Update on Bruce

Yesterday, a real tragedy struck. I was driving Bruce through Kansas on my way to my Grandma's in Oklahoma. I was going to meet my family there for a couple of days. About halfway there, the heater stopped. It got really cold. But I just thought, well the heater's gone out. I'll have to get it looked at when I go home. But then a red light came on that said "Check Gauges." And one of the gauges was all the way in the red. I didn't know what the gauge meant. But I thought that I could take it to a mechanic at Grandma's while I was there and had a couple days. The instrument panel is quirky anyways so I just didn't know if something was actually wrong or not but I had a bad feeling. So I decided I would get it checked out. I stopped at a truck stop to get a bite to eat. I checked the manual to see what the gauge meant. Engine Cooliant light.

When I attempted to start Bruce again, he wouldn't start. I didn't know what to do. I called my fellow Jeep friend Keith but had to leave a message. I tried starting it again. It started but it was shaking really bad. I killed it. I was really unsure of what to do. But where I was, was going to be no help. I knew I was close to Wichita. I thought I could make it there. I tried starting it again. It started up and I started driving. Keith called me back and said I needed to pull over right away. The car is going to overheat. I said, I am literally in the middle of nowhere. Plus, I was so confused. I thought cars only overheated in the summer. It was 20 degrees outside! But then I thought I would try and go back to the truckstop. I exited to turn around. Bruce died at the top of the exit. Crap. I was able to pull onto the shoulder. Smoke started coming out. I wanted to cry. Bruce could not be dead!

Thanks for the wonders of cell phones, I found a tow truck service and they came about 25 minutes later. Dustin, the nicest tow truck guy in the world, drove me and Bruce back to the closest town, El Dorado, Kansas. He dropped Bruce off at his mechanic, a guy named Mitch. Then, he dropped me off at a Super 8 motel for the night. Dustin asked me what happened and when I told him about the red light, he made a face and said, "It's going to be bad. Real bad." Then he said I should just sell Bruce! He doesn't understand. There's no way I'm selling. Bruce is completely paid off and is still young! Even if these repairs cost a lot, there's no way I can afford a car payment right now for a new car.

So, I was stranded at the Super 8. But thanks to my awesome family, they drove almost 3 hours out of their way to me and stayed the night. Then, we all drove to Grandma's, just 2 more hours south into northern Oklahoma. At least I was with them and not all alone in that motel room.

Mitch called this morning with the diagnosis. To sum it up, I pretty much melted the engine. He's going to have to order a lot of parts, some of which have to be brought up from Wichita. It may take a few days. That part is fine with me because it just means I can take a few more days off of work. My only concern is poor Itsa, stuck in my apartment in KC. I left her enough food to last until Tuesday night but now it looks like I may be back until Thursday or Friday.

I am so glad that Bruce is going to make a full recovery. I am convinced that he still has another 150,000 or so miles to go. But I feel terrible. I feel like it's my fault that this happened because I didn't know any better. I don't know anything about cars except to fill it up with gas and get the oil changed. I assumed that the fluids were checked when you changed the oil but maybe it's not. I feel so responsible for the damage. I suppose I need to somehow educate myself on taking better care of him. I don't really even know where to start.

Throughout this whole ordeal, I have kept pretty calm and collected. Yes, I am worried about how much this will cost but it's definitely way cheaper than buying a new car. The only time I really panicked was when Bruce actually died and the smoke was coming up. But once the tow truck came, I felt like it was all going to be ok. I was glad that it happened during the day. And I was glad that I was able to pull it over in a safe spot. Now, Bruce is in Mitch's hands. And I just hope and pray he makes it out ok!

All About Itsa & other fun times

If there is one thing Itsa is good at, it's being entertaining! She is always making me laugh! Some of her antics recently have been:


Falling asleep on the ottoman and falling off of it. I literally was woken up from sleeping when she fell off it one night. You can see here why it's easy for her to maybe stretch a little too much and tumble right over.

Good thing it's not a far fall!

 She also helped me set up my new printer. (Side story! When I went to the Apple store to get my new computer, they had an awesome deal in that you got a FREE printer. Well, I didn't even realize until I set it up that it is not just a printer, it's a copier and a scanner!! So, if you need any basic office needs such as printing, copying and/or scanning, just come on over!)

This printer is amazing. The little screen showed a movie on how to set it up! It was awesome.

 Itsa also LOVES the shower. So much so, that one night, she practically broke down the bathroom door to get inside while I was taking a shower. The door was shut and a few minutes into my shower, there she is in her favorite spot- on the ledge of the bathtub in between the shower curtain and the liner. I don't know how she got in. She must have used all her might to open the door. It was crazy!

Itsa loves to watch the water drip from the faucet.

Then, she likes to play with the water in the tub.

