2 week update

Wow - has it really been 2 weeks since I last posted?!? Time has managed to escape me once again! Honestly, these past couple of weeks have been very uneventful for the Taylor's and there really hasn't been anything exciting to blog about. My weeks usually consist of work, coming home to make dinner and watching TV the rest of the evening. Pretty much what anyone does when they have no kids and a traveling husband.

Last weekend, for the first time in a LONG time I had nothing penciled in the calendar with nothing to do, nowhere to be, & I wasn't on call! It was my only free weekend for the next 5 weeks! At least I should have something new and refreshing to blog about each week in the month of May!?!

On Friday, I left work early and spent the rest of my afternoon cruising the aisles in the garden section at Lowes. Two hours later, I had finally come to a decision on what to buy and where I was going to plant it! I ended up buying a variety of flowers & plants to add to the landscaping around the house & couldn't wait to get home and get everything planted. I managed to get the hibiscus plants potted but had to quit early since it began to rain. On Saturday morning when I went out to get the newspaper, there was this beautiful hibiscus bloom on one of my plants:

So what else did I do on my free-weekend? Absolutely NOTHING :) It pretty much rained the entire weekend so Shane & I did alot of vegging on the couch, caught up on all our DVR'd shows and rented a couple of movies from Blockbuster. Sunday we went to church and then to IHOP for breakfast and spent the rest of the day doing some more lounging around the house! I didn't even do any cleaning and it was GREAT! Definitely a weekend full of rest & relaxation!

Happy 1st Birthday Isabella

One year ago this week, I was lucky enough to have experienced the miracle of life. My girlfriend Margie asked me if I would be her birthing coach and I was flattered & yet somewhat nervous since I had NO clue about what to do when someone was in labor. But for some reason, Margie felt that I would be a calming & supportive influence around her during her delivery & I felt very honored to have been there during that very important day in Margie & Don's life.

On April 14th, 2008 Isabella Marie entered this world with me on Margie's right and her husband Don on her left. It was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed! Being the one who always has a camera, I immediately starting taking pics of Isabella being weighed & footprinted while Margie & Don shared in the moment. I also got pics of Dad holding Isabella for the first time (which made me tear up) as well as them together as a family for the first time. It was so very special being able to do that for them and they always tell me that they are forever grateful for having me there with them.

Today was Isabella's 1st Birthday party & I was invtited to participate in the fun festivities. She looked every bit of a "princess" and SO cute in her little tiara. It is hard to believe it has been a year already since she was born. Happy Birthday sweet girl :) I look forward to sharing many more birthday's with you all!

HK has left the building

It seems my social calendar these past few weeks has been jam packed with many get-togethers & parties with friends. It always drives Shane crazy when I am this busy & honestly, it is starting to wear on me. According to my calendar, next weekend I have nothing to do, nowhere to be, no call to take - NOTHING :) I am SO lookiing forward to it! Thank goodness for my monthly planner - I would be lost without that thing!

Tonight I had yet another party to attend. For me however, it wasn't a happy one but personally and selfishly (is that a word?) a sad one. The one person who was responsible for forcing people at work to call me HT, my work buddy and dear friend HK has left the MAHI to pursue a job at KU Med Center. Tonight was her going away party at none other than our after-work hangout Rudy's Tenampa.

There was a great turnout of co-workers and friends and we pretty much took up the entire back area of the restaurant. We all shared stories of HK, shared many laughs as well as many margaritas, chips & salsa :) I stopped counting after the 10th pitcher of 'ritas was brought to the table. A good time was definitely had by all!

*side note* - don't worry mom, I was on call and only had 2 'ritas the entire 5 hours I was there ;) For some reason, my mother worries about my 'rita intake & driving home when I have been to Rudy's?!? Can't figure out why!?! HA

So, farewell my dear friend HK! I wish her luck and secretly hope that one day she comes back to the MAHI. We have already decided to meet monthly at Rudy's for 'ritas so we will be in touch! OH, and everyone at work has informed me I will still be and always will be called "HT" even though HK is gone. That makes me happy :)

Here are a few pictures from the evenings' festivities - somehow I ended up with over 50 pictures on my camera of the occasion!?!

HK's going-away cake. It is supposed to be a field of grass which we told her "remember the grass isn't always greener on the other side" :) I don't think she is listening to us...

L-R: Marlo, HT, Jen & HK (this is half of the crew going to Vegas in June)

Some of the MAHI crew :)

It's a "Heather-Sandwich"

HT & HK - "friends forever"

Jury Duty

Today I fulfilled my civic duty and reported for jury duty. When I told people I had jury duty this week, their reactions were of mostly grumbling and stories of how horrible it would be. I didn't seem to see it that way though! I was secretly hoping to get picked for a trial just to be able to experience the whole "Law & Order" hype.

