this loverly life

To Whom It May Concern

2012-01-17T21:56:00.000-08:00

To my dearest friends, family and other lovelies,

The time has come to end this here blogging adventure. Thank you for reading and all the love.

If you'd like to be friends or familiar....please email me at

taraanalee {at} gmail {dot} com

hugs & kisses

here we go

2011-12-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

hello my people. long time, eh? well let's not waste any time and pick up right where we left off.

So we moved to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It's in the Southeast corner of the state and meets up with Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois...considered the "Heartland"...jealous, much? It's also the hometown of Mr. Rush Limbaugh-which probably explains A LOT about this place AND him. I'll explain....in a bit.

Seth is in his third year and rotating in the hospitals now. He rotates between two major hospitals here in Cape. This town is a major hospital hub because it's the only major city between St. Louis and Memphis....and someone has got to take care of all them people livin' in the woods. Seth has seen his fair share of crazies and also some quite fascinating scenarios. I am very happy for him that he can now practice what he has studied so hard for. I'm proud of him and all of his hard work. Right now his favorite specialty is surgery and least favorite, family medicine.

I have been very blessed to find a job here. Seriously, I went to church and that's how I got my job. I've been working in a pharmacy and training as a Pharmacy Technician. It's been very hard but equally rewarding. It has allowed me to observe and learn from a very "interesting" people. In my spare time, I've been able to explore St. Louis...(Thanks Heidi!)

The people here are just...well, crazy. Working in a pharmacy allows me to work one-on-one with people...which has provided daily adventures. Everything here is "fixin'", "we was", "be good now", "y'all", "why can't I get my meds for free?!"....Some people like to keep a cigarette lit inside the pharmacy and try to HIDE the smell...or smoke ciga-weed right in front of the pharmacy. Some people like to threaten me when I won't allow them to buy bulk amounts of a controlled substance. One day the police department called to say they were getting an alert that we were being robbed....let me say that again, THEY CALLED US. I understand that Utah is a bubble, but I thought if you're the po-po and you get the alert of a burglary, YOU SHOW UP. Some people are so heavily medicated they are barely functioning and bordering comatose.
Most people my age, have 8 kids, from 4 different people and are doing what they can to survive. People here are not at all religiously shy-which I find refreshing. The people here have just made the experience better.

I may complain forever about the ridiculous humidity of Missura...but you only go through that suffering to enjoy the loveliness of Fall. I LOVE fall in the midwest. Oh it's beautiful. And it lasted clear until Thanksgiving. Perfection I tell you.

I have to brag about my landlord. We live in an old rambler that's basically been split in two. My landlord is like late 60's and lives with her old muttdog, Libby. Jean is a firecracker. She was so excited to have us move in. One month, Seth was gone on rotations and I was by myself. Once a week, as I would be coming home from work, Jean would greet me with dinner. She'd make me desserts. She'd take care of J-Lo while I was at work. She'd check in to make sure I was safe. She's just been the perfect Missura Mom. I'll be forever grateful for her.

Oh, you want to know how J-Lo is doing? She's just peachy. Crazy as ever. I think she's finally attached to us. She's a sweety and her personality cracks me up everyday.

There's the major update....if anyone checks in anymore. Thank you to those who sent search parties after me in my blogging absence. Life has been crazy in this lil town. Living in the Cape has been a wonderful adventure and I'm so thankful.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas my most lovely and wonderful family and friends!

I might as well put it out there now...in case I forget to blog again.

a couple things that made me smile today

2011-09-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Every time I watch this, I laugh so hard I get the happy tears...

and I just love cute elderly couples...

more evidence my summer was awesome

2011-09-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

1. Introducing Hallee to the JOYS of horseback riding (she LOVED it) 2. My reading obsession...seriously READ it...like NOW 3. One can never play too much tennis 4. Spending time with my lovely aunt & great aunt.

memories of summatime

2011-09-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

good news, i'm still going through pictures

2011-08-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me well, understand that I always seem to have a camera with me-usually right in your business or malfunctioning somehow. Good news-I got a phone which allows me access to a camera WHENEVER I PLEASE {insert evil laugh of a wanna be photographer} Well that can be taken as bad or good news.....and with that, you now have to suffer through lots of pictures. And until I know how to put them in those adorable little box collage thingies, you're just gonna have to scroll on down.

1. Free slurpee day with Kimmie & Mish 2. One of my fave buildings in UT-The State Capitol 3. What caused weight gain this summer, The Sweet Tooth Fairy 4. me and miss mel 5. em and adorable jaylee

1. me & leaps doin' what we do, which is being super attractive 2. temple time 3. me & the most lovely gina 4. auntie & niece play time 5. standing next to me is the most ridiculously talented Ashley Smith at the Farmer's Market 6. grams and me mom

an iphone summer

2011-08-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

playing at the Gateway

the best shaved ice

mom's new pup

always brush your teeth

park city

game time

cali gparents and the seesters

summertime in pictures

2011-07-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

my future neighbors are doomed

2011-07-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

Oh hello.....

Yes I have been away in wonderful summerland. Where popsicles are required daily and shoes aren't necessary. I thought I'd stop by the blog world to tell you a story...

As previously mentioned, our move from Kansas City was nothing short of complete chaos. Our plan was pack up everything, move to Cape, drive back to K.C., clean up our townhome, check out and then head to Utah. Now our townhome prior and during the move was quite messy. I was determined to only clean the place one last time. So what I'm saying is, it was disgusting. So Monday we leave, blah blah blah, Tuesday we were heading back to K.C. We arrived in K.C. around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night. I asked Seth where the keys were to the house. He replied, "probably in the mailbox". And I knew. I knew right then and there what had happened. My sneak/superwoman of a neighbor Emily had done something. Immediately I was mad at Seth. "YOU KNOW BETTER!" I screamed. After 2 years of being neighbors with Emily, he should have known better than to give her our keys.

I open the door and posted on our family room wall read, "I'll Get By With A Little Help From My Friends".
And all I thought was, Now I really can't leave...and then I wanted to cry (but I didn't...that came 2 days later...) My dearies Emily and Lisa had completely cleaned my kitchen, family room, vacuumed, cleaned windows....etc. Like what the what. I was so humbled by their love and friendship. Never ever did I deserve such wonderfulness. What a weight they had lifted. I continued to scold Seth for leaving the keys and instilled in him never to make such a mistake again.

The next morning Emily came outside and I explained what kind of trouble she was in. "Someone steal your dirt?" was her response. Yes, yes...someone did steal my dirt, you little ninnymuggins.

To say I learned a lot while living next to such wonderful people, is a MAJOR understatement. I was continuously humbled by the service, love, kindness, charity of my dear neighbors. I will work hard to pay it forward and never let go of what was passed on to me.

I FREAKIN LOVE YOU KANSAS CITY PEOPLE!

even if you steal dirt!

jolt out of sleepyland

2011-06-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

We started our journey back to Utah at midnight Wednesday/Thursday. Seth was driving and I was off to sleepyland. I was in actual sleepyland when all the sudden

BAM!

followed by,

"Oh no"

I was in a daze and then Seth told me we hit a deer...like in a bad kind of way....like we sent that deer straight to heaven.

He pulled over and assessed the damage. I didn't dare get out-I didn't want to see the damage to our car or to the deer. Our front fender was damaged, light was shattered...that's all he saw at 4:00 a.m.

We started back on the road and noticed no damage to the alignment or anything else-the car drove fine..just some cosmetic damage.

We continued on our way and once we had actual daylight, we understood the real damage.

Basically the whole left side of the car was damaged. We called our insurance and they have took care of everything. Once we arrived in Cedar City, we took the car in and now it's getting fixed. They hooked us up with a rental....

....of course they give us 2 giants the hobbit hearse.

Bottom line: we are SO blessed this accident wasn't worse/cause more damage/hurt us. Just a little hiccup.

A $3,000 hiccup. Thumbs up for that.

we be crazy

2011-06-26T10:24:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you a story. A story of complete insanity, blessings and 1,800 miles.

Once we found out we would be moving to Cape Girardeau, the plan was to kind of finish out the summer and then move. Of course, I pushed that to the farthest place in my mind-the place where cobwebs and old boyfriends exist. I do not/did not want to leave Kansas City.

Let's get back to the story.

As time continued on, as it always does, the whole "we really are moving" thing came into the picture. I packed little by little. One Monday evening, a friend of ours called me, asked if I was home and if she could come see our place. 45 minutes later, we were moving June 21st and we had someone to buy our place. What the what.

I figured I would pack here and there between the jobs and be prepared with boxes packed and ready to move to Cape. Well between the 3 jobs and the not acknowledging of the move...time crept up pretty quickly and boom...time to move.

Monday morning we picked up our U-Haul and started the packing--let it be noted, it was horribly hot and humid. With the help of our lovely friends the truck was packed in an hour. With that, Seth drove the truck and I drove the car down to Cape...to find a place to live. Yes, you heard me right. We had all our earthly belongings stuffed in a truck..taking it 300 miles to a place we'd never been, with no home. We be crazy.

Took us about 6 hours to make it down to Cape. As I pulled in, it seemed similar to the layout and size of St. George...just a whole lot greener. We parked the truck and the search began. The frustrating thing about going to a new place, is not knowing which areas are safe/not safe...you know what I mean. We found a place with everything brand new, in a sketchy area and high-ish rent. We decided to sleep on it. Once we checked into our hotel, we were basically calling everyone in Cape trying to find a place to live. Through Super Woman, aka Emily, we got in touch with some church members in Cape. One member volunteered to drive me around Cape, showing me the areas to live and just the city itself. I was pleasantly surprised how I was kind of liking Cape.

Tuesday we got up good and early to begin the search. We spent all morning driving around looking for "FOR RENT" signs, calling them...and then not getting anything. At one point in the drive, I heard a clank and then the sound of something dragging. I pulled over and looked under the car--something was now hanging and a liquid was dripping rapidly from the car. At this point, I basically broke down. If this is where we were supposed to be, WHY IN THE WHY was it turning out to be so difficult?!?! I decided it was time to eat. Taking time out to eat and breath, usually makes my mind clear...So Quick trip to Honda--everything turned out fine. Quick trip to Panera and we were back on the road. Seth found a new posting in the classifieds, we called it and we went to check it out. This place was a duplex, in a quiet neighborhood, with a 1 car garage, with a backyard....things were looking up. The owner, who lives next door, is a lady in her late 60's and is quite the firecracker. The rent was reasonable and she'd accept j. lo as a tenant. We figured-this is gonna work. One tiny little problem...the current tenant was not out of the place. Long story in that, but basically we could not "officially" move in until like the beginning of July. Remember that part where we had everything we owned with us, we needed to move in ASAP and we'd be gone for a month? eesh....

We told firecracker about our situation and she decided she liked us so much that we could put everything we owned in her basement AND she'd keep it there for us RENT FREE. Um...AWE-some! So we called all the mormons we could to come over and move our stuff. More like we called our contact and she called all the mormons and they came! We had everything out of the moving truck and into storage in 1 hour. And with the awesome heat and humidity of Cape, there were a couple people with their clothes completely soaked through with sweat.....

We thanked our new friends and landlord and at that, drove back to Kansas City. We were exhausted but unfortunately on a schedule. We got back to K.C. around 11:30 that night and after a little "angry" surprise (more on that later) we crashed.

Wednesday morning we got up good and early to start the cleaning of our place, as well as try to help our neighbors pack up. The day was spent feverishly cleaning, in hopes of checking out that day, and visiting with friends on last time. It is so sad to know that these experiences will never happen again. Yes, I know that I will remain friends with these wonderful people (they have no choice in the matter) but the good experiences of just walking across the street and having such great people to talk to....anyways...

We finished cleaning right as our property manager knocked on our door. Which was very stressful and hectic--but thankfully, AGAIN, to neighbors, we had it all taken care of. After checking out, we spent the rest of the night with Emily and James, eating food and enjoying the last moments as neighbors. At midnight, we headed out for Utah...completely physically and emotionally(me) exhausted....

...........and we drove...................

......................................and then we hit a deer...........

...............and I'll stop there............

favorite places: k.c. style

2011-06-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

I'm super gooshy about K.C. right now since we're leaving. I get very nostalgic about people and places when I know I can't have them anymore. I can't believe I'm moving away from a place that has really grown on me. I really do love Kansas City, Missouri. So...please hang in through the sentiment.

