Little Things

Silent Night

2009-12-12T08:27:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to All!

S - Silent Night! In grade school, I had to learn and sing “Silent Night” in German for the Christmas program. Since German was hard for me to learn and pronounce, and because I’m a horrible singer, the song was never one of my favorites. However, in recent years, as I’ve really pondered the words, the song has become beautiful to me. Christ’s birth was the most holy night ever because it ushered in the “dawn of redeeming grace”. Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). May God’s grace be real to you each day.

I - II! Early in the year, I was asked to serve as president of P.E.O. Chapter II. Although a little hesitant at first to accept, I’m glad I did. The most rewarding part of the job is the opportunity to form deeper bonds with the women in the chapter.

L - Living Room! It only took seven years of staring at white walls for the living room to make it to the top of my painting list. It’s now a very pretty olive green color; I wonder how I stood it white for so long! At an antique store, I stumbled upon a beautiful stained glass window from an old building in downtown Chicago. Hanging the 20 lb. window on the living room wall was a bit of a challenge, especially since the studs are not where I needed them, but it’s been up for over a month and hasn’t fallen down yet!

E - Early Mornings! I’ve been swimming at 6 AM for several years now, but this summer, the practice start time changed to 5:30. Although very much a morning person, even I had a bit of a struggle adjusting to the earlier time. However, at the Big Shoulders 5K race in September, I swam my second best time ever for that event. The extra half hour of practice time must be paying off.

N - Novels! I have to confess that I was absorbed by the Twilight Saga books by Stephenie Meyer. I found the books extremely entertaining and thought provoking on many different levels. I also loved Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, Plainsong by Kent Haruf, and the true story of two unlikely friends in Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

T - Travels! I didn’t take any major trips this year but did make a short jaunt to St. Louis to visit a friend. My mom and I also spent a few days in California, celebrating my cousin’s college graduation and spending time with family.

N - Nightfall! My evenings are spent watching my favorite TV shows (Survivor and Project Runway top the list), discussing the Bible in my weekly study group, and trying not to spend too much time on Facebook.

I - Impossible! Is it possible that I graduated high school 15 years ago? A group of friends and I went to our 15 year high school reunion this summer. Although I had a much better time than I expected, I’m still thankful that high school is behind me!

G - Growth! No changes on the work front for me this year. I’m still in the IT department at Helzberg Diamonds. Thanks to this job, I’ve expanded both my knowledge of the retail industry and my technical skills.

H - Hiking! In September, I traveled to western Colorado to hike with 20 women from church. Due to snow and 50 to 60 MPH winds for the last hour and a half of the climb, summiting the mountain was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It was a lesson in perseverance!

T - Teaching! God has been teaching me this year about trusting Him to act and not trying to take matters in to my own hands. He’s also been teaching me about closeness with Him and what changes I need to make in my life to achieve that.

Mountain High

2008-09-19T12:28:00.005-06:00

I just got home from a few days in Colorado. I went with a group of women from church. We hiked and summitted a 14,000 foot mountain. I've now summitted my second "14er". Only 52 more in Colorado to go! Amazing views of God's creation along the trail and from the top!

One of my favorite seasons!

2008-09-07T15:52:00.010-06:00

Not only was last weekend Labor Day, but it was also the start of one of my favorite times of year: College Football Season!!!

I can remember my parents going to KU football games when I was a child. In those days, I sometimes got to sit on "the hill" overlooking the stadium. I can't recall much about the actual games but I remember loving being outside on beautiful autumn days.

When I first start watching football on TV, I thought the object of the game was to see how many guys you could run in to. I never saw the football. Just big guys pushing each other around. He got one! He got a couple! Oh...he fell down without hitting anyone.

My understanding of the game has progressed quite a bit since then. Actually, football is the one team sport that I'll watch, follow, and enjoy even if I'm not a hard-core fan of either team playing. There's just something beautiful about the sport.

Several years ago, my dad started the tradition of tailgating before every KU home game. When we started, it was a simple affair: store bought fried chicken and me and my parents. The menus for our tailgates these days range from ribs, to french toast for a morning game, to baked brie and Jayhawk decorated cookies. Think of the tailgate as weekly party in a beautiful setting, with family, friends, food, games, and even a little TV to follow the other college football action. So fun!!

And now KU actually even wins some games!

"Working" Hard in D.C.

2008-08-21T07:22:00.007-06:00

I've been in Washington, D.C., since Monday afternoon, attending a training class for work. The training class is fine, but I've been *loving* my time outside of class.

My hotel is in downtown DC (about a 7 minute jog from the National Mall) and I've been walking to work every morning. Man, I could get used to this walking to work thing. Turn on the iPod. Listen to some good tunes. Don't have to worry about traffic. Or parking. Or gas mileage. Just me and my iPod. (For those that know I don't like to walk, are you shocked at this change in me?)

The second night I was here, I took the Metro to Pentagon City to visit a swimming friend who just moved here. Even though I've taken the subway lots of times in Chicago and foreign cities, I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I figure out how to get where I'm going on it. It's the little things... Anyway, I met up with my friend in Pentagon City. She showed me around and then made a super yummy dinner for me and her hubby. We had a great time catching up!

The unexpected surprise of the week was getting to see my friend Rachel, who lives in Chicago. She used to live in D.C., so I had emailed her Monday night to get her reccommendations for what I should do here in my spare time, and what do you know, I woke up on Tuesday morning to a message from her saying she's actually going to be in D.C. this week! WOO-HOO-WOO!! So, we had breakfast together yesterday morning. It was so fun to catch up. I usually see her in Chicago in September when I do the Big Shoulders 5K swim, but I'm not doing that this year, so it worked out great to catch up this week!

Last night, I had dinner with my cousin Ashley and her boyfriend Mike. It's probably been 2 and a half years since I've seen her. We popped in to her cute walk-up near Dupont Circle before dinner. Great location and tons of character. It was so fun to get caught up on her life!

This morning, I went running along the National Mall. I discovered last fall that my aversion to running isn't nearly as bad with my iPod. Add in some great scenery and architecture along the Mall, and lo and behold, I actually like running! Today, I ran towards the Capitol building. Tomorrow, I'll head towards the Lincoln Memorial. What a great start to the day.

After work today, I'm heading to the National Air and Space Museum. Several people recommended it as a must see.

So, this has been a great week in D.C.! Thanks to my employer for sending me here!

Olympic Obsession

2008-08-12T18:50:00.003-06:00

It's all Olympics, all the time at my house this week. Even my Build-a-Bear, Camille, got in to the act. (Since I don't have children, Camille is my "kid" that I get to dress up in patriotic clothing.) I've been clued to the TV every minute that I've been home. And, I'm staying up way past my bedtime. I usually go to bed before 10:00, but I just can't turn off the Olympics until all the swimming is over (and men's gymnastics last night...and probably women's gymnastics tonight...). I'll probably get more sleep next week, but for this week, I'm just drinking more caffeine to make up for it. The Olympics are so worth it!

Learning a Lot

2008-08-03T17:11:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow will be the end of week five at my new job. I have to confess that for the first couple of weeks, I felt a little overwhelmed. Since I worked at my old job for over six years, I guess I underestimated, or had forgotten, how much there is to learn when starting a new job. Not only was it semi-new technology for me, but it's also totally different types of systems. I even had a few moments where I thought to myself "I wonder if I should just go back to my old job?". But, in those moments, I also kept telling myself (yes, I talk to myself a lot), "It's okay. It's going to take time to learn everything. They don't expect you to know it all right now.". Last week, and this week even more so, I've begun to feel a little bit more comfortable with what I'm doing. And I actually think I know the ins and outs of a couple of different things! So, although I'm used to being the SME, and not the "new kid", I'm learning a ton, learning technology that's relevant in today's world, and am becoming more comfortable every day!

Finished!!

2008-08-03T16:37:00.007-06:00

I've either been out of town (Olympic Trials, Vermont wedding, in Lawrence saying good-bye to Mark) or working on my dining room the past five weekends. So, this weekend was so pleasant because it didn't involve any of those things!! Don't get me wrong...I love traveling and it's fun working on the house, but I have to confess that I was totally ready for the dining room project to be done and to have a lazy weekend.

My previous post contains a couple of dining room photos...with and without wallpaper. This is the finished photo!!! (Except for the plantation shutters, which I'm hoping will be installed this week). After getting the wallpaper off, I wasn't making very much progress on the dining room until my mom volunteered to help. She is a trooper!!! She put in two long weekends of work with me. It was pretty time consuming to prep the walls and get them in good enough shape to paint. A friend helped me hang the chandelier (or rather, he installed it while I watched) this past week. Without them, I'd still be spackeling holes!

Even though it was hard work, I love the way it turned out!!

Stripping, Swimming, and Traveling

2008-07-08T18:23:00.004-06:00

Somehow, despite being off work for almost two weeks, I haven't had much time to blog. Hopefully this post will catch you up a bit on my recent adventures.

My last day at my old job was Monday the 23rd. I had planned to work until Friday the 27th, but they said when developers leave, they usually ask them to leave immediately. I guess they're afraid of sabatoge or something. I would never to that (clearly!) so I was a little shocked when they said that. But, the more I got to thinking about it, the more I thought "Cool, more paid time off!" (they're required by law to pay out the full two weeks). They let me stay for a week after I gave notice, but I did get four unexpected days off. I originally planned to use the time to do fun things, but I've been planning to strip the wallpaper in my dining room and then paint this summer. I decided I'd much rather strip wallpaper when I'm off work than after a long day at the office. I did go blueberry picking with my cousin one morning (super fun and super cheap! I'm looking forward to eating the berries I froze all year long), but then I started the wallpaper job. The first picture is "before". It was taken a couple of years ago.

