For the first time, I hosted Thanksgiving at my house. My parents and my aunt Terry came for a quick visit and we had ourselves a jolly ole time. My mom and I conspired (as per my usual Thanksgiving antics) and decided that I would actually cook dinner on Thursday. Our original plan was to go out to eat on Thursday but unfortunately The Cheesecake Factory was closed. :) My dad and Terry still thought we were going out though and when they walked into my apartment they both said, "It smells like ham and been soup in here." I guess that's a compliment since I had a ham in the oven but they didn't know that so...anyway. As we were doing the grand tour of my apartment, Terry noticed it was a little warm in the kitchen. With a little help and prodding from my mom, Terry finally opened the oven to realize that we were indeed having Thanksgiving dinner. Wahoo! I pulled out all of the rest of the fixings and we had ourselves a good and proper Thanksgiving meal complete with a veggie tray, chips/crackers, olives and pickles, jello (raspberry flavored of course), rolls, stuffing, candied yams, ham ,and twice-baked potatoes. I even made red cabbage, which is disgusting for any of you wondering. The rest of the meal was delicious if I do say so myself and I made sure to fish for compliments from my family every chance I could
The next day we went to KCMO and hit the Plaza shopping district. It was so much fun (except for the part where we spent at least an hour in the cheese and wine store. Yawn.) It was a beautiful day so we just walked up and down the streets, stopped in a bar when we got tired, and then topped it off with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. (Note, I gained at least 5 pounds during their visit.) The Plaza is decorated with lights and fun festive decor. It's so cute! At the end of the night, we went back to their hotel and watched the Wizard of Oz. Appropriate, no?
It was a short trip and they left the next day. I was so sad to see them go but so glad they came! Still can't figure out why Terry came to visit me in Kansas and not in CHICAGO but it's okay. At least she came. :) You are all welcome back again, anytime.
On Saturday night, my friend and I went to see Handel's Messiah. I had never heard it before and was quite impressed with the performance. For anyone who doesn't know (just like I didn't) Handel's Messiah is basically scriptures about Christ set to music. It blows my mind the amount of work that goes into creating a piece like that. Amazing. Ah, just amazing.
Other than that, not a lot of noteworthy stuff has been going on. I've been super busy as usual but nothing you want to hear about. Sorry again for the lack of pictures. Apparently I've decided I'm too good for taking pictures these days. My bad. I can't wait for Christmas at home! The countdown is on.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Rocky and Me.
The adventures of puppysitting for a weekend.
Meet Rocky.
He's adorable.
Rocky likes to be close and cuddle so we watched The Little Mermaid on Saturday morning.
Rocky didn't like it at the beginning. There was too much noise with a dog barking and a storm raging. But eventually he was okay with it.
Then we went for a little jaunt.
And because it's a little chilly outside, Rocky wore his sweater.
Later we decided that we should just hang out so while I did my thing, Rocky decided to chew on one of his favorite toys-his food dish.
See what I said about adorable?
Then we decided it was time to pose for family photos. Rocky's much more photogenic than I.
Rocky likes to snuggle up close for bed time. It was precious. He was my little space heater. My bed is kind of high so he was too afraid to jump off but in the morning after my shower, I went to look for him and he had somehow managed to find his way up onto the bed. Tricky dog.
Again with the adorable.
Then we got back in the car to take him back to his momma. He snuggled on my lap the whole way there.
I managed to return him with no obvious harm. Major win.
Meet Rocky.
Rocky likes to be close and cuddle so we watched The Little Mermaid on Saturday morning.
Then we went for a little jaunt.
Later we decided that we should just hang out so while I did my thing, Rocky decided to chew on one of his favorite toys-his food dish.
Then we decided it was time to pose for family photos. Rocky's much more photogenic than I.
Rocky likes to snuggle up close for bed time. It was precious. He was my little space heater. My bed is kind of high so he was too afraid to jump off but in the morning after my shower, I went to look for him and he had somehow managed to find his way up onto the bed. Tricky dog.
