It Goes Something Like This...

Gotta love Pintrest

2011-11-16T08:23:00.001-06:00

Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity

2011-11-13T18:07:00.000-06:00

2011-11-10T18:39:00.001-06:00

2011-09-20T21:24:00.001-05:00

I know what you're thinking:

TWO posts in TWO days!?!?

But before you start getting all excited (all 3 of you that read this),

let's keep in mind my track record for posts. At best, they're a little spotty.

So....enjoy it while it lasts.

Back in good ol' Rexburg I fell in love with Great Harvest Bread.

Forget the fact that I have Celiac Disease

and

can't eat gluten.

details, details

Their calzones, their free samples, their

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

HELLO!

After years of separation from this delectable bread, we've now been reunited in Gluten-free form

I can't take much credit for this recipe

other then to say that I tweaked a few things.

Instead of white and wheat flour, I substituted in

Domata flour

It's a great cup for cup substitute that can be used in regular recipes.

Hy-Vee carries it (at least they do in Kansas City and Topeka)

as well as many other grocery stores, I'm sure.

The first time I used the recipe, the bread came out doughy in the middle

which is a common occurrence when making gluten free bread.

It can be a result of many things

so it's hard to know exactly what I did the second time that truly rectified the situation

But!

I will say that there are three things I did the first time that I did not do the second time:

1. used the recommended 16 oz. of pumpkin puree

2. substituted in 1/2 a cup of applesauce instead of adding the full cup of oil asked for

-this was just a flat out blunder on my part.

There really is no need to try and make chocolate chip bread

any more moist then it already is, as much as we'd all like that

3. only divided the batter into 2 pans

-the more moist, dessert type breads just don't tend to do very well

as bigger loafs, as noted in the end result of batch numbero uno.

The second go around resulted in bread cooked

all the way through *phew!* and it was

absolutely delicious.

Adjustments made for second batch:

-I used only 14 of the 16 oz of pumpkin puree that is called for

- 1 cup of (olive) oil...no applesauce

-Batter was divided into 3 pans (mine were 8 1/2 x 4 1/2)

with each pan only half full.

-Because my pans were glass, I lowered the temp from 350 to 340 F

-Baked the bread for approx. 80 min instead of the recommended 60-70 minutes
(or until toothpick comes out of bread clean)

I don't know about you, but I follow my Mom's practice of buttering the pans

and dusting the inside with (Domata) flour before baking.

The bread just pops! right outta those pans.

One last thing:

my Mom has discovered that

these types of breads (she makes great GF banana bread)

cut best when they are cold. I tried cutting a loaf while it was still warm
and it was a bit of a delightfully crumby mess.

After the loaves sat in the fridge over night, they cut SO much better.

Whether you're baking for your own dietary restrictions or for someone you love, this recipe is a winner

Enjoy!

P.S. If you really love baking fancy desserts and need gluten free ideas, go check out my sister's blog, Becky does "Bon Appetit"...Gluten Free

2011-09-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

Shaving.

It's the pits. truly. honestly.

Shaving with sensitive skin is an extra little treat.

I didn't always have sensitive skin. It crept up on me just before I graduated from college and continued to torture me until a few months ago. I read endless product reviews on countless websites; I went through all types of soaps, lotions, creams, gels- some were organic, or specifically for sensitive skin or unscented, or all three! Yet none of them kept me from feeling like I had horrible rug burn all over my legs after shaving.

Can you hear the little violins playing in the background? Yeah, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.

It was getting to the point where I just figured this was how it was going to be, and I was going to either have to get laser hair removal *in my dreams!* or just chop off my legs.

I kid. sorta. okay, I kid!

But then one day, as I was coveting all the expensive beauty products in Whole Foods, I came across this:

Best. Stuff. Ever.

I was feeling adventurous, so I bought it and took it home. And lo and behold...

It worked!

No longer do I have to be in pain for silky, smooth legs.
I tell ya, this stuff is amazing. You only have to use a little bit for it to work, which is great
because it can be a bit on the expensive side.

So, if you've found yourself in the same situation as me, you really should check this product out!

2011-08-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

Can I just start this by saying that it is 112 degrees outside right now. 1-1-2. The Midwest is just one huge oven right now. Over a month of this weather and who knows when it's going to let up. I'm just grateful I don't have to be out in it if I don't want to, unlike those poor souls whose work requires them to suffer through it.

As many of you know, I've recently acquired a lot of free time due to leaving my job in Kansas City to move back in with my parents while I save up for my Masters. Oh yes, Topeka and I are reunited once again. I finished up my Pre-K job on July 21st and shortly thereafter made the uneventful jaunt over to the capital of Kansas to interview with one of the city's school districts. I was lucky enough to be offered the job and so, until work officially starts on Aug 16th, I'm a lady of leisure. So far I've:

Read The Help, which was fantastic by the way. I can't wait for the film to come out, and I hope that Kathryn Stockett continues to find success in the literary world because her style of writing is easy to follow and get sucked into; the characters come to life on the pages and by the end of it, they are old familiar friends.
Watched way too many movies. Right before I moved, I unsubscribed from getting dvds in the mail from Netflix and then once I got here and saw how dodgy the internet signal was from my room, I also got rid of Instant Streaming. I was pretty sad to see that go since I'd found so many documentaries I wanted to watch. I'm quickly going through my own dvd collection and have frequented Red Box quite a few times; next up: The Library.
Color coded my closet
Debated back and forth on when and if I should redeem the $100 voucher Delta gave me as an "apology" for making me and hundreds of others sit on a plane for 3+ hours, among other things, while we waited to de-ice/take off during my trip to New York this past December. The saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" keeps popping into my head. Too may bad experiences floating around about Delta.
Helped my sister pack and move to Lawrence. Go Jayhawks!
Not slept in. Okay, well compared to getting up at 5:45 every morning, I guess 7 AM is technically sleeping in. Got to get that garden watered good before The Oven gets into full swing.
Went to the Kansas Museum of History (by myself...jealous?) and saw their newest exhibit "150 Things I Love About Kansas", in celebration of Kansas' 150th birthday.
Made a lot of Mom's Macaroni and Cheese, followed by her famous Banana bread here in the next day or two.
Found LaughingSquid.com, an awesome and, at times, strange website. Check this out:

ROYAL DE LUXE / EL XOLO from FKY on Vimeo.

Now I'm off to drool over the H&M website; word on the street is they're coming to The Plaza by the end of the year. Hallelujah!

Home Made Terrariums

2011-03-19T19:35:00.002-05:00

I finally decided to take advantage of the supply of moss covering my backyard and create my own moss terrariums. They aren't completely finished, but they are super easy to make and will be a great addition to the house when spring and summer are long gone. I picked up the glass jars at Savers (think Goodwill) for $2.99/piece and the river rock and potting soil at Ace Hardware. If you aren't lucky enough to have moss growing in your yard, you can buy it online or go searching in local parks/forests. It's suggested though that if you opt to go out in public to find your moss, that you be careful with how much you take, and from where, so you aren't upsetting the aesthetic of the area.

Oh, and contrary to what you might think, the cat posing...that's all him. What can I say? I have a model on my hands.

2011-03-06T20:36:00.000-06:00

*This is a post I wrote sometime in the fall of 2009 and I have literally been trying since then to figure out how to transfer it from a Word Document to my blog . And voila! It's a Christmas miracle; I finally got it to work. So...enjoy*

Sasha

Back in college I had a run of owning beta fish with names like George, Richard (I think there were two Richards actually), Kyle and Henry. My favorite was the beta that would spit water when I held my finger above the water. He was a keeper. I mean, how often do you find a fish that does tricks like that? And please don’t dash my dreams by telling me that you’ve all owned fish that do that; there’s no way. I had never owned fish before this; there were always the cats at home. But fish were the only animals we were allowed to own in student housing, so that’s what we kept. Then I graduated and I moved in with my sister and soon after Toby and Sasha (who technically should be called Sacha) entered the picture. Who knew two cats could be such trouble. I love them, but man, now I know why my parents would always gripe about having cats; sometimes you wonder if they are worth it i.e. when Sasha got closed in the pantry and spilled expensive gluten free flours all over himself and everything else in the pantry. Even after a bath, he was still getting flour on the furniture days later. Or the time when Toby left Becky a “birthday surprise” on her bed.

Toby and Peter

So I bought a fish for my classroom a couple months ago; the idea was to initially use it for a lesson on animals that can live in the water. I went to Petsmart and bought all the necessary equipment, which really isn’t much in the case of a beta, and took the fish to school. I had the kids submit names for the fish and then they voted on what we should call it. Names like Blue, Ocean, Jellyfish, and Sky were suggested, but in the end, Peter won out. Peter the fish. The kids were in love and wanted to stare at him all the time. Eventually Peter found a home on top of the cubbies because of one scare ending with his tank on the floor gushing water, and Peter amazingly unharmed.

Like any other fish tank, Peter’s needed to be cleaned out recently and so I took him home over the weekend. I’m not going to lie, his tank looked horrible; it was weeks overdue for a cleaning. My co-teacher and I had joked about how I had probably killed him by waiting that long to get fresh water in his tank. But it was cleaned up, he was fed, and the cats were taking full advantage of their new form of entertainment. All seemed to be well in the world of Peter. That is until my sister found him dead at the bottom of his tank a few hours later…

The question is did he die because of the nasty water, the possibility that the water wasn’t close enough in temperature to his previous water, or because of the shock of having Toby repeatedly attack his tank. Who knows. The poor lad went to his watery grave that day. And Toby and Sasha went back to attacking each other instead of the fish tank. A couple days past and I figured the good days of beta fish ownership were gone, but then I got the fish bug again. Each time I looked at that empty tank, I kept thinking what a shame it was that it would go to waste. So last night, this little guy got a new home. As you can imagine, Toby and Sasha were more then excited to have a new toy. He’s made it 24 hours under their constant attack, so he’s passed the durability test so far. And if something happens…well, we’ve got the 14 day guarantee.

*Edit: Sadly, the beta mentioned above also met it's watery grave. The kids even dedicated our class book to him; poor, poor Bubbles the fish*

2011-03-06T16:33:00.017-06:00

While in New York, I was able to visit two of its great cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Not far from St. Patrick's Cathedral is St. Thomas Cathedral, which I saw from the outside but didn't go in. When completed, St. John the Divine will be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world; it, along with the others, were completely breath taking. There's a certain feeling of awe and amazement being inside these buildings; not unlike the feeling I've had when surrounded by hundreds of years of history in Europe.

If there is something I've learned from blogging about this experience, it's that I should have finished talking about this about, oh, 3 months ago. A lot of the impressions and feelings that you have over the course of a vacation will leave your memory if they aren't written out soon after returning home. So without further ado, I give you a smattering of the large amount of church pictures I managed to take.

2010-12-31T15:16:00.011-06:00

Forget "The Biggest Loser" or "DYAO" or Jillian Michaels....I've got the newest, hippest, FREE way to get yourself back into shape. It's called start at 5th Ave and 104th and walk down to 17th Street, walk back up a couple dozen blocks, then walk back down again, rinse and repeat from 10 AM to about 6 pm. You can stop at a couple museums and "take it easy" while you walk through thousands upon thousands of square feet of amazing art. Hey, I'll even let you stop at a cafe or two for hot chocolate to keep your insides from freezing over from the blustery NYC winds. No prob. You can thank me later when you discover pulled groin muscles the next day that you didn't even realize you had. TMI? okay.

Makes it sound like I submitted myself to cruel and unusual punishment, doesn't it? Really, it was wonderful being able to see all that I did. The art at the MET was unbelievable, with it's grumpy old men busts and armor, the recreation of the inside of a Frank Lloyd Wright home, and all the art and musical instruments from the many Pacific Islands. I stopped in and saw the Library, with its grand construction, and guards who had to constantly tell people to constrain themselves from taking pictures in forbidden sections. I had wanted to go to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, but I apparently missed the memo, because I showed up and was informed it was now in Washington D.C. *sigh*. I was able to go to The Jewish Museum located across the street from the MET. They had their large display of menorahs dating back centuries, in honor of Hanukkah, which was underway while I was in NYC. I've always been interested in my Jewish heritage, so it was a great stop to take.

Of course there were the stops at Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, which I didn't go up inside; I was satisfied with seeing it from below. I stepped inside of Macy's on 34th street, but my gosh, I was about swallowed whole by Christmas Cheer and red. Oh the red...it was like Santa threw up all over the place. I made it a whole, oh, 200 feet inside the doors before I had to turn around. It was fun while it lasted.

My friend Vanessa lives not too far from Cafe Lalo, which is featured in one of my all time favorite movies "You've Got Mail". Remember, it's where Joe Fox goes to meet Kathleen Kelly and she's waiting for him with her book and rose? I stopped in and grabbed a cup of hot chocolate before heading out for the day. It's a cute cafe that serves all these amazing different brunches from around the world. If I had someone with me or a book to read I probably would have stayed to eat there, but as it was, I felt a little silly drinking a hot chocolate by myself there, so off I went. Tom's Restaurant from "Seinfeld" was all just down the street from Vanessa's apt. I had every intention of going in to eat while I was there, but just didn't get around to it; saved for the next trip there I suppose. OH, and did I mention the THREE story H&M that I had the absolute pleasure of going to? I'm in love. Remind me again why H&M hasn't gotten their act together and put a store in KC?

Onto a ridiculous amount of pictures.

I almost forgot about the rockin' gluten-free Italian restaurant Daniel and I ate at in Greenwich Village called Risotteria. Unlimited gluten free bread sticks throughout your meal and excellent pizzas and paninis, among other things. Oh man, so good!

Next Post: Emily Goes a-Churchin' aka How Cathedrals Took Up Half of My Camera's Memory

2010-12-19T22:16:00.003-06:00

Loved how the street signs in the subway were done in tiles

This trip to NYC was pretty spur of the moment; my brother had tickets to go see KU play in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden and asked if I wanted to go, I said yes, and a few weeks later I was boarding a plane bound for JFK (which is a huge story in itself....let's just say Delta ended up giving me a plane voucher for all the "fun" i got to put up with).

