Midweek Randoms

• After a tragical week spent in the total depths of despair (5 jumbo points if you can name that movie), I had a fabulous weekend! =) It started off with date night, then on Saturday I went shopping. Found a cute work shirt for $14, a pair of comfy cargo capris for $8, and a little satchel purse (perfect for traveling/shopping) that wasn't on sale but I used an upcoming trip to justify it. Oooh, ooh - I also got a new pair of jeans (smaller jeans even) that were on sale too.

• Later that evening we had a family session with a super sweet family and after that we grabbed some ice cream and drove around talking about photography and some of our upcoming projects and goals. Exciting things are around the corner! Eeek! Sunday, we went to church, celebrated a spunky lady's 90th birthday party, and met my parents for a fun lunch. Then, we just worked on stuff around the house before taking a walk with Cori and Steve (and Charli of course).

• We rounded out the weekend with a couple episodes of 24 and aside from the whole weekend being way too short, it was pretty perfect.

• My sinus' are on my last nerve... like literally. I take my allergy pill every day I remember and I'm downin' Advil but it still hurts. =| Hopefully I can stay on top of it and keep it from blowing my head clear up.
  

• How crazy is it that the East coast has been hammered by natural disasters this past week? Not cool friends, not cool. First the earthquake, then Hurricane Irene. I feel for those folks!

• Oooh! BIG news here people!! Are you ready???? We finally bought Peety a new bed!! We adopted Peety almost 4 years ago. Poor buddy has had the same pitiful bed ever since. He loved it from first sight but over the years it has gotten super stinky, thin, totally disgusting, and the zipper on the cover broke. It was time. It was probably time 3 years ago but he just loved it so. Plus, I'm picky and have an unhealthy fear of commitment (to things, not people) and a serious buyer's remorse condition. Finally, I just bit the bullet, bought a normal bed from Target and called it a day. He was skeptical at first but now I believe it's love sweet love. =) It's GOT to be much more comfy for him too.
  

Before:

After: (obviously it's poor quality but you can get the idea... I'll have to
post one of Peety on it soon!)

• This week I've been pretty dag-gone lazy. I think last week's lameness and this week's sinus issues have taken their toll. All I can manage to do is lay on the couch and whine about my head. We've been catching up on 24 though which has been fun - but we both have so much work to do. Maybe today will be better.

• Well, I do believe that'll do pig, that'll do.
  

DAAAAAAATE NIGHT!

As I mentioned last time, Dac and I have started planning weekly dates. This week marked week 2 and it was Dac's turn to pick. He knew no matter what else we did that he wanted us to try the new Wichita Brewing Co. So, that's exactly what we did! We stopped and got a drink on the way (he knows me) and by the time we got there we were starved. We got there a little later than expected because 1) we got a later start, 2) we thought, for who knows why, that it was down the the Delano district (artsy area downtown) but we were pretty off. It's actually way west on 13th. Plus, 3) we got stuck in some road construction traffic jams for a while. Anyway, we finally got there and it was a cool place. =)


Dac ordered the Brewship Belgium (pale ale) and I got the Half-Wit Wheat (wheat...duh). Both were good (as much as I can think beer is good). Dac really liked both... especially his. My wheat was unfiltered, kind of smooth (like milk only not like milk), and citrusy.


Anyway, enough of that beer snobbery, let's get to the good stuff... the PIZZA. We ordered the Honeysuculent BBQ Chicken pizza. It was delicious. It was a thinner brick oven pizza and had, like the name suggests, chicken, cheese, bbq sauce, and honey. MMMM. The pizzas are on the small side but really, I think one was perfect for us. They have peanut butter s'mores dessert pizzas but we passed this time. NEXT time, it's on like donkey kong. It sounded amazing.


We had a really good time, the service was good, and the atmosphere was small but fun. At one point a waitress dropped a metal pan and it made a huge racket. The whole place started clapping. Kind of funny. =)


After supper we went to Target for a second, then on to Menards to look at doors. We had kind of planned on going to All-Star sports too but by the time we did all that and since we got a later start, we were tired and decided to just grab some ice cream and come on home. We topped off the night at Spangles with a jumbo ice cream cone and headed back.

