I've been meaning to..

- Tell you how we got up at 3:30 a.m. to drive to Minnesota in order to avoid snowy highways.

- Explain my hatred of cookies.

- Talk about how Shea's hair is really, really long because we're too busy to do basic things like haircuts. Though we did seem to find time to watch "Easy A." So maybe we're just bad at doing the boring things.

- Exclaim about how much I love my bed and every time I sleep somewhere else, I love my bed even more.

But instead I am...
-  Working on a big huge project at work involving a brand new website. It's going to be cool. But it's a lot of frustrating, detailed work right now.

- Preparing for Christmas No. 2 in Kansas this weekend. We hate New Years Eve anyway so what better way to ring in 2011 than with another Christmas?

- Figuring out when I can trek back to Minnesota to clean and paint our condo because our renters love cigarette smoke.

So I will see you soon. Be patient with me. I promise some super amazing stories and photos are on their way!

the journey

Saturday morning we volunteered with our church to feed more than 100 homeless Kansas Citians looking for a warm meal. My job was to unwrap holiday hams and turn packets of powder into a meat glaze. Shea's job? Much more important.

We spent the morning cooking, decorating, cleaning and serving. A nice sojourner helped me carry a broken chair to the dumpster only to take a wrong turn. He thanked me for my chair donation and said it was now part of his camp. Saved him a dumpster dive I suppose.

When we left, we got a view of our church all ready for Christmas.

Tonight we came back for church. Sang all the familiar Christmas songs, watched a little Mary and Joseph greeted by three tiny sheep, and held hands with our neighbors. We talked about the journeys we all have to take that - sometimes not ones we'd like to take. Like being nine months pregnant, traveling for more than a week on the back of a donkey only to give birth to a baby that wasn't your husband's in the dirt among barnyard animals. Or knowing you have to travel around town to find a warm meal before sleeping between buildings in order to find shelter from the cold wind.

This weekend gave me some perspective on my journey this Christmas. No matter what the journey, God's walking it with me.

frugality strikes again!

Dave Ramsey has once again foiled my plans.

We got in our heads that we wanted a house. BAD. Our apartment is fabulously large and cheap. Plus we pay one utility - electric - which averages at $40 during the winter. Friends, we have it good.

But the hard parts are the complete lack of storage. The inability to have people over. No where to grill or let Mac the dog run at least without a visit to the dog park. No bedroom door which means no separation between us and our needy animals. So in our frustration and the fact our lease ends next week, we started to look at houses. They were cute and financially possible unless you factor in utilities for a house that has gas heat. Then we found the PERFECT house and the woman was willing to negotiate.

We redid our budget for hours. And hours. We thought about giving up the iPhone, not paying so much extra on our mortgage or not putting ALL that money in savings. I started to get weepy because that's what budgeting, especially Dave Ramsey style, does to me. I hate him and his stupid money theories sometimes. Especially when I am looking at a fenced in yard and fire pit. But he is stuck in my head and no matter how much I try, it's like a nagging little voice that just won't shut up.

We knew we had to say no. In a last ditch effort to not make the hard decision, we offered her a ridiculously low rent with the assumption that in a year we could pay more. She considered it. But then another guy ponied up and is signing her lease.

Sometimes it's easier when God closes a door.

In a year, our second mortgage will be paid off. That's $28,000 paid off in two years plus a much better opportunity to sell the condo in the nearer future. In addition, this strict budget has allowed us to pay off a credit card ($2,000),  pay off a car ($8,500) and create an emergency fund.

So we'll live cheap for 365 more days. And will live so far below our means that our debt will get smaller. We'll be able to stay on track. That'll be good. I just don't always like it.

"You don't get to say "yes" until you've said "no" for  a while."

my wish list

I don't need a single thing for Christmas. But I made a list. Because when I don't, the people at the Salvation Army are very happy to see me on December 26.

Note to gift-buying parties: I am an extra small, size zero, short, petite, midget length if available. Always. Unless you shop at Hollister and in that case I am a medium. But I don't know why you would ever go into a clothing store that advertises itself by using people without clothes.

Garmin Forerunner 405
*I realize it's out of the budget. 305s also accepted.

Tracks time, distance, pace, heart rate and calories burned. Also when I am caught in the rain and lightning and stranded at a Starbucks in my running shorts, someone can log online to find me instead of letting the phone ring five million times.

Lift concealer

I only wear makeup when I have to. But this eye goop makes me look way less tired and shockingly, I've decided that without it, I look quite old.

