history lesson. I then came home and started cleaning. When I say cleaning I mean true top to bottom cleaning of my house. I took 2 large trash bags from my upstairs alone. I scrubbed the bathtub. Organized my room and a little of the loft. Then I started on the living room. More trash was purged in the living room and cleaning. Then I crashed for the night.

Sunday I went to church and worship was great. I love my church and church family. I am so blessed to have them. Then back home to tackle the kitchen. I left the kitchen for a day to itself as I knew I had a ton of purging to complete there. I am embarrassed to admit that I have 3 trash bags of old, expired food that I'm throwing away. I reorganized my cupboards, including my tupperware. I had a lot of old mail that needed to be shredded. Did a little clean up in the laundry area. Then swept and mopped the kitchen floor.

It feels so great to be starting the week fresh and clean. Not sure how I let the place get in such disarray, but to have it back to a fresh start is so relieving. I really needed to do this as I'm trying to get so much of life back in order. I have heard more than one person say that your house is a reflection of your life. Well, my life was feeling really scattered and my house got that way too.

Looking forward to a week that I may not have to work a lot of OT as I have training for 3 days. I'm having some girlfriends over on Friday night for a little party. If you are in the area and want to come feel free. I am having a Tastefully Simple Consultant here, they sell food stuff. Yummy stuff. There will be beverages and food samples.

Have a great week.

What happens when you work too much?

2009-11-06T21:39:00.003-06:00

These past few weeks I have been working over 50 hours a week including Saturdays. So here I am at 9:40 pm on Friday night really excited to just be home tomorrow. I really need to clean house, get caught up on my DVR and just take some me time. So instead of random thoughts I thought I would post about what happens when you work too much. So here goes nothing...

You don't update your blog for over a month.
You fall to the bottom of Tiff's Blog Roll.
You have to decide what you really want to watch on the DVR cause all your shows stack up and you have to delete something before you have time to watch the shows.
I have found myself staying up later than normal cause it takes time for me to wind down after I get home.
Chloe is about to find a new mom. I don't spend time cuddling with her and cleaning the litter box is not a top priority.
I forgot to eat dinner last night cause I was so focused on cooking chili for work today that I forgot to eat.
I have to call someone on my drive home. Even though it is a short drive home I need something to keep me focused so I don't fall asleep on the way home.
I have realized how important it is to get ready in the morning as fast a possible so I can lay in bed longer.
The OT pay will be nice, but not sure what to do with it since I'm working so much.
My patience is much thinner at work. So I sit at my desk with my Ipod in one ear and my phone headset on the other ear. I do this even when I'm not on the phone to block out all the sound around me.

Well I had a lot more things I was going to say, but I don't remember them. I'm exhausted and think I'm going to sleep.

So now that I'm awake and refreshed thought I would add more to my blog.

I have not been in touch with friends and family like I normally am since I'm so out of it.
I owe some of my good friends emails I will try and get to that today.
I miss my normal schedule for the weekends of grocery shopping, relaxing and spending time with friends.
I have not been able to focus on commitments I have made away from work such as some project at church.

Now I guess I should mention what is good about working so much:

OT pay right before Christmas.
Developing relationships with friends at work. I used to spend 8 hours a day with them but now it is more like 10 or 11.
I haven't had as much lazy time at home to just sit on my rump and eat.
I have been able to focus on my new lifestyle change and been successful at making a healthier life for myself.

Well, I now have my whole Saturday ahead of me. So we will see what happens.

Random Thoughts

2009-09-28T20:41:00.002-05:00

Well time for some random thoughts. I haven't even been thinking of any to put on here so this could be the most random list I have ever posted. Read at your own risk.

I love reading others blogs, but feel my life is so boring I have nothing to blog about. Hence the reason I don't update often.
I hate it when I start laundry and then forget it is in the washer until I go and start another load. Then I have to rewash the load that is in the washer as I don't know how long it has been in there and it smells like mildew.
Sometimes during the day when I'm sitting at my desk at work someone will walk by and the entire floor will vibrate underneath me. I get the same feeling I get when I'm sitting in my car on a bridge. I don't have a lot of major fears in life, but thinking the floor is going to collapse around me is one. I wonder if they will let me move my desk to the first floor?
I ate a caramel apple today for the first time in years. I mean I have bought that caramel dip at the grocery store, but this was a real caramel apple. It was a party gift from the wedding I went to this weekend and it was on a stick with nuts. So yummy.
I went to pull my trash can back up the drive way last week and somehow the rod holding the wheels was at a 90 degree angle. I am at a loss as to how this happened. I'm also wondering how do you get the trash guys to actually take the trash can? Do I have to put a sign on it like I do at work that says "Trash/Basura?"
I got to "met" Richard Blais from Top Chef last week. Don't be jealous.
So Halloween is not my fave holiday and this year I have a charity event that night. They tell me it is a Masquerade Ball. Does that mean I wear a nice dress with a little mask or a true costume. Really the person hosting it is my very good friend so I will ask her before the event.
So I had this wedding to go to this weekend and I actually decided what to wear based on the shoes I wanted to wear. The wedding was at 1 and the reception at 6 so I knew they had to be comfortable.
I'm loving that I have had my windows open so long that I don't remember how long it has been. I was even chilly when I went outside for lunch today.
It makes me happy when you call a call center and actually get ahold of someone that is helpful and does what you need them to do and owns everything that you may have problems with.

That's all I got for now. Hope you enjoyed.

Reflecting

2009-08-25T19:09:00.003-05:00

I know you all have been checking daily and sitting on the edges of your seats waiting for a blog post from me. Well, this may not be what you were looking for or expected from me. It will be kinda like a random thoughts, but a little different. I haven't been driving as much for work, so not as many random thoughts. Those of you close to me may want to grab you Kleenex if you are of the crying type (Sara that was for you)

As most of you know my grandpa died on August 15. You may also know this was my birthday also. So both of my grandfathers have passed away on my bday. I know have no living grandparents. Today I went with my dad to Chillicothe today for my grandpa's memorial service at The Baptist Home. As I was riding I began to think about what I could blog about and decided it would be a great place to reflect on the little things I remember and miss about my grandparents. If I were really up on things I would post pics also, but sorry that requires me to scan them in and then upload them.

Grandaddy

I loved that 90% of the time I knew exactly where to find him right when I walked in their house. Sitting on the "porch" in the gorgeous green recliner. Then it was even better when the green recliner moved to the basement in our house. I would go and watch TV in the basement just so I could sit in that chair.
Bread, butter and brown sugar sandwiches
He would always ask at dinner "What did you learn today?" He didn't care how minor it was he just thought we needed to learn something everyday.
Speaking of dinner he would never allow us to eat in our swimsuits. Some of are you are wondering why this would be an issue, well they had a pool in the back yard.
Grandaddy cookies - enough said

Nannie

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookies
She sent care packages of cookies to me at college for the first 2 months before she passed away. Later we found a book that she kept a list of what she sent so she didn't send the same thing each time. Well except for the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookies cause she knew I loved those.
Whenever we would go to the mall with her she would take us to eat at In A Tub. For those of you that don't know In A Tub it is fast food mexican that is so greasy it is good. It was so good and bad for you at the same time.
I went with her and some of her friends to Arizona when I was in high school. Some great memories came from that trip. We stayed in a very nice hotel with a stocked fridge. She told me to eat or drink anything from there. Little did I know at that age how much that stuff cost.
The snack closet......enough said

Grandma

Grandma always wore these great sweatshirts that only a sweet little grandma can get away with. They had all those great sayings about how wonderful being a grandma was. So cute. Some even had collars on them that I'm pretty sure she sewed on them
She made the best ham sandwiches. She would cut the ham into little cubes and then put butter on the bread. They made you happy when you ate them.
She was the queen of jello. She would make any flavor you may want. But the best was her layered jello. She would do whatever colors went with the holiday we were celebrating. Such as red, white and green for Christmas.
Her lemonade was so yummy. Not sure how she did it, but I think it was the frozen concentrate and she didn't add enough water. It was so rich.
Sourdough Bread....enough said

Grandpa

He made me a storage box for all my architecture supplies for the time I was in studio. It made me proud to use it. My dad now has it in his basement, at least he did.
If you ever needed a rubber band you just needed to go to him. He had hundreds of them stored on his gear shift and blinker in the truck.
One quote I will always remember him saying, and I know this sounds horrible, but if you knew his sense of humor you would understand. He would always say "I'm deteriorating on schedule"
He was one of the funniest people I knew and had a very dry sense of humor. I probably inherited this from him
Oberkrom ears....enough said

So maybe this was more of a blog for me, but I hope you enjoy.

