a jacket fetish

i decided that since i didn't purchase any coats this winter, i was allowed 2 new jackets.

what?

in case there was ever any question

kansas is legit ...

statistics typically mean little to me except when i'm questioned (by those outside of the kansas world) on getting a desgin degree (from kansas).

(it makes me defensive, considering kansas has great programs in education all-around. )

Top 2009 nation-wide programs according to DesignIntelligence:

Master of Architecture
1. Harvard University
2. University of Cincinnati
3. Columbia University
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Yale University
6. Cornell University
6. Washington University in St. Louis
6. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
9. University of Michigan
9. University of Texas at Austin
11. Clemson University
11. Kansas State University
11. Princeton University
11. Texas A&M University
11. University of Virginia
16. Rice University
17. Georgia Institute of Technology
17. University of California at Berkeley
19. Rhode Island School of Design
19. Syracuse University

Bachelor of Interior Architecture/Design
1. Kansas State University
2. Pratt Institute
2. University of Cincinnati
4. Cornell University
5. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
6. California College of Arts
6. New York School of Interior Design
8. Michigan State University
9. Arizona State University
9. Art Center Design College
9. Illinois Institute of Art at Chicago
9. Iowa State University of Science and Technology
9. Miami University
9. University of Missouri
9. University of Oregon
9. University of Texas at Austin
9. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Master of Interior Architecture/Design
1. Pratt Institute
2. Kansas State University
3. Cornell University
4. Rhode Island School of Design
5. Savannah College of Art and Design
6. Arizona State University
6. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
6. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
9. Washington State University of Spokane
10. Iowa State University
10. Syracuse University
10. University of Florida

Bachelor of Landscape Architecture
1. University of Georgia
2. Kansas State University
2. Louisiana State University
4. Pennsylvania State University
5. Cornell University
5. Texas A&M University
7. Purdue University
8. Ball State University
9. Iowa State University
10. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
10. University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign
12. Clemson University
13. Ohio State University
14. University of Florida
15. University of Rhode Island

Master of Landscape Architecture
1. Harvard University
2. University of Georgia
3. Louisiana State University
4. Texas A&M University
5. Ball State University
5. Cornell University
5. University of Virginia
8. Kansas State University
8. University of California at Berkeley
8. University of Michigan
11. University of Pennsylvania
11. University of Texas at Austin
13. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
14. Auburn University
14. North Carolina State University
14. Rhode Island School of Design

new year. new me.

i always have good intentions at the beginning of a new year. this one is no exception.

trying to be realistic, is the challenge.

going to the gym? no. going to a new destination? now we're talking.

however, this year i really do need to go to the gym.

my goal is to challenge myself. my 30 year old self needs a push and i'm tired of longing for my fit body of the past.

classes are the key. i welcome anything to motivate me beyond my current lifestyle and challenge me to my potential.

(i also bought new eye cream from sephora and agreed that this is an acceptable way of improving my 30 year old self. shopping = yay!)

(it almost makes up for the hell spinning class has put me through ... and after i survive that, i think a trip to a new destiation is definitely in order.)

looking forward to an improved me in 2009!

to-do lists.

i'm a little ocd about things.

lists, for instance. i can't function any given day without a to-do list. it helps put things into perspective and feels gratifying to cross things off.

i can't ever stop there though. i'll extend on a list and make another one. target, for example, may be a line item but then i feel i need an additional list for the actual trip there.

(i lose focus quickly. especially at target.)

this time of year i have lists for everything ... christmas gift lists, christmas card lists, client gifts, christmas decor lists, party lists ....

i admit, it gets a little out of hand.

blogging is on my list for the evening. true story.

why can't i be obsessed with other things, say, like working out? instead it's "buy more wine" underlined.

a day of thanks

i have a lot to be thankful for.

for instance, i'm at mom's house right now. i wouldn't be if i was still in georgia.

so i'm drinking coffee, sprawled out on the chase with muffin pants, enjoying quiet time before the rest of the world awakes.

this morning i'm going to make a pumpkin gingerbread trifle (thanks rachel ray).

then dad's going to put on my spare as i have a flat tire. we will go to walmart together and get a new tire. (dad loves to help me whenever possible and ignored me all together when i said i had AAA).

after that i'll go back to mom's house and help her prepare our thanksgiving feast (if she lets me).

i'm sure i'll get drilled with questions from family members about my boyfriend (not so thankful about that, although i am thankful for boyfriend himself).

after things settle and if we can still move, mom and i are on a mission to finish making window treatments for my master bedroom.

if i get a nap squeezed in too, it may be a record breaking day of greatness.

remembering and vowing to never forget.

i spent a couple of days back out in rural kansas to bury grandma. it's been a while since i've actually spent considerable time there. our family gatherings at the farm ceased about 10 years ago and were replaced by short day trips to the assisted living facility.

i love small towns. i remember growing up, our family visits were typically noted in the weekly paper.

my dad was raised on the farm and went to school in a one-room schoolhouse up until high school.

he rode a horse to get there.

but not before grandma had his clothes pressed.

milk, eggs, and chicken were fresh from the farm.

grandma would occasionally lend a hand by milking a cow, but always in a dress.

lots of stories were shared to me about my grandmother this last week. i hung on to every word and hope that somehow i will remember it all forever.

i'm afraid of that. that i'll forget. that the stories will fade over time as most things do.

i know one story that never won't ...

the time that aunt nita brought my grandma a pie and was chased by a wild turkey. grandma laughed as she watch aunt nita run across the front lawn. after a successful pie delivery, grandma hit that turkey over the head with a stick so hard that it knocked him out. that's when aunt nita made her escape.

true story.

i told you she was a firecracker.

saying goodbye.

i've never been good at goodbyes.

i remember years ago my mom and brother dropping me off at my college dorm for the very first time. as i pulled back into my hometown a month later, it suddenly dawned on me that life had forever changed. i walked inside my mom's house and ran straight into her arms.

the years after college were no easier, in that respect. i moved down south and eagerly started a new life outside of kansas. visits home for the holidays were great but saying goodbye at the end was torture.

about the time when it started to become easier was about the time when i decided to move back.

leaving a life i had created for the past several years was not easy for me. i decided to move back to the midwest which also meant saying goodbye to my southern sidekick of 6 years/soul mate/roommate/business partner, heather.

thankfully, dad was there to help with my move, but more importantly, be my support. dad can't talk about that day without choking up. he witnessed it all which included a tearful heather at 6am seeing us off with a box of donuts.

i miss her every day. and although we're not partners-in-crime running around savannah, i know she'll forever be in my life. until death do us part.

now tomorrow, i have to say a different kind of goodbye. this one may very likely be forever.

my grandmother is 99 years old. she has overcome breast cancer and losing her husband (among many other things). i'm constantly amazed by her strength and resilience. plus, she's a real firecracker. i love that.

grandma is not well. i'm trying to prepare myself.

something great will be lost without her here. she is the core of our family. she provided a warm home and some of the best childhood memories were had on that farm in rural kansas. grandma's pancakes and fried chicken, homemade ice cream, catching fire flies, playing tag on the hay bails, sledding, building forts in the woods ...

not to mention, she raised my dad. he's pretty amazing.

i'm not ready to say goodbye.

i won't.

i'll always remember.

my bags were all packed, but before i could get out the door dad called to tell me she passed early the next morning.