Truth be told

Recently I have been having some "Deep Thoughts" not to far off from the kind Jack Handy had. I have been thinking a lot about this whole blogging thing. I never knew it existed. Even a year or more ago my BFF would send me links every now and then to some "article" she thought I might enjoy. I'd read it, enjoy and think nothing of it. Then in May she sent me a link to Pioneer Woman and I started reading more than just the "article" she linked to. I bookmarked it. One day she took a big step and sent me the link to her blog. That was the day I realized that these places she had sent me links to were called blogs and that anyone that wanted to could have one. I think it only took me a week after seeing hers,reading it daily, that I started my own.

I still didn't realize the ginormity of the blog world, I am still having trouble grasping the size. I started out reading the ppl she had linked on her page which lead to checking out who those ppl linked to and then who those ppl linked to, and on and on and on. It was vicious. It was addictive. That is how I happened upon Fun Monday, I couldn't tell you now who lead me to a Fun Monday person but I am glad I stumbled upon them.

At some point I found myself never leaving my CPU, except for essentials. I got addicted. I need to attend bloggers anonymous and let me tell you Myspace was my gateway drug... I was addicted to it when my BFF lead me to it.... HEY! Wait a minute! She is the one to blame here! Damn it Fianna! You are such a bad influence on me. I got over my addiction to myspace but it was only a couple months later when I became addicted to this. I am trying to find moderation here. I know that is what I need, I just need the help of a timer to pull me away. I no longer peruse ppl's links to other bloggers. I have a few favorites and I know I do not need more.

What I really wanted to say is that I am not a speed reader, nor am I quick witted. Are you seeing now how the blog world can suck up A LOT of my time? I also am a horrible speller, so I generally copy and paste my comments into a word document before I comment. My thoughts do not flow fast either, I have to sit and gather them until they are coherent. Some people are meant to blog, they are good at all the things I just mentioned. When I did my Fun Monday post LATE Sunday into Monday I even went around to a few ppl on the list to see if anyone had beat me to my post title, I thought it was that obvious that someone quick witted would have beaten me to it! It was the only thing that came to me quickly. I re-read my posts a gazillion times before I hit publish.

I guess all this to say I feel like I have no business blogging. I see that I have gone to long for Willowtree... I will try to keep my posts shorter in the hopes that he reads me more than just on Monday's...that is just how much I like that man! Plus if I can keep them short it will give me more time for what I need to be doing. Now I'm getting a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: A blogroll is neither a blog nor a roll. Discuss!

Fun Monday: Fridge-a-dare

It's Monday again! I'm not filled with Fun about what Amy W at A Family Story asked of us this week. I'm even skipping the quote, the pictures tell ALL. At least I followed the "rules", I did not clean anything! I hope I get bonus points, or a cleaning lady sent to my house as a prize! NO? Oh-well it was worth a try!

So, I am taking it slow... here is the side of the fridge I see as I walk towards it.....

Here is the frontal view of my fridge.... those baggies hanging are my collection of box tops and pop tabs that I collect for the kiddos schools. 3 pictures, all of one lil' man... the other 2 haven't made me any photo magnets... but that thing hanging lowest was made by the middle lil' man, as is the glitter car in the first photo. The heart with poem and hand print in 1st photo is from #3.

Oh damn, now we are inside... top shelves....

These are directly below the ones above....

Are we done yet?

This here is the bottom half of my door, those are 2 of the 3 bottles of wine in my fridge can you find the 3rd??? NO you can't! It is stealthily hidden ( not on purpose) only I know where it is.

Oh and Fianna, Cats EAT Birds!!!! GO K-STATE WILDCATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The boring top half of my door.... Hazelnut is mine, Vanilla for the hubster.

Ok, here is where you can see my filth, in the freezer side of my fridge.....

Now we are inside the top half of my NEW upright Freezer!!! It is rather bare....

Bottom portion... you can't see it but that isn't Folgers coffee, on top of the lid is taped the logo of Chock full o'Nuts coffee ... yum yum.....

Side door of BIG freezer I guess I should have put some stuffed animals or toy cars in all the bare spots.... :)

Bottom part of freezer door... NO those are not intestines down there.... It is some damn good KS sausage.

