The Fish Are Jumpin' & The Cotton Is High

Yeah, so unfortunately this weekend summer boredom set in FULL FORCE for me. Yuck. Usually I can make it into the 1st week of August before I start getting restless but not this year. I don't know why, because it's not as if I have nothing to do. I have plenty that I can do. But I guess it's not as much fun as complaining about being bored. I love love love warm weather. Give me high 80's-fine. But this heat we've had lately has just been too hot. Stepping outside feels like stepping into an oven and my flowers stopped blooming. But, I still prefer this over cold & winter any day. However, I am getting a little pretty anxious for fall to get here. Fall weather makes me want to bake, cook, and just overall makes me want to learn new recipes. I also love fall scents..."pumpkin spice", "baked apple pie"...mmmm :) But, my favorite part of fall is hearing any of these four favorite words in a variety of ways: "BOOMER SOONER" & "OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL". I mean really it just doesn't get much better than that. Last year I got to make it to Norman to watch my very first OU game with my friend, Eby.

Eby & I sweating our derrier's off

Boomer<>Sooner!

I'm really hoping I can make it to another game this year! Thanks to my extreme boredom these past few days, I've been pondering gifts for people...Christmas, etc. And even though it's only July I feel like one gift in particular will need to get started pretty soon to get it just they way I want it to be.
Not too much else happening in my odd life--just minor changes. I'll keep you all updated, just not wanting to jinx too much at the moment :)
XOXO

Wednesday

Yup, it's Wednesday again!!! I seriously feel like July is cruising by faster than a jet plane on crack--no lie. I can't lie and say I don't mind it because I hate it when things happen too fast and I definitely don't want life to pass me by. I have to give a shout out to my dear boyfriend, Eric, for being awarded the '2011 Defensive MVP' for the Kansas Koyotes. I am proud to have someone who can be as passionate about something in their life as I can be.

Insert randomness here---> as cheesy as a movie it is, Maid in Manhattan is probably one of my most favorite chick flicks. Lately, I've really been wanting to try Orange Leaf...maybe I will this weekend. Any flavor suggestions?

Last night in the Topeka City Council meeting, (read more about that here ) I almost passed out from things such as dumb comments from people sitting around me and people flat out being rude. I learned a couple of months back not to tell people I'm involved in politics, because it caused a really creepy situation to happen which ultimately made me feel unsafe and left me feeling like I could put someone else in danger. So, when people ask me what I do I just say "student". However, when I'm at 'my job' I wear a badge which identifies me as a Topeka city employee. I didn't expect the meeting to be packed but it was standing room only because the city was dealing with downtown revitalization which equals spending taxpayers' money. A lady sat down next to me and just.couldn't.stop.talking. Woof. For 3 hours I heard this lady call council members "liars" while yelling "just vote". I finally felt like I had to identify myself when she asked, which thankfully led to her saying "Oh I love the Mayor". When I got back to the parking garage I realized that I had locked my car in the garage because the card I have to use to open up the doors after hours was in my car. I stood outside for a few minutes contemplating whether I should try to squeeze between the bars to sneak in or wait for a little person to come by. I finally called the after hours number on the wall and got right in.
A couple of days ago I came across this blog for a 7 month old named James Sikes. His parents started blogging when they found out their beautiful son was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer that formed within less than 2 months. Approximately 3 weeks later, he went to Heaven. His story is truly heartbreaking, yet his parents have exhibited nothing but faith and courage throughout their writings. This story has really helped put life in perspective A LOT for me this week. A lot of things in this world just really don't matter. Sometimes we don't realize how much doesn't matter until we're faced with situations like this. This family's life literally changed within 1 month. We can only pray for the good of the situation which would be the healing and eternal life God gave for this family/little boy.

Wednesday

I am just barely keeping my ahead above blog at this point. Mi clase de espanol es kicking.my.ass.!!! I had my first test yesterday...I left with a pounding migrane---yuck. Then the city council meeting that is held every Tuesday night just went on. and on. and on. By the time I got home I had a couple slices of pizza and crashed. Hard. I went to sleep at around 830 and didn't wake back up until 8 today. WIN! I've had a headache on and off for the most part of the day but I figure that is probably normal when I'm cramming a whole language into the brain that has easily coasted through the past couple of years of college.
This past weekend I had so much fun. Busy, but fun. Saturday, Eric and I went to the pool in north Topeka and had a blast. The pool has a lazy river, lots of slides, a high dive and low dive. And yes, I jumped off the low and high dives and all the slides. I just don't think I'll ever grow up :)
Sunday, we headed out to Tonganoxie to help celebrate Rex's first birthday. Unfortunately I do not get to see him near enough but I just loved hanging out with his sweet face! I also got to cuddle his younger brother Abraham.

Today I got a cool recipe for Cherry Limeade Cupcakes!!!  