First off--my house. I love that my backyard was a forest. I love looking outside and watching the changing of the seasons. More recently, I love walking outside at night and seeing the twinkling of the fireflies. Seriously people, if you do not have fireflies where you live, you should get some. They are my new favorite thing. I love my little home-nothing too big but just the right space for us. I love the location--I felt safe, nestled in a quiet little city outside of Kansas City. We were 15 minutes from the airport, 5 minutes from downtown K.C. and 20 minutes from anything else worth seeing. I love my walks with J.Lo in the morning-seeing the sunlight hit the skyline of K.C... Add in the part where I lived next to the most amazing people, and BAM...best place ever. I will miss our home here in Kansas City.

Deanna Rose Farmstead. Ok, I don't have kids, but for reals my friends, this place is so cool! During the week, it was free and the weekends it's a couple dollars. You can fish, feed baby goats, ride ponies and see all kinds of farm animals. I took Hallee when she was here and she LOVED it. All kids love this place and I'm not ashamed to say the kid in me LOVES this place.

English Landing Park. One of my first favorite places of Kansas City. It's right next to the Missouri River with a 2 mile trail sandwiched between the river and the railroad tracks...I loved walking the trail. In the fall, the leaves flutter around you and it's just beautiful. Oh I will miss this place.

I love that in order to get into downtown or over to Kansas, you have to cross the river. I love the bridges. Wow that sounds so nerdy. I love crossing Broadway bridge into the downtown and the Bond bridge is just architecturally cool. Bridges have been replacing my need for mountains..or something. K I need to move on quickly cuz this nerdiness is freakin' me out.

Downtown K.C. MO. Don't go to downtown K.C. Kansas. I've been over there and it scares me. But the Missouri side is great. It's like S.L.C. but squished. I love all the old buildings. The Power & Light district is always hopping and a great place to go if you enjoy the boozin. And City Hall looks like it's something from Gotham City...there I go nerdin' it up again.

source

QuickTrip. Yes I am mentioning a gas station as one of my favorite places. I continue to sink deeper. But until you live just up the road from one and partake of the lovely QT donuts, you cannot judge.

Sonic Drive-In. You've probably noticed my increasing acknowledgments of Sonic on here...it's because it is awesome! Sonic's Happy Hour is a Mormon girls dream come true. There are like 2 billion drink combinations or something...and if they shook it up and served it like a martini, I'd probably live there. Sonic shakes and creamslushes are just so very dern good. I even got Mr. Healthnut Seth hooked onto Sonic treats. I shall miss being right around the corner from Sonic...but I'm sure my bootay and waistline will be grateful.

KCUMB. The medical school so lovingly located in the deep middle of the ghetto. And when I say ghetto, I mean g-h-e-t-t-o, fo sho. I wouldn't dare walk around the school after dark. But the campus of KCUMB is lovely. It's small and quaint with the charm of the old buildings. It's like a little oasis hidden in the middle of doom. I'll miss taking my life into my own hands crossing Independence Avenue. I'll miss security escorts to my car after dark. I'll miss all the people that worked at KCUMB. They were all so nice and helpful. I'm glad I had the opportunity to work on the campus and make great friends.

Sigh....Cape Girardeau has so much to live up to.

I can't help it

2011-06-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's just because I truly love the Beeper King from "30 Rock" but I LOVE these commercials. Like I deep belly laugh every time I see them. Here are my favorites...Happy Friday!

"Recalculating...TURN RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm out makin sure---this-----stays a 10"

"I've already had like 4 babies"

"I'm all, OMG..."

and something I can now (UNFORTUNATELY) relate to...

"cuz that's what we do"

favorite things: k.c. style

2011-06-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

As long as I'm talking about shopping in Kansas City, I'll tell you about the other glorious places that give you the opportunity to spend money that you may or may not have.

First off-the Legends Outlet Mall. Love this place. It was nice to cross right over the border and hit up the outlets and great restaurants.

Next-Zona Rosa. This place is very similar to the Gateway in Utah..except I like Zona Rosa better. In fact, if it were cool to say you loved a shopping center, I'd have to say I love Zona Rosa. So many great stores mixed with some boutiques and then some great restaurants-including where I worked. There's even a Marshall's there...which saved me some big bucks. In the center of the Zona is a courtyard, where fountains entertain the kids during the day and on weekends, hosts free concerts.

Country Club Plaza....Very hoity-toity. I usually go straight to Anthropologie, dream and then leave. Houstons--one of my very favorite restaurants, is there. It's just a fun place to walk around, dream and admire all the Ferrari's, Mazeratti's and Aston Martin's.

I also had my pickings of about 3 or 4 Targets, all within about 15 minutes of my place. Talk about awesome. I strongly believe that as long as a city has a Target, you can survive. (Logan was the only place to prove this theory wrong, but it's Logan..) All Kansas City Targets were like hitting the jackpot...just awesome treasures and sales.

And finally...the TJ Maxx of Liberty. I don't think you (or maybe it's just me) can go in there and leave empty handed. I had always been frustrated by the craziness of TJ Maxx before I met the Liberty store. This store has all kinds of ways to spend your money. When sister came out to visit and asked where I got this or that...my answer was either Target or TJ Maxx. You just can't go wrong with either.

You're probably thinking, "weren't you a poor medical student's wife? how/why did you shop?"
A) Sales are a poor girl's best friend
B) Some good retail therapy can solve a lot of problems
C) I worked 3 jobs. The. End.

favorite things: k.c. style

2011-06-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

In honoring Kansas City and countdown (boo, hiss) to leaving begins, I'm telling you about my favorite things and places in this crazy city.

To start us off...

Good JuJu

For reals, the best "antique-anything-awesome" shopping in Kansas City.

The first time I went, it had just started out as this humble little shop hidden in the West Bottoms. The power had gone out and the owners walked around and gave all of us shoppers a candle to walk around with and find treasures. How cool is that?

Fast forward a year and now it is always SO BUSY. The secret is out! If you see something you "might" like, you'd better grab onto it-cuz you could decide you like it, turn around and it's gonezo.

You'll find everything from lovely lamps, vintage clothing, old furniture revamped into complete charming loveliness and even old handsome pictures of Robert Redford (you're welcome). All the people who run this show, are totally awesomenicecreativehilariouslywonderful.

One day, when I have a home and can buy whatever I'd like...I'm going to Good JuJu to furnish my place.
I'm telling you, a) if you live in K.C., go to Good JuJu every first weekend of the month and b) if you visit K.C., plan a trip the first weekend of the month and go to Good JuJu and c) Good JuJu is AWEsome and is one of my favorite places in Kansas City.

Go here for all info.

I am in no way getting any special privileges or perks for writing this stuff, I'm just spreading the good word about Good JuJu...

at last, at last

2011-06-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

boards. are. done.

and my mind is so blown by this idea, that that's all I have to say about that.

oh, and

Congratulations Seth!!

i get by with a little help from my friends

2011-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday will go down as one of the best nights of my life. Here's why.

It was my last day at the restaurant. The night before I didn't sleep at all. It was just j. lo and I--Seth was in Topeka taking part 1 of Step I (medical boards). I got up early to go into work for a video they were shooting. In making the video, I have not laughed THAT hard in a LONG time. We had to do various choreography and....I had ugly laugh going. But there is nothing better than laughing that hard.

me and my half sister, MK

Following the shoot, I had to work. It was a beautiful day in K.C....little humidity and it wasn't that hot. I was busy all day but the guests were nice and tipped well. The whole day was bittersweet. I have loved working alongside some wonderful people who have been So good to me. I have completely disliked serving horrible people. I don't think I would ever serve anywhere else than where I was. The day was filled with lots of hugs and sad goodbyes...but overall, a good day. That night I was finishing up on my last table, which happened to be my bosses' mom. At one point she told me to go get her daughter (my boss). I walked into the kitchen and ALL my coworkers were stuffed in there...and I paused. Everyone was looking at me. I told my boss her mom needed her. She told me to come over to her. "This isn't for me, is it?" I asked....and hestitated. My boss called me again to come over to her and as I did, she said, "My mom doesn't need me!" and hugged me. And then EVERYONE else hugged. It was the bestest, most wonderful group hug that has ever happened. Oh the love. Of course I got emotional-they were proud they made me cry. I was extremely humbled and grateful of the love I felt. Then they took me over to a ginormous cake with a big frowny face on it. "this is how we feel" kind of cake. How can I leave these people now!?

I finished my work...said some goodbyes and then prepared for our night of fun.

After work we all went out. We started off at a place down the road, 54th Street. We were waiting for friends to get off work to join us and just hang out.

To preface the next thought I have to tell you that 2 of our coworkers, James and Ashley-who had met and fell in love at the restaurant-had gotten married that day. As we are hanging out at 54th Street, who walks in but the bride and groom...in their bride and groom attire. I think my eyeballs almost fell out of my head-I was so shocked to see them. They were like, "we heard about the party and decided to join in!" And they brought their limo with them.

So we all piled in the limo and drove around Zona Rosa...and landed at O' Dowds.

We spent the rest of the night on the rooftop patio, laughing, listening to music and just having entirely too. much. fun.

I just remember looking up into the sky and thinking,

I am so happy in this moment.

What a wonderful feeling.

These people have changed my life and they will all be with me forever.

And then as we're all leaving and I'm walking down the stairs, the band starts playing " Don't you, forget about me..." by Simple Minds. What the what. It was an epic moment I tell you.

and that was my perfect night in Kansas City.

"i'm gonna be alright"

2011-06-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

Another reference to the real j. lo in order to tell a story about my j.lo.

This dearest pooch is the craziest dog I've ever met. She is a total diva and has WAY too much energy. Due to our busy schedules, Seth and I decided to check out doggy day care. I never thought I'd say those words--I thought those were words only used by the rich and famous. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

I took her to one particular place-Yappy Hour to be exact. It was cheaper than the fancier Pete & Macs. The initial experience was good. It seemed that miss j. to the lo had a good time and was exhausted when she came home. I was a little hesitant because of the gross smell of the place but housing dogs can't be roses and dandelions. Couple of days later I took her to Pete & Macs. I felt more comfortable with this place--but she was still a spaz when I got her home.

Fast forward to Memorial Day. I wanted to work on packing as well as get together with our neighbors for a picnic. Seth was busy with board studying so I decided it was a doggy day care kind of day. I took her over to Yappy Hour and went on with my day plans. As I'm lunching with my fabulous friends, I get a voicemail. The owner called explaining that she was going to take pictures of the dogs playing, etc., when she noticed my dog had a "skin tear". There was no need to worry..she just wanted to let me know. Thinking it was just a scratch, I continued on with picnic & friends.

I went to pick her up and the owner had the most remorseful look. She apologized a million times and I was thinking, well my dog IS crazy and it's a scratch--no worries lady. Then I saw my dog. She had a big gauze taped to her side. Um since when does a skin tear need a giant bandage? And then I looked at the wound....(warning..it's a little gross)

SKIN TEAR MY BUM.
and then there were some puncture wounds....
and the little detective within says...SKIN TEAR MY BUM and was the full truth and nothing but the truth, being told???

Next morning I took j.lo into the vet...and it surgery had to be done. Vet said that if it was a skin tear..it would be a straight line on her body...not 2 puncture wounds on her shoulder and a gaping hole on her rib cage. She came home with the cone of shame...which was very hilarious, in a mean sort of way. In order to save her pride, I put tank tops on her.

Now..she's all better. Seth took her stitches out and we will no longer be going to Yappy Hour.
And j.lo is "gonna be a'ight"
She's from the block, and they make them tough there.

here's hoping 27 is heaven

2011-06-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

(me: 1980something)

I turned 27.
Though I'm considering going by whatever age Seth thinks I am--which was currently is 26. I'm fine with that.
I milked my birthday for all it was worth while working at the restaurant--which resulted in some free crispy shrimp (to DIE for I tell you) and spumoni.
If you've ever wondered if your birthday makes you exempt from speaking in church, I"ll tell you-It doesn't. At least in Missouri. Maybe they're a little more heartless out here due to, you know, being mobbed a gajillion times...Whatever the reasoning--I spoke on my birthday. I spoke on "Charity Never Faileth" a talk given by Thomas S. Monson. The talk had such perfect timing. Here's my favorite part of his talk....

"Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."

And I'm telling you, my neighbors and church friends all have this within them. I am that lucky.

That night my dearest friends threw a little get together.

