Working Weekends

One thing I like about my job is that it has standard office hours...with the exception of about three times a year. Every now and then we have to pull a Saturday or holiday. Today is just such a day.

It's thrown me off all week...I never knew what day it was because the end of the week seemed so far away. And today, as I rode to Arby's as part of the "lunch pickup" crew, I wondered why so many businesses were closed. Oh yeah. It's Saturday.

Honestly, it's been a pretty fun day. We didn't have to report in until an hour later than normal, so I got to sleep in like it was a Sunday, at least. We probably will get to leave a little bit early, we all got to enjoy lunch together, and the people who have been in to see us are at least nice!

Still, I will desperately miss my "free day" this week. I've been sitting here making a list of errands for when I get away from the office, and I might just take a nap. Because I can.

Becoming Mia

PHATS: Go into the comments to the next to the link Skyepuppy left for you. Mia before.

Remember Mia Thermopolis? The Princess Diaries? BEFORE the makeover?

Welcome to my current look.

My hair has developed an unruly life of its own. This morning I nearly shaved it all off before coming to work. But I refrained.

I'm trying to grow my hair and it's in that "oh dear" stage. It needs thinned, it needs dyed, it needs highlighted, it needs shaped, it needs HELP.

Tonight I shall call the hair lady. But until then, you may call me Mia.

(Too bad my makeover won't come with a country on the side.)

Tuesday Randomness

There is a REBUILDING post below this one - in case you're here for tornado news.

This morning, I woke up at 2:12. One of those sit straight up in bed, heart pounding sort of awakenings. I looked over at the clock and then looked the other direction to see the clock in the bathroom. (My OCD always needs to make sure they agree.) I couldn't see the bathroom clock. Where it should have been was blackness. That was interesting to me, but my 2:12 brain couldn't quite piece it together.

My first coherent thought was that I hoped my parents were okay. They had gone to the airport to pick someone up and the plane was multiply delayed. The last I'd heard from them, they were expecting it to arrive sometime after 1 a.m. It was such a Lifetime movie moment to sit straight up in bed and wonder if my parents were, in that minute, driving down the median, asleep. (You think I'm kidding...this has happened to us before.)

I realized I was very hot - and then I discovered my air conditioner was being stupid and not really spitting out cold air. So I got up, turned on the fan, went back to bed, and pondered the missing clock. I had nearly convinced myself that Braeya had knocked it off the toilet in one of her toilet flushing attempts and maybe the sound of it hitting the floor awakened me. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep...I heard pounding.

I was sure someone was trying to break in.

Then I figured it out. Both of my ding dong cats were IN the bathroom, and they'd closed the door. That was why I couldn't see the clock. The pounding was the two of them trying to open the door.

I don't have time for this at 2:12.

Fortunately, I had the day off today. I enjoyed a couple of adventures, including lunch at Skyline Chili. Haven't been there in years. And I was so proud...I ate in the restaurant all by myself. I'm growing up!! And then tonight, my friend Tina took me to Payne's Frozen Custard. Very yummy. I'll be visiting there again!

Hopefully tonight will be a little more on the calm side. Of course I have had about 4 cups of coffee since 4 p.m. Tonight might start very late for me.

PS - My parents arrived safely at home sometime between 3 and 4. No sleeping behind the wheel. My Dad, however, loved my impersonation of my Mom - "I just don't like you being out on the road this late. I worry. How am I going to sleep? I wish you wouldn't do this." Oh yeah. I've got it down pat.

REBUILDING: One Month Later

I had all these great plans of making a "one month later" post - and totally spaced it. Yesterday was actually the one month anniversary of the tornado out in Greensburg. It seems like a year ago. I guess I can only say that because I'm not there staring at it every day. But it really does seem like such a long time ago that I even went out there, let alone when the tornado happened.

But here is a little bit of an update for you.

* Lori, Jeff, and Cassie have spent about a week in their "new house" - the mobile home that they're currently occupying until a new permanent one can be built. (More on that below.) They seem to really enjoy their own space and they're building up some of the comforts of home. Lori told me today they got a stand for the TV and longer cables, so now she can actually sit on the couch and watch TV at the same time. They seem very satisfied with the basics they've acquired and the beginnings of normalcy that are returning to their lives.