My brother, Daniel, lives on Long Island and the semester was still going at Hofstra, and my friend Vanessa, who I stayed with on the Upper West Side, had work, so I was pretty much on my own during the day. To say I was nervous at the idea would be an understatement! I'm used to driving my car, with my trusty GPS, because I easily get myself lost in cities I've lived in for years. Suddenly, I was going to be navigating a subway and bus system in a huge city I had never been in before; this screamed disaster for my directionally-challenged self.

This is where Apple's App store really steps it up.

Vanessa's roommate told me about an app called Hop Stop, and it was a life saver. The night before I went out, I mapped out where I wanted to go for the day, and it told me what train or bus to hop on, and what direction to go from the station to my destination. And surprise, I'm still alive! I didn't get myself lost, and I'd like to think that maybe I got to experience NYC in a little different way then most tourists get to.

For instance, my observations of the "Look Ma, no hands!" subway and bus riders.

Remember back to when you were in elementary school and the cool thing to do was to show off by riding your bike with no hands? You would use your knees to nudge the handlebars or better yet, you had such control over your body and balance, that just by shifting your weight the slightest bit, you could make your bike go in whatever direction you wanted?

Well, suddenly you're all grown up and you're living in a big city, and you don't have your cool bike tricks to impress people with. Next best thing? Public transportation. There were people who had just the right way of spreading their legs out and evenly distributing their weight so they stood still while the train lurched back and forth, all without touching a thing. Or they started walking towards the front of the bus while it jolted to a stop, all with these fluid movements, you swear they were ice skating. Granted, after a couple days and numerous rides up and down Manhattan, I was starting to get the hang of it; it all came from watching those pros and trying their tricks. But all I could do was keep envisioning these stone faced New Yorkers as 10 year olds, showing off on their bikes as they sped down the street without holding onto their handle bars.

2010-12-13T18:53:00.004-06:00

(St. John the Divine Cathedral Upper West Side)

NYC 2010 pre-Post:

A little something to tide you over

2010-11-24T19:47:00.005-06:00

I have a love/hate relationship with glasses, among other things, but that's another story. Glasses. I started wearing, really wearing glasses when I was 16. Before that, I was one of those kids that went to Hot Topic and bought the "I want to look cool and wear glasses but my eyesight rocks" fake glasses. Seriously? Seriously. And it continued to seem cool right up to the point when I had to get real glasses. How that makes any sense, I really don't know. Maybe the fact that all of a sudden I went from tricking people into thinking I had poor eyesight to not being able to drive without lenses. What's cool about that? Right.

So I got glasses and to this day, unless I absolutely have to wear them, they were tucked away. I'm constantly getting the "You wear glasses?" line. People always think they're reading glasses, or I just got them, or I'm one those "I like to wear fake glasses to look smarter" people (as if I'd ever do something like that...). But you know, I'm getting older and suddenly I find myself feeling very much like a grandma, because where I used to be able to watch TV without them on, I now have to wear them to type on the computer. Ouch. Can someone hand me my Polident and cane? Oh, and my wooden dentures are ready to be picked up at the carpenters. Thanks.

Why don't I just get contacts? That's what you're asking yourself, right? No see, that would be too easy. How would I fill the hours of my day if I no longer had to spend endless moments trying to remember where I last set down my glasses *another senior moment? And besides, the world just looks so much better when everything has that hazy halo around it; everyone looks a bit more attractive too. Truth.

Well now it's been almost 3 years since I got my last pair. Not having vision insurance really stinks, but thankfully there are places like Warby Parker that exist, and my friend V-ness. Vanessa has some pretty rad taste in just about everything, and she mentioned Warby Parker on her blog awhile back. I had to check this place out for myself. $95 for a pair of glasses, lenses included? And they'll ship you 5 pairs of glasses to try on for free at home!? Believe it. I checked it out, fell in love with the pair at the top of this post, and they're on their way to me as we speak. I tried on a few more daring styles, and trust me, I wanted them to work out, but they just didn't look right. But hey, these ones cute and it sure beats $300+ out of pocket that could've happened.

So will you see me walking around with glasses all the time now? Time will tell.

My name is Emily, I'm 25 years old, and I'm a closeted glasses wearer. Deal with it.

Moving Moving Is So Fun!

2010-07-30T16:52:00.002-05:00

Yikes, I am quite a lazy little blogger these days. Lack of things to say? Laziness? A little of both? probably.

Well it's moving weekend and the Kansas humidity is doing its very best to make me melt into a puddle of stressed out mess. If I could fast forward to tomorrow night when everything should be done, I would completely do it. But as it is, I'll have to be content with 24+ more hours of boxes, multiple commutes between the apt and the house and packing tape. Oh the packing tape.

My sister Lola flew into town yesterday for her 20 year high school reunion; it's always great to have her here, even if its just for a little while. And we'll be celebrating my Mom and sister's birthdays on Sunday. Quite the momentous weekend we have going on here. Between all of these events, it's a good thing I've taken the first part of the work week off.

Well, just wanted to pop in 7 months after my last post and say yes, I am actually still alive, doing brilliant, and may or may not post again soon. We'll see. No promises, you little lovelies :)

Someday

2010-01-30T22:55:00.003-06:00

i would like to go visit South Carolina. It all started when I was reading Message in a Bottle. Nicholas Sparks' description of the land plus the character of Garret did it for me. And then people go and post pictures like this on Facebook:

and it's all I can do not to book a flight and go. I want to go tromping through Charleston, go comb the beaches, and then hole up in a B&B at night and read. A total loner trip for sure; just a few days to kill and nothing in particular to do but relax. Someday!

Mormon Women

2010-01-25T22:06:00.002-06:00

I ran across this website yesterday and I can't stop reading the articles. It has amazing interviews with strong, smart LDS women speaking on various topics, but ultimately each one shows how these women are living successful lives in various professions and parts of the country in which the gospel plays a big part.

I know it's horrible to have these stereotyped assumptions about women from Idaho and Utah, and I know they aren't all like this, but I did find with a lot of women from there that there was this projected view of what a "good mormon women" should be, and I was really turned off to it. I did not see myself fitting into this mold and between that and many other things, I started to really believe that I needed to find a different way to live, because I obviously wasn't going to be successful as an active LDS woman.

I won't go into details, other then to say that I went through a time after graduation where I was trying to get by with as little church involvement as possible. I was miserable and frustrated. But thankfully I had some great girls in my ward that reached out to me and made me feel welcome and I slowly found my way back to attending church. And it's been in the last 6 months that I've really felt the huge pull to put the gospel to the test again. M.P. in her interview "Turning to the Atonement" stated it really well :

"I think I was too caught up in the...details and I failed to see the big picture and the amazing beauty of the Gospel. I didn’t understand that if you live the principles, if you really put what we believe into action, you’ll see how true the doctrine really is. And it is true! I know that now."

I'm learning that the big picture isn't about what kind of woman other women think I should be, or fitting into stereotypes. I can still be me and have a relationship with God and live his gospel. I'm finding myself again in this journey, and rediscovering the immense blessings, joy and peace that come with living the way I should be.

The PEN Story...love love love it!

2010-01-22T07:56:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the Midwest, the new Antartic

2010-01-07T09:05:00.003-06:00

As I've listened to the wind howl outside my window all night long and I looked up the weather this morning (it currently feels like -16 with the windchill) I cannot even begin to say how glad I am that I don't have to brave it to go to work. I got a text this morning from my co-teacher that the school had been closed for the day, along with many school districts I'm sure. It isn't going to get much better tonight or tomorrow, according to forecasts. It's supposed to reach -25 with windchills tonight and tomorrow! It's craziness!

And yet I'm always brought back to the memories of going to college up at BYU-Idaho when I hear these temperatures. I didn't have a car through college and winters were brutal. Nose hairs freezing instantly after stepping outside? Totally happened. Walking 20-30 minutes at a time to get to class/work in -30 weather? Been there, done that. And the wind was absolutely horrendous; it would easily knock you over at times. I don't know how I lived through it! Haha okay, well I guess I do. It's called I had bronchitis at least once a year, if not twice, and pneumonia once. And some little thing about wanting to graduate, so I sort of had to toughen up and brave the cold.

Granted the moisture level in the air makes the cold weather different here then it does in Rexburg. But I tell you what, having a car for these past 2 years really has spoiled me. That's fine by me though; I'm happy to stay here curled up in my warm bed. And if school wants to close again tomorrow? I would not be oppossed.

2009-12-31T12:36:00.002-06:00

The Steamer- my new best friend

2009-12-01T16:39:00.007-06:00

Okay, so the title is a little misleading. I have not just discovered my love for steamers; I grew up eating steamed vegetables and used one throughout college. BUT I did just learn that it need not stop at the vegetables. You can, in fact, steam other foods in that beauty; namely: Tilapia.

Now, if you don't like fish, you could probably care less about this post and will probably stop reading right here, so thanks for stopping in and don't expect another post out of me for a month or two; I've become boring in my post college life and don't have much to say. hah!

Anyways, where was I. Oh yes. Tilapia. in the steamer.

It's amazing really.

I had been craving Tilapia for awhile now, but I wanted some variety other then baking it in the oven, while still cooking healthy. So I poked around the internet and quickly came upon this man's (I only assume it was a man, which I'm almost positive it is) website that shows you how to cook your fish by steaming it on the stove, along with vegetables right in the same steamer. The instructions and pictures are a bit white trash and hokey, but hey.

I was a little skeptical at first,but decided to give it a go.

I already have a steamer that fits inside my pot so I forwent the strainer idea, but I'm sure it works just the same. I also didn't have whole peppercorns lying around when I found the recipe, so I just skipped that step and put the seasonings on when asked for later. I chose to use zuchinni this time instead of peppers for the vegetable. But when it was all said and done?

AMAZING. It tasted so good and I loved the simplicity of it. No oils or butter, just the fish and seasoning. This has become one of my new favorite recipes for when I feel too lazy to cook but want something delicious that doesn't come from the dollar menu and up my cholesterol. And I love that you can throw the fish in there frozen (which I did). If nothing else, steaming your fish for a few minutes dethaws it really quickly so you can go on to cook it another way.

As for other fish, I'm sure it works just as well. Play around with it.

Dropcloth Drapes

2009-10-17T14:10:00.003-05:00

You may or may not be surprised by the fact that I LOVE looking at DIY blogs! I love reading these women's ideas on how to decorate your home for cheap. Between these blogs and Etsy.com, I could waste a lot of time...or do waste a lot of time. Oops? A reoccuring post that I see on these blogs is different ways to utilize Dropcloths. Who would've thought? They're being used as pillow covers, tablecloths, slipcovers and complete upholstry redo's, as well as drapes. Genius! I love drapes but my wallet does not love the price of the good ones, so I've always held off getting any. This is when you hightail it to Lowe's or Home Depot. For $9.99 you can purchase a 9x6 Dropcloth that is already hemmed only all 4 sides.

I only bought one today, but I may change my mind and eventually buy another one to go on the same window. Target was the next stop, to purchase drapery rings for $8 and I was good to go. When we moved into our current apartment, my sister gave me a curtain rod she wasn't using, so that was free (which I'm all about!). So for under $20 I was able to update my window treatment. Not too shabby! I placed the curtain rod about a foot above where the actual window ends to create the illusion of taller ceilings. Some people choose to cut the Dropcloth so that it barely touches the floor while others just leave it piled on the floor; I chose not to trim off the excess. I'm still debating on whether I want to stencil print a design on the curtain; I sort of like it's raw natural look, so we'll see.

Please ignore the horrible quality of these pictures.

Oy Vey!

2009-10-08T22:26:00.003-05:00

I haven't taken a vacation since May and I am definitely feeling it! Alright people, where should I go next?

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

2009-09-30T21:51:00.003-05:00

This past month at work, we've been teaching under the theme "All About Me", with this week being about our 5 senses. As soon as I started to prepare my lesson plans, I knew one thing that had to be included on the day I taught sense of smell: Pumpkin Pie Playdough. I stumbled across this recipe last Fall when I went online to find a new twist to traditional playdough since I don't really like the smell of playdough or how it leaves my hands feeling.

To say the Pumpkin Pie Playdough was a hit in my classroom would be a huge understatement! Everyday for weeks they were asking to play with it; I would have all 12 kids (I was teaching on my own for a couple months there and I could have up to 12 kids in my class by myself) sitting at various tables smashing and molding the orange dough for a good 30-40 minutes. Not only was the texture better then store-bought dough, but it made my room smell amazing! Everyone walking through my door would comment on how it smelled like someone was baking.

The first recipe I used resulted in a huge amount of playdough; more then I ever would need considering the recommended one-week shelf life (the downside to using a recipe that calls for ingredients all found in your pantry). This time around, I decided on a slightly different recipe that also yielded great results. I chose to leave out all the food coloring, so instead of the dough being orange, it is an oatmeal color. The orange does add to the Pumpkin effect however it can slightly dye your hands, so I suggest leaving it out.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon veg. oil
1 cup water

Combine dry ingredients in saucepan
Add oil and water and whisk until smooth
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (very important!) until it forms a ball
Turn onto counter, let cool slightly and then knead on floured surface until smooth.
Store in airtight container

Bob Dylan -Goin' to Acapulco

2009-09-11T20:05:00.002-05:00

Love the song, love the shot from this film, strangeness and all.

They could create a whole other movie based just on this scene.

Labor Day Picnic

2009-09-07T21:56:00.009-05:00

Picnic up on KU's campus

Joke!

Someone in our family has been obsessed with Settlers of Catan. I won't mention names...*cough*Daniel*cough*

The strange fungus growing on a nearby tree that did NOT join us for our picnic

Pictures from City Market

2009-08-16T17:16:00.020-05:00

City Market

2009-08-15T15:59:00.004-05:00

In 2002 I was 17 years old and embarking on my first plane ride alone to spend 6 weeks with my sister and future bro-in-law in Seattle. I immediately fell in love with the green Northwest with its trees, mountains, islands, and quirky rainfall. I went rock climbing and windsurfing for the first time; visited a relative out on Lopez Island, and jaunted down to Astoria, Oregon to dip my toes in the waters at Cannon Beach and seek out Goonies haunts. And then we visited the infamous Pike Place Market *sigh*. Yes, Pike Place Fish was entertaining and fun to watch, but I was completely taken with all the local vendors that had brought their fresh produce and flowers to sell in the heart of Seattle. I had never seen anything like it. I was determined to find a way to end up living in downtown Seattle just so I could walk down to Pike Place to do my grocery shopping.