Etsy art

I loooooove Shirae's Etsy shop. Love. And if I have a daughter someday, this is how her room will be decorated. I think it's wise to start collecting now.

Dutch Oven

Even, low-heat cooking. Like a crock pot but better.

Luna Bars, in bulk

Tasty. Heathly-ish. Too expensive to justify buying regularly but if they show up under the tree, I will definitely eat them.

What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell

If you haven't read Gladwell's other books - Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers - you really should.

What's on your wish list?

cookie extravaganza

Christmas is about cookies. Apparently. So Johanna and I faithfully followed tradition and made a lot of them. I packed up my baking supplies because when you're married, you have the cool stuff like a really thin cookie spatula.

We started with Oreo balls, which look...gross.

But much better as a finished product. I mean, I think I made a lot of them. I don't really know because three days later they are all gone. Mystery! (clue: they give me migraines, and I do not eat them)

Add in peanut blossoms, iced lemon rounds and molasses cookies.

And the grand finale, and my favorite peppermint bark. Thankfully there was a man around...

Instead of these cookies ending up in cute little tins to hand out to my neighbors and co-workers, it seems they have ended up in my stomach. Stay tuned for cookie extravaganza, part two.

getting back on track

As noted by my series of sad, complaining blogs followed by a series of complete absence of blogging, I have been in a funk. Today I feel out of my funk. I can't make any promises for tomorrow, but here's my funk-ridding recipe, at least for a day.

Add five miles of running. I ran a mile outside before my throat burst into flames, and I was forced to get over my fear of showing up at the gym and having the front desk guy's make comments like "Oh, you still belong to this gym?" Two months ago I ran 13 miles with a hurt knee. Shove it. In my gym absence, it appears they've gotten the hint on adding new treadmills, eliminating the inappropriate angry girl pop videos and the addition of towels. They did not get the hint that standing two feet behind my treadmill for a 20-minute session of staring at my butt/talking on a cell phone is inappropriate for an employee. Take what you can get.

Add one bubble bath and with a side of a good book. Normally I hate baths, mostly because I never really clean my bathtub to an acceptable level. But I pushed through. And spent the evening reading The Girl Who Played with Fire. Unfortunately for me I though that I was reading the one about the hornet's nest, looked it up for the link and figured out who the bad guy Zala is. I had not figured that out yet. Damn. Must forget surprise ending.

Stir in one viewing of the Hallelujah Chorus. Even better if you watch it in flash mob, YouTube form, here. I cried. At work. Turns out that means, I am altruistic according to this study. Music chills equals more likely to give blood? Thankfully they think I'm too small to take my blood... I mean, otherwise I'd totally do it.

Add a pinch of  a clean kitchen and completion of a class. I was going to take a picture of my kitchen counter for you, but then realized no one would ever come over for dinner again. So now it's clean. And my grad school paper and presentation are done.

Top off with a heavy dose of perspective from a dear friend. A long talk with my wise friend reminded me that Christmas IS about celebration, love and eating a lot of cookies. But it's also about sacrifice and obedience. Everybody needs that kind of friend, who understands, hurts as much if not more than you and never ever would tell you you're crazy and blowing it out of proportion. I'm lucky!

all I want for Christmas

I'm in a Christmas funk.

Because we have this lame little tree that our kitten keeps knocking over. Because there is no one else to make the cookies, buy the presents, wrap them, fill out the cards and earn the money except us. Because I don't get to spend it with my family. Because I keep eating cookies and keep feeling guilty and fat. Because we keep our apartment at temperatures so chilly that I don't take showers so that I can avoid the horror of leaving my hot shower.

Merry, merry.

So I've determined that we should skip Christmas/the month of December and go here.

"We'll have a fresh Christmas tree waiting for you, and supply you with a basket of ornaments; you'll wake up to bountiful country breakfasts and end the days with delectable dinners; there'll be time for skating, sledding and skiing, or just cozying up to the wood stove! There will be all the tastes, and scents of the season, together with family and friends, twinkling lights and overstuffed stockings."

And by family and friends, they mean Shea and I.

The package includes:
Three nights in a Vermont country inn on 570 acres
Full breakfast and afternoon snacks (hot cider, cabot cheese and cookies)
A Christmas tree to decorate and a stuffed stocking
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners

And we could go to Christmas Eve church here and ponder what Christmas is really about.

No presents. No cooking or baking. No small talk. No "Christmas Story" marathon. No driving white knuckled on icy roads.

