Report from Colorado

I'm in Colorado now, and have been since Friday morning. I came out to spend some quality time with my best friend from college. I love having a job with so much vacation time. It's good to come out and soak up some mountain air, see the beauty and grandeur of God's handiwork and sleep in a lot. Here's what I've been up to so far....

Friday: Niki and daughter Zoe picked me up at the airport. We relaxed around the house Friday, as Niki was babysitting all day. I had a very early flight, so I got to rest during the day in Niki's newly reorganized office. My bed, which Benny refers to as a "Redneck Murphy bed" was a mattress set oh so cleverly tucked away behind a curtain in what used to be the closet. Pretty nice set up actually. And Niki loves books, so there's lots of browsing to be done before bed each night. That night we participated in a Nowell ritual: ate popcorn while we watched "Who Wants to be a Superhero". All 3 of the kids were in their superhero costumes. Should have taken a picture. The Nowell kids are very imaginative and artistic. Here's the sign on the front door of their house....With 3 resident superheroes and a sign like this, who wouldn't feel safe here.

Saturday: After sleeping in, I got to engage in one of Niki's favorite pastimes with her. We went to several ARC thrift stores and I got to see what all the fuss was about. I got several pair of shoes, books, and a big bag to haul it all back in. That night we celebrated Niki's birthday with some of her girlfriends. It was great to meet people I've heard so much about. We ate at Carabba's and then headed downtown to the 12th Street Mall for the Cheesecake Factory. It was so crowded we took our desserts to go and ate out in the open air. It was a beautiful night.

Niki and some of her girlfriends.

Paula and Heather

This is Rebecca, who is actually one of my friends too. We all went to York College together and sang in Choir.

Downtown Denver...12th Street Mall.

Sunday: This was actually Niki's birthday. We went to church and then had a Birthday lunch of Benny's famous pancakes and sausage. Yum. We napped and then had her family Birthday party.

Then Niki and I headed to downtown Denver to snap some photos. She wanted some she could give as a gift to her hubby. Here are my 2 favorites. And one of me in front of the Denver skyline. Afterwards, we met Niki's friend Heather for dinner at PF Chang's.

Monday: Benny watched the kids so Niki and i could have a day out to go to Colorado Springs.
We went to the zoo, which included a drive up to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun. We weren't interested in the whole shrine to the sun aspect, but it was a great view, and I recommend taking the short drive up there. After the zoo, we saw the Helen Hunt waterfall (not named after the actress in case you're wondering). Then we headed to dinner and then Garden of the Gods. That was a beautiful place and we got there as the sun was setting. It made for some beautiful vistas.

Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun

Helen Hunt falls

Niki in front of the "Kissing Camels"

PS: I don't know what's up with Blogger, I can't get rid of the underlining in my post. No I am not a fanatic underliner.

Zonked

I've run myself ragged this week. Went with my friend Jenelle and her family to the Royals game Tuesday night, so that put me home pretty late. It had been a long time since I'd been to a game. I forgot how the stadium seats are like sitting in the back seat of a compact car (between 2 big brothers no less). Our seats were in a good location though and no beers were spilled on my purse or shoes, so I can't complain. When Jenelle sends me a pic, I'll post it here. We got free T shirts that night. It's the Pine Tar Anniversary (George Brett incident - don't ask ME to explain), so everyone that sees the shirt asks why I got paint on it already. When I get the pic up you'll see what I'm talking about.

Last night, we had a little good bye gathering at Applebee's for my friend Jenelle from work. I finally can post pics of the mug I made her over a month ago. Here are some of the co-workers posing with the appropriate monkey on the mug. Jenelle, the speech therapist with the "Speak no Evil":

And Mary Jane, the music therapist, also posing with the "speak no evil' side of the mug...I guess in her case it's "Sing no Evil".

Didn't get my picture with the mug, but picture me with this side of the mug:

And here's Beth, our adapted PE teacher posing with the mug. Guess she's just plain bananas.

When I got home, it was girls night with my summer roommate, Michelle. We went to Starlight to see the Wizard of Oz. It was a great show, but again we got home very late. On the way home, I noticed a small frog had hitched a ride on the hood of my car. It made it all the way from Starlight to Fairway. Must be some pretty strong suction cups on the bottom of his little feet.

All that social activity caused this tonight:

Quote of the Day

"We live in an art gallery of divine creativity and yet are content to gaze only at the carpet." Max Lucado

Summer Update

Well you may have noticed my recent absence from the blogging world. Guess I've just been busier as of late. One of the things I've enjoyed lately is painting on pottery. I've probably been about 4 times this summer. Here is my latest creation, shown before and after firing. As you can see it's kind of tricky to tell what it's going to turn out like....always a surprise! I was pretty happy with this one. I pondered what to make for the longest time. I usually make gifts, but decided I'd start a series of dessert plates with famous art on them. Here's a representation of one of Monet's paintings:

Here's a cutesy one I made for a friend who has wienie dogs....