Ah, the dreams of 17 year olds that don't know the first thing about rent prices.

Well I returned to Topeka where Pike Place dives didn't exist and pushed any ideas of Farmer's Markets out of my head. It was during my plan to return to the States in 2008 that I ran across a website about Overland Park's Farmer's Market. I couldn't wait to hop down there some Saturday morning and buy my food straight from the person that grew it. Of course I moved here while it was still winter, so that wasn't possible, and it wasn't until a year later that I finally became ventured to downtown OP. My first time down I did what most people do (or maybe I'm the only one, who knows!) and just bought from the first vendors that had food that looked good. Now that I've been to a few Markets I've learned to scan the different vendors looking for the best produce at the best price. And then of course, because of my love for little old men, I ended up buying the sorriest looking scraps of carrots from these two elderly men because I felt sorry that no one was coming over to their booth. And yes, I did try the carrots; they weren't horrible but definitely weren't great.

My ultimate goal in all of this was to drive down to City Market; from the pictures and descriptions I'd seen, it sounded like the closest I was going to get to a Pike Place here in KC. So finally, after living here for a year and a half, I went, along with my brother and sister. Between all that built up anticipation and my experience with Pike Place, City Market didn't wow me by any means, but I did love it. The vendor size was considerably larger then in Overland Park, and there was a wider variety of produce and merchandise being sold. The other thing I really enjoyed were the specialty grocers and shops enclosing the Market square. We stopped for some gelato which, according to Becky, was "very good ice cream, but still not gelato", and wandered through the open air grocery shops that sold regular produce you would find at your local Price Chopper, but sold to you by a little Italian man telling his customers "You come buy from me and I'll take care of you, but no one ever takes care of me".

Got to love it.

So overall I enjoyed going and will definitely be making more trips back. I for sure will continue to shop at my local Farmer's Market; there's something about learning exactly where and how your food was grown and having that personal contact with the farmer that makes it that much more enjoyable to cook and eat. Do a little research and see what your area offers in the way of Farmer's Markets; you'll be surprised how fun grocery shopping can become.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T06:18:00.001-05:00

Ball Game It Up

2009-06-10T17:17:00.004-05:00

Apparently even 3 year olds get swept up into the frenzy of baseball season. I was at work one morning, with my small group of kids that show up before 7:30AM; a few were sitting down eating their breakfast, the others were scattered around the room playing. It was relatively quiet and I getting lesson plans sorted out when suddenly the silence was broken:

"Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd! Buy me some peanuts and CRACCCKERJACCCCCKKK!..."

This child was singing with such passion, such sincerity, that you would have thought she was smack dab in the middle of some Major League baseball stadium, serenading Babe Ruth himself. My initial teacher reaction was to turn around and tell her to use her inside voice, but then I caught myself. It was all just too bizarre; I had to hear the rest of it. So she continued:

"...I don't care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win it's a SHAM!..."

Yes, she did in fact say 'sham' instead of 'shame'. Which you know, if she were singing this song in reference to the Black Sox Scandal, then okay, that would work. But anyways, since this blessed first time, she has indulged us with a daily performance, and every time it is a 'sham'. It still hasn't gotten old. And when she gets to:

"For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, at the old ball game"

you would think she was holding up a megaphone; she screams it at the top of her lungs, with a dramatic pause in between each number.

What possibly makes it even better is the fact that during this whole event, the other children were acting completely oblivious; they might as well have been deaf. But they must have been listening because every once and a while one of them will try to start the song up but are promptly corrected and dismissed from performing by Miss Crackerjack herself, who then treats us to another performance.

coffee shop cover

2009-04-17T17:28:00.001-05:00

I heard this song on some phone commercial (I think?) and I loved it. Well when I went to youtube to find out how to play it, I stumbled across this, and wow...this guy's voice. beautiful.

Trip down memory lane

2009-04-04T14:11:00.004-05:00

As I was reading posts on my good ol' Xanga account (you know, the blogger of yesteryear) I came across this post from May 2006. My roommate Katherine, or Kafrin if you will, and I decided to stay in our 12 girl house during a break and agreed to clean out a shed in the backyard in return for free rent during the break. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into:

Mutant Bees and Dusty Lungs
"Over the break my roommate Katherine and I agreed to clean out the back shed in exchange for living in the house for free between semesters. Everyone figured it would only take us 2 1/2 hours at the most, which sounded great. Pay $50 or work for 2 1/2 hours? It was a no brainer. Little did we know that 2 1/2 hours would turn into 2 1/2 hours on Monday and 1 1/2 hours on Friday, with still more shed to go. I think they must've bombed a small house and placed the evidence in that shed, because we hauled out more scraps of wood, metal and moldy, soggy boxes out of that tiny space then I ever thought possible. Not only that, but then there was a good inch of sawdust covering the floor around loads of boxes and other such furniture that I'm not quite sure why the owner's are keeping. By the time we were done on the first day, I had blown my nose and I'm quite certain the whole Sahara Desert came out. Yesterday wasn't nearly as bad until Katherine called me over to inspect a rather large insect that was crawling on the wall. Figuring it was some weird spider or centipede like we'd found before, I thought nothing of it, when in reality I should've had on the freakin army of the Elves or something, because I was in for a treat. Hanging out on the wall was the biggest bee I had ever seen in my life. It was one of those black, big boned, furry type bees with the spot of yellow on its upper body. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. I would try and find a picture but I swear, it was an Abbington shed mutant bee or something. I could've put a leash on it and taken it for a walk....it was massive! Okay, anyways, after spazzing out for awhile, we took action. With a swift move of the broom, Katherine got it tangled up in dust and cobwebs that we had just swept up and then I so reverently placed a cinderblock on the beast and ended its reign of terror.
And so...we still have more shed to clean."

Oh the memories I will forever have because of that house.

Comedy Hour in the Elephant Room

2009-04-02T16:53:00.003-05:00

One of my little girls kept coming up to my co-teacher and me and telling us that she was going to be a flower girl, but then she would run off. The last time, she ran up to me and once again said she was going to be a flower girl. I said "Oh yeah?" and she nodded and then

"Yes, I'm going to be the flower girl and my friend is going to be the bear!"

"Oh, you mean your friend is going to be the ring bearer?"

"No, he's going to be the bear!"

Then, when the kids were laying down for nap, I look over and one of my boys is laying there chanting over and over to himself

"Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go Calliou."

We have a Calliou game on our classroom computer. Well, at least he's got his basketball priorities right. Right? :)

10 Things

2009-03-13T22:47:00.003-05:00

So yeah, I've been avoiding a new post because, as my sister Lola has said, it can be a bit daunting to post something after such a long time. But no more! I'm taking a queue from a blog I've been reading; she frequently posts 10 things about her life. Nothing big, unless that's what has been going on. But mostly just the small things; things that on their own may not feel post worthy. So ready, set, 10 things!

1. Gum comes and goes into my life in waves. And it's back! And when it's in my life, it is IN my life. Seems like I always have to have it in my mouth. And then I'll suddenly go cold turkey and not chew it for months. I'm chewing "5 gum"...spearmint and the fruity blast are my fav right now.

2. A little boy who will be starting in my classroom on Monday stopped by today with his Mom. We were getting ready for lunch and one of my little boys went over to my co-teacher, who was setting up lunch. He took one look at the food and said "What the hell is that?". Thankfully it was loud enough in the room that no one but my co-teacher heard him....at least that's what we'd like to believe!

3. I'm still hooked on making smoothies.

4. There is a major clothes slump going on in my closet. I hate spending money on clothes and I feel like I need to branch out and try things I wouldn't usually wear. Basically I need a personal shopper who wants to spend my money. haha.

5. I've fallen asleep on the couch after work the past two days....with my coat still on. Oops? I need to start going to sleep before 11pm, that's all there is to it.

6. I'm trying out Pilates and I like it so far. I just need to get on a schedule and stick to it.

7. I don't know the first thing about owning a dog and have never had the desire to have one until recently. Who knows if I'll ever get one, but for now I'm happy looking over the ones up for adoption in the area. I like Siberian Huskies.

8. Okay, coming up with 10 things is really hard.

9. I recently watched a documentary that was filmed in the last 90's about Israeli and Arab children in Israel coming together and trying to understand each other's points of view. There was a little girl in the film that said something to the fact that it was important for these children to come together and build friendships now so that they could help one another when they were adults. It was heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.

10. We're having a Preschool Prom for our school later this month and at first I was not sold on the idea. But then we started dancing with our kids and teaching the little boys how to slow dance. Now we get requests from the little boys to slow dance with them :) I'm totally pumped to see their moves out on the dance floor!

Whew! I made it.

A Delightful Saturday

2009-01-19T19:42:00.005-06:00

So besides the time when Daniel was here, my weekends (or weeknights for that matter) aren't that interesting, hence why I don't update my blog as much as I used to during college. But this Saturday was the exception. Becky had been invited by a friend to go check out this Artisan Chocolate shop in KC, MO called Christopher Elbow. I know, the name sounds a little goofy, so I wasn't too sure what we were getting ourselves into, but it turned out great! Christopher Elbow is a chic little shop with minimal decor, just very clean and modern. The owner resides in the area and creates the most interesting chocolates and sweets. But be ready to pay a bit more for their chocolates then your average Hershey; they are $1.50 a piece, with some up to $3.00 a piece. My sister went in on the chocolates together and sampled the Raspberry, Pear, Passion Fruit, Persian, Lavender Carmel, Pineapple, Strawberry-Balsamic Carmel, and Tanzanie. There wasn't one I didn't like; they were all amazing, and they are all decorated so beautifully. I highly recommend checking them out for gifts, or even better, for yourself ;)

Before that, we popped into HammerPress, a Letter press and Design shop just around the corner from Christopher Elbow. They create specialized wedding/event announcements, wall calenders, stationary, cards, among other things. They also sell various artists' books containing their artwork and inspirational words. I just had to buy some of their stationary and a bookmark. I would've bought out that store if my checking account would've cooperated ;)

We finished out the evening by meeting up with some friends at the Legends to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise (Their El Cubano sandwich was delicious) and then hit up Dave and Busters. It was rather crowded, but Skeeball was on the menu and a little Price Is Right big wheel reenactment.

So now the question is, how am I going to one up this past weekend? It'll be tough.

Roman Holiday er, OP Holiday

2009-01-02T21:36:00.006-06:00

What a great Christmas vacation this has been! After almost two weeks of not working, I don't know how I'm going to manage going back to the daily grind. Ah well, I suppose those cute little faces will make it a bit easier. And the new work schedule. I'll now be getting off before the sun sets, which will be beautiful!

I've been taking full advantage of no early mornings by sleeping in until 10 almost everyday. Sick I know. Sick and glorious! I think the new work day should begin at 11. No, then we'd only work an hour before a lunch break and then of course we can't begin work at the lunch hour, so let's say we start at 1:00, 1:30... Yes, 1:30 and then we'll work diligently until 5 and call it a day. Sounds about right.

My brother has been in town, having just gotten out of the Air Force. It's always fun having Daniel-san around; always wanting to go out and see new things and explore. We hit up Lawrence this week and saw the museums on the KU campus, had some Juice Stop and meandered down Mass, poking into hippie digs and thrift shops, stopping along the way to fill ourselves with food from La Parilla. Delish. Today was downtown KC where we slipped around the Central Library and picked up dozens of CDs to learn more of the languages we're interested in, as well as checking out a few more Audrey Hepburn movies to fall in love with.

Yes, we've been on an Audrey Hepburn kick the past week. Previously I had only seen Sabrina, but now we've covered Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Funny Face. Next up is Love in the Afternoon, Wait Until Dark, Two For the Road, Charade and The Nun's Story. I'd have to say that out of the ones I've seen, the only one that I didn't really like was Funny Face. I've never been a huge musical fan, which might be the reason.

We always try to find small local restaurants to eat at when Daniel is visiting. Last time he was here it was an Iranian shop which had delicious kabobs (it's called KC Grill N'Kabob, which is such a deceiving name. Who would guess it's Iranian?). This time around was Kababesh Grill, a Pakistani/Indian restaurant and my goodness it was amazing. There was only one other table occupied when we went in tonight, so we got to speak with our waitress a lot; she's actually Nepali and Daniel had fun asking her all sorts of questions and comparing the similarities between Nepali, Hindi and Farsi languages. Their Naan was definitely a favorite, and their Lamb Korma with saffron rice. Becky got a Chicken curry which was also really good. They also had a really good Mango drink called Mango Lassie, and a Mango ice cream dessert. No doubt this restaurant will become a regular place we go.

I'd like to get out and travel some more this year. Who knows what will happen; there are a lot of possibilities. Here's to a great 2009!

My life, Smorgasbord style

2008-12-01T21:11:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to come up with a coherent way to give an update of my life so far this fall, but seriously, it ain't happening.

So I suppose the biggest thing is I bought my first car! About three weeks ago I drove to Topeka and picked up my 2009 black Honda Fit Sport. And it's a beauty. But before I get ahead of myself, you may be wondering why I needed to get a new car when I had one. I HAD one. And it just so happened to break down on the side of the highway one lovely day and when we went to go get it the next day, it was gone. Stolen. Off the side of the highway. Never to be heard from again. My guess is that they scrapped the body and got a decent CD player out of the deal. So yes, that's where the little Honda Fit comes into play. Gone are the days of non-powered steering, rolling the windows up by hand and getting a constant massage from the car shaking. I'm digging it.