It'd be the best Christmas ever.

I am..

feeling extremely unmotivated to be running and mad at myself for it. It's cold. And the 64 degrees we keep our apartment at to save money makes it VERY hard to get out of my warm bed in the morning.

loathing laundry. I do laundry at my parent's house. Then it comes home in baskets and sits there. Then I still have at least three loads to do at our apartment. Plus, I still need to find another box to pack up the rest of our summer clothes to put in our nonexistent storage.

in love with the homemade chicken noodle soup I made last night. I am declaring this winter as the one where I add more soups to my cooking routine. Suggestions, please?

kind of lonely. There is something about the work, materialism and stress that comes with holidays that makes me ache deeply for more innocent times and child-like wonder. 

excited about the weekend. Spending time with several groups of friends, getting our final project for class done, celebrating the first anniversary of our church with dinner/comedy show and hopefully making more soup.

Happy weekend to you!

the eyeball sweater

Today I went to see my fourth grade buddy at the school where we both mentor. My friend, J, is super sweet despite her need to always establish I am a Crip and not a Blood. Usually she greets me with a hug and huge grin. Today she was curled up in a ball with her jacket hiding her face. I asked the teacher what was wrong and he said "oh not a big deal."

J didn't want to show me the tears streaming down her face so I just started making a paper chain for her Christmas tree. She even let me use red but still refused to speak. Pretty soon she wrote me a note.

"Sarah, I'm sorry i'm not playin with you. the kids made fun of me about my hands. i'm never eating again. sorry."

Turns out, a marker exploded onto her hands during indoor recess and her hands were now a shade of green - all over. The kids in her class thought that was pretty funny. She did not. I wrote a note back and asked her if she wanted me to help her wash them, and the first words she spoke to me: "Leave it alone, Sarah."

But 50 links of paper chain later, eating a lunch (I carried her tray so the kids wouldn't see the green hands),  and my time off work up, she shyly asked if I could help her wash her hands. We scrubbed those hands raw for 20 minutes and sent her back to class looking less like the Grinch. And I got my huge hug goodbye.

It reminded me of a sweater I wore that my great-grandma made me - white with balls of purple and blue. While sitting in a circle in kindergarten, a boy who shall remain nameless (though don't think I don't remember his name) called it the eyeball sweater.

I cried. And never, ever wore the handmade sweater again.

So maybe it wasn't a big deal to the teacher. But J's green hands and my eyeball sweater - very big deals to a tender little heart.

happy birthday to the hubs

Shea,

I wish I would have known you when you wore this outfit. I would have kissed those little cheeks and straightened your little tie.

I wish I would have known you when you were collecting pewter figurines for no apparent reason. Or when you flipped through your thousands of baseball cards. Or fought with your X-Men. Or danced your way to stardom.

I wish I would have known you when you played baseball, stuffed your face with big league chew and dominated center field.

I wish I would have known you when you attended your proms, chose your college and took out all those loans.

I wish I would have known you when you lived in a house with 12 guys... well, not really.

I wish I would have known you when you graduated from college, bought your condo, suffered through your first jobs. When you adopted Mac and ate spaghetti every night for dinner.

But I'm really glad I get to know you (and be married to you!) for the rest of our lives.

Happy 27th birthday!

Love,
Wifey

petty thankfulness

Let it be known, I am in fact most thankful for my faith, husband, family, roof over my head, healthy body, food in my pantry (like I have one of those..) and money in my bank account.

But I'm also thankful for these other really unimportant things.

Facebook
How else would I know who is mad at whom and deleted them as a friend in an immature rage, when my 10-year high school reunion is or who is connecting with a random song lyric today. I mean, thank goodness for that last nugget of information.

The floor of Shea's car
In the case that I should wonder what Shea's been up to the last year, my curiosity is quickly curbed by a look-sey into his car. Receipts, smashed paper cups, church bulletins, Gatorade bottles, junk mail and hats.

Fine point, retractable Sharpies
I love them. Love. Love. Love.

Right turns on red
There is one intersection near my work where you cannot turn on red. This makes me realize how much I appreciate the turning-on-red rule. Also, U-turns. I like those, too.

My mattress
When we got married, we had the option of a $600 mattress that would eventually sag in the middle and push our bodies on top of each other during sleep or a $1,500 mattress that made me want to live in my bed. Best $1,500 we've ever spent.