Stripping wallpaper is definitely not my favorite chore!! My back and shoulders begin screaming pretty much as soon as I pick up a scraper. Fortunately, this room was easier than the hallway that I did last summer. It only had about 2 layers of wallpaper on it, instead of the 5 or 6 that the hallway had. And occassionally, I was able to grab a piece and rip off a huge section of the outer paper and the backing! That made the chore go pretty quicky! Unlike last summer, the walls are actually in decent shape. I should be able to avoid having to do a skim coat of drywall mud before painting! Yay! I'm totally excited that my house is finally wallpaper free!! WOO-HOO-WOO!! The picture below is of the wallpaper-less walls. Once I get the paint done, I'll post a picture of the finished product.

After finishing the wallpaper project, my mom and I headed to Omaha for the swimming Olympic Trials! Oh my gosh! It was a blast!! We saw tons of world and American records! Swimming has gotten so fast in the ten years since I retired! But, it was cool for me because I still know a few of the swimmers that made the team and still just love to watch the sport! I jumped up and down with excitement when a fellow Northwestern grad made the team in the men's 100 back. Imagine me excited and then multiply that by about 10! That's how excited I was! This picture is of the awards ceremony for Michael Phelp's 400 IM. Notice the Micheal in yellow letters behind him? That was some cool sort of falling-hologram-thing (that's a very techincal term!) that spelled out swimmers names, events, USA Swimming, and even did a picture of the Olympic Ring logo. Very cool!
After four days in Omaha, my mom and I drove back to KC on Thursday and then turned around and flew to Hartford, CT with my dad first thing Friday morning! I got up at 3:15 a.m.!!! I'm used to getting up around 5:15 or 5:30, but anything in the "3s" is EARLY! After arriving in Hartford, we rented a car and I drove four hours north to Middlebury, VT, where a good family friend of ours, Erica Hill, got married. Mark drove up from Philly for the weekend and we had a GREAT time!

Middlebury is a picturesque quaint New England town, nestled in the mountains of Vermont. It's so green up there. The Middlebury campus has a big "green" in the middle, with old stone buildings around it. The wedding was lovely! Good food, great company, and fun dancing made for an awesome evening!

And then yesterday, I started my new job! It's going well so far, but I'll share more about that in a future post.

This might be the best family photo we've taken in a while!

Devil in the White City

2008-06-22T16:14:00.002-06:00

I recently finished reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. My swim coach loaned it to me, but then said "I hated it. It's gruesome and scary". So my question to him was "why did you loan it to me, then????". (He didn't have a response to that.) I ran out of other books to read so I decided to give it a try. I honestly didn't even know what it was about when I started reading. For one thing, I thought it was fiction. Although it reads like a novel, it's not. It's the true story of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and a serial killer who takes advantage of the fair to lure single women to their death's. I didn't find it scary, though. If it had been about a killer who broke into women's house through their front windows or screened-in porches, that would have freaked me out! But, I don't think the author went in to too much detail about the murders. He got the point across, but that's not what I take away from the book. I mostly recall the fascinating details about how the World's Fair came to be and the amazing accomplishments to get it built. I'm sort of ashamed that I lived in Chicagoland for seven years but didn't really know any of this story. I mean, I knew Chicago had hosted a world's fair, but that's about it. I couldn't have told you when it was, where it was, what the attractions were, or any other relevant detail. I totally recommend this book to anyone with even a slight interest in history.

I also think I've decided that I might be beginning to enjoy nonfiction-history-that-reads-like-a-novel more than a lot of the fiction I've read recently. There just doesn't seem to be that much good fiction out there right now. Maybe I'm just missing it somehow? Honestly, I can't think of a GREAT fiction book that I've read since the 7th Harry Potter last summer.

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

2008-06-17T17:02:00.003-06:00

No, I'm not sporting any new rings or anything. But, I will get to spend a lot more time thinking about jewelry when I start my new job at Helzberg Diamonds on July 7th!!!!!! I'll be a Project Manager/Developer in the IT department. They're located in North Kansas City, about 3 miles north of where I currently work. I am totally excited!!

I told the folks at my current job the news yesterday. They tried to get me to stay, but I'm convinced that it's time for a change. I did get sad as I was telling some of my teammates that I'm leaving. I'll miss my close friends there. I've been wanting the news to be public, because I've felt a little guilty keeping something from them. So, I'm glad everything is out in the open and I can continue with the "moving on" process.

I totally saw God's hand in this decision. For example, while I was in the interview process, I wanted to read a book written by the guy that ran Helzberg for about 40 years. The book is really geared toured coaching someone on entrepreneurship, but the author gives tons of examples from his days at Helzberg. So, I figured it'd be a good introduction to the company and the culture. I looked it up on the online catalog for the county library and discovered they have two copies of it. One at the main library (not near my house) and one at the branch closest to me!!! I totally see that as a God thing. Providing an easy way for me to get and read the book.

I was also worried about the timing of the new job because of some financial benefits I'd get from Block at the end of June. But, God worked that out, too. Because of some schedule constraints, the interview process took a little longer than the hiring manager intended. He even apologized to me for it taking so long. I thought to myself "no, that's really quite all right". Because the longer it delayed, the better it would be for me in terms of leaving Block.

Also, I already had a vacation planned for the first week in July (going to the swimming Olympic Trials in Omaha and then the wedding of a close family friend in VT). I was worried my vacation would conflict with starting a new job. But, the hiring manager was totally cool about that, too.

Oh, and it worked out so that I only have to work one day next week at my current job but they'll pay me for the whole week. I'm open to suggestions on what I should do (I've never been to the Liberty Memorial and am thinking this might be a great time to go see it). I'm also planning to start stripping the wallpaper in my dining room (the only room left in my house that still has wallpaper).

Life is good. Praise the LORD!

Good Friends

2008-06-11T18:33:00.005-06:00

This past weekend, I drove to St Louis to visit Nanci, Aaron, their daughter Becca, and our friend Marissa. Marissa flew in from Minnesota for the weekend. Nanci, Mariss, and I were in the same sorority in college and have stayed close friends (side note: I'm having a hard time believing that my 10 year college reunion is this fall. How can 10 years possibly have gone by?). Nanci grew up in St Louis, but she has lived in Israel, North Carolina and Connecticut since college. I jumped up and down with excitement (and clapped, too!) when she and her husband decided to move to St Louis a couple summers ago! I can make it from my house to hers in 3 and half hours. SOOOO great!

Becca is 11 months old and is just the cutest thing. She smiles, laughs, and is very easy going. Mariss and I think she looks exactly like her daddy. It's funny, because Nanci doesn't see the resemblance.

Anyway, we had a great weekend!!!! It's so fun to be with friends that have known me for so long. They know all my back history, so to speak. Even though I only see Nance about once a year (we talk on the phone all the time, though) and Mariss once every couple of years, it's always like no time has passed when we're together. When we get together, we mostly just sit around and chat. And that is totally cool. I love friends like that. No agenda needed. Just being together is enough.

We did make an excursion to the Missouri Botanical Gardens on Saturday, though. I've been wanting to see the gardens ever since my brother was in med school at Wash U in St Louis. He told me they were great and he was right!

Yard Work Girl

2008-05-31T14:44:00.004-06:00

After touring the construction site of the KC Performing Arts Center with my P.E.O. chapter this morning (the concert hall and future home of the KC Symphany is behind me), I tackled all the yard work I should have been doing this spring but managed to put off for various reasons (Australia, scrapbooking, working, swimming, other more-fun-than-yard-work-things, etc).

In about 4 and a half hours today, in addition to making myself look completely disgusting (dirt everywhere, including under my finger nails which drives me crazy), I've managed to:

clean the gutters (really old standing water smells really bad, by the way)
trim the hedges in my front yard without cutting the extension cord
rake up the trimmed hedge branches and a few miscellaneous leaves that got mixed in
put new mulch around the tree in the front yard
spread down a lime treatment in the front yard, which is what the Tru-Green guy that knocked on my door on Thursday night said I need to get new grass to grow again
sweep the driveway (had to use the manual sweeper instead of the blower because some of the little hurricane goodies were stuck to the driveway)
move all the remaining firewood from the back yard to the garage.
rake up the leaves from the back porch
move the wind chimes from the screened-in porch to the hanging basket cord outside
re-stake the rain gauge in to the yard. hope it stays because it makes me happy to know how much rain has fallen
mix a new batch of weed sprayer and spray for weeds in the front and back
discover that yard work accompanied by tunes from an ipod isn't all that bad

The last item on the list may be the best accomplishment of all. Maybe now I'll enjoy yard work more?

65 Years!

2008-05-22T11:27:00.003-06:00

Today is my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary! Can you believe that? A lot of people don't even live to be 65, let alone be married that long. The met at the University of Kansas, where they had an accounting class together. She was one of the few female accounting majors. He called her one night to ask for the homework assignment...despite the fact that he lived with at least half a dozen people that could have given it to him! He knew what he really wanted! Somehow a date resulted from the phone call and the rest is history. Early on in their dating, he asked her to make him a pie. He's a pie lover, you see, and he needed to make sure she was up to the challenge. She passed with flying colors and has been making pies for our family ever since! They married after graduation and a little over a year later, my mom was born. My uncle was born three years after that. They have been an example for how a marriage should be: love each other, take care of each other, stay committed to each other. I love you, Gran and Grandpa!!

