Hobby Lobby You Will No Longer Feed My Hobbies

I know this is a controversial issue, Hobby Lobby contesting the Affordable Care Act and for being required to provide insurance coverage for contraception due to religious belief. It may be small but I'm taking a stand, I won't eat at Chick Fil-A due to their lack of acceptance for all and now I will never step foot in a Hobby Lobby again.  What a joke.  Woman deserve the right to have the ability to get contraception and have it covered by their insurance.

I saw this quoted on Facebook and it's food for thought, "circumcisions, child vaccinations and Viagra are all against some form of religion in one way or another....."

        

Changes

Sometimes we all need a little change of scenery.  Over the past several months I have slowed been re-arranging rooms and furniture in my house, purging, reorganzing, etc. After all I've lived here 7 years and am ready for a different view.  AND speaking of big view change, I've got a new neighbor next door and I came home Friday to several large tree trimming trucks and my back gate open. I knew I hadn't sent for them. BUT she had! All of the trees, or most of them, that were tipping over into my back fence she tore out. Talk about a different view. I have a sunny backyard now!

Not sure I'll keep things arranged like this but for now it's fun to have a different view! I think I'm scaring Ries moving all kind of things around! :)  What do you think? Keep, keep moving, switch back? 

Screened In OR Out......

We are having some screen issues this year and I'm beyond irritated at this point. I LOVE having a screen door. I love open windows and fresh air, granted when it is NOT 90 degrees out.

When I bought my house it did not have a screen door so that was one of the first purchases. When I had my house resided in 2010 yet another new one was installed.  Then the summer of the worlds naughtiest dog living here took a major toll on it and was yet again I had to replace.  Then this spring when Oh Precious One made a quick move on animal patrol and smashed through the door before I could get it open we lost another screen door.  When my parents came at Easter my Dad replaced the screen again or tried anyhow. The next day my mama and I accidentally got it off the track and now it appears my Dad cannot get it back on the track. He feels like the door base is slanted which is causing more issues. During the annual run BBQ the damn screen door actually fell off the base and over a pot of flowers sending it crashing to the ground, little kids scrambling and about 75 adults starring at it wide eyed.

SO while perusing Groupon one day I see a Groupon for a magnetic screen.  $12.99 with free shipping. Household bargain at its finest I thought! So I buy the disgustingly ugly thing and two weeks later it arrives on my door step. We lay it all out and line up the magnets. Then assemble the Velcro patches to the door and tack them down. YES, it is as hideous as it sounds.  Now let me just tell you every time the wind blows, which is about every minute, in Kansas this STUPID freaking magnetic screen blows off the door or a piece blows off and down she starts to fall. It hangs lower to the ground then it should and I can't tell you how many times I have tripped on the ends.  With Oh Precious One and her animal patrol duties in full swing, as soon as I open the back door and she blows past me so does the magnetic screen.

This genius As Seen On TV invention is about as genius as Sarah Palin.  Back to finding somebody who can install my screen door.........

Feel Good Friday

This weekend is a tad too busy and nuts for my liking.  I found myself stressing about everything that needs to be done and everything on the calendar early in the week. I hate that feeling and know its made possible only by my own doing! So here's to NEXT weekend when I look forward to me time, down time, wild Friday nights! :) Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday

The fact that my dog got mail still baffles me.........

Feel Good Friday

More than giddy about spending this weekend with 2 of my college besties! Cheers to many good laughs, a lot of wine and a lot of great memories!

Wordless Wednesday

                    

This foam Iowa State campanile has been with me every treatment for the past 5 years and has been squeezed and torn to death out of anxiety. Yesterday my mama bought me this squeezy fish. We shall see how long the thing has fins.....

Thankful Tuesday

184. Pool Days
185. Pool Days with Friends! Thanks AL and KT!
186. Happy hours with Friends! Thanks LM and LW!
187. New adventures with friends! Thanks CH!
188. Mom visits.
189. Rain. My yard is SO green!
190. Craiglist. I get pleasure out of getting rid of crap on Craigslist.
191. New views and being able to rearrange things in the house. Love that!
192. My abilities. I babysat last night for somebody my age who is less fortunate. Hence also needing a babysitter. Always makes me count my lucky stars.
193. My Toms! So comfortable for walking adventures at Symphony in the Flint Hills.
194. .79 cent summer drinks at Q-Trip! You make my day!

