Day Two Hundred and Seventy-Three: It's the Great Pumpkin!

"The road to perfection is oft paved with compromise."

No, that is not a famous quote or well known proverb. It is something I just made up and put in italics and quotation marks to look impressive. It works with anything.

Go ahead, you try.

"For a full sheen, one must lather, rinse and repeat."

Not bad.

Of course, there is a reason I led off today's blog entry with this self-penned saying, and that reason is a little deeper than the fact that I just bought two new bottles of shampoo at the grocery store.

In fact, it is the same reason that I, Pete, am writing to you today from Emily's blog, and vice versa.

This evening Emily and I traveled to Schaake's Pumpkin Patch just outside of Lawrence. If you are wanting to pick your own pumpkin right off the vine (or even launch a few from a giant pumpkin slingshot), this is the place to be - they do pumpkin picking right.

We walked around the farm for a while, hoping the perfect pumpkins would jump out at us - and eventually we found one that stood above the rest:

But enough about levitating pumpkins. What's all this about compromise?

Well, throughout our year-long picture-taking blog adventure, Emily and I have both been trying to improve our photography skills. We're always looking to take "the perfect picture."

It's a quest for perfection that extends beyond photography into many other parts of our daily lives and makes us - I believe - well-suited for each other, mainly because we both realize this: though perfection is the ultimate goal in the things we do, it is often something virtually unattainable in this earthly world - instead, it is in helping each other along the journey towards perfection that we find our meaning and purpose.

Ooh, that's good.

But I bet it would look even better in quotes and italics:

"Though perfection is the ultimate goal in the things we do, it is often something virtually unattainable in this earthly world - instead, it is in helping each other along the journey towards perfection that we find our meaning and purpose."

Nice.

All joking aside, Em and I have both been learning a little about compromise.

Case in point, she and I both wanted to take this picture, and we both saw it at the same time. However, earlier in the day I saw a picture I really wanted to take but couldn't because I was driving - so instead she took it.

Not only did we decide to trust each other's artistic abilities enough to trade pictures, but we also decided to trade blog entries for the day. A fair compromise.

Of course, by now (three essays-worth later) she's probably regretting the decision to let me write on her blog.

So, I'll leave you with a simple thought that, open-mindedness and compromise seem to be two of the keys to a healthy partnership.

But,

"if you're too open minded, your brains will fall out."

You know it's true. It's in quotes and italics.

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-Two: Lids

One tip almost every marathon training book or website will tell you is to train using the sports drinks and gels that the marathon is serving. This is to ensure there aren't any "surprises" in your digestive system during the race. Although I'm typically a Gatorade girl, the Marine Corps Marathon is serving blue Powerade. So, for the past 6 weeks or so, I've consumed more blue Powerade than I have in the entirety of my life prior to then.

Unbeknownst to me, Poweade is a Coke product, and "Coke Rewards" points are hidden under every cap. In true frugal Friedman fashion, I've been saving these caps with the intention to earn rewards on them and eventually get free stuff. But, rather than enter them one-by-one, I've been saving them to enter all at once. This cluster of lids is my picture for today. It's nothing to write home about (who wants a picture of lids with numbers on them on their wall?), but the composition itself is fairly nice. Enjoy!

P.S. Dad-- the title of this post is for you!

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-One: The lovely, lovely fall

I'm very lucky in that I get to see Pete nearly every day and for most of the evening. Recently, although we've been together, we've had a lot of random stuff occupying our evenings. But Tonight was our first weeknight off in quite a while and we decided to spend it doing one of the things we love most: taking pictures.

So, I hurried over to Pete's after I got home and we went off on a country road adventure to see what we could see. We actually didn't go that far before we passed this spot and pulled off the road and get these pictures. We're pretty happy with how they turned out...aren't you?

Chris and Holly = 2gether 4ever

I finally got the post from Av and Holly's wedding up. It's actually just a draft, but it's been more than a week now and I wanted to get it posted. I'll let you all know when the pictures are finalized, but for now, enjoy this one!

