Top of 2010....

As I've looked back on this year there are so many fun things that happened!
These are in no particular order, just the first "squeee"  moments that came to my mind.

Putting in our hardwood floors.  OMG, I swear there were days that I never thought that project would end (and honestly it still isn't 100% done, there are some areas around the kitchen that need one final trim piece to finish them out).  I cannot explain what an impact that made on our house though.  The old carpet we had in there was from the old owners, who had really big dogs, who REALLY liked to mark certain areas of the house. When we got the carpet up the stains from that were into the sub floor.  The hardwood was exactly the face lift the house needed. 

Getting to attend/participate in some of our best friends weddings.  I LOVED our wedding in 2009, I really did, but just getting to kick back, relax and watch people you love be, well, in love is so much fun!  This year 2 of Spencer's best friends from high school got married, one of my best friends from college got married, to another of my good friends from college! The parties and the plans and seeing them all so happy was fantastic!

Having our first Christmas at our own house as a married couple.  Last year for Christmas morning we were in Arizona with my family, which was fun (and we missed the blizzard that hit the Midwest so that was great too), but it was SO fun to wake up and be able to start our own family traditions at the house on Christmas morning. 

Taking some trips to Table Rock Lake.  We went down to the lake twice in 2010, once for Spencer's birthday with our friends Josh and Katie and then again in September for our first anniversary.  Big Cedar has so many fun things to do in all kinds of weather, we really had a blast celebrating down there! (despite the fact that in Sept I got super sick and spent most of our anniversary in bed sniffing)

Home improvement projects~!  We revamped the back and front of our house this year, it was LONG overdue!  We sanded and stained the back deck, and it looks like we brought it back from the dead to be honest. and then gave the front of the house a face lift.  It was a veryveryvery long couple of weekends, but totally worth it in the end!  Maybe next year won't be so incredibly back breaking?

Spencer enrolling in school again!  A few posts ago I went on and on about this issue so needless to say I'm pretty excited he's on his way to a new career. 

Me changing jobs!  The thing I really like about the company I work for is that its a huge corporation, there are a myriad of jobs/careers you can have within the company.  I changed from working auto claims to homeowners claims in May of this year and it has been such a great change!  I was getting pretty burnt out on my last position after 2.5 years of the same thing day after day.  Next year around this time I *hope* to be applying for our catastrophe team for a year or two before we settle down and start trying for kids.

Getting to meet my very first cousin.  I have lots of 3rd and 4th cousins 7 times removed or whatever it is, but we'd all  but given up hope that my uncle John would ever have kids.  He and his wife Teri welcomed Eleanor into the world on September 11 this year and Christmas was the first time I got to meet her.  She was so very precious and little and so expressive!  It was fun to get to spend some quality time with them while they were in town for the holidays. 

So there we have it.  The top "squee" moments of 2010 brought to you by me.

The holidays are almost over.....

Does it make me a Scrooge that I'm kind of excited?  Please don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas music, the lights, seeing friends and family from out of town, the vacation time I usually have.....but the holidays season makes me so super tired.  I am ready for real life to get back to normal.
I am useless this week! 
Monday I worked a little late to catch up at work from being off last week, got home and made a beef casserole *1lb of hamburger, some diced onion and green pepper, garlic and spices browned, melted a little bit of Velveeta in for creaminess, mixed a can of tomato soup and fat free cream of mushroom soup in it all and then added some macaroni noodles and topped w cheese baked 350 for like 20 min*  I got home by 630, and was ready to sleep  by 8pm. 
I planned to wake up early and head to the gym on Tuesday, totally didn't happen but after work I got a few miles in.  Tuesday Spencer was pretty excited, I  made one of his favorite dinners, baked ziti.  *boil ziti noodles, in another pan brown some spicy sausage and mix with a jar of spaghetti sauce, layer noodles sauce and mozzarella/provolone cheese ending with cheese on top, bake 350 for 30 min or until sauce and cheese are bubbly, serve with salad and garlic bread*
Wednesday was pretty basic, I cleaned the house up a little more from all our Christmas loot and started the deep clean that always accompanies us hosting a party.  I've discovered that I really don't mind cleaning, I just hate doing the floors.  We need to invest in a vacuum that we can use on hardwood and carpet, I think it would make my life easier......
Thursday is wine night with the girls!  Generally its "Wine Night Wednesday" but schedules being what they are we are flexible.  I got a super cute yard flag for Christmas from my mom that says "Group Therapy Practiced Here" with some wine glasses on it that will be on the fridge when we do our girls nights in from now on.  I don't really see myself putting it in the yard per say, I'm not a "lets put stuff on the front lawn" kind of girl for the most part.  Thursday was my short day at work this week, I flexed out my schedule so I could leave a little early and get a jump start on the 4 day weekend! 
More to come about our rockin new years eve party, Chiefs Playoff Party (not hosted by us, but will be attended and wildly cheered at) and the final countdown to me getting my butt kicked by this half marathon I signed up for~

