tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34272353421655212042024-03-14T02:16:12.436-07:00Millards In The MountainsLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.comBlogger216125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-36551209723442431402019-03-03T15:03:00.002-08:002019-03-03T15:03:48.458-08:00#3 - Everything Happens for a ReasonIt's been a whirlwind of a week. So much has happened, I can barely comprehend. But a very busy and blurry week included a couple last minute trips, two unexpected illnesses and NO knee surgery.<br />
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Last Saturday morning, my Grandma Helen passed away after a long and painful battle with colon and stomach cancer. We knew her time was coming to an end but it still wasn't easy saying goodbye. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it to her funeral, since my surgery was scheduled for the same day. But the theme of the week seems to be "everything happens for a reason" which leads my to book review #3: Everything Happens For a Reason - Finding the True Meaning of the Events in Our Lives by Mira Kirshenbaum<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Happens-Reason-Finding-Meaning/dp/1400083214/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1OBDM5U9HH7RO&keywords=everything+happens+for+a+reason+book&qid=1551651715&s=gateway&sprefix=everything+happens+%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-2">https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Happens-Reason-Finding-Meaning/dp/1400083214/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1OBDM5U9HH7RO&keywords=everything+happens+for+a+reason+book&qid=1551651715&s=gateway&sprefix=everything+happens+%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-2</a><br />
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I'm not going to go into as much detail on this one. I highlighted so many passages, there's no way I could cover them all. However, I did gain a lot of insight and comfort from reading this book. Kirshenbaum shares examples from over 30 years of her counseling career and reassures us that the events that shape (and shake up) our lives are trying to teach us something. She boils it down to essentially 10 reasons:<br />
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1. To help you feel at home in the world<br />
2. To help you totally accept yourself<br />
3. To show you that you can let go of fear<br />
4. To bring you to the place where you can feel forgiven<br />
5. To help you uncover your true hidden talent<br />
6. To give you what you need to find true love<br />
7. To help you become stronger<br />
8. To help you discover the play in life<br />
9. To show you how to live with a sense of mission<br />
10. To help you become a truly good person<br />
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I love that she puts her own personal stories in there as well and how she arrived at the place she did, in terms of why she wrote the book. Her clients truly are her inspiration.<br />
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Here's the vulnerable section of this post. The reason I could not have knee surgery this week is because I ended up having an infection in another part of my body, symptoms of which only started showing up the day before surgery was scheduled. I called my doc right away and she said she would prefer not to operate, as existing infections could easily travel to my knee and cause another infection there. I was a little crushed because I was mentally ready for this to happen. But as soon as I figured out that I wasn't going to have the operation, I called my brother, to see if there was ANY way I could still make it to my grandma's funeral the next day. He got me on a flight to Michigan that night. For free. (Thank you, American Airlines!) And as I sat there during the service, I could hear my grandma's wise voice in every song that was sung, and every Bible passage that was read. (She had planned these far in advance). I learned while a daughter shared memories, that she, like me, hated small talk and preferred to get to the "deeper conversations." I felt her hugging me during one of the songs when I literally got chills out of the blue.<br />
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It was a very emotional day, but if I hadn't been there, I would have missed so much.<br />
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And, as it turns out, when I got home I ended up coming down with the worst cold/flu symptoms I've had in a while, which can also lead to infections in the knee. So while I was mentally ready for knee surgery, the timing was just not right last week and I've accepted that it's a good thing it was put off for a bit. I'll get myself healthy and try again in a month. I can't believe I'm actually grateful for an infection and a cold! I got to be where I needed to be.<br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-81184055486435570442019-02-04T18:46:00.000-08:002019-02-06T08:06:52.599-08:00#2 of 35: The Power of a Praying WifeBook #2 and I'm already throwing you a wrench from my last post. I previewed/teased Every Good Endeavor, but sometimes plans have a way of unexpectedly changing.<br />
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<b>Link: </b>The Power of a Praying Wife -- Stormie Omartian<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Praying%C2%AE-Wife-Stormie-Omartian/dp/0736957499/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549307595&sr=8-1&keywords=the+power+of+a+praying+wife+by+stormie+omartian">https://www.amazon.com/Power-Praying®-Wife-Stormie-Omartian/dp/0736957499/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549307595&sr=8-1&keywords=the+power+of+a+praying+wife+by+stormie+omartian</a><br />
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<b>Personal Note:</b> Recently a friend opened up to be about some struggles she's dealing with and mentioned a book that's really been helping. Curiosity, a desire to better understand those struggles and maybe a little ADD (if I'm being honest) led me to pause with Timothy Keller and read this one. And it turns out I needed to hear every word in a bad way!<br />
Also in all honesty, the title of this book alone made me think "what the heck am I about to read???" Reading and discussing the spiritual/religious realm is still new territory for me, so it's a hard place to be vulnerable and just put out there on this blog. But regardless of where you are, the <i>concepts</i> in this book are important and may inspire change if you are willing to listen. Here goes...<br />
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<b>Meat and Bones:</b> Ladies. How many times have you found yourself hoping and wishing for some aspect of your husband to change. Maybe you don't even know what exactly it is that needs to change? (Me!) Maybe you know exactly what you need him to change but no matter how much you try to communicate that, nothing happens? Either way, you end up maybe feeling a little "stuck." I think it's pretty normal for married couples to experience that after a while. But what can you do about it?<br />
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Here is the answer. <b>Read chapter 1 of this book. </b> Over and over and over, or at least every time you start to feel that frustration sink back in. Full disclosure though: you will need to have an open mind. There are some parts that are way too 50's housewife for me (page 39) which I skip every time I re-read it. There is no way one woman can be everything that the author describes there. It's unrealistic and probably a little unhealthy to expect all of that of yourself. Don't stop reading though!<br />
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Here are my takeaways, and I'm only focusing on Chapter 1 here because it was what I really needed to hear and remember. <br />
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1. Change in your marriage has to start with changing yourself. Bingo. In order to understand or hope or ask for change in your partner, it's really as simple as getting your own heart right first. In my first post this year, I opened up that I'm talking to a counselor. Matt and I have also been attending an awesome church regularly. And of course I'm doing a lot of reading. This book was the smack in the face that I needed to help connect all of those pieces. "You must be the change you want to see in the world." I've heard that famous quote from Mahatma Ghandi's countless times, but I never even thought to apply it to my own marriage! Doh.<br />
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2. Open up when you feel something, good or bad. I recently did the Strengths Finder test and one of my top 5 strengths was Adaptability. It's a great trait to have, but a lot of the time, I will just go with the flow and kind of gloss over how I really feel about something. Stuffing my feelings inside all the time won't help us grow and understand each other...and I do know that one thing I crave is understanding. I also want to understand those around me better, so I'm trying to pay extra attention when people express feelings. Even when it's uncomfortable. <br />
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3. Creating a home. Ugh. I know I just got done talking about the "50's housewife" tones that bothered me. But I have to admit that I could do better in the housekeeping department. I don't want to stress Matt out with a cluttered or messy home! And he probably won't say it, but I know ours stresses him out to some degree. Especially our "office" which really just contains items that need to be gifted, sorted, or donated.<br />
A quote from the book that stood out on this topic was "spending a certain amount of money for someone to help you a few hours a week is a lot cheaper than a divorce." (Page 35) Ok, I don't think my house is THAT bad but certainly if there was less clutter, I feel like I would be more inclined to push for a housekeeper to help out a little. (Isn't it Marie Kondo or someone that says the amount of clutter in your home resembles your mental "clutter"?) Oiy. <br />
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4. Rather than through your own eyes, try to see your husband how God sees him. There's not much more elaborating to do there. <br />
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<b>Retrospective: </b>I did a little research on the author of this book because I think it's important to understand the underlying perspective, especially on books of this nature. After finishing the book and reflecting a little, I would have assumed that this lady had a near-perfect childhood and never experienced any form of hardship or abuse. Wrong again! As it turns out, her mother had mental issues and her father was passive about addressing them, which led her down a destructive and near-fatal path.<br />
Understanding her struggles and how she arrived with the information in this book was an added bonus. I think it feels like the people who teach these principles sometimes don't really understand the struggles that lead to anxiety, depression, etc. later in life so it's hard to put much stock into what they say. Definitely not the case here.<br />
Last: Don't stop at Chapter 1!! The other chapters are good and help understand the male perspective, pressures, insecurities, etc. Also, don't be afraid to dive in to a book that appears "uncomfortable" on the outside to help a friend. You never know what amazing lessons you will learn for yourself along the way as an unexpected bonus!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-18870009373261135502019-01-21T19:44:00.002-08:002019-01-21T19:44:29.258-08:00#1: How to Listen so People Will TalkI'm already getting behind on my #35while35 challenge so I'm taking some time on this long weekend to kick this off! I'm still not sure how I want to format these posts so it might be a work in progress for a while.<br />
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<b>Background:</b> As I prefaced in my last post, book #1 of the year is "How to Listen so People Will Talk" by Becky Harling. (Follow her @BeckyHarling if you happen to be a Twitter person). I'm also trying to follow the authors of books that inspire me, so that their posts remind me to keep practicing what I've learned. Harling's tone throughout the book is kind, honest and endearing, and her own personal stories build depth and trust behind the concepts she is teaching. Here's the link again in case you want to order or download a copy for yourself:<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Listen-People-Will-Talk-Communication/dp/0764219448/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RLTT0EPSKZSO&keywords=how+to+listen+so+people+will+talk&qid=1548126107&sprefix=how+to+listen+so%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-">https://www.amazon.com/Listen-People-Will-Talk-Communication/dp/0764219448/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RLTT0EPSKZSO&keywords=how+to+listen+so+people+will+talk&qid=1548126107&sprefix=how+to+listen+so%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-</a><br />
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<b>Personal Note:</b> I'm honestly not sure how I came across this book. Lots of things seem to be finding me when I need them these days, and I'm so grateful that I picked up this book! A year ago, I may not have even given it a chance. There are a lot of religious examples and comparisons throughout the book. Maybe I'll open up more about that in a future post but even if you're not religiously inclined, please don't let that turn you away! There are still a ton of lessons you can pick up from this book, while skimming over the other parts if needed.<br />
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<b>Meat and Bones:</b> Let's face it. We can probably all stand to be better listeners. I always presumed I was pretty good at listening until now. People seem to seek me out to talk, and I love that. So I must be a pretty good listener, right? Wrong!!! Oh man I have so far to go, but I'm consciously trying to remember a few key lessons when I'm conversing with people, (mainly my husband). Even though I catch myself failing time and time again, I feel like the effort I've put in so far has been noticed and appreciated. (If not, please feel free to provide feedback ANYTIME! It's the only way we learn).<br />