Day Two Hundred and Seventy: Puppy Love

I don't buy clothing for my dog. I just don't have the disposable income to do so right now, and inevitably, Lucy would wear it for 5 minutes, then wiggle out of it somehow and attempt to eat it. But whenever there are fun things lying around my house, I do like to dress her up and take a picture. Tonight, something fun--these boas-- were lying around the house. When Pete brought Farley over to the play while he and I were having dinner, dressing Farley up was a done deal.

I realize I haven't talked much about Farley since I got Lucy. In part because I see Lucy more, and in part, because he is MUCH more well behaved and doesn't chew and do ridiculous things like Lucy does. But tonight, Farley comes back into the spotlight. Boas aren't really his thing, but he graciously wore it for my picture. And through the editing process, he ended up being the focus of the picture.

Pete and I already consider Farley and Lucy "our dogs" (except, of course, one of them does something bad. Then he or I become the sole owner of that dog--me Lucy, and he Farley--for a little bit), but I'm excited to get to spend more time with Farley come February 6.

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Nine: What Saturdays Should Bebut

I didn't get a lot done this weekend, but I definitely had fun.

Friday: Shanna's Bachelorette Party, and Pete the Patrick Play the Depot.

Saturday: My first KU game of the season, with thousands of zealous fans "Waving the Wheat" at what ultimately ended up being another KU victory! (I was, however, at the game without my Pete. :( )

I did get to see Pete later in the day when we went and ate Brats, Bierocks, and drank a "bier" at the St. John's Oktoberfest. And oh yeah, we polkaed to the music of one of the best push button accordion players in the Kansas City Area. I think polka-ing with Pete is one of my favorite memories is one of my new favorite "Pete and Emily" memories. :)

"Roll out on the barrel...roll out the barrel of bier...."

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight: Pete and Patrick play the Depot!

Pete, as a very talented musician and songwriter, is always looking for an opportunity to perform. A couple of weeks ago, he noticed some music coming from the Amtrak Depot right by his house late at night as he was leaving my house. He stopped in to see what the buzz was about. He discovered that, in attempt to bring more attention to the depot, get the city to buy it, and subsequently get it listed as an official "historic" site, the committee leading these efforts were bringing musicians in to play each Friday night as the train from Chicago to LA passed through Lawrence. Pete immediately volunteered to play one of those evenings, and later recruited Patrick to play the drums along with him.

So tonight, without any practice, Pete and Patrick played the Depot to a whopping crowd of approximately 15 people. Now, keep in mind, they didn't start playing until 11:30 p.m. And a storm blew in as soon as we were getting ready to play, I'm sure keeping anyone who might have been teetering on coming tucked warm in their beds. But, the size of the crowd definitely wasn't representative of the quality of the music that resounded tonight. The show was very entertaining and enjoyable. I certainly hope that Pete and Patrick will rock out another venue at a time that allows more people to come!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Seven: Wink Wink

With its bold, deep green body and winking "face", this car was perfect for my picture today. I hope you think it's face is as cute as I do. :)

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Six: Light Cube

Several years ago, my mom took glass cubes, drilled a whole in them, inserted lights, wrapped them with ribbon and ended up with a really cool lighted cube that she gave to her friends as Christmas presents. I also received one of these cubes, and because of the weird outlet situation in our house (there are no electrical outlets in our bathrooms or hallways), the light cube hasn't been used for a while. But tonight was the night to light it up again, and in the process, I ended up with this picture! Volia!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Five: Spotlight

Pete and I went driving around tonight to listen to the amazing new Harry Conick, Jr. CD. We ended up out at Clinton Lake where we listed to some more music and took some pictures. My idea was initially to get a silhouette of us hugging in the car headlights, but after several attempts and no new ideas, I moved all people out of the shot and ended up with this. It probably looks more like lights illuminating a crime scene, but regardless, I like it.

And, of course, no good photo shoot ends without a picture like this:

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Four: Rubix Cube

Dim, direct lighting.
Fast film.
Slight movement.
Cool picture.

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Three: We Are Called

Today, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church celebrated something very special: it's 150th year in Lawrence. To ring in the event, Fr. John and the good people at St. John's rented out the Lied Center. This mass--at 11:00 a.m. this morning-- was the only mass offered by this parish this weekend. Usually, Fr. John and Fr. Earl split six masses, including one Spanish mass, but offered just this one to bring the entire St. John's community together.