Again with the adorable.
Then we got back in the car to take him back to his momma. He snuggled on my lap the whole way there.
I managed to return him with no obvious harm. Major win.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Meet Me in St. Louis
Long time no post. I've been out-of-my-mind busy for about a month but that's just the way I like it. Here's a little update of the past month.
October Wk 1-Started out with the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A lot of great talks were given that helped me reaffirm my faith in my Savior and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are some of my favorites:
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland-"Because of Your Faith."
Elder D. Todd Christopherson-"Reflections on a Consecrated Life."
Richard C. Edgley-"Faith--The Choice is Yours."
Conference weekend also brings about good times with friends. After the sessions on Saturday, I got together with a group of girls and we had a progressive dinner. It was great to meet more people and get to know some better. At the last house, the guys met up with us and we played games and ate desserts. Couldn't be better. On Sunday, we went to another friend's house to watch the Sunday sessions. In between the sessions, we grilled steak, snacked, and chatted. Lots of food and even more fun!
October Wk 2-
I have no recollection at the moment of what happened to me during this week. Hmmm...??? Oh wait, now I remember! I went shopping with a few girls from my ward. There's a girl here from the south and she has no sweaters so of course I offered to help her go shopping. Any excuse to go shopping is a good enough excuse for me. One of the girls with us decided that it was time we all find our perfect pair of "butt jeans." I tried to tell her that none existed for a girl with no butt like myself but she would not be deterred. Poor girl picked out pair after pair with absolutely no luck. Turns out I was right. You can not have the perfect "butt jeans" if you have no butt. Sigh...
After shopping we went to dinner in KC at a pizza place called Spin! which was delicious and then next door went to an ice cream place called Glace. They have incredible flavors like goat cheese and honey, which I sampled, which tasted like goat cheese, and then honey. I can't even describe to you what kind of sensations were going on in my mouth. In the end, I decided to go with apple crisp and cinnamon. DELICIOUS. Go there if you're in KC. It's worth it.
October Wk 3-
I was able to go to a bonfire with some girls from church and then we made our way to a corn maze. The best part of the maze was a nice little tractor pull where I got to lay down in the hay and look up at the sky. It was amazing! The weather out her has been absolutely wonderful. It really helped me change my negative attitude about Kansas. In fact, I can even say that I like it here. It helps that I've made a lot of friends. That helps no matter where you live I guess.
October Wk 4-
Friday night was a blast. I went to a friend's friend's birthday party. I'd met the girl once but really, we just wanted an excuse to party. I'm glad there's always something going on around here and with different people every time.
Saturday morning my friend and I made our way to St. Louis to visit the St. Louis temple.
It's only about 4 hours from here so we made a little day trip of it. We had a good time chatting on the way up. That's a long time to keep talking but we are obviously pros because we did it all the way there and back. Going into that temple was a great experience. It's been awhile since I've gone to a temple and it was nice to go back and feel the spirit that is there. It was also a different feeling because we actually had to make a sacrifice to get there. A four hour drive is not what I'm used to. Even in Chicago it only took about a half hour to get there. Kansas City is actually getting one next year which is so exciting!
Afterwards, we went to an Italian restaurant called Brio and it was delicious. I couldn't get enough of their spinach artichoke dip! It ended up being a great little getaway.
October Wk 5-
Friday night we had our church Halloween dance. My friend Jarrett and I went as Waldo and Wenda (Waldo's girlfriend). How do we look?
This one is a real "Where's Waldo?" Can you see him?
Wendy's face makes me laugh so hard!
The flasher was also quite a crack up!