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Here are four of the biggest take-aways I'm trying to practice right now:<br />
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1. Being an active, engaged listener is 100% THE BEST gift you can give someone. This means putting away all of your own troubles, putting down your phone and giving someone a safe nonjudgemental space to share their story.<br />
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2. You don't have to fix everything. Before reading this book, I would shy away from conversations because I wanted to fix everything and it frustrated me that I couldn't. This quote changed my entire outlook: <i>"Focus your inner fixer on your own difficulties and your listening ear on others'. Most of the time when a person confides in you about a problem they're experiencing, they just want someone to listen and confirm that what they are experiencing is difficult." </i>(Page 60). Mind = blown.<br />
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3. Resist diving in with your own story. This was also a huge reality check. I am constantly doing this, but I aways thought it meant I was being a GOOD listener. When you insert your own story, you effectively steal the microphone from the person who is sharing their concerns with you. This is particularly important when trying to help a grieving friend. I still catch myself doing this too much even after reading this book TWICE!<br />
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4. Validate feelings, not actions. This may seem elementary, but this simple point made me stop in my tracks and really start to recognize the difference between feelings and actions. <i>"Feelings are neither right nor wrong. They're just feelings. It's what we do with those feelings that determines whether or not we sin."</i> (Page 93)<br />
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There are so many good more lessons in this book, it's overwhelming to try remember (and practice) them all! The above four are the biggest ones I'm trying to focus on because they spoke to me the most. When I've mastered those, I plan to read this again and pick some others.<br />
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<b>Retrospective: </b>I am grateful to have some wonderful listeners in my life. After figuring out what a good listener actually embodies, it makes me so much more appreciative to have those people in my life! Everyone is on their own listening journey, and so Harling also reminds us that it's important not to judge or feel anger at those who are just beginning their journey.<br />
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I hope someday, people will read this book and think of me when they make a mental list of good listeners in their lives. That would be the greatest compliment!<br />
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<b>What's Next:</b> Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Every-Good-Endeavor-Connecting-Your/dp/1594632820/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2M5AUACLNJBSA&keywords=every+good+endeavor+tim+keller&qid=1548127712&sprefix=Every+Good+%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-1">https://www.amazon.com/Every-Good-Endeavor-Connecting-Your/dp/1594632820/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2M5AUACLNJBSA&keywords=every+good+endeavor+tim+keller&qid=1548127712&sprefix=Every+Good+%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-1</a><br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-51913373787670950072019-01-02T21:57:00.000-08:002019-01-02T21:57:04.227-08:0035 while 35Hi everyone! I bet you’re surprised to see me writing here after a 6 year hiatus.<br />
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2018 was a year of incredible growth for me. Emotionally. Mentally. Spiritually. I’m going to be honest. It can be hard to navigate so much change while maintaining the life you’ve built and love. These things have helped:<br />
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-therapy. Do it. If you think it’s expensive or there are negative connotations, stop. Nothing is more worthy of your time and money than your mental health. I always thought physical health is what mattered most. Until I started talking to a therapist.<br />
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-books. And thus leads leads me to the reason behind my first post, in over 6 years. My goal is to read and outline 35 books in my 35th year. Maybe this seems like a low number but I am guilty of spending too much time on my devices so anything that will encourage me to read actual paper words is most welcome, and I need accountability! So here we go.<br />
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First #35in35 will be on the link below if you care to read along. It’ve already read it twice because it’s so valuable and I hope I can find the right words to summarize. Stay tuned!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Listen-People-Will-Talk-Communication/dp/0764219448">https://www.amazon.com/Listen-People-Will-Talk-Communication/dp/0764219448</a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-21387451323613643142012-05-13T19:15:00.001-07:002012-05-13T19:24:05.246-07:00Colorado Craft Beer WeekMatt and I decided to join some of our favorite local breweries yesterday at a craft beer festival to help kick off Colorado Craft Beer Week. It's no secret that craft beer is a huge part of the Colorado economy. Everybody just does it so well out here. It was nice to go to a smaller festival than the Great American Beer Festival where there are too many breweries to even get to every booth. Yesterday's festival felt more like a back yard barbecue. I even got to meet the hosts of the Craft Beer Radio show on AM760. There is a picture of me with Turk and the "Gubna" below.<br />
In addition to some good beer sampling, our tickets also included a meal of either beer can chicken roasted for hours on the grill (my choice) or a spicy brat (Matt's choice). The chicken was amazing. I even let Matt try some. :)<br />
I also had some fun and took some pictures at the light rail. (We were responsible and walked/rode the train to and from the event.) What a fun day! Even better was coming home to a mailbox which contained a letter of acceptance to Northeastern University. I should be finished with my Master's in a year or so now that I finally found the right program. Third time's a charm! :)<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcNImu3G_kpHh4iZE89RiHHKqASzE4B86sg8fCzhKRelPT7TS8xz-BDPRL_N4zHq1d8ffS-0jEsMr3xzBgeFtcLIRhWJHxt-m14mo0HCDfI3cjjA6iKBokcima5eEJ_4yJLtXrQKnY9s/s640/blogger-image--753639547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcNImu3G_kpHh4iZE89RiHHKqASzE4B86sg8fCzhKRelPT7TS8xz-BDPRL_N4zHq1d8ffS-0jEsMr3xzBgeFtcLIRhWJHxt-m14mo0HCDfI3cjjA6iKBokcima5eEJ_4yJLtXrQKnY9s/s640/blogger-image--753639547.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6G-TZZF8af9r2wa8SSfjQdvvEGGHNIqlXM1hICiEHGeftfVMpj6Spyy5pcvY_ebHX5_GekeqWlcDsHbSSqwYMgzlZJZY72bHYos-SmkfYCiAAPmO8eOgepNhw6hRT5wY6XO9ULxxnBo/s640/blogger-image--963023596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRj_xDKuviqLAk6f21Tt3_rFuT2tflLumHBs3zoAAzYci_YvQrMk5gTN7TtQ3MRX_ob2JNYGVy8KOBPF8lAyRMmmqKrwlaoSk7h-DlyToQ2zdxrv52-18NvV71tNJnsGC4s_dRje5xLQ/s640/blogger-image-1960821058.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVauxxOXAzf0izkmEWzXCt0kCefRXZHYA7wSZ0RjY6hg3KzgDhCU-O4-4P-ayJ0M-6m8V92zWTQXUedpQp7YJ9VKINgRgAyQC1rcXwS3T2rFzV8d2cmkprt-mPj3W3whU72Dnor4biK2Y/s640/blogger-image--1629766936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVauxxOXAzf0izkmEWzXCt0kCefRXZHYA7wSZ0RjY6hg3KzgDhCU-O4-4P-ayJ0M-6m8V92zWTQXUedpQp7YJ9VKINgRgAyQC1rcXwS3T2rFzV8d2cmkprt-mPj3W3whU72Dnor4biK2Y/s640/blogger-image--1629766936.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_P9jXO-MqDwrF06c94FKK5DqX7hyphenhyphenzo1a5yQuFmqXyuPhg9QnlzHM6FEGSVqUR9gCxFRKxBzcQ2yE8Kx4NNsLVMQ4_sNporiA6W6P_7eKnvUud1xLzoaehgFEusWBYfrhj0qmdUNgtQLY/s640/blogger-image--207130914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QtkKts3ZewFjVf28DKGljSulYJWFvgTs-yeOT1m7MIJRVFNzm7RImqe3CFzVmpOg3proisNBCiA9CXCE0LfsvsOOxcj3eUCCw9y8xVfGeiv-KhZkJMO5F3B5bPH_31xNY_h2gi0tb6E/s640/blogger-image-233538125.jpg" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-90766820721760753932012-05-11T18:21:00.001-07:002012-05-11T18:21:03.200-07:00Millards meet MallardsWe've had some neighborhood visitors recently. This Mallard duck couple has made our yard its home for about a week now. They showed up right before our camping trip and have been around ever since! We can't find a nest but they seem to like prefer our yard, none the less. Maybe it has something to do with the name?<br />
My hope is that they really do have a nest nearby and one day I will wake up to little ducklings wandering around our yard!<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0teWlkKidRQpcins6BUAE6OVEkMGh5Q486R4JF8sRqCYOc3L2y1fgErXIg2Gf6tOplCg6bKX6w6fFqFLLa_bWkbKQNq_A6kHVA1xogmtSHMGxsi9zqlFGMpfVFcKKlc2iL8ZkO80YL6Y/s640/blogger-image--422206823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0teWlkKidRQpcins6BUAE6OVEkMGh5Q486R4JF8sRqCYOc3L2y1fgErXIg2Gf6tOplCg6bKX6w6fFqFLLa_bWkbKQNq_A6kHVA1xogmtSHMGxsi9zqlFGMpfVFcKKlc2iL8ZkO80YL6Y/s640/blogger-image--422206823.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXr8O_wW2ivpciL6YRaCpoWKC-_wF8CnY1J99VtZH-zuRHzj1ET4F7AN_5Om17ucatmnv9_0piyry55UqIBF5VQeIMmU0iJ5JTCAUsdL1e0ViTMwbWf5ZGcYUjQxYPTAMb0ERrBcmRruA/s640/blogger-image--1378851369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXr8O_wW2ivpciL6YRaCpoWKC-_wF8CnY1J99VtZH-zuRHzj1ET4F7AN_5Om17ucatmnv9_0piyry55UqIBF5VQeIMmU0iJ5JTCAUsdL1e0ViTMwbWf5ZGcYUjQxYPTAMb0ERrBcmRruA/s640/blogger-image--1378851369.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h56vor4AKMEPZyma2XuyC1OIWd40z5cvsoszGY8nCXQU_Ct_2YxvrdWkdXmQ54m4H7sTNVWt2KepgFWoQSNI7zUrj1-J_x5kaWKtdcfddUGhT_JlYqayZfuTQyaMlu11P8iUPRwOv7Y/s640/blogger-image--1868582019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h56vor4AKMEPZyma2XuyC1OIWd40z5cvsoszGY8nCXQU_Ct_2YxvrdWkdXmQ54m4H7sTNVWt2KepgFWoQSNI7zUrj1-J_x5kaWKtdcfddUGhT_JlYqayZfuTQyaMlu11P8iUPRwOv7Y/s640/blogger-image--1868582019.jpg" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-41569241356841707262012-05-07T20:23:00.001-07:002012-05-08T20:40:18.319-07:00Sand Dunes CampingIf you are reading this for the second time, you will notice that I have re-written this post. It seems even my Apple technology is not foolproof. I tried to create a new blog post on my iPad and instead I inadvertantly typed over this original post. Argh. But I want to remember this camping trip, so here I am typing it all out again.<br />
As indicated in the title of this post, Matt and I decided that a camping trip in Sand Dunes National Park would be a great way to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. Matt has never been and I have been eager to get back there ever since a trip I took with the KU Geography Field Campers in 2006. So last Thursday, we packed up our camping gear and our dogs and headed out to the Dunes.<br />
We arrived at the park's campsite around 1:30 pm which was great timing. We had our pick of campsites but the entire thing was full within a few hours. Our site was great...not too close to any others and offered plenty of shade over our tent all day long. We set up our brand new tent right away. It is so nice to finally have a tent we can stand up in! After that, I had just enough time to go get some firewood and ice for the cooler before the visitor's center closed. <br />
One crazy thing about the sand dunes is that it is windy all day long. It made cooking very difficult. We had kabobs and diced potatoes for dinner, but it took forever before this simple meal to be fully cooked. Thursday night was pretty sleepless. The moon was super bright and our air mattress was leaky, so it deflated as the night went on. Add to that the fact that the boy scouts in a nearby campsite got up at dawn and started making a ruckus. <br />
Things got better on Friday. We successfully cooked breakfast (eggs, bacon and toast) and then set out on a 6.5 mile out-and-back hike over Mosca Pass. The hike was beautiful and we only encountered one other group of hikers so it was also nice and quiet. I was starting to wonder when we would get to the top of the pass, but we made it and had a nice picnic lunch. It took some major encouragement to get the dogs back down the mountain. They were so tired when we got back to the car that Perdi fell asleep immediately and was out for the rest of the afternoon. Apparently she needs more 6.5 mile hikes because she still keeps us on our toes most of the time.<br />
After the hike, Matt drove in to Alamosa to get us a new air mattress (I know, talk about "roughing" it!) and he came back with hot dogs and potato salad as well. Made for a way easier supper and a better night of sleep. <br />
Saturday we again woke up at dawn, but this time on purpose. We needed to get an early start on our dune hike before the sun got too hot for the dogs to walk on. Our early morning paid off, as we were the first hikers up to High Dune. I got a little height sick up there, so we didn't make it to the absolute top. I believe that having the dogs with me on hikes like that makes me become afraid of heights. I guess that I am scared that something will happen to them, although what could possibly happen on a massive pile of sand? <br />
Anyhow, I managed to forget my camera on that morning hike, but we did to another mini hike in the afternoon, which are when we snapped the sand pictures below. Between the first and second dune hikes, we did a lot of reading and relaxing. I decided to get some sun on my legs while I read so I sat outside in a camping chair. I got completely engrossed in my book (hello, second Hunger Games is amazing!!) and when I looked down, my legs were already getting red. I headed straight inside the tent, but an hour later I was as red as a lobster.<br />
Sunday, we pretty much headed out right after we woke up. My legs were uncomfortable and we both were craving some Starbucks. But it was nice to have the rest of the day to unpack and relax around the house before heading back to work Monday.<br />