* The congregation voted Sunday to rebuild both the church and the parsonage on the original locations. My understanding is that some rezoning will be taking place throughout the town as they plan to rebuild, so part of these plans are contingent on the rezoning plans. But if that doesn't affect them, they'll continue where they were before.

* Greensburg has a new mayor. I read that on the Wichita Eagle website - and Mom told me that the new mayor is a member of Jeff and Lori's congregation.

* There is a MASH style hospital in full operation in Greensburg. I'm not sure that Alan Alda is employed there - and goodness knows we hope that Jamie Farr isn't!!!!

* I also read on the Wichita Eagle site that US 54 opened Monday - one month after the tornado. If you've not been to Greensburg, US 54 runs directly through town. It had been closed to public traffic since the tornado, because dump trucks were using it to haul debris to the nearby landfill. Greensburg residents were permitted to drive through - and I learned while riding with Cassie that driving behind a dump truck is dangerous! We had to slow way down to avoid being hit by flying debris! Mom also told me that the amount of debris hauled to the landfull was equivalent to a football field size building, ten stories high.

* I'm sure Phats, especially, will be thrilled with this one. Phil Stacey (American Idol contestant) performed a benefit concert to a sold out crowd of 2900. Phil is originally from Wichita. (By the way - happy birthday, Phats!)

* According to...guess what?...the Wichita Eagle...a K-12 school will open on August 15th. Throughout the summer, they plan to bring in buildings to host 28 classrooms, 4 offices, a gym, and a cafeteria.

* For those of you who are Greentownians - apparently Lori wrote an article that is in the June edition of the Greentown Grapevine. She's way less wordy than I am...so you should be safe. I think. I haven't actually seen the article yet.

* And in other YAY! news - the College Wesleyan Church Men's Glee Club (I think that's what they're called!) held a concert this past Sunday evening and took up a love offering for Lori, Jeff, and Cassie. The concert was really good...I especially enjoyed the Southern Gospel set. (Big shocker there, eh?) I have to say...rarely do I stamp my approval upon anyone who sings Gaither Vocal Band music, because if you aren't David Phelps, don't sing him. BUT - this group really did a fantastic job and I enjoyed clapping along from my SECOND ROW seat. MOTHER chose the seats. I said, "Really, Mom. I sit in the second row in the morning...don't you think I should be able to enjoy church from the way far back at night?" Apparently not. It was actually kind of neat to see her reaction to the love offering announcement. I knew about it but she didn't and she looked up at the screen, saw their picture, and burst into tears. FINALLY! A moment when someone besides Bekah cried!

SO....until I have more news...bye!

Bits for Sunday, June 3, 2007

I’ve learned that when God tells me something one time, He really means it. When He tells me twice, I better hurry up and get it, because the third time might not be so pretty. This morning’s church service brought about a “twice” in my life. So I have spent much time pondering this afternoon, hoping to really get it.

About two weeks ago, at work, during office devotions, one of the girls read a little something about the Israelite spies who were sent into the promised land to scout out the good and the bad. I don’t know who wrote the devotional or where she got it, but apparently it was part of God’s teaching in my life. Good thing I didn’t call in sick that day.

I know that account up and down – or at least I thought I did. But I’d never before considered what she read. I always thought the spies came back with a bad report because they were just so scared of everything they saw. They went into this land and everyone was so tall and everything was so big and they felt so little…and they just chickened out. But what the devotional suggested was that they were so overwhelmed by the greatness that they thought it best to stay safely within the mediocre they knew.

Granted, the Bible does say that the spies came back (except for the brave Joshua and Caleb, of course) and spread a “bad report” about the land they explored. But when I read the contents of the bad report, I saw a bunch of excuses. “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are…The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Hmmmm…seems to me that with different details, I’ve had this same conversation with God. “I can’t go there…I can’t do this…I can’t think about that…this is too much…that is too hard…blah blah blah.”

Though I can only speak for myself, I know that sometimes I would genuinely like to “go there…do this…think about that.” It’s not that I’m scared of what I see. But the enormity of what I see overwhelms me and I squash the possibility that it could be mine.

I gave much thought to the office devotional that day and thought very seriously about how it applied to my own life and fears. I wonder if I’m missing the enormity of what God has planned because, like the spies, it overwhelms me so much that I prefer tostay scared of it and don’t even try. Maybe God wants a little bit more of the Caleb spirit in me. (Caleb and Joshua were of the opinion that they should go for it. They saw the blessing in the enormity.)

