Column of Christine

Christmas visitor

2012-01-23T22:30:00.003-06:00

Santa came to see us on Christmas Eve. He hasn't been there in person for the past few years, so we were really excited to see him. Especially Teresa. She always gets really excited when Santa walks in.

He spent a lot of time with us and we all got something out of his special bag. But before he passed out presents, Zachary had to get something off his chest. He started by saying, "I have something to tell you."

And then he said, "I've been a little bad." Santa responded with something very appropriate (we were all laughing too hard to hear what he had to say) and I think he immediately felt better for having unburdened himself. I think he might have been a little worried that Santa didn't have anything in that bag for him and wanted to be up-front about his behavior.

Caden got his gift pretty early in the process. And he was happy to have something with Lightning McQueen on it! He didn't even mind getting his picture taken with Santa.

Micah, on the other hand, minded a lot! Poor thing didn't want anything to do with Santa on his first Christmas. But he really did like the blocks Santa brought him. Maybe next year he won't mind so much.

Jessica got some duct tape the color of her car to help hold it together. She was pretty excited.

Zachary was happy when he got a Spider-Man shaving kit from Santa.

Santa brought me a Starbucks gift card. He knows me very well. And this is the picture that made me decide I really need to lose some weight.

Happy to report that since the first of the year I've lost almost 8 pounds. Motivation can be found in a scheduled vacation to Europe. This time feels different already, though. I've been a cooking fool (thanks in part to the new Calphalon cookware I got for Christmas) and I've been exercising and eating right. That combination of things has been really hard for me in the past. But this time it feels like a shift in my thinking which is a wonderful feeling. Stay tuned for updates throughout the year.

Fireworks!

2011-08-31T20:26:00.002-05:00

I was on vacation over the Fourth of July, but the rest of my family was at my sister Jenny's house for a surprise birthday party and fireworks. I love this picture of Zachary. I think he's a little bit excited about the fireworks portion of the evening!

Caden looks like he's not quite sure yet. I heard they had a wonderful time and I'm sorry I missed it.

My not-so-new great nephew, Micah

2011-08-31T20:23:00.003-05:00

Micah Bradley was born February 5 and I'm very late in blogging about him. He's the second child for my nephew Andrew and his wife, Rachel. And big brother Caden just loves his Micah! Here's is a picture of him fresh in the world (photo by Jack and Jill Portraits):

Doesn't it look like he's waving to everybody? I love this picture. The next one is from June, I think. Taken by his mommy, who he thinks is the funniest person ever.

And this one is from mid-August. I can't believe how much he changes. And she's not only funny, but a good photographer. His mommy took this picture too.

Here's the big brother, himself. Caden at my house with Mardi Gras hat and nerd glasses. He loves those glasses!

This one of Caden was taken outside in August. His mom tells me she bribed him to get these pictures, but I'm not at liberty to say what she bribed him with. I still think it was win-win because it's such a cute picture. And yes, he's just as ornery as he looks.

I finally met Patricia

2011-08-31T18:55:00.000-05:00

Almost two weeks ago, I drove up to Kansas City to see my good friend, Tristan. We were talking about the fact over the weekend visit that we are each other's "oldest" friend. What we mean by that is that we are the first friend that each of us remembers making. Our families lived pretty close to each other in the country (Tristan had horses at her house and I did not) and we are sure we were friends even before kindergarten. Over the years we've seen each other off and on, but it's always like we have never been apart. Friendships like that are few and far between and I cherish those connections when they happen.

This past April, Tristan had a baby. A precious little girl that I had only seen in pictures until two weeks ago. I met Patricia that Friday evening and it took only about 30 seconds for her to decide she liked me and we are now the best of friends. Which illustrates just how smart she is. Unfortunately, neither Tristan or I thought to snap a picture of the two of us together, but I did get one of Patricia and I:

See what I mean? Precious. Thanks for the hospitality to Tristan and Dave. And to Patricia for all the smiles and coos. We'll do it again soon, I promise.

It's been 20 years

2011-07-18T21:12:00.004-05:00

I took this picture on the campus of Newman University this past May looking west at sunset (obviously). This grotto area is where I remember my college career getting started. The weekend I moved into the dorm as a freshman, there was an outdoor barbeque for the students and their parents in the grotto. It was just after this meal that my parents walked me back to the dorm and left me for good. I was homesick. But that's not what I remember most about that moment. We were walking in front of the big steps on the east side of Sacred Heart Hall and we were talking about whether or not there was anything else I'd need before they left town.

Mom and I had been the grocery store the day before and bought some things for me to keep in my room (getting up early for breakfast has never been my thing) and I had gotten some bagels. They were not pre-cut. I said that the only thing I needed was a knife to cut the bagels. Mom stopped, then so did dad and I, and we watched while she rummaged around in her purse for a minute and then produced a steak knife. My dad and I looked at each other with confused faces. Why did she have a steak knife in her purse? Her story is that she'd taken an apple to work earlier that week, along with the knife to cut it up, and just hadn't removed it yet. Right. It remains one of my favorite "going to college" memories.

This May was the 20th anniversary of my graduation from Newman. I spent a good part of May 2011 remembering my college years. I spent a good bit of time on campus this May as president of the alumni association. I even got to welcome the new graduates to the association at commencement. It was such a good decision for me to go to school at what was then Kansas Newman College in the fall of 1987. I feel blessed and eternally grateful.

This just makes me FEEL cooler

2011-07-14T21:07:00.002-05:00

With the amount of days we've had this summer in triple digits, I like to look at this picture taken in February at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. It just makes me feel cooler looking at it.

I know I'm the minority, but I'd much rather be bundled up in a coat year-round than sweating my face off in the summer. Hands down. Now I must go outside and water my flowers so they don't die.

Harvest

2011-07-14T21:00:00.003-05:00

For the first time in many, many years I was in Ellinwood during harvest. I took Zachary (and Katie and Victoria took Caden) and we headed to the field. I didn't ride in the combine, but the boys did and they had a great time. Here's a picture of them in air-conditioned comfort riding with Ryan while the rest of us sweated it out in the sunshine.

What's a trip to the field without a trip to the Dairy Queen? Well, if you're in Ellinwood, you'd have to drive a bit to find one these days. So we did the next best thing and went for the Heavenly Sno. Are these two crazy or what?

If you're not having any fun while hanging out with Zachary and Caden, you're not trying very hard!

I'm still kicking

2011-06-14T20:41:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been a while. I wish I could stick to a schedule of posting better than I do. So much has happened since I posted in February. I went to Nova Scotia for another two-week trip in February and then made a 3-day trip to Toronto at the beginning of March. Both trips were work-related. They were right, it was much colder in February and March in Canada than it was in December when I went to Nova Scotia the first time. I got some good use out of my new Land's End down coat and super-comfy Uggs!

Before those trips and since I've been back home it's been very busy at work. I leave work every day mentally (and sometimes physically) exhausted, but satisfied that I'm doing what I love and still learning new things all the time. We just passed the 10-year anniversary of the Wichita office of the company and as one of my co-workers aptly put it: "Sometimes frustrating; never dull."

I've got a bunch of pictures of the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove covered in snow and from the Foggy Goggle in Halifax where I spent my last night in Nova Scotia hanging out with some pretty cool Haligonians (that's what they call themselves in Halifax) drinking some beer and chatting up a storm. There are also pictures of a night out with the girls, various family gatherings, my new great nephew Micah Bradley who was born February 5, and bunch of other things I'm sure I've forgotten about.

I will try and download the photos soon and get some more things posted in addition to keeping the grass mowed (not doing a great job of that lately), enjoying some light summer reads and watching movies and TV shows via Netflix on my new TV.

Hedwig Lives

2011-02-01T14:27:00.010-06:00

My niece, Katie, and I went down to Oklahoma City in January to see a production of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," for which my nephew, Christopher, designed the costumes. I have to say, the denim cape he fashioned for Hedwig was my favorite. It's genius what he did with the bib overalls! He also styled the wig with wings you see in this picture.

The dude on the left is really Renee Anderson (not a dude) and the lovely lady on the right is Matt Brown, who is a dude in real life. These two rocked the stage (literally, it's a rock musical) along with The Angry Inch band and I very much enjoyed their heartfelt performance. I can't really explain well the premise of the show, but the message is pretty powerful as told by Hedwig about her life growing up as a boy in East Berlin and the botched sex-change operation that allows her to leave the divided city of her birth. It's about finding the other half that completes you. And that sometimes you have to lose a piece of yourself to be free. It means even more to me now that I know how much this show has meant to Christopher.

It's always fun to go down to OKC for a visit and this time I got to meet the newest member of the family, Nugget. He's almost four months old and just cute as a button. Well, see for yourself. He's not only cute, but incredibly friendly. He'll lick your face off if you let him.

Greetings from the Maritimes

2010-12-11T20:58:00.014-06:00

I've been on a business trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, one of the Canadian provinces that's part of the Maritimes. It's gorgeous. The weather got pretty chilly this week, but I like cold weather so that's really been a non-issue. I figured out pretty easily how to get from the airport to the hotel (and customs didn't even sort through my luggage) and then to the newspaper without any real issues.

Today I took a very short road trip to see one of Nova Scotia's most popular tourist attractions. On a cold, snow flurryish day in December. You're probably asking, "Are you crazy?" and I may be, but I think it was the most perfect day to be there. The drive there was not long, but I stopped a lot to take pictures and enjoy the winter scenery. Every way you drive there are lakes and coves and beautiful, breathtaking vistas. This is one example:

And another one:

I drove to Peggy's Cove, which is a little fishing village on the southwestern edge of the province. I would like to emphasize the word "little" because it was nothing if not small and quaint. It may be one of my new favorite places in the entire world. It became much more dear to my heart when it started snowing just before I arrived. Driving in the village, I was so glad to be here during this time of year when the tourists are not. There were still a few people visiting the lighthouse today, but many fewer than there would be in the summer months. It really doesn't need an introduction.

And just to prove I was there, here's a contemplative self-portrait by the sea.

It was a really good day and I feel very fortunate to be here. I also did a little shopping. I had the best time talking to a couple of ladies who were manning one of the few gift shops in the village. We had a very nice talk and I took advantage of their 30% end-of-season sale (see, it was the best time of the year to go) on everything in the store. Well, I didn't buy everything they had, but I got some really good stuff. And sipped on some yummy hot cider while I shopped. Can't wait to give away the gifts I bought today. I wish I could post pictures of those things, but I can't. Too many eyes might see what they shouldn't.

A note to the staff

2010-12-11T20:55:00.003-06:00

Dear Hospitality Staff,
Thank you for making my bed and for bringing around those tasty chocolates and a bottle of water each night. I really appreciate you taking such good care of me.

Yours truly,
Chris

I can't make this stuff up

2010-06-17T21:21:00.006-05:00

Seen at the intersection of 25th and Arkansas. Yes, that's a small white dog in the backpack of the motorcyclist.

They must do this often because the pooch didn't look a bit scared. I was on my way to work one morning a couple of months ago when I snapped this picture. But it still makes me smile.

Zachary turns 3!

2010-06-16T18:30:00.002-05:00

In the middle of my week of vacation at the end of April, Zachary turned three years old. His party was the weekend after his birthday and almost everybody was there to celebrate his special day. The day before his party I got to spend the whole day with him and Grandma Sherrie. We worked on a project to make Mother's Day gifts for his grandmas and his mommy. I think they were a big hit. We also went to the park where he made me dizzy by turning me on the spinny thing and mom laughed her fool head off when I couldn't walk. She's somewhat evil. No pictures of that because she was laughing too hard.

His party included a cookout, cake and, of course, a pile of presents. Here he's flashing his I.D.

Preparing to blow out the candles.

And tearing into the present pile with mommy reading him his card from yours truly.

Some of his favorite toys. I just got him boring books and clothes.

It's so cliche, but I cannot believe that he's already three years old. It seems like just yesterday when he was born. He's getting so big and independent and I sometimes miss that little baby. But then he says something really funny and I'm so glad he's older and more entertaining!

Singsation

2010-06-15T20:36:00.005-05:00

In April I drove out to Oakley to see and hear my nephew, Jeffrey, in Singsation. On the way to Ellinwood to ride with my sister Teresa I had a tire blow out on a lonely country road in Rice County. As luck would have it, about five minutes after I pulled to the side of the road, some people whose kids I used to babysit drove by on their way to Wichita. Clayton was instrumental (OK, he did the whole thing) in putting on the spare. I was able to make it to Ellinwood without mishap. So grateful they came by when they did.

They kicked off the show in their fanciest outfits. Jeffrey's the second from the left in the back row. He did a great job on his solo of "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" which he heard for the first time last year in my car. He was really nervous, but I was so proud of him. Some of the other solos...well, not so much. They were all way ahead of me, though, because I'd never get up and sing in front of a crowd. Ever. At least not without a lot of alcohol first.

He also joined the rest of the boys in the Oakley Plainsman Singers for "Goober Peas" and he's the goober on the right in this picture.

We had a good time and I was glad I made the trip out for it. I needed new tires anyway.

Easter weekend

2010-06-15T20:30:00.003-05:00

My birthday fell on Good Friday this year and I was lucky to have that day off from work. It was the day I got the official offer letter for my new job at Brainworks. It was a really good day, despite the fact I turned a year older.

Zach was really the only little kid around on Easter Sunday. He had a great time helping hide Easter eggs with Katie and I. We'd each take turns hiding them with him and then he'd help the other one find the same eggs he'd just hidden. It was pretty comical. We had gorgeous weather that day and ended up spending a lot of time outside. Here Zach and Katie are finding the eggs I helped him hide.

Hiding eggs with them made me remember hiding them when I was a kid. It brought back some really good memories. I've always loved Easter since it's usually right around my birthday. I hid an egg in this tree that I ran over with the mower right after my parents planted it. I know I stunted that tree's growth, but it's still alive even though it hasn't really grown that much. Oops! Even though my mom never said anything about it at the time, she told me she definitely noticed it when it happened. Mom always knows! Eyes. In. Back. Of. Head.

After egg hunting was over, Katie and Zach got into a fight with sticks. They're so weird.

Better late than never, right?

2010-06-15T20:02:00.005-05:00

As my family will point out, I'm a bit of a tardy blogger. I really do mean well, it's just that life gets in the way. Not to mention a new job (this is week seven already) and a healthy dose of sleep on the weekends. But I'm back and I'm vowing (yes, again) to be a better blogger.

The first three months of the year I spent every Wednesday night with a great group of folks as part of my job. I really enjoyed coaching that group of couples on the skills they were learning in their marriage education workshop. It was a great way to round out my employment with Marriage for Keeps. My job there ended on April 30 and I was lucky enough to be able to have the last week as vacation before I started the new job. Here's a picture of workshop facilitator Brian talking to the group. That's the other facilitator, Rachel, facing the camera.

Because of confidentiality reasons I can't post a picture of the group even though I took one the last night we met. If you were in that group and want a copy of the picture I took, post a message and I'll e-mail it to you.

I miss my co-workers at MfK because they're a group of awesome individuals, but I'm really diggin' the new job. What's not to like about the relaxed dress code, "normal" work hours, and the satisfaction of helping people work through their computer problems? Nothing, that's what.

Stay tuned. More to come...

Spring is springing

2010-04-01T17:51:00.004-05:00

The forsythia in my back yard bloomed this week. I think it looks so pretty. If the photo looks blurry it's because the wind has been blowing constantly (it seems anyway) this week. It never seems like there's a moment it's not blowing in the wind.

Five years ago about this time my friends Lucy, Ian, William and Ellen were here from England for a visit. They bought the forsythia (they pronounce it for-sigh-thia) for me on that trip and we planted it together. I never look at it without thinking of them. And just in time for my birthday, I received a card from them in the mail yesterday. Happy spring, friends!

OKC trip

2010-03-29T18:25:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago (OK, almost a month ago) I went down to Oklahoma City with my mom and sisters for our annual girls’ weekend. Jenny studied on the way down (she has to keep up her perfect 4.0 GPA in grad school, you know). As usual it was filled with lots of laughter and some really good food.

Christopher, one of my nephews, lives in Oklahoma City and works at a couple of restaurants. We went to one of them while he was at work and it was a great experience. Ingrid’s is a German bakery and restaurant. We dined there on the Saturday for lunch and my reuben was excellent, but the slice of German chocolate cake I ate for dessert was the best I’ve ever had. It was so good I took a picture of it and my sister, Teresa, made fun of me. On the left is mom's strawberry cake. On the right is Teresa's coconut cake. My German chocolate is in the middle. It really was divine.

There was live music when we got there but they put away their instruments not long after we arrived. Ingrid’s was featured on a recent episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” on the Food Network. We got to meet Maggie, the kitchen manager, who showed Guy Fieri how they make their famous reubens. Search for it on YouTube if you haven’t seen it.