All-n-all I'd say it was a great date. We got to talk a lot and really enjoyed being out and about together. Dac and Alisha... For. The. Win!

Am I an overcomer?

A blogger I follow shared another blogger's post today. Just so happens it was Baron Batch's blog. Now, Amy is an inspiration and a true woman of God. She has openly shared her unfortunate several-year struggle with infertility. She has shared her fears, her pain, her doubt, her willingness to be quiet and wait, and has done so in an honest, genuine way. When she wrote that this post moved her in such an awesome way, I knew I had to check it out.


I'm certainly no football junkie but apparently Baron is a Texas Tech alum who was drafted to play for the Steelers. He recently suffered a season-ending injury - but through it is sharing an amazing story. It's on the long side but worth it and I encourage you to read it. I'm glad I did and I am now an official subscriber to Baron's blog. =)

A storm is coming...

So, am I an overcomer? Heck, I don't know. I'll tell you this though, I want to be willing to find out.

Midweek Randoms

• I am so incredibly tired, so incredibly busy, so incredibly worn out. Work has been crazy, photography has been crazy, our house has been crazy. It has caught up to me. HELP!

• We spent part of our weekend with John, Anna, and Ruby. Dear, dear friends that always make life feel better. We had such a good time and while I didn't take any personal pictures, I'll share more about our trip and at least a picture of the sweet little Rubster soon. =) I loved the heck out of getting to play with her.

• Dac and I had our first installment of "weekly date" this weekend. We both decided we need to make a more conscious effort to actually plan dates and make them happen. Granted we don't have kids but that doesn't mean we're always spending quality time together. We work practically non-stop and that's only getting worse. Plus, when we are hanging out, it's usually running an errand, eating just because we have to, taking photos, or talking about what all needs done. Anyway, we agreed that we'd take turns planning each date. They can be fancy out-on-the-town dates, sit at home on the couch dates, morning dates - you name it. We can pick anything as long as it's us spending actual quality time together and having fun. I offered to pick first. =)
  

• Enter date night. I decided we'd order in a pizza (since we'd both been craving it for a while) and watch Wolverine (the Netflix movie we've had for a month or so). Well, we were having so much fun with John and Anna that we left there later than we originally anticipated. We could have just said "ah, forget it" but we've made a commitment to one planned date per week if AT ALL possible. SO - we stopped at Pizza Hut in Wellington, ate, and then continued our trip home, picked up Peety from "summer camp" (that's what we call it when we send him to stay with Dac's parents...haha) and since it was later when we got home and we were tired, we just watched a couple episodes of 24 and called it a night. Was it exactly what I had envisioned? No. Was it still good? Absolutely. Can't wait for this week's!
  

• Last night I started a new devotional. I signed up for You Version a long time ago but haven't really used it much. Since I've been checking e-mail one last time on my phone once I get in bed, I decided I might as well use that time for something more beneficial. I started the devotional plan called "Unquestionable Character - A 21 Day Study in Stewardship". Once I'm done with this, I think I'll do the "21 Day Plan for Busy Women" (maybe I should do that one now!) and the "5 Day Love and Marriage" plan. You can also just read the Bible (any version you want) on there. It's kind of a cool site/app.

• Ya'll. I. Need. A. Haircut. And. I. Need. It. Now. Oh lawd. It's bad. SO bad, that I got desperate and tried THIS (*warning, not for the faint of heart).
• I dedicated a whole pinterest album to my mop makeover ideas. That's where I found THIS grand idea. You basically put an elastic headband on, wrap your hair around it, sleep, and voila! Right? WRONG. I woke up with a total mess of a 'do. NOT the glamorous waves I was promised. Sure, I was skeptical to begin with, but I had hope. I will try it again and when I do, I'll wrap my hair tighter around the headband, may even use dirty hair, and less hairspray. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. Try not to fall off the edge of your seat until then.
  