I still have a little refining to do with this recipe before I feel that it's perfect, but they turned out pretty good. For this recipe you will need:

1 Jar of Marachino Cherries

1 box of white cake mix

2 limes

1 Cup of powdered sugar

-->Prepare the cake mix as you normally would. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of cherry juice from the jar. Bake. In a separate bowl, mix in limejuice from the 2 limes and the powdered sugar, set aside. Once the cupcakes come out of the oven, poke several holes in each of them and pour the lime/sugar mixture over each one. You can prepare your own frosting or not. I didn't because I don't have the time for that right now. To give the cakes a "finished look once done, use an icing bag and draw circles onto the cakes. Top with a cherry. Sidenote: Rinse the cherries completely off and place them on a paper towel/towel to let dry. If the cherries are not all the way dry the red juices will leak onto your icing. You can also top the cakes off with wedges of lime. Enjoy :)

Wednesday

I'm taking a Spanish class this summer. I had the bright idea of skipping the introductory course since I "took spanish in high school"and went straight to the next level. The professor walked in and instantly started speaking everything in spanish. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Needless to say, for the next five weeks I will be a studying machine in an uphill battle to get an A. The class is a lot of fun and the professor gets 2 thumbs up and an 'A' from me because she makes the 3 hours spent in the class each day feel like 30 minutes. Well, kinda. And aside from the $126 book that I will only use for a month....hold on. $126?!? Yes I said that. I guess I kinda lucked out with my double major/minor, as most of my books are novel-type books or I don't need any at all. I just couldn't believe that I had to pay that much for a friggin book!!!
Yesterday I checked the mail and recieved a letter from Max's vet. Although his vet had never examined Templeton, he gave me a box to put her in and buried her on his land for me. They also sent a sympathy card signed by everyone in the office to offer their condolences for my loss. I keep saying that if I chose to stay in Topeka next year after graduation it will simply be to stay close to Max's vet. We really are blessed to have such caring people take care of my "kids"...since I don't have real children yet! Sunday was probably the hardest day in terms of dealing with the loss, as I was here for the first time throughout the whole day. Monday got a little better. Tuesday got a little better than Monday. And today has been pretty good. Thanks everyone for your thoughts :)

Not much else going on this week...

Red. And White. And Blue.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July Weekend! Eric & I went to his friend and former teammates' wedding on Saturday in Kansas City. I can't remember the name of the church but it was absolutely stunning--as were the happy couple! After the wedding we had quite a bit of time to kill before the reception so we joined a handful of other guests at the mall/resturant/water fountain splash...yeah I don't remember the name. Then a few of us moved along to the Crown Plaza Hotel, which is amazing by the way! The wedding reception was so beautiful. Everything from the centerpieces to the room itself was just so elegant. The most interesting part of the night was when the bouquet toss happened. I wasn't all too intent on ruining my look fighting for this thing...but it came right to me! For a second. The next second I feel someone literally ripping the bouquet from my hands. I tried holding on to the thing, but the bouquet stealer was so intent on grabbing it that she had started falling to the ground with it by that point. The d.j. said "it's not cool to steal other people's bouquets" and on my way to get wine after the tossing, I was stopped by 3 separate tables full of people who told me that it should have been mine. Oh well, I figure if I'm destined and lucky enough to get married I won't need a bouquet of flowers to tell me so. Here are some pics from the weekend:

Eric and Me after the wedding

Congrats to the beautiful couple

That's 'Shirly Templeton' to you, sir!

Friday afternoon Templeton passed away :( It was truly a heartbreaking moment for me. When I bring an animal into my home they are immediately loved and considered a part of my family. I just can't fathom living any other way. I love animals and that's that. Wednesday after the visit to the vet she had started eating a little, drinking A LOT, and even began to move around. Later that night she looked bad and I was concerned I would have to put her down. Thursday I started giving her vanilla ice cream because I figured that as long as she could get something down she could go stronger...let's just say that my nurturing side kicked into overload to try and save her. I didn't want to take her back to the vet because I knew that there just wouldn't be much else they could do for her, as all rats  have a short life of 2-3 years, and 3 is pushing it. (Templeton was at about 1.5 years) Friday morning Eric woke me up and told me that Templeton was on the floor under the coffee table just hanging out, so I started wondering if maybe she was feeling any better. I tried giving her ice cream. A little. Her favorite snacks. Nothing. Water. A little. So I put her in her cage to rest and left for a couple of hours.When I got back home I knew she wasn't going to make it much longer. I had prayed for God to heal her in some way and I also prayed to Him that I couldn't be strong enough to put her to sleep. I knew that my prayers were being answered.
I took Templeton to a meeting with me because I didn't want her to die alone. Another hour passed and she went from bad to really bad. I rushed back home so I could at least let the sweet thing go to rat heaven in peace. The next 30 minutes took my breath away in so many ways but at least I was able to make sure she was comfortable. Templeton had always been very alert and observant...she knew her name, had favorite treats, favorite things to do, and favorite places to go to (i.e. the sofa, bookcase, etc.) So as silly as it may sound to some, I know that she knew she was loved and cared for. I just believe that all living things, with the exceptions to some people, deserve to have a peaceful goodbye and not die alone. So here's to my sweet rat, Shirly Templeton, who lived a lot longer than she would have if she had stayed with her old roomate ( a snake). I hope rat heaven is full of....lettuce, sugar & cheese :))

Templeton & Braxton :)

Templeton Smelled Chipotle

One of her favorite places to watch what was going on...

...until she discovered the t.v. stand!