Long time, no write!

Holy cow!  I just realized it’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  I’m so sorry for being such a slacker…I really don’t know where the time has gone!

Things have been pretty status quo here, except for the weather.  Many of you are probably aware of this, but those of you not in Lincoln should know that last week we had 70-degree weather, wore skirts and flip-flops, and played outside without jackets.  A couple days ago, however, we had a blizzard…literally…and not the kind from DQ.  It took me over an hour to get home the other night (which is more than twice as long as usual).  Praise the Lord for safe travels…and for the hope of spring!

Last weekend, my best friend from home came to visit (and meet Charlie for the first time)!  We had a great weekend of quality time, good food, long chats, and lots of fun!  For one of our breakfasts, we made my favorite oatmeal pancakes.  Here is the recipe (you should really try them!):

2 c. milk

1 ½ c. instant oatmeal, uncooked

1 c. flour

2 ½ T. sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

½ c. oil

Pour milk over oatmeal and set aside for 5 minutes.  Sift dry ingredients and stir them into the oatmeal.  Beat in the eggs and oil.  Drop onto a hot greased griddle, and cook until bubbles cover the surface.  Turn and cook the other side until golden brown.

Charlie’s doing great!  Ornery as ever, but we love him.  : )  Here he is in the process of chewing through the string on his scratching post ball (he succeeded, and there is no longer a fun ball hanging from the post):

I have some challenges for you for the week:

-find joy in the little things, and share that joy with those around you

-call/write/e-mail someone who’s been on your mind lately (sounds cliché, but really…do it this time)

-share this blog with someone you think may enjoy reading (you could share one of the more interesting posts, if you want)

I'd love to hear about the outcome of any of these!  Feel free to share in a comment (anonymously or otherwise)!

That’s all for now!  Hope you have a lovely rest of the weekend and thanks for reading!

Love,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

hand-me-down stamping and craft supplies

game nights (we played through the entire deck of Taboo cards last night!)

being comfortable driving on these crazy snow-packed/icy roads

Painted fingernails

Don’t worry – the title will be explained – I just need you to be on board with reading the post in its entirety.  Got it?  Ok.

For quite awhile now (as in over 10 years), I’ve had an idea in the back of my mind to write a book titled “Painted Fingernails.”  It would be a non-fiction book about being the only girl in certain situations…the only one with painted fingernails.  : )

This idea originated back in middle school when I was the only girl in the trumpet section of three.  (Those of you who know who the other two were…you know what it was like.)  This wasn’t the first time I’d been the only female in a situation, though:

On my dad’s side of the family, I’m the only granddaughter of 10 grandkids.  I’m the third oldest, so my aunts would always jokingly (but somewhat seriously) promise to keep trying for a girl for me.  It didn’t happen, but I think everyone’s pretty ok with it – we got some pretty great guys out of the deal!  : )  On my mom’s side of the family, I’m the oldest cousin, the next oldest is a boy, and the next is my brother.  I think interacting with the males of my family from such a young age created a basis for the future male-dominated situations of my life, such as…

…my elementary school gifted class.  From 2^nd-6^th grade, I was part of a gifted class that met once a week for an entire day of fun, random, and memorable educational activities.  (Perhaps I’ll dedicate a post to this class someday…if you were in it, and have any specific memories, send them my way!)  Anyway, I was one of few, if not the only girl in this class of 12.  We continued to have a couple special classes together in jr. high, too.  I’m pretty sure this is where I learned to understand boys of all types and interact with them in a variety of situations.  Hopefully, they learned a little bit from me in return.  haha

I continued to be the only girl in various trumpet sections throughout my school years.  This meant some quality time spent in sectionals and on tours.  In high school, my name got misspelled on a couple occasions…the “s” was mistaken for an “n,” so I was “Kenny.”  The nickname stuck, due in part to the fact that it fit in a little better with the rest of the boy names.

Call me crazy, but I believe all these experiences molded me into a girl who appreciates guy time more than girl time, on occasion.  Please don’t take this to mean I don’t value my girlfriends or the time I spend with them – I do more than words can express.  Rather, I just think I get along with and appreciate guys more than your average girl, and that this is a result of the quantity and quality of guy time I grew up with.

Interestingly, I’ve discovered that this appreciation/phenomenon occurs whether I’m in a relationship or not – I’ve enjoyed guy time just as much when I’ve had a boyfriend as I do now.  I think I just appreciate it more when I’m single, because it’s not so readily available. : )

So, this post goes out to all the men in my life – past, present, and future.  I value you, our friendships, and the time we’ve spent together.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!  I'm off to pull out the red fingernail polish.  : )

Love,

K

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts about any and all of this!