I'm still working for the same school as their 3 year old preschool teacher. I'm very lucky to have two assistant teachers; one who works with me most of the day and another one that comes in around nap time and stays until close. This job isn't getting any easier. Each day brings with it its own set of surprises and trials. And everyday I just pray for the patience and love and sense of humor to get through the day. There's never enough time to get everything done, or even scratch the surface really. We have 20 children in my class many days during this month of December while we are transitioning children to new rooms. That's a lot of kids, and a lot of patience that needs to come with it. I often try to step back and just see what is most important and remember that some things aren't worth getting worked up over. So what if the kids have dumped every toy in the room onto the floor? So what if they got paint in their hair and their parent is going to be mad? I'll find myself worrying that I'm not teaching them every little thing I want them to know or that my classroom isn't perfectly maintained (which will never happen! They're 3 for crying out loud!). And then I'll have to stop and remind myself that things aren't going to go smoothly all the time. C'est la vie! The kids are happy and they're learning!
With Parent/Teacher conferences coming up, I have portfolios to complete and "grade cards", if you will, to fill out. We have a Christmas program to prepare for and Christmas gifts to help the kids make for their parents. I'm still trying to get Winter decorations up in the classroom and new items made for children that have joined my class in the past week. Stress! Makes me sometimes wish I was back in school when I know that I have a break coming up and then I can start over from scratch. That doesn't happen with this job; it's just a continual upward climb, except I'm on one of those stair steppers where you don't go anywhere. Ahhh! haha oh alright, I'm done being a Drama Queen. For this moment.

Oh yeah, and I've had a Sinus Infection for almost a month now. I seem to finally be getting better, which is great because I'd really like to start using that gym membership I'm paying for.

Being home for my first Thanksgiving since 2002 was great. It was really relaxed and low key and I took my first nap in a really long time! Yay for naps!

Alright, so I just need to make it until Christmas Eve and then I can pretend for a week that I don't have tons of things still to get done in preparation for January in the Elephant Room! (That's the name of my class by the way! Cute huh? So yes, I do go hunting for anything cute and Elephant related to put in my room).

Peace!

Hands Free - Its the Law!

2008-11-18T12:41:00.001-06:00

Hey, they've got a point...AND...it's hilarious. Check check check it out!

2008-11-17T13:40:00.003-06:00

I found this on a friends' webpage and I just had to put it up. It's breathtaking, awakening and just plain beautiful. Now I just need to find a way to get it blown up to poster size so it can hang on my wall.

It's A New Day - will.i.am - Dipdive.com

2008-11-08T08:28:00.001-06:00

Whether or not you voted for Obama, I hope that you appreciate what a significant part of history this election will always be. We've come from a nation that imprisoned its fellow Americans to seeing the day come when Obama was named the next President of the United States. To think back to my ancestors that were involved in the Underground Railroad, it makes me proud to think that they in their own way were also fighting for this day to come. It's a new day.

Hallelujah- biscuit style

2008-10-19T17:14:00.004-05:00

Starting today, I am a happy biscuit eating person once more thanks to Shauna James Ahern!

Growing up in my house, biscuits were a big deal. My sister had perfected it to an art, and I remember learning how to make them from her. When they were made in our house, we did not do just one batch. Oh no. By the time we were done, there was a biscuit mountain atop a plate. I cannot even describe how good these biscuits tasted. All I know is that they were always gone way too fast, which is why so many were made.

Once we were diagnosed with Celiac biscuits, along with many other food favorites, were out the door. Fast forward 6 years and we've learned to either do without them, sneak a bite every so often (yes sadly it happens a lot) or find alternatives. But those biscuits just could not be replicated GF style. Everything came out doughy or too dry or had an awful taste (and worse after taste).

So imagine my ecstatic surprise when I found that Shauna had posted a GF biscuit recipe on her blog! I knew it had to be good; everything else that I had tried making of hers had tasted great. This time I was a bit hesitant of the recipe simply because of all the flours that were involved. I didn't have any of them, I knew they were going to be expensive, and I had never worked with combining flours. But this past week I recieved a Visa gift card from work and so I took a chance and drove over to Whole Foods; I knew they would have all the flours listed in the recipe. I love just about everything this store embodies.

Purchasing the ingredients for the recipe cost me a pretty penny: alittle under $40. Lucky thing I had that $50 gift card. After leaving the store, I will admit I was just hoping and praying that I hadn't wasted my money. That is one of the hard things about Gluten Free cooking; it can be rather expensive. While I was in college I could not justify spending that kind of money just on flour, so I just ate things that were either packaged GF or were naturally GF (fruits, vegetables, etc).

I tried the recipe last night and had mild success with it; I had forgotten some of the tricks Becky had taught me for when you make biscuits and I used salted butter (which apparently is a big NO). We also a close call when I left the last batch of biscuits in the oven while we ran to Target. Oops? Poor black biscuits.

Today Becky and I attempted the recipe for a second time and oh. my. gosh. This recipe is astounding. The outside is crispy, the inside is soft and airy, just like Shauna had promised. I'm in love.

Making a re-entrance to the Thanksgiving meal after 6 years: The amazing, wonderfully delightful, scrumpteous Biscuit.

The Real World: Overland Park

2008-10-13T18:47:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, there are days I wish I was back in school up in Idaho. Heaven knows it isn't because I miss the 30 below zero temps I had to endure during the winter, the lack of car and definitely not because I miss the tests and homework load.

It's funny, I remember thinking that when I graduated I was going to have all of this freedom to do whatever I wanted; the possibilities would be endless! And while I guess that still holds true, I suppose it's that I've discovered it in a whole new light; reality has set in.

Instead of having these 3-4 month intervals where I could change where I was living and get new classes and possibly get a new job, I've now got a 12 month lease and a job I need for the health insurance. I still have to pay monthly rent, but this time I have to pay utilities as well; a brand new concept after 4 years of getting utilities "free". My apartment doesn't come furnished (unless I want to go that route which...no thanks). But really, I could care less about that last one; I like picking out my own furniture anyways.

It can be an overwhelming feeling knowing that now that I have this degree, that I need/want to go out and find a job that puts it to good use. That's another area where I naively believed that I was going to be different from everyone else out there and instantly find a job that I would fall in love with and stick with forever. How silly of me. I still find myself guilt tripping over the "failure" of my first job out of college and my current job, while it is nice and gives me health insurance, is definitely not something I'm in for the long haul. I'm constantly going back and forth with what I want my next step to be.

The funny thing is that when I step back, it really hits me that hello! It's only been a year Emily! Calm down and just take it all in. Who said that you have to, or realistically can find the perfect job that you want to do for years and years, in just a year's time? I'd say there is a slim chance of that happening.

Unlike college, which seems to have at least this semi outlined plan of how things are supposed to go down, life after graduation doesn't have a step by step plan to follow. That can be such a scary thing. For one of my Sociology classes, we had to put together a 5 year plan for our life. Going into that assignment, I tried to put a lot of honesty into what I really felt like I wanted to have accomplished in those 5 years. But I knew in the back of my mind that there was a really good chance that it was going to be greatly altered in real life. You just can't anticipate everything that life is going to throw at you, and all of your dreams and plans can't be set in stone to happen, even if you've got the step by step strategy to get there.

And maybe that's what I've been learning this past year. That while I aspire and work towards the career I want and the kind of life I dream for myself, that I need to be open and prepared for the setbacks and the unexpected turns that life always brings. I'm trying to remain optimistic and hopeful about the future, taking things for what they are and trying to enjoy the ride along the way. It can be really hard at times, frustrating and overwhelming. But I'm working at keeping that enthusiasm that I had before I graduated: I've got my freedom to do whatever; the possibilities are endless!

2008-10-04T10:11:00.002-05:00

As I've watched the debates and interviews that have taken place over the past couple weeks, I've thought of doing posts on my reactions and feelings, but I've always stopped short of hitting that "Publish Post" button. I'm interested in politics, but when it comes to being a political writer, I'm lousy, and I'll be the first to admit it. My friend Adam, on the other hand, has written some great posts following the VP debate and interviews that have been given. I would highly recommend checking it out here.

The Return

2008-08-26T22:41:00.005-05:00

After a long absence of internet in my apartment, I have returned to blogging. It feels like this post should be something spectacular to make up for all of the time that has past, however I'm going to put caution to the wind and just say what I want. Capiche? (Oh Uncle Jesse).

I suppose the biggest thing that has happened since I last posted was that Becky and I adopted two cats, or rather, a cat and a kitten. There was no question that we were going to get cats when we moved into our new apartment; we began looking around before we started searching for only pet friendly apartments. And to add to it, we adopted our first cat the same day we moved. Maybe not the smartest idea considering there were still boxes everywhere when we brought Toby home, but whatev. He lived, and boy is he feisty, which is perfect because he fits right in!

The kitten, Sasha, that we adopted this past Saturday, was actually part of a brother/sister pair that we found before we moved. He and his sister were not socialized and so were really shy and scared around humans when we first saw them. They were gorgeous, but it didn't feel right to get them when we were going to be gone 8 hours a day. Well, then we saw Sasha again 3 months later, and he was doing a lot better, and his sister had been adopted, so we decided to get him! Too gorgeous to be a boy and purrs constantly.

He's a Flame point Siamese/Maine Coon mix. And from what we've been told and just looking at him, he's going to be a biggin'. As for how these two cats are going to get along, whoooo knows. Toby hisses and growls and Sasha...purrs. It's bizarre. We'll just have to give it time.

And now that I've gone on and on about my cats, let's move onto another topic. Work.

My job never ceases to test my strength as a teacher, individual and as a person who wants to eventually have children. There are days, hours, even minutes where I just want to throw my hands up and say I'm done or I can't possibly have any more patience or empathy or excitement left to give, but then I make it through the next couple minutes, or I come back the next day and I'm given a way to start again and give hugs and kisses when the child has just finished pushing my buttons or I'm given a way to solve some conflict. It's hard, it's rewarding, it's draining and fulfilling. Teaching 12 children by myself can bring on doubt on why I ever thought I wanted children and other times I'm convinced I could definitely raise a large family. What a crazy range of emotions I put myself through during the work day!

And lastly, onto something I believe I talked about in a previous post, but never acted upon. I ran across a blog awhile back about going "No Shampoo". It's the idea of using baking soda and apple cider vinegar to wash your hair. I really liked the concept and wanted to try it out, but never did...until tonight. And so far, so good. Right out of the shower I was impressed by the fact that my hair wasn't plastered to my head; it felt lighter, and cleaner. And after blow-drying (which is a whole other topic) it still felt lighter then it usually does. We'll see how it is in the morning, but I thought I'd pass this idea on to any others that might be interested. The person that wrote this blog suggests doing a month long challenge, which I'd like to do. There are suggestions for changing the formula if your hair comes out too dry or too oily, if you'd like to darken or lighten your hair, if you'd like to stimulate hair growth, etc. And it's all using herbs and other simple ingredients.

Now that I don't have an excuse not to post, hopefully I'll be blogging on a more regular basis like I did before. With that said....until next time.

Hitch in my ride

2008-07-15T07:59:00.004-05:00

It seems I really have been thrown off course here as far as updating my blog goes. I need to correct this!

Yesterday was supposed to be our move-in day into our new apartment. Supposed to be. I had taken the day off work thinking I would spend the day cleaning the apartment and just moving over anything and everything I could. My parents and younger sister came into town as well to help out any way they could. Wellll it turns out the guy who was supposed to come through and shampoo our carpets was out of town and his replacement still hadn't gotten around to cleaning by the time our move-in date came. This meant he came the day we were to move in, leaving our carpets soaking wet for the majority of the day. By the time 4:00 rolled around the carpets were semi dry, so we went ahead and moved small things over, but nothing like I had anticipated. Luckily we still have our old apartment for awhile longer, so we're not in a major rush. Just disappointing is all.

Moving over to teaching in the Preschool 1 classroom (3-3.5 year olds) has been an adventure. A little tedious at first because I was coming into an already established classroom and then right away gained 4 new kids from the class right under mine. Things are finally calming down and everyone is getting settled into the classroom routine. My old kids and their parents drop by the front window of my classroom to wave and blow kisses, which I love because I miss those kids a lot.

I tell you what though; 3 year olds begin saying the most hilarious stuff. They're in the stage where they will tell you ALL about the things their parents say and what their parents "allow" them to say at home that they can't say at school. For example (from the past week)

Kid: (to child next to them) You're a poop face.

Me: So and so, we don't say that word in my classroom.

Kid: But my Mom lets me say it at home.

Me: Mmm doubtful.

OR

(We're sitting down for snack)

Kid: (nonchalantly) shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot. (except not that word if you catch my drift)

Me: Excuse me, what are you saying? (because I want to believe I'm hearing them wrong)

Kid: "Oh shoot" Mama said.

Me: (trying not to laugh) Oooooky. We don't say that word in my classroom (still trying to keep a straight face).

OR

We're out on the playground when one of my kids walks up to me-

Kid: Miss Emily, I need to make poop?

Me: Excuse me?

Kid: I need to make poop.

Me: Well hold on there and let's make sure it gets made in the toilet.

Every day it's something like this going on. Luckily not so much of real bad words being said, but kids at this age do have a fascination with talking about all things poop, and if it's a boy that doesn't seem to stop....ever. So as to avoid hearing variations of "poop" every .5 seconds in our classroom, my co teacher and I have made it an off limits word (more specifically in regards to random shout outs or general dissing of another child).

We have a bathroom connecting my room with the 3.5-4 year old classroom and today I was in my classroom when I heard a shriek come from the bathroom. I stepped in to see what was going on and one of my kids was sitting on the toilet crying. She hadn't had an accident from what I could tell so I asked her what was wrong. Through little sobs I made out something about her shirt being wet in the back. I took a look and realized what had happened.

She had fallen into the toilet.

LOL. Probably not very empathetic of me, but all I wanted to do was laugh! I think I might have laughed just a little, to show her it wasn't the end of the world. I told her not to worry and that I'd go get her a new shirt; and that she should keep a kung fu grip on that toilet seat next time.

The hardships of being 3.

So as you can see, it's kind of hard to have a dull moment at work; having 10-14 kids in my classroom daily yields interesting moments all the time.

Just a heads up, I am considering making my blog private, for a couple reasons. Most importantly because I'd like to continue sharing things from work but realize I can't do a whole lot of that when young kids are involved and my blog is open to anybody and everybody on the internet. I would of course give fair warning if I did in fact go private, but feel free to share your thoughts or opinions on the matter.

And I'm out.

A Friday Morning Blurb

2008-06-27T08:13:00.004-05:00

I know, I'm a bad blogger.

It's been quite a while since I've last posted, and this one is going to be short because I have to leave for work soon. I just wanted to pop in and say that yes, I am still alive! I had had every intention of posting awhile back about the gluten free bars that I eat, and then it happened. My apartment was broken into while I was at work and my laptop was stolen, as was my sister's. Talk about a rude awakening. I got the call from my sister at work with the news and then had to leave early to go meet the police at my apartment.

