The Little Engine That Could

I love sleep. I especially love sleep when I'm feeling down in the dumps. For some odd reason, this time of year makes me feel this way. Number one, the stinkin' heat is killin' me smalls. At first I thought, "Well, it's not snow." Then, it turned into the heat where you can't do anything without getting heat stroke. Second, it's the start of another school year. While others are exhilarated with the energy from the start of a new school year, I find it extremely anxiety provoking. In special education, there is a ton of work at the beginning and you never know who is going to show up on the door step. It is better when you can get yourself and students into a routine ASAP; however, your schedule is completely dependent on the regular education teachers' schedules and everyone else that makes a school run. Thirdly, my grandfather passed away two weeks ago. His quality of life had really slipped and it is for the best. We are all worried more about my mom. The funeral is next weekend, since everyone has to travel long distance to Tennessee. I think the closure will be good, as this has been an incredibly long and sad journey for everyone. Along with some good sleep, I've been privately crying (I hate crying in front of people), thinking a lot, and searching for the positive. Hopefully, today I can make it out for a long walk since the weather finally cooled down.

On the upside, I like this picture of Justin and I. We took the picture last weekend while visiting my dad. I like the picture of my awesome golf swing too. It is my little engine story.

The trip was well needed and I will post more pictures of the Orpheum soon. My dad lives on a golf course, so we played a fun game of golf. Although I really am not a good golfer, I enjoy the game. Justin had found an awesome pink ball for me. On the last hole, I kept telling myself I could really swing and actually make it up the hill. Kind of like the little engine that could. Well, my swing was awesome, but I lost the ball amongst a bunch of crab apple trees. My ball blended in with the fallen crab apples perfectly, but I kept saying to everyone, "We can find this ball. I can do it!" Just when we all about gave up, Justin held up the ball and said, "You're right I found it!" Long story, but we found the ball and I made bogey! So, I had to complain a little at first. What I am learning though is to keep telling myself "I can do it," just like the little engine that could.

Floors Done- Check

Here are the pictures of the before and after shots of the basement floors. Before...








and after!
Now we just need the electrical, drywall, texturizing, painting, lighting, shelving, and the list goes on and on. Oh the joys of being a happy homeowner! Really we have no room to complain though. We are truly blessed to have each other and our lovely home:)

I Smell Freedom

The past three days, I've had contractors in my house. Justin started finishing a portion of the basement in April. We are trying to do a majority of it ourselves; however, have decided some things need to be left to the professionals. The flooring is one of them. We have several cracks in the concrete, which left tiling out of the question. We also had a little bit of moisture accumulate after the many inches of snow and heavy rain this spring. This left carpet out of our choices. Justin would be fine with leaving the concrete and throwing down area rugs. Although this is Justin's future man cave, I also do not want it looking like a room in a fraternity house. So, we looked into staining the concrete with a polished top coat. While I am really looking forward to the end results (which should be today), I am also looking forward to having my freedom back. Don't worry, pictures of the before and after are soon to come:)

Daisy Doggy Dash

While on my morning run today our neighborhood dog, Daisy, chose to join me. She has attempted to spree from her yard on several other attempts, but today made the mad dash which made me feel responsible for trying to get her back home.

With no leash, as I do not own a dog, I had to use commands. She ignored "Sit girl," but, clearly understood, "Daisy, get over here!" Daisy chased every squirrel, succumbed to much dog sniffing, and took a cool dip in the creek.

She continued to remain mostly by my side and was a very loyal pacer.

Needless to say, when we finally returned to the neighborhood, we were both tired and went back to our respected homes.

Deck Warming Party

This weekend, our dear friends the Kenyons, invited us up to Creston, IA for their deck warming party. The party was a total blast complete with great food, live music courtesy of Matt & Emily, a bountiful selection of wine, and a blind whiskey sampling. I also made sangria, which I had never made before. It was a total hit! Unfortunately, non of my pictures turned out so there is no documentation of the event. This could have been due to the sangria:) Since the sangria was sort of my frienemy for providing loads of fun, but ruining my pictures at the same time, I thought I'd post the recipe.

Raspberry-Peach Sangria
2 thinly sliced peaches
1 quart raspberries
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 C. peach schnapps
1 bottle white wine (we used chardonnay, but any other white wine would be fine)

Mix ingredients in a large pitcher. Chill for several hours and serve with ice. As the night progressed, we added more wine and schnapps to the mix to stretch the recipe. It will be a hit for sure!

Making the Best of It

Last week, I finally returned from my trip to Tennessee. This trip was totally unexpected. The weekend of the 4th of July, my grandfather went into the hospital. He is experiencing congestive heart failure and has now finally moved into a nursing home. So, it has been difficult for me to post much of anything because I am still kind of recovering and coping with slowly losing my last grandparent. To make things easier for my mom, who has been driving down almost every other week or every third week to take care of my grandfather while attendant care is unavailable, my sister, Erin, and I went to help my mom with all the duties that go with an aging parent. For the first time, I understood on of the many intricate parts and complexities of the life cycle.




To make the best of the situation, we stopped at a restaurant called Lamberts. Lamberts, if any of you know about the history, is the home of the throwed rolls. Filled with massive plates of Southern cuisine, you have your bread tossed through the air. If you are not a good catcher, it could end up on the floor or worse pounding your neighbor in the face. Once we arrived in Union City, Tennessee, Erin baked a lime tart per my grandfather's request. We delivered the tart with a pampering party. I also had the joy of taking what we call the Stinkin' Lincoln out for a cruise. While the trip was very difficult, I made sure everyone made the best out of the situation.

Good Food, Great Times

This year we made our third annual homage to the Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle. It was the 29th year for the battle and honestly, I must say the Burnt Butter team has not once disappointed us. We sincerely thank Dan and Julie Hurley for letting us take part and enjoy something Kansas City is known for. I love that we have started a little bit of a tradition. First, we park by Lenexa City Hall, then we ride a bus over to the park where the festivities take place.






Are these some handsome meat pics as promised or what? And how about the picture of myself with the politician? Really, I am more of a moderate voter myself; however, I told this guy, Tom Tiahrt, I had a food blog and he wanted to be included. Hey, who doesn't love BBQ? Anyway, back to the food. This year's menu was complete with chicken, pulled pork, and a new miscellaneous item....the bacon explosion. Mr. Hurley made this entree using a layer of weaved bacon, a layer of sausage, a layer of BBQ sauce and rub, another layer of weaved bacon, and more BBQ sauce and rub. He then rolled the meat into a nice loaf of goodness and smoked it. Have you had your coronary yet folks? It was delicious!