Shoes

As most of you know I am getting married in January 2013, less than 3 months from now. To Jim. God could not have given me a more perfect man to be my husband. (To make you feel better if you didn't know about the engagement, it only just happened on October 15. But don't fear the wedding is essentially planned.)

But that is not what this post is about. Well in some ways it is.

What I want to tell you about is my quest orange shoes. They are not as easy as you might think to find. Our colors for the wedding are teal and orange. I want to wear orange shoes. I think it will be fun and a very Noni thing to do. And because I need these shoe by November 7 for my first dress fitting I was ready to find them. I thought it would be about medium to find them, as in not really easy but also not overly difficult. I was wrong. I searched all the stores in town and did not find any so I went online for the perfect shoe and found what I wanted. They were actually rain shoes, but I didn't care. I tried every website that I could find to order these shoes in orange size 10. They are out of those, on every website. So those are obviously not the shoes for me. But what makes it better is every website I now go to, such as Facebook or Twitter or Hotmail, has an advertisement for shoes, but not just any shoes, the shoes I wanted. I feel like the ads are mocking me. But such is life.  I also fully expect for orange to be an 'in' color this spring and to be able to find orange shoes everywhere, but folks, we don't have that much time.

You will be happy to know I do have some orange shoes, not what I expected to buy (but neither was the dress) and I do think they are perfect for the occasion. They are boat shoes and I got them from Finish Line, I got matching black ones for Jim.

Noni Fun Fact: My new last name will be Buster. That is right folks I will be Noni Buster and I couldn't be happier.

Morning Traffic

I've had this blog up my sleeve since the middle of the month and here are the facts (I say facts because I don't want this to be seen as complaining):

The Tuesday after Labor Day, much to many drivers dismay, there was road construction into town. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but the traffic is backed up over mile, I would even venture to say 2 miles because when I am about half a mile from the actual construction I look back and all I can see it a massive line of cars. And it is really the only reasonable way for the people that live near or past me to get to town. I used to leave at 7:40 if I was really running late and get to work at 8:00. Not any more, now I try to leave by 7:20, 7:25 if I am pushing it. The traffic is backed up so they can work on a bridge. This bridge is maybe a block long.

Now how is this affecting me?  Well the first week I was one of those drivers who whizzed by in the lane that was closed on up the road, the right lane. The left is the one open to us. But I soon realized this was not the way I believed God wanted me to handle this and I had some Godly guilt. So I decided I must just suck it up and leave sooner and have a clear conscience. So I have been trying to leave earlier. But there are those that whiz by in the right lane and then try to get in right in front of me. How should I treat these people who are obviously rude. Well, I should let them in. At least God has laid it on my heart to let them in.

God has been showing me that my attitudes and actions should not be dependent on other people's attitudes and actions. And maybe, just maybe I can show them there are people who 'love' them no matter how they act towards others.

Also I recently got an Alpha car magnet that someone behind me has to see for at least 20 minutes while we wait. Check out more for yourself at www.alphausa.org.

Weird Thoughts I Have

So here is my excuse for not posting for almost 2 months: It was too hot. Yes, I know that blogging is typically done inside and I cannot think of a time I have ever blogged outside...but it is still my excuse.

But now to the point. An irrational fear I have.

When I am driving and there is a truck in front of me with pipes or stacks of wood or a ladder strapped down I have an irrational fear it will fly off and go through my windshield. But don't worry I would use my cat like reflexes to duck and it would just go out the back window. So I'm not concerned at all about being hit by any of these objects, just that it might fly off and come through the window. I picture it happening every time. I don't really think it will happen, I mean the objects are always secured. Hence my irrational fear.

Noni Fun Fact: One of my new favorite drinks thanks to the Graham family is a vanilla Dr. Coke (1/2 Coke, 1/2 Dr. Pepper with vanilla). I know it doesn't sound that great, but try it before you knock it.

Bringin' it Back

Ok, so maybe it was never there or never gone, either way there are some words I am trying to incorporate into my everyday life. By everyday I mean at least once a day. These words, in my opinion, are quite splendid and should be used as much as possible. I believe they will bring about the use of some humdingers in an epic way. And then things will be stellar.