Here is the front of my BIG freezer... and one of my favorite magnets. I bought it when I was flying back to GE when I was in KS for a visit. I always wanted my own pair so I could go home whenever I wanted.

No one can say I took the easy way out by taking minimal photos. Pretty good for a gal not excited about the assignment huh?! GO forth and look in other peoples food storage units!

Redneck transport

OK, I saw this on my way home from KS, I was already well into MO when I passed these people. That lil' orange light on top of the truck was on, swirling around like some Emergency vehicle light. Of course they were going super slow maybe that's why they had the "warning" light on top the truck. All I kept thinking was "I am in Hillbilly HELL!" There is a little more to the story but I don't have time this AM to go deeper, like how did I pass them going super slow on the highway only to have them catch up to me and for me to get lucky enough to take the photo? humm....

*****EDIT*****

OK, so my BFF thinks that all 4 ppl that commented on this post are just in dire need to hear "the rest of the story" ( I love you Paul Harvey!) Anyhoo! It isn't all that and a bag of chips. It is rather like watching the paint peal off the walls... b.o.r.i.n.g! She asked for it so here it is....

I was "truckin' " along.... wait.... wait for it....."Truckin’, I’m a-goin’ home Whoa, whoa, baby, back where I belong, Back home, sit down and patch my bones And get back truckin’ on." Well I don't think I belong in Hillbilly country but that's where I'm at. SO as I was sayin' before I broke out in song.... I was truckin' along a 4 lane highway and I was easily able to pass that there truck. The speed limit was 65. I was doin' closer to 73 but I let up when I saw THAT! I had to get a better look and I wouldn't have gotten it if I was ZOOMING past them. They were doin' 45-50.

Yet another Road trip song of mine is "I can't drive 55". I'll spare you from my singing...

Well it must have been 35 miles since I had passed them when, and as much as I'd like to say I pulled over to wait for my perfect paparazzi moment( why cant I be more like Pamela?) I came up on a wreck that literally had our 2 lane side of the HWY at a complete STOP, and shut down to one lane, only inching like an inch worm for 20 minutes... so around 22 minutes those yahoo's pull up on the left of me into the turning lane, I was headed straight, there was my moment... I was almost too shy to do it. I felt like the fellers in the back kept looking at me like they knew I wanted to take their picture.... I was lucky they got the green arrow at the same exact moment I snapped the picture cuz they looked mean. They scarred me. I'm glad I made it home safely to tell the tale!

De-railing Update

Recently I wrote about getting de-railed. I wanted to give a small update on that topic. I made it to page 822 out of 870 before I went to see Harry Potter 5 last Thursday(July 19), in the kick ass theater near my hometown in KS. I had gotten sick on Tuesday and that slowed down my reading too so I think I did rather well. I almost completed my goal, I know I would have read the entire book before seeing the flick if it hadn’t been for that damn cold!

Now, the movie was a huge disappointment. Maybe it was due to my sickness. I understand fully that one can not fit an 870 page book into a 2 and a half hour film. However, there is no reason why one has to change the sequence of events, change totally how something happened, add small things that where never mentioned in the book and I mean small but still noticeable to me. I was also very disappointed that they (whoever they are) were unable to convey Umbridges pure evil vile-ness. She was not the villainess in the movie that she was in the book. I loathed that character, my blood boiled ie: high blood pressure, I wanted to reach into the book and kill her. I despised that character. I felt none of that in the movie.

I think I am done rambling on about this movie. I am nothing more than a freaky geek who refused to take my oldest with me when I saw it for the first time because it was MY first time to see it, even though it would have been his first time to see it as well I was the only one that has read the books, he has only seen the movies. I am the bigger fan, I have read all the books therefore I felt I should be allowed the pleasure of seeing HP5 for the first time ALONE without distraction from my spawn. So I guess that makes me a mean freaky geek but I do not care. He will get to see it in the theater; I just didn’t want him along with me for my first time.

