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!!

Randoms

I have some pictures from my roomie reunion in OKC a couple weeks ago but there's too many of those to post right this second so I'm skipping ahead and posting some random tidbits.

I recently got the motivation (again) to get back on the eat better and exercise wagon. Kayla told me about myfitnesspal.com It should be called thebomb.com because it's just that. haha. You know that's funny. Seriously though, this site is awesome. It's free, for one, and it lets you track all kinds of things and is set up sort of like facebook. Now, I have lots of friends on there and we can all encourage each other. I'm just a tad over two weeks in and I have to say, I'm actually enjoying this! =) It's fun and I'm already feeling a little better. I think the site is just what I've been needing - a fun little boost. It's on like donkey kong people!

That first week, I made some low fat chocolate chip zucchini bread. It was good and remarkably filling.

I also found a salad I like. WHAT?!?!!? Yeah, I know. A SALAD people. The Wendy's berry almond chicken salad is actually quite good.
So good that I made my own version a couple times at home.
I think mine's prettier, don't you? =) I normally have MAYBE three salads a year so having several in one week about did me in. I needed a break but I did get a normal side salad with lunch this weekend and sort of enjoyed that. It's a process.

I've been cooking a lot with zucchini... putting it in tons of stuff and just eating it by itself. I even made little zucchini pizzas with sauce, cheese, and pineapple. Eh, it wasn't super impressive. It needed meat I think but I didn't have any thawed.

This weekend Dac and I had work to do, but we also took the chance to have some fun too. Friday night we went and saw Captain America with Val, Cori, and Steve. Saturday, Dac worked on the house while I went shopping with my mom, aunt, and grandma. Then that night, Dac and I went out to eat.

And we decided to try wine. We picked this one because it said sweet and delicious. haha. We're real wine snobs here people. The worker there said it really was excellent and you know, it wasn't too awful bad.
The next day we went to Wichita to take pictures. Justin and Erica (and Aldrik) took us out for lunch at a yummy place and then we ran some errands. Those errands may have included some fro-yo.
And by may, I mean totally did. =) This time, instead of getting 2-3 different yogurts topped with tons of yummy candy, I chose cheesecake yogurt, graham cracker crumbs, strawberries, kiwi, and cool whip! It was delish and a great treat.

I also got these treats this week. I've been walking and my tennis shoes just weren't cutting it. So, I did lots of research on my foot type, customer reviews, etc... and bought myself these puppies with my birthday money. SUPER comfy and they have orange on them. =)
So anyway, that's kind of what I've been up to lately. Plenty of meal planning and calorie counting and walking and eating treats. =) Like I mentioned earlier I also went on a fun girls weekend and I'll post pictures from that real soon. AND we've been keeping super busy with photography and a slew of other projects.

Partyaaaay!

Last week my mom turned the big FIVE-O. Sooooo... we had a little surprise party. My mom hates surprises and isn't huge on big parties anyway, so my Dad and I just invited a few of the couples they bowl with, etc... and called it good.

Here's a quick look at some of the details. I used a lot of jars, red, and turquoise. I ordered this awesome cake topper from Etsy but it didn't get here in time. In fact, it still hasn't got here. =( It would have just been the bees knees.

We had lots of food, snacks, and drinks.


I made all the sides. We got the meat from WB Meats (it was great!). And I had my Grandma make my mom's favorite cake (angel food cake with strawberry icing).

Pasta salad and beanie weenies.

Sliced brisket and pork loin.

Cheesy taters, fruit salad, chips.

This seemed to be a big it.

Loved the jars and striped straws.





What can I say? We love Taffy!
I think mom ended up having fun even though it was a surprise. =)

Pug Camp

Hope you enjoyed our trip pictures. I'm a little disappointed I didn't take one of our 5d's - in the end the convenience won out and I honestly just didn't want to lug that thing around. Next time though... next time. =) We had such a good time and we are both grateful for such awesome friends. Hopefully next time the rest of the gang will be able to join us too.

When we got back from Colorado, we picked up our "nephew" Tater because Val was headed out of town. I think Peety liked having a buddy for a while but let me tell you... he's been practically passed out all night since Tater left. =)

YAY PUGS! That's Tater on the left and Peety on the right... begging for treats.

Tater liked Peety's rope toy.

My sweet boy and I today. =)I sure do love these pug dogs.

Colorado: Day 4/5

Day 4 was the 4th of July. This was our excuse to visit (we certainly don't need a reason to visit but we're more likely to make it happen if we have an excuse). The guys all used to do some pretty big firework shows back in the day... most of them in the Topeka area. Since moving to Colorado, Matt became a licensed pyrotechnician. This year he needed a crew to do the show for the city of Lafayette, CO. It was shot at Waneka Lake and was AWESOME!

Anyway, that morning Kelly and I went to breakfast at The Egg and I. I had a humongous whole wheat pancake that was delicious. After breakfast we cleaned up the house, rested, then went to World Market, Target, Old Navy, and Wal-Mart... that last one did us in... so we went home and took naps. haha.

Meanwhile, the guys were out in over 100 degree weather slaving away. BUT - we brought them food and more drinks.
These guys all worked so hard... doing a firework show isn't exactly like lighting a black cat... it's WORK people.


After the guys were fed, Kelly and I moseyed on over to the other side of the lake to stake out a spot with a great view. As luck would have it, we took the long way. It was hot, we were carrying tons of stuff, and I'm sadly out of shape. So sad. BUT - we made it. We chilled for a while and drank up some water, Gatorade, and Diet Dr. Peppers while we waited for Kelly's family to get there.
After a few hours of hanging out, tanning, and people watching, it was time for the show!! The guys did such a great job. I wish I'd brought a different camera.





Awesome. After the finale we saw a big fire (like a tall-skinny person-shaped fire). Thankfully, it was just some reeds down by the water but Kelly and I were a bit nervous none-the-less. Yikes. That was our guys over there!

It was a great night and a 4th of July for the record books.

The next day, we woke up early and went back to the site to clean up debris. After that those of us that had to come back to Kansas started the oh-so-long drive back.