Not quite April's Fool

I haven't posted anything lately because there's not much going on outside of the sacred ordinary. I have been home almost 5 weeks straight without even a weekend trip. It's been at least 6 months since that has happened. It has been a nice change. However, spring in Kansas is always an adventure. There's an old adage: if you don't like the weather in Kansas, stick around 30 minutes - it will change. It has been very true lately.

The first day of spring, March 20, was great. We've been having some beautiful early spring weather. That changed Friday, March 27 with a few inches of ice pellets. Then Saturday, March 28 we had 4 inches of snow in Wichita. Which actually was a lot less than predicted. Just west & north of here there was 20+ inches of snow. It isn't completely unusual but it's not common either. I thought I'd give you some visuals. Prince Charming (my cement frog statue) on Saturday afternoon is barely peeking through the snow on the patio. Prince Charming 2 days later after every bit of snow was gone.

We'll see what April 1 actually brings when tomorrow dawns.

Barcelona

I made another trip to Toulouse for work. I was able to work my travel out to have a weekend over there. I went to Barcelona, Spain for the weekend with 4 co-workers. I had the opportunity to visit Barcelona in June 2007 for a weekend so this trip was intended to do things I hadn’t the first time. I love the architecture of the city – so diverse. The majority of the 200 pictures I took are of buildings. Barcelona is about a 3.5 hour drive from Toulouse. We drove down Friday night after work. Had a late dinner at the Hard Rock Café in Place de Catalunya. Saturday we took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of the city on a double decker bus. It was sunny in the morning but became overcast as the day went on and the bus ride got a little cold. But the bus ride afforded us a great trip around the city – parts I had not seen before. We did our first hop-off at Sagrada Familia cathedral. This cathedral was designed by Gaudi and construction began in the late 1800s. It is funded entirely by private donations, so the pace of construction is slow. I read once it will take an estimated 30 more years to complete it. The nativity façade was designed by Gaudi and was built during his life time. (That's me in the red.)The crucifixion façade is controversial as it was designed by a Japanese artist and is in stark contrast to what Gaudi designed. Every detail of the cathedral has significance. Spires represent the 4 gospels and the 12 fruits of the Spirit. The front doors are inscribed with the names of God.
We took the bus tour in a big loop around the city and saw many neighborhoods and fascinating buildings. Then we made our way to Parc Montjuic – the high point of the city. The venues for the 1992 Olympics are all on Parc Montjuic. The Olympics created a major revitalization of Barcelona. The Olympic Village was downtown on the beach – and most are now hotels. We went to the Joan Miro museum. I think I appreciated the art a little more than my co-workers. We then rode downtown and walked La Rambla. It is full of art kiosks and street performers. Dinner was down near the beach (the Mediterranean Sea) for paella. Sunday we took a detour due to the Barcelona Marathon. We walked thru Barri Gothic. Went to the Picasso Museum – which ends up is free the first Sunday of every month. After browsing through some pottery shops, we made our way to L’Aquarium which is down near the marina.I used the aquarium setting on my camera for the first time. The aquarium was nice but wasn’t really worth the 17 Euros entrance fee.
And after 2 full days, it was back to Toulouse and I flew home the next morning. I have a list of what I want to see “the next time” I get to Barcelona. I sit back and am amazed that I even think that there will be a next time. I feel so blessed with the opportunities I have been given.

Skiing

I am finally getting around to posting these pictures – a month later. I went skiing at the end of January with 18 other people at Breckenridge Resort. We had fantastic weather. The slopes were great. I really enjoyed the skiing. I even did a black for the first time! It’s the 2nd year I’ve gone with this group. Three days of skiing, the temperature was in the 30s, clear skies most of the time, very little wind, freshly groomed runs, and very few people. It was incredible.

Views from the top of the mountain.

The girls I skied a lot with – Wendy, Staci & Tina

4 of us went night skiing at Keystone one evening. Me, Tony, Jeremy, Jennifer

Being a domestic goddess

My friend Lindsey gave me the cookbook "How To Be A Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson for my birthday.It has inspired me to get back into baking. The recipes are unpretentious and delicious. I've already made 4 recipes from it. Nigella has wonderful little notes about each recipe that make you want to sit down and read the cookbook from cover to cover. It has been fun to take the time to bake again. I highly recommend it if you are looking for some inspiration.