Better than the Book!

2008-05-19T16:36:00.005-06:00

I finally saw Wicked!!! I gave my mom a ticket for Mother's Day, which considering she'd already seen it twice, might have been more a gift for me than for her. Regardless, I finally got to go and I loved it!!!! When I read the book about four years ago, I seriously disliked it. I have a rule that I never stop reading a book I've started (Moby Dick is the only exception), so I kept reading it even though the first 3/4's were really hard to get in to (and it's not short). By the last 1/4, I finally cared about the characters and wanted to find out what happened, so it read a little quicker towards the end. But, when I heard that it was a musical, I was shocked. My first thought was "oh, it's so terrible, who would want to see it?". But people who had seen it, and whose opinions I trust, told me it was fabulous and that I would love it. I had a hard time picturing this...the book is long, and philosophical, and not entertaining. I just couldn't picture how it could be a great musical. I sure was wrong!!

The music is fun, fast-moving, and up beat. The story also moves along quickly. I feel that a lot of musicals have random songs that serve absolutely no purpose. They're just there to be another song. That isn't the case with Wicked at all. Every song advances the plot in some way. Plus, all the philosophy which bogs down the book is touched on and presented in the musical, but without having to suffer through a long-winded author's preachiness. The viewer can think about the issues and come to his own conclusions. Plus, it's cool to see how some of the elements from "The Wizard of Oz" tie in or came to be. Overall, it's one of my top two favorite musicals of all time! If you ever have the chance, go to Wicked!!! And tell me, so I can go with you!!!

Lessons Learned, Part II

2008-05-11T12:03:00.002-06:00

The purpose of an electric hedge trimmer is to trim the hedges, not the heavy duty orange extension cord.

It's been an eventful week at my house.

Lessons Learned

2008-05-08T08:59:00.002-06:00

1. If you ever scorch your carpet, a lot of Oxi Clean carpet stain remover will get the stain out.

2. Don't leave your flat-iron curling iron sitting on the carpet when it's on.

The Beauty of Home

2008-05-04T18:01:00.004-06:00

There's just something about being home. The spring colors in my backyard. My own pillow. Internet whenever I want it without being charged (other than that little cable bill I pay each month). My own car, which I can drive on the right (literally and figuratively) side of the road. More than 5 shirts to wear. My DVR with my favorite programs waiting for me to watch them. My comfy couch.

Sigh. Traveling is great! New sights, culture, words, food, adventures. But, coming home is great, too!

Australian Favorites

2008-05-01T16:41:00.008-06:00

-Per Shelly’s request. My mom and I share our favorites in several categories at the end of each trip we take. Like a said in a previous post, we can (and did!) make this game go on for a while, so I apologize in advance for the length of this post.

Favorite place we went = Vasse Felix winery in Margaret River. If I lived in Western Australia, I would want to have my wedding reception there. The restaurant is sort of like a tree house, nestled in the trees overlooking the gorgeous green of the yard and vineyard. It’s also incredibly quiet and relaxing. The Blue Mountains are my second choice. I’d love to go back there someday to hike and explore some more.

Favorite activity = Biking on Rottnest Island. Peaceful. Hair blowing in the wind. Scenic. Uncrowded. Mom conquered a fear she’s had for 30 years. Good stuff!

Favorite restaurant = Vasse Felix winery, for the overall combination of a beautiful setting, friendly people, and great food.

Favorite food (main course)= The tuna steak I had at Vasse Felix winery.

Favorite food (dessert) = Rosemary ice cream at Vasse Felix winery. Okay, I know that sounds like a very strange type of ice cream, but it was GREAT!! I don’t even know how to describe it, but it was probably the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

Favorite meal that wasn’t Vasse Felix = Tea at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. Fancy setting. Orange Pekoe tea that was really good. And, I discovered that milk and sugar in tea is a good thing! (I felt so British!!). Flaky pastries. Fabulous preserves for an incredibly moist scone. Tasty finger sandwiches. A time to just sit and relax and enjoy a rare treat.

Favorite shopping = Fremantle Markets. For the variety of items available there, for the cool things we found (and bought!), for the great prices, for the time that we walked from stall to stall and bought food for dinner.

Favorite beach = One of the bays on Rottnest Island. For the seclusion, sunshine, white sand, and blue, blue water.

Favorite animal = Kangaroo!!! So sweet and gentle!

Biggest Surprise = Snow in the Blue Mountains? Rain in Perth? Not having to show an ID at any point on our domestic flight from Perth to Sydney?

Favorite Sign = “Don’t be a tosser”. What’s your first thought at what this means? Well, when I first saw it, I thought it meant, “Don’t puke”. (Eloquent, I know.) Turns out it actually means don’t litter. My second favorite sign, which I unfortunately don’t have a picture of, is “Dangerous Goods Not Allowed in Tunnel”. Are they allowed other places?

Favorite Spoken Australian phrase = “They’re having a good tustle, yes quite a good tustle indeed”. The announcer at the swim meet said this during every close race between a couple of swimmers in a heat. I love it! I think I might start using it at home. My mom’s favorite is “No drama”. It means pretty much the same thing as “No worries”. I also might have to throw that in to some future conversations.

Favorite Australian spelling = Gaol. Despite reading several books using this word and knowing the meaning of it, I always thought it was pronounced “Gay-ol”. Little did I know it’s actually pronounced “jail”. Very strange. I like most of the Australian spellings for things (cheque, organisation, etc) but this just seems very odd to me.

Favorite Coin or Currency = The bills are kind of interesting because they have a little clear see-through spot in them. But, my favorite item of currency is the 2 dollar coin. It’s about the same size and weight as a British pound, so I kept thinking of it as a “two-pounder”. We’d be getting money out for a bus and I’d say “Oh, I have a two-pounder”.

Favorite thing they have that we don’t = There’s a tie in this category for me. The toilets have the ability to do a half flush or a full flush. I think that’s cool and quite practical. My other favorite invention is that each outlet has the ability to be turned on or off. This is cool because it’s a good way to get rid of all that “phantom power” that is used when items are plugged in to an outlet but not turned on. There, rather than having to unplug everything, you could just turn the outlet to off and voila, power saved!

Favorite wine = 2002 Shiraz at the Sandalford winery. We got to taste a special vintage that normal tasters don’t get to try. It was flavorful and super smooth. It’s not possible to ship wine to the US (well, I guess it is but it’s crazy expensive), so we contemplated trying to take a couple bottles home with us but decided not to risk them getting broken. We have the name of a distributer in the US, so we will definitely be looking it up now that we're home. So good!!

Favorite walk = Down 200+ steps (and then back up!) to the Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. The good exercise resulted in breathtaking views!

Favorite method of transportation = Mine was driving on the left hand side of the road. I pretty much got the hang of it after a couple of days. I even stopped turning on the wind shield wipers instead of the turn signal and figured out the roundabouts. My mom’s favorite method was all the buses we took in Sydney because she was quite proud of us that we figured out how to get where we wanted to go on them.

Favorite toilet = Queen Victoria Building. Hands down! A sliding door to gain access to the restrooms, granite countertops with basin-less sinks, stained glass windows in the actual stalls. High class!! Especially for a shopping mall!

Favorite items that I’m glad I brought: Laptop and fleece. Would have been uninformed and cold without them.

Favorite tour guide = Definitely Krissy from the Bridge Climb! She was cheery, encouraging, knowledgeable and fun! AnnaLea at the Opera House would be my second choice because of her great accent and resemblance to Julianna Margulies.

Worst restaurant = The Globe, next to the Hilton in Perth. Snooty people, bad food, and way too expensive

Most uncomfortable moment(s) = Walking down a very, very, very crowded street in Sydney our first night here. It was dark, we didn’t know where we were going, and I just really hate crowds. I was afraid I’d get mugged (irrational, I’m sure) so was very glad to eat dinner and get back to the hotel safe and sound.

Last Full Australian Day

2008-04-29T05:08:00.002-06:00

Today was our last full day in Australia. Sadness. It was a good day, though. We started out by taking the monorail to downtown Sydney to do some shopping. Although other methods of transportation were available, we felt compelled to try the monorail since it goes right past our hotel window. And when I say right past, I mean it’s level with our window and no more than 6 feet away. Thankfully, it stops running around 10 pm on weeknights, but it’s slightly annoying.

After shopping, we had tea at a very fancy tea room in the Queen Victoria Building. The whole building is just about the nicest mall you’ll ever see. Ornate tile floors, stained glass windows above each store front, granite tile sinks in the bathroom (or maybe I should say “toilets”, as that’s what they’re called here). The tea was excellent (I decided that milk and sugar in tea can be a good thing!) and the pastries…oh, the pastries. Incredibly light pastries. Oh, and scones. Now, these were definitely not the type of scones we have in the US. They were moist. And oh so light. Mmm…mmm…good!!

After tea, we took the bus to Bondi beach. Beautiful!

Huge waves make the ocean here a little rough for swimming, but I wouldn’t mind training in this pool every day. Talk about a great setting…it would be a scenic excursion at every practice!

Over dinner tonight, we shared our “best” and “worst” moments of the trip. Favorite food, favorite restaurant, favorite place we went, favorite activity, favorite wine, favorite tour guide, favorite sign (highlights coming in a future post), favorite Australian phrase, favorite thing in Australia that we don’t have/do in the US, worst restaurant, most uncomfortable moment, most surprising, etc. We can make this game go on for awhile because it’s a fun way to relive a great trip.

