Sunday, December 22, 2013

snow & ice



We made it to McPherson, Kansas yesterday afternoon.
We left Milwaukee on Friday morning at 8:45 am and arrived in Lawrence, KS at 7:00 pm.
Quite the drive. 
We had to drive more carefully through light rain for the first 3-4 hours, which added about an hour to the trip total.
There were A LOT of cars traveling on the interstate.
It made the drive through Illinois and Iowa slower than we cared for. 
By the time we got to Des Moines the roads were back to normal and we traveled the rest of the trip at the posted speed limit.

We had a great time in Lawrence, even though it was brief.
Got coffee at La Prima Tazza and went out for supper at Free State Brewery with friends.
Then we spent the evening catching up with friends. 
I actually get to see most of them again throughout this week because of Ben's jazz concert and Cari's wedding on Saturday. 

We left Lawrence after having biscuits and gravy at Jacob and Chelsy's house, even though we would have loved to go out to a bar to watch the KU game with them. 
A HUGE storm system was going through the Midwest, so we figured we better get going.
There was a little rain in Topeka, but the roads were clear after that.
We listened to it on the radio as we drove through the Flint Hills instead. 



We made it to McPherson JUST in time. 
It started raining again about 5 minutes from the McPherson exit. 
We watched the rain turn into HUGE flakes, and the snow went on and on throughout the afternoon and night.
We hopped in the hot tub for a bit during the snow storm. 
It was AMAZING.

There is SO much snow outside right now.
The picture below is only right after it started.



Stucky Christmas lunch at Dorothy's today.
Let the Christmas activities begin!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

around the house



Where has this week gone!? 
Losing those days to sickness really shortened things up.
But no matter. 
I will have 2 more free weeks after we return to Milwaukee. 

Like I said I would do...
I've been cleaning, writing wedding thank you notes, cooking fabulous Russian borscht, cleaning/preparing the "activities room" for KITTENS!, drinking coffee, and making art.
I also discovered LUSH Cosmetics while doing a little Christmas shopping a few days ago...which is a very horrible thing for my bank account, but it's been pretty wonderful for my hair and skin. 
There's a store at the mall about 10 minutes from our house.

Michelle came over last night and we sat around the dinner table working on art projects, drinking hard apple cider, and chatting. 
Today will be busy. 
Need to pack, run some errands, do some final house cleaning, and then babysit this evening for 3 hours. 

Ben has been transcribing some tunes and practicing in preparation for his jazz concert with his old Bethel friends on December 23 at Mojo's/Bethel.
Should be a lot of great music and people.

I am VERY excited to take off for the holidays. 
Friends, family, and a WEDDING to attend!

WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY RUBBER BANDS.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

capital brewery



Successful Saturday trip to Madison!

I was worried about the weather because it was snowing during the morning, but Ben checked the radar and noticed that most of it was sitting over Chicago and not nearing Madison.
We got through the snow buildup in MKE and after a little while on the interstate it was quite clear. 

When we arrived in Madison we took Taylor out for lunch at Manna Bakery & Cafe, followed by a visit to Strictly Discs music store (so Ben could browse the vinyl records), the Capital Brewery tour, pizza at the Roman Candle, and drinks at the Old Sugar Distillery. 

It was so great to see Taylor and hang with the other MVSers. 
A nice reward for getting through my week-long illness. 

Not a lot on the docket for the week.
Just going to do all of the cleaning I wanted to do last week, make some art, and babysit a few nights. 
Then off to Kansas on FRIDAY!


Thursday, December 12, 2013

new specs & joy



The new glasses came SUPER fast.
My appointment was on Monday, and they came on WEDNESDAY.
You can't quite tell on the picture, but they have a reddish tint to them that is much more obvious in person. 

I am nearing one full week of sickness, but I'm REALLY close to feeling better. 
Sore throat is gone, runny nose has calmed down quite a bit, and the cough is almost non-existent. 
If I could manage a little more sleep, I think I'll be in business. 
That's my goal for this afternoon and this evening. 
I didn't think I'd be spending all of these days laying around blowing my nose, but what can you do?

We're excited to be in Madison with Taylor on Saturday.
Going on a FREE brewery tour that she won at Capital Brewery. 
It's been a busy last few months for both of us, so it will be nice to spend some quality time with her.



Best part about today so far....Ben got a job!
He'll be subbing for Milwaukee Public Schools starting in January.
His interviewer said that she can never fill all of her sub slots, so if he's not picky about subject matter he can work 5 days a week if he wants. 