Brussels sprouts
I had them at a restaurant this past weekend, in butter and roasted. Shockingly, this was my first experience with this vegetable and even more shockingly, I am in love with them.

K-State basketball
It makes things way more fun to be cheering for a top five team. For example, tonight I get to go to a No. 1 vs. No. 3 game at Sprint Center. It will be loud, nerve wracking, blood pumping fun.

Kansas City weather
I know I beat this dead horse a lot, but I am super thankful that there is no ice, no snow, no freezing cold. Just a nice cool Thanksgiving with sun and fall jackets.

this city

Kansas City, you are looking especially extraordinary this weekend.

praying for anapra

Tomorrow, my mom heads to Mexico. Not the part where there is turquoise water, white sand beaches and overflowing fruit platters. But the part you read about in the news.

We first went to Anapra in 2000 with my youth group. Back then it was just sand, cinder block houses with no electricity or running water. We came to help build a new school in a Juarez neighborhood where parents locked their kids at home so they wouldn't get into trouble while they rode a bus to a factory and worked for $1/hour. Along came a pastor, Antonio, who saw a need and moved his family to Juraez so he could teach adults to read and write in this room made of palettes and cardboard.

And then we arrived and helped pour the concrete for a new building. It took a week to build just the floor - mixing concrete by hand, twisting metal into rebar. At the end of the week, a bunch of teenagers stood in a circle around our concrete slab. We listened to prayers in Spanish and a man talk tearfully about how he'd found God that week.

"Asi alumbre vuestra luz delante de los hombres, para que vean vuestros buenos trabajos y glorifiquen a vuestro Padre que esta en los cielos." Mateo 5:16

And then other churches came. Buildings were built. Tile laid. Chalkboards hung. The Colegio Susana Wesley was born.

Four years ago, my family went back for Thanksgiving. And that little slab of concrete is now many buildings. It's a beautiful, vibrant school. 

And the kids are amazing. 

But as the situation in Juarez has deteriorated so has Anapra.The volunteers don't come as often. Antonio and his wife, Dina, are at risk for extortion or kidnapping because of their local status. The funding sources, who are also struggling to maintain their own budgets, aren't giving as much away.

So my mom and a team of people will go back this week to help out with repairs around the school. They will deliver supplies and a lot of love. It's the least they can do for the two people and their staff who give their lives in service in the face of violence because they believe in education and in God's love.

This week I'm praying. For my mom and the team's safety. For the kids of Anapra who grow up with the odds stacked against them. For the families who can look outside their cardboard houses and see the lights of the El Paso gated communities where there is enough food, enough education, enough jobs and enough safety. For our hearts to be moved - whether it's risking our comfort and safety to serve, collecting school supplies and clothing to give away because we have more than enough or simply signing up for the school's newsletter and praying.

And as we eat ourselves into a food coma next Thursday, make a list of all the stuff we want for Christmas, attend holiday parties and complain about the burden of our jobs, car repairs, the cost of decorations or the stress of family get-togethers, I hope we pause.

i'm a citizen, really.

I love my passport. It's evidence of all the places I've experienced, expect for the one time I went to Paraguay in the back of the van - no passport stamps there!

However, I have a beef with the State Department. My current passport was issued in 2004, meaning it still has a good four years left. But, my name has changed. If my passport would have been issued within the last year, it'd be a FREE passport update. But since it's been six years, I have to pay $110 for a new one. $110 to prove I am a U.S. citizen!

Not only that, but I have to give up my cute, smiling picture for a no makeup, no jewelry, no smile, white background, crappy camera photo that makes me look like I've single-handedly raised 10 kids and not slept for three months. Joy.

And my quest to fill all the pages of my passport will fail despite the fact Argentina seems to give a stamp every time you cross the street. Let's hope Belize and Guatemala are also liberal with their stamping.

On the plus side, I do appreciate the fact I can drop off my application and horrifying photos at the post office instead of mailing them to Philly - that saves me five bucks at least. Bargain shopping! You can find a passport acceptance facility near you here. 

a burger, a tap dancer and a fetus

Last week, I looked like this everyday.

Then Friday,  I felt much much better. We do this dance at least once every six months. I get super sick, do blood work that shows I am in fact, super sick and my lower region organs are not functioning properly. The blood tests they do are silly (hepatitis, really?) and show nothing. Occasionally they will stick a tube down my throat or in other unmentionable regions and also, find nothing. Then I will feel better and feel like I'd rather just assume this will never happen again and forgo more invasive tubes. One day we will have an answer. Or not.

