and now for his next trick...

I really don't know where he comes up with this stuff, but Ted is now completely obsessed with shutting the office door. If we aren't watching him and he feels the need to go cause trouble, he will waltz in the office and shut himself in.  Then he knocks all of Zach's movies off the bookcase and chews the corners of the cases.  Looks like even though he's almost 2, we've still got ourselves a big ol' puppy. 

Just a tree

Just a tree I drive by every day. Nothing too special about it, but I like the way this picture turned out.

Lick Monsta!

 Even though this picture is totally blurry, I just love it so much.

That Missy, too much love in her heart.

Snow Going

Wednesday, Kansas City was expecting a big ol' snowstorm. I was pretty skeptical since the news was hyping it up so much. The sunny skies that morning also had me scratching my head.  All was fine and well until the afternoon.... Around 3:00 I turned around and saw this out my window. Yep, time to pack 'em up and head out.

Luckily I took the bus to work and didn't have to worry about driving most of the way home, however this is my third winter riding the bus, so I knew how things were going to happen.  1) The early bus was going to be packed 2) It's going to be a long ride and 3) Walk to Union Station in order to avoid waiting outside.

So, I did. It's about a 15 minute walk at least so while I was walking I took a few pictures with my camera phone.  The snow was very pretty and it was still pretty quiet outside.  It was lovely.

 Notice how empty this street is. Not even 40 minutes later it would be bumper to bumper.

 

Don't you just love Union Station? It's so glamorous!

I wasn't the only one who thought to leave early.  I think most of the people who ride the bus ended up there.  There began our wait.... The bus showed up almost a half hour late (the bus barn is downtown too, so this was a sign of things to come for sure). Union Station is the second stop on the route. The bus was full after I got on.  I knew I needed to settle in because this was going to be a long one. It took us over an hour to get from Union Station to The Sprint Center. Those of you from Kansas City will understand how crazy that is. We had to start turning people away after that stop since we had literally no more room and they had all been waiting in the cold for over an hour! I'd guess at least 30 people had to stand. (don't worry, there were 3 more buses behind us and word on the street is that the last bus only had 2 people on it. Ha!) It took about another 40 minutes or so to even get to the highway and at that point I stopped keeping track. We were going at a snails pace. Luckily everyone that rides the bus is used to it and we were all in good spirits, joking around and whatnot. (side: I remember my first winter riding the bus and a snowstorm hit and it took hours to get home. It was right before Christmas and we probably spent at least half an hour singing Christmas Carols. We even took a little "detour" through some neighborhoods and got to see some lights, it was..dare I say...fun) I have NEVER seen so much traffic in my life.  Literally every person in Kansas City left to go home at the EXACT same time.  Oy.  We got to Lee's Summit at 7. After cleaning my car and slooooowly driving home, I arrived at 7:30.  I left my desk at 3:15.  You do the math.

Needless to say, I worked from home on Thursday.  But the best part? We're expecting another storm on Sunday. Oh boy!

Barns

Perhaps this is a bit strange, but I've always had a thing for barns. Ever since I can remember I've thought they were neat. They are one of the best parts of road trips. I'm always looking for them and find myself daydreaming about what they could possibly be used for, what sorts of (adorable, furry) critters live inside, how old they are and what their story is. I love them all, old, new, falling apart, nearly torn down, white, red, green...anything barn is good to me!  Funny thing is that I don't know that I've ever even really been IN a "real" barn before! So, huh. Yeah, kinda weird.

Years and years ago I always said it would be fun to go around and take pictures of barns.  Even to me, it sounded crazy.  But now that I have a new camera, a new hobby and a goal to take more pictures, I figure why not!?  So, here it is! My first barn.  It's just on the other side of the road and I see it every day.  My favorite part of the barn is its shape and the thing on the top (note to self: find out what that's called...). I also love how it's all the one color.  I took this picture last Sunday when I wandered out into the cold one late afternoon. I really like how this one turned out (I have more to share eventually) and I can't wait to find more barns. I already know of three others within walking distance to my house (another perk of living in a "small town").  So yay! Barns! 

Humor me.

Big Red

One year ago today, my mom and dad adopted Redford from Wayside Waifs. He's seriously the worlds best dog. I know he's made the last year just a little brighter for all of us.  Happy "gotcha day" Redford!

The Face

I mean for real, how can you not love that face? 

