A Birthday Week

I use my weekly calendar to remember what I've been doing with my life and what was of interest to tell you all. Yes, I have one of those fancy droids and do use Google calendar (which I think is fantastic) but I guess I just like pen & paper for some things:

Apparently, the little reminder in my phone calendar isn't nearly as exciting as my own  handwritten calendar. 

Work went well this week. My new boss is big on mentoring and making sure that his team is happy and growing/learning - that makes me super happy. My first two bosses (at my internship & my first job) were BIG on mentoring. I thank my lucky stars (okay, I think God!) for these ladies and the things they taught me during the time I worked with them. What a blessing. I hope I'm able to grow as much here as I did in those two positions.

I had a lovely weekday lunch at Mildred's Coffeehouse in the Crossroads with Audrey and Liane, two wonderful med student wives. Mildred's is literally up the block from where I work, and Audrey and Liane braved the street parking to have lunch with me. We had great fellowship and I am so blessed by these women's friendship! And, because you've got to know, I had the Classic BLT on wheat toast and added avocado. So delicious. I had a half sandwich with a cup of Roasted Red Pepper bisque. Yum. It was $10 with the tip, and I'd recommend this little gem to anyone.

Friday night our group of friends went out to Jack Stack BBQ in the plaza, we waited an hour for a table, I had my first-ever cosmopolitan, and we found out just how blessed we are to have a great group of friends this early in the med-school game! All 4 guys are in school together, and Audrey, Liane and I work, and Preston's girlfriend lives in TN...but we're hoping that someday she gets to move here and join the us every time we go out! We all go to Redeemer Fellowship together, but this was the first time ALL of us were able to go out. Such a fun evening.

So thankful for our friends from all over! L to R: Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, South Dakota - WOW!

Jordan and I splurged on a full slab of Beef Back Ribs ($26.75) that are described as 8 Dinosaur-sized Ribs for those who crave the taste of Beef. Served with Creamy Coleslaw, Hickory Pit Beans, and French Fries. The were not kidding about the dinosaur-size. I ate 2 of the small ones, Jordan ate 4 and he had the other 2 for lunch yesterday. Ridiculous.

Dad, Mom and Lucas arrived around 9pm Friday evening...and we kept them waiting in the car for an hour in our parking lot (OOPS!) as we finished up dinner at Jack Stack. We were SO happy to have them visit, and of course, couldn't fit all the fun into a few days. They'll definitely need to come back:

City Market - bought a few groceries for the week and showed mom & dad how CHEAP everything is!

Ixtapa Mexican - a birthday lunch with dad, mom and Jordan. I enjoyed Tacos Chidos with shrimp ($15.49) which had five mini soft corn tortillas topped with shrimp, caramelized onion, guacamole and fresh cilantro. So delicious.

KCUMB Tour - Jordan showed us around campus, since mom and dad had never seen it before.

WWI Museum - Mom, dad and I spent 3-4hrs exploring this museum, and even though I'd already spent hours here in July, I read new and different things that I hadn't had a chance to read the time before. Such a good museum.

Fort Leavenworth - We visited my mom's sister and her family (AND my cousin Matt from Texas and his wife were staying with them, so we got to caught up after not seeing each other for probably 6 years! A great bonus. Plus, it was the first time I'd met his wife!), enjoyed fabulous beef stew made by my cousin Beth's boyfriend (and biscuits by my momma!), enjoyed amazing cheesecake made by my aunt Kathy, and took a walking tour of base.

Weston, MO - On the way home from Ft. Leavenworth, mom, dad and I met Jordan in Weston so they could experience the underground bar for themselves. Jordan taught us to play Texas Hold'em and mom beat us all!

We also spent an even at our apartment making zucchini, onions, yellow squash and kielbasa...one of my very favs (zucchini and squash courtesy of mom's garden!). We played Up and Down the River for over an hour and laughed hysterically. A wonderful evening.

Mom and Dad brought me my very fav Sioux Falls Oh My Cupcakes! for my birthday. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. So. Delicious. 

Beautiful flowers from hubby for my birthday!

 I'll leave you with a challenging quote that was in our bulletin this past Sunday (blog post dedicated to our fab - and challenging - church is forthcoming...):

"Idolatry need not entail a statue of Buddha or genuflecting in a pagan temple. Idolatry is any tendency in the human heart to dethrone God for the sake of something else, whether that be money, sex, ambition, power, pride, or some thing as seemingly innocuous as respectability. To the extent that we give our affections to anything other than God on the assumption that it can do for our souls what He can't, we are guilty of idolatry." 

~ Sam Storms ~