Here’s a picture of Christopher at work behind the counter. He’s very photogenic, don’t you think?

We also ate at Iron Starr barbeque and it was delicious as always. Sorry no pictures of that.

There was also a healthy dose of slot machine play for my sister, Jenny, who has a bit of a gambling itch that needs scratching every now and then. Mom, Teresa and I were happy with about three hours’ worth of gambling. Jenny needed about eight hours’ worth. So we left her there and picked her up later. Very little shopping this year. Mostly we just hung out, ate and played cards. It was so much fun I'm ready to go again.

A Keeper photo

2010-03-02T20:36:00.008-06:00

In January I went to Exploration Place with Jennifer, Bella and Jake to get a sneak preview of the Mr. Potato Head exhibit. We weren't really that impressed with it and Bella was very unimpressed with the costumed spud, but she did consent to one photo with him.

After this picture was snapped she wouldn't go near him and hid behind me every time we saw him.

When we left EP the flames at the Keeper of the Plains were ablaze. Here's a picture I took that turned out pretty good, for an amateur photographer.

Happy Vietnamese New Year!

2010-03-02T19:11:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch at Saigon on Broadway. Behold, the number 56:

It was the perfect day for lunch at Saigon. They had entertainment to celebrate Vietnamese New Year, which included the popping of firecrackers outside (to ward off the evil spirits) and some drum music and two dragons winding their way through the restaurant during the lunch rush. I'm sure they symbolized something, but I don't know what. I liked the atmosphere, though. It was lunch AND a show!

As you can see I wasn't the only one taking pictures of this event.

After we'd eaten, we also got to pick out an envelope from a basket. Each envelope (or ours anyway) contained a Power Ball $1 quick pick. I am sad to report that I didn't win anything, but it was a good day to lunch at one of my favorite places.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T22:56:00.026-06:00

My sister, Teresa (the oldest), has been cyber-stalking me to post a new blog. Behold some pictures from Christmas 2009.

This first picture is of the nativity set my sisters gave me for my birthday. It's beautiful and the most fancy nativity I've ever owned. I loved looking at it over the holidays and just recently put it away. I added the tree in the back which was purchased at Barrier's liquidation sale last month.

My sisters and I have a gift ball that we pass around each Christmas. This Christmas Teresa had the gift ball and was responsible for purchasing gifts for us (we include mom in this tradition, too, she just doesn't ever have to buy presents). We went to Teresa's house and she served us yummy tea in her pretty Christmas cups and we snacked on breads that she'd baked. My favorite is her almond poppyseed bread. This year she got us Christmas ornaments that are ceramic boxes shaped like Hershey's Kisses that were also filled with Kisses. Don't have a picture of them since I've already stowed the decorations, but it's really cute. Mine is red. Mom and Jenny got green. Next year Jenny will have the ball.

My oldest nephew, Andrew, was in charge of passing out presents.

Zach peering in as Grandma opens one of her presents. That lunch box he's holding was something I played with as a kid - a vintage toy if you will.

Caden (with his mom, Rachel) opening his present from me: Toy Story pajamas and a Tupperware pitcher and four cups for his play kitchen at home.

Terri, Zach and Mark opening gifts. I had Mark's name and gave him a rear-view mirror for their Rhino and the second Diners, Drive-ins and Dives cookbook. He's a big fan of the show.

Teresa with one of the Santa heads she got. Anissa, Kyle and Victoria are also tearing into their presents.

Katie, Frank, Jenny, Fred, Jessica and Cody were around the corner. This was the first Christmas since my mom and dad's house remodel was finished. It was nice to have enough room for everybody. The only drawback is not being able to see everybody at once.

My nephew, Christopher, with his nephew, Caden.

My mom's birthday is Christmas Eve. We always get her the prettiest birthday cakes. This one tasted as good as it looks. Caden and Zach (as did the rest of us) dug into some cake after opening presents.

Zach got a wagon from grandma Sherrie and grandpa. He liked it when we took turns pulling him through the house. He and Caden both got in and took rides, too. This shot also highlights the new flooring my parents got in their kitchen and dining room right before Thanksgiving. It's one of the final steps in their renovation process. The only thing left to do is finish up the trim and paint touch-ups.

My sisters, Jenny and Teresa, on Christmas Day during our card-playing extravaganza.

Two of my nephews, Jeffrey and Christopher, during my worst game of rummy ever on Christmas Day.

RENT is awesome

2009-10-16T20:45:00.007-05:00

My nephew, Christopher, is in a production of "RENT" at the Pollard Theatre in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Guthrie is the neatest town and although I'm slightly biased, the production of "RENT" is quite superb. Here are some photos that I swiped off the Pollard's Facebook page.

The first one is a promotional photo of the cast. Christopher is on the stairs (halfway up) with his leg up on the railing. He makes a very attractive homeless person, doesn't he?

He's part of the Company (or Ensemble, if you prefer). One of his roles is Squeegie Man. Say it with me "honest living, honest living, honest living"!

Another role is the Waiter in the Life Cafe, which gives him a solo part in one of my favorite songs, "La Vie Boheme," right before halftime (or intermission as most people know it).

But my favorite was his solo in "Seasons of Love" right after halftime. He makes me so proud when he belts like that. Not that I had anything to do with it, but still. It gives me chills. That's him far right. I wanted to pause and rewind and listen to that moment over and over again.

Yes, he's sporting an actual mohawk. I'm looking forward to attending another performance before it closes at the end of the month. The rest of the cast isn't half bad, either. If you're in the neighborhood, you should check it out. Buy tickets here.

Viva La Vie Boheme.

Baby Jake

2009-10-06T21:15:00.001-05:00

Turns out Bella was right that she was having a brother. Jennifer, Steve and Bella welcomed baby Jake into the world on September 11. That also happens to be my dad's birthday, so I think it's a wonderful day for a birthday. He is a sweet little guy. This is a picture of me holding him just a few days after he was born. I look forward to all snuggle time I get with him!

They got hitched

2009-10-04T17:15:00.011-05:00

Oh brother! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a blog. Lots going on in my life, but I’ll try my best to recap for you.

Mark and Terri’s wedding in Las Vegas went really well. There were a few hiccups (like the wait at the tuxedo rental place and the food not being completely ready when my friend showed up to get it), but overall it was awesome.

Zach took a swim in the tub to get himself all cleaned up so he could go get married, too.

The wedding ceremony itself was short and sweet. The preacher said some really nice words and before too long it was all over. The bride looked stunning. Here she is in the hotel room, ready to go get married.

The groom looked handsome even though he forgot to bring black socks to wear with his tuxedo. That's Mark on the right and his friend, Bo, who served as best man on the left. Bo didn't have black socks either. Yes, Mark was carrying a towel to mop the sweat off his brow. It was pretty hot.

My two-year-old nephew Zach as the tuxedoed ring bearer was pretty cute, especially with the shades. Here Bo is getting his cuff links in place. That's the preacher you see in the background.

Here's a photo of all my nieces and nephews who attended the wedding. Everyone was present except for Tyler and Christopher. Zach's not in the picture either because he was still having professional pictures taken with Mark and Terri.

The photographer took some really nice pictures and I’d post some here but I don’t have my copies of them yet. So stay tuned.

One of the most memorable things about Vegas was, of course, the wedding. But also Zach and I went up in the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris and watched the water show at the Bellagio from up there. He was a real trooper and walked most of the way over there all by himself. We strolled through Le Boulevard between Bally’s and Paris and he looked so cute walking with his hands in his pockets checking out the ceiling painted sky blue on the “street”. We threw coins in every fountain we passed and lots of people stopped and remarked on just how stinkin’ cute he looked. I couldn’t argue. Here's a self-portrait from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Zach had to help push the button, that's why it's so close.

Once I got home from Vegas it was immediately all work, work, work again. August was really busy for us and we broke records by doing 42 intakes during the month. We’re nearing the end of the research phase of our project and we’ve got just 100 intakes to complete before the end of the year. It’s going by very quickly.

Late in the month of August I came home one evening to find that someone had broken into my house. The front door was open when I got home and I proceeded back out through the garage while dialing 9-1-1. Two of Wichita’s finest went through the house with guns drawn but no one was still lurking inside. It doesn’t appear that anything was taken and the door was not damaged, but the door jamb where the deadbolt was engaged was broken off when they forced their way into the house. This incident has prompted me to get an alarm system and I’m sleeping better at night. The hammer I sleep with helps, too.

After several weeks of traveling on the weekend or having to work on Saturday I'm happy to report that I've spent this weekend free of commitments. In the past three weeks I've worked two shifts at the Newman University booth at the Kansas State Fair and then I worked another shift at Newman's Party on the Ponderosa last weekend. It was great fun seeing some former professors and staff who were there when I got my degree.

More to come soon. I promise.

Yes, she's older than I am!

2009-08-06T06:00:00.007-05:00

My sister Teresa's birthday is today. She turns 50. When I was in college, Teresa came to stay with me in the dorm while our grandpa was in the hospital. She was married and had two kids by this time. One of my roommates thought she was still in high school. Unfortunately, she's never forgotten that incident and to this day, she tells people she's younger than I am. And sometimes people still believe her. This is my chance to set the record straight. She's older, people. By almost 10 years!

The picture below was taken on her birthday at our family reunion in Branson in 2004. She has a thing for old hats, Birkenstocks (she has the largest collection of them I've ever seen) and Bud Light, so this picture really captures the essence of her.

In the next picture she's offering a Bud Light to Codi, a one-year-old, at the same reunion. Codi got her back this past weekend (he's now six) when we were at a family party and he asked her if she was somebody's grandma! She really is somebody's grandma now (Caden's) but it was still funny. Guess you had to be there.

She has been saying for some time that when she turns 50 she's going to wear a tiara every day. Hey, she's officially a member of the Red Hat Society now, so I guess anything is possible!

Happy birthday, Teresa. I can't wait to see you sitting at a slot machine gambling, drinking a Bud Light and wearing your tiara next week in Vegas!

Four more sleeps

2009-08-05T20:43:00.003-05:00

Many years ago, when my friend Lucy and her family were preparing for a visit to my house from England, they were talking about how long it was before they'd board the airplane and (many, many hours later) arrive in Wichita, America. They refer to me as Chris in America, so that's appropriate. Well, the kids were young. Still toddlers, in fact. So they decided the easiest way for the kids to understand was to count the number of overnight "sleeps" they'd have before getting underway. I have been using that system for myself ever since.

With that in mind, I now tell you that there are only four more sleeps until I leave for Las Vegas. Almost the whole family (only three won't be there) is attending the Las Vegas wedding of my brother Mark and his long-time significant other, Terri. I was excited already on Monday because that's when my parents left (with two of my nieces in tow) on their two-week trip for the wedding. They're swinging out to California for a couple of days before Vegas, then after it's the Grand Canyon, among other things, on the way home. My sister, Jenny, and her family are also driving and they're leaving Friday. There are about 20 of us on the flight to Vegas on Sunday. Odds of sitting beside somebody I know on that flight are pretty good.

So, this will be the ultimate Family Vacation. Yes, I capitalized those words on purpose. Stay tuned for updates and pictures. For now, I think I'll turn in for one of those sleeps.

Milestone day

2009-07-29T21:34:00.004-05:00

Today marks a special milestone in my life. It was 5 years ago today that I was diagnosed with follicular carcinoma of the thyroid. I'll never forget that phone call from the doctor who confirmed what I already knew in my heart to be true. The three other people in my house that day will probably never forget it either.

Cancer is always easier for the patient. At least it was in my case. My family, especially my parents, had a very difficult time coming to grips with the diagnosis. Yes, it was awful, but I always knew that I was going to be just fine. Most people who have thyroid cancer live long, full lives and die from something completely different. I had a doctor tell me that if you had to pick a cancer to have, thyroid cancer was the best choice. I don't remember ever having checked a box on a ballot, but it is what it is.

Until today dawned, I really didn't know how heavily these past five years have weighed on me. I have felt lighter and more free today than I have in a long time. Maybe it's coincidental, but I don't think so. This morning I treated myself to the venti iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks. Maybe I've been treating myself to them all too often lately since the staff there knew what I wanted the moment I walked in the door.

This afternoon I took some time off of my job (the beauty of a flexible schedule allowed that) and I ran a couple of errands and then met my friends Jennifer, Jill and Melanie to see "The Proposal" at the Warren east. I have had the tickets pictured above for almost two years (notice they expired at the end of 2008) but they still honored them. A very nice lady named Zoe gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the theatre and then she bought us popcorn and drinks before we went in to watch the movie. We laughed a lot (both during the tour and the movie) and had a really good time. Afterward we went to Cheddar's for a margarita. (Since she's with child, Jennifer booked it across town to grab some bargains at a consignment sale for her unborn baby, which should make his or her arrival sometime in September. We missed you Jenn!)

Today was very life-affirming. The people at my neighborhood Starbucks know me. I have friends who are a lot of fun (many more than just the three who went to the movie with me today). I have a wonderful family who is always there for me. I also have a job that I truly enjoy.

Yes, I am a cancer survivor. That diagnosis five years ago will follow me for the rest of my life. I will be vigilant about being tested because I know that a recurrence can happen many years down the road. But I have the first five years under my belt and right this minute it feels incredibly good to have gotten over that hurdle.

Happy Birthday, Mark!

2009-07-22T21:39:00.003-05:00

Today is my brother Mark's 49th birthday. In honor of this milestone, I'm posting this video of Zach, Mark's son, eating the frosting off of a piece of cake at Caden's 2nd birthday party a couple of weeks ago. I am pretty sure he never ate one bite of the cake itself. Enjoy!

New steps

2009-07-22T21:23:00.004-05:00

I have lived in my house for almost five and a half years. Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago and at other times it seems like just a few short months. Every time my Dad visits, for the entire time I've lived here, I've heard him complain about the steps leading from my garage into my house. I use the word steps loosely. It really was just one cement step between the floor of the garage and the kitchen. And that last step going up was a real doozy.

Last Friday afternoon my parents came to town for the weekend. Loaded in the back of their pickup on the trip down were my new garage steps. Dad's a welder and last time he was here (I don't even remember when it was it's been so long ago) he measured and muttered and vowed to make me some new steps before he came back again. He's nothing if not true to his word.

Behold, the unveiling of the new steps:

You can see the rejected cement step in the right side of this picture. That step is very heavy and will have to wait for better tools to move it before it can leave the premises.

The new steps are sturdy (since they're all metal, it would be hard to imagine otherwise). I think if, God forbid, a tornado were to rip through my neighborhood, those steps would still be bolted down after the dust settled. There's only one warning I'll impart: don't walk on them without shoes.

It's Wednesday

2009-07-15T21:36:00.004-05:00

Not that Wednesday means anything special. It's just that this particular Wednesday I decided to post a blog. And that will be my goal every Wednesday from this point forward. It's going to be a quick one tonight because I'm tired and I don't feel very well. I learned well after taking a sip of my niece-in-law Rachel's drink last weekend that she was sick. Strep throat. She got it from my niece, Katie. I'm not necessarily saying she made me sick because my brother is also not feeling well and I don't think he drank after Rachel. I'm hoping I feel better after a good night's sleep.

Before I sleep I will post this picture of the dress I bought last week. I'll be wearing this dress in less than a month (about 26 days, to be exact) when my brother gets married in Las Vegas on August 10th. We leave 25 days from today and I'm starting to get really excited. Ta-da:

I don't usually dig sleeveless things, but it's Vegas. In August. I don't think I need to say more. I love the colors. The price was right. It's fully lined, so no slip is needed. It's comfortable and machine washable. So, what do you think...hot pink toenail polish?

Mode of transportation

2009-05-25T21:36:00.007-05:00

Can you believe I'm posting a blog?!? I cannot fathom it myself. I won't even apologize (again!) for my lack of posts. I'm just going to get on with it.

I have a new mode of transportation, a knee walker. Here I am using it to roll down the hallway at work.

Almost three weeks ago I had surgery on my foot to repair something that was causing me great amounts of pain. One of the bones in my foot was extra-long and it was causing a hammer toe (crazy ass toe or CAT, for short). The toe itself did hurt, but the majority of my pain was on the bottom of my foot where the extra long bone was pressing and doing damage to the soft tissue there. My option for a permanent solution was surgery. The doc I went to was not optimistic that any other treatments would offer any real relief. And since he's been around, like, forever, I chose to believe him. Since Vegas is looming on the horizon in August (more on that in another post) I thought it best to get it done ASAP. That way I'm healed up enough to walk 'til I drop while I'm there. Anyway, I digress. The doctor opened up the top of my toe/foot and sawed off the offending bone. Really. I could hear the saw during surgery since they did a block at my ankle. They also had to shoot me up with local anesthesia because I could still feel when he started to make the incision. I drifted in and out during the entire 45 minute operation. He reattached the sawed-off bone to the adjacent bone with a screw (that will stay in my foot) then he straightened out the CAT and put a pin in to keep it straight while it heals.