Overall, the trip was awesome despite the minor hiccups i mentioned. Sand Dunes National Park is way better than Rocky Mountain when it comes to dogs. I had a straight up conversation with a park ranger when we arrived just so that I knew where the dogs were allowed. He was pretty much okay with anything as long as they were leashed and we picked up after them. When we took the dogs to Rocky Mountain National Park a couple years ago, we couldnt even get out of the car with them, even on leash.<br />
The campsite was really nice, albeit a little loud. There were lots of families and boy scouts as I mentioned before. However, this did provide us with some amount of humor. One mom was yelling at her kids so loud and so often that we learned all four of the first and middle names. The dad from the same family yelled at his daughter one night because she wanted to go in the tent but he thought she was "too stinky" to go in. That got a good chuckle out of Matt and I. Hopefully that will be us someday. :)<br />
The pictures below are just a sample of the ones we took. If you double click on one, a slideshow will pop up and you will be able to see the landscape oriented ones better because they are still not displaying properly. Enjoy!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyfkIKogZBIbytttLwHn7pVhOQN02SNplOUtQ2LsSTGy9uGiHzLU2TCwTPWOn0zVeXU7Jhyphenhyphenp9sv0FVlK35oV7WDu_kmte68er8cM87XWursSgpeX2SKyXGNxzlvh9F7GEr9JyWzli2ZI/s640/blogger-image--195276150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyfkIKogZBIbytttLwHn7pVhOQN02SNplOUtQ2LsSTGy9uGiHzLU2TCwTPWOn0zVeXU7Jhyphenhyphenp9sv0FVlK35oV7WDu_kmte68er8cM87XWursSgpeX2SKyXGNxzlvh9F7GEr9JyWzli2ZI/s640/blogger-image--195276150.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OZ12FE2S6l6VqZ-Nn3OlnFAAHs3S3fEd8JOuJpvcBCqRoreKCVLfX5CxdEPVzhebZgyeuakHoswxlyS4o2T5rGSuy4m3IxR4ddd_9RvUFQXDM0hOT7yCq7_X7anZkaW7GzbwSJZ26Y8/s640/blogger-image-1686456774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInqsJGEs2S3Xd-5Wc9NLi3fBbSuDSFtShuYQJTnALmLukaS848weIMK9_8Lgop4CWJ3A1fZ8r9CoMUliz19mRggxkD13Pv5R8tf73ADQDtjkyBjLrRa1kr1-CC_7n_b9C0_VxvzUvp-k/s640/blogger-image--153732469.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1LQ8phFhQm21gV9k5QnX_07SHXCLUuuO-gLNSI9D_4m8hAN0u4HeDI4HXvQ2NolOppiO-CAsRB4TFZperNihMQEjBiEC4BmDWBmmBBup2MrSOqwlHzE39tg4dsRGX_14UUtE1wFcLe5I/s640/blogger-image-182329432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1LQ8phFhQm21gV9k5QnX_07SHXCLUuuO-gLNSI9D_4m8hAN0u4HeDI4HXvQ2NolOppiO-CAsRB4TFZperNihMQEjBiEC4BmDWBmmBBup2MrSOqwlHzE39tg4dsRGX_14UUtE1wFcLe5I/s640/blogger-image-182329432.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Aa4_eUpdVG4YGBIoXJDhDeFlBKGrD84hMTfxdeaUjialeuP46AaNymVMq45RZJLjKm-L_EZZYXw9254_jN7qDUaIut0r8d80uCBiz-A3qPi38ey7XDmdrcJgx-xPXnzXTH5XSwlBtA0/s640/blogger-image-1837450014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Aa4_eUpdVG4YGBIoXJDhDeFlBKGrD84hMTfxdeaUjialeuP46AaNymVMq45RZJLjKm-L_EZZYXw9254_jN7qDUaIut0r8d80uCBiz-A3qPi38ey7XDmdrcJgx-xPXnzXTH5XSwlBtA0/s640/blogger-image-1837450014.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIIPsR4wUsP1Bjfozm5VBH7BugSjQ-fMoaz5oGeJJLuGEYaO8lwuxzueCx_VehWjjc7ECSbzq23BngbKtJUkeNoxhwsshmtC9Q7OgINRuF7NEMzReRNidnq57k-znPM75z7AIezoL0cM/s640/blogger-image-1150962912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIIPsR4wUsP1Bjfozm5VBH7BugSjQ-fMoaz5oGeJJLuGEYaO8lwuxzueCx_VehWjjc7ECSbzq23BngbKtJUkeNoxhwsshmtC9Q7OgINRuF7NEMzReRNidnq57k-znPM75z7AIezoL0cM/s640/blogger-image-1150962912.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhn98f4WJUVjUl-AmvRtlcCirTIqgVp4q1_ry_ZCdUvbSzQ73f7EGGmS0R5O8MZ4FVYO0QhO4KlNjEYS38lka8Kn2MNPFyLVptKWAezXVsfF83KQXf0h_MMFNBNaDBtMeT7lJuXulZ2A/s640/blogger-image-1789184553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhn98f4WJUVjUl-AmvRtlcCirTIqgVp4q1_ry_ZCdUvbSzQ73f7EGGmS0R5O8MZ4FVYO0QhO4KlNjEYS38lka8Kn2MNPFyLVptKWAezXVsfF83KQXf0h_MMFNBNaDBtMeT7lJuXulZ2A/s640/blogger-image-1789184553.jpg" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-73214443688884352642011-10-19T06:30:00.000-07:002011-10-19T14:33:02.170-07:00The Cards Are Officially Stacked**I wrote this post last week. It has just taken me a couple weeks to get up the guts to post it.<br /><br />Once again, it's time for my once-monthly blog update. I honestly didn't intend for my posts to become so infrequent, but it seems that I can only motivate myself to blog when I really have something to say these days. Sure, I have plenty to blog about lately, with all of the wonderful weddings and other events we have attended in the past month and a half or so. I have a few pictures too! And I fully intend to write a big long post about all of our wonderful trips to Kansas. But that's not REALLY what's been on my mind lately.<br />Matt and I have decided that it's time to open up about what's going on with us in the past couple months. A peek into a very personal issue that has taken a while for us to fully accept and be open about. Basically, we are at the beginning stages of infertility "investigation." About a year and a half ago, we decided to start unofficially trying to have a baby. We knew we might experience some difficulty with this, mostly because of the possibility of negative side effects from chemo and radiation Matt was given during his childhood fight with cancer. Both of us were not 100% positive that we were ready for a baby, but we figured if there was even a chance that we would have problems, it would be better to figure it out sooner rather than later while we have age on our side.<br />Fast forward to a few months ago. It had been over a year, and no sign of a baby. Not even close. So we went to see my OB/GYN and had a few tests run. A few days later, she calls and asks us to both come in to her office together. Not a good sign. She suspects that the side effects of the drugs are at least part of the reason we havent been able to conceive yet and refers us to a local reproductive specialist.<br /><br /><br /><br />___________________________________<br /><br /><br /><br />Have you ever felt like maybe you are in the right place at the right time? Even though we don't know much more at this point, I certainly feel like we are where we need to be right now. It turns out that the reproductive medicine clinic we were referred to is located approximately 10 miles south of our house. It also happens to have one of the highest success rates in the country. In fact, infertile couples come from all over the world to seek help from this office. Ironically, I was watching one of my favorite reality TV shows, "Giuliana and Bill" about two weeks after I booked our fist appointment with our specialist, Dr. Schoolcraft. Out of the blue, G & B (who are also struggling with infertility) started talking about travelling to "a clinic in Denver" and then ended the episode sitting face to face with our exact doctor! Maybe I am naive, but I took great hope and comfort away from that episode, even with all of the questions that we have yet to answer about our own unique case. I felt even better after own meeting with Dr. Schoolcraft. He ordered us both to have some more tests done and then suggested that we "re-group" when we know more. But he never ever made us feel like we didn't have hope. I know most doctors would never say anything so extreme right out off the bat, but it was nice just the same.<br /><br /><br /><br />I went in for my tests a couple weeks ago. As it turns out, Matt and I both bring our own set of issues to the table. Nobody I spoke with really seems concerned about my particular case. But this afternoon I still couldn't help feeling that the cards are officially stacked against us. It is, after all, just one more thing to be concerned about.<br /><br /><br /><br />____________________________________<br /><br /><br /><br />So how do we feel at this point? Despite what we do and don't know right now, we are still optimistic that we can still have a baby between the two of us. And even if we can't, we still have many other options. We don't mind talking what we know so far (hence the blog post), so we won't be offended if you ask. And of course, we are still over-the-top excited about baby/kid news of any sort. New pregnancies, pregnancy stories, the birth of babies (see previous post), stories about infants and kids growing up...you name it. Bring it on! The last thing we want is for anyone to feel like we can't deal with their happy news just because we are having our own struggle. Yes, we have baby fever. But that just makes us want to cuddle your kids MORE (and read any blog or Facebook status you happen to want to share as well. :) )<br /><br /><br /><br />Thanks for stopping by the blog and listening to this difficult post! Love and *blog* hugs to you all!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-32274799162913810462011-09-14T08:20:00.000-07:002011-09-14T08:38:45.426-07:00It's A Nephew!!I just thought I would take a moment to share a few pictures of the newest addition to the Millard family.<br /><br />This is our nephew Tate William Millard, born on Sept. 10, 2011. He is such a sweet and precious (and very happy) baby! He was not even 24 hours old in this photo.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqbH5sC7JTI0INhxfYoeRAe5o9PQRm-mgaS-1SIqUUDDKqNUqLDfUxCTWQBIO8CNPK0ADch7AbqZkVA6EpC9Suexb3Pl18WSMmLirGMApVIN1wXo1atye-brsDp5TRYcIw9luVx47QMY/s1600/DSC01433.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 249px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652236066232613794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqbH5sC7JTI0INhxfYoeRAe5o9PQRm-mgaS-1SIqUUDDKqNUqLDfUxCTWQBIO8CNPK0ADch7AbqZkVA6EpC9Suexb3Pl18WSMmLirGMApVIN1wXo1atye-brsDp5TRYcIw9luVx47QMY/s400/DSC01433.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Proud parents, Mark and Talicia.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6Kuw16vtxCyPSUY7aRcnTokUA4GBPRzj1mIhSkMvnSZyYv5VO8gwMac3Hpxh9HCnOKRjPPbZuYMbGtd5t5hPpoSclYqYUlKxVyJdkO4G9e7TBnN6lhZBEVwOwKPGOvv93vcYl0GYqBM/s1600/DSC01438.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652236078693567986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6Kuw16vtxCyPSUY7aRcnTokUA4GBPRzj1mIhSkMvnSZyYv5VO8gwMac3Hpxh9HCnOKRjPPbZuYMbGtd5t5hPpoSclYqYUlKxVyJdkO4G9e7TBnN6lhZBEVwOwKPGOvv93vcYl0GYqBM/s400/DSC01438.JPG" /></a> What a beautiful family!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Matt and I were thrilled to get to meet this little guy while we were in Kansas last weekend.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_mQS1KgMyqYNT6yYipkjAlULS3bYfsZwrGr5QEUIIw5QUyMDsfq5YcG49Zxxe8GpjB3x7bfpRCotH2XEM6ahRlYPlwlSo_6H7Z8a4x6qAz-tObSry8JM_ccaucH_1kDIfj9QKcCW7z4/s1600/DSC01434.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652236070091679010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_mQS1KgMyqYNT6yYipkjAlULS3bYfsZwrGr5QEUIIw5QUyMDsfq5YcG49Zxxe8GpjB3x7bfpRCotH2XEM6ahRlYPlwlSo_6H7Z8a4x6qAz-tObSry8JM_ccaucH_1kDIfj9QKcCW7z4/s400/DSC01434.JPG" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1cMybdIrqT2u9UZGbSlYhXXqvJRH8NThr7e_kAAYCEfMgEfqhyphenhyphen4umIHNqWmNqG0WybTvoJCoY5yCmItjWxTxyXruUViP0Mvg9K1RgeWMqIzpTRzDaxVtlzoerR_dPvIQUj6YAeXlks4/s1600/DSC01435.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652236075173307794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1cMybdIrqT2u9UZGbSlYhXXqvJRH8NThr7e_kAAYCEfMgEfqhyphenhyphen4umIHNqWmNqG0WybTvoJCoY5yCmItjWxTxyXruUViP0Mvg9K1RgeWMqIzpTRzDaxVtlzoerR_dPvIQUj6YAeXlks4/s400/DSC01435.JPG" /></a>could have held him forever!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Congratulations to Mark and Talicia!! </div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-31198686550628707252011-08-22T16:42:00.000-07:002011-08-22T17:44:42.615-07:00Advice For My BrotherA monumental event has occurred. My little brother is officially a college student! He moved in to the K-State dorms this weekend and ever since, I have been re-living MY Freshman year (via some MAJOR stalking of his Facebook page.) :)<div>The thing about having a brother who is 10 years my junior is that every time he does something momentous (like go to college), it reminds me of how long ago those events were in my own life. I know I say it over and over again, but time has seemingly FLOWN by since my own move in to this glorious building.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGe674zrTHxjbcyIwXJdqhOJ8qESEowARshtYUDe6k4e2TaU0-3VgUWl2FEL26zI58pthFmFwOKnqW_QSX_lE_0z1O3Z02BrvC-dFanmuST2FGb6GvssoIyADLQg1AoOzFs0b9XXvL1s/s400/P8190119.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643830132004170850" /></div><div>
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<br /></div><div>Ahh yes, Ellsworth Hall: my first of many homes away from home. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>This is me ten years ago during move-in day at KU.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5ACRC_karVci2HnBjj_ZHs7SaQT-T1Ea5KNiQ076UwosOLFKdc-DuJklOd_HwbM5OjcmXJVmCifk-BOUbufwxK3yBE3qkzRYPGnxurftkHXNDuIEtp_3HM-JIkSDDtJzOQOBtIB-0SQ/s400/P8190120.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643835021287670274" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></div><div>
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<br /></div><div>When I look at this picture, I am amazed how much has changed since then! And I wondered what advice to give to my brother to prepare him for such an amazing period of his life.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Sure, I have been handing Brennan bits and pieces of my infinite wealth of knowledge when I can. For example:</div><div>
<br /></div><div>"Don't wait until after classes start to buy your books or you will get way behind on your reading."</div><div>"If you and your roommate both loft your beds, you will have WAY more space in your room."</div><div>"Don't buy the 21-meal plan unless you really think you will eat in the cafeteria for every single meal of every single day." (The KBSI refrigerator full of leftovers is ALWAYS an option if he gets hungry.)</div><div>
<br /></div><div>But all that is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Now, I know Brennan and I are not going to have the exact same college experience. For one thing, he's a GUY. For another, he is at a completely different university. (One that is, well, really close to home). </div><div>
