Momentum

View and/or Purchase Wedding Photos!

2011-10-30T14:19:00.006-04:00

If you're interested in viewing and or purchasing any of the wedding photos, you can navigate to this website: http://stoptimephotos.nextproof.com/ You'll have to create an account to view and purchase photos, but it's a very easy process. Don't be afraid to tell us what you think of them!

Once again, thanks to our amazing photographers!! They did an outstanding job and we are so pleased with how they turned out! They truly captured the details of the day--we're so excited!

Wedding Photos!!!

2011-10-28T18:33:00.002-04:00

Here are just a few that are posted on the photographer's blog site; more details about purchasing coming soon! I couldn't be happer with how they turned out!!! David Gronneberg and Reid Atkinson are amazingly creative and talented!!! I'm just so excited! Enjoy.

http://stoptimephotos.net/

Zombie Invasions and Snorkel Bob Part II

2011-10-20T16:13:00.007-04:00

Down three flights of stairs, making two trips, I threw myself into the faithful Taurus and sped towards Aaron’s apartment a heart wrenching 15 minute drive away. Snorkel Bob, don’t leave me, not now. Spairo needs seething cinders for the legendary staff weapon!!

The time is midnight. I made it. That leaves 30 precious minutes to set up my computer and hope that everything works. Apparently the car ride must have calmed my good old computer down as she was working as usual—almost. I had to restart WoW twice before I was able to log in but at least Snorkel Bob was there, steady as can be. Thank God for a direct Ethernet connection. Everything was back to normal. Wait. Ventrillo, a program we gamers use to speak to each other during raids, wasn’t working, or rather my microphone wasn’t. Still not sure what the problem is there.

Time flies when you’re having fun everyone always says; I guess that’s true because I felt like raid had ended as quickly as it had started. Okay, time to go back home. I couldn’t stay the night here since for some reason in my frantic packing, I took Aaron’s cell phone. Awesome. Go me. He's going to want his phone and I don't want him to worry about me since I have no way of telling him that I'm here.

It’s 315 am and time to face the darkness that lies beyond the front door. I hate this time of night. As soon as I step outside into the cold darkness, I hear panting. I freeze. Straining my head in all directions, I try to find the source of this horrible, nervous panting. O.M.G. ZOMBIES!! What do I do?! They're headed straight towards me. Run. Run to the Taurus and he will protect you. Lock the doors. Turn on the headlights. Okay, admit it; at this time of night, strange things happen and if you have a wild and crazy imagination like I, then you would be as honestly scared as I was.

I dare to shoot a glance at the incoming zombies via my rearview mirror—wow I’m brave tonight. Oh, dear. Oh crap. Who the hell would be walking their dog at 320 in the morning!!! Honestly people. Go to bed and take your dog to the vet in the morning—that doesn’t sound too good.

I start my car, still disheveled from my near death experience, and head towards our new apartment. What sort of people are driving around at this time anyways? Drunk people and zombies apparently. Or worse. Police men hunting drunken zombies. Yikes! Oh dear, a cop; hopefully I don’t get pulled over for some stupid reason and have to say the alphabet backwards—I honestly don’t think I could do that sober. WXYZ…Z…X…no wait…Z…Y…

Oh thank God I made it home. Okay, one last check for zombies and—the coast is clear! I sprint back up three flights of steps to our front door. Our new apartment finally feels like home.

Zombie Invasions and Snorkel Bob Part I

2011-10-13T13:55:00.004-04:00

I honestly don't think that it's too much to ask for a decent internet connection no matter where you are. Let's face it; the internet rules the planet and it quietly mocks us, knowing that it has sucked us into this obsession with being "connected." The internet, let's call him Snorkel Bob (since I recently returned home from Maui; no other particular reason other than the fact that I simply think it's fun to say), subtly reminds me of the fact that he has deprived me of said "connected" feeling. For the past several days, I've sat alone and "unconnected" in my new apartment as I await the bringer of Snorkel Bob via AT&T U-verse (the 13th couldn't get here any faster). Needless to say, it's been an experience...

There are many ways to obtain Snorkel Bob, one of which my husband, Aaron, and I decided to use in lieu of a landline connection.

"So this will be easy," Aaron was saying on the drive to our new home in Ohio. "We'll just download a program that will tether our phone's 4G Snorkel Bob to our computers and viola! Snorkel Bob!"

"Sure, that sounds great. Just as long as I can have enough stable, reliable Snorkel Bob to raid and I'll be happy." As an aside, "raid" refers to a group of people (10 or 25) coming together to play an online mulitplayer game called World of Warcraft. I've been "raiding" every night from 1230AM to 300AM for the past nine months. I know, don't judge, I consider this group of people to be a second family! I digress, where was I? Oh yes!