Anger Management

Idea for Anger Management:  Take all your glass recyclables to the Ripple Glass containers around town and one by one throw them in as HARD as you can.  This trip was a bonus for me. Got to throw in a handful of bottles left behind........

Symphony in the Flint Hills

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to join my friend Chad and a few others at the Symphony in the Flint Hills.  What an amazing experience!  A must do at least once.  The views and the scenery were amazing! The KC Symphony comes to the Flint Hills for this concert every year and the location varies.  We took a picnic dinner which was really fun, also because food lines were probably a 100 people deep.  It was quite a walk into the event area but being that it was held on a true Ranch in the middle of the Flint Hills I am not sure you could expect it to be different. I was so glad I followed the rule and wore close toed shoes.  It was extra windy yesterday so we experienced 40mph winds as we toured the sights. If you live in Kansas put this on your bucket list! And hopefully by next year they won't run out of beer as they did yesterday and they'll have a better wine selection! :) PS. I think they ran out of beer because Idiot, er, Governor Sammy B gave a little opening speech and people probably wanted to drown away his words.......

I'll leave you with a few pictures!

Dashboard Jesus

The last time I got a bobble head I think I was nearing the end of second grade and had been hospitalized at U of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City to begin taking prednisone. It was a cat bobble head compliments of the Swartzendrubers.  I'm going to go ahead and admit that that cat bobblehead probably ended up in a garage sale because I have no idea where it is.  At church today, I got my second bobble head type of item, Dashboard Jesus. What you say?

Dashboard Jesus.  He came in the On the Road travel pack that everybody got at church on Sunday and I was cracking up the whole way home. Especially with the guidelines he came with and just the entire name; Dashboard Jesus.  The travel pack was a cool list of things to do in the car without using your smartphone and by being engaged with others.  Holy Cross made a video about it which you can see here.  All joking aside, as I lounged around and relaxed today I was thinking about the principal and idea behind Dashboard Jesus and heading out on the road this summer.

                             

One thing that really caught my attention was something that Pastor Mike preached about in his sermon, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.  How you get there, what you see, what you learn, who you meet. How often do we jump in the car and race to where we are going just so we can get there and turn around and come home?

I remember painful, painful roadtrips as a kid in the back seat of my parents ice blue woody wacker mini van. Many of those hours Jill and I spent terrorizing Clint by pushing our feet so hard into the back of his seat or making fun of him using the word casserole over and over because he didn't like that word.  As painful as those trips were it's all about the memories we created as a family.  I can't even remember half of the places we went but the amount of time spent in the car was enough to create memories to last a lifetime in this journey or so called life.  Your journey shapes part of who you are so enjoy the ride, take it all in and make memories.

In 2 weeks, I am roadtripping to Indy to see one of my college besties with another college bestie. I am beyond excited. Not sure if Dashboard Jesus will make the trip but I guarantee the premise of Dashboard Jesus won't be far from my mind.  I'm going to make sure I enjoy the journey this summer and make some great memories! xoxo 

Saturday Fundraising Opportunity for the MGA Triple Crown Run

Taco Bueno is awesome! You haven't had a fast food bean burrito til you've had one at Taco Bueno and I'm serious!  Ha ha! Anyway, today they are donating 15% of their sales to the MGA Triple Crown Run if you mention MGA when you are ordering! How about that! Please help us and take advantage of cooking made easy!  Click here for a list of KC area locations.  Thanks for your support!

Feel Good Friday

             

Yard Make Up

I saw something recently where mulch is considered to be the make up for your yard. I concur. After fighting areas where grass DOES NOT grow for the past 7 years, I threw in the towel and mulched the perimeter of the fence in my backyard and am starting on an area in the front yard. I must say I like my yard make up!

No Bake Cookies

So I make about the ugliest cookies known to man. They NEVER turn out. They generally looked like they were run over by a bike which got hit by a train and then took a dive in a lake and came back out to be dried off. It's terrible.  I have seen some recipes on Pinterest for No Bake Cookies and decided to give one recipe a whirl. It was SO easy and they are so good and they don't look like the above described cookie. I'm proud of myself. Now if I can refrain from eating them all.Click here for the link to this specific recipe.

