Things you may or may not know about me

So here are some random things about me that maybe you may or may not know. Enjoy!

• I know how to juggle
• My favorite athlete is Cal Ripken Jr.
• I can ride and own a unicycle
• I am 32 years old.
• My favorite color is orange - because it is so bright and bold!
• I have been a KU Jayhawk fan since the day I was born - even though I was born in Missouri. My mom grew up in Kansas and went to KU.
• My favorite ice cream is Peanut Butter and Chocolate from Baskin Robbins. Birthday Cake Remix for Cold Stone is a very close second.
• I have a younger brother who is truly amazing and thankfully we have a very close relationship - it was touch and go there for awhile when I was in middle school.
• I never really like to run until I signed up to run a marathon in 2004-2005.
• I use to work at the Cookie Factory and Baskin Robbins. So I can decorate a tad on cakes and cookies.
• I love taking pictures. It is so fun to see things in a different view.
• I will never be able to cheer for MU even if they ever make it to the national championship.
• I think it would be fun to be a personal trainer.
• I am going to Australia this summer.
• Comfort food: cookie dough and macaroni and cheese
• I enjoy coaching softball the most.
• My favorite place to visit right now is Ann Arbor Michigan - but that will change if Yoh moves.
• Favorite vacation I have been on as an adult would be Jamaica.
• Favorite vacation as a kid would be Disneyland! We got to take the airplane - pretty cool.
• I have never been water or snow skiing.
• Every Valentines Day my dad gets me something and delivers it to wherever I am that day (home or work) - I wonder what will happen when I get married? I hope it continues I like it and look forward to it.
• I helped my dad rebuild my first car - a 19701/2 Camaro - super cool and super fast.
• I get to go to the first round of the women's basketball tournament this spring in Tennessee with my mom. Check that off the 'bucket list' next is the final four for men's!:)
• I really think that I want to look into selling my pictures.
• 2 of my roommates are under the age of 5!
• Coca-cola classic = awesomeness.

Lil Char

January 22nd was my grandma's 86th birthday! This is my grandma Charlotte Marlin, I spent tons of time with her growing up and I honestly still do. Her opinion matters to me in a very big way, she is one of my heroes and probably my first hero or at least close by my to my dad - I was a daddy's little girl - (Mom no worries you are one of my heroes as well but this post is about Granny so you will have to wait your turn). Every time I hear that song by Bette Midler Wind Beneath My Wings - i think of my granny. She will always hold a special spot in my heart.

To be completely honest my grandmas birthday did make me a tad nervous, only because my grandma Maasen died on her birthday back in November. Then I just realized that I was being fearful and I should not live life like that. So anyways today I went over to her house to hang out with her for a few hours. Yep at 86 she still lives in an apartment all by herself - she is amazing and fully alert and is able to do more than me most days. We hung out and watch some basketball - I love that she watches sports - I think it is because my grandpa made her watching them when he was alive (he died when I was in 7th grade). I need to ask her though because she knows a lot about sports and watches all kinds! (She loves golf-watches it a lot, and she watches a ton of Atlanta Braves games, but that is because they are on TBS all the time). I brought lunch for me and some onion rings and a root beer for her from the famous Fritz's (the original)! It was great to just sit and talk to her about all the things that were on her mind. A few of the topics-which are always discussed-were: money, what's new with me, coaching, my trip, Melissa Yoh, and my roommates. My grandma did tell me that I should just ask Melissa really nicely to move back and maybe she would :) and she told me to get Cassie and Belle something nice for their birthdays - because everyone likes presents especially kids. I asked granny then if my present for her birthday was her favorite of course she laughed and didn't really answer but I know it was. It was coffee and coffee mate - FROM COSTCO!!

Here are some things that I will always remember about my grandma:

weekend sleepovers, oatmeal with cinnamon sugar toast, spaghetti and meatballs, swinging on her porch swing, coloring and water coloring with her, playing cards games (old maid, rummy, and the circle game), shopping trips (millions), the trip to Vegas, falling asleep on her lap on the couch, the many trips to Fritz's, watching sports, her being the 1st one to always call me on my birthday at like 7a.m. or earlier, i know that there are many more but it is making me kind of sad so I am going to stop.

Granny I love you and I am thankful you are still in my life so I can still get some quality time. Thanks for being great and loving me unconditionally. I hope that if I live to be your age that I can do things for myself and still be strong and alert like you! You make me proud to be your granddaughter.

PS. The title is Lil Char because Yoh nicknamed her that and I think that granny secretly likes it!

Top 10 pictures from 2009

Here are MY favorite pictures that I have taken over the last year. I put them in order #1 being first. Enjoy! Comments, concerns, and suggestions are always welcome of course. I am sort of pondering making some of these pictures into cards and maybe even selling them. Who knows how that will go.

#1 - A Bridge in Ann Arbor, Michigan

#2- A Yellow Rose (yellow roses are my favorite, so this is probably why the yellow rose won out of all the flower pictures I took this year) - Loose Park

#3 - Niagara Falls

#4 - an abandoned barn - West Unity, Ohio

#5 - A railroad track - Merriam, KS

#6 - The Beginning & End Results of a Rose - Loose Park

#7 - A fall tree - Merriam, KS

#8 - Corn Stalk - West Unity, Ohio

#9 - Walk Way with Roses - Loose Park

#10 - The Grassy Meadow & Bridge and in the Background - Champaign, IL