Psssst...I have a secret!

I have a confession to make. I have a new fella in my life. Call me superstitious but I was afraid I would jinx myself if I broadcast it to the blogging world. Here is the rundown on Dallin...that's his name...Dallin. We actually met officially in May of last year through a mutual friend who will remain nameless...ahem...Julie Fullmer. She has been planting the idea in both of our heads since then but nothing ever came of it until she arranged for us both to be at her house in October. We hit it off right away and have spent as much time as possible together ever since. (I know, kind of sickening right?) He is quite possibly the most considerate person I have ever met which I absolutely love about him. Probably the best example of this took place a few weeks ago. He randomly (very randomly) asked me how many vacation days I had available from work. He was very secretive about why he was wondering. He called me later that night (I was already sleeping) and told me that he was sending me to Utah for my birthday. I started to argue and say it was too much but then he said he was coming with me! If I hadn't been deep in sleep five minutes prior to this, I might have cried. We will be leaving KC for SLC on my birthday and will be there for a few days. I told him that he has no idea what he is getting himself into...my Utah friends and family are kind of a big deal to me...but he is excited nonetheless. He might change his mind after this trip...who knows! Here is a picture of us from New Years. Moral of the story: I am a happy girl.

You Get What You Give...

Pardon my rant for just a moment...just humor me ok? There is a person in my life (who shall remain nameless) that has been known to treat me...what's the right word?...like a crap bag. I do not understand for the life of me how this person can treat me, or anyone for that matter, like they are nothing. And me, being the person that I am, always forgive the aforementioned individual and remember that there is a good person deep down....somewhere. In the past couple of weeks, I have realized that it is not fair for me to keep putting myself through such a roller coaster. This person will never change and will never learn from these mistakes even after they have been caught in their lies. Karma is a beautiful thing my friends.

Itchy and Scratchy!

Throughout my life I have periodically gotten hives creeping up my neck and face, but normally only when I am upset or nervous about something. In the past month or so, I have gotten them on a very regular basis and sometimes for no reason at all! It is almost embarrassing when I unknowingly start scratching my neck only to have a co-worker tell me how red my neck is. This only embarrasses me more which makes my face grow a deeper shade of crimson. I am not sure what is the cause of this culprit, but until then...don't be surprised if you see red blotches all over me.

Many Mighty Miracles

I can't believe how quickly the last two years has gone by. This past week, I realized that it has been two years since the infamous car accident. In some ways it feels much more than that, but it is also very hard to believe so much time has passed. So many blessings have come from that night with five wonderful people that I will forever be connected with from this amazing experience. We were truly protected that night and have been blessed immensely since. Our lives have all gone in very different directions in the past two years but I am very grateful for all of them and this miracle that we all share.

A Tribute to Grandpa Karren

Keith Obray Karren

1926-2008


Over the past week I have been reflecting on my favorite memories of my sweet Grandpa Karren. He was one of the happiest people I have ever known. Always had a smile on his face. He was so curious about the world and loved to learn. He loved being surrounded by his family. I may not have been lucky enough to grow up with him, but he never treated me any different than the rest of his grandkids. He loved my Grandma and they were such a great example to all of us. I loved when he would open a present. He would immediately have to put it together, or read through it or figure it out. He would always say, "Look at that!" I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to know him over the past 5 years and am very blessed by all the things that I learned from him and his life. He will be missed by his family and all that knew him.

Hollywood in KC??

I got a phone call today from Quinci telling me to look at a website. This wouldn't be an abnormal request since we are pretty random most of the time. Anyways, she wanted me to look at the website for the Celebrity Basketball game that was going on downtown tonight. Don't worry, we totally went. I could lie to you and say that I wasn't completely excited, but I totally was. Don't judge me! The celebrities that were there that are worth mentioning are Dean Cain, Stephen Colletti, Brody Jenner and James Lafferty. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves! Quinci and I felt like teenage girls again...that's ok though, right? Don't be too jealous, ladies!

Dean Cain AKA Superman

Stephen Colletti from Laguna Beach and One Tree Hill

James Lafferty AKA Nathan Scott from One Tree Hill

Brody Jenner from The Hills

I have no words...

I thought tonight was going to be just another night at the Menssen's...but alas...I was sadly mistaken. It all started on the way to our typical Friday night snarf fest (AKA Jose Pepper's.) Anywhoo...there we were, singing a little off-pitch Carrie Underwood (ok, a lot off-pitch) when out of nowhere, I hear Quinci yell, "What did I just hit?!" We clearly couldn't stop (because of the aforementioned snarf fest) so waited till we got to our destination to check out the situation. Low and behold...we were caught right in the middle of a murder.
Bird murder.
Vehicular birdslaughter of the worst kind.
All in the name of yummy Mexican goodness.
After we screamed like the adults that we are...ahem...we proceeded to throw up in our mouths (just a little...) and then we continued to solve the murder mystery, that actually wasn't a mystery at all. Here is the crimescene photo:

Poor little guy didn't even have a chance to make a getaway from the reckless driver that is Quinci. We then had a small, private ceremony and yet oh so...not...due to the fact that we were surrounded by cars...anyways...here is the eulogy given by Quinci and myself in a British accent of course.

He was a good bird.

Everyone liked him.

The end.

Rest in peace our little feathered friend.

We won't soon forget you and your fowlish ways.

The real the end.

This is how we chose to mourn the loss of our fallen friend. Rather than focusing on his untimely grill-meets-bird death, we decided to celebrate his life. He would have wanted it that way. So enjoy this celebration of life because we sure did...