Changes Ahead

2009-07-23T19:39:00.003-05:00

I have been holding off on a post as I was hoping to post some exciting news. First of all I am on vacation all next week. It is the best kind of vacation, I'm going no where. I'm going to get some stuff done around the house and relax. Sara and the kids are in town so I will spend some time with them. Also Tiffany and Ryan are getting moved in this week so I plan to spend some time with her.

The biggest change is what is happening after my vacation. I have a new applied for and received a new position at Farmers. I will start on August 3. It is back in the office I came from when I transferred to the field. It will be a little different than what I did before, but I won't bore you with the details. I'm excited for some change and to be working in an office and off of roofs. There are some perks of my current job I'm going to miss such as: my laptop, company car, GPS, company paid internet at home. I'm excited as some of my good friends are still in that office so I will get to see them more often. As I will be back in the office I will have a more consistent schedule so I will make sure I bring my lunch so more control on what I eat. Also I won't be so exhausted at the end of the day so I will not dread exercising. One of my good friends is going to be in my training class so I'm excited about that also.

Things are looking up for me. I hope they are for you also.

Love Long Weekends

2009-07-05T16:12:00.002-05:00

Not sure how else to put it except that I love to have a long weekend and to have an extra day to do what I want. I have had a couple of those this past month. Last weekend I had Friday off to just do some things that needed to get done. This past weekend I went to St. Louis with my mom to see Sara, Eric, Troy and McKenna. Good times were had by all. We got there late on Thursday night. We went to the zoo on Friday which is always fun. Since the STL Zoo is free you don't feel like you have to see everything every time you go. Saturday we went out to breakfast and then celebrated the 4th with Sara's neighbors. Talk about a spectacular fireworks show. It was so great. We got up and came home this morning. Mom and I got about 45 mins away from their house then got a call that mom had left her computer at their house. So we turned around and met Eric halfway so we didn't have go all the way back. So needless to say it was bit longer drive, but no biggie. I'm now home and relaxing on the couch updating the blog (as if you didn't already know that)

Mom and I stopped for dinner at this Subway in the truck stop. Tiffany and I decided years ago on a road trip to OK that you can put a Subway in anywhere as they don't need a special looking building to make you know it is Subway. So this one was in the truck stop. When you walk in it was in the most random place in the gas station and looked as if they just set it up for the day. They only had a small display of chips and the soda fountain was no where to be seen, but found it anyway. They had about 3 tables with only a couple of chairs right near the counter. They were taken at the time. So we wandered around to find another place to sit. We found the TV Lounge and thought that we could do that, but once again one table and someone was sitting there and smoking. So our last resort was this random room that had 2 tables and 3 chairs. There was a large ashtray (when I say large it was the same size as my head) at one of the tables. So we sat at the other table. While we were sitting there I look up and the walls are covered in bright blue carpet. It was rather random. Wish I would have thought to take a picture while I was in there, but didn't. So that was our fun adventure on the way to STL.

Great Night and Random Thoughts

2009-06-05T21:19:00.002-05:00

So it was a perfect Friday night for me. I was craving chicken salad so I went to Panera and got a sandwich to go. I loaded up the blankets in the car with my book and headed to Shawnee Mission Park to eat, read, enjoy the weather and relax. It was amazing. I didn't last as long as I would have liked as there was a teenagers bday party that started near my location and they got a bit loud and annoying. So I then headed to run a couple of errands and now I'm back at home relaxing and considering bed after I post this, that would put me in bed before 10 on a Friday.

So on my drive to the park and while I was there I had many random thoughts. I was wishing I had my computer or at least a pen to write them down to share with you. Here is what I remember:

Why in the world are there random shoes on the side of the road? I mean where is the other shoe? How did that one shoe get there? I just have never understood this phenomenon.
Now that it is getting warmer outside and I have been on more roofs during the day I have been really desiring my own private pool to go to again. I realize most of you are like, "when did you ever have you own private pool?" While those in my family are saying "Yes, I would love to have Nanny and Grandaddy's pool to go to also." It would be so nice to come home and just relax by the pool and not have to worry about who might see me and how much I have to pack to take there.
Why is it so impossible to not pop a blister when you have one? Again this goes back to hot roofs. I have been forgetting to take my gloves on the roof and the shingles are so hot and I burn my hands and then I get a blister. So I messed with the one on my thumb all night until I couldn't resist and popped it. I know you wanted all those details.
I think I saw a stork (OK, really a crane of some sort) at Shawnee Mission Park. Random bird for me to see in KS I thought.
Speaking of birds, today as I was driving back to KC from St. Joe I saw a bird flying towards me and all of the sudden it hit my hood. I look in the rear view mirror and there it was laying in the road. Sad times for a bird. I even think it was a blue jay. Which makes it kinda ironic since our mascot in high school was the blue jay.
While I was working this week in Kansas City, KS I saw a bumper sticker that said "Kansas City, KS is not for amateurs!!"

Time for a break

2009-05-13T19:22:00.002-05:00

So I decided today that it is time for my spring break. I know that it is mid May, but those of us in the corporate world don't get and a company given spring break. I think it is something that we all need to refresh and restart our tanks. So I have decided to take a few days off around this weekend. I'm going to St. Louis with my parents to see Troy, McKenna, Sara and Eric. I'm excited o spend some time with the family and to see the kiddos. Then we are returning on Sunday and I can't wait to see the Desparate Housewives season finale. I decided today to take Monday and Tuesday off to just spend some time around town. Not sure what I will do, maybe spend some time with some great friends or possibly just relax.

I enjoyed the downpour or rain we got this afternoon just in time for me to pull in the garage. I'm glad it is starting to cool off a bit as it got a little humid before the rain. As long as there is no hail or lots of wind I will take the rain and thunder.

So I hope you all got to have some sort of break this spring to restart and refresh.

Spring...

2009-04-21T17:24:00.003-05:00

Story of my life overdue for an update and at the bottom of Tiff's list. (Tiff you are getting to the bottom of mine. ha ha)

So I have been thinking this week about why I love spring so much. I mean really it is just a change in weather, but why is it so wonderful. Here are my thoughts on the greatness of spring. I love watching things come to life again; the grass turns greener, the flowers bloom and trees bud. For me it is exciting cause I never remember what may grow in my garden as what survives the winter is always a nice surprise. I love the smell of cut grass and listening to others mow their grass. It makes me happy to turn off the heat and not have to turn on the AC yet. We are able to open the windows and listen to the birds and life outside. Chloe also loves the open windows. I love going to the store and getting fresh produce and even more fun to go to the farmers market when I have cash to see what bargains they may have that week. I am blessed to have a job that I don't sit at a desk all day dreaming of being outside. I get to go and enjoy the weather, even if that means just driving from claim to claim. The best days are when it is not too windy and I get to climb on a not so steep roof.

Along with that are a few things that aren't my favorite. As much as I love the smell of cut grass and others mowing I don't enjoy mowing myself or doing other yard work. As I mentioned before the wind is not a friend of mine. My friend Leslie calls this time Blow Season. I have to agree with her. There is no reason to get my hair right in the morning as it will be a mess right when I walk outside. Along with spring comes a list of to dos around the house. Not sure why spring this on, but it does. I guess along with the fresh start and such. This spring I need to get the exterior of my house painted. Any takers? I also have a dumb woodpecker in my neighborhood that enjoys doing his business on my metal chimney flue cap. This vibrates throughout the entire flue and so annoying. I guess this is better than him messing up my house.