Since I was feeling better and the most I had eaten in one sitting the entire week was half a cup of rice, I celebrated by eating a half pound hamburger. And my friends, it was FABULOUS. We met some very dear friends of mine from a previous job at The Phoenix jazz club and saw Lonnie McFadden, local singing and tap dancing legend.

Happy days! The rest of my weekend included watching Layne play volleyball where I was forced to cheer for KU, eating chili and playing Scrabble with the fam. The big finale was my favorite friend Edie's baby shower!

She thinks she looks like a big house mostly because the little guy is poking his butt into her ribs and generating a lot of acid. Kind of rude for such an innocent little fetus. I, however, think she has the cutest baby bump ever. Little Herbie is a lucky man.

saying nothing

I went to the doctor yesterday for my week-long saga of nausea, dizziness and generally feeling awful. As is the trend, my doctor assumed I was pregnant. Even though I explained the timing is not logical.

We did determine my blood pressure is too low when I am standing. More on par with numbers for small children or professional athletes. No cure, just "hang onto something when you stand up."

I am then escorted back to the lab where I ask to lay down for my barrage of blood work since needles and staying conscious seem to be a problem lately.Then I had to ask for water so that I could eventually pee in a cup (high maintenance patient here).

When I am done, I walk to another room and put my pee cup in a sink. I have to sit in a chair while the lab tech does the pregnancy and UTI test in front of me. She's joking about the machines doing two tests at once and casually rustling her papers around. I'm reading a letter from God to his children typed in comic sans pasted to the wall. I am positive that my God would never send letters in such a disturbing font.

When it's done, she says nothing.

I have to walk with her to a copy room where she tapes the test results to another sheet and makes copies. She says nothing. We walk back over to the doctors office together, and she hands my results to the nurse saying, "here are your answers." The nurse walks with me to the exam room and says, "I'll show him these results, and he'll be back in to talk to you about them." She says nothing about the actual results.

Now I have to wait 10 minutes before the doctor returns to tell me I am not pregnant, which I already knew but was starting to feel borderline-crazy about.

So now I am waiting for blood work results. I'm hoping for a nice infection that requires just a few pills to make me feel brand new but assures Shea that dressing me in my pajamas when I fall asleep at 8:30 with a computer on my lap wasn't just a ploy.

irrelevant nausea

My tummy hurts, I'm nauseated and dizzy. Dizzyness is just part of my personality lately.

This has caused my work to be a buzz of how I am either really scared of needles or pregnant - neither topic actually discussed in my presence and both false.

So the fact that today I'm focused on: 1) Remaining upright and not sleeping underneath my desk and, 2) Not vomiting didn't help.

On Mondays, I have to sit at the front desk to give the receptionist time for lunch. This usually requires rejecting cries for free legal advice, calling of campus police when the crazies show up and looking generally knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.

Today I hunched over the keyboard transferring calls while sipping Sprite and nibbling on table crackers.

Co-worker: "Sarah, are you feeling OK?"
Me: "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."
Co-worker: "Oh I see you are eating crackers and drinking Sprite. How long have you been married?"
Me: "Irrelevant and unrelated."

Excuse me, I have to go vomit up my Sprite.

simply spoiled

I love birthdays. Usually other people's but I can't turn down a day of being spoiled.

First, my boss gave me a $100 gift card to the Plaza. Holy moly generous! My coworkers also took me out to lunch at Rudy's, my new favorite Mexican restaurant. While I was gone stuffing myself with tostadas, flautas and fried ice cream, Shea came by my work and delivered purple roses.

I got singing phone calls from my grandma and aunt and later my parents who are vacationing/working in Long Beach. Next, Shea made me a delicious dinner of mashed potatoes and peas as requested. He added a side of meatballs to make it a full meal. We had a surprise dessert of four cupcakes from Babycakes. (Hubs had a very busy lunch hour of flower, cupcake and present gathering). 

They all had vanilla frosting since I hate the chocolate kind and had cake flavors of pumpkin, red velvet, chocolate and white. White with vanilla frosting is still my favorite of all time. What can I say, I like the classics.

 

Shea hit on my two favorite passions with gifts - cooking and running. First, Nike Dri-fit running pants and running gloves (with a sweet key pocket!).

Then these adorable cherry cannisters I've been eyeing for quite some time to replace our not-so-great current cannisters. Turns out the "hey, hey pay attention. I like these" comments worked.