• Due to a schedule change we've moved Wii night to every other Tuesday (instead of Thursday). It was my turn to cook so we had grilled steaks, sweet potatoes baked in the crock pot, veggies & dip (for the weirdo veggie-lovers), and bing cherries. I hadn't had bing cherries in YEARS and I'm not a big cherry fan... or so I thought. I LOVE THESE THINGS. John and Anna had them, I tried, I liked, now I'm eating them all dang week. =)

• I think that's all I've got to bore you with today. =) Have a great rest of the week.

• P.S. - Did I really just post a picture of raw meat on my blog?! Why yes. Yes I did.

• Edited to add: It's the first day of school. People aren't always nice. I've decided I'm going to drive my quickly-getting-cranky self to Sonic for lunch. I'm going to sit there, eat, drink, and pretend there's no such thing as chaos in my life. I've asked Heather to join me. It's going to be divine. Then I'm making breakfast for dinner. French toast. I'll be making it healthier than I'd like but it will also be divine. I may walk tonight too. Divine. THEN, and only then, will I work to catch up on photo work I'm so unfortunately behind on. THEN, and only then, will I think about my day job. =) As for the rest of the day. I'll keep plugging along and remind myself every 2.5 minutes that "I is kind, I is smart, and I is important". Long sigh.
  

Because...

Because cancer sucks.

Because if we haven't been already, we'll all be affected in one way or another.

Because we should all give and get this kind of love every single day.

Click HERE to watch a short series of three videos revolved around Martina McBride's new music video - I'm Gonna Love You Through It. One will stop and the next will start automatically. Don't forget the kleenex.

Midweek Randoms

Here we are again... the week's half over! =) I have zero pictures for you but here goes anyway.

1. This week is always a little rough. Things are crazy at work since school is starting again. We have teachers and other staff coming back. It's fun to see people but with that comes the fact that they need things. Some of them haven't even thought about school since May which is fine, I suppose, but it's hard to give everyone everything they need at the same time. Oh well, most are pretty understanding. The other thing is, everyone comes back looking all rested, refreshed, and tan. Meanwhile, I look pale, pasty, haggard, and like I have a wet mop on my head. Sigh. Such is life I guess.

2. I'm still not feeling super great either which may halfway explain my less than stellar mood right now. =) I plan to go watch Glee in 3D tonight while eating lots of buttery popcorn so I'm hoping that helps. haha. My kind of "alternative medicine"!

3. I can't believe it's already time for political debates and all the hoopla that comes with them. I guess it never really ends though. I started doing a little bit of research last night. It seems I'm a pretty true moderate and I tend to have a hard time distinguishing candidates because while I may line up with the social/civil ideals of one candidate, I'll line up with financial, etc... ideals of another. In fact, I didn't even vote in the last presidential election. Gasp. I know. I'm a big promoter of voting... and voting educated... but the truth is, last time I just didn't feel like there was a candidate worthy of my vote. I haven't done enough research this time to know how I feel about the possible contenders. I'll work on it though!

4. I'm pretty addicted to Pinterest. I could spend hours on there and have found so many cool house ideas, skinny outfits, and photo inspirations it's ridiculous. LOVE IT. =) I read tons of blogs and check out tons of sites so now when I find a great idea I just "pin" it and all my wild and unruly thoughts will be hanging out in the same place when I need to find them.

5. I try to enjoy things in the present... you know, current life situation, current season, current everything I guess... but I'm to the point of looking forward to fall now. I LOVE fall. I love the colors, the activities, the crisp air, the hoodies, the food. Mmmm. Can't wait.

6. I want to paint my toenails gray now. I'm in desperate need of a pedicure, even a self-given one.

7. I've been feeling extremely blessed in the friend department lately. I have some amazing besties that make life more interesting, bearable, and fun. Yay friends!

8. I miss cooking. I've either not had time, haven't been home, or haven't had the calories left at the end of the day to make a big, warm, cheesy, delicious meal. I'm hoping that changes next week. There's so many things I want to make.

I believe that's all for this week. Have a great day!!

Retro Cam

I've been playing with the Retro Camera app on my phone. It's kinda fun. The other day I took some shots of the new-old green chair in our family room.