<br /></div><div>But here's what freaks me out. Ten years ago at this time, I was:</div><div>-Realizing the amazing and scary feeling of being (almost) completely independent and on my own. </div><div>-Making awesome new friends and realizing how much my "old" friends meant to me at the same time.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>-Unknowingly (at the time) meeting the love of my life.</div><div>-Finding out that studying in high school and studying in college were two entirely different concepts. (And subsequently emailing my high school English teacher to thank her for preparing me to write for college so well.)</div><div>-Realizing that my metabolism was no longer made of steel.</div><div>-Realizing that I still needed my mom and dad to take care of me when I got sick after spending a week at home with mono.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It is crazy to think that Brennan will be experiencing some of these things in the next few days, weeks and months! (Hopefully, he will avoid mono!) </div><div>
<br /></div><div>After all of this reminiscing, I came to one conclusion. The best advice I think I can give right now, is for him to recognize that this is a momentous time of change in his life and embrace it!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I can't wait to see what lessons he takes away from college, and the person he is 10 years from now! </div><div>
<br /></div><div>And now, I will leave you will a couple other 10 year old moving day photos. :) Thanks dad!</div><div><div>
<br /></div><div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA48zNBGizQyMdDdfUCgh1c92Md9WoFXEd1szNw7rcfa7l4lE0oUqTG_x0iqP7Q5ziImU6abfihInVYk6ke9iG6seGUlA-yGIav3g1S2_HucF78fLbm4ewA9UisG-u5kWljMct0YB334E/s400/P8190122.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643845435866689330" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></div></div></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-e3TeboSskNgjOG3-Opy1gfhZNQJjhf3hKMJjRDU1M0aqiDIdGY1sdqWLyrHELOAqnSOdaAhvC9KNqfWWxrwXn9mSRe2PPFCQT8KZOh2vg1HMPCEPSPXucw1yMVX1qjqZ7KlTufOHYu0/s400/P8190121.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643830017078237090" /></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-75582096508259752782011-07-17T17:54:00.001-07:002011-07-17T18:48:05.962-07:00June Recap in PhotosJune was a busy month around here! I managed to snap a few photos here and there. That's better than I have been doing this month. <br /><div>*I apologize in advance for the spacing of the photos as captions here. Does anyone have any tips for better photo settings in Blogger??</div>At the very end of May, we drove to Manhattan for my brother's high school graduation. I can't believe he is a college student now!! He will be attending K-State this fall. I guess you could consider us a house divided, except for the fact that I am the only one in my immediate family who ventured out down the road to KU! :)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQlJFKJ2eCvzgLc4q2LB-_TFnmooauL6C02Wt6RyHANYGQJb8auWP8x_dfGuY7-DikKISQERMJeRjH53F1sexRjEniaoFyGGaPJ8YOrNYP7HkzhVZ0b-rIeAeOTHRYYhVWfsrB0Zs1Uk/s1600/DSC01202.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630500047524248658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQlJFKJ2eCvzgLc4q2LB-_TFnmooauL6C02Wt6RyHANYGQJb8auWP8x_dfGuY7-DikKISQERMJeRjH53F1sexRjEniaoFyGGaPJ8YOrNYP7HkzhVZ0b-rIeAeOTHRYYhVWfsrB0Zs1Uk/s400/DSC01202.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The first weekend of June, Bill and Barbara came out for a visit on their way down to Santa Fe. We took them for a hike near Clear Creek.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz_rjf48osxZQrZtjiofcR73bK0736YI3KfOnvRi_W51HwpFoagg-9KtBfETdDpa8Ba3KD-jKEW7o5NwDHWbj0SkyWRVRJuf_VP71d3Za-pc2XCjxTWA7sFFgFPVhC8KNcSy1pgjWojc/s1600/DSC01207.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630492325611393346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz_rjf48osxZQrZtjiofcR73bK0736YI3KfOnvRi_W51HwpFoagg-9KtBfETdDpa8Ba3KD-jKEW7o5NwDHWbj0SkyWRVRJuf_VP71d3Za-pc2XCjxTWA7sFFgFPVhC8KNcSy1pgjWojc/s400/DSC01207.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />There has been so much snowfall and rain this year and Clear Creek was gushing water. I had never seen it moving so fast.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUjX3Mzf8opPaqr9LULg11FMei73Ze0nRvoLZHSW24A-LuAtPskIJRrwlakoUz8cO92dnFnbDoXX2s3_SMbhdMHadteRW60P8Ebuv6jbN7aT3EUcirNGG69E4BJWzcer6-pBUO1o1gk0/s1600/DSC01209.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630492330920998210" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUjX3Mzf8opPaqr9LULg11FMei73Ze0nRvoLZHSW24A-LuAtPskIJRrwlakoUz8cO92dnFnbDoXX2s3_SMbhdMHadteRW60P8Ebuv6jbN7aT3EUcirNGG69E4BJWzcer6-pBUO1o1gk0/s400/DSC01209.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630492618490624082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCehImr5DzyA25rQASjePWItT6FzaQrBHKKxc53w5ERqOeTsT-9o-vbnlisf909ur5XprAfhuEzg0m1jgD5CE2e_cn05T_MO9kjWnQ_pGFQ4JhRlWcEin2EjIkDn8e5_FN5dnDNgv_h28/s400/DSC01217.JPG" border="0" />My friend Liz has been bring out my inner artist. She discovered a place downtown called Sipping and Painting, where they literally walk you through a painting. My first one was "Colorado Wildflowers."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We went back a week later and did this one as well. I can't remember the title, but it turned out well except for the bench, which i goofed up pretty badly!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj-2LFWhbAf3ahnBUrE2p74Vd5lnYcILIwLHKUT6EGJl1BU9nZhaecZQDIiE_QGelkB7M8JafuEfR-v9sdrscfvNBIPa1dQFDakd_IFkQTTamxWt6uvmEkCDfEd4lOSRH-vslHYUnKps/s1600/DSC01221.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630492621484108498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj-2LFWhbAf3ahnBUrE2p74Vd5lnYcILIwLHKUT6EGJl1BU9nZhaecZQDIiE_QGelkB7M8JafuEfR-v9sdrscfvNBIPa1dQFDakd_IFkQTTamxWt6uvmEkCDfEd4lOSRH-vslHYUnKps/s400/DSC01221.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For Matt's birthday, we went up to Ft. Collins to see one of our favorite bands, Jack's Mannequin. Since Susie's birthday was so close as well, we all surprised her with the tickets. The four of us had been wanting to see them perform for a long time, so how perfect was is that they were in Ft. Collins for Matt and Susie's birthday?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRcgfpdyydqwDOIVW5zNkeFA7AslRRsOJ4xHa7mciDvgTYSoEgrraWI2QD9VkmVsXm3EFGENdDKWgGFva-IwvDsin4NQnfJe8CL3JVaCog0lWlYX3e7ebMamx6UDj0QiKU3plppPOP7g/s1600/DSC01235.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630496838836446146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRcgfpdyydqwDOIVW5zNkeFA7AslRRsOJ4xHa7mciDvgTYSoEgrraWI2QD9VkmVsXm3EFGENdDKWgGFva-IwvDsin4NQnfJe8CL3JVaCog0lWlYX3e7ebMamx6UDj0QiKU3plppPOP7g/s400/DSC01235.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>At the concert. My head is cut off...one of my more flattering pictures! :)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExI_Kweki2bZ8E3k8YM8BGCWB9R2BCgi381bJYrPCLZjG7GPS4-s7mCarIi5gIBKGicgcwolW_qIgxBRLAExddiz-OlX9E8xQlVus9Yd5r-al3Q5YiTs0dLA-VY1PJ9ZAMZBE-MhO6L0/s1600/DSC01249.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630493785270124610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExI_Kweki2bZ8E3k8YM8BGCWB9R2BCgi381bJYrPCLZjG7GPS4-s7mCarIi5gIBKGicgcwolW_qIgxBRLAExddiz-OlX9E8xQlVus9Yd5r-al3Q5YiTs0dLA-VY1PJ9ZAMZBE-MhO6L0/s400/DSC01249.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div>Later that week, I finished one of my stressful classes. I had to present my project to the class conference-style. Pongo was a fan of my presentation! :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnIGZAbgG-P9IoW5LDILrIOFwBknzRsBnV4ASyDzVhent7zTo5Fwldh_8QwsOaYUJM6RzZBC8ikayXwLwGxgjUZ2rv-guz26xhhFI7e5SYdHCRYTaQwsRqTPi4lEjxG1YXieepHYa-Bk/s1600/DSC01263.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630493792344730002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnIGZAbgG-P9IoW5LDILrIOFwBknzRsBnV4ASyDzVhent7zTo5Fwldh_8QwsOaYUJM6RzZBC8ikayXwLwGxgjUZ2rv-guz26xhhFI7e5SYdHCRYTaQwsRqTPi4lEjxG1YXieepHYa-Bk/s400/DSC01263.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>As you can see, June was a fantastic month, filled with many of our favorite people. It's hard to believe half of July is already gone as well! We have spent much of our nights and weekends bumming around, watching the seasons of Lost and just preparing for our busy busy fall. We had a fun 4th of July weekend, most of which was spent at Coors field watching the Royals take on the Rockies. We went to two of the three games, and ironically the Royals won the one game we DIDN'T see on Sunday. Last weekend, we finally made it up to the mountains for a camping trip with Nick, Carlene, Becky and Jim. Becky and Carlene were both roommates of mine in college. If Anne had been here, we would have had the whole group! I didn't get any pictures during camping because my camera battery was dead. But good times were had by all!</div><br /><br /><div>I think that's all for now!</div></div></div></div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-51343213452964723822011-06-03T16:46:00.000-07:002011-06-03T17:41:08.397-07:00Hotel Del Millard Open For Business!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklwmaJY7eOqbtQSpY2utgycgIlHL-Zv-5m46-lpDniTUf3HBzO8qlmv0znCQvXB3_RBMWlqdFM8pJYYsd6-EoCUwuWO4Ld19C7eM21CJ54UxoAvKwrhDAR-D_L-f70FV0AhAJR5lb4ss/s1600/IMG_0932.JPG"></a>Yes yes, i have received so many people reminding me that my last post was EASTER! It is hard to believe that is so. But I have a good one for you today.<br /><br />The guest room at Hotel Del Millard has been getting a face lift, and a rather major one at that. I was a little worried about taking this on myself (with plenty of Matt's help, of course). I would NOT label myself as a decorator. My tastes are, well, eclectic to say the least. But it was time for us to make a presentable space for our guests to stay. I was certain that I had taken some "before" pictures, but when I checked the cameras, they were nowhere to be found! Pre re-model, the walls and ceilings were all baby blue. One wall was checkerboard pink, orange, blue and green. The outlet and light covers were pink. And the extent of our furniture in there was a bed, a chair and a giant TV that wasn't even plugged in!<br /><br />The first step in the remodel was to get rid of the TV. It was gone within a few hours of posting an ad under "free stuff" on Craig's list. Then we took the bed apart and took everything else out of the room, which wasn't hard since there was nothing in there to begin with! :)<br /><br />We took a little hiatus to go to Manhattan for my brother's graduation. The following weekend, Matt had to work, so it was up to me to cover the floor, tape the baseboards, window, closet and door, and then get to work painting! We chose a neutral light gray for the walls and a bright white for the ceiling to make it stand out. I have to say that I really love the paint with primer. We only needed one gallon of each color to finish the whole room, and we have some left over! One coat of the gray and two of the white were all it took.Matt and I already knew the room would have a red/gray/black theme because we spotted a comforter set we both really liked at Kohls. I had a 30% off, plus some Kohl's cash from a previous purchase, so we got a really good deal on the bedding. In the past few weeks, I have slowly searched out and collected the rest of the pieces. My favorite part was putting it all together and watching everything match perfectly, to my surprise! Here is the finished product! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614153806516772322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nfYR0H8F2TaCCYgDOIsCLvDt9bgvVCv8Cp6xBWsxJe76zvW9Fxy8K5JAJJ7BjRaq5KMFCjK_mxGHYxVL2JOzKhI0RWsAF-gUX-dHurXb7FZEEUKs5tiZB_S63BscjxDPqcQ6xoHOSqk/s400/IMG_0932.JPG" border="0" />I was torn between a red rug and a black rug. I chose red for two reasons: Black would show every. single. dog hair that manages to get in the room and the end tables and seat/storage unit were already black and I wanted them to stand out.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614148409696950258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3QpetfOKjkW2AKNkwtZ1bho4ldKeSRcnylHywkve2FaH6I0t1Xg3Lbj8edrPkGqLpJKjvg8-ccZf-Kr4SbEVAxNyH0U_sa_AI7nNlqUgJ69usqpYlHfTX82uo0-5PcnyPyiNU1S4KRn8/s400/IMG_0933.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />This is my favorite item we got for the room. It's a seat, but it also could be a luggage "rack" and it stores extra blankets and pillows in its belly for extra cold nights.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmf2N6-_NLdHJ-4HdyfyOzGW43rD2hBkq2FTdv-Cd56s6JgoUd8iztlY_5de2Ay8AdnzDuVo1FlM93KBojXK-IvfYUOJAmwstLbzD7n_POnss9zMdAB_TqDVrmbzglcPxFcs-IV_X3l4/s1600/IMG_0935.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614148400070997554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmf2N6-_NLdHJ-4HdyfyOzGW43rD2hBkq2FTdv-Cd56s6JgoUd8iztlY_5de2Ay8AdnzDuVo1FlM93KBojXK-IvfYUOJAmwstLbzD7n_POnss9zMdAB_TqDVrmbzglcPxFcs-IV_X3l4/s400/IMG_0935.JPG" border="0" /></a>We also painted the outlet covers a deep red. They really stand out against the gray wall...I love it! We got the room done today, literally hours before our first guests will be staying in there. It was definitely the motivation we needed to finish the room. There are still a few things I would like to add, such as a couple pieces of art for the walls, and perhaps a small table with a little flat screen TV eventually.<br /><br />Like I said before, I am so thrilled with how the room looks so far. I think I ALMOST have this decorating thing down. Almost.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-27852332378877719232011-04-25T11:04:00.000-07:002011-04-25T11:30:12.565-07:00Just The Two of UsThis is my official "Happy Easter" post. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, wherever you were and whatever you were doing. Matt and I had a very quiet weekend, which was much welcomed but somewhat strange at the same time. <br /><div><br /><br /><div>Nevertheless, we did it up right. Our Easter activities inlcuded standing in the back of church for mass (despite arriving 20 minutes early), an Easter egg hunt in the house and yard, Easter dinner and even a visit from the Easter Bunny himself! :) Below is a picture of our dinner, which involved way more food than two people could possibly eat. (Hooray for leftovers!)