A Day To Myself....

This is a bit delayed, but this past Christmas, Marc gave me a certificate for a "day to myself." In other words, I could have a day where I could go and do what I wanted while Marc stayed home all day with Luke.

Because our schedules have consistently been busy, my day to myself finally happened yesterday (Saturday). For my day, I chose to spend it mostly shopping. I hadn't purchased any new clothes for myself for quite awhile, so I took advantage of some decent sales. Plus, I managed to squeeze in a couple of other activities, including lunch with a friend I don't see often enough.

**BEWARE!!! This will be a long post; however, there are many photos (albeit, boring photos). I just decided to document my day with photos.

Right before I left, Marc had me "redeem" my certificate -- and for those of you who know Marc, you should know that Marc truly would have me hand the certificate to him for redemption.



I left the house around 9:20 in the morning. That way, I did see Luke in the morning -- definitely his best time of the day. First, I, very quickly, swung by a garage sale close to our home. They were selling MANY baby things -- JACKPOT! I managed to pick up a few sweatshirts for next winter for Luke.

Stop #2: A place to pick up a quick and unhealthy breakfast. You locals know about this.



Stop #3: I drove about 25 minutes north of home to visit the cemetery where three of my grandparents are buried (I still have one grandparent left). My Grandpa Becker (my mom's dad) served in World War II. I'm SO VERY thankful for his service as I'm thankful for all of the men and women who have served in the armed forces for our country. We have SO MANY freedoms in the USA because of them. This weekend (Memorial Day Weekend) was created to honor those who have given their lives for our country.

The "American Legion," as they do each year, has put a flag beside his tombstone.



Also, my Grandpa Koehn (my dad's dad) just passed away this past January. The tombstone just arrived in time for this weekend. So, this was the first time I'd seen it. I hope none of you think it's too weird that I put a photo of his tombstone on this blog.



Stop #4: On my way to Wichita (where I spent the remainder of my day), I stopped by this coffee shop. Again, those of you who are local know where this cute little coffee shop is.



I'm not really into coffee, but I am very much into tea -- especially iced tea. This coffee shop has a very good "Mango Iced Tea" that I HIGHLY recommend.

Stop #5: I delivered some frozen meals I had made to a friend of mine, Whitni, from years ago. I don't see her real often anymore. She has a little boy, Noah, who turned two in January. Then, in February, she delivered two healthy twin girls named Bailey and Kennedy. Do you think her and her husband, Chris, have their hands full? I didn't stay long at their house. When I got there, Chris was busy with something in the house. Noah was playing. One of the twins was sleeping, and Whitni
was trying to nurse the other one. So, I didn't stay long, and I was unable to get any photos. I hope the meals are O.K., Whitni!!!!

Stop #6: Kohl's -- I've decided that Kohl's is one of those places where some days, you can find what you want. Other days, you can't. Fortunately, yesterday was one of those days where I found a few things, decently priced, that fit :) Marc had received a gift card for Kohl's at work. He let me use it. Thanks Marc!



Stop #7: Petsmart -- Our dog, Clyde, needed a new water "thingy" for outside. So, I ran that quick little errand.



Stop #8: I met my very good friend, Lori, at "Louie's." "Louie's" is a newer restaurant on the east side of Wichita (21st and Webb for those of you who know Wichita). My mom had given me a gift card for "Louie's" for my birthday, so I'm honored Lori could join me for lunch. I've known Lori since elementary school. We used to go to the same baby-sitter. I was also honored that Lori was in our wedding. Lori now lives in another state, though she is looking for a job around here. So hopefully, that will happen sometime soon. Then, I can see her more often, and Luke will grow up knowing her :)

Here's what the outside of "Louie's" looks like -- in case you're wondering.



And, just for fun, here's a photo of Lori. I told Lori I wanted a photo of her for my blog. She said, "Sarah, you've now become one of those crazy ladies with the camera." I love you too, Lori!!!!!!



Stop #9: Yep, I went to "Hobby Lobby." I went there on a mission. If I wouldn't have, I would've spent all day there and spent way too much money. I needed something for something I'm making. I won't share that item because I'm making it for somebody who I know reads this blog.

I ended up finding this as well --



I'm talking specifically about the wooden "freedom." It's now on our mantle in our family room. "Hobby Lobby" had an AWESOME selection of Memorial Day/4th of July items. I need to start collecting some things for our home. There is SO MUCH anti-USA sentiment anymore. We really want to teach Luke that the USA is really not as bad as the media portrays it. We have so many individual liberties and freedoms that sometimes I'm afraid we will lose if we don't stand up for the way in which this country was founded. One of the BIGGEST freedoms we have is that we can worship our God freely. We don't have to be hiding in a basement to worship God. We don't live in fear of persecution for being Christians.