Cold, Blue Mountains

2008-04-28T16:42:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, we toured the Blue Mountains, so named because of the thousands and thousands of Eucalyptus trees found there. The oil they produce hangs in the air and makes them appear quite blue from a distance. Our tour guide also tried to convince us that the wind blows in and blows all the dust away. I’m not sure how much stock I put in that explanation, though. Regardless, it really is incredible. We looked across several valleys that were just so blue. And different shades of blue. Some darker and some lighter.

The very tall sandstone cliffs add to the beauty of the mountains. The cliffs, combined with the greens and blues of the trees, make a stunning contract in textures and colors. It would be really fun to come back here some time and be able to stay longer, hike, etc.

The top picture is the Three Sisters. It’s a classic image of the Blue Mountains. Aboriginal legend states that a medicine man was tasked with fighting an evil beast and in order to protect his three daughters while he was away, he changed them in to stone. He did kill the beast, but not before being changed in to an animal himself and losing his ability to turn the girls back into humans again. Thus, the Three Sisters are still visible today.
When planning what to pack for this trip, I contemplated the weather, expecting it to be in the 70s most of the time, with cooler days and evenings in the 60s. That’s what weather.com told me, anyway. So, we were a little unprepared for the SNOW that hit us in the Blue Mountains. The high temp was no more than 46, with probably a wind chill in the 30s (strong, biting wind) and snow/sleet flurries on a couple of occasions. I even purchased gloves at one of the gift stores to keep my hands warm. Chalk that up to another dumb traveling decision: I even brought gloves with me, thinking I might need them at the pool if I were cold and wet, but of course I left them in my suitcase at the hotel yesterday morning. Oh well!
You can sort of see the different shades of blue in this photo. Imagine a whole valley that blue.

Successful Summit!

2008-04-27T05:08:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, we left our comfy little apartment in Perth and flew to Sydney. The flight took most of the day…since it left an hour late, is 4 hours in length, and we lost two hours along the way. So by the time we arrived in Sydney and got to the hotel, all we did was eat dinner and go to bed.

Today, we took the bus to Circular Quay (pronounced “Key”). We shopped in a great market in “The Rocks” neighborhood and found some more great buys. This market is only open on weekends, so we’re really thankful we got the timing right!

After shopping, we headed to the Opera House for a tour. It was a little surreal to both of us to actually be standing in and around the Opera House. It’s such an iconic image for Sydney and for Australia that it just seemed unreal that we were actually there. The tour was fascinating! We learned all about the construction and even saw some of the designs that were rejected. Good thing, too, because they were all rectangular and boring!

Did you know that there are over 1.5 million tiles in this roof? The architect spent over a year working with a tile company on the design of these tiles! They take on different hues, depending on the light.

After the Opera House, we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge! We walked along this very beam! I first learned about the Bridge Climb from “The Amazing Race” back in 2001. I’ve been wanting to do it ever since! Mom wasn’t sure she would be able to do it…a couple of doctors (including one in the family) advised her against it, but after talking with the Bridge Climb people this morning, she decided to give it a go. She did great! We summitted! See the flags in the top picture? We were standing up there! It actually wasn’t scary at all. Incredible views. Daylight on the way up and dusk on the way down. Very cool!

Stanford Redoux

2008-04-25T05:27:00.004-06:00

Well, I completed my sweep of placing exactly how I did at the 2006 Worlds Championships at Stanford with a second place finish in the open water swim. The winner isn't someone that swam any of the pool events. She must have only signed up for the open water. I haven't seen the times yet, so I'm not sure how far ahead of me she was. I gotta confess, I'm a little disappointed with another second place finish. My goal for this meet was to win *something*. I wasn't particulary choosy about which event I wanted to win, just at least one. I know it sounds a little odd to be disappointed with second place at the World Championships, but my competitive spirit wanted a first place finish. If I had swum good times, I might be happier with my placings, but since my times weren't all the great, either, I'm disappointed. Oh well.
We've had a great trip so far, seen some really cool things, had some good adventures (including almost getting a $300 speeding ticket today...thankfully the cop was in a good mood and took pity on the foreigner and only gave me a "caution"), so I really can't complain. And, we're off to Sydney tomorrow morning! Harbour Bridge here I come!

The girl on the right in the above picture is Alicia from San Francisco. We got to know each other this week by swimming mostly the same events. We also ran into her twice outside the competition. This photo was taken about 5 minutes before hopping in to the slightly cold water. And for those that know me and water temperature, if I thought it was cold, it was pretty dang cold. But, once the race started, the water temp felt great.

I'm somewhere in this mass of swimmers. Perhaps the second one since that's where I finished up. But, I think there were 2 girls ahead of me at the start, one may have been in the younger age group, so I'd guess I'm the third one in this photo. Who really knows.

400 Free

2008-04-24T06:25:00.006-06:00

Amazingly, I didn't take any pictures today. So here are a couple from previous days.

We drove to Fremantle this morning to go back to the markets (Mom is looking for a couple items for some friends of hers) but when we walked up, the doors were closed. Turns out, they're only open on Fridays and weekends. Whoops!! Guess I should have checked that out online before driving over there. It's a good thing it's only about 20 minutes away. Mom got a pastry (a daily treat for her) and then we headed back to Perth. We attempted to shop a little in downtown Perth but gave up due to lack of parking. We ended up just eating lunch at the hotel and then watching "National Treasure" on TV before heading to the pool.

The 400 free was today. I swam okay and got second place. The girl that won wasn't in my heat, so we weren't able to race. I was ahead of her split at the 300 by a whole second, but she must have an amazing finishing kick because she ended up beating me by .33 one-hundredths. This is the same girl that came from behind the last 100 of the 800 to win, too. Oh well.

Tomorrow is the open water swim. It's 3K...1.5K down the Swan River and then back. Should be fun!

Also, a random thought: we just returned from dinner. Kangaroo was listed on one of the restuarant menus that we glanced at while walking past. After petting one yesterday, I could never eat it. They just seem too gentle and sweet. I don't have that same "conviction" about cows, chicken, pigs, etc. But there's just something about the kangaroo that makes them special to me now and I can't imagine eating one.

Standing behind the blocks before the 200 free. That's me in the black suit (it's actually blue but apparently it looks black when wet) and the black cap, the fourth swimmer in from the left.

Kangaroos: Soft and Gentle

2008-04-23T18:28:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, we drove north of Perth to the Swan Valley and went to a wild animal park. We got to pet kangaroos!!! Their fur is so incredibly soft. Softer than most stuffed animals I own. They were very gentle and not scared of people. We also got to feed them. The littlest ones would come up and put their front paws right on our hands. So cool!!

See the joey in the momma's pouch?

We also got to see and touch some koalas. Did you know that they sleep 20 hours a day? What a life! This one almost looks fake to me.

Any guesses on what this is? A Tasmanian Devil! Did you know that was actually a real animal? I sure didn't. This one was doing his daily exercise routine in his enclosure. He ran down the path, looped around, and then down the path again. Over and over. He's sort of funny looking, isn't he? A cross between a pig and a dog?

The Past Two Days in Photos

2008-04-23T03:05:00.004-06:00

The past two days have been busy! We've done too many things to blog about in detail (mostly because I'm tired and don't feel like typing a ton), so here are some photos that capture some of our adventures. We drove down to Margaret River (about 3 hours south of Perth) on Monday and had a LOVELY lunch at the Vasse Felix winery. This was the view from our table. So beautiful! And peaceful! And relaxing!

Then, we finally saw the Indian Ocean! All the stories I've heard about miles and miles of beautiful, white sand beaches are true. The ocean was relatively warm. I just stuck my feet in, but it would have been a good temp for a swim.

On Tuesday, we took a ferry down the Swan River. We passed the most expensive house in Australia along the way. It could be yours for only $84 millon. We then ferried over to Rottnest Island. No cars allowed on the island. Every one bikes around, so I managed to get Mom on a bike for the first time in 30 years...last time she rode she broke her jaw. She was pretty nervous at first, but she did great! Next stop: Tour de France!

We biked from bay to bay and ran out of syonyms for "beautiful", "gorgeous", "unspoiled", "isolated", "unpopulated", "breathtaking".

The island also has some inland lakes, which are up to 7 times saltier than the ocean. The salt, combined with the algea, makes them look pink. Notice the pinkish/purplish color on the far right of the above photo?

Shopping, Swimming, Sight Seeing

2008-04-20T17:42:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, we drove down to Fremantle in the morning to do some more shopping in the markets. There were lots of great deals to be had! Some items were very typically Australian, and other items were imported from places like India and China. One of the neatest vendors we found sells items made from Jarrah trees, which are quite common in Western Australia. It's a dark, almost redish wood, very beautiful. Items at the markets are about 3x less expensive than in traditional stores. Being the shoppers that we are, we loved it!!

In the afternoon, it was back to the hotel for a lunch of egg salad sandwiches and an apple. My mom first began making me egg salad sandwiches before swim meets when I was 7 years old! The tradition continues! Despite not having Durkees, or salt and pepper, the salad turned out great. Maybe the eggs came from saltier chickens?

I swam the 200 free yesterday afternoon. Apparently the official competition website isn't doing a very good job of posting results (not sure why...seems like that would be an important feature of the website?). I had a pretty good swim...my time was just 1.4 seconds slower than at Stanford two years ago. I took third place. So far, I've placed exactly the same as I did at Stanford.