And so if you haven't caught on yet there are four of these words and they happen to be: epic. stellar. splendid. humdinger.

Now, one might think, "Hey no big deal, those can easily be used in everyday life." But this is not so. I often forget to use them or am not in situations where they are applicable. If the latter happens then I am stuck and say things like I did in the first paragraph just trying in any way to meet my self imposed quota. If the former, well, I think that explains itself.

Surprisingly the word I seem to incorporate into my daily life is stellar. It just comes out so easily and naturally. And in order for you to understand this the best imagine me actually saying the words, which in itself should make you smile, because you can imagine the situations I use them in.

I hope you have been inspired to come up with some humdingers yourself and will starting using them in your life.

Noni Fun Fact: I enjoy people watching at coffee shops in the middle of the day.

Tales of VBS

This week I have been helping out with Vacation Bible School at my church. I love this week every year, it is full of fun and energy (from the kids any way) and laughter and Jesus. It really doesn't get much better. But I must confess because I not accustomed to being around kids 5 nights in a row it completely wears me out. But I do love it. So here are some tales from the first 3 nights. Enjoy, and feel free to laugh.

For those of you that know me at all, you know I am a KU fan. Jayhawks all the way, and because of this I do not like purple, at all. Living in Manhattan I have gotten used to seeing it, but still don't really like it. I walk in the first night and they tell me I will be leading a group of kindergarteners and our color is purple. So every night this week I am sporting a purple shirt that has our theme on it: Zapped. Yes, I love Jesus and will wear purple for him, even 5 nights in a row.

On night 2 a girl was really excited to tell us leaders a story, it went like this: I have a true story to tell you. It's really true, and kind of silly. This morning, this morning. This morning. And so I interrupted and asked when it happened, and she replied this morning. And the story continues. I ate. I ate a (insert little kid cracking themselves up) poptart. Followed by the kid the laughing at herself.

I was giving another leader a hard time and one of the kids looks at me dead serious and says "Tay appention!" I said ok.

Our theme is Zapped and about Peter's life. So the first night was about Jesus calling Peter to be a fisher of man. So they told the kids Peter was zapped by God. During story time the leader asked what the story was about. One kids said God shocked Peter. And so the kids putting two and two together got from the story that Peter got shocked by God. Pretty close to being zapped.

Well that's all I can think of for now.

Lessons from the Kitchen

So today I made some cookies, a new kind and a kind I've made several times before. The new kind was Funfetti cookies, they have lots of sprinkles, and the old kind is the flourless peanutbutter cookies. Both turned out delicious, but in the process I had some unexpected events occur and learned some lessons, that I will probably soon forget.

1. Don't be lazy, just cook two pans of cookies. I have some large pans and thought to myself that I could get them all on one pan. And I could get most of them, but they all bakes together, making some weird squarish shaped cookies.

2. Be careful with the peanutbutter. The Funfetti recipe I found on Pinterest, so I just opened it on my computer. But I still had the computer up when I was trying to scrape the peanutbutter out of the jar and got some on a corner. Thankfully there is no damage, just some peanutbutter where it shouldn't be in a few crevices.

Noni Fun Fact: I love me some sprinkles.

Pomegranate Lime does not equal Peach

Have you ever gotten something only to realize it is not at all what you thought you had gotten?

This happened to me today. I was at the grocery store and as I usually do I buy myself something to drink for on the way home. Usually it is a Snapple. But today while I was shopping there were some different kinds of teas on an end cap. Steaz iced teaz, and I thought that sounds good for something different because they had peach, and peach tea is almost always winning. I wanted to make sure this is what I wanted, so I browsed all the flavors available, and saw mint, peach, regular, pomegranate lime, and a few others. Now I remember thinking the pomegranate lime looked tasty, but figured I would really like the peach tea. So I got to my car after buying all my groceries, opened it and took a drink. It wasn't what I expected peach tea to taste like, but I figured since it didn't have a lot of sugar that is why it didn't taste as peachy as expected. It wasn't until I was half way home that I realized I had indeed not gotten peach tea, but pomegranate lime tea.  Upon this realization I have decided it has a pretty good flavor.

