Guest Post: Missy from .....Messy Missy.....

The Brighter Writer is on Rocky Mountain Hiatus! While we settle our attitudes to the altitude, please enjoy my guest girl Missy over at .....Messy Missy.....



i have never really done a guest post before so coming up with something to talk about was tricky.  i am not too keen on talking about myself.  i only really have a blog as to be able to look back on my life with edited eyes. i am not much of a writer.  since krista is moving to back to the midwest from california, i thought i would write about the things i miss about the midwest (specifically kansas), as i am part californian and part midwestern.

-as summer is embarking the midwest, i can't help but miss the loud, crazy, awesome thunderstorms.  i miss counting the seconds from the lightning to the sound of the thunder and trying to guess how far away the storm is. 

-the smell rain. 

-lawrence and its charm.

 

-the deafening sound of the cicadas during the summer.  

-buying the freshest produce around from farmer's with corn so sweet, you can eat it raw.

-as gross as this is, i miss steak n' shake.  i worked there for a few years in high school and i can tell you from experience, it really is that disgustingly good. mmm...chili mac aka spaghetti noodles with ketchup and this weird meat mash.

 

-the nelson atkins museum and walking through it with my grandma.

-boulevard beer.

-my dad

-riding mini motorcycles.

-stockton lake and cliff jumping while camping in an rv with my dad amongst the amish.

 

-lightning bugs and locust shells.

-fourth of july and firecracker wars.

i hope krista has an easy move and adapts quickly to her new life in colorado.  thanks for having me!

find me at www.messymissi.blogspot.com

Class of 1998 ROX!!

So I'm moving. I'm not just moving down the street or across town, I'm moving to an entire new state. This requires some downsizing. Clearly. I wouldn't (others might) say I'm necessarily a "pack rat," but the things with severe sentimental value (anything Star Wars related), I have a hard time throwing away. That being said, I do cut down my bullshit every time I move. I really do. And it's time to go through some boxes and see what golden gems I've had hiding away in the garage. 

What's that? What was in the first box I pulled down this morning you ask? Well, that's a great question. It just so happened to be my high school keepsake box. HOLY HELL. HOLY HELL!

I totally remember when I was that kid walking around the halls of Washburn Rural High School rocking my converse with too much eye liner on. I remember sneaking into the parking lot to smoke cigarettes and listening to the Violent Femmes in my best friend's Geo Tracker. I remember skipping class and hanging out in the lunch room so I could stare at my skater boy crush. I remember trying way too hard to be too cool for school. Ah, those were the days! 

Well here we are 14 years later and all I have to show for it is what's left in this box. This glorious box of treasure that I figured I'd share with all of you in hopes of giving you a nice smile on this dreary Monday afternoon. I'll spare you the entire contents, but I'll give you a handful of my favorites. 

Music was pretty much a vital part of my existence from the very beginning. As it is with most rebellious teens I suppose. So, of course, I kept all my favorite box sets. 

My Case Logic CD holders filled with over 50 discs of The Cure and imported Robert Smith stuff. And another in equal size of Tori Amos. 

My beloved notebook where I jotted down all my teenage angst and love stories, along with a copy of the Plethora Literary Magazine that I was featured in. (Seriously, could I be any more nerdy??)

My Darth Vader piggy bank

My Nintendo, complete with games, controllers and Duck Hunt gun

And last but not least, just for your afternoon laughter and enjoyment, I scanned my class picture from 1996.
(P.S. I have Logan Reynolds to blame for this hair cut he gave me)

I hope I was able to shine some light with my geeky flashback on your case of the Mondays. 

L8R SK8R
LYLAS 4-EVA

Still rock my khakis with a cuff and a crease (fo sho)
Still got love for the streets, repping two one three (fo life)
Still the beats bang, still doing my thang

Cause I’m a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk!

I spent the morning checking my Facebook and watching all the pictures roll in from last night's NCAA win. Total chaos and mayhem, as it should be. 

This one was taken on top of a building at 11th and Mass St. (Yes, those are people. Very excited, very drunk people. )

Allen Fieldhouse on campus was packed with local fans watching on the big screen even though the actual game was in New Orleans.

Today though, the town sang quite a different tune. Most of the locals were still in bed until the mid afternoon, and so we had campus to ourselves for the better part of the day. 