And she likes to play with the water dripping out!

So, Saturday afternoon I took her to the vet's for her check-up. Now, the vet is never her favorite thing to do but this time was especially awful! She is getting to be such an isolated kitty, that being around other cats is not a good thing. And there was some little dog yipping in the back so that didn't help either. Well, the doctor had to do a blood test so she opened Itsa's carrier to let her out. Itsa started hissing a lot at her. Then, to draw the blood, they had two people hold her down, they taped her legs together so she wouldn't kick and shaved part of her neck! Well, that didn't sit too kindly with Itsa and she screamed and shrieked and made the most awful sounds I've ever heard! It was terrible. But, it only lasted a couple of minutes and the tests came back that she is 100% healthy! As soon as she was home, she was back to her sweet self, too.

Can you see the patch of fur that was shaven off on her neck? Poor thing!

 Fun events around town:

Here is a picture of the YMCA that I go to. It looks like an old church almost. It's downtown in a neighborhood that looks like the Cosby Show. It's real small. Especially compared to Nashville's downtown Y, which is HUGE. But, it's not very busy so that means I always have plenty of machines and things to work on while I'm there. So I like it.

Quality Hill YMCA- You wouldn't even know it was there if you walked right by.

Last week, JJ and I had dinner at Waldo Pizza and it especially yummy. I mean, really, really good. I tried their famous ooey-gooey butter cake. It was awesome!

The recipe was made famous in St. Louis, but I'm going to ignore that fact because it is so good.

We also checked out some live music at Hannibal's Waldo bar and grill and I played this fun golf game.

 I also got to try out the new kinect! It was sooo much fun! You've got to try it! It was a real workout: running in place, jumping, ducking. It was awesome. I just wish it was on Nintendo so that you could do a Mario game and actually be Mario. I've always thought that would be so awesome to actually have to run and jump on the mushrooms and jump up to get the coins yourself. But these games were fun, too.

I was awesome at rally ball.

Erin's sweet kinect moves!

Last week, I also went to my work place's Christmas party. It was a really sweet party. They had an open bar (of course) and the best food I've ever had. I'm serious, most catered food is not that good. It's usually prepared way in advance and by the time you eat it, it's just not great. But this food was amazing. They had turkey that was so tender and juicy with the best flavor! Awesome cheesy potatoes, green beans, rolls, even the steamed vegetables were so good! Then, they had a good dj and everyone actually danced and had a good time. So, if I can take one positive thing from this experience, it may have to be that turkey I had! And all at the expense of the American public going into debt.

Some co-workers and I at the party

I had a great time seeing NeedtoBreathe this weekend at the Beaumont Club. Also got to play bingo last night at Kennedy's and won a sweet t-shirt and enough money to cover my drinks! :) Looking forward to playing trivia with my small group tomorrow night. So lots going on. As it should be!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!!

Til next time...Laura

Christmas time's a-comin!

It is definitely feeling like Christmas around here! I love everything about Christmas- the lights, music, parties and of course, celebrating Jesus' birth! It's an all-around good time. Here's some pics of the Plaza Christmas lights:

Really wish my camera worked better for these pictures. Because in person, the lights are so beautiful and I love getting to drive by them every day! Makes me want to just start singing some Christmas carols!

The Old Westport wagon gets a Christmas makeover! Love the reindeer!

 I got to try a new restaurant on the Plaza this week. (New to me, that is). It's pretty much the only dive bar on the plaza! Fred P. Ott's was an awesome little hole in the wall. One of the coolest things was just learning about who Fred P. Ott was. Ott was the FIRST ACTOR in the FIRST MOVIE EVER!! That's pretty cool! Appartently, he was friends with Thomas Edison and he had quite an impressionable sneeze. (Hey, that sounds like me!) So Edison filmed him sneezing in "Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze " in 1894.

The special that night was steak sandwich.

 Another new place this week was Smuggler's Inn, off I-435 N, close to World's of Fun. I've seen this place as I've driven by ever since I was little and yes, it had sparked my curiosity because of the name. So, a friend of mine also had that same curiosity and we decided to try it out. I figured it would be a quiet, dark, somewhat shady steakhouse. It's in a terrible location, surrounded by warehouses and industrial offices. We show up and got it partly right; it was dark and it was shady but it wasn't quiet, it was a freakin' dance club! There were lights and a dj and a huge dance floor! There was a table of people in a back corner (probably the mafia) and three guys at the bar and that was it. And, this was at 8:30 pm on a Friday night. Well, the food ended up being really good.  But it didn't quite have the smugglers/piratey atmosphere that I was expecting!

It was too dark in there to get any good pictures.

 Saturday morning, my church small group did a service project at a food pantry in the West Bottoms. Afterwards, we had brunch at Jerry's Woodsweather Cafe. This place was awesome! The decor hadn't been touched in decades!