I could go into details and my feelings about it, but I won't because I'd rather just put it behind me. But I will say very quickly that while I am sad about my laptop and the things that I've lost that were on it, there is a lot to be grateful for. It could've turned out so much worse then it did.

I'd still like to do a post about gluten free bars, so I'll take more pictures for it and hopefully get it out soon.

Happy Friday!

Numero Uno

2008-05-26T01:24:00.004-05:00

I have just finished my first piece on my new sewing machine!

Becky and I had decided to do the first project together, since we are both relearning how to sew. After getting some suggestions from a lady at the fabric store, we went with a precut baby blanket kit...didn't make a whole lot of sense now that I look back on it, because who is going to give away the first blanket they ever made and clearly neither of us has a baby. But hey! Live and let learn, right?

While it was a precut kit, the different fabrics were still in larger pieces that then needed to be cut down into squares and borders. This was all made very interesting as there was plush fabric to be cut and, as we soon learned, plush fabric is not only hard to cut due to it being stretchy, but it also sheds more then a cat during summer. I'm sure we'll be finding brown bits of fluffy fabric residue around the apartment months from now.

I think we bought the fabric on Monday and cut it on Tuesday; almost everything else was done tonight from 8 to almost 1 am. I'm surprised how quickly the time went by. And for our first shot at sewing in quite a long time, I'd have to say we did a pretty good job. So without further ado:

23

2008-05-18T20:51:00.007-05:00

So yeah, I'm another year older. Okay.

I think that sums up my feelings about turning 23. It was great being back with family to celebrate though. 5 years ago was the last time I was home for my birthday. I was 18, graduated on my birthday, and a few days later my friends threw me a surprise party. Soon after that I left for Idaho to attend college. Because of the way school was set up, I was always in Rexburg on my birthday.

So this year. I've been wanting to learn how to sew for awhile now, but never got around to taking a class up at school and didn't have the means to buy a sewing machine during college. I had talked to my Mom about wanting to buy a sewing machine, and so look what showed up on my birthday:

Thanks Mom and Dad! Notice the word simple. Just the way I like it, considering I haven't touched a sewing machine since I was in elementary or middle school.

My parents brought over a bunch of flowers from their garden, including a flower that smells like grape, no joke. Yes, those vases are in fact glass milk containers. I couldn't resist; I love it. Especially since two of them say "Fresh" on them!

So I'm 23. Now what?

Trip Home

2008-05-11T17:04:00.021-05:00

A Beautiful Rediscovery

2008-05-05T22:16:00.004-05:00

A beautiful rediscovery of self
A few quiet moments this morning
Before the noise of the day

A beautiful rediscovery of self
That had been lost for a time
Deep within me

Something so small
That created new breath
A smile, returned

A soul complete

Spring Is Here

2008-04-28T20:47:00.015-05:00

Yesterday evening Becky and I went on a walk around our apartment complex. Of course I brought my camera along. Spring is definitely here and I figured this was a good time to show everyone what the place looks like. Not to mention how many ducks and geese we have running around. Here goes:

2008-04-27T17:36:00.002-05:00

Oh that Chiquita. Getting in a laugh whenever they can.

Clip de Renan Luce - La lettre

2008-04-27T13:45:00.002-05:00

Sunday Afternoon In Pictures

2008-04-20T18:48:00.012-05:00

Milk, does the body good

2008-04-14T21:26:00.006-05:00

I used to drink milk ALL the time. We're talking going through a gallon on my own in less then a week kind of habit. I think I might have even gone through almost 2 gallons one week. Can we say excessive? Well that slowly died down and then when I went to the Netherlands I hardly ever drank milk. I couldn't get over the fact that they sold it in cardboard boxes un-refrigerated.

Tonight as Becky and I were grocery shopping at Whole Foods, I wandered into the dairy section and these glass milk bottles caught my eye. Who doesn't love the look of glass milk bottles? They're enchanting. I had to pick one up and see what was going on. Turns out that a dairy farm here in Overland Park, The Shatto Farm, processes and sells their fresh milk various stores here in Overland Park and surrounding cities. It was reasonably priced so I decided to pick up a bottle. That and I kept on rationalizing the many ways I could reuse the cute glass packaging. When I got home, I opened it up and verdict: Wow! Delicious and totally worth it. Even though it was skim milk, it was still creamy. Makes me wonder what's up with the skim milk sold in plastic jugs.

The Shatto Farm gives tours and has its own little store right on site. Did I mention the farm has been in the family for 100 years? Oh, because it has. Rad.

Shatto Farm, you've got my vote.

2008 KU National Champions Parade

2008-04-13T17:53:00.019-05:00

Becky and I drove down to Lawrence this afternoon to see the parade being held in honor of the KU Basketball team, the 2008 National Champions (if you've been living under a rock and hadn't heard!)

It was all over pretty quick, but I got some great shots of the players; any closer and I would've been run over by the cars!

Bill Self

Danny Manning, assistant coach, 1988 NCAA KU National Champion

Russell Robinson

Sherron Collins

Sasha Kaun

Rodrick Stewart

Mario Chalmers

Jeremy Case

Darrell Arthur

Brandon Rush

Darnell Jackson

Cole Aldrich

Brennan Bechard and Brad Witherspoon

2008-04-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

Becky, Angela and I went to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence to watch KU become National Champions!
More to come. Oh my lanta, it was quite the experience.

Asa- Fire on the mountain

2008-03-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

A Job!

2008-03-17T21:18:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I was offered a job at two different schools in the Kansas City area. The next day I called The Goddard School and accepted a position as a preschool teacher for 2 year olds. I've been working full time since Wednesday and I absolutely love my job so far. The owners, directors and other preschool teachers are all so friendly and I love working with these children that say some of the funniest, craziest things!

Again I'll say that I never expected to find a job so soon after moving back to Kansas, but I feel truly grateful and blessed that things have turned out they way they have. I've got a great job and I'm living with two of my sisters in a good area. The people at church have been so friendly and welcoming too, which for me is a big deal considering I have to get used to going to church on my own.

My sister Lola has returned to Kansas for a visit; the first time in 8 years. Becca and I agree that it feels like she never left; we've all sort of slipped back into the phrases and absolute absurdness that we've always been up to around each other. She came into town for a 25th anniversary celebration of the collaboration between the theater and musical directors at Topeka West. My older siblings attended Topeka West and my older sisters were all involved in theater/music there. Lola would occasionally take me to her play rehearsals when I really little (I would've been 3-4 years old). I went with her and my other sisters to an Open House at Topeka West on Saturday for the 25th anniversary. It was crazy seeing all these people that my sisters had done theater with 15-18 years ago; people that I grew up hearing about and seeing in pictures and playbills.

I've loved having Lola home and getting to spend time with her, even though I won't get to spend that much time with her at all. That is the down side to having found a job so soon; I have to be here in K.C. while she's in Topeka. But I'll take the time that I can get ;)

A Long Time Coming

2008-03-10T21:29:00.002-05:00

I apologize.

I meant to update this last week. And I should have. I had been so excited to do my Stumble! post where I listed all my great finds that were stored up in my "Bookmarks". Then one morning I clicked on the bookmarks tab and to my utter horror, they were all gone. GONE. It's ridiculous how sad I was. And between that and spending hours upon hours of looking for a job, I sort of lost momentum. I had found some really great sites too; many of which I have no idea how to get back to. Maybe someday they'll pop back up on my screen and I'll be able to share them with you. In the mean time, here are a few that I've found since then that I think are quite spectacular:

Slightly Warped

Independent Films Direct

20 Beautiful HDR Pictures

I'm settling into life here in Overland Park with my two sisters. It's a lot more quiet living with just two other people as opposed to 10 other people, that's for sure! As much as I love my parents and like having the perks that come with living at home, I'm grateful that my sisters let me come live with them; having another person to pay rent probably wasn't at all in their minds when they agreed either...no way. *smirk*

The flight back home was...ugh. I was the annoying person blowing their nose every millisecond. I took PM sinus medicine and was so drugged up that I still don't know when I was awake and when I was asleep; it all seemed to blur together. And when we landed in D.C. and then Kansas City, I thought my head was going to implode from the immense pain in my sinuses. Never in my life have I felt that kind of pain; it was all I could do to keep from screaming.

Luckily the worst is over and it appears I'm on the mend. Thank goodness.

The morning after I arrived back in the States, I was in full swing of finding a job. There was no time to lose. From 7-4 to 5 pm every day, I was using different search engines and newspapers to search for Preschool jobs or other Child Development related careers; two interviews were quickly lined up for today. To say I was nervous would be a great understatement. I was terrified. Here I was, finally applying for a full time position, one that would bring benefits and one where my degree would play in my favor. It was nerve wracking. I didn't have the slightest clue how things would play out.

I walked away with two job offers by the end of the day. Stunned.

That was not what I had planned for. I went into the interviews thinking they would be good practice for future interviews to come. No way had I considered that I would be offered a job, let alone the same day. Between the two jobs, there is one that stands out more then the other, one where I think I could be very happy. I told both schools I needed a day or two to think things over, but I think I'll be giving this one a call back tomorrow morning to let them know I accept their offer. It's all a little scary and exciting and, once again, nerve wracking.

Could I get some air up in here

2008-03-01T03:09:00.004-06:00

Dear Dutch Cold,

I would thank you for introducing yourself but I'm too busy breathing through my mouth since my sinuses are stuffed to the rafters. Wednesday and Thursday were just loads of fun with what felt like the entire percussion section camped in my head and mice running on their wheel in my stomach. Was that Benedryl you slipped in my water, because I can't keep my eyes open? That was mighty sneaky of you. And as much as I love saunas, I'd rather not feel like I'm in one at 3 in the morning. And while I'm at it, you're quite the tree killer, as I think I've used up China's entire kleenex supply in the past 4 days. Well nevertheless, I'm willing to overlook your many charming features if you do me just one favor: stick to your namesake and stay with the Dutch when I fly home.

Sickly regards,

Your host

So yes, for those of you that don't know yet, I am moving back home to Kansas. I won't go into details other then to say that I have a feeling this is the best thing for me and this family. I'm moving to a suburb outside of Kansas City to live with two of my sisters and I couldn't be more excited. I've been looking around at job openings in the local preschools; so far I've found two that look promising. Both are looking for teachers that hold a B.S. in Child Development related fields, are year round, offer full benefits and apply Montessori to their teaching curriculum. I'll be setting up an interview with one of the schools once I'm back in the States.

I thought about doing my favorite Stumble finds today, but I think I'll save that for the beginning of next week. A happy weekend to you all!

Getting to know you...

2008-03-01T00:35:00.008-06:00

My sister Lola sent me an email with a list of questions to answer about myself. Rather then email it back, I decided to just use it as a post. And go!

1. What is your occupation? Nanny, for two more days
2. What color are your socks right now? Gray and black

3. What are you listening to right now? The wind outside

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Banana

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Eggplant
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Stranger who spoke Dutch

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Love, love, love her!
9. How old are you today? 22

10. Favorite drink? Fruit smoothies

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Basketball
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, very very dark brown
13. Pets? Do I have any or do I like them? Yes, I love my little deaf cat Misty
14. Favorite food? Yogurt and Granola
15. Last movie you watched? Stomp the Yard with A. and C. last night
16. What do you do to vent anger? Mmm cry? or play my guitar...it calms me down more then really venting
17. Favorite Day of the year? In the past it's been Christmas, because that's when I got to see most of my family

18. What was your favorite toy as a child? That'd probably be my Barbies

19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Both. Spring because of the stellar lightning storms in the Midwest, and Fall because then I can wear sweaters and scarves

20. Cherry or Blueberry? Blueberry
21. Do you want your friends to email you back? (if I was emailing this out, then sure)
22. Who is most likely to respond? n/a
23. Who is most likely NOT to respond? n/a
24. Current living arrangements? Have my own room in the home of the family I nanny for in the Netherlands. In about two days, I'll be living in an apartment with two of my sisters.

25. When was the last time you cried? The other day

26. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes

27. Who is the friend you have known the longest that you are sending this to? n/a
28. The friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? n/a
29. Favorite smell? Wood burning

30. What inspires you? Music

31. What are you afraid of? Snakes
32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? either

35. Favorite car? Mmm I really like my Mom's Honda CR-V
36. Favorite cat breed? I don't know...just give me a cute one from the animal shelter and we'll call it good.

37. Number of keys on your key ring? 5
38. How many years at your current job? Less then a year
39. Favorite day of the week? Thursdays
40.How many states have you lived in? Kansas, Idaho, Netherlands
41. Today's date and time: March 1st 10:02 AM

Sorry about the funky layout. The only way I can get the font to be uniform is to do it one question at a time and well, I'm too lazy to do that. So tough. :)

Stumble!

2008-02-25T03:03:00.013-06:00

When I downloaded Firefox a couple weeks ago, this "Stumble" button kept creeping up. I just figured it was some annoying application, and I couldn't possibly be bothered with checking it out, seeing what it was all about. But then the other day I was reading this girl's blog and she had these links to some funky, downright stellar websites, and she was giving credit to none other then...Stumble. What this application does is that it starts you out with a wide variety of topics you could be interested in, and then from there you hit the "Stumble" button in your tool bar that then generates a random website according to your interests. With each website, you have a choice whether to say you like it, or you don't, and as time goes along the application continues to narrow in on what types of websites you would be interested in seeing! It's everything from educational websites to the most random website you can imagine. Such as these:

The Ultimate Rejection Letter

Read Print

Earth Album

Not that I need another excuse to become sidetracked and glued to my computer screen. I want to bookmark website after website because how did I live up to this point without this!?. Yeah, pathetic I know.

I'm thinking I might do a Stumble tribute once a week, where I highlight a few of my favorite finds. Stay tuned.

So go check it out!

Stumbleupon

Changing The Way I Live

2008-02-23T14:55:00.004-06:00

I've slowly been trying to change the way I eat, and live.

