Birthday Scavenger Hunt!

Ever since I was little, my family has done a fun tradition for my birthday: a scavenger hunt! Usually, dad would would write out clues and hide them throughout the house and I would go figure them out and find the next clue or a present! It was always so much fun. Well, being as this year was my 29th birthday, it never occurred to me that the tradition would continue but this year it did!

I had driven down to Charleston, MO this week to spend a few days with the family. On Sunday, we went to lunch at a local diner after church. We were finished with our meal and getting ready to leave when the waitress came to the table and handed me a note. I was so confused!! I thought, why is she giving me a note? Did someone in the diner know me? What is going on?!? I opened the note and it was my first clue!!

Over the next hour, we drove all over the town finding more clues. We went to the historical society, nutrition center, and more!

One clue led me to this skull at Boomland!

Another clue was at this statue at the court house.

Another clue was at the high school track.

Another clue at the Mexican restaurant.

Another clue at the church.

The final clue was at the park.

 In other news, JJ and I went to our last Royals game of the season. They won! I just hope that that wasn't my last time to see Alcides Escobar!! Please come back to the Royals next year Escobar!! I will be devastated if you don't. Thank you for making this year so much fun!!

Since it was the last game, I finally tried the funnel cake fries! But unfortunately, I didn't like them! They tasted a little rubbery to me. Bummer!

I went through Prairie Village, KS, for the first time last week and saw this cool fountain at Mission Rd and Tomahawk Rd. I didn't get any info about it, but it seemed pretty cool!

No. 79- Mission Rd and Tomahawk Rd in Prairie Village

Well, this is an exciting time for me because I made the decision to take back my life! I'm done living in fear. I felt like I had to work a job only because I had fear that I couldn't find another one. I realized that listening to the doom and gloom news was making me stay in a situation that was not a good one for me. So, with the support of my family, I quit my full-time job and will be attending a court reporting school starting next week!

I'm very excited for this opportunity and the chance to have an actual career that I can be proud of. I hope to attend this school and graduate in summer of 2013. While I attend, I will probably find a part-time job for the nights/weekends. If anyone has any leads on that, please let me know!

Til next time...Laura

Book Reviews Vol. 2

Ok, here is a recap of the last three books I've read.

I read the book "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater. I am not ashamed that I have read all the Twilight books and loved them. This book I could tell was a knock-off of that style but I didn't expect it to be completely the same characters, same story, same everything! It was horrible. Don't read it whatever you do! I give this book an 'F'. There was no originality, the characters were stupid, it was awful.

Next, I read "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" by Erik Larson. This is the same author of the great book about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which I already wrote about. I figured I would like this book because I liked the author and I love history! I give this book an 'A-'. I really got into it at the beginning, but was ready for it to be over by the end.

The book follows the true story of the American Ambassador assigned to Germany in the 1930's just before WW2. So, it's fascinating because we have hindsight and know that Hitler should have been stopped. There were definite signs of trouble, but America was so focused domestically, it didn't want to mess with Europe's problems. It's a debate that this country will always have: when to focus on itself and when to intervene in other country's issues. We're in the middle of this debate now and there's no perfect answer. The ambassador had a daughter who had many flings and the book tells those stories as well.

Again, just like the other book, the author says it's nonfiction and everything quoted is from a letter or public document. I think I would have liked maybe a better conclusion at the end but the first half of the book is awesome because you, as the reader, knows that this family is walking into the lion's den but they have no idea. So, if you like history I recommend this book for sure!

Finally, I read "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy. I had seen this movie a couple years ago and saw this book at the library. I give it a 'B'. The characters and story are very good. It's suspenseful, and even though I had seen the movie version, I was still reading in suspense and feeling anxiety for the characters' situations. The story is about a guy who finds a case of money. The problem is the case has a tracker in it and the owner of the money comes looking. The owner uses a psychotic killer who is very violent and scary. Then, the sheriff starts looking for both of them. It a great cat-and-mouse times two. The part I didn't like, again, was the ending. It leaves the story a little unfinished and the main character goes through these dreams that seem unnecessary. The first 90% of the book is all about the chase but then the title implies that it's about the sheriff's story of becoming old and dealing with the all the problems Texas now has in the drug war that he didn't have to deal with when he was younger.

It's also kinda done in a confusing way, in that it doesn't use quotations marks in dialogue. So, it was kinda hard to keep track of who was talking. Nevertheless, the book is good and the movie is excellent as well, but it is a little violent. The movie follows the book perfectly.

Til next time...Laura

September birthday and learning about Merriam

First of all, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I am so grateful for all the wonderful people God has placed in my life. Love you all!!!