Behold:

I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow for removal of the stitches. I'm hopeful that he'll also remove the pin. People who look at it (and maybe you, too) think it hurts. It really doesn't. The stitches are driving me mad, but other than that, it doesn't hurt. The pin sometimes gets bumped on stuff and moved off of center. Since I'm a little OCD (OK, a lot), I've taken to turning it back until it's straight up again. And it really does not hurt. Nobody believes me. Notice my nice pedicure (courtesy of my best pals, Christina and Heather--it was a birthday gift). You can't really tell, but the toe with the pin is the only one that isn't painted. The nurse who checked me in for surgery asked which toe it was and I pointed to my foot and said, "The unpainted one." They all thought that was pretty funny. I just thought it was practical.

I removed all the bandages (mostly) today and was going to take a picture before stitch removal, but that toe looks like a renegade Li'l Smoky that lost a bar fight and had to get stitched up. So I'll wait and take before and after pictures tomorrow at the doctor's office.

I have to admit that zooming from the parking lot to work in the morning is one of my favorite times of the day. I can go faster on the knee walker than I can with my own two feet. But I don't go too fast because I don't want to fall off. It has brakes, but they're more for slowing down than actually stopping quickly.

50 years have come and gone

2009-03-28T19:09:00.016-05:00

Ugh. I'm a terrible blogger! I've had the best of intentions over the past month (or more) to get an updated post on here. While there is no real legitimate excuse, I will say that once I come home from work (usually not before 7 o'clock most nights) I don't feel like sitting in front of the computer trying to compose blog postings. Or being witty. Maybe I'm not witty to begin with, but I do try! I'll try to update you on the past month's goings on, witty or not.

On March 12th my parents, Larry and Sherrie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Such a wonderful milestone and I am in complete awe. It will probably take me at least 50 years to find a husband, so it is very remarkable to me. My dad said it best, though. He said that you just get up everyday and do what you need to do and one day you wake up and it's been 50 years. The point I think he was trying to make is that it didn't seem like 50 years. And time sure does fly. I feel it flying by everyday.

The happy couple on March 12, 1959, outside of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Great Bend, Kansas. Their wedding was only attended by a dozen people.

The happy couple on March 14, 2009, inside St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ellinwood, Kansas, next to the baptismal font. It was the only picture I took that day of just the two of them.

This is my nephew Christopher, who sang a beautiful solo of "The Prayer" during mass, and my brother, Mark. Side note: Christopher is in Mexico right now and before he left on Thursday he sent me a text message that said: "Leaving for Mexico today. Enjoy the blizzard!"

My mom with my cousins Mary and Laura (not sisters, but cousins to each other as well) and Mary's daughter Cassidy.

A self-portrait of me and Zach when we were walking around taking pictures and visiting with people.

Anissa and Katie getting ready to kiss Terri on the cheeks. They all color-coordinated quite nicely, huh?

Paul and Ben (facing camera) talking to my dad. Both of them worked for my dad's business in the late '70s/early '80s, back when the oil boom was going on.

My sister Teresa (second from left) with three of her friends: Lori, Janice and Joanie.

A picture of my whole family in either 1980 or 1981. Front row: my brother-in-law Kenny, Teresa, me and Mark. Back row: Jenny, mom, dad and John.

My whole family in March 2009. We've grown a little. Front row: Jeffrey, Anissa, Katie, Tyler, Mark, Zach, Rachel, Caden and Andrew. Middle row: Jenny, John, Jessica, mom, dad, Terri, Teresa and Kenny. Back row: Fred, Victoria, Kyle, me and Christopher.

Here's to my parents and 50 more years of marriage. Hey, they're young, it could happen!

Lucy's turning 40

2009-02-09T20:47:00.007-06:00

What a lazy blogger I've become. Sorry about that. I have great intentions but consider sleeping and going to work more of a priority than blogging. That's just how it is.

Today, though, I've got something on my mind. Or I should say someone. Five thousand miles away in a small English village called Wantage in the county of Oxfordshire, my friend Lucy is turning 40 years old. I hope she's still sleeping right now as it's 3 a.m. where she lives, but I find myself imagining how she'll celebrate this milestone. Judging from the birthdays I've witnessed in their home, she'll receive cards (probably homemade, which we all know are the best) from her two kids, William and Ellen. I suspect she'll receive an appropriately sappy card from her husband, Ian. Maybe they'll have a special tea (evening meal) at the end of the day. Or there might be a special family party on the weekend with her mum, sister, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephew and niece.

Mostly I'm wishing I could transport myself across the pond and be there for just a small slice of her day. Maybe just to have morning tea with her and a good chat, as she would call it. Or better yet, chatting over a glass of wine in the evening. Not that we'd stop at just one glass. Here's a picture of us before we dug into our strawberries and cream at Wimbledon in 2003.

A little history...
I met Lucy over 15 years ago when I was on a business trip to Holland and England. It was the first time I'd ever been out of the United States and I was petrified. I was to be gone for six weeks and it seemed like an eternity to be away from home. The first week I spent in Amsterdam at a trade show. The next week I was in York, England, with a co-worker, but then it was time for her to go back home. I was left alone in jolly old England for four more weeks learning a computer system from people who didn't want to teach it to me and driving on the wrong side of the road in a rented car. After driving around the city wall in York multiple times the first day with the car, I finally figured out how to drive between work and my temporary flat with no detours.

I remember needing my sunglasses only about three times during that four weeks. Lucy was literally one of the only bright spots of the whole trip. She was the only person who asked how I was while I was on my own in England. She would stop in the office where they had me set up and ask if I needed anything and would inevitably end up staying to talk a bit each time.

Lucy asked me to attend a bonfire night celebration with her and her family in their small hometown of Boston Spa while I was there. It was held on a Saturday night and the invitation included dinner with her family and then taking in a fireworks show. That's how they celebrate the plot to blow up Parliament...by shooting off fireworks. I had such a good time that night and felt very much at home among her family and friends, even though I was the token American in the bunch. We're very similar people, Lucy and I, and out of the whole world we met by chance. But I've always felt it was divine intervention.

I have wonderful friends right here in Wichita and all over this country, but Lucy and I have a special bond. We've been friends for 15 years, but have physically been in the same place only nine times. And each time we're together it's like we've never been apart. We pick right back up where we left off. It's easier now with e-mail and the internet, but even before that we wrote letters the old-fashioned way. I still have every piece of mail she's ever sent me.

Here's a picture of William, Ellen, Lucy and Ian on a trip to the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson when they last visited in 2005. A trip to the Cosmosphere and taking this picture have both become tradition when they visit. They're very good sports to pose for me like this!

To the left is a picture Lucy sent me last week of the kids with the snowman they made. They actually had a snow day and didn't have to attend school, which is a rare event for them.

I feel very fortunate to be able to call Lucy my friend. I'm terrible at getting things in the mail early enough for her to actually have them on Christmas or birthdays (something she's very good at) but this post will have to act as my card to her.

Here's to our friendship, I cherish it every day. Live long, my friend. And live well. May we see each other again soon. I wish it with all my heart.

Very special quilts

2009-01-19T14:40:00.008-06:00

This quilt was made for me by my great-grandma Jones (she was my mom's grandma). Mom can't remember whether she made it for me when I was a baby or for my dolls, but she made it for me either way. On my last trip to Ellinwood, a little over a week ago, my mom gave me this quilt to bring back to my house. She had come across it looking for something else and isn't that always how it works. I love this quilt. It's a very simple pattern with regular squares, but the colors are beautiful and my favorite part are the stitches. Here's a closer look at it.

You can't tell very well from this picture, either, but the stitches are what my mom called "chicken feet" stitches. I've seen other things that grandma Jones did and she used these stitches a lot. This quilt now has a place of honor on the quilt rack in my bedroom, along with the Sunbonnet Sue quilt my grandma Holl (my mom's mother and grandma Jones's daughter) made for me.

Someday I'll post pictures of the quilts I've made. Hopefully they'll be as special to those I've made them for as these are to me.

Three months and counting

2009-01-03T14:35:00.001-06:00

Well, it's officially 2009. For those of us born in the magical year of 1969 it's time to turn 40 years old. My birthday is three months from yesterday (it's April 2) and I'm dreading it a little bit. It's not like it's ruling my life or anything, but it's a milestone. And with milestones come reflection. I've been reflective these past couple of days.

As my devoted blog readers know, I've been getting little gifts from my family (although everyone denies it) since April of last year. See this blog, this blog and this blog for more information on the gifts I've gotten. The past couple of months, the birthday fairies have left more things for me. I will share those now.

In November while at my mom and dad's house, I received a bag of Happy Birthday Hershey's Kisses. The significance of the Kisses goes back a long way. When I was a kid, my grandpa (dad's dad) would bring me Hershey Kisses anytime I was sick. He said they were medicine and they'd help me feel better soon. He was a chocoholic and loved Kisses. He never brought a whole bag or anything, but five or six at a time, maybe everyday that I was home from school. I remember it most when I was sick for a week with the chicken pox when I was a freshman in high school. The fact that I got this bag of Kisses in November may have been planned, but the significance of it was not lost on me. My grandpa died in November of 1988 and it was the first death in the family that I was old enough to remember (my mom's dad died when I was two). Grandpa's death left a huge hole in our family and I still miss him 20 years later. Right before the funeral, my sisters and I put some Kisses under the pillow in his coffin. When I pay my respects at the cemetery, I don't take flowers for grandpa's grave, I take Hershey Kisses. I line them up on the headstone and I know that somewhere he's laughing and slapping his knee like he always did when he was alive.

The next gift arrived (coincidentally) right after my sister Teresa was at my house in late November. I got a bag with three pair of underwear (the granny-panty kind although they're pretty colors) and some Poise pads. The note says "For those times when laughing may cause you to wee your knickers...Always be prepared!" This is going to be embarrassing and I'm not sure why, but I'm going to share the story anyway.

The summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college, my sister Jenny and I went on a trip. We flew to Boston and spent several days with a high school friend of Jenny's who lived on an army base with her family in Natick, Massachusetts. We toured that area and then hopped on the Amtrak and went down to New York for a couple of days. New York was interesting for us, but that will have to be in another post sometime. The Poise pads and underwear are related to our time after NYC.

After those two days and nights in New York, we boarded the Amtrak again and went south to Washington, D.C. Neither one of us had been to the area before and only had one full day to see what we wanted to see. So we started bright and early that August morning and walked from one side of our map to the other. We went from the Capitol building down along the reflecting pools to the Washington Monument and then continued to the Lincoln Memorial and right across the bridge and into Arlington National Cemetery. As we were walking around the base of the Monument, Jenny was pondering her map then she said, "It says the Washington Monument is supposed to be here, but I don't see it." She was really disappointed. I looked at her, thinking she was joking, but she wasn't. I told her to look up. She argued with me about whether or not it was the actual Washington Monument. She finally (grudgingly) agreed that it could be. Later in the day, we bought some drinks in souvenir cups and they had pictures of all the D.C. landmarks. What do you know, the Washington Monument was on it! I razzed her about this all day. I couldn't believe she didn't know what it was. After we watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, we filled our souvenir cups with water from one of the spigots that are typically in cemeteries for the purpose of putting water in the flowers mourners bring. We had to jump a fence, but we got our water. More laughter ensued because by this time we'd walked all the way across our map and we were tired, sweaty and punchy. Then we discovered the subway system in Washington, D.C. Tired and weary, we boarded the train and started making our way back to our hotel. We ended the evening by eating Chinese food at a restaurant across the street from our hotel. It had definitely been a long day. When we got back to our room, we called our parents to let them know we were all right and had survived touring the area. I was talking to my mom, telling her about our conversation at the base of the Washington Monument and I was laughing so hard I could barely talk. Tears were streaming down my face when I suddenly realized I hadn't gone to the bathroom all day. And by then it was too late. I threw the phone at Jenny and made haste to the bathroom, but it really was too late. The laughter had been the last straw. Now Jenny was laughing so hard she couldn't talk, but managed to relate the story to mom, who was confused at all the chaos and laughter. After the trauma of the wetting incident and exhausted from the day's sightseeing, I laid down to sleep. Apparently (this is according to Jenny) I was snoring so loudly that she had to move closer to the television to hear it. But I'm not sure I believe that. After all, she didn't even know what the Washington Monument looked like!

Christmas came and went

2008-12-30T21:33:00.018-06:00

I have struggled this year to get everything done. Not just blogging, but everything. It's weird because I had six months with no job and still have not completed tasks I thought I would have finished. The month of December has been a complete blur. I'll recap as best I can and try to be a better blogger in 2009. I've missed posting. Honest. And I pledge to do better than the three posts I've managed to do this month. Shameful.

One of the Christmas celebrations (we've already had three and will still have another) we had at work was a luncheon hosted by Bishop Michael Jackels. It started with a mass at the Spiritual Life Center and then we had a delicious meal catered by Corporate Caterers. Bishop Jackels served me wine and then coffee before I pushed back from the table. He has a great sense of humor and I had a great time at the luncheon. Here's a photo of the Bishop serving coffee to Michael who's the director of the counseling center and the Marriage for Keeps program.

Just in case you were wondering, I didn't win one of the poinsettias that were on the tables. Also, I'd completed my hours when this luncheon was over, so I didn't have to go back to work that Friday afternoon.

Christmas preparations were late for me this year. The tree didn't get lit and decorated until about a week before the holiday. Jennifer and Bella helped me decorate. A three-year-old's decorating sense is wonderfully refreshing! I managed to make about 10 dozen sugar cookies and five loaves of English muffin bread this year in addition to wrapping my gifts, trimming the tree, writing the Christmas letter (they just got mailed this week) and packing up to go see my family. I decorated some of the cookies for friends and co-workers, but my family has been trained by me to frost their own cookies. Pretty smart, huh?

Zach was definitely the star of the show at my family's Christmas Eve celebration. Andrew, Rachel and Caden were with Rachel's family in Missouri, so we were without his antics. Zach kept us plenty entertained on his behalf. I'm already excited for next year when they'll both be two years old. I've got some pictures of other people, but the ones of Zach are by far my favorite. Without further adieu...

He walked all around the house in one of my dad's boots until he lost interest and focused on the platter of cookies and goodies my sister Teresa brought. Dig the Santa suit!

And he helped grandma eat some of her birthday cake. Or more specifically the frosting on her birthday cake.

Lynette, John, Jenny and Mark tear into their presents.

When Zach opened his presents he wanted to play with them immediately. He looked at or played with each thing before he moved on to open the next present. Especially the books. Notice how he's using Jessica's legs as a book rest while she continues opening her gifts. The whole living room is filled with people and chaos, yet Zach is looking at his book.

Some of the chaos at the other end of the room included Christopher and Frank (sitting on the floor), Teresa, Katie, Kyle, Victoria and Jeffrey. You can also see Anissa's head on the right side of the picture.

After things calmed down a bit, Christopher and Victoria worked on a teapot puzzle that Teresa got from Jenny. Teresa said: "I don't do fuzzles. I mean puzzles." We all agree she should do puzzles instead of sending out forwarded email messages.

Mark and Jeffrey enjoyed looking at one of Zach's new books. Mark had to work the morning of Christmas Eve and he comes over right after getting out of his truck, that's why he has on his work jeans.

Mid-December update

2008-12-14T13:18:00.010-06:00

Last weekend Caden was here for a few hours while his mom and dad went out shopping. He was taking a nap when they left, but woke up because he had pooped himself. After the diaper change, we played.

Earlier in the day last Sunday, I was one of the teachers for the preschoolers at my church. We had a visit from a very special guest while we were working on a poinsettia project for the bulletin board.

I had dinner that night with my friends Kathleen, Laurie, Joyce and Jennifer. Sorry, no pictures of us or our food.

On Wednesday evening, I attended my book club's annual Christmas party. The wine, the food and my dining companions were impeccable as were the festive decorations and Bonnie's recently remodeled kitchen. We had our customary book exchange, but this time enacted an unlimited steal rule. It worked out in my favor. I had to steal it twice, but I walked away with this bag knitted by Amy (she used it as the gift bag) along with the book "Pride and Prejudice"!