As I was busy unpacking, organizing, and rearranging our new apartment, Aaron was busy working on the magic that is needed to summon Snorkel Bob. At long last, he finally announced that his plan was working and we indeed, succeeded in obtaining Snorkel Bob via our phones and an ad hoc (wireless) network. And of course, as with all things in the matters of connections, computers, and networking, nothing stays consistent.

This network worked for a time (hours of epic mage fire-wielding later), but of course my computer, as picky as it has always been, decided it had enough of this ghetto Snorkel Bob connection. Nothing worked. It was as if all of the sudden, Snorkel bob decided he had somewhere else he needed to be and he was breaking up with my computer.

The time is 1130PM. I start to perspire as I realize that I might not be able to fix this on my own in just one hour. Snorkel Bob abandoned me and my computer was giving me attitude; I felt like I was 16 again in my parent's dining room as my brother, our friends, and I tried desperately to figure out how to network our computers for a LAN. Only worse. Combining the new technology of networking with the old technology of hubs and switches is a mountainous task. What in the world do I do? Wait. If I leave now, I can go to Aaron's old place--Snorkel Bob is still there! I still have time before raid! I can still make it! I think to myself in a panic. Praying that everything would work properly at the old place and that I wouldn't forget to bring any essential computer components, I packed up my compy as fast as I knew how.

Insert Name Here, Wielder of Magic

2011-07-21T13:20:00.008-04:00

magic: a quality that makes something seem removed from everyday life especially in a way that gives delight.

You might call them nerds, geeks, or over-enthusiastic fans, but the truth is, there is a small, flickering life of imagination hidden within all. There is no doubt in my mind that at one point or another, we retreat to this soulwell of child-like dreams; creating and pretending that life, while we continue to live it, is different somehow. We deny it outwardly, but on the inside, things seem less mundane. Suddenly, a meeting or homework assignment becomes more than just work--it becomes an adventure that you, among all others, have been chosen to see through to the end. Flying via airplane becomes an alternative means of travel since your broomstick was shattered during that battle of good versus evil. Traveling via car becomes your subtle way of transportation since portal-making and teleportation are too much for the ordinary human to comprehend.

There are many ways in which we play this game, but the question remains, why do we deny to others the existence of this world in which we retreat to? Is it because our culture teaches us to be serious, hard-workers, and investors? Or is it because we deny it to ourselves, pretending that stress and being overworked are simply unavoidable pieces of life with no reprieve? The cliche phrase "find a happy place" is something that only seems to exist within children's stories; perhaps we need to take a lesson from these stories and find, retreat to, and live for a while in our imagination's splendor.

So dream on, you of fantastic imagination, you of wishful thinking, and you of world-saving powers. Continue to have your adventures and teach the rest how to live; magic is, after all, a quality that makes something seem removed from everyday life.

Question & Answer

2007-12-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Q: What do you get if you breed a groundhog with a KU football player?
A: Six more weeks of bad football.

Q: What do you get if you drive by the KU campus real slow?
A: A degree.

Q: How do you get a KU graduate off your porch?
A: Pay him for the pizza.

Q: Why do KU students hang their diplomas from their rearview mirrors?
A: So they can park in the handicapped spot.

Q: How many KU freshmen does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, it's a sophomore class.

Reflect

2007-11-08T15:03:00.001-05:00

Lake Winnebago Sunset; Summer 2007

Life Is Beautiful

2007-11-08T13:40:00.000-05:00

Driving north on Providence Road towards campus is a monotonous task that I complete several times a day; yet somehow, it seems as if this every-day task has stirred my senses to be attune to the beauty of not just the demographics around me, but of life itself. The trees, gorgeous shades of vibrant red, orange, and yellow, gracefully slope down the rock quarries and hills that lead into the heart of Columbia. Set against the rising of the morning sun, the bright blue sky, or the clouds of a rainy day, the set of which I speak deepens my appreciation for every single day. For a brief moment of my drive, its as if everything but the scenery vanishes; the road, cars, the Taco Bell, the Arena...all is quiet and all is beautiful.

In my eyes, I see a parallelism between the beauty of nature and the beauty of life. If stress and chaos are stripped away and one takes a moment to reflect upon what is left, what is really seen? I see, at least in my life, family who will bend over backwards for each other, the gift of health, fellowship of friends...I begin to realize that I am so grateful; so fortunate. As Thanksgiving nears and I take time to think, I am so humbled, so honored, and so very grateful of the people in my life, the opportunities that they helped to create, of the men and women who have served before me, and the things that I am blessed with.

I turn back to school, studying, and working to the best of my abilities, but it is not without a pause of reflection. The warm, comforting smell of coffee, thoughts of home, conversation with family, the autumn trees outside in the brisk, cool air...Look around you. Strip away the business. Close your eyes and see that Life is Beautiful.