P.P.S. This blog allows me to see how many times each post is viewed.  At this point, the leader is the “There’s a new man in my life…” post.  Just FYI.

Favorites of the day:

sunshine (and opening the sunroof and wearing a skirt!)

playing on a Trumpet Fest concert today

this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqfsto6mJ_4

Mysterious Ways + Salt of the Earth

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  I just made puppy chow to take to a get together in a few hours.  I'm not rooting for anyone in particular, in case you're wondering - I'm one of those people who are just in it for the commercials and company.  : )


Thought I'd share a bit about my weekend thus far:


Late Friday night, I woke up with the flu (the throw-up kind).  I can't remember the last time I'd had the flu, or even thrown up...had to be early high school or even jr. high...?  Anyway, I was SUPER bummed when it didn't go away by morning, because I was supposed to go to my grandparents' 60th anniversary celebration on Saturday.  I was the only cousin not in attendance and missed out on spending the day with my immediate and extended family.  (I'm not looking for a pity party, by the way.  I had a pretty good one here by myself on Saturday morning.)  Instead, I spent the day on the couch with Charlie.  Can't remember the last time I did absolutely nothing for such an extended period of time.


Sorry if that grossed any of you out.  The reason I'm sharing this is because all day I was trying to figure out why God had me all cooped up on such a special day.  My answer came this morning:


I'd been asked to baby-sit for some friends this morning, but told them yesterday that it probably wasn't a good idea for me to do so, just in case, and they found someone else to help out.  When I woke up this morning, though, I felt 100% better!  I hadn't set an alarm for church, because I thought I should let my body rest as long as it needed to, but still woke up at a decent time.  A couple minutes after turning my phone on for the day, I received a call from a church music director asking if I was available to play this morning with the church orchestra - his 2nd trumpet player was sick.  I said yes, of course (playing in church is my favorite way to use my God-given talents)!  


It was such a wonderful service to be a part of!  Not only was the music amazing, but the guest preacher was awesome!  Her message about being the "salt of the earth" was funny, historical, relevant, and refreshing.  She spoke about a recent news special she'd seen about salt and how there are four kinds of it, each with its own special use (seasoning, ice melt, etc.).  Also - did you know that in Jesus' time, there were community ovens along the streets that were fueled by animal poop that had been dried out using salt?  Yep, it's true.  When the fires had died out, a clay-like substance was left, and thrown on the streets for people to walk on.  SO, that's what Jesus was referring to when He said, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." in Matthew 5:13!  


We, as the salt of the earth, are called not to make icy walks safer, not to make French fries tastier, but to be a catalyst for the fire of the community of Christ.   


So, even though I was so very sad to miss out on a day of family and fellowship yesterday and baby-sitting for a sweet girl this morning, I feel so blessed to have been a part of today's service.  


God is good.


In Him,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

feeling better!

friends

budding relationships (no, not my own, but very happy for someone else!)

A word from the king of the coop

Greetings everyone,  


It's me, Charlie.  Happy snow day!  I'm enjoying mine here with my favorite coopmates.  I've been watching Kensy on her computer lately, and noticed that she hasn't been writing much about me in this blog.  So, I decided to help her out a little bit and do it myself.


I think you've heard about my love of empty pop boxes.  Well, you may not know that I like to be picked up and carried/spun/swung around in them.  Seriously.  If I'm dumped out of one, I'll just get in again in hopes of getting a ride.

My coopmates also just built me this awesome tunnel.  Here I am before...

...and after.  So fun!

I also like to play fetch sometimes.  Granted, I rarely bring my ball directly back to the thrower, but I will take it to the same special place every time with the hope that it will be thrown again.

My most recent favorite spot to be is above the kitchen cabinets and sink.

Another thing I like to do: lick water out of the sink and shower.  Maybe you've heard about that already, but I love it enough for it to be mentioned again.

Here I am lounging on the cat house I inherited from Kensy's family's previous cats.  I've heard that none of them ever really liked it.  I relax on it on occasion, but I mostly use it as a step up to the windowsill above it...

...and then I can be found like this, or hanging with both paws out.  I get in trouble for this one.

One last thing I like to do: play peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek.  I love it when someone hides from me and I get to sneak up on them.  Don't worry - I don't attack with claws, just a playful tap.

As you can probably gather, all of this playing really wears me out.  So, I can be found in this spot many times during the day:

Thanks for reading!  I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible - visitors are always welcome.  : )


Love,
Charlie

Favorites of the day:

my jingle ball (the green one - I can't find the orange one...)

looking out the window at the snow

cuddling

Subbing Stories

Whew!  That week sure flew by, even though it was the first full one we've had in awhile (those of us in the education world, at least...or maybe just me?  haha).


Anyway, it was a good one here - hope yours was fantastic, as well!