I will always LOVE friend time and food. I wouldn't have spent my night any other way.

I love our K.C. friends so very much. We stayed up late laughing and talking about gross bacteria (thank you Seth), marriage and life.

Thank you my friends for birthday time!

and Thank you for your happy day wishes!.

advice for my future children

2011-06-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

never ever

EVER

under any circumstances

should you attempt to wax your own armpits....

without a professional present.

twister time

2011-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that the Midwest has had a bit of crazy weather lately. Between the BBQ and humidity, we like to spice things up with throwing a tarnado in there as well. I say tornado as tarnado because I've got to represent my Narthern Utah roots now and then. Back to the story.

Two weeks ago a horrible tornado ripped through Joplin, MO-which is about an hour-hour and half away from us. I still can't believe the destruction. There have been many food and blood drives around Kansas City to help the people of Joplin. I'm sure that's going on all over the country. Joplin is more of a commuter town so if we had to see the "good" in this situation, it's a good thing it happened on a weekend--there could have been so many more deaths and injuries had it happened during the week. We had friends of friends living down there, and they are fine. Which is such a relief. There have been so many stories of courage and miracles. Amidst every tragedy there always arises the stories of people reaching out to each other and stories of bravery. Check out this link showing Joplin before and after the tornado.

source

A week after the tornado in Joplin, here in K.C. we had some tornado watches and warnings. A watch comes first, which means...it's a possibility. When a warning is issued, it means--tornadoes have touched down and or spotted..and it's coming. Tuesday night I was watching 9 kids with my friend Lyndee and we got the news that a horrific storm was coming and we'd better prepare ourselves. My stomach temporarily freaked out considering we were in charge of the safety of 9 kids...but it turned out to be a fancy thunderstorm.
Wednesday I was driving around town-about to head into downtown K.C.-when the radio was interrupted with those emergency operating system notifications. "If you are in downtown Kansas City, you need to take cover immediately" was what I heard as I was about to cross the bridge into downtown. This is what was going on...

source

So I turned right around and headed up north. As I came out of Target, the radio then warns, "If you are in or around Gladstone, take cover now"....um this is where I was. I figured it was time to head home. As soon as I got in my car and was making my way home-boom-tornado sirens go off. I guess I'm still new to this whole thing that the sound of those sirens is still quite haunting. But I was calm. As I drove home, as soon as I entered a new county, sirens would go off. It seemed as if the tornado storm was following me. I made it home-found my flashlight-and turned on the news. We were right in the middle of the red zone. I watched out my window as the downpour hit. The news was telling anyone in my county to take cover...but since I like to live on the edge--I decided I'd wait until the hail came. Once the hail hits--I guess that's more of the cue for tornado time. It passed over us with some ugly clouds and hateful rain..but other than that we were just fine. There were some touchdowns around us--but nothing serious.

Here are some of my videos of the crazy weather...please ignore my commentary. It seems once a camera is turned on, I turn into a sillymuggins---which futher proves it's good I didn't pursue broadcast journalism.

(tuesday night storms)

wednesday warnings

sister time

2011-06-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Get ready ya'll...here comes a week full of sister & hallee time...all in 1 post.
Sister and Hallee flew in to see me from Maryland-which is pretty much the best birthday present ever. If you added a pony in there..I probably would have died from happiness.
So Here's what we did...

We shopped...which is Hallee's least favorite thing and she let us know that everywhere we went. I guess that helped us not spend so much.

We were constantly going...

Going to Parks...
lots and lots of "ides" make for a happy hallee

Going to Farms-

This is Deanna Rose farm and throughout the week it is free! It is such an awesome place..I'd even say you don't need kids as an excuse to go. We all loved this place!

We ate....a lot.

We toured Bravo, Oklahoma Joe's, Corner Cafe, Sonic's Happy Hour, Chipotle and Red Mango.

Seeing that we were eating and shopping our way through Kansas City..poor sweetums had to get her naps in where she could.

J. Lo and Hallee: pro window watchers

We made lots of headwear for Miss Hallee

We tried to stay cool

We had morning walks

Pretty much,

we just had a whole lot of freakin' fun.

Hallee is my sweet little lovely and she brings so much happiness.

Thankful that my sweet seester came out to spend some time with me in hot Missura.

Love you guys and miss you mucho!

Oh and by the way...

seester is preggers again.

and with another girl child!

yay! yay! yay!

the end.

writing letters in my underthings

2011-05-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

excuse me, I have to write my sister a letter....

dear sister,

3 more days and you are here! oh I'm oh so oh so VERY excited! nothing makes my heart & soul happier to giggle with you and hallee.

so i've been stressing for days how messy my house is and how you'll judge me for not being super clean. between work and work, and back stuff and j.lo being a pill...i just haven't had time. know that when i get free minutes, i clean. i want you and hallee to be impressed. but i figure if i can't get to all of it, you won't mind...cuz i'll probably give you half of my stuff and buy you ice cream...so that should take care of that. that's the good thing about sisters...you still love me..AND my mess and you take my bribes. but remember-when mom asks, my house was a sparkling clean palace.

i pray for you and your plane ride. hallee will be an angel. your seat neighbors will be patient. the airport people will be helpful. the pilot will be safe and get you guys here fast.

xoxo,
sister

sorry...one for seth too.

dear seth,

sorry to say this...but i detest those medical boards you are studying for...with every fiber of my being.
but i am very impressed that you keep with it and study study study study study study...all the time. it'll pay off. i know it. you are a rockstar medical man.

xoxo,
your wife

another letter...

dear people i will serve tonight,

please be nice. i'll be super nice to you and it's sincere-i'm not trying to take your money with fake niceness.
please tip me well. if you don't want to tip, please treat your friends and family to sonic-they have great creamslushes...and you don't have to tip them. but i make my living from your tips...so please be good to me.

xoxo,
the really tall server

looks like they just keep coming.

dear j.lo,

oh you scoundrel of a puppy girl. good thing you're cute, cuz you are one pain in the patoot. please stop releasing toxic foofs...ESPECIALLY right in my face. i pick up your poop, that should call for some respect or at least some foof clearance.

xoxo,
your mom

dear friends & family who i haven't talked to in a long time,

thanks for your patience. thanks for still loving me or at least pretending to.
i'll get back to my old self soon. i love you and think of all of you often.

xoxo,
tara, tarabear, tarabelle, tbone, taralou, taraluigi, t.....

have a great weekend everyone!

it's a monday night in may

2011-05-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's the 411

--Seth is officially done with classroom work. He has finished 2 years of medical school. I can't believe he has 2 years under the belt. I'm sincerely shocked we are at this point.

--That being said, he now has boards to tackle. I believe we're both in the sick and cruel world called Boardsville...where the medical board exam is a horrific dictator and destroyer of anything peaceful or exciting.

--Seth and I have been marriaged for 3 years now. We celebrated with some burgers & sonic sweets. We just cannot contain our classiness. It will not be stopped.

--Seester & Hallee come in 7 days. I. CANNOT. WAIT. I might try and bribe her pilot to fly the plane earlier...we'll see if my womanly charms can persuade like they used to...oh who am I kidding, they never worked in the first place.

--Humidity has hit K.C....and it's still as cruel and heartless as it was last summer. We were all hoping for some kind of spring...looks like that's a no-go.

--The heat index today was 98 degrees. Why did I even bother to shower this morning?

--I worked Mother's Day at the restaurant...and I was extremely jealous of all those who were able to spend the day with their mums.

--Happy Mother's Day to my Mother Dearest, my Sweet Mother in law, all my Mom's who give me love, advice, compliments, faith, laughter and hook up to discounted shampoo (Merr). Also Happy Mother's Day to my GRANDmothers. If I ever get to heaven, I'll be sure to ask God how I ever got so lucky to have wonderful women in my life.

--I threw out my back again. I believe I am progressively aging in side while slightly maintaining a younger appearance on the outside. Don't worry, I've been prescribed a new set of "happy" pills and they are helping out...A LOT. Hey-oh.

--J. Lo has bad foofs (aka gas)

--I don't want to leave K.C. or my house or my neighbors. It hit me today and I'm not bouncing back yet. Still sad.

--In good news, we found someone to buy our place. And they are our friends...so that's nice.

--*Clarification* J. Lo my dog has bad foofs..I cannot speak for the real Jenny from the Block.

--It's really hot in my house. J. Lo agrees. She keeps heavy sighing like, "would someone get it together and turn up the A/C?"

--I'm going to turn on the A/C.

Nighty Night!

Ain't it the truth

2011-05-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

**courtesy of this hilarious source

a good ol' fashioned outing

2011-05-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Between Seth studying for boards as well as his last couple weeks of class and me working all the time, we rarely go out. So when we do, it's totally blogworthy.

We met up with one of Seth's medical buddies, Ben, and his wife Aly. They are both from Colorado.
We started off with a walk from their charming downtown apartment to the Plaza for some dinner.
We ate at the delicious and very hip restaurant, Ingredient.

I had the SLT (Salmon Bacon Tomato) and some really good chicken noodle soup. The food was so good!

After that we strolled the expensive streets of the Plaza which included some window shopping (Darn you J.Crew and Anthropologie!) and some random statue findings...which induced puzzled feelings.

We walked by the famous McCormick's and Schmidt's. In mentioning the glorious chocolate bag, Aly decided she needed to know such a treasure...so we got it to-go

and let it be known, that even in a to-go container, it is still so fantabulously good. Proven by the intense concentration of Ben and Aly....

It was simply fantastic to go out on the town and hang out with Ben and Aly. They are a lot of fun and are puppy parents as well...so we could discuss our dogs all night without feeling too weird.

I went out into the night, I went out to find some light.

2011-04-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last fall I heard about this "Arcade Fire" group. I asked my music snob friend Paola if she'd heard of them. The only reason she didn't slap me right then and there was because we were in the restaurant. She immediately educated me on all things Arcade Fire and my life improved.

Fast forward and then rewind to a week ago when we sat freezing our noses off waiting to hear Arcade Fire live at the Starlight Theater. The National opened for them..and they were good...just didn't get my blood pumping. So Brandon, Jake, Brenden (my fellow spaghetti slingers) and I huddled up closely to stay alive until Arcade Fire came on.

The minute they came on until the minute they walked off the stage, was PURE MUSIC AWESOME.
For serious.
It's been a week or something, and I'm still thinking about it.

To say they were so good live is just an understatement. They were amazingmindblowingfreakinfantasticalmagical. Get that?

The whole group of us {Paola, Rob, Rowan, me, Brandon, Jake, Brenden} moved and grooved the whole time. It was so much fun! With their last number {Sprawl II} we suddenly see Paola jump over all the seats and join the whole crowd in one huge dance ball. So we jumped the seats and joined in. Such a happy dance moment.

Arcade Fire live, is by far one of the best concerts I've been to. Paul McCartney #1, Arcade Fire #2.
Never heard of Arcade Fire? Here's a taste and here's a taste.

Something about a good concert makes my soul so very happy and alive. That feels good.

I want one

2011-04-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

My little lovely H friend-the cutie who brings me valentines at work and is just hilarious-well she and her mama invited me to her Rainbow Brite birthday party. Awesome, I know. Who does not miss Rainbow Brite? Hello, no one. So I was pretty darn excited.

Of course anything Nicole does is pure perfection. I get to her home and right then and there I decided one day I'm going to hire her to be my personal assistant. Seriously people...she should sale herself on etsy-like "hello, I'm here to make everything around you awesome." So she's awesome.

Each kid got to where star headbands and have little Sprite belts with glitter confetti.

There was a tissue paper rainbow background for photo ops.

Balloons in all colors decorated the ceiling.

I got to paint little stars & rainbows on their little cheeks.

We had RAINBOW cake!

It was SO good.

H got lots of barbies and I secretly coveted her Strawberry Shortcake doll that, yes, smelled just like strawberries. Sigh....

I think I had just as much if not more fun than the little ladies. Little H brings so much energy and happiness to any room she is in..so it was a blast.

So happy I got to be a part of such a fabulous celebration.

Now I will begin saving my pennies to hire Ms. Nicole for my birthday party.

And just a heads up, it'll be worth coming to Missura.

So you best be saving your pennies as well.

*all photos taken by: the lovely Nicole of course!

Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got

2011-04-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Let's try this again...

ahem...

This is our newest lil puppy child.

and if anyone picked up the hint from the blog title...her name is....

........

............................

