Female in Motion

This nasty January has been getting me down lately, so last week I headed up to Derby for a little therapy...retail-style. There's nothing wrong with pouring your heart out on a therapist's couch, but sometimes a girl just needs to shop! Since the dawn of time, men hunt to provide for their families, but women gather together the best bargains they can find for their family's needs and comfort. Not to mention the thrill of it all! Mom and I decided to start with power lunch to nourish ourselves. Pizza John's opened in 1969 in downtown Derby and has been going strong ever since. Their cracker-thin crust and sweet sauce is the stuff dreams are made of. The place is always packed out, too. Pizza Hut, eat your heart out! After a delectable repast, Mom and I hit the road to Haysville. She had heard about a gift shop there, and I needed some ideas for Valentine's Day presents. Craft Country Gifts was just the ticket: an old barn, stuffed to the gills with cool things. I l...

The Hubster and I made our way south of the border on Saturday, to sample a little Mexican cuisine. Sometimes, you just need to have some tamales, refried beans, chips and salsa to make the world seem right. January is a cold, gray month and a gastronomical adventure makes it brighter. So we drove south of the border...to Ponca City, Oklahoma! That's right, whenever we have a hankering for Mexican food, we go to Enrique's Restaurant: the hottest jalapeno on the runway! Enrique's is a family-owned establishment that has been around for decades. The Hubster and I love that it is located at the Ponca City Municipal Airport, so we can watch the planes depart and arrive. Because of my dad's job at Boeing, I grew up around planes, and love them. The food is really tasty and authentic at Enrique's. It's not at all fancy, just straightforward, yummy chow. Some of my favorites are the enchiladas, chicken huarache, fajitas and their delicious rice. If you are ever in Ponc...

This is a Christmas photo of my grandcat, Jack. He lives with my daughter, Sarah, in Wichita. In the photo, he is playing with a toy that I got him for Christmas. Isn't he handsome? Jack is my first grandkitty. Can you tell I'm a doting grandmother? I'm in training for grandkids! *** The Hubster spent a lot of quality time this weekend with my computer. It caught a very unfortunate virus on Friday. A Trojan Horse computer virus, to be precise. Yeah, major yucky! I feel really guilty, because I did open a forwarded email from a family member who shall remain nameless, but The Hubster said it could happen to anyone. Norton Antivirus to the rescue. I don't know how people without a live-in programmer deal with these crises! *** We had a "death" in the family last week. Our Sonicare toothbrush, which served us faithfully for well over ten years, finally bit the dust. That thing was a workhorse! Amazon.com supplied us with a new one...the latest model. We're re...

The Hubster and I welcomed 2009 in the usual way. We went to our regular Wednesday night Bible study, came home, had a snack and watched an old movie. Wild stuff! That's life on the edge in good old Ark City! *** I spent New Year's Day with my mom. We had a lot of fun, even if we were doing a whole lot of work. I'm a bit of a grinch, and don't put up a lot of Christmas decorations. My mom, however, is a completely different sort. She decorates every room in the house: bedrooms, bathrooms, and the front and back yards! Mom has many beautiful holiday items, collected over the years, and it would be a shame to keep them put away. My siblings helped Mom put up the Christmas finery this year, so it was my turn to help her get it all boxed back up for next year's celebration. Mom is a really organized person (yes, that's where I get it from!), so the whole day went smoothly. Plus, she cooked a yummy lunch and we talked incessantly. Mom and I always laugh at how we nev...

I feel as if I have lived a lifetime since my last post. At least that's what it feels like. A mere seven days ago, I was cleaning house and working and cooking and grocery shopping like mad. Preparing for Christmas is always hectic. Christmas was not the main event this year, however. My mom celebrated a big birthday this year, and we did it up right! The entire family spent the weekend at The Hotel at Old Town in Wichita, complete with elegant buffet dinner on Saturday night. I have three siblings, who are all married with children, so we totaled 18 people. It was quite an achievement to get us all in one place at the same time! The historic hotel was beautifully decorated for the holidays. After checking in on Saturday afternoon, members of the family went out to lunch and then hit the Museum of World Treasures. That place is cool! Upon returning, we dressed for dinner and spent time in the piano bar of the hotel. They have talented musicians playing there in the evening. During...

At last, I can lie down and rest! The annual Youth Christmas Program at Missionary Baptist Church is done. No, it's not a huge program, just a little Nativity play with 16 kids of various shapes and sizes. Somehow, during the month of December, it turns into a giant, energy-zapping ball of activity and stress! Don't get me wrong; I volunteer for this every year. And I love it! It wears me out, though. I was in charge of costumes this year. We had plenty of them, but they all had to be cleaned and fitted and ironed and re-fitted and finally put on for the performance and then un-pinned and cleaned all over again! Did I mention that the whole time this was occurring, I was standing up? There were just four of us brave souls that took on this task. Julie directed, Jana did all the music, Patty was rugrat wrangler and helped yours truly with costumes. There were several others who helped with sets and curtains and miscellaneous. I think we all deserve combat pay! The play was well-...

In the past four days, I have seen two great Christmas concerts. First, the Ark City Middle School choirs performed a festive medley of traditional and contemporary tunes last Thursday night. Two of my Sunday School students, Alexis Coldwell and Brittany Guevera, are members of the ACMS 8th grade choir. Their director, Nancy Eis, likes to get kids involved with lots of feature solos. My favorite tune was "Winter Song," which had a haunting melody. The Arkansas City High School Christmas Choir Concert was tonight. Jessica Coldwell sings alto in both the Ark High Singers and the Symphonic Choir. Her brother, Conner, played the drums on two songs. The tunes were a mixture of traditional carols and satirical compositions. My favorites were "The Gift," a sweet love song, and a doo-wop version of "White Christmas" by the men's ensemble. *** The Hubster and I drove out to the Cowley 8 on Saturday night to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still," with Ke...