One thing that I love is traveling. I love to see new sights and sounds and how other people live. I am not a seasoned traveler yet but I do try to make it out of Manhattan at least once or twice a year. When I retire I want to do a lot more traveling but in the meantime I enjoy the trips that I am fortunate enough to take.
When I am in another city, I always imagine what would it be like to live here? Would I get tired of the lights and gambling of Vegas or would I relish the fact that there would always be a concert to go see or a new restaurant to try. When we went to San Diego a few years ago, I imagined waking up every morning to the beauty of the ocean.
See, who wouldn't want to wake up to that? But then the price tag of living in San Diego followed and I told myself "just enjoy the view for the week you can afford it". Would I get tired of seeing the vast countryside or wildlife in Wyoming or the amazing waterfalls in Yellowstone? I probably would not tire of such beauty but the lack of entertainment might cause me to go stir crazy.
Since I work at Ft.Riley, I get to meet lots of students that have been stationed all over the world. They always complain about Ft. Riley and the area. "There is nothing to do" they whine. I cringe everytime they mention it and tell them that they might just not be looking hard enough. Although it may not have the lights and constant energy that Vegas has to offer or the scenic views of the ocean, I love Manhattan. I hope that Manhattan is my home for a long time. There is beauty in the Flint Hills and the nightlife of Aggieville to compare to the ocean and Vegas. The zoo is small to some but offers a variety of animals and activities for the kids. The museums are always getting new exhibits and entertainers do make their way to the midwest. It is a different kind of beauty and nightlife but nonetheless it is a beautiful home and it is MY home.
This winter has included a lot of snow days which has allowed me to finish up quite a few UFOs (unfinished objects in quilt language). I made a quilt for Mark for Christmas which is the biggest quilt I have ever made. It is humongous and is pretty much a bedspread size on Mark's king size bed. I used up a ton of scraps for this one but I still have totes of fabric in storage. I'm going to need about 5 years of snow days in order to use it all up.
This quilt was one I started about 3 years ago but got frustrated with the pattern. The pattern and the picture were totally different. It is a log cabin but in order for it to have the green strips on the end, you have to do a modified version of a log cabin. I finally just went with it because you can't see it from far away.
If you look real closely, you can see how it is not a log cabin but you would have to be a quilter to notice. It will be my Christmas quilt since it is reds, greens and tans. I was experimenting with my camera so the colors below are a more accurate depiction of the actual quilt.
This is a strip club quilt so went together pretty fast with already pre-cut 2.5 inch strips. I just had to cut the black squares for this one and piece it together. Not sure who will be the lucky recipeient of this quilt but it reads "manly". I'm going to have it machine quilted with a cool design in lighter threads in the black squares.
Hopefully I'll get to post more pics of finished projects soon! It has been fun to get some finished for a change.
Colton is growing...(gulp)...up. I have loved every minute of motherhood for the most part and enjoy seeing him grow up and get wiser. The latter may have taken longer than I hoped but he has improved in school more this year than in years past. Most mothers want them to go back to being babies when they are so cute and cuddly but not me. I remember sleepless nights and diaper changing and definitely do not want to go back there. I rather like these recent years of independence and inquisitiveness. Colton's questions really make you wonder sometimes:
1) Why is Jesus a baby every year at Christmas?
2) Why is the sky blue?
3) If you get married again, will I get a baby brother?
He has been decorating his walls with posters from his Sports Illustrated Magazine for Kids to show his independence. Check out his interior design skills:
He tapes up football and basketball cards and the middle poster inserts from the magazine. I know probably the next step is to post pics of bands and groups that he likes and then ...as much as I don't want to think about it.....swimsuit models and naked ladies. That's what all boys do, gulp, right? I've seen dorm rooms of guys and they did a little interior decorating that was not so classy.
And yes that is a huge box of candy on his desk. He has halloween, easter, valentine's day candy collected from probably the last 2 years. He did not get the candy eating gene from me so he doesn't pig out on the holidays. Good for me as he doesn't notice when I sneak a Snickers or two but not good when other kids come to the house and see that big box of candy. I can almost hear the hallelujah chorus playing in their head as they spot it and want to dig right in. Thank goodness I can send them all hyped up on sugar back to their parents.
Here's some of the pics that I took with the hill that is back behind the neighbors yard. The kiddos slide down and then into the drainage ditch for what they call extra points.
I'm guessing the thumbs up means that was a good ride!
And of course, what would a snow day be without eating a little snow? I sure hope it wasn't yellow!
The snow angel was made by all the kids.
And then my favorite picture of all was the crying as he was coming inside. Look through the door - it was dark. He had been outside sledding pretty much all day long and was frozen to the bone. Oh yeah and he was cranky. Note to self: Do not let Colton go sledding all day. It does not end in a happy fashion.
We were stuck at home again today for a snow day. Darn it, I'm only going to get 2 days of work in this week. I'm so upset I might have a tear forming in my eye.....it is really so sad! No..not really..
