Merry Christmas!

Last night, my friend Liz and I opened our "stockings" at 2 am, because of COURSE Santa had already come.  We both come from families that are fairly small in the immediate family, and still do stockings.  Some years I like stockings more than others, especially when I'm in a rush, but not having family around this year made me appreciate it even more.  We gave each other a monetary limit, and filled the stocking accordingly.  "Santa" got me the first season of the "Nanny" TV show on DVD.  I LOVE that show and watch it every night on late night TV, so of course this would be a great thing to put in my stocking!  "Santa" got Liz some bath products, and some lip gloss. :)  He saw that she has an insane amount of good smelling stuff in her bathroom!

Today might be a challenge, but what would a Christmas be if not that!  Haha.  A few of us, (Liz, Raymond, Chris, David and I) are going over to Debbie and Phil's (harpist and trumpet in the orchestra) to have Christmas dinner around 1pm.  Why I say the word "AROUND" would be because Kansas City (and the rest of the midwest) was hit with a blizzard last night.  I use the word blizzard loosely, mainly because the weathermen are using it, but in reality, we only got about 6 inches.  Granted, it will be snowing all day today and most of tomorrow, but in MY eyes, that's just snow.  It was blowing around pretty hard last night, with frequent gusts of 40 mph+.  But, if a true blue CERTIFIED California girl can laugh and say, HELLO it's only snow people!, then I think we have nothing to worry about.  The dangers come in the fact that we don't have enough snowplows to cover the whole city, and most years run out of salt.  So basically, we have a blizzard because the city planners in KC are retarded.

This is my first year without any biological family around!  Usually, I have to split Christmas between my Mom and Dad, with visits to extended family thrown in.  This year, I made the cookies, wrapped the presents, and put up the tree all by myself.  It's different, but I thought I would be a lot more sad that I am.  It might have to do with the fact that I'm going home on Monday to see everyone, and also to the fact that I have Skype and can talk to ppl.  It's definitely not the "traditional" Christmas that I'm used to, but in many ways, I don't mind.  I'm still in my pj's and didn't have to get up until 10am!    This is my first Christmas to have an abundance of snow in the city in which I live!  After dinner today, I hope to get the 'kids' (haha) out in the snow, building the snowman, and sledding.  Could be fun!!!

I'll post pictures later!  Merry Christmas everyone!!

This Christmas

I FINALLY got my tree up.  Last year, it was up shortly after Thanksgiving.  We were supposed to go get trees from a tree farm about 10 days ago, but it was SO cold and snowing, so we decided to not go.  Haha.  I went to Home Depot with Liz last night and we picked out two beautiful trees.  Liz got a Frasier Fur, very slim and beautiful.  Green with lots of branches to hang lights on.  Mine is a Blue Spruce.  I think it's halfway dead, but it looks beautiful thus far.  It's about 6 feet tall, and REALLY wide.  At first, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to have anything else in my living room, but after the relocation of my dining room table, all worked out.  Man, that was a rough time though.  I'm allergic to pine/anything living (haha), so wrapping the lights around it was kinda brutal on the arms.  I forgot to wear long sleeves.  Smart, I know.  I also don't have an angel.  I have always had one at home, and really miss it.  I have a star up there, and it's very beautiful.  I still have to hang ornaments, so I'm going to wait to take a picture until after I have done so.

This Christmas will be different than those in the past.  I have always (I think) spent Christmas with family, and this one will be my first working.  I don't actually work on Christmas Day, but I will be in Kansas City until the 28th.  I keep telling myself that it's just a day, and that the holiday can be celebrated anytime...but I'm not quite convinced.   I have great friends here, and we'll be together, but there is something about waking up on Christmas morning and having family there.  I think that this year will be the first to start creating my own traditions.  

If you are in the KC area, and want to visit, I'm here until the 28th.  All are welcome to sit by the tree, watch some movies, and eat cookies.  :) 

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Did you have a great Thanksgiving?  Were you with friends or family?

