she sells seashells...

I haven't had a chance to sort through vacation photos, but I wanted to post a few for a quick peak sneak of the trip we took to Oahu and Kauai a couple of weeks ago.

A three-legged cat joined us to watch the sunrise. We named her Coconut.

There are chickens and roosters everywhere. They make themselves at home in any situation imaginable. You could be sitting on the beach, hear waves crashing, and then hear a cock-a-doodle-doo. It was really comical.

Sunset the evening before on our drive back from Hwy 560.

telephone...

I often think life is such a great comedy. Yesterday for example.

Overheard clerk talking to co-worker at a convenience store in Russell, Kansas:

"When I eat at work I only buy cheese sticks or pork rinds. Everything else in here is so fattening."

Also, my Aunt Vicky passed along a story about Grandma I had yet to hear. One evening some of the family went out for dinner, and Grandma decided to have part of a bottled margarita drink the other girls were having. When Aunt Vicky and Grandma were later walking to the restroom, Grandma leaned over and said:

"Wow Vicky, that marijuana is really good!"

It's been one year tomorrow since she's been gone. I miss her. To celebrate her life, some of her daughters are getting together to eat really spicy Mexican food (Grandma's favorite) and drink "Marijuanas".

Cheers to that.

aloha...

Hello swimsuit and flip flops. Good-bye laptop and cellphone.

bean bag toss...

Finally, finally the weather cooperated and I attended my first Ultimate Frisbee pick-up game of the season. It was bliss. My lack of lung capacity was immediately apparent after two sprints up and down the field. By the end I was practically dragging my feet through the grass, barely able to pick up my feet, but I was smiling on the inside. Aaahhhh.

potpourri...

I think my life is sometimes like my GPS. I have all the best intentions of ending up in the right place, but sometimes I sure take some crazy routes to get there.

Anyway, I keep wanting to blog, but I open up a new post and the creativity juices feel all dried up. I want to share and inspire and provoke and provide comic relief. But my fingers sit still on the keys. No clickety-clack, tap tap tap. Just quietness. Even though my brain is buzzing with chatter.

So I decided to just share some recent reflections (not brilliant reflections, more so just random) for now, until the writing bug strikes again:

- So what about this weather, huh? It's freaking incredible. I can't soak it in enough.
- Visited Denver, gorged myself on my first City Grille burger (and b-day brownie awesomeness with Laura & Laura) and later saw a gorgeous sunset over the mountains from City Park. Hotel reservation was lost. Slumber party instead. Bok choy.
- My room is a disaster and I'm contemplating getting a personal assistant. Okay, not really. But I've really thought about it. Still thinking about it.
- Going on vacation soon... definitely not prepared, but getting more excited. Liz and I are going to be brave. I hope.
- I have amazing friends. Amazing, amazing, amazing. I'm just so thankful. And it's beautiful to me that friendships just keep getting stronger beyond college. I thought after that things went downhill. Turns out, things can get even better.
- Ultimate Frisbee tomorrow - FINALLY!
- Will I always sleep with my stuffed animal leopard, Tabitha? Umm, I should delete that.
- I wish my family lived closer. I would bug them all the time.
- Does anyone know of a good hairspray that holds, but doesn't crispify your locks? No me gusta crunchy.
- Where in the heck do people find any sort of balance in their lives? Right now my balance-o-meter is all out of whack - ack! Hey, that rhymes.
- I get to see Piper this weekend! I cannot wait. Seriously. Seriously seriously.
- I'm dreaming of our family trips to the lake. It won't seem like summer until we've water-skied across the rippling waves.
- God is so good. So, so good.

Night.

can you hear me now...?

It feels so good to be home. No matter how long the drive, the familiarity of Main Street (careful - only 20mph zone), Mom's kitchen, and Dad's pick-me-off-the-ground hugs are always, always worth it.

Plus, Justin and Amber made it back too. Even better. Now home feels complete.

Oh, and a big thank you to friends who keep me on speaker phone for over an hour in order to prevent me from falling asleep at the wheel while crossing the Great Plains. That's what I call awesome.

and action...

Me, JVC Camcorders, and iMovie don't get along. At all. How difficult can it be to import video? This is nutso. I'm going nutso.

love...

It seems as though birthdays lend to moments of reflection and recollections about one's life and the journeys that have brought you to this exact moment in time. Mom called this morning and left a voicemail about how thankful she was that I was brought into their lives twenty-five years ago. Of course, Mom is always warm and loving, always a kind word for my brother and I, but her had me thinking...

And I think it should be the other way around.

Thank you Mom and Dad, for bringing my life into this world.

What if I had never been given the chance to experience all this life has to offer? The valleys and peaks, joys and heartaches.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be on this great earth and actively participate in what it has to offer - all that is good, as well as that which is difficult. So many are never given the chance.

cuddlebug...

This weekend I finally had the privilege to meet Piper Jalee, who was born February 19th to extremely proud parents Zach & Bridget. I drove back home this morning and all I could think about today was her - wishing I could hold her one more time to watch the funny faces she makes, hear her little grunts, and all the other little things she does to make those around her smile. It doesn't take much for her to entertain. There's something so sweet and joyful about a little baby - you just can't help but love them instantly.

