The Kohlmans

I bought my grandpa's truck today. I used to hide in the back with my cousin Anthony and duck down in the bed when cars passed by on Garfield Street. Our moms would get mad at us because the bed liner would make our bare feet black. I remember riding with him to go fishing, go to the store, go to coffee, go to a baseball game, go on a trip to the zoo or out to his garden. He always had a lumbar pillow that had to be placed just right before we went anywhere. We would often make a secret pit stop at a gas station for a Snickers bar so grandma wouldn't know. Sometimes he would bribe me with a candy bar of my own just so I wouldn't let the secret slip out. Even as I drove it away from his house months after his death and years after he stopped smoking, I caught a slight wiff of the familiar smell of his pipe. I hope that every day I catch a wiff of his pipe, even if it is just my imagination. The next time I drive it I will stop at our local gas station and pick up a Snic...

I am officially "in." To grad school, that is. So, a random picture to celebrate my re-entry into student-hood. On another note, I don't really know what to blog about these days, so if you have any suggestions for topics or burning questions for me to answer....

Is it the ultimate in irony that I now feel like going shopping with the money I made off the junk I purged from my house?!

These two are connected.... And the second one might be cheating a little bit, but I'll explain. 1. have a garage sale at our house  & 5. donate old camera  Well, it's done. We did it. We made some money, sweated a lot (that must burn calories, right?!), and got rid of tons of stuff. Yes, I am counting the truckload of not-sold stuff that is already unloaded at Goodwill. I don't have any pictures except the ones I posted on Thursday because I didn't want to be a strange person who took pictures at a garage sale. I didn't actually donate the old camera. I sold it. Before I made the list, I found a website where you can donate old electronics and it looked really great. But then I couldn't ever find it again. Oops. So, either way, the camera is no longer in my possession and someone else can enjoy it for much less than the retail rate. The updated list is here. Seattle in T-11 days!

Friday & Saturday 8-1 Our house in A-town (leave me a comment or message me on facebook if you want our address!)  Please come and buy something! I don't want to take it all to Goodwill! Here's a sneak preview of some of our great stuff: the garage is FULL! if you happen to know a little girl, we have lots that she might love... We also have three desks, two recliners, a dresser (it's the big white thing on the couch), lots of clothes, many books, some kitchen goodies..... Come and check it out!

What I've been up to.... 1. I think quilting is becoming a lost art. Had my great-grandmother, or even my grandma, told a friend that she was working on a quilt, it would have been nothing out of the ordinary. They would have discussed the pattern and fabrics in detail and then gone on to chat about how their gardens grow. My grandma Lu is a quilter. Her mother was a quilter... so maybe I've inherited some great quilter genes and just need to practice... Right. I like it so far. The more I do it, the better I am and the less tedious it seems. It's also exciting to be on the second-to-last step of my quilt, which is much motivation. I also enjoy the fact that it gives me an excuse to sit in the air conditioning in front of the tv.... 2. I love my four little garden beds. I think I need one more, though. So far I've frozen zucchini bread, banana bread (not from my produce, of course), green beans, and some shredded zucchini for bread and cake. Yum... We also pi...

19. plan/run VBS  It's over! In the end, I have to say it was a great experience - everything fell into place. I've had lots of thank-yous and compliments on how well everything went. I'm just happy it all went, and I'm glad to be done with it and to know that I won't be asked to be truly in charge until at least 2013 (our church runs VBS with three other churches and takes turns hosting with two of them).

My mom, Valerie, is a home health nurse, and she's really good at her job. (She's also really good at telling me whether or not I'm really sick and should go to the doctor.) There's a woman who writes a column for the Newton Kansan and mom was part of her topic this week! SNIDER: This decade is all you have By Marie Snider Newton Kansan Posted Jun 09, 2010 @ 03:51 PM NORTH NEWTON — For years, I have lived by the “I can do it” calendar. This calendar offers positive thoughts, affirmations and words of wisdom to help you make the most of every day of the year. And often, it makes me think deep thoughts. Last Thursday was one of those days, after I read the following: “This is the best decade of my life so far.” Immediately, I thought about this decade — the decade I’m living right now. For me, the defining moment of this decade is an accident on Dec. 5, 2009 — which resulted in a wound that is taking a long time to heal. So long, that I...

I just looked. March was my last "list" update. Oops. #8. grow a big vegetable garden Here it is... (sorry the pictures aren't the best. I've finally become brave enough to use the "full manual" on my camera and I'm still figuring it out.) I think this is what you might call "out of control"? I've actually had to trim the tomato and zucchini plants so they don't completely overtake other veggies. The garden is still mostly just green. I was going to wait until I had ripe tomatoes (always the sign of a successful garden), but I decided that we're already successful gardeners. So far we've harvested four huge zucchini, a few peppers (jalapeno, bell, and cerrano), lettuce, spinach, a few peas, potatoes, and lots of green beans.We're waiting on the tomatoes, more peppers, more green beans, more potatoes, and what will probably be lots more zucchini. So... click here for the updated list if you'd like to know...

Two years ago... I got to marry my best friend. I am so lucky in so many ways.