I had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  The days prior to Thanksgiving I went to tons of movies, ice skating and made yummy pies and sweet potato casserole.  We also had a few days of rehearsal for the Messiah performance.  On the big day itself, I went over to Allen and Andrea Probus' to eat and be with friends.  We had brunch around 11am, with amazing omelettes and Monkey Bread and then the real "dinner" was around 5pm, with turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, lime jello, and cranberries.  For dessert, we had pecan pie and pumpkin pie and apple cider.  So good...down to the last drop.  We played some string trios, and while the kids played with my Wii I brought, and after all was cleaned up, we watched the movie "Up".  What a blessed day!  :)

I had a slight sore throat that day, but it wasn't anything out of the usual, and felt much better if I was drinking water or cider.  When I woke up on Friday, I thought that I had stopped breathing.  Of course, I hadn't, but oh. my. gosh. I wanted to die.  I drove myself to the hospital and they immediately saw me.  Apparently I had a really bad case of strep, and my tonsils (the hanging down thing) was about the size of the end of my index finger.  No WONDER it felt like I couldn't breathe.  I immediately was given antibiotics and codeine for the pain, and I went to bed and pretty much slept for two days.  It's Sunday evening now, and although I have no desire to talk, or eat anything besides quasi liquids, I'm "feeling" much better.  :)  I'm sad that I had to miss the Messiah performance, and sad I couldn't pick my friend up at the airport on Friday. 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!  Enjoy the December month coming up TOMORROW!!!!

Waking up early

Waking up early is NOT my thing.  However, my doggie (childhood dog) thinks otherwise.  My parents have been getting up about 5:30 am to go to work for years, and she has gotten into a routine.  It's not quite that early now, but she's rarin' to go by 7am.  I think she is humoring me, when I pretend to ignore her until 7:30, or even 8 am, but I feel bad!  So, I get out of bed.

And you know, I'm not upset about it.  Because my (14 year old) puppy needs me.

It's very interesting to how much you can get done in the mornings.  It is so peaceful, and quiet, but productive.  I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a house (renting) in June, when my lease is up, and maybe I'll try and change.  Also, I LOVE sunshine streaming in, and I have none in my loft!  :(

By 8:30 am I had already walked the dog, prepared her breakfast, watered all the houseplants and plants outside, and ran the vacuum.  It's not much, but I do feel like I accomplished something!  Oh, and I picked the mushrooms from the lawn outside, because the gardener comes today.  Who knows when he comes though!  I wish he would hurry up and come, because I have to close the puppy door so she doesn't bother him.

This dog LOVES corn muffins.  She's old, and lost some weight when she had her teeth pulled two months ago, so we're trying to put the weight back on her.  She's still sparky (sometimes!) and loves to walk.  Her food amazes me though!  It's really good for her nutrition to have the dog food, so we always mix in Benefit, but we make her pork, chicken, anything really.  Her breakfast this morning was a leftover pork burrito, some dog food, and two corn muffins.  I ran out, so I'm going to have to figure out how to make more.  I, of course, know HOW to cook them, but which mix do I use?  :)

Well, it's now 9:15 and still no gardeners, so I'm going to go outside and read in the sunshine.   :)

It's NOVEMBER!

I'm completely a loser when it comes to most holidays.  :)  Especially Halloween and New Years.  This past weekend, I had a fantastic time with my parents, but I'm pretty sure I was in bed by 9:30pm!  I can't remember what we did last New Years Eve, but I can guarantee it wasn't a party.  Haha. 

The weather here couldn't get better.  It usually is foggy in the morning and in the evening, but every single day has been about 78 and perfectly clear.  There is a slight breeze, occasionally, making the days and nights absolutely perfect.  As much as I love cool, crisp weather, I feel so lucky to be here when it's like this.

I love to go wine tasting in the area, and fortunately, so do my parents.  I've gone to a few new places since I've been here that are either new, or have new wines available.  Some of them are very yummy, and even though I had a 50 lb suitcase coming here, I'm somehow going to make room to bring a bottle or two back.  :)

At the moment, I'm reading and messing around on the computer outside in the sunshine, and watching my dog have running dreams while sleeping.  She's getting pretty old now, and probably isn't going to be around much more than a few years, but she's still the highlight of my life.  She has really bad arthritis in her back legs, and won't let anyone touch them (we have a mobile groomer come to the house once a month), but she eats better for me (haha) and has actually gained a bit of weight (which she needs) since I'm home.  We go for walks during the day and snuggle on her bed at night.  Occasionally she gets a wild hair up her butt and races around the house like when she was a puppy...and it's amusing to watch.  She uses the treadmill as a springboard to launch herself off around the couch.  I wish I could get a video of it! 

Happy November everyone!  Only 52 days until Christmas...how's the shopping coming?