Along the same lines, I also recently got some glasses that I am trying to wear on a more regular basis to cut back on the expense of contacts. Before this I wore sunglasses pretty much all the time, because I don't like the light. And so when I walk into my house I reach up to take my glasses off because I think they are sunglasses, then I remember to turn the light on and that I am wearing glasses, I better leave those on so I can see.

Noni Fun Fact: Cookies are my favorite. Frosted sugar cookies are my favorite favorite.

Back on the Bike

Quite literally I got back on the bike tonight. My stationary exercise bike that is. It has been about 4 months since I have ridden. And it was good to get back on, although my legs may have a different story to tell tomorrow. 

This seems like a theme in my life lately. Things in life are changing, for the better, but changing nonetheless, and so I have to remember to keep doing things to take care of myself, both physically and spiritually.  Obviously physically I am going to ride my bike and start doing my shoulder exercises. 

But spiritually in my relationship with God, it is more complex. I mean I can just read the Bible and pray (more like ask) for things I think are important, but that seems so superficial. So I am making a commitment to actually spend time with God, to seek Him and get to know the Creator. The following verses have been on my heart lately, just really making me think about my priorities. Because I truly believe we make time for the things we want to. 

Jeremiah 9:23-24

²³ Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 

²⁴ but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

  

And that is what has been going on with me. 

Noni Fun Fact: Today I rode 8.63 miles on my bike.

Sonic fun

All day I have been thinking about what I should blog about. Now don't get me wrong, I have accomplished quite a bit, such as cleaning the house and laundry, but it's been in the back of my head. And so far I have come up with nothing. Not a single thing.

I suppose I could relay my most recent Sonic experience. Every so often we get Sonic at work. I get everyone's order and head there. There are four of us. That means I need a drink carrier to get the drinks back.   And as I am sure you all know you have to ask for one. Well, I often forget to do that. And so Wednesday afternoon when the carhop came out, I thought to myself again that I had forgotten to ask. And he looks at me and says, "You forgot again didn't you? Failure."  Now I'm just saying that if the Sonic carhop says that there are one of two ways you can take it. First, wow, if he thinks that then I must be a failure. Second, wow, am I really going to let the Sonic carhop judge me like that?  All in all another fun adventure to Sonic.  And another delicious vanillia Dr. Pepper that I got to consume.

Noni Fun Fact: My favorite thing to eat when I am sick is a chicken strip basket from DQ.

I don't initiate good mornings

Some of you will find this very hard to believe, but I am not a morning person. I understand they are necessary, but I am not a fan. I need about an hour from the time I wake up to the time I have to interact with people, and even then it is not my favorite thing to do. If and when I am caught before my hour of being awake, my response is usually in the form of a grunt or other unrecognizable sound. I will also commit to doing things that I don't realize I am saying yes to, and so later in the day when asked if I did those things, I will look at you blankly and ask what in the world you are talking about.

So because of these reasons and because I find it unnecessary, I don't often initiate a 'Good Morning'. It's not my favorite if said to me, but I will usually say 'Mornin' back. Also I feel that if there's nothing else to say besides good morning, then we don't really need to be talking.

So here is my list of solutions to this morning problem:
1. Say 'Sup' instead.
2. A slight nod of the head to acknowledge each others presence.
3. A better attitude on my part.

I'm guessing that number 3 is the best option and I will try as such. So while I may not initiate a 'Good Morning' I will try harder to put a smile on my face and greet you back.

Noni Fun Fact: My fingers are too big for ring pops.

Constellations

Recently I have been doing some stargazing. I have a pretty great spot near my house to do this. It is so peaceful to lay there and just gaze at God's beautiful creation, there is no way to deny His majesty. 

And because of this recent interest in stars and being outside at night, I can now identify Mars, mostly because of its reddish glow. Also I know which ones are airplanes because they move quickly and flash. And of course Orion is obvious. But this is where my beef with constellations comes in. 

Let me explain. They are just dots in the sky, they are amazing dots, but dots nontheless. How can you say, oh I see a bear in those stars, or if you correctly connect the dots this one looks like a man. Except it doesn't, it looks like a kite. So my theory is that really you could see anything by connecting any of the stars. And that is why I don't like the idea of constellations. Triangles, rectangles, or any other geometric shape I get, but a scorpion or a man I just don't get it. 

