First KU Game

Having been raised in a KU household and graduated from KU, Husband is a *huge* KU fan and always has been. It's no surprise, therefore, that he is raising our children to be the same. It is also no surprise that we have not taken our kids to a KU basketball game because there is no way on God's green Earth we could ever afford it. So when our great friends (the same ones who invited us to BILL SELF'S HOUSE and Husband got that awesome new job) suggested a road trip to an away game, we were in!

The game was in Stillwater, so we went down on Friday night and spent the night at my brother's house a few hours away. The kids spent the morning playing with their cousins (have you heard of Doggie Doo? It's their new favorite game. It was...actually really fun!) and then we met our friends at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile. We had grand plans to eat there, but this was the line, folks:

And with four kids between us, we opted for the store and the bakery upstairs. Somehow I don't have any pictures of the bakery, but it was really cool and fun. We got the kids a snack and hopped back on the road to Stillwater. We ate Hideaway Pizza (which was NOTHING like the one I'm used to) and went to check in at the hotel. We decided we wanted to get to the game early, so we headed out on foot to Cowboy Arena, or whatever was called.

These were our seats, but they were great! We were surrounded by OSU fans, which was to be expected, but they were super nice and friendly. Jo had the great idea of going and seeing if we could find where the players would run out on to the court. Even if we somehow got tickets to go to Allen Fieldhouse with the whole family, the place is packed and the kids never would have been able to see, so this was a GREAT idea. And, lo and behold:

The kids got to high-five EVERY PLAYER WHO LEFT THE LOCKER ROOM! It was amazing! The highlight of the trip, for sure!

We were a little nervous that the kids wouldn't want to watch the game, but they did great. Brother was yelling and hollering like a maniac, and though Sister asked me a few times when it was going to be over, she did really well, too.

What a fun trip. We are planning to go again next year!

Salad-In-A-Jar...

I recently attended  a Salad-In-A-Jar Party. Did you know that was a thing? It's like a 31 Party or a Norwex Party or a LuLaRoe Party. Except it's way faster, way less expensive, and what you get is actually very practical, as you are going to eat it that week. Here's how it works:

• Every person commits to bringing 5 empty mason jars and 3 toppings. I brought cucs (seeded and sliced), cherry tomatoes, and chicken. (The host provides greens.)
• Set up your table so your hearty veggies are at one end and your leaves are at the other, with the "wetter" veggies in the middle. Here's a great graphic for how to design your table.

• Begin at the end with the hearty veggies and fill until your jar is about half full. Then stuff with greens.
• You are done and so is lunch for the next five days!

A few observations:

• This was fun and super fast. I told Husband I'd be about two hours (because that's how long 31/Norwex/LuLaRoe last) and I was done in 45. I would have been done sooner if I hadn't stayed around to chat.
• I really loved that the host picked DARK GREEN GREENS. I really hate Iceberg, and though I can tolerate Romaine, Spinach is my go-to. So I was happy.
• SOME people put dressing in their jars first. I chose not to for a number of reasons:
1. I was afraid it would make my salad soggy.
2. It meant I had to commit right then to the type of dressing I wanted, which I was not prepared to do.
3. I don't use much dressing and I'm not sure I could get the dressing to come out with the salad very well without a spatula, which I don't keep at school.

• Next time, I will not fill the toppings up to the halfway mark as I did in the first two in the picture above. The second salad from the right looked like this when I dumped it:

It looked like this when I was done and I should have stopped several bites beforehand...because it was too big for one meal.

I've had three so far and my favorite has been what I'm calling an Asian chicken salad. It's the one in the middle of my picture up top and it contained:

• broccoli
• celery
• chicken
• oranges
• grapes
• golden raisins
• sunflower seeds
• slivered almonds

I paired with Annie's Shiitake Dressing (to which I added some honey because it was too salty for me) and it was AMAZING! I mean it. I'm totally making this one again!

