Three Years Ago...

The most wonderful man I know on Earth asked me to marry him. I'm so blessed to be married to him!

Cocoa Cones and Pancake Mix Cones...

Hey Everyone...I'm going to sell cocoa cone and pancake mix cones for the winter season. I'll be posting pics and prices soon!

Thing # 10,392,865 I Love About Hubs...

He can clean a shower WAY better than me!

Mail Truck...

Today I came home a little early from work. I checked the mail, as usual, but noticed the mail truck was outside our house. I just figured the post-person had walked to another house. We live in a rear-entry neighborhood, so I didn't see the front of the house again for a while.

A couple hours later, Hubs and I were driving past the front of the house and I noticed the mail truck was still there, and the interior light was on. That was very out of place and I got a little nervous. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head: Where is the mail person? Why is the light on? Are they trapped in the back of the truck? Did they get kidnapped? Are they dead in the back of the truck? I decided to call the police when we got home.

I somehow always end up callin 911 even if I'm calling the non-emergency number. About ten minutes later the police rang the doorbell. He asked me for the details I knew and then called the postal service. Turns out the truck was broken down and a tow truck was coming to pick it up! Whew! I expressed to the policeman that I was concerned someone had died in the back of the truck. He said he'd actually had a call similar to this one once at a restaurant and that was exactly what had happened. Glad that wasn't the case for us!

Sugar Free Grape Jelly...

Is officially the nastiest jelly on earth! I've tried to stomach it in an effort to eat better, but it ain't happening. It has this nasty chemical taste (thanks Splenda!), and of course the most artificial grape flavor I've ever tasted. Any good recipes out there that use grape jelly, and disguise it?

Cat and Mouse Game Update...

The cat has been really interested in the corner behind our TV armoire in the den. A couple nights ago, because the TV was off, we finally realized why. She hears the mouse in that area of the garage and is trying to figure it out! I believe she's ready to pounce!

In other kitty news, I believe she was scared to death of the thunderstorms last night. She has started hiding under a round table we have in the hall near the guest room. It took her about three months to figure out she could get under there, but she finally did. I can tell when she's been in there because the table skirt is pushed inward. I found her hiding there this AM. Of course, hubs says she's scared and should be allowed to sleep in our room. I disagree.

Cat and Mouse Game...

We have a cat (in our house). We have a mouse (in our garage). I've seen it a couple of times, and Hubs has seen it once. I also noticed it nibbled on the corner of a Christmas tree box that a friend gave me. (Which reminds me, I need to de-cardboard the garage). We put out a trap laced with peanut butter a couple of days ago. Said mouse has not yet discovered it.

Tonight, as Hubs studies for yet another test, we heard the little creature scratching in or around the wall. How does one get a mouse out of the wall? And, more importantly, how did s/he get there in the first place? I don't think there's a hole in our garage wall in that area.

Oh, and why aren't we letting the cat and mouse meet, you ask? For one thing, we have a scaredy cat, and we're not sure she's a mouser. Secondly, I don't want her coming down with some mouse-bourne illness. I would never forgive myself.

Election Night...

We had a mini election night party last night complete with BarackO Taco Soup, John McCake Batter ice cream and Bipartisan salad (thanks Davene!). We had fun watching the returns come in and eating yummy food! We also had some warm cider punch mix even though it was still warm outside. Hopefully, the cool weather will be coming to stay soon.

Try this Recipe...

Please make this Rosemary Ranch Chicken...it is so tasty! I've made this recipe more than any other new recipe I've tried in the last six months! It's a man-pleasin' recipe! Hubs is always excited when he realizes this is what we're having for dinner, and his eyes practically roll back in his head after the first bite! The first time I made this was on sweet little Abigail's birthday so that makes it even more special!

Bahamas Birthday...

Hubs and I wanted to spend my 30th birthday somewhere special, and we decided to go to the Bahamas! After an almost missed flight to Miami, a couple scrapes at Atlantis on the waterslides and lots of sunshine and crystal clear water we're home! We loved it and can't wait for our next vacation!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pumpkin Patch Part Two...

We went to the pumpkin patch with Mike and Jen again this year! We had such a good time! What was really fun for me was remembering that last year's trip to the patch was when I first started thinking that Mike and Jen might "go the distance!" And they did! So fun! Here are some pictures from our day! By the way, it was a little toasty this Saturday. We were not expecting it to get warm.


Fun on top of the hay bale! I just realized I don't have pics of Mike and Jen!


Pumpkin throwing contest!


Being cute on the haybale...

I really need to grow a few inches or work on my leaping skills!

Sitting amongst the pumpkins.

Cool pumpkin! The most expensive pumpkin we found this year was $44! Who buys those?

In front of the pumpkin painted hay bale.

The tiny pumpkin we bought! It was only $1 and was the first pumpkin we bought after going to the patch for three years!

Witch's Hat Calzone...

I was feeling festive for dinner a week or so ago, so I made this witch's hat calzone! The brim didn't turn out very well, but it was tasty!

Blogger Help...

Hi Bloggy Friends...how do I post pictures in sequential order? I can never seem to get them to be consecutive. Thanks!

Dining Room Curtains...

