day one.

1.This picture includes three of my favorite things: sunshine, cryptograms, and cruise ships
2. I bounce a lot when I walk, and I walk really fast. Whenever Katelynn and I are shopping or walking down Mass or whatever, I'm walking twice as fast as her but we're still going at the same pace because her legs go up to my neck.
3. I have a lisp. And I hate it.
4. I change my hair color every six weeks. Drives my father insane.
5. I always feel really rushed when I do things. I am in and out of grocery stores like lightening. It's difficult for me to relax ever, (unless I'm literally on vacation) because I always feel like I need to go somewhere or do something. Rushed rushed rushed.
6. I am obsessed with the Kansas Jayhawks. Like you didn't know that already. My favorite player this season is Tyrel Reed (ty-reezy). He hits threes perfectly- when we need them the most. AGHHH I love March Madness!! Also, I'm awesome at bracketology. My dad calls me for my picks each year so he can use them for his work pool.
7. I love chinese food and greek food the most. If I had a constant supply of tzatziki, I would put it on anything everything. While I'm on the subject of food- I hate cake-and frosting.
8. I played the piano for 12 years, but haven't had one in the house for the last several years (kind of hard to fit one in an apartment). I miss it. I'm afraid I'll be awful if I sit down to play again.
9. I love all game shows- especially the bad ones like Don't Forget the Lyrics. Wheel of Fortune is my all time fave, with Jeopardy coming in at a close second. Cash Cab is great too. Ohhh, don't get me started.
10. I've had gout twice in the last year. The second time I had it, my friend Cody goes "Like what sailors get??" (he was thinking of scurvy.) It's totally an old man disease- in fact, I got rid of it by taking my GRANDFATHERS medication. It's usually caused by drinking a lot of beer or eating excessive amounts of red meat or being severely overweight. Since I don't drink, and hardly ever eat red meat, and I'm not obese....I dunno. I'm guessing it's genetic in my case. I need to get a doctor's appointment scheduled so I can figure out why I am susceptible to "gout attacks," as they're called. It was the most intense pain I've ever felt in my life- ever! Worse than dry sockets. My big toe was really swollen and red and it just throbbed and throbbed. I would have it propped up on pillow at night, and even the slightest breeze would send shooting pains through my leg. I'm not joking! My poor mother, who was sick from chemo and everything else, felt so sorry for me and was doing everything she could to make me feel better. I thought I had broken a bone in my foot and so I wore a boot around while I was working. The second day of my gout attack, a doctor was sitting at one of my tables and asked me why I was limping. I explained to him how something happened to my foot, but it didn't feel like a broken bone, that it felt more like a muscle injury. He asked to look at it, and I took my boot and sock off IN the restaurant (I realize I am grossing EVERYONE out with this story) and he took one look and said, "Girl, you got gout." He looked incredibly sympathetic because seriously, SERIOUSLY, it's so painful. He told me to go get a prescription asap. I called my dad crying and he happened to be with my Grandpa, who happens to suffer from chronic gout (really, all gout is chronic- once you have it, you're more likely to get it again and again, usually about once a year. I wrote a report about this for A & P. This fact makes me terrified about future gout attacks), and he brought me these amazing magic pills that got rid of the gout within 24 hours. I was so relieved he did, because this was on a Saturday and I couldn't wait another two days.

Gross, huh?

There you have it.

30 Day Challenge

So this has been all over Facebook.
At first I thought it was kind of lame.
I still do.
But I like the idea of having daily blog prompts.
Especially because I'll get to talk about my favorite people.
Soo, tomorrow, I'm beginning....the THIRTY DAY CHALLENGE!
get excited.
or don't.

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Day 04 - A picture of your night

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most screwed up things with

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

“Feliz Cumpleaños”

 That's how they say it in Spain.

“Fröhlicher Geburtstag,”

in German it means the same.

“Gratulerer med dagen,”  

Norwegians say it too.

But any way you say it, it means

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Can't believe my baby brother is 21. We don't have a scanner here so I'll have to wait until I go to my Grandma's next to put some of his mish pics up. He says he's already being spoiled there and has had several different families bake him birthday cakes. Here's a bit of an email he sent last week (hopefully he doesn't mind me sharing it with the blogging world. I'm sure he wouldn't..?!) Please note: when we email back in forth we are both incredibly rushed (especially him) so disregard the lack of punctuation/proper grammar. His letters are much more thoughtful but also more personal so I won't share them :) Also! I told him I spent 18 dollars on an envelope of an important legal document I sent him to have notarized (hence, his excitement about using a notary) so that he would NOT lose it, and his response cracks me up. What a goof.

sister sister,

that sounds real tough. Ive never felt so important! Using a notary! CAn i have my own body guard take me to and from the bank? And why did the envelope cost so much, i got like 50 for 4 bucks. just sayin you should work on your bargain shopping. I cant just go to the mission office though but they should send it quickly. I usually dont get mail untill tuesdays for some reason so i will probably get it tommorow. I am not worried about having you be my attorney. I remember when you should have gotten a ticket in front of the high school and you just cried and everything was okay. Seriously though i will be as speedy as grandma whippin out her camera for a snap shot. Im glad you are able to talk with grandma and grandpa, I hope they are doing okay! I worry about them and pray for them all the time.