 

Diet Coke

I'm currently in the process of giving up my beloved Diet Coke.  Oh the fizzies, how I love them. I never really drank a whole lot of pop before I started working.  Not even in college! (mostly because Northwest had gross Pepsi) I've never been able to drink coffee, so I turned to Diet Coke instead. My one can a day habit is slooowly being cut back.  Right now I aim for just 3 a week (and man do I look forward to those 3...). Then I'll hopefully cut that back some more, but who really knows. I've been down this road before.  I was trying to be strong today and just drink water, but the day (and the headache) got the best of me and I had to give in. There's always tomorrow! I've been doing good, just have to hang in there...

First Snow

Today we had our first real snow of the winter.  The weather people were actually right for once and the storm hit pretty much exactly when they said it would and it did pretty much exactly what they said it would. Crazy!  I am a terribly, terribly nervous driver and that multiplies by about 1,000 when it snows, so I'm lucky enough to take the bus to work.  I especially love riding the bus on snow days!  Sure, my trip to work took over two and a half hours, but at least I wasn't behind the wheel! 

This picture is of Crown Center Square. I took this as I was walking to my office from the bus stop.  I wish the lights showed up better, but it was getting too light out. They are extra pretty, especially in the snow.  I eat lunch at those tables whenever possible in the summer. I just love it out there.

This picture was taken while I was waiting for my bus to go home.  Such a pretty view in the snow. Miraculously the ride home took our normal time since there was a break in the snow during the afternoon rush.  It really picked up again once I got home though. Hopefully the ride in tomorrow goes a little faster.

Welcome to Greenwood

I live in a "small town".  While our house is just feet away from Lee's Summit (seriously, right past this sign), we do indeed live in a small town. Small town life has its advantages and its disadvantages, that's for sure. We love how we are still "close" but are definitely out of the way.  Through my Project 365 I hope to be able to show you a few different parts of my small town. Some I know about, some I've yet to discover.  Just this evening I took a (chilly) walk and snapped a few pictures that I'll post later on.

But for now, Welcome to Greenwood. Population: 3,952.

Hoof

 

Missy and her hoof.  Officially her favorite chew bone.  Unfortunately way too stinky to have in the house. Such is the life.

Uh yeah. I need to start taking pictures of things besides my dogs, no?

Breakfast Casserole

Yum, breakfast food! I've always said my favorite meal of the day is breakfast. I just love all sorts of different breakfast foods. Eggs being pretty high on the list. Breakfast casserole always reminds me of Easter. Probably because it's what we have at my Grandma's house every year. It is extra delicious! I'm not exactly sure why I never made it myself until last Mother's day, but I'm glad I tried it out. It is so easy, totally customizable and extra delicious, especially re-heated as leftovers. I recently made a pan for a yummy New Years Eve brunch with Zach.  Here's a super basic recipe I found, but you can adapt it anyway you want.  I've used both regular sausage and turkey sausage and both were good. If you are trying to be good you could throw in some veggies (although I think veggies in breakfast food is just weird). I'm even pretty sure you could use egg substitute! Enjoy!

Breakfast Casserole

(found somewhere on the internet)

Ingredients

6 slices bread, cubed

1 pound sausage, browned and drained (or whatever else you want to use)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Directions

Cube bread and place evenly in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle evenly with sausage and cheese. Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl then pour evenly into the pan. Cover and chill overnight. Remove from fridge 15 minutes prior to baking. Bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees until set. Cut into squares to serve. 

 

The Oldest

Poor George doesn't get near the attention that he used to since the dogs have come to town. Something tells me he doesn't quite mind.

Here's to you Mr. Furrybottoms!

Videos count too...

I took this video of Ted last week. He has discovered door stops and thinks they are AWESOME. We have no clue how he discovered this, but he has, and is now obsessed. Whenever I'm in the office on the computer and he wants attention, he goes over and incessantly flicks them with is paw. He'll flick them then stare straight at you and wag his tail, as if to say "hahaha!! look how smart and cute I am!! look at you paying attentention to me!! Oh what's that, you want to go back to your email?! watch this!! *flick!*" This will go on and on until I give him attention and pets.  I swear, you could pet this dog 24 hours a day and it still wouldn't be enough.

Project 365

I heard about Project 365 a while back. It's a challenge to get you to take one picture, every day, for a year.  It really intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a whirl since we have a fancy new camera and all.

The pictures can be of anything! A picture from the DSLR, my cell phone, my point and shoot, one that Zach takes and I'm even going to allow myself to scan pictures I already have. So, really, I'm making my own rules here.

I will already tell you that the likelihood of me uploading a new picture everyday is very, very slim. So, yeah. Perhaps I will call my project - Project Take More Pictures and Blog More.

Heeeeere we go!

(ok fine. I guess this is sort of a "resolution")