Thunder and Mac n' Cheese

Yet again, I had a wonderful weekend with my sweetie! Rick came up Friday night and I made a yummy eggplant Parmesan. Saturday, we putzed around in the morning and then went to dinner at the River City Brewery. I had the best macaroni and cheese that I have ever had in a restaurant. In order to walk off our gluttony, we ambled through Old Town to the Intrust Arena to watch the Wichita Thunder play hockey. It was the WSU jersey auction night and I sure wanted one! They were pretty. As hockey games go, this one was not memorable, but what was amazing happened at the auction tables. They had table set up with papers listing the players names and jersey size and then you could bid an amount for the auction. Five minutes prior to the close of the auction, Rick and I went down to the tables and the one I bid on was out bid. Three minutes to go before the close of the auction and Rick walks up to the table to write my name on the paper. He wrote SLOOOOOWLY! It took him a full three minutes to write my name and phone number! In the mean time, a guy came up behind him and said, "Alright buddy, you're done. Move it along!" He wanted to bid on the jersey too, and thought he could bully Rick away from the table and I thought, "Oh boy! here we go. Rick is going to cuss and yell." Instead, he politely said, "I am having trouble writing all the phone number." I was so proud of him! He was rewarded for his patience and calm and won the jersey! We paid the lowest price of any shirt there because of Rick's patience.

Today we went riding at Miller's Meadows, a mountain bike trail following a glorious breakfast buffet that included a nice prime rib for Rick! All in all, a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Thank you, honey.

Romance on a Birthday!

As I woke up this morning, the first thought I had was, "I need to call Mom because it's my birthday!" She always remembered my birthday but this is the first year she is gone and then the memory of her absence hurt so deeply. I wasn't prepared to miss her so much today.

Yesterday, my department head asked me to come to work today at noon for a meeting about this huge re-write we are doing on assessment protocols. Yeah... nothing could be more fun than that for a birthday gift, right? Well, maybe dental work would be equal, but at least they would give you drugs!

So at noon, she came to my door and said we had to go to the main office first. Okay...sure...whatever...But when I opened the door to the office, a whole gang of people were there singing "Happy Birthday" to me! There was a gorgeous cake and Linda told me there wasn't any meeting, instead it was a ruse set up by my husband...MY HUSBAND! He even ordered a dark chocolate birthday cake to be delivered to the school and e-mailed every one with the plans for the event! My husband??? This is quite an unexpected romantic and sweet gesture for him, but I won't question. Just enjoyed the cake! I didn't even wait to take a picture of the cake so I took a picture of the card Gail sent to me instead. I hope you all had a lovely day!

A basket of Birthday's

Today marks the birthday of two wonderful women! First my favorite mother-in-law, Gail Sayman, and Second, by best friend Dr. Donna Maynard! Happy Birthday to you both!!!
Here's wishing that you receive every blessing and happiness today and always.

Dreaming of Baby

I thought I would post more pictures of the gorgeous drive we took this weekend. I forgot to add that neither Rick nor I brought our computers with us. There were also many hours along the trail when we had no service for our cellphones, so it was truly a serene get away.

I figured out something. For several weeks now, I have been dreaming that I am preggers. Not to worry, as Mother Nature has assured my child bearing years are quite finished, but I did realize why I am having those dreams. Lately, I have been feeling far apart from my children. Of course, it doesn't help that they all live in different states than I do! But I think I my dreams of pregnancy are evoked because I want my kids...well, to be kids again. I think I am nostalgic for that very brief part of my life when my children were little and depended on their mommy.

So let this harbinger be a lesson... kiss your children while they are near, and kids...call your mom!

Hope you are all well, and know you are loved.

The Muse of Arkansas

Mythology tells us that when we are in need of direction we can receive inspiration from a Muse. I was so in need of relaxation and focus, so this weekend, Rick and I decided to drive down the Talimena Scenic Highway that snakes through the Ouachita Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma and into central Arkansas. Sure enough, I found my muse. It's actually a little town in Arkansas called Muse and there are more cows than people, but the serenity and the awe-inspiring beauty of wilderness enveloped me with solace I was seeking. After a day of random wandering through the Ouachita National Forest, we settled in Mt. Ida, Arkansas for the evening. I did not realize that Mt. Ida is the Quartz Crystal capital for the world due to it's abundance in the area. You can even mine it yourself, but we were not inclined for any type of labor!

A.J. and his girlfriend had gone to Altus, Arkansas yesterday to a little winery for lunch and a day out. On our way back home, we drove north through Arkansas and stopped at the same place. Wiederkehr Winery, I soon discovered, had the best Niagara wine I have ever tasted. They also have a wonderful Bavarian restaurant in their little village that specializes in authentic fare.

We are back home, but rested and relaxed after a wonderful weekend wandering with my muse.

Meet your Maker

One of Keiko's favorite places to sleep is right beside the statue of Bastet! It has been another difficult week. I do not think I will truly relax until I earn tenure. I found out that one of my papers was not accepted for a major special education conference, but another paper was accepted for a conference on men's studies. Closed doors and open window type scenario? Since I teach special education, I am thinking it would be a good deal to present at a special ed conference!

It should be a relaxing weekend here in the big city. I am not going to Oklahoma, but Rick is coming up here. I thought the local hockey team was playing in town tonight, but I didn't read the schedule correctly and they are actually in Tulsa. We'll get to a hockey game soon enough. There is a team here (Wichita Thunder) that plays for the Central Hockey League and now Oklahoma City has the new farm team for the Edmonton Oilers, The OKC Barons. Should be some pretty good games to choose from this winter.

Hope you are all well

Goofus and Lilacs

After a very stressful week, I decided on Friday afternoon to go home! It was not expected, but I just missed my home and my honey so I packed up everything, filled the cats food and water and headed south to Oklahoma. Rick was surprised to find me home when he returned from his Friday night foosball thing!

We had a wonderful time! It was just what I needed. Lots of relaxing, eating, and generally, being slothful. I even managed to get a little bit of work done on a paper I am presenting at the end of October.

We had dinner with A.J. last night and then went to his apartment to check on my grand-kittens. While I was there, Maynard jumped on the exercise bike and assumed his regular pose! He is actually comfortable sitting like this. What a goofy cat!

Then when we got home, I noticed that one of the new lilac trees that I planted in April was in bloom! i have never seen a lilac blossom in the Fall! I know Rick has been watering them and I think he put horse steroids in the roots, because they are beautiful. I planted two new trees and the older one that has been there for a decade were all in bloom. What a great gift!

Hope you are all well,

mommy