Because a significant portion of the St. John's community speaks Spanish, the music and the mass were bi-lingual. In the picture above, Fr. John and Fr. Earl are tag teaming the gospel, rotating reading a section in English and then a section in Spanish.


I haven't yet heard a count about how many people were there, but the orchestra level and first balcony were nearly full. Hearing praise to our God resounding through the hall and from that many voices was amazing.



And this moment...this is what it is all about.




As I walked around capturing the event on digital film, I couldn't help but notice that many of the Lied Center employees paid absolutely no attention to the celebration; they were reading books or doing homework backstage. It saddens my heart to think that they might have no knowledge of the goodness of the Lord, or have said "no thanks" to His gifts. This silhouette also represents the hungry, the poor, the downtrodden, the hopeless, the lost, the angry, the suffering, and those in the dark...all of us who are searching for something bigger than ourselves.

We're all searching for God in different ways, and we'll discover Him at different points in time and in difference circumstances. But hopefully today inspired something inside to reinvigorate that search, or simply begin it. Ultimately, the truth will lead us to rest in the loving arms of the Lord. St. John's, and the church at large, have been a significant part of many people finding that rest and joy. We pray that it has at least 150 more years left to give.

Come...live in the light!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-Two: Scrappy

It seems the moments of not thoroughly thinking things through have come much more frequently since I got engaged. I think it's just the stress of it all, but somewhere along the line, I decided it would be fun to hand-make all my wedding invitations. Yes, 300 invitations that must be traced, cut, scored, glued, stamped, and embossed. And that's just the envelope. I'm about half way through the cutting portion of the process and it's actually going better than expected.

Unfortunately, the paper size we had to get for the envelopes results in a lot of scraps. But, Pete had a great idea and thought we could turn the scraps into confetti for the tables at the reception. Thus, I've been saving all the scraps. Today, as I was getting ready to head out the door, I noticed the light streaming through the blinds and creating this nice pattern on the scrap paper. This picture is nothing spectacular, but I like it...I like it a lot!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty-One: All You Need is Love

Tonight, one of my very dear friends got married. He married a most wonderful woman. The wedding was a solemn and beautiful celebration of what love is all about. The reception reminded all of us in attendance how much we mean to each other and that, despite our sometimes skepticism, there are some things in the world that are just right.

This picture is just a draft...I don't have the tools on this computer to finalize it yet. Plus, there are many many pictures that I want to edit and post for your enjoyment. But in the mean time, please join me in celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Avila!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty: The Stick

This, my friends, is "The Stick." It helps eliminate muscle pain and improves circulation and strength. I've been some problems with my knee lately, this I purchased this today to help me massage those muscles I believe are causing my pain. So far, it's worked wonders. Yeah for the stick!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Nine: Battle Wounds

Last weekend when we were at the LaBarge Cup, Pete and I were in a battle to the death against the reigning Cup champs. It was the third of three games...we were up 11-7. We could see our competitors tiring. If we just pushed it a little harder, we would win the match and move on to the finals.

Then it happened: our competitors hit the birdie cross court to a position that neither of us could easily reach. But in a moment of complete blindness to all subsequent consequences, I dove to get the birdie, landing on my stomach. The birdie went over! YESSSSS!

But then YESSSSS turned into OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH MMMMYYYYYYY. When I got up and began to prepare myself for the next serve, I noticed my leg throbbing. I looked down to see a large bumps on my leg. And when I say large bumps, I mean it looked like i just had a golf ball implanted in my shin. I could taste victory and wanted to continue playing, but Pete talked some sense into me and said I should probably sit out for a while.

Four days later, this is what my leg looks like. My shin is still sensitive to the touch, and it often hurts just to walk. But, I'm recovering, and will soon be back to normal. And I certainly have one good story to tell!

As for the tournament, Pete played the last couple of points with a substitute partner. The injury break broke the momentum, and they were unable to pull out a victory. But, just like these NFL superstars say, the sun will come out tomorrow, and next year, we will return to capture the LaBarge Cup!