After the meet, we walked through Kings Park. It's a huge park built on some bluffs that overlook the Swan River, another river with a native name that I can't remember right now, and the city of Perth. It was established in the early 1900s by settlers of Perth who wanted to preserve the early "feel" of Perth and Western Australia.

After Kings Park, we had dinner at the Old Swan Brewery, located on the Swan River. We both had pork cutlets with pineapple salsa. Yummy! We saved room for dessert...which did not disappoint. The chef gets total style points for these creations. The pink stuff on the creme brulee is like cotton candy and that's toffee sitting on top of the strawberries. I can't remember the last time I photographed my dessert!

(Sorry about the blurriness...I'm not very good at holding the camera super still while on the night setting.)

Fremantle

2008-04-19T18:11:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I swam the 200 back in the morning. This is the indoor pool. The guys and girls alternate days in the indoor and outdoor competition pools. My 200 free and 400 free will be outside. I was a little worried about how I'd swim yesterday, given the late hour of my 800 free, my lack of warmdown afterwards, and the fact that restaurants in Perth don't seem to be open past 9 pm. After trying unsuccessfully for about an hour to find a place to eat after the 800, we finally gave up and made oatmeal and peanut butter at the hotel. It's good thing that's one of my favorite meals! But, I seem to have recovered okay and swam well yesterday morning. I went about the same time as I did at Worlds two years ago at Stanford (only .08 seconds slower) and got 4th place. I'm happy with that swim!

After swimming, we were starving! We had passed a little restaurant called "Woodpecker Pizza" on the way to the pool several times, so we decided to try it for lunch. It was yummy!! We split a shrimp, canadian bacon, and mushroom pizza. Man it tasted good! We both really liked the decor of the restaurant, too. Those are wine bottles hanging on the far wall in the picture. Every thing I've read says that it's not necessary to tip the servers, but it feels so weird. I always feel like we're cheating them out of something.

After lunch, we headed to Fremantle. It's about 20km south of Perth. Fremantle has quite a history of prisons. Most of the town and infrastructure was built by prisoners fresh off the convict ships from England. We toured the Fremantle Prison, which was in use from the 1850s until 1991. One of the most shocking aspects of the prison is that they used a "bucket system" for toilets...even in 1991. The prison guards even learned not to walk down the center of the main cell block or they'd end up with human waste dumped all over them from the upper cells.

Prisoners must have been shorter back in the 1850s!

After the tour, we did some shopping in the Fremantle Markets. If you've ever seen "The Amazing Race", the markets are somewhat like some of the markets they've been to on the show. Lots of little stalls, with vendors selling everything from jewelry to clothes to Aboriginal items to photos to boomerangs to food. We didn't have enough time to browse through everything we wanted to yesterday, so we're going back there this morning before I swim the 200 free in the afternoon.

We concluded the day with a fabulous dinner. I had a fillet, which is apparently pronounced "fill-it" here and Mom had duck breast. We also enjoyed a bottle of wine from New Zealand. Overall, it was a great day!

Swan Bells

2008-04-18T18:48:00.004-06:00

The pictures are of the Swan Bell tower and the view from the observation deck on the tower. The tower holds 18 *big* bells that were brought over from a church in England. We got to try to ring the bells....it's really hard! The top of the tower provides beautiful views of the city of Perth and the Swan River.

This is the outdoor competition pool.

I swam the 800 free last night. Supposedly it never rains in Perth, but a thunderstorm blew in right before my heat, so the event was delayed about 2.5 hours. I swam okay, not great, and got 2nd place. The 200 back is this morning and then we're headed to Fremantle in the afternoon to take in some of the history and shopping.

Where's the Turn Signal?

2008-04-17T17:27:00.003-06:00

Greetings from Perth!!!
We arrived without incident yesterday. Well, mostly without incident...I managed to drop my laptop while going through security in Sydney. Oppss!!! But, it booted up and is working like a charm so far.

Driving on the left side of the road is an adventure (for me, my mom is scared spitless...not sure what that says about my driving?). I'm getting the hang of it, but the hardest part is that the turn signal is on the right side of the steering wheel. The wind shield wipers are on the left. So almost every time I try to signal, I first turn the wipers on, yell out "Dang it" and then try to actually turn the signal on before turning. Oh, and down is "right" and up is "left", so that's backwards too. And apparently Australians don't believe in a lot of street signs, so we've had a few "detours" but it's a beautiful city and we're beginning to get it figured out!

I haven't taken any pictures yet but will do that today and try to post some soon.
G'Day Mate!

Australia Bound

2008-04-13T13:21:00.002-06:00

I leave Tuesday for Australia!!! My mom and I will be there for about two weeks. I'm competing in the Masters Swimming World Championships for five days. I'm swimming the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 200 back and a 3K open water swim. We'll be sight seeing and having adventures the rest of the time. I'll try to post pictures/updates frequently. I'm not looking forward to the 14 hour flight from LA to Sydney and THEN a 5 hour flight from Sydney to Perth, but hopefully we'll be able to sleep a lot of the time. Down Under here I come!!

National Champs!!!

2008-04-08T10:16:00.001-06:00

NATIONAL CHAMPS!! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!

What a Game!

2008-04-06T06:37:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my totally awesome brother, who scored us some fabulous tickets, I am currently in San Antonio, celebrating the Jayhawks amazing victory over North Carolina in the Final Four!! What a game! I usually think I'm pretty relaxed during the game (certainly the most relaxed person in my family), but last night's game was exciting from the get-go. I was jumping up and down and yelling and clapping and woo-hooing!! And then when KU let UNC back into the game in the second half, I was so nervous. But KU extended the lead again and oh my gosh!!! The excitement!! Rock Chalk Jayhawk, KU!!!!

Valentine's Day Party

2008-02-18T08:27:00.007-06:00

As a single girl, I've spent many Valentine's Day's as an adult alone. This year, I decided to change that and host a Valentine's Day dinner party for my fellow single-and-awesome female friends. I just inherited good china, crystal, and flatware from my grandmother, so it was a "fancy" party. I wanted each of my friends to feel special. The evening was a success: good food, a beautiful table, and lots of fun!

Patting Myself on the Back

2008-02-15T13:11:00.006-06:00

When I bought my "new-to-me" car over 2 years ago and talked to the insurance agent about removing my old car and adding my new car to my auto insurance policy, he mentioned that my plan structure was really old and I might be able to get better rates under their new plan structure. But after he ran my license number and saw the string of tickets and one accident I had on my record (I had a bad run there for a couple years...4 tickets...I drive slower now), it turned out the "old" plan that I was grandfathered into was less expensive. But he said, "Your last ticket will roll off your record in January of 2008, so call back then and you can probably get lower rates".

So, being the organized person I am...this is why I'm totally patting myself on the back today...I wrote a reminder on my planner for February 2008 to call about new insurance rates. I've even had to move that reminder to each of my new yearly calendar pages twice since then!

I called this week and am switching to the new plan, with the same deductible and coverage I currently have, and will pay $27 less per month!!! And, every year I don't have an accident, my deductible (currently $500) will go down $100. I specifically asked if it was allowed to get to $0, and he said yes!

This is one of those little things that totally makes me smile.

A First I'd Rather Not Have Had

2008-02-05T17:07:00.001-06:00

Not only was today Fat Tuesday, and Super Tuesday, it was Layoff Tuesday at my job. I'll start my story by saying I still have a job. But watching people I work with and care about get laid off really sucks.

The company had announced about a six weeks ago that they would be cutting costs, and that some of that would be through staff reductions. The rumor mill told us today would be the day the ax fell. So, I went to work yesterday, thinking I had one more day before going through the pain of layoffs. Wrong!! Managers got cut yesterday and around 9:30, my manager was walking out the door. I didn't see eye-to-eye with my manager on everything but for the most part, he was great to work for. He really cared about his staff and did his best to be an advocate and champion for them. He moved our team forward, made us more efficient, and got results. He tackled problems head-on,. He was flexible and easy going. I'll really miss him.

After he left, what I'd been trying to keep distance from, and had been telling myself wouldn't affect my team, suddenly became very real. The speculation yesterday among my teammates (me included) was out of control. Why was our manager's position "eliminated"? Does that mean our whole team is on the chopping block? What criteria are they using to lay people off? The people that make the most? That would get less than a year of severance? That got sub-par performance reviews? That our department director doesn't like?

I hadn't been worried about myself before yesterday but last night I was pretty anxious. I just wanted today to be over. The layoffs of people on my floor started around 9:00 this morning. After two painful hours of watching other teams lose people, the ax started to fall on my team around 11:30. The director of my department came to the cube of the person to be laid off, escorted them (with all of us watching) to a private conference room, gave them a packet of info about their severance, escorted them back to their desk to pack up, and then escorted them to the elevator. Oh my gosh!! The whole time the director was giving the bad news to one person, the rest of us stood around, cried, looked solemnly at each other, asked why that person was chosen, and wondered who would be next. In total, my immediate team lost our manager and two others. And I just don't understand why some of these people were chosen.

The layoffs were just as harsh on other teams. Today was one of the hardest days I've ever had at work. Watching people lose their jobs is gut wrenching. Lots of tension. And tears. And questions. And relief that it wasn't me. And guilt that I'm relieved that others lost their jobs instead of me. And prayers that they will find another job before their severance runs out. And worries about how my team is going to continue on with a 25% reduction in employees.

Sorry this post isn't exactly positive. It's just what's going on in my life this week. Thanks for reading.

Best and Worst

2007-12-30T19:20:00.000-06:00

Here's my version of the best and worst of 2007.

