It's a sesquicentennial party!

Saturday was Kansas Day, and not just any Kansas Day, but the day Kansas was celebrating 150 years of existence! holler!!! Sherlynn and I thought this was a perfect reason to celebrate, so we threw a birthday party for Kansas! Throughout the day, in order to prepare mentally for the festivities that were about to unfold, I sang the state anthem ("Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play..."), watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie, and took an online quiz on Kansas facts. (As a side note, the state anthem has a special place in my heart. Every time I sing it, I picture Mrs. Olsen rocking back and forth drunk while singing it. I can't remember what episode of Little House on the Prairie this was, but it was HILARIOUS!) If you are anxiously awaiting to hear how to throw an authentic birthday party for Kansas, here are a few ideas:

- make cornbread, cut them into little pieces, stick toothpicks in them, and provide molasses for dipping. (This is to represent authentic pioneer food. Don't expect the molasses to be a fan-favorite!)




- make a cake, ours was a chocolate-chip-cookie cake, and cut off the corner to make it resemble the state. (Most people thought that Sherlynn and I had already started eating the cake and that's why some was missing. I can assure you, this was NOT the case!)




We had candles and everything!




- play cowboys and indians. (Okay, we didn't really do this, but I proposed it. I thought it would be fun!) Instead, we played a group game of Fish Bowl and everything had to relate back to Kansas.

- bring a opposum. Technically, we didn't bring him. He appeared outside when the guests arrive. How a live opposum shows up in the middle of an apartment complex is beyond me. No worries, though, the police were called.

- watch the animated movie Home on the Range. When we went to Family Video to check it out, it was already rented (proving the idea genius!), so we opted for Chicken Run, since it takes place on a farm and Charlotte's Webb is just too sad.

I hope this is helpful for when you plan your own Kansas Birthday Parties in the future!

Mid-Week Road Trip

Thursday morning I had an eye appointment in Newton, Kansas. The appointment was at 8:30 and I had to have my contacts in for 3 hours before the appointment, thus making my awakening time 5:28! Lately, the "brakes sign" has been popping on and off on my dashboard. I have this deathly fear (quite literally) of driving down the highway and my brakes going out. If you know me, you know that one little possibility jump starts (notice the convenient car metaphor) my imagination to outlandish ideas and stories. Now, I keep hearing strange noises in my car. I have this very vivid picture of wheels flying off of my car while speeding along. Due to my uncanny gift of fantasizing, I convinced Sherlynn to skip class and come along with me. I'm not sure how that would help the situation if my breaks stopped working and my wheels were flying off, but at least I wouldn't die alone! :) Newton being a little over an hour away, we left at 7:00 AM and made it back safely before our next class at 11:00. Before returning home, however, I treated her to Drubers as a reward for her bravery (and because she had never had a Drubers donut before.) Sherlynn got the peanut butter twist (which I highly recommend) and I got the vanilla nut roll (which I also highly recommend)!




I am now slightly more confident in my car's abilities. It's just that imagination......

A few other things I've learned lately:
- There's a big difference between a crystal ball and a disco ball.
- It's called the Beer-Barrel Polka and NOT the Beer-BELLY Polka.

Give me some black and gold!

Last Saturday, the ESU hornets played their (our) all-time rival: the Washburn Ichabods. I have yet to discover what an Ichabod is. I know people make fun of the hornets, but who doesn't run when they see one approaching?!?!?! For instance, if someone yells at me, "There's a hornet on your shoulder," I immediately panic, my stomach starts to massage my small intestine, I sweat, cry, and possibly yell. HOWEVER, if someone yells at me, "There's an ichabod on your shoulder," my first reaction is: "A what?!"

Point proven.

Moving on.

A bunch of us who are involved in Cru here at ESU went to the game together. It was a BIG game! Typically, I do not watch basketball games. I have a hard time enjoying them. I have difficulty watching them. They are a struggle for me to get through for the following reasons: too many timeouts, I miss all of the good plays because I'm too busy people watching, I don't understand the ref signals, and the constant squeaking of tennis shoes against the cleanly waxed gym floor becomes rather vexing after a time. But since this was supposed to be such a good game, and since I am truly loyal to my Hornets, I went ready to cheer!

I was actually surprised at my own enthusiasm. And I understood more than I gave myself credit for. (I had to explain some of the rules to my Korean friend. I hope she got accurate information!!!)

Enjoy the pictures!

...snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes...

Monday, one of the great heavenly storehouses laiden with snow was dumped on Emporia! This is what it looked like walking to work, and it was only just beginning.




This is my parking lot with a nasty hill.



Thankfully, I had great rainboots to keep my feet dry!



This is the park right across from our apartment complex. No, that big white blob is not the moon. It must have been a giant snowflake, soon to melt on my camera lens.




After taking pictures of the park and checking my mail, I had another deathly slope to climb. But, eventually, I made it back to the warmth and coziness of my apartment!




Although it's pretty the first day, I'm ready for 90 degrees by the next!