Last night, we had a double Birthday party for myself and Jessica Judy (whose birthday is Thursday!). We had a fun tailgate and game at the Royals. Finally, the Royals won at a game I attended! And they had 2 home runs! I was mad at myself because I had made a birthday sign and I left it in the car. But we still got on the jumbotron!

Jill, JJ, me, Angie and Bree at the tailgate

Jason and Adam getting ready to cheer on Moustakas and it worked- he had a home run!

For the past several months, I have been commuting to Olathe everyday for work. On my drive there, I go through Merriam, Kansas. Up until this year, I had no idea that Merriam even existed. But I pass by the Visitor's Center everyday and see their beautiful fountain. I finally stopped to take a picture and record it in my fountains count. I ended up learning quite a few interesting things about Merriam.

No. 77- Shawnee Mission Pkwy & I-35, Merriam, KS

 The first thing I noticed was they had a second fountain with a sculpture of some bears. I found this to be very odd, as there are no bears anywhere near here. Why would they do this? I found my answer as I began to read about Merriam. Back in the 1880's, Merriam opened up the first private recreation attraction in the Kansas City area and it included a zoo (hence, the bears!), carousel, lagoon for boating, picnic area, and more! How fun does that sound!! The park was designed by George Kessler who later became instrumental in creating KC's famous parks and boulevards. They had 3 bears in what was known as the "Bear Pit." The bears often escaped and eventually, only one remained in the zoo!! The park later closed in the early 1900's.

I began thinking about this. Most of you know, I have issues with Kansas because it is very suburbia-land, with no unique character. But what is really sad to me, is learning about something really cool that used to exist in a place like Merriam but now, it's literally just a place that you drive through to get somewhere else. Blame the interstate for cutting it in half, blame the success of chain franchises, blame white flight, whatever. The point is, I find it very sad that what sits on this land that used to be the Bear Pit is now a Krispy Kreme donut shop and a Kmart.

Fountain No. 78- Bear Pit

The other really cool thing I learned about Merriam was its rich history in ending segregation in public education. This picture below is of Ester Brown who fought to equalize education for black and white students. This later paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education which officially ended school segregation.

Thanks again for reading and til next time...Laura

Time with Friends, New Beginnings

We start off this exciting blog post with the story of me getting to see my great Nashville friend, Holly! She works on the Keith Urban tour so when they stopped for a show in KC, I had to see her! Here is her fancy bus that she lives on! It was really nice inside- for a bus! She had a little bunk bed.

I got there literally with 10 minutes left in the show. So, we peeked in from behind the stage for a minute.

Someone threw these flowers onto the stage for Keith. Him being a boy, he doesn't really need or want them so I got to keep them! How sweet!

It's kinda sad that the only time I ever get roses or flowers is when it's someone else's reject! oh well!

B, J, little J and I tried out a new restaurant (new to us). We went to Stroud's because I had seen it on "Man vs. Food" and it was supposed to have awesome pan-fried chicken and home-style cooking.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed. The chicken was ok but I needed to dip it in my mashed potatoes and gravy to get a good flavor. The green beans were excellent. The salad was excellent and they had the good ranch. Stroud's is also supposed to have awesome cinnamon rolls that come with every dinner. They were more like monkey bread. It was just ok. I don't feel the desire to return. Plus, it was extremely overpriced. A 3-piece chicken dinner with sides was $16. I still enjoyed my company though!

I am also excited to announce that I'M MOVING TO COLORADO. Here is the picture of my new pool! Doesn't it look awesome?! I'll have pictures of the building and the inside once we're all moved in and settled. I'm very excited for this new place and new roommate! Itsa is excited too! And glad she won't be homeless!!

Last night, little J was the CUTEST I have ever seen her- and that's saying a lot because she's ALWAYS cute! B had gotten her a little cat outfit. Isn't she precious! I just wanted to hug her and look at her! Little J loved her outfit too.

Finally, tonight was so much fun! Emily and I took a free ZUMBA class at the brand new building for the Kansas City Ballet! The building was amazing. The class was a free trial as part of their grand opening. It was quite the workout and so much fun!

We got to sneak a peek at some ballerinas practicing, they were beautiful! This place is just awesome. I noticed there was a wall of donors who made this possible and some usual suspects were present: the Kauffmans, the Hall family (Hallmark cards) and lots of others I can't remember. :) Once again, I become so grateful for people who donate their resources for the betterment of the city!

Til next time...Laura

Book Reviews

I've been on a huge book kick the past few weeks. I loaded up on some books from the library and here are my thoughts on the last two books I've read.

 

 

 

"What the Dead Know" by Laura Lippman

 

This is a mystery-type novel about a woman who is involved in a car crash and tells the police that she is one the Bethany sisters- girls who went missing when they were teenagers. The detectives begin getting her story and don't know whether to believe her or not. The woman is in her 30's now, so why hadn't she come forward before? The book takes you back to the day when the girls went missing and you learn about their family and what happened.