UPDATE: As of Monday, September 21, the bruise still remains, although it is slightly smaller in size. Sheesh! This road to recovery was a little longer than expected!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Eight: The Royalty of the Cooking World

Remember how I told you yesterday that, if you were lucky, you'd get the back story related to the teacup Pete gave me for my birthday? Well, today is your lucky day!

A week or two after Pete and I got engaged, my mom and I went to a bridal fair in Overland Park. After you go to one of those things, you get loads of phone calls for things and services that the vendor tries to convince you that you and your future spouse need to ensure marital bliss. I received one such call about a month ago from a woman who said that Pete and I had WON a free vacation! The voice on the other end promised me that if my fiance and I attended a presentation at the Holiday Inn that night, we would receive a free three-day vacation and a deluxe Ginsu knife. Pete and I were well aware of two things: 1) the presenter would try and get us to buy something, and 2) this would be hokey...much like a real life infomercial. But, after being assured by the voice that the presentation would only last about 45 minutes, we decided to give it a shot.

Keep in mind, at this point, we didn't even really know what they were going to try to get us to buy.

We were greeted by our enthusiastic host, Cory. Cory introduced us to the world of Royal Prestige cookware. He told us how his pots and pans will make our lives better, how the dishes won't break even if you throw them across the room, and how an investment with them today will ultimately end up saving us lots and LOTS of money. Cory also reassured us that, at the end of the presentation, he would present us with our vacations and Ginsu knives.

Two hours later, we were still listening to Cory ramble on about Royal Prestige (although we did try some pretty tasty chicken...). Finally, the end came. We moseyed our way up to Cory's table to break the news to him that we would not, in fact, be purchasing any Royal Prestige cookware this evening...and ask for our free gifts at the same time. (After all, we did everything they told us we had to do to receive the free gifts...). It was at that point in time that Cory informed us that we would have to submit a sheet of paper in order to get our voucher. Additionally, he had not brought enough knifes and would have to send one to us...which is ironic, given there were only three couples at the presentation.

With the hokey-ness factor of the presentation at an all time high, Pete didn't believe we'd actually ever see these so called "free gifts"; I was also skeptical but had slight smidgen of faith in the Cory-man. So, we gave it a shot and submitted the sheet of paper and inserted Royal Prestige jokes into our conversation whenever possible. Much to our surprise, about a week later, the voucher for our free* vacation arrived! But, two weeks go by...no knife. Three weeks...no knife.

But today...it happened. The knife arrived in the mail. For a minute, I thought the world was going to end. But life continues and we are now the owners of a fine Ginsu knife.

Bringing it all together...you might have guessed...the teacup and saucer are Royal Prestige products.

* Be sure to read the fine print. The voucher is only redeemable certain days of the week.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven: Birthday Tea

When I was in London two years ago, we celebrated my birthday by going for High Tea at the Orangery at Kensington Gardens...the little tea house next to Hyde Park and Princess Diana's home. Today was very reminiscent of that day: a day that didn't start off so hot, but ended very nicely. Pete's friend Tim's--a former roommate and groomsmen in our wedding--mother passed away yesterday. Pete decided this morning to fly out to Virginia to show support for Tim, his wife Jen, and their family. This meant, however, I wasn't going to get to be with him on my birthday.

Before Pete hit the blue yonder, he made a special trip to Topeka to see me at work for just five minutes. That was the best birthday present I could have asked for. But he also arrived with a present--this tea cup with a little flower planted in it. While it definitely took me back to my British birthday two years ago, it continued a joke the two of us had going for the past week or two. (Stay tuned and if you and I are both lucky, I'll fill you in soon.)

After saying goodbye to Pete, I headed back into work with a much better attitude. Andrea then treated me to some amazing mushroom gnocchi at Free State, and a stop at Yummy's. All in all, my twenty-sixth year started off pretty darn well.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Six: Creature Feature of Another Kind

A couple of weeks ago Pete found some dragonflies dancing along the leaves and twigs of the Baker Wetlands. Tonight, I found a dancing dragonfly of my own. This guy, however, was dancing on his nose on top of Pete's computer. Normally he shows off his skills by balancing atop Pete's lamp, but he graciously made his way over to the computer and graced us with his reflection for this picture. Thank you, Mr. Dragonfly!

