Things to love about fall ...

Oh, fall is here!!!!! It's HEEEEREEE!!!!!

Things I love about fall:


• Liberating flannel PJs from the dresser. It's like bastille day, for REAL.

• Later sunrises. Silly, right? But we've got one window in the bedroom that just love the morning sun. And now it loves it later in the morning. :)


• FOOTBALL WEATHER. Oh how I love it! This means sweaters, hoodies and jeans.


• The world series. No, not THAT world series. THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER!!!!!! How I miss my poker buddies from Hays. And I have the most enormous crush on Norman Chad, ESPN commentator. I seriously look forward to Tuesday nights this time of year. This is the only time of year you'll see me willingly turn on ESPN, and with GUSTO! :) Norman Chad, if you're reading this, you may have all of my children. NO JOKE!!!!

• Al fresco dining. The flies have almost died out enough to really enjoy outdoor dining. Oh YIPPIE!!!!

Random rambling

• I'm listening to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" on CD. The unabridged version. I now know why things become abridged. But the lengthy architecture descriptions aside, the book's pretty good so far.

• Recently I signed on some meeting/consultation space here in Salina for Heartland. Yay! :) I spent several days painting and repainting. Color-matching at Lowe's is not as successful or "easy" as they make it sound. Don't be fooled. Tomorrow, I'll have my first client, Andrea, come and meet me in the space. We'll jam about albums and while there is still progress to be made, it is fit for clients. :) I promise, photos to come.

• We went to the new water park in Salina. Believe me, a full review is in the works.

• Esse has puking issues. Seriously. About once a month, the cat needs to barf. On the carpet. Sigh. She didn't do this in Hays.

• I love guacamole. Seriously, have made it almost a dozen times this summer. And can eat one bowl (containing 2 avacadoes) in 1 sitting. All by myself.

• My brother-in-law got me a dress from his travels in Ghana a few months ago. I wore it this week, and while it's a bold orange color, it's amazing on!

• Erik has long legs. I have long legs. God bless any children we spawn. Pant purchasing shan't be pleasant for them.

My Favorite Things — Steel cut oats w/ frozen blueberries

Since embarking on this sugar and yeast free journey, I've had to make some major changes in my eating habits. I've also added some foods that ... let's face it, I would never have imagined. Steel cut oats is a great example. I'm not a genius about the reasons it's different from regular or old fashioned oats (they're not flat ... that's my only wisdom!).

When I first purchased steel cut oats at the health store, the lady told me you had to cook them for quite a while. "How long?" I asked. "About an hour" was her response. YIKES!!!!! But I've learned if I cook smaller quantities, it doesn't take *quite* that long. But it's no 5-minute oatmeal.

Honestly, I didn't anticipate really liking the stuff. But .... it's SO tasty! It has almost a nutty flavor to it. SO good! It's absolutely worth the wait time to watch it cook.

And when it's done, I toss some frozen blueberries in, mix it up and just gobble up the goodness. Oh, and when we have walnuts in the house, I toss those in, too!

Here's something kind of strange. I'm not really a big fresh blueberry fan. I don't really know why. Maybe because I didn't think they were very sweet? I don't really know. But let me say this: the frozen variety MAKE my steel cut oats amazing!

This food change has certainly been frustrating. Lord knows I've had my meltdown moments. But the last 10 weeks have really challenged me to grow and expand my culinary skills and palate. I would never have guessed how much I enjoy steel cut oats, but I do! I had no real reason to start eating couscous, but now it's our new favorite alternative to rice ...

I suppose it could sound strange, but I'm a bit thankful for these crazy food restrictions. They've forced me to get out of my comfort zone and experience worlds of new things!

Are blogs like Christmas cards?

A few weeks ago, I was reading a friend's blog, and it was gritty. Real. Raw.

And I got to thinking. To wondering. Is this blog of mine like a Christmas card? Clean? Sterile? Showing only the joys?

Hmmmm ...

But on the other hand, I've read some people's personal blogs where they hang their dirty laundry, and know what? It ain't flattering and I just don't like it. Besides, I'm not a generally negative person. So ... what to do????