Dallas

I love watching Oprah in the afternoons, and I am very lucky my job, 99% of the time, does not conflict with this.  Right now, she's at the state fair in Texas.  How I miss Dallas.  Makes my heart hurt!  I was just in Dallas last week, and had a great time.  The week began pretty rough, with a complete nasty hotel fiasco, but it worked out (not without a number of tears!) and ended great. 

Not only was I playing, again, with a great orchestra, I got to be with Kayla on her 16th birthday, and really get to know Stef and Jarrod, and their amazing baby, Levi.  I enjoyed all my time in rehearsals, backstage, and getting to see people I hadn't seen in awhile.  It made me enjoy playing the viola for the first time in months, and inspire me to work hard again at what I do.  Even though the trip was only a week, it renewed confidence in myself, and gave me memories that I will remember forever.

My favorite websites when I'm bored

Besides my friend's blogs, Facebook, and Craigslist, I have a few websites I follow regularly. 

1.  FML  :  It's a website that stands for f*** my life...or what a crappy day I've had.  Most are PG, and very funny...although a few are PG-15.  Hehe.  Very short anecdotes (sp?).

2.  Texts From Last Night :  You can submit your text conversations to this website if they are funny or crude (apparently).  Some are very funny and you can see yourself in college (or now) having written it.  Some are gross.  In my opinion, the good outweigh the bad.  :)

3.  People Of Walmart :  This is one everyone can appreciate.  The commentary is hilarious, and I'm sure we have all seen these people in Walmart at one time or another.

4.  Fail Blog :  This, along with the other tabs up on the top of the page, provides hours of entertainment a week.  My favorites are the graphs, lolcats and loldogs. 

Enjoy my dear friends, enjoy.

I heart Fall.

I love Fall.  I love Summer too, but sometimes it gets too hot for my liking.  I am a sunshine girl, and love my flipflops... but gosh, Fall is amazing.  I love watching the leaves turn.  I love drinking hot drinks while walking around with a coat on.  I love the anticipation of Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I love the colors of orange, red and yellow.   I really, really wish I had screens on my windows, because I'd leave them open occasionally.  It's quite nice that the merchants haven't started over heating their buildings just yet too.  I'm surprised by the abundant snow in the north, but since the last few winters have started a tad on the late side, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.  I'm hoping we get snow soon too.  However, Kansas City isn't exactly ever prepared for snow, and has no idea how to deal with it, so I shouldn't hope too hard!  :)

I went to a corn maze last week with David, a new horn player in the orchestra.  It was at Louisburg Cider Mill, and we had a great time drinking cider, eating Apple Cider donuts, and walking through the maze.  It looked really big, but we schooled it....completing it in about 15 minutes.  Haha.  Afterwards we headed over to the goats and went back inside for more donuts.  :)  I love things like that!

So yeah, I got overly excited when I was there, but what I'm REALLY excited about is going up to Liberty and going through their maze.  While this one was maybe a 1/2 mile through (although it looks much bigger in the aerial view), the Liberty Corn Maze is 4 miles!  We could die in that place!  But, I have this knack (apparently) for doing mazes...and so does David.  That place has bridges periodically through the maze so that if you get lost you can climb up on one to see where you are in the maze.  Wicked cool!  That's in 2 weeks! 

So yeah, I'm in a happy place since it's Fall if you can't tell.  :) 

*Sigh*

I know, I know.  Two posts in one day.  Right before I am going to bed, I had this thought.  Why do people complain so much about such insignificant things?  I mean, really people, if it's 67 degrees on stage are you REALLY going to die?  (as opposed to the regulation of 68 degrees)  I understand it's the principle of the matter, but sometimes it would be great if we could just relax, take a deep breath, and try and understand that not everyone is out to get you all the time.  And no, it's not personal.  The above is just an example, but if people really knew what was being said behind their backs, I bet we would all act a little differently.  (Including myself, I'm sure).  Just saying. 

As I put in my Facebook status update the other day....

Remember when you are running late, and you find the PERFECT parking spot?  It feels good, right?  Well, how about all those times you have an extra few minutes, you park at the first spot you see, and get a little exercise by walking 200 extra feet...and make someone REALLY happy.  :)

Happy Fall!

Happy FALL!!!!

