The Garbage Truck Incident

This year, I am thankful for not being crushed by a garbage truck.

Because I came close.

Chris and I had a wonderful trip to see my friends and family up in Kansas this past week, however we also nearly got smushed by garbage. It’s a sucky story, and I wish it hadn’t happened. But it did, we are fine, but the miata is not.

This was taken while the car was on the tow truck. According to the police, it was not drivable. The steering and the front left wheel weren't communicating correctly. The police officer gave the garbage truck driver a ticket for an improperly executed right-turn, so technically I was not at fault. But still, be careful out there.

Besides wrecking my mom's car, our Thanksgiving break consisted of visiting with lots of people I love, eating many delicious foods, and seeing tons of Kansas.

We toured the Boulevard brewery.

Made a trip out to Lawrence

Feasted with the Kapka/Farris family.

And made it back to Austin in time for Nate's deep-fried turkey.
The weather was perfect for most of the trip (we had one 20 degree day) and I got to see most of the people I wanted too. It never feels like there's enough time to see everybody. I should be back there around Easter, but for now, cheers to the rest of 2012, sure is flying by.

30 Days of Thankful - Part 3

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but before November ends, let's finish up a few more things I'm thankful for.

November 17th – I should have saved the new babies post for this date because on the 17th I faced my fears and helped Dasha babysit Ellie. I will proudly admit, it was way less terrifying than I’d imagined. Still, when I got home that night I realized how thankful I am to not have a child just yet. Ellie wore me out! Someday I know it’ll be great, but... not today.

Sometimes you just have to feed the kid from the kitchen floor.
November 18th – I am thankful for Fridays! Knowing you get the next day off always makes working so much easier. Especially when you have a long weekend coming up.

November 19th – My mom’s birthday was the 19th. I already said how thankful I am for her; I am also thankful for the things that make her happy. Some of those things are the same as mine (sunshine, bros, Kansas) but they also include things like Survivor, Kayaking, and Yogurt. I am thankful for those things, and that she gets to visit Chris and I for Christmas this year.

November 20th – I am thankful for my home. The Bastrop fires this fall really put this one into perspective for me. I'm really glad I have a kitchen, couch, laundry room, TWO bathrooms, and nice comfy bed to come home to every day.

November 21st – I am thankful for paid-time-off. PTO may be the best perk from a salaried position. I took half of Tuesday and all of Wednesday off for Thanksgiving and BOY do I thank my boss and my company for our extremely lax vacation policy. Unlimited days?! Thank you very much.

November 22nd - I am thankful for potlucks! Our work Thanksgiving feast was epic. We had so many potatoes, beans, stuffings, and my orange-chipotle spiced pecans. Potlucks are so much fun because you only have to cook a small amount, but together you create such a big meal with such a fun variety of flavors. Delicious.

November 23rd – Hanging out with high school friends in Kansas is always so interesting to me. Some aspects of our personalities have changed so much from what we were like back at North, but other parts are exactly the same. I am really thankful I got to spend a little time with Katie and Jonas this past weekend. If only we all lived in the same city all the time.

UT football game feast, thanks Davidows.
November 24th – Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for food. I love food and I’m very thankful it's readily available to me.

Thanksgiving dinner at my dad's.
November 25th – On “Black Friday” my mom took my brothers and me to the KC Zoo. I hadn’t been to the zoo in years and it was pretty amusing to return. We all felt it was a much more positive experience to explore in the brisk 45 degrees than it is in the sweltering 95 degree KC summers. Even though I don’t like animals, I am thankful that they can provide joy to others. Some people really like animals, so I guess I'm glad they’re around.

Can you spot the Roo?
November 26th – I am thankful for the newspaper. Another one of my favorite parts about Kansas is reading my mom’s Kansas City Star. I don’t get the paper here, so I love reading it when it’s available. And, I am also thankful for crossword puzzles.

November 27th – I am thankful for my salary. That twice a month paycheck keeps me afloat and without it I know I’d be stressing like crazy.

November 28th – I am thankful for Christmas time! I brought back all my favorite ornaments for Chris' and my first tree together, and I even made a wreath.