And maybe the best part was getting to spend time with new friends. The four women on the left (including me) all met last year when our kids were in the girl in the plaid's kindergarten class together. It was super fun getting build salads together :)

Thanksgiving as a Foreigner

I have mentioned our involvement with international students before. This year we have been partnered with Yukie, a super sweet girl from China. We have eaten Chinese food, gone to church, cooked out, done dinner at a restaurant, taken her for ice cream on her birthday:

And all around really enjoyed getting to know her this semester. Charlie especially. He talks about Yukie all the time. He calls her "tiny," which is actually a very appropriate name!

Tonight, we went to the Thanksgiving banquet at our church. As Thanksgiving is an American holiday, this was new for her. As we drove to the church, she asked many questions.

Yukie: What sort of food do you eat?
Me: Well, the traditional meat is turkey. Do you eat turkey?
Yukie: No. Where do turkeys live? On farms?
Me: Turkeys live in the wild. I see them on the way to school a lot. But I'm sure there are turkey farmers too. (right?)
Yukie: Ah.
Me: We also eat mashed potatoes. Have you ever had those?
Yukie: No. What's that?
Me: It's where you peel and boil potatoes and then you mash them. Most people add butter and milk and then pour gravy on top.
Yukie: What's gravy?
Me: Um...(because how do you describe gravy?) it's sort of like a sauce that you pour on top. I don't like it myself, but most people do. Some people will do sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. They are orange.
Yukie: Who cooks in the family?
Me: Well, in my family, it's my mom and Rick's mom. Whoever the woman whose house we are gathering in is the woman to make the bulk of the meal.
Yukie: (getting excited) That is how it is at home! My grandmother always makes all the food.
Me: What kinds of food does she make?
Yukie: Rice and noodles.
Me: Any meat?
Yukie: Mmm...sometimes. Pork or chicken. What did you eat when you were in China?
Me: Donkey and mutton!
*laughter

These are the sorts of conversations I really enjoy. It was fun to find some common ground amidst a tradition that is very American. When we got to the church, that girl LOADED her plate and said she liked everything! We discussed the term "potluck" (though I couldn't really explain where the term came from) and talked about how, when you have big groups of people, this is often what Americans do to feed everyone. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready for dessert, all the pumpkin pie was gone. I told her she HAD to have pumpkin pie before she left to go back home next month. She is leaving later this week to go to Chicago...they will have some pumpkin pie there, right?

International Students!

I dream about living overseas. Every time I have gone, it has been an energizing, heartfelt, and life-changing experience. After we were first married, we went somewhere international every year...until we had kids, and in fact, I was planning a trip to Indonesia when I found out I was pregnant with my first. As a result, our overseas ministry efforts slowed to supporting missionaries through prayer and giving, and, beginning this year, working with international students!

Meet Yukie! We got hooked up with her through the Topeka Friends Network, an organization that seeks to give international students cultural experiences that revolve around family and faith.

A little fuzzy (nice photo bomb, Matthew)

Not quite...

There we go :)

For instance, the typical exchange student does not experience Thanksgiving unless they are invited by a fellow college student, and, let's face it - how many college students do this? Through TFN, American families are partnered up with students to help give them these experiences.

So far, we've connected with Yukie four times. The first was our introductory cook out at the home of our friends who coordinate TFN. Yukie LOVED the kids and immediately got down on the floor and started playing with them (which was kind of nice, since it was the first full day of school and I was EXHAUSTED!). Yukie and her friend Chen have come to church twice. The first time I picked them up, but I felt awful because only one of them had an actual seat in my tiny car and the other had to squeeze in between the car seats in the back. :( But she did not seem to mind in the least. That is one thing I  have noticed over and over again about the Chinese - they don't mind a little inconvenience, and they are perpetually enthusiastic. I introduced them both to Lindsey at church and they jumped up and said things like, "Hi, nice to meet you!" before I even had a chance to get through her name, and with so much enthusiasm that Lindsey was a bit startled and had to take a step back before she laughed and shook their hands.