So after munching on that for a few days, I arrived at church this morning and the sermon was about…guess what? The same passage. But today the focus was on how the promised land was an eleven day journey from bondage, but the Israelites turned it into a forty year excursion.

I’d have made a great member of the exodus.

If there is a way to turn an eleven day adventure into a forty year ordeal, I could head the committee. I’m queen of making things more difficult than they have to be. Just ask anyone who has worked with me through the years.

Even though I was slightly distracted by the four year old who sat with me this morning (I’m pretty popular among the preschool crowd), I caught enough of the sermon to know that this was my second warning. Not only am I to avoid being overwhelmed by the enormity of my future, I’d better not be turning my life into a procrastination party.

Gulp.

They go hand in hand, I think. I keep procrastinating, thinking that eventually, I won’t be so overwhelmed. It didn’t work out so well for the Israelites. The only ones who actually got to move forward and enjoy the overwhelming blessing were those who weren’t afraid to try to get it.

Point well taken, God.

I’ll try not to make You come back for round three.

Adventures in Spaghetti Sauce

I haven't written because....

1. I've been very busy...and busyness gets on my nerves. It cuts into the time I normally blog and scrapbook.

and

B. Not much has happened that I can blog about - at least right now. It annoys me when my brain is so busy but the information needs to stay within the confines of my brain until further notice.

But lest you think I got sick or went missing (I'm sure you were so worried) - I thought I'd post about something...anything.

So I'll write about spaghetti sauce.

Last night I came home from work very hungry. Sometimes having a slow day at work makes me hungrier than the days when I am busy. I didn't want the standby of salad or deli meat or chicken nuggets, but I wanted to eat before any major cooking dish would have had time to cook.

So I made spaghetti. Not only is it filling, it's a great fake out for my head - making me think I've cooked when really I haven't. I pulled the beef out of the freezer and started defrosting it, I put the water on to boil for the spaghetti, and the beef had JUST started sizzling in the skillet when I realized a terrible thing.

I was out of spaghetti sauce.

I am NEVER out of spaghetti sauce. If anything, I usually have about six jars of it. Spaghetti sauce and ice cream. Two things you'll always find in my house. (Not together, of course.) Immediately I panicked. What to do? I thought of switching the plan and making sloppy joes - since the beef was already going. But I had two problems there - no hamburger buns AND no can of sloppy joe sauce. Didn't I just go grocery shopping?

Somewhere, I was convinced, I had a recipe to make spaghetti sauce. I could almost see it on the page of a Quick Cooking magazine. But I have about seven years' worth of those magazines and did NOT have time to pilfer through them all. Fortunately, I remembered it was in one of the very first issues, and I found it quickly. I had all but one of the ingredients, so I decided to go for it.

Pulled out the one can of tomato paste in my cabinet - and found that it expired in 2005. Woops. Any other weekend, I might have risked it, but this was too busy a weekend to start out with food poisoning, so I pulled out a jar of pizza sauce and a can of diced tomatoes and decided that combo would have to suffice.

I threw in all the other spices and tried valiantly to wait for it to simmer the allotted 20 minutes. I cheated a bit there and started eating after just 10 minutes, but let me tell you - that was some GOOD sauce! :)

So that's been my big adventure. Hopefully more REAL adventures are soon to follow.

REBUILDING: The Move!

As Lori puts it: "After the house that blew away and the white house and the blue house, we have our new house!" Or at least that's pretty close to what she said. Guess that means I should have taken it easy on the quotation marks.

Yes, moving day arrived for them! Fortunately it was a pretty easy move - not that much stuff. The furniture they were able to get has all arrived, been assembled (at least the pieces requiring assembly), and they're ready to go! Or rather, ready to stay!

Lori and Cassie both sounded very excited about having an evening at home to...sit on a couch...eat dinner in their own kitchen...sleep in their own rooms...talk on a real phone. Little things that we take for granted, but when you go without for almost a month, you definitely appreciate!

Midnight has sniffed around a bit and decided her favorite spot is under Cassie's bed. She's camped out for a nap!