Noni Fun Fact: Sometimes I enjoy listening to Boy Band music. 

Contused Bone

Recently I fell over some stairs and contused the bone in my right forearm. I am right handed and the doctor told me to take it easy and ice it (my arm has been extra cold lately). There's not really anything that can be done, just have to let it do it's thing and heal. He advised this will take at least 2 weeks. And since I am a slow healer I figure it will take longer.


And now the real story. Since this happened I have never been more motivated to do things. I feel the need to vaccuum, clean my car, scrapbook, workout, cook,and pretty much anything else I should not do. But I am sure the moment I am healed and can do all these things I will no longer have the motivation to do it. So I guess I need to harness the motivation for the next few weeks and then be super productive.

Noni Fun Fact: I so enjoyed this last week, going to bed listening to the rain on the roof.

California Part 2

I figure I better get on top of writing this part 2, or else I'll forget. So here you have it.

So the second part of my trip I spent with Aunt Judy Dear and Uncle Herbie. They came and picked me up at Seaport Village and we drove to Hemet. This is one of Uncle Herbie's favorite drives, he told us several times, to make sure we picked up on it. On the way there were a couple of cops, and all of a sudden they turned on their lights and starting driving across all 6 lanes. Traffic eventually came to a stop and one of the cops got out, picked something up and flung it off the road. And then they let us go. Craziest thing I've ever seen.

Our first stop was to the infamous In-N-Out. They asked me if there was anywhere I wanted to go and I said oh yeah, I should probably try that place since I'm here. So honestly, it was ok. I didn't think it was the best burger ever or anything. But it was a decent burger. If I had to eat fast food again in California, I'd go there. Next I got to meet the neighbors, they were sweet. Then we met up with some more of the family and ate Mexican, Emilio's I think. Can't go wrong with a chimichanga. It was just like being home sitting by Jacyn. Cyndi, Kyle, and Megan were there to dine with us also, it was a lot of fun. And then we got to enjoy Uncle Herbie's famous malts. I also experienced double chocolate malt balls, they are amazing.

Again, they asked what I wanted to do while I was there. I didn't really have anything in mind, I just wanted to be in California and see some people while there. So Aunt Judy Dear asked if I had ever been to Disney, I calmly said no. And she asked if I wanted to go, and I just about couldn't contain my excitement. I have always wanted to go there (ask my parents how many times I have asked them to take me). And so my Saturday was planned, Cyndi would drive me and Aunt Judy Dear to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. I must say, I was pretty happy. It was everything I had hoped it would be, and the weather was pretty awesome. I even got a little sun. It was so good.

Sunday we went to church, and I really got to see the retirement community shine. I always enjoy going to church with people and seeing how they worship and being a part of it. Even went to Sunday school with them, I was hands down the youngest person there. But it's always great to hear the wisdom of those with more years experience than me. Then I experienced my first fresh orange, so tasty, I think fruit in Kansas has been ruined for me. We met up with the family for dinner at Marie Calendars, there I met Ashli, Cody, and their daughter Brooklynn. We had a great time together and enjoyed so good food.

Uncle Herbie then took me up to the reservoir they have near Hemet. It holds 260 billion gallons of water and can supply a lot of water for quite some time. It was pretty incredible. And Uncle Herbie knew all the facts about it.

And then it was time for malts again with the fam. Such a fun tradition. But we couldn't stay up too late as my plane flew out at 6:30 a.m., so we had to leave their house at 3:30. Those of you who know me well can imagine how thrilled I was with such an early departure, but I survived and so did my gracious hosts.

A big thank you to everyone who picked me up/drove me/had a bed for me while I was in California. I may even go back!

California Part 1

Several weeks ago I decided that if I just sat around and waited for someone to do something with, it might never happen, and I'd get older and wish I had done things, even if I had to do them alone. And so I contacted some of my favorite people in California and planned a trip to go see them. And here's all about my journey. (I should note here that not a week after I booked my trip I started dating the most amazing guy, but that's a whole nother story on God's awesomeness.)

