Remembering...

I normally don't post anything serious on here, but I feel the need to today. This evening I found out my friend Nathan died in a car accident on his way to South Bend, IN for a wedding. He was only about 25 minutes away from town. My friend Adam said they think he might have fallen asleep. I met Nathan through his sisters Ruth and Anna. I traveled to Chattanooga a couple times to see where they grew up and hung out with their older brother and his family in Atlanta. Nathan would usually come up to South Bend a couple times each year. I remember him helping out Ruth's husband Pete with odds and end. He had a knack for videography and sound. I used to joke that he could sound like the movie voice in previews. He LOVED ice cream and would buy a ton of it when he came to visit. He also loved taking pictures, and would often post all of them on his blog (even the ones you wished he hadn't taken!) He was a daredevil and up for anything. He was a big sweetheart who truly cared about his friends and family. I only wish I had been a better friend to him. While I didn't meet her, I think he had found true love. Right now my heart goes out to her. I can only imagine how hard this is for her. I'm also praying for Nathan's family and the Tarwackis. They are such a close knit group. They all are like my second family, and it is so hard knowing they have to go through this. I hope and pray that I can make it to the funeral. My one consolation is knowing that Nathan was a Christian. I have no doubt he is hanging out with Jesus remembering all the good times in his life. 

Funny stuff

This was in the tree outside my apartment today. Hilarious!

Signs of summer

Hello sunshine, here I come! I sprayed on some of this today and got a slight tan line on my shoulders and legs. I'm not into the fake baking, but I will make use of tanning oil. Yes, I suppose SPF 8 is low, but if I put on SPF 15, I have to be in direct sun for a couple hours. I was already sweating after a half hour today! My computer said it was 66 degress, but I think it was more like 80. Ahhh...I have returned to the land of hot summers. I hope I can hack it. 

I went to Lowe's last week and bought some flowers for my deck. Sunday night I helped a friend fill the planters around her house. It made me miss planting flowers at my old place in Indiana. Some day I'll attempt to plant a garden. I love new potatoes and fresh sweet corn. 

I'm a sucker for anything that looks like Daisies. My favorite flower is the  yellow rose, but I didn't have much luck growing some last year. I also like sunflowers. I grew a couple last year, but something came and ate their heads off. 

Something green and hearty looking

No hibachi for me. :-(

And my first lucky bamboo plant. It matches the artwork I've yet to hang on the wall. 

zoobaloo

Now that everyone (well almost everyone) is joining facebook, I'm not sure how many people will continue to look at this. I'll keep posting though.

Last Sunday my parents and younger brother came down. After a super yummy lunch at Logan's we headed to the zoo. We didn't see everything, because time ran out. My mom and I weren't that interested in seeing the reptiles anyway. :-) We did see the penguins though. Many of the animals were sleeping, so I guess we caught them at nap time. Here are a few pics.

New....again

As you can see, I got tired of my girly page quickly. I guess I'd rather enjoy the flowers outside than on my blog. Saturday was GORGEOUS, so I got off my lazy bum and took a walk around downtown. Unfortunately, my batteries ran out before I got pics of all the random sculptures. I finally went to the Old Mill Tasty Shop for a limeade. It was well worth it. Sometime I'll go back for the food, which smelled wonderful. The nice weather made me miss Lake Michigan and building sand castles with my friends. I also miss all our summer barbecues. :-( Something I do love about being back in Kansas is the smell of prairie fire. I only wish I was in the Flint Hills to see the beautiful flames. Summer is approaching.... wahooo!!!!!






This building reminded me of the trip to Galveston, TX I made before my senior year in college. It looks similar to pics of building in New Orleans.


I just had to take a picture of this tiny car.


Sadly, this horse is starting to rust and fall apart.

Something new

I'm sitting at home bored, because I called in sick. The pain I had in my neck yesterday got worse overnight. Sitting here is okay, but it will hurt when I stand up. I might get a massage tomorrow, since my attempts to relax the muscles are not working. Aleve only puts a dent in the pain. As long as I don't move much, I'm good. I've read a couple magazines, eaten a lot of food and watched television. I called my sister to hear my niece tell me about her own ailment. "I have an ouchy on my chin. It was bleeding." At least she took a dramatic tumble. I just woke up in pain! 

In my boredom, I decided to change up my blog layout. It looks very Springy, and a bit girly....maybe too girly. 

High school drama

My fellow newsies should check out the latest MTV reality show "The Paper," which follows a high school journalism class in California.  The first episode aired tonight, and it reminded me of how some high schoolers think they are God's gift to journalism. Don't get me wrong, there are some high schoolers who are talented and will make their mark in newspaper land. However, there are others who are too full of themselves. In South Bend, I worked with some of these kids for our 'Next Generation' page. I had high hopes. I wanted to share my passion, and teach these kids how to write better stories and make them visually exciting. Instead, I had many who didn't understand the meaning of deadline and teachers who said, "Can't you just print what we put in our paper?" I would have been so grateful to work at a 'real' paper when I was in high school. I guess it's a different generation now (and I'm not that old!)