And so begins the next phase of getting back to normal! They are finding things they need and didn't realize they didn't have...like dish soap. For now the dishes hide in the dishwasher. (Isn't that why dishwashers were made? It's sure what I use mine for!) And Lori said she finally sees why calendars are still on sale in the middle of the year. Some blow away. For now, she thinks maybe a dry erase calendar is best.

So that's the latest from life on the Kansas front! Oh - and Lori said that Mark Schultz is stopping in Dodge City to hold a benefit concert and then he's headed for the tour-o-Greensburg. I was really excited about that and then she said, "Who is Mark Schultz?" In case you second that opinion....you can go here to read the news release on the concert - and then you can pilfer around his site for a while.

Proofreading

I'm trying valiantly to spend less time in front of the TV and more time doing the things I should be doing...which would be pretty much anything EXCEPT lounging in front of the TV.

One thing I really want to complete is this book project. I've written it in its entirety (I think) - and now I'm in the proofreading stages. Being a perfectionist can be a blessing at a time like this. It can also be a curse. Right now I'm painstakingly picking through every sentence, trying to make sure I can account for everything I've said. (It's a Bible study of sorts and I want to make sure I'm accurate on my points.) I've only had to call for reinforcements twice, so that's good. Thank goodness I know some Bible scholars!

I'm learning that there are many things I thought I knew from Scripture - but maybe I only know them from tradition. They're hard to track down for footnoting purposes! If it weren't for biblegateway.com I'd be in BIG trouble.

So I vowed to spend an hour on it tonight and ended up closer to two. Part of that was getting stuck on a Leviticus law and spending time on the phone with my Dad trying to figure it out. He knew it WITHOUT biblegateway.com - he's a smarty, that Dad of mine!

So for now, I give up reruns of Dharma and Greg in favor of the red pen and study Bibles. Hopefully it will be worth it at some point!

REBUILDING: More Pictures and Some Updates

Lori called yesterday and was very excited to report that their temporary housing (mobile home) has been delivered! They won't be able to move into it until next week because of details...you know...electricity, stuff like that. But it is there, within view, and that is a good and exciting thing!

In addition, they were able to get some new furniture! Some was donated (brand new donations, not even used!) by a disaster service. This wasn't the Mennonite Disaster Service - I'm thinking maybe Church of Christ or something like that. Part of it they were able to get through disaster relief vouchers. Anyway, they have the basics now! As nice as a home is, it's even nicer when there's something inside it! She was very excited to know she had a bed and couch and that sort of thing.

It's amazing to me to see what all wonderful donations are made through services like that - and even through the vouchers from various places. Some of the things they've gotten have been because of those kinds of relief efforts. I didn't even know this stuff existed to this degree until now! What a huge blessing!

Here are a few more pictures for you - probably the last of the tornado pictures. Julie sent me her pictures this week, and these are some of the ones she took:

This was taken at the John Deere dealership. As you can see, this one relocated from its place in the "for sale" lineup.

I felt the need to offer further proof that I did participate in real work. :) No, I'm not giving Lori a foot massage. I was helping her pick up debris in the yard. It was around this very area that I found some of Cassie's medals and pins from sports.

I had posted some pictures from Lori's school earlier (I think) - but this one cracked me up because you'll notice the roof is gone but the post it notes on the door survived. Some people from my Sunday School class said we should send this to 3M as proof of a good product!

Right before Julie and I got in the car to head home, Jeff took this picture of us in front of some rubble by the auto body shop. I don't believe it all fell like this - I think this is a scooped up pile. Still shows you the amount of stuff there was to clean!

REBUILDING: More Pictures from My Trip

Here are more of Julie's pictures - These were taken immediately following graduation.

Cassie, Me, and Lori. Yes, Cassie and I have heard we look a lot alike. I find that amusing, since I think she looks a lot like her dad - and he and I are definitely not related.

Cassie, Lori, and Jeff (or Russ, as Lori calls him now...if you missed that post, it came from a Hardees jacket he got after the tornado. It had the name Russ on the front.)

The gang's all there! Well, minus our parents, of course. Julie, Cassie, Lori, Bekah, and Jeff. I especially appreciated the wind's restyling of my hair by the time pictures rolled around.

Bits for Sunday, May 27, 2007

Ahh…a long weekend. I love long weekends. There’s something so beautifully refreshing about knowing you have extra time off work and you don’t even have to dip into the vacation supply to get it.