Now I am off to finish the last 48 pages, then I will start my re-read of HP6 so that I can sometime this year start the final Harry Potter book. I bought it already, need to check to make sure I didn't get the version missing pages at least before I start it anyway. The suspense is getting to me and I am considering skipping my re-read of #6 but the last time I read it was when it came out what? 2 years ago? At least if I re-read #6 then that will let me prolong the end, since we are lead to believe there will be no more.... which by the tears I have read about by other readers of HP7 there really may not be anymore but I can't think of that now. I'd like to say JK would be a complete idiot not to keep cashing in on her empire, I'd be greedy if I was in her shoes, even though she is set for the rest of her life and her kids lives and her kids kids lives..... All I hope is that I can stay away from any spoilers of book 7. I am no speed reader, I have 3 lil' men, a house, a hubby and I blog so it may be 2010 before I get HP7 finished! I will savor every page! I hope and plead that whoever produces films 6 and 7 doesn't do what the ppl that produced film 5 did.

Here's the skinny

I am a lil' behind regarding answering requests, what with being away in KS and then the major cold of 2007. If you are here due to the questions from Fun Monday that post is below this one. I'm doing this post for Bev over at Sauntering Soul that made her first comment on my blog to my first tag/meme post where one of the 8 random things about me was that......

"I hate my skin, and always pay attention to other ppls skin and usually wish
for
theirs. My BFF is the only one that will get this. Comment you
non-commenter's
and lurkers if you care to find out more about this.... nee
ner nee ner"

Well she commented to find out more.... she is just so curious that Bev! I am not one to go back on my word/not follow through, so this posts for her! But you can feel free to read it too, it's not like it's for her eyes only!!

When I was a baby my parents were told I had eczema. Later in life I have had different dermatologists tell me that I had eczema AND dermatitis. More specifically nummular dermatitis which usually occurs in cold weather.Hot weather and stress can aggravate this condition, as can allergies,fabric softeners, soaps and detergents, wool clothing, and bathing more than once a day to name a few. I also fall under Atopic dermatitis, Atopic eczema, and Irritant/Contact eczema. The last is a chemically induced skin irritation. It most commonly occurs on the hands as a result of repeated exposure to caustic or acidic substances and everyday household detergents.
Not that you can really see it in this one but there is a patch on the middle of my palm that goes right and a patch on the top left of my wrist which is more visible in the pic below.


Does any one have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of your Right hand when you are right handed? It was very hard but I wanted to have visuals and now that I see them the pictures don't do my skin issue justice.

I get it mostly on my hands arms and legs. I have had break outs on my face and neck. I was made fun of in school and kids I thought were friends would move if I sat next to them... they said I had ringworm.


I can get a kick ass hue on my skin in the summer but my skin affliction always fucks it all up.



See the white spots? That's where a breakout was and now I am left with WHITE spots! I am like a leopard but I feel like leper!

That's my left hand which isn't as bad as my right. It is pretty painful and extremely itchy today. I actually have developed a high itch tolerance over the years, who knew there was such a thing! I'm not supposed to itch my breakouts ..... I do really good except for days like today but I don't use my nails or rather stubs... I just rub to itch.

So I have to use free&clear dryer sheets, free & clear laundry soap, perfume and dye free bath soap. I have to get prescription lotion as nothing over the counter moisturizes deeply enough. It all sucks cuz I love all the stuff that smells good. I just can't use it. I should were gloves when cleaning anything but when its just cleaning up the counters or the table I don't do it and then pay for it later on. I don't wash my hands as often as I want to or as often as most ppl do. If I did then I'd probably have no skin left on my hands. So, Bev there you have it why I pay attention to ppls skin and why I wish to have theirs. I'm glad you started commenting!

Our story

Today is my hubby and I's 8th anniversary. I know nothing spectacular yet... but we'll get there! 8 years that's like being newlyweds still compared to those at 20yrs and up!

Happy Anniversary My Love!!!!

Yesterday I said that my hubby and I met at a strip club. Anyone reading this without reading my FUN MONDAY post better go read that first! I had several inquiring minds that wanted to know if and possibly who was dancing at the strip club. Since I am not quite ready to post recent photos (even 8years ago photos) of me yet.... I think today is a good day to tell the story of how we met. If anyone has any insight at all as to why I am so reluctant to show recent or even 8yrs ago photos of me... please let me know. I am starting to get confused as to why I am trying to stay quasi anonymous.

