mangled mug

Last year I received an awesome Harley-Davidson travel coffee mug from my parents for Christmas. After using it nearly every morning and almost lasting a year, I had to say goodbye to my coffee companion. The other night I had my hands full, and as I attempted to set the mug on my counter, it fell off and cracked on my tile kitchen floor. It was a sad day, here was the end result...

However, my mother knows my obsession with coffee, so she lovingly replaced it with this one as a "Thanksgiving" present!

double chocolate mocha trifle

I made this along with a cornbread casserole for the "Friends Thanksgiving"!

pharynx & larynx on walls...oh my!

My parents were town a few weekends ago for the RMAC volleyball tournament so I had my dad help me hang my awesome new wall decor! I received this from my friend Mark who confiscated it from his speech path mom. Having this on my living room wall makes me so happy in the nerdiest way, but it's bound to strike up a few conversations!

Loper volleyball

The Loper volleyball team won the RMAC Tournament on November 13th in Kearney, which qualified them for the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Minnesota-Duluth and top seed SW Minnesota State in the NCAA Tourney before ending their season to no. 2 Concordia St. Paul. My cousin Cola, who has been their starting setter for the past four years, earned the Division II National Player of the Week title on November 9th. The girls had an amazing season and I'm going to miss watching them play.

Cola and I after the RMAC Championship game
and her last home game as a Loper

celebrating Chris

One of my good friends from UNL, Chris, took his own life on November 5th; needless to say the past few weeks have been filled by coping with the loss as well as celebrating his life. Chris was a second year doctoral student. He had received speech therapy for most of his life for stuttering and was working towards his Ph.D. to help others like him. Chris was an amazing person, his laugh, smile, and squeal of excitement could brighten anyone's day! During my senior year as an undergraduate, he became a great role model for me and loved offering advice. Chris had a sassy free spirit and loved to dance. My best memories of Chris are those which included Rock Band and chips & salsa. Chris will never be forgotten and I am so glad I was able to be a part of his life.

My speech path friends from UNL at my Ugly Christmas Sweater Party 2009--
Chris is front right

Chris came to watch me present my UCARE poster
Walking back from chips & salsa
He always reminded me that I was his favorite Loper

spaghetti supper

I made spaghetti, actually pasta shells with meat sauce, and white hominy for supper last night; it was nice to cook again, it had been a while! After I devoured my meal, my cousin Jackie asked me to play intramural volleyball last night-- we went 1-2 but it felt great to be back on the court again, and I'm surprisingly not sore today!

family football rivalries

My brother Blake and I with our cousin Chris and his wife Karla

My relatives from Missouri came to Lincoln this weekend for the big football game; they even crashed, I mean joined our tailgate! Despite their gold and black apparel, we enjoyed every minute of having them in town-- we enjoyed it even more when the Huskers beat the Tigers!

"Shootin' Blanks" lead singer, my cousin Tyler, and the other guitarist

My cousin Tyler and his band, “Shootin' Blanks” from Kansas City also happened to be in town this weekend and played at Uncle Ron’s both Friday and Saturday. They’re a great red dirt band and we all have an amazing time rockin' out when they come to town!

sorry punkin

My pumpkin masterpiece! HAHAHA.

fruit salad

A few weeks ago I made this delicious fruit salad for a potluck and I thought I would share the recipe with all of you-- it's simple and delicious, what more could you ask for?!

mmm...fruit!

beautiful apples

The finished product!

 Creamy Fruit Salad:

1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (16 oz.) sliced peaches, drained, cut into bite-size pieces
3 bananas, sliced
2 unpeeled red apples, cut into bite-size pieces
Fruit Sauce:
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 c. cold milk
1/3 c. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
¾ c. sour cream

In a large bowl, combine all fruit. Mix together gently; set aside. For sauce, combine al ingredients in another large bowl. Beat with a wire whisk until smooth and mixture thickens. Gently fold into fruit. Cover and chill for 3-4 hours before serving.
Fresh fruit may be substituted when it’s in season. Fresh peaches or nectarines are delicious. I added grapes to mine!

time flies when you're having fun!

Lately it seems as though I have been swamped during the week and busy making memories on the weekends and I haven't had time to blog. Well, after spending 12 hours on campus yesterday, and 12 hours on campus today, I came home from night class, threw on some sweats, and cracked open a bottle of wine. Despite all of the papers, projects, and presentations I could work on, I am going to blog my little heart out instead. I've had a few friends and relatives inform me that they do in fact read my blog to stay updated on my life, so here's to all of you, cheers!