I reported to the Johnson County Courthouse at 9am and then 45 of us were wisked away to a court room. There they randomly selected 24 people to be questioned for potential jurors and let everyone else leave. I was one of the 24 selected and was so excited...you would think I had won a prize or something as excited as I was?! The judge for the case came in and told us that the trial would be starting today, it would probably not last longer than a day, it would be a DUI case and what would be expected from us jurors. Then the attorney's for the case came in and asked us all kinds of questions about life experiences - mainly pertaining to alcohol. They asked me specifically if I had ever been at a function and witnessed someone who had drank too much alcohol and were unable to drive home and how did I come to the conclusion that they were unable to drive. I thought for sure my answer would be sending me on my way but surprisingly, I was one of the 12 jurors selected for the case.

Once they picked the jury, they started with opening arguments and then we broke for lunch. When we returned the trial got back underway. We heard testimony from the police officer who arrested the defendent (who was pleading not guilty), from the defendents' girlfriend and from the defendent himself as well as watched the 35 min police video from the arrest. It was about 5pm when we went back to deliberate whether the guy was guilty or not guilty of being too impaired to drive a vehicle without a reasonable doubt based on the evidence and testimony heard.

There were 4 of us who said not guilty and 8 that said guilty so we went back and watched the video again to see if anyone would change their mind. It is now 6pm and we can't come to a mutual decision so we told the judge, he declared it a hung jury and the guy will retry the case at another time.

After the trial was over, the judge & the attorney's came back to our room where they asked us how we went about making our decision & why we thought he was either guilty or not. We later found out from the judge that this is the guys' 3rd DUI arrest and he has been in the system many times for numerous things other than his DUI. At this moment I became a bit irritated. This guy purposely didn't blow a breathalizer because being his 3rd DUI, he knew they wouldn't be able to prove he was drunk by his BA level & use it in court against him so he obviously knows how to work the system and the attorney knew we wouldn't be able to all agree on a verdict based on the evidence so it would have to be re-tried later. So basically I just wasted my entire day on a BS trial. Oh well...the experience was worth something so I guess it wasn't a total waste of a day.

Keri's "Last Night Out"

This evening I hosted a bacholorette party for my friend Keri who is also known as one of the "game-night girls". She is getting married in May and us girls thought Keri should have one last night out as a single girl.

We started the festivities at my house by having a few cocktails and appetizers as well as playing a couple of traditional "bachelorette party" games. There were many laughs shared by all as the games were played and while Keri opened some very fun and interesting gifts :)

We then headed down to the Plaza where we had dinner reservations at PF Changs. We started off by toasting to a fun evening with Bomb Pop Martinis and shared in tons of laughter and fun with the wait staff.

After dinner, we made our way around the Plaza to several different bars and enjoyed beverages, people watching and plenty of good stories and lots of laughs.

Around midnight, we decided to start making our way back to Spring Hill and end the evening at one of the local "hole-in-the-wall" bars called the Hideout. We all had one last beverage and took even more pictures and can proudly say we shut down the Hideout in Spring Hill :) It was definitely time to head home!

Before we could call it an evening, we had one last picture to take. There is a house in our subdivision that has a creepy alien head sitting in there dining room window and every night they turn this alien head on which lights up the entire room green. We talk about the alien all the time and just HAD to get a picture with this thing. So, at 2am we drove past the house, parked and all got out to take a pic with the alien:

See - I told you it was creepy :)

I must say it was a super fun evening had by all and I do believe the bachelorette had lots of fun as well! Congratulations Keri and best wishes on your upcoming wedding!

2nd Place

I am proud to say that I won 2nd place in this year's March Madness Pool at work - woo hoo! I will receive $100 for my winnings! Only 11 more months until next years March Madness festivities :) I can hardly wait!

March for Babies

This year, I have decided to participate in the March of Dimes "March for Babies" walk. It is on May 3rd here in Kansas City and I'm asking you all to help by sponsoring me. My friend Keri is our team captain and we are called the Woodland Ridge Racers (WR is the the name of our subdivision). We are committed to the March of Dimes mission to celebrate babies who are born healthy and to raise funds for babies who need help to survive and thrive. Please help us by donating to this worthy cause.

I'm inspired to do this walk because of my 3 girlfriends from South Carolina who all delivered baby boys under 31 weeks. Unfortunately my friend Kelly's twins didn't survive but Michelle & Stacey's little boys are now 2 years old and very healthy! In 2007, they started Team Marshall's Angels and did there first walk in SC for the March for Babies. This team was also selected to be an ambassador family for South Carolina due to their unique story....a story about 4 girlfriends who all had premature births.

I know times are tight, but even a little bit makes a difference, so please donate if you can. Our team goal is $500 and we are well over 1/2 way there thanks to all who have donated thus far! THANK YOU to all who have made personal donations to my webpage also :) It is very much appreciated!

Donations can be made at: http://www.marchforbabies.org/taylorh522

Thanks,

HT :)

A Baby Shower

Today I helped throw a baby shower for my friend Lindsey. Our friend Sarah was the main "host" and I helped by making all the food. I would love to just quit my job and have my own "catering & planning" business! *sigh* maybe someday!?Anyway, the shower was held at the North Kansas City Community Center which was a really nice facility! It is a perfect place for a baby or bridal shower or even a birthday party!