The next morning I got up to go to St. Louis. Yes, again. Totally worth every mile. :) My friend Ben is doing a medical rotation in St. Louis for the month. Last month he was in Chicago, about 10 minutes from where I used to live, and since he's now in St. Louis which is much closer, I made the journey to go see him. Saturday we spent the afternoon shopping. He needed a new pair of dress shoes and since I do that for a living, I thought I'd offer my services. That night we went with some of his friends to a part of town called The Hill and ate at one of the MANY Italian restaurants. The food of course was scrumptious. Ben ordered seafood ravioli for an appetizer which was surprisingly tasty. I love trying new things. By this point in most people's lives, they've tried much more. But hey, a girl's got to start somewhere, right?
On Sunday we went to church which turned out to be Stake Conference so we got there an hour early (oops) but got to listen to the choir practice. The choir was better than any stake choir I'd ever heard so I was happy we were able to hear them practice. After church, we drove downtown and visited the arch. The St. Louis Arch is enormous, in case you were wondering. We tried to get a picture of ourselves with it in the background with no real luck.
This was our last attempt before I gave up. Ha!
It was another beautiful day and I really didn't want my mini vacay to end. But alas, I came back to KC and am back to the grind and already part way into November. Wow. Time flies when you're having fun.
October Wk 1-Started out with the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A lot of great talks were given that helped me reaffirm my faith in my Savior and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are some of my favorites:
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland-"Because of Your Faith."
Elder D. Todd Christopherson-"Reflections on a Consecrated Life."
Richard C. Edgley-"Faith--The Choice is Yours."
Conference weekend also brings about good times with friends. After the sessions on Saturday, I got together with a group of girls and we had a progressive dinner. It was great to meet more people and get to know some better. At the last house, the guys met up with us and we played games and ate desserts. Couldn't be better. On Sunday, we went to another friend's house to watch the Sunday sessions. In between the sessions, we grilled steak, snacked, and chatted. Lots of food and even more fun!
October Wk 2-
I have no recollection at the moment of what happened to me during this week. Hmmm...??? Oh wait, now I remember! I went shopping with a few girls from my ward. There's a girl here from the south and she has no sweaters so of course I offered to help her go shopping. Any excuse to go shopping is a good enough excuse for me. One of the girls with us decided that it was time we all find our perfect pair of "butt jeans." I tried to tell her that none existed for a girl with no butt like myself but she would not be deterred. Poor girl picked out pair after pair with absolutely no luck. Turns out I was right. You can not have the perfect "butt jeans" if you have no butt. Sigh...
After shopping we went to dinner in KC at a pizza place called Spin! which was delicious and then next door went to an ice cream place called Glace. They have incredible flavors like goat cheese and honey, which I sampled, which tasted like goat cheese, and then honey. I can't even describe to you what kind of sensations were going on in my mouth. In the end, I decided to go with apple crisp and cinnamon. DELICIOUS. Go there if you're in KC. It's worth it.
October Wk 3-
I was able to go to a bonfire with some girls from church and then we made our way to a corn maze. The best part of the maze was a nice little tractor pull where I got to lay down in the hay and look up at the sky. It was amazing! The weather out her has been absolutely wonderful. It really helped me change my negative attitude about Kansas. In fact, I can even say that I like it here. It helps that I've made a lot of friends. That helps no matter where you live I guess.
October Wk 4-
Friday night was a blast. I went to a friend's friend's birthday party. I'd met the girl once but really, we just wanted an excuse to party. I'm glad there's always something going on around here and with different people every time.
Saturday morning my friend and I made our way to St. Louis to visit the St. Louis temple.
It's only about 4 hours from here so we made a little day trip of it. We had a good time chatting on the way up. That's a long time to keep talking but we are obviously pros because we did it all the way there and back. Going into that temple was a great experience. It's been awhile since I've gone to a temple and it was nice to go back and feel the spirit that is there. It was also a different feeling because we actually had to make a sacrifice to get there. A four hour drive is not what I'm used to. Even in Chicago it only took about a half hour to get there. Kansas City is actually getting one next year which is so exciting!
Afterwards, we went to an Italian restaurant called Brio and it was delicious. I couldn't get enough of their spinach artichoke dip! It ended up being a great little getaway.