So, there I was in this strip club. In walks this sexy bald man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket, the "I ride a Harley" type jacket. He sits down and I am interested. He looked like such a bad boy, I always liked the ones that looked like bad boys. So I make my way over to him and sit down... talk a lil'. I see that he has a few dollars folded a strange way, they were folded like an arrow. I thought it was strange I had never seen anyone fold a dollar that way. I asked him why he was folding them that way and he said to come back later and he would tell me. ohhh a mysterious man looking like a bad boy in all his bald sexiness! Of course I went back.....

I do not remember his answer. He probably didn't even give me one, I think he only told me to come back to buy him some time to figure out what to say. We talked about nothing I can remember now, he gave me his number and the rest is history! I bet he can tell the story much, much better than I did!!!

Wasn't that a lovely story? I thought you would enjoy it! What? I didn't tell you who was taking it all off? I didn't? Really? But, up there... I said.... oh..... I didn't tell you. My bad.... Let's see if I can remember what I was wearing when he first laid eyes on me.... I had on a pair of black Army jungle boots, grey cotton shorts, a grey ARMY t-shirt that was tight and cut just below my chest and a thong...... So it was me that was an exotic dancer. I flashed my ta-ta's for $$. I had several good laughs at the thought that anyone would think that my hubby with all his white boy rhythm would be shaking his cute bootie for$$$.

Not once has he ever boasted to anyone that he married a stripper. But once his male friends would eventually find out how we met I know he always (secretly) enjoyed their reactions! My man is such a good man! Now I just need to get a pole installed in my home so I can have some fun again and get a great workout while actually enjoying it!

After seeing me in all my glory.. well almost all my glory... 11 years ago when I was proud of my body before kids destroyed it all.... that even now while things are starting to head south and I most defiantly do not have anywhere near the body I had then he still calls me a hottie! I love that man more than words can express!

Fun Monday: Best Friends Forever

Today's Fun Monday is brought to you by the letter W. Willowtree that is. His blog it titled A Dingo's got my Barbie, which I'd love to hear him say in his Aussie accent! At least he blessed us with the line " Quit waggin' your bloody tail..." That was great! Today he has asked us to.....

"Tell us about your best friend. Particularly things like: where you first met, how long you've been friends and why you think you are best friends"
OR
"Who is the TV character that most makes you want to put your foot through the screen (it must be a character, not a person in reality TV). And why."

I have several Best Friends but I want to go with one that I have had the longest.
Her name is Fianna go check out her blog after you are done reading this. She is doing Fun Monday today but I still don't see her name on the list as I write this. We might be telling the same story. We hope that our memories, and loss of brain function leads to us filling in each others gaps. Hopefully our posts aren't carbon copy's or some shit like that.

So Fianna and I met when we were 3ish. I say ish because I cant imagine my folks letting me roam the street at 2. Ish also covers the possibility of us being closer to 4 when we stumbled across each other on the sidewalk. We lived on the same street, she on the even side I on the odd, only 2 houses away from her on my side but 3 houses away on her side from me. We started Kindergarten together. We would walk to school together and later bike to school together. We really did almost EVERYTHING together. We were like PB and J.

Look, she was my own Lil' Strawberry shortcake! Oh Look! It's that girl from Little House on the Prairie! Oh, no. That's just me. I still think that is her Kindergarten pic. She is just a lil' doll! I know that is my First grade pic. Why couldn't the photographer have just tucked that piece of hair behind my ear?


We lived on the same street in Ks together for our first 15 years. Her parents then uprooted her and her Sis and went to TX. We wrote each other weekly if not daily. I still have all of the letters she ever sent me.We still talked on the phone, just not as much as we were used to. We kept up with our snail mail until sometime around 2000 when I finally joined the email world. Which lead to Instant messaging, which is our current form of communicating with each other. We never lost touch with each other. Sure there may have been lulls from time to time but we could always start up like it was only just yesterday since our last talk. We have always been there for each other, even though for the last 16 years we have had hundreds and a few of those years thousands of miles between us. Just because we can't support each other in the physical sense doesn't mean we aren't there for each other.
For those that read Pioneer Woman and look at her readers photos (Willowtree) will recognize this photo. That's us circa 1991,our farewell photo shoot, before she left for the lonestar state. I told you all in my summer time post I never stopped flashing the peace sign!