I guess its good that your staying busy but dang, Even on the mission I dont have thaaaaaaaaaaat much to worry about. Patrick did get baptized yesterday though and confirmed all on the same day because of stake conference. his wife invited all of her family, so they were all there and then patrick and his brothers fam and some more of his freinds came and so ive never had a baptism with so many non members there. Afterwards he had a party at his house and made some delicious ribs and we all chilled. His brothers wife grew up mormon and wants to go back to church now and wants her husband (patricks brother) to join the church. Great things are happening. The G-Rods have had a tough week because of family problems. They have had a  lot of deaths in the family recently and have close relatives that are dying so its a sad time for them.  Transfers are next week so i will be emailing on tuesday. I will probably stay in elk grove but my companion will most likely change again. I am gonna try and send you pictures today.

relief society huh? haha I am picturing relief society arms right now. Thats gonna be you soon enough! Just kidding thats really really cool. My last area the Stake Presidents wife was our relief society president and we were tight! Its gonna be a lot of work and worry but you will get opportunities to serve thats for sure. Dont be afraid to use the missionaries to help lighten the load a little bit. Go shake some hell. we just made zone t shirts that say that :)

Valentines day isnt going to freak me out i dont think but i gotta admitt when i saw the stuff in walmart it reminded me that it has already been a year and then i thought about how it was about this time and it wasnt a good feeling. I figure im gonna have a little girl someday though and i dont want to take away valentines day for her so i guess im gonna be celebrating it anyways. 

had the spanish elders who live with us come to dinner at our members house and it was seroiusly the funniest dinner ive had out here. Its terrible but the people were just really wierd and we just talked about the craziest things and afterwards we all just started cracking up because the people were just crazy...

aaaaaaaaaaanyways i love you. i be prayin.

Elder Klein

And finally, a song that reminds me of Elijah. Happy Birthday broseph.

long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park

Hello dear ones. I hope everyone is surviving this less-than-friendly weather. Over the recent weeks there have been multiple occasions where the mere thought of having to get up and go outside to walk to another building for class has nearly brought me to tears. I wasn't made for Kansas weather. I was made for sunny days.

Although this weekend has been just gorgeous and coat-free, I've found myself more annoyed than ever because a) I can't even enjoy it. I've been loading up on work hours. 25 hours in two days. Yikes. b) The forecast for next week is freezing freezing freezing again. Mother Nature is one big tease and I don't like her.

It's probably a good thing I don't have nice weather to distract me. School is innnntense this semester. When I met with my advisor last fall to enroll for the spring, she looked at me like I was a nut job for pairing these classes together. I feel like every day, from the moment I wake up, until the moment I go to bed at night, I spend every second of every minute of every hour busy with something...and it's mostly school.  It's not that the material is hard to comprehend, it's just extremely in-depth. Very time-consuming. I feel like if I take a half hour break to call a friend or mindlessly wander around on Facebook, then I'm wasting precious precious time and think about all the homework I should be doing and chapters I should be reading and tests I should be studying for and that I'm going to pay severely for it. And if by some miracle I'm completely caught up in all my classes and have nothing school related to do, I have a mountain of other responsibilities and tasks I get to choose from.  I know I sound really whiney. I have no. idea. how working mothers can put themselves through school. No clue. I feel like it's impossibly hard to take care of myself and keep track of my shenanigans day in and day out...I can't fathom having a bunch of little people to worry about. Yikes.

Don't get me wrong. I like being busy. I do! I didn't know what to do with myself on those snow days where we literally couldn't do anything. My co-workers listen to me vent and panic about my schedule on a daily basis and they've finally just started throwing coasters at me to get me to shut up.

So in the midst of my crazy hectic life, some really great things have happened. I was reminded this week of how thoughtful people in the community are. I'm sure a lot of people feel sorry for me that I have to live in my hometown of Newton until I'm finished with school, but I love this place with all my heart. The people here are kind and generous and it never ceases to amaze me.

I also received a church calling that I'm really excited about....are you ready?....First counselor in the Wichita 7th Ward Relief Society! Most of you probably have no clue what that is and what it entails. It's an awesome opportunity to serve the Lord and the women of our church, to help uplift and inspire them, encourage their spiritual growth, and provide help where it's most needed. I'm serving with three wonderful women and I know we're going to learn so much from each other. I've literally been skipping around ever since I received the calling. It's going to be one heck of  a year, that's for sure.

Happy to report that Elder Klein is doing well. I'll try to post his next email because they're always goofy and make me laugh. He's still in the Elk Grove area and just adores the people there. It's weird to look at the pictures he sends and realize that he's really grown into a...man. I'm so used to him being my silly baby brother. He turns 21 this week and that freaks me out beyond all measure. I told him to take 21 shots of Red Bull and go cra-zay, I'm sure I'll get a stern email back about mission rules.

Valentine's Day was the year anniversary of Seth's death. I wore his flannel pajama pants, moccasin slippers, his favorite wrestling t-shirt (even though it says MANHATTAN on it. ugh!) and his wrestling hoodie. I was in a strange funk all day and  noticed that when I talked I kind of sounded like him. I know it's a weird way to remember somebody, but it was comforting to wear his clothes and think about him all day long. I listened to his music, read his journals, wondered what he and mom might be up to. I had planned on doing a blog post about his story--what really was going on with him, and what happened the day he died. I just couldn't find the energy or strength to do it. I know I will, and hopefully sometime soon. Just not yet. I want his friends who are still confused to have closure, and those who didn't know him well (or even at all) to realize what his situation was because it's so incredibly misunderstood.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is. Just a hello to all of my friends and fam. I'll post an Eli email this week, along with some of his pictures. I found my camera last week (it's been lost forever!) and have been trying to document my daily life so I can mail him a bunch of photos (his only birthday request), and so far the most exciting thing I've captured has been going through the carwash. ha!

happy birthday mama

Today would have been Mom's 46th birthday. This is the video my best friends Katelynn and Aubrey made for her visitation. They spent all of christmas eve working on it, and I think it's just perfect.

love and miss you.