Inspire Me

I came across this story on a local news station the other night and was in awe. (Click the link and watch the video!)  In awe at their positive attitudes and their class given adversity.  I had no idea that a stroke could happen to somebody at age 31. My grandma died of a stroke at age 79 (I think).  I love reading stuff like this because it makes me want to be a better person and make a difference.  There is something to be said for being grateful for what you do have and not reflecting on what you don't.

There are often days when people bitch, moan and complain about every stinking thing in their life and every turn their life takes.  I get sick of hearing about stuff like that. In fact, I try stay away from people like that because it is so draining and exhausting and I spend my days helping people.  Not that I am 100% positive all the time, because I am definitely NOT, but this story is a lesson in the glass being half full! You are not going to inspire people when you are a constant whiny factory! Cherish what you have and check this out. AH-MAZ-ING.  You can also follow the blog about this couple here.

PS- Don't she have a great name?!

     

Wordless Wednesday

I have a love hate relationship with Bank of America. But I do love their PINK capsules if you go through the drive up!

                                  

Thankful Tuesday

Gosh, I went back to see where I was with my Thankful Tuesday count and realized I really haven't done a post in over a month! Gotta get back on track, that is for sure. I am finally starting to feel like the pressure is off from the run.
173. Summer
174. The Pool
175. Tanned skin- isn't the saying fat skin looks better tan- ha ha!
176. The smell of sunscreen- I love that!
177. Thunderstorms and Rain- serve 2 purposes, peaceful sleeping and not having to water the yard!
178. My Riesy Dog- love that dog, hate her shedding hair but she brings so much joy. Why did I not get a dog years ago?
179. Peace and Quiet (babysitting overnight all weekend leads this to be desired!)
180. Hand written thank yous- so fun to get them in the mail and I am thankful for getting mail. Makes opening the mailbox a little more fun than when it is just bills!
181. Air Conditioning
182. A cold glass of white wine (babysitting overnight all weekends leads this to be desired!)
183. My parents, Happy 42nd Anniversary!

Lots to be thankful for today, everyday and tomorrow! Cheers!

Bark and Blues

Yesterday was my 2nd time to take Ries to a community dog event. Last month we checked out the Vines and Canines with my parents (who were quite helpful in keeping oh previous one in line). Bark and Blues was yesterday. I braved it solo with oh precious one and the boy I'm watching this weekend who has special needs.  It was a tad chaotic to put it mildly. Between his needs and Ries, wow. It started when Ries pooped at the first vendor booth and as I was picking it up got poo all over in my fingernail. Gross. We did however make the mile walk after we found some wet ones! But Ries decided to poo again several steps in! Regardless, It was a fun event, fun to see the other dogs and support Bark and Blues! And see below, there was a girl selling Beer Brew there.....(oh precious one did not get to try, that would have just lead to more pooing......)

Phenomenal Women

Another blog post I was reading inspired this entry with the passing of Maya Angelou last week.  In college I neatly rewrote the words of the poem Phenomenal Women on a piece of paper and taped it to some plastic white Rubbermaid drawers.  I wish I could tell you what inspired me to do that some 16 years ago or where I even saw the poem.  When college ended and I packed up those plastic white drawers I untaped the poem from them and stuck it in a large binder where I had gathered other quotes, poems and sayings of interest. That binder currently sits in a trunk in my attic and it wasn't 50 lbs I drag it down the scary steps and flip through it to find Phenomenal Women.

As I stated, I wish I knew why I recopied that poem back sometime around 1998 or even what drew me to the poem. As I think about my life and how it is evolving and the interests I have today, it amazes me how much you change, how much you grow, how much you learn as each year passes. I'm not the same person I was back in college or even at age 25 or age 30 or even last year.  I think the overall message that Maya Angelou was spreading in all her passages, statements and quotes was this.

Be yourself. Be You. Look past the eyeliner and the makeup, 6 packs and abs and see inside somebody for what they really are.  Be generous. Be patient. Give and never give up.  Strive to be the best and when you make a mistake apologize.  Stand strong and courageous and limit your whining.  Be inspiring. Be grateful. Have a higher power.  Use your manners. Learn. Teach. Accept.  Grow. Forget and Forgive. Be.the.Best.Person.You.Can.Be.

Lots of B's in there to remind us it's all about the choices you make and who you strive to become. Maya Angelou may no longer be physically here but I guarantee her legacy will forever live on. What a phenomenal woman.

Hello June

I've been waiting for you! Sunshine, pools, flip flops, lazy days! So glad you are here.