Some of the struggles in my/our life are medical-related. And know what? I've heard of instances where insurance companies use personal information from blogs to block or deny coverage. So, I am completely not willing to share struggles in that arena.

But there are other areas of life where I can certainly share/brain dump. OK, so here's my yesterday. I was in Wichita for a wedding consult. Went well. And to appear in muni court to pay a speeding ticket. Went OK. They chopped my fine in half, which was great, but court costs are killer! But I *do* have to admit, having a last name with B puts me closer to the front of alphabetical lines, which is a new concept for me, after being in the middle for my entire life! :)

But I also had tons of errands to do. I accomplished most of them in the morning, but there were a few I needed to do in the afternoon. Even though my youngest brother teases me for making lists, I SHOULD have made a "to do" list. It would have completely prevented my afternoon mayham. But I didn't, so it didn't. *sigh*

I ran to the west side to chat with a guy at a natural foods store, but of course the person I wanted to talk with wasn't there. So I found the only "snack-ey" sort of food I could have in the store (more about this in a future post, I promise!), and purchased them. Score! A snack I can eat on the run!

But about the time I pulled up at this store, I remembered I'd left 2 rolls of 120mm film at a lab on the EAST side of town. I was on West Central. I needed to go BACK to East Central.

*sigh*

So I did. And when I picked up the film, I was told only one of them had been shot, so I have another roll of 120mm film hiding in the house somewhere that I will have to remember to take to Wichita to be developed. Sheesh!

And baby bro ... as much as you think my lists are SILLY, if I'd have made one, it would have saved a trip across town ... so there! ;)

And as a reward for those of you who made it all the way through my rambling, here's a photo I took while we were in Arizona. It's about the only photo I've looked at. I have now downloaded, but not looked at the photos. Seriously!


This is from a series of photos involving textures I did in Arizona. And, for those of you who are curious, I used my little point and shoot camera to take this photo. The macro feature is fantastic! So for those of you who think you need a fancy camera, I tell you "YOU DON'T" ... just read your manual!

Amber waves of grain ....

A few weeks ago, I drove through rural central Kansas ... to go visit some friends. Living in Salina ... well, I never considered it "the big city." It's certainly bigger than anywhere I've lived in the last 10 years, but it's not small-town either.

So, driving along the backroads of Kansas ... driving faster than both my husband ant mother would be comfortable with ... but it was almost like I had wings. Driving along the backroads was absolutely freeing. :) Anyone out there know what I'm talking about?

Grabbed a few photos ... it doesn't quite encompass the feeling, but here you go:


Beautiful. Just beautiful.


And now check out the stunning saturation of the sunset.

It's in the freezer ....

Every once in awhile, I hop over to the Riley County Extension's Blog. I like that they have a blog ... and THIS CLASS sounds so uber fun/practical ... but I'm not able to go. Too bad, so sad.

But I LOVE the idea of making dishes and pulling them out of the freezer. Yeah, I KNOW they make frozen dinners in the freezer aisle, but folks, those are FULL of extra sodium, not to mention they're 4x what it'd cost to make from scratch.

The idea behind the soup exchange was to have something I could freeze, then use when in a pinch. We've even got some of Erik's yummie chili in the freezer ... and some of that not-so-yummie potato soup. Erik's still looking for suckers to pawn it off on. ;)

Random rambling

• I had an AWESOME bridal/fashion shoot yesterday for Kansas Wedding Plan Magazine. It rocked OUT! A massive thank you to Erik who really helped me ... he was just amazing. Even though Erik's not a photographer, per se, he has a visual sense b/c of his work in page design. He commented about how the light kept changing, and how it was probably good b/c it'll give a wider visual variety. I didn't think of it that way, but good ol Erik did! Thanks sweetie. :)

• Also, big props to my boy Coop who came out and helped, too.

• If you're wondering WHERE the photos are from yesterday, I have to download them still ... and besides, I gotta wait till it publishes, so I don't "scoop" the print publication. *sigh* so I have to wait to share.