It dawned on me that this was basically the only time I've even been around an infant for an extended period of time. And Bridget taught me well. She told me not to be afraid of them crying (usually she was hungry, a need that was quickly met) which was good, because usually when babies cry I freak out and quickly hand him/her to mom. Piper helped me out by not crying much to begin with, but if she did, it wouldn't last long.

There's so much to tell you about my visit. We celebrated Piper's 1-Month Birthday, shopped at Hobby Lobby for nursery decor, bought groceries, went to Lowe's, had her one month doctor's check-up (she was ridiculously cute squirming around on the scale waiting for her measurement - she gained two pounds in two weeks!), ate at Bogey's (holy monkeys the shakes there are amazing), took lots of pictures, and went for walks around the neighborhood. And Piper was a trooper throughout each journey. In fact, anytime she was in her car seat and in motion, she was a happy sleeping baby, which makes running errands about as painless as possible with a newborn.

...Somehow through it all, I was able to avoid diaper duty - phew!

I'm so thankful for the time I was able to spend with Piper and her family. It's so beautiful to see two wonderful people bring a child into this great big world. Piper - you have so many great adventures ahead, may you always know you are loved.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

evergreen...

Daylight Savings Time can be exhausting. Today I was feeling a bit sorry for myself - my undereyes were dark, my body worn out. This evening however, my roommate humbly changed my opinion on the difficulty of losing that one hour of sleep.

She said, "You know, as much as I'm tired today from losing an hour of sleep last night, I am so thankful it's still light outside."

Hello. It was about 6:30pm. I had been staring out the kitchen window eating a bowl of cereal and appreciating the sun finally revealing itself through the clouds, and it never dawned on my that yesterday it would have been dark out.

What a wonderful feeling to have spring so soon on the way.

suzuki forenza wha...?

Having a rental car is a funny thing, and it can lead to precarious situations. I can't wait to return this one back to Enterprise.

I miss the Volvo and all its wonderful delights. Like a horn in the middle of the steering column, right where I like it.

caffe americano...

On my Starbucks cup this afternoon:

The Way I See It #76

The irony of commitment is that
it's deeply liberating - in works,
in play, in love. The act frees you
from the tyranny of your internal critic,
from the fear that likes to
dress itself up and parade around
as rational hesitation. To commit is
to remove your head as the barrier
to your life

- Anne Morris, Starbucks customer from NYC

It's not often a paper cup makes me reflect as much as this one did.

What excuses am I holding onto? What fears and self-doubts are preventing me from being the best me I have to offer? Why is our society, this generation, myself included, so afraid of committing to anything? When will we take ownership for our actions, decisions, and ultimately our future? When will we stop making excuses for our mediocrity and indecision?

Very soon, I hope.

And all that from a grande soy latte.

dear john...

Did anyone know there really is such thing as the Dead Letter Office? I guess when I was little I'd heard about it once or twice, but I mistakenly thought it was the place where letters for dead people went after they died. This Tuesday I found out that theory was slightly inaccurate.

Sunday night I was trying to wrap up some loose ends at work, so on my way to grab some food, I gathered a bunch of letters to be mailed, both private and work related, so I could drop them off and cross the task off my to-do list. I searched my office high and low for stamps, made sure all the envelopes were sealed, and proudly left with my stack of mail. I pulled around the moon-shaped drive and pulled up as close as I could to the big blue drop box. Double checked to ensure they all had stamps. Yep. Check. And as I tossed them down the chute I realized, all too late, that although they might all have stamps, not all of them had addresses. Nooooo!

Two of the notes were thank you's from Christmas - I'm a lot behind! I had actually written them over a month ago, but long story short, they were lost and only recently discovered. Looks like they'll be lost again.

I called on Monday to see what happened to letters without addresses. Who even does that? Sheesh. The Post Office would never pick up the phone, so I decided to drive there before work. I get there and no one is manning the office. In fact, all the lights are off and the door is locked. Great - does anyone even work around here? (I accidentally sighed that outloud) A woman checking her PO Box graciously explained in was President's Day and they were closed.

Brain-head move #2 within 24 hours.

An even longer story short, I got ahold of the Post Office on Wednesday. After explaining to the man what happened, he asked if I'd at least included a return address on the envelope? Dude, if the letters had return addresses, I wouldn't be desperately searching the post office in an effort to track them down.

He said I had to contact the Dead Letter Office within 30 days to see if it can be found at retrieved. That's when I found out a Dead Letter Office is really a place for letters without a home. An interesting thought, really. But I just want my letters back so I can share them with the loved ones intended.

So Laura, Steve & Sharon - if you receive thank you's four months late, it's not my fault. They're stuck in an office somewhere with no place to call home.

puddin'...

While attempting a little office organization today I came across the menu of a restaurant called Iron Barley. It's located in St. Louis, possibly not in the best part of town. But it was showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and it's so GOOD!

