The City that Bleeds Purple

This post is dedicated to my sister, Melissa, who continues to bleed purple even in France.

Last night (Friday) I decided to go pay my friends and cousins in Manhattan, home of the K-State Wildcats, a visit. It was quite a feat getting there, but after multiple detours, numerous phone calls, a delayed arrival time, and millions of prayers, I made it to Steph's apartment. (Let's just say, highway 99 + in the dark = not a good combination.) She had kindly made Pioneer Woman Chicken Enchiladas, and despite her cheese malfunction, they were delicious. Elizabeth joined us for our 8:30 dinner, but sadly, no picture was taken. We (minus Elizabeth) then went to Orange Leaf (which is almost like Yogurtland in San Diego) to meet my cousin, Lisa! Although we took no pictures, we still had a splendidly marvelous time catching up.

Saturday morning, two of my absolute favoritest cousins took me out to breakfast, and that's when the picture-taking began. We ate at The Chef, which Greg says is, "Reputably the best breakfast restaurant in Kansas un-oficially, and has in his opinion the best coffee in Manhattan. AND, it's bottomless coffee!" After my experience there, I concur. Craig, Greg, and I all three ordered the same thing: 'Dang Quesadila'. (I know Quesadila is spelled wrong, but that's how it was spelled in the menu.)



Why do I love hanging out with these two cousins? Because they are funny, handsome, sweet, intelligent, talented, Godly young gentle-men who treat me like I'm worth the world.

Why did I like the restaurant so much besides the scrumptious food and incredible coffee? Because the waitress served both my food and coffee in yellow dishes! Bright yellow dishes! How can you NOT smile when you drink coffee from a happy yellow mug?



After cousin-bonding time, I hung out with Steph some more. We...

Visited Melissa's old apartment:




Visited Melissa's old work-place:



Visited Melissa's old university campus:



And finished the morning with even MORE coffee (I had probably had about 4 cups by that point!) and a scrumptious piece of cranberry-nut bread. SO GOOD! We had a lovely time visiting and catching up in this cute little coffee-shop.






The return trip home was not nearly as eventful. I only called Steph once the whole way! And, since it was light outside, I could enjoy the EXQUISITE countryside that God created. The Flint Hills are truly MAGNIFICENT!

Thank-you, Steph, for introducing me to the phrase: bleeding purple. I now over-use it shamelessly. Thank-you also for housing me and providing me with whatever I forgot. I learned a lot at your apartment!!!

Heavenly Storehouses Laden with Snow!

This past Tuesday and Wednesday, Emporia received over 14 inches of snow!!! I have never seen so much snow in my entire life. Logically, the university closed down and issued another SNOW DAY! I did not even bother going outside Wednesday while it was coming down. Rather, I hibernated by making cookies, watching Psych, planning for Bible study, and homeworking. (Yes, 'homeworking' is now a verb in order to maintain the parallelism in the previous sentence.) Thursday, I was forced to venture out because I had work and class. I took pictures along the way. I could hear people around me mentally calling me "African" as I took these random pictures!

This is the door leading into my apartment complex. Needless to say, it is not snow-proof.



My poor car. She doesn't like the being out in the cold anymore than I do.




So much snow!


And of course, as tradition holds, I must wear my rainboots after a big snow storm. Let me pause a moment to explain why:
1. Rainboots are water proof. Snow is a form of water. Thus, snow will not damage or enter my rainboots.
2. They add color to my life.
3. I didn't want to ruin my other nice winter boots by getting them wet.
4. I needed to take another picture for my blog and I know Dave W. appreciates my boots!
Only major downfall: they are not built for extreme temperatures so you must wear multiple socks.



See that little curvy path? That's my route to campus!



Finally a sidewalk.



I wonder why no one is sitting on those pretty benches?



Confession 1: At times, I feel a bit smug because I have these SWEET glittens. Not only do they work as gloves and mittens, but they were purchased in Minnesota and thus are extra warm. I absolutely love them! (This is when I felt the most foolish taking pictures!)





Confession 2: I spend a great deal of time day-dreaming of Burkina Faso and hot sweaty weather! I think my body is slowly shutting down due to the cold. Walking around in -9 degree weather is not my idea of fun.



But then, I look around and see just how beautiful 14+ inches of snow is and how it reflects the BEAUTIFUL CREATOR that I get to worship and serve.





The only truly fitting way to end this blog is with a movie quote:
"I'm going to go take a hot bath. I'm getting cold just thinking about all this ice!"

Shorty, Melissa, any guesses as to the movie?

Snow Day (x2)

Monday, the temperatures dropped, the ice fell, and by the evening, the university was closed for the following day. Tuesday, the temperatures continued to drop (-22 with wind!!!), snow started falling and wouldn't stop, and bye the evening, the university had announced another snow day for Wednesday! TWO ENTIRE SNOW DAYS IN A ROW! Starting Monday afternoon, I refused to leave my apartment until Wednesday night! Cold is just not my thing. A good friend, Doh (her full name being Dohgyoung Ahn), spent the night Monday night and joined Sherlynn and myself in a full snowday of festivities! Allow me to explain...

Bananagrams:


Doh gets bonus points for rhyming!

Food:

I should have taken more pictures because Tuesday morning we had whole wheat buttermilk pancakes with pecans, blueberries, chocolate chips, peanut butter and syrup! (Not all on one pancake!)


"Wrestling":


Okay, it technically was not in any way like wrestling. What we did was link arms and then try to stand up and sit down together. Highly amusing!

Mail Check:

I did not go with them.

Sherlynn and Doh had a little adventure of their own when they were out and about:




I'm not entirely sure what Doh was doing!

Of course, there's always homework to be done......and reading:




We also worked out to a wonderful Jilian DVD, drank lots of coffee and hot chocolate, and watched movies. We had A LOT of fun and spent 89% of the time laughing! I wish we could have two days off every week, but maybe in April when we can go outside!

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!