I've been incredibly busy with work lately. This weekend has been spent mostly helping with the Christmas Sharing event that Catholic Charities does for the low-income families in the area. The families are able to come and pick out gifts for their children, get some non-perishable food products and browse a thrift shop where all the items are FREE. Friday I spent my time gift-wrapping their gifts. Last night we also had a holiday get-together for the couples in the program where I work and I helped get set up for that. Consequently, I have only gotten my house partially decorated for Christmas. That changes today. I'm working on decorating and making a list of presents I have yet to purchase. And I need to write my Christmas letter. So many things, so little time!

Thanksgiving news

2008-12-04T20:59:00.006-06:00

The big news from my Thanksgiving vacation is that Zach's mommy and daddy are getting married!

This was not Zach's reaction to the news. He was pretty mellow about it, really. Take note that he is sitting on this tractor backwards. It's got this storage compartment under the actual seat, but he likes to open that and sit on the steering wheel. And every now and then while he's sitting on there it honks at him. It's pretty funny.

But back to the reason for this post. Apparently Mark and Terri decided a couple of weeks ago to get hitched, but waited for the Black Friday sale to buy the ring. Little did I know that's what Terri was going shopping for at 4 a.m. Friday morning while I was at their house with Zach. Mark had to work, but he went to JC Penney's in Great Bend first to see and buy the ring. And what a ring it is. It's a stunning two carat engagement band and the wedding bands add another carat or two. That's a huge amount of bling on Terri's left hand! She's very deserving of it for having put up with my brother for at least eight years! Here's a picture of it on Terri's hand just hours after purchase. Sorry for the poor picture quality. That's my fault and not the fault of the jewelry.

You can't tell from this picture, but in addition to the three large diamonds on top (that she says signify her, Mark and Zach), there are channel-set diamonds along the sides of the ring. It's very pretty. As it stands right now they'll get married in a small private ceremony in August and then have a big party for everybody a couple of days later. I'm so glad that I will be able to officially call Terri my sister-in-law, since that's what I've been calling her for a while now!

50 years of welding

2008-11-28T16:47:00.000-06:00

Earlier this month my family celebrated my dad's 50th anniversary of being a welder. The sign below was courtesy of my nieces, Jessica and Victoria, who are my brother John's daughters. They ran out of time to make "welding" pretty.

Dad started working for Tom Tomberlin (yes, that was really his name) at Tom's Welding Service in Ellinwood when he was a green 18-year-old back in November of 1958, just months before he married my mom. That's where he learned the ins and outs of being an oilfield welder. After 13 years, dad left his job at Tom's and started his own business at my parents' home south of Ellinwood, with my mom as his bookkeeper and business partner, even though to my knowledge she's never welded one bit.

When I was a kid, his business expanded by leaps and bounds from that first shop, which was the size of a two-car garage, to accommodate the surge in drilling for oil in the area. Dad bought some adjacent land and built a bigger shop. He turned the old shop into an office for him to do his paperwork. He hired a professional artist to come and paint lettering on the side of the new shop, so "Larry's Welding Service" could easily be seen from the highway a quarter of a mile away to help guide delivery drivers to the yard. It's been touched-up once, but it's still leading people to the shop. At the height of the '80s oil boom, he employed eight people. And they either built from scratch or renovated several drilling rigs during that time. He was featured in the local newspaper. It seemed there was constant activity in the yard.

My childhood memories include the fact that dad was gone overnight sometimes while doing surface jobs. These jobs meant that he would weld the long pieces of pipe together as the drilling company laid the surface pipe for the oil well. They have to drill enough pipe down into the ground to reach the oil deposit, which is a different distance at each site, depending on the geology of the area. This is an important step in the drilling process and although I never got to accompany him on any of these jobs (I'm sure I asked) I know he is a master at his craft.

Then the oil business fell on hard times. All of the employees left for various other jobs (one of them is a big, successful executive at an auditing firm in Dallas now) including my brothers, because there wasn't enough work to keep them busy. After that dad was on his own and usually had enough jobs from local farmers and the oilfield to keep him busy. He was frequently visited by various friends who kept him company while he worked on something for them or who just stopped by to chew the fat. This still goes on, although some of those friends have since passed away. One of the things that's kept his business intact through thick and thin is the integrity he possesses. He's a fair and honest businessman and that's what keeps his customers coming back year after year.

To the left is a picture of my dad taken earlier this month. He's standing next to one of his lathes. Watching him do lathe work is fascinating because of the precision that's required. I also love the piles of metal shavings lathe work produces (photo at right).

About eight years ago, my brother John lost his job as an engineer of front-end loaders when Great Bend Manufacturing closed its doors. He began working with my dad at that time in the hopes that someday dad will want to retire and John will take over the business. Dad turned 68 years old this year and he is far from retired, although he's talked about it some. He also happily lets John do all of the surface jobs these days. Currently Larry's Welding Service employs three full-time employees (including my dad) and two part-time employees (including my mom). The recent boom in the oilfield industry has kept them extremely busy in the past couple of years.

Occasionally mom and dad take little trips to either come to Wichita or to visit my sister Jenny and her family in Oakley. Sometimes they leave for a couple of weeks and drive to California to visit my mom's aunt, but that big of a trip doesn't happen more than once every two years. The biggest concession he's made toward retirement is taking a daily nap after eating lunch until it's time to go back to work at one o'clock.

Dad's worked hard and deserves to sit back and relax, but I get the feeling he doesn't know what he'd do with himself if he retired. Plus, I imagine it would be really hard since the business he and my mom built from the ground up is just outside the house. And I suppose 50-year-old habits do die hard.

Much like the importance of getting the surface laid properly to insure the integrity and success of an oil well, dad's built a good foundation of something that will carry on into subsequent generations. The second generation is already in place and I'm very proud of what my parents have accomplished.

Out with the old

2008-11-23T11:12:00.007-06:00

For the past two weeks I've been pretty scarce on the blogging scene, but it's all been for a good reason. My new job has kept me plenty busy even though I'm to keep my hours to 40 per week. I've been putting in longer hours toward the beginning of the week (perfectly OK with my new boss, Lori) and then taking some time off on Friday to reward myself. The job is still wonderful and even though it's a little overwhelming at times I think it's going quite well.

Along with starting a new job, I also became the owner of a brand new washer and dryer. Once I had a job secured, I knew that I needed to take some money out of savings to make this big purchase. My 15-year-old washing machine was not agitating anymore and that was agitating me. It means I was doing smaller loads to make sure the clothes came clean. And that's a pain.

Out with the old Whirlpool models...and in with the new Maytag Centennial models.

Notice the clear lid on the washing machine. Also, we had to move the dryer away from the wall because it's a bit deeper than the old one and the door to the laundry area wouldn't close otherwise. But the most amazing thing (I didn't even know this when I purchased them) is that there's a light in the dryer! Now I don't have to search blindly to see if I've gotten everything out.

For some reason, laundry isn't such a chore anymore.

I've been tagged!

2008-11-17T13:25:00.002-06:00

My friend Lori tagged me in her blog, so I give to you my response. Sorry I'm so late to the party!

Here are the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write 6 random things about yourself.
Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things about me:
1. One of my very best friends is British and lives in Wantage, a village not far from Oxford in jolly old England. Lucy and her husband, Ian, and kids William and Ellen, live 5000 miles away from me, but when we're together every three or four years, we pick right up like we saw each other last week. Lucy and I have been friends since October of 1993. Wow, I guess we just celebrated 15 years of friendship! And we've only physically been in the same place nine different times for various spans. I plan to post a longer blog about our friendship at a later date.

2. I just started a new job with Catholic Charities and I love it! I'm a Family Recruitment & Intake Specialist with the Marriage for Keeps program. It's exhausting learning the ins and outs of a new job, but I'm so excited about it and I haven't been excited about my job in a long time.

3. Recently I joined Weight Watchers for the second time. I struggle with my weight all the time and it's time I did something about it. I'm trying to lose at least 40 pounds before I'm 40. I still have almost five months to do it. Keep me in line if you see me about to eat something dripping with calories, but be gentle about it.

4. During my time off between jobs I got some things done around my house. Lots of cleaning and organizing. I'm still working on the computer/sewing room, but it's coming along. I need to get it finished so I can start working on some Christmas sewing projects.

5. I am addicted to way too much television. Some shows I watch religiously: Grey's Anatomy, America's Next Top Model, ER, Dancing with the Stars, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives (even though they did the 5-year fast-forward) and The Starter Wife. It's going to be hard to keep up with everything since I've started my new job. I might have to drop a few. Thank goodness for TiVo.

6. My parents are coming for a visit this week. I'm looking forward to having the company. Mom comes once a month for painting (September through May) but dad doesn't always come along. This time he's got errands, so he's coming. Luckily with my new flexible schedule, I'll be able to come home earlier since I'm working longer hours Monday and Tuesday. Definitely a bonus!

I'm tagging:
Heather
Linda
Jennifer
Robyn
Lori
Jill

This one's for you, Mom

2008-11-10T18:03:00.004-06:00

My mother has always been a picture-taker on the first day of school. She requested I take a photo of myself on my first day of work, so this is a self-portrait snapped this morning at about 8:15 as I arrived for "Within Our Reach" training at Newman University. My first day was great. Bacon for breakfast at the training and I met a lot of the other people I'll be working with on a daily basis. They are all friendly and helpful and much younger than I am.

The training was pretty good, but I'm looking forward to Thursday afternoon when training concludes and I'll be able to sit at my new workspace and log into the system for the first time. I'm trying to decide which pictures I'll display and what pen/pencil holder to take for my desk. I'm sure these are exactly the things Barack Obama was thinking when he toured the White House today with his family.

It's official, I've filled out all the forms

2008-11-07T21:10:00.004-06:00

I got a job! I was offered the position of Family Recruitment Specialist with the Marriage for Keeps program a couple of weeks ago. Marriage for Keeps is a research program under the umbrella of Catholic Charities whose mission is to strengthen the relationships of married couples who have children. The hope is that if the marriage is stronger, the family will be stronger.

I'm really excited about this opportunity to do something totally different from anything I've ever done before. I have taken a pretty substantial pay cut, but I feel so fortunate to have found a job I anticipate I will love in this crazy economy. I will primarily be doing intake of the couples who commit to the 12-week program. It all became very real today when I went for a short orientation and then filled out all the paperwork that new employees have to fill out. I'd forgotten how many things there are to sign. Next week I'll be in training for four days, but after that I'll get keys to the building and start learning how to manage the intake process. For now at least, I'll share an office with Nikki that actually has windows! After 10 years of cubicle living with limited access to windows that faced outside, that's a real bonus in my book.

Book club at the Arboretum

2008-10-29T14:42:00.011-05:00

A couple of weeks ago (I'm a slow blogger) my book club met at the Bartlett Arboretum. Robin, one of our members, is the proprietress of the Arb and graciously hosts the October meeting so we can enjoy the surroundings. It is such a relaxing, not to mention beautiful, place. Here are some of my favorite snaps from the day.

Suzanne and Tara, two of my carpool buddies.

Suzanne prepares to take pictures of herself while twirling.

My twirling self-portrait.

The group discusses the book "Twilight" and the brand new Spirit Stick Book Club blog.

Lemon hat

2008-10-26T19:16:00.008-05:00

I got this gift quite a while ago, in fact on my last trip to Ellinwood to see the family. It's another one of the long list of things I've gotten to commemorate my upcoming 40th birthday. To see what else I've gotten, click here and here. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think I've done it. Those who are responsible for the gifts, you will have to correct me if I'm wrong.

Summer vacations when I was a kid were few and far between. My dad is self-employed and getting away was always a bit of a challenge, not to mention that money was sometimes very tight with five kids in the house. But when we did go somewhere, it was usually to Colorado. My dad always drove. Window rolled down. Left arm resting on the door of the car. His arm always got incredibly sunburned on those summer vacations. I believe this story comes from the summer of 1978, but again, someone will have to correct me if that's not right.

I was nine, but since my siblings are so much older than I am, they were all busy with summer jobs. It was to be the last summer my oldest sister, Teresa, would go on a family vacation because she got married the next summer. On the drive out to Colorado, Teresa punched me in the nose for no reason. My mom was quick with the camera (she'd actually remembered it on this trip, usually she forgot the camera) and she snapped a picture of me after the punch, obviously shaken and surprised. And then she got a picture of Teresa after the punch, clearly jubilant and celebratory. I wish I had them to post but I don't. That's how the trip started.

Later on that trip, Teresa and I felt there was some unjust occurrence between our parents and ourselves. I can't even remember why we were mad at them. I do know that it was after a stop at a Sonic or similar drink stand along the way. Our method of annoying them and making them pay for whatever transgressions they'd carried out against us was to eat the lemon wedges out of our drinks. For some reason we thought this would teach them a lesson to never cross us again. We laughed and giggled for a long time in the backseat of that Thunderbird while our faces reacted to the sourness of the lemons.

Good times.

Whirlwind OKC trip

2008-10-21T14:05:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday my sister Teresa, niece Katie and I went to Oklahoma City to visit my nephew Christopher and go see "Rocky Horror Show" at the Lyric Theatre. Christopher was the costume master for the show and out of all the variations of the show I've ever seen, these costumes were the best. I even knew some of the cast members, so that always makes it more fun.

Before the show, we went out for lunch with Christopher at Iguana Mexican Grill. Excellent food. We got the queso and it was served in this dish shaped like Oklahoma.

Also, the salsa was to die for. Seriously the tastiest I've ever had. I snapped this picture of Katie and Christopher before we left the restaurant. Aren't they cute?

Aside from a choking incident by the driver (me) on the way back to Wichita that night, the day was fantastic.

I won!

2008-10-13T14:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the Altar Society at my church had their biggest fundraiser of the year, Quilt Bingo. There were 20 quilts that people won (not me) by playing bingo. I never get any good bingo cards. Ever. But there was also this beautiful queen size quilt in blues, yellows and neutrals that was given away in a raffle. This year I only bought $5 in tickets because of the whole jobless thing and I won the raffle quilt! I couldn't believe it. I was helping to sell bingo cards and was outside in the hallway at my station when they called my name. I got several high-fives on my way through the room.

I think this means my luck is changing for the better. A job is just around the corner, I can feel it.

I found a pair

2008-10-13T12:04:00.004-05:00

Of shoes on West River Boulevard, that is. Usually I only see one shoe which makes me wonder what happened to the other. But this time it was a pair. And that was weird enough for me to stop and take a picture.

Recycling

2008-10-11T10:26:00.006-05:00

This week I went to the recycling center all by myself! Inspired by my friend Jennifer, I purchased some plastic containers several weeks ago and started my own recycling program. All it cost was the money for the containers and my gas down to the Pro Kansas Miller Recycling Center in south Wichita, which only has to be done every month or so. This is a picture of me in the car waiting in line with my stuff in the back seat.

Once inside, it didn't take long to distribute my recyclables into the various bins. Here's a shot of other people doing the same thing.

It's a busy place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, since that's the only time during the week that it's open. It's also open on Saturdays from 9 to 3, and I would imagine it's a lot more crowded then. It doesn't cost much to get started, but the feeling of knowing that I'd done something good for the environment this week was priceless.

Zach's nighttime rituals

2008-10-04T16:34:00.011-05:00

Part of my trip to Ellinwood to see the family included spending an evening with Zach and his parents, Mark and Terri. When I pulled up to their house, I could see Zach in his high chair eating his supper. He saw me and I opened my car door and waved to him. He enthusiastically waved back. It's so nice to have that unconditional love and have someone be happy to see me since lately it's been rejection letters or non-communication from potential employers. I needed that so much.

I got to observe Zach's bath, which was pretty funny. Like most kids, he sure enjoys running around naked. I chased him back into the bathroom after he escaped. Notice how he's checking to see if I'm behind him. He likes to splash around in the water and play with his toys, but he likes to be squirted with the shower attachment the best.

Once his bath is finished, his daddy comes to get him and dries him off and gets him ready for bed. After he's in his jammies, they go through the ritual of turning on his night lights and asking his bear on the lamp that grandma painted for him to watch over Zach as he sleeps. Sweet. They end the evening with Zach getting his milk fix and then crawling onto the couch with daddy for a few minutes before they both retire for the night.

Notice that Mark's clothes are lying on the couch behind them. He gets up for work very early so he lays his clothes out ahead of time.

The painting house arrives

2008-10-04T00:25:00.005-05:00

Monday morning just after the fog and cloudiness had burned off, my mom's painting house arrived. She ordered an outdoor building to house her painting things so that it will free up room in their house. It was made to her specifications by a company near Hutchinson. On the right are the blocks before the house was set in place. On the left the delivery guy was turning around to get the trailer into position. That's my dad you can see in the picture.

Once he got into position, he made that trailer do things I would have thought impossible. It could go forward, backward, sideways and crossways independent of the pickup. And he did most of it via a remote control. It was truly amazing. It took only about an hour from start to finish and the last-minute tweaking he did to get it set correctly on the foundation blocks.