• I love sleep. I need it. It's not a "want" but a genuine "need." For those of you parents w/ little kiddos out there, i give you many props. For your amusement, check out this blog where my bizzzness partner, Mike, posts a photo a day from his daughter's first year. It's amusing to read, and probably my favorite thus far is THIS ONE :) So, after 10 hours of slwwp Weds night, I was spoiled. Last night, not so much sleep. Ugh.

• Where did all of the space on my 'puter go? Seriously.

• Speaking of photogs and photos, go to THIS SITE and check out Shawn's Landscape Gallery. UUUUUUUH-MAAAAAAAAZING!

• I'm wearing awesome knee-high socks from my mother-in-law and I love them!

• It's been about a month and a half since I started my effort to keep the back seat of my car clean. Wow. A month and a half? Almost half way there! And it's not been too awfully difficult. I just have to remember to take my trash with me.

• I wore long underwear (pants) yesterday to shoot in ... and Erik laughed at me, but when we got to our location, he almost asked to climb in them with me .... because it was CHILLY!

Rain Barrel update!

I'm excited to have my rain barrel up and running!!!!!!!

We tested it this week and it is able to drain to our garden! :) i've done a bit of testing with the soaker hoses, but they need a little TLC before they're 100% ready to go, so the jury's still out on that one.

Twice, I've drained almost 1/3 of the barrel, and twice it's rained less than 1/4 of an inch. Guess what the result was? It filled the barrel to the point of OVERFLOWING!!!!! Seriously amazing! I have no idea about the actual amount of square footage that drains to the barrel, but it's about 1/3 of our roof.

I have another barrel and I'm excited to get it up and running!

On the slightly down side, I have yet to make a screen to keep gunk out of the barrel. And I'm having some issues w/ light through it, so I have some algae ... it doesn't look the prettiest, but it works and is saving water as I water my baby garden plants! :)

My rain barrel runneth over!

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!! The rain barrel is UP AND RUNNING! :)

Yes, I'm a big, fat dork. Ok?

The best part was it was finished before our 10-inch snow. Before the roof even started melting, the thing was FULL. And it's 50 or 55 gallons. I can't remember.


I can't count the number of hours I worked on this darn thing. Seriously, a week ago, I spent the ENTIRE day running around town looking for pieces/parts.

Above is a moveable rain gutter. This was a fantastic tip from one of the guys are the hardware store. :)


After much trial and error, I finally ended up with this design option. There were LOTS of options on the table, and after a lot of trying things, this just worked best.

I wanted to have a spout where I could attach the garden hose ... and put my soaker hose at the other end. I'm excited to get my garden planted and try this thing out! :)

I'm also getting VERY interested in using "grey water" .... but there are all sorts of "issues" here in the U.S. Check out what Colorado says HERE. And they have awesome looking systems, but you gotta go to Australia. Check them out HERE.

So, for the time being, I'll just be content to collect rain water for my veggie garden (and strawberry patch!).


If you want one of these bad boys, I'd be happy to make one for you for $30. They retail for $40 at Orscheln or almost double that in hardware/garden stores.

If you're picky about color, I can get the barrel in black or blue.

Bricks/blocks to raise the barrel off the ground & moveable rain gutter are NOT included.

RIP Rocky Mountain News

I sit here with a blank mind as tear after salty tear runs down my face.

When I first heard that the Rocky Mountain News CLOSED, I thought I heard wrong. Is it for REAL? Seriously? Like, the Final Edition. Obituary Time.

There's just such a strange sense of emptiness when I think about this ... in fact, it's difficult to wrap my mind around this.

Ok, given the economic climate, it's not shocking to hear of a business closing. And let's face it people, a newspaper (despite duties to the community) is, after all, a business.

But .... I guess I think of small-town, po-dunk newspapers closing down. And that's not shocking. But here's the rub: In the last decade alone, this paper was awarded FOUR Pulitzer Prizes. FOUR.

This is an award-winning newspaper.

I still remember the photos produced by staff photographers after the Columbine shootings.

And it's closing.

Oh, did I mention it's almost 150 years old?

How is this possible?

But it is.

Oh, and not to neglect sports ... according to a story on the former paper's Web site, this week, the sports section was named one of the 10 best in the country.

I'm ill.

Let's take a video break .... it's about 20 minutes, so if you wanna watch, get comfy.


Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

But ... I think this is sweet. It's a site called IwantMyRocky.com.

There are so many reasons things fall apart. But one thing I found interesting was some of the reporters commented people are getting their news from blogs, not necessarily going to a news source. REALLY? Seriously peeps?

But I guess I shouldn't be shocked. I've lived with people who don't know the difference between a column on the editorial page and a news story. And readers ... we'd get calls in the newsroom from people looking for a "story" in the paper .... after I went through all the local and wire stories, I dug through the editorial page. Still no luck. Know what they were talking about? AN ADVERTISEMENT!!!!!!! *sigh* But do people really not know the difference between an unbiased source that has to verify sources and is accountable?

Think about it.

Newspapers are chronicles of history. If Denver were a one-paper town, who would be around to document history? Who would keep local officials accountable?

Sad.

And other papers, such as the Tucson Citizen, a paper that's been around 138 years could close, too?

To think, just 7 months ago, I was a reporter. I'd spent my entire high school and college career training to be a photojournalist and even learning to write "just in case." ... this field is one I've put so many years and such effort into ... and it's shriveling up.

I can't imagine how people who have been doing this for decades upon decades must feel.

And ... while I hated being known as "there's the newspaper lady" .... I very much WAS "the photographer" or "the reporter." It became an integral part of who I was and am. And I left willingly .... how would it be if I was told my newspaper became the news. Ugh.

Mike LIttwin so pointedly writes:

"The guys in suits - and I say that as someone who doesn't own one - don't understand what it means to be in a newsroom, or if they once did, they forgot.

They're businessmen, who talk in terms of quarters. We talk in terms of stories. The Rocky lived. It breathed. It told stories that annoyed and ones that thrilled. I love both.

I signed up - and stayed signed up - because there isn't a job where you could possibly have more fun."

Ok, I think that column sums it up best. I have to say it is a more accurate description of my thoughts than I've expressed here in my ramblings. To read it all, CLICK HERE



On a positive note, strawberries and grapes were on sale tonight at the supermarket.

In a funk

So, sometimes I feel like blogs are like Christmas letters. All happy, happy, joy, joy.

Not that people lie on them, but that it's all about personal accomplishments. But how much of our lives are actually big accomplishments? I'd guess less than 5% of them. The rest is just the little in between moments. The nothings. But if you have lots of nothing, isn't that something?

I found this incredibly poignent post from athlete Brianna Glenn via Jasmine Star's blog this July (side note, I love, love, love reading J*'s blog. Her writing style is so fresh, fun and playful ... and her images can only be described as eye candy).

Justin and Mary have a particularly vulnerable post lately, too

I appreciate that some people share the valleys, because there are lows in life. Just like there are highs. It also somehow makes people feel *more real* and multi-dimensional to me (if that makes any sense).

So ... today is one of those days. More particularly one of those last 5 hours. I've just been in sort of a funk/pity party. Which isn't entirely like me at all.

Do you ever have those days when you question who you are and what you're doing? (if you don't, I think you're lying to yourself). ;-)

Who am I?
What am I doing?
What is my purpose?
Does God REALLY have a plan for me?
Am I even close to fulfilling my life's mission on this earth?
How will I KNOW what that mission is?
Maybe I'm wasting my time.
Maybe I'm wasting God's time (now THAT's a scary thought!).

But I am blessed. So blessed.

I have a husband more amazing than I could have ever imagined. A super yummie dinner at a little hole in the wall pizzaria certainly helped to improve my mood.

So, then I come home and start to mope again (what gives?).

And I start to question. And wallow in self pity.

I miss my friends.
Why does S live in Atlanta? It's too far away. I want to go have coffee w/ her RIGHT NOW.
Too bad Robin's throat is all sore and she can't talk. I could use some sister love.
Why won't my kitty come and cuddle with me? (I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with me throwing shoes at her yesterday for scratching the carpet on the stairs).

(wow, I'm being pathetic + whiney!)

But ... life swings up again.

Ok ok, so I'm a HUGE GEEK. We all know this.