I currently have Wednesday afternoons off and decided that in order to make the most of my time I would fly out in the late afternoon on Wednesday and come back on Monday. The other reason is that I'm not a big traveler and really enjoy being home, so by the time I am somewhere for a week I am usually really ready to leave, and so I thought I'd avoid that this time. So last Wednesday I headed to KC to fly to San Diego. Now this is only the second time I had flown and I was excited. I mean the view is simply breathtaking, being above the clouds and seeing God's glory. I had a layover in Denver and Denver was having some really windy weather, so everything in and out was delayed. The good part is that everything was delayed, so I didn't miss my connecting flight, but I landed in San Diego an hour and a half later than planned.

My roommate from college, Yuriko, came and picked my up at the airport, it was so good to see her after 5 years. She took me to an island with a huge bridge called Coronado so I could see the San Diego skyline. It was pretty cool. 

We also went to a place where they put tapioca in everything. So I have a mango smoothie type drink with this tapioca in it. It wasn't too bad.

The next day I was up at 5:30 because my body thought it was 7:30. I had a great place to stay (Thanks Yuriko!) so I just chilled for awhile. Then we had to take Seijiro to preschool. He wasn't too sure about me at first, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to me. 

Then we were off to Balboa Park, there are so many fun pictures from there, but I'm just going to post a few. It was such an interesting and fun place to walk around.

After that we headed to Old Town. Old Town was full of the heritage of San Diego, ate some real deal Mexican food which was delish.  And I pushed Sakurani in the stroller. I am not a very good stroller driver, but I got better as the day went on.

Then Yuriko was telling me about how close Mexico was and I hadn't ever put that together. I guess I just think of Mexico being attached to Texas. So to show me we went to an outlet mall where you could see the fence.



Then we picked up Seijiro and headed to the beach. My first time seeing the Pacific ocean. The only other ocean I had seen was the third coast, the Gulf of Mexico which I've been told doesn't count. There were seals and birds everywhere, it was so beautiful.

Then Yuriko and I got to have a girls night while Sujeev watched the kids. The next morning Seijiro wasn't so shy and decided to wake me up by jumping on the bed. I however was not as responsive as he wanted me to be and just laid there.

And after I finally got up we went to a differnt beach. This was a sandy beach and we stood in the water and let the waves hit us. Seijiro really liked the water, even if his jeans and shoes got soaked.

Our final stop was at Seaport Village, a cute little shopping area. 

And this concludes the first part of my awesome California adventure. Check back for Part 2. 

change

so let me just clarify here; i am not talking pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters here. i am talking about how things differ from the way they used to be. i had the pleasure of going to my hometown today (had to get my hair did). and I took the same route I always take and there unexpectedly was a stoplight. my little 5 stoplight town suddenly has 6. my first reaction is that i am dismayed, i mean who does that? who adds a stoplight to a town that for the last 25 plus years has only had 5? well apparently my people do that. and so because i can do absolutely nothing about it, i will accept it and try not to be surprised next time i come to that intersection. now i must say this is so much like how I view serious change. my first gut reaction is resistance. but i've come to realize that almost always there is no need to resist. God is always in control, and knowing that, i can have peace and know that every change is in His control and i can completely trust that He knows what is best. so bring on the change, i am ready and excited for what God has in store for me. noni fun fact: i am addicted to coffee, or maybe just the caffeine in it.

Winter, Please come.

While most people have been enjoying this unusually warm winter, I have not. For one, it's like being cheated out of my favorite season (winter) and having to deal with more of my not so favorite season (spring).  I miss the snow, the ice, the cold. I love sleeping with coolness all around me and being all bundled up beneath layers of blankets, I rest so well. For two, because there has not been a hard freeze that has stayed, my allergies are going crazy, and so I've been sick this week.

But, because I like to look on the bright side, I won't just leave it at that, with my whining. I have enjoyed the lack of other people's whining about how cold it is, and how they hate winter. So that is the bonus in all of this, and for that I am thankful.

