Catching Up...

Okay, so I really haven't been keeping up very well on blogging...and I do apologize for those who keep up with me...and yes, I am assuming that I have some blog-followers. LOL The last couple of weeks have been CRAZY busy!! So, I'll do my best to give you the highlights on what has been going on. :)

• On September 18th, Kansas City had a HUGE hail storm. The hail was the size of golf balls and baseballs in some areas. Needless to say, when you work in the Insurance Claims industry, it makes for an immediate crazy time of year. This is a picture that a FB friend posted of the hail we got....

• With that being said, I volunteered to work our Catastrophe Drive In Claims Site. Overall, I put in almost 70 hours of work, last week alone. It was a lot of stress, a lot of interesting customers to deal with, and long 11-13 hour work days. But, I made it through...and the paycheck will be nice! :)
  
  
  
  
• A couple of mornings, while working all the overtime, I had to get up at 4:30am! Really? But, there was one thing that made it all worth it...and that was being reminded of how God really is amazing. Getting to see this B-E-A-UTIFUL sunrise come up...was beyond amazing!!

God sure is an awesome artist, isn't He? He amazes me!!

• One of the adjusters that I worked with was interviewed by Fox 4 and was on TV promoting American Family!! Yeah! Go John!!

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  The latter half of the week, I didn't have to get up as early, but I was still able to see a few sunrises like this one...

• I LOVE seeing sunrises (even though I grype about getting up so early) and sunsets. It just reminds you of how amazing God really is. God must've been trying to remind me extra last week with working all those hours. Not only did I see an amazing sunrise, but I saw an amazing sunset as well!! Just in the midst of running around the office and trying to calm customers, I happened to look outside and saw this beautiful site!

• I absolutely LOVE this time of year!!! And there is nothing like a cool, crisp, fall morning with the windows down and stopping at Starbucks to get some goodies!! This is the perfect way to start a perfect morning! You can't go wrong with a Chai Tea Latte and a Bacon Gouda Sandwich...

• This past Sunday, The Chiefs beat the 49'ers!!! We're at 3-0 right now!! YES! Be jealous!!! I honestly think my dear friend, Jennifer and her love for football has been rubbing off on me! LOL I always enjoyed hearing when we won but never really have kept up with it...and for some reason, I've been sort of keeping up with things lately. Interesting. Guess I'm just gearing up for big ORANGE country, this weekend!! Thats okay...BRING IT!!! I'm ready!!





• Side Note...General Conference is going on right now, and I am kinda bummed that I didn't get to go this year. BUT....this weekend will be AH-mazing!!





• Had to capture another beautiful sunset on the way home the other night...

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  And last but not least...I'm leavin' on a jet plane!!!! Early Friday morning, and I'll be one happy camper! :) I'm so excited about getting to see my sister/bestie, Jennifer! There is no telling what we might get ourselves into! LOL And I so can't wait to hug my little Bubby and hear him say, "I love you, Auntie K" in person!! He melts my heart!

So, with all of that being said...I may or may not post while I'm in Tennessee this weekend. If not, have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Until then...

Chinese...It's whats for Dinner...

N-O-T!!!

So, last week as we were at church trying to decide what we were having for lunch. My dear and wonderful friends decided that they wanted Chinese. If you know me well, you will know, I do NOT like Chinese food. Well, Crystal didn't want to go there because she knew I didn't like it and I was planning on going out with them, but no one could make a decision on where else we would go...Why is it so hard for Pentecostals to make up there mind about food? We LOVE to eat and socialize! LOL So...being the dear and wonderful friend that I am...I told them to just go to Chinese and I would tag along. Seriously?? I can't believe I went! So...off to

we went....only because I wanted to be with them did I ever step foot in a Chinese restaurant. LOL I walked in the door and almost lost 100% of what appetite that I had. It STUNK so bad!!

But, one thing is for sure...Sissy sure did enjoy her meal (notice the noodle on her head)!!

Although I'm not sure if she is thinking about what she ate or if she is about to fall asleep? LOL

Well, through all of this, I did enjoy the company of my dearest friends...even if Chad tried his best to get me to eat Sushi! ha!!

Waterfire Kansas City

This was one of the coolest things to experience! After the Hot Air Balloon Festival we headed over to The Plaza to see what Waterfire was all about, since we had never been before. Such a cool experience. As Kansas City's own gondolas went up and down Brush Creek with the lovely jazzy music playing. I really felt like I was in Italy for a little while. I am so glad we went and experienced it. :)

Here is an excerpt from the Waterfire website that tells a little bit about it.
"WaterFire was originally created by Barnaby Evans in 1994 on the three rivers of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The living fire sculpture has become a signature event for the city, attracting more than 10 million visitors and drawing praise as a moving symbol of Providence’s renaissance. The event begins with a series of boats that travel along Brush Creek through the darkness. They make their way with torches a flame in an enchanting display to ignite the braziers and bring all 55 pieces to life. Throughout the evening, boats return to the braziers, constantly feeding them with new wood and keeping the sculpture in its original form for the duration of the evening. This powerful visual is reinforced by the fragrant scent of aromatic wood smoke, the flickering firelight on the anchored bridges, the silhouettes of the fire-tenders passing by the flames, the torch-lit vessels traveling down the creek, and the enchanting music and performances."