Here are the books on my little makeshift tv-tray/end table. Both are super cute.
And this is the print that hangs out on the wall above the chair. I got it from Etsy and I love it. It says "Wherever we are together, that is home." Isn't that the truth?
Then, yesterday, I took Sky on a little shopping trip to Derby. We had such a good time. She ended up not letting me buy her any clothes but I did get her some funky earrings and a CD. She has really grown up and we laughed all day long.

We went to Target, and ate Freddies. Oh. My. Word. I don't think that's ever tasted as good as it did yesterday. AND I didn't even eat all my fries. WIN!
Then we went to Kohls, Game Stop, and I introduced her to Cherry Berry. That's mine on the left and hers on the right.
We got to see one of Dac's best friends, Tarl yesterday too. He and Dac hung out all day and I'm so glad they got the chance to do that. I should have got a picture of them but I didn't even think about it. FAIL.

Last night, I went to see "The Help" w/ Kayla. It. Was. Amazing. Seriously one of the best movies I'd ever seen. Oh so good. Watch it. Watch it now!! I had intended to get a picture of us but totally forgot. We got in there and the theater was packed. We had to sit in the second row. The movie was worth it though.

Today, I'm sick. I don't know why or how but I am NOT feeling so hot. So, I'm just laying here, doing nothing, watching crappy movies on Netflix and drinking Gatorade.

Midweek Randoms

So, after last week I've decided to start a "midweek randoms" recurring post. I'm stealing this idea from another blog I love to read. I plan to do a post each Wednesday. Since I worked at our school district's enrollment yesterday, and I'm a day late.

1) I love this guy. He is my buddy to the max. He loves me and spins circles for me when I come home (mostly because I feed him but I do think there's a little unconditional love there too!). Granted he stinks and sheds and there was one night this week where neither of us slept particularly well b/c he was barking all night (which he really never does). But I couldn't stay mad for long. Look at that face...
2) Dac and I began watching '24' on Netflix. The show is obviously over but neither of us had watched it before and decided what the heck... now's the time. I'm t-totally addicted now. We just finished the first season last night! We've been watching about one episode a night when we can... just to unwind after working non-stop up until that point. It's been good for us I think.
3) I received an e-mail with pictures of these cute things this week. That's Ellie and Layla - my cousin Ryan and Erin's sweet girls. I rarely see them in real life but I love staying up on what's new with them. They are both getting SO grown up. I see a ton of Ryan in Ellie especially and Layla - a spitting image of her beautiful mama. Erin's dating again... sort of took my breath away when I learned that but not in a bad way. Well not really... it's a reminder that he's gone and never coming back (which is oh so hard) but I couldn't be more happy for Erin. =) She is an amazing girl and she deserves the best and the most happiness that can possibly come her way! I know if she thinks he's special then he absolutely, without a doubt is. I can't even imagine how hard the whole process of losing the love of your life, picking yourself up again, being a great mom, deciding you want to let someone new in, and then actually seeing it through. Wow. Hope I never have to find out.

4) My friend Kelly blogged about our trip to Colorado. I stole this picture of me going down the crazy steep slide at New Belgium. I'm such a dork. Please still be my friend.

5) It's been hellaciously hot here lately. But... BUT... this week has been cooler and RAINY. I love rain. I love storms. I love cool, breezy, overcast weather. Mmmm. I've seen this cartoon before but ran across it again a couple days ago and I think it sums things up nicely. You know me... I feel bad for that corn cob. Sigh.

6) My friend Erika remembered me saying how much I liked her chair a while back. It's not exactly her style and they wanted to get rid of it so she called me. Wasn't that nice? =) I'm not sure that it's necessarily my "style" either but I do love it and am happy with it's new home in my family room. It brings some spunk and diversity to that room, plus, it's in terrific shape and will be great for pictures... including some of her girls.
7) We went out to eat at College Hill Coffee today with a few local photographers. It was perfect. Today was just kind of a meet-and-greet time. I had a blast and I know Dac did too. We didn't want to leave! =) Everyone that came was super cool and I only see it growing. Can't wait for next time. PS - I finally tried a waffle from there and it was fab.