At this point, I'm calling it my favorite time of year. I absolutely love decorating for seasons, love ice skating in the winter, sledding, etc..., love going to the park on picnics and walking around the lake in the spring, and love going to the beach and on vacation in the summer. But, even though I get excited about each new season, I have noticed that my glee is at its highest is during the beginning of Fall. I'm definitely not a cold weather girl, and not too hot, which is probably why I love the end of September and October the most! :) Also, (and again, maybe it's just a fad) I love burnt oranges, browns, greens and reds. They are such beautiful, calming colors.

My favorite thing about the midwest is the changing colors on the trees. I love driving around Kansas City and seeing the leaves fall and turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. The best drive is up to Minneapolis, though, through Iowa. I try and take pictures with my camera out the window when I'm driving, but seeing as I can only get one or two non-blurry pictures, and it's quite unsafe, I try and restrain myself! :)

Plug

I found this blog awhile back called, Freebies 4 Mom. I know I'm not a Mom, but it still doesn't hurt to get a few things for free, right? Especially since I'm on the computer so much, I guess I might send off for a few samples, or download a few coupons. But, sometimes it's much more...like telling you where to actually get free stuff if you ask for it at stores. :) Check it out!

I went to dinner at an old friend's house last night. Funny, because we were friends in Dallas, and then I hadn't seen him for about 4-5 years. All of a sudden, we find we are both in KC and he's married with a kid on the way! His child now is 14 months old, and the cutest little thing, with such a big personality! We all had a great time at dinner (steaks and salmon!) and I can't wait to see them again! I didn't know that his wife stayed at home with the kids (she watches her nephew too), so we'll probably plan an outing to a park or something soon! :)

This new symphony season will bring good things, hopefully! We had a great season last year, and I can only see things going up! (Not that it's bad at all!) We added a new subcription concert, and are playing with some GREAT bands for our Pops series. We just played with Michael Cavanaugh (Billy Joel Tribute guy) and it was FANTASTIC! I can't wait for the upcoming concerts...too bad we only do 4 a year! But, in February, ABBA (tribute band) is coming. I'm very conflicted whether to ask specifically to play in the orchestra for that, or to be able to have it off and be in the audience dancing around! :) We only use 6 violas out of the 9 for those types of concerts.

I decorated for Halloween and Thanksgiving (mainly fall) in my loft the other night. It was a lot of fun, and I credit my parents and Karen for giving me my decorations. It's great to have people around that LOVE to decorate so much that they are always buying new things, and handing down the old ones. :) I did go out and buy a few pumpkins....which are SUPER cheap around here....guess there is ONE benefit of living surrounded by fields...and they are around my house too. I got a potted Mum, but me being the "great" gardener that I am (NOT), bought the one that you are supposed to put in the garden, not the one that you can keep on the porch or house. So, it'll supposedly live for a few weeks and then die. Oh well. Haha.

This weekend is the first subscription concert of the season. We are playing a Haydn symphony, Rapture by Christopher Rouse and a Brahms piano concerto with Yefim Bronfman. Should be a great program! I'm really more excited about the donuts that we are getting at break today. :)

Julie and Julia

I discovered the joy of cooking a few years ago, and I've really been "into" it for the past year. I think it's really fun to discover new foods and new ways to make them. Thus, I was REALLY excited to see this movie...especially since it has Meryl Streep AND Amy Adams in it. I enjoyed every part, and was not disappointed! In fact, it has inspired me to start cooking more, and to start cooking for more people. I have several cookbooks that I use, and the internet is invaluable, but does anyone have any recipes that they love? I would be more than grateful!

With the exception of a few bad words, the movie can be enjoyed by anyone who loves cooking, or loves movies. I'm not sure that small children would like it, but if it's not PG-13, it should be.

I've been up in Minneapolis for a few days, visiting, helping and hanging out with friends. My friend Amy had back surgery last Monday (almost two weeks ago), but can't drive for 2 weeks. I love the entire family, and since I had a week off, it was almost too easy but to drive up here and hang out/help for a week before I had to return to work. I love this city, and everything about it. We have had many walks around the lakes and neighborhoods, and almost every morning at 10:30am, myself, Maureen, Amy and their mom, Karen go out for coffee. It's a great start to the day. I've gotten to hang out with Hannah, Amy's daughter, too. She'll be a freshman in high school in 1 week!

I go back to KC on Sunday morning, and have a dentist appointment on Monday morning. Work starts on Thursday! Wish me luck!