Finally!

I finally got this post added! I'm trying to get up-to-date...thanks for your patience.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Five: Keep Your Eye on the Birdie

Tonight, I got to experience my first LaBarge Cup. The LaBarge Cup is an annual badminton tournament that Sarah and Brandon LaBarge have been hosting for the past five or six years. It's an opportunity for friends to get together, play some badminton, eat some food, and heckle each other.

This little guy, however, didn't heckle his dad one bit. He was a silent, but strong supporter as his dad duked it out with the Weiss', a.k.a., the returning champions. Unfortunately, daddy-0's team, as well as Pete and I, lost to the Weiss' on their way to back-to-back championships. Pete and I didn't go down without a fight, however....be looking for a picture of my battle wound in a day or two.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Four: Taking a chill pill

Marathon training has been very good to me. In the 18 weeks I've been getting ready for the big race, I've stayed healthy, generally pretty motivated, felt really good, and even avoided soreness. But as of late, I've developed a little tension in my knee. It's nothing too bad (knock on wood), but my dear friend Erica (not paralegal friend Erica, but almost physical therapist Erica) recommended I make sure and ice it down most evenings. So when I didn't have a picture tonight and I was fading fast during the icing time, I knew I had to get something, and quick. This picture certainly isn't the best one I've ever taken, but it certainly illustrates what's going on in my life right now.

Just in case you prefer to view something slightly more attractive than my leg, here is Lucy's newest. :)

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Three: A Roll of the Dice

My thought for today's picture was to try and get a picture of a pair of dice being rolled. I wanted a picture with a die momentarily suspended on one of its corners, but I grossly underestimated how fast those little piece of plastic move! Even with my camera on it's fastest setting, I couldn't get what I was envisioning. But, that doesn't mean I'm disappointed with what I ended up with. I hope you like them, too.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Two: Hinge Hanging

Somehow the door to our basement got locked last night. Jennifer desperately needed in the basement this morning before work and tried hard to do so. Despite expert advice from her dad over the phone, the door would just not open. As a sign of frustration, we left this adjustable wrench hanging out on the hinge all day long. Just as we were giving up hope, our friend Zach got the door open!! Holla!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-One: Pine(apple) Leaves

Today I was at the store and discovered the most delicious fruit of the summer was on sale...fresh. So, I put my $3 on the counter and took it home. Being one who doesn't like to let things go to waste, I found a use for even the inedible parts of the fruit.

This picture, I think, is quite delicious. ALMOST as delicious as the pineapple itself. Almost... :)

Day Two Hundred and Fifty: Mind Trick?

Object or reflection? I'll let you decide.

Day Two Hundred and Forty-Nine: Dumpster Diving

God bless the men who do this job. Heaven knows I certainly couldn't do it!

Day Two Hundred and Forty-Eight: Game Day on the Hill

Old friends.

New(er) friends.

Best Friends.

Brass (and woodwind) Bands

Crazy Koozies.

Girls on motorized coolers.

Yep! It's GAME DAY on the hill!

Day Two Hundred and Forty-Seven: An old time rhyme

Here is the church.

Here is the steeple.

Open the doors and see all the people!

Tonight, Pete and I were asked to help provide the music for a wedding in Parsons. We made the 3 hour trip down south to discover a delightful town with wonderful people and a heartwarming God centered and love filled ceremony. Thanks for letting us be a part of your big day, Ashleigh and Jesse!

Day Two Hundred and Forty-Six: Reoccurring clutter

I have a feeling my house is going to look just like this--or very similar to this--until February 6.

Day Two Hundred and Forty-Five: Reoccurring revelation

Sometimes the answer to life's most difficult problems lies in the palm of your hand.

Holy Bucket, Batman!

I've FINALLY updated!! Check it all out below!

Day Two Hundred and Forty-Four: Exhaustion

Wedding Planning

Marathon Training

Surprise Parties

Picking up a second job

Emerging Catholic Professionals

Life in General

I'm exhausted.