Go MU

2007-10-29T19:24:00.000-04:00

Four football fans go rock climbing one afternoon, a Nebraska fan, an Oklahoma fan, a Kansas fan, and a Mizzou fan. They had been arguing all the way up the mountain about who among them was the most die-hard fan.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, the Nebraska fan proclaimed to the other three, "THIS IS FOR THE HUSKERS!" and promptly threw himself off the mountain as a form of sacrifice, screaming "GO BIG RED!" as he fell to his death.

Not to be outdone, the Oklahoma fan jumped up and shouted, "THIS IS FOR THE SOONERS!" and threw himself off the mountain.

Refusing to be outdone by the Nebraska and Oklahoma fans, the Mizzou fan rose to his feet and yelled at the top of his lungs, "THIS IS FOR THE MISSOURI TIGERS!" and without hesitation pushed the Kansas fan off the mountain shouting, "FLY JAYHAWK FLY!!!"

:)

The Creation of Wisconsin

2007-01-18T16:40:00.000-05:00

...an email that I simply love...thanks Tamara! :)

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six
days. Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the
seventh day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?" God sighed a
deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the
clouds, "Look Michael, look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a
planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call It
Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance." "Balance?",
inquired Michael, still confused. God explained, pointing to different
parts of earth, "For example, Northern Europe will be a place of great
opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor; the
Middle East over there will be a hot spot.

Over here I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a
continent of black people," God continued, pointing to different
countries "This one will be extremely hot and arid while this one will
be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a large land
mass and said, "What's that one?" "Ah," said God. "That's Wisconsin,
the most glorious place on earth. You'll notice that it is made in the
fashion of my hand, the Hand of God. There are beautiful lakes, rivers,
sunsets and rolling hills. The people from Wisconsin are going to be
modest, intelligent and humorous and they are going to be found
traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hard working and
high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as
diplomats and carriers of peace."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "Wh at
about balance, God?" "You said there would be balance!" God replied
wisely, "Wait until you see the idiots I'm putting around Them in
Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa."

Snow

2006-11-30T18:38:00.000-05:00

Glancing out the many tall windows that encircled the walls of the chemistry lab, snow, silent and graceful, fell to the earth. I looked at my watch. 4:22pm. The excitement that had built up in anticipation of our impending winter storm was reaching to the max and thoughts of class being cancelled the next day were on every chemistry student’s mind. Jessica, Paul, and I were already discussing what we would do if classes were indeed cancelled as we finished supercooling our t-butyl alcohol and ‘unknown c’ solution…I know…exciting stuff, right? Simply stated, I really don’t care about determining the molar mass of an unknown substance by dissolving it in a solvent with a known freezing point constant and measuring the change in freezing point and I was overjoyed at the fact that this was my last chemistry lab for the semester. But I digress.

After cleaning up our lab apparatus, we donned our winter coats, hats, scarves, and mittens, and prepared to face the previously gentle-falling snow that had now somehow quickly turned into a mini blizzard. I said my goodbyes to Jessica, telling her that I’d see her next week and began my long, extensive, and enduring thirteen minute walk from the Physics and Chemistry buildings to Mark Twain Hall. All right, so thirteen minutes might not seem like a long time, but when you’re in college and “walking in the snow uphill both ways” as they say, it’s certainly an adventure.

The snow stuck to the ground and covered the campus in a white blanket. It settled high on the ledges, crannies, and trimmings of buildings, making the architecture stand out even more almost as if it were cleansing the old away and replacing it with the new. It clung to the trees where icicles already hung, unbending in the brisk wind that blew them. Walking through the snow across campus, however cold, windy, and wet it was, a peace somehow settled over me. A small piece of home was here. A bit of Christmas was coming through in the midst of the end of the semester and dreaded final exams. I smiled and welcomed the snow. For a brief moment, everything was peaceful, silent, appreciative, and calming.

Reaching to Mark Twain Hall, I quickly climbed the stairs to the second floor to my room where I found Sarah doing a bit of homework, Christmas music lightly playing, Christmas tree all lit up. Finally, a free night to relax and do homework at my own leisure…maybe watch a movie, read a book, drink some hot chocolate, or just take a nap. Two more weeks of the semester…sure, I can do that…but I can’t wait to come home.

Food for Thought

2006-11-14T20:59:00.000-05:00

"Never judge us by the height we have reached, but rather from the depth we started.\"--1st President of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah

"A person who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." Max Lucado

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~ Confucius

“Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.”
Winston Churchill

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ten percent fruit juice."
- Thomas Edison, American Inventor

Lessons for Life

2006-08-26T13:16:00.000-04:00

To make mistakes often and to learn from them; to have the strength to overcome challenges and wake up to a bright new day; to climb the highest mountain and endure the adventure; to imagine endless possibilities; to be courageous in times of trepidation; to have faith in what one believes is true; to attain all knowledge possible, whether by the journey, a failure, or a triumphant success; to have loved and laughed with those held close and shed tears of great sorrow; to know oneself completely so that dreams can be reached--this is to have lived