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599584944923950034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtRKUnu-lx_DL1JQOINHCWVm7ylh3xqFF1fesKmCFAPUSGzMzwJ2zHuIGUBefLnxFl0_XQpsXOzlUMBgEJpIH-xF2K-LGlMWaIxpULwxJuxZEHbP_bmgkutAOR24fZcb5K-8XkAlZlH8/s400/IMAG0357.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I was able to use and incorporate a lot of family heirlooms and traditions into this meal. I finally pulled out my Grandma Govert's Noratake salt and pepper shakers (hidden behind the bunny centerpiece). They match our china really well, and I love that they are an Irish heirloom from my grandma. I used the springy yellow serving dishes, which were a birthday gift from my dad. I ordered a Honey Baked ham and made cream cheese corn, which are typically found on the table at Matt's family dinners. All in all, it was a very pleasant day.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In other news: Perdi has been on a diet for about 4 months now. As of last week, she has lost over 3 lbs! Only 3 more to go, and she will be at her target weight. I am so proud of her, although the poor dog is HUNGRY. Last night, she finally figured out how to open the "dog proof" dog food containers. I figured it was only a matter of time. They were promptly moved to the pantry. Don't worry, we are not starving our poor dog! She gets carrots to supplement her diet, which she seems to really enjoy. Although she would have MUCH rather have had a piece or two (or 20) of the Easter ham. :)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Only 5 days until the big marathon. I am getting nervous and am starting to ask myself what I got myself into! It will feel so good to have this milestone behind us. However, we fully intend to keep running after the marathon, just maybe not such crazy distances every week. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>My next blog should be a "before" post of our guest room project. We will be giving that room a face lift in the next couple weeks. I am picking out paint samples this afternoon...EEK!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-22381845876016776282011-04-11T09:28:00.001-07:002011-04-11T09:55:13.135-07:00Half Marathon #2This weekend was a busy one. We were lucky to have our good friends Jake and Meredith come out to visit us. They flew in on Friday night and we stayed out way too late catching up! The main reason for their visit was to participate in the Platte River Half Marathon relay on Sunday. So on Saturday, we decided to help them prepare for running in the altitude by going on a hike near Golden. The first trail we picked was a little too trecherous. But we did find a second trail which turned out to be a really nice hike, although a little windy. We were so lucky to have great weather the entire weekend for all of the outdoor activities we participated in. Sunday was race day. We prepared by eating a big pasta dinner at Olive Garden on Saturday night. Then we went home and had a quiet evening watching a movie and falling asleep shortly after. All through the week, the forecasts were calling for rain/snow on Sunday, but when we woke up, it was a typical bright and sunny Colorado day. Perfect running weather, except for the gusty wind that persisted all weekend. The race went really well. It was almost entirely downhill, except for the last mile, which required us to run up and over a bridge/overpass. My mentality was to run faster to get it over with or give up and walk. We ended up running faster and finished the half marathon with a personal best of 2:03:06. That's three minutes shaved off of the half marathon we ran last fall! Jake, Mere and their friend Heather ran the relay, which consisted of two people running 5 miles and the third person finishing the last 3.1 miles of the race. Jake ran first. He took off pretty fast, but I managed to catch up to him eventually. (Matt had to stop to use the restroom at the very beginning, but he eventually caught back up to me.) When Jake finished his 5 miles and Mere started running, I couldn't keep pace with her very long at all! It was a fun race, made even better by having so many friends to run with. Here are a couple finish line pictures for you! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw9e5WBDsz3RVcLuoo6caGyzvtAtbRTMgzD8t0vxkoYvQhBxkMVbOh3Xf9zU4x7Ib8nvgWKtkd8KMz6VMO4rcvDritnzDwwCTPM8_1Zx-vMrZ1IvMLJOTE3v50g-qbL0g6x7Bpi3xtk0/s1600/IMAG0351.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594363843575176354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw9e5WBDsz3RVcLuoo6caGyzvtAtbRTMgzD8t0vxkoYvQhBxkMVbOh3Xf9zU4x7Ib8nvgWKtkd8KMz6VMO4rcvDritnzDwwCTPM8_1Zx-vMrZ1IvMLJOTE3v50g-qbL0g6x7Bpi3xtk0/s400/IMAG0351.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizicBixSAhVILRSieAz-nlLa6VlygUl2PYyw9qvGDyHdRdIxP1w1Ev446PUtv2Jn0RwF6EDFKtm4NKdSAcez_eHgBSL9TM8kRUDDXZ1-3rMlv-H2S31MW5cYcrSBVN0Q5r4Hru3kADWuM/s1600/IMAG0352.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594363848744502914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizicBixSAhVILRSieAz-nlLa6VlygUl2PYyw9qvGDyHdRdIxP1w1Ev446PUtv2Jn0RwF6EDFKtm4NKdSAcez_eHgBSL9TM8kRUDDXZ1-3rMlv-H2S31MW5cYcrSBVN0Q5r4Hru3kADWuM/s400/IMAG0352.jpg" border="0" /></a>The countdown is on for our full marathon: less than three weeks!!</div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-18554529899362840072011-04-06T08:15:00.000-07:002011-04-06T08:31:02.980-07:00A Short RunMy photo blog had a good run. We made it through January and February. Two months! However, as you can see, it has gone downhill since then. I was thinking I would compensate for the month of March by posting 31 (of the 700+ ) pictures from our trip to Ireland. But then I realized I haven't really been taking photos from April either. The thought of getting caught up at this point seems unrealistic. But I still plan to post our favorite Ireland photos at some point! <br /><div>I have really been enjoying the past two weeks. I finished my 6th Master's class on the 23rd of March. The next one starts next week, but it is SO nice not to have to think about school for a while. I have been working on lots of sewing projects and getting caught up on marathon training. My list of sewing projects keeps getting longer and longer, but I am equally excited about each one. It is so fun to be able to make things exactly as I want them, even if I still need quite a bit of practice with my technique. </div><br /><div>Last night, I made this pillow for the living room.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2KXqjS-TMr0L0-oCePsfzfoO-H8ROsB3u4Fnt1zTUZALBfhiDwiDC7PY74VIMvRyQ86LVxVIBzy5oZw96PekGld_0_NGgvco8yOrP70BJ7IuP5Aej_fvWXx0Gwg8jWTjxJsXLOk9nqU/s1600/IMAG0345.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592491953492801218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2KXqjS-TMr0L0-oCePsfzfoO-H8ROsB3u4Fnt1zTUZALBfhiDwiDC7PY74VIMvRyQ86LVxVIBzy5oZw96PekGld_0_NGgvco8yOrP70BJ7IuP5Aej_fvWXx0Gwg8jWTjxJsXLOk9nqU/s400/IMAG0345.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It looks really nice with our living room rug and couches. I was browsing the remnant fabrics at JoAnn and I spotted this pattern. I picked it up, even though I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with it. As soon as I got home, I knew what i wanted to do with it, and finished it in about an hour.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Did I mention that Matt is in Wisconsin on business this week? With him being gone and my break between classes, my boredom has turned into productivity! </div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-47804677362807820742011-02-25T19:11:00.000-08:002011-02-26T09:35:18.335-08:00Where Has February Gone??With the exception of last week, this month has flown by so fast! Before I know it, I'm 11 days behind on photos again! Last week was just a stress overload for so many reasons, but mostly school. My lab was due on Wednesday, and while I worked on it every night for hours, i didn't get it figured out and turned in until Thursday afternoon. My professor this semester is something else! I am thankful that Penn State only recommends taking one course at a time. I think they are spot on with this one!<br /><br />So what else have we been up to lately?<br /><br />February 11:<br /><br />My guys relaxing at home on a quiet Friday night. The top of the couch is Pongo's favorite spot to sleep, no matter what couch he is on.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlWX3gO-mMhHhFhcwHnIDw08aj3YLa122G7PPdqEZNmivQmCZYgtv03zsHtQmkn0SW_JCaISxRYEysLAk6qNjQJIzJKZikNgezB5soQJfZl5BVaQIFivLDpjkrJjSTZTKDrvVS-azpJk/s1600/DSC00864.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577464019256476818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlWX3gO-mMhHhFhcwHnIDw08aj3YLa122G7PPdqEZNmivQmCZYgtv03zsHtQmkn0SW_JCaISxRYEysLAk6qNjQJIzJKZikNgezB5soQJfZl5BVaQIFivLDpjkrJjSTZTKDrvVS-azpJk/s400/DSC00864.JPG" border="0" /></a> February 12: We went up to Copper to ski with our friends Nick and Carlene. This picture was taken during our lunch break a the car.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwD0UYCSCInzUJ-76V4pGmvr1E0CIVXuWwXWwDz2HOTIIXpMc9gZaumQqJcBLAvfRRWL92Dq7YGBs5mz8GLPkWom0f0ijCVUhbdjRx-sxSHKuKHWtbn9Oo__-JApptNmUZHoFwH_HcPX0/s1600/DSC04778.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465991495770658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwD0UYCSCInzUJ-76V4pGmvr1E0CIVXuWwXWwDz2HOTIIXpMc9gZaumQqJcBLAvfRRWL92Dq7YGBs5mz8GLPkWom0f0ijCVUhbdjRx-sxSHKuKHWtbn9Oo__-JApptNmUZHoFwH_HcPX0/s400/DSC04778.JPG" border="0" /></a> The snow wasn't that great, so after lunch, we decided to spend the afternoon tubing instead. It was our first time to try tubing, and it was so much fun!! Here are Matt and Nick going down the "fast track" together.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwb4Lu5dRKh_BH0ggcCuGmGH_zaRpL88mm4ep2GQDwLC1ymUfk98SUNns3TahBjGV7BgEOrTvPdZRuZ2nkihQ9iqgnN2a79VUK4vWK83pj2rHl-SbkSSl12w2xJgsu3iHvKQ5-7AId48/s1600/DSC04784.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465997736872434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwb4Lu5dRKh_BH0ggcCuGmGH_zaRpL88mm4ep2GQDwLC1ymUfk98SUNns3TahBjGV7BgEOrTvPdZRuZ2nkihQ9iqgnN2a79VUK4vWK83pj2rHl-SbkSSl12w2xJgsu3iHvKQ5-7AId48/s400/DSC04784.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />February 13: A photo of the mountains at Copper. I will never ever get used to the beauty of these mountains!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZCFSduVCNkk0MJIOD9Y_R-o-Ob1crsELUEWuoawcoJVYRqxfV9nRgVSxxCzBbRpz8L3yJxv7xsGLI4U1fi6iXmlXKNzuHCRMlqXEIdpz_c09j7efY7OUJ_SOv20mJhJm1xfC3mcfywY/s1600/DSC04769.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465438467170146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZCFSduVCNkk0MJIOD9Y_R-o-Ob1crsELUEWuoawcoJVYRqxfV9nRgVSxxCzBbRpz8L3yJxv7xsGLI4U1fi6iXmlXKNzuHCRMlqXEIdpz_c09j7efY7OUJ_SOv20mJhJm1xfC3mcfywY/s400/DSC04769.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />February 14: Valentines Day!! I came home to find all of this "love" waiting on the doorstep and in the mailbox.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OPEYQo3JbJ3O6YYHdkOOSAkw6RRY4PlxwANav6J3EWgnYqQMBRmfACSzVAwuVvu6ZDl3nkoOYltw4CXhbwjbGe_YUUgWCO3OsRW8Cfucgz8IHt21y6UbQYzhad85znf00-ursADPVfk/s1600/IMAG0335.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577717002971121058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OPEYQo3JbJ3O6YYHdkOOSAkw6RRY4PlxwANav6J3EWgnYqQMBRmfACSzVAwuVvu6ZDl3nkoOYltw4CXhbwjbGe_YUUgWCO3OsRW8Cfucgz8IHt21y6UbQYzhad85znf00-ursADPVfk/s400/IMAG0335.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />February 15: This is the cake I made for dessert on Valentine's day. We ate it all week, so I figured I could post this as today's picture. It's ingredients include: german chocolate cake mix, condensed milk/caramel topping melted together, crushed Heath bars and Cool Whip on top. I added the raspberries for decoration.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE43POuYpebUP8dZtR_uoRixNP1yvD2Cn_MLv-1S-IYyF3OM_sALtUAHeI6bCSXaImr742T1c7U4rYiDGpRgMZ2AiVCKcF70XZdJBubRYnB7xZqcO5VchbzCZvvykUBZcWkZGYGKdi-Y/s1600/DSC00869.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577464021509480322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE43POuYpebUP8dZtR_uoRixNP1yvD2Cn_MLv-1S-IYyF3OM_sALtUAHeI6bCSXaImr742T1c7U4rYiDGpRgMZ2AiVCKcF70XZdJBubRYnB7xZqcO5VchbzCZvvykUBZcWkZGYGKdi-Y/s400/DSC00869.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><br />February 16: We went out to dinner for Liz's birthday up in Westminster. Liz and I have ONLY known each other since I was born (I'm 2 months younger), so I couldn't possibly miss another birthday. :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL81dUDq2A39GeSgkeBoINDwasxFOYe0e6cxX9PS-jTvtdzv0yWdCYjlHIIaUW3S7FS4j3hWAtObVoJDVrk1F7aKxIcGVGuWCZ7fwzWWUV6Eb6auYUK6Iks3PWYa1bouNeLSPt7EJizE4/s1600/DSC00882.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465016419665682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL81dUDq2A39GeSgkeBoINDwasxFOYe0e6cxX9PS-jTvtdzv0yWdCYjlHIIaUW3S7FS4j3hWAtObVoJDVrk1F7aKxIcGVGuWCZ7fwzWWUV6Eb6auYUK6Iks3PWYa1bouNeLSPt7EJizE4/s400/DSC00882.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />February 17: I took the puppies for a walk as I normally do after work. Perdi was so impatient for me to throw the ball that she didn't want to take the time to pose for a picture! She just kept jumping for her squeaker tennis ball instead.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6ccLAEjt5qnP3dN6qvYMqsSFhNPSEDJ6sXGzzo2E0gyuEQfoBLcOCKSB9J-HKyeajyFEZXDhH0-JjJ9-kKeMeD0vunhcFg9U4wjYS2JE6r2t_n2MQoYjVh40d9NuzGoHZm-3xDVT-dg/s1600/DSC00871.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465010409912802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6ccLAEjt5qnP3dN6qvYMqsSFhNPSEDJ6sXGzzo2E0gyuEQfoBLcOCKSB9J-HKyeajyFEZXDhH0-JjJ9-kKeMeD0vunhcFg9U4wjYS2JE6r2t_n2MQoYjVh40d9NuzGoHZm-3xDVT-dg/s400/DSC00871.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />February 18: We headed up to Ft. Collins for a little getaway. We went to the Rio for their infamous margaritas. Matt ordered a "mini" margarita. Look how cute it is!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-tdCm4pQxWvuQFdHuRihh2nB0ZDsRsG-LMaflQ-WDQbva5v9vS32FO4JonNGFKdORfUS9P228vkGpfeuFMcu39c2aXwMRSYQCw5Es2R-_BtEX6aEkVUCmVslZbgAJDjHgX-JFayAAsA/s1600/DSC00885.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465025954802322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-tdCm4pQxWvuQFdHuRihh2nB0ZDsRsG-LMaflQ-WDQbva5v9vS32FO4JonNGFKdORfUS9P228vkGpfeuFMcu39c2aXwMRSYQCw5Es2R-_BtEX6aEkVUCmVslZbgAJDjHgX-JFayAAsA/s400/DSC00885.