J. Lo

or J-Lo for those of you who don't pay attention to hollywood or seem to be wondering what a J.Lo is.

We've had her now 3 weeks-ish. She's quite like her namesake...as in she's a diva. She believes she should sleep in our bed, be on our couch, sit on our laps...(when she's NOT a lap dog) eat our food and destroy everything. Oh and she loves men.

She enjoys destroying things...

and makes my house look like I never clean, which I figure prepares me for my future children.

J. Lo is pure crazy (remember we're talking about my dog now, not the AI judge--gots to keep you on track).

She believes she's part lion and will stalk birds, leaves and garbage.

She looks at me the same way Seth does when I start dancing with her...weird and awkward.

She can vertically jump straight into the air, all fours tucked tightly to her body.

She loves everyone and everything.

She deeply barks on schedule every morning at 4 a.m...

She's terrified of the vacuum and every time I finish vacuuming, she gets really excited like, "hey ma, I survived that loud thing trying to attack me!" Proud moments.

She allows all the neighbor kids to poke her in all sorts of places without taking off an arm/fingers.

We take her to the dog park and by the time we catch up to her, she's got about 7 dogs surrounding her, and there's our girl-on her back, paws up...just soaking up all the attention...good or bad. Yet another proud moment.

She loves her grammy and her dad and then me.

J.Lo has so much energy and craziness that it's exhausting.. but I just love her....

and I'm so glad she's around.

So there you are..formally introduced.

In the internet kind of way.

and it was such a good time

2011-04-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday we got up and decided we should shop. Cuz shopping is just a good time no matter what state you're in. It was decided by mother dearest we should eat at my work. So we stopped in to overly stuff ourselves...which is never smart before shopping.

And cue the restaurant pictures...hey, you knew they were coming.

and you'll notice we had 3 desserts between the 4 of us...good glory.

But for the record,

these are my most favorite desserts ever.

so. ridiculously. good.

After we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant, we shopped in Northern K.C. Then we headed downtown to Union Station and the Crown Center.

{Union Station}

{the Crayola store}

{they had colored chalk...I couldn't resist}

After lots of walking and shopping, we swung by to pick up Sethers and headed off to show the fam some good Kansas City BBQ. Off we went to Oklahoma Joe's.

And just in Kansas fashion, anything good happens in a gas station...which is where this eatery is located...inside the gas station. Every time you go, it's a zoo...it is just that good. Proven here....

Oh it's so good.

After our food comas, we watched Tangled, which is just so garsh darn cute. Love that show!

Friday we got up good and early to show the pops where his mom grew up...which if you remember, I visited when my Cali g-parents came out to see me. We had the goal of finding where my dad's grandmother is buried. With no general idea of where it might be....

Op, there you are great grams!

hello great grams

After our quick visit to Nevada, MO, we headed back to resume the most important shopping. We hit up the Plaza and then the Legends where mom, lex and I scored some awesomeness. We were exhausted but then mom insisted we have Oklahoma Joe's again for din din. This time we called in a to go order and missed the crowds. We indulged in the goodness of BBQ and then packed for their early departure the next morning.

Saturday at 4:30 a.m. I took the fam to the airport and even at the early hour, managed to muster up some emotion and cried as we said our goodbye's. I honestly didn't think emotion existed at that hour, but I'm here to prove that it does. Hooray!

I'm so SO glad my fam came out to see us. So glad I got to spend quality time with them, create wonderful memories and show them my home here in K.C.. They spoiled me rotten and it was just so good to have them here. Thanks fam damily! Sure love your B faces!

Then we crossed the Mississippi

2011-04-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we woke up good and early to head on over to Nauvoo. It's about a 4-5 hour drive from my place.
We hit up the other sites along the way.

We made it to Nauvoo and started right in on all the things to see.
We toured old Nauvoo, saw original Browning guns, got some free bricks, went on a wagon ride, found some family history, and then stayed in Keokuk, Iowa where we watched Golden Girls.

Wednesday, we finished walking around Nauvoo, buying fudge and stuffing our faces at the Nauvoo Mill & Bakery. From there we went to Carthage.

We then stopped in Hannibal, MO to see some Mark Twain stuff and the big ol' Mississippi.

Guess where we had dinner? Sonic. All stars are we.

B. fam in K.C.

2011-04-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok...here we go.

So my lovely parents and little sister lexi flew in on Saturday. I picked them up, dropped them off at me casa and then raced to work.
They, along with Seth, then came in to the good ol' restaurant....for me....to serve them. I thought I served them all the time, but apparently they wanted me to do it in a white shirt and tie. Picky, picky. Mom was blown away by the loveliness of the eatery, so she started snapping pictures. This means two things-Utah needs to spruce up their restaurants and Mom is crazy.

So this is me at work. And my Russian boss. He's my fave.

After slaving away for my family and then later dozens of Prom kids (please teach your kids to tip), I came home to the fam just hanging out. What a lovely sight that is.

Sunday we did the conference thing. In between the sessions, we did the annual neighbor food binge.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I live by the most wonderful people who can cook ridiculously good food.

After the last session of le conference, we headed out to show the fam the K.C. temple.

i lub my fam.

{we missed you seester}

We started our Monday off with visiting the Corner Cafe, where you can still choose smoking vs. non-smoking, as well as a heart attack or stroke-but it's some good breakfast food.

And here's Mom taking pictures in the restaurant...seriously Utah, get it together.

I then guided them to Liberty and Independence, which hold lotsa historical importance to us marmins.

{Liberty Jail}

Dad saw that President Harry S. Truman was raised in Independence..so we decided, why not get some education and went to the Harry S Truman Library and Museum. I loved it...it confirmed that I should have been born in the 40's.

President Truman wrote letters home...and they were so sweet. Oh to write letters again...it would be so romantic.

{atta boy Harry}

{scandalous}

We drove by the stadiums for the Chiefs and the Royals. On the way home I introduced the fam to Sonic's happy hour...and me oh my did that start something fantastic.

And that was our Monday.....
Just wait until you hear about Tewsday.

they came, they saw, they left me 10 lbs heavier

2011-04-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

{we went to the crayola store}

My family was here for a week.

I think I'm still recovering.

And my jobs are paying me back for taking a full week off.

So I'll fill you in on all the details...in just a little bit.

the unplanned awesome

2011-03-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

Like I said last week was kind of blah. A week when you are just working to get by-work the work and get home to recover. Last Thursday was just that. I was very focused on running the errands-getting them done and getting home. I'd heard through the grapevine the angel Moroni would be placed on top of the Kansas City Temple that morning. I'd been slow throughout the morning so I thought I was too late.
I got a quick call from Emily telling me to get over there immediately to see it happen. I thought for a second how this would delay my day and other really stupid things. Then I realized how awesome this opportunity would be...and I flipped the car around and headed straight for the temple.
I hadn't been to the site since I'd turned the dirt for construction of the temple. So when I turned the curve on the road and saw this.....

.....well I got my camera out and started taking pictures while I was driving. So I was excited.

and then my camera died...which basically means my heart stopped. Luckily I have photographer neighbors who were there and captured the awesomeness.
The following pictures are from the lovely and talented husband/wife team of Aubre and Eran Barnhart.

go here & here for more of their fancy photo skills.

and then an iphone proved I really was there...all gross and cold-but there.

What an unexpected awesome to happen in my day. A good interruption to redirect my thoughts. It was so exciting to see so many people gathered to see the angel placed on the temple. The members here have waited so long for a temple and now it's here! I cannot wait until the open house and dedication.

I don't care who you are, you just cannot deny the beauty of that glorious building.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: My Saturday

2011-03-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD

Got the house all cleaned. Head to toe...kind of. One more closet to deep clean and sweep out the basement and I'm set.

My parents & little sister are coming out in a week. Mucho excited am I.

Seester bought a ticket to come see me in May. Super excited happy clapping going on.

The puppy dog is somewhat crate trained.

My flowers are blossoming and they are beautiful! Plus dearest Em helped me out with some mulch..so now it's real perty.

Seth survived his "woman" exam that he had to perform. I know it's part of life and blady blah....but ick.

I just got Orange County from Netflix. If only shell my bell was here to watch it with me.

THE BAD

I'm sick and now, so is Seth. It's double bad that Seth is sick...and studying for boards. Heaven help us.

It's freezing and threatening to snow.

Seth has to perform a pap smear next week.

Puppy threw up last night at 2 a.m.

THE UGLY

I got dog crapola on my hand today.

While performing the womanly exam the volunteer requested Seth maintain eye contact.

what the what lady.

I have to pick up my dog's doodies.

happy weekend ya'll.

what's in a name

2011-03-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

One of my jobs is working for the medical school and entering medical chart information. These are the charts from kids all over the Kansas City area...and in entering their information, me and my coworkers have found some pretty interesting and entertaining names. So if you're looking for some inspiration as to what to name your next child....here's some help:

A'Miracle Cain

Aunnesty Cashmoney (a personal favorite)

Beyonce Chadsity

Blesyn Champagne (name your child your celebratory drink of choice)

Brainy Chastity

CC-Queen Conscience

Conspiracy Del Monte

Demon (after labor, I could see how this would happen)

Diamond Leggs (I KID YOU NOT) Handful

Heavynn (must have been a 10 pounder) I'munique

Imagine Love I'Mmoney (probably my #1)

Lexis Driver Money

Mystyque Sapphire

Sinammon Rut

I feel so boring with my name....the only creativity I can come up with in mine is, "Gone with the Wind, Tara"
(that's for you Denise) Imagine if I'd been a Blesyn or a Diamond Leggs...I'd be famous or something.

it was totally worth it

2011-03-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

I once wrote about lowering my standards to watch "The Bachelor" with the neighbor girls. I haven't stopped. And I'm totally okay with that. To spend 2 hours with some of the most amazing women and then my neighbor friends.....just kidding-my neighbor friends ARE the amazing women..not the bachelorettes! Anyways..it's always a good time on Monday nights with these girls!

We enjoyed ice cream sundaes and being so nervous to see which Bachelorette would be rejected...why were we so nervous? Werid.

Thumbs up, Brad. Good work picking Emily. She's a sweetie, even though she won't drop everything for you. Chantal O. would have moved to the moon for you...but it all works out. Especially in Bachelor land.

Sad that Bachelor Brad will be our last as a group, with a good chunk of us leaving this summer. My hopes are to make a reunion at an "After the Final Rose" taping....yes? no? maybe?

Thanks to my friends for not thinking I'm as picky or snobby as I seem to be on Monday nights about those Bachelorette ladies...I do not know what gets into me...but boy can I be mean. Maybe they don't show "The Bachelor" in Cape Girardeau?

Saturday Thank You Notes

2011-03-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you, early afternoon thunderstorm. You made my afternoon a little more exciting.

Thank you, grass seeder man- For seeding my entire flower bed. That was a lot of fun pulling sod and stopping it's deadly wrath on my tulips. Remind me to high five you next time I see you.

Thank you, puppy dog- For taking away any pride I might have. Picking up your poop and attacking me while I'm trying to weed...you are awesome. (more on that later)

Thank you, Emily- For teaching me how to make more 1,000 calorie treats which are so hard to resist. When you call me to play and I can't because I'm at the gym trying to rid myself of my latest sweet binge, it's because of you. No worries, I still lub ya.

Thank you, sister bister- For turning 25 and therefore reminding me how old I am. Harsh, harsh reality. Still glad you were born though.

Thank you, Utah State Men's Basketball team- For losing to Kansas State. Now I have to buy somebody lunch AND where a K State t-shirt. Shall I stop trusting you now?

Thank you, Sara Bareilles- For this awesome song and equally awesome music video. I will always be a Ben Folds fan. And that Josh Groban is a funny dude. Glad I'm not the only one who lips syncs.

Scatter Sunshine

2011-03-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

Ain't gon' lie. Things around these parts (I was gonna say my parts but that sounds weird- but I mean me), have been gloomy. But there's a reason to my stories.

Remember when I hurt my back? Well they gave me muscle relaxers and some pain meds to make it all feel better. I took 2 one night and have not been the same since. Maybe they prescribed me mind erasers. Since those 2 pills and it's been a week-my brain is buzzing. Like there's a phone vibrating in my head, all the time. Then I'm dizzy and sometimes I don't know who I am. Feeling like this has given me a whole new kind of respect for those who function with a hangover. For realz.

