weekend!

Man, I love weekends. Because I work from home, sometimes they are my opportunity to get OUT of the house! How's that for a change? ;) Tomorrow Michael and I are taking a trip to Overland Park so he can be fitted for a tux. He's going to be in his friend Zack's wedding (he has to wear a kilt! Glee!) and we are pushing it with getting them in on time. While we're in OP we'll drop off some squeaky toys that I auctioned off on ebay on behalf of MoKan Greyhounds. I'll be putting some more stuff up tomorrow night so check back, I'll have the links. All the money goes to the greyhounds looking for their forever homes. :)

Speaking of greyhounds, Penny's brother will be visiting us next week. We are dogsitting him Thurs-Sun and I am sooo excited! I'm positive pictures will happen. She starts her doggy 'good citizen' class the week after that.

So much to look forward to. Now if only the weather would cool off a bit so I can wear the jackets and sweaters I purchased...

10 on Tuesday

Random set of 10 questions, yay! Might start searching around for these types of things when I don't have anything in particular going on.


1. Do you have an innie or an outie?
I’m the owner of an innie.

2. What kind of milkshake do you order?
Eh. I have to really be in the mood for one…mostly strawberry when that urge hits, though.

3. How often do you repeat outfits at work?
Haha. I work from home where nobody can see me so my pj’s are a weekly thing. Please don’t ever show up at my house on a weekday without calling unless you’re ready for a fright when it comes to my wardrobe. Give me at least 10 min. I say this with love.

4. What are your feelings about thank you notes?
I think they’re a highly necessary part of life. I don’t mind writing them and I like to receive them. I will admit to shooting the side eye after not receiving one after a certain amount of time.

5. Do you like spicy food?
I like a little kick every now and then but my version of spicy is probably laughable for most people. I also have acid reflux that tends to get in the way of enjoying truly spicy foods.

6. How many toilet paper squares do you use?
Uh, I’m not sure I’ve ever really counted that before.

7. Were you in Girl Scouts?
Yes, until around 6th grade. I was a brownie and a junior. Peer pressure got to me…I stopped because none of my friends were in it anymore and it was no longer a cool thing to do.

8. Notebooks/Journals: College ruled? Wide Ruled? No lines? Spiral Bound? Plain front? Decorative?
I have to have college ruled; wide ruled makes me feel like I’m writing on a billboard. In sixth grade I really loved Lisa Frank decorations but now I barely use notebooks so it doesn't matter.

9. Do you snack throughout the day? What do you pack for snacks?
Sometimes. If I do, I try to have fruit as a snack. I lurrrrve strawberries. Other fave snacks are an apple with a bit of peanut butter or triscuits with a slice of sharp cheddar. If I’m craving something sweet I really like 2 squares of Lindt’s dark chocolate with sea salt. YUM. I learned quickly that 100 cal packs and the like don’t stick with me and I have to eat more of them in order to get the hunger monster (stomach) to chill.

10. What is your favorite month? Why?
Probably October. It’s my anniversary month, my dad’s birthday, my hubby’s birthday, Halloween, the true arrival of fall, cooler weather, going to a pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, costume parties, dressing up Penny (that is so happening this year), football, and the holiday season (and my own birthday) are just around the corner. This October will be extra special because I’m getting baptized. ☺

update :)

Long time no talk...busy week I guess. Labor Day was a nice break with Michael. We didn't do too much but it was good to have some down time. :) This weekend we went to a fundraiser for the greyhound adoption group. It was fun! There were games for the dogs, lots of shopping, a silent auction, a live auction, and tons of sweet doggies to play with. We won a silent auction that contained doggie soap, shampoo, "refresher mist" spray, a towel and mitt, plaque off (a supplement to add to food to reduce plaque and tartar), dermapaw, and ear cleaner. I think we are set on dog supplies for a while! Michael won a live auction that included a charcoal grill, 4 camping chairs, a spice set from Gates BBQ, and a gift set from Jack Stack BBQ. We will probably put the charcoal grill up on craigs list since we already have one, we mainly wanted the chairs and spices. Tonight for dinner he used the spice rub, a Penzey's english prime rib rub, and a little bit of Gates bbq sauce on some sirloin steak and it was amazing. Soooo good! Lots of leftovers for tomorrow, too. :) I have to remember to take it easy when it comes to my ankle...4-5 hours on my feet put me out of commission for the rest of the night. Which was okay, since it was spent re-watching the pilot of Battlestar Galactica. I'm not a huge sci-fi person but that show was amazing.

