Friday, August 29, 2008

Kansas City Chiefs

I've lived in Kansas City almost 8 years and have only been to ONE Chief's game. It was when I was still working at the Ad Agency and they let me use one of their seats. I couldn't even tell you who the Chief's were playing, just that it was pretty cold and I was not dressed appropriately!!

My friend Tina & her husband have season tickets to the Chiefs and invited me to go along to the second (and final) home pre-season game vs (go figure) the St Louis Rams. Since I am not a big football fan (my trainer/friend Brandon says he's going to explain it to me) I really have no alliance...and I KNOW how serious Chief's fans can be! I wasn't about to go into the stadium in Rams gear - not that I own any. Instead, I went out and got a cool pink Chiefs shirt. (I just got a cool pink jeweled KC hat and wanted to wear it...hello, red & pink clash people!). So, we go to the game and get their early enough for a little tailgating. It's starting to spit so we decide to go in. We got in JUST IN TIME!! Just as they scanned our tickets the downpour happened!!! We went and got an additional rain slicker and just stood and watched the rain pour down....and then start hailing!!! It settled down and we went to our seats. Then again, it started pouring. This happened two times before the game finally started (not only was there rain, but there was lightening so they game was postponed). We made it through half-time and during the third quarter we went for a bathroom break and snacks. We turned around and it was pouring again!! Tina decided that was enough and we headed home. BUT, the CHIEFS WON!! They promised to take me back to another game (probably colder) but hopefully not as wet! I did have a good time. I guess none of the good players were playing...but how would I know?!

Hey, it was another location to add to my Kansas City Stay-cation!!! I'm loving this! If this is what it takes to finally experience the city I live in, then I'll do it!!

AND remember, I am STILL WORKING....so please help me stay busy and send your friends and family my way!! :)

Monday, August 25, 2008

A long, but fun weekend!

Well, I'm back in Kansas City!! My Kansas City Stay-cation did include a trip across the state to experience St Louis.

...but before St Louis.

Thursday my cousin and I had a pretty relaxing day (at least compared to the action packed day on Wednesday). We had lunch at one of my new favorite spots - Ingredients with my friend Meredith (she too LOVES that place) and her cousin. I then took my cousin out to the Legends to shop and look around. After we went to the gym to work out with my trainer Brandon - even though she did gymnastics throughout high school and college, she'd never worked out with a trainer. It was fun...but tiring. Thursday night we went with a bunch of friends to the Power & Light Districts KC Live.

Friday we got on the road and headed to St Louis to see the rest of the family!! We had dinner with the parents then went to my brother's friends birthday party. It was a major culture shock for my cousin. For those of you who don't know, I went to a predominantly black highschool. We went to a ghetto club Friday night - I think there were two or three other white people (that's not counting me, my cousin and my brother!) haha. We were fine and I never felt unsafe. I had a few friends from highschool come out with us.

Saturday after sleeping in we went on the Anheuser Busch Tour - I'd never been!! (yes, I know I'm from St Louis). It was actually pretty cool. It was over an hour and you went all over the property which spans quit an area. They have these HUGE "tanks" of beer that to empty you'd have to drink a six pack of beer every hour for 137 years!! That's a lot! After the tour we went to the arch. Unfortunately, we were running very late and they didn't tell us it would take us 30min in line to get to the top. By the time we got to the top, not only were we MAJORLY running late, but it was pouring!!! So we didn't even get to see the awesome view of the city!! When we left, it was still pouring so we were SOAKING wet by the time we got to the car. And the funny thing, the rest of the city didn't get a drop!!!! Saturday night my friend Ashley came in from Kansas City and we all went to HOME in Ameristar. It was fun.

Sunday Crescent left - I already miss her! We had soooo much fun. Sunday afternoon Ashley, Justin (my brother's best friend aka my favorite brother) and I went to the Cards game. We had AWESOME seats - you could see the whole stadium! (thanks Diane!) AND...the Cardinals won!! Ashley and I got back to Kansas City around 1030pm last night.

Needless to say, I'm super tired but had an AWESOME week!!!

Jodi

Thursday, August 21, 2008

College Basketball Experience, You Say Tomato, Hallmark....

My cousin made it to town on Tuesday! I'm so excited she's hear! It's been almost a year since I saw her...she's NEVER been to Kansas City and she hasn't been to St Louis for probably 14 years! She needs to experience a little of the midwest!! (she's from New Jersey! - accent and all!)

Tuesday night I took her to one of my favorite BBQ places - Oklahoma Joes...or as I kindly refer to it - the gas station bbq. It's AWESOME! If you've never been, you MUST go. And you have to go to the original location (about 47th & Mission). They do have a new location in Olathe...but it's about the atmosphere! And you must get the fries - they are big enough to split a minimum of two ways! She of course loved it!!