Seth took Zoey back to the shelter Friday. I worked that morning. It seemed that day that the most unusually high maintenance and cheap people came out just to sit in my section. The nerve....I kept looking at the clock knowing the appointment time of when Zoey would not be ours anymore. Also partially hoping Seth wouldn't take her back and then hoping if he did, he wouldn't come get me on the way. I couldn't do it. I knew I'd cry the whole time. Finally my shift ended, I sat in my car and ate ice cream and prepared myself to go home. I could be strong. It was a dog for heavens sake! I walked in my front door, saw Seth and there went my mascara. I ugly cried. There was no holding it back. The rest of the night I stayed on the couch, sitting in my own cloud of gloom. Add the sadness of Japan and I added a chocolate malt from Sonic.

Saturday morning I got up and was determined to clean the Zoey out of everything. To sooth my guilt, I'd sing "Dumb Dog" from Annie. Didn't help, but the house was clean.
Most of our day was spent driving all over the metro area to maybe find a dog. We experienced our first Sonic Lime Ricky's (3 cheers for Happy Hour), passed the federal prison in Leavenworth (think Prison Break) and visited Easton, KS...which is kind of a scary place.
That night we gathered with friends to play some games. Mostly we just ate the most ridiculously addictive Costco treasures and laughed. I have not laughed that hard, in a long time. This is the kind of laughter, where my stomach hurts so bad that my feet start tapping. It was just what my buzzing brain and sad heart needed. I love having neighbors that you can laugh that hard with.
For the past couple Sundays, I've usually been consumed with the thought of why is church so gosh darn early? that I haven't really been uplifted. Again, I was in my own head about this and that. Being around Seth's class of 10 and 11 year olds is always so fun. The kids are so funny and make you feel like you're some kind of cool. Plus they want me to teach them instead of Seth, which sometimes makes me feel extra cool. They put the good energy back into me.

The point to all these stories? Three reasons.
First, as an update.
Second, I notice that when I am in a cloud of gloom, there never fails to be little sunshines around me-working to chip through the gloominess and remind me of the happiness and goodness in the world. Games & carbs with neighbors, hugs from husband, confident boosters from kids-all, for a lack of a better term and excuse the cheesiness, little sunshines. Sunshines to snap me out of selfishness.
Third, as an attempt to salvage my mind from the muscle relaxers.

Once I'm lucid, I'll determine if any of this made any kind of sense.
All I'm saying is, I'm one lucky girl.

a very unfortunate series of events

2011-03-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

The following post will seem quite dramatic. If you don't like drama....move along then.

Let me tell you a little story that, as of right now, does not have a happy ending. Lame, huh?

Two weeks ago, the Mr. and I brought home the newest member of our family- Ms. Zoey. She was the perfect doggy companion and we instantly adored her. She was smart, good with kids and followed us around faithfully.
She was an angel.

A week ago, the angel puppy we brought home with us, suddenly turned into the devil. What the what!?
Was it the overload of sweetness or treats? I don't know. Maybe Zoey is bipolar...Here's what happened, in a nutshell.

We took Zo to the vet to get an overall checkup. As we were in the waiting room, 2 poodles came in and it took both of us to hold Zoey back. She was so frantic, she threw herself underneath the chairs. Itty bitty sign #1 something was up.

I took her for a walk while my back was still in recovery. It was still hard trying to contain her because she is a very VERY strong dog. We were walking down the street, when she noticed a husky on the other side. She about dragged me across the street. I'd never seen her behave like this. It's not the type of "oh hi! friend! oh let me smell you! oh! oh!" it's like...(que devil voice)"WHATAREYOUDOINGBEINGALIVE!?!" kind of thing. And in this act, she threw my back for some new kind of awesomeness. And along with that, my dog started to scare me.

Seth took her outside for a bathroom break. A Wiemaraner was taking his morning walk and Seth thought they could be buds. He took Zoey over to meet the Weimaraner and she immediately lunged for the throat. Ok, who cast the devil on our dog?

We became concerned. Seth did a bunch of research on how to train such behavior out of Zoey. With our situation, we couldn't afford a trainer and we couldn't afford to have our dog attack and injure another dog. So we took the training we had learned, and tried it out. And Zoey failed. Failed miserably. Seth had a treat right in front of her face and she wanted nothing but to have the other dog as her treat. Her behavior goes from calm and submissive to sudden crazed violence.

The final straw was when Seth took her out on Monday. She led the way outside on her leash, when suddenly she saw our neighbors gigantor poodle (for the record, i think giant poodles are gross anyway). Now this gigantor poodle is known in our neighborhood as extremely ferocious and has to be muzzled. Zoey snapped out of her collar, of the leash and went straight for the poodle. By the time Seth got to the two, Zo had the locked down on the poodles neck. The most ferocious poodle was pinned by our little Zoey. Wish there could be a proud moment with this...but there wasn't. Seth kept trying to pull Zoey off, somehow separate her mouth from the poodle's neck-he tried spanking her, knocking her head...NOTHING WAS WORKING. Finally he plugged her nose and she let go. In trying to get her off the dog and back into our house, Seth was all scratched up. All up and down his arms are gashes. That was it-we couldn't keep her.

My heart has been heavy this whole week. I know it's just a dog and blah blah blah. But we love dear Zoey..WHEN SHE'S INSIDE. As soon as she is outside, she becomes a completely different animal-an animal that gives us lots of anxiety. As she follows me around and look up at me, while wagging her tail, I'd just look down at her and cry, "WHY!? Why do you have to be so sweet and then so evil?" It has been the hardest decision to take her back. I feel like I have failed my dog. Given up on her. And I really don't like myself for that.
But logic has to win on this one.
The only thing that comes close to making this ok, is that the shelter we adopted her from, is a great no kill shelter. Out of all the shelters we visited, this one is like the Hilton. It's clean and the dogs are all taken care of. I think Zo will be happier and healthier in a home with a fence...at least I hope that solves her problem.
Seth takes Zoey back today. I can't go...too much emotion. Thankful Seth is brave and will take this on.
Sorry for introducing our puppy kid and then taking her away.

Here's to hoping she finds a great home, with a ginormous backyard and lots of treats.
Love ya Zo.

just a random thought

2011-03-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

"What do we live for,

if it is not to make life

less difficult for each other?"

-George Eliot

Thank you to everyone who makes my life less difficult

AND

more enjoyable.

I hope I can do unto others as you have done unto me.

*if I know you & you know me, this is to you.

and your pic goes here.*

my monday mumblings

2011-02-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

so happy to see the sun today. doesn't your spirit feel better when the sun shines after continuous days of the cloudies? mine does.

i've been laying around since thursday. i was rescuing a runaway baby stroller from going into oncoming traffic and was hit by the car, so my back is out. not really. i was sitting-turned wrong-and bam--i'm out of commission. lame story. took 2 muscle relaxers and nothing other than drowsiness...so i will see the doctor on wednesday!

good news about me laying around all the time? i can see my puppy dog likes me or might even love me with her little puppy heart. she stays right next to me and it makes me smile. and then i get to skim netflix and watch all of pushing daisies.

i have such wonderful neighbors who unfortunately such great cooks. i think when we move, i will automatically lose 10 lbs. honestly, i rather keep the lbs instead of lose the neighbors. i love my neighbors..heaven will have neighbors like i have here.

being an older sister, it is ridonculous hard to see your little sister sick, with a sick baby and a 1 armed husband and not be able to do anything to help. boo to that. get better seester.

my little brother, now in heaven, is 21 tomorrow. weird and cool. happy birthday my baby bro! i will eat that brownie kate made in your honor.

i'm assisting the Dr. in throwing a reception this week and guess what? i'm the bartender. hilarious, i know. the stormin' mormon serving up the boozes....{sip for you, sip for me} very much just kidding.

seth brought home flowers today. atta boy, husband. wish they were laced with loratab.

each time i talk to fam via the skype, i want to hug the inventor of skype, tighter and tighter. thank you for helping me with my missing people problem thing.

why isn't pushing daisies still on t.v.?

i just took another muscle relaxer...and now i can't remember what else i was going to mumble about.

so happy monday. february is over.

welcome march, you lovely little minx.

all about zo

2011-02-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

So about a month ago, Sethers started looking into getting a dog. I just pushed it aside as a phase he was going through and a means to distract him from studying for boards. Little did I know how serious he was.
This past weekend he set up appointments to meet some dogs through different rescue shelters.
It breaks my heart to see so many dogs in such horrible situations. We should all listen to Bob Barker's wise words of "spay and neuter your pets!" Secretly I think that's what Seth was banking on--my squishy heart not being able to say no. Not fair.
As we were finishing our doggie tour, about to leave a shelter, Seth saw Zooey. He begged to meet her right then and there. So we did. And Seth fell in love. I was nervous....
We decided to give it 24 hours to make sure it wasn't a impulse purchase--cuz that should only be done with shoes, not puppies.
Seth was ridiculously giddy about possibly having Zooey. I have never ever seen him so giddy...how could I say no to this giddiness?
The decision was made to bring Zooey home with us. She would be ours. Part of our fam and our little kid.

It's almost like she has been ours forever. She has adjusted very well. Zo's previous owners left her behind so she has severe abandonment issues--which is the only complaint I have. That and she thinks waking up at 4 a.m. to go outside is totally cool. NOT COOL ZO!
One day I laid down beside her, with my pink pillow, to calm her down and ever since then, she'll crawl up on this pillow like she's a little puppy dog. It's hilarious.

It also turns out with anything I'm using, she wants to use as well. What's mine is now hers I suppose.
I'm introducing her to the good things in life, like the Beatles, Big Bang Theory and naps.
She's very smart, good with kids, loyal and very sweet. She will not leave my side when I'm home.

Yesterday I hurt my back and the entire time she stayed right next to me. Seth came over and she put both of her paws on me...as if to say-Don't mess with my mama. Zo is my sweetie!
Seth has been an excellent puppy daddy. He adores Zooey and she equally adores him.
I must say, as inconvenient as 4 a.m. outside time and crate disasters can be, we love having Zooey as part of our fam.

ditties to be heard: Adele

2011-02-24T19:43:00.000-08:00

Does everyone else wake up with songs playing in their head?
To me it's normal.
Therefore, I'll share my soundtrack-the songs that play in my head as I go about my day.
Today, Adele's new one.
Love her--she's totally an original with great talent.
And it's totally cool that the Scarlett Pimpernel is dancing in her video.

I have a shadow

2011-02-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

Meet Zooey

{like Zooey Deschanel}

{said like Zo-e}

We've added her to our little family.

We found her at a rescue.

She is a Border Collie/Pointer mix.

She's very smart and sweet.

She follows us everywhere we go because she's worried about being left behind again.

Seth fell in love with her at first sight...

I was a little worried, but then she licked my face & I was sold.

We love our little Zoes.

Reason 135 why I love British people

2011-02-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

To work where I work, there is a very specific dress code. As in, 100% Cotton Pinpoint, Button down collar, fully white nice shirt. Let me tell you-trying to find such a shirt that doesn't completely drown me and suddenly put people into guessing my gender, it's a challenge. Once such a shirt is found, it's usually $80 buckaroos and I'd rather pay rent or eat...

So today I went to a particular department store that rhymes with Racy's...and I was looking for the above specifications AND that it be slim fit or fitted...which is like say..finding the lost City of Atlantis and then running for mayor.
It's just difficult and slightly annoying.

I skimmed the random piles of white shirts searching for my size and the magical word "fitted" and then hope the button collar would be there....no such luck.
In my desperation I went to the clearance bin and prayed maybe I'd been such a good server for so long, the Serving Gods would reward me with my perfect work shirt.
Holy Moly I found the shirt I was looking for! I looked at the price-it was totally going to be like $10 bucks cuz it was clearance---nope..try $70.00. BOO.
I decided to double check with the sales clerk, who was British {awesome}, to make sure it was really that obscene price. She checked it-sure nough, it was still obscene. I told her what I was looking for, and then asked if Racy's had such a thing that was under obscene dollars. We circled the men's department and returned with nothing.

This is where the British awesomeness comes in.

She said, "You found this in clearance?"

I nodded.

"Well then, today you are getting this shirt for $20.00. If someone was dumb enough to put it there, then you are getting a clearance price..."

British lady,

Cheers.

You freakin rocked this American girl's world today.

my favorite kind of valentines

2011-02-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

The celebrated Day of Love was a 3 day sort of craze for me. I spent the weekend before and then Monday serving those celebrating love-for each other or for food. It was crazy and hectic but what can you do. It was fun to wish people a Happy Valentines Day and talk to couples about the many years of love they have shared.

