christmas!

it's coming...and boy am i excited : )

we bought our first ornaments together last night...

george and hootie #3 (we have a lot of owls named hootie, so its hard to keep track).

this is the real "george." he lives at the bed and breakfast we stayed at on our honeymoon in new mexico. we thought it would be fitting to get an ornament to remind us of him each year... he was very memorable, and it was mating season so he had a crush on me.

kansas

well...kansas was windy. yes, windy. witchita state university's mascot is a shock of wheat, therefore they are called the "shockers."

our dance company trekked up there this past weekend for the kansas dance festival. we took classes friday and saturday and performed three of our pieces both nights. they have QT's in witchita...glorious. if you've never been to quik trip (basically the waldorf astoria of gas stations), please travel to your nearest one and delight in their fine delicacies.

he was the highlight of the trip...

this is kim peek. dustin hoffman's character in "rain man" was based on his life. little did we know, it was he and his father who were sitting in the breakfast area at our hotel all weekend. they were dressed in suits and had an oscar sitting on their table. one morning the father asked my friend tracy to tell his son her birthday. she did and kim responded, "when you turn 60, your birthday will be on a sunday." tracy was caught off guard and a little freaked out. another time in passing, kallee and i saw the bottom of the oscar as the two men stepped into the elevator. it read, "rain man-best screenplay." then it hit me that he was probably right about tracy's birthday, and maybe he had been the inspiration for the movie. i did some research when i got home, and it was true! barry morrow, the screenwriter, gave kim his oscar which he now carries to all his appearances...

"They call it the "Most Loved Oscar Statue" since it's been held by more people than any other Oscar statue. Kim also enjoys approaching strangers and showing them his talent for calendar calculations by telling them on which day of the week they were born and what news items were on the front page of major newspapers. Peek has also appeared on television. He travels with his father, who takes care of him and performs many motor tasks that Peek finds difficult."

who would have thought...in witchita, kansas : )

comfort

our potato soup
(we didn't use measurements, so here ya go!)

• boil red potatoes & strain-keep some potato water
• in large pot, cook onion, garlic, celery, & turkey bacon
• add potatoes and remaining water to pot
• with immersion blender blend up potatoes til chunky
• add a little half and half and lots of 1% milk
• let simmer and add S&P
• enjoy a perfect fall meal

this week is absoultely crazy with lesson plan upon lesson plan, a resume with a headshot, work, presentations, rehearsals for two different shows, and getting ready to go to kansas this weekend with our dance company. but...it's things like potato soup that keep me sane. a dinner with my husband is all i need. seeing his excitement over new handlebar tape for his bike is a simple reminder to be thankful. god pushes my limits so i'll realize that i need Him, i can't do it alone. thank you lord.

michael

it delights my heart to have a husband who comforts me after a hard day...who helps me with creative dance lesson plans : ), and lends a shoulder to cry on...
who brings me green tea lemonade every time he comes home from work, fixes the porch light that fell on me, and figures out my schedule to graduate on time!

he is truly a delight.

inspired

fall...a season that inspires me. creativity builds up inside and needs to be expressed. hopefully, this will be an opportunity for me to do that.

go to readymade.com to see how this couple transformed their loft into this wonderful aesthetic treat. i want an art space like this someday. and i love owls. my husband and i have one named hootie (he's a piggy bank, or rather an owl bank).