What else have I been busy with this summer? Let's see.....went to a ladies' retreat last weekend. I try to hang out with my friend Emily at her pool whenever I can. (I went over there tonight and there was something funky in the hot tub. It tarnished my silver ring and turned my black shorts brown.) Ben and Tracy bought a house in Liberty, so I've been going over to their house to get as much baby time in as I can before they move (they're only a mile away now).

Fourth of July I spent with the family....Here's Philip getting a load of his new cousin....

How NOT to Woo a Woman

It's time for another list! Unfortunately this one is based on actual experience (or in a few cases, the experiences of friends). So guys, if you don't want to impress a woman or be classified as a gentleman, follow these simple steps:

1. You don't want your woman to have high expectations. Early on in the relationship, set her straight by saying, "I know I really should be opening doors for you, but then I'd have to do it for the rest of my life".

2. Keep her guessing. Call her a lot at first, and then slowly start tapering off. Once you get her hooked, let her do all the work.

3. When the check comes, just let it set for awhile (maybe she'll get it).

4. If number three fails, then hem and haw and act a little weird about it. She's sure to offer to pay her part. When she does, pretend you don't hear her correctly and let her get the whole thing.

5. In long distance dating, when making plans to see each other, make sure to calculate how many miles you're driving, factor in mpg of your car, and figure out a total amount the trip will cost (out loud) so she can appreciate all you're doing for her.

6. Forget to mention that your divorce isn't final yet.

7. Borrow your roommate's sports car, pretend it's yours and impress your date.

8. Play "I Can Love You Like That" on repeat so she gets the message of what a gem you are.

9. If she works in a restaurant, go sit in her section drinking tea for several hours. You'll be doing her a favor by holding up that table all evening. That's fewer people she has to wait on. And she'll feel so warm and fuzzy knowing that you're there watching her every move.

10. Tell her, "You are beautiful....I mean, you're no Cindy Crawford or anything, but you're beautiful."

11. If the date's not going well, drop her off at the door of the restaurant and take off.

12. If you meet at the restaurant, don't walk her to her car unless it's convenient. You want her to feel a little scared so she can appreciate how safe she feels when you actually are around. And if anything bad happens to her, you can come running to save the day.

13. Talk about your ex all night. She needs to know every little thing she did wrong so she won't fall into the same patterns.

14. If you like your girlfriend but think she's on the cusp of being too fat for you, tell her, "You're OK now, but I just worry that you don't care how you look. I don't want to be having sex some day with some 200 pound woman". (In case you were wondering, no we were not having sex, he was just thinking way ahead).

15. If you say anything that could be perceived as shallow in any way, use this as your excuse, "I know that may sound shallow, but that is just how God made us men."

Online dating tips for men:

1. When you meet, say, "Wow, I guess you're just really photogenic!" (OK, this hasn't actually happened, but I thought it was funny).

2. Women like a man in charge. If you see a profile you like, don't waste time with small talk. Write her immediately and say this (actual excerpt here)...

"If I flew back to your place on Saturday, would you pick me up at the nearest airport. Plan. Three to four days on your couch. Homemade dinner three nights, candlelight. Couple glasses of wine, and a little light. If we get along, great, if you think differently, then I fly back on Thursday. If it works out I can get a job close by, or you could move to California,"

...If she says "stop writing me, I'm not interested", know that she's probably just playing hard to get.

3. Tell her about how holy you are. Once that's out of the way, you can get on to more fun things. Start writing about what you'd like to do to her sexually. You've got to test the waters and see how far she'll go. If she sounds like no fun, then just find someone else to write.

4. Half the battle is getting to the date. Tell her "It's all about you. I'm going to treat you like a queen." Then when you meet, you can revert to talking about your favorite topic.....you.

5. Ask for her phone number right up front. Who wants to waste time on emailing? If she complains that you don't have enough information in your profile, maybe you can get her number by saying, "I can answer all your questions on the phone."

6. Make sure you make your job sound great. If you work at Walmart in the paint department, for example, tell her you're a color specialist (don't say where). If you work as the Walmart greeter, tell her you're in the hospitality business. If you count anything in your job (french fry orders, video returns, etc) tell her you do some accounting.

****************

All that to say I had a great weekend date with a wonderful Christian man from Wichita this weekend. He knew how to be a gentleman and made all those other cads look really bad. Alas, the chemistry wasn't there for him so I guess the search for Mr. Right continues.