Love Love Love...it really is an amazing thing.

Monday I got such a sweet surprise from one of my all time FAVORITE valentines. Seriously, I see this little angel and the love she spreads, and you just can't help but be happy. Her sweet mamma and her little sister came to the restaurant on my break and brought me surprises!!

{yummy Shatto milk, brownies, balloon, twirly straw and a valentine from my secret admirer}

Seriously?

So freakin' cute. I love this family and their little girls...so so cute. Needless to say, my heart was totally happy and filled with love after their visit.

{so oh so good}

Add chocolates and homemade valentines, it was a good day of LOVE. And a note to you loverlies who read my words.....

I ♥ you.

that's all.

Day of Hearts

2011-02-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Love Day!

So what if it's a day late....

I'm still sending love from Missura!

and the fact that I still have love leftover from serving people last night,

proves that love can conquer all.

image

I'll miss the guy

2011-02-13T08:40:00.000-08:00

I come from a fam of dedicated Utah Jazz fans. My sister and her hubs watch every game they can living in Maryland. My grama and grandpa watch every game and know all the players. We'd sit in the nosebleeds to watch them... From Stockton to Malone to the newest crew, we've been fans-regardless of their trophies or lack of rings. All the while my loyalties have stayed with Mr. Jerry Sloan. Half of you just started judging me huh? Oh well.

I just have some love for the man. No matter how many f-bombs he's dropped, he's a good guy. This past week my gooshy heart was sad to see him go. Dear husband knowing my gooshy heart, reassured me Jerry would be just fine. I know he will. He's a good, honest, hard working man.

John Stockton described his coaching legacy as "Honorable, long lasting, something that this league, not just the Utah Jazz but this league will miss dearly" and I agree. A man who didn't focus on pimped out suits and fancy cars, but the love of the game. I heart Jerry Sloan and I don't care who knows it.

So if you see him, give him a hug for me.

The End.

things that i my heart loves

2011-02-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

♥ early morning skype sessions with my hallee girl & seester

♥ working with people who make me feel like I'm pretty freakin' awesome and I KNOW have got my back..in good times and bad.

♥ friday nights off

♥ friday nights off that allow date nights! Date nights I have missed you!

♥ good neighbors & friends

♥ my new restaurant love of HOUSTONS. I'm in love with a restaurant and I don't care who knows it. Oh sweet sassy I love that place--wish I could afford it every weekend.

♥ sunshine in Missura

♥ zumba classes

♥ phone calls from my parents

♥ texts from my grama

♥ chocolate to start my Saturday off right

storm of the century

2011-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

School cancelled for 2 days. (small miracle)

Restaurant cancelled for none days.

Lots of snow....total blizzard awesomeness.

And then the morning after...

We survived.

preparing to be prepared

2011-01-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

Right now, all Kansas Cityians are preparing for "the storm of the century"...the area is all under severe winter warnings and watches. I feel like we're living so dangerously...This morning in order to get in my car I had to skate to it...and then not fall. A thin layer of ice was covering e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. My first time with freezing rain and it is quite the little adventure. I worked all day at the good ol' restorante and no one was coming out. Maybe Walmart was more popular today with everyone preparing for the possible ending of the world within the next 24 hours. I'm hoping medical school gets cancelled tomorrow so both of us can stay home and watch the icy bitterness. Oh Missouri...whatever you lack in class, you make up in awesome weather adventures!

So here's some news for ya'll. First off, I started job numero 3. I am now a Research Assistant to a Pediatric Doc at the med school. I just started and so far not too shabby. We'll see how I end up juggling the 3 and I'm excited to be busy.

And then....we'll be moving soon. Here we go Here we go again! For Seth's 3rd/4th year rotations we will be living in Cape Girardeau.............I'm gonna let that sit for a minute and let all of you who are thinking that it is some exotic place, just think that for a little minute. Ya there's probably palm trees and beaches and margaritas....

Then I will tell you that it is really located in Southeast Missouri. Right on the border of Missouri and Illinois. Just about 1.5 hours out of St. Louis (which does have an H&M (Holla)) and right on the Mississippi River.

We've heard nothing but great things about Cape, so that's a relief. This will be an AWESOME opportunity for Seth and I am excited about that. Now that I have settled into K.C. I LOVE it here and wish we could stay...but I know Cape will be a good place for us and will continue to tell myself that until we're there. We'll move July-ish...after Seth has taken his boards and we have hopefully regained our sanity.

So that is that. Now I must go prepare myself for more ice & snow & more dangerous Missouri weather!
I will load up on hot choc, blankets and tv on dvd. Good survival plan I say.

Oh January...for the lack of a better post title

2011-01-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

Last week started out with me being hit by the sick stick which unfortunately was followed by a hit by the ugly stick, but that's another story for another time.
The majority of my time was spent here

being fairly unproductive.
I did thoroughly enjoy my netflix and it's variety of things to enjoy...such as:

hilarious. clever. addicting.

james spader is genius..and it's just witty & awesome

robert redford & paul newman.

the end.

and for the first time,

and I loved it.

Luckily as I lay on my throne of tissues and cough drops, the heavens dumped large amounts of snow on K.C. Sometimes I feel that snow after Christmas is just unnecessary. And then at the same time, when it snows at night, that is when the world is so peaceful and quiet. Last week was when Missura received "record" snowfall. Apparently this means no one was prepared for more than an inch of snow. Schools closed for a week! It's sad preparing to go into work, watching the news and seeing all the services and schools closed and only HOPING/WISHING they would close the restaurant. No hope...come hell or high water, food must be served!

So back to the snow...

So when the snow stopped and the heavens parted and gave me a Friday night off, Seth took me out to eat.

And it was awesome. We tried the Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen, and it was quite good. Glad we were able to get out and I'm pretty sure it cured me of my cold. and Yay for that.

Our New Years

2011-01-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

I realize we're halfway through the January, but I'm still coping through what turned out to be our New Years experience.

We drove out to Missouri because it was the cheaper and also more convenient option. It was wonderful to have our Escape through all the snow and whatnot. So we planned on leaving Utah on the 31st at 12:00 a.m., to ensure we made it home by midnight to celebrate the New Year with our Missouri neighbors. As we were packing, I checked the news aka facebook. Turns out some of our Missourian friends were also making their way back from Utah to Missouri. I got the word that the all roads were closed in Wyoming-the exact roads we needed open. We stayed the night at my parents and decided to play it by ear. I was scheduled to work Saturday (Jan 1st) and Seth had school Monday morning-so it would be nice to get back to Missouri, but not worth our lives. We got the word 10:00 a.m. Friday the roads had reopened so off we went. My emotions had been played with all morning between saying goodbye to my sisters, Hallee & parents, and then thinking I might get to stay in Utah longer, and then not...I was bummed. Then we passed this, and I chuckled.

seriously?

Off we went. As we got to Evanston, Wyoming, we got further news from our MO buds, that the Eastern part of Wyoming was now closed. We decided to press on and hope for the roads to reopen. We were told there was no visibility and the roads were ice. I felt like we were heading into no man's land with no hope of return, but husband was fearless. He believes the Escape can perform miracles. We drove the majority of Wyoming going about 45 miles/hour. And as we headed into the night, this was our visibility:

and our temps,

It was ridiculous. After awhile I grew impatient and decided that everything bad that happens would from that point on, be blamed on the state of Wyoming. So far..I'm continuing with this decision.

When the 2011 rang in, husband was dead asleep next to me, and I had the ipod cranked to keep me awake.
I told myself "Happy New Year" which then was continuously followed by "STAYAWAKESTAYAWAKE"

We drove through the night, finally made it to Nebraska and then FINALLY to Missouri. We arrived at 7:00 a.m. New Years Day. The Escape performed a miracle and got us home safely.

It has yet to be determined if we'll ever brave the winter roads again...but if anything, our trip did prove to be an "adventure".

**Post Edit: If you are from the State of Wyoming and I know you, I love and adore you. I just don't fully appreciate the I-80 portions of said state. **

Utah Trip: B fam fun

2011-01-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm finally getting my act together and ready to finish this trip. And just a little warning--there will be lots of pictures of my Hallee, so if you are easily annoyed by an auntie who finds her niece quite adorable, please move on.

We did Christmas with my fam this year and it was such a grand ol' time. My mom did a fabulous job of making food, helping Santa and planning a very fun time together. Add in the super cute niece, and it was completely awesome.

Miss Hallee really loves looking through the sale racks..she's learnin' quick.

we met up with the Willis clan for some din din at the Golden Corral

I do have some really cute relatives.

Christmas Eve we joined the Roberts family at the Olive Garden before heading on over to Temple Square.

Santa is coming!

Santa spoiled us all

We ate so so much food. And drank so very much Sparkling Cider.

We played the Kinect, which was thoroughly entertaining-and further proved

dear husband doesn't have coordination.

Miss Hallee turned 1. That year went by WAY too fast.

My parents treated us to a Jazz game.

Which was fun regardless of the Jazz losing it in the last 4 minutes.

Us out of towners insisted on a DQ visit since the ones in Missouri and Maryland are in the ghettos and

ice creams are probably laced with hard core drugs.

Our last night in Utah, we went bowling.

Once upon a time, I was good at bowling. This time...not so much.

And for our last meal we hit up the oh so favorite, Zuppas.

Good golly I love that place.

So there you have it.

The picture-overloaded-quickly told story of B family fun.

Which pretty much sums up how the real experience was-

overloaded with pics and over too quickly.

Utah trip: friend time

2011-01-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

An entire post dedicated to friend time....that's cuz I gots awesome friends. I have missed them so..and it was a so much fun seeing those I was able to see. But again, not enough time! One day when I rule the world with my husbands money, I'm gonna fly my friends to see me...

First up: work friends. I miss my 2nd family so badly. I miss our cubicle conversations, our little getaways..laughs, pranks...oh goodness I was so blessed to work in such a great place!
So we met up at the lovely Olive Garden and had a great time catching up.

I freakin' love these people.

No trip is a complete trip without seeing my State peeps.

Thanks friends!

Next: Nicotine, Tbone and MJ eatin' at the CPK.

My life is better cuz I met these girls my sophomore year at USU. I could talk to these girls all day and then still have more to talk about. Mj and N are both so smart, funny and clever. They inspire me and I love getting to see them! We had some din din at the CPK (no bugs this time!) and talked forever. **Sigh**I just heart these gals.

And then there's Miss Jilllypoo who is also quite wonderful.

And finally: High school friends

Every December the Viewmont girls of 2002 get together. It's one of my favorite things about the Christmas season. We can pick up right where we left off and be just as silly as we were almost 10 years ago.

How did I get so lucky to have such wonderful AND beautiful friends??

We missed our lovely ladies who couldn't make it. Hope next year we can all make it!

Glad I was lucky enough to see the friends I did and spend some time with them. Bummed I didn't get to see my other deary friends...but next time I suppose. For me, Friend time=Ridiculously happy time. Thank you friends, for being so freakin spectacular.

Utah Trip: C fam fun

2011-01-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

After our relaxing visit to Cedar City off we went to visit Seth's brothers.
First stop: Lehi fam.
How nice it is to have Jesse & Shauna living close! We were excited to see them, the boys and Joey the dog.
The boys love Uncle Seth-He's perfect for wrestling!

The next morning we woke up to the snow I was hoping for. Perfect snow. Snow so perfect, a snowman is required.

And keeping up with Uncle Seth's life motto, "go big or go home"...they made the Abominable Ginormo snowman.

which I really hope didn't frighten the neighbors in the middle of the night..

That night all the C siblings gathered together. We had lots of really good food and to top it off, a variety of Ben and Jerry's to choose from. I did die and go to heaven. Oh sweet sassy it was so good.

Jeremiah thought it was heaven too.

played
with
cute
Jordan..
she's already a balla.

It's always a good time with all the nephews and niece. They are all so very cute and entertaining.

Plus they have really cool parents so that makes life easier.
I'm starting to think that we need to take Utah trips in monthly increments...there never seems to be enough time to spend enough quality time with everyone! But the time we had with the C fam was quite nice!

Utah Trip: Part 1

2011-01-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

And now we begin the mother load of pictures...
Here's a snippet of our 2 week story of Utah time.

We started our journey at 12:00 a.m. This is what Kansas City looks like at midnight. Nice and peaceful.