 We learned that Woodweather's had a food challenge. If you could eat their double cheeseburger, fries and drink, you got to write your name on the wall. This isn't the most difficult challenge out there by any means but it was a challenge and I thought I would give it a go! Jason decided to try it too. I was thinking, oh, I've had a double cheeseburger before, no problem! That was before I saw the size of the burger.

Objects are larger in real life! Over a pound of beef!

Jason working on his meal.

This was all I could do. Pathetic I know!

But J did it!

And here's how he felt when he was done.

And what he chose to write on the wall!

 Food challenges are not my strength!

Last night, it snowed for the first time this winter!

Winter Wonderland in KC

I am blessed because I know I will have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. However, thanks to my new job, I am faced everyday with people that are struggling and those struggles don't break for Christmas. It's been very difficult knowing that a lot of people feel forced to spend money on Christmas gifts or other related expenses and end up making poor financial decisions. So, please make a plan before you spend money on Christmas gifts. It's fun to give gifts, especially when you find something that is perfect for a loved one. But, really, the gift-giving part of Christmas is second to why there is even a holiday in the first place. And no gift that you can find in a store or online will be worth going into debt.

I think people feel forced to buy their families and children gifts for Christmas because that is what society tells us to do. But if it means debt or financial stress, you don't have to do it! Kids may get excited for presents, but I guarantee that they would rather just have your time and love!

December 25 may not be the actual day  Jesus was born. But it is the day that Christians choose to honor that occasion and that's where our focus needs to be. Let's just all make this a season of celebration and a season to love one another!

Til next time...Laura

I have the internet at my disposal!

And that means...more adventures from Bruce and me!! I know you are so excited! I sure am!

It has been a busy time for me after I came back to KC from the relaxing Thanksgiving weekend at m and d's.  On my drive back, I went through St. Louis and stopped at Faust Park. I mean, I couldn't pass that up! What an awesome name for a park!

Faust Park in St. Louis

So, of course, I had to find out why it was named that. It's definitely not named after my family, as our branch of Fausts are from Oklahoma. Apparently, a Chesterfield, MO, couple named Leicester & Mary Plant Faust  donated over 200 acres to create the park, thus the name. They wanted to preserve the site because it was also includes the home of Missouri's second governor, Frederick Bates. 

I really wish this park was in KC, because then it would be the awesome place on earth.

My next couple of evenings were filled with helping out B, J and little J move into their new house! The best part was when we had the challenge of getting the washer and dryer out of the old basement, up the stairs and into the u-haul. They had a dolly made for it, but it was still going to be a little difficult. B's dad apparently did not have any faith that myself and my friend Melissa could accomplish this task by ourselves. He bet us $50 to see if we could do it! Well, if you know me, you know I love to take on a good bet! So, we did it! And we took our winnings to Kennedy's and bought everyone drinks and burgers! Thankfully, Kennedy's was having half-off burgers and $2 bottles so we fed 5 people for $40. It was pretty awesome.

This weekend ended up being pretty fun too. I got to hang out a lot with friends, watch the Chiefs win and used my new membership at the Quality Hill Y. The best part, however, was Friday night. We scored $10 tickets to see Enrique Iglesias  at the Sprint Center! Now, you may think that I would not be up for such a musical event but that is not the case at all! I'm always up for a good dance party and that's what it was!

So this was my first time inside Sprint Center for an event. I didn't see the whole building, obviously, but it was nice. It is only 2 or 3 years old and definitely doesn't get used often without a sports team. But, far and away the best thing about it is the fact that it has QuikTrip INSIDE THE ARENA! And the prices for the food and drinks are normal! So you can get a drink for $1! Not $5 like normal arenas! And I got a delicious italian wrap for only $3! 

Absolutely brilliant! I hope heaven has QuikTrip in it!

The night was also fun because we continued the dance party across the street at Power & Light's Shark Bar. I loved this place because they only play awesome 90's dance music and showed Saved by the Bell on the tv screens.

In other recent events, I got to see a play at the KC Repertory Theater which is actually inside the H&R Block building downtown. This is a brand new building for the world headquarters for the company that was founded by KC brothers Henry & Richard Bloch in 1955.

H&R Block headquarters, downtown KC

So, I got to the theater a little early and had time to scout around the lobby area of the building. It was so awesome! First, they offer free parking in their garage when you are there to go to the theater. But check out the lobby:

Interesting sculptures

Fountain! That's No. 59!

Trophy honoring H&R Franchise of the Year

Founders of H&R Block

 Ok, this was the best part. They had this amazing light-up hallway that honored employees who had excellent community service initiatives from the year.

And it changed colors!! It was seriously cool!

 They had a huge, awesome looking cafeteria for the workers. Plus it had a cute little tea shop, "Tea Drops."

