Week 8

Feb 22: 99 cents at Target = a fantastic dog toy. Keeps him happy for quite some time.
Feb 23: He got neutered today. He does not like the cone of shame. Give me the most pathetic look when I put it on.

Feb 24: The Wichita Thunder hockey game at the new Intrust Bank Arena. Our free tickets were in the nose bleed section and the Thunder lost badly, but it was fun to go see with friends.

Feb 25: My first attempt at making ice cream turned out well even though the flavor raised eyebrows. Sweet Corn ice cream. It was all for Shaun's birthday party on ....

Feb 26 which was dubbed "the corn & ping-pong festival". We were asked to bring a corn side dish, so I went exotic. The ice cream was actually a big hit. It's really not as odd as it seems. All the corn inspired offerings.

The birthday boy getting some ping-pong action going.

Feb 27: I unexpectedly came across a picture at Hobby Lobby that I think will work perfectly over the couch and it happened to be 50% off.

Feb 28: A great way to start a Sunday...a massage.

Week 7

Feb 15: I finally got around to putting the finishing touches on this cross-stitch. Now the question is how long will it take me to get it framed. I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but I've made one of these for each one of the Ross kids. Jessa is #5.

Feb 16: Being out in the backyard with the dog, I've noticed some hints of spring like the daffodil & tulip shoots beginning to emerge.

Feb 17: City tags. It may not seem like much but Diesel's first vet appointment was a draining experience. He was fine until he had to be held still for the shots, then he wanted out of the room as fast as possible. A 69 lb dog is not an easy opponent.

Feb 18: Amanda asked me to see the all Wichita high school production of Footloose with her. She knew a kid in it. I had forgotten how bad high school theatre can be. But it was still enjoyable. And we spotted Wayne Bryant, director of Music Theatre of Wichita, there. (I have season tickets to MTW and love it!)

Feb 19: Drool fest: Patrick Dempsey. Girls' movie night at my house where we pick a particular drool-worthy actor and watch a few of his movies. I made an almond-lemon cake topped with powdered sugar & raspberries.

It must have been local celebrity-spotting days for me. I ran into Renee Stevens (her family owns Spangles and she does all their commercials) at BabiesRUs while shopping for a friend's shower.

Feb 20: The chairs finally arrived! The living room pieces are all here & in place. Now I just need to get around to hanging things on the walls.

Feb 21: Scrapbooking date with Janel. Why yes, I am only on Costa Rica 2007. And we won't even talk about the fact that I have to do a whole separate album for my 3 months in France in 2007. Ack. Good thing we try to do this about once a month.

Week 6

Feb 8: Fluffy snow trees. 6 inches of snow overnight.
Feb 9: The Wedding Singer muscial with Amanda. Our seats ended up being in the 6th row.

Feb 10: Biblestudy. We're reading this book that has brought up some great discussion about how to live in community.

Feb 11: Meet Diesel. I agreed to take this dog who needed a new home. Now I'm not so sure I was ready for a pet but we'll get used to each other. He's 4 years old. Half terrier, half boxer. Has springs for legs but is a sweet well behaved dog.

He has a security blanket - a towel he sucks on when he sleeps.

Feb 11: The bear has on his winter hat & scarf.

Feb 13: Diesel likes to be under things. He figured out he can fit under my bed.

Going away party for Elizabeth & Joe. I'll miss her!

Feb 14: Decided to put together some baby blankets today.

Week 5

How did January go by so quickly? February kindly started on a Monday.
Feb 1: I started volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House on Mondays for a few hours after work. I laughed at the first item on my to do list today. "Have snack." Betty is a hard task master.
Feb 2: Hannah was visiting my parents with the boys. They came down to see me for the afternoon since I couldn't get up to see them. Jack is 7 months old and getting so big.

Marshall loved running around in the snowy backyard, "Yeehaw!", and throwing snow balls at the tree trunk.

Feb 3: The amaryllis is blooming!

Feb 4: The area rug arrived for the living room. Almost all the pieces are here.

Feb 5: This evening I helped at Numana's One Million Meal packaging event. I happened to get stationed right next to my friend Cindy. Numana is a new local organization that partners with the Salvation Army to provide nutrious soy & rice meals (just add water) that are delivered to areas in crisis. This is the 3rd event they've held since the Haiti earthquake. Numana has no paid staff. They advertise their events and volunteers work together to package the meals. There has been a fantastic community response.

Feb 6: Tanya has amazing cake skills. She did this barnyard cake for her son's 1st birthday party.

Feb 7: The amaryllis has 5 full blooms - bonus! I was told they usually have 2 or 4 blooms. And now I promise I'll stop with pictures of it. But it has been really neat to watch it grow.

Week 4

Jan 25: The amaryllis shot up over the weekend.
Jan 26: I made white chocolate macadamia nut bars for the work snack day. They were yummy.

Jan 27: My Christmas package arrived from Elisabeth (she was my German exchange student in 2004/5). She knows what I like - Milka, candles & an adorable shoe-shaped mug for hot spiced wine from her home town.

Jan 28: (Happy birthday to Hannah) One of the first things I do every day when I get home is kick off my shoes and slip into my Clobber Leather Australian sheepskin slippers. Best Slippers Ever!

Jan 29: 5 inches of snow greeted us on Friday morning. I'd be fine with it if I didn't have a busy few days ahead. We got another inch or so during the day.

I did the flowers for my sweet friend Elizabeth's wedding. Friday night after the rehearsal dinner I set to working and roped Amanda and Ginger into helping some too. The reception table centerpieces come together.

The bridesmaids' bouquets.

The bride's bouquet.

Jan 30: The mailman's tracks through the front yard. I was nice and shoveled the sidewalk and porch for him this morning.

I headed up decorating the reception in the restaurant's banquet hall. The bride has excellent taste, I merely put it together with the help of Jen, Christina & Amanda.

The radiant bride & her Marine in shining armor. Congrats, Elizabeth & Joe! Jan 31: The amaryllis has 5 buds threatening to bloom any second.