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />February 19: Susie and I worked on our quilts some more. And guess what? We finished them!! Granted it was Saturday night at 2 am. But we were determined to get them done and we did!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjuVynspTmhFLYtd3B4MYYX4PkJ0Bc7OD_ZJ7AHHRf7euNu_j2hBDTfE7CfZ89MIsHj0rPVlLH0p5fWNVqv0B8viRQDpSAZwOkR54SAliviwQv2dX5yf_D6nWHM-aj2Fygw1WPr0T9S0/s1600/DSC04789.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577466009422321170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjuVynspTmhFLYtd3B4MYYX4PkJ0Bc7OD_ZJ7AHHRf7euNu_j2hBDTfE7CfZ89MIsHj0rPVlLH0p5fWNVqv0B8viRQDpSAZwOkR54SAliviwQv2dX5yf_D6nWHM-aj2Fygw1WPr0T9S0/s400/DSC04789.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />February 20<br />I rest my case that Pongo's favorite spot is on the top of any couch. Here he is, on top ofTed and Susie's couch. Perdi opted for the fuzzy blanket, probably because she was guarding some bones that she buried in it.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdW0w-Y9gX9eF2SBrNllAV33GcuQrxxhAofHVGD7AIduIJdj_yguwO8fi5Fls_jXTxFycHfVrf23irsqf5gZUcsa1fQuEEy4I2mGJrxhJcGnLCCuPGLTA1Jg8U_6SawxgfpRJltnyZlA/s1600/DSC04791.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577463230397567890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdW0w-Y9gX9eF2SBrNllAV33GcuQrxxhAofHVGD7AIduIJdj_yguwO8fi5Fls_jXTxFycHfVrf23irsqf5gZUcsa1fQuEEy4I2mGJrxhJcGnLCCuPGLTA1Jg8U_6SawxgfpRJltnyZlA/s400/DSC04791.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />February 21: Matt and I ran the furthest distance either of us have ever gone to date. 19.1 miles!! It's hard to believe that to complete a marathon, we will have to run 7 more miles on top of that. We ran an "out-and-back" course, meaning we ran out 9.5 miles and then turned around and ran the same route back. By the time we turned around, we were almost to downtown Denver! This picture is of the socks that save my life on every long run. They keep my feet really dry somehow, and do a great job at preventing blisters. I like how they are marked with an "L" and "R" to mark which sock goes on which foot. I have never had socks where that matters before!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwT9rr-w_m_j04Ibr2c01ZzP2VFYpGdRUoZDCFYtUGurr41q6rkXGw3XBWfHnuEMDzDt9NomBTd4_oXiWwUdlVsqIrmr0R0hZouYq-F3MiMJVFhuLHoB__7r_8KqaYYTMcOJj4bQTWP0/s1600/DSC00863.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577463492632932914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwT9rr-w_m_j04Ibr2c01ZzP2VFYpGdRUoZDCFYtUGurr41q6rkXGw3XBWfHnuEMDzDt9NomBTd4_oXiWwUdlVsqIrmr0R0hZouYq-F3MiMJVFhuLHoB__7r_8KqaYYTMcOJj4bQTWP0/s400/DSC00863.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />February 22:<br />This is a random picture I found on Matt's camera from our Janurary trip back to Kansas, but I realized I haven't mentioned this cute little guy on my blog yet! This is my new puppy "nephew" George. He is Alissa's newly adopted puppy, a very cute and sorta shy Lhasa Apso. He enjoys shredding <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjai6VMyTJPldqufaCuoLYokdGpI-AzzTam17turkiLMfCXjiMcgDBYL3rUgUauo2I3Kuv61VHKl16uGRNOFIhEFpPx_K-yAnIRuw1RdDOMt5MXZAPprC-OT4gk087YR1fzaXF0clVXN_M/s1600/DSC04716.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465429771752450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjai6VMyTJPldqufaCuoLYokdGpI-AzzTam17turkiLMfCXjiMcgDBYL3rUgUauo2I3Kuv61VHKl16uGRNOFIhEFpPx_K-yAnIRuw1RdDOMt5MXZAPprC-OT4gk087YR1fzaXF0clVXN_M/s400/DSC04716.JPG" border="0" /></a>paper and walking in circles. George is very quiet and well behaved. I have to admit that I wish our beagles would take on a few of George's behaviors sometimes! :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />February 23: This is the strawberry freezer jam that I made myself. I never knew that making jam was so easy! If you come visit us, rest assured that at the very least, we will have lots of fresh jelly for your toast! :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0Ik6fh2uq0f0mW3zeGFuwKWf8wCS80MbG9g8Y_vw0vDmt1jtq4pCJPIv54lr_FeIXClBZ17hT3vZVLrMyE-0A-F3VJkdzk5EZk7YRpKhkpZL22TAVFnNA2Trg4Mk4Tmypnn1Ct3YYuE/s1600/DSC04794.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577466021418321794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0Ik6fh2uq0f0mW3zeGFuwKWf8wCS80MbG9g8Y_vw0vDmt1jtq4pCJPIv54lr_FeIXClBZ17hT3vZVLrMyE-0A-F3VJkdzk5EZk7YRpKhkpZL22TAVFnNA2Trg4Mk4Tmypnn1Ct3YYuE/s400/DSC04794.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>February 24: Matt and Pongo sleeping are taking full advantage of my finished t-shirt quilt! I love how big it is. It covers me from head to toe. I hate bankets where my feet stick out the bottom when I pull it over my head. A quilt this big was a challenge to sew, but it turned out great, for my first real sewing project! I have a couple more projects in the works already. I will post them as I go!<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyP20XZmnK4svyO59UXrpvFwt-O9Aas5oH5I9aSI1IrbWAHzVQ_D30sHMIK-14c9Lieeako6J2JEj-FeFqRKTWm5hyIIZRP5KTAgMfYzgYg69383c1mR-42V-S4OC7ytzq_b93MyjnjsY/s1600/DSC04793.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577466018146654386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyP20XZmnK4svyO59UXrpvFwt-O9Aas5oH5I9aSI1IrbWAHzVQ_D30sHMIK-14c9Lieeako6J2JEj-FeFqRKTWm5hyIIZRP5KTAgMfYzgYg69383c1mR-42V-S4OC7ytzq_b93MyjnjsY/s400/DSC04793.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div></div><div>February 25: I know, so many pictures of the dogs on this post! I rarely ever catch these two snuggling together, so I <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRqxnMmzan6RjnGXR38cGktfN63PGhK_VLhCGXCF4JqmuvZGoPMSqwfUXexsAJ2e1UOugd4KX1lwIvLucM4sMXOAN9k8ML5jRcHgizcXxMqYzmwFlvU1WQVAhyphenhyphenz9lIgktBGIvvuhRoY8/s1600/DSC04767.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577465431656789890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRqxnMmzan6RjnGXR38cGktfN63PGhK_VLhCGXCF4JqmuvZGoPMSqwfUXexsAJ2e1UOugd4KX1lwIvLucM4sMXOAN9k8ML5jRcHgizcXxMqYzmwFlvU1WQVAhyphenhyphenz9lIgktBGIvvuhRoY8/s400/DSC04767.JPG" border="0" /></a>thought this was absolutely adorable!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-82185416318968866712011-02-10T19:28:00.001-08:002011-02-10T21:24:02.090-08:00Early February PhotosThe first week of February was pretty uneventful. I apologize in advance for the lack of creative photos here today.<br /><br /><br /><div><div>February 2: Bananas are the one food I eat every single day. However, last week i didn't gt to the store and so we didn't have any around. My body didn't like that much. I will make sure we have bananas from now on!<br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjocM-FmhIE90nNUnnJp_koVeJeciww9Rd-fai_QMFKHt_ch2a4DQrnexVPulSGRKHqYYMnB6oAtlGRFQ4_LWblGHYyZhm6a_sV4s57WG-s9Wc2WeipiREXSFKvQUYlDAreU8M7CzStx20/s1600/DSC00858.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572272221861722354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjocM-FmhIE90nNUnnJp_koVeJeciww9Rd-fai_QMFKHt_ch2a4DQrnexVPulSGRKHqYYMnB6oAtlGRFQ4_LWblGHYyZhm6a_sV4s57WG-s9Wc2WeipiREXSFKvQUYlDAreU8M7CzStx20/s400/DSC00858.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>February 3: I have blogged about my love of doing laundry before. It's so weird and I can't explain it. It's just something that kind of relaxes me somehow. Maybe because it's so mindless. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWV88QykTqhZU4I-I5B3OCj0yOBeSWRINLusr_p3OqM5WY_54FczEDDBZMuFhEHvv0AbTe6Qpj8q0klmFqwyf3VlPwAP79Zzx8PTsCavLSvIh3Cob0yDhJiubnYUZbZipIAdQUx6qpM0/s1600/DSC00859.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572284022993987762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWV88QykTqhZU4I-I5B3OCj0yOBeSWRINLusr_p3OqM5WY_54FczEDDBZMuFhEHvv0AbTe6Qpj8q0klmFqwyf3VlPwAP79Zzx8PTsCavLSvIh3Cob0yDhJiubnYUZbZipIAdQUx6qpM0/s400/DSC00859.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div>February 4: Ok, there is one caveot to the whole laundry thing. I hate socks. I would prefer to leave them in a giant pile and never deal with them.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrPmPEfgHinw-zvK3ekp5qHhNgin5tDuikLMViH8y0pr2eoIammJXA4A7tVsyZa1c2IrYl6NjGzNj6XOreNFTS3lDcr_44axz42LnLpWwaDPK-HXKhvXgx_OpM7BRcZ8f6mnHwkO-NqE/s1600/DSC00860.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572272238522076050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrPmPEfgHinw-zvK3ekp5qHhNgin5tDuikLMViH8y0pr2eoIammJXA4A7tVsyZa1c2IrYl6NjGzNj6XOreNFTS3lDcr_44axz42LnLpWwaDPK-HXKhvXgx_OpM7BRcZ8f6mnHwkO-NqE/s400/DSC00860.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />February 5: I went to Ft. Collins for a couple of days of sewing with Susie. The pups came along since Matt had to work. Pongo, again thinking he is human, decided he wanted to do some sewing as well.<br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pTqsWJ0F_upZDHSUVqSmYROwM1ihnmebWNVqujiYxmS8nKqC_tSTKUwOyvvsdoEKF8pnNIo-6G5SBTMHzgq4i9petLPBjIj0kAyhhA3QhJ0i-1UO7I2irfObtG9HhnwQOheaiHmw45k/s1600/IMAG0332.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572272245627326178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pTqsWJ0F_upZDHSUVqSmYROwM1ihnmebWNVqujiYxmS8nKqC_tSTKUwOyvvsdoEKF8pnNIo-6G5SBTMHzgq4i9petLPBjIj0kAyhhA3QhJ0i-1UO7I2irfObtG9HhnwQOheaiHmw45k/s400/IMAG0332.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>February 6: I got quite a bit done with Susie's help. I finished sewing the top 4 blocks on. We went shopping for the rest of the materials and I got some black fabric for the edges, batting for the middle, and some soft gray fleece for the back. I still have to sew the layers together and then cover everything with a bias strip (some quilting lingo I learned). But the darn thing is looking great and it's so big I could barely get it all in one picture!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvf_XojUOjglV0-D6B1GE7aGzs0CKn9ajFgo7WC4L8ncn_XCEZHJ-n_UOKz9tgEAHc7dlT77MzzjlscryrWdPWLdHldv888U6SpY2ak21SQb9y0rZaWyDgsv6NBLbyJw-osoGK-FJ0DBo/s1600/IMAG0334.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsXbnDenmP8JdEJqmhE158nMEK84PH0DLNfNfniC0yETWDXWTZRAMjtrSU9yPYjN7Wl6Is1k0Gb2ToE-cQCbwI85kWBYOV2nUWD4YvfHzHCQUi84ejvMsBxZuksHp_zbOTZxV-900WZE/s1600/DSC00853.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572272249604311186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsXbnDenmP8JdEJqmhE158nMEK84PH0DLNfNfniC0yETWDXWTZRAMjtrSU9yPYjN7Wl6Is1k0Gb2ToE-cQCbwI85kWBYOV2nUWD4YvfHzHCQUi84ejvMsBxZuksHp_zbOTZxV-900WZE/s400/DSC00853.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>February 7: Matt made his secret recipe! It was soooo good! He ended up making Shepherd's Pie with Andouille and Italian sausage as the meat layer. It also had another secret ingredient that made the whole thing extra amazing. I think I will keep that a secret for now. </div><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8OBRgOWw47xNVEs5V7tpIUvGCaT-B7S4NC0D6dSGe0l91K9tJxI1AQgTW5jmyOb8m1B8wGAORzK159UC0ohlpLm5oR4OHSjxeUsb3yL8CwTybuy5qWadaWPU18C_L3orY5y2XnUz_3Q/s1600/DSC04756.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572273029896829234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8OBRgOWw47xNVEs5V7tpIUvGCaT-B7S4NC0D6dSGe0l91K9tJxI1AQgTW5jmyOb8m1B8wGAORzK159UC0ohlpLm5oR4OHSjxeUsb3yL8CwTybuy5qWadaWPU18C_L3orY5y2XnUz_3Q/s400/DSC04756.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div>February 8: We got a ton of snow. Some of the snow in this picture is from the previous two or three storms that haven't melted yet. But seriously, our little house might be buried soon if this keeps up!</div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rkFW9b1fkGX02IkuotCNPajsAIHcuaRtxH4RfH4P9SkNcbIdPyCnLz72q_9TOFbqcHgqBDkUp9S3dFfFE_HHfnoUrLHIzwPNFT5jsSw0WxMi58zJItlRibv99ankpyrPrnzRJ-SihB8/s1600/IMAG0333.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572281582766563266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rkFW9b1fkGX02IkuotCNPajsAIHcuaRtxH4RfH4P9SkNcbIdPyCnLz72q_9TOFbqcHgqBDkUp9S3dFfFE_HHfnoUrLHIzwPNFT5jsSw0WxMi58zJItlRibv99ankpyrPrnzRJ-SihB8/s400/IMAG0333.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>February 9: We officially planned to head up to Copper this weekend so i thought I would post a picture from the last time we were there, just a few weeks ago!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzm7i34BRi_Q2G0ep-PG9naE9kbkVxW4D08llDS6H3fz8ATvWxqYXfj0hRAQXbdND1p4FjNG0IqN9NEn1x9naGC6jirdYta35bNf-NYjLHsyuHQDdDHnZu8ny2IRXAWniKcMli5ya75E/s1600/DSC04701.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572276063201729106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzm7i34BRi_Q2G0ep-PG9naE9kbkVxW4D08llDS6H3fz8ATvWxqYXfj0hRAQXbdND1p4FjNG0IqN9NEn1x9naGC6jirdYta35bNf-NYjLHsyuHQDdDHnZu8ny2IRXAWniKcMli5ya75E/s400/DSC04701.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>February 10: Today, I drove all over Denver to sell a couple of tickets to the KSU-CU game on Saturday. We had a bunch of extra tickets to this game and the Nebraska-CU game on March 5 because CU makes the KU fans buy two other games in addition to the KU game. It drives me nuts! But at least I was able to sell these. $45 bucks...yeah!!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFjETYoOxzYu2sq1xoeiEosEDUIj9LerKvKnMYsMWojvM-NerJ9aSlFz5MkiFtONhUYQ9Xq-tLr_REWkmj30vKkyDzcoG0gLdP-APptY6XG_SGR3PE9vHhD50xs7wgOoAX00TGhIl16o/s1600/DSC00867.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572273049800294274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFjETYoOxzYu2sq1xoeiEosEDUIj9LerKvKnMYsMWojvM-NerJ9aSlFz5MkiFtONhUYQ9Xq-tLr_REWkmj30vKkyDzcoG0gLdP-APptY6XG_SGR3PE9vHhD50xs7wgOoAX00TGhIl16o/s400/DSC00867.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-87761971261675131862011-02-07T18:49:00.001-08:002011-02-09T04:55:24.824-08:00Some More Catch-UpLet's see...where did I leave off?<br /><br /><br />Jan 27: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5TdbwPaNA1EXcCKfhsPwcBGtrtTHsMd_ZvlZ4qQ3X5ucHWbcJdovhi_j6Q1URoVWkTvkkBDkeqK-QHgj7Jmu6R3BMUHVmVytBkKxEm29DPui5yzGgCLnK-jeP9Bjgm0FLn2szubphxQ/s1600/DSC04720.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571149750767927394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5TdbwPaNA1EXcCKfhsPwcBGtrtTHsMd_ZvlZ4qQ3X5ucHWbcJdovhi_j6Q1URoVWkTvkkBDkeqK-QHgj7Jmu6R3BMUHVmVytBkKxEm29DPui5yzGgCLnK-jeP9Bjgm0FLn2szubphxQ/s400/DSC04720.