Easter is over but Jude is here!!

Well, it is over, my favorite holiday of the year. I took down the Easter tree last night along with all my sparkly rabbit decorations, so sad. It was a great weekend of helping my Dad out on the farm (I will post about this soon, stay tuned), seeing family and friends and watching my beagle have time of his life with all his dog cousins on the farm ;) I would have to say the highlight of this last weekend was that I became an aunt to my first nephew!!!! His name is Jude Matthew and he was born Saturday morning.

He is so sweet and he is my new favorite little person!!! He is so perfect and I have not stopped thinking about how I can get my hands on that little guy since I saw him on Sunday. I think I will offer to take them a meal soon as an excuse to get over and give that baby some love!! ;)

Got the runs

During my training for the 3 day walk I really started liking that I was exercising everyday and had a scheduled amount of miles that I had to cover in a week. After I was finished doing the three day walk, I started to consider doing a 10K or something since I had only ever done 5K runs. The great thing about training for the walk is it was very easy to find someone to walk with all the time. People are intimidated to run over three miles, I wanted to take on this new goal but didn't know who would do it with me. I am not disiplined enough to do it alone so I needed someone that would take this on with me. My good friend, Andrea, and I got to talking about doing some running this past winter and we both decided we would start training for a half marathon, YIPPY!!!! We had both done a 5K and we thought the 10K just didn't seem impressive enough (we are so extreme) so we thought the half marathon would be doable.

We plan to run the Therapy Works 1/2 Marathon on April 20th and so far training has been great. We ran 8 miles this weekend, over half way to 13.1 ;)

Another run just came up last week that we are also going to do. This one is the Brew to Brew and I keep hearing that it is such a blast to run. It is two 4 mile runs per person. We have 5 people on our team and each person runs about 8 miles total but only 4 at a time. You can read more about it here if you would like but it is pretty much running from the Boulevard Brewery in KC to Free state Brewery in Lawrence using a team of five. The other runners drive to each pick up point and switch out runners. I am almost more excited about this race than the one we are training for, how have I never heard of this run, what a great idea!!!

I have found that I almost have to be training for something or I have no desire to exercise and I have zero motivation. It is pretty funny that I use to hate running when I was younger, I dreaded doing track and field days because of those longer runs (a whopping 1/2 mile run, ugggg). Three legged races were more my thing. I also went out for track just one year in high school and did it just because I thought the guy I was dating would think it is cool. I nearly quit because I hated it so much. Now, it has become kinda a hobby and though I am still not fast, I really am starting to love it minus the knee pain (nothing some frozen beans can't take care of). 13.1 here I come!!!

Lessons in self defense

Brett's job has required a bit more traveling these days which has left me at home solo a little more than usual. Normally I don't have a problem with these short trips away; it gives me time to clean up the house, not cook for a couple days, shop and just hang out with friends. Don't get me wrong I never prefer to sleep alone. I have never been one of those people that needs her own space; the less space the better. Anyway, Brett was in Iowa this Sunday night and I had the worst night of sleep. I had a terrible dream about a guy hitting on my bedroom windows and calling our phone in the middle of the night. I just lay there frozen in my bed. I thought about getting a gun but then I thought against it seeing as though I really had no clue how to load it and probably would’ve ended up hurting myself or blowing a hole in the floor. At 2:30 am I suddenly work up in a cold sweat from my dream. I was so close to calling the police to have them check the area. It took me about two minutes to realize that that might overkill and I needed to cool it and go back to bed. But as I lay my head back down, I knew I was going to get a game plan together when Brett got home.When got back yesterday I was telling him about my dream and how I felt like I would not know what to do if this situation really occured. Yes, I have taken a self defense class and I think if I had to kick a guy where it counted I could but what if I was in serious trouble, Brett was gone and I needed to pack some heat? “I need a gun" I told Brett. To which he replied “We already have 4 of them.” We have guns for hunting in our house but I was really thinking I need a handgun. Brett convinced me that one of our shotguns would do the trick just fine and I just needed a little training. Do I know which bullets go to which gun and how to unload and load it fast and correctly???? I have a general idea but I thought I better know how to really do it.

That's right, I got a full lesson last night from Brett on how to load one of his guns in record time.

(how much do you love Brett's shirt? it is my new favorite.)

Brett clocked me to see if I could really handle a pressure situation; on my first try I was locked and loaded in 12 seconds. We decided it would be best to get that time under 10 seconds and after several tries I was down to six seconds.