I hope you all are enjoying spring along with me.

63 Things

2009-04-01T20:27:00.003-05:00

So I know I'm overdue for a post (story of my life). I just haven't had anything to say. I saw this on someone's Facebook and it was a lot of different questions and thought it was fun. So since I'm on the couch watching reality TV I thought I would do this for you all.

1. Song that always makes you sad?I Miss the Way - Michael W. Smith
2. Last thing you bought?cards and gift bags at Target
3. Last person you argued with?I'm not sure, as most of you know, I'm pretty passive.
4. Do you put Peanut Butter before putting the jelly on? yes.
5. One of your stuffed animals' names as a kid?I don't recall names, but I still sleep with a stuffed dog that Aunt Betty and Aunt Martha got for me many years ago. It was from Bob's IGA, so that sets the age for you.
6. Did you ever own at one time a NSync Cd? Do I really need to answer this? I had floor seats to the concert.
7. Favorite day of the week?Saturday
8. Favorite Sundae topping?Chocolate Sauce
9. Did you take Piano lessons?Yes
10. Most frequent song played?The most frequent I play? Whatever is on the radio.
11. T.V. show you secretly enjoy?Keeping up with the Kardashian's
12. Would you rather play basketball or hockey?Well, you can all guess that basketball wouldn't be my choice. I love to watch hockey, so possibly it would be fun to play.
13. Date someone older or younger?I would take a date yes.
14. One place if you could travel right now?Warmth, sun and sand. I'm not picky
15. Do you use umbrellas?Not really. Too much work. I will just run or at least jog.
16. Do you know all the words to the Canadian national anthem? O, Canada... That is as far as I can go.
17. Favorite Cheese?Mild Cheddar cheese
18. Disturbed or My Chemical Romance?Huh?
19. Do you prefer rain or shine?Shine on!
20. Best job you ever had?The summer I worked at Time Warner Cable. I'm not sure what I did there, but they paid me to work 40 hours a week for 3 months. I mean I really don't know what I did besides watch other people work for 3 months.
21. Did you go to your high school prom?Yes, it was somewhat traumatizing
22. Perfect time to wake up?9:30 or later
23. Perfect time to go to bed?10:30
24. Do you use your queen right away in chess?I don't think so.
25.Ever been in a car accident?Yep. However, my cars have been in more wrecks than me.
26. Closer to mom or dad...or neither?Both in different ways
27. What has been your favorite age so far? I liked 28-29
28. What decade during the 20th century would you have chosen to be a teenager?I enjoyed the 90s. I was able to wear baggy clothes and that was in style. I would never make it as a teenager now days.
29. Favorite shoes you have EVER owned?I should probably say the silver LA Gear shoes my mom drove me all over KC to find a pair in my size. I NEEDED THEM TO SURVIVE.
30. Do you have an article of clothing you have had since you were in high school? I'm sure I do. Most of my T-shirts from high school are cut up in a quilt on my bed.
31. Were you in track and field? Ha Ha, that may the be the funniest question on here
32. Were you ever in a school talent show?Yes, in elementary school. We practiced being frying bacon for hours.
33. Have you ever written in a library book? not that I recall
34. What are you allergic to? Codine
35. Favorite fruit?Strawberries and blueberries
36. Have you watched sex and the city?Yep, still watch the reruns
37. Baseball hat or toque? Don't really wear things on my head, but probably baseball hat
38. Do you shampoo first in the shower or soap?Shampoo
39. Wet the toothbrush or brush dry with the toothpaste?Wet.
40. Pen or pencil? medium point ballpoint pen
41. Have you ever gambled at a casino?Yes. The best was when Tara and I played the penny slots and had no idea what we were doing. I put in a dollar and cashed out at $1.30. I made 30% that day.
42. Have you thrown up on a plane?No.
43. Have you thrown up in a car?Yes. I was so inconspicuous that the kids in the back of the van had no idea that it happened.
44. Have you thrown up at work? nope
45. Do you scream on roller coasters? yes
46. Who was your first prom date? do we have to go back to this again. I don't remember his name, it was a blind date.
47. Who was your first roommate? Erika.
48. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk for the first time?I'm going to guess it was Jack Daniels Country Time Cooler of some flavor
49. What was your first job?Working at Clay County Title filing.
50. What was your first car? 1985 Red Mustang Convertible, many great memories in that car
51. When did you go to your first funeral?I'm not sure, may have been my granddad's. That was before my freshman year in high school
52. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?19
53. Who was your first grade teacher?Mrs. Froman
54. Where did you go on your first airplane ride?Orlando
55. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?I think I was too afraid to sneak out. I did sneak people in.
56. Who was your first Best Friend and are you still friends with them?Jennifer Skinner, yes we are still friends.
57. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parent's house?West Hall at K-State
58.Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?Mom
59. Who's wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen?Michaela's
60. What is the first thing you do in the morning?figure out how many times I can hit snooze
61. What was the first concert you attended?Debbie Gibson
62. First tattoo or piercing?My ears, only piercing I have
63. First celebrity crush?Probably New Kids on the Block.

May not be interesting to most of you

2009-03-10T19:49:00.003-05:00

So I started this blog 5 minutes ago and just now started typing. I know I'm past due on an update but not sure what to write about. So as I sit here and flip between two reality shows I have decided that it seems to be that is all I watch these days. So, I'm thought I would enlighten you all as to what I watch and why I enjoy the shows. Really I'm doing this to help myself figure out what I watch and why and you all get to hear about them all. I will include shows that are on now and ones that may not be showing at this time, but I watch when they are showing. I'm sure I will forget some shows. I'm going to also make some confessions here that I never have before this time. Please don't hold it against me. Thanks to DVR I can watch these whenever I want and don't have stop my life for them. I will also say that on all the shows that you call into vote on I never vote.

Sunday
The Amazing Race - This is one of my faves. What I love about it is there seems to be more of a challenge and a point to this show. I guess if you consider winning $1M a point. If I were more in shape I would love to be on this show as I love to travel.

Keeping up with the Kardashians - This is one of the confessions. This show is kinda like a train wreck you can't turn it off. This is one of the shows that makes me feel better about my life. I also enjoying seeing how much they love their family and stick up for each other.

Monday
The Bachelor/ette - So I know we are all sick of hearing about this past season, but I love this show. I think it has to do with being a girl and the little bit of romantic side I have in me. I guess I think I can live vicariously through these folks. I know I could never be on this show cause I don't share well (when it comes to dating) and I don't open up my feelings fast enough to make it very far.

Dancing with the Stars - This show is great to me. I love to see how they grow and learn over time. As most of you know me you know I have no rhythm so again living vicariously through others. I also really like it when some of my blast from the past celebrities are on the show. My faves are obviously 'NSync members.

Little People, Big World - If you don't know this show it is about a family that the parents are dwarfs and they have 3 average size children and one dwarf child. They are amazing for me to watch and see how they overcome challenges. It is also very entertaining.

Jon and Kate Plus 8 - I just love the kids on this show. They are so great. I also really enjoy Jon and Kate. I know some people don't like the way Jon and Kate argue or bicker in front of the camera and kids. I totally get what they do and their relationship is so real. I also don't believe they take anything they have for granted.

The Hills/The City - Okay these are another fave of mine. It is on MTV for those of you that are familiar with the shows. The drama is again like a train wreck that you can't quit watching. I hear the next season of The Hills is the final season and that is very sad to me. I'm going to miss Lauren and LO.

So as I'm writing this I realize this is turning out to be more revealing than I thought it was going to be when I first began. I mean I'm only through Monday and already to 9 shows if you count the combo shows.

Tuesday
The Biggest Loser - This show is so inspiring to me. I can't say that it has made me get off the couch and totally change my lifestyle yet, but I am more aware what is going on when the show is in season. I also realized I reached a whole new place in life when I was on the verge of being eligible to be on the show. I'm currently watching this as I type. Lots of drama tonight, but it was real.