This was my mom going into her new little painting house for the first time. I have to admit it's really quite adorable with the white paint and the red trim.

The building is unfinished inside, but once the sheet rock goes up and the electricity hook-up is complete, it will be a nice place for her to paint and house all her surplus china, of which she has a ton. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished inside someday.

A much-needed change of scenery

2008-10-04T00:10:00.006-05:00

I spend a lot of time in my house during these unemployed days. Don't get me wrong. I love my house and being in it does not make me unhappy. But I needed to get away from these walls for a couple of days and look at something different. A trip to Ellinwood to see my family seemed in order. I needed a family fix. And boy, did I get one!

My first order of business upon arriving was to attend the cake and ice cream party for my niece Katie's 19th birthday. Even though she got a promise ring from her boyfriend, Frank, they both assured us that marriage is a long way down the road for them. Like after they've graduated from college (they're both freshmen) and have jobs. I hope they do wait so my brother-in-law Kenny won't have a coronary. She's still his little girl and he's not ready to watch her walk down that aisle just yet. Me either. Teresa (her mom) made her a red velvet cake, but some people preferred the store-bought decorated white cake. In this picture her big brother Andrew is messing with her.

The next day I spent some time with Terri and Zach when they stopped by my mom and dad's house. Then I went with my parents to the St. Joseph's parish picnic. It's not really a picnic, but a catered affair. We dined on fried chicken (one of my dad's all-time favorites), mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beens and bread. The catering was done by a place in Hudson, Kansas, called the Wheatland Cafe. They do a very good job. I sat with my cousin Jason, his wife Heather and their two kids, Ethan and Madisyn (pictured at right). After the meal when the kids were outside playing games, I got sidelined into a couple of games of pitch with the older folks.

My card-playing pals: Joy, Karen, Lorene, Gilbert who didn't play, Rachel and Paul.

Razzleberry casualty

2008-10-03T23:54:00.005-05:00

I'm sad to report that last Thursday (yes, I'm a week late posting this) when I hosted book club at my house, the razzleberry pie that Tara brought ended up on the floor. It looked absolutely divine, but my kitchen filled with people and the pie ended up sliding onto the floor. The razzleberry color actually makes the carpet look better, I think. As you can see from this picture, Tara's shoe was also a casualty and Suzanne looked on with shock as they waited for my reaction. I laughed hysterically because I really do hate that carpet. And Tara's shoes? Well, she threw them in the trash because she said they were uncomfortable anyway.

One of the highlights of the night for me was receiving flowers from Bonnie. They are a beautiful purple color, which fits in nicely with my colorful house. I enjoyed them here for a couple of days and then took them with me to my parents house so my mom and I could enjoy them there. Dad tolerates but doesn't really enjoy flowers.

We all liked the book "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. And some of us even loved it. I especially loved the detailed descriptions of the Nebraska countryside and identified with the small-town aspects of the book.

Starbucks in miniature

2008-09-19T13:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday morning I stopped for a grande iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks and much to my surprise and delight, they had just whipped up a sample tray of the pumpkin spice frappuccino. They serve their samples in these super-cute tiny cups with a super-cute tiny straw. The frappuccino was underwhelming, but I felt like I won the lottery for just a couple of minutes.

A horse of a different color

2008-09-18T13:14:00.009-05:00

I may have forgotten to mention in my first 40th birthday post that as I get these gifts I'm to tell the story behind them. If I get them in a group (like the rooster magnet I got while vacationing in Montana), I have to tell the story right there. But this latest gift was left on my porch in a gift bag last week. I found it shortly after my sister, Jenny, had been here for an overnight stay. Coincidence? I don't think so. But nobody's taking credit yet. If you have no idea what I'm talking about but want to know, click here.

Anyway, here's a picture of the gift and then the story of the horse. The note taped to the package said, "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Ned's we go!"

Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my aunt Ruthie and uncle Ed's house. Their kids were more my age than my own siblings. Scott, Mike and Danny were my most frequent playmates as a child. Scott is two and a half years older than I am, Mike is almost a year older, Danny is a couple of years younger, and Jason was born about a month before my tenth birthday. When Ruthie didn't have us doing chores (she was the master of the Chore List, especially on Saturday mornings), we were playing "Jacques Cousteau" or "school" or "church" (I was never the priest) or "house" (I was always the mom). Some of my favorite memories include being at their farm, which at the time was where their grandparents, Susie and Pete, and uncle Paul lived.

On the farm, they had a horse named Tonka and he didn't look anything like the horse pictured above. He was light-colored and was a pretty mild-mannered and tame horse, but he had his moments. I loved riding him because it was different and exciting to be on horseback. Once when I rode him, Mike saddled him up for me. He didn't get the saddle cinched tightly enough around Tonka's belly. We got as far as the driveway (which isn't that far from the barn) when the saddle slid sideways. And so did I. Once I fell off (I clung to the saddle horn for a long time before I finally gave up and landed on the ground), I looked back and all three of the boys were standing behind me doubled over in laughter. I was not happy. After they quit their guffawing, they finally cinched it up tight enough and I went on my ride.

Another time, the boys and I had just returned from a week of summer church camp and I was out at their house after a brief visit at home with my own family. I wanted to ride Tonka, as I did every time I went to the farm. Someone finally saddled him up for me and I got on to ride. As luck would have it, Tonka hadn't been ridden in several weeks. He was ready to run and no amount of coaxing with the reins convinced him to slow down. I was bounced around in the saddle and terrified of falling off when he finally slowed down and allowed me to have him stop. By that time I was over a mile away at the nearest neighbor's house. That would be where Ned and his parents lived. Ned was the scary neighbor who embodied all the stereotypes of a hillbilly. Once I got Tonka stopped, I got off and stood for a moment weighing my options. I decided to hold the reins and walk him back to the farm.

I'm sure I rode him again after that, but I don't remember. I probably haven't been on a horse since I last rode Tonka. I'll have to ask what eventually happened to him, I don't recall if he was sold or given away. It's rare that I visit the farm when I go back home. Every once in a while I get the urge to ride a horse again, but then my childhood memories come to the surface and I change my mind.

Girls rule at Cranium

2008-09-15T23:19:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday my niece Katie and her boyfriend Frank came for a visit. They drove in from Emporia where they're both freshmen this fall. They were in need of a "get away from Emporia" weekend and apparently didn't want to head to Ellinwood, so they showed up on my doorstep. They didn't even bring toothbrushes, the spontaneous knuckleheads! We headed over to Heather and Justin's for dinner. Heather's cheesy potatoes, bacon-laced green beans and pork loin were a big hit with the dorm crowd. And me, too. I brought dessert and Gage enjoyed the blue frosting teeth he got from eating the cake.

After we ate, we played a game of Cranium, girls against boys. The boys were defeated handily by the girls, but you'll have to see Heather's blog for photos of the defeat.

You remember in the movie "Miss Congeniality" that her talent is making music with glasses filled to different levels with water? Well, I've never seen anyone do that in person until Saturday night. When Justin started making music with Heather's wine glass, stuff almost came out my nose. He gave Katie, Frank and I a lesson and let us all have a turn making the glass sing. Katie and Frank were good at it right away, but it took me some time to get it right. Don't try it with a cheap wine glass, it has to actually be crystal in order for it to work. Everybody else probably already knew this. I did not. Something else I can add to my resume.

Thanks for the good food, good wine and good times.

Cow Chip Queen

2008-09-15T23:07:00.006-05:00

Last Wednesday, my friend Kathleen and I worked a three-hour evening shift at the Kansas State Fair in the Newman University booth. Before we worked at the booth, we met her mom and a couple of her mom's fellow Red Hat friends at the beer garden inside the fairgrounds. Her mom had been at the fair all day with the Red Hats since it was their special day at the fair. One of the activities was a cow chip throwing contest which Kathleen's mom, Lovella, won by wide margin. Here she is with her winner's ribbon and the winning cow chip.

Lovella says she's bronzing the cow chip, and as she said this Kathleen's dad did a big eye roll. It was quite enjoyable to meet Kathleen's folks along with Lovella's friends Thelma and Louise. I kid. Louise was only her middle name, her first name was actually Georgia. But I preferred calling her Louise for some strange reason. We (all but Thelma) made our way over to the Cottonwood building, where some of us dined on delicious chicken and noodles. The cow chip came with us, but Lovella kept it in the plastic bag while we ate.

Caden comes to visit

2008-09-15T22:40:00.007-05:00

It's been a busy week and a half around here. Sorry for the lack of posts. There's really no excuse, just didn't feel much like posting. But this one's for you, Teresa.

The weekend after Labor Day, I had some family visitors. Caden and his mom and dad (Rachel and Andrew) came to stay at my house Saturday night. They brought their two dogs, Copper and Zeke. Zeke is a new addition to the family. He's a puppy who's at least part lab that someone found. He's been abused and has the evidence of that on his head. When Andrew brought him home, Rachel couldn't say no to him staying. Caden got to try out some of the toys I recently bought at a garage sale, including a green tractor that a little boy removed all the stickers from. But that's probably good, because Caden's dad and grandpa only have red tractors.

Caden had scrambled eggs, toast and peaches for breakfast. He's an incredibly good eater. And he does love him some milk.

After a night in a strange house, he was ready to load up the dogs and go home. Here's a picture of Zeke, the newest addition to the family. Could you say no to this face? I didn't think so.

I hope they come back again soon. It seems they were only here for a few minutes and then they were gone again. Don't tell Copper I didn't post any pictures of him this time. He doesn't want anybody to think he likes Zeke, but I saw them playing in my backyard when he thought no one was looking.

A final for the ages

2008-09-04T12:30:00.000-05:00

This photo says it all for me. Back in July I watched one of the best tennis matches I'll probably ever see. For a tennis fanatic like myself it was a thing of beauty. The Wimbledon men's final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal didn't finish until almost 9:30 p.m. local time. Centre Court at Wimbledon doesn't have any overhead lights, so Nadal accepted the trophy in darkness right after the match. Roger Federer was seeking an unprecedented sixth straight Wimbledon title this year. And Rafa scratched his way to a win in a five-set epic match over Federer on his third try in as many years. While I have no qualms about the tennis prowess of Roger, I love to see Rafa play. Not only is he a buff Spaniard who's pretty easy on the eyes, he's an awesome player. He plays his heart out on every point no matter who is across the net and when he does lose he doesn't give any excuses. I'm in awe of his play for a couple of reasons, but the main one is that he plays left-handed. He does everything else in his life right-handed, but for tennis he's a lefty. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to switch after playing with his right hand for years. But now, how can anybody question the brilliance of that move? Rafa won his quarterfinal match against American Mardy Fish early this morning in the US Open draw. I'm still cheering for Andy Roddick, the only American left in the draw now, but I can't help being awed by the game of Nadal.

My 40th birthday

2008-08-31T21:05:00.001-05:00

It's tradition in my family to relentlessly torture each other prior to the milestone 40th birthday and follow it up with a surprise birthday party. When my oldest sister Teresa turned 40 about nine years ago, we took it to the limit. I'm not sure how it all came about, but we started anonymously sending her note cards each month on the sixth (her birthday is August 6) of each month counting down until she turned 40. We started this 18 months before her birthday. Overkill? Perhaps.

When Teresa's 40th birthday rolled around, it was on a Friday. For various reasons, we scheduled her surprise party for the following day. Boy was she surprised when she came home from getting a pedicure that Saturday and walked in the door with six gallons of milk to find 70 people standing in her house waiting to scream "happy birthday!" to her. At this point she still didn't know who was sending her the cards. They were never in our handwriting and they were always mailed from Ellinwood by my dad on the 5th of each month so she'd get it on the 6th. Teresa never mentioned the cards to us and we never mentioned them to her.

Her final note card contained a Polaroid picture of my mom, dad, sister Jenny and I. It really was the perfect execution of the torture. With it being the first one there was no precedent. Since then we've done similar but different things to the other sibs. Mark got little snippets about his life for a poster board before his surprise party. I can't remember at all what we did for John, other than have a party for him in my dad's welding shop in the dead of winter. For Jenny the memories are more vivid. We scanned 12 pictures of her at different stages of her life and we made posters out of them. Every month they showed up in weird places, like the convenience store where she goes to get her Diet Coke fix every day. During that year she was on the school board and I contacted the people at the school and arranged for one of these 8x11 posters to show up every pre-meeting packet but hers. She was definitely surprised at that meeting when they all had pictures of her.

Now that you have some background, you've probably figured out that my torture has begun. It started back in April. It was the night of the Final Four to be exact, the same week I turned 39. I was at my friend Joyce's for a KU basketball watch party and Laurie presented me with a gift bag. Inside was a cloth diaper and some rubber pants, but no note. Apparently the story of my life was going to be told through gifts that have some meaning in my life.

I was a little confused at first what the diaper and rubber pants really meant. I've been told since by my mom (even though I know exactly who's doing this, nobody's admitting to anything) that maybe it's because when I was a baby my sister Jenny was told to change my pants and she poked me with a diaper pin so hard that I ended up bleeding. Her punishment kept her from going to spend time in Salina with our cousins and she's never forgiven me for that. Because of course it was my fault.

My other gifts so far have included a ladies slip (yes, there's a story there but I'm not telling it right now), a letter from my invisible childhood playmates, a rooster refrigerator magnet and some super-cool sunglasses. When I was a teenager I got a pair of sunglasses that had one of those cling-on plastic sticker things that said "Duro lenses" and I thought it was the thing to do to leave that sticker on. My sisters teased me about it relentlessly until I finally removed the sticker in disgust. I didn't do it soon enough, however, because a new nickname was born. Any of you call me Duro, I'll deck you. That name is reserved for my sisters only. My latest gift was the sunglasses pictured here with some bling that spells out "DURO". These are much classier than the sunglasses of my youth. And believe me when I tell you that the letters aren't cheap cling-on material. They're glued on to stay.

When I was in Bozeman, Montana, earlier this year my cousin Angie presented me with a gift that she said came to her anonymously for me. Gee, I wonder how. It was a rooster refrigerator magnet. Yes, another story. I'm quite famous for this story in my family. My nephew Christopher wrote a paper about this incident for a class once in high school. I think he got an "A" on it. When I was little my family had lots of animals including pigs, chickens and a rooster named Pinky. We lived out in the country (where my parents still live) and I would frequently visit the pigs in their pen and then bop out to visit the chickens. Pinky didn't like me at all. And he was a mean rooster. More than once on my visits out to the chicken coop, he'd peck me on the behind. Most of the time it just scared me, but I guess more than once it caused me great distress and tears. He never really bothered anybody else. Let me just end by saying that Pinky's hatred for me caused his own demise. My dad got sick of him always pecking at me and he took the matter into his own hands. Pinky ended up on the menu in the pig pen one night.

Four years ago when Jenny moved into her house in Oakley, she found this sign left behind by the previous occupant. It was only natural that she give it to me.

So now you're up-to-date on the birthday shenanigans. I'll keep you posted as the rest of my "gifts" come rolling in.

I'm far from 15

2008-08-30T11:50:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm pretty far from my promised 15 blog posts this month. But I'm working on a doozy that I'll be posting sometime this weekend. It's going to be a long one and for that I apologize. In the meantime I'm keeping busy with a job interview this week (more about the job later after I know something) and more contact with my former employer. Just haven't heard from either one that I am being offered a job. I'm trying to be patient.

I watched a lot of the Democratic National Convention this week. Mostly because my mom was watching it and I was there for the first two nights. Some of the speeches were very moving. That's enough about politics.

This past Monday was the beginning of the U.S. Open and I've been watching tennis when I can. One of my favorites, Tommy Haas, was defeated yesterday. I didn't see the match since it wasn't televised in its entirety, but apparently there was a line call that Tommy didn't agree with and then he self-destructed because he couldn't get past that. No challenge system was in place on that court either. But how about that Andy Roddick? He played a wonderful four-set match last night against Gulbis and won. I will admit that the television was on during the match, but I slept through most of it even though I had the best of intentions to stay awake.

More on the Open and tennis later. Right now I've got to go fold some clothes and maybe have a nap. I love three-day weekends!

Those boys are growing up

2008-08-27T16:39:00.009-05:00

While I was in Ellinwood I got a chance to see both of the little boys, although my time was limited since I was in the bathrooms painting most of the time. I had a little bit of time on Sunday to go see Zach at his house. His parents told me he was taking a nap, but when I went to his crib to look in on him he was playing some music and hugging the music thing on the side of his bed. After I got him out we played in the house for a while and then we went outside. Terri brought out some laundry to fold on the deck and Zach was very helpful with the socks.