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><p></p><p>I'm not sure why I keep blogging about Christmas presents, but one of Matt's presents was two tickets to the KU-K-State basketball game in Lawrence. We flew to KC for a three day weekend with family, friends and KU Basketball.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>January 28: I guess I didn't do a good job of taking pictures because all of the ones I found were from gameday on the 29th. Before the game, we went to eat at El Mezcal in Lawrence, which was one of our favorite restaurants in college. This picture of unhealthy food pretty much sums up our weekend. For lunch on the 28th, we had Oklahoma Joes BBQ after a 12.5 mile morning run. That evening for dinner, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings with Alissa and Anne. Jake and Meredith also met us there, and they are newly engaged! We have a lot of weddings to attend this fall, but that is another post. Then of course on the 29th, we had El Mez. This is a picture of the best cheese dip on the planet. Not kidding. </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gxVxrLQu0r5F0APwCr1X3d-MpFNoNRNLzITlFMSuAw25qOXh4PO__FAoF-N_M-S4iVM4530A5wvEm0nWOWG69ZKTkuhhGR_0UyEMMF5ehkZNjpRzcQkzPO6xv-Jx79g43YclTR3zkbs/s1600/IMAG0330.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571155534801036546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gxVxrLQu0r5F0APwCr1X3d-MpFNoNRNLzITlFMSuAw25qOXh4PO__FAoF-N_M-S4iVM4530A5wvEm0nWOWG69ZKTkuhhGR_0UyEMMF5ehkZNjpRzcQkzPO6xv-Jx79g43YclTR3zkbs/s400/IMAG0330.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />January 29: GAME DAY!! After a wonderful breakfast and a couple hours of Super Mario for Wii with Alissa, we headed to Lawrence for lunch and the game. We also picked up a few goodies at the Jayhawk Bookstore. KU stuff is hard to come by out here in Colorado! Here is Matt in front of a mural in Allen Fieldhouse.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MnlCjh6zsGq9rJD424_fG-ge_VqphvPtei4tWykirPpGnry7DZdyFwazR0Yz9LtvPyydHXMMpUcggGYWsEl8-OrPmoelUJCCPEbVBSVALHEBci6iJgpK5KvHwaWyHRJz3GlByKaHw5k/s1600/DSC00849.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571153878442820898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MnlCjh6zsGq9rJD424_fG-ge_VqphvPtei4tWykirPpGnry7DZdyFwazR0Yz9LtvPyydHXMMpUcggGYWsEl8-OrPmoelUJCCPEbVBSVALHEBci6iJgpK5KvHwaWyHRJz3GlByKaHw5k/s400/DSC00849.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>January 30: We flew back to Denver in the afternoon. Then it was time for me to hit the books! I had a huge work load of homework due the following Wednesday. Speaking of books, this is my huge textbook for this term. Can you believe I lugged it to Kansas and didn't even so much as open it while I was there?!?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DMv4BAgjLebLn4mgcK5TPYDJjOGLOMoSqQLp8ZM2_nkk-sh_vsHeBp-EfiQOrL-EamobUm49YasI28VYnczujGCDk0GOO134oXyt-PnVYt6nlIrKBkkrFBIhYV-0wTKn63K1aSC8gEc/s1600/DSC00855.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571153309315357650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DMv4BAgjLebLn4mgcK5TPYDJjOGLOMoSqQLp8ZM2_nkk-sh_vsHeBp-EfiQOrL-EamobUm49YasI28VYnczujGCDk0GOO134oXyt-PnVYt6nlIrKBkkrFBIhYV-0wTKn63K1aSC8gEc/s400/DSC00855.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>January 31: More frantic studying on my part. Perdi tried to help, but she got the same results that I usually do when I stare at the computer too long.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZgIhUean1bV2kNtbyieUmq-1jQrP6jsKlC98dQM7y5bAojmrEdyowaurQIzZ6G29KLObwlG7dmbAumc6lmM0AfwUb05xjW2q39Zc0aiKoq8u0M3pUPreLqVpXzvwLS747l6DwJ1W6T0/s1600/DSC04743.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571149748009173490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZgIhUean1bV2kNtbyieUmq-1jQrP6jsKlC98dQM7y5bAojmrEdyowaurQIzZ6G29KLObwlG7dmbAumc6lmM0AfwUb05xjW2q39Zc0aiKoq8u0M3pUPreLqVpXzvwLS747l6DwJ1W6T0/s400/DSC04743.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div></div><div>February 1st: More studying. But on another note, we have been getting a little frustrated lately with the lack of running opportunities with all the snow we have been getting lately. It seems like just as soon as it warms up and the snow melts off the paths, the next storm moves in. Sometimes the snow doesn't even get chance to melt before more comes down! We found a decent solution for the short weekday runs, (**Unless the high temperature is -2 degrees, as was the case most of last week). We got these shoe attachments called Yaktrax. They go around your normal running shoe and give you more traction in the snow. They work well for traction, but it takes a lot more energy to run in them!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruPwTcaYWapR7JEseYYYhEVJU2gUhZhEtfULD5WmScT1cdwH2DHkKRoY8p2LI8jhwWJ3ETMFpTcgKg6NwGNv2KwI1r7i6jdkRkS5_fgPaK4foz-LFwWnENcDkKzO20oj2cHNFKwPMAZg/s1600/DSC00853.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanwjJM_08ZBF8Yv_uVyhvN9HUvfV1ls0QHIJZoxewabdG41v77FumZBqWryu3nozmIqoQBjzE5ssebyg00lsAUSlccCLokOX1M9lG5NCuTmG0cyD1MeBLzZDSEhvMD8YPqU9PQwUvlKg/s1600/DSC00857.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571153293234503362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanwjJM_08ZBF8Yv_uVyhvN9HUvfV1ls0QHIJZoxewabdG41v77FumZBqWryu3nozmIqoQBjzE5ssebyg00lsAUSlccCLokOX1M9lG5NCuTmG0cyD1MeBLzZDSEhvMD8YPqU9PQwUvlKg/s400/DSC00857.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div>Well there...I got a little more caught up and finished my first month of daily photo blogging! I have to admit that it is really hard to remember to take my camera everywhere and more importantly, to take pictures! Its especially hard when I get behind...I have got some good photos yet to post of this past week. I will get those up tomorrow. I really like reading your comments, so please add them if you are enjoying following this project!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-45293616122993869532011-02-01T07:26:00.000-08:002011-02-01T19:08:39.514-08:00A Few Days' WorthSince I left you hanging with January 19's picture, I will get right down to a few photos to try and get myself caught up after a busy couple of weeks. Don't worry...I haven't abondoned my project! I might even sprinkle a few extras in here to make up for my absense. :)<br /><br /><br /><p>January 20: Not a particularly exciting day. I filled up the gas tank in the Highlander. Ouch.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbm-2AWbJEtnt_6DM3spiQI_An_WU6T5ae0Nz2KkOknZw2cagCflcmazJLAHu2zpQkrRvNIbeH0888IfUTVxbkQqj41A2DC3pVWQNhwEXSiFPoJYGSEL63MvOgVOBzob1KfahWTjZeLE/s1600/Picture+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568743723100900210" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbm-2AWbJEtnt_6DM3spiQI_An_WU6T5ae0Nz2KkOknZw2cagCflcmazJLAHu2zpQkrRvNIbeH0888IfUTVxbkQqj41A2DC3pVWQNhwEXSiFPoJYGSEL63MvOgVOBzob1KfahWTjZeLE/s400/Picture+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />January 21: Anne flew out to Denver for a visit. I picked her up Friday evening and we downloaded old school Super Mario Kart for the Wii using a gift card I got for Christmas. It was fun to play Mario Kart just like we did during our good ol' college days!</p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiwPjipYAHqSlMrH9PVx2NpFgtuLj8noJZqPPsZu0I5v5Blbv_oKVUNOrVOcA7sRVK9YtWk3mpwN1RwByHjUCtk5hjpafhPhtzvomrR6_8pRZUG7yfJdJCkGGD8-cN3Lr_0P8_iJphSw/s1600/DSC00851.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568922030237055266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiwPjipYAHqSlMrH9PVx2NpFgtuLj8noJZqPPsZu0I5v5Blbv_oKVUNOrVOcA7sRVK9YtWk3mpwN1RwByHjUCtk5hjpafhPhtzvomrR6_8pRZUG7yfJdJCkGGD8-cN3Lr_0P8_iJphSw/s400/DSC00851.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>January 22: We drove up to Ft. Collins and took a tour of the New Belgium Brewery with Becky and Jim. That was probably the most beer I have ever gotten during one brewery tour! At the end of the tour, they provide post cards which you can fill out as you sample the last two beers. We took advantage of the free postage. :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0jmlX2N9AEyIxjC7u4vfWWN4R2zTOoNFZ-rVDiDatS3zZF-QhxqYQAdQc83pOjS0-5uV9s33brfOqlUOU_0Nw0srav6DKGtIjyavx4AwuXJB2CFRJnoviBtTnAJP-LN8dWw5c8hJ-yY/s1600/DSC00832.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568922045067777554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0jmlX2N9AEyIxjC7u4vfWWN4R2zTOoNFZ-rVDiDatS3zZF-QhxqYQAdQc83pOjS0-5uV9s33brfOqlUOU_0Nw0srav6DKGtIjyavx4AwuXJB2CFRJnoviBtTnAJP-LN8dWw5c8hJ-yY/s400/DSC00832.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlIfWUYxqf9uQxgxMVmHoBdMr8EoHUDquhAW8iDf9MNv8CXjcVzSyuaTKm_J6FmSPYihaqMAZFJgl0khWoO-l4OCcCbIt-6drjxrUOhM50cy8Li0u6QqwwZ4pIpKwtNWC6aEc8YSoauQ/s1600/DSC00824.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568922050533613506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlIfWUYxqf9uQxgxMVmHoBdMr8EoHUDquhAW8iDf9MNv8CXjcVzSyuaTKm_J6FmSPYihaqMAZFJgl0khWoO-l4OCcCbIt-6drjxrUOhM50cy8Li0u6QqwwZ4pIpKwtNWC6aEc8YSoauQ/s400/DSC00824.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><p>January 23: We took Anne up to Copper mountain for her first skiing experience. Jim, Becky and their friend Scott came along too. Look at Anne skiing like a pro on her first day!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZ4lIAF_D4xcGi3C_bSmGJzM-Q_2LuS1We-MMs2YEFpBDhBt4H2gKuNhvIRYKwjYzenESCKfrFhlEARMzCEX5GkotCQKPMlqT8-YINr0iEH0cyLXsRJBJc4u83ARL0UpLWL9VnqizRiE/s1600/Picture+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568743735373265682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZ4lIAF_D4xcGi3C_bSmGJzM-Q_2LuS1We-MMs2YEFpBDhBt4H2gKuNhvIRYKwjYzenESCKfrFhlEARMzCEX5GkotCQKPMlqT8-YINr0iEH0cyLXsRJBJc4u83ARL0UpLWL9VnqizRiE/s400/Picture+001.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><br /><p>January 24: Poor Anne had to hang out at the house with the dogs while we worked. This picture is actually from Tuesday the 25th, but I am subsituting it for the 24th since we did so many things on the 25th. These are our pretty toes after a pedicure before the CU-KU game on the 25th.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VeaTmw_J0CAqG7_90uGSSWRuERVGTh1g8xUIUfBfM-a0oK6K8QSU2z0Y8w7b1JqOLvfiWS7_lo37U0xpZzlC4qdDLkFYtBsQhM2O6RHiu7vrj31AcMJQV-xvoav-Uv2P8fVIFdz2elM/s1600/DSC00848.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568922038362781298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VeaTmw_J0CAqG7_90uGSSWRuERVGTh1g8xUIUfBfM-a0oK6K8QSU2z0Y8w7b1JqOLvfiWS7_lo37U0xpZzlC4qdDLkFYtBsQhM2O6RHiu7vrj31AcMJQV-xvoav-Uv2P8fVIFdz2elM/s400/DSC00848.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p>January 25th: We drove up to Boulder for the CU-KU basketball game. I didn't take any pictures because the game was so intense and I was busy being mad at the CU students, who were chanting things that would make me embarrassed to be a CU fan. After the game, we drove back down to Denver and had a pizza dinner at Anthony's near our house. Don't worry...we didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting! :)<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXVRDpA9B6E8XoRJVJODbETce1jlItmRC9l1vYucR1VyToHi1YV_XY1rcGBLFr4UYX-RkpPdzdb4l2wu1ayRKuHDpGVElAoLKd1xVT6swubi2Xb5KaxI3adALj8rU7Pleha0XoKFxHiA/s1600/Picture+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568743744555624434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXVRDpA9B6E8XoRJVJODbETce1jlItmRC9l1vYucR1VyToHi1YV_XY1rcGBLFr4UYX-RkpPdzdb4l2wu1ayRKuHDpGVElAoLKd1xVT6swubi2Xb5KaxI3adALj8rU7Pleha0XoKFxHiA/s400/Picture+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />January 26: Matt had the day off, so he and Anne did some shopping and Matt bought something he has wanted to get for a long time. It's Andouille sausage and I am really excited to see what he is going to make with it. I'll keep you posted on this one.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrbGnVPcZg_NVKJuoEhasps3jUIIQKozewiTQe7904EbJYAGC6a_Ddb8wPp1psrD_PpGapE1RCRSkyPekjfwP2iudak2Ll4SIgP6OAjewXmhrE7I6Kbp7BIeUKIO9nRMMs3rxh7GbuXU/s1600/Picture+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568748088733834402" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 324px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrbGnVPcZg_NVKJuoEhasps3jUIIQKozewiTQe7904EbJYAGC6a_Ddb8wPp1psrD_PpGapE1RCRSkyPekjfwP2iudak2Ll4SIgP6OAjewXmhrE7I6Kbp7BIeUKIO9nRMMs3rxh7GbuXU/s400/Picture+009.jpg" border="0" /></a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-73946115326452796382011-01-21T05:22:00.000-08:002011-01-21T05:40:44.248-08:00More of the dogs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-an6Ei_9wBMyWSrroz3maC6ZZKuC2Ut5U254wQvWRByjwhM_Ydh7Tunt5xKpJ8hvozp8NbtWUwLioihavwwLINEOiAaxK5SJu3aepqfUY6NLj621jzBx858KD0yku0VOPNs9blHBJOSE/s1600/DSC00820.JPG"></a>Looking back at the pictures i have taken this week for the blog, it seems the common theme was our dogs.<br /><br /><div>January 18:</div><div></div><div>This is definitely a daily occurrance: As soon as I drag myself out of bed in the morning, Pongo immediately takes over my spot. He puts his head on my pillow and snuggles in under the covers. Evidence #2,946 that this dog <a href="http://mountainmillards.blogspot.com/2009/09/cute-one.html"><span style="color:#ff6600;">thinks he is a human</span></a>! </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiTR6YbnKTW0c6xtO9Y-9YOSzWKkJuvb3ctnp66FR0E999p83yFi_Hbev3SA0K3_ekjzYEib-X6IPcM_rveOQrITbNzh7RZjbzcqwzkjuEnVDFj5QlUQ92bgCjfuhQE19KDSHNud2dFg/s1600/DSC00819.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564629629269494386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiTR6YbnKTW0c6xtO9Y-9YOSzWKkJuvb3ctnp66FR0E999p83yFi_Hbev3SA0K3_ekjzYEib-X6IPcM_rveOQrITbNzh7RZjbzcqwzkjuEnVDFj5QlUQ92bgCjfuhQE19KDSHNud2dFg/s400/DSC00819.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div></div><div>January 19: In the spirit of decluttering, I decided to go through our tupperware drawer and get rid of the pieces that we never use or just plain need to get rid of. As it turns out, old tupperware cab double as a dog chew toy! Perdi snatched this one off of the kitchen table and proceeded to kick/chew/carry it all over the house. At first, I though I should take it from her, but she was so engrossed in this new "toy" that I just threw up my hands and let go at it. Hey, it's better the old tupperware than say, my shoes or couch pillows! :)<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAMpBU6fdAUX598tkqdpoVMj8IQypHg7GREXC9KGu47hV4t2AJUIsJdYAajk0ZXOAHtofhDmm0EE5kATh58UEYHUAfwPTDVl-aRrTTVWY02rcNCmRKWRZqDGIUlL5GI6H5jqOym8LnYTk/s1600/DSC00817.