The last day of my normal life

My "normal" life consisted of many things, the most interesting (to ME) being shopping and traveling. Mainly in Dallas, but I've had my moments in KC too. Today was the beginning of the end for the rest of the year. I signed my life over to my orthodontist beginning at 9:30am. I've already gone through this in my teen years, but apparently I have to go through it for 18 more months now. Sigh. Oh well. THIS time I'm determined to keep my teeth perfect. But, the downside, it means that I will have $175 less each month for shopping and traveling. I'm just going to have to get more creative. Hmmmm......

Back at home

in KC.

It feels good to be back although I do miss all my friends in Dallas. It's a much slower pace here, which is very welcome but at the same time a little boring. :) I have made up for it by getting new shelves for my kitchen, and re-organizing the kitchen . I also got a new microwave! It's very nice, stainless steel, and was only $49. Whenever I find a deal like that, I somehow feel validated that I'm "beating the system". Haha.

I have gotten caught up on TV and sleep in the past few days, but have yet to unpack my bags from my trip. I always lag in doing this; I think because it forces me to accept that my vacation is over. I will have to do that today (or tomorrow) because eventually I'll have to do laundry!

I've also been getting caught up with blogs of my friends, which are always nice to read! I recently read Kristin's blog, and was sad that I missed my hometown fair this year. I LOVED doing that when I was a kid, and it's SUCH a great fair. I've been to many, all over the nation, but this one is very special. It's not too big, but quite big enough to attract mainstream headliners for the entertainment.

At the moment, they are testing the fire alarms in our building. It makes me want to scream, but at least I know that they work in case of a fire!

To do today? Unpacking my suitcase. Doing at least one load of laundry. Putting up the shelf in the bathroom. Finalizing the CD I made for my Mom's birthday. Working out.

I think that's enough. :)

Summer Part 1

So far, my summer has been quite eventful in the traveling, and quite uneventful in the activities department. Not to say that I haven't had LOADS of fun, but it's been drama-free---which is wonderful. I have been going-going almost all summer, and I haven't stopped yet, but it's all just been fun. No nasty obligations, and no mundane chores (outside of the usual-laundry, dishes, etc.).

I left KC on June 18th and headed out to California to surprise my Dad for his retirement party. He was definitely surprised, since we had plans and a "schedule" for him to pick me up at the Las Vegas Airport the next week. I also played (as a surprise) for a service at my Mom's church, and gave a small recital for the kids of my former teacher. I stayed in CA for a week, visited with both parents, drank a lot of wine, and watched a lot of baseball. Great week!


(Winery outside of Paso Robles)

(my puppy relaxing on her bed at home)

The next stop on my summer "tour" was going with my parents to Mesquite, NV (1 hr north of Las Vegas) to a family reunion. There were lots of people there, we all stayed at the casino, and I got to see my cousins again that I haven't seen in 10 years! It was a lot of fun hanging out with everyone for the weekend, and I can't wait to see everyone again. Hopefully, it won't be another 10 years!

Then my stepmom and I flew out to Minneapolis to visit with my step-brother and his family, and our grandparents. We had a great time, and got to see more family that we thought we were going to. Jeannine (my step-mom) saw some cousins that she hadn't seen in about 30 years, and we had a blast at their lakehouse. We also saw some Aunt and Uncles that I had never met, and she hadn't seen in years. Always a good time up there! We took my niece to the Mall of America and got her her own American Girl doll, and an outfit to go along with it. She was super excited, and the process was almost 2 hours. She just couldn't make up her mind. I think it was a little overwhelming for her (she's only 6), but it was so much fun seeing her wander all over the store. :) My little nephew is almost 2, and the cutest thing ever. My favorite thing is when he "jigs" to any music he hears. It's hysterical. I wish I could describe it, but it's definitely something you have to see in person. It's a shame we don't get to see them more, and get to do more things with those two when we are in Minnesota. There are so many amazing kids things in Minneapolis to which I'd LOVE to take my niece.

(nephew at the park)

(Waconia, MN)

After 10 days in Minnesota, I took the train to Chicago, to stay with Lora and Will, friends that used to play in KC with me. I also got to see other friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, like Rachel and Miho. I love Chicago and wish I could live there. We walked around all over, saw concerts at Ravinia with the Chicago Symphony (where Lora now plays 2nd oboe), and ate fantastic food. I also took one day in the city to just "hang out" and wound up by the museums and wandered into the aquarium for a few hours. (view of Chicago over at the museums)

I then went back to KC on the train, and had a great few days with friends, and beautiful weather. I went to the musical "Anything Goes", with Kathy and Christine, went to the pool, hung out with Camilla and Ruthie, and got to see Darcy and meet her fiancee. It was a great week!