So, if some punk wants to try breaking and entering at our piece then you might want to reconsider…I am likely to blow your socks off. Give me 6 seconds and you will wish you never step foot on my property

One career that is NOT in my future

I have been making a few trips to the local Johnson Country Library by my house to get some books on some vacation options for this year. Today I walked out of the library and found myself taking a breath of fresh air, it was so stuffing in there, I thought I was going to suffocate. Do any of you feel this way?? The bland colors in there and the smell of old paper.
As most of you know I am not a huge fan of reading since it requires me to sit in one spot and focus for longer than 30 minutes at a time ;) I am not ADD or anything but I don't really love things that require me to sit and do nothing for 30 minutes unless it is taking a nice Sunday nap, snuggling with Debo and Brett on a cold winter day or watching Project Runway or re-runs of Sex In The City.
Anyway, back to the point: (maybe I am ADD, yikes!) I confirmed today that I could never work in a library! All the librarians had huge thick glasses like from the 80's, they all were wearing turtlenecks with tiny flower designs on them and had little to no makeup on. Oh, it is also hard to miss that they all have the football helmet hair. In case you don't know what that is, I have found a picture for you. ( this is the only one I could find)


What in the world??? These women need to get out of there and see the world!! I would prefer just being adventurous and go do something rather than read about it all day. If they like reading about romance, then get out there and have yourself some, it is good stuff!!! Maybe the problem is they don't explore the make over or fashion isles while they are at work, I really don't know.
You know what else I don't understand? How their eyes don't pop out our of their heads reading all those reference labels, ugggg. I also don't understand how they can whisper all day, I would not consider myself and loud mouth but come on, I have to burst out into laughter or anger at three times a day. I am pretty sure I would get fired in no time if I worked at a library. It would be like I was in school all over again where I would get in trouble for talking to my friends when it was suppose to be "quite time".
Being young, I feel like I am always curious where my career will take me but I am %100 sure it will not take me to the library. Now that is a breath of fresh air ;)

Wine tasting a hit!

Friday night was a fun night celebrating my girl, Natalie's, B-day. Usually we just go to dinner or hang at someones house for birthdays but Natalie put together a little road trip to Parkville, MO for a wine tasting. It was so fun to sit around with the girls and laugh. God has really blessed me with some wonderful friends and it makes living in Kansas worth it. (I still want to move to NYC and live the city, Brett don't think I have changed my mind)

We went to Wines by Jennifer and to then to a local place for pizza. It was a real classy night until a few of us got a wild hair to go check out the local casino and try and win big money. Most of you that know me know that I have really good luck when it comes to winning things so I thought for sure I would love it. Ummm, I got there and could hardly breath because of all the smoke and it was some serious people watching. Lots of mullets, Las Vegas Hard Rock t-shirts and people looking like zombies staring at slots. I pretty much chickened out and didn't spend a penny. I kept thinking how much it would suck if I dropped $50 and lost it and how I might need that $50 later. Sure enough, I was right, the next day I locked my keys in my car and the $50 came in handy. Nice call Vikk! In conclusion, I don't really have any desire to ever step foot in a casino again unless it is smoke free, I had to go home and shower before I could even stand myself.

Wedding weekend, CONGRATS!!!

I am such a bonehead, I just blogged about the sucky weather and totally failed to mention my Dad's wedding that so many of you have been asking about. Thought I would show you all a picture of the couple just a few hours after they said "I do". Congrats Dad and Joce, love you both!!!

Oh, Dad and Joce, if you are reading this be sure to eat your wedding cake soon. We waiting a year like you are suppose to and it was nasty. That cake was so good, no use in waiting a whole year to eat it, eat it now!!!;)

It was a fun weekend of hanging out with my siblings and doing flowers (I did the flowers for the rehearsal dinner and the reception, it was so much fun and I think it will be my new hobby) Here is one arrangment that I was so happy with, I am not a huge fan of red roses but I think these are so pretty.

come on spring!!

Ok, as most of you know I pretty much hate winter. I have tried to be very positive this year about the fact that I have been freezing for going on four months and I have only really seen day light on the weekends this winter. I have not gotten all depressed or ticked about this weather yet but that is now coming to an end. I am offically ready to move out of this state if it does not start gettting warm. Come on, Feb, is almost over. I am ready for some spring showers, tulips, grilling, firepit and EASTER!!! I am going to start hitting the tanning beds hard in about a week if things don't turn around. If you try to call or stop by the house and I am not there. You can find me at Cabana Tan down the street.

And I am back!!

Hey all,

no more excuses, my event is over and it was wonderful. I learned so much in planning this event and can't wait to make it even better next year. There were some really late nights and lots of stress but at the end of the day, it is so worth it.

