Top 2

Top 2 Favorite Hair Products

This one is easy. I have naturally curly hair & love to wear it both curly & straight. Most people say I am blessed, however some days I feel like I am cursed! I have invested alot of time & money in hair products throughout the years & it has been alot of "trial & error" to find the perfect product to do the perfect job. But alas, I have found the two I am absolutely in love with.

1) Moroccan Oil - I have talked about this product before & can't tell you enough how much I love it! I use this oil when I am wanting to straighten my hair. Not only does it heal damaged hair, but it helps protect the strands from the heat of the flat iron & blow dryer. And an added bonus: leaves your hair smelling oh-so-good. At least the hubby thinks so :)

2) Redken Curl Wise 14 - when I want to let the curl come out I use this fabulous stuff! This moisture-rich cream has mango butter in it so it smells wonderful & makes your hair so soft! It tames thick curls, fights frizz, controls volume and shapes up your coarse curls.

A little tip: I buy both these products off of Amazon.com because they are much cheaper online than they are in the salons ;)

Dexter

I have a new addiction. His name is Dexter....
....& he is a serial killer. This last week I have spent all my free time with Dexter & a majority of my weekend has been spent with him. What about Shane you ask? Well, he too has an addiction with Dexter. We are both obsessed with him.

Dexter is a series on Showtime. Shane started watching Dexter last year & went on & on about how Season 4 was the best yet & couldn't wait for the new season to begin - which is Sept 26th.

When my sister was visiting a few months ago she noticed our Dexter DVD's & asked if the show was any good. Shane said the show was awesome & that she needed to start watching it so he let her borrow the discs. After season 1 she & her husband Ben were hooked. They spent the next few months catching up on all the seasons & can't wait for the new one. She even managed to get my brother Chris hooked on this show. So, I couldn't be the only one not watching Dexter so in the last 2 weeks I have watched seasons 1 & 2 & just started season 3! I am hooked & can't get enough of this show!

I am hoping I get through the 3rd & 4th season in the next couple of weeks so I can watch season 5 with Shane & be "in the know" when my sister & husband talk about it on Facebook :)

If anyone is interested in seeing the first 2 seasons let me know. However, I will not take the blame for the addiction that is sure to follow after watching! Just know you have been warned....

Appreciation

Tonight I spent the evening sipping a couple of cocktails, dining on dee-lish appetizers & enjoying the company of my many co-workers. My most favorite Cardiologist, Dr. Barry Rutherford invited the entire staff in the Cardiac Cath Lab to his home to honor us all for a CV Lab Personnel Appreciation Party. He is getting close to retirement & wanted to give us this party to thank us for all our hard work, dedication & working by his side through the years.

Me, Dr. Rutherford & Kim

He had the party catered & had a jazz band playing pool-side in his backyard. It was a beautiful night & the outside atmosphere was perfect for a party. Around 9pm everyone started to head out but not before the cameras came out:Kathleen, Allison, Darryl & Heather - there is over 50 years of experience at St. Lukes Hospital between the four of us!

Darcy, Camille, Tammy, Samantha & me - some of my favorite "peeps"

Kristi, Dr. Barry Rutherford & Dr. Jason Lindsey

It was so nice to be recognized for what we do & I am proud to be an employee for such a wonderful hospital & a co-worker to such an amazing group of people!

Top 2

Top 2 things you want to accomplish before the end of the year...

1) Household projects - there are alot of things around our house that need "touched up" & this past weekend I actually made a "to-do" list of stuff that I would like to see done by the end of the year. This includes finish painting our master bathroom, getting new carpet throughout the house, touching up all our white baseboards, & cleaning the windows inside & out...just to name a few. I'm hoping we can accomplish all this in the next few months!

2) Live a healthier lifestyle - I need to start eating better, get in better shape, would like to drop a size in clothes and be able to run a 5k by the 1st of the year.

Girl-Time

Today I was able to venture out of the house & met the neighborhood girls for lunch on the patio at Mi Ranchito's. It was a gorgeous day & perfect temperature for eating outside. We enjoyed yummy mexican food while getting the chance to catch up with each other.

After lunch we all headed to the movie theatre to see "Going the Distance". It ended up being a cute, funny light-hearted movie with some good one-liners & was a perfect movie to see with your girlfriends. Christina Applegate is one of my favorite actresses & she was hilarious in the movie! However, it was one of those movies where you could have waited to see it until it came out on DVD.

Thanks ladies for a great afternoon! It was great getting to see you all!

L to R: Heather, Melissa, Michelle & Keri

Top 2

Top 2 favorite things about fall

I was SO very excited when I saw the topic for this weeks Top 2! Anybody who knows me, knows that fall is my most favorite season. As soon as Sept gets here, I start easing my way into "fall-mode"! The transition has already begun...