American Idol - I will admit it has been hard for me to get into this season. I have been taping and FF through most of the episodes. We will see what it is like since we are finally down to the final 13 and the real competition begins.

Real Housewives of ... (many places) - I will say that Orange County is my fave of the 3 shows. I didn't watch much of Atlanta it was a bit over the top for me. Again not sure why I watch it, but I can't turn it off and can't miss it ever.

Wednesday
Top Chef - This past season just ended and I could be happier for Hosea to win. I think that this is my fave show of all the cooking contests shows I watch. The contestants seem a little more real and they focus on their cooking rather than running the restaurant.

America's Next Top Model - I missed the season premier last week. I think it is kinda interesting that I like this show since I'm not much of a shopper or model in any sort of the word.

Thursday
Hell's Kitchen - I like this show also. Again I think I like it cause it seems to have a real goal to strive for at the end. They are competing to run a restaurant.

There are other shows that I watch that I can't remember what day they show as they aren't on currently.

Design Star - I like to watch this cause my mom and sister both watch it so we can watch it together if we are near each other or we can at least talk about the outcome. So a bonding time for us.

Project Runway - First of all I love to listen to Heidi Klum talk. Secondly, I love Tim Gunn. Lastly, it is just amazing to me that they can sew entire outfits. I still have to take my pants to mom my to hem them.

Sadly, I know there are probably other shows that I watch, but that is all I can think of at this time. Not really sure what the point of all this was, but I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my life. I also watch some other show regularly, but only 3 (Grey's, ER and Desperate Housewives.)

Will spring come and stay?

2009-02-14T11:08:00.003-06:00

So I know I haven't really posted anything about my life in sometime, so here I am back to post some random thoughts and such. I hope you enjoy.

I'm sitting in the library and freezing cause the only tables with outlets next to them are right next to the windows. At least the ones I could find.
I'm getting back in the swing of working claims at work and not supervising. I was on 5 roofs this past week.
I'm kinda sick of the flip flopping of the weather. If it is going to be winter then stay winter or just let spring come and stay. I prefer the later.
Leslie and I have booked the cruise for next year. Can we go tomorrow?
I have been seeing and talking to some old friends a lot more recently and really enjoying the friendships we have maintained for many, many years.
I think I mentioned this before, but it has become even more apparent this week. I will not be moving to Wichita. At least not anytime that I can see. If I do it will be a very big surprise. Sorry for all the confusion. This has been really crazy and hard for me. As many of you know how I am and that I like a plan and to plan ahead. I have really learned to be flexible and patient in this time. So, it was good for me. I will say that I'm sad I won't be having a new beginning, I'm happy to stay here in KC with my family and friends.
Since I have been back climbing on roofs I have realized how out of shape I am. I forgot how much strength I needed in my legs to climb up the roofs.
As, I mentioned I'm sitting in the library. I recently looked up and saw that I'm sitting right near the following sections: Women, Minorities, Terrorism, Espionage and Personal Finance. I find it interesting all the sections are near each other. Even more interesting that we have a section for Terrorism. I mean are we teaching people how to be terrorists?
Going with the above topic have you seen the commercials for the Boarder Patrol reality show. I will be the first to admit I love reality shows, but seriously lets just show how the Boarder Patrol works. It is like when someone bombs a place they tell on the news how they made the bomb. OK off my soapbox.
I'm really looking forward to next weekend as I'm planning on seeing friends that have moved away and are going to be in town. Even if it will only be for short visits.
After watching 20/20 Children of the Mountains last night it made my heart break for all the kids and the poverty in Appalachia Mountains. We went there twice in high school on a mission trip and worked with the kids that lived in the coal mining areas. Those kids are some of the sweetest and are just happy to have life.

I guess that is all for now. I hope you all are doing well and have enjoyed my random thoughts and a couple of rants.

Home Sweet Home

2009-02-05T21:54:00.002-06:00

Mckenna was released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. They are currently at my parents. Mckenna, Sara and Eric will head back to St. Louis on Friday evening. Mom will go that way with Troy early next week. Troy is doing very well with Mckenna and wants to help take care of her and make sure she is getting all she needs. He is very gentle with her and gives her kisses. Thanks for all of you support and prayers.

Mckenna Elaine Walton

2009-01-31T22:21:00.000-06:00

Mckenna Elaine Walton was born January 30, 2009 at 4:37 pm. She was 6 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches. Everyone is doing well.

Cruise

2009-01-27T12:35:00.006-06:00

I have returned to the frozen tundra (okay I know it is much colder in other places, but compared to the cruise I'm freezing). As I have looked through my photos it is hard to tell I went on a cruise. As Leslie and I reflected on the trip we decided that we may not be able to go on a cruise again unless it is with professional entertainment and not just cruise entertainment. We saw a ton of concerts and since the venues are so up close and personal we were closer than we could or would ever pay if the bands came to Kansas City. I will share some photos and what we enjoyed. (The photos are in no particular order)

Mandisa - You may recognize her from American Idol

Brandon Heath

Grand Turk Island. We went snorkeling in the ocean. I will tell you that due to the fact I had to take off my glasses I only saw movement in the ocean. We did have an underwater camera so when we get those developed I will see all the true beauty I saw that day.

Mac Powell - Third Day

Matthew West

This was our favorite Bass Player. He played with Matthew West and Brandon Heath so we got to see him a lot.

Denver and The Mile High Orchestra

Phil Joel - He has beautiful hair.

Margaritaville - we had lunch and a Margarita on Grand Turk Island.

LIFE

2009-01-16T21:12:00.003-06:00

So this week has been a bit out of the ordinary. I mean I have gone to work as normal every day. However things are changing there a bit. I found out this week that I will be going back to being and adjuster rather than an acting supervisor so I can focus on some tests I need to complete before I continue in the leadership program. There are a lot more reasons, but this is the easiest way to describe what is happening. After I complete the tests then we will discuss the next steps. So I know I told everyone I was moving, to be honest I have no idea what is going to happen with that. I may still be considered for the supervisor position in Wichita when everything pans out, but truly I have no idea. So for those in KC looks like you have to deal with me for quite a bit longer. To those in Wichita area sorry it doesn't appear I'm going to be spending as much time as I was there.

So on top of all this craziness my Grandma passed away early this morning. This was an expected passing, but nonetheless still a loss. We will miss her and her love for family. We are having the services on Wednesday in Liberty.

Then I will leave with my good friend Leslie on Wednesday evening for Miami. We will board a ship on Thursday and sail away. I am so in need of this time away from the office and reality. It will be good to refresh and rejuvenate a bit. The good thing about this type of vacation is that I we are totally disconnected from the outside world. There will be no cell phone (really my work one is the only one that drive me nuts), no computer, no TV (no fear I have the DVR set to record all the important shows), and it will be warm. We are going on the KLOVE Christian Music Cruise, we secretly think we will get to meet and hang out with some of the artists. I mean I have a connection to two of them (Matthew West went to KSU and Brandon Heath was/is roommates with a guy that I went to high school with) therefore we are practically best friends when you are trapped on a boat.

I hope you all have a great weekend and next week as I am separated from the world.

Happy New Year!!

2008-12-31T18:00:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a safe NYE. I'm going to hang out with some friends and play games. I hear we are having carmel apple french toast for breakfast in the morning. Not sure what that is but pretty confident it is not on the diet. So instead of looking back on this year to see what I did I have decided to look forward and see what I'm looking forward to in 2009. So here goes nothing, I'm doing this on the fly, so possibly this could be a short list as I haven't been really thinking much about next year.

I'm going on a cruise in January with Leslie, I'm thinking warm weather and can't wait. The time with Leslie will also be priceless.
My new niece is going to join us. We are praying she holds out until February 6.
I have a lot more vacation days this year so I may go and visit some friends I haven't gone to visit in the past.
I think that the traveling 4 (Tiff, Ryan, Mike and I) are planning a trip for some time in the summer. Nothing in the works yet, but we will make it happen.
I planning on a promotion at work (hopefully Farmers is planning on this also)
With the promotion will come a move, so that means starting over. Kinda scary and fun at the same time.
As I'm currently watching football, I'm dreaming that KSU will have a better team next year and I will enjoy watching them play.