I am so excited about my new spice organizers, I thought they deserved their own post.  Seriously how cute are these things?!?  And not to mention it gives me an excuse to showoff my Penzeys Spices a little.  I am on a mission to de-clutter and organize the kitchen this winter.  I am forever buying doubles of things because our cabinets are just a cluster of whatever I happen to throw in there at the time and after a while I cant see anything anymore.  So I consider this step 1 of 20 on the road to a more organized happy kitchen. 

What I did on my Christmas vacation....

drove.  back and forth between my family and Spencer's family. 
We are both so blessed to have our families close by and to get to spend good quality time with them over the holiday season.  I do really love spending time with our families, but boy are they exhausting sometimes! 
Spence and I both had the week before Christmas off, which was awesome because we got to spend a lot of time hanging out and lounging around the house.   It was also about the busiest week ever. Let me walk you through it.
On Monday Spence had to work so I got to finish shopping for his gifts, which were awesome BTW.

Tuesday we drove all over KC to deliver my grandparents gifts to them (2 grandpas in the KC area, live about as far away as possible from each other).  My Papa Nic gets a food basket that is full of home made goodies that my mom and I make up for him.  He seriously shouldn't have to grocery shop for weeks.  Then we deliver to my Papa Gene, who used to get the same thing but now gets something different as he is no longer living alone and has someone to cook for him.  I also got to take my little niece to see Tangled while her mom was at a job interview.  I do not spend a lot of time around kids, but she is a doll!

Wednesday was a lazy day during the day time, then we met up with out of town friends for dinner and then headed out to watch the KU game, that didn't start until 10pm!  We were out till about 2am because we waited for anther friend's flight to get in so we could see him.  (he and his wife live in San Jose and we see them about 2x a year)

Thursday woke up from our late night and met the same friends for brunch/lunch.  Then came home and cleaned the house from top to bottom because my in laws were coming up to take us to dinner that night.  Had dinner with the in laws and then headed to my parents house to greet my aunt and uncle and their ADORABLE baby girl. 

Aside from the awful photo quality, shes so freaking cute!  We spent a few hours with them and then went home to crash. 

The next 3 days are a blur of driving between Lawrence, Eudora and Lenexa.  During that time we got to see a ton of family, opened a lot of gifts, ate a TON of food and didn't sleep nearly enough. 

Spencer got me a bread maker for Christmas and I used it the same night (with the super cool delay timer) so we got to wake up to fresh baked bread the next day

My mom got me some spice organizers (she has the same ones and I have been drooling over them for a while now) so those went up on Christmas night so I could feel all cool and what not. I have pictures of the bread and spices but cant get them to load for some reason.....I'll just have to try again later!

Spencer got a home brewing kit for beer and some "sidewalk surfer" shoes (sandal soles with canvas tops, he was pretty excited).  We're both looking forward to getting to use our gifts!

Cellleeebbrratteee Good Times COME ON!