We started the shower off by playing the usual "ice breaker" games and then watched as Lindsey opened all her gifts. I always love seeing what kind of baby gifts people get. It amazes me what stuff is used for and how silly some items can be. Then it was time for my most favorite part of any shower - the cake. This cake had to have been thee cutest cake I have ever seen and on a "yumminess" scale of 1-10 it definitely didn't disappoint! I gave it a 10!

It ended up being a really nice afternoon spent with friends and Lindsey got some really nice gifts from everyone!

*Lindsey showing off her cute cake

*L-R: Little Savero, Camille, Lindsey, Heather & Sarah

Round 3 & 4 update

Round 3 & 4 of the basketball games are complete and according to the email sent this morning, HT is tied for 1st place with three other people to take home the big prize with my March Madness bracket! There are still a couple of games left to play this weekend as well as the NCAA Championship game so come next week we will see who ends up winning! I have a pretty good chance of placing in the top 3 so hopefully they will "show me the money" :) Wish me luck!

Winter Wonderland

This photo of our home was taken at 7am Friday morning on my way to work. I knew we were going to be getting a snow storm on Saturday so I wanted to capture a "before the storm" picture. It was 58 degrees, slightly humid and the start to another beautiful day. You can notice how there are signs of "spring" all over in this picture if you look closely - the grass starting to turn green, the Bradford Pear tree blooming on the right, the daffodils have bloomed all around the tree rings....true signs that spring is around the corner.

This is the sight I woke up to this morning after Mother Nature came in yesterday and wreaked havoc all over the KC metro area with her thunderstorm/sleet/ice-storm/blizzard:

This morning it is a brisk 21 degrees out, there is now 5 inches of snow covering what used to be green grass, the trees are covered in ice and snow and I could not see the daffodils under the blanket of snow this morning :( But as much of a bummer as it was to see, I couldn't help but look around and capture the beauty of what was surrounding me...

It is supposed to be 50 degrees today so all this will melt away quickly. I just hope it doesn't do any damage to all our trees that are starting to bud & bloom! I guess that is what we get for living in the Midwest - where it can be 80 degrees one day and blizzarding the next! There is an old saying around here that goes "if you don't like the weather here, just stick around - it will change tomorrow"! Ain't that the truth!

"It Could Be Bigger"

This morning as I was in the family room enjoying catching up on all my DVR'd shows from the week, the hubby yells down from the computer room and says "Get dressed...we are going to Nebraska Furniture Mart to pick up a new Plasma TV". What the?!? Uh....ok.

We have been wanting to get one for awhile - wait, let me rephrase that - the hubby has been wanting to get the "new & improved" model of Panasonic for ahwile to put in the family room and then move the one we have down there already into the bedroom. Like we need a 42 inch plasma in the bedroom but whatever - it is Shane's deal. Well it just so happened that the new model of Panasonics were in stock at NFM this week and on sale so Shane just had to go right that minute to get it. Never mind that it is sleeting outside, the temperature is teetering at 31-32 degrees and NFM is at least a 45 minute drive north.

At this point, I'm irritated because 1) I was looking forward to going nowhere and watching TV all morning and 2) any sane human is crazy to be driving out in that weather risking there life let alone for a TV we don't need. So after much grumbling by me, at 9:30am we make our way out into the storm and get the TV. We get back safely almost 2 hours later. Shane got everything ready to mount the old TV up in the bedroom which consisted of moving electrical boxes and cable lines, sawing holes into the sheetrock and god knows what else that I don't want to know. 3 hours later he had his friend Chris (aka: Goose Killer) come over to help since I am worthless when it comes to lifting heavy things. The TV looks way to big in the bedroom but again - it is Shane's deal and who am I to argue?!? They then move downstairs to mount the new TV with no troubles. All three of us are staring at it on the wall and in unison we all say "It is too small"! It is the same size as the old one but the old one had 2.5" speakers on each side of it adding 5 inches to the width. This one didn't and we all agreed that "it could definitely be bigger"! Which when you say those words to my husband it instantly puts a smile on his face and makes him giddy!

SO - the new TV comes down, gets put back into the box and we are going to return it tomorrow - or so I thought. It is now 5pm and I am just about to get dinner out of the oven. The temperature is at 30 degrees, and it is sleeting/snowing out and Shane just can't wait until tomorrow to take the TV back so I take dinner out of the oven, cover it with tin foil and off we go in near blizzard conditions back to NFM.

At this point, I don't know who is crazier - my husband for driving out in this mess or me for agreeing to go with him! Anyway, we return the TV, get the other TV with no problems and back home we go...35 miles/hour in the freezing rain up north and blizzard down south. It is now 8:30 pm, the TV is finally mounted and I would have to agree that it definitely looks much better. All is happy in the Taylor house once again. Now can we eat dinner???

Drumroll please...

The 1st & 2nd round NCAA basketball games are over and the results are in: HT is #4 & Shane is #14 out of 75 brackets - woo hoo :) Hopefully my picks to win the Sweet 16 games will keep me in the top 3! Until next week...