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564629631553685442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAMpBU6fdAUX598tkqdpoVMj8IQypHg7GREXC9KGu47hV4t2AJUIsJdYAajk0ZXOAHtofhDmm0EE5kATh58UEYHUAfwPTDVl-aRrTTVWY02rcNCmRKWRZqDGIUlL5GI6H5jqOym8LnYTk/s400/DSC00817.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-51995173527205007332011-01-18T08:33:00.000-08:002011-01-18T09:13:31.324-08:00ChallengesThis week has already been a challenge. I am trying to get over a nasty habit I have started, in which I find myself tossing and turning all night on Sunday night, causing me to only get a few hours of sleep to start the week! This little setback is making it hard to get things checked off my list when all I want is a nap when I get home!<br /><br />Which brings me to the photos of the day...<br /><br />January 17:<br /><br />There are upsides to being so tired. For example: I know I am really tired when I find myself falling asleep laying in the dentist's chair as the hygenist grinds and polishes away. The upside? I am usually a tense, nervous mess during cleanings because I hate the feel of metal scraping against my teeth. Not this time though. Impressive, huh? :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMI4ANVvS-mZde_79Fr9HXDNExeQ2XtEXQqWcBSvXMQK02-cTyySnu4rknXlY97xH4XwWEFJSFxSsKP-QjbyHR0AawW6Kg3l6tpNsYLG8eM3pgegiFQpoJ3jw8LWN1Ftcri8zq4pownc/s1600/DSC00811.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563565703681320498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMI4ANVvS-mZde_79Fr9HXDNExeQ2XtEXQqWcBSvXMQK02-cTyySnu4rknXlY97xH4XwWEFJSFxSsKP-QjbyHR0AawW6Kg3l6tpNsYLG8eM3pgegiFQpoJ3jw8LWN1Ftcri8zq4pownc/s400/DSC00811.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />January 18:<br /><br />I was delighted to finally receive my GIS Certificate from Penn State in the mail. I am so proud of this thing. It represents the successful completion of my first year of the Master's program.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhTLAWp3QLX0eBbEWRKifyVUwwFvWBpx72EsECUjauJoumvyd4dInN_ZE4K7bNr2B5okg5iL5aIRKXoP0UeXDHA9mvFTy9yRTRAewGFoU1_ufL1tSMbDDX8-5LAGTffcuhiWluITCx4s/s1600/DSC00812.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563566470817407474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhTLAWp3QLX0eBbEWRKifyVUwwFvWBpx72EsECUjauJoumvyd4dInN_ZE4K7bNr2B5okg5iL5aIRKXoP0UeXDHA9mvFTy9yRTRAewGFoU1_ufL1tSMbDDX8-5LAGTffcuhiWluITCx4s/s400/DSC00812.JPG" border="0" /></a>However, my delight over the certificate was quickly replaced by frustration during my attempts to get the latest and greatest version of ArcGIS installed on my computer so I can start my homework for my current class. It took 1.5 hours to uninstall the old version and another hour to install version 10. Let's just say I didn't get much done in the way of homework last night. I have a lot of work ahead of me this evening.<br />In other school news, I have officially submitted all of my materials for official acceptance into Penn State's Master's in GIS program. I think I mentioned this before, but so far, I have just been taking classes on a non degree-seeking basis to make sure that I can be successful in Penn State's environment. (I wish I had been encouraged to do this at Purdue). Penn State also doesn't recommend that students officially apply until they have finished the GIS certificate because the competition is tough to get in and having some class work established at PSU helps them in the decision making process. I won't hear until March 1 if I am in or not, but if I don't get in this time, I will just keep taking classes and apply again in April!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-43706460267845109062011-01-16T20:53:00.000-08:002011-01-16T21:39:58.355-08:00Weekend PhotosWe had an absolutely wonderful weekend up in Steamboat Springs. I have some catching up to do on my photos, since I didn't turn my computer on ONCE while we were there! This little trip was kind of spur-of-the-moment, but seeing as most of our weekend trips are spent back in Kansas, (or at least outside the state of Colorado) it was great to get to explore a little bit more of the state we live in.<br /><div><div>I believe that the last time I was in Steamboat was when I was 7 or 8. I used to take vacations there with my Grandparents and Aunt Alice in the summer. I didn't remember much about the town when we got there, but perhaps that was partly due to the fact that it was covered in a couple feet of accumulated snow.</div><div>We stayed in a fantastic condo above downtown Steamboat, which brings me to my first photo:</div><br /><div>January 14: </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg474LcxPTa0ydv1AMR-Kmvuj2K6R93tZ5j0Gz63GBtnTDiqZHnn_v05j38Ir8WM1FzmAzLxP54-OZGVTxwSptu22U4pQhzF3nPYnp4iPkzO7WvIr1WlI9ubjj_DMxQNc4M4QXsnDdIvs/s1600/DSC00799.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563016222394877522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg474LcxPTa0ydv1AMR-Kmvuj2K6R93tZ5j0Gz63GBtnTDiqZHnn_v05j38Ir8WM1FzmAzLxP54-OZGVTxwSptu22U4pQhzF3nPYnp4iPkzO7WvIr1WlI9ubjj_DMxQNc4M4QXsnDdIvs/s400/DSC00799.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><div>Our unit was on the third floor. Everything was pristine...it was like no one had stayed there before! In fact, we could have purchased the unit ourselves for a mere $780,000 or so! Very tempting... :) Ok, so the purchase price may be a little unrealistic, but the "last minute" deal we got on renting was reasonable, especially since we were able to split it with Ted and Susie.</div><br /><div>January 15:</div><br /><div>While the guys skiied, Susie and I wandered around downtown. We found the cutest little kitchen gadget store, and had lunch in a wonderful little coffee/gelato/sandwich shop. We even drove around town a little and managed to not get lost!</div><br /><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3e7HaBzLS1dLe2fkF8_fQHPCw762NaodwaQwbW92YRiGgQXYYz_J9NbvuTyK7rnyL3gVWsYcu504Q4QqpuRLHgI9Mp2p-6XtYDj6XgIsweqt7QXZ_pAJ8hb6n6rI2gS8UNL254ElZWSE/s1600/DSC00800.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563016225854483234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3e7HaBzLS1dLe2fkF8_fQHPCw762NaodwaQwbW92YRiGgQXYYz_J9NbvuTyK7rnyL3gVWsYcu504Q4QqpuRLHgI9Mp2p-6XtYDj6XgIsweqt7QXZ_pAJ8hb6n6rI2gS8UNL254ElZWSE/s400/DSC00800.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><div>This is the street view of the ski slopes from downtown Steamboat. The top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds the entire weekend! Matt and Ted said that one of the sides of the mountain was a white-out while they were up there, so they had to ski on the other side. Crazy! Later that evening, after the guys got back from skiing, we headed up to the Strawberry Park natural hot springs. This place was pretty amazing. First of all, 4 wheel drive is strongly recommended to get to the facility during the winter season, so that should tell you a lot right there. It was about 10 miles from our condo, and most of that was uphill mountain driving. It was dark when we got there, and so we had to kind of feel our way along the path to the pools. Luckily, there was quite a bit of moon light. One pool was uncomfortably hot. Another was FREEZING cold. Thankfully, there was one that was right in the middle. Matt did jump in the cold pool for a brief moment, crazy guy! </div><br /><div>After all of that activity, we were very hungry so we showered and changed and had dinner across from our condo at Beau Jo's pizza. This pizza chain is all over Colorado and it's WONDERFUL. Funny that it took a trip to Steamboat to get us in there. :)</div><div></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp549b690BfCetW-3h-ASnx1Gvbed9kqFm3XxJzy8-MaFZdArn3LC5XRkYYfv3U1RP1NaHT-RERgaeMcoQGUKwralIPu1jSSB1urpT97JYY1sigCBKrmpT33hYty93WLCmn5GE_jMdsI/s1600/DSC00803.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563016228473448978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp549b690BfCetW-3h-ASnx1Gvbed9kqFm3XxJzy8-MaFZdArn3LC5XRkYYfv3U1RP1NaHT-RERgaeMcoQGUKwralIPu1jSSB1urpT97JYY1sigCBKrmpT33hYty93WLCmn5GE_jMdsI/s400/DSC00803.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>When we ventured out to dinner, the most beautiful snow was gently falling. This photo made us all laugh because my camera caught one of the snowflakes, leaving a white dot in the middle of Susie's face.<br /><br />January 16:<br /></div><div></div><div>We got home around 3:15 today. The puppies were so happy to see us when we picked them up from the kennel. They are really tired after playing all day for the past 3 days. </div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QjVfYm2SmdqwY32gURLEhu3XlauJTmBqQwCs3Z694MA7b88qqtVYzcKM_fC57KqFuLWDr5Q13Y1wGY2zDgG55Lk9AXMeoKcMf5wuW4DXxxEzQH77XfCdsDunc0h0BriUgwL5c0RVhwI/s1600/DSC00810.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563022886983973346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QjVfYm2SmdqwY32gURLEhu3XlauJTmBqQwCs3Z694MA7b88qqtVYzcKM_fC57KqFuLWDr5Q13Y1wGY2zDgG55Lk9AXMeoKcMf5wuW4DXxxEzQH77XfCdsDunc0h0BriUgwL5c0RVhwI/s400/DSC00810.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVoV6xP3251oDylHwhSYKB_HDEBmAXwv50i5IL60rekic6rPJIELgpwIDXjSVU70kuGaPDBOhg8wqZXuxLUpu9-RPHVupm9vkDk5Mus7BmT1eb4P8ANXC8dT5WiJyZarqV_vmQNgqzvA/s1600/DSC00809.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563022883059068786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVoV6xP3251oDylHwhSYKB_HDEBmAXwv50i5IL60rekic6rPJIELgpwIDXjSVU70kuGaPDBOhg8wqZXuxLUpu9-RPHVupm9vkDk5Mus7BmT1eb4P8ANXC8dT5WiJyZarqV_vmQNgqzvA/s400/DSC00809.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I am ready to back up to Steamboat already! It was nice to have some time to get away and have absolutely no responsibilities to worry about for a couple days. This week is going to be crazy though. I need to ramp up on running, get a bunch of things done for school, and clean the house really well. No wonder I miss the weekend so much already! :)</div></div></div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-37027308995339235662011-01-14T06:27:00.001-08:002011-01-14T06:31:25.231-08:00200th Post!Today is my 200th post on this blog. It's funny though...I don't really have anything profound to say. All I've got is yesterday's picture, a few hours late. I think it pretty much speaks for itself. We love trivia!<br /><div></div><br /><div>January 13:</div><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlC27PI2ciG401RnfxrehyC-Dy6Kwjy-DFpG6bmQt-oTyyHZoAbJy2cBgK6dG_wIQndwxflx7FjnFygQTAp99LAN9CwN5nGDgZVk9WGVjOwXsmDNTBTenxatUfRupqYYfoNt9BhQSSRFE/s1600/jan13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562049025501387554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlC27PI2ciG401RnfxrehyC-Dy6Kwjy-DFpG6bmQt-oTyyHZoAbJy2cBgK6dG_wIQndwxflx7FjnFygQTAp99LAN9CwN5nGDgZVk9WGVjOwXsmDNTBTenxatUfRupqYYfoNt9BhQSSRFE/s400/jan13.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-28770244539827767362011-01-12T20:45:00.000-08:002011-01-12T21:02:10.946-08:00Everyday LivingI really want to focus this photo blog project on small "everyday" things we encounter. Some days, I know I will struggle with this, as our schedule can get pretty mundane. Work, work out, walk dogs, etc. I do also still plan on doing longer posts when bigger events happen. For example, yesterday's post was a hint about our upcoming weekend ski trip in Steamboat. There are so many things to do there that there is no way one photo could possibly sum it all up, unless I forget my camera or can't find the battery charger. Actually, both of those are legitimate possibilities at this point! Thank goodness for cell phones or this project would have miserably failed by now. :)<br /><div>But back to the everyday events:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>January 12: Our dinner.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtXeRMIEO-a4zka51Ut65DrUiwdYisM3NdeNm9NqgBa-tHKJcOBloRBH3ZwCEbSwMyDAyFDSXGQP9ZXkP62bt9eLETbrdfld5bIhfzHlExfbRAJ15Z84igFJrJkeMsuz11zSDpdJiccs/s1600/Jan12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561529907729538946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtXeRMIEO-a4zka51Ut65DrUiwdYisM3NdeNm9NqgBa-tHKJcOBloRBH3ZwCEbSwMyDAyFDSXGQP9ZXkP62bt9eLETbrdfld5bIhfzHlExfbRAJ15Z84igFJrJkeMsuz11zSDpdJiccs/s400/Jan12.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>One of our favorite things to do in terms of dinner is throw some filets on a broiler pan and boil some asparagus. We have discovered that we really need a better ventilation system for our oven though. Grilling steaks inside makes so much smoke and our pitiful little fan can't take care of it all, so the oven is usually smoky for a few days afterward. Another thing I pondered tonight is how asparagus is a lot like broccoli to me. I love the top part and just kind of tolerate the lower half. We drizzle ours in some EVOO and grilling spices when it's done boiling (bright green in color.) And of course, everyone has their own version of mashed potatoes. I think i will keep mine a secret. :)</div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427235342165521204.post-42004710934936810052011-01-11T20:12:00.000-08:002011-01-11T20:26:15.649-08:00Weekend PreviewJanuary 11:<br /><div></div><br /><div>Today's photo provides a hint at what our weekend has in store. It was taken in Estes Park at Thanksgiving from the front porch of the Stanley Hotel. </div><div></div><div>Our weekend plans involve neither the Stanley nor Estes Park, but one thing is for sure: mountains are definitely going to be involved! :)</div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXFxOcVoHSvmlRGmBgdGS__yAgw36n3tqAZ7sh7oJ2VTosQE-1Qq-nZCTOnu9n5dZcJMki0OYOdNBO3L6Jea9fiEv9KlS0yvwDsJdlsjBzmc03JbQ8rt8hhzqf7QYODC7GDcWy3yj1JM/s1600/135.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561150000403902322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXFxOcVoHSvmlRGmBgdGS__yAgw36n3tqAZ7sh7oJ2VTosQE-1Qq-nZCTOnu9n5dZcJMki0OYOdNBO3L6Jea9fiEv9KlS0yvwDsJdlsjBzmc03JbQ8rt8hhzqf7QYODC7GDcWy3yj1JM/s400/135.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS5T4FlsFpmx4PqYm_M5l7o7xC0apgm499mvkYeQi3ZHcq7GPcrB5HXBZW9_gJcfhRy7n6jumeXQFoZ5Ckn617l4rLflVXt65Z7ugdZVc4vI6eMbA0I6KHFpBFu6Uz0j_jzCHjuSQnPU/s1600/027.JPG"></a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13248235668980487417noreply@blogger.com0