Pictures Say it All

A Star is Born

Milan Lauren (Pronounced Luh-rynn) made her debut today at 1:15 pm. She weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce (not bad for 2 weeks early). Tracy and baby are both doing well. She went in last night to be induced. The pics say it all:

Obligatory Social Customs

Just got back from "The Kiln", one of those paint your own pottery and have them fire it kind of places. It was girls' night for my roommate, Michelle and I. We had limited time. I walked in feeling overwhelmed with all the possibilities of cool things to make. After I pinpointed it to a person I wanted to make something for, it became much easier. Because of the time, I forced myself to do something cutesy and whimsical (not my usual style). I could have probably driven myself (and friend) nuts if I went with my usual detailed, realistic style. Can't wait to see the results. If you've ever done any of this pottery painting, you know that the colors don't look right until they're fired. A white can look pale green; a cobalt can look powder blue; a red can look like dirt. But when you get that finished piece, complete with glossy coat and vivid colors, it's a true surprise. Maybe I'll post the results when I get them in a few days.

Speaking of roommates, you're probably thinking, "I didn't know Tawnya had a roommate". I don't normally, but my friend Michelle from my days at York College is here for the summer. It's an interesting (and long) story about how that all happened, and I think I'll save that for another day.

Sunday, we had the baby shower for my sister. Less than a month away! If you're like me, you've gone to tons of showers and the sight of pastel baby colors is enough to induce the doldrums. I was determined that this was not going to be a traditional baby shower. Abbey and I went shopping for decorations and decided on a theme that wasn't even in the baby section. We saw all the Hollywood stuff and decided to go with "A Star is Born". The colors were black and gold. We rolled out a red carpet and sprinkled gold stars around for decoration. Ben's mom made a star cake, mom made some star-shaped chocolate mints and I made some champagne colored punch and chocolate dipped strawberries. They looked so good, but I didn't even try one since I hate strawberries. We played a game of match the celebrity with their baby picture. We had the guests decorate diapers with slogans and had Tracy judge them for originality.

When all was said and done, I was pooped, and decided non-traditional or not, showers are strange rituals (not that I'm against anyone throwing one for me when my time comes....I've definitely put in my time at other peoples' showers). I do understand the practical aspect of gift registries, but at the same time, it does seem strange to make a list of what you want people to buy you and then act surprised when you open the items on your list. (Incidentally I almost never buy from the list. That's too predictable. It's much more fun to give people the kind of stuff they didn't know they really wanted.)

The other thing I wonder about.....do people really enjoy going to showers or is it one of those things (like Mary Kay parties and Pampered Chef demonstrations) you do because you're a faithful friend? Does anyone actually look forward to a rousing game of baby bingo or the endless display of onesies and baby paraphanalia? Yes the punch may be a different color and flavor at each shower; the colors may be of a different shade of pastel; the baby stories being told may be slightly different but overall a shower is a shower is a shower. ..... Now I'm not knocking all you shower-goers out there (after all I'm one of them). I guess it's just one of those loyal ways we women encourage and support one another. Here's to all the women out there who go to these things no matter how busy they are, no matter how well they know the guest of honor, and no matter how much they dread this strange social custom.

As I've gotten older, I've come to the point that I don't do as many things out of obligation. I do go to showers for friends, but not for barely acquaintances. I do not buy things from door to door salesmen (as often as I used to). And I do not go to those home parties anymore unless I truly have an interest in the product. Once you've gone to one Party Lite party and learned all about the beauty of candles...how to hug them to help them keep their shape and how to trim the wicks so they last the longest, I do believe you've learned enough about candles to sufficiently pass the rest of your days on this earth.

3 Things

My friend Anita sent me this and it's pretty intriguing. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

Also, I finished my post on the roadtrip. You have to scroll down a couple of days to see it.

Thirdly, when I've been on other computers, I've noticed that my nice sunflower picture with the title of my blog does not show up except at home. Leave me a comment about whether or not you can see it, and I'll see what I can do.

Wildlife encounters

First day back to school. And no I'm not referring to the kids when I say "wildlife". We didn't have students yet today. I saw two young foxes in our sensory garden. While I was having a problem with bunnies eating the flowers and wishing for a solution, I wish the foxes would have showed up before most of the flowers were obliterated. Here are some shots I got of them. Yes, there a bit mangey, but surprisingly tame. And no foaming at the mouth.

Speaking of wildlife, I was over at mom's yesterday and gave the kids their Fiona ears/crown that I bought at Universal Studios. I love this picture. Wow! They are all 3 smiling AND looking at the camera!