On July 19th, I drove to Dallas to stay for three weeks. I'll keep you posted on the activties and whereabouts I go. :)

I should...

be doing a lot of things. Practicing for an upcoming recital in 8 days, hanging up clothes strewn all over my bed, taking out the trash, unloading the dishwasher...the list goes on and on.

But, I'm not. I'm, in fact, sitting on my bed, ok, in my bed, watching TV. Have you seen the Hallmark movie, See Jane Date? It's just the thing for a lazy Sunday morning...

This week included four days off. During those four days I went to two water parks, got little to no sleep, and had a blast with my friends (and actually did some practicing and some serious laundry), especially those who are moving away.

Sunday and Monday were our water park days. Susie and Minna were fantastic sports in coddling my neurotic fears of getting out of control on the water slides. We had a great time, and I couldn't ask for better water park buddies.

Tuesday and Wednesday flew by in a blur. I can't remember what exactly I did but I know I had lunch with Darcy (yay!), got stuck in a rain storm, went to breakfast with Kathy and Jackie, and had fun at Chuck E Cheese with Allen, Andrea, their kids, and Susie. I did a lot of laundry those days too. I really miss my days with a full size washer and dryer...sigh.

Thursday and Friday were spent rehearsing for our Flint Hills concert. AND my birthday. On Friday afternoon, I gathered with some sweet friends for happy hour at La Bodega and then we went to see Up at the new downtown movie theater. $13 is a little expensive for a movie, in my opinion, but maybe I'm just spoiled by the $4 before 6pm movie theater in Merriam. The downtown theater is fun; has a great bar, and you're allowed to bring the drinks into the theater. It is also all leather seating, and they rumble and shake when things "happen" in the movie! $10 for a normal movie, and $13 for 3-D. Can't go there everyday...

(people at concert site)

(sunset on the prairie)

Yesterday, 7 of us piled into a cargo van en route to the Flint Hills. This area is basically the entire middle of Kansas (since there is nothing in Kansas anyways), and is quite a beautiful prairie. The symphony goes out once a year to do a concert out there in conjunction with their festival. Lots of nature trails, food, tents and "events" (?) accompany the $60 ticket...but the 6,000 people who come every year (it sells out in about 4 hours!!) love it. We had a great (3 hour!!) ride down in the van, along with the other 12 vans that took our symphony members, but not uneventful. As you would imagine, my van was filled with lively friends, and we had the best food! The 2 1/2 hours up until the "back roads" part was fine, but after we hit the gravel roads that took us out to a ranch, the bumpy-ness was out of control. In all seriousness, it was great fun, but at one point I did think the van was going to tip over as we were driving over one particular bump at about a 70 degree angle.

Going back to the still in bed part....it's now almost noon, the movie was great, and I think I'm going to get up and start my day. Love you you all and I hope to see you soon!

Today was...

great! and interesting! and ghetto! Haha. Yesterday, Minna, Susie and I wanted to go to Oceans of Fun (a water park here), but the weather people said that it was supposed to only be sunny for a few hours, and have SEVERE thunderstorms for the rest of the day. Not only are they retarded, they also lied. Not even close. It was beautiful all day. So, we went to this mini-water park by the airport at noon, because it was only $8 to get in. We figured that if it was going to rain, then we wouldn't have wasted $30 on Oceans of Fun. We had a great time, playing in the lazy river, going down both water slides, and laying out eating the lunch we had made. We made sure to put a lot of sunscreen on so that we don't get burned. Minna's sunscreen made her white. So funny!

Today was supposed to be really nice, all day, in the high 70's, and partly sunny (not super hot!), so we decided we could venture out to Oceans of Fun today. (We have four days off from work) All of us love water, and love water parks, so we figured it would be tons of fun!

