A very long day of travel.....

I recently took a new job at work that involves some field work.  I started my first trip today and its a drive to Phoenix.  I made it to Albuquerque NM and documented my trip along the way.....

I left at 530am, so the first thing I was actually able to see was the sunrise. I was driving through the Flint Hills in KS. 

This just made me giggle as I was driving through Oklahoma City, OK.  I handled total loss auto claims for about 3 years, the last year I handled commercial vehicles. Just in case you were wondering spray painting "commercial vehicle" on your van does not make it a commercial vehicle.

I *love* windmills, I was excited to see them in all 4 of the states I drove through today! (this one is in OK)

I don't know why, but hand soap in a condiment dispenser also induced giggles.  Hence, photo.

(in my defense, this is about 9 hours into the 13 hour drive)

Texas windmills~

Isn't Texas awesome down I40?   This pretty much sums up the view for a lot of the day...

Hey wait we have hills!

Last state of the day, I am not kidding when I tell you I have never been so excited to see a welcome sign.

I drove next to the 3M race car for about an hour.  I swear I was being *super* careful as I snapped these!

First view of the mountains as I got close to Albuquerque NM.

Just in case we forgot what the view looked like for most of the day......zzzzzzzzz

So excited to be in the hotel.  SO. EXCITED. (hey look am I writing the blog?)

This is what sheer exhaustion looks like after 13 hours in the car and no make up.  It is a testament to my mental state that this is being posted, I feel like I'm very freckly today (is that a word?)

Recap of random things from this summer....

So this summer we had a lot of things to fill our time.  

We went on a float trip with some friends, on the way down we stopped at Osceola MO to sample the cheeses!

We went to a KU football game, and sat in the student section. I realized that I am getting too old for a massive collection of drunk college students crammed into the stands.

And we also celebrated my birthday with dinner at the Melting Pot.  Yummo!

Happy AXO Founders Day!

I'm a sorority girl.  It's not usually my opening when I meet new people.  I seem to constantly be surrounded by this stereotype of the "sorority girl" as this vapid, shallow party girl, who isn't very smart and is more than a little slutty.  Weirdly enough, this was not the stereotype I had of the Greek system growing up.  Most of the women on my mothers side of the family were involved in the Greek system, and trust me when say those women are not shallow, vapid, dumb or slutty.  I can remember growing up that my grandma would have her sorority sisters over for alumnae meetings, I was always so curious about what they were doing that I wasn't allowed to be  part of!  I remember Nana sitting me down and explaining what a sorority was and that there are some secrets that only the people involved know.  Talk about exciting to a 6 year old. 

When I decided on the college I was going to attend I remember my mom and I going to take one last campus tour.  Our guide was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, and I remember talking to her about recruitment and the different houses on campus that I could possibly join.  My mom and I talked a lot about whether or not I wanted to go through recruitment, she encouraged me to go through, at the very least she pointed out, it would be a very good way to meet people my first week on campus. 

I decided to sign up and go into it with an open mind, I wasn't against sororities per say, but the response from my high school friends was less than enthusiastic when I mentioned it.  They mentioned the stereotype listed above that is, well, less than flattering.  I went through the week, the parties, the conversations, the "get to know you" questions and I became more and more convinced that Greek life was for me.  I joined Alpha Chi Omega and I can honestly say it was a fantastic decision.

I was, and have been, amazed ever since then about the high caliber of women I have associate myself with upon joining Alpha Chi.  The ladies in my pledge class are a diverse group of women, nurses, teachers, attorneys, doctors, stay at home moms, accountants etc.  In college they were athletes, national merit scholars, student government representatives, campus hosts and involved in almost every aspect of campus life.  I have been incredibly blessed by my involvement in the Greek system, and Alpha Chi Omega specifically.  I'm glad that I was able to look past what the media, and pop culture tells us that a typical "sorority" girl is, and find out for myself what a group of real strong women they really are. 

Today is our founders day, and I'm so glad that in 1885 7 women got together and founded this incredibly organization that I am lucky enough to be a part of!

The Holidays

Every year for Thanksgiving 3 of my girlfriends from high school and I get together for a girls night out. 

Last year one of them was expecting! We went and saw a play at the New Theatre Restraunt and spent more than a few hours laughing and catching up!

We attened a "tacky sweater" party, I couldn't find any sweaters I deemded tacky enough so I made us into Christmas trees! 

Christmas Morning we woke up at our house and did our gift exchange before starting the great family migration to parents houses!

Spence explaining to George that the chocolate was not for him.

George digging into his own stocking

George eating his presents!

A year in photos

I had this *awesome* idea last year, that I was going to take more pictures of mine and Spencer's life and that I was going to put together little photo albums each year showing what we did and where we went.  I'm going through and selecting the photos for this year's album and thought I'd make a series of photo posts with them as well.....since I have sucked at posting lately. 
The year is from anniversary to anniversary, so this post will start with our trip to Table Rock last year for our 1 year anniversary.  We had a great trip, despite the fact I got SICK the 2nd day there and was pretty much bed ridden for most of the trip. 

The view from our room, so pretty!

We had cake on our balcony

Gotta love self portraits, you'll see a lot of these....

We cooked our anniversary dinner, steaks pasta salad etc.

One of the sunsets we saw on the way back from the trip.

In October we had some good friends get married.....

Hanging out at the rehersal dinner

The happy couple with the groomsmen!

Spence and I at the reception

We visited the Cider Mill to get some delicious cider donuts and take in the sights

And we got lost in a corn maze....

Later that month we also took a tour of the Boulevard Brewery with some friends

Stay tuned to see what the holidays held for us......

What we've been up to lately....

A few date nights/lunches where our eyes were FAR bigger than our stomachs....

A few visits back to Lawrence to enjoy a beverage or two

We've had a cat take up a daily vigil around our property to soak up the sun.  We aren't sure who she belongs to, but she has a collar and is well groomed so someone must love her!

Spencer sent me flowers at work for my birthday

I cooked in a wok for the first time ever

We are gearing up to puppy sit this little darling for the weekend

Georgie got groomed and de taloned (his nails *may* have been a bit longer than necessary)