 

I give this book a B-. I enjoyed reading it and especially towards the end, I really wanted to figure out what happened and learn if the woman was telling the truth. Some of the characters they introduce seem unnecessary to the story and could have been completely left out. The very beginning of the book was a little difficult to get into. The car crash scene is confusing and you don't understand some of the thoughts the main character has and why she has them. But, once I invested myself in the book, I did enjoy it. My favorite part was the ending, I love a good twist. My other favorite part is that it gave me the opportunity just to think about missing persons in general. If you think about it, knowing someone that just disappears into thin air is just crazy- no trace of what happened to them. I would like to read more stories about missing people and true stories as opposed to this fiction- especially if they were found later on to hear about what they went through. This particular character claimed that once she was freed by her captors, she didn't want to go back to her home or family. How sad that is! And how hard it must be if one of your family members or friends went missing and you have no idea where they are. That would just be torture.

 

Next book: "The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy: How the New World Order, Man-Made Diseases and Zombie Banks are Destroying America" by Jim Marrs

 

 

I love conspiracies! Even if I don't believe them, I love thinking about the possibilities that all this stuff is happening around us and we don't even know it. This book goes over a ton of conspiracies and theories and how the general public is letting an elite group of globalists make their preparations to limit the population and eventually control the entire world. Some of the theories include: the Federal Reserve Bank is unconstitutional and ripping off the American taxpayers, fluoride is added to city water to dumb people down, there are concentration camps set up all over the US to corral people to and then eliminate, big drug companies invent diseases just so they can sell drugs to treat them (Gulf War Syndrome was caused by toxins in the air set off by Saddam Hussein who purchased them from US/swine flu completely made up to sell more drugs and exploited by media), both political parties are controlled by globalists, the public education system is intentionally bad so that we create generations of blue-collar workers instead of "thinkers", among others.

 

I give this book a C+. I loved reading it, don't get me wrong. But the guy was stretching for some of it. And he didn't make it clear who the New World Order was. He would drop names here and there, the Bushes, the Rockefellers, etc. But I would have preferred a list of names, followed by evidence and previous acts that would lead you to be suspicious. Also, he went back into history to give examples of things that happened that just don't make sense. But if this is true and there is a group of people trying the control the world, how has it gone on for so long without anything happening? And there must be a leader, because rich people have egos and I can't see them working together very well without a leader. So, I guess I wanted him to be more clear- this is who is in the New World Order and this is what they are trying to do. Instead, he just rambled on and on about nearly every problem in America.

 

A lot of his arguments were also about increases in this problem or that problem. For example, he would say 50 years ago, only 1,000 kids had autism and now there are 100,000 that have it. Well, sure, I don't know if autism has increased because of bad vaccines or not but I do know that the population as a whole has increased, so therefore logic tells you that the number of autistic kids will grow due to that fact alone. No where does he make the simple reasoning that an increase in population increases everything else. A better argument would have to list percentages. If the percentage of autistic kids had significantly increased, then we do have a problem.

 

The author is basically making the point that America has big problems right now and while most people believe that it's been a cycle of events that have led to this downfall, he believes a group of people are intentionally making America a poorer country so that it can be more easily controlled. While I see where he's going with that, I come from a more optimistic view where I see that things aren't as bad as what he (and the media) believes. If you look back at periods of time in our country, everyone in that present time has difficulties and problems and think "oh, if only we were back to this time". But isn't it just human nature to feel like the world is getting worse? Every decade has issues and catastrophes and crime. It's like we forget that. Sure, things can be improved right now. But it's just a different set of problems that we had in the 90s, 80s, etc. 

 

So, it was an interesting read and definitely gave my mind a lot of thinking to do. I'm definitely completely disgusted with the banks in this country, as well as the huge drug and insurance companies. Corporate greed, in my opinion, is America's number one problem and the cause of our current economic issues. Every time I hear of some bank that went under, but the CEO has a net worth of $500 million, I want to literally throw up. It's so wrong. So for giving me some interesting things to think about, I liked this book. I will say that conspiracy videos are a better format than book form. It's more captivating to see pictures and videos of a conspiracy than to read facts and figures.  I read this author's theories and used my own education and reasoning to form my thoughts on the subject. And anything to get yourself thinking independently is a good thing!!

 

Til next time...Laura

Fireworks in Fargo!

I finally made it back to KCMO after a week-long trip to a new city that I've never been to- Fargo, North Dakota. I went with my company to the PGI- Pyrotechnicians Guild International annual convention. The PGI is a club for all the amateur and professional pyrotechnicians to get together for a week of camping, fellowship and most importantly, fireworks! We went to sell our merchandise at the trade show.