We're going to celebrate by going out for soup...which is what my nose needs. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

rest



I am happy to report that my cold symptoms are subsiding, despite sleeping horribly last night.
No matter.
I don't have anyplace to be.
Just been laying around drinking an insane amount of liquids, blowing my nose, and doing random house chores if I feel like it. 
This includes hot chocolate with a shot of peppermint schnapps. 
I DID feel good enough to make Slow Cooker Hoisen Pork Tacos and Broccoli Slaw and chocolate chip cookies...since Ben was willing to go grocery shopping for me.
Cookies are in the oven, and the pork is still in the crock pot.

Once I've deemed myself "all better"(tomorrow or the next day?) I plan on waking up, making myself a good breakfast with a full french press of tasty Colectivo coffee, and FINALLY start cleaning the house. 
Cleaning tends to get pushed off when you're writing papers and reading constantly. 
I also have a few other art projects to work on.

There's a lot of snow outside, but the roads are more drivable now.
And I hear it's supposed to be 34 degrees by the end of the week, so we'll see how long it sticks around. 


Monday, December 9, 2013

christmas vacation



I meant to write a few days ago, but the beginning of my vacation has actually been quite busy. 
We had our last materials class on Wednesday at my professors' private practice studio. 
Afterwards a few friends and I went out for some of the best pizza I've ever had at Classic Slice, followed by amazing coffee at Anodyne
While we were eating our pizza I received a call from Andrew, whose kids I babysit. 
Izzy, the 1 year-old, got hand, foot, and mouth disease, so she couldn't go to daycare.
But her dad needed to be at work, and her mom needed to go to a conference.
So he asked if I could babysit her all day on Thursday. 
I said yes, because I really wasn't doing a lot besides finishing up my materials paper.
I ended up babysitting for 10 HOURS on Thursday. 
It was pretty great, actually. 
I watched Breaking Bad on Netflix all day while we played, she napped, and I ordered Chinese take out.
They even bought me a fancy cupcake as a little gift for being willing to work last minute. 
I started going a little stir-crazy by the last hour, but the compensation for hanging out in someone's home with their sick child for an entire day is VERY NICE.

I turned my materials paper in on Friday and received an 'A' by the next day, plus some nice comments from the professor.
My professors grade very quickly. 
The report card should look pretty good for semester #1.

And of course by Friday evening I started to get a cold and a sore throat.
Which has plagued me for the whole weekend, and is now finally turning around.

Yesterday it snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed.
About 4 inches.
It was actually quite beautiful watching the big fluffy flakes fall.
It was also a little treacherous driving around yesterday, but we made it to church and back.
In the picture above you can see Ben shoveling last night.

I JUST walked over to the optometrist this morning. 
They're one block away.
Handy.
I'm getting some new glasses and they gave me some new contacts.
I really needed them. 
I didn't realize it until I popped them in, but my vision is much clearer.

Just one class to attend on Wednesday. 
Otherwise I am done, and will pretty much just be babysitting, cooking, cleaning the house, and hanging with Michelle until we leave for Kansas in a few weeks. 





Monday, December 2, 2013

the head and the heart




The head and the heart are also a band, but this picture is not about the band.
I made it as my final art experiential for my theory/history AT course because today was my last class with Bruce! :(
SOOOOOOO sad.
Definitely more sad than I thought I would be. 
I don't think I'll have him for any more classes because he's slowly transitioning out as he nears retirement.
At the end of each class period he always asked each of us to say what we're taking away from class, but today he had us draw what we're taking away from the semester.
I said I'm taking away new perspective for both my mind and my heart. 
Bruce made a good point a few weeks ago that there are many typical graduate programs that don't ask you to change yourself. 
Art therapy definitely changes your perspective on things.

Bitter sweet.

Only 4 more class periods!
I've maybe said this before, but I'm technically done this week.
However, I STILL have to go to counseling next Wednesday to 
A) be a good student and
B) get my paper back.
That's it.
We're not doing anything of serious worth.
And everyone in that class is holding it against our professor for that very reason.

I am VERY happy to say that my homework list is very near completion.
I have drafts for both my counseling and materials papers.
In fact, I could turn them in right now.
The counseling paper would be fine.
The materials one might be a little iffy.
Tomorrow will be spent editing them...and cleaning the house, because I don't care to edit all day.
I'm even taking on the extra effort of visiting the success center on Friday before I turn in the materials paper. 

I'm starting to think about all of the things I will be doing during break!

Also, at least ONE of you (Alyssa) noticed that I said that we were bringing friends home...and by friends I mean kittens!
We actually decided to postpone the kitty caravan trip until January because we'll be gone for Christmas for two whole weeks in about 3 weeks. 
I was pretty sure that the kittens would be very mad at us for leaving them so soon and poop on just about everything we own in revenge.
SO. 
One more month!
This is good because it gives us time to prepare.

Thanksgiving break was heavenly, so I can't wait for Christmas.