Here are a few pics!!

my excuse

So my excuse for not blogging much these days is this:

I am working hard on an event that is Feb. 12th at the sprint center and it is taking you so much of my brain power that blogging seems like so much work ;) Anyway, I am learning so much in this new job and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do something at a new venue like the sprint center. To see more info about this event you can go to www.kumed.com

Have a great weekend!!!!

It's offical, we are #1

Well, the season is over and it was a great one!!! Thanks to my team for doing a great job!! You guys were the best.
http://picasaweb.google.com/vikkiewiese/DodgeballChamps2008

Cowboy Wieses

My new favorite picture of me and Brett, I think I play the part a little better than Brett but that is just me.



This is a picture from my Dad's annual theme Christmas, this year is was "Old Western Christmas" We had Buffalo, potatoes, beans, salad and rolls. It was a great meal even though I felt sick the whole day.

Mom had a more traditional Martha Stewart Christmas with Pork roast, rice and mushrooms, scalloped cabbage and a wonderful pumpkin pie for dessert. I guess people are not really wondering why I am an event planner, my parents are very creative ;) Thanks rents!







Happy New Year to you all!

Hey, how many days until Spring???I have reached my limit of winter.

A "Charlie Brown" Christmas? (Guest Post)

Hey all,
This is Dad Strahm, Vikkie`s father, and I have been asked to do a "guest blog" on her website. I have to confess, I still remember the day that Vikkie first emailed me and invited me to view her blog site, and I responded back to her after viewing it, that I thought that was the dumbest thing I have ever seen, and honestly wondered if she didn`t have anything better to do with her time. But after reading her site these amost two years, I have learned more things about my wonderful daughter that I never knew, and it has been such a joy finding out these things about her, and having revealed to me, the reader, that which brings her so much happiness like her two main men, Brett and Debo, her circle of Christian friends, and her involvment in so many activities from work, play, walking in Cancer Benifits, traveling to cities across the U.S., etc., etc.. Keep bloggin` sister, (daughter) you have an avid reader in me!

Now for my blog. As you have already read on Vikkie`s blog, the Sabetha area was hit on December 10th with the worst ice storm in it`s history. The whole thing has been should I say, "bittersweet". The bitter part being the loss of beautiful trees that I have planted, watered, trimmed and manicured over the years, watching my cattle loose that layer of fat that was put on them by feeding them a corn rich diet this fall (since I have no electricity to run my feeding equipment), and of course the general aches and pains that come from the often slip and fall to that frozen tundra below (which is usually followed by a verbal "holy crap, that hurt!!") The sweet part, has been the slower pace of life, for if there is no electricity, there are just a lot of things you just don`t do. And the beauty of it all. A winter wonderland to say the least. God`s creation frozen in time. This caused me to get out my camera, one of my subjects, being this tree that Vikkie has posted.

Let me tell you a little a history of this tree.

I purchased this PinOak three years ago from my good friends at Rolling Hills Nursery. It was the most perfect tree, thus my willingness to drop over a $100 bill for it. After they helped me plant it, I faithfully watered it to help it get off and running. Then just months after planting , I came home from cutting hay one hot dry afternoon, when it was in the 90`s and the wind was hard in the south, and I drove in the yard, and again, the infamous "holy crap", for the little tree nearly had all it`s leaves burnt off. It didn`t grow an inch for the remainder of the year. Then came the drought of 2006, and dead branches were inevitable. So being a farmer at heart, I knew the best thing was to "prune". That has always been the hardest thing for me to do in the first place, to cut off foilage, but when it`s dead, it is the only way to spawn new growth, so just in matter of minutes, the tree became half of it`s former stature. It had a pretty good summer this year, only needing to water it through July. Then the Mother of all icestorms hits, and bends this tree to the ground, freezing it to the two inch thick layer below. It instantly reminded me of the infamous "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" that the Peanuts comic character picked out for the childrens play at school, which blockhead Charlie was the director. So I went to the house, grabbed a few leftover ornaments, and after attaching, took this picture to send to my girls only to assure them that I still had my sense of humor. Then this past Sunday, I was visited by my best friend Jocelyne, who is also my beloved fiancee, and I laughingly pointed out to her my comic strip tree. After a quiet pause and an "Aahhhhhhhh..." from her, she stated that, "It looks as if it is praying on it`s knees, doesn`t it, praying to Jesus". Funny, how people can look at the same thing differently. Perhaps it would have been better decorated with a sparkling golden halo and a large set of white wings depicting an Angel bowing before it`s Lord.