I have tons of blogs to catch up on so we'll see what I can get done. We can't go outside today because it is so cold (high of 5 degrees or something unbearable with a windchill of -25 degrees). There is absolutely nothing to do but grade or play on the computer and I'm choosing the latter.
This is our 6th snow day - I've lost count there has been so many - and on a couple of them we went sledding. So here's the video of us sledding at the country club. It was so much fun. I will post pictures of us tomorrow.
We convinced Ted to try to snow board and well..um...he does not have very good balance. The kids made a ramp in the snow and they got some great "air" flying off of that ramp.
Yesterday at the Quinceanara, there was this fabulous cake! It was beautiful and meticulously done. Four layers of fondant covered yummy bliss. It put my wedding cake from Dillons to shame. Speaking of shame, this is my shameful attempt to tell those that love me that my birthday is coming up and I would love one of these cakes!
Check out the detail. Even the fondant circles have stamped L's for Leah and 15 for her 15th birthday party. Since we got to the party a little early we had the opportunity to talk to the artist that created this masterpiece. Her name was Karen and she owns Creative Cakes and Cookies in Manhattan. So if you are reading this and you love me - she is close by - Manhattan...hint hint! :)
I had mentioned to Karen that I didn't like the taste of the last fondant cake that I had at a wedding and she assured me that her fondant was made with marshmallow and white chocolate. I, of course, immediately started salivating and couln't wait to try the cake. The quinceanera gods were not looking over me that night because I had to wait until 9:30 to get a taste of that yummy cake. Now that I think of it, I should have stole that scepter and made time speed up so I could have tried it sooner. Karen did not let me down and that fondant was way better than the last cake I had and it gave me a new appreciation for fondant.
If you have some extra time, go check out her website. Her cakes are wonderful pieces of work and they taste as good as they look.
I went to my first Quinceneara tonight. My co-worker and friend has a daughter that turned 15 which is similar to the American tradition of Sweet 16 parties. I was so excited to celebrate and see this tradition in the Latin American culture. The invitation was gorgeous - sorry you saw the picture after I had cut off the vellum photo that I was going to use in her gift. I had to google what some of the words meant on the invitation - damas and chambalans are the female and male escorts similar to bridesmaids and groomsmen. Did I meantion I was excited? Well I was...I love learning and experiencing new things.
I wasn't able to attend the church service because we were in the middle of a basketball tournament. In fact, I had to leave Colton with another player the last game so that we could make it to the reception in time. We arrive in Junction City, at the Courtyard Marriott and were greeted with this fabulous table of masks.
Look at the poster of her - doesn't Leah look like a princess? Wow - I can't imagine having anything like this for my 15th birthday. I think I probably had a slumber party with my friends.
So we walk inside the reception hall (yes we were the first ones there since we didn't make in in time to the church service) and the hallelua chorus was playing in my head as I looked around at the reception site----Allleeeelllluuuuuuaaaaa - WOW!
The table centerpieces were these cone-like metal structures with masques and tuile woven in. My photos don't do it justice because of the dark lighting in the room. I guess I'm going to have to make another trip to Wolfe's camera to get a fancy flash.
The Barton Crew modeled our masks.
Then it was time for Mis Quince Anos to enter with her court.
Check out the damas dresses. These were really cool because they were so versatile. When the dance started they took off the jackets and the overlay on the bottom of the dress and they because thin-strapped short party dresses. Great idea for bridesmaid dresses too!
We ate supper and then dined on a yummy chocolate fountain. This girl in white went two or three times back to the fountain - those were very trusting parents! Dripping chocolate and white party dress = disaster for me and I'm an adult!
The next part of the evening was interesting as the court marched back in along with the Princess and her parents. The court lined up and watched as the parents marched Leah in and placed her in a chair in the center of the dance floor. The young girls carried in a pillow with silvery high heels on one and a sceptor and tiara on the other one. The youngest girl carried the stuffed animal from the church service.
Her father put on the high heels signifying her transition from childhood to young womanhood. He had a hard time getting those heels on. The DJ kept announcing that the father just didn't want his little girl to grow up.
He put on her tiara (symbolizing she is a princess before God) and gave her a scepter (symbolizing authority and responsibility). I've decided I need a scepter for my classroom. Do you think if I waved that around my students would know who is Boss? :)
The proud father takes his daughter's hand and leads her into her first dance as a lady. Everyone watched as it was truly magical and significant in her life and in his.
This next picture is one of my favorites. The father then gives over the new lady to his father and her mother's father to dance. The grandfather was so happy and embraced her with open arms. It made me think of my own grandpas and one wasn't alive when I turned 15 and I never danced with either one of them. That would have been real special to me. I hope she remembers this day and how truly wonderful it is to have that opportunity.
She danced with her grandfathers and then also her uncles that were in attendance...I lost count after 4.
And then her father turned her over to her date to dance.
The court then joined them in a Waltz. They also choreographed a fun dance. So watch the video and enjoy a piece of tradition. It is rather long but worth it. The kids did great and I imagine they spent a long time practicing and preparing for the big day.