They had amazing root beer!!

The play we went to see was "Harriet Jacobs." It was really good! It told the true story of a slave girl, Harriet, who escaped her owner and hid in her grandmother's attic FOR SEVEN YEARS before she ran away all the way to the North. While she was in the attic, her grandmother was raising her two children and Harriet wrote a book about her life. It spoke to me because I was thinking about my own problems (Bruce's break-in and my job) and realized that they are not anything close to being as bad as what Harriet had to go through!

Here's a picture of a mishap I had with my oven:

The top scab looks like Australia!

Fountain Update:

No. 60 inside the KC Zoo at Swope Park

I enjoyed a nice day at the zoo a couple weekends ago. The zoo was free to all KCMO residents during the months of October and November! The best part was definitely the polar bear. I'll try to describe what she was doing: Nikita (that's her name) has a pool that she can swim around in. So, she was swimming against the glass window, stopping at the corner, pushing off the window with her hind feet, doing a backstroke and then twisting around to go forward, swim in a little circle and do it all over again. It was crazy! She looked like Michael Phelps out there doing the backstroke! It blew my mind.

Alright, that's my story for now. But stay tuned because I'm working on some really interesting stories from KC's past including the mob and a massacre! Crazy stuff happened here in the 20's and 30's, I'm telling you right now.

Til next time...Laura

Thankful for friends, family and Apple

Wow, I have sooo much to catch up on! I will probably forget a lot of things. I finally got a new computer after my other one was stolen out of Bruce a few weeks ago. Poor Bruce. He just doesn't deserve to be treated so badly! Now he has a new window but it's not tinted like all the other windows and it's louder. But at least it's a window and it does keep the rain out.

Thanks to JJ, I got a $50 discount and a free printer when I bought the new laptop! Now, I'm busy reloading everything from my external hard drive and reorganizing all the pictures and music files. Here's my advice for everyone: back-up your files!! It was save you so much frustration! I never thought I would need it, but it's saved me from losing all my pictures from college through one blown motherboard and two stolen computers! I would be so sad if I lost all of those pictures, so I'm very grateful that I still have them!

It's been an absolutely beautiful fall here in KCMO. The trees were so gorgeous and I was amazed every time I drove around town. Here is a picture of the prettiest tree I think I saw:

This was a couple blocks south of my apartment on Holly St.

A couple of Sundays ago, the weather was amazing so after church, B, J and I took our lunch out to Roanoke Park and explored a little bit.

Enjoying some d'Bronx pizza on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

Second time for me to have this pizza and it was sooo good!

Location on Bell St

Little did we know that a few days later, baby Josie would make her arrival into the world! Here I am with Josie just a few hours after her birth.

So little!

I got to go to a Missouri Mavericks game. I was really excited to finally see some pro hockey! It was pretty fun. They had a great crowd, gave out free cupcakes and played "chuck a puck" game. It made me miss the preds games a little, but I was still glad to be there!

The mavericks' mule logo.

Mavs won that night!

Here's Mac the mascot skating around. He was pretty dumb looking.

So,  a couple of tidbits about my new neighborhood. First, the grocery store is amazing. They have awesome deli items and ready-to-go meals which I like. But the best part is...the tiny little carts! They are so fun!

Here is the building for the church that I go to: Jacob's Well. It's just right up the street from where I live so I've walked a couple times.

Here's a fountain that is close to my work:

No. 15- 10th and Main

As most of you know, I hate my job right now. It is pure misery. They try to make it more fun by having theme days. So, last week was Western day. Here is one of my co-workers, Kristin, and myself dressed up in our best cowgirl gear. I know what you're thinking, "Why, Laura, that looks like a fun place to work! They're dressing up, taking pictures." Well, how fun is it really to dress up and then just sit at your cubicle and stare at the computer screen for the next 9 hours. Not really that fun at all!

Well, I'm glad to have given a little update. There's lot more to come!  

Today is Thanksgiving and so I would like to give my thanks. I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends that I've had in every place I've lived. (Oregon, Boonville, Warrensburg, Nashville and Kansas City). It really amazes me that every where I've gone I've been lucky enough to have really awesome friends to share good times with.

I'm thankful to live in a country that allows me to make my own decisions and to live in a country where I feel safe and secure. I'm thankful for all the men and women throughout history and present day who have fought to make it that way. I could never imagine living somewhere that was constantly in war or that has an oppressive government.

I'm also thankful for Itsa, who is a great companion and for Bruce who is my faithful driver. 

Last but not least, I'm thankful for Jesus and his gift to us all and for loving us, despite of our sin and selfishness.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving today! And please, just sleep in tomorrow and relax! Do not encourage the stores by showing up at 3 am to buy stuff that you probably don't need. :)

Til next time...Laura