Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Ok So It Wasn't That Great...


So yesterday was full of afternoon meetings that had nothing to do with what I actually DO and then the leadership took us all to the restaurant. It was a cute place. Kinda small but I can see how on a normal night with just me and my hubby, it would be fun. For this is seemed a bit small and crowded. The food was mighty tasty though. My favorites where the sliced rare steak w/some sort of green herb sauce, the mash potato balls and the cheese and toast. Lots of unusual things to try though. I did my fair share. I should have taken more pics. I didn't. My friend Kelly and I were to busy being weirded out because nobody would talk to us. We sat in the middle of this tiny room with loads of people crammed in next to us but two open chairs across from us. It was odd. We are good at entertaining ourselves though. We did however leave early and I only drank sparkling water.


Once I got home I downloaded bunches of music for a new Ipod play list. Wish I could get my dang Ipod to work however. Oh! And we ran out to get a potted plant for a friends admin day present. I found so many cool plants I would love to have at Home Depot.

Today I've got more meetings up the hill. A meeting with my manager one on one. Should be great. We don't get to meet all that often and then an hour long session in which our CPO will speak. I'm excited about this session because she is a fun speaker. She makes boring stuff seem fun and she's very down to earth.

Tonight we're headed back to Kate's for more demo work. I'm not sure what we will get into tonight but I'm looking forward to it. I do have to say that I'm looking forward to going back to bed tonight already. I don't think I slept all that great last night. Pretty common for me these days. It seems that I always wake up between 4:25 and 4:45. Almost every night now. Weird.

Well I'm off to work for a few hours before my meetings begin. Long day ahead!

Monday, April 23, 2007


Sometimes I totally identify with the human in this strip...
Click the pic to make it bigger.

Weekend Bliss

The weekend was wonderful. We had planned to go to mom's and then decided not to AND then decided to go anyway. The weather was perfect and the company was simply Divine. I was outside as much as I possibly could have been I think. We fished, did a camp fire (complete with marshmallows over the fire), grilled out, went for multiple walks. AND I might even have scored a free airstream trailer. I've ALWAYS wanted one but never really pursued it seriously. I just figured it would be something that someday I would get. Well that someday might just be today. A family member has one they want someone to just come get. We aren't sure on the condition but I assume we'll end up ripping everything out and starting again anyways. I'm so thrilled. I'd love to just live in it all the time but I'm sure that won't happen. Also came back with some really cute plants. I'm hoping I can actually keep them alive.



This week is Administrative Professionals Week at work. They do a series of workshops, meetings and a big event for us. Tonight they're taking us to suppose to be a super great restaurant downtown. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully some of my friends can attend. I'll be sure to have pictures tomorrow. Year before last it got WILD. I mean really wild. That would be the year I acquired my taste for tequila. bad. I know. It's gonna be a long day/night.
I also have Friday off this week. We had planned to go out of town but aren't doing that now. Not sure what I will do with myself. Sleep in for sure but other than that I've no idea.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Prints & Patterns

Ok, I'm accused constantly of hating patterns & prints. I have to admit that they make me nervous. When you're a curvy gal, such as myself, you think about how things like that tend to make curves look curvier. I'm trying to fight this urge however this summer and have decided to seek out something patterned I love. Here are some contenders:





And So There Was Demo and Pizza

Last night was demo night at the Kate Johnson new homestead. Was so much dang fun. We ate pizza till we almost couldn't move and then sat to work on what looks to be a pretty major demo project. We pulled up all the remaining carpet, tore down paneling, removed nasty old plaster. It was like a archaeological dig. We found cool vintage floor under all the carpet and many layers of bizarre wall paper. My favorite though was the Kansas City Star newspaper for April 5th, 1931. It was hidden under the kitchen cabinet we removed. Lucky for us the electricity is still on. I couldn't believe after a few short hours how much we accomplished and how much better the place looked. I just truly can't get over people lived with babies in that house. Truly. I'm excited to go back and gut more stuff. Such FUN!

Monday, April 16, 2007

New Surroundings...