Just this morning, after seeing that little tree out there, "Praying", it`s short life has paralelled mine these past two and a half years. Life is going to have it`s droughts. There is going to be financial droughts, there is going to be spiritual droughts. There is going to be deaths, deaths in realtionships, deaths of friends and family. There are going to be storms....big record setting storms....situations that seem to have no end, no resolve, no answer or reason. Like this little tree, everyone has experienced all in some fashion or another, and there is only one way to ascend out of those valleys, and that is through prayer to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is our EVERYTHING !! Phillipians 4:6-7 Do not be anxiuos about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.

Back to the Peanuts animated movie....you remember how frustrated Charlie was when after hanging a few ornaments on his spindly tree, it fell to the ground, followed by his often quoted "Good grief". Then later, Linus, with his thumb sucking blanket in hand, took center stage complete with spotlight, and revealed the true meaning of Christmas by reading the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke 2:8-14. Then all of Charlie`s friends imediately joined in to make that little tree the most beautiful ever. So I leave this blogspot by challenging you with this........Who are you praying for? Who, in need of help, are you investing your life in? In who`s life are you going to make a difference?

Have a Christ filled Christmas everyone, and thanks Vikkie, for sharing your blogspot with me. I love you soo very much!!!

Dad Strahm

***NOTE FROM VIKKIE: If you would ever want to be a guest poster, please let me know. I would love to have you ;) Thanks Dad, you have inspired me to blog on some things that really matter in this world instead of Chocolate Reeses with double the peanut butter, OH MY GOSH THEY ARE SO GOOD!!! Let me know tell you all about it...... ahhhh not today ;) Later

Mother Ice Storm

My Dad sent me an email today with "Mother Ice Storm" as the title and some pictures attached. I thought it would make a good title for my blog today. He sent me these pictures around the farm in Sabetha, KS. I guess Sabetha is not likely to get power for another week or so. Dad has a generator so he is putting it to good use and sending me cool pics from his computer. This looks like such a mess but it really is pretty amazing what freezing water can do. Check out these pics.

I am praying for you out there Dad, love ya.

“Oh Christmas Tree”

“Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are your branches”
Brett picked this tree out last night and I think it has been the best tree EVER!!!
I think this tree has gotten me really excited about Christmas this year and I am not even that in to the whole Christmas thing. Don’t get me wrong I love the fact that baby Jesus was born but I hate what society has done to this holiday. I hate Christmas sweaters, I hate the life size blow up Santa’s that are in people’s yard, I hate that I can’t say Merry Christmas because it is not PC, I hate how people go in debt getting others gifts and I really hate that it gets so stinking cold/ icy around this holiday and I usually wreck my car. All this things aside I am kind of loving Christmas this year. That’s right, I have my lights up, my holiday flannel pants from Old Navy ready to wear and even some gifts purchased. I thought I would make a list of things I do love about Christmas since I did just spent several sentences talking about what I hate about it ;)

I love snuggling by the tree with Brett and Debo watching some classic Christmas specials (Christmas Vacation and Home Alone), I don’t really love getting the gifts for people but I LOVE wrapping them, I love the way the house is so cozy with all the lights and the smell of the greenery, I love seeing what Brett gets me for Christmas (he is the best gift giver I know, no pressure this year brett). MMM, what else, I love Reese’s Trees (king size of course) and I love how everything is on sale. I think I might shop for myself this time of year more than others, hee hee.

I also love smores over the stove like I did last night, you all know my love for smores, that is right, I even do it in the winter, works like a charm!!!

3 amazing Days!!

Sorry it has taken me a full week to finally blog about my 3 day walk experience. To sum up my experience all I can say is that it exceeded all my expectations. It really was amazing how this 3 day walk was a huge projection and was so organized. From an event planners perspective it pretty much blew my brain!!! The people that plan this event really have it down to a science and I don’t think I would have changed one thing about it. I am so thankful that I took the time to do this with my great friend Kim. I am also so thankful for the relationships I have built in training for this walk, not sure how else you could be forced to talk to someone for 5 solid hours, IT WAS GREAT!

I have to brag that I did not have one blister and my body was not even that sore but I did train and I felt very prepared. Kim and I pretty much power walked each mile. Just to give you an idea: There were almost 5,000 women and men and the first day we came in 71st and 72nd out of all of them. No, it was not a race but Kim and I are both a little competitive so we wanted to get it done in a good time so we could be back to the camp site for some foot rubs and peanut butter and jelly graham cracker treats (YUM)

Here are some pics for you to look at. Kim did a great job of putting captions on these pictures, thanks sister. http://picasaweb.google.com/chadluce/20071115SanDiego

In Summary, anyone that has been affected by breast cancer should do this, it really is so amazing, I had to hold back tears so many times and I have not been effected directly with breast cancer but what a great support system for someone who has. What a wonderful event!!!