Best

Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Movie I saw in a theatre: Hairspray. I didn't see many movies at the theatre this year, but this was definitely the most entertaining.

Movie I rented: The Holiday. Totally cheesy but I loved it. How have I never known how hot Jude Law is?

Sporting event I attended: KU vs. Nebraska. KU beat the Huskers 76-39. In football!! This is only the second KU football victory over Nebraska in my lifetime.

Sporting event I watched on TV: Tour de France. How often does a three-week cycling race get decided on the penultimate day?

American Idol Singer: Blake Lewis

Food discovery: Wishbone's Salad Spritzer's. Allows me to use just the right amount of salad dressing.

Road Trip: Cottonwood Falls, KS. The Kansas flint hills are gorgeous!

Adventure: Summitting a 14,000 foot mountain...in the snow!

New-to-me technology: DVR. How did I ever live without it?

Worst

Movie I saw in a theatre: Spiderman 3. Too many bad guys made the movie sluggish.

Movie I rented: The Good Shepherd. Hard to follow and stay awake through.

Sports team: the Chiefs

American Idol singer: Sanjaya

Way to spend time: Stripping 5 layers of wallpaper from my hallway

Growing

2007-12-23T12:04:00.000-06:00

For those of you I haven't seen recently (say in the past 8 months or so), I decided in May to grow my hair out. The first picture is what I started from. It was taken in January and my hair was still basically that length in May when I decided to cancel my every-4-weeks haircut appointment and grow it out. My goal was LONG! Think, full ponytail long. I've never had a ponytail. Ever. I thought I should try it at least once. I don't even really know what I look like with long hair. I found myself looking at lots of women with long, straight, hair and thought "My hair can do that. I want to try that." My hair doesn't do many things well, or maybe it's that I don't do many things well with my hair. Whichever it is, I *can* do straight. So, I decided to give it a go.

The growing stages have been...interesting. It seemed to grow slowly at the beginning. I even googled hair growth and ways to make it grow faster. Eat lots of protein. Check. Eat healthily. Mostly check (except when I have a cookie attack). I even heard from several people that sweating helps your hair grow. So, despite my usual tendency to really hate being sweaty, any time I sweated this year, I got satisfaction from thinking "My hair is growing! Hah!".

The "experts" say the average hair grows at about 1/2 inch per month. So, I even held a ruler to my hair a couple of times, to try to picture how long it would be by Christmas time. I'm sure I looked pretty funny...staring at the mirror with a ruler to my head.

So, the bottom picture was taken last Saturday. I actually really like the length it's at right now. I discovered this week that I can get it in a little, itty, bitty, scrawny pony tail. I got REALLY excited about this feat! But, I've still got a long way to go before I reach my goal. Although, I might come back to this length if I hate it when it gets long. We'll see.

So there you go...that's more than you probably wanted to know about me and my hair. :)

Merry Christmas!

More About Me

2007-12-03T17:27:00.000-06:00

So, I got another of those answer-all-these-questions-and-send-it-to-your-friends emails today. Here are my answers. I'm hoping you'll email me with your answers or post them in the comments.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My mom's brother's ex-girlfriend inspired my name, but I wouldn't necessarily say I was named after her.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Yesterday when one of my favorite-and-one-of-a-kind Christmas ornaments got broken.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
It's okay.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Ham.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Nope.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yes.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Yes.
8. Is Jesus your Savior and do you believed God raised him from the dead? Romans 10:9
Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
If I were on the Amazing Race, yes!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Oatmeal!!!!
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No, nor when I put them on.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Yes.
13. What is you favorite ice cream?
Cookies and Cream
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their hair.
15. Red or Pink
Red
16. WHAT IS THE MOST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOU?
That I find pleasure and excitment in little things.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
I miss all my friends who live more than 20 minutes from me!
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Of course!
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black workout pants with two pink stripes down the side. No shoes. I don't wear shoes inside if I can avoid it.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Ham and cheese sandwich (see #4) and an apple.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Nothing.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Red
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Cookies, lasanga, warm summer rain
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My mom.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Of course!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Football
27. HAIR COLOR?
Blonde.
28. EYE COLOR?
Hazel.
29. DO YOU Wear CONTACTS
No.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Cookies!! Mexican!!
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Premonition. Anyone else find it unsatisfying?
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Gray sweatshirt.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
If forced to choose, I guess summer, mainly because it stays light longer.
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
My mom's chocolate cake
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
I'm confident that everyone will respond.
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND
Nobody.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
World Without End by Ken Follet
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't have one.
41. DID YOU WATCH T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Yes, The Amazing Race!!
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Soft rain falling
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Israel, but that will change to Australia in April.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Swimming.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Topeka, Kansas
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Everyone.

Ages

2007-11-10T15:52:00.000-06:00

So, it's been ages since I've blogged. Sorry to those of you that check here for updates (I don't think there are actually that many of you, though). Life has just been busy this fall, plus I'm not very creative when it comes to thinking of things to write about. But anyway...

...the pictures above are from my hiking trip to Colorado with 30 awesome women from church! It was a FABULOUS trip! After a 15-hour car ride, we finally arrived in Lake City. I didn't realize it was possible to drive 15 hours from Kansas and still be only one state over. Thankfully, the four of us in our car had lots of great conversation and the time really passed quickly. Just being in the mountains makes me smile. I love the peacefulness and quietness of it. The lodge we stayed at has a couple of lovely wooden porch swings. I just wanted to sit on the swings and swing all day long. So refreshing! I successfully summited my first 14,000+ foot high mountain! I loved every minute of it...this from the girl that doesn't really like to walk! I used hiking polls for the first time and I think that made a big difference. It definitely saved my legs and gave me stability. Plus, my toes, which usually get squished as I'm going downhill, were the most comfortable they've EVER been on a hike. My new hiking boots are definitely keepers!! The evenings of the trip were spent worshiping and listening to an amazing speaker, who really touched the heart of every woman on the trip. All in all, it was just a great trip in every way!

Shortly after returning from Colorado, I headed to Anaheim, California for the annual US Masters Swimming (USMS) convention. Think lots of time talking about minute details of USMS rules and legislation. But, it is fun to see swimming friends from around the country. Plus, a group of us went to Disneyland on Saturday night! We were probably the only people in the park with no kids with us, but we had a great time. We just laughed the whole evening!

The other highlight of this fall has been KU football!!! They are 9-0!!! Yes, this is Kansas, football, (not basketball) and they're undefeated! Although totally shocking, it's been soooo fun! I'm just hoping they can keep it going. Tonight's game against Oklahoma State is going to be tough! Rock Chalk!!

Four Things

2007-09-23T16:52:00.000-06:00

I got one of those get-to-know-you emails from a friend today. I thought that rather than replying to her, I'd just post my reply here. Feel free to add your own four things in the comments.

Four places I have worked:
Various babysitting jobs
Lawrence Swim School
Hewitt Associates
H&R Block

Four places I have lived:
Lawrence, Kansas
Evanston, Illinois
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Prairie Village, Kansas

Four TV shows I like to watch:
Survivor
Amazing Race
ER
Friday Night Lights

Four places I have been on vacation:
Israel
Europe
Yellowstone
Hawaii

Four things I like to eat:
Cookies!!
Lasagna
Oatmeal with peanut butter swirled in
All Mexican food

Four places I would rather be right now:
In the mountains
On a beach in Hawaii
Shopping with someone else's money
Hanging out with my best friends

Holy Cow!

2007-09-06T19:49:00.000-06:00

Holy Cow! It's been almost a month since I've blogged. Tonight, I'm watching the first official NFL game of the season. Or, maybe I should say that I'm sitting on the couch with the laptop and surfing the net while the game is on in the background. And, I'm hoping that I can successfully defend my title in the NFL football pool at work. It's kind of fun to have football bragging rights over all the guys for a year.

I'm heading off to Chicago tomorrow for a whirlwind-less-than-24 hour trip. My friend Rach is picking me up at the airport. Her hubby is cooking us dinner. Yummy! The main purpose of my trip is to compete in the Big Shoulders 5K open water swim on Saturday morning. I do this swim every year. It's awesome. It starts from Navy Pier and concludes with a swim up Lake Shore Drive. Beautiful views of the Chicago skyline are a highlight. After the swim, I'm treating myself to a Cinnabon at the airport. It's the one time a year I indulge my Cinnabon love. I do hope my flight is on time b/c as soon as I arrive in KC, I'm sprinting out of the airport and to Lawrence for the KU football game.

Rock Chalk!

Busy Summer Days

2007-08-11T12:42:00.001-06:00

So, I haven't blogged in what seems like ages. The past few weeks have been hectic. I decided to strip the wallpaper in the first floor hallway in my house and then paint. What I originally envisioned as a short, easy project quickly expanded. That hallway had 5 layers of wallpaper on it! Uggg!! I guess that's to be expected with a 60-year-old house, but it certainly wasn't what I was hoping for. After many evenings of cranking up my iTunes and filling my spray bottle with hot water mixed with lovely-smelling vinegar, I've finally got all the wallpaper off. Now it's time for a pro painter to come in, sand down the walls, apply a skim-coat of drywall mud, and then paint. I decided to "treat" myself and have him just go ahead and paint the walls, too. I've been told that drywall mudding is an "art" and considering that my artistic skills are severely lacking, it's worth it to me to have someone else do it. So anyway, that project has been eating away my time.