I ordered Schnitzel & Spaetzle and have honestly been craving it ever since. I don't even know what that means (I think it was a fried pork chop of some sort), but it was such great food.

If you're ever in the STL area I highly recommend it stopping by. Don't be discouraged by the ambiance. It's well worth the grub.

don't say a word...

One of my favorite, rare pleasures in life? Falling asleep to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the rooftop, the distant rumble of thunder lulling me deep into dreamland.

click...

I was so excited for this morning. Brian and I got in late to Sacramento, and after picking up the rental and finding our hotel, we were pretty dog-tired. Whatever that means... dogs are almost always tired. Anyway, the change in time zone meant I'd get to sleep-in and still conquer an AM workout before the first training session of the day began.

My sleep was much disturbed, which was unusual for me, but I chalked it up to the flight and anxiety of travel and what the week had in store. My alarm went off perfectly as planned - 6:05AM PST. Why 6:05? I don't know. I suppose 6:00am seemed too early. I flicked on the lamp above the night stand, ready to attack the treadmill and work through some sore muscles.

That's weird. No light. Hmmm, probably operator error, as it was last night during the five minutes it took me to figure out how to turn it on. Bathroom break. What the?! This light doesn't work either? I tried every other light in the room, then checked the clock. Out, out, and out. Called the front desk. They knew - it was affecting the entire hotel and a technician was on his way.

Okay, well, I guess I'll answer some emails until I can get ready. Oops, wait a minute. My computer battery is dead from using it on the plane.

So I went back to bed, only able to fall asleep halfway. Eventually the time gap for a workout slipped by, then time for a real shower slipped by as well. Finally it was 7:30am, and I knew I couldn't lay in bed forever. I took a freezing cold shower in the dark with hair high in a ponytail (we all know what a little mist can do to these bangs), and attempted to get clean. Seriously, that is some difficult business! You throw one of those variables in and it's tricky, but both! Hope the trainer doesn't mind greasy hair and half shaved armpits.

The electricty came back at 9:30am. The training was delayed but we powered through it. This evening Brian and I went for a run then out to a great restaurant downtown called Biba. Our server, Rueben, was incredible bar none. And the food was excellent as well.

Now I'm headed back to bed, hoping the early morning tomorrow brings will be filled with fake flourescent light and powered plug-ins.

yes ma'am...

There are so many decisions we make daily. So many things that require a choice.

What time to wake up?
Hit snooze or crawl out of bed?
Eat breakfast?
Respond to emails or make phone calls?
Drive the speed limit?
Be honest with a friend?
Have dessert?
Use your blinker?
Take out the trash or leave it for your roommate?
Stick up for what you believe in or let it go?
Floss?

How do we know if we’ve made the right one? And will we ever know how one decision affects our life? We do the best we can. Or we hope we do, but is it enough?

I’m on a plane to Sacramento. We are headed to a week-long leadership training. It’s the longest I’ve been gone for work at one time. We have some fun things planned (yummy restaurants, IKEA, REI), but my heart has been heavy the last few days, making it difficult to be excited for the journey. Perhaps if it were near the ocean…

I’m not sure how to express my feelings, disappointments, frustrations that have recently surrounded me. My mind feels cloudy; confused. And each question I ask myself as a means to process seems to be answered by another question following close behind. Solutions and resolutions seem far and few between.

It’s funny to think about people. About how predictable we are, no matter how unique and interesting on the outside, a majority of the time we respond as expected. The saying often goes when dealing with people, there is always the unknown, the X factor – we are not robots; we are not black and white. But part of me likes to argue that deep down, perhaps we are; maybe there is very little gray left at the end of each day.

I think that’s why when someone takes you by surprise, it’s quite refreshing. You were ready for the right hook shot, and got the left uppercut instead. Yowzers. Didn’t see that one coming.

I wish people were less predictable. I wish we all were.

one foot on the ground...

It’s funny how you just break down,
Waitin' on some sign
I pull up to the front of your driveway
With magic soakin' my spine.

Can you read my mind?

- The Killers 'Read My Mind'

sweet home...

Was it just me or did the sun shine a little brighter than usual today?

Maybe it was the two hour coffee shop chat with an incredible friend, or the bierock delivery followed by good conversation, or perhaps the piano lesson (yes, I was quite rusty), a friend's crazy-awesome news, the workout (okay, I'll be honest, Pilates wasn't great, but seeing Bridge and Liz was) or even missing dinner in exchange for a little quality time...

Life is so good. And I love being on vacation.

Now, does someone want to help me unpack all my bags?

up above the world so high...

There is nothing like looking out at the Western Kansas sky during the black of night, with billions of twinkling stars shining clear and high, high above. I always forget, until visiting back home, how many stars are hidden in the bright lights of the city.

But here, where life operates a little slower and Starbucks isn't available on every corner (or any corner for that matter, as I grudgingly remembered yesterday morning), the view is so magnificent.

Breathtaking, inspiring, speechless.

A perfect end to a beautiful Christmas, as we pulled in late tonight from a day spent at Grandma's house visiting family, sharing stories, and eating too many sugar cookies.