So this weekend the weather turned out to be better than expected. Well at least Sunday did. We didn't get any snow, just rain and cold. John and I were desperate to get out of the house though. We went out to Kansas near the race trace and shopped for a new washer and dryer. Found the one we want the price isn't too bad. Once that tax refund comes back it's mine! I also got something else that I'm just wild about this weekend. Shouldn't have bought them but they were on sale AND it as the only pair in my size. I've been searching high and low for the right neutral heel for a bit. Couldn't decide on a color or shape. This one just grabbed me and I had to have it. We actually saw it Saturday but I had to go back Sunday and pick them up. I was praying the entire drive BACK to Kansas they hadn't gone home with someone else. 40% off is a pretty good deal.

We also did some furniture moving this weekend. I was very excited (probably a little to excited from the look on John's face when he saw what I pulled him away from his video game to see) because I got all my make up, perfumes and jewelry organized and displayed on our dresser top. I've been wanting to do this for a while but couldn't work out what I wanted to do. I finally just did it. I think it turned out great. It makes me smile every time I see it now. I think I purposefully came up with reasons to visit the bedroom more after doing this just so I could look at it. Sad but true. Also, got a new little sewing nook set up. It's still very meek but once I get some art up and some mini shelving it will be perfect. It's in a little corner of our living room. Nice because I can still watch movies while sewing or listen to my Ipod speakers from there as well. It's so cute in fact that I felt compelled to sew something. I didn't have the guts to start pants like I thought but I did make some cute decorative pillows for the bed. They are super cute and I'm pretty happy with them.





So this week hopefully will be warm and happier than last. I'm dying to get out and go for a walk. We sat in the yard for a while with the dogs yesterday just soaking up the sun. All the neighbors were out too. It was just such a nice day. I'm hoping we are done with cold weather. I can handle rainy stuff but no more snow scares. No more 30s. I'm so over it. I'm also, thinking about doing this...




Just look at that cute hair!

Friday, April 13, 2007

So It's April...

and it's about to snow. WTH? I'm not really sure what's going on here. I mean we shouldn't have snow NOW. It's APRIL! Whatever. Below is the radar at 9:00 am today. Just the kinda thing I like to see coming our way right before the weekend. Nice.

My week has been uneventful. Just working, cleaning, reading and eating. Same as always. Since I'm going to be locked up in the house this weekend watching the weather suck, I figure I'll get some cooking (chili sounds good right now), sewing (still working on that doggid grey dress) and reading (trying NOT to read the new Harry Potter book I have. I keep staring at it on the shelf. Harry is calling out to me. Alas, I've committed my reading focus to another for a titch. Harry my heart still belongs to you though) done. I think I might even venture out into the land of sewing pants this weekend too. Nothing complex. Just some simple drawstring wide leg pants. It's really more a game of how crazy can I make myself in one weekend. I'm betting on pretty nuts. That my friends is the actual technical term for it.

I'm in a strange mood. Not sure why per say. I just am. I'm also in the buying clothes mood. More in the buying shoes mood. Target has these CUTE flip flops I want and then Payless has these CUTE brown heels I want. I'm not sure I'll get either. I seem to be more tentative about clothing in my older age. What's with that?

Oh! Something fun coming up within the next week or so...Kate has a new house. Well sort of. Her Honey bought the one next door and it's just a god awful mess. She is single handedly doing demo work on it. Silly Girl! Jz & I are going to go up this next week and bust out the crow bars. I'm so excited to demolish stuff. Funny how people get into that. Check out the state of the house now. It's got a long way to go but it's cute and will be OH SO Cute when it's done.

These pics are from what it looked like when they walked in. Kate has done some major plaster, carpet and other yuck stuff removal since.





Monday, April 09, 2007

So I know everyone is so thrilled when I still large amounts of text that I didn't actually write here in my blog BUT when I read something that makes me think I wanna share it with others. Read this passage below. It's amazing.

