Bambinos and Naughty but Nice ... what a combo!

Today was crazy! I had a facial in Lawrence at 11 and my mom-in-law was so great to watch Erin while I was gone, and feed her as well, so I traveled to DeSoto, Lawrence, DeSoto, and Eudora this morning/afternoon. This evening, I traveled to Olathe, Lawrence, and back to Eudora. I did the "advanced" training at the Mary Kay meeting tonight (it was my first time, and although I have been preparing for about two weeks, compiling thoughts, and trying to be intune with God's plan, I still felt like it didn't go over well -- it's been too long since I've prepared lessons for adults!) and then was late in getting to my friends Laura's birthday party in Lawrence.

I had a blast with the birthday gang, and although we started the evening at Bambinos (Italian restraunt in Lawrence), we ended it standing under the awning, out of the rain, at Naughty but Nice. Now, this might seem strange, but mainly, the two businesses are next to each other, and the parking for Bambinos is against the building of NbN. Still makes for a fun story! We were a little concerned when a police car pulled into the parking lot and the officer entered the store. Maybe he lost his handcuffs??? We had lots of laughs, and I can't wait to see the few pics we took! It's always fun to have a girls' night! Happy Birthday Laura!

Camping

As Krista mentioned, the Rahija family/friends Reunion 2005 took place over the past weekend. We camped at John Redmond Res. near Burlington, KS, and had a nice time. Erin enjoyed all the attention from her aunts and uncle, and her Dunley and new friend Matt. We saw snakes and blue herons in the water, heard lots of fish, and unknowingly fed one or more racoons -- I guess they really go after animal crackers, Nutty Bars, and baked potatoes! I would say the weekend was fairly "incident free" except for Erin tripping on Roscoe's tether and a tent tie. We were stinky and hot upon returning home, but in one piece, and fairly sunburn free, as well as minimal numbers of bugbites and poison ivy! And, ... a fun time was had by ... :)

Erin, it seems had the best time, as when it was time for bed Sunday night, she begged us to go back to her campin' trip. I was not keen on this. It was fun, but I'm glad to be home.

Graceful as Ever

Well, once again, my natural grace and poise shine through! Today, I was on a phone interview with a potential new consultant, and was sitting on my bed. I decided to get up and go into the office so I could take some notes on our conversation. My body thought this was a fine idea, and moved forward and up to start the process. My feet, however, had some reservations about leaving the warmth of being tucked into my pant legs, and refused to budge. As you might imagine, the result was not-so-nice. I plummeted to the floor, landing on my hands and knees, particularly my right knee and left hand, acquiring a "strawberry" on both. The noise was so loud, that Erin came running in to scold me for being too noisy, but found me laying on the floor, and immediately began worrying about me, rubbing my legs, and kissing my knee. What a sweet moment. I am fine, just a little bruised (pride and knees). Thought all of you would like to know, I'm still the same, old, clumsy me!

Garage Sale Season

It's here! It's here! The dreary days of winter have gone, and it's time for sun, fun, and garage saling! I don't know what it is about garage saling that is so addictive ... perhapse the "needle in the haystack" syndrom takes over, or maybe it's just nice to get a good bargain on something you want or need!

Speaking of bargains, today was a good day for that! Getting a late start (10am), we hit six or seven sales. Some of them were neighborhood sales, and we attended on at a church. I ended up getting five shirts for Erin, a cute hoodie jacket, two pairs of Gap pants, two skirts, and an overall for baby Riggs ... three games for Erin, a pair of large squeaky dice (for Erin as we learn to play Yhatze!), Backpack complete with a star pocket (from Dora the Explorer) and three nice books ... for the bargain price of $6.80. I thought we did pretty well!

Erin, however, is more than excited about her new games. She had to get them out as soon as we got home ... however they needed a little cleaning, so after her nap we broke out the Mean Green and got her Cookie Scale, Cooties, and Hungry, Hungry Hippos games clean and fully operational. Now, the only problem is to help her understand that the games do not have interchangeable parts, and do not need to be out simultaneously.

She asked us today what "garage sale" means ... I think she'll be excited the next time we tell her we're going to one! Have a great weekend!

Newest Erinism

A new "funny" to add to the Erinisms list. Today, when Daddy asked Erin who loved her (old trick the babysitters taught her ... adult says, "Who's the cutest baby in the world?" Erin replies "ME!" Adult responds with "And who loves Erin?" Erin triumphantly shouts, "Everyone!" Everyone laughs, agrees, and we create a complex for our young daughter). Erin responds with, "Oh, Krista, Aunt Michelle ... they all love me!"

Yep, it's good to be two (and a HALF!).

Get Motivated!

I went to a training seminar today called "Get Motivated!" with my parents and sister (in-law and heart!)and had a great time! Zig Ziglar was there, as well as former NYC mayor Rudi G., and several other very motivational speakers. It was a long day, but provided much food for thought, and also revving up for a great Mary Kay month! We have a big production goal this month, as well as a goal to bring in 6 new ladies on my team! I know that God will provide the ladies, and our team is going to flourish! I am excited to see what He is doing in my life, and the lives of those who don't even know that He's working on yet! Have a great rest of the week, and leave me a post with any good news you have -- even if we've never met and you're just trolling through random blogs!

Mary Kay Open House Saturday, May 7th

Just a reminder that I will be having a
Mary Kay Open House this Saturday, May 7th,
in my home in Eudora.

Facials start at 2, 3, and 4.
I will also have gift sets available for
Moms, grads, brides, birthdays, dads, ...

There will be drawings, snacks, and savings!
Come on over, and bring a friend! It will be fun!
Remember, if you heard about this on my blog,
mention it to me, and receive an extra discount!

Contact me for more details and/or directions!
Hope to see you in Eudora on Saturday!

Weekend in Athol

Well, we survived the weekend trip to Athol. Rhett and Christina are happily married, the Mary Kay part of the day went well, and it was fun to catch up with some old high school friends. The singing part went okay ... however, the church needs to invest in a new music stand, as the one we were using was so ricketty, the music fell off during our singing in two of the three songs! Oh well, we did the best we could, and in one case, I just had to bend down and pick up the paper off the floor and keep going :) Erin had a blast at the dance, and wore Grandma and Grandpa Gerstenkorn out, I think! We also set a new trip record, and made it to Athol from Eudora in 3 hours and 50 minutes! Yikes!

In other news ... we are excited to have a new couple joining our ministry, Tim and Bree! They came to University Church for the first time on Sunday. They will be the "house parents" for the ministry center when we find one, and are getting married this summer. We are also welcoming Jimmy and Rachel, from Oklahoma, to Lawrence in June! Recently, Sean and Lisa have also met several families that are interested in University Church, and it seems that our little group may be growing! This is exciting! We are currently in a discussion called "The Matrix" (not about the movie!) that is interesting and I'd love to invite anyone to join us on Sunday evenings in Danforth Chapel, on KU's campus to add, listen, and take part in that discussion!

Well, that about does it for now. I don't think Erin's done anything too outrageous in the past few days ... or, I am just desensitized to it :) Have a wonderful day!