I got to sub for three different teachers/classrooms this week, and they were all music classes - hooray!  Thought I'd share a few things from these experiences:

• "Are we discouraging you from being a teacher?" -high school choir kids  (Of course, I said "No!")
• Jr. High lunch room duty: nothing about jr. high has changed...drama, drama, DRAMA!!!  Yikes...
• A jr. high girl who I student taught last year came into the room where I was supervising a study hall to ask me a question.  There were other students around, so she decided to write down the question.  It was, "Do you have a boyfriend?"  I answered out loud with a "Not right now," to which she replied, "What?!  But you're so pretty!" I laughed and said, "Well, thanks.  If you know someone you think I should meet, you can let him know."  She said, "Yeah - I'll tell him I know this really awesome girl who's awesome at the trumpet.  If you're interested in that, you should be interested in her!"  I made sure to tell her, "It would be ok if he were interested in other things, too."  

: )  Getting back in the classroom on occasion is such a blessing.  It's especially nice when I get to be surrounded by such great kiddos (and staff)!

Also - I don't think I've shared about this, yet (forgive me if I have):
As of the beginning of this semester, I have an adult beginning trumpet student at the studio (Harris Music Studio)!  We meet once a week, and it's been soooo fun to teach someone who is excited, self-motivated, eager to learn, and who understands concepts younger beginners can't.  Don't get me wrong - I love teaching the younger ones, but it has just been a great (and new!) experience to teach someone older.


Sorry if you're not a music or education person and were bored by this post.  Your day will come!    (If anyone ever has any requests for posts or topics of discussion, be sure to let me know!)


Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
-Kens

Favorites of the day:

the 9-yr.-old trumpet prodigy whose solo I'm accompanying (She's amazing!)

Date Delights (a.k.a. Date Balls) - here's my mom's recipe:

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 c. margarine/butter

3/4 c. chopped dates

3/4 c. chopped pecans

Combine and bring to a boil.  Cook 5 min.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 c. Rice Krispies.  Cool slightly.  With buttered hands, roll in 1-in. balls and roll in powdered sugar.

Yields 4 dozen

God verbs

Well, the Christmas/winter decorations are put away, and now I'm looking into getting some Valentine's day ones.  Can't believe it's almost February!  Pretty soon we won't have an excuse for accidentally writing 2010.  : )

Just wanted to share what we're studying in Bible study for the next few weeks, because I think it's cool!  We're reading through Ephesians, which many of us have done already.  This time, however, we're breaking it down in a variety of ways.  Last week, we read through chapters 1 and 2 and highlighted the verbs used to describe what God did/does for us.  Examples include: chose, predestined, included, marked, lavished, purposed, promised, raised, expressed, saved, and prepared.  It was so great to see all these actions pop out and it led to some great discussion!  Next week, I think we're going to underline/circle/highlight in a different color the commands Paul gives the people of Ephesus, and will do something completely different another week.  This study strategy allows for us to read the Word from a variety of perspectives and is really engaging, in my opinion!  I'm one of those people who loved to circle the verbs/underline the nouns/cross out the prepositional phrases in English class, though.  : )

By the way - while writing this, I'm watching a show about origami and how it has practical applications (airbags, folding proteins to fight diseases, etc.).  Pretty amazing!  Sometimes people's minds, intelligence, and the creative process itself blow me away.

Have a lovely week and stay warm!

In Him,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

having friends and family over for an "open coop" party, despite the weather!
(Those of you who didn't make it are welcome anytime!)

the kitten napping on my lap : )

sunshine on the snow

White Elephant: HMS style

Aloha, everyone!  Hope you all had a great weekend!

I just had a wonderful ending to my weekend - a staff party for the teachers at the music studio where I teach (Harris Music Studio).  We had a great time chatting, eating, and playing Catch Phrase!  We also had a White Elephant gift exchange.  There were some very creative and fun gifts to choose from!



I brought the huge one in the middle.  This is what was inside:



Yep - it's a pony...and it talks!

Luckily, one of the teachers in attendance found this gift very practical - she has two little girls!

The gift I chose to open was in a cute bag with pink tissue paper.  I opened it to find a container of fish food.  Turns out, it was the gift my boss brought and there was more to it:



Fish food on the right, container with fish in it on the left.  Sadly, though...



...the fish was no longer among the living.

Yep - she found it dead about an hour before the party, so had no time to replace it and decided to give the gift as it was.  : )  Needless to say, it made for a memorable gift exchange!

Hope this brings a little laughter to the beginning of your week!

vvvvvvvvvttvd4rh (from Charlie)

Mournfully (haha),

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

spending time with family this weekend

peanut butter balls

finding one of Charlie's missing jingle balls inside the couch (I thought I'd looked everywhere...)