In the middle of the show, they told us a water surge was coming from a creek up the road. We were all like, seriously? But yet anxiously awaiting this surge that was supposed to come. No one could walk on the sidewalks or anything. So we were sitting on the rock wall..mind you it's lightening outside and it had already rained some. But we had just looked up the weather on the radar and there was NO rain in the area we were in. It wasn't minutes later that they came on the intercom and said, they were sorry but another storm was fixing to roll in and they had to end the show early, to head to our cars, and find shelter immediately. What?! So according to the radar there was nothing coming, right? WRONG! We stopped to take a few pictures... The lightening lit up the sky as I was taking this picture!! ...and it wasn't but a few minutes later and we were caught in a DOWNPOUR (with no umbrella)!!! LOL!! We were drenched!! Our glasses were covered, water is pouring down our faces, and we're walking so fast we were practically running to get to our car. LOL Oh what an experience! ha!! So glad we went though...it was worth it!!

Here is a short video to let you experience a little bit of Waterfire!

1st Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival

Needless to say, yesterday evening was pretty eventful. :) Sarah and I decided to go to Kansas City's 1st Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival! How cool!! I've never been to anything like this before...it was so neat getting to be so close to the Balloons and seeing how they work everything. The weather wasn't cooperating but we did get to see them air the balloons up but they weren't able to launch. Maybe next year we can see them actually launch and then glow at night. :)

This was right as we were approaching the festival in the field where they were going to be launching them off. For all of you KU fans...this one is for you. lol


If you look closely, you can see the flames going up in this one...






I didn't realize how small the baskets were?!





Stay tuned for Waterfire KC...the rest of the evening's events. :)

Chocolate Polkadots

For those of you that have long awaited for my sister to have a way to show & sell her art! You will be happy to know that......



Is now open for business!!! She now has an online store here. And you can view her blog here.

For more information you can contact her at chocolatepolkadots@hutts.us

Happy Shopping!

"I Need Your Glory"

I am so in love with this song right now! Maybe its just where I'm at in life right now...so much going on, and so many thoughts running through my mind...but the very first time I heard this song (we're practicing it to sing it at church) it ministered to me in such a way I can't explain and immediately fell in love with it. Hope this song touches you as it does me.

Roasted Pears with Honey, Bay and Greek Yogurt

This is a lovely (yet different) recipe that I got off of Williams-Sonoma!

Fresh bay leaves contain unique hints of pine and white pepper. In this recipe, they lend their intriguing aroma, usually reserved for savory dishes, to a simple dessert of honeyed pears flavored with almond-scented amaretto, toasty nuts and tart Greek-style yogurt.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sliced almonds
3 firm Bosc pears
1/3 cup honey
4 fresh bay leaves
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
2 Tbs. amaretto
1 1/2 cups Greek-style plain yogurt

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375°F. Place the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Pour onto a plate and let cool. Leave the oven on. Halve the pears lengthwise. Cut out the fibrous sections connecting the stems to the cores, then trim off the stems. Using a melon baler, scoop out the cores. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, combine the honey and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey is fragrant and turns a rich amber color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Place the butter pieces in the pot, spacing them evenly. Using tongs, carefully place a pear half, cut side down, on top of each piece of butter. Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and roast the pears for 10 minutes. Using a long-handled spoon, gently turn the pears over and baste with the honey mixture. Drizzle the pears with the amaretto and continue to roast, uncovered, until they are golden brown and a paring knife slips easily into the centers, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and let the pears cool slightly in the honey mixture, about 30 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt until smooth. To serve, place each pear half in a bowl, dollop with the yogurt and sprinkle with the almonds, dividing evenly. Drizzle with some of the honey mixture from the pot and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Cirque De Hutts, Photo Booth!

This is the last and final post of Cirque De Hutts!! We had so much fun doing the photo booth!! All the props were a lot of fun!!

Robyn started us out!







haha I love these pics!!! So true!!

Cirque De Hutts, Kissing Booth!

The Kissing Booth was amazing!! Such a hit! And not because I got kissed either! LOL But seriously...everyone LOVED it! We got some awesome pics that I'm dying to share with you!! Hope you enjoy! :)

Robyn and Jeff! Love his long line of tickets! lol


haha what an adorable pic!

Taylor wondering where her kisses were...

Jeff getting kissed by his niece, Taylor

Jenn and Scott

Want a Smooch?? It's only 50 cents! :)

haha!! I LOVE this picture!