8) I made a dentist appt. Guys. It is SAD how long it's been since I've been to the dentist. Like... gosh... 2 years now? I just hate it THAT much. I'm too scared. SO, I made a dentist appt. with a new dentist that Dac used to go to... made us both one. Dare I say it... I'm excited! I think. I told them to bring on the gas and sedatives and let's do this thing! =) Eeeek!

9) I hit my first mini weight-loss goal yesterday. I wanted to lose 10 lbs in 30 days and I managed to do it in 31. I'm pumped! Weight-loss seems to be going better this time around. I seriously just love love love myfitnesspal.com. Seriously. Love it.

10) I've been walking a lot. Sometimes I walk with Kayla and it's great to chat and the walks always go by fast! Super fun. Sometimes I walk with Dac and it's great to talk and sometimes that's the only time we get to really spend together (except for our new-found 24 time). Sometimes I walk by myself and while I always love the thought of that, I usually end up going about half the time I plan to, hurting a lot, and feeling like crap afterward. It's just not as fun!

I think that's it for this week's installment of randoms. Have a great rest of the week!! =)

Roomie Reunion

A few weeks (almost a month ago now... geez... I'm behind) I went to OKC to hang with my college "family". Granted, a couple girls were missing, but it was a great time and I'm hoping we can all get together for homecoming or something this fall.

Anyway, I stayed with two girls I actually lived with while down at OSU. Beth and Julie. They currently live together now... at least for a little while longer because Julie's getting married in November (couldn't be many more stinkin' excited for her!!)! These girls are some of my most bestest friends ever. Love them,love them, love them! This is the sign they had on the fridge to welcome me. =)

The top left hand corner is a Law and Order: SVU episode on TV. We always watched this... especially the marathons. The sign also has cookies (Tuesday night special while watching Gilmore Girls), a camera - for obvious reasons, a mocktail (we are so painfully cool), and a picture of us doing the "O-S-U" pose.

As soon as I got there, we went to eat at Saturn Grill. I'd never been there and it was delicious. I had a sandwich. The place was just kind of modern - sort of played up the space thing - and had a cool atmosphere.

Then, we went to Gigi's cupcakes. I had already started myfitnesspal.com (less than a week into it) at this time but was willing to splurge this weekend. Oh holy cupcakes... love.
We got a variety and split them all so we could taste each one. =) Every one I tried was fantastic... especially when they were fresh. Yum!
After cupcakes, we went to the Rink... a cool little antique-y shop in an old skating rink. It's always fun to browse around in there. Then, THEN internet, we grabbed some Sonic and got our eyebrows threaded. I had always heard about this and thought it sounded cool. I've heard it was less painful than waxing. I heard a lie. =) We went to this little hole in the wall place where all they really do is threading. It hurt like a son of a gun. I don't know that it hurt worse than waxing... it just lasted long. My brows looked great afterward though and I'm sure I'd get used to the torture just like I have waxing. It was definitely an experience! =)

After being tortured and suffering in the heat all afternoon... we opted to stay in the rest of the night. We played lots of silly board games and ate more cupcakes.

Julie looking rather dapper in her headbanz!
Beth sportin' the cool look too.
Then, I helped Julie (she did most the work, don't let me fool you) make lasagna. Oh my yumtacular. It was mighty tasty. Natalie joined us for dinner too! Yay!
Natalie and Beth chatting and eating more cupcakes. =)


Beth and I.

Julie and I during the mocktail hour...bahaha. I crack myself up.
If I remember correctly... Beth won the mocktail mixing contest.

After that, we chatted some more then hit the hay. The next morning beth made us cinnamon rolls, we watched lifechurch.tv and I headed home. Awesome weekend all the way around!!!

Published

So, I sorta write for a living so I've been published several times, but I houht his was kinda cool. I was asked to write a feature article about the school district's partnership with the City on a brand new baseball/softball complex for this statewide buildings and facilities magazine. I took the photos for it too.

In other news, I got a new smart phone so here's some pictures I took with it!!