But then there is always the question of what should be done with this precious surplus of time. On one hand…what a wonderful opportunity to do some of those projects that should be done but just never seem to fit in with the normal daily routine. On the other hand…shouldn’t a holiday be celebrated with something fun?

Usually I make the mistake of trying to do the projects AND the fun – and then I end up needing a vacation day to recover from my holiday.

I spent much of last week contemplating my upcoming long weekend. Here was the mental list I made:

* Make and write thank you notes. Mom, please skip to the next bullet point now…I know you’ll be so embarrassed at this one. I have yet to make and write thank you notes for my birthday gifts from TWO WEEKS ago. This is very unFreelanlike. Let the record show…I was raised better than this. It’s just been too busy a month and I didn’t get it done. Still not done. Maybe tonight.

* Picture duty. I have a couple of picture projects – related to recent tornado trips – that need to be accomplished. Shouldn’t take long to do them…it’s just a matter of sitting down and actually completing the tasks. Still not done. Maybe tonight.

* Scrapbooking. What is a long weekend without a little scrapbooking thrown in? Prior to this weekend, I was behind as far as March. (For those who may not know, that is not good.) As of today I’m caught up to April – so I still need to revisit the dining room table mess just a bit more before all is said and done. I’ve been doing a little bit each day, though, so that’s good!

* Recipe catch-up. One of my birthday gifts for some of my friends this year is giving them a new recipe card each month. May’s card still isn’t done for any of them and May ends THIS WEEK! Maybe tonight? Tonight will never end, apparently.

* Movies. Again – what is a long weekend without some movie watching! It’s a staple treat for the extra time off. CHECK! Watched two movies Friday night – while scrapbooking. Hey, some things have to be multi-tasked in order to be done.

* Marathons. I pulled out the TV Guide first thing this morning to see what channels were carrying marathons tomorrow. That’s one of my favorite things about holidays. I was excited to see that Spike is carrying an all day CSI marathon. I can have my fill of Nick…sigh of happiness. (Of course I’ll have to watch WHILE scrapbooking…)

* Yard work. I lucked out yesterday because I spent most of the day at a wedding. I lucked out today because I don’t do yard work on Sundays. I will wait to see what sort of weather tomorrow delivers. If it’s nice, I have to spend some time mowing the yard and planting flowers. And if it’s really nice, I’ll get to simultaneously work on my tan! (Yes, there is a tan. You have to look carefully to notice it…but it IS there.) Stay tuned for updates!

* Sleep. CHECK! I cuddled up under my fleecy blanket and took a nap this afternoon. It was one of those naps where I slept so hard that when I woke up, I had no idea what day it was. In fact, I woke up, rolled over, looked at the clock, saw that it said 3:15, and thought it was 3:15 MONDAY AFTERNOON! I thought I’d gone to bed tonight and not awakened at all until 3:15. Now I’m good at sleeping in, but usually noon is the latest I stir without an alarm. I was devastated. I thought I’d lost my entire holiday! It took about two minutes for me to realize I’d only taken a Sunday afternoon nap…and probably slept less than two hours at that. Good grief. Even thought I feel good from that nap…I’ll probably sleep in tomorrow too…just so I have my days and nights mixed up in time to return to work.

* Write. Last night as I was cleaning the house (until midnight), I got my first over-the-top writing inspiration in a long time. So I’ve decided I should take full advantage of it while it’s here. This afternoon (after realizing that it’s not really tomorrow afternoon) I’ve been parked at my desk, surrounded by scribbled copies of my book project, proofreading and updating. Have a feeling there’s a few more hours of this ahead too.

So my mental list turned into a marathon of “MUST DO ALL OF IT!” Sigh. Once more…I need a long week instead of a long weekend!

REBUILDING posts

I know my Mom is handing out my blog site to some of you just to read updates on the family, so I thought I would introduce my new format. If you are here to read about the tornado updates and don't want to read my randomness other than that, then starting today, you can look for posts with REBUILDING at the start of the title. Anything else is just my own thing. You're welcome to read any of it, of course, but I am trying to make the tornado related posts a little bit more easily noticed.