We also introduced Yukie and Chen to "American" Chinese food at our favorite quick stop, Dillon's. Having been to China, we knew that actual Chinese food really isn't much like what we have here in our Chinese restaurants. They had NO idea what crab Rangoon was (they ate a bite with their chopsticks and politely put it down and did not touch it again), and, though they had seen egg rolls before, they don't eat them frequently in China. They stuck to sticky rice (white rice) and veggie dishes.

Yukie is only here until December, but we are excited to continue to connect with her this semester!

Day 5: My Blog-Stalker Blogs

The actual prompt for today is: "Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don't have blogger friends, talk about a real-life friend or even a family member."  Folks...I read a lot of blogs.  And since I can't narrow it down to one, I've given you a summary of my favorites.  Enjoy.

Daily:
LemmonRuffle - a friend from school who has lost an obscene amount of weight this year.  I love reading about her fierce commitment to keeping herself healthy.  It's motivating, and once I'm down to my weight-loss goal, I plan to follow up with a maintenance plan using her clean eating philosophy.  And she's a good writer and funny.

Passionate Penny Pincher - I've already talked about how much I love her - posts here and here.

Live, Laugh, Love - a besty who has been a CLOSET BLOGGER since October.  We had words.  (I'm outing you right here and now.)  She blogs about her beautiful family and about life lessons she is learning.  Also inspiring and great fun to read.  I am very proud of her 100% participation in the July blog challenge! (But I could use more posts from you the rest of the time, please. Otherwise I'll have to move you to my next list,)

Every few days:
Oh Pickles Mommy - a friend from church whose craftiness makes me hang my head in shame.  She has four children and is like, Super Mom with all the fun, cute things she does with and for her kids.  She helped me throw a shower for my sister-in-law last summer and it was adorable.  As is she.

AlexandJolie - another friend from work who blogs about her sweet life with her husband and two children, who are about the same genders and years apart as my kids, but a few years ahead.  She also blogs about financial goals, which is interesting and helpful.

The Domestic Wannabe - this is the wife of a friend of mine.  We used to work together at the golf course and we went to high school together.   They were high school sweethearts so I would always hear about "Ashley this, Ashley that" at work.  I adored them, and I still get to via this blog.  I was a guest-poster in January - check it out here.

Savoring the Sweet Stuff - another friend from work, though she has sadly moved on (tear) to another city and building.  She is expecting a baby soon and I remember so many car pooling rides discussing babies, pregnancy, and all the stuff in between.  So excited for her!

Every week or so:
The G Sides - this is our pastor's blog.  He also writes for the church website, so between the two of them, I get a pretty healthy dose of Grant via the cyber waves.  He is a fabulous writer.  He should write a book.  Ooo...I should tell him that.

LNop - this blog belongs to a friend of mine from elementary school.  I'm friends with her on Facebook and her status updates are always so outrageously funny.  I've been bugging her to start a blog for quite some time, and lo and behold, she did.  It hasn't been updated in a while (get on that, lady!), but this post is particularly hilarious.  And I don't think you have to know her to think so.

Heart, Soul, Tummy - this is also a friend from work.  I was about to give up on her, but she has revived her blog with the July blog challenge.  I hope she keeps it up.  And she really should, considering I'm not going to see her every day any more! (Ahem)

And there you have it - my blog-reading list.  It keeps me connected and highly entertained. :)

2nd Therapy Session

Had another great evening at Paint Therapy Uncorked!  Check out my masterpiece:

 

Yep, that's right.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE LOVE LOVE PAINT THERAPY UNCORKED???

If you are unfamiliar with Paint Therapy Uncorked, check it out!  My first experience was so good that I couldn't wait to recreate it with these ladies:

I knew they didn't believe me when I said it didn't matter how artistic you were, but they agreed to give it a go!