Wednesday we met up with Robert & Joseph (fellow Realtors) and Liz (gym friend) and went to the college basketball experience at the Sprint Center. Oh my gosh, did we have fun!! It's completely interactive so bring your tennies and be ready to sweat! We did!! It wasn't busy, so it was great. (I don't think we would have had as much fun if we stood in line...so go during the week!). After we all went to You Say Tomato (thanks for the suggestion Amy) for lunch. It was really tasty! The guys left us and us girls went to the Hallmark Visitor Center (I didn't even know it existed!!). We did a self tour and got to see how the cards get the embossing. Plus we got to see how a bow is made and got to take one home! Yeah free samples!!!

After our activities we went to the gym. The pilates reformer girl wanted to do demos...and since neither of us had done it before we were game. It was fun....though we are both slightly feeling it! For dinner we went to Sakura - or as my friend Erin calls it, the Sushi Train. It's at 75th & Neiman and you can sit at this circular bar area and sushi comes around on a train (yes, it says Amtrak on the front) and you can pick the ones you want. It's a great way to sample different kinds and it's VERY reasonably priced!!!

Today is a little more low key with relaxing stuff...and tomorrow we head to St Louis so we can see the rest of my fam.

Have a great week!
Jodi

Sunday, August 17, 2008

T-Bones Game

I experienced another first on Friday night -- a T-bones game!! A bunch of people in my office got together and we went out to the stadium to watch a game. It's a much smaller stadium that major league, so you are VERY close to the action which is cool. The team did not play well (that's putting it nicely). They got creamed!! (and we didn't even stay til the end). It was college night, so fans were suppose to wear their favorite teams shirt -- OF COURSE I had on my KU shirt!! During each inning that did a "game" with members from the croud who supported the various teams (KU, MU, KSU). I am proud to report that KU won almost all the events - not surprising.

I was told the stadium as some of the best food, but I didn't really walk around too much. I found the closest "snack area" and got a hotdog and peanuts...I mean, it was a baseball game!!!

I will say it was a great night for baseball!!

I'm getting really excited b/c my cousin Crescent comes to town THIS Tuesday!!! She just turned 24. I haven't seen her in almost a year, she's NEVER been to KC, hasn't been to STL in probably 13+ yrs (we head there Friday) and we've NEVER had just cousin time!! I'm so pumped! I've got a FULL day planned for her Wed in KC...not as much scheduled Thurs (but she will work out with me!!) then Fri we head to STL to see the rest of the fam.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Yummy Food & Text Messaging

Hopefully everyone's week is starting off great. I'm trying to get better about posting blogs. Yeah me. haha.

So last night I went to a new restaurant - (in gre di ent) (there are some dots and dashes in there by my computer doesn't have that...or maybe I just don't know how to find them). Anyway, it's in the new section of Town Center on the back side. I met some of the girls from my old ABWA group there (kind of another story, but we all dropped out b/c it wasn't the kind of networking we needed...it really wasn't any networking). It was really good! They have salads, sandwiches, wraps and pizza. You can pick one of their salads or create your own. I had a 1/2 sandwich of the day with a 1/2 salad. Very good. Then the girls MADE me get with them these dough things that were VERY good. (Don't worry, I'll be working out extra long today....you can join me if you'd like) I highly reccomend it. Turns out there is also one in Lawrence! (pretty reasonably priced as well!)

Text Messaging. At first I thought this was silly...why are kids doing this 24/7. Just call! But, I've found that there are plenty of times that it's MUCH easier to text than call (or email for that matter). And from my last Sprint bill, it's apparent, that I too have caught the "text messaging bug". (don't worry, I have since added unlimited texts - thanks Devin!) So, I was looking through my Women in Business Magazine (probably my last since I didn't renew with ABWA - American Business Women's Association) and there is an article titled "Six Top Reasons To Use Text Messaging In Your Business" Right on!! I think Devin (my favorite Sprint guy) was my friend client I texted, but I have had a few since. It's a quick and easy way to make sure things get done. Most of the article is for business (lke restaurants, dry cleaners, etc) who can collect names & numbers and send group texts to alert about deals/sales/etc. But, I was just so happy to see this article. In my business many people think that in order to "touch" a client you must call or talk in person. I don't agree...and I think most of my clients are on the same page as I am. I think (or at least hope) that many of them are just as satisfied with a quick email or text from me. My thinking is....if I email or text them, they can respond when it's convenient for THEM...not on my schedule! If I call, I might be calling at a time that doesn't work for them.

Have a great rest of the week!
Jodi

Monday, August 11, 2008

Race For The Cure!

Sunday, August 10th I did the Kansas City Race for the Cure. It starts and ends at Union Station. I've done it in the past, but it's been quite a few years. It is of course a great cause! My grandma is a breast cancer survivor (in additon to many many other great women ...and men). I went with the girls in my weigh watchers group. We did the 3 mile walk. I think there were over 25,000 people there!! It was so great to see so many people out there for such a great cause!