The Holy One of Blessing
by Jon Walker

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:36 NIV)
Worship — Last night I read the book, “Night,” by Elie Wiesel. The narrative was so compelling that I could not put it down. Wiesel described the unholy madness he faced during World War II as a prisoner in the German killing-camp Auschwitz and then as one of the few survivors of a death march to the concentration camp at Buchenwald.
Wiesel, an orthodox Jew, lost his faith in God and in humanity as, day by day, he fought to survive in a catastrophic pit of hell where, as one prisoner told him, “… There are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone.”
When he was finally liberated by Allied Forces in 1945, Wiesel was just 16. He’d witnessed the slow death of his father; his mother and sister were presumably dead; and he felt as if everything had come to an end: “… Man, history, literature, religion, God. There was nothing left. And yet we begin again with night” (a reference to the Jewish tradition that a new day starts as night falls).
Throughout the narrative, Wiesel records bits and pieces of traditional Jewish prayers as they’re recited by himself and other prisoners, and he honestly records his anger at God for appearing to ignore those who cried out for the Almighty’s protection.
In my life, I’ve never faced the kind of earthly hell Wiesel faced, yet I’ve found myself angry at God for appearing to ignore my cries for help. I’ve abandoned my faith for much lesser things.
I cannot say how strong my faith would be if I was faced with an evil so mind-wrenching. Just trying to write this devotional, I could not find adjectives strong enough to convey the horror at Auschwitz and Buchenwald, and yet, in my life, I struggle to maintain my faith when I simply don’t get my way.
But then, it’s not about me, and it’s not about you. We serve a God of Blessings, even though we may not see the blessings in our hand. We may not even see the blessings in God’s hand, but as my sweet Southern aunt always says, “When you can’t see God’s hand, trust in his character.”
It would seem the stuff of faith is facing the fire, and like
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we say, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18 NIV)
In other words, we may not be rescued by God, but we will continue to worship him, and, just to be clear, no matter what happens, we will not worship your gods. We will not worship inferior gods made from gold, stone, and wood. We will not worship inferior gods made from the brick and mortar of self-centeredness, from self-will, from our demands for an easy, understandable life and an easy, “only if I can see it” faith. (Hebrews 11:1)
We worship God when we leave it up to him to interpret our circumstances. We worship God when we take the facts that we can see and offer them to the God-who-sees-all. We worship God when we allow him to define our lives and our purpose.
We worship God when we allow our heartache and our horrible circumstances to crowd us closer to the One who grieves with us because he loves us more than any other.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Green Patent Love

So I've GOT to have these. They are just so me and well I need some funky sandals for summer. How fun would these be with little skirts and dresses. AND at only $45 you can't go wrong. With a little tan and a pedicure I would be sitting pretty. They are a bit crazy old lady working in the garden but I'm kinda crazy old lady anyway. At least she's a stylish crazy old lady! Me heart is also swooning over this necklace. It's a bit pricier but I'm looking for a good staple necklace. Something I can wear with loads of stuff but it never gets old. It's something I could consider a signature piece. I'm in love...

Thursday, April 05, 2007

It is finished...

And so 870 pages later I've finished the book. I started reading this Harry Potter book because I wanted something to read while on vacation in March. Little did I realize that I would be hooked and eager to read the next one as soon as I shut the back cover of this one. JK Rowling's writing style is amazing and they're just such fun books to read. I do have the next one. It's the next to the last in the series. I'm dying to read it but I also don't want the journey to be over so quickly. I will have to wait till end of July for the final book but I'm not sure I'm ready. I love a good book but it's always hard once it's over. These people become part of your life (I know it sounds silly) and you hate to see them leave. They become friends and you're involved in their lives. I'm sure John is glad I'm done reading for now. All I've talked about for a month is Harry Potter this and Harry Potter that. So in the mean time I'm going to start reading something a little more substantial. The Rhythm of Life by Mathew Kelley. It's going to be a great book but a hard one. I read the first chapter when I got it (on a recomendation) and it was a heavy hittin, callin you out of your comfort zone, question asking kinda book. I'm anxious to read it but at the same time nervous. I know I will benefit greatly from it's pages but the change part will be tough. This kind of reading however is what life is about. Growing, learning and becoming who God's made you to be. Here's to the journey!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing


Sewing inspiration for the day. Found this gal by her book and then her website is just cool too. I love that she does simple sewing projects. I get overwhelmed with the sewing pretty easy and it's exciting to think that I could make cute bags and linens like these. I do plan to get the book and start an entire grouping of projects revolving around those patterns. Extremely cute and extremely me stuff here people.