October Wk 5-
Friday night we had our church Halloween dance. My friend Jarrett and I went as Waldo and Wenda (Waldo's girlfriend). How do we look?
The next morning I got up to go to St. Louis. Yes, again. Totally worth every mile. :) My friend Ben is doing a medical rotation in St. Louis for the month. Last month he was in Chicago, about 10 minutes from where I used to live, and since he's now in St. Louis which is much closer, I made the journey to go see him. Saturday we spent the afternoon shopping. He needed a new pair of dress shoes and since I do that for a living, I thought I'd offer my services. That night we went with some of his friends to a part of town called The Hill and ate at one of the MANY Italian restaurants. The food of course was scrumptious. Ben ordered seafood ravioli for an appetizer which was surprisingly tasty. I love trying new things. By this point in most people's lives, they've tried much more. But hey, a girl's got to start somewhere, right?
On Sunday we went to church which turned out to be Stake Conference so we got there an hour early (oops) but got to listen to the choir practice. The choir was better than any stake choir I'd ever heard so I was happy we were able to hear them practice. After church, we drove downtown and visited the arch. The St. Louis Arch is enormous, in case you were wondering. We tried to get a picture of ourselves with it in the background with no real luck.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
All good things must come to an end.
I had such a good weekend! I have a bittersweet relationship with weekends like this. I love them so much and then resent them for leaving me. Hopefully I have a good week this week to make up for my loss.
On Friday I went to downtown Lawrence for dinner. While I was down there, I walked up part of Mass Street and wandered into an old bookstore, walked past all sorts of quaint shops and boutiques, and made my way into a shoe store that had mood flip flops. I so want a pair! Mood rings are pretty awesome but mood flip flops take the cake. Then I met a friend for dinner at Zen Zero where we chowed down on some delicious Pad Thai. Seriously, if you haven't tried it yet, just do it. I will forever be grateful to my friend Laura who introduced me to my first bite. My life will never be the same. My friend tried it for the first time and absolutely loved it too. I'm happy to pass along the goodness that is Pad Thai.
Saturday morning my friend Larissa and I made it to KC for the art festival. It was amazing. It really made me wish I was creative and resourceful. I guess I'm creative sometimes but my execution leaves something to be desired. I'm grateful for those who produce great pieces of art that I may buy (someday when I'm rich.) Later that day, I met some new people at a friend's house, made my way over to the General Relief Society Broadcast, and then got home early enough to go to bed at a fairly decent hour. I have sure enjoyed my sleep the last few days.
Have you ever had one of those days where you're just in a great mood and nothing can really go wrong? Today was one of those days. I loved it. I met a few new people in the ward. I have decided that I can be outgoing and not wait for people to introduce themselves to me which has gotten me at least three new acquaintances. It helps that I now have a calling in the ward in which I need to know who the girls are. My home teachers came over which was fun. I always love company. Actually, that's a part of my life in Illinois that I miss very much. Maybe I need to throw a party at my place soon. Movie night anyone? And then I just hung out in my apartment with the windows open (it was such a beautiful day!) practiced the piano, and started reading Catcher in the Rye. I love the book so far and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read. I guess my opinion could change once I finish the book but with my crazy schedule, that could be awhile. You might as well get started reading it without waiting for my final verdict.
In short, I really don't want this weekend to be over. Can I please have another day?
This past week at work was the culmination of all of our hard work for the past three months. We had our Q1 line reviews. It consisted of long meetings with lots of people, a few changes to our line, and several late nights. I'm really crossing my fingers that the next three weeks won't be quite as hectic. Then I guess I will be ready to tackle the next three months to do it all over again. Please check out my shoes at your nearest Payless starting In February 2011. They are my babies. :) I hope you all had a great weekend as well! And seriously, I'm starting a pot if you'd like to donate money for me to attend the BYU football games. It really seems as though they need me...
