Greetings from Kansas City...

Well, Overland Park anyway.

So I know it’s been a while but in my defense things have been C-R-A-Z-Y in a hectic sort of way. In the last few weeks, I’ve been working on finishing up some craft projects. Still have a couple that aren’t done…oh well, I’ve already been forgiven. I’ve visited my grandmother and B. I packed and moved my office to swing space due to renovations at Student Services. (I have a door now! Maybe they’ll let me stay?) The big stuff has happened at home though. With a lot of help and hard work it’s actually feeling like a home. The dining room furniture got moved in and loaded (mostly). It’s all antiques from home. I bought a couch. And a chair. Yes, that’s right I did. And now I can mark off #6! It looks great and I just love it. I organized my scrap room and purged all the things I didn’t think I’d be using in the next 3 months (#66). That was my yardstick for what to get rid of. Don’t worry, it’s all gone to the stash of one soon to be very awesome scrapper! More household improvements are yet to come. Soon there will be bookshelves full of books and knick knacks. And because I have the most awesome BFF in the world, there will be window coverings! Coming home after this trip will be a joy. I’ve never liked coming home to a mess and for the first time in a long while, I won’t be. As soon as I get home, I’ll post the before and after pics as promised.

This past weekend was wonderful and relaxing. B and Dee Dee came for a visit and we had a grand time. We had dinner at mine and B’s favorite T-town restaurant with some other friends and then went to the gym meet (#33). Roll Tide! We took a driving tour of campus and had good sushi on Saturday. Sunday we tried out Kobe for the first time (#59). Then Dee Dee and I got a puzzle at Barnes and Noble. Boy, that’s a lot of eating out…we really ARE all about the food! I really enjoyed the visit and can’t wait for more fun!

I’m spending this week in Kansas for Ad Astra training. That’s right folks, I got on a plane in BHM, flew to ATL and then on to Kansas City International. We all know how much I love to fly…ugh, so unnatural. But, I’m here and today the weather as just beautiful! After training, I went to Town Center Plaza for a little shopping. Tomorrow, I’ll be headed downtown for some Blues and BBQ! People here are really friendly and helpful…I haven’t opened a door myself yet. Hmmm, they’re just as friendly as Southerners, they just don’t have twangy accents. We drove past a Walmart today on the way from the hotel to Ad Astra and I noticed that it looked a little different…less like a mega store and more like a shop. Then I noticed that the underneath WALMART on the side of the building, it said Neighborhood Market. I almost wanted to go inside to see what else might be different. I know I’ve never thought of Walmart as a neighborhood market.

For those of you who are wondering, Astra Schedule is the software UA uses to schedule academic and event spaces. I work with it on a daily basis which makes this training very valuable to me. I’ve learned a lot already and I fully expect to be an expert by the end of the week! If you’re like me, you might also be curious about why the company is called Ad Astra. And even if you aren’t, I’m about to tell you. This is a Kansas based company and the name is taken from the state motto which is “Ad Astra per Aspera” which means “to the stars through difficulties”. Other fun facts about Kansas: it’s the Sunflower State, that’s the state flower of course. The western meadowlark is the state bird (SG, think you could spot that bird on a wire at 100 yards?) and the buffalo is the state animal. No surprises there, but did you know that they also have a state reptile (the barred tiger salamander) and a state insect (the honeybee)?

Hope you all have a good week and until Friday, I’ll be:

Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the skies are not cloudy all day.