We get there about 11:30, and go into the parking lot. The first words out of my mouth when I'm talking to the attendant is "This is for Worlds of Fun, right? Oops, I mean Oceans." She says yes. Then she hands me my receipt, and says, "Wait, you want Oceans of Fun?" I say yes, and that's the only place we are going today. She then proceeds to tell me that this isn't the parking lot, and that I will have to drive around the "block" and enter on the other side of the park. So, I say, okie, and ask for a refund so I can do that. She tells us that we can't get a refund because she's already taken (THE CASH) and given me a receipt. We were so angry because she was so stupid! We tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't budge. It was so bizzare! The best she could come up with was to tell us to go to Guest Relations and try to get it back, and THEN drive back around to the other side. We did that, and they told us that the parking pass was good for EITHER parking lot, and that this girl was wrong. Grrr.

We had a blast at Oceans of Fun for about 90 minutes. It never was sunny, but it got really cold due to the wind at that point. We took some time out and ate lunch, and essentially wrapped ourselves in our towels for a little over an hour. At this point, Minna's lips are purple, and we decide that we are going to splurge and get the combo ticket to go to World's of Fun for the rest of the (cold) day. Susie talked to Guest Relations at Oceans of Fun about this while Minna changed and I gathered our things. She came back with a resounding no, although the woman would have "liked to help us". Grrr #1 So, we decide to go to the Guest Relations ppl at Worlds of Fun to talk to them. NO CIGAR! I couldn't believe it! First, we get jacked by the stupid parking lady, THEN we get jacked because of the crappy weather, and NOW we get jacked by the Guest Relations ppl. They told us that because our tickets had already been scanned, they couldn't upgrade it to the combo ticket, but they COULD upgrade it to a season pass. They also said that we could either wait until 4pm (it was 2:30pm) until the Twilight Rate started (the same price as the upgrade to the combo ticket) OR we could pay full price. All three of us complained and protested to them, about the parking hassle, about the cold, etc...and we got free sandwiches and a drink. They are going to get three long letters of complaint. LONG. Longer than this post (which I'm not sure is possible!) Haha.

So, we decided to go back to Oceans of Fun and tough it out (it was a bit warmer at this point) for 90 minutes and then come back. The moment we get back there it was sunny and warm. YAY! We went to the wave pool for a long time, and rode all the rides again. We left about 6:30/7pm and had a blast for the remainder of the time. This would probably be the time to mention that I am a complete pansy on water rides, mainly due to the fact that I think I'm going to drown (despite the fact I am a VERY strong swimmer). I love the rides that go down not in a tunnel, and not straight down. I like to see where I am going, and the ones that go straight down make it extremely hard to keep water from STREAMING back into my face, thus me thinking I'm going to drown. I did come up with some tips. Lying down with your back slightly arched and shoulder blades touching the slide makes you go much faster. Sitting slightly up, with the upper half of your back not on the slide (thus engaging your stomach muscles!) makes you slow down. Sitting up with your arms directly on either side of you, balancing you, at the very end of the slide makes you not get your face that wet, or get dunked at the ending pool. Yay.

I have slight burns, in odd splotches, on my legs. VERY weird spots. Not big, not hurting, but almost as if I forgot the sunscreen there, which I didn't. But, I'm very proud of myself for not getting burned at all on my face. I really don't want skin cancer.

How was your weekend? How's the weather where you live? Did you do anything interesting?

I'm back!

Sorry for the length of time in between posts. I finally got into this blogging thing after reading all my friend's postings and wishing I could do something like them.

Today was a good day, but sad too. We had our last full "rehearsal/recording" today, and are losing our wonderful principal oboist to the Chicago Symphony. We are all so happy for her, but it's very sad to see our dear friend go. After the finish of the recording session, a group of us went to Em Chamas (a brazillian bbq) for one last hurrah. It was great fun, and AMAZING food....but I have to admit, I was crying at the end saying goodbye. Lora is a great person and a caring friend. I feel blessed to have gotten to know her in the past two years.

In other news, we are almost done with the season folks! :0) Woo hoo! I love my job, but I do love my summers "off". This summer, I'll be seeing family outside of Las Vegas for a family reunion, and going to Minneapolis to visit other relatives after that. I'll be back in Kansas City on July 7th. After hanging out for awhile, and going to Jane's WEDDING!!!, I'll be in Dallas from July 19th to August 4 (at least). Back to Kansas City after that, I'll be remaining there until the start of the season. No music planned just yet, and I think I'll enjoy the time away from my friend, the viola. :)

I hope to keep up with this blog, so keep checking back if it's at all interesting. And know that I'll be reading yours! Love to you all!