I remember back in high school when I was busy with doing theater and violin lessons that I always seemed to be on the go. My lunch hour my senior year of high school was spent driving to an elementary school to work with a kindergarten class, so I would grab a rice crispy treat and chocolate milk and head out to my car. I would grab soda and chips at the school and down them during play practice to keep my energy up. Then I'd come home late and eat leftovers from dinner or just grab whatever I could find in the house. Disgusting, truly. I was super skinny at that time because I was sick from Celiac and the mold that had been in our home, but as we all know, skinny doesn't necessarily mean healthy. Definitely not in my case. There was no official working out for me. But I will say that during play practice I was usually all over the place, soo...can we count it? hah.

When I moved to Idaho to attend school, my lunches and dinners were alright. Most days I had plain hamburgers, baby carrots, broccoli, apples and milk, with yogurt for breakfast. Not too shabby, but I was also going out and getting ice cream and other junk with friends. But, I did start working out. I think I've mentioned before that at my height of working out, I was at the gym 2 hours a day, and I was running the stadium stairs.

My senior year at BYU-I, I began eating mostly granola and yogurt, drinking more water, eating more bananas and apples, but sadly missing out on my protein. I was so busy running back and forth campus that I didn't allow myself to find time to prepare meals. It was all about the quick and simple.

I suppose what all this rambling is amounting to, is that I've realized over the past 4 or 5 years that you have to create a balance to it all. It's not enough to just eat healthy or just to exercise; you've got to do both. And on top of that, make time to find peace in your life, or else you're just going to be running around like a mad person. No one wants that.

There's something invigorating about moving; with it always seems to come the natural process of evaluating your life and finding the things that you'd like to change or improve on. For me this time around, as I prepare to move to the Kansas City area, I know there are a few things I plan on trying out:

My sister Lola and bil C. became vegans last year and I really like the concept. I don't know whether or not I will go full throttle into veganism, but I do plan on eating more rice and bean type recipes, with of course my fruits and vegetables that I have always liked, and the new ones I've discovered a liking for over the past couple months. There is a Farmers Market in the town I'll be moving to, and I plan on checking it out. For some reason, the idea of buying fruits and vegetables right from the grower just makes the food more exciting, and I completely embrace the idea of being excited about your food, especially if its healthy! And more water! A person can always improve on their water intake.

I want to get out and do more exercising. It's always been that I needed rap music playing to get motivated about working out, but I don't want that to be my only vice for getting out there and moving my body. I went to a balance and meditation class at the health club here and I loved it. It had quiet soothing music and it required focus, and I felt challenged and stimulated at the end, just as I am after doing the elliptical for an hour. Exercising your body doesn't have to happen in just one form. Exploring different methods and programs can be just as exciting as discovery a new way of eating, or a new recipe. I think my love for taking pictures could even help me in my exercising. Setting off into town, and walking around all over the place to my hearts content until my camera is full; I will have been up on my feet, moving, and no doubt squatting, getting up on my tiptoes or even benches and walls to capture the right shot.

And I know that it won't be as perfect as I see it in my mind; I will slip up and eat the ice cream or I may not do as well at exercising in a week as I set my mind out to do, but I'm willing to give it a go, and it all has to start with the passion to change ones life for the better.

Afternoon In Amsterdam

2008-02-21T13:59:00.006-06:00

A smart car on the street of Amsterdam.

After dropping the boys at school today, J. and I drove the hour and half stretch to Amsterdam to have a look around. I've known for about a week that we were planning on going, and I kept telling myself I needed to charge up my camera battery so it would be fully charged come Thursday morning. I even thought about it last night; I knew it needed to get plugged in before I fell asleep. And what did I do? I forgot. So it only got to charge for about 2 hours; not even close to enough time considering the battery had been completely dead. So I only took a couple pictures while we were there.

First item of business was picking up J.'s new passport at the U.S. Consulate. I don't know what I had been expecting when we got there, but I was surprised by all the security measures. It makes sense though. J. told me it was a good thing I didn't ask to use the bathroom while we were there because I would have been escorted by two armed men who then would stand outside the door while I took care of business. yikes! I will say, it was really weird being able to understand conversations that were going on in the same room as me.

After the U.S. Consulate, it was a 20 minute walk over to the Anne Frank House. I remember reading Anne Frank's diary for the first time back in elementary school. The Holocaust and WWII has always been an event that I've had an interest for. I would comb through my schools' libraries to find all the books I could about what had happened during that time. To be inside the house where the Frank's and others hid from the Nazis...it's indescribable. The sadness, the admiration, the humility I felt. The ever growing understanding that I will never be able to fully comprehend what people had to go through during this time.

We decided on eating lunch at a restaurant inside the Marriot hotel. J. had been excited to eat there because it had one of the only Pizza Huts in Holland, and she missed their pizza ;) But in the end, neither of us got pizza. I had tomato soup and pan fried salmon with steamed vegetables. SO good. There were green beans, carrots, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, and snow peas. I still don't like tomatoes, but I'm proud to say that I actually liked the steamed carrots and asparagus. Mom, are you shocked? haha. A liking for Brussel sprouts, asparagus and steamed carrots all in a weeks time; who would have thought considering what a picky eater I used to be.

Lastly we visited the Rijks Museum. It was an experience I will never forget; there were so many times that I just stared at the art in front of me, totally astonished that it could have been made in the 1600's. Sadly they have been doing renovations and so there were parts of the museum that were not open. Unfortunately that meant that Girl with a pearl earring was not on display.

It would have been nice to have had more time to look around, but after the museum we needed to head home. One of the girls that works with the boys had been nice enough to come and watch them for a couple hours while we were gone.

The weather wasn't the greatest either; very gray skies and windy, so the pictures that I did take were not as nice as I would've liked them to be. But I was still glad that I had the chance to see the things that I did.

Not So Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-20T03:53:00.007-06:00

I'm so bad at doing Wordless Wednesday; actually, it's just the wordless bit that I struggle with. I suppose it's because I do like the idea of putting up a picture I've taken recently (or not so recently) but then I always want to elaborate on it. Maybe I should start calling it Picture Wednesday. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it though, does it?Ah well...here we go:

The 8 year old daughter of the Cali family was so afraid of Bjorno, our Burnese mountain dog. I caught her holding the kitchen door shut to make sure Bjorno didn't weasel his way into the house. This was on our way out the door to take a drive.

Sunday night the teenagers of the house were bored and wanted to go do something, but because it was Sunday, there really wasn't anywhere to go (everything closes on Sunday here). So we decided to go on a drive, which led us to Stiens, a village only a couple miles away from our house. We had been discussing earlier that our house is believed to be haunted. During WWII, part of the house was bombed, and a family died. So to follow the scary theme, we visited the local church and cemetery.

I think I'll go back during the day to capture just how picturesque this part of the village is. The church and cemetery sit near the middle of the village, surrounded by the standard cobblestone roads you find in all the villages, and houses facing in towards the church with the curtains of the large windows drawn back. There is a little iron fence that meets you at the top of a few stairs, sitting the cemetery and church a little higher then everything else. Headstones show that some of the people lived in the late 1700's, perhaps even farther back then that. And there were also a couple freshly dug graves as well, with the dirt still forming a large mound, flowers laid gently on top.

As The Old Saying Goes

2008-02-19T03:26:00.005-06:00

It really is a small world.

Up at BYU-Idaho, it wasn't too unusual to meet people who were friends or relatives of someone you knew either there at school or even back at home. But Sunday takes the cake.

Our little church branch is just that...little; there might be around 30 people at church on average. When someone isn't there, or there are new people, it's hard to miss. So when we arrived at church on Sunday, I instantly noticed a new family sitting off to the left in the chapel. A new missionary couple had come from Utah recently to serve in our branch, and I figured this must be some of their family coming to visit. Either that, or they were checking our church out. But it quickly became apparent to me that they were members as they knew exactly what to do and were dressed like...well, LDS people, let's be honest. You can tell.

After the sacrament had been passed and the closing prayer had been said, everyone got up and started talking to one another, and one thing led to another and I was introducing myself to the Dad of the family. First off, I haven't been here that long, but because I could tell they were Americans, I was instantly drawn to them and I wasn't nervous at all about talking to them. If I had been back home and saw a new family in the ward, I probably would not have approached them. Strange what being in another country will do to you.

As I spoke with the Dad, I learned that they were actually from California, passing through on their way to pick up their son in South Africa, who had been serving a church mission there. I thought it was kind of strange that they would choose a town outside of Amsterdam to visit, so I asked what they were doing in Friesland. Turns out his wife's father had immigrated to America after WWII with his family, from a little Frisian village not too far from Leeuwarden. Her grandfather was buried in the village and she wanted to see where her family was from. Very cool!

When he found out where I was from, he mentioned that they knew an LDS family that either lived in Topeka or Wichita. I explained that if they were in Topeka, I probably knew who they were. "Kirby?...mmm no, that isn't it. Well, their first names are Bruce and Diane". Right away I knew who he was talking about. This is a family that my family has known since before I was born! Turns out this family from California had traveled out to Kansas years ago to look at moving here and in the process, they met this other family at church, who invited them to dinner and later the Cali Mom stayed at their house for a week while they were looking for houses to buy (perhaps a gift to a fault of LDS people...you're LDS, I'm LDS? We're practically family!). Small world.

To make a very long story just long, they were staying in Friesland for just one night and due to expensive hotel rates, we invited them to come stay at our home for the night. They were SUCH a nice family; funny and just down to earth. Monday morning as they were preparing to leave, they gave me their contact information to pass along to the family in Kansas and then went on to show me pictures of their single sons my age back in Cali that they decided I needed to date and marry. "I would be the best Mother in Law!" the Mom exclaimed, "I would spoil you so much!" lol. And as their 18 year old son gave me a hug goodbye, he whispered in my ear "Please marry one of my brothers". I kid you not! I've got an open invitation to go visit their family in Bakersfield once I'm back in the US. I might have to take them up on it; after all, I haven't been to California before and their sons are cute. Not a bad Sunday if I do say so myself.

Cubworld - Lights Fade

2008-02-15T04:02:00.001-06:00

293

2008-02-15T04:01:00.001-06:00

Cubworld. I love his sound, just chill you know?

Wordless Thursday?

2008-02-14T05:20:00.002-06:00

Saturday Shopping

2008-02-09T14:43:00.000-06:00

(waiting for the bus this morning)

Today A. and I caught the bus into Leeuwarden to do some much needed shopping. When I was packing to come here, it hadn't even occurred to me that I needed to buy exercise clothes. For the past 4 years I've just used the exercise clothes on campus, because it was required. So I finally got around to buying proper workout clothes for the gym. Up until now I've been using my soccer shorts and a t-shirt which is fine, except that I stick out pretty bad :) I also found a really cute green shirt at H&M (I love that store!)

I was also introduced to two Dutch fast food items. The first being the Frikandel, which is a long, deep fried sausage. I think there was mayo and onions and some other kind of sauce that was spread down the middle. Not too shabby, though nothing I would eat on a regular basis. The second was Cheese Souffle, also deep fried (yikes!). I liked that one a lot; it's a circle of dough folded over a ball of cheese, pinched together and then fried. Again, not something I would eat on a regular basis, unless I want to up my cholesterol immensely!

The weather was gorgeous! today, as was yesterday. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of it.

In one of the alleyways that we passed through, the whole right side was graffiti made to look like shops.

(same alleyway)

There is a window display that I've passed a couple times in the past month in Leeuwarden, and I finally just had to stop and take a picture to show everyone. It's in a clothes store and every time I've seen it, I just have to shake my head and wonder what they were thinking.

Yes, that mannequin is in fact wearing only bubble wrap. I suppose if she needed to safely ship herself somewhere in a hurry, she'd be set. And hey, if she gets bored, she can just pop her skirt or shirt! Entertainment and fashion rolled into one? Why not.

From The Past

2008-02-07T14:40:00.000-06:00

I took this during my Christmas break back in Kansas. This belonged to one of my grandmothers; she had these really old makeup compacts and two of them still have the lip color in the compartments hidden under the powder section. I love just looking at them, thinking about where they were carried and what it must've been like back in the time they were used. And I will admit, I did actually try on the lip color after I took the pictures.

*edit*

After talking with my Mom, I've learned this belonged to my Grandma Smerchek and that she believes it is from the 1940's, possibly even the 1930's. amazing.

Wordless Wednesday- a "look what came in the mail" edition

2008-02-06T03:08:00.000-06:00

Crazy Eights

2008-01-31T07:39:00.000-06:00

My friend Melissa tagged me, so here goes! (turned out to be a lot harder then I thought)

8 things that I'm passionate about (not in any particular order):

1. My Family
2. My Friends
3. Taking pictures
4. Playing the guitar
5. Organic food
6. Finding ways to use less/reuse what I have
7. God
8. Finding small ways to be happy

8 things I want to do before I die:

1. Fall in love and get married
2. Have children
3. Learn another language (I'm getting there!)
4. Learn how to sew
5. Get into shape
6. Have a huge garden
7. Live somewhere with lots of trees and the ocean
8. Become involved in bettering the community I live in

8 things I say often:

1. Oh my Lanta
2. ...I don't believe you
3. So...
4. Ma'am
5. Basically
6.
7.
8.

8 books I've read recently:

1. Ophelia
2. Tales of a Female Nomad
3. If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard
4. Deaf Like Me
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 songs I could listen to over and over:

1. Life on a Chain- Pete Yorn
2. Levad- Yael Naim
3. New Soul- Yael Naim
4. The Heart of Life- John Mayer
5. In Transit- Albert Hammond Jr.
6. Action/Adventure- Andrew Bird
7. Me gusta tu- Manu Chao
8. Paris- Yael Naim

8 things I've learned this past year:

1. Acheiving something you love does sometimes mean there is alot of heartache along the way
2. I'm definitely a fruit/yogurt/granola breakfast kind of gal
3. How relaxing going grocery shopping on your own can be
4. If you want to do /want something, you have to act upon it; it's not just going to happen (still learning this one)
5. How much I love having quiet time to myself
6. Just how much I love playing the guitar
7. That it's possible to constantly be learning new things about yourself
8. Smiling, even if you don't feel like it, can often be the trigger to bringing about a better attitude

Okay, so I didn't fill all of them out. I'm sorry. Looks like I need to read more (never thought I'd say that) and pay more attention to what I'm saying.

A Birthday... Plus!