She was an Aunt before her sister had kids. We used to sign our letters LYLAS and we meant it.

I can't tell you why I think we are best friends. Maybe it's the longevity, that we have known each other since we were toddlers. We grew up together and apart. Through it all, all the boys, all the highs and lows of our teenage years, the roller coaster ride of our early 20's, morphing into 30-somethings we still have that constant, we still have each other. We may not have experienced it all in each others presence, but she was there for me and I for her. I bet her version of this is better than mine. I still LYLAS Fianna!


My hubby is also my best friend. I wanted to tell just because the answers to WT's questions are good and maybe a lil' risque! I met my hubby in January of 1997. I don't tell most ppl how/where we met. My standard answer when asked is a bar. Since I am open and honest here in my blog... no sugar coating, no shoving sunshine up anyone's ass.....
We met at a strip club, you know the ones with topless dancers and poles, fully equipped with an alcoholic beverage bar! Yup,that is the place where I met the love of my life and best friend. He takes me how I am, puts up with all my crap, lives with me and still loves me despite all my many flaws and quirks. He is my soundboard, my rock, my compass... I would be lost without him. OK I see now why WT preferred we not tell about our spouse as our Best bud... some might get all mushy and shit. I'm done.

Go check out Willowtree for all the other Fun Monday peeps and their Best Friends, don't forget to go to my BFF's blog and read her version of our friendship! I linked them back up top, not doing it again down here.

I am Alive

Fun Monday ppl... I Have not forgotten..... I will post my monday fun-ness before Monday is over. Read on if you wonder why I am so not with it this go round.

Not that I have many readers. Not that the readers that I do have are all concerned about why I have not blogged for a whole week. Yet, I feel like I just needed to say that I am alive. I have not written off the whole blogging world. On Tuesday I had a cold slam me hard. There is nothing worse than having a cold in the summer. It is all in my head and now into my chest. The pressure and headaches and fucked up hearing are driving me batty. On Saturday I drove the road trip home with my devils spawn... oops... I said that out loud. Here I am alive and not that well, wishing for the pain and pressure and congestion to go away.

I will be back, I will answer questions that have been asked and have gone unanswered. I will tell story's that I said I would tell. First will come tomorrows Fun Monday post....

Fun Monday Drivers Wanted

The hostess for today's Fun Monday is Tiggerlane, the Neophyte Blogger. Go check her out for the entire list of participants.

With her tiara atop her pretty head she said: I wanna see your CAR! It can be your current car, the first car you ever had, maybe your first new car with that new-car smell, a car you wrecked once, or even the dream car you would drive - given all the money in the world! Oh - and if you have a truck, SUV, lawnmower, whatever the local authorities allow you to drive, let's see it!

I wanted to show my second car which I wrecked, the 2nd car is identical to my first car which I blew the head gasket on. I love those 2 cars, they were my first! Since I am in KS currently with no access to a scanner I couldn't show my wrecked 2nd car and tell the full story. If I have intrigued anyone let me know in your comment and I will post the picture and story the 22nd.

My current car is a 2004 VW Passat wagon. This car holds a very special place in my heart. It is the first brand spankin' new special ordered right off the factory line new car smell car I have ever owned. It is the 2nd VW I have ever owned and it won't be the last. This car was first opened up on the German Autobahn! Very fitting I know.

I desperately need a van with my 3 BIG Lil' Men, road trips in this take on a whole new meaning. I am holding out. I am not so patiently waiting for VW to come out with their new American van. If it never happens I am going to be one pissed off bitch. I had a 2003 Euro van in my sights in my FAVORITE color, it was only missing a sunroof, that could have been delivered to my driveway.... and I passed.... thinking I can hold out. They will surely make the highly anticipated new one with all the fabulous, trendy, almost must have features like all the other clone mini vans on the road.... but this one will be VW man.....