For the rest of the night I got to lay on the couch, talk, watch a movie and go to bed early. Dreamy.

on turning 28

{Celebrating birthdays since 1982)

I started a list of all the silly things I'd learned in my 27th year for my annual birthday tradition. I realized, though, that it didn't really make sense this year - because this birthday compared to all my others, is the one where it's not about all those little things but this new feeling of contentment.
 
Like all my other birthdays, there are definitely things I am looking forward to that haven't happened yet. But I don't feel incomplete. So instead, a list of Sarah's journey to contentment. Cue the swell of majestic music.
 
I have Shea.
He's one of the big life questions answered. It doesn't matter where we live or what we're doing, it's always good. We're no longer in the unknowns of dating, the stress of wedding planning or the chaos of newlywed stage. We live this full, mostly uninterrupted life where the biggest portion is spent hanging out as best friends. That's pretty cool.
 
I have faith.
I've learned a lot about my relationship with God this year. About how he provides when I'm following His plan. About how to pray with intention and reverence. About how easily temptation eeks into my life. I've learned the importance of a community of believers to support me in my faith. I've learned (and am still learning) that my time isn't my own and complaining about not having enough of it for myself is futile.
 
I have my family.
I live closer to my family now, and I'm not sure I would have ever felt content if I didn't. I love that I can experience my life with them. I love knowing my mom answers the phone for our daily chats. I love having the option to see them for random weekends but the freedom of knowing they don't have unreasonable expectations.
 
I have my health.
I feel the healthiest I ever have. I have learned to love healthy cooking. I've learned to follow a training plan and build my muscles and lung capacity enough to run a half marathon. I feel in tune with my body - knowing what it needs for fuel and when it needs to run for 10 miles or take a nap on the couch.

Because of those four things, I am at greater peace with other aspects of life. This year has really taught me that I can't change other people's priorities and values - but I also don't have to choose to be around them. Being on a budget has shown me that once I got used to it, I don't spend as much time thinking about material things like clothes, cable TV or pumpkin spice lattes. Living in a new city has given me the option to start new and explore my surroundings.

I'm 28, and I am happy.

another reason for pretty underwear

The first sign of trouble was the doctor showing the students how to give a shot. And something about anaphylactic shock.

The students giving shots at our employee health fair did good though, and I got my vaccine with little pain. Picked up my round bandaid and was on my way toward the other screening stations.

The cholesterol screening was only a little finger prick test. The students there were talking to me about my job and making me drink water because my skin was too "tough" and I needed to make my blood flow more. Whatever, I drank away. Keep in mind I still have not been pricked.

Then I start feeling a little dizzy but try to maintain conversation about my awesome Halloween costume. I have to sit back in the chair a little,  and they start making comments on my very pale face. They run to get a doctor and by the time she comes I'm seeing less stars and more black. Doctor woman says "I know you're in a skirt, and this is not going to be fun but we have to get you on the floor."

I was hoisted down and there I lied for the next 20 minutes with the doctor's coat tied around my legs. The doctor made jokes about "this is why your grandma tells you never to forget to wear your underwear." Me: "What?! I'm totally wearing underwear."

They made me then sit on the concrete floor for another 10 minutes and explained that woman, especially of the small variety, are prone to passing out after flu shots and that's why you're supposed to wait 10 minutes before walking around - jabbing her words in the directions of the shot-giving students. They still didn't let me leave until they thought I had proper color in my face.

Cause of the fainting? 1) I hadn't eaten since last night because I was fasting for the cholesterol test. 2) I am prone to low blood pressure swings thanks to my mother who once had to lie under the cake table at a wedding reception. 3) Children are prone to fainting after flu shots - my body slightly resembles a child's.

She said 75 percent of people who pass out after flu shots leave with concussions so I am lucky. Right because lying in front of all your coworkers on a concrete floor with a jacket tied around your knees with a doctor joking about not wearing underwear is SO much better.

Vote!

And so should you!

If you're in Kansas or Missouri, you can cram for ballot issues at the Midwest Democracy Project website. And you can find your polling place here.

My polling place had quite the collection of characters including a guy campaigning 26 feet from the polling place door. The law is no campaigning within 25 feet. Nice work, buddy.

Halloween past and present

Though I don't appreciate the scary aspects, I do love coming up with costume ideas with my Halloween-obsessed husband.We've had some good ones.

2008

Juno and Paulie Bleeker

 

2009
Clue Characters

2010

Gnomes

Happy Halloween!