By the same token, if you don't want to know about tornados anymore, skip anything with REBUILDING in the title! :)

And of course, anything posted prior to today is still available under its original title - all of it in the archived month of May!

REBUILDING: Updates from Kansas

With the exception of my lotsa picture posts, I've tried not to post too much about Kansas life post-tornado, partly to not overwhelm my blogging buddies and partly because it's not my own news to spill, so I don't want to be giving away everything about someone else's life.

Having said that, I know some of you are reading not to hear my opinions on American Idol, but to get updates on life for my sister and her family, so I thought I would update you on what I know that is probably okay to share.

* Lori, Jeff, and Cassie are looking forward to having a temporary home all by themselves here in the next few days. They've lived in two different homes since the night of the tornado - both times with other people who have opened up guest rooms to house them. They are, of course, very grateful for this blessing and the chance to live in a real house as opposed to a gym shelter, but they are looking forward to having a place of "their own" very soon! God has really paved the way here and provided this housing for them!

* They do also have vehicles to drive. I know I said that Cassie got a car, but they also have their own transportation, so that is good! In addition to the cars they have purchased, they've been given some "loaner" vehicles for the short term, which is nice when driving through nail-infested streets. They can drive the older cars until things are a little bit more cleaned up.

* Speaking of cleaned up - I believe the goal for the main cleaning of the town is June 21st. They're (they being town officials, I guess) have set that as a goal to have the aftermath cleaned up so they can move ahead to the official rebuilding. Lori indicated many properties are already cleaned. She was surprised at how quickly that was happening.

* Prayer Requests:

1. Wisdom and clarity on the insurance work. As far as I know, they are all still working on filling out those never ending forms for the insurance company to itemize what was in their home. There's a lot to remember - and their minds are full right now.

2. Transition to the new home. While it is a great thing to be able to live on their own - there will be a lot of emptiness in the house until they can get a home of "stuff" built up again. Their goal is to be wise in deciding what is a "right now" purchase and what things can wait. I know that they also want to help businesses in town rebuild by purchasing what they can from local companies.

3. Church decisions. I believe they have a decision making meeting in a couple of weeks. Please pray that the congregation will be united in decisions that affect everyone - and that the right choices will be made regarding the rebuilding of both the church and parsonage.

4. Comfort. As life settles back in to whatever "normal" will be, please pray that they will be able to find peace from the anxiety that is sure to creep in. I'm sure that over time, remembering a lost item, a restructuring of finances, a change of scenery, fatigue, and uncertainty (not to mention future bad weather) will bring about some tough times.

They really do appreciate all your prayers!!!

I'm Glad I Kept Watching

Well - I had that rough patch earlier in the season where I threatened to quit watching if Haley kept staying in the competition. But after the results tonight, I was really glad Jessica convinced me to keep watching. It was perhaps one of the most predictable finales, but great results. I was so glad to see Jordin win and I hope this begins a lifetime of amazing music from her. I'd buy her music...and so far I've only got Clay's music. (This is strictly because I've been too lazy to buy Carrie's.)

* Loved Melinda's song with the Winans. She absolutely shone- so in her element there. Good job, Melinda! I hope she goes on to a soaring career too.

* Loved Carrie's performance. I like that song and she has probably the best, purest voice of any of the Idol winners. (With Jordin right behind her of course.) And she is just a stunning young lady.

* Loved the return of Sanjaya's crying fan. Good grief, girlie.

* Loved Simon and Ryan being up for the "best buddies" award - as well as the actual winners. So sad, yet so funny.

* Didn't love Haley's return. (Put that there just for you, Phats.) I could pick her out from a distance just by looking for the shortest skirt.

* Didn't love Bette Middler's performance. Angela was watching with me and told me back in the day, she could sing. I said "Well it apparently is no longer back in the day." And what was up with the flying and flitting? That could have been cut out completely and we could have ended the show on time!

* Didn't love the return of big bird - the old lady in the spandex? Scary enough the first time around. Definitely didn't need to see that again!

* Didn't love the way the whole show seemed to be about everyone but the final two. I loved that they brought back memories from the auditions and past winners from the show...but I wish Jordin and Blake - and perhaps the rest of the top 12 - could have had a little bit more of the attention for this last show.

But with all my loves and didn't loves...I loved the outcome. You go, Miss Jordin!!! You're a good pick all around. And Blake - a classy runner up. I hope you have just as great a career.