Sorry about all that, I drove off course. You came to see pictures.....

Bling Bling Baby!

I've been tagged

I am not happy about it either. I dislike these things so much. I am only doing it cuz my BFF tagged me. I will however spare anyone that reads this from the same fate!

It's the meme that asks one to reveal 8 random things about oneself.

1) I hate memes, they make me have to think hard, harder than I like.

2) I pick my nose.

3) I let my youngest stay in pee-pee diapers way to long, he needs to stop wearing them anyway, he is 3... he never gets a rash from my infrequent diaper changes.

4) I chew my finger nails, and I am chewing them while trying to think of things for this meme.

5) I still have my first and all time favorite teddy bear, her name is Tezzy.

6) I hate putting away folded laundry, so I have piles of clean folded laundry that I sift thru to find what I will wear.... until I get too annoyed with all the piles and put it all away which happens about every other month or so.

7) I am a very bad speller.

8) I hate my skin, and always pay attention to other ppls skin and usually wish for theirs. My BFF is the only one that will get this. Comment you non-commenter's and lurkers if you care to find out more about this.... nee ner nee ner

Again no one is getting tagged by me as I loath these things. Also I do not think I have any regular readers except for my BFF, and the ones on Fun Monday don't count as they are only Monday readers.

I got de-railed

I had the best intentions. I made a plan, a schedule.

I had started re-reading Harry Potter 5 later than I wanted to. I can't remember how many pages I had read when I decided to make my schedule to help me finish on time. I do know I had 15 days to do it, counting down to the opening of the 5th movie. I figured out that I would need to read 45 pages a day until the 11th of July.

According to the little pieces of paper I put in my book... I have 9 days left of reading. I have 430 pages to read in less than 9 days try more like 2 or 3 days. I would like to see it this weekend. There are a few spectacular movie theaters near my hometown. The movie theaters where we currently live SUCK.

Bad news: I have my work cut out for me.
Good news: I am back on track!

More relaxing Fun Monday

My original Fun Monday is below this post. I took my favorite relaxing spot photos from Ks this afternoon, instead of adding to original post I thought I'd give them their own.

This photo is my view from my favorite sitting spot on my Mom's front porch.

I know it's a view of our across the street neighbors but I have always loved gazing at her flowers, it totally relaxes me. I have relaxed to this view since before I became an adult!

This is my tree. This is what my oldest is trying to take over. It has grown quite considerably since I climbed it as a youngin'. I just now realized how I got up in this tree, while typing that I couldn't remember how I got up in it. There used to be a tire swing on one of the branches. I would stand on it and pull myself up, wrapping my legs around the branch. My oldest still can't figure out how to get up there, or how I did.

This here is looking up at my favorite branch, and area of this tree. I spent many many days in the tree on that branch. Many many books were read in the arms of this beautiful Oak.

Yet another pic of my favorite area of this gorgeous tree. Yes, I was flat on my back to get these last 2 photos. The chains on my fave branch were for the baby swing for all my Lil' Men. Time to take those down.

Ahhhhh, I hear a summer Ks thunderstorm rollin' in.... time to go sit in my favorite spot on my Mom's porch and relax!

Relax, It's Fun Monday!

This Fun Monday is being hosted by Debs who said the following:

This is my request. Show your favorite place to relax. It can be a chair, corner, ledge, or limb. :) Get out those cameras and take pics or just write how you feel when you are in your "zone".

I really relax when I am outside watering my flowers, or pulling weeds. I took a few photos before I left for my trip home to Ks. I don't have anything beautifully spectacular, I just know I feel at peace when I tend my plants. I want more next year and am already planning.

I also enjoy relaxing on my couch, sleeping in my bed, watching TV shows once the Lil' Men are sound asleep, and reading books. I will be adding a photo in the afternoon on Monday. I forgot to take it today... It is a place here in Ks that I spent many, many hrs relaxing as a child/teenager. My oldest is now trying to take it over. More on that later!

Are those geraniums a lil' sunburned? The bush to the rt got hit by the cold snap we had in spring.