On Friday I went to downtown Lawrence for dinner. While I was down there, I walked up part of Mass Street and wandered into an old bookstore, walked past all sorts of quaint shops and boutiques, and made my way into a shoe store that had mood flip flops. I so want a pair! Mood rings are pretty awesome but mood flip flops take the cake. Then I met a friend for dinner at Zen Zero where we chowed down on some delicious Pad Thai. Seriously, if you haven't tried it yet, just do it. I will forever be grateful to my friend Laura who introduced me to my first bite. My life will never be the same. My friend tried it for the first time and absolutely loved it too. I'm happy to pass along the goodness that is Pad Thai.
Saturday morning my friend Larissa and I made it to KC for the art festival. It was amazing. It really made me wish I was creative and resourceful. I guess I'm creative sometimes but my execution leaves something to be desired. I'm grateful for those who produce great pieces of art that I may buy (someday when I'm rich.) Later that day, I met some new people at a friend's house, made my way over to the General Relief Society Broadcast, and then got home early enough to go to bed at a fairly decent hour. I have sure enjoyed my sleep the last few days.
Have you ever had one of those days where you're just in a great mood and nothing can really go wrong? Today was one of those days. I loved it. I met a few new people in the ward. I have decided that I can be outgoing and not wait for people to introduce themselves to me which has gotten me at least three new acquaintances. It helps that I now have a calling in the ward in which I need to know who the girls are. My home teachers came over which was fun. I always love company. Actually, that's a part of my life in Illinois that I miss very much. Maybe I need to throw a party at my place soon. Movie night anyone? And then I just hung out in my apartment with the windows open (it was such a beautiful day!) practiced the piano, and started reading Catcher in the Rye. I love the book so far and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read. I guess my opinion could change once I finish the book but with my crazy schedule, that could be awhile. You might as well get started reading it without waiting for my final verdict.
In short, I really don't want this weekend to be over. Can I please have another day?
This past week at work was the culmination of all of our hard work for the past three months. We had our Q1 line reviews. It consisted of long meetings with lots of people, a few changes to our line, and several late nights. I'm really crossing my fingers that the next three weeks won't be quite as hectic. Then I guess I will be ready to tackle the next three months to do it all over again. Please check out my shoes at your nearest Payless starting In February 2011. They are my babies. :) I hope you all had a great weekend as well! And seriously, I'm starting a pot if you'd like to donate money for me to attend the BYU football games. It really seems as though they need me...
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My first Major League loss.
So we made it back to the Royals game since we got rained out at our last attempt. The Royals were playing the Indians for a spot in last place. The loser of this game would be dead last in the division. (Probably in the whole league...) so we were really hoping our Royals would pull it out. Not only did they not win, but at one point, we cheered because the Indians got a grand slam! Wahoo! And the guy that hit that also hit two other home runs in the game. I would say go Indians but really? You did that against the worst team in the division. Not that big of an accomplishment. On the bright side, there were fireworks and I had some really good company. This guy can make even the worst game for the Royals turn into the best night out. Thank goodness too or it would have been really depressing to attend the first loss of all of the MLB games that I have attended.
And for other good sports news, the Cougars lost on Saturday. All I'm sayin is that the only game they've won this season was the one I attended. Now I apparently do not bring the same luck to the Royals but you better hope that Cougar win and me being there was just a fluke. Otherwise, we're in for a pretty rough season. I can't afford to fly to every game. Sorry Cougs. I wish I could.
On Saturday night I went to an auction fundraiser for the Red Bag charity. Each Christmas they fill red bags with toys and clothes and items kids need and give them away to families that need some extra help during Christmas. It was a huge success and they raised a lot of money. I think we get to pick out the items to put in the bags at a future Young Single Adult activity with the money that we raised. Thinking about that puts me in the Christmas Spirit. Why is it so far away?! Oh wait, only a few more months...I can't believe how time flies.
Well sorry for the posts without pics. Maybe next week? I don't really have plans that would require a camera so just hope that for your viewing sake, I find something cool to take a picture of.