Here are a few highlights of the trip:

The drive was 10 hours from Lenexa to Fargo. Because of the Missouri River flooding over parts of the interstate we did have to take a detour in northwest Missouri/ southwest Iowa. We ended up driving through some towns that I had visited when I was younger. Towns like Craig, Fairfax and Tarkio, Missouri. These were all towns we played in sports when I was at South Holt in Oregon, MO. It was so trippy for me because I remember these towns being a lot bigger when I was younger. Now I realize they are just some rinky-dink little towns!

We stopped at a McDonald's in Missouri Valley, Iowa and were surprised to see the restaurant had a fort of sand bags all the way around it, in preparation for a flood. They managed to avoid getting flooded and had some teenagers out helping clean it all back up. What a lot of work!

We drove through several areas where the water was right up to the highway but they had managed to save it with heavy-duty sandbags.

The trade show where we sold our merch was at a fairgrounds. Here is our set-up:

PGI is known for having some of the best fireworks shows in the world. We only managed to go to one show, however, and it was just ok. We missed the big finale because we were so ready to get home. Here's all the stuff set up for that night:

One of the more interesting places we went to was the "Space Alien: Grill and Bar." It was right across the street from our hotel. It was like a Chuck E. Cheese. It had a lot of restaurant space and a bar and a small room with arcade games. The games were a disappointment because half of them were out of order!

Here's Luke and Mike J at the games!

I found the alien!!

 Our favorite restaurant however was HuHot Mongolian BBQ. We went there 3 times in one week!! It was so good. The last night we splurged and got smores!

Overall, it was a good trip but I'm so glad to be back! The things I enjoyed was having a wonderful bed at the hotel, spending time with my friend Angie, having WONDERFUL weather, and being out of the office for a week. The things I didn't enjoy was the drive, missing Itsa, and missing my friends. There were a few other things I didn't enjoy but those things are not for the Internet! You'll have to ask me in person. Ha!

Til next time...Laura

Odds and Ends

I don't know if anyone's noticed, but the last 30 days or so has been hot. Like, planet Mars hot. So, the last few Royals games have been a test of how true fans we are. This week, at least the game was in the evening so it just felt like you were in an oven, as opposed to the surface of the sun.

I finally got around to making Escobar a sign. I think he may have seen it during warm-ups and he didn't seem too impressed. But maybe he didn't see it, I couldn't tell. I like to think he really appreciates me, his number one fan!

We also went to the Christmas in July game and got this cool snowglobe! They played Christmas music during the whole game and even Santa threw the first pitch! The Royals may always have a terrible team but they get an 'A' for their promotions, it's always good!

We tried out a new restaurant after church on Sunday. (New to me, that is). We had a good group go- Bree, Jason, little Josie, Daylen, Nadine and Scott went to Grinder's in the Crossroads District. I had heard they had good philly cheese steaks, so I had to check it out!

Did you know authentic philly cheese steaks use cheese wiz? It sounds crazy but it's true! And it really is good!!

So, I'm on a huge book fix. I read "Water for Elephants" because I thought the movie was good and knew it would be a great story. The book was fantastic and I read it in just a couple days! It's a fast read and really interesting because it really paints the picture of the life of a circus in the Great Depression.

Then, I read "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. I love history and this book did not disappoint! It's about the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and it's a duel storyline of the Fair and a serial killer who lived closed to the fairgrounds at the same time.

I really enjoyed learning about this Fair and learned that it really affected life since then. First, they built the structures in the classic Greek/Roman style (columns, etc) and it's credited to influencing practically every public building since then. That's also a criticism because for decades afterwards, America's architecture was known for simply copying the European classical style instead of coming up with their own.

Because they worked so hard at creating a beautiful fairgrounds, it was also credited with starting the City Beautiful movement. At this time, the late 1800's, America's cities were dirty, polluted, in poverty and overall, not very nice. The Fair made people realize that having parks and clean streets and aesthetically pleasing buildings helps everything in your city. People take pride in the city, and end up taking pride in themselves. It's good for morale, good for tourism, etc. 

The World's Fair in Chicago was also home of the first Ferris Wheel, Shredded Wheat, Columbus Day and it influenced people- Walt Disney's dad did construction on the site and it's said that Walt was so impressed he created his Disneyland from it. 

Anyways, it's a great book. And I haven't even gotten into the part about the serial killer, H.H. Holmes, who was said to have killed 200 people!! He was America's first serial killer. Leonardo DiCaprio purchased the filming rights to the book in 2010 so be looking for a movie to come out in a couple years!

Fountain Update:

No. 76- White Chapel Cemetery, Gladstone

Til next time...Laura