That's about it for now. I'm going to head to the celebration for the night. Have a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas (a little early)!!

2008-12-19T19:04:00.002-06:00

How I know it has been too long since my last post:

It has been almost exactly a month since my last post
I have friends telling me they keep looking and there is no update
I'm fourth from the bottom on Tiffany's Blog Roll. (this better get me near the top)

This has been one of those weeks. The ones where you look back and you wonder what you accomplished, however you were busy every second of the day at work. The weather has been cold, snowy, thunderstorms, rain and who knows what is to come this weekend. I'm counting down the days to the cruise next month.

I hope you all are ready for Christmas next week. I think I have all my shopping done. I have a little wrapping left to complete. I am at home tonight watching my favorite Christmas movie, The Best Christmas Pagent Ever. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. If you can't find a copy I'm willing to lend you mine. This is how I really know that I'm ready for Christmas. I decide to watch this movie. Then I typically watch the Muppet Christmas Carol, which I love also. The music in that movie is some of my fave. I have yet to dig out Amy Grant Tennessee Christmas. Maybe I will do that tomorrow.

So, as you can see I don't have much to update about. Have a Merry Christmas next week. I will be spending most of the holiday time in Liberty with my family.

Thankful Times

2008-11-24T18:31:00.002-06:00

In the spirit of the week I will share what I'm thankful for at this time in my life. I like to do this every year. Some will be repeats, some minute and some a little deeper. Enjoy!

My family - I could go on for days about why they are so good to me. They support me through all the craziness in my life and love me unconditionally. Mom you are always there to listen to me vent or just there to offer advice as needed. Dad you are there to support my decisions and will do anything to make sure the family is happy. Sara how I love our nights of instant messaging. I know to most of the world this seems pretty minor however this is time I love and look forward to when I see you are online. Amy you are open to listen as needed and love us all unconditionally. So my family is much bigger however if I went into it all I would be here for days.
My friends - This year I have been able to spend time with many of my friends here at home and all over the world. Thanks to Tiffany, Ryan and Mike for being my travel companions. Kearney girls what a great weekend to reunite in our old stomping grounds. I had a great time that weekend. I know these are friends I will have a for a lifetime. To my friends here in KC I love you all dearly, Leslie, Christy, Tara and Jackie, we don't see each other enough, but great times when we do. Linda and the other game girls I look forward to our game nights every week. Fun memories. Again I could go on for days, I love my friends and what you mean to me.
Chloe - she is here to welcome me when I get home and I love my cat.
I have a job and work with folks I enjoy.
Facebook - so not everyone gets it, but I have loved reconnecting with friends from the past and staying in touch with those I see regularly.

I hope you are all Thankful this year.

A Few of my Favorite Things

2008-11-08T18:09:00.002-06:00

Tonight I thought I would write about a few of my favorite things. Kinda a combination of the random thoughts and what makes me happy today.

Watching football in my PJ's under a warm blanket on a cool night (exactly what I'm doing now)
Chloe greeting me at the door when I come home (nice to know I have been missed)
Breakfast on Saturday mornings at Hy-Vee. I go by myself and I just love it. I look through the add and listen to all the old men have deep discussions over coffee.
McRib at McDonald's. I understand there is possibly nothing natural in the McRib, however I just love it when it is available. I had one for dinner tonight.
A great deal at Kohl's. Really I love a great deal anywhere however I pretty much only shop at Kohl's so those are the deals I notice. Today I had a 30% off coupon on top of the Early Bird Specials.
Going to a good movie with an even better friend. I went to see Fireproof today with Leslie. Good movie and great company.
Opening and listening to a new CD. I really love buying a new Christmas CD every year. I typically hold off until Thanksgiving as I don't typically listen to it prior to Thanksgiving. However, today I purchased Sara Groves Christmas CD. She is one of my favorite singers and now a Christmas one, very exciting.

So after I read back through I realize I did most of those things today. Hence, good day.

Ironic Thought

2008-11-04T19:41:00.002-06:00

We have separation of church and state, however we vote in churches.

Good And Not So Exciting

2008-11-03T18:34:00.002-06:00

So I initially was going to write about the good things in my life and what I'm not looking forward to in this upcoming week. Then I started to watch Oprah from today and realized what is wrong with my life and my health, I'm not having sex. So that was probably way more information than most of you wanted to know and others of you know I'm being somewhat sarcastic in this statement. However, it has been over a year since I went on a date. So I won't elaborate any more if you feel like you need to watch then I'm sure you can find it on the internet some where.

So what else in my life, I'm really excited that I get to stay in town all week this week and won't be leaving town again until next Monday. At which time I will be going to Tulsa and I'm going to be driving with 3 other co-workers so I won't be all alone. I'm looking forward to the election being over and really nervous that people are going to get complacent and then decide they don't need to stand in line and vote. I did go an vote early so now I'm just looking forward to the outcome. I also want people to continue to be passionate about change on November 5 as they are today and on November 4.

I am going to spend Friday evening in Liberty with Troy and Sara. This will be good as I haven't seen them in over a week at this time and it will be 2 weeks by the time I get there on Friday.

What I'm not looking forward to this week is my crazy week at work. I will be in KC however we are doing interviews almost all day everyday. Luckily I won't be in all of them, but I will still have a crazy week due to all the folks being in the office. I have to go to the dentist on Friday to have a filling replaced. Some of you know that when I was younger I spent a lot of my time at the dentist and many teeth pulled, this doesn't mean that I love to get the work done. I have a great dentist who makes this as good as it can be but it still isn't fun. I'm nervous about what they may find when they get in there as my hygienist told me that what is causing my discomfort could be a cracked tooth but we won't know that until we get in there. So we are starting with replacing the filling, but he could take the current one I have out and then find something worse. That will be new territory for me as the worst I have had done is my wisdom teeth pulled. Okay, that was a lot of explanation for only a filling.

I have also remembered how much I hate it when Daylight Savings Ends. I mean I left work at 445 today and it was already getting dark out. Very frustrating. I mean when am I supposed to do yard work, on the weekends? That is no fun weekends are when I like to relax and see friends, not rake leaves.

On another good note, I got my Taurus started this week. I hadn't driven it since August. So, I bought a jump starter and got the car started. I went and drove literally around the entire city. When I got home I realized that I had forgotten to put my new sticker for 2009 on my license plate and to put my current insurance card in my car. So luckily I didn't have any trouble as I would have been up a creek without a paddle.

If Only...

2008-10-29T18:02:00.002-05:00

So I was sitting in McDonald's tonight eating dinner. Yes, I was doing well on my diet and then I had to take a quick unplanned trip to Wichita. I did order a plain grilled chicken sandwich. Okay that isn't what this story is about. While I was sitting there I overhear this older couple arguing about what type of new phone to buy and what room in the house to put it in. It is very obvious that the woman is very stressed and passionate about this topic. She is berating him for even considering this one phone that is so light it felt like trash. "They need a nice looking phone for their kitchen and that would not be silver or black." Seriously, what was he thinking. Then she was saying they need a permanent phone in the bed room for those times they take the cordless one out between the chairs. I couldn't really hear him (not so passionate I guess) but I'm guessing he mentioned that they didn't even need another phone or one in a certain room. She responded with the fact of how many times does she holler at him "Tim is on the phone and he needs to pick up the other line, where does he always go to pick up the phone" This shows you the age of the couple cause my grandparents are the only people that both get on the phone at once when they talk to someone. The she mentions that if they buy one at Wal-Mart and then get it home and decide they don't like it they can return it. Cause if they have their receipt Wal-Mart is required to take everything back. I'm sitting there thinking "If only this was the major stress of my life"

So I hope that your life isn't too stressful.