Sunday afternoon my friend Ashley & I went to the send off open house for Miss Teen Kansas! She's the daughter of a friend! She leaves Tuesday for the competition at the end of the week -- good luck Jessie!!!

On a side note. Many of you know I'm in a major workout mode. I typically work out 6 days a week and I LOVE it! I love how I feel and I love all the great people I've met at my gym (Prairie Life Center in Overland Park.). Last week I took yoga. I was a little bored, but it was such a great stretch...I'm going to try and add it to my weekly routine. The only hard part is that typically Sunday is my day off! But the teacher is great and helps me do all the poses correctly!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Busy Week Exploring Kansas City!

Well...this is going to be a LONG post, b/c it's been a busy week exploring Kansas City!!!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have NO attention span. Therefore, in order to visit the museums, I need to go with a small child who's attention span is similar to mine! I'm in luck, my friend Jen's daughter Addi is almost 8. And, Emma, her cousin who's almost 14 was in town this week....so it was a good chance to show off the city to an out-of-towner as well!

Thursday (Aug 7th) the three of us started our tour. We went to the Kemper Art Museum. It's VERY small - just two rooms. They have this rubber tire exhibit going on right now. It's pretty neat, but they are a little up tight there and we got "yelled" at within minutes of arriving b/c Addi was too close. Seriously, what is an 8 year old going to do to harm old tires??? I don't all three of us could have knocked over the display! It's a pretty quick museum to tour.

We left the museum and decided to run into Pryde's in Westport. I've never been and heard it's great. For those of you not familiar with it, it's a cute little shop that has a little of everything, but I'd say specializes in Kitchen gadgets and garden accessories. Way cute. It was also lunch time, and Addi was craving a burger, so we went to Blanc in Westport. It's a gourmet Burger & Soda shop. I HIGHLY recommend it. They have some great burgers and awesome sweet potato fries! They have a ton of unique sodas in bottles to choose from. Emma was the adverturous one of us and got a peach soda!

After lunch we headed to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. Yes, I know I've living in Kansas City 7 years and should have been by now....but I haven't. My favorite part was the first room with all the tea pots and such. I like art, but I'm not one to stare and need explanations of what the artist was thinking - I told you...I went with kids for a reason!!!

Later Thursday night we met up with Jen and all four of us went to Theatre in the Park at Shawnee Mission Park. They were doing the play Titanic. It was a great production, but unfortunately none of us really got into the play....so we left early. I do believe I would have been able to sit through Beauty & The Beast or some of the others they had this summer.... it was an experience!

Friday afternoon was probably my favorite thing so far!!! Addi, Emma, Liz (from the gym), Ted (Liz's son) and three of my co-stay-cationers: Robert, Joseph, Pam & I all went out to Powell Gardens for the first day of the Butterfly Exhibit. Talk about cool!! I'd never been out there before (yes, I'm sure you are all surprised by this)...and I'll admit I'm not sure it would be as much fun without the butterflies. We started with one "area" of butterflies. There were a ton of catepillars around as well -- getting ready for the transition. We went on to make butterfly wings and antenna (yes, I did make & wear antenna). We walked around the grounds looking at all the beautiful flowers, ponds and statues. It was gorgeous...but getting warm. So we went into the "main exhibit" area. Oh my gosh, there were sooo many butterflies. They were big and beautiful. I even had one land on my back. We got some great pics! My favorite comment came from Ted. I had a butterfly on my back and everyone was around taking pics of it (and telling me not to move). Ted comes up to me and says "Jodi!! There's a butterfly on your back!!" Kids are funny. After the kids (and Robert) painted pots before we headed home. I HIGHLY recommend you going to this exhibit while it's in town (I believe another week!)

Today I did a "mini" activity. Ashley & I went to Independence, MO to the Corvette show. She's a big fan and didn't want to go alone. And we all know I'm there for my friends :) It was actually pretty cool. I'm not a huge corvette fan, but I'll tell ya, some of them were nice...and you wouldn't believe much time & money went into some of the engines! Wow. We ate lunch at this cute little German restaurant in the square. Very good.

Tomorrow I am doing the Susan G Koman Race of the Cure! I haven't done it in years, so I'm pretty excited. I'm joining two of the gals from my weight watchers group (yeah activity points!) Then I'm going to a send off party for Miss Teen Kansas! I'll let you know about both of those.

My cousin Crescent will be in town the week of the 19th, so I'll be doing a lot that week...I've gotta show her around KC before I show her around STL!! ....oh yes...and the T-Bones game next week... Can you tell I'm excited about all this??

On a final note....check out www.inkkc.com I saw it advertised on tv and you can also pick up the printed version (I found it at HyVee). It has a lot of fun stuff going on around the area!

Here's till next time!! Remember, I'm always looking for people to stay-cation with....and of course sell homes to :)

Jodi