You can make it too.
November 29th – Like last year, my friends and I have chosen two charities for the holidays. We’re adopting a local family through Any Baby Can, and we’re buying some ducks through the Heifer organization. I am really thankful everybody was excited to participate in these organizations again. I am also thankful I've gotten a little less scrooge-like with my money over the years.

Nate's pillow friend, from last year.
November 30th – Thirty whole things! Did I forget anything? I have so many things to be thankful for; it’s hard to pick and choose the “best ones.” I guess one final thing I am really thankful for is the inspiration and support to start blogging again (aka, you). Blogging has been very therapeutic for me. I’m thankful I got my act together on that one.

Ok two final pics from Thanksgiving break.

Crackers the cat.

A tree in my dad's lawn. This picture was taken on Wednesday morning. By Sunday, that tree was almost totally leaf-less.

30 Days of Thankful - Part 2

I tried to start this blog post on Sunday night, but the creativity was not flowing. Something about sitting on the couch snuggling with Khyra made me want to shut my laptop and grab a book (or the TV remote). I suppose I don't really do computers on the weekend anymore... sitting in front of them all day M-F at work makes me say to myself on weekends, "Oh, it can wait until Monday."

Or Wednesday...

Shall we continue?

November 9th - I am thankful for my education. Without a degree I would never have gotten my job. Despite how crappy college turned out to be for me, I'm very glad I stuck it out and graduated.

With Shirin and Alex before UT's December CommencementNovember 10th - I am thankful for my mom and pops. Thanks for college! For high school play costumes, band uniforms, instruments, dance classes, flute lessons, and everything else you sponsored. Thanks for coaching me through job interviews and nagging me to "follow up!" Thanks for helping me with my spelling words, state capitals, and the dreaded bug project. Thanks for treating me like an adult at the appropriate time and for punishing me when I acted like a bratty brat. Thanks for encouraging me to do whatever I want, still! Way to go guys, keep it up.

Last month, at Gingerman

In Fredericksburg, last spring
November 11th - Even though Hank and Reg will always do weird things, I sure am thankful for my bros. Growing up would not be the same without them and their gross friends. I realized it a lot during my Christmas vacation with Chris' family last year. He has two brothers too, and when all three of them were together last year, it was very similar to Hank and Reg's behavior. Oh, except now they are all 20-somethings and thus even bigger and louder. So, thanks to the training I got for what boys do. Wresting... farting... yah, that’s about all boys do.

Typical
November 12th – I did the weather, I did my friends, but I didn’t do AUSTIN! I am so thankful I decided to go to UT and met Chris and stayed in Austin. Texas sucks, but Austin is terrific. There are so many random things to do and so many new neighborhoods to discover. It’s urban, it’s rural, it’s residential and through the last few years, it’s become home.

Photo from, 365 Things to Do in Austin, taken yesterday morning.
November 13th – And even though I love Austin, I love Kansas too. I am thankful I get to travel next week and spend Thanksgiving in KC. Kansas was such a great home for me for so many years. I met some of my best friends there, had some awesome seasons (spring and fall- like none other), and had a really great education. Kansas shaped me into who I am. So thanks Sunflower State; I can’t wait to come visit you!

Us girls at the Royal's Game
November 14th – One thing I’ll always think of right away when I think about Kansas is theatre. It used to be such an enormous part of my life and I’m super thankful for all the skills I learned, the confidence I gained, and the memories I have from my early week-long theatre camps, elementary school “plays,” The Wall of Fame, CCS, Drama Conference, and BVN Rep Theatre. Theatre gave me a lot of direction (ha) and I’m very thankful it was/is? such a huge part of my life.

November 15th – I never thought I’d say this is important enough to put it on my list, but I am thankful for new babies. First there was Ellie, then my step-family’s kid, then Avery, another step-family’s kid on the way, and next March we’ll have Baby Hutson. I still think babies are super weird, but they can also be really amusing and cute.

Baby Ellie at TWO weeks old. She was so tiny!
November 16th – Today seems like the perfect day to do it because Chris comes home from Germany today! I sure am thankful I met him. I’m thankful he got to go to Germany for work and am thankful he gets to come home too. I definitely didn’t think I’d miss him as much as I did. Guess I like him. :-)

Fall 2008

Only one more Thanksgiving post to go. November is flying by.