Heat is a great invention

2008-10-22T18:36:00.003-05:00

So it seems in central Kansas winter is approaching quickly. So once again I'm thinking of happy things today. I hope you are able to keep warm and enjoy the changing seasons. Here is what is making me happy today:

I have a king size bed to sleep in tonight and I did last night also. Even when it is just me it is fun to have a huge bed to move around in at night. I also have room for all the pillows I like to have in bed with me. Which now that I think about it doesn't make sense since I want a big bed to move around in at night. Oh, well it is my happy thought.
Since I'm in a hotel I have turned on the heat. I have been too cheap to turn it on at home yet. So, not only do I get to sleep in a big bed tonight, but I won't be freezing. Chloe is probably about ready to disown me with a cold house and me never being home.
The Lion King is tomorrow night. Really enough said with that statement. However to make it better there is dinner at PF Chang's with good friends.
The cleaning mice (my sister) came and cleaned this past weekend. I also did some picking up of my own. Looking forward to coming home to a clean house tomorrow.
I'm still having success with the chiropractor (no I'm not just say that cause I know you read this Mike) I was glad to be able to go back today. Not sure what I enjoy more; the fact that I'm getting better or seeing a friend here in Wichita. I think it is a combination of both.
I get to spend time with Leslie on Friday and go to a fun concert. Also realized that 3 months from today I will be on cruise ship with Leslie and possibly a fruity beverage.

I guess there is a lot to be happy about today in my life. Yeah!!

Something to look forward to

2008-10-15T19:40:00.003-05:00

I'm back in a hotel just for a quick visit to Wichita. So it seemed only appropriate that I update my blog while I'm in a hotel. Tonight I have decided that I'm going to let you all know what I'm looking forward to in the next few weeks.

I have hired someone to come and clean the pit I live in at home (my sister) I know she needs the money and I need the cleaning.
It is officially fall and I am able to sleep in the crisp cold with my windows open.
We are playing bells in church on Sunday. We have only rehearsed 3 times and we are ready to play a difficult piece. It is so exciting to be playing with those that really enjoy what we are doing and want to push themselves.
I'm going to the Lion King next Thursday night. Not only am I looking forward to the show, but also the girls night out and dinner with my friends.
I'm not staying in a hotel at all next week. At least based on my schedule today.

I'm sure there are plenty of other fun things on my horizon, these are the ones at the top of my mind right now.

I hope all of you have something to look forward to this week.

Something Happy

2008-10-08T21:08:00.002-05:00

So I keep coming back to my page and seeing a not so happy post. So I need an update for something happy. Here is what made me happy today:

My key worked everytime I used it today
I found out they are sending more help to Wichita so my team will not be so overwhelmed and overworked.
I got a 25% off at Foot Locker on my fries at McDonalds today.
I enjoyed some time in Old Town with a friend walking and enjoying the fall.
The weather was beautiful today.
Two more days in Wichita and then I ge to be home for 4 days.
Grey's is on tomorrow and I'm going to watch it with a friend and not all alone in my hotel room.
My jaw has not hurt all week (thanks Dr. Mike)

That is better. Yes I am on a posting rampage this week.

The Idiot at the front desk

2008-10-07T18:44:00.002-05:00

I know I mentioned this in the random thoughts yesterday. However, this guy deserves and entire entry. So here is my interaction with him tonight. First, this is for you Martha, his name is Jymmie, yes his parents spelled his name a jacked up way. I came home (yes I just called the hotel my home) and came up to my room. The key would not work. I went back down to the desk and he is not even there. Then he came in from outside carrying in his dinner I guess, i don't know. I tell him my key doesn't work and I look at his shirt and he has some sort of crap on it. He fixes my key and I move on with my life. Then I have to go back out to my car to get my Diet Dr. Pepper. As I'm walking out he is talking on his bluetooth talking at the top of his lungs. Not sure who he was talking too, but it was so inappropriate. I came back to my room and once again the key would not work. Back downstairs I go. He again is MIA. I stand there making noise at the desk. He the reappears and is eating the dinner he brought in earlier. I tell him my key is not working again. He proceeds to tell me I must be doing something to demagnetize it. Um let me just say this, it was in my butt pocket all day and then sat on the table in the room, neither of which are magnetic. He decided he would make small talk and asked if I was going to watch the debates. I was like probably. He said he thought he needed to since it was the last one. I may be incorrect, but I think there are two more. The here is the straw that broke it all, he says, who do you plan to vote for? Not that I'm ashamed of my political views, but I don't even discuss this with some people I like let alone crazy guys that work at the front desk of the Sleep Inn next to Wild West World. Okay that is my venting of the night. Thanks.

Rainbows

2008-10-06T18:21:00.003-05:00

I'm back in my hotel room in Wichita. It has been raining most of the day. Sometimes it was pouring others just a sprinkle. On my way back to the hotel after dinner I look over to my right and see a rainbow. How beautiful!!! Then as I exit the highway I see the other side of the rainbow. As I looked closer I could see the end on each side and could see the full arch. It was so beautiful. I wish I would have had my camera with me, however I'm sure it wouldn't have done it justice.

Random thoughts today:

What in the world are all the people doing in the hallway of the hotel running up and down yelling at each other? I mean it is a Monday night, not like I'm staying here over the weekend.
Why does Sam's Club have everything is extremely large sizes and bulk except a rubber trash can? I went to buy one for the office and the only large one they had was stainless steel and cost $50, pretty sure they would not be happy at the office if I spent that much on a trash can.
Is Cloris Leachman going to be totally obnoxious on DWTS tonight? Don't people know that you call and vote for who you want to stay not leave. I don't vote however I may just so she will leave.
Is it too much to ask to have a semi-intelligent guy work the front desk at the hotel?
I hope my chiropractor doesn't totally hate me since I had to wear heels all day on Saturday and have been hauling big boxes. I don't even know the last time I wore heels or the next time I will.
Speaking of heels, is it too much to ask for comfortable, cute heels to wear. I mean I guess I won't be too particular and just ask for ones that don't rub blisters on my heels.
I hope my DVR doesn't fill up this week while I'm out of town and records everything important.

I guess that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed and have a great week.

Is it really fall?

2008-09-27T14:16:00.004-05:00

After I did the Random Thoughts post I decided that was fun and would continue with that concept as my life is pretty uneventful. First I will update you on my thoughts from earlier in the week. I still don't know why Dancing with the Stars had to be 3 days long and I'm over Cloris (however you spell her name) Leachman. She is not as funny as she thinks she is and is rather obnoxious. I rented and watched Sex and the City The Movie today. Just as good as I remembered. I have purchased already cut fruit for dinner tonight. The cleaning mice still haven't stopped by.

New random thoughts:

I'm not sure why I have been getting horrendous headaches this past week. I believe they are partially sinus and partially tension. However the ones that bother me most are the ones that start in my jaw and shoot in every direction of my head. This is my jaw that pops every time i open it. Kinda scary.
I'm so excited for true fall weather. This 80 degree stuff I'm done with. I'm hoping the cold front will hit Wichita first as I'm heading there on Monday.
I know that KState is playing no one big today, but it would be fun for the game to be on TV as I enjoy watching my Cats play.
Last night I had to go back to the office to receive 8 cars that were being delivered to us. It was rather interesting to watch them drive them all off the trailer and into the parking lot. It is a true science. They said they have been driving around and delivering cars for 3 months. I thought it was going to be bad to be gone for 3 weeks.
I have officially decided the random thoughts emails are fun since I sit at home alone and Chloe doesn't appreciate them and possibly you all will. If you don't then I guess you don't have to read the blog. Ha Ha.
Grey's Anatomy was good, but did not live up the anticipation of a two hour season premier then after it is over we find out it is not going to be back for 2 weeks. Are you kidding? Very annoying.

Hope you enjoyed

Random Thoughts

2008-09-23T17:32:00.002-05:00

So nothing has changed in the stability of my life. I'm home this week. I will be in Wichita during the week next week. We are opening our new office there. I'm excited about that as I will now have a place to work there when in town rather than my hotel room. I have decided that since I don't have much stability in my life I will play in the advanced handbell group at church for at least one stable thing in my life. I will know where I will be at least one time during the week.