Auch, France

I am once again in Toulouse, France for work. When I take time to reflect, it is very odd to me that a foreign city is so familiar to me. I can’t believe that trips to Toulouse are old hat, routine. It can get frustrating living in limbo for when the next trip to happen – as they tend to be last minute. But I don’t want to take this unique for granted. I am thankful for all God has allowed me to do. To still be connected to an incredible group of friends & church family in Wichita and yet still get to travel. It is a unique work situation too – you form different bonds with co-workers when you live in a foreign city together. It reminds me that God’s ways are higher than my ways and renews my trust in Him and His leading.
“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.” Proverbs 19: 21
Here’s a little of my weekend escapades. I decided to explore Auch. There are signs I pass every day for highway exits in that direction. I couldn’t find much on the internet about Auch. A co-worker and I drove out there on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it’s about an hour northwest of Toulouse. It was a bigger town than I expected. Situated on the River Gers, it has a large hill that the historic city is set on.
The Grand Staircase connects the upper & lower portions of the city. I climbed all 234 steps. On the Grand Staircase is a statue of d’Artagnan, of the Musketeers. He was born in a castle only 30 kilometers from Auch.

Cathedrale Sainte Maire (St. Mary’s) is on the top of the hill. It was started in 1489 and finished two centuries later Next to it is Tour d’Armagnac – a 14th century prison. This is Pousterle de l’Est – and yes, I climbed it too. I forgot how great of a workout you get climbing up towers and hills in France.
I love finding these towns. I didn’t know what to expect, but the city was more than I expected. We took a very scenic drive home too. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of it -amazing countryside.Sunday’s plans to run down to Barcelona were scraped at the last minute because the others were sick. But it gave me the opportunity to go to church. I love Toulouse International Church. It amazes me they remember me from my 3 month stay in 2007. I got to spend the afternoon having lunch with the singles & young couples group at an elders’ house. This is the second lunch I’ve been in town for. I’m told my trip needs to coincide with the next one.

Happy Birthday to me

I turned the big 3-5. Friends threw a big party for me. The decorations were High School Musical. We had a dance party in the basement of Heather & Rob's house. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed celebrating with my sweet Wichita friends. You can see me, Lindsey, & Rachel posing with the poster.

That was a Friday night. The next morning I flew to France for 2 weeks for work. So I was in France for my actual birthday. On my birthday I went to dinner with a few of my co-workers. It was a nice Italian restaurant in downtown Toulouse. I promise I shared the bottle of chianti. The sticker was in a friend's card - I figured I had to wear it for a picture. It says "It's my birthday and I'm an incredibly smart, exciting and good-looking person!"
I got phone calls from my family too. It was a great birthday.

Christmas and NYE

Happy New Year!

It's been a busier week than I expected. So, I'm just now getting around to posting some Christmas pictures. I don't have a lot of pictures. The boys weren't being real cooperative in taking any posed pictures either. We had a fairly quiet Christmas. I went up to Mom & Dad's on Dec 23. Sharon & David and JT came over on the afternoon of Christmas Day. JT got a train for Christmas "just like Grandpa's!!" (only smaller scale). He had to call Grandpa first thing Christmas Day to tell him. Marshall also got a special train table that he played with for hours. He broke down sobbing when they made him take a nap. Hannah & Jonathan and Marshall drove up on the 26th. We all pretty much just hung out at Mom & Dad's house for the weekend.

I had an impromptu sewing project. Sharon had asked me to make an apron for JT since he likes

to help in the kitchen. They picked out "Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU" fabric (that's JT's description).

It went together so quickly that we decided to make one for Marshall too since he likes to help his mama in the kitchen too. JT went to the store with me to help pick out the John Deere fabric.

My big Christmas present was money - I was saving towards a fancy cooking pot. I went shopping on the 26th at The Legends in KC to the Le Creuset outlet store. I am now the proud owner of a cornflower blue 7.25 quart round French oven. (Le Creuset are French made enamel coated cast iron pots.)

I made the trek back home and spent a few days running errands all over town. I was in charge of the Pathways New Year's Eve party this year. It's a semi-formal dinner & dance. We had about 40 people and everyone had tons of fun. It was in Old Cowtown. Everything went well and once the party started I was able to relax and enjoy it. I wore Mom's dress from my parents' Alaskan cruise this summer.

Happy New Year - may you be blessed in 2009.