"Home grown tomatoes home grown tomatoes, what would life be without home grown tomatoes?"

A little hosta that will get transplanted next spring, Mexican sage bush, and snap dragons.

My hanging petunias, I had never seen a mini version... it was love at first sight!

There's that bush again that got frost bite, I have no clue what that green redish lookin' plant is next to that bush and my black-eyed susans(which are my favorite!), some hostas, and ornamental grass that the previous owners put in... I'm not fond of the stuff.

There you have it, until I get that other picture taken.......

BLT 4th!

Happy 4th of July!!

Today was glorious. The 4th of July is a favorite summer day for me. I LOVE love love love Fireworks. I love the smell, I love the colors, I love the sounds. I love feeling the fireworks deep inside my chest! Fireworks are one of the best things about Summer. Another one of the best things about summer, Home grown tomatoes!

I picked my first home grown tomato of the season today. Could today get any better? Fireworks and my first home grown tomatoes!! I am stoked! The first tomato of the season leads to another favorite of summer. A BLT made with the first home grown tomato of the season. I am in heaven. If I hadn't been so greedy and happy I would have saved a BLT to be eaten while watching fireworks. D'oh!

Homeward bound

I love that song by Simon and Garfunkel. It always makes me think of traveling home.
I know home is supposed to be where you hang your hat. Home is where you lay your head. Home is where the heart is. Well I guess my heart is in Kansas, and I don't mean my hubby is there. My love for Kansas runs deep in my veins, it is in the very depths of my soul. Kansas will always be home for me.

I am homeward bound. I will be leaving towards the end of this week. That means that what I thought was going to be a week long Summer Love Fest on my blog might not happen as I was dreaming it would. Please keep checking back every other day or so. All the things I wanted to post about and pictures I want to share will keep itching at me, so they will get posted. I just have to prepare for a road trip with 3 lil' men. Set things in order here at our home for my time away, so that the hubby can manage with out me!

Fun Monday Summer

Today’s Fun Monday is hosted by Jenni at Prairie Air who challenged us by saying:

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:Share one or more of your favorite summertime memories with us. It can be a childhood memory or more recent. The memory can be a vague conglomeration of how you spent summers past (catching fireflies, playing outside till dark, watermelon seed wars) or it can be a detailed memory of a specific event. You may write a poem or short story or just tell it like it was. The main idea is to communicate the essence of summer and what symbolizes the season in words and/or pictures.

For a girl whose favorite season of all is Summer this should be easy. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, it took more thinking than I thought it would. It has started flowing though so watch out, this may be long and it may spill over into the rest of this week. I do not think Pictures can capture what summer is to me, why I love it so much. All of the photos in this post are actual real photos, not digital; all belonging to me taken by me or a family member. Well here are two photos of me taken during my first summer….. a good place to start.

Maybe that is when my love of summer began.

Yes, that is me throwin' my first Peace sign, I've never stopped.

My love of summer was challenged when I was at the tender age of 4 or 5 or 6 when playing badminton with my cousins and was told I had to put my shirt on. It wasn’t proper for a girl to have her shirt off. I was floored. I never understood why I couldn’t be shirt-less, my boy cousins were shirt-less. Why the heck couldn’t I be? I put up such a fight parental and grandparental units were called in and that badminton game was over for the day. That was the start of my becoming a feminist.

Tetherball…. Oh sweet tetherball. Many summer days were spent with my childhood friends playing vicious heated games of tetherball. Oh, the frustration and angst taken out on that poor ball.

Bike riding…. Oh that was a mainstay in my summers growing up. We went everywhere on our bikes. Nearly everyday we would bike to the local pool. I have fond memories of eating chick-o-sticks and drinking Big Red, listening to “Pour some sugar on me” I even vaguely remember some sort of “water dance” my friends and I made up to that song. Is there a dorks anonymous? I need to join.

This picture was taken in the summer of 1983. We all lived on the same block, have been Best Friends since before Kindergarten. We always played outside until it got dark. That’s D. on the left, Fianna is in the middle, and me on the right.