Marc and I pray that Luke and any future children we have do understand that.

Stop #10: Goodwill -- I like to second-hand shop. But, like Kohl's (in my opinion), you have to be there on the right day. Yesterday, I was pretty much 0 for 7 for me. I tried on seven items, and NONE of them fit right. However, I did find three shirts for Luke for next winter. So, it was worth the trip.

I do have to add one thing about my "Goodwill" trip. Awhile back, my friend Andrea and I were Goodwill shopping on the east side of Wichita. We ran into a very helpful woman who told us that the Goodwill on Maize Rd (west side of town) was "the bomb." So, this time, I drove clear out west to try this one out. I will say it was newer, nicer, and bigger. It was more organized. But, I think it just wasn't my day. Perhaps another time, Andrea????



Stop #11: Starbuck's -- need I say more? Remember from earlier, I don't much care for coffee. But, here's what I do like at Starbuck's -- Grande Passion shaken iced tea -- unsweetened.

I only took one photo, but I actually stopped at two Starbuck's throughout the day for the same thing. So, that's a total of three iced teas in one day from coffee shops.

Fortunately, I had my Starbuck's gift card from my mother -- she gave it to me for Mother's Day.



Stop #12: Old Navy -- Now, I'm not much for Old Navy as I think customers always leave the place a mess. I think customers leave the place such a mess that employees have a hard time keeping it organized and cleaned up. PLUS, I'm short. Old Navy's things tend to always be too long on me. BUT, they were having a $1 flip flop sale. Unfortunately, I didn't find any I liked well enough to even pay $1 for. But, I did actually find two cute tops for myself that for once weren't too long. This is the one place all day that was PACKED with people.



Stop #13: TARGET -- the ultimate favorite of mine. You know, it's the place that all of us here in this town we live in wish we had here. However, I think it's good we don't have here in town for two reasons. A) We'd be there all of the time and spend too much money. AND B) We wouldn't appreciate it as much. So, I'm glad we don't have one within 20 miles. Because then, I APPRECIATE it.

I did get some new clothes here -- a couple of skirts, a couple pairs of shorts, a shirt for Luke, etc.



Stop #14: Payless Shoe Source -- I LOVE shoes that are affordable. Yes, I did buy a couple. However, there was one salesperson that was a BIT TOO AMBITIOUS for my tastes in this store.



Stop #15: Towne West Square -- I'm actually more of a "Towne East Square" person (those of you around Wichita know what I'm talking about), but since I was on the west side of town, I thought, "This is fine."



I actually only went here to go to Zale's to have my wedding ring inspected and cleaned as part of the lifetime warranty. However, once I was there, I walked around a bit. Then, I did some impulse buying at....



Nope, I don't think I'm modeling anything I bought there. But, I did find some nice things, ON SALE!

Finally, I was thinking that 15 stops was ENOUGH! But boy, I did have a nice time.

I was asked a couple of times at church this morning if I minded spending most of the day by myself. My answer was, "Oh no, not at all." I've never minded spending time by myself. I think it's just my personality. My mom said I always did stuff by myself when I was a child. I don't really think I'm a loner. I have a lot of wonderful friends that I LOVE spending time with. I think I just have an independent streak. I lived alone for around 6 years before I met and married Marc. I had a job for a whopping 10 YEARS where I traveled 70-80 nights a year, mostly by myself. I had many hotel nights by myself. So, I'm used to entertaining myself.

In a nutshell, I told Marc that I would love to have a day or two like this each year. He thought that could be arranged!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, I got home to these two wonderful guys I live with. Apparently, they had a very nice day together. Marc did mention, however, that he thought Luke was missing me. Marc said that when he went to get Luke from his crib after a nap, Luke was really looking around for me. Then, this morning, he didn't make it in the nursery during church. He was fine once he was in my arms. So, I don't know if Luke is just going through a phase or if he's not feeling right. I just know that today (Sunday), he was a bit more attached to me.



The three of us went on a walk after I got home. After Luke went to bed, Marc suggested that I "needed" some "Ben & Jerry's." (Really, he just wanted some himself). Well, I didn't dispute, so Marc went to the store and picked up our favorite.



For my last thing of the evening, I went for a walk -- by myself.

THANKS MARC for the wonderful day to myself! I love you bunches.

The End!!!!