So here are some random thoughts I have been having today:

I love Dancing with the Stars, however is it necessary to have 3 nights of the show in one week. I am excited that my gay boyfriend Lance Bass is on the show. As most of you know NSync was my secret love back in the day and Lance was my favorite.
I am deciding if I need to go and buy Sex and the City the movie tonight or can I wait until the weekend. It is a necessary purchase and I know I need to watch it again soon.
Is it wrong to buy already cut up and prepared fruit for a dinner this weekend or do I need to prepare it all myself?
I'm wondering what day the magical cleaning mice will come to my house as they haven't been her in quite some time and my house is a disaster.
Why does health insurance have to be so rediculously expensive? I guess that is another reason I need to get healthy so I possibly won't have to be on the medications and not have to go the doctor regularly. Then I can have a high deductible plan that is cheaper.
Do I really want to spend my savings to paint my house when it doesn't appear that I will be moving until early next year?
I'm happy that if I do get sent to Texas on the last rotation I won't have to work over the Thanksgiving weekend. I would be able to come home or at least go and see some family in Texas for the holiday.
I think it is funny that if I mow my grass my next door neighbors mow theirs the next day. However, if they mow theirs first I could care less and possibly wait at least another week before I mow mine. Ha Ha.

Okay, that is some random thoughts. Hope you have enjoyed.

Will it ever settle down?

2008-09-17T19:12:00.003-05:00

So here I am sitting on my couch, watching K-State Football, and enjoying the fall weather. I am glad to be at home considering the circumstances. No news to anyone out there that the weather around the country has been kinda out of whack. When the weather is bad we get killed at work. Hurricane season is one of our least favorite. We are going to be working claims from Ike for many months. We already have signed up for shifts to go to Texas to work claims all the way through Dec 2. To make it more fun, here at home (Kansas and Missouri) we got pounded with rain last week which hasn't helped our claim volume. We are basically treading water (literally). I have signed up to go to Texas one of the later shifts so I can be here for a close friends wedding and to see The Lion King.

As far as my life outside of work, I'm not really sure what that is these days. We did find out last week that my older sister is going to have a girl in February. They have decided to name her McKenna Marie. I have been also spending time with some good friends playing games at least once or twice a week. It has been so much fun and a great break from reality. We do this for a few hours and laugh a lot and enjoy each others company.

I finally went to the grocery store today to buy some food since I know I'm going to be here for a bit (knock on wood). It felt so nice to eat a home cooked meal. I didn't realize how much I was missing that until after I was done eating. I already have my meals planned for the next week. Yeah!!!

This past Saturday I went to get a manicure and pedicure with a good friend. I have started to over come my fear of pedicures. Yes, I don't typically like to have them done as I know my feet aren't in the best shape. I have a fear they are going to make fun of my feet. However, I'm learning that this could be a luxury I could get used to. I have decided to cut some costs in other places in my life to possibly enjoy some luxuries in life.

Chloe is back living at home with me. She was up visiting mom and dad while I was traveling. It makes it so nice to know she will be here to greet me when I get home at night from a long day. I don't know that having the windows open is great for her as she has been sneezing all night.

That is all the excitement (or not so much) in my life for now.

Don't be shocked

2008-09-10T21:32:00.005-05:00

Yes I'm posting two times in one night. I hope you don't fall out of your chair.

Here are some photos from the weekend in Port Ludlow.

This is the house we stayed in. It is for sale and can be yours for a mere $895,000

This was my bedroom. It was set up as a little girls "princess" room. I know when all of you think of me the first word to come to mind is princess. However all the colors were light blues and yellows. I loved it. As you can see there were window on the wall going out to the hallway that also has a wall of windows. Hence I was up with the sun, but didn't mind as the view was unbelievable looking out on the water.

Thanks to Captain Bry we got a picture of all of us on the sailboat. The time was so relaxing.

I just really like this picture of looking up the sails. This is where I sat for part of the excursion and this was the view straight up to the sky.

What day is it?

2008-09-10T20:08:00.002-05:00

First of all, Tiffany am I at the top? I have certainly fallen behind in the updates lately. I can't say I haven't had my computer with me as I have it with me most of the time. However, I have been traveling so much that I don't even know what end is up. I have been going to to Wichita and it is in the plan to go there again on Sunday and be there for two weeks. However, with the impending hurricane I may be deployed to Texas. The final word will come later in the week as the storm gets closer. If I do go there is no word on how long I will be there. Could be there for up to 12 weeks.

I also spent this past weekend on vacation (pictures to be uploaded later as the camera is in the car). It was one of the most relaxing vacations I have had. I spend the weekend helping celebrate Tiffany's birthday in Port Ludlow outside of Seattle. We rented this 5000 square foot home with a view of the Pugent Sound. We only planned to go sailing, other than that we did nothing but relax and have fun. We played games, read, lauged, had some fruity beverages and laughed some more.

I am currently home and missing Chloe as she is staying with my parents. I am going to go up and get her tomorrow. I have one of my former youth kids that is going to come by and play with her while I'm gone.

I will upload photos soon, I promise.

Additional Photos from KGR

2008-08-27T18:11:00.002-05:00

All of us in The Palace. This was a fun place to shop in college and still fun even after the changes.

Eeka and Josie hanging in our old stomping grounds. This is really where we decided if we were going to go to class that day or sit with each other and eat fan loaves and do the crossword puzzle. Yes, mom, class won out more often than not.

Eeka and Mendy entertaining us with their piano playing. Great fun!!

Kearney Girls Reunion

2008-08-23T17:47:00.002-05:00

I'm currently in Manhattan reuniting with college friends. Here we are standing outside of the house 6 of us lived together. Michelle even went to the door to ask if we could see the house. They let us come in the front door and reminisce. There are many more details on Erika's blog.

Excited and Exhausted Looking Forward

2008-08-18T18:00:00.004-05:00

So as I look forward towards my next few weeks I have in my plans a few travels I have been looking foward to for quite sometime and also so that are just part of work. I am so excited to spend time in Manhattan with most of the Kearney Girls clan. This will be a great time to reminece, catch up, laugh, and probably cry as we typically do. We have a scavenger hunt planned to relive our college days that I think we are all pumped to do together. No fears Tiffany we will document for you to enjoy in spirit.

Then I will leave in a little over 2 weeks to go to Seattle to celebrate Tiffany's bday. We have a cabin rented in the mountains and will enjoy mountains and water. This will be my second vacation with the Classens and Mike this year. Fun times will be had by all.

I will be in Wichita for a week as well as be possibly in Chicago for a few days. So basically, I'm here in KC this week and then Labor Day weekend. Other than that I'm gone until September 12.

I'm currently watching the taping of the Women's Semifinal Soccer Game. The are up and hopefully will remain this way to play in the gold medal match. I'm glad there isn't as much going on in the Olympics this week as I was losing sleep staying up so late watching them. In case you didn't already know, Michael Phelps is amazing!!!

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!

2008-08-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

I have been looking forward to the Olympics all summer. And this year they are not failing to impress. I'm sitting here watching the medal ceremony for Michael Phelps 3rd gold medal of the games. (I'm sorry if that was a spoiler for you Tiffany I understand they are showing the evening footage on tape delay for you all on the west coast). I think it is so touching that even after he wins by such a large margin he is so touched. I have been enjoying beach volleyball, which has not been a favorite in the past.

I'm excited to get home to my DVR when I can rewind and watch the amazing parts over and over again. I can also yell as loud as I want at the TV and know the only one that will think I'm crazy is Chloe.

I'm nervous for the gymnastics. I'm just not sure how it is all going to come out. I have confidence if both teams do their best we can have silver.

I have been waking up in the wee hours in the morning to support the Women's Soccer team. Luckily the mornings I have to work they play at 6:30. This past Saturday it was at 4:00 am. That was early, but worth the time. I then went back to sleep and slept until 10:30, I don't know the last time I slept in that late.

I think that is all my excitement for now.