Since the day I knew that Spencer and I were going to get married and build a life and family together there has been one teensy tiny itty bitty issue.  His job.  His 55 hour a week, pay that isn't great or bad but just kinda "meh", drains him emotionally and physically job.  Now in light of today's economy I am glad that he has a job, please do not misunderstand me.  The issue I have with his job is that the hours can be unpredictable, he doesn't really like it at all, and the fact that he doesn't really like it means he is not happy when he gets home from it.  Selfishly this cuts into our time together and I get a little jealous of my time with my super amazing husband. 
So I have been nagging pushing   gently nudging him in the direction of going back to school to figure out what he wants to do. Over the years there have been lots of ideas thrown about.  His dad and I both think he'd be an excellent firefighter (I may be biased since my dad is a firefighter and I kinda like the idea of him working 9 24 hour shifts a month....) but he didn't really take to that idea. OK we'll try again.  How about the post office? nope.  He looked into teaching, but decided it wasn't his cup of tea.  OK no problem, kept looking, and looking and NOTHING seemed to spark his interest. 
*Now to any of you who are reading this and saying "jeez just let the guy alone its not like you are destitute* You're right, we aren't, at all.  Frankly I know couples who make it work on less than we make, but when you factor in starting a family in the next few years I ran the numbers, we need more than what we have coming in now to keep our lifestyle in what I like to call the "comfort zone". 
Well lo and behold he FINALLY found something that he thought he would like to do, radiology technician.  It's a technical degree, he would need to take some classes at JCCC (Johnson County Community College) and then apply for the program and would finish at MCC (Metropolitan Community College) and will take about 2.5 years to do it all, assuming he gets into the program.  Can I get a "thank you Jesus?" or perhaps a "Hallelujah?" I'd even settle for a "YES!"  Hold onto those happy thoughts though.....the saga isnt' quite done yet.
The other annoying awesome habit that my dear husband is blessed with is the gift of procrastination.  So just because he found something he though sounded great didn't mean he was all eager to do it yet.  It took about 6 months of me nagging pushing gently nudging him to get his transcripts from KU, and to actually go enroll.  BUT, as of last night my husband is a student again.  I am so happy you guys!  Partly because he promised me that he would be in school this semester and I was starting to get worried (classes start in 4 weeks) that I'd have to kill him be super upset that he broke his promise to me. Mostly though, because I cannot wait to have a husband who does something he cares about, enjoys going to work and isn't stuck in a dead end job that he doesn't enjoy. 
*happy dance at the lastnamehere house*

Bad Blogger

I have been a bad bad blogger lately.  It's not even because I've been that super busy.  I've just been lazy. 
Here is a list of things I should have been doing lately that I have not:
-Training for the 1/2 marathon.  Ya that is going to kick my ever growing butt in Feb, but I do have some time off coming soon so I'm planning to get back in gear this week.
-Cleaning my house. Its all picked up, when you walk in there is no "EWWWW" moment, but I need to do the floors, they are dusty in the corners.
-update the blog (check)
-Christmas shop.  Let me just tell you how much I really don't like to Christmas shop. Like a lot.  I remember thinking my mom was NUTS because she didn't like to go to the mall between Thanksgiving and New Years.  I would beg and plead and whine and beg some more for her to drop me and my friends off to "hang out".  Now, I see the off ramp at 435 and 95th street backed up onto the highway with people who are trying to get to the mall and almost cry in relief that I no longer work retail and have to be one of them. 
I have gotten Spencer's gifts (well actually purchased one and know what the other is) that boy is difficult to shop for!  If he wants something that is in our budget he has it, because he bought it for himself.  I'm the same way so I can't REALLY complain too much though. I know what I'm getting my mom and step dad, the new baby cousin is taken care of and I'm putting Spence in charge of gifts for his parents.  That's really about all the gifting we do, some small gifts for some of the girlfriends (more than likely some bottles of wine for our "Wine Night Wednesdays") and call it a win. 
-Cooking.  I make a food basket for my grandpa every Christmas, its pretty much 2 week worth of food that is home made by me (and my mom if I"m going to be totally honest).  He loves it because its home made and he doesn't have to find a place for another "thing" (apparently when you hit 90 you no longer look at stuff as a good thing, you look at it as one more thing you have to dust).  It all works out for the best.  I'm most of the way done with that basket, and will take it over to him next week when I"m off work.

I am off work starting this Friday and go back to work on the 27th, 10 days to get caught up on all the things I mentioned above.  Now all I have to do is make it through the next 4 days at work and I'll be golden!