Work has also been really busy. I'm leading a big project and sometimes sit down at my desk at 5:00 and wonder "where did the day go?" and "how come I didn't check anything off my to-do list?". But, the project is under control now. Although some days were stressful and long, I really enjoyed getting to lead it and make sure it got done the way I wanted it done. (I do have certain control-freak tendencies!).

Also throw in an unexpected visit from my high school best friend, 4 swim practices a week, 2 bike workouts, a few movies (The Bourne Ultimatum, Harry Potter, Hairspray, and some random French film), "West Side Story" at Starlight, weekly church, a PEO meeting, weekly Bible study, a special church group that met on Sunday evenings during the month of July, and an internal debate about if I want to pursue a job in management or do I want to continue to be a "doer" at work... and there you go...that's what I've been up to.

Today, I'm sipping iced chai tea latte at Panera, catching up on life, and hoping that the next few weeks are equally rewarding but slightly less hectic.

Vive le Tour

2007-07-21T13:29:00.001-06:00

Every July, I religiously follow the Tour de France. My Tour de France "obsession" started in the mid-90s when my dad would watch the 30-minute daily recap on ESPN. Over the years, it's evolved to the point that now I spend quite a bit of time (think multiple hours on the weekends!) watching the race, reading the live internet updates while I'm at work, and perusing daily race blogs for the little-known storylines. I've even been known to take mornings off of work to watch important stages unfold live.

I am captivated by the event. I love the beauty of a train of riders flying through the French countryside. I love the sacrifices that riders make to train for this event. Each rider has their own story for how they got to the Tour and what they went through to make that happen. I love the hurt that riders feel after a hard day. I love the endurance that it takes to get on the bike and ride at your best day after day after day. For 3 weeks! I love that just when I think I know is going to win, something happens to change that. In the Lance Armstrong years, I loved how he dominated from start to finish. He didn't let anyone beat him on the mountain climbs or in the time trials. No one compared to his talent and dedication. In this year's race, I love that the race is more wide open and riders that specialize in the mountains or in the time trials can limit their losses in the other disciplines and still come out on top. I love the fight and courage of riders to push through the pain of injury and crashes. This year, Alexandre Vinokourov, the pre-race favorite, crashed early in the Tour and has about 60 stiches in his knees. But he is still riding!!! He struggled in the Alps but today in the time trial, he fought through the pain and beat the rest of the field by a huge margin. I admire the phsyical and mental strength that it takes not to give up. I love the strategy of the tour. Although individuals race the tour, the rider's teams play a huge role in the overall success of the individual. I love that there are races within the race (for the sprinters, the mountain climbers, the young rider and the overall leader).

What an all-around-great sporting event. Vive le Tour!!

Stepping Back in Time

2007-07-10T17:50:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, my parents, grandparents and I went on a little day trip to south, central Kansas. It was awesome! Our first stop was a huge old stone barn. Although I am a farmer's daughter and granddaughter (on both sides of the family), and I used to own farm land, I'm not really that in to barns. But, let me tell you, this barn was neat. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but it's three stories. And horses used to pull wagons up the ramps to deposit their goods inside. And the stone walls are 12 inches thick. Holy cow! That is thick. It was about 95 degrees when we were there, but the thick stone walls really kept it insulated. On the same property, there's a stone chicken coup built into the side of a hill. I think it looks a bit like a chia pet with funny hair growing out the top.

Our next stop was the small town of Cottonwood Falls, KS. Population about 900. The main street is still brick. Check out the picture of the county courthouse in Cottonwood Falls. Isn't it cool? Is it odd to anyone else that such a neat courthouse would be built in such a small town?

We had dinner at the Grand Central Hotel and Restaurant. It was voted best steak dinner in Kansas or the entire midwest (or something). It didn't disappoint! I don't know what they seasoned the meat with but it was soooo tender and tasty. Yum!!

Driving down the roads of the rural Kansas really made me feel like I was in the 1940s. Old cars. Lots of beat up pickup trucks. Laundry drying on the clothes line. It made me wonder what it would be like to live in a small town. It seems like it would be a nice change. Slower pace of life. Less distractions.

I also loved just driving down back roads that I'd never been on before. I adore Kansas (just ask any of my Chicago friends how much I talked about it when I lived there). But, since I've lived back in Kansas, I haven't gone west of Lawrence very often. I want to make more of an effort to do that. To really see the rest of the state. I love the beauty of the rolling hills. And the rolling wheat. And the open spaces. Yes, I need to take more trips to central and western Kansas.

A Great View

2007-07-01T13:40:00.000-06:00

My cousin Lisa's birthday was Friday. Her mother-in-law works for the Royals and reserved a suite for us at Friday's game. It was awesome!! The suite was directly behind home plate. I've always sat on the 1st base foul line or the 3rd base foul line. Never behind home plate! It definitely is the place to sit to clearly see the pitches and the plays develop. The suite was stalked with food...hot dogs, chicken strips, spinach-articoke dip, fresh fruit, chips, peanuts, popcorn, pie for dessert, wine, beer, soda, water. The Royals won the game, scored a lot, and there were fireworks afterwards. Overall, it was a super fun evening! I could get used to this suite thing.

Addictions

2007-06-15T11:29:00.001-06:00

For some reason, as ideas for things to blog about have been spinning around in my head the past couple of weeks, the idea that keeps come back to me is: Addictions. I'm not quite sure why, but it seems like it could be interesting if I share 5 of my addictions and then you share 5 of yours. You can either post them in the comments, on your own blog, on your facebook wall (Shelly, that's for you!), etc. So, here goes:

Coffee. I don't know how it happened. I even made a pact at a McDonald's with one of my friends when I was 10 that we would never drink coffee. Hah! My 10-year-old self didn't really know the pleasure coffee can bring. I'm a full fledged addict now.

Harry Potter Books. I can turn this addiction off (so, does that disqualify it from addiction status?) when I'm not in the middle of an HP book. But man, when I'm reading one, there is nothing else I want to do. No work, no cooking, no housework, no chores, no get togethers with friends. Nope, I just want to sit in my chair and read read read. Even if I've read the book before, I still can't put it down.
Swimming. I just don't feel quite right when I'm not swimming regularly. I take time off for vacations and stuff, but I always love to get back in the water when I get home. I love the feel of moving through the water.

Peanut butter. I eat peanut butter in some fashion every day. Usually it's stirred in to my oatmeal. Sometimes I eat a couple of spoonfuls just because. I can plow through a stash of Reeses Peanut butter cups in no time flat. And the Reeses Peanut Butter eggs...man, those put me over the top!
Buying online. So, don't get me wrong, I still love to shop in a real store. But, for things that I consider a "chore" to go and buy, I usually just find it online and purchase it. I weigh the cost of shipping versus the price of gas, and now that gas is so expensive, it usually comes out about even. Plus, there's the contentment factor that I get by buying it online and not having to make a special trip out to buy it.

Okay, so that's me. I tag KMS, Beth, Shelly, Cat, Stacy.

Little Things About Me

2007-05-27T14:20:00.000-06:00

Every Memorial Day weekend, I love watching the Indy 500. It's pretty much the only auto race I watch all year. The stories, the crashes, the family legacies, the strategy, the team dynamics. It's fascinating to me.
I always take the jacket off a hard cover book before reading it. It has something to do with the feeling of the book in my hands. So tactile.
Recently, I've had a hard time sleeping past 7:00 in the morning. Today (a Sunday!), my body woke up at 6:00 and was ready to get up for the day. Is it a sign of age if I can't "sleep in" anymore?

A New Toy

2007-05-21T17:10:00.000-06:00

I discovered a new toy for my iPod and iTunes last week. Those of you who are iTunes experts may already know about this, but it was a new discovery for me. It's called Music Mixer and can be downloaded for free. (I think there are other similar tools out there, but Music Mixer is the one I'm using.) It works in sync with your iTunes library to make mixes. You can select one or multiple songs and it will make a playlist from those songs. You can control how long the playlist should be, how many times the same artist can be repeated, how similar the songs should be to the "seed" song, etc. This is an especially useful tool for me because I tend to listen to the same songs over and over again and am not super familiar with a lot of the songs in my library. Music Mixer is helping me branch out, without me having to know where I need to branch out to. So cool!

Everything's Coming Up Roses

2007-05-17T18:09:00.000-06:00

I have roses growing in my yard!!! Considering that gardening is not really my thing and that I inherited these rose bushes when I bought the house and I've done nothing to them in five years, this is amazing to me.

Little Things About Me

2007-05-01T07:21:00.000-06:00

Wow, I don't know where all the time goes. It's been a while between posts. Can't say I've been exceptionally busy, but some how the time just goes...somewhere. So anyway, I thought I'd share a few more little things about me. This time, I'm sharing things that I love.

I love "The West Wing". A friend recently loaned me the DVDs of the Second Season (I own and have already watched the First Season). The writing and dialogue is so witty and crisp. It puts a smile on my face every time.
I love to organize. Pretty much anything. I helped my cousin move over the weekend and my mom and I unpacked and organized her kitchen. My mom is the queen of kitchen organization. One friend said she deserves an Olympic gold medal for her skills. I'm just an apprentice organizer, but I do love to find the perfect spot for each item. It gives me a sense of satisfaction!
I love floss sticks. Have you tried them? They are soooooooooo much better than traditional dental floss. Easier to use, no wrapping the floss around your fingers, not as messy/slobbery. Great invention! I actually enjoy flossing now.