The End ;)

Headed out

Well, after 16 weeks of training and about 430 miles of walking later, I am ready to do the three day walk this weekend. I fly out tomorrow morning and then the walking is on fri, sat and sun. 20 miles a day! I am packed and ready to go and I am excited to go on this journey. My girl and I are going to stay a couple days after the walk just to sight see and relax so that should also be a good time. I think the only thing I am not looking forward to is not seeing my boy Brett or my other boy, Debo. Miss and love you guys ;)

Well, I will Blog all about my adventure when I get back. Wish me luck! ;)

we could have died tonight

This is what I made along with steak, wilted lettuce salad, rolls and french silk pie with whipping on top for our guests

I found these potatoes at the Chopper and they are larger than life (this picture really does not do it justice, they were HUGE, I loved it!!!)

Dear Potatoes,

I love and miss you everyday!

Dodge This!

Just an update for all of you that are following out dodge ball team, Yes, we are #1 so far! Yes, I am awesome at recruiting a dodge ball team and Yes, we will win it all!!!!
I am not sure why I am so competitive with this sport, I am not even that great at it. All I know is that I hate to lose and so far my team has made me very proud!!!
This stud muffin was rocking it on Monday night.

happy halloween

Had to take some time to get out the ole drill and do this last night:

It was great to take some time and just stick my hands in cold pumpkin mush. These days I have been so busy getting settled into a new job and getting ready for my 3- day walk which is in just over a week away.

Halloween is today and I have never really gotten into this holiday. I did dress up as a child but I was Georgy the ghost every single year since it was easy and cheap. I think with 5 kids, it was not an option to go to Target and get $20 costumes that were going to fit you for one year. Living out on a farm, we never really had a lot of trick or treaters either, we had some cousins stop by but that is about it. So, I love it that my street is packed with kids and I am all ready for them tonight. Lots of Snickers and Reese's at my house plus some nice spider rings!!! Feel free to stop by. ;)

Last day

Today is my last day at my job. I have worked here since I graduated college in 2003. I started out doing an internship in special events, was hired as a development assistant in special events and then moved my way up to Special Events Coordinator. It has been a fun ride and I will miss my co-workers who have become dear friends to me. I found a couple pictures of the first days at this job and had to share. I will miss you all very much but will not be far away!

Monday I will start my new job as an Event Planner. I am looking forward to working with a wonderful team and starting a new chapter in my life!!! Have a great weekend!

Body in pain!!

Sorry I have not blogged in a while, I have been too busy getting a new job ;) and walking! On Sunday I walked my all time high of 18 miles!! Nov. 9th is coming up and I am feeling all ready to walk these 20 miles a day for three days! My feet have swelled to a nice 10.5 shoe size and I now have "man feet"!! The first thing I am doing when I get back from this walk is taking a cheese grader to these bad boys. It is good to build up callus's for this long walk so you don't get blisters but they are kinda nasty just for just every day.

It has been a big commitment to walk so far and pretty much give up sleeping in on weekends but so worth it. I want to give a shout out to my girl Andrea for waking up so early to walk with me every Tues and Thurs and even sometimes on the weekends, thanks for sticking in there friend! Also thank you to Mindy and Kim for walking some of those 18 milers. My girl Andrea is going to go on that adventure this weekend. Biggest thanks to my boy, Brett, for picking up all the slack while I have been out walking for several hours at a time.

Just a few pics of my friend Kim and I after our walk. Kim is the one that recruited me for this adventure and we are getting excited to head to San Diego in just a few weeks.

Oh, my body is not only in pain from spending several hours on my feet walking, it is mostly from this new dodge ball league (we are awesome by the way) that I am in, holy crap, I can barely walk!!!!

Friends

Besides walking a total of 30 miles this past weekend, we spent time with our good friends to celebrate Clark and Sarah's 30th birthdays. It was so great to just sit around with all our friends to laugh, tell stories, eat some amazing food, have some wonderful wine and just be together. One of our good friends took this photo while we were not looking and I LOVE IT!!!! After spending several hours walking this weekend and being away from my main man, I can't think of another way to capture exactly what I wanted to do the rest of the day. I think this picture explains it all. Thank you Donna!