I've personally never been in a sorority house, so I was pretty blown away when we walked into Sigma Kappa to visit with my niece. What a gorgeous house.  I must have sat in the porch swing looking at their view with my mouth open for quite a while. Their common area was nicer and bigger than any place I've ever lived. What a life!

 On the very beginning of our walk through campus, we pit stopped at the Chi Omega fountain to cool off for a minute. It was in the high 80's the majority of the day. 

There is nothing in the world like going back to the campus where you spent your formative years. I have so many crazy memories about this place, what a trip it was to hold my daughter's hand while we cruised the same streets I spent so much time in.

This university has over 1000 acres of insanely beautiful backdrops that have made America's Most Beautiful Campuses list multiple times for great reason.

Campanile

Strong Hall

Watson Library

Natural History Museum

Memorial Stadium

Every Sunday, someone goes up to the bells at the top of Campanile and plays a concert that can be heard all around town. We stopped, let the kids run around and took a break to listen.

And we picked some pine cones

Family Over Everything

Potter Lake

Good luck to the boys tomorrow in the NCAA! I'll be rooting you on from the airplane since I'll miss the game!  Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!!!!

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

My husband and I have taken Kalynn to the tiny (in comparison) 26 acre Fullerton Arboretum (California) in the past and she absolutely loves it. I guess in my brain when we pulled up to the OP Arboretum and Botanical Gardens parking lot today I assumed it would be somewhat like that, but I was clearly mistaken. This place is ginormous. Over 300 hundred acres of ginormous; complete with hybrid trees and shrubs, botanicals gardens, ponds, play areas, a straw maze, tunnels, statues, streams, water falls and even a shiny red train car to boot. I'm not kidding, this place is a gold mine to tucker out your littlest one. And it's completely free, so there's nothing in the world that can beat that. All of you Kansans who are starting to plan your summer activities, this is the place to be!

P.S. Good luck tonight, KU! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

Cousins

"The universe gave us cousins because our moms couldn't handle us as siblings" ~ Unknown

This house is pretty insane with a couple of 2-year-olds and a 4-year-old. Squeals, giggles, laughs, shouts, roll-around-on-the-floors, and even a couple of hugs here and there. There is nothing in the world like hanging out with your family, grilling up some hot dogs, and watching the cousins explore the back yard that they've played in a million times. 

It's this kind of love that makes the world go 'round.

The Flight

Yesterday was our 5th airplane trip with Kalynn in 2 years. We flew when she was 4 months old to Kansas City, 6 months old to New York (longest flight ever), 18 months to Colorado, 22 months back to Kansas City, and now at 2 years to Kansas City again. She's pretty much a well oiled machine at this point. When I tell her we're going, I have to wait until the day of or else she'll pack her bag and wait by the door until I get my shoes on and go. She's loves the airport. She loves to watch the people come and go, watch the planes come in and take off, to wander to and from the terminals with her roller suitcase and feel like she's one of the "beeg goo trabers" (big girl travelers).

Yesterday was no different. The girl is amazing. We flew two and a half hours from Orange County to Dallas/Fort Worth, had an hour layover, and then flew another hour and 15 minutes to Kansas City International. Never a peep out of her. Well, except at the end when she crapped her pants and moaned a quiet little "sad, mommy, saaaad..." over and over again because she couldn't go in a potty. She's not a big fan of having to sit in poop. Honestly, neither am I. So I get it.

Anyway, here's our trip:

Aaaaand we're off! (again)

  No idea why she rolled around on the floor for a few minutes prior to getting on the plane. Something about the "other kids do it" even though there were no other kids around. But whatever...

Coloring

Buttoning

Watching The Muppets and playing with the barf bag (which coincidentally makes an excellent "sleeping bag" for her Cabbage Patch Baby)

Very ready to be asleep at this point.

On a side note, American Airlines is horrible. I saw at least 2 cockroaches running around at my feet and on both flights the airplane looked like it was going to fall apart. Good thing the flight attendant gave me a couple of glasses of free wine, you know, other wise I would have really cared. (She had a few left over glasses, I happened to be sitting in the very back seat looking like a drinker apparently)

Regardless, we made it safe and sound! We've got the whole house to ourselves for the day until Aunt Kari, Uncle Nick, Cousin Finn and Cousin Harper get out of work and school. Until then, we've got a billion toys laying around this giant house that are brand new (to her), a kitty cat to torture, and our very own "park" in the back yard. It's so nice to be home!