2008-01-31T03:26:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday was C.'s 11th birthday, so we headed out to the old Amsterdam Airport which has been turned into a museum. C's way into planes/wants to become a pilot, hence the reason for our destination. It was actually really cool; we got to see real planes dating back to almost the beginning of flight. On top of that, C got to to up in the plane with his parents and take a turn at flying the plane on his own. He was so excited!

This plane, which I've forgotten what kind it is, is one of the last originals of its type. The wood used for the propelers was beautiful. Alot of time and expertise has gone into restoring these planes.

There are a lot more pictures of the museum, but we'll save those for another day.

Yesterday was one of those occasional sunny days where the wind wasn't blowing much, so I rounded up J. and we went for a walk towards the village (Beetgumermolen) and I was given a pronunciation lesson by a 5 year old on how to say the village's name. haha. He even said it slowly in syllables several times. Such a funny kid.

We could see that there was going to be rain coming soon, so we kept the walk short, and took some pictures along the way.

All J. wanted to do was get to that little bridge right in front of him. Not too far after we passed that bridge he said: "We still have to walk home. Turn around!" Yes sir!

This was carved into the cement on the side of the bridge.

You'll find canals like this all over the place

And then it was back home to jump on the trampoline with S.

The rain was about to start, so I snapped a few more pictures of the backyard and ran inside.

andrew bird at the Granada 9/17/07

2008-01-30T07:18:00.001-06:00

genius

Lest You Be Led To Think Otherwise...

2008-01-30T04:18:00.000-06:00

In my last post I mentioned that here in Holland it is impolite to ask for "to go" boxes when you eat out. It got me to thinking that it may seem to all of you that they waste food. Oh contraire! Really, I think they have something good going here.

First off, the portions are smaller here anyway, so most of the time you can finish your food no problem.

Secondly, at least in our area, there is an organization that comes around and picks up all of your food scraps. Our garbage can is split into two; one side is where you put discarded packaging, plastic, etc, and then the other side is just for discarded food. We have a separate garbage can just for the food and it is taken out with the trash. Smart! Think about all the good compost that comes from it, instead of it sitting in some landfill amongst plastic and glass. And I suppose if a person wanted to keep the food themselves to use for compost in their garden, this system of separation right in their garbage can would also come in handy. The bags that the food goes in are obviously a different type of material then normal trash bags; something that is bio-degradable.

Has anyone heard of this type of recycle program being implemented in the US? I think it would be worthwhile to have, especially in the cities where people are less likely to have gardens.

We also have a paper box that is for, obviously, any paper that we throw out. That is picked up once a month by volunteers so that it can be recycled.

At the health club we work out at they have different teas/hot chocolate that is "complimentary" and they have a specific bin just for discarded plastic cups. I'm guessing that is for recycling purposes as well.

On a totally different subject, today I got set up on a exercise program at the health club. I feel really motivated to get back into a regular exercise program. For one, I'll get back into shape (in my "glory days" at college I was going to the gym for 2 hours a day) and two, it'll be a way for me to meet new people. I think it's so important to get out and find interests outside of home/work.

Tonight I'm going to a scrapbooking party that a woman from church is throwing. She actually used to be an Au Pair for this family, about 6 years ago I think. She married a guy from here that she met while he was on his mission in the States I believe. She's originally from Ohio; it's fun to have another person in the ward from America.

And whether or not it's because I've been here for a couple weeks now and am getting used to weather, I actually found myself thinking today that it was good weather...it's still a little cold and grey outside, but the wind isn't blowing and it isn't raining, so that constitutes good weather in my book these days! Ah, but I really shouldn't complain at all considering the snowstorm the west seems to be experiencing, right? Best of luck with that!

Nieuw Jaar, Nieuw Jaar

2008-01-25T05:02:00.000-06:00

New Year, New Year

Just about the only words I was able to understand the teacher chanting with the children circled around her. The boys had their music class yesterday in the old part of Leeuwarden. We dropped them off and then walked to the V&D to grab a snack. I picked out this Manderin Orange Tortlette.

The crust, the cream, the perfect Oranges. I was in Tortlette heaven. Had I ever even had a Tortlette before? Well it didn't matter now, because this is the only one I'm gonna remember for awhile!

V&D is like an all purpose type department store. And scattered among the levels are places to pick up fresh chocolates and candies. They also had a "food court", if I dare even use that word to describe this place. It's not what I would call fast food; it's all soo good. You could find these things in decent restaraunts. I had a wok lunch there a week or two ago. They also have soups, sandwiches, fresh smoothies, other desserts and salads.

One thing I have learned is that it is impolite to ask for a "to go" box/bag when you eat out. You simply don't do that here. If you can't finish it, you leave it.

So on our way back to pick up the boys from their class (Mom and C. were there too) I was of course taking pictures of this beautiful part of Leeuwarden.

C. told me about how the streets in this part of Leeuwarden used to be canals. You can see near the tops of the buildings these long hooks that stick out. Those would have ropes on them that would then be used to pull cargo off the ships and into the buildings to be stored and set out for display. I've said it before, such a smart kid!

You'll find mounted on buildings these blue/gold lion symbols. They signified that this building was important. Oma told me last night that this used to be the entrance to a small royal residence.

And across the way from the royal residence is planted this tree. It was planted for Queen Wilhelmina in 1890 to celebrate her being made Queen (she was only 10 years old!).

New Soul

2008-01-24T07:14:00.000-06:00

A while back I posted the music video to Yael Naim's song "New Soul". I love how playful and light the music is, and her voice is enchanting. She's from France I believe and I was introduced to her music through an American expat living in France while I was still in Idaho. As far as I know, she has not become well known yet in the States; her music isn't out in the stores there. Imagine my surprise and delight when I turned my radio on here in my little village and heard "New Soul"! It is little things like that, that can really make my day.

I've been here almost three weeks and I'll admit, there have been some really hard days. There have been days where the constant rain and gray skies have left me feeling miserable. I've felt totally clueless on how to handle The Twins in certain situations and others where I just feel homesick for all things familiar. It can be exhausting facing all of these things alone, let alone all at once. Thankfully there have also been great moments; often coming along right when I needed them.

I sat down with The Twins to work on something Monday night, which in our religion is Family Home Evening. It's when a family takes time out of their busy lives to spend one evening together, usually consisting of learning something new, or touching on a specific subject, and having dessert. I had been asked to prepare the lesson part for that night and I decided to talk about Gratitude. I was drawing leaves and cutting them and drawing a tree; we would write/draw the things we were grateful for and then tape them on our "Gratitude tree". It had been a really tough day and I really didn't want to be working on the lesson, but I wasn't about to back down, so as I sat there drawing the leaves, The Twins sat on either side of me and were really quiet. Then they asked:

"What are you doing?"

"Drawing leaves"

pause

"Wow! Those are really good leaves Emily! I want to draw leaves too, just like yours!"

Okay, maybe not that impressive, but for me, wow...that was all I needed. All that frustration was out the window and I was excited to teach these two little boys how to draw their own leaves. And what a great feeling to know that something as simple as knowing how to draw leaves had these boys looking up to me. Again, having those really great moments thrown in there among the hard times can make such a difference. There have been other moments like that, where they have complimented me or someone else, and it leaves me feeling on top of the world. Or those times where I was finally able to come up with a strategy to get them to listen or calm down, that I could care less about how bad I was feeling just minutes before.

I think I'm also learning that I just need to find little things to do during my time off that will help lift my spirits and get me going for the day. Today it was going through my things and straightening them up, listening to a wonderful song and giving the recently operated on-now tail-less dog Bjorno some attention. There are so many other little things that I've noticed that help me feel better. What little things do you do throughout your day to keep you going and happy?

Wordless Wednesday

2008-01-23T12:41:00.000-06:00

Leeuwarden....part deux

2008-01-22T12:52:00.000-06:00

We go into Leeuwarden at least twice a week, if not more. Once for C.'s piano lesson and another time for The Twins' music class. Today we dropped C. off for his piano lesson and then headed off into another part of town. We stopped by the shop where we buy gluten free bread and I snapped these pictures

As I went to take this picture this little girl ran out into the street. And as I started to walk towards her to go down the alleyway, she ran behind the lightpole and peeked out to watch me. I bent down and smiled at her and said "hello!" and she smiled SO big and then quickly ran back into a shop. cute!

Right across the way from the shot I took of the alleyway is this large brick church. The sky was unusually blue and clear today, which I loved. The weather here is very much like Seattle. So Laura, if you've got any tips for me, that'd be great.

You can see in this shot that the dark clouds were rolling back in. If it is sunny during the day, it doesn't last long. Today was an exception though.

We also went to another village today called Stiens, which I want to go back to and photograph. We saw a bunch of swans floating in a pond on the way home from there; it was amazing! I should've just pulled the car over, but we were on a road that was just wide enough for one car, so I didn't want to block any cars that could've come through. ahhhhhh.

I should just buckle down and take those pictures even if they aren't convenient.

2008-01-22T04:26:00.000-06:00

Daniel is now at the hospital located on base. When he had surgery done on his femur, they placed a titanium rod inside the bone, and so when that has healed up enough for him to use a walker, then he will be moved to the VA hospital to undergo rehab. Doctors say he will probably be in rehab for 3 months.

My sister spoke with him on the phone the other day, but of course he is having a hard time holding the phone to his ear because of his broken collarbone so they didn't talk for long.

My parents left yesterday I believe, to drive back home.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I'm also so grateful for everyone's kind words; they have most definitely been a help during this crazy, emotionally filled week.

Centre

2008-01-19T15:29:00.000-06:00

(The courthouse type building for Leeuwarden)

Centre is what we in the States might consider the "downtown" area of a city. Today A. and I drove into Leeuwarden's Centre (about a 15 minute drive from our village) to do some shopping before taking the twins to swim lessons. I needed to find my sister a birthday present and A. needed a new swimsuit. As always, it was drizzly/rainy, overcast and cold, but I'm becoming used to that. Note: unless you plan on carting an umbrella everywhere, just forget about doing your hair in the morning.

My camera goes everywhere with me now, because I want to make sure I have it when a picture moment arises, which could be anytime considering everything is new and interesting to me. The funny thing is, I was a little embarassed to be pulling my camera out as we walked through the streets. "What if people think I'm a tourist?" (you practically are a tourist...you just moved here) "I don't want to look silly" (Ok yeah, but then you'll miss out on some great shots and memories). So I snapped a couple pictures; but soon I was too busy trying to get shopping done, and put the camera away.

Because we were on a tight schedule, there wasn't much time to just wander around and take pictures, and plus this place has so many little alleyways and interesting things to see that I'm sure I could spend all year going around capturing the Centre.

It was so fun going around Leeuwarden's "downtown" and getting to practice saying "Dank u wel" (thank you very much) to the shop owners. Oh! and I learned that the Netherlands has pet ambulances. crazy huh? One was parked in the Centre today at these two booths; there was some type of fundraiser going on and the pet ambulance dept. was helping with it. They had two women completely decked out in make-up; they looked like they stepped right off the stage of the Broadway show "Cats".

There is also a farmer's market that takes place on Fridays in the Centre; vendors from all over the country come and sell their wares. You can bet I will go down there one of these days to photograph and see what there is to buy.

I'm becoming more comfortable driving, though I still need help getting around. But I hope that soon I will be able to recognize the streets and will be able to drive to the regular spots we visit every week without assistance.

Here's to another week.

2008-01-19T03:28:00.000-06:00

Daniel has been moved out of the ICU and into a regular hospital room, which is great. He ate his first regular meal since the accident though my Mom had to feed him (I think having his collarbone broken in two places is preventing him from using his arms much). When my parents first arrived, he wouldn't really respond or react to them, but now he is finally starting to respond to them, which is also good.

My Dad took a look at the police report and it said that Daniel ran a red light and hit the side of a woman's car. He flew into the air and hit the pavement in the intersection. Luckily he was wearing a heavy helmet; things could have been much worse. His moped broke in two from the impact, which has to say something about how fast the collision was.

They don't know when Daniel will be able to move to the hospital on the Air Force base, but my parents are going to stay on base at the hotel. Plans are for them to stay through Monday.

More Updates

2008-01-18T03:16:00.001-06:00

My parents have been updated by the doctors on my brother's condition. They are saying there is no real head injury; just a concussion. His behavior has been improving since he went off the Morphine which is a very good sign. The swelling is going down and he may have his chest tube removed soon and could move to a regular hospital room soon as well. He is also eating more regular foods. And he now knows it's 2008, which is good :)

Thank you everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Update on Daniel

2008-01-17T15:19:00.000-06:00

My parents are at the hospital with Daniel, currently getting updated by the doctors. My sister was able to talk to him for a few brief seconds, and then with my parents. Daniel is obviously suffering from some memory loss. He thinks he's 17 years old and it's 1979. He didn't remember my sister right away, but when my parents asked him again if he remembered her, he said yes.
_________________________________________________________________
*I forgot to mention that Daniel no longer has the ventilator, the last that we heard*

My sister received word from the Negrons that Daniel does have a head injury; what it is and specifics were not shared or are not known at this time. The Negrons say he has been swearing at people, trying to pull out tubes and stitches, and turn off his monitors. He is also not remembering people's names or the accident.

He has blood and fluid in one lung and the other is partially collapsed. A chest tube has been put in. He is only on Tylenol because the Morphine was making his behavior and breathing worse.

My parents will be arriving at the hospital today. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, along with Daniel. I can't imagine how hard it is going to be for them to see him like this, and we're worried he may not recognize them or will be aggressive towards them too.

Perhaps I would not usually be this public about something so serious and personal, but I feel that the more prayers and good thoughts that can go Daniel's way, the better. It is going to be a long road to recovery for him.