In other exciting, kind of scary news, my friend T and I are going to be co-leading a growth group. We met last week to talk about what we wanted it to be. Part of me is like, what the heck have you gotten yourself into??? I swear on the inside I'm an introvert, but EastLake seems to ignore that and pull me out of my shell, which is a good thing! But most of me is really excited about it. It's a walking group that going to meet on Saturday mornings. We'll probably go to a different place each week, like KU's campus, Prairie Park, downtown Mass, etc. People can bring their dogs and I hope it will be a good way to start the weekends...good friends, a little movement, maybe some coffee afterwards...just overall a good time. That's the goal, anyway. :)

blah

*edit* Michael requested that I remove this post for privacy reasons, just in case someone from the lab happened to run across it. Can't say that I blame him...wasn't thinking anyone that he worked with would read it, but you never know. Sorry if you missed it...it was vague and boring anyway. :)

*burns incense* okay, letting go of that frustration. It doesn't really concern me but it gets me going when I see Michael so upset. Blah! So glad tomorrow is Labor Day and we can enjoy a quiet day at home together, just hanging out. Maybe we'll go see a movie or something.

:(

I just found out my dentist in Raleigh, Dr. Mike Williams, has been diagnosed with acute leukemia. This really sucks. He has been my dentist for over 13 years, ever since I transitioned from pediatric dentistry. He is more than "just" a dentist to our family. He plays with my dad in the praise band at their church and gave a lot of support to us when my mom was sick. Professionally, he is just awesome. I have some screwed up teeth and he has always been great with offering solutions for me. For the past year, rather than try to find a dentist here, I have flown home to Raleigh and coordinated dentists appointments when I knew I would be home.

All I know is that he'll be in the hospital next week for a month-long stay. Please, please keep him and his family in your prayers. I am just praying that the treatment works, and that he can find comfort and strength in the coming months ahead knowing how much he is loved by his family, friends, and God. Cancer can really go to hell.

Good day.

Heaven in a cup. My beloved pumpkin spice latte is back! I don't really care that it's still 90 degrees outside. Pumpkin spice latte=fall. The nice barista at the sbux inside Dillon's even upgraded me from a tall to a venti for free! What a great start to my morning!

After I dropped Michael off for class/work I ran to Target to get a couple of household items we needed before starting my work day. Browsed the nail polish and found a couple of cute "fall" shades. I am not 100% sold on this one because it's such a different color for me. It's called "Tauped". What do you think? I think I like it but not sure if I love it. I also have a dark purple I think will be pretty.



Work's been pretty busy, lots of calls and a webinar today. Got lots of good info about where to search for meaningful interaction between potential clients and our company through social media sites. I hope in the future I can convince my boss to start utilizing youtube more to reach out to people. I learned today that it is the #3 ranked search engine. I really, really love my job!

I just got home not too long ago from a late lunch with Michael's aunt (so my aunt in law, I guess?) Love her, she is a blast to hang out with. We went to Zen Zero-it was my first time and so good! I had pad thai with shrimp and a thai iced tea. Mmm. We talked so long that she got a parking ticket, despite me putting in enough money at the meter for an hour and a half. Whoops. I think it was worth it, though. I am so excited for her because she just got a new job as a digital account executive at the World Company after several months of searching. I hope she loves it-I'm excited she'll be in Lawrence so I can meet her downtown for lunch!

Speaking of new jobs, I think God has been extra busy answering prayers today...my brother in law got a job too! He left his old position in Raleigh in July when he and my sister moved to Boone so she could start grad school. So far it is part time in a manager role at a grocery store (same chain he worked at in Raleigh) but I'm sure when they see what an asset he is that they will move him up to full time.

It is looking dark and scary outside...I think I will go take Penny out before the sky decides to open up.

just keep reading

Have you ever been sucked into a book so deeply that the next time you happen to look up, you can't believe what time it is? This is how I am still awake at 1:30 am. The book is called Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. It is a nonfiction story of Kerman's year spent in a Connecticut prison after she was convicted of drug trafficking. The story itself of how she fell into that world, moved on, her past caught up with her, and then actually being in prison is fascinating. I guess on some level it's voyeuristic to me since that's so far removed from what I am that I can't help but just take it all in. So far I'm about half way through and I know I need to go to sleep, but I keep thinking, just one more page.

Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I didn't start out writing it with the intention to be mushy, it just happened as I started thinking more and more about how the past few months have changed me. I'm very blessed to have so many new friends!

Ok for real, I am putting the book down and going.to.bed. I heard a rumor that Starbucks now has their pumpkin spice lattes out, so I offered to drop Michael off on west campus in the morning so that I could swing by a Starbucks on the way home. Oh please, please let it be true!