We drove through the night or Seth did thanks to No-Doz. We drove the long way in order to go through Denver and see the Rockies. It was a pretty sight and we saw lots of Bighorn sheep just lollygaggin on the side of the road.

'Twas very pretty.

We made it to Cedar City in great time. It felt SO good not to be in the car anymore. Utah was alarmingly warm, but we were happy seeing we had just left the bitter cold of Missouri.
Since we love road trips so much, the next day we left with the rent-in-laws and little brother James to Valley of Fire in Nevada. They got a brand new trailer and it was time to test her out (and she's a nice lil thing)

sunset as we pulled into our campsite.

Oh the boys and their climbing of rocks.

Lots and lots of Indian drawrings

and then a little visitor. He handled Seth stalking him quite well.

Valley of Fire in December...strange but cool.

Seth was in heaven. All the red rock a boy could climb...I lost him more than a couple times.

Where is husband?

We had a nice time in Valley of Fire. I kept forgetting it was December and so close to Christmas with no snow around! Being in nature always helps your mind just take a breather...a nice beginning to our little vacay.

sweet treat

2011-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post this recipe for some time..so here you go.

It's one of my favorite pumpkin treats...it's the Pumpkin Cake! From the lovely Kansas Natalie!

I know it's past the designated "treat" season but I believe pumpkin is good from October til March, if not all year long.

Plus I'm continuing to put off sifting through all the 650 pictures I took.

And now to the recipe:

Pumpkin Cake

Bottom: 1 box yellow cake mix (remove one cup and set aside)

Add 1 stick melted butter & 1 egg to the rest of the cake mix.

Mix together.

Press into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine one can of pumpkin,
   3 eggs,
   1/2 cup brown sugar,
   1/2 cup sugar,
   2/3 cup evaporated milk and
   1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
Beat well and spread over the cake mixture in the pan. (Batter will be runny)

To the 1 cup reserved cake mix, add 1/3-1/2 cup sugar,
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 stick softened butter.
Mix together and spoon onto the top of the pumpkin batter.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Cool and serve with cool whip.

Keep leftovers in the fridge.

And enjoy it.

Cuz it's good.

since it's a new year...and a new week

2011-01-03T16:37:00.001-08:00

So I have this disease called "lookingback-itis"...I diagnosed myself. This "4 years to become a doctor" schlap is overrated...
Anywho..Saw this, loved it, therefore-I share it.

We made it

2011-01-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

After 640 pictures taken, 1,000,000 calories consumed, thousands of laughs, hundreds of baby kisses, lots of hugs, hours of friends and family and a 33 hour round trip....

We are back from Utah.

And glad to say we lived to tell the tale.

So after I sort through the 640 pictures, burn off some of those calories and work through my bitterness towards the state of Wyoming...I'll share our stories.

Happy New Year!

the december adventure

2010-12-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Winter has officially hit Kansas City. Last night a small blizzard came through. No "real" snow, but it the gusts of freezing ice/snow wind definitely classify as blizzard material. Driving home from work at midnight, the road was crawling with ice snakes..very crazy-cool looking.
So tonight in about 2 hours Seth and I embark on our December adventure as we make the trek to Utah.
We need to hit Colorado during the day in case of snow, hence the midnight departure. I'm crossing my fingers that between the ipod playlists and caffeine pills, we can stay awake and make it safe.
I have made a gajillion lists hoping not to forget anything...(I just love when you are halfway to your destination and then it hits you what you forgot) and I since I forgot to put on deodorant today...we could be in trouble!
But ya know what, I don't care what I forget... I get to go home for the holidays!
And that my friends, is Christmas awesome.
See ya in Utah!

December, what are you doing here?

2010-12-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

As I look out into my backyard, this is what I'm seeing....

Do not let this deceive you...sure it's sunny-but gosh almighty is it cold! Right down to the bones.

~~Seth~~ we did manage to not turn the heat on until November 22nd. I looked like an eskimo most days, but we sure showed the gas company who was boss. (I'm so happy the heat is on now)

I'd like to see some snow in my backyard--all pretty and sparkly..and not icy.

If it could snow and then dry up before we hit the roads to Utah, I'd be ok with that.

Snow always gets me in the spirit of the holidays.....

While Utah keeps all the snow,

I got our place as Christmasy as it's gonna get with us being here 1 more week.

All Christmas decor up on December 1st--which maybe puts me behind all those that decorated the first of November. However, HOWEVER....Those lights strung across the ceiling--those are up ALL year.

Which makes me ahead of all of those that decorate as soon as Halloween is over.

Beat that.

And yes, my Christmas tree is on my coffee table.

I make my 4 foot Wallymart special look lots more special in a 6'4 kind of way.

I'm already planning on keeping my tree up until Valentines Day.

The twinkling lights give warmth and happiness that January tends to steal away, and so that is my plan.

Also helping our home be warm & cozy

I love all things Bath and Body Works..

this stuff makes my house smell so good!

It is not the holidays without this scent.

I have finally broken out the Christmas tunage..I held out until the day after Thanksgiving.

I love it!! It gives me a large dose of homesickness...but still, warms my heart.

Some of my favs..

KT Tunstall, Lenka, Nicole Atkins, Fiona Apple...

All around good CD--

MAJOR WARNING thought--Katy Perry singing "White Christmas" makes me want to cut of my arm to beat my head until the pain goes away....it's horrible.

No one should ever do wrong like that to such a good song.

Shame on you Katy Perry.

And now back to the Christmas cheer.

Listening to this album takes me right back to being a little girl.

LOVE THIS. Oh Karen Carpenter and your lovely voice...

Anything by MoTab is awesome--

especially the "Musiological Journey Through the 12 Days of Christmas"

and, of course

Handel's "Messiah"

And then you have Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Josh Groban,

Michael Buble, Celine Dion, (some of) Mariah Carey, Burl Ives...

The list goes on.

Despite the fact I maybe have 1 Christmas present purchased...

I'm ready for Christmas!!

The most wonderful time of the year, is now here

2010-11-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. We are officially into the holidays and

I LOVE IT.

Oh the excitement and magic of the holidays is finally here.

Thanksgiving was wonderful of course. We gathered with our dear neighbors and partook of the most wonderful food. Sethers and I made some yams, stuffing, jello pretzel salad and the oh so heavenly pumpkin cake. Dearest Emily made the lovely turkey (it was divine) mashed potatoes, veggies, pies...she put on a good spread.
That morning Seth and I hiked around K.C. to prepare some room for the feast before us...and then when it came time to chow down, I had one plate and was done. I was so mad that I came so short on the "feasting" idea, that I continued to eat to the point where I was physically hurting. Shame. Then when it came time to play games with friends and the laughing that comes with spending time with friends, my food baby turned to pain. But it was all in the goodness of Thanksgiving. Speaking of...

I am thankful for

health

family

friends

love

laughter

heavenly blessings

beliefs

safety

I am SO blessed.

I had a heavy inner debate in participating in Black Friday...and then I decided it was a no-go this year. I'll keep my sanity and pretty sleep while I can.

It's been fun to work at the restaurant as the holidays approach. There is a humongous Christmas tree in the back courtyard of the restaurant I work in--so at night when everything is lit up...oh it's so magical! And then The Carpenters will play while I'm busy working and it makes me so giddy. I can't believe how quickly Thanksgiving came and now Christmas! Eeeek! I'm not at all ready! Seth and I will be super busy the next couple weeks--Seth finishing up finals and me working and planning Christmas parties.... and then we are off to Utah for a couple weeks! I can't wait to see the mountains, play in the snow and see loved ones!

Have I told you this year we are driving....It's dear husband's "need for an adventure"---which I might remind him will be in the middle of winter, IN THE ROCKIES..but whatev. I'm up for any adventure.

So there you have it for our random, pictureless update!

I sincerely hope all of you random readers had the

loveliest of lovely Thanksgivings!

and thank you for being in my life!

and suddenly I'm 80...again

2010-11-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

I'm already thinking about next summer and swimsuit season. Not like obsessively...just goals in mind. Like get in a swimsuit more than once a summer. That being said...
Once I finish off the Halloween candy...it's serious business. Well semi-serious, we do have the holidays coming up and we all know this girl will not turn down awesome food. It goes against everything I stand for. So I've been doing some working out here and there. I did some hard core P90X stuff for awhile until friends needed it back and then I'd make up workouts, which were always fun but more so entertaining than aerobic. Now and then I'll just dance around house and pretend like it's melting away the poundage, when really it's just scaring the husband. When I need to get myself together and have a good workout in little time...I turn to Jillian.

Really, this is a great video for when you don't have a lot of time or do not want to make a lot of time. It's a fantastic workout in about 25 minutes and all you need are weights. It claims you can lose 20 lbs in 30 days but that's not factoring in my nightly trips to Sonic...but I believe if and when I decide to be a good little girl, I'll tighten up.
So funny little story about me working out with Jillian. Last week I did a morning workout before going in to serve. I was like, "yeah I'll be all sore and feel my abs while I'm at work" kind of attitude.
Well I was sore...like sore in the fact that I'm pretty sure I blew out my back. You know when you see someone impersonating an old person they old their back when they bend over and look all awkward? Ladies and random Gentlemen, that was this here girl for the past week. Moving, sitting, walking and then serving was hilarious. In trying to find some kind of relief from the constant pain, I purchased some of that ICY HOT. My only previous interactions with ICY HOT were rubbing my grandmother's aching back with the topical medication. So when I had it all over my back and smelled of that delightful Peptobismal-esc smell...I felt old.
(My grandmother has rightfully lived into old, I do not feel that is an insult--cuz I don't mean it that way)
It was quite the experience trying out this ICY HOT. One minute it's a comforting warm sensation, then hot chills and then suddenly I have icicles running down my back--all in an effort to tricking my nerves.
Last weekend I was at work and a coworker walked up to me, stood there for a minute and then said,
"What is that delightful peppermint smell?"
I simply replied, "that would be my lower back".
My work out injury provided for lots of entertainment and jokes at work the past week.
Then in reapplying during my break Saturday, I think I over applied because SWEET SASSY my skin felt like a pretty little fire seeping into every pore. Whooeeee that ICY HOT can get dangerous.

I'm happy to say that after some rest, some ice and lots of painkillers..I'm pretty darn close to being back to myself. I'm a little scared to rejoin Ms. Jillian, but seeing that I now have a cupboard full of Ibuprofen, some ICY HOT and an ice pack....

Bring it on.
This girl ain't scared of smelling or looking like she's 80.

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.

~Elmer Davis

Thank you to all the men and women who have served and are currently serving for the sake of our freedom. Your courage and willingness to sacrifice so much for this wonderful country humbles me. I am grateful for those I know personally...

For my dearest grandfathers...

And my old favorite vacuum riding buddy...

just loaded up to Iraq this week..

and there's my brother (in law) Jared now in the Air Force...

I am so so proud to say I know these courageous men.

Happy Veteran's Day

Let us all keep our brave soldiers in our prayers and thoughts.

a sign that we are watching too much....

2010-11-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

I don't know if anyone else has the "blah" days...days when the Cheerios don't cheer you up, and neither does some Michael Jackson "PYT"...but I've been having some of them days.

So I was talking to Seth about the ho-hums and he let me snuggle him for a minute.
As he pulled away and looked at my sad face he said,

"Tara, what would Liz Lemon do?......

"Blerg"

And then we laughed.
Because 30 ROCK is hilarious and I heart it.

And I heart that Seth loves watching it too.
And then I just heart Seth.
Cuz he's right, if Liz Lemon can do it, and be hilarious, I can too.

All things Halloween

2010-11-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I happen to thoroughly enjoy Halloween. One day I hope to throw a big Halloween bash that includes dry ice and awesome Halloween music. I don't care if that makes me a dork...I'm a dork that likes Halloween fun. I couldn't locate most of my decorations so major Thanks! to mom for sending me a Halloween pillow to add to my decor-It was quite the Halloween surprise.

And then the most highly anticipated October package came...

Everyone in the B fam waits for this loveliness to arrive on their porch...cuz it's only filled with the most delicious caramel popcorn balls made with love by Gram B.

They are worth every divine calorie/cavity and part of every Halloween season since I can remember.

