Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Goodbye Scott...

A former friend and co-worker of mine, Scott Kehr was killed last night in a head on collision on Missour highway 152. I received the call this afternoon and was just shocked to hear the news- it was later confirmed on the news tonight, only to hear more of the devastating details that followed. After a birthday celebration with some friends he was on his way home when a 15 year old girl, without a drivers license (and apparently a conscience, will to live or the understanding of the effects, finality or severity of her actions) was out joy riding with two friends in an SUV with some cocaine, traveling at high rates of speed against the oncoming traffic. Scott was killed instantly along with one of her passengers. While charges are pending a complete investigation, it just really reminds of how short life can be and how some of the stupidest decisions we can make can drastically affect our lives now and in every way and shape ever imaginable. While considering myself a friend of Scott's and knowing him and his winning personality, he never held a grudge and could never harm a fly... I just don't know still what to say or how to react, this was such an unexpected and tragic event of two lives taken way too short and way too soon. It's not fair and it's not right and I just wanted to say, I too knew Scott and enjoyed his friendship and although we haven't been close- but boy did he help me keep my sanity and saved my butt a few times at Best Buy- sharing a joke and a smoke, covering lunches and keeping me up with the latest news and technology- making it fun.... and I hadn't seen him for months- since catching up briefly when I last saw him running around, directing "traffic" and keeping things running smooth at Green Lantern, he still left a lasting impression and will be greatly missed.

Holiday Preparations....




From pigtails for daddy's birthday to finally getting to sit on Santa's lap.... this month has just FLOWN by! I think the Miracle On Main Street played a big part with that, but it was sooooo worth it! Honestly, how could anyone resist the cutest little shepherd up there?! And tomorrow night he'll preform once again in his school's Christmas program as well! So with a night off tonight, we took advantage of the weeknight and the good weather and headed downtown to visit the best Santa in town at Crown Center! Uncle Jay even went! We met Sarah and Christopher there as well- it's sort of become a family tradition! And thankfully Sarah and Anthony could fill each other's sibling absense on Santa's lap as well! And after a small melt down from Bella because we couldn't stay and play any longer and then after realizing that by not sitting on Santa's lap he wouldn't know what she wanted for Christmas, I had to promise to help her write a letter to him that we could send to the North Pole right away!! That seemed to help make everything better, plus of course the promise of food.... :O)

More Extreme Lights

9 Highway- on the South side of St. Therese

I can't believe they didn't have their lights on when we came by..... 109th Court- Tiffany Lakes


Although this is not "Extreme," sometimes it's the simple things that really get the attention. This is my son's favorite scene that he asks to drive by everyday- "Baby Jesus"

68th Street & Bell

Thursday, December 13, 2007

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like CHRISTmas!

2007 Ice Storm

291 Hwy East of 169 Hwy

Waukomis Drive- South of 68th Street (plus 3 close-ups)



Ok, so did I pick a great time to decide to wanna do a Holiday Lights Tour or what?! I swear, as soon as I sent my emails and made my post, we entered into a winter twilight zone?! The ice storm fortunately wasn't nearly as bad as they had predicted was actually quite a beautiful scene. However, it did make for quite the catastophic event just North of us in St. Joseph, MO and shut things down for a while here too. At least we never lost power here (at my house) and we kept busy with plenty to do around the house too! We made our gifts for the grandparents and teachers (at least we started them) and some cookie dough and crafts too..... Hopefully this weekend we can even finish what we started!?

Anyway.... we finally made it out of the house yesterday, for Anthony's Christmas Musical dress rehearsal and tried to get some pictures of a couple of Extreme Lights ~only to find out that those pictures are a little harder to take than one might think!! Of course, a few obstacles like busy roads and kids in the backseat of the minivan always help! And the snow coming down and wanting to get in the shot was a little distracting too for some reason! But still, you get the jist....

Enjoy and keep the stories and locations coming!! I will do my best to get out and about and shoot what I can.

Monday, December 10, 2007

The Northlands Extreme Tacky Lights Tour

After watching HGTV all day yesterday and putting up my Christmas decorations at last... I saw an episode about Richmond, VA's Tacky Lights Tour. It was great. They actual go out and tour those homes that go to the extremes- no holds barred! They interview the homeowners and have minimums that must be met- I think they said the first year was something like 10,000 lights, but now it's more like 30,000 just to be considered! It was crazy to hear some of the stories and the extra breaker boxes and re-wiring people have done to accommodate 100's of thousands of lights and animated Christmas ornaments and blow-ups and everything else you can imagine! They start their designing and planning and building in April for lights they put up sometime in the fall. It's just amazing! Go to www.tackylighttour.com to see what it's all about!

I'd just love to get something like this started here in the Kansas City Northland area. I know I have always enjoyed driving around and looking at the lights and now especially in sharing this time with the kids and to see the wonder in their eyes as they see them too. But how much more fun would it be to actually track these amazing homes that really go all out and to route it and show them off?! I think it'll be great and I can't wait to see all the entries come pouring in! So, send me your stories, your interviews, your pictures and addresses too so that we can create our own Northland Extreme Lights Tour....... it'll be fun!

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Make Your Home Your Castle

You don't have to spend a fortune to make your living space a showplace. With a little creativity and a willingness to do things yourself, you can stretch your decorating dollar and get the "look" you want.
Now is a great time to spruce up your interior, when the cold weather encourages all of us to spend more time inside. Take advantage of these great decorating tips, just in time for the holidays!

https://www.lowesrealtorbenefits.com/newsletter/pdf/112007.pdf

And as my way of saying "Thanks" and with my partnership with Lowe's Realtor program I can save you 5% on your gift card purchases, so email me now and let me know what you need! karisma@reeceandnichols.com

Turkey Trivia Answers and Story

I know, it's just killing you that I haven't posted the answers yet.... I thought for sure you'd already looked them all up! :O) But just in case you haven't, here goes:
1) d
2) c
3) d
4) a-yes
5) a- yes they can, but technically the answer is c.
6) b
7) d
8) a
9) c
10) b
11) d
12) a
13) b
14) c
15) c

Our Mad Lib story:

The Lost Marching Band Member
It's Thanksgiving day and a lost guitar player is making his way through the Thanksgiving Parade Route in Kansas City. The parade chaos is making it difficult for him to reunite with the Cap'n Crunch Marching Band. The musician has to make his way through the gander, celery stalks, and chairs. He giggles for miles and wonders if he will ever find his yo-yo. After walking on his arms for 103 minutes, the band member spots the black uniforms and the pink hats that his band wears. "Goo goo gaa gaa," he exclaims gleefully. Soon the guitar player is back with his band. The band begins to play The Lullaby Song and merrily marches along.