still in Kansas

It's approaching a month of being in Kansas. Time is flying by and I'm busy figuring out what the next chapter of my life is going to be. Here are a few things on my plate.

• I am still in the process of finding the perfect renters. *fingers crossed*
  
• I am working on some handmade goods and plan to open my Etsy shop in a couple weeks. I think I might set the deadline for my birthday.
• I have so many decisions to make regarding my immediate future.... the most pressing being: Do I risk canceling my health insurance? (Cobra is a killer)...and the other biggie is WHERE IN THE WORLD, strike that, UNITED STATES am I going to live once my house is rented again? (I might just do a whole post on that last one and see what you guys think.)
• other stuff too boring to mention, but on my plate non-the-less

No matter how full our plates get, take a moment to get some fresh air and play.

my office

this was my office today. i wanted to jump on a bicycle and find a shady tree to do some craftiness under. the bike tires were flat so i ended up driving, but found a nice playground with cushy rubber to sit on in the shade. at one point there was a flood of little kids playing and about 4 at one time came up to me and were very interested in what i was creating. it was a fun change to sitting at home....especially on such a beautiful day.

then tonight we had pictionary game night and it was soooo fun. i miss pictionary so much. its my all time favorite board game and i haven't played it in years. wine, yummy food, friends, family, and lots of laughs. what a great day!

a week at Ann's

I spent the last week at my friend Ann's house with her and her 3 beautiful children. She had Tuesday off, which happened to be the kids last day of summer break, so we went running around all day. She took me to a new-to-me restaurant. It was so tasty that I met another friend there just a couple days later.

i had the special: chicken crepes and cream of tomato soup (soup in below pic)

Ann's roast beef sandwich was so good that I ordered it on my return 2 days later with another friend. We ran a bunch of errands and then came home to enjoy this scrumptious coconut drink. It has big meaty chunks of coconut in it. Soooo good, but very high in sugar. Too bad too, because I could seriously drink this every day.

We also made chocolate chip cookies from scratch.


And I taught the kids to make friendship bracelets. Kamryn (the oldest) did a great job and finished hers all by herself, the other two needed a little help ;)


Wednesday, the two oldest headed off for their first day of school. So cute! I can't wait to see the youngest in her little jumper. She starts pre-k today!


And Saturday I went Skating with these cuties!

I've been wanting to introduce these two for years. So happy they hit it off.

Fun Weekend

I had a fun filled weekend.

Friday night I went to see a long awaited movie with my bff Ann. We saw "Eat, Pray, Love" and then enjoyed some girlie conversation over drinks and shared a huge piece of chocolate cake al a mode.

the only picture i took was of my hair. whoops.

Saturday I joined my sister and nephews for a trip to the Wichita Art Museum. yay for free admission! We had a fun time in the children's area.

dressin' up

fun mural. the room was POP themed

and drawing
(museum pics taken by my sister Michelle)

Saturday night, I met up with some friends at a local bar to see one of our favorite bands the Calamity Cubes who opened for a new-to-us band called the Goddamn Gallows. We had a blast! Both bands were very interactive and came out into the crowd. There was head bangin', hips swayin', fire spitting (actually the GD G's liked to spit alot! crude, but as long as I was out of the range of fire, it was ok). Since it is Monday and Monday is usually Media Monday around here, check out the links to these 2 bands. Good stuff!

Sunday, I attended my first polo match... but there was no polo because it rained. We still had fun under the pavilion waiting out the rain. It really helped cool things off. Its been in the triple digits here in Kansas and we were so happy to actually be a little chilly in the wind and rain.

my friend Gretchen and her daughter Aubria (who's trying to stay dry under a sheet)

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with them. Gretchen let me borrow her cute bike and I enjoyed a fun bike ride in the 80's weather.

I thought it was so cute to have Aubria's elementary school in the background. She started 6th grade today at a new school. I'm so excited for her.

SF Renegade

I made it to the San Francisco Renegade a couple weeks ago (wow, has it really been that long?) and met Elsie from aBeautifulMess. I also stayed in a hostel for the first time ever.

I arrived in SF Friday night (by car, bus, train, bus, hike) and boy was it chilly! I only brought my camping backpack and had to pack light (plus I was coming from a warm place headed to an even warmer place) so I didn't pack any pants. I made my bed at the hostel and stowed away my pack before heading off to a nearby food festival. I figured the longest line had to be the best food so I jumped in line. They (Curry Up Now) ran out of the chicken tikka masala before I reached the window so I tried a kathi roll instead. It was tasty, but now tikka masala is on my list of foods to try.

pics of the hostel's community kitchen and outdoor dining space

Saturday morning, I hopped on a bus with one of my hostel roommates and headed to Mission to find some cheap pants. A short time later, I was sportin' my "new" cute $6 pants from good ol' Thrift Town. I headed back to Fort Mason to check out the Renegade Fair.







and the best part of the whole weekend... I got to meet two awesome chics! Gia and Elsie. Gia and I were students in Elsie's Indie Biz class last spring and decided to meet Elsie together at the fair.

Gia, Elsie, & me (taken by Gia's son)

Elsie and her sister Emma shared a booth with Twinkie Chan

I've been following Elsie for quite a few years now. You might remember this blog post from last August when I made a pit stop in Springfield, MO in hopes of meeting her then. Who knew that us 2 Mid-Westerners would meet up a year later on the West Coast.

Elsie & me (taken by Gia)

Goodbye Camp Augusta

My month volunteering at Camp Augusta was amazing. I was welcomed into the community with open arms (literally, they're all big huggers) and felt right at home. I was a HERO for the entire period, which means I didn't have a cabin of campers that I slept with and spent a majority of the day with. Instead I was able to spend time with lots of different cabins and villages. There are 4 villages... Pine for the younger boys, Manzanita for younger girls, Cedar for older boys and Oak for older girls. I was primarily a HERO for Manzanita, but teaching clinics and participating in the evening programs/games allowed me to interact and get to know campers from all the villages. Some of the clinics I taught include Plant and Animal Farm (we have 5 goats and some chickens plus a good size garden), Felting (my very favorite), Tie Dye, Candle Making, Candle Carving, Friendship Bracelets, Hemp Bracelets, Recycled Bowls, Celtic Arts, Plantable Cards, Paper Marbling, Wire Jewelry, Creative Boxes, Puppet Making, and Book Binding, plus non-Arts&Crafts clinics like Crazy Canoe and Giant Swing.

(another cute goat picture :)

I also led a variety of PlayStations (not an electronic game... they are games and activities outside) from arts and crafts to an hour of silence (love!) to Creek Hammocking to Taunting Traffic in Costume. Camp has lots of photos of these activities that I will get a copy of after summer ends (so I'll probably share more later), but here are some fun pics I took with my personal camera.

Hippie Themed Lunch

(pilar, eleanor, katie, lilly, and me in hammock village)

edible flowers from our garden. they were quite peppery

(margaret, franny, emma, eleanor)


other tasty camp meals



the secret pool and the secrets ;) it shall keep




one of many costumes



the Wood Cookie i received along with a touching speech on my last day at camp

To everyone at Camp Augusta, thank you for embracing me as your own and allowing me to share in the magic.