I knew exactly where I wanted to hang my next painting, so I chose one that a) I loved and b) would match the room.  Here's the one I decided to go with:

 

Rick and I have a thing for trees - we already have several hanging in our house - and I liked the yellow, as it will match the room I'm hanging it in.  Alicia also chose this picture to do, so we sat next to each other in front of our beautiful blank canvases and go to work!

 

Margie (the artist/miracle worker) filled my palate with the necessary colors:

And here is the progression:

I wanted blue in the background, and I like this because it looks like the sky is on its way to nighttime.

The original had much smaller branches, but I decided to go with larger, curly-Que ones.

The leaves are green, white, and yellow.  I tried to do lots of the green and yellow and a little less of the white since the white was so bright.

Then I added just a splash of red.  The picture didn't look just right yet, so...

Margie suggested I add a swing.  Perfect!

 And viola! Doesn't it look wonderful?

Below is my painting and Alicia's painting with the original in the center.  It's interesting how different ours ended up being, even though we were looking at the same picture and using the same instructions!

 

 And here we all are with our finished products:

 I really can't say enough good about Paint Therapy Uncorked.  I love the concept, the atmosphere, and the fact that I can start with nothing, and with something to look at and guidance, I can make a masterpiece.  And the final product may not be exactly what I envisioned, but it's beautiful all the same.  At the risk of sounding cliche, isn't that kind of how life is?  You start out with a blank slate, you watch what others do, you are guided by adults, and then, even though things might not turn out the way you plan, you end up with something beautiful.

Like my tree. :)

Grammar Lesson

(Warning: Severe Type A-ness follows)

Alright, folks, let's get one thing straight. We are all educated individuals. We are blessed to live in a country where we are taught how to read and write. Why, then, do we insist on doing it incorrectly? It's one thing to see it from a 7th grader, but quite another to see it from adults.  I pride myself in my ability to find mistakes and fix them.  And, if you know me, you know I enjoy doing it.

But I am also blessed to teach across the hall from the grammar Queen of the Universe. I get to stand in her presence nearly every day and regularly think about how I aspire to be as good as she.  If you could make a job out of finding mistakes in professional publications, I would apply (sounds like a DREAM), but Chelsea would too, and they would hire her.  They would be right to do so.  She is good.  She is better.  She is best.

I put this on her wall on Thursday, December 20th:

 

I was delighted to see this post from her on Thursday, December 27th:

She is so good.  So good.  I sometimes get confused with the last few - even have to look them up - but here she is spouting them off like the real professional.  I am posting this so you can bookmark them if you have trouble, too.

Props, Chelsea, props.

Paint Therapy

 On the Friday before I returned to work, I went out with some friends to Paint Therapy Uncorked.  It's a painting place where people with zero artistic ability are miraculously able to produce works of art.  I convinced Kristin to go with me by assuring her she could do it, but to be honest I wasn't so sure this thing was for real.  I seriously have no artistic ability.  But check this out - you pick your picture.  You can pick the one she is doing for the group (most people did this) or you could pick another off her wall and she would help you individually.  I have a thing for trees so I picked a silver tree scene.  Here is my picture progression:

 Yep, that's right - I DID THIS.  I, who have no ability whatsoever.  This lady is a miracle worker.  Here's both our finished products:

 And here is our whole group.

This was seriously a blast.  A few things:

• It was kind of pricy - $40, plus you bring a snack (and a bottle of wine if you want to drink), but you are there for the evening and of course you get to keep the painting.  They do offer Family Days on weekends where you pay $20 for a smaller painting (and obviously, there is no wine).
• Margie, the lady who runs it, is super cool.  See the Santa Claus paintings above?  One of the girls brought her iPhone in with this picture on it from Pinterest.  Margie sat down with the picture, paint, and a blank canvas and had an amazing finished product within 15 minutes.  She then offered to teach this picture if anyone wanted it.  As you can see, three people picked this one!  Amazing.
• I think this would be so fun to do as a family.  I would love to get my parents, brother, and sister-in-law to do this.  Don't know what we'd do with our kids though...

Love love love this.  Can't wait to do it again!