Take more than one bite at One Bite

2007-04-19T11:44:00.000-06:00

I had dinner on Tuesday at "One Bite Japanese Grill" in Overland Park. It's a relatively new restaurant that features Japanese tapas. I love trying new restaurants and I love the concept of tapas. This resturant did not disappoint!! I'm not very familiar with Japanese food but this stuff was GOOD!! We tried several different things: chicken dumplings, cheese and pork dumplings, skewers of grilled chicken topped with cheese served over a bed of "eatable" sticks (I really have no idea what the "sticks" actually were), fried tofu with a creamy dipping sauce, and a Japanese style pizza with mushrooms. I've never had tofu before, and it was the only thing I didn't really like. I had a hard time with the texture of it. I gobbled up everything else! The dumplings were my favorite thing. Man, they were tasty! I'm still smiling as I think back on them. YUMMY!! I definitely recommend this place. Oh, and all that food was only $13 when split between 3 people. Not bad!

Icey Fountain

2007-04-14T12:21:00.000-06:00

As I was driving home from an outing to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art last weekend, a friend and I noticed that the JC Nichols fountain on the Plaza was active but partially frozen over. It was really cool!! I carry my camera in my purse (it's come in handy many times), so we stopped and took some pictures. I currently have three photos hanging on one of the walls in my dining room. They are store bought photos, that I have no particular attachment to. I was thinking about taking them down and putting these up instead.

Little Things About Me

2007-04-06T20:25:00.000-06:00

I've decided to share a few little things about me that you may or may not know. This type of post may reoccur periodically here.

I *love* hot coffee, but I don't like cold coffee (iced or ice cream). I was once horribly sick the day after eating coffee ice cream and to this day, even the smell of cold coffee makes me slightly nauseous. I only mention this because it came up in conversation at work today in relation to the new iced coffee available at McDonald's. I will definitely not be trying it.
My favorite religiously-symbolic church service of the year is the Tenebrae service. It's usually either on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. Tenebrae means "darkness" or "shadows" in Latin. It's usually a retelling of Christ's betrayal and crucifixion, through several readings, with candles snuffed out and lights dimmed after each reading. The service tradionally ends in silence and darkness. It's always meaningful to me. The stillness, and solemness, and aloneness that I feel while sitting in a dark church gives me a small glimpse in to what the world would be like without Christ. I'm glad I know that the story continues with His triumph over death on Easter Sunday.
I love turning to a new month on the calendar. There's just something about the anticipation of looking at the next picture/illustration that I love. It makes me smile each month.

Creative Ideas?

2007-04-01T12:57:00.000-06:00

This crock is the new Red Wing antique I bought recently. It's sitting in the corner formed by my living room wall and my TV cupboard. Notice the ugly messy cords hanging out the back of the cupboard? I sure wish someone would invent wireless TVs, DVD players, DVRs, etc. Until that happens, I would like to put something in this crock that is wide enough and tall enough to hide the cords. A plant would work, but I've had plants before in this spot and they tend to die. I'd like to blame it on the lack on sunlight that this corner gets, but in an effort at full disclosure, I should probably take some of the blame on myself. A fake plant is an option, but I've had a fake plant in this spot and it tends to look, well, fake. So, most of you out there are a heck of a lot more creative than I am. If you ever need something organized in to a spreadsheet, give me a call. Creative ideas, however, aren't really my strong suit. So, I'd love any suggestions for what to put in this crock that would look great and hide the mess of cords.

In Need of a Book

2007-03-23T15:05:00.000-06:00

I'm looking for a book to read. Any suggestions? I like pretty much anything, except science fiction.

Looking forward to...

2007-03-21T16:59:00.000-06:00

...a night of TV watching! Yes, I am a dork, but I am so looking forward to watching TV tonight. Survivor and Friday Night Lights are on at 7. I'll have to record one and watch it at 8. Then, the American Idol results show is on at 8. I'll record it and watch it after I finish Survivor and Friday Night Lights. Can't wait to curl up in my jammies and relax on the couch. Oh, and if Sanjaya doesn't get voted off Idol, I may have to stop watching. Does he remind anyone else of Michael Jackson?

Jill's Story

2007-03-18T11:17:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, my friend Jill got married at Oak Alley Plantation in Lousiana. Since there were only 22 people at the wedding, it was a fabulous weekend of spending time with Jill and Maher, telling stories, laughing, eating, chatting, and just generally hanging out.

I met Jill in college. We were in the same sorority but weren't especially close. I lost touch with her after college until she moved to KC and she randomly called me up one day. Since then, she's become one of my best friends.

Some of favorite Jill memories:

~Eating at Sweet Tomatoes. Mac and cheese, yogurt with sprinkles, brownie muffins...yum, yum!

~Road trip to Yellowstone! Best road trip ever, in my book. Jill taught me to embrace spontaneity (okay, embrace might be too strong a word) but I learned to let go of my agenda and just go with the flow.

~Smushed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!

~It really is ice!

~Jill introduced me to antique Red Wing crocks. I now own two of them and have a couple hundred dollars less in the bank. :)

~Cruising for depression era glass in Omaha.

~FindYourSpot.com. Hickory, NC here I come!

~Swinging on her front porch, drinking wine, and talking about our hopes, dreams, and fears.

Jill, I love your assertiveness, your humor, your love of things with character, your vulnerability, your sense of fun, your adventurous spirit, your organization, your reality...you. I am so happy that you have found your home with Maher.

Only 6 to go!

2007-03-12T17:29:00.000-06:00

I went to a wedding in Louisiana over the weekend. Not only was it a great wedding (more on that in a future post), but I got to cross another state off my list of states to visit. Only 6 to go!!

If any one wants to visit Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, Mississippi, or Rhode Island, let me know. I'm in!

Productive Weekend

2007-02-25T14:46:00.000-06:00

I love weekends! I especially love weekends that are both fun and productive. Some weekends fall into the mostly-fun, not-that-productive category. I ennjoy weekends like that...but afterwards, I sometimes feel like I'm slightly behind in life-maintenance activites. Some weekends are mostly-productive, not-much fun. I relish the sense of accomplishment after such a weekend, but I prefer to have at least a few moments of escape from must-do activities.

This weekend has been the perfect combination of both. Activites on the fun side include:
~ Seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls. The exhibit is a fascinating glimpse in to life in ancient Israel. Seeing the actual scrolls themselves is amazing! I love that the words I read in my Bible, published just a few years ago, are the same words that were written on those scrolls 2000 years ago.
~ Having lunch at Boulangerie Philippe . We tried to go to a couple of different restaurants in the Crossroads District that are on my list of places to try, but it turns out that neither place is open for lunch on the weekends. So, we headed to a restaurant that I love but don't get to very often.
~ Watching the KU basketball team beat up on Iowa State.
~ Watching The Guardian . It's a kind of cheesy movie, but I liked it. It's about swimming, after all. How could I not enjoy it?

Things knocked off my to-do list:
~Donated an old TV. It's been sitting on the floor of the yellow room, where it's been getting in the way of my sit-up routine for three weeks.
~Grocery shopping. Some people love to grocery shop. I am not one of them.
~ Vacuuming my car! I can count on one hand (without using all of my fingers) the number of times I vacuumed my old car. It's amazing how my new car can motivate me to keep it clean inside. In the 13 months I've owned it, I've vacuumed it more than the 9 years I owned the other one.
~Touching up the paint on the windows in my study. I just got new windows in here and some of the paint got chipped in the installation process. Also, the holes left by the old blinds were screaming at me to fill them in and paint over them. Done!

A weekend like this one is definitely a little thing that brings me a lot of happiness.

Future President Sighting?

2007-02-23T15:55:00.000-06:00

I saw Barack Obama while at the St. Louis airport yesterday. I was standing about 10 feet from him. It was pretty cool!!

His smile seems so genuine, doesn't it?

World Record Surprise

2007-02-18T14:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I drove to Columbia, MO with a couple of friends to watch a USA Swimming meet featuring 19 Olympians. I thought it'd be fun to see some fast swimming by great athletes. Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Aaron Peirsol, Katie Hoff, etc.

The surprise of the evening came in the 200 fly, when un-shaved, un-tapered, and goatee-sporting Michael Phelps broke the World Record. He was so shocked when he looked at the scoreboard and saw his time. Judging from his reaction, he totally did not expect to swim that fast. It was so exciting to watch! And so unexpected!

Seeing Michael swim in person is totally different than watching him on TV. The efficiency and beauty of his stroke don't really come through on TV. During his fly, his chin just rests on top of the water and stays completely still despite the constant motion of his arms and legs. It truly looks effortless.

Watching fast swimming always makes me slighly nostalgic. A couple of the competitors yesterday are my age. It made me wonder, what if I'd stayed in shape? How fast would I be swimming now? Did I miss out on something great by retiring after college? I always decide that I made the right decision. I still love to swim, but I also love having time to experience other life adventures.

But, it was fun to be back in that world for a day, if only as a spectator.

Little Things Today

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

In honor of my first day of blogging, here's a couple of the little things that made me smile today.

Getting my taxes done. There's nothing quite like sitting down, having someone else do all the work, and then away the return goes electronically. Refund will appear magically in my bank account in a few days. Love it!
Left over pizza for dinner. Yummy!
Receiving a phone call from my cousin in CA to get the famous family chocolate sauce recipe.

Blog World Here I Come!

2007-02-06T15:43:00.000-06:00

My boredom at work today finally pushed me over the edge. I've contemplated staring my own blog for over a year and today, after finishing all my work, surfing the web, and playing several games of Free Cell, I was so bored that I decided today was the day to give this blog thing a go.

Since I'm just getting started, I'm still figuring out the look and feel. I promise to add pictures soon.