Let’s talk about my favorite sounds of Summer. Cicada bugs, I believe were the inspiration by some kid in 5th grade that came up with a nickname for me. It stuck all throughout the rest of my school career and as you can see, on into adulthood as well. I don’t remember the kid that came up with it but he was smart, I know he did it partly due to my big protruding “bug eyes”, and that was even before I had to get glasses, similar to those of the Cicada bug. I really think he did his research. Wow I have blown way off course. So here is an article about a few of the 17 different cicada species in Kansas. Since I am talking about sounds, you must check out the Cicada’s beautiful song. It is on the left hand side of the page as you scroll down… no need to read the article if you don’t want. Different species of Cicadas have different sounding songs. So please check out the song I love to hear.I love sitting on the porch and listening to their sweet music on summer nights.

My other favorite sound of summer that I could spend hours on the porch listening too is a Kansas thunderstorm. For me there is no thunderstorm like that of a KS thunderstorm. Oh that CLAP followed by those deep rumbles, it gives me chills. The lightning shows are just as amazing! Speaking of lightning…. I LOVE watching Lightning bugs. My youngest Lil’ Man, that just turned 3, caught one just the other night, all on his own. He held it gently in his fingers for at least 10 minutes. Oh yeah, that’s my boy!

2 more sights for today, I know I am getting rather lengthy. I did say this was my favorite season. I really could fill up this whole week with Summer Favorites. My Mom’s parents were wheat farmers. We would go out to their farm every summer for harvest. I loved the smell of wheat; the smell of riding in the bed of the grain truck after taking a truckload to the grain elevator. Eating the wheat hulls that didn’t fall out was so yummy. I loved harvest time. My Grandpa would take me for a ride with him in the cab of his combine. He also gave us grandkids rides in the cab of his tractor and the riding lawn mower. Ahhh the smells of the HUGE shed that the combine and tractors were housed… it was like a mixture of grease, gas, oil, wheat… and I don’t know what else but I loved that smell. Ok so now I am a lil’ sad.

This is a picture of one of my Grandparents wheat fields, that is my Grandpa in his combine harvesting wheat…….. Ahh, those Amber waves of grain!

Finally, for today at least, another favorite sight of summer. This embodies summer for me….



My favorite flower too




One of my Aunts told me something when I left Kansas to live elsewhere for the first time. It is a saying that has been used in different ways to match what it needs…. She said, “You can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can’t take Kansas out of the girl.” Over the years that has become more and more true. I feel it deep in my soul when summer hits. That is when I always go home. I'll save you trouble, There really is no place like home.

The Force is strong with Luke

The destructive kind of Force!

So, I have mentioned our huge puppy once before. I think he needs a little more Blog time. He will be 10 months on the 3rd of July. I awoke this morning before 7 to the sounds of his nails on my kitchen linoleum and a playful kind of whimper. I drug myself out of bed to see what was going on. I see him laying on the kitchen floor, me unaware of what he was doing until he got up to greet me and then I see Celeste our girl kitty(she is pictured in my flickr) walk out from behind the counter where Luke was laying. As I look around groggy-like I see that Luke demolished an empty cat food bag,literally ripped it to shreds. My hubby had to get up early for work this AM and must have fed the cats and somehow left the empty bag lying around. I crawl back into bed. I was lucky this AM, Luke actually went back to sleep with me. He usually keeps playing/destroying.

Thursday this happened to Lil' Man #2, or middle Lil'Man. I haven't figured out his blog name yet.....

He left his shoes outside, Luke was left outside, Luke protested.

Luke has demolished 3 pairs of my mothers shoes. He has destroyed 2 pairs of my flip-flops. I know there is more but if I continue he may end up in a new home by the end of this post. I have been missing a Birk of mine, I am beginning to think my hubby came across it destroyed and disposed of the evidence because he knew that would have tipped my scales and Luke would have been the one disposed of. He is super good with the kids. They use him as a pillow all the time. He has never snapped at them. He is the best dog we could have in regards to his temperament with the kiddos. His destroyer of all things and his poop issues(I will save that for another post) I could totally do without. The only thing that has saved him thus far is his good looks.........

Good looks will only take you so far.........