The Final Idol Post...Well, Almost

I know I've posted a trillion times today, but how can I NOT post on the last round of Idol?

Here's a shocker for you...I cried. I cried because Blake is sweet and such a performer and I want him to do well...and I know he will.

But I still want Jordin to win. When she finished her final song, I was bawling right alongside her. She's amazing. You go girl.

I loved seeing Phil...and Chris Richardson...and Melinda...and I'll leave it to Phats to guess which one I rolled my eyes at when I caught a little glimpse...

Great job by Daughtry at the end too. He's my reminder that Melinda still has a great chance at a great career. He went home well before his time.

Visiting Kansas...Graduation!

The last thing that Julie and I did before leaving Kansas to fly back to Indiana was attend the high school graduation. It had to be relocated to a tent on the golf course...or rather a series of tents on the golf course. Cassie's boyfriend, Alex, graduated, and Cassie was an usher.

I think Lori said another school district paid for the tent and chair rentals so the school could have a graduation. All the graduates were given an allotment to spend at Maurice's (ushers too!) so they could have new clothes for graduation, and a barbecue was provided following graduation for all the graduates and guests. Each graduate was even given a personal cake - in case previously arranged open house plans couldn't be replaced.

Here is a slide show and brief bio of each of the graduates - as listed in the Wichita Eagle.

And below is Miss Cassie at her ushering post.

Visiting Kansas...New Growth

This is a tree in Jeff and Lori's yard - you can see on the back branch the bark that was stripped away - and then over on the right, you can see brand new leaves budding. Sorry that the one in front is so fuzzy. It was SO BRIGHT outside that I couldn't see my screen enough to know what kind of an image I was getting.

You've probably seen or heard on the news that even longtime Greensburg residents are lost in their own town - without landmarks to let them know where they're walking or driving. By the time we arrived, these makeshift street signs had been put up - replacing the originals that are who knows where by now.

This sign hung outside the high school - symbolizing hope for the future of the Greensburg Rangers!

Visiting Kansas...Work Day!

The day before we left, Julie and I drove over to Greensburg to help as part of the official cleanup crew. We had to sign in with Mennonite Disaster Service - the group that has been doing so much to help my family and the church members. We got to wear little volunteer stickers, got a free t-shirt, and they had snacks and gloves for everyone.

I turned this white piece over and found it was a piece of Cassie's bedroom wall - as is the little blue piece beside it. That's how completely the house was torn apart - the plaster walls were just little bits. We spent the entire morning picking up debris like this - much of it just bits of wall and insulation.

PROOF that I can do manual labor! I still much prefer the kitchen and scrapbooking - but was very happy to have the opportunity to pitch in and help my sister!

Visiting Kansas...Trying to Save Stuff

Here is a photo sleeve that had gotten wet. You can't see it really well, but I'm pointing to chips of glass that were actually underneath the plastic protector. You can also see the water inside the sleeve...obviously this photo didn't make it. I was just amazed that bits of broken glass were lodged inside.

Here is a journal that Mom made for my brother in law as a joke a few years ago. He's been writing in it and I was so excited to see that it made it through the storm. It was pretty wet and some of the ink had bled, but it was completely salvageable!

The yearbooks, on the other hand...didn't fare quite so well. I think one of these was Lori's and the rest were Cassie's. They were attempting to dry and save them. Not sure the final outcome.

Visiting Kansas...Cleanup!

In the evenings - well, any spare time, really - Lori worked on trying to clean up whatever treasures had been salvaged along the way. Nearly everything they found was wet and mud-caked, so cleaning was a big chore. Here she is in the kitchen of the house where they are staying temporarily, washing some of the dishes that survived the great collapse into the basement. Like the shirt? Used to be mine. Fits her 1000 times better. Sometimes you just gotta give up believing you'll ever be THAT little and give away the clothes to someone who actually IS that size. :)

After the washing extravaganza, Lori and Julie joined me in the driveway for the great picture salvage. With the exception of two or three, no complete albums survived the tornado, but some pictures were able to be saved from random sleeves of albums. Julie and I were pulling out the ones that were dry and not mud-smeared.

Here I am working on the picture project. I found some good ones! And what more perfect project for me! Give the scrapper girl some pictures to pilfer through! :)