A few weeks ago, I signed up w/ Google Analytics. Yeah, yeah, I should have done it a long time ago, but life keeps running away with me. Heck, I don't even really know all of its capabilities, but it's pretty stinkin' cool.

It gives all sorts of information/data. I really need to learn all of the capabilities.

But it's super cool to be able to see how many *new* people are coming to your site. And how many are coming from searches or online listings.

AND because I'm a super nerd, it's cool to see where they live (I SO need a life!).



Here are the top 25 cities our main site visitors are from:


And on the map:



(HELLLLLOOOOOO, Alaska!)

We even have some international visitors:


I can guess who I know in Canada and Kenya, but the rest of the international peeps, dunno how the heck they made their way to our site.

They also calculate the percent of people who are brand new versus returning visitors on the site. Cool!


Here are the percents from our blog:


The countries who visit our blog:


And the top 25 cities:


It's super fun to look at these because I know some of these are friends, and I mentally say "hi" when I see your city's name. i.e. when I see Coffeyville, I think "HI DOUG!!!!" (not Douggie).

And when I see places in Iowa or Wyoming, I"m all "Hi Erin + Joe!!!!" in my mind.

(I'm a dork).

High school reunion

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. It's that year. Yes, my 10 year high school reunion.

That thought makes me scowl.

Some people feel old when they hit a certain age ... but I feel old now that my 10 year reunion is here.

Aren't most people jumping for joy over these reunions? Am I a curmudgeon?

I'm not sure why I am so strongly opposed to this ... we didn't have a five year reunion (and I'm SERIOUSLY glad we didn't!). I certainly wasn't ready to see everyone after five years .... am I now that it's been 10?

It took me 4 calendar years, 3 academic years to breeze through college. SO ... what the heck have I been DOING for the last 6 years? Truthfully, not very much. I've lived a rather dull existence.

Quite a few of my classmates were upity and would barely give anyone but the 7 people in "their circle" the time of day. Do I particularly want to see them again? I can't decide.

Here's the other thought I have: I was in a variety of activities from journalism to theater to choir. I would LOVE to have a reunion with those groups, but the groups had a mix of grades/graduation years. I'll see a fraction of the people I spent most of my high school years with.

Another hesitation, and this is silly, but I'm just behind the times. Erik and I were *just* married ... the bulk of the people I went to school with are married and are on the family track. I can think of TWO of my married friends who don't have kids. TWO. We'll be in the corner talking about wine tastings while the other mommies talk about mommy things (whatever those are).

I've actually heard of people having "pre reunion reunions" ... and sort of like the idea. I'll have to mull it over a bit, but we'll see. Right now, I'm just feeling OLD.

Grrrrrrrr ... Quickbooks me no likey

*warning, I'm going to rant and whine*

UUUUUUUUUGH. I have NO LOVE for Quickbooks. Yes, I should have gotten my backside into gear and gotten it at the beginning of 2008. BUT ... I am a Mac girl (GO APPLE!) and they only had old versions (2007). The new version just came out. Yay!

BUT in the meantime, they released an online version. I think this is the solution to all of my worldly problems ... until I go online this morning and it tells me I need to be running on Explorer. UGH. Seriously? I have to use a buggy PC browser to use your product? Could you be any more UNFRIENDLY?!??!?!?

As if I wasn't irritated before, I'm irate now. :-(

Oh, and to add to things, the only "tax work" I've done is to throw receipts into the box with the "I'll do it with the new program."

What a fool I was.

Mental meltdown

Our Christmas ordering deadline was Sunday ... my brain is mentally on our honeymoon ... especially since my awesome hubsby gave me my Christmas gift early .... so I can learn how to use it before we head to the beach!


I'm excited to test out the camera over what I know will be an awesome Thanksgiving!

Fortunate?

I have to admit, I've *always* loved fortune cookies.


From my young years, I've saved them.

Yesterday's fortune?

"You are about to embark on a most delightful journey!"

I hope so....

What's the best fortune YOU've ever received? Leave it in the comments, because I bet there are some good ones out there!

Wife Wessons

Ok, so I'm lame and am being a goof. This is something I think I'll start .... "Wife Lessons .... or Wife Wessons" ;-)

Anyhow, Wife Wesson No. 1: Never EVER under ANY circumstance tell your husband you think you make a better hamburger than he does. Don't even THINK about it. Nada. (even if it IS true).