Yesterday my mom was keeping Zach (I planned my painting days around that fact) and so the three of us went to see Caden and his grandma (my sister Teresa). Teresa watches him every other week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Zach was so excited when I told him we were going to see Caden, he just about jumped out of his skin. Caden had just gotten up from a nap, but he was happy to see his buddy, Zach, too.

Renovations on the homestead

2008-08-27T16:15:00.008-05:00

For the past year or so my parents have been doing some home renovations. Since I'd been there last, they had some of the windows and siding replaced. The first picture (on the right) shows part of the house with old siding and windows.

The picture on the left is of the new siding and windows. What a difference the new siding has made. It looks so much more modern than their house has ever looked. The siding and trim will be painted eventually, but my mom is still undecided on the color. I tried to help her, but we don't agree at all about what would look good. My brother Mark will be no help because he thinks that all houses should be white. I'll definitely post a picture when they make a decision and have it painted. I'm excited to see how it turns out.

For the past two days I've been at my parents house painting in the bathrooms. The first bathroom I worked on was the new bathroom they installed last year. Installation of this bathroom brought their total bathroom count up to three, which is handy when we're all there for holidays. I touched up the ceiling and put a second coat of very light peach paint in the new bathroom. I also painted the shower surround (same color as the walls) which hadn't been painted at all. It looks so much better if I do say so myself. That's the shower to the left of the picture.

The next bathroom renovation project was to completely gut my dad's bathroom and fix the floor boards (shower pipe leakage problems caused some wood to rot). My mom found some mis-tinted paint at the home improvement store for $5 and decided it was perfect for my dad's bathroom. A before picture on the left and an after picture on the right. The best thing about painting in this room was that it was empty. My mom, sister and I went to the local furniture store yesterday and picked out some linoleum for the floor. They installed it today but it was after I'd already left so I don't have a picture of that. The picture is deceiving, but it's a light olive green and is quite pretty. Can't wait to see it with all the new fixtures. Once this bathroom is completely done, the old bathroom in the front of the house will be removed and walls will come down to enlarge their living room and give them a bigger dining room area. It's exciting to see these changes since it's been over 20 years since the big kitchen remodel.

I'm a joiner

2008-08-20T15:47:00.004-05:00

Today I bit the bullet and signed on the dotted line to become a member at Genesis Health Clubs. I signed up for a free week when I was at Exploration Place the other day and went yesterday for a tour and workout. I lost my super-cheap YMCA membership when I lost my job in May, so I decided to just do it. I really like the facility. I love the fact that there are individual LCD screens on each treadmill or elliptical machine for watching TV or a personal DVD. You just plug in your own headphones and tune in what you want to watch. Makes me feel very special for a few minutes each day. And I've needed that lately. So as the days and weeks keep going by while I'm looking for a job at least I'll be spending some of that time constructively sculpting a new me!

Blog's first birthday

2008-08-17T23:11:00.004-05:00

Well, I made it. My first blog post was last year on August 17. I'm getting this in just before midnight, glad I remembered it in time. I've really enjoyed blogging the past year. I think I'm getting worse at it, however. I seem to blog less and less each month. Thank you for continuing to read my nonsense and I'll try to pick up the pace by posting more each month. I'll shoot for 15 this month. That should be a lofty enough goal for me!

The job search

2008-08-13T17:15:00.004-05:00

I haven't given an update here lately. But the job search continues. Even though I keep myself busy, that doesn't mean I've forgotten about the larger goal. I'll be brief if I can. It's frustrating. I send out resumes and apply for jobs online each week. I find things that I am interested in (communications-related jobs) and should be qualified for, but am told that I either don't have enough experience (they want someone who's done that specific job before) or I have too much experience (they want to pay peanuts). And sometimes I don't receive calls back. It's hard but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. That's half the battle. I know it will work out, I just need to keep the faith. So that's what I'm doing.

The update, continued

2008-08-13T16:17:00.016-05:00

Last Friday after the circus left, I had one night to recover from the visit (mostly from all the hard physical labor I did -- hey, shopping is hard!) before I had another adventure.

Before I move on, though, I must share that my sister Jenny's 47th birthday was Friday (8-8-08). She gave us all instructions months ago that she wanted eight presents from everyone on her birthday. So Teresa and I complied. We pooled our resources and wits and got her eight gifts. One of her gifts is an 18-month calendar from Shutterfly with pictures of our vacation to Montana, Yellowstone and points west back in May. Somehow I timed it just right and she actually got her calendar on Friday. She called to tell me she loved it. The rest of her gifts haven't gotten to her yet, so I'll have to stay mum in case she reads this. But Teresa sent her eight cards with various items in them: chewing gum, two dollars for Diet Coke and sunflower stickers. Teresa is a little nuts. But I think we've covered that before.

(Birthday side note: My oldest sister, Teresa, was born August 6, 1959. Brother Mark was born July 22, 1960. Jenny came along on August 8, 1961. So my mother had three kids in two years and two days. My brother John came into the world on February 21, 1963. [I know this even though I input his birthday wrong on her calendar!] Then I was born April 2, 1969. Mom likes to point out that she had four kids under the age of four before drive-through banks existed.)

Saturday morning my sister Teresa, her husband Kenny, daughter Katie and Katie's boyfriend, Frank, picked me up and we zipped down to Oklahoma City. Saturday was my nephew Christopher's birthday and even though he had to work all day, we went down to see him. We hit Penn Square Mall first and Katie got lots of clothes while I made my purchase at Sephora (I <3 that store) and then treated myself to a very indulgent pedicure. You may admire my toes now.
It's the first time I've ever gotten flowers on my big toes. Christopher met us at The Cheesecake Factory for a 23rd birthday celebration between the matinee and the evening show. We had the waitstaff sing to him before he left to go back to work. And somehow I managed to screw up the flower on my left foot. I went back and they graciously fixed it for me.

We checked into our room and then got ready to attend Lyric Theatre's evening performance of "UrineTown (the musical)" at the Civic Center. It was the first time for all of us to see this show. It was wonderful. We laughed a lot. I shot this picture backstage after the show was over and they were starting to tear down (strike) the set and costumes. It was a flurry of activity and Christopher had to get back to work. Notice he's now sporting a mohawk.

Sunday morning we met for breakfast at IHOP. After going to see the house he's moving into this month we headed out of town. Most of us napped on the way home (except Kenny who was driving) and that made the trip go exceptionally fast.

When I got back home I had just a couple of minutes to unpack and regroup before I went to a birthday party for my friend Joyce. She turned 40 on August 6. I haven't seen some of Joyce's family members since she got married over 11 years ago, so it was nice to catch up with them and see the newest member of Joyce's family, her niece Aliyah.

Joyce holding the three-week-old.

Joyce's daughter Gabrielle, two-year-old Ellie, Aliyah and Joyce's sister Sarah (also Ellie's mom).

Laurie, Joyce and Joyce's sister Angela, new mom to Aliyah. At this point they were telling funny family stories.

Joyce's sash says Ms. Over the Hill. It wasn't planned but it matched perfectly with the clothes she was wearing that day.

Ellie after she obviously enjoyed her cake and ice cream.

I think Aunt Joyce and Grandma Judy might have given her some extra cake so she could eat the frosting, but I don't want to get them in trouble or anything.

I've been so busy...

2008-08-12T19:32:00.002-05:00

...I haven't had time to blog! That's not true. I have had some time, I've just chosen to spend that time doing other things. You'll understand once you read this post. I'm going to attempt to recap the past couple of weeks of my life. I've got photos. It'll be fun.

In addition to attending book club at Jaime's house and meeting friends for lunch or dinner (you know who you are), I also went to visit my friend, Sarah. She and her family were in the process of packing up and moving west to Garden City (they're gone now--sob, sob). I worked with Sarah at the Eagle and I know she will be missed there. I watched her husband, Aaron, pack some boxes while I ate yummy homemade enchiladas and then I helped Sarah make potato salad for a family party later in the day. I also oohed and aahed over five-month-old Sammy and got to know her other two boys a little better. Here's a picture of Sammy having a nap amongst the packing and potato salad making.

I've recovered nicely from my root canal. I got my permanent crown a little over a week ago and I was so ready to get rid of that stupid temporary. Don't even get me started! The same day I got my pretty, sparkly, new porcelain-covered gold (yes, I said gold) crown, I went to Exploration Place with Jenn and Bella. Bella showed me some of her favorite places at EP including the kitchen in the castle, where she busied herself arranging food on the plates. Then she and Jenn went to see the "Chirpie" movie while I went through the "Our Body: The Universe Within" exhibit. Real bodies and body parts. Skin removed. Sliced and diced so we could have a better view of the muscles, tendons, organs and bones. What could be more fun? Actually, I did enjoy it. I like stuff like that. If it's not gushing blood, it's fascinating to me. For some reason they didn't look like real bodies to me. But then I'd get closer to them and see the remnants of eyebrows or arm hair and then I'd remember. I'm not sure it was worth the price of admission, but it sure was packed that Monday afternoon.

I've also been cramming in doctor's appointments like mad. Last week I had three appointments and this week I have four days where I'm doing something at a doctor's office. One shot yesterday, one shot today, appointment on Thursday and blood draw on Friday. Doesn't that sound like a bunch of fun? Up next: scheduling the well woman exam. Priceless.

Mixed in with all the doctor's appointments I've been cleaning my house. I cleaned my bedroom and my guest bedroom from top to bottom last week. Dust bunnies, anyone? That included cleaning out every drawer in the rooms and going through the closets to organize/toss things. I also cleaned out the cabinets in my kitchen and laundry area. Some stuff I purged is now boxed and bound for Goodwill. The rest is boxed and on its way (via Ellinwood and Oakley) to Goodland. My niece, Anissa, just moved into an apartment there this past weekend so she'll have some hand-me-down things from me for her kitchen. She's starting school at the vo-tech this week. Poor thing got her wisdom teeth pulled last week and still can't eat solid foods. Luckily her mom and dad bought her lots of soup before they left her on Saturday. To the right is a picture of Anissa from our trip to the northwest in June. She eats lemons. Weird.

Last Wednesday the circus came to stay at my house. By the circus, I mean my mom, Terri, Zach, Jessica, Victoria and Kyle. That's six extra people in case you didn't count them. And three of them are teenagers. Oy! The first afternoon we did some back-to-school shopping for the teenagers. The Target trip alone crossed lots of things off the lists. My nieces found some clothes there as well as the notebooks and binders they were yearning for. Jessica will be a senior and Victoria will be a freshman. Kyle is going to be in the eighth grade. After we had shopped 'til we dropped we went out to see Steve, Jenn and Bella. We timed it perfectly and when we got there the boat was free, so we all hopped in (except mom, Terri and Zach) so the teenagers could go tubing. First we had to go to the other lake to get the tube. Here's a picture of Kyle, Bella, Victoria and Jessica in the back of the boat.

Jessica and Kyle tubed together first. Kyle hadn't ever gone tubing before, so Jenn told them how to let Steve know if they needed to go slower or wanted to go faster and how to tell him to stop (other than falling off). They did pretty well.

Then Jessica and Victoria went together. Combined they weigh about as much soaking wet as half of my body, so their size 1 and 3 selves bounced around a lot on the tube. I didn't feel too sorry for them.

Kyle went solo for a bit. He did much better when he was by himself, but I was lucky enough to get this shot on his last wipeout.

We came prepared to make supper at their house, so they fired up the grill and we dined on hot dogs, hamburgers and for dessert had some apple pie that Jennifer had baked. We all left stuffed and tired (Zach was up until almost 11 o'clock, which is a record for him).

The next day was a work day. Part of the reason they came to visit was to help me with some jobs around my house. Almost a month ago I got a bad allergic reaction after chopping out some overgrowth in my backyard. It looked really grisly for about two weeks, but got remarkably better after I went to the doctor for a cortisone shot. I know, I know: I should have gone sooner. Anyway, I've been hesitant to attack the overgrowth in the front for obvious reasons. While Victoria cleaned out my gutters (she loves doing it in case anyone has the need), Kyle mowed, Terri cleaned off my front porch and swept away all the cobwebs from the eaves of my house, and mom, Jessica and I weeded the front flower bed. After we got those things accomplished we worked on cleaning out my garage. It all looks so much better. I don't know what I would have done without them. We ate lunch about 1 o'clock and then people started dropping like flies. Terri and Zach slept in the recliner (above left). Kyle fell asleep in the guest bedroom (right). And Jessica chose to lay on the deflated air mattress in the dining room (below left). Victoria chose to lay on the couch (below right) and I headed straight for my bed. We just needed a little nap and then we did more shopping. Hooray!

Friday before they left, Jenn and Bella met us at the mall for one last shopping foray. Zach and Bella had fun riding the carousel. Bella chose a reindeer.

And for his first ride, Zach chose the scary pig with fangs. He loved it!

They both had fun playing on the police car, too.

I hope I haven't lost you in all the activity, blog readers. There's actually more, but I've got to go watch the Olympics now and I'll post the rest in another post. Yes, two posts in one week!

My first Quinceanera (24 years too late)

2008-07-29T17:09:00.014-05:00

On Saturday I attended the Quinceanera (sorry I don't know how to get the accent on the n) of Erica, the daughter my friend and fellow thyroid cancer survivor Juanita from church. For those who don't know (I didn't) this is a coming out party, if you will, celebrating the girl's 15th birthday. It's a custom that is celebrated mostly by Hispanics in this country. Historically, I read that it probably dates back to the 16th century Spanish tradition of presenting the 15-year-old daughter to society.

The festivities began with a mass celebrated at St. Jude. Erica's 12 attendants (six guys and six gals) processed in just like wedding attendants would. She also had an escort who walked in with Father Doug. Erica was walked down the aisle, flanked by her parents, in a stunning dress that would have been appropriate for a bride. The female attendants' dresses (they wore my favorite color, after all) were absolutely beautiful and her six male attendants, her father, her brother and her escort wore tuxedos. Her mother wore an elegant ball gown.

After the mass, there was a dinner catered by Mexican restaurant La Mesa, a presentation and a dance, all at the Wichita Ballroom. I've been to weddings that weren't nearly this elaborate. I was fascinated by the whole process and in awe of all the planning and funds that would be needed to pull off this type of fete (again my apologies on the missing accent). They've probably been saving and planning for this since she was born.

The cake was enormous. Unfortunately I left before it got cut.

There was a mariachi band at the mass and they also played during the reception. I LOVE the decoration on the sides of their pant legs!

Once the meal was finished, the presentation occurred and then Erica shared a dance with her dad after the changing of the shoes. I guess the changing of the shoes signify her leaving childhood and entering adulthood.

After all the formal dances were completed, she and her attendants led a conga line through the Ballroom.

The guests were all attired in wedding finery (except me who didn't know any better, but I was wearing an orange shirt, so at least I fit in with the color scheme) and there were gifts and a chocolate fountain. Last, but certainly not least, there was an open bar. I left for home in the middle of a downpour, but nothing could dampen the day's festivities. I'm thankful to Juanita for inviting to me to such a special event.

The Dark Knight

2008-07-26T11:26:00.007-05:00

Well, I agree. Heath Ledger was unbelievable as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" movie. Saw it last night with my niece Katie and her boyfriend Frank. (They'd already seen it, but wanted to again--Katie only slept through a small portion of it!) I also sat just three seats away from fellow blogger and friend Lori and her husband Brian in the packed theatre. I'm usually not one for that kind of action movie, but this one was really good. I thought it was just a tiny bit long (it's about two and a half hours), but really it kept my attention the whole time. And really, the cast has some of my favorites: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger. The only really troubling part for me was the hideous disfiguration of my heartthrob Aaron Eckhart. Please don't make him look like that ever again. If you haven't seen it yet, go. I don't think you'll regret it.

After Harvest Festival 2008

2008-07-22T19:08:00.016-05:00

This past weekend I attended the Ellinwood After Harvest Festival. It's a weekend set aside (always the third weekend of July) to celebrate a good wheat harvest or compare notes on a bad one. But mostly we just drink lots of beer at the beer garden (the sign says beverage garden, but nobody calls it that).

It's a great chance to see friends from high school (if you want to see them) since that's the weekend each year when classes come together for their reunions. Last year I celebrated 20 years of being out of high school with the class of 1987. This year I got to see some of my friends from the class of 1988, who are still just as funny as they ever were. The quantity of alcohol I drink each year is usually proportionate to the lack of sleep that I get: so the more beer I consume, the less I sleep. This year was no exception. Although this year I did get in a little earlier than in years past. One of my friends said it best: "Our curfew for the AHF is 4 a.m." I am happy to say I met curfew both nights.

