Friday, February 20, 2009

Ice Skating, anyone? ...

Rachel unexpectedly had the night off from work and wanted to do something fun, so she invited me to go ice skating.

I actually have been ice skating since moving here to Indy a couple of years ago, but it has been a little while. Though my ankles are a tad sore, it was a lot of fun.

Funny enough, as I skimmed my way around the rink, it reminded me of the many trips to Crown Center at Christmas time, and I began to feel a bit nostalgic about it...

Now, I know that as we tried to narrow down our many Christmas traditions, this is one that fell by the wayside, especially since most of the family seemed to be migrating eastward. However, it is one that I do miss. Despite the confusing craziness of the hectic highways and byways (no matter how many times I have been there, it is still easy for me to get lost in KC), I always enjoyed the fun of ice skating, looking at the lights at the Plaza, even braving the crowds at the malls there. It seems like Kansas City has become a forgotten city amongst our family.

Don't get me wrong- I love St. Louis and all the indoor and outdoor delights it has to offer! I love spending time with family- I love the newer tradition of St. Charles at Christmas- I love the city (and heck, I'll take the Cardinals over the Royals any day, hands down, though Kauffman Stadium is still one nice stadium).

I am simply offering this proposal. This fall, I plan to make the time to go to the KC RenFest somehow. And this Christmas, I plan to make the time to return to Crown Center (and yes, I will probably continue the tradition of getting lost in trying to find it), go ice skating, and maybe even try to look at the Plaza Christmas lights.

So, anyone care to join me?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

This is what I at least pretend I am reading...

Well, The Music Man is finally over.

In case you are confused or haven't heard, Arsenal Tech puts on a Faculty/Staff musical every year, partly so the students can see the teachers in a whole new light and see a side of the teachers they rarely get to see, and partly so teachers can get to know each other (after all, Tech is a pretty big campus) and interact on a more casual level...

The past three weeks have been pretty intense- it's not easy to put a show together in that amount of time, especially when we all have so many other commitments (some people were only able to make it to a few rehearsals...). But we pulled it off (it helps to have enough dedicated people that are willing to rehearse even on snow days...). It has been a lot of fun- I love getting to meet new people (Tech is big enough that there are still people I haven't met, even after teaching here for two years). We got a lot of compliments, some who even said this has been Tech's best faculty musical ever!

...Still, it is nice to have a little time to myself again.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Emily and Steven posted photos of their nightstands, in part to show what they are reading. To start, here is a bird's eye view of my nightstand:




Here is a better front view of the same thing:


First, we have my CD player, easily dominating my little nightstand. Unlike most of my family members, I love to listen to music when I go to sleep. I was able to learn how to go to sleep with silence on my mission, but I definitely prefer soothing, instrumental music to take me away to the land of dreams... (just in front of the CD player, on top of the spiral notebooks, is the cover of my current CD selection, Secret Garden's album White Stones.)

In front of the CD player, on the left side of the photos, are two bottles of Aromatherapy Pillow Mists from Bath and Body Works (easily one of my favorite stores- it is practically a miracle if I can go through one of those stores without buying anything...). The black bottle is Black Chamomile; the dark blue bottle is Lavender Vanilla. Both are very relaxing scents that help calm the senses as I lay in bed...

The two spiral notebooks are my dream journals (the top one is the current one, almost full; the bottom one is for when I fill up the top one). This is something I started in high school, when my psychology teacher had us keep one as part of an assignment. I liked the idea so much, I have kept one ever since. It really can be interesting (sometimes bizarre) to go back and read what you have dreamed. Sadly, it seems like lately I am either too tired to remember my dreams, or I don't have time to write them down when I wake up and I forget them by the time I do have a few minutes. Alas.

Also on top of the journals, next to the CD cover, is my phone (a nice, jungle-green Sony-Ericsson Walkman :), being charged while I sleep. Sometimes, I play a little Bejeweled before drifting off.



Finally, we come to the right side of the nightstand. Here, we have my bedside lamp, a bottle of B&BW lotion (because I hate to have dry hands/legs/feet- this one is a bottle of Pearberry, one of my favorite scents!), and my Libro de Mormon (my Spanish Book of Mormon). This is sitting here because I had intended to try reading a little in it each night before going to bed. You can see by the way it is sitting UNDER the lotion and sticky notes how successful I have been in that venture. Still, I keep hoping to strengthen my resolve and actually do it, so there it remains, by my bedside.

So there you go. Not much in the way of actual reading, I suppose (usually, those books end up on the back of the toilet, but I thought I'd spare you a photo of that for now...) However, since Emily's actual challenge was to post a photo of my nightstand, that is what you get. Perhaps in a little while, I will actually post photos of what I am trying to read...

Of course, since few seem to read this blog anyway, we'll just have to see what I feel like I have time to do...

Signing off.