And trying to soften the blow by saying "but honey, you COOK them ... and you'll always do that better than me." That is gasoline on fire, not water. ;-)

R3 — recycle your SUIT!

I can't claim I came up with this blog post on my own (I saw it on Anne Ruthmann's Blog) ... but it's too good to not share! And since E and I were just married and the fellas were decked out in their suits, this is a great time to share this!

Through October, Men's Warehouse is doing a National Suit Drive.

So, if the drycleaner has "shrunk" your suit, or you have a new suit and your old one isn't getting as many miles as it used to, consider this!

In addition to being a form of recycling, you'll be helping to get these suits to those who need them. "During the National Suit Drive, every one of our over 550 stores will be collecting gently used professional attire to benefit at-risk men and youth transitioning into the workforce. All clothing we receive will be distributed throughout the community by local nonprofit organizations." Isn't that awesome????

Items accepted are: suits, sport coats, slacks, ties, and belts.

In addition to helping someone else out, plus you'll get 10% off your next Men's Warehouse purchase.

Talk like a Pirate, mate-y!

AHOY!!!!!!!!!!!

Ye bilge rats toot ye hornpipes ern abandon ye land lubber ways. SMARTY!!!!!!!!



Ok, so "What the heck has gotten into Karen" you are wondering. Probably four or five years ago, I heard an interview on NPR about the International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrrrrrr.......

It gained widespread popularity after Dave Barry's Column on the phenomenon.

Anyhow, HERE's the homepage and HERE's the direct link to all talk like a piratedom.

So, go ahead and scare you friends, co-workers and loved ones with a little "Arrrrrr" today! :-)

Random rambling/ranting

Packing tape. A girl needs it every once in awhile, right? Right.

But since I infrequently mail packages, I don't need one of these monsters lying around the house:

(This thing is GARGANTUAN!!!!)

SO, there is a nice little solution:

These little guys are small, compact and not scary looking. I LOVE them!

But I also loathe them. Why? Well, I cannot seem to find a refill for this size of packing tape. Odd, huh? They make them, but to re-fill it, I need to buy an entire other dispenser. Strange. I was in an office supply store, scouring the shelves, looking for refills. The clerk told me they weren't made. DARN. I was in the post office, buying yet another dispenser (between Erik and I there are at least 4 in his house). I mentioned to the guy behind the counter how I would love to find just refill tape. He said "I would too, but they don't make it." DOUBLE DARN!

It just seems so strange to me they can make the tape in a smaller size to fill the little plastic dispensers, but they can't sell the tape individually. Odd. I don't NEED any more of these little plastic dispensers! We could save petroleum to make the plastic and I would feel like I'm doing my *little* part to save the planet. But no ... not possible. :-(

So ATTENTION SCOTCH PEOPLE!!!!!!! I want small packing tape refills!!!! (the stuff that's about 3-4 inches in diameter, not the monster 6+ inches).

I know I shouldn't ...

but I can't resist!

Ok, all of you brides out there ... FESS UP! I KNOW you've done this ... right????

What the heck am I talking about? Registry peeking. Yeah, yeah, we have registries and we add items. What's this peeking business? Well, the online registry is SO COOL because it keeps guests up to date on what still needs to be purchased.

On the inverse, it also tells me what people have bought for our gifts!!! It's not *exactly* like peeking under the paper to see what a gift is before it's unwrapped, but sorta like it .... ;-)

Anyhow, I'm JAZZED to have a blender and George Foreman grill coming! Seriously! We have basil plants that have grown like gangbusters (even after I moved/re-planted them!). I have made pesto a few times this summer, but have yet to be able to find my food processor attachments ... so I've been cutting the basil leaves up by hand. UGH! My fingers end up black and green after the event, and I am not able to make that much pesto by myself. SO I'm elated to see a blender will enter our lives in two weeks ... because it will mean my pesto cutting days are over! And once my super secret pesto recipe is made, I can grill chicken on the Foreman and we can have chicken pesto pasta!!!!!!