Here's the drill: You show up at the beer garden by 9 p.m. Close down the beer garden at midnight. Move to either the American Legion, VFW or Fatty's bar in town to continue the party until 2 a.m. After that it's a crap shoot. If you're an Ellinwood resident, people might show up at your house. Luckily my group got invited to Jean and Rich's house for a continuation of fun and we didn't have to go somewhere we weren't wanted. I left town at 3:14 a.m. when I just couldn't stay awake any longer. Saturday morning is tricky. There's a parade and it's usually pretty good, so if you aren't too hung-over (I wasn't) you show up and sit on someone's lawn or a street corner and watch the parade roll by. Last year I had to be in the parade since I had a class reunion and that's never any fun. The parade started with a flyover and Caden was very interested in the planes. My brother-in-law Kenny tried to hide, but I spotted him with a beer at 10 a.m. He's a farmer which means the After Harvest Festival was designed with him in mind, so I guess it's OK.

There were cars...

...firefighters riding on antique fire engines...

...red hats (that's my sister Teresa in the pink shirt toward the front of the float looking down--she's technically a pink hat [under 50] for another year)...

...the class of 1958, celebrating their 50th (that's my dad Larry in the red shirt and overalls on the back of the float and my uncle Ed to his left in the red shirt and jeans)...

...the class of 1968 who better have won the best float award (they were blasting music from the '60s and singing and dancing with great enthusiasm)...

...and no parade would be complete without the Shriners.

My friend Kayla and her two daughters Lacy and Kelcy watched the parade from across the street. That's her brother-in-law Wes sitting with them on the blanket. That's prime candy area!
On the way to the car I saw my friend Lori and her daughter Brooke on the sidewalk waiting for their ride.
It was a good weekend. I'm glad I was able to go and see some familiar faces and catch up with some friends. I don't get back for it every year, but it's always fun when I do. It's a lot like Vegas: whatever happens at the AHF stays at the AHF!

Caden's 1st birthday

2008-07-15T12:07:00.008-05:00

This past Friday was Caden's first birthday. His parents threw a party to celebrate on Saturday. Even though Caden didn't feel so good, he seemed to have fun. He played with Zach and his other friend Brooklyn in the new treehouse that his Grandma and Grandpa S. gave him.

After hamburgers, brats and all the trimmings, it was time for cake and ice cream. Caden didn't hesitate to dig in.

When he was finished with cake, he got a quick bath and snuggled into his jammies to open his presents. His favorites were the tractors (red, of course) and implements he got. Mostly he wasn't that interested in opening presents anyway.

Not long after the presents were all opened, he bid everyone adieu and retired to his crib for the night. But the rest of us partied on in his honor until dark.

Guess who I met

2008-07-15T11:02:00.005-05:00

Last week I went to Oklahoma City to see my nephew, Christopher. He works for Lyric Theatre and is the second-in-command in the costume department. I went on opening night of "Swing!" to see the show. Wichita's own Barb Schoenhofer was a featured singer in the show. She and Christopher Morgan were my favorites. While I've met Barb before (when she was in "Cabaret" at Lyric two years ago), I had never met Mr. Morgan. I was impressed with him on stage. And even more impressed that his wife is Kim Fields (aka Tootie from "Facts of Life")! She was tending to Sebastian, their one-year-old son, when I met her in his dressing room before the show. It was quite exciting! My nephew asked her during the show (she was in the dressing room watching the show on television) if she'd mind taking a picture with me. She graciously agreed, but by the time we got a chance to find her they were already gone. Christopher was going to try to get a picture with her and send it to me, but I haven't gotten one yet. If I do I'll post it, I promise!

After opening night of the show, there's a reception at a local restaurant where the cast and crew mingle with the audience from the show. I didn't see too many audience members there, but the cast and crew where there in full force. I got a free drink and a couple of egg rolls out of the deal, so I was happy. When we left there we went to a bar having karaoke night and Christopher (my nephew) and Barb did a duet. They sang Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and even though they'd had several cocktails, they still rocked it. I couldn't resist posting a photo.

It was a good trip and if I'm not working yet in early August, I think I'll go for the opening of "Urinetown" since I haven't seen that one yet.

I also got a tour of the costume shop where all the magic happens. This is just a glimpse of it. This is a huge room where all the costumes are arranged by show.

A couple of the sewing machines.

Since no trip to OKC is complete without a meal at Iron Starr Urban Bar-b-q, we ate lunch there on Wednesday before I came back home. Yummy.

This is gonna be a long one

2008-07-09T22:21:00.006-05:00

Since I haven't posted in forever I've got a lot of catching up to do. I decided some bullets would help me to separate things and help me be more concise (my sisters will appreciate that immensely). Here goes...

A couple of weeks ago I got to spend an afternoon with some of my cousins on my mom's side of the family. The four girls that my mom's oldest sister had were in town from Dallas/Fort Worth, Colorado and Montana to see their dad in Salina and they all came to Ellinwood to see those of us who still live in Kansas (which is most of us). We spent the afternoon at my sister's house getting caught up on each other's lives and laughing over our childhood memories. There was also talk of our next reunion which will be two years from this month.
I have been to Ellinwood several times this summer just to hang out or attend family functions. One of the trips was intended to participate somehow in the wheat harvests of both my brother-in-law and nephew and my uncle and cousin. Hours after I arrived, there was a torrential downpour and harvest was halted immediately. Neither operation started up cutting again until the day after I left to come back home. Wasn't meant to be, I guess. I think it was that same trip, I went to Caden's house (he's my great nephew in case you've forgotten) and stayed with him while his mom and dad went to see a movie ("Get Smart"). He slept through my visit and I listened to his breathing on the baby monitor, but I feel we still bonded. I played with Copper, the yellow lab, who stayed up late to make sure Andrew and Rachel got home safely and I vacated the premises. Apparently he doesn't like the way I play fetch.
Met my friends Janette and Kathleen for one of our regularly scheduled girl's nights. We ate, we drank, we paid, we left. In between there was a lot of talking, but I'm not at liberty to discuss any of the topics in such a public forum.
For the first time ever, I attended the quilt show at Century II. I met my friend Lori B. and her mother-in-law there and we looked at quilts and did some shopping at the vendor booths that were set up. It got me out of the house after a very rough week and I'm grateful to you, Lori, for calling and suggesting it.
Book club was the last week of June at the home of Amy D. in Derby and I took my newly pedicured feet, a crockpot of my (now) famous cheese dip, a bag of tortilla chips, some longneck Bud Light Limes and carpooled with Suzanne, Tara and Deb. It was wonderful to see everyone. Two attendees I'd like to highlight are Jill who now lives in the Kansas City area and hasn't been to a meeting in ages and Kerri who is leaving us for the humidity of Houston. The food was wonderful and the company was even better. Unfortunately, there was another round of layoffs where I was formerly employed and some of the laid-off (welcome, Deb) were among us.
I've been swimming with my friends who live on a lake out by Maize a couple of times. One of my new favorite things is floating on their lake watching Bella play in the sand or swim around me. One night when I was out there after Steve got home from work (work: what's that?) he grabbed his ski and we watched him get pulled behind the boat. Some of their neighbors did some trick skiing and others used the ski jump to delight us with their abilities.
Joyce, one of my good college friends, lives in Colwich and I visited her and her family one afternoon. Her daughter, Gabrielle, had surgery in June to remove a bone cyst. She's had to be in a wheelchair for six weeks after the surgery, so it seemed easier for me to go to them. It was another afternoon spent chatting and getting caught up.
Last week Terri and Zach came down for a visit. They were brought here and dropped off by my mom and niece Victoria on Wednesday. They spent one night and then my stick-in-the-mud brother, Mark, came down to get them on Thursday. I thought they were spending another night (so did Terri) but Mark didn't get that memo and they ended up going home even though I offered to buy him some new underwear. He told me to save my money. Zach is now walking on his own. He likes hiking his leg up quite high to get started and when I do that with him he laughs at me.
With the quilt show as my catalyst and inspiration, I gathered up a project and went to Valley Center one afternoon and did some quilting with my friend, Sue, in her basement. We stitched and chatted and I am proud to say that the t-shirt quilt I started over five years ago is now finished! It's in the dryer as I type this and am planning on sleeping with it on my bed tonight. I'll take a picture and post it later. By the way, this is the first and only quilt I've made for myself. All the others I've made have been gifts.
Went to see the movie "Wall-E" with Jennifer and Bella. It was good, but a little scary in some parts for three-year-old Bella.
Attended a family reunion last Saturday in Lawrence. I hitched a ride with my dad's cousin, Carolyn, to save gas money. It was a good time seeing the descendants of my dad's maternal grandparents. I even squeezed in some time shopping (at a fabric store) on Massachusetts St. and dining at Free State Brewing Co. before the day was over and we headed back down the turnpike to Wichita.
I've had lunch with lots of friends over the past month and a half: Linda, Heather, Christina, Melanie, Lori B. and Sue. I'm due for another round soon, ladies!

I know it sounds from this list as if I've just been running around a lot. To a certain degree, that's true. These are the kinds of things I wanted to do while I'm not working and I have the opportunity. It's important to me to reconnect with friends and spend some quality time with them and not just a fleeting telephone conversation here and there.

When not lunching or meeting with friends, I've had my nose in a book a good portion of the time. And that grass doesn't mow itself. I've got some beautiful flowers growing in my yard and in pots this year. I've been able to tend them so much more consistently with a pesky job to get in the way.

Do not despair, I've also been searching diligently for a job and have had a couple of interviews and sent out many resumes. I feel like I'm close to a job offer from one company, but I'll wait to hear so I don't jinx anything. So fingers and toes crossed, people!

On the agenda tomorrow: lunch with my friend Laurie and then a root canal. Aren't you jealous?

Vacation wrap-up

2008-06-19T20:10:00.007-05:00

I suppose I've been dragging this out too long, but I just didn't want vacation to be over and have to come back to the "real world" so soon. Since I've been home over two weeks I suppose it's time to do the last vacation post.

When Jenny and her family left me in Portland at the La Quinta Inn, it was bittersweet. I was glad to be on my own and explore the city, but sad because I wouldn't be going on the rest of their journey with them. They were headed to the Oregon coast and two nights at Cannon Beach, which were fabulous, they say. After Cannon Beach, they spent one night in Boise, Idaho, one night in Provo, Utah, and two nights at Moab, Utah. While at Moab, they went to Arches National Park and took a ride in a vehicle that went straight up (yes, that's 100% grade) the rocky side of a mountain. The kids loved every minute of it. Their last day was a drive east out of Utah, through Colorado and back home to Oakley. Over four thousand miles and they lived to tell about it. I asked them once they got home what their favorite part of vacation was. They couldn't just pick one because they saw so much.

As for me, I ate a quick lunch that Sunday at Red Robin, which was conveniently located across the street from the La Quinta. I took the Max Light Rail across the Willamette River and got off at Skidmore Fountain where I enjoyed looking around at the art market. Hundreds of vendors set up to sell their wares each weekend. There is live music, lots of food and drink and a little bit of everything you can imagine that's handmade or arty: soaps, duct tape wallets, blown glass, handbags, dog biscuits, wind chimes. I bought a birthday gift for a friend, a couple of photographs I really liked and a blown glass vase that hangs on the wall. It's super-cool. I also saw this guy with his "COPS stole my weed" sign sitting on the actual Skidmore Fountain.

After shopping the art market, I headed to Niketown because no visit to Portland would be complete for me without going there. I bought a pair of my favorite tennies: Air Pegasus. And they were even on sale! I also went to Powell's City of Books book store, which is a book-lover's paradise. I limited myself to four books mainly because my suitcase was full and anything I bought I had to carry on the plane with me. Powell's is great because they have new books on the shelves with used books. So chances are good that if you don't want to pay full price for a selection, you don't have to. You can check out their pretty extensive website and even order books if you desire, by clicking here.

That night I walked six blocks to the nearest movie theater and saw the "Sex and the City" movie. LOVED IT! It was wonderful and I can't believe how much I've missed Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. I want to go see it again but so far have resisted the urge.

The next morning I got up at a leisurely pace, got ready and then ate breakfast at the Denny's across the street. I took the Light Rail to the airport and it was an uneventful trip home. In the airport in Minneapolis, I had my first experience with the Dyson Airblade, a nifty contraption in the bathroom that zips the water off your hands. You just stick your hands in and, presto, no more water.One of the coolest things for me about this trip was that I made lots of progress on the states I had not yet been to. Before working at the Eagle, I had been to 42 of our 50 states. In addition to the ones I'd been in on vacations as a kid, I got a lot of them because I traveled with my job and got to go to lots of places I'd never dream of being able to go to on vacation. Places like Valdosta, Georgia, and Maui, Hawaii, and St. Johnsbury, Vermont. I even went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland while on a layover at the city's airport. But that's another story. While at the Eagle I got to add two more states: South Carolina and Oregon. I added four more states to my "done" list on this trip: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. North Dakota and Alaska are my last frontiers. Stay tuned, who knows where I'll go next.

Father's Day

2008-06-16T10:45:00.010-05:00

Yesterday my whole family except Jenny and her family (after their 4255-mile family vacation who can blame them for not wanting another road trip just yet) and a couple of my nephews, came to my mom and dad's house to celebrate Father's Day. We were also happy that our family friend, Doris K., from Lyons was able to join us. The night before, my sister Teresa and I had put together the new charcoal grill we got our dad for the occasion. Here's a picture of the screws, nuts and washers packet before we started. They even gave us our own tools!

A little more than an hour after we started, my brother-in-law Kenny got home and razzed us mercilessly. First of all, it said clearly on the box that the store would have assembled it for free. And then because when I put the hinges on for the lid, I put them on backward. Razzmfrazzm. We eventually got it all put together (we think) and called it good. To be safe, we gave him the leftover screws, nuts and washers just in case! Here's what the inside of the finished product looks like:

Here's a picture of the sunset I saw when I was driving back out to my mom and dad's house after the grill assembly. Ah, Kansas! (Do you remember those commercials for Kansas from the 80s?)

It was so awe-inspiring, I actually got out of the car and took several pictures. The one above is probably my favorite.

The newest members of our family were quite entertaining for our Sunday celebration. Zach loves to walk up and down, up and down, up and down, the porch steps at my mom and dad's house. He can do this all day everyday and he'd be perfectly happy.

He sticks the tongue out while checking his dad's progress at the grill. Mark did all the cooking of burgers, dogs and sausages. Yum!

Caden was doing a drunken walk through the kitchen when he decided to drop and rest at his Aunt Katie's feet. But at least he had a smile for the camera. Such a ham!

It was a happy Father's Day for all the dads in my family.

Where did the babies go?

2008-06-16T09:07:00.009-05:00

Zach and Caden are getting so big. Caden's walking much more than Zach, but Zach is still winning the award for the most teeth.

Earlier last week I went to Hutchinson and picked up Andrew so he could come back to Wichita with me and pick Rachel and Caden (his wife and son) up from the airport. They were coming back from a trip to the east coast to attend the wedding of one of Rachel's friends and stay for about a week with her mom and dad in South Carolina. Andrew was happy to see Caden (and Rachel, too) and Caden was happy to see his daddy. Which one looks happier to you?

Caden showed his dad some of the new walking moves he'd been working on while away visiting his grandpa and grandma.

Last Friday I took Zach, Katie and Victoria to the city pool in Ellinwood for some time in the water. It was Zach's first trip to the pool and Katie and I stayed in the baby pool with him while Victoria went over to swim with the big kids. At first he wasn't sure and wanted to be held the whole time, but then he warmed to the idea and started to get more daring.

Once he got going, he just wanted to get in the pool and then out of the pool. Over and over and over...

He had a good time splashing while inside the pool and out. The puddle of water outside the pool was just as interesting as the pool itself.

After Yellowstone

2008-06-07T21:16:00.020-05:00

The day after we went to Yellowstone, Angie took us to the headwaters of the Missouri River. Doesn't this fence that Kyle, Anissa and Jeffrey are sitting on scream "Montana" to you? Every time we'd see one of these fences I'd think of the quintessential Montana ranch.

Other than the headwaters, we had a very relaxing day. After our marathon day at Yellowstone, we really needed it.

I left Bozeman with my sister, Jenny, and her family. We drove west out of Montana, through the north part of Idaho and into Washington. The scenery was so beautiful. I've never seen anything quite like it. Maybe it was the time of year. Or maybe it's the most beautiful place in the country. Right now I'm just not sure. You be the judge. Keep in mind that these were all taken out the window of the van.

This is a park in downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where it was very beautiful and very warm.

Anissa eats lemons. Can you believe it?

The three kids took a dip in the motel pool where we stayed in Kennewick, Washington, after a long day of driving.

The next morning (Saturday) we drove south out of Washington and into Oregon and drove along the interstate west toward Portland. The interstate follows the Columbia River most of the way. In this photo, you can see Washington across the river. Our destination that day was Longview, Washington, which is just north of Portland about 45 minutes.