Other parts of Halloween around our house...

too much leftover candy

We had very few trick or treaters...boo to that.

side note venting: what's with trick-or-treating these days? The world is in need of a good night of trick-or-treating that doesn't involve parked cars in a parking lot or mall trick-or-treating. Remember the days where you'd grab your pillow case or some loot bag and off you went...running throughout the neighborhood in search of the good candy and a scare here and there....oh those were blessed days. Poor kids are so jipped nowadays. Stupid sickos ruin everything. and end vent.

a work halloween party

with my girl Paola, and the arm of the bearded woman

We managed, eh hem, excuse me, I managed to get enough scare for this Halloween. Oh my goodness I hope I sleep tonight...and until Seth watches THE RING again, he claims he won't truly be scared. Or so he says...

Hope you enjoyed the spooks of Halloween...

meanwhile back at the ranch...

2010-11-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying the loveliness of fall in the K.C.. October is my favorite month in Missura. We say goodbye to the humidity, hello to the 70 degree weather...oh it's so wonderful!
Seth survived Neuro and after the second round of finals, he had 2 weeks off. Which is when we should have fled from the country and enjoyed ourselves. Instead, Seth finally gave in and watched all seasons of 30 ROCK and found TOP GEAR-which by the way-if you like cars, you should watch the show. 3 British gents talking about cars-it's hilarious and we love it. He also has explored everything within a 40 mile radius on his bike. I'm thankful every time he returns home safely AND that I don't currently have a bike.
While Seth explores and lounges, I've been working. Between the restaurant and the med school, I'm busy. Happily busy. One day we got it together and decided, hey we should spend some time together. And so Seth decided he'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone and took me to the Zoo.
Animals and me...I guess we're a good combo.

It was a lovely sunny day with awesome breeze that chilled me to the bone. This is why I didn't take a lot of pictures-the fact we were outside of both work and school, I would have documented..but my poor little hands were too cold for camera time.
The zoo was nice...the squirrel monkeys were one of my favorite exhibits. I had a banana for a snack and I taunted one little monkey. I came up right to the glass and we had a moment. Then I ate the banana and he pouted.

The elephants were also a favorite. You got to get up real close...
And then it turns out I'm a Rhino whisperer...The one Rhino we saw was hiding in the corner. So I went over and started singing "Big and Chunky" from Madagascar 2. Either he liked the tune or my voice moved him to get moving, either way we got a better look at Mr. Rhino.
And then the rest of ~~Seth's~~ our time was spent at the Polar Bear exhibit. It's new to the Kansas City Zoo and it's pretty awesome. Since I had a nest of wasps attacking me, Seth was solo in his white bear watching. And since this is where we spent the majority of our time..here's a video of Mr. Polar Bear.

Really, I could have gone shopping, cleaned the house and come back to the zoo and Sethers would still be posted at the Polar Bear exhibit...nose to the glass.
And really, it was nice to get out, enjoy the sunshine and be together.

we already know how much I heart fall

2010-10-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

fluttering from the Autumn tree

--Emily Bronte--

{photos by me..from the K.C. zoo}

the awesomeness continues: ACT II

2010-10-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

So...we were on our way home late Friday. We noticed Miss Potts would be taking us through Hannibal, Missouri-which just so happens to be the birthplace of Mr. Samuel Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain. So why the heck not would we not stop by!? Oh the adventures that Hannibal held. First off--the picture above. We decided Hannibal would be a perfect eatery--surely Mr. Twain influenced some delightful cuisine.....so we stopped in at the Mark Twain Dinette. We walked in and promptly walked right back out. Mr. Twain has not been remembered correctly in this dinette. icky sticky.

This influenced us to hit up Sonic and remember Mr. Twain with some cream slushes and Butterfinger shakes.

me. mark twain. leapin.

The infamous white picket fence from Tom Sawyer

Again, the grand ol' Mississippi River..with a picturesque Steamboat in the background.

We finally made it back to K.C. after multiple sugar induced comas, lots of ridiculous laughter and fist pumping....then we crashed.

Next morning we picked right up with come cupcakes for breakfast and then off we went for some much needed shopping. I tell you what, my little leapin is an amazing bargain shopper. You hit up TJ Maxx or Ross with that girl and you are set. Therefore we started off our morning at TJ Maxx and bam...it was a success. Successful shopping with one of your best girls, is a fabulous form of therapy.

After eating and more shopping...

well leapin's expression shows ya how we felt...tired but happy.

Just me and one of the multiple naked fountain statues of K.C.

We're one classy city.

That night we went through my closet. Like dumped everything and went through it all...Leaps was almost engulfed by my crazy sense of fashion. This is why she's my leapin, she'll watch me try everything on, tell me how I can do it better and not hate me.

Many thanks to my leapin for coming out to see me and to take a much needed trip. It's a true blessing to have people in your life that you can act completely ridiculously dorky with, and they still love you.

We're 26...and just as horribly dorky as we were at 16.

I'm ok with it.

For the record, the trip to the airport....it's lame.

I'm considering hiring my neighbors to take my guests for me.

And then she's gone.

Off to break more hearts in Provo, UT.

And that was my glorious vacation. I gained perspective, probably a few pounds, and a lot of happiness.

A perfect vacation, no?

*Thanks to Sethers for allowing me ditch my wifely responsibilities for a couple days of girltime silliness.

holy awesome: how I got some of my groove back. ACT I

2010-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Isn't the feeling of rejuvenation one of the best feelings? After one awesome weekend, I feel so rejuvenated and happy. Yippee skipee. That's what good friends combined with good times, will do to you.
So leapin-She came.

Guess what she had in her hands when I picked her up at the airport? 4 wonderfully delicious Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes.

This is why she's my leapin.

So we got up the next morning to start our adventure. Off we went to tour Missouri and whatever else that came our way. We had to put full trust in "Miss Potts" the GPS system to get us to our destination-safely & soundly...and quite honestly there were a couple times, I doubted-but by golly, she came through.

We basically traced the pathway of the Marmin pioneers...starting at Farr West, Missouri.

Funny story: As we continued on our journey, we were driving through a charming lil town called Hamilton, when Leaps remembers a bud Al lives there. So we call him & he's there---running an AWESOME quilting store...so we stopped and ooohed and aahheed.

Then Al sent us off with some chocolate covered almonds-so we deemed that stop, a success.

From there we mazed through the corn fields and hilly roads on up to Caldwell County or Adam Ondi Ahman. For us marmins, this is a very sacred area...and it was very beautiful and peaceful.

We found roley poley things that were everywhere...

I even saw a snake crossing the road in front of me...and secretly, I clinched up like it was going to get me.
Yup, not a shining moment. Moving quickly along....

Our drive was absoluetly beautiful! I was continually blown away by the beauty surrounding us. All the fall colors and driving along the Mississippi River was so so pretty!
We made our final destination that day to Nauvoo, Illinois. Now again, to us Marmins this is a special place. Nauvoo was a gathering place for all the Saints in the late 1830's/early 1840's after being not so nicely thrown out of Missura.....and if you want to hear more stories, call me....
Both of us were so anxious to see the Nauvoo Temple. Around each turn we'd squeal with the excitement of seeing it and we were continually disappointed....and then boom---

Such a beautiful sight huh??? I couldn't' stop staring at it.

We walked the "Trail of Hope"-this is the trail the Pioneers walked as they left Nauvoo to head somewhere where they would no longer be persecuted for their beliefs. It was in February when they left and had to cross the Mississippi--and as Leapin and I walked down to it, and saw how massive that river is...wow--we were humbled.

We walked around "old" Nauvoo--Saw the headstones of Joseph, Hyrum & Emma Smith. It was such a pretty little town--Nauvoo has such a wonderful feeling to it. The crisp fall colors combined the beautiful colors of a midwest sunset, it was a slice of heaven.

That night we fine dined at Hotel Nauvoo---and with the 18th century pink walls combined with Halloween decor, it was the perfect setting for a murder. So in order to scedaddle out of there quickly, we (I) binged on mashed potatoes and gravy...hey, it could have been my last meal and it was either mashed potatoes or "guess what vegetable this is"...I went with what I knew.

Next morning we got up and headed for some more of that beautiful Nauvoo Temple.

marmin matchy matchy--not even planned.

We toured around Nauvoo a little bit more--hit up "The Fudgery"...sweet sassy that was a good decision. A brick of Rocky Road Fudge??? Don't mind if I do.

After downing some fudge--sigh--we left for Carthage, Illinois. Final destination: Carthage Jail, where the dear Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred. Only mormons can take a jail and make it a happy thing, I swear.

Both Carthage Jail and Nauvoo held such wonderful and peaceful feelings. I've been wanting to go there for a long time and I'm so glad Leapin and I were able to. I gained a new perspective on so much from taking our little trip.

--Intermission--

one day they will make a movie & they'll call it "how tara got her groove back"

2010-10-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

If I ever had a groove, it seems I have lost it. I know the blogging world knows this...but I've noticed this Especially at work-the restaurant work-the work where how I act completely determines how much money I will make.
So when I call women "sir" or slide a plate of Calamari right onto the table, well that just proves I've lost my groove.
I thought husband hugs would awaken the groove...
I thought yoga would bring it back.
Even dancing around to "Footloose"..which was close, but still didn't get the groove ALL the way back.
I'm gonna settle on time...a whole lotta time-to bring back my groove thang.

Time and a little time with this darlin

My dearest leapin is getting on a jet plane to come see me! I've been waiting for this for so long!!!
We are going to travel, eat lots of food and spend lots of money! Or at least the first two anyways...

Kansas City better be ready for us two ca-razy ladies!!

something for a lovely tuesday

2010-09-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

today is beautiful in missura.

plus i get to have an extra visit from my grands.

oh happy day!

happy day

you

a picture that makes me laugh everytime i see it

2010-09-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Don't worry Hallee...

sometimes mommy makes me feel the same way.

Have I mentioned how much I LUB Skype?!

okra, almonds and popcorn

2010-09-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

This is a story about some Californians visiting the big Midwest.

My B grandparents came to visit us last week. They drove from Cali to see us as part of their "American Tour" of sorts. They are real road trippers.

We were So Oh excited to have them come.

Missura is where my grama grew up and K.C. is where my grandparents met AND fell in love {they have one of the all time BEST love stories}

So this ol' Missura has a special place in their hearts--

add the fact that I live here, and it's gosh darn awesome.

We took a day and drove in the pouring rain to my gram's old stomping grounds. On the way I got to hear all her stories. It was awesome...and I am completely convinced I should have been born back then--it was so simple and lovely.

The good ol' small town complete with the small town shops.

This is Nevada, as in Ne-vay-da, Missouri...

quite the opposite of the Nevada with that Sin City in it.

My gram's high school hang out--The White Grill--

home of the very good Susy Q's

and about the size of my living room.

my gram's the greatest and cutest thing...but bless her heart she can't keep her eyes open in pics...

from one small town to a smaller town, we visited the exact place my grama was born.

Sadly the house she was born & raised in burned down a couple years ago.

We drove around the town and she told me of the pond she used to ice skate on,

all the trouble her triplet brothers got into..and just all her wonderful stories.

That night we went out for some BBQ in downtown K.C.

Then I showed the grands The World's Fastest Indian, which they loved and if you haven't seen it, you should.
And after 50 plus years of being married, my grands still cuddle.
how tender are they?

Next morning we got up and I took them to the restaurant I spend most of my nights.
They liked it..and I enjoyed being the one served.

This is my gram's friend Lynn. They have been friends since they were about 14.
Isn't that amazing? I love that kind of friendship-the kind that lasts through all the years.
Ms. Lynn lives in Leawood and I plan to visit her often--got to take care of her while grama's away.

Next up on the exciting trip to Missura-a med school visit.

Seth gave the campus tour and we enjoyed a pancake dinner as part of the student spouse group.
Then we stopped by the campus button bull....such a random decor, but I'll take it.

That night the grands had to get ready for the next leg of their trip-
off to Maryland to see sister, brother & hallee.
So we relaxed and made the delicious B popcorn..which is a secret awesomeness..
a secret I learned and is perfect for movie watching enjoyment.

We loved having the B grands come see us.
As they drove off...I was terribly sad.
Sad they had come and were now leaving
AND
sad I didn't get in that car with them to drive across the country.
stupid-stupid-stupid.
Next time I do hope my brain will do some thinking.

I do love these grands.
They are such wonderful examples of how I want to be when I grow up.

for the love of monday

2010-09-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

happy monday to all of us.
at this point, we have all survived. sweet happiness.

here's a new favorite song to celebrate

--thanks to my n--