So maybe you are not convinced of how great winter is, well let me try to convince you with some things I love about winter (in no particular order).
1. It's so much easier to get warmer than it is to cool off.
2. Playing in the snow is so much fun.
3. The beauty of a snow covered field.
4. Less swelling of the joints.
5. Curling up with a hot cup of joe and a good movie or book under your favorite blanket.
6. Clothes are so much better for winter, and you don't have to see as much of other people's skin.
7. Hats and gloves, I really stocking hats.
8. It's always fun to see your breath when you walk outside.
9. There are some really great holidays during the winter.

So the only logical conclusion I can come up with is that I should probably move to Alaska. I don't think they are lacking in winter this year.

Noni Fun  Fact: I enjoy going to thefreedictionary.com and looking up words and making it speak them in the American and English accents.

Thoughts of the Day

I feel the need to blog...not sure what about. So I guess I'll just share some of the random thoughts I had today.

It seemed like all day today my right had was cold. Mostly just the right one. I don't really understand why but the more I use my fingers when they are cold the more cold they get. In my head I think that if I use it get warmer, but no, not in real life.

Sometimes the smallest things can mean the most. For instance, something as seemingly small as a drink from Sonic during happy hour really makes the difference in my attitude and motivation. Also, how can you not smile when tells you to "Have a supersonic day", even if they have to. And so to the order taker, I just want to assure you that I did have a supersonic day.

Have you ever thought about colors and how you see them? For the longest time I have had the thought that we all see colors differently, like the shade I see as red may be the shade you see as blue. But because we are taught from a very young age which shades represent which colors we all call it red even if what we are seeing is a different shade than the other person, we both know it is red. I don't think this could ever be proved or disproved though, so maybe it's just a crazy thought I have.

I like the idea of being Chef Noni. I think that's why I have a chef's hat and an apron. But I have found I would much rather cook for others than just for myself. And probably my favorite thing to cook for other people is chicken parmesan, I think it's most likely because I get to pound the chicken so hard.

And now to go start reading The Hunger Games, because so many people can't be that wrong about how good a book is.

Noni Fun Fact: My Christmas tree is still up!

Coffee Cup Malfunctions

So this may sound a little bit crazy, but I truly believe my travel cups have it out for me. Three times in the last ten days I have spilled some sort of beverage (milk or coffee) on my work clothes. Two of those times I was just out the door and was able to go home and change. The other I was over halfway to work and so I just smelled like coffee all day.

Now, I blame the cups. Here's why. It wasn't coffee spilling out of the top by where there is a hole, no, it was from around the seal. I must say I may be slightly to blame for the seal not working because as any lazy person does, I put the cups that clearly say "NOT DISHWASHER SAFE" into the dishwasher. So yes I have learned my lesson, no more travel cups in the dishwasher unless they say dishwasher safe. And in an effort to prevent anymore spills I have gotten rid of all four of my spill prone cups and have gotten two new ones. I am really excited about the new ones, they are much brighter than the old ones.

Noni Fun Fact: I enjoy sitting at the coffee shop watching people. Always interesting conversations going on.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Apparently I have been thinking about this store and going to it far more often than I should. Because last night I had a dream that I lived there. There were a few of us and we were homeless, so we lived there. It really was an ideal situation because they have beds and other things we seem to think we need to live.  There was one main rule the management had about us living there: the beds had to be made before the store opened.  It was around Christmas time and there was a lot of gift bags in the store. Somehow, even though I was homeless I had bought a bunch of Christmas presents that needed wrapped, hence the abundance of gift bags. That's really all I remember of the dream, but it was interesting.

So here's why I been thinking about the store. I recently became the owner of Keurig, which by the way is one of the best things I've invested my money in. Being single it really is perfect because I only make one cup of coffee and am not wasting a whole pot. And there are so many different and delicious flavors available, in fact I may have gone a little K-cup crazy. I was going to share a picture, but it doesn't seem to want to load, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I have more than several boxes. But I really wanted a variety pack and they had one so coupon in hand I went and got the variety pack which I am very pleased with and will have coffee for months.

The other thing I recently purchased from there was a rootbeer making kit. Today I made the rootbeer and now I just have to wait for it to carbonate. But it definitely smells delish. And I really enjoy rootbeer so I am pumped about it. I would put pictures of it also...but they won't load either.

Noni Fun Fact: I dream in color. Apparently not everyone does.