So my 2 favorite things about fall would have to be:

1) Change of scenery & temperature - I LOVE it when the leaves start to change colors. I love driving around with the hubby - having no place specific to go - & looking at all the beautiful oranges, yellows & reds that can be seen. I also love when the temperature drops because this means I can start wearing sweaters, warm fuzzy sweatshirts, my fat-girl pants & scarves. I can also start making soups, stews & chili & Starbucks starts rolling out their Spiced Pumpkin Lattes :)

2) The scents - with fall comes tons of smells. I love the smell of the leaves blowing around outside, burning all my fall Yankee candles, baking with pumpkin (muffins, bread, pie, cookies, pumpkin roll), & logs burning in the fireplace. Mmmmmm - heavenly!

Home

My time in South Dakota has come to an end & today I headed back to Kansas. It was a brisk 50 degrees & rainy when I left & encountered rain most of the way home. Was bummed I wasn't able to put the top down & enjoy the sunshine :(

On my way home I saw a strange site just outside of St. Joseph, MO....

This car had all sorts of crazy things going on with it. Pinwheels on the bumper that were spinning, pipes coming out of the roof, a paper towel holder on the trunk, all kinds of superhero statues in the back window & the steering wheel was a boat steering wheel that looked just like this: I didn't even see what the advertising was on the side of the door because I was so distracted by all that was going on. It was crazy-looking & definitely entertaining to see.

Ended up getting home around 5pm & was greeted with butt-wiggles by the dogs & hugs from the husband. It was nice to get away for the weekend but it was even nicer to come back home :)

State Fair

As a kid I remember going to the State Fair in South Dakota & it was always good times. Sad to think it has been over 20 years since I have been! So with the fair going on while we were home we loaded up the car & made the 1 hour trip to Huron, SD where the fair is held each year.

It was exactly how I remembered it & hasn't changed a bit. It was so much fun seeing my nephew Tanner's reaction to all the animals, the tractors & all that the fair has to offer. My Mom proudly showed us her exhibits that she entered into the fair, we checked out the sheep, horse, cow & pig barn as well as the chickens & bunnies, got to pet some animals at the "petting zoo" & spent some time crawling around on the tractors & combines.

We had lots of fun with the animals & on the tractors!
















And the best part of any fair: FAIR FOOD! They had corn dogs, chislic, funnel cakes, elephant ears & pork sandwiches - mmmmm yummy! We had lots of fun at the fair & am glad we took the time to go. Once we got back home, Mom made a great dinner of meatloaf w/mashed potatoes & we later sat down for a game of Mexican Train Dominoes. Even Tanner got to play & did a really good job matching the colors & numbers on the dominoes! What a fun ending to a great day spent with the family! Good times....

Family Fun

Today was a fairly lazy day. We rounded up all the kiddos & headed to the park for some play-time & we all had a picnic while there. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the family, running errands & taking in a little R-n-R on the farm.

Here are a few pics from the day:

My sister Jen & nephew Cael

My niece Joslyn

My nephew Lane

My nephew Tanner & me

While I was out running errands with my mom, I made a quick stop in front of the World's Only Corn Palace for a picture. Hard to believe I grew up here & not once did I ever get a pic of me in front of this "tourist attraction" so what better time than now to capture a photo?

Road-trip to SD

I am headed to South Dakota today for the holiday weekend to spend some time with the family. My sister is flying in from WI with her two boys & my brother, his wife & 3 kids are also going to be there for the weekend. I ended up working this morning & was on the road by noon. Put the top down on the convertible, set the iPod to shuffle & settled in for the 7 hour road-trip up north.

Arrived to my parents place around 7pm where I was greeted by my adorable niece Joslyn & nephew Tanner. Turns out they had "helped" bake me a belated b-day cake & couldn't wait for me to get there. As soon as I walked in the door the two little ones were excited to light candles, blow them out & eat cake. They helped put the candles in the cake & then took them out to lick the icing off them & then put them back in - it was too cute!

I enjoyed the rest of the evening playing with my nieces, nephews & catching up with family. It's good to be home & see everyone :)

Miss Ava

After 27 days in the NICU, I am happy to report that Miss Ava gets to go home today :)

Stacey & Tommy are so very excited to get to take her home & have her meet her big brother Marshall for the first time! What a very special day for them! Sending lots of prayers that she continues to keep growing & stays healthy!

Happy homecoming Miss Ava!!!

Miss Ava in her flower headband that "Auntie Heather" sent her :)

Fall Party

Tonight the neighbor girls headed over to Keri's house to celebrate the beginning of the Fall season -according to Keri :) She is a girl after my own heart!

Come Sept 1st Keri has her house decorated in beautiful fall decor & has the fall candles already burning. She invited us over to "welcome fall" while we indulged in dee-lish pumpkin cookies w/cream cheese frosting & a very good amaretto bread pudding, had a glass of wine & enjoyed the yummy scent of pumpkin spice candles burning away!

It was nice being able to catch up with these girls as it had been awhile since we were all together!Thanks Keri for a fun evening - let the fall season begin :)