Sometimes when you're traveling in a van with six people (especially two teenage boys) things get a little funky. Luckily I was prepared with my super-duper nose plug. Surprisingly I only had to use it a couple of times.

Saturday afternoon once we'd checked into the local motel in Longview, we drove out to the Mount St. Helens visitor's center. Jenny, Jeffrey, Anissa, Kyle and Fred were kind enough to pose for a picture outside of it.

I think Washington and Oregon have the biggest, tallest, most beautiful trees I've ever seen. My photos don't even do them justice, but they are just spectacular. After the visitor's center, we drove up closer to the actual Mount St. Helens. I remember when this volcano erupted back in 1980, so to see it was pretty cool, even with the clouds that day.

Even though it was warmer down where we'd come from, there was still snow in the parking lot at the overlook spot. Since snow in June (OK, it wasn't technically June yet, but it was May 31 and that's close enough in my book) is one of my dreams come true, I was thrilled to be wearing flip-flops in the snow.

Yellowstone wildlife

2008-06-07T20:37:00.013-05:00

Here's a look at what wildlife we saw while at Yellowstone last week. Sorry this has taken me so long. I have no excuse really, but I've been catching up on sleep and just enjoying being at home.

The first thing we saw was a moose beside the road. We stopped for pictures, but she was not very cooperative. This a shot Angie got of her with her zoom lens.

I believe this is a girl elk chowing down beside the road at one of our stops. Barely even looked up. Must have been really hungry.

Here are some bison we saw in the middle of the road toward the end of the day. They did end up eventually letting us and the other cars through. You can see that they're shedding their winter coats in exchange for the more stylish spring/summer coats.

After stopping at the Mud Volcano, we spotted a lot of people stopped along the road at one of the turnouts. This usually means something has been spotted. With the large number of vehicles, we were pretty sure it was worth stopping. Indeed it was. On the right side of the road, there was a black wolf. Although I got a glimpse of it through the binoculars, I wasn't able to get a picture. On the left side of the road was a bear. The first photo is one I took of the speck. You can barely see the bear (pun intended). You'll probably have to click on this photo to enlarge it. See the three blobs of snow in a row down the hill? Well, look at the tree just to the left of those snow blobs and then directly down the hill. You can just see the discolored brown speck. That's the bear.

This next photo is one Angie took with her zoom lens and you can actually tell it is, in fact, a bear.

This is the teenage wildlife we took with us through the park when we were shopping at West Yellowstone.

A little more Yellowstone

2008-06-04T22:41:00.031-05:00

My first post about Yellowstone was very hurried. I was trying to get it posted before we left Bozeman while I still had access to the internet and my photos. It was probably the most gorgeous scenery I've ever seen. The fact that it's untouched by human development is a wonderful thing. The differences in terrain from where we entered and exited and all the miles we covered inside was mind-boggling. I don't know if my teenage niece and nephews truly appreciate the awe of it, but I know that Jenny, Fred, Angie and I did. Angie takes people to Yellowstone quite often and she says she never tires of it. As a family they've been numerous times. And two weeks before we arrived, Angie had driven her van through with several Korean nuns inside! She's not even Catholic. She proved to be a great tour guide and it was wonderful to have someone drive us so we could look at everything we possibly could.

We left early last Wednesday morning from Bozeman and arrived in the park about noon after a meandering drive there with several stops for photos of the landscape and wildlife. Everywhere I looked I wanted to take a photograph. It's just that pretty. Here's a shot before we even got into the park. I love the colors that nature provides, even on a dreary day in late May, it's beautiful.

Shortly after entering the park, we saw this eagle's nest. Sadly, we didn't see any eagles in residence.
The plan was to stop beside this stream and eat at the picnic area. Since it was raining we assembled sandwiches on the go and everyone ate while driving. Anissa went right down to the water to see how cold it was. The report: pretty cold.

And Kyle was thrilled to find some poop on a stick. We didn't let him keep it for a souvenir. It would have upset the "natural" state of the park. He was happy with a photo.

One of our first major park stops was the Firehole Cascade. I posted a picture of it by itself in my previous Yellowstone post. A little background first. When we got the park entrance and it started pouring on us, we turned around after our photo at the gate and looped back to the grocery store to buy rain ponchos. Jenny found four clear ponchos and one yellow one. I bought an umbrella. This is a shot of Jenny, Angie and I at Firehold Cascade. Jenny is wearing her yellow poncho, which I dubbed "the chicken suit" and I made chicken noises every time she wore it. Annoying? Probably.

It's pretty funny to watch Jenny's family around steep areas. Fred won't get very close to the edge. Jenny gets up about as close as I will, I think because we need to see what it looks like over the edge. All three of their kids are climbers who aren't afraid to go off the beaten path. Here's Kyle (left) climbing up where there are no stairs. And Jeffrey (right) attempting to scale some rocks. He decided not to risk it after all.

This is probably my best shot of Old Faithful.

Here's our motley crew lined up on the bench to watch Old Faithful (from right): Angie, Anissa, Jenny, Jeffrey, Fred and Kyle.

Here we're on our way to the Old Faithful Inn to get some Grizzly Beary (aka huckleberry) ice cream. Anissa, Angie, Jenny, Fred and Jeffrey. Kyle was back walking with me. By the way, it was delish.

Jeffery is quite a dork, there's just really no disputing it. He got a souvenir hat when were at West Yellowstone before we even got into the park. And he left the tag on it and wore it over his other hat all day. I finally convinced him to remove the tag, but he still wore it over the other hat. In this picture he's providing a service by emptying the trash can out of Angie's van into one of the park's trash cans.

I found out that I love waterfalls while at Yellowstone. This one is a small one, though no less majestic, called the Kepler Cascades.

The largest amount of snow we saw was up at the Continental Divide (elevation 8262). This is a photo of Jeffrey, Kyle and Anissa on top of the snow. Kyle is sitting on the top of a trash can so that tells you how much snow was still up there. When Angie had been through the park two weeks earlier this road wasn't open because of the snow packed roads. Since snow in June is one of my dreams, I was pretty happy to see so much snow in late May, everyone else not so much.

This next shot was taken at Artist Point or what's also known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It's a beautiful waterfall in the distance which flows down into this canyon. The colors are amazing. We were there about an hour from sunset and it was just gorgeous. I don't think this photo does it justice.

Kyle showing us some leg so we'd give him a ride at one of our stops late in the day. Thirteen-year-olds!

Can you believe these last two shots were taken out of the van's windshield while were were driving down the road? I love them both.

And our day ended about 10:45 when we got back to Angie's house. By the time we left the park we didn't any daylight left at all. I'm already looking forward to going back again.

Next post: park wildlife.

I wanna go back

2008-06-03T18:07:00.015-05:00

I'm physically home, but my mind and heart are still on vacation in the northwest part of the country. I loved the weather out there and it's hot and humid back here in Kansas. I still have pictures from my trip to share, though. My 4GB memory card didn't get full even though I took almost 400 photos. So sit back. Relax. Let's go west, shall we?

While in Bozeman, Montana, I mentioned that I was staying with my cousin Angie and posted one photo of her. But I have to brag on her a bit. When I got to Bozeman and walked into the room where I'd be staying (her oldest daughter, Rebecca, is a college student at Baylor and wasn't home for her summer visit yet so I got her room) there was a gift bag filled with local gifts. The note on the bag welcomed me to Montana. Below is a photo of the bag and gifts. The muffin and quick bread cookbook to the left was something she bought for me when we went to Wal-mart and she wouldn't let me pay for anything. She got one for herself and one for me. The other items are huckleberry taffy, huckleberry candles and huckleberry and chokecherry jams.

This is Roxy, their King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. She's very spoiled, but very sweet. I did my part to spoil her while I was there by getting up to let her outside or inside when no one else was paying attention and by giving her a Beggin' Strip or two. Her whole body shook when she realized what treat she was getting. They got Roxy two years ago right before they moved to Bozeman from their home in Mandeville, Louisiana. They lived through Hurricane Katrina and then about a year later decided to move north.

Here's a picture of Gary (that would be Angie's husband) on the hike we took the first day I was there. Angie and Gary met while working at Dairy Queen in Salina and I've known him since they first started dating. I mention this because their 25th wedding anniversary is next week. Happy anniversary!

This is a shot of the front of their house. A couple of months before leaving, I Googled their address on Google Maps. It didn't know about their street yet because the housing development is so new, even though they've lived in this house almost two years.

This is one of the views from their back porch. There are mountains in every direction you look since Bozeman is situated in the Gallatin Valley. The new construction you see on the left side of the picture is going to be the new middle school in town.

Here's a picture of Michelle (their second oldest) the last night we were there. She works at Famous Footwear and we paid her a visit at work. I love the sign to the right of her that says, "Life is short. Buy the shoes." Michelle and I have that shoe thing in common. She's just finishing up her junior year of high school and was chosen as one of two students to lead the graduates in for graduation this year. It was a big honor and she was very proud.

Here's a shot of Kyle and Gary racing on one of the Wii Mario Kart tracks. Later in the night they made Jenny, Angie and I race. They laughed a lot.

This last shot is of Matthew (their baby) and Michelle. Matthew will be a sophomore in school next year and I think he's looking forward to no longer being a freshman. Both kids are very sweet and while we were all there, Michelle was kicked out of her room (Jenny and Fred slept in her room) and sleeping on an air mattress on the dining room floor. And she had to get up about 5 o'clock every morning to leave for school at 7 o'clock, but she never once complained.

Their hospitality is wonderful. Angie was prepared for a whole menu of meals for us to eat each morning and evening. For lunch we either had sandwiches (the day we were at Yellowstone) or leftovers that were delicious. It was so relaxing and comfortable that I'd go back in a second if I could.

Yellowstone is magnificent

2008-05-29T10:32:00.013-05:00

Yesterday we loaded up Angie's van with lunch stuff and people and headed out for the approximate hour and a half drive to Yellowstone National Park. It was a long day, but so worth it. For today I'm pressed for time so I'm just going to leave you with some pictures.

Big Sky ski resort area.

On the drive to the West Yellowstone entrance.

Some bison and their babies having a midday snack beside the road.

At the entrance at West Yellowstone in the rain. Me, Kyle, Anissa, Jenny, Fred and Jeffrey.

Firehole Cascade.

Emerald geyser pool.

Old Faithful.

My favorite Lake Yellowstone shot.

Today is a long drive and I won't be posting until I get home. So, until Tuesday, happy trails to me.

The sun came out Tuesday

2008-05-27T21:19:00.010-05:00

Tuesday morning Angie and I had a late breakfast after both Michelle and Matthew were at school and Gary was at work. The kids get out of school next week and they are really excited about that. Angie and I had a grueling day of shopping and a late lunch.

Part of our day included walking downtown Bozeman checking out the little shops. Pricey but really cute stuff. Here's one of the shops with a mosaic stream in front of it. I bought a couple of things: a gift for Angie and some locally made soap. We also saw Bozeman's million dollar park. Behold its beauty (on the right). It has a statue of the Ten Commandments which was quite controversial since it's a public park. It is beautiful but quite small.

We had lunch at Starky's deli. I had a very good turkey reuben with chips and a pickle.

I love the feel of the downtown area. Lots of old signs. Here's a shot of the street itself after the sun finally showed itself.

Next up: Yellowstone.

Greetings from Bozeman!

2008-05-27T16:50:00.014-05:00

Sunday evening my flight into Bozeman, Montana, was early. We landed about 10:45 p.m. MDT, which was almost midnight to my body. My flights from Wichita to Minneapolis/St. Paul and then on to Bozeman/Big Sky/Yellowstone were uneventful. Besides spilling a large amount of water on myself at the Wichita airport and spending some quality time in front of the air hand dryer in the ladies room, there is nothing to report. The airport at Bozeman looks like a ski lodge, appropriately enough. No photos because I was too tired. Angie and Gary (my cousin and her husband of almost 25 years!) picked me up at the airport and were parked very close to the door. So I didn't have to think too much once I got to baggage claim.

Yesterday Angie and Gary tried to kill me. We had intended to do a short hike to a waterfall, but the road was closed because of a mudslide. It's been raining here for a week and the mud slid right down off that mountain and ruined our hike up there. So we improvised and they drove me through the campus of Montana State University and then downtown Bozeman. We hiked partially up a different mountain which is where they tried to kill me. My body is not as in shape as I'd like it to be and not being used to the altitude didn't help either. We didn't take the right "more vigorous" path, we took the other one, which was pretty steep, too. These pictures don't do justice to the incline. If you click on the photo to the left, you can see where we parked at the right side of the photo. The weather was windy and cold, but it was still beautiful. Here's a photo of Angie and I once we reached my breaking point. The city of Bozeman is behind us in the distance.

After we hiked we drove up to the ski lifts at Bridger Bowl. They are closed for the season, but there is still some snow up there.

Then we hit the local Wal-mart (it looks like a ski lodge, too) for some salsa fixin's and went home. Gary fixed his famous marinade (their son Matthew says he would drink it if they let him) then we soothed our tired muscles in their hot tub for a bit and watched a couple of movies before eating steaks, baked potatoes, bread and broccoli. Before bed I got introduced to games on the Nintendo Wii that Matthew bought with his savings recently. I am a decent bowler, but really stink at golf and Super Mario Bros. racing. They made Angie and I race each other and they got a good laugh out of that. We were usually vying for last place finishes.

It was a great Labor Day indeed.

Time for vacation

2008-05-25T13:08:00.002-05:00

Later today I leave for an eight-day vacation. I'm flying to Bozeman, Montana, this afternoon where my cousin, Angie, will pick me up at the airport. I'll be at Angie's house until Friday morning. I don't want to spoil the surprise of what I'll be doing in this post, but hopefully I'll be posting at least a couple of times from the road.

It wasn't until this morning that I started to get very excited about this trip. I've been so busy since the layoff that I haven't even had time to think about anything except what's next on the list of things to do. So I'm looking forward to this break, which was scheduled well in advance of the ax falling on my job.

Next time you hear from me I'll be in Big Sky Country!

Introducing Ethan

2008-05-21T22:29:00.003-05:00

This little guy belongs to my cousin Jason and his wife, Heather. He was born on March 23. He was about two weeks old in this picture.

And this picture of him with Heather was taken this past Sunday. He was alert and bright-eyed when he wasn't starving. His mom says he's a really good eater.

Those are Zach's hands on Heather's knee. He was pretty interested in Ethan and what he was doing. He didn't like it at all when his grandma was holding the baby. Apparently he thinks that the only baby grandma should rock is Zach.

A few more graduation snaps

2008-05-21T22:12:00.008-05:00

The two graduates posed for a picture, sans caps and gowns, on Sunday. They even dressed in similar colors and I don't even think they called each other ahead of time. Freaky, huh?

Here's a picture of Christopher enjoying (yes, I said enjoying) one of the EHS graduation speeches. At least Katie's graduation didn't last over three hours (including baccalaureate) like yours did, sir.

Here's one of Katie after she received her (fake) diploma. She's the one cheesin' for the camera. It's also a nice shot of Mr. Sobba standing in the doorway. He was my Algebra teacher in high school.

This one is a self-portrait of me, Zach and Christopher. This was shortly before I started giving Zach some of the fruit dip on his pacifier. Aren't aunts supposed to spoil their nieces and nephews? I have been doing a pretty good job of spoiling Zach lately. FYI, Christopher was pretty full of vodka at this point, but all I had was one margarita. That's the truth, I promise.

Katie graduates

2008-05-20T22:25:00.007-05:00

My niece Katie graduated from Ellinwood High School on Sunday. She was kind enough to pose for this picture with her cake (just as delicious as Anissa's since the same lady made them both) before graduation.

Katie's dad is on the school board, so he got to present his little girl with her diploma and a big hug. Very moving to see that. I can't lie, I teared up.

The graduate with her mom and dad (my brother-in-law Kenny and sister Teresa).

Katie will be attending Emporia State University this fall where she'll study to become an elementary or pre-school teacher (I'm not sure which). Unlike Anissa, who's the oldest child in her family, Katie is the baby (like me). Her parents are thrilled she's chosen a state college since both of their boys went to private schools.

Anissa graduates

2008-05-20T20:51:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday my niece Anissa graduated from Oakley High School. This is a snap of her before graduation in her cap and gown with her cake (which was delicious).

Even though alphabetically she would have been called first, they didn't sit alphabetically and she was in the second row of graduates.

The happy graduate with her mom and dad (my sister Jenny and and brother-in-law Fred).

Anissa will be going to the vocational technical school in Goodland, Kansas, next fall to study respiratory therapy. She's excited to be moving on to the next chapter of her life. But her mom, dad and brothers are really going to miss having her around even if they don't know it yet. Congratulations and good luck to you!