Baby Mania

OK I realize I'm at that age.  About 2 years after the marriage wave hit in full force it now seems that instead of seeing all my friends announcing their impending marriages they are all announcing their expanding families.  I am not exaggerating when I say that daily I see another friend announce their pregnancy.  Its putting me in a slightly weird state of mind.  Spence and I have decided that we are not in the baby planning stage of our lives, we are focusing on enjoying our 20's and being married before we try to jump onto the expanding family boat.
The main thing we want to do before we start a family is take one big blow out Europe trip.  I was a little bored at my new job when I first started and sat down and planned a 3 week trip.  3 weeks.  That trip will take us a while to save for.  I'm OK what that for now, I know that we aren't ready to be parents quite yet.  The trip I have planned will be totally worth it though.  A good mix of tour and individual travel, we will be able to see a TON in a short period of time.  Now we just need to get to saving.....

On another note about the baby/parent/family starting issue:

I think part of the reason I am hesitant to try and start a family is I'm not sure it will be an easy process for us.  Earlier this year I was diagnosed w PCOS, which pretty much means that my ovaries do not produce a mature egg to be fertilized.  Instead they produce lots of non mature eggs that turn into cysts.  When they diagnosed me the cysts had blocked my tubes so that even if a mature egg had formed it couldn't have gone anywhere.  It's scary to me because until we start to try for a family we won't know how big of an issue this could turn out to be.   It might be something that is simple and a non issue, or it could be something that makes the process drag out and costs us tons in medical bills.

Maybe you couldn't tell from reading here, but I'm a little type A.  I like my lists, I like to know whats going to happen and when.  This whole not knowing till it happens thing kinda freaks me out.  OK really freaks me out.
So that's my big emotional pour out for this month.

Some well needed photo posts

So a long time ago I promised some good photo posts.....well this is exactly what we have going for us right now!  A while ago we went out to Louisburg Cider Mill for "Ciderfest".  It's a big weekend festival with music, cider, donuts and lots of people.  There is also a corn maze, pumpkin patch and lots of other things for the family.  We headed out and got some cider donuts, (yum), apple cider and also spent some time getting lost in the corn maze!

All the apples that are getting pressed that day for the cider, sooo many apples!

Part of the pressing system for the apples

The cider donuts getting made fresh, the ones we bought were still warm in the bag!

Thats us.

A haybale maze for the lil kids, Spence can't resist climbing!

 King of the haybale!

Where do we go from here?

I KNOW!  There just happens to be a winery just down the road from the cider mill...... just what we needed after a long line for cider and a LOT of people pushing!  The winery has live music on the weekends and fun lawn games like bocce  ball!

Beerfest

A few weeks back Spencer and I went out to KC Beerfest with some of our good friends.  It was an afternoon spent trying a variety of new (and some old favorite) beers.  The day was really nice and sunny.....

"Can I yell TIMBER?"

We have had a tree in our front yard that for about a year or so Spence has been convinced was dying.  I tried hard to pretend that it wasn't, partly because it was just sad and partly because I knew it would be expensive to take down!  Well this fall we finally decided to take it down. Spencer's good friend Tyler works for a local lawn company, and as it happens is one of the lucky employees who works on trees when they need to be cut down. So for the low cost of some specialty beer we brought  back from Colorado for him he came over and helped us out!  Heres how it went.....

Bye Bye Tree.

Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?

Best thing going for me right now is my blog! Ok no, the best thing going for me right now is the fact that I am blessed beyond measure. I wake up next to the most perfect for me man alive, I have parents who love and support me, friends who are there for me always. I have a good job, a great house (that we are planning to make better and better with time), a puppy whose whole body wiggles with tail wags when I come home from work because he is sooooo excited to see me. And at the end of the day I’m happy with the place I’m at right now.

Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?

Not in any serious way.  I’ve seen what suicide does to the people who are left behind, and even at my most depressed I couldn’t do that to the people who love me.  There have been times that I didn’t think I deserved the people that God has placed in my life.  I have messed up, been a less than stellar daughter/friend/girlfriend/wife/person at times but there has never been a time that I thought that no one would miss me, that people would be better off without me or that someone in my life didn’t believe I was better than I thought I was at the time.

Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today.

I haven’t really thought about it.  I guess I think I’m alive today because the world would be a sad and lonely place without me?  I mean, really guys, you would be super sad if I wasn’t around right?

Day 24 → The thing you are most grateful for today

I am most grateful for my amazing husband.  He is supportive of me even when I am not supportive of myself, he pushes me to do the best I can every day. 

Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.

I wish I had started my IRA when I was 18……seriously. 

Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.

I wish I hadn’t quit running in college.  At one point I was jogging about 5 miles a day, weight lifting 3x a week and was really fit and active.  I fractured my leg horseback riding and then had foot surgery a month or so later, both of those things had me in bed/on really reduced activity for about 6 mos while I healed.  I never really got back to the same level of activity after that and, as I’m trying to train for a half marathon currently, I’m kicking myself for allowing my fitness level to become SO LOW. 

Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?

Sob. Breakdown. Bedside vigil.



OK but after that, if 2 people are “best” friends that a fight isn’t going to change that. (barring something like the fight being about how the “best friend” slept with my husband, killed my parents or did something else that is beyond the pale). I would hope that the longevity of the relationship would bear out that a fight doesn’t mean you stop loving the friend, doesn’t mean you stop caring and I would *HOPE* that I’d be mature enough to get over whatever the fight was about to help take care of my friend while she recovered.

Happy Halloween.....

Well now, Halloween has come and gone again.  This year was decidedly a low key "holiday".  Along with some of our good friends we decided against the big parties downtown, and had a night in.  We had Megan, Tyler, Cole and Allie over for some good old fashioned game night fun.  The girls had some wine and chatted it up for a bit.  The boys had a beer (or maybe 2) and talked sports.  We played some Buzz! trivia on the PS3 and then moved into the dining room for chocolate fondue and games.  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.  Later in the night we were joined by Allie's cousin and her husband who were in town to watch the Chiefs beat the Bills yesterday (yay Chiefs!).
In all the fun I didn't have the camera out, I think I would have been laughing too hard to get a good picture in for the last half of the night!
I promise some picture posts soon, we cut down a VERY large tree in the front yard (it died), and I have a step by step of our friend Tyler and the BIG truck he brought to help us bring it down.  It doesn't sound so interesting now that I say it like that though.....trust me watching it fall was....kinda cool?

Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol

I was raised in a dry household. I don’t remember there being booze in our house at all growing up. I didn’t drink in high school; I didn’t “party” in high school. That being said, I have a wine rack in my dining room that is usually at least half full. I look forward to a glass of wine or beer with dinner to relax after work. I think that things in moderation are wonderful. That being said, I don’t think its ok to drive drunk. I don’t think that being drunk gives people the right to do stupid things and not apologize for them later. I don’t think that alcohol should be a crutch or something that you “need” to get through the day.



Drugs? Well alcohol is a drug, I don’t hate alcohol. I’m a big fan of the prescription drugs I get from the DR when I’m sick. I may have smoked something I shouldn’t have in college, just once. I think that some drugs are worse than others. I think that addiction can ruin peoples lives. I think that its easy to judge people for not having the same views on issues like gay marriage, drugs and alcohol as being closed minded or judgmental.

Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?

I think that religion can be a very powerful tool. I think that religion has been abused in the past and present to justify some awful things. I think that some of my happiest memories of childhood and high school occurred with my friends at church. I think that Jesus loves me, and you. I think that people get so hung up on the smallest detail of a doctrine that they sometimes miss the overall message of love, peace and hope that the Bible preaches. I think that more people should practice what they preach. I think that instead of judging others so harshly because they are sinners that people should concentrate more on themselves and cut the rest of the world some slack.



I think politics is a game. I think that there is usually more than one right answer to a political problem. I think I’m sick and tired of the negative campaign ads I’ve been watching for the past 4 months. I think that people should not register with a political party when they are 18, your views will change the second you hit a college campus more than likely. I think that most of the country doesn’t understand how our government works and it scares me that everyone can vote sometimes.

Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.

It solely depends on if we are talking about a civil marriage or a religious marriage. As far as civil goes I don’t see why its an issue. The state doesn’t recognize the religious ceremony as binding, so I don’t know why gay marriage should be any different than heterosexual marriage from the government standpoint. It’s all about the money to the state, so why not.



On the flip side when it comes to religious ceremonies and marriage I don’t think that anyone should *have* to perform a gay ceremony if they don’t believe its ok. I was raised in a conservative home and church, I was taught from a young age that homosexuality was a sin and wrong. I don’t claim to know everything, but I think my views have been tempered with age. I don’t think that anyone who believes that way should be forced by the state to perform that type of ceremony. But I also don’t think that those people should have any say over what the state does in this case. It’s one of the reasons we have the separation of church and state in the US.

Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert.  It’s about the western concept of marriage and how its changed and evolved from a business transaction into something romantic.  It really made me take a 2^nd look at the way I view my marriage.  I think its something that would be helpful reading for someone who is about to get married.

Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.

I could live without the dang woodpecker that has made it his/her mission to eat my house over the past 4 years. 
I could live without feeling like we are strapped for cash on a semi regular basis.  I could live without my knee hurting ALL THE TIME making it painful and yucky to try and train for the Disney Princess Half Marathon that is going to sneak up on me WAY too soon. 
I could live without the vague feeling of guilt that I don’t miss a relationship with my dad, and being sad because if things keep progressing the way they have for the past 27 years he wont get to know any kids that Spence and I have in the future. 
I could live without feeling guilty for things I did more than 7 years ago that I can’t fix or take back, but did learn from.

Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.

?????? I am drawing a blank here folks.  Sorry this one is a dud.

Day 14 → A hero that has let you down

When I read this phrase I think of someone who has seriously fallen from grace.  I don’t have that.  My hero growing up was my mom.  I was pretty sure (as most kids are) that my mother was pretty much the smartest, prettiest, most amazing person ever.  She did a great job of sheltering me from the bad things in life when I was younger and making my childhood a pretty great one.  As I got older, I realized that my mom is human.  She makes mistakes, loses her temper and can be *gasp* wrong sometimes.  I don’t see this as her “letting me down” but I do have a more realistic view of her as a grown up than I did as a kid.  I think that’s both normal, and healthy though.

Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days.

I’m giggling inside just a little bit.  No Doubt, Don’t Speak.  8^th grade.  First big fight with my then best friend.  That song SPOKE to me guys.  Totally spoke to me.  I felt quite deep and soulful. 

Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.

That I'm funny.  (see above for reference)

Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.

That I’m funny!  (ok just kidding, this is actually a running joke with Spence and I, I think I’m funny.  I think I’m the only one who believes this).  I usually get complimented on making other people feel comfortable and being a good hostess.  I LOVE to have people over, whether it’s for a football game, or a full on dinner party with 4 courses.  I LOVE it.  So I love when people come over to our house and have a good time.

Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.

I feel like I do a good job of not having toxic people in my life.  This is strange because if you know me I do NOT let go easily.  I am still close with friends I met when I was 5, and organize my sorority pledge class in regular get togethers so that we don’t fall out of touch.  I’m the girl who sits down to really wonder what my ex of 5 years ago is up to, and wishing that it wouldn’t be TOTALLY weird if I called him to find out.    I cant think of anyone currently in my life that I would consider a drain or wish I could “un meet”.  Sorry.

Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.

This is a tough one.  Not because I don’t know who exactly comes to mind, but because I feel like I sound whiney when I talk about this particular relationship.  We have been friends for over 20 years.  One of the friends that as you talk about the future you see in your wedding and your future kids calling “Aunt”.  One day I realized it had been literally months since we had an in depth conversation.  Tried to reach out and start spending time together, and the response was something like: we are in different places now, sometime in the future we may be closer again, but not now.  It was a really difficult moment in my life.  Actually when I read that email I felt like I had been dumped.  We are still not close, and I don’t know if we will be again.

Happy Founders Day!

Well readers today is the founding of Alpha Chi Omega!  To celebrate I decided to devote my post today to some fun AXO facts!
Founded at DePauw University in 1865
Symbol is the Lyre.
Colors are Scarlet Red and Olive Green
Philanthropy is supporting victims of domestic violence

Symphony of Alpha Chi Omega

To see beauty even in the common things of life. 

To shed the light of love and friendship round me.

To keep my life in tune with the world that I shall make no discords in the harmony of life.

To strike on the lyre of the universe only the notes of happiness, of joy, of peace.

To appreciate every little service rendered.

To see and appreciate all that is noble in another,

Be her badge what it may.

And to let my lyre send forth the chords of love, unselfishness, sincerity.

This is to be my symphony

Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.

I’ve been really lucky in my life.  I really have never had anyone who has made my life miserable.  (well my mom a few times in high school, but in hindsight she was probably right…..).  I have been blessed to really never have that “nemesis” or the mean girl in school etc.  I know I know, you’re gagging right now.  It’s a little Pollyanna isn’t it?

Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.

Spencer!  My husband is such a fantastic man.  I am so lucky to have someone as amazing as him. 

Miss me?

Well its been a while since I did a normal post!  Sorry!  Life snuck up on me and got crrrrraaaazzzzyyyy.  I think we should be in for a calm spell until the holidays come around though! 
What have I been doing you may ask?  Well I've been doing some training for that half marathon thing I decided to run (although not as much as I should....).  I haven't been running for the past 5 days though.  I have apparently offended a tendon in my left knee and have been going to the chiropractor to try and make it love me again.  We've been doing ultrasound on it to try and soothe it.  I've decided that I've rested it enough though, back to the gym tomorrow morning for me!
Spencer and I have attended several weddings and gotten to see some friends from out of town.  Always a good time and I even have pictures I can post! *disclaimer* I am notorious for taking pictures and never downloading them. 
This coming up weekend is full of fun times, Friday is Alpha Chi Omega founders day.  To celebrate some of my sorority sisters and I are getting together for yummy Mexican food and possibly a margarita or 4. 
Saturday is Beerfest in Kansas City. We are heading up with some of our friends to go sample some beers and enjoy the fantastic fall weather.

PROJECTS: (because I have to have them....)
Before Thanksgiving my plan is to reorganize the 2 extra bedrooms on the main level.  This pretty much entails getting things out of the middle of the floor of one and off the desk in the other so that they are usable in some way. 
I am also planning on revamping our hall bathroom.  Its currently a beige color and not very exciting.  I want to paint it gray and use yellow and orange accents for the shower curtain/towels etc.  I think it will be super cute when I'm done! 
I'll post pictures of all the rooms in their current state sometime soon.  They really need some help!

Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.

I hope I never have to lose my mom.  I know that realistically this will occur at some point, but I can still hope right?  My mom has been the only constant in my life and she’s such an amazing woman.  The thought of not being able to pick up the phone and talk to her whenever I need her is something that makes me a little queasy.

Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.

I hope that someday I can travel again.  When I was younger all my summer jobs went toward financing my travel plans.  I drove super cheap-o cars and spent 13, 17, 18 and19th birthdays out of the country.  Since becoming a grown up things like mortgage payments, health insurance, car payments etc have cropped up and my traveling has taken a hit.  Spencer and I have gone to Mexico and on a cruise for our honeymoon, but I hope that we can start to budget to save up for  some trips overseas.  I can’t wait to show him some of my favorite places!

Day 04 → Something you need to forgive someone else for

My dad and I have always had a rocky relationship.  By rocky I mean pretty well non existent for a good portion of my life.  Its caused me some pretty hefty breakdowns over the years, when I was younger I always felt like if I was better that he would have wanted to be around me more.  I remember when I was about 13 I asked him what I’d done as a kid to make him not want to be around me.  His response was that it was just too hard to see me cry when I went back to my mom after a weekend visit, and so he started finding reasons to avoid taking me.  Ouch right?    

As an adult I’ve been working on trying to forgive him for not being around when I was younger, and for not being strong enough to put my needs, as his child, above his discomfort.  We do talk more now that I’m an adult than we did when I was growing up.  I hope that we continue to get closer.

Day 3 --> Something you need to forgive yourself for

I need to forgive myself for cheating on my ex boyfriend.  I can give all kinds of reasons that it happened, but it really comes down to the fact I was really unhappy with myself and too immature to deal with it.  I have felt awful about it since it happened, and have really struggled to realize that I am not the same person I was then and that I've grown up a lot since then.

Day 02 → Something you love about yourself

I love that I can lose myself in a book no matter where I am.  I've read books on trains, planes, automobiles, boats and any other way of travel.  I've read just about every genre of book in existence, although I am partial to chick lit and historical fiction.  

Anniversary trip!

For our first anniversary Spencer and I went to Table Rock Lake and stayed at Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Lodge.  We had a super fun weekend planned, complete with horseback riding, tennis, hiking and lots of relaxing.  Well we got a trip to the hot tub in on Saturday and then I came down with the worlds worst head cold.  I pretty much just hung out in the room and tried not to suffocate.  Here are the promised pictures of that trip!