And for other good sports news, the Cougars lost on Saturday. All I'm sayin is that the only game they've won this season was the one I attended. Now I apparently do not bring the same luck to the Royals but you better hope that Cougar win and me being there was just a fluke. Otherwise, we're in for a pretty rough season. I can't afford to fly to every game. Sorry Cougs. I wish I could.
On Saturday night I went to an auction fundraiser for the Red Bag charity. Each Christmas they fill red bags with toys and clothes and items kids need and give them away to families that need some extra help during Christmas. It was a huge success and they raised a lot of money. I think we get to pick out the items to put in the bags at a future Young Single Adult activity with the money that we raised. Thinking about that puts me in the Christmas Spirit. Why is it so far away?! Oh wait, only a few more months...I can't believe how time flies.
Well sorry for the posts without pics. Maybe next week? I don't really have plans that would require a camera so just hope that for your viewing sake, I find something cool to take a picture of.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Weekend Shenanigans.
Labor Day Weekend with the fam was a blast. It was nice to spend some relaxing time with my family. On Friday, my mom and I went to lunch at Maddox and had some delicious peach pie. That night we all went to a family friend's wedding. This kid is the exact same age as my brother but it seems so strange that he's married! I still can't get over the fact that kids I used to babysit or are friends of my little brother are getting married. I'm starting to feel a little old. That night Nicole cut and colored my hair. I love being a redhead. :)
On Saturday Terry threw a Luau/birthday party for me and Xander at her house.
.
I got to meet the newest member of the family, Shelby. She's such a cute pup!
Erin loved her too. She was taking one piece of Shelby's dog food out of the bag at a time and feeding it to her. Shelby loved it and Erin was having a blast!
Erin was having blast with this balloon and not 30 seconds after I snapped this picture, it popped. The girl didn't even react! It scared me to death but she was just wondering when she could get another one to play with.
Erin also loves corn.
Big bite!
Then she picked up mine and offered it to me. As you can see, I had already finished but she wanted to make sure I enjoyed it as much as she had. So sweet.
Terry had leis for everyone. Erin's favorite thing was to wear all of them.
And of course we have the birthday boy! Xander turned 1 this week.
I think I've seen 4 of 5 of Brittaney's kids eat their cake but Xander was the one that seemed to enjoy it the most. I've never seen a kid go to town as much as he did. They had to hose down the high chair when he was done!
Offering me some pieces of demolished cake. Look at that mess!
Right after the party, my dad, Austin, Nicole, and I made our way over to the BYU game.
I threatened my dad that if he didn't buy me a BYU t-shirt then I would wear red to the game. He told me to not even think about wearing red and that he would get me a shirt. I should really go into top secret negotiations or something. Judging by the shirt I'm wearing in this picture, I'd say I'm pretty good at getting what I want.
I love it!
(PS can you tell how sunburned I am? It hurt for a week!)
On Sunday I went to Rylee's baby blessing. She's such a doll. Hollie has the cutest little girls! I'm so glad I got to meet up with her cute fam and Amy. I miss them!
On Monday we had a barbecue lunch and played around at home. I wish I could just do that kind of stuff everyday. Too bad we have to make money. On Tuesday my mom and I ate lunch at the Dodo. It was delicious and the desserts were amazing. Check it out if you're in Salt Lake.
This past weekend was pretty low key but I had a really good time. As I was driving home from work on Friday I got to watch a lightning storm. It was amazing. There wasn't any rain. It was just lightning continuously flashing all over the sky. It was like I was watching a show as I was driving home. Incredible.
On Saturday I volunteered at the Spinach Festival in Lenexa. Popeye and Olive Oil were there and people were walking around in shirts that said "I like spinach". Ick. I hate spinach. I feel bad that they have spinach days instead of peach or cherry days. At least pick a good fruit or vegetable! I just played a game with kids and gave out prizes. I love easy service projects like that and I love playing with the kids! Later that night I went over to a friends house to watch NC State beat UCF. Too bad the Cougs didn't beat Airforce. It would have been a perfect day in football. :)
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