Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

On Wednesday we headed to Hennessey after getting off work. We had dinner with my parents and then got to Skype with Zach. It was so good to see him, especially since he wasn’t able to come home for Thanksgiving. Asher told him all about the circus and the deer Dad got the weekend before. I thought he’d be repulsed by the skinning of a dead animal, but I think he found it quite interesting because he loves to tell people about it. He started making "lists" when we were Skyping with Zach. I asked him if it was a Christmas list, but got no answer. On Thursday we got together with the rest of the Taylor clan at Terry and Cheryl’s. Unfortunately, we were missing a few cousins, but that’s pretty much par for the course these days since we’re all over the place. It was great to see mostly everyone and the food was wonderful. A little too wonderful…I’m still stuffed. As soon as we finished eating Kyle said, “OK, I’m gonna go play with the kids.” He was just like one of them

I went the movies last night with two of my favorite ladies. We saw Lincoln. Zach went to see it and LOVED it, so I was very excited to go. For those of you who don’t know, I was obsessed with Abraham Lincoln for a short time. I was in 5th grade and my very first research paper was about Kentucky. That’s where Abraham Lincoln was born, so for some reason, I became very interested in him. I decided I didn’t like fiction anymore and just wanted to read biographies. I even named my purse, which looked like a stuffed horse, Abe. Believe it or not, those were very popular at the time. Those were the days… I think from that experience, I have a very child-like, idealized view of President Lincoln. The movie definitely reminded me that he was human but also that he made decisions based on what he felt was best for our country, no matter what everyone else around him thought. Too many leaders today make decisions based on what’s best for them. What will get me re-elected? What will get me pr

This week was moving week for me. I'm changing positions at work and that meant I moved back to the main building. I will miss my friends in the Murphy House, but I'm very excited about my new job. It's a better fit for me, and I get to work with some pretty awesome ladies! :) About a year ago at work we did StrengthsFinder. You go online and take a timed test, where you answer all types of questions about yourself. It then spits out your top five strengths. It's very customized to you and pretty interesting. I learned that I'm slightly more neurotic than I thought, which is perfect for my new position. So below are my top five and the definitions that fit me best. In case you don't already know me well enough! :) Responsibility - Your outward behavior demonstrates your reliability. Others view you as a person who can be trusted to follow through on commitments. Most people regard you as the dependable and reliable one. Achiever - Instinctively, you chann

A few weekends ago I went with Mom, Dad, Stacy and Asher to Kansas for a visit. We were supposed to leave on Friday, but Asher wasn’t feeling well, so we postponed a day. Luckily on Saturday he was feeling good, so we headed out. Before we pulled out of the driveway, Dad was loading the car and we were waiting patiently. Asher had his “map” out and was telling me how to get to Kansas. Then, we heard a kitten start meowing. He got very nervous and yelled for me to shut the doors. He said cats with stripes on them are mean and maybe we should shoot it. I was in shock! Apparently Dad is trying to brainwash my sweet little nephew, so I explained to him all the wonderful things about cats. I don’t think it made a difference since he was still giving the kitten the evil eye when we headed down the road. We had a great time when we got to Kansas, and Asher had a good day on Saturday. He played with Landon, walked was carried halfway to the mailbox and back, and looked at the bird book. U

So this past weekend OSU played West Virginia, and not only did we come away with a victory, but Kyle and I made memories that will not soon be forgotten. Some friends of ours asked us to go to the game with them. It was lovely. I worked that morning but was able to make it over to their tailgate with some time to hang out before the game. There was great food, great conversation and GREAT entertainment. The Band stopped by to serenade us in their new uniforms on and then Brandon Weeden and his entourage made an appearance. He was very polite, stopping for a party pic before going about his business. Then we headed to our seats in the club area! I could really get used to that! There was food as far as the eye could see, and you actually had enough space to clap without bumping elbows with your neighbor! Had the weather been bad, we could have escaped it, but fortunately for us, it was absolutely perfect. It may have been was the best time I’ve ever had at a football game in my li

Last weekend was a big one at work. We had a medallion ceremony on Friday and the Presidents Club Event on Saturday. Both went really well. We moved the Presidents Club Event outside this year. Talk about giving me a heart attack! But all of the worry was for nothing because it was beautiful fall weather. Instead of heading to the stadium when clean-up was done, I headed home to spend some time with my precious nephew Henry. And his mom of course! We had such a great time. It's incredible how much Henry has grown since the last time we saw him! He is now crawling all over the place, pulling up on things and starting a little table food. Man 10 months has flown by very fast. I can't believe we will be celebrating his birthday soon.  What a cute little Cowboy!  He LOVES Mickey Mouse and he got so excited when Stacie played a video for him on her phone.   The big boys were at the OSU vs. TCU game, which ended with a victory! When they got home Henry was excit

I love Halloween! Maybe it's because it's during my favorite month, or maybe it's because I am a BIG fan of candy (and always have been). Either way, I always look forward to it. During college I wanted trick or treaters and they never would come, so I was very excited when Kyle and I moved into the YBH. I went out and bought a bunch of candy and waited eagerly by the door to hand it out to all the little ones that would come by. Unfortunately we didn't have many little ones. I think we only had one, actually. Total bummer, but just another lesson in adjusting my expectations! Dad said there'd be days like this... So I wasn't expecting much last year, but we had SEVEN! That's quite the increase. This year we had about 10, so nothing groundbreaking, but still more than last year. I've always been a quality over quantity person anyway. That goes for my group of friends, my volunteer work - pretty much everything. I couldn't have asked for better tric