My brother

2008-01-16T07:18:00.001-06:00

*UPDATE*

We have received a full list of Daniel's injuries known so far:

when his femur bone broke, it protruded out of his leg which further explains the need for surgery that same day.
broken ribs -- we know that a lung was punctured.
clavicle broken on two places -- I believe on both sides
fracture of the pelvis -- the 1st Sergeant said he was told it was a hip socket
stitches on his lip(s)
body swollen to his finger tips
of course bruises

*UPDATE*

As two of my sisters have already mentioned on their blogs, our brother Daniel was involved in a car accident on Monday and is in the ICU. We're still not sure on the details, but we do know that he broke his femur bone and had surgery on it on Monday (I did some reading up on femur bone breaks and to have surgery on it means that he had one of the worst types of break you can have), possibly a fractured pelvic bone and a collapsed lung. He is conscious but is of course on heavy pain killers. They had to put him on a ventilator yesterday evening because he was having a difficult time breathing. The doctors are hoping that they will be able to take it out in the next day or so, but if that isn't the case, he will need to have an eating tube put in.

I want to say how grateful I am that he has such wonderful friends like the Negrons (Daniel is the godfather of their little girl) and others that he knows through the military and church that have been going to be with him in the hospital and giving my parents updates. My Dad is looking into going down to Georgia to be with him.

Being 5000 miles away in a different country is so hard. All I want is to be home with my family or there in Georgia with Daniel. I feel so helpless and disconnected from it all. I just pray that he will be alright. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Pictures

2008-01-10T05:05:00.000-06:00

Snoep "Snoopy" the cat

Jamie the cat

The road in front of the house

The house

Ik ben aangekomen!

2008-01-09T13:17:00.000-06:00

Well, I've now been in the Nederlands for about 32 hours, and things are going really well. My flights were really long and I only was able to sleep for about an hour total, even with my international flight. I think not sleeping much then and keeping myself awake and not (well okay, I laid down for about an hour in the evening) going to sleep until around 11:30 yesterday is really helping my jet lag. I slept for almost 10 hours last night and have made sure I did not lay down for a nap. I'm hoping that by not napping during the day and going to sleep when everyone else does, I will get over my jet lag really soon.

The family is so fun and there is always something going on :) Along with their dog Bjorno, they have two cats named Snoopy (i think it's spelled differently though because that is actually the word for 'candy' in Dutch) and Jamie. Both very affectionate cat; Jamie curled up on my lap while I watched a movie with A. yesterday afternoon. They also have a sheep named Lulabelle *I think that's its name* and a bunch of chickens.

It's fun hearing everyone speaking in Dutch; it's definitely something to get used to, but it's great because hopefully that will help me as I'm learning Dutch. They are very considerate and translate for me as they're talking to eachother, which is great.

I went with C., J., and S. to a play place called "Monkey Town" for a couple hours this evening. It's like Chuckie Cheese except a lot less electric games, which is really nice. There are huge jungle gyms to play on and big lego blocks so you can build forts and inflated slides; all sorts of things. The jungle gym was big enough that even I could go and play with the kids on it, which I did a little of. It was just fun watching them running around and building elaborate forts with the blocks. And oh wow, hearing Dutch all around me! A couple new things for me that I learned: there are no drinking fountains in the Netherlands; you buy bottled water. The one I got at Monkey Town was in a small glass bottle and had bubbles, but tasted just like regular water. Even the pepsi was in the small glass bottle. They give you a couple really thin straws to drink with. I don't know if this was at Monkey Town only, but there were no paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms; no towels at all, and no mirrors. I will have to keep an eye out in other places to see if this is the norm.

My alarm clock is in military time, so hopefully this means I will learn really fast to read military time. haha.

OH and I will have to take a picture of our stairs for you. Very steep and very narrow. You will not even believe it.

More later!

Whoa Baby!

2008-01-06T23:07:00.000-06:00

Well, Netherlands here I come!

2008-01-05T12:52:00.000-06:00

So we've come to the weekend before I fly to The Netherlands. These few weeks I've been back in Kansas have really flown. I had all these things planned out that I was going to go do while I was back. Thankfully I did get to do some of those things, but it's a shame I didn't get around to everything. But isn't that how it always goes? You have all of these lofty ideas and goals for when you go somewhere, and there never seems to be enough time to do them all? I think it's good that I wasn't running around trying to do everything anyhow. I needed a breather. And I suppose I needed to just regain some of myself back from when I was at school. Going to classes and working and trying to stay on top of a million projects that really feel like they don't have any purpose really have a way of bogging me down, and making me feel and act untrue to myself. Can anyone else relate to that?

Near the end of school, I just felt like my chill factor had gone out the door and was replaced by someone who didn't know how to just sit back and relax once and awhile. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed moments there in my day, but overall I think I was just burnt out and couldn't seem to catch my breath.

So these past few weeks have been wonderful. I've had my emotional recharge. It's been a good reminder that every once and awhile you just need to step back and take that breather, take a moment to emotionally recharge so that you can stay true to who you really are, and how you want to behave. I know I'll need to keep reminding myself of that here in this next year. I couldn't be more ready and more excited to get over to the Netherlands and experience everything, but realistically I know that I'm going to feel overwhelmed at times. So hey, if I start sounding like I'm forgetting what an amazing experience all of this is going to be, please speak up and help me remember to just enjoy life! It's all too short not to.

I went over to Chrissy's last night for dinner. It was so much fun catching up with her, hearing about what's new in her life, and talking about old times. And I finally got to have my Beef and Broccoli from the chinese kitchen. And oh man, it was so good! ahhhh.

Tonight is my friends Karen and Adam's wedding reception in Lawrence. I agreed to pick up some roses here in town and bring them over this evening to the reception, so I've got to go do that here in a couple hours.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Pictures of my sister

2008-01-03T13:42:00.000-06:00

As I sat in the living room, avoiding the rest of the packing/storing of items that will not go overseas with me, I decided to torture Allison by taking lots of pictures of her. "New Pose!" "Look scared!" "Surprised!" "Okay now smile, but don't smile too much...okay, now you look mad. Smile just alittle more...alittle less.....okay, just a tiny bit more then that". Poor girl! haha. She liked it though, even if she denies it.

This is my favorite of all the pictures I took that night of her; probably because it was one where I caught her off guard, right before I started making her pose for me. She was just being so goofy!

I curled and pinned her hair for the New Years Eve Dance that she went to.

New Year

2008-01-01T20:53:00.000-06:00

Wow, 2008. Time sure does fly.

So much happened this past year.

Moved out of The Abbington and into an apt with roommates I had at The Abbington
Started a new job up on campus Winter Semester (best place to work. Should have made the move a lot sooner.)
Survived January that had temperatures of -20+ degrees
Had Bronchitis
Applied for Graduation
Planned on moving to Massachusetts right after graduation
Took a guitar class and really fell in love with playing
Went shooting for the first time
Switched on campus jobs and became a Secretary for the Buildings and Grounds Dept. LOVED it.
Went to Yellowstone
Finally decided on going through the LDS nanny agency to find a job for after graduation (little did I know what was to come ;))
Went white water rafting for the first time on the Snake river. It was so rad!
Survived living in Rexburg for the 7 week break...barely :)
Decided to move back into a house...Hill House...on College Ave. 11 girls lived there.
Had a blast taking a class that had me and 6 other girls running a Preschool (even if it was super stressful)
Bought my first "real" camera...my beautiful digital Sony Cybershot.
Worked as a secretary for the Design and Construction Office.
Made the decision to move to the Netherlands to nanny after graduation :)
Got a passport
Had a wonderful Thanksgiving up in Wyoming and got to go chase a cow down on a horse for the first time!
Stayed sane through my last semester of college despite the fact that I was desperately worried about failing a couple of my classes (which thankfully I passed)
Packed up and left Rexburg for the last time.

My younger sister and I went to Kansas City last night for the New Year. She went to a Church dance that was going on and I drove over to our older sisters' apt to hang out with Sarah since I wasn't feeling too hot. We ended up watching Da Vinci Code, but I was out cold on the couch before midnight. Whoops? Today was real chill, just hanging out at the apt, watching TV with the girls and messing around on their guitars. But unfotunately they misplaced the chord to hook up their electric to its amp and the classical guitar's neck is coming unglued, so that wasn't too successful ;)

My time left here in the States is ending so fast. Tomorrow is Wednesday! How did that happen? There are still a few things left to do before I go, but for the most part, I am ready. I'm not so ready for that 7 hour layover in Memphis ;) but I'm ready to meet this great family, to be out of the country for the first time, and learn and do so many new and interesting things. This year is going to be full of a lot of "firsts" for me and I suppose my hope for this new year is that I will be able to take them all in and enjoy them for what they are worth, even the hard things.

I wish all of you a healthy, safe and peaceful New Year!

Sunday Morning

2007-12-30T10:46:00.000-06:00

I had gotten up this morning with enough time to take a shower, do my hair, get dressed and walk over to church next door without having to rush. As I made my way down the sidewalk, five minutes to 9, I knew something was wrong...something just didn't feel quite right. And then it hit me. It was still 2007. We still had church at 1 pm; our congregation did not switch to 9 am until next Sunday. I was four hours early to church. Four.

What was I going to do with four hours to spare? I could climb back into my bed, but I was already dressed, make-up on and hair done. I'll admit, I was a little put out.

But now I've been sitting here for a few hours, just taking in the morning, enjoying the quiet still of nowhere to be and nowhere to go. Under my couch sleeps an old, deaf cat who is sleep talking; little grumbles and tufts of air escaping her mouth. I'm wrapped up in a blanket made for me by a lifetime friend, a going away present when I left for college, discovering the wonderful pictures and writing style of Tongue in Cheek.

I have found myself totally in love with these four hours early.

New Look

2007-12-28T23:09:00.000-06:00

What do you think?

2007-12-28T11:30:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Things were just great here in our household. While we didn't do the Secret Santa exchange like had been talked about, we definitely scaled back the amounts of presents, which I was grateful for. I still want to do a homemade Christmas exchange next year, but we'll see how well that goes. If nothing else, I'll do it with the gifts that I give.

I loved having Sarah and Becky home for a couple days. Going from living with 10 other girls at college to just your parents and 18 year old sister can be quite the adjustment, and so I was glad to have more people in the house. And of course, we are always so silly and I had missed having that :)

I leave in about 9 days; time here at home really has gone so fast. I'm almost done figuring out all the things that will go with me to the Netherlands. I still wish there were a way for my guitar to come with me, but it seems that just isn't possible. Perhaps I could have it mailed to me later on. However, I'm still keeping in consideration buying a guitar over there.

I just can't believe that in less then 2 weeks I'll be living in a different country. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared about moving, or nervous but what helps me is the confidence that I have from knowing this is the right decision; that I'm doing what I need to with my life right now. Isn't it so strange that you can be having such strong, conflicting emotions over the same thing? But it makes sense.

But most of all, I'm so excited to go.

Christmas Day

2007-12-25T13:41:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! (Can you tell I love my new digital camera? How is it I didn't get one sooner?)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2007-12-24T14:19:00.000-06:00

It's been really good to be home. Believe me, there are times when I am more then ready to be on my way and done with my visit ;) but mostly it's been good to catch up with everyone and spend time with my family. Of course I've been taking advantage of having my digital camera with me and taking plenty of pictures.

As I was going around the living room taking pictures, I noticed that we have a lot of wheat in our house; how ironic! While we may be allergic to wheat, it's also a big symbol of Kansas and my Mom has been making wheat weavings for years. They're considered house blessings.

My Mom grows her own herbs, along with all the vegetables that are grown in our garden. This winter Mom has been growing green onions inside the house, with along with potted herbs so she can have fresh ingredients to work with during the cold months. She's also got quite a large Aloe plant growing inside.

We've been busy baking the past two days. Yesterday were the Cranberry filling cookies (with homemade Cranberry filling!) and gluten-free brownies. Today it was the gluten-free rolls and the Apple Crumble, using all those apples down below.

And plenty of pictures taken of Becky messing around with my guitar.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Home, Home Again

2007-12-17T10:14:00.000-06:00

-a little Pink Floyd lyric for ya

Well yes, I'm back in Kansas and so glad to be finally done with school, graduation and driving through Wyoming and Nebraska...in the winter. Horrible. The roads were fine, but the scenery left much to be desired :)

I'm done with school! Bizarre and rad at the same time. No more homework, papers, tests....oh, it's beautiful. And now I can just concentrate on enjoying the next 3 weeks at home. There are Christmas presents to get, doctors/dentist/eye doctor appts to go to, unpacking and repacking to do and friends and family to catch up with. It's going to go so fast, I just know it. I hope I can get everything in during that time :)

Things are finally rolling right along. Graduation, back at home, off to the Netherlands. It hit me on the way home that I'm free to do anything now. Not that I didn't feel free during college, but I had a plan when I first got there that I wanted to stick to for the next 4 years, and it was important to me to get a degree. Now that I've accomplished that, there are so many options and decisions and choices. It's overwhelming and wonderful at the same time.

I AM

2007-12-14T21:31:00.000-06:00

Offically graduated!

Half way there

2007-12-11T15:53:00.000-06:00

Today sort of marks my half way point as far as final projects and tests go. I finished one final yesterday, finished up Preschool today as well as turned in my Preschool Portfolio. That leaves my final tomorrow, a paper to turn in and turning in my last portfolio on Friday. So close!

The stress has been amazing; it's a completely new type of stress I don't think I've ever experienced. It's seemed to have built itself up this entire semester. And I've surprised myself by keeping it together pretty well; no breaking down and crying or anything. But Sunday seemed to push me over the edge a bit. My parents have been planning to come out for my graduation, but then I got a call Sunday evening. They were concerned about the ice/snow storms going on in the Midwest and about leaving Allison at home by herself. They had called to let me know my Mom would not be coming out with my Dad. I played it cool on the phone but once I got off, I just broke down. I think I surprised myself a little because I remember as I was crying, I was thinking to myself "Emily, calm down..it's not a big deal". But you know, that's the thing, apparently it was a big deal. I hadn't put much thought into my parents coming at the end of the week, but as I thought more about it, I realized how much I was looking forward to them coming. My family has never visited me at school except for my Dad to pick me up at the end of the semester my freshman and sophomore year of college. I was looking forward to having them here, seeing me graduate and showing them around campus a little.

So I called my Dad back and through the tears (embarassing!) said it was really important to me that Mom be there. So we talked about it and decided Allison would come with them instead of staying at home. Allison is half way though her first semester of college and hasn't been to Rexburg since she was probably one or so, so this'll be fun. I'm so grateful that all of them will be able to come up for my graduation. I've decided it's just one of those events where it's not worth it unless you have people there that you love. You know?