Returned from Vacation

2008-08-06T16:32:00.002-05:00

I had a great time with the family in California. We did a lot of relaxing and catching up. I met some new family members and enjoyed the time I had with those I see regularly. It was a great time in my life to spend this time with those I love. I will attach a few photos to see the fun we had together.
A look out out on the water from Balboa Island, little did we know we were going to take a ferry to the other side of the island and not the main land. Opps!!
This is the location we finally decided to stop walking in circles and call a taxi to take us to the beach. That was the best $15 we spent all weekend. (FYI: That little blue condo is on the market for $1.3 million if you would like to purchase)
Troy loved the beach and the ocean. If we would have let him he would have run straight out to the middle of the ocean.

Cutest Blonde I know

2008-07-28T19:50:00.003-05:00

I know most of you that read this also read Troy's blog, but this is for the few that don't. I am excited to see him this weekend and it will be while we are all in California. He is getting so big and is like a little person. I think he is ready for another baby in the family. Hopefully he thinks so also. I need to also brag that his outfit for his 18 month pics was entirely from his Aunt Laura.

A Night for Laura

2008-07-25T18:45:00.002-05:00

I am still convincing myself that it is Friday. I'm not really sure why I don't believe it, but I don't. I came to Manhattan today for work as they needed someone to come here to handle 3 claims. Seems like a long drive for just a days work, but I was willing to come to one of my fave places in Kansas.

As I was leaving my first claim this morning my customer wanted to give me a hug. As many of you know I'm not really the hugging type and this was some lady who I had known for all of 45 minutes and I will probably never see or speak with her again. I had a mini freak out moment. I gave her a half hug as she came in for the full hug. Can we say personal space, mine is rather large.

Then I had some time before my last two inspections so I got some time to go and see Erika and family. It was so good to see you for even a short time. Thanks again for sharing your electricity with me. (I may have forgotten to put the safety covers back in the outlets, this is the sign of Laura not having children).

I got to my last 2 claims and the roofs were very steep and high. I was so exhausted and hot that I decided on a whim that I was going to find a hotel and just have a night for me away from home. So I'm having a night for myself. I went to Dillon's and got some Chinese, ice cream, coke and a People Magazine. All the things necessary for a night to relax. I got back to the hotel and ate dinner.

After dinner I thought I should go swimming early (I had brought my suit just in case I decided to stay in a hotel) to avoid lots of folks. So I went down and I got the entire pool and spa to myself. It was so relaxing. Now it is not even 7:00 and I'm in my PJ's relaxing in the hotel. Who knows I may go to sleep before 9. Pretty sad for a Friday night and I'm really excited about it.

I have been thinking I need to change the title of the blog. It is kinda boring. So we will see what I come up with, if anything.

Procrastination

2008-07-19T15:08:00.003-05:00

As I sit here on my newly vacuumed living room floor I'm procrastinating finishing the cleaning that needs to be done in my house. Really I need to enter the room with the closed door. All of us have at least a closet that we just throw items in and then never enter as we aren't sure if we will come out alive. Well, my closet has grown into an entire room. The majority of the stuff in there is boxed and was put there over a year ago when I put my house on the market. It is obvious that I need a lot of the items in there on a regular basis. My goal is to get it all organized in the next couple of days as we are having a garage sale at church next weekend. Speaking of those of you in KC feel free to stop by Prairie Baptist Church (75th and Roe) on Saturday. They are going to have the sale inside so it will be a cool sale. Therefore, instead of entering the room I have decided to update the blog. I thought you all may appreciate this more.

To prepare for the move I have have also decided to get caught up on all my doctor appts as I don't want to have to find a new one right away. I went to the eye doctor today. apparently I have become even more blind and will be getting new glasses soon. This will give me a new look for my new start. I don't think I can cut my hair anymore. I mean I could, but I would not like it at all, I need to be able to pull it up in a pony tail.

To my Kearney Girls I'm so excited that in just a couple of days we planned a weekend for us to get together and a location. This may be a record. I know it will be sad that we all won't be able to be in the same place at the same time. I'm looking forward to seeing Tiffany a short time after I see the rest of the girls so I will fill her in or everything. We could set up a video camera like they do on Real World or Big Brother and have our own Reality TV only it won't be as scandalous and I'm going to guess no one will want to watch it except us.

I guess that is enough procrastination, at least in this form. I will see what else I may be able to find.

One more thing, not pertaining to me or anyone I know personally and possibly none of you care. Abby Wambach (the US Women's star soccer player) broke her leg this week in a game against Brazil. This puts her unavailable for the Olympics. This will make the games more exciting in a new way.

Reality Sets In

2008-07-12T10:33:00.002-05:00

I have returned to civilization from the coolness and beauty of the mountains. The first obvious reality I have come to is that the heat and humidity of Kansas has decided to come to join us for the summer. I guess I can't complain too much as it is now July and this is the weather we expect. Today is it raining, which is nice in one way as I wanted to spend the day relaxing and recovering from the week with the youth. However, I need to mow my grass horribly. I guess that will get done tomorrow.

While I was in Colorado I had time to reflect on my life and the changes ahead. Up until this point I have only been thinking about the excitement and the change in my life. I have officially entered the anxious stage. I'm still excited, but the real changes are very apparent after I spent a week with the youth and the leaders.

As most of you know the youth group is a very large part of my life. I have been a part of this group for 6 years. They have made so many impacts on my life I'm not sure that I will truly realize how much I will miss them until I am away from them. These teeangers are more than just your typical group. They are a group that has challenged me in my faith and how I accept and love those I encounter in my life. Yes, they are still teenagers and have their moments, but the good moments way out weigh the low.

Not only have the youth made a huge impact on my life the other leaders are some of my closest friends. I know when I am with them I can always be my true self. They accept me for my good qualities and don't judge me for the not so good. Not that I have many friends that aren't that way, but I spend so much of my life with this group we have bonds and understand each others ins and outs. We are able to have fun together as well as have real conversations and confide in eachother about the real moments in our life.

There are many things that I'm anxious about in the transistion to a new place of my life. As most of you know I'm a planner and like to know how things are going to work out and don't like a lot of changes to the plan. Well, there isn't a lot of details that I have about this move. I don't know how the details of the house and living situation is going to work out. I am not looking forward to finding a new church. I pray I will be able to find something that compares to what I have now, but pretty sure it will be difficult to duplicate. Obviously, I won't be able to replace the friends I have here, but making new ones that are similar is scary. The only time I have totally relocated from everything I know was when I went to college. At that time you are totally placed in a situation where you are forced to make friends. I'm not the most outgoing person so meeting new people is not my forte.

I will finish reflecting now. I'm sure there will be more of these in the future, but I guess that is what blogging about. This is my life for this moment.

VACATION TIME!!!!!!

2008-07-03T19:08:00.002-05:00

I'm officially on vacation. I'm so excited to not be in the office and to get some time in the mountains. It has been determined I will be acting supervisor effective August 1 in Wichita. All of the details will be ironed out soon. I will be living in a hotel for a bit. This sounds great at first, but it gets old living in a hotel after a bit. However, I will be sure to stay someplace I can rack up points so I will be able to take a vacation somewhere sometime soon and at least have a free hotel.

I will update again after I return to civilization.

My new jewlery

2008-06-28T19:56:00.003-05:00

Here are pictures of my most recent jewlery purchase. The fun part is that they are buttons and that I helped create them. I picked the buttons and a someone else wrapped the wire to make rings from them. (please ignore the ugly coffee table.)

Joining the Cool People

2008-06-28T13:42:00.003-05:00

I have officially followed the crowd and joined all the cool people by upgrading my blog. As this is the first post not much to say. I'm relaxing this weekend thinking of all the things that need to be done prior to my "vacation" to Colorado in a week.

So the picture really has nothing to do with anything, but it was a day in the life of Laura. I was in Hutchinson, KS for the day climbing on roofs and went to lunch. Well, while I was there a man must have decided he was hungry and drove his tractor and trailer to McDonald's. This would have been a better story if he drove it though the drive-thru.