I got new curtains for the dining room at least six months ago. I can't even remember when. Tonight, hubs and I were talking about things the cat might destroy if she got mad at us. He said, "She may tear up those new curtains you put in the dining room." My reply, "Are you seriously just now noticing them?!" LOL Looks like I could buy a whole lot of stuff and just pretend like it's always been here.

Vanilla Orange Cream...

I was trying to be a cute wife the other night (our 26 month anniversary) and decided to make a fun dessert! We were having breakfast for dinner so this fit the bill! It's made from heavy cream and yogurt which is a little bit healthier than oreos or ice cream! I even made a run to the store to get a pretty orange,vanilla yogurt and orange extract. I whipped up the dessert, and made a reasonable fascimile to the original, using less sugar. Only, I forgot hubs doesn't like whipped cream, which is basically the main ingredient of this dessert! He likes creamy things, but not cream. I felt so bad that he couldn't enjoy my special dessert, but I got to eat two! The cute swirly plates are courtesy of hubs a few Christmases ago. He knows I love swirls!

Shameless...

The Uncle is shameless.

Jen's Birthday Cake...

Wow. I made this cake almost three months ago! Jen loves peanut butter and chocolate, so I made this cake as a surprise! The cake was delivered when we picked up the futon they gave us. It was a fun surprise! Very tasty and rich. Definitely needed a glass of milk with it!

Recipe Tests...

This post was started Labor Day weekend, and I just got all the linkts to work!

I tried out several new recipes this weekend, and kept a few oldies but goodies. I don't have pictures of all of these, but just know that all were beautiful and flawless:

Krista's Ginger Cookies
Simple Lasagna
Coconut Gelato
Sweet Cherry Tart
Sleepin' In Omelette
Basil and Cream Cheese Eggs
Very Cherry Almond Muffins
Rosemary Ranch Chicken Thighs
Sweet and Saucy Drumsticks
Broccoli Slaw
Grilled Parmesan and Herb New Potatoes
Pineapple-Orange Sorbet with Splenda
Refrigerator Sweet Tea

***Update: I'm having problem with some links doubling up (which is some of the reason this post was delayed). If you want the recipe for something and it's not clickable, please post a comment and I'll get you the recipe.

OAMC...

Dear Readers. I am a delinquent. I know I owe you all a lot of blog posts from our trip. I will eventually get to them. Promise.

I know I haven't made any cooking posts in a while, so I wanted to talk about OAMC, once a month cooking. It's something I discovered on one of the recipe sites I visit. You basically make stuff to the point of putting in the oven/on the stove top, but you freeze it at that point instead. Then you thaw and cook when you're ready.

Theoretically, you could make a month of meals at a time. I'm not that into yet, but I have made three recipes in two days: Sweet Salsa Dump Chicken, Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Dump Swiss Steak. That's at least six meals for us! The dump recipes are great because everything goes in one bag and into the crockpot or a pan and is baked. Makes it easy, as long as you remember to thaw! And it's great if Hubs beats me home because he can toss it in a pan and get it going before I get home. It also frees us up to go walking or do something healthy while dinner is in the oven!

The other great part is that I only had to buy a few ingredients. I'm also going to make and freeze some black bean soup for the fall weather that will be here soon!

Don't You Want to Follow Me...

Click on the link in the right column to follow me...and my blog! I'll feel really sad if no one follows me...

My Cake is a Celebrity...

Last Thanksgiving I started making a coffee cake recipe I found online, with a few minor tweaks. I've probably made it at least 10 times since then. In Washington, during summer vacation, I made it for our friends. They loved it! They also happen to own an internet cafe/coffee shop. That cafe will now be serving my coffee cake! Dubbed the A-Cake by our friends! I'm so excited, and can't believe I'm just know telling you guys this!

Where is Peyton Manning...

Um, hello? Where is Peyton Manning? I'm pretty sure I could QB for the Colts right now and do just as well as he's doing.

Hurricane Bowling...

We went bowling with some friends last night. Everyone named themselves after a hurricane...Ike, Tina (funny, maybe not a hurricane), Gustav and Alicia. The goal was to get to hurricane strength with a score of 74. Obviously, we don't bowl a lot. Once you reached 74, the goal was to become a higher category of hurricane. None of us made it out of category one!

Pictures Requested...

Someone commented today that they want more pictures on the blog since I've been slacking, so I decided to post these:



Both above in Port Aransas...newly engaged.


Above in New Mexico, about to be parents of sweet Abigail!

And in all fairness...

Weirdos...


In New Mexico and Texas at the same time...

Jr. Banana Splits Are Back...

The junior banana splits are back at Sonic! YUM! Those things are tasty and just the right portion. They're a little messy, but worth it!

Labor Day Weekend...

Hubs and I had a great time with his parents this weekend! They came to visit us Saturday-Tuesday morning. We had fun in the pool, went to church, took a quick tour of Dallas, grilled out on Labor Day, went to Babe's, Buffalo Wild Wings and Panda Express, played Upwords, tracked Gustav, played with the cat and just had a good time! Lots of good fun and food!

I'll post pictures when I get some. My camera's batteries will not keep a charge no matter what I do here lately.

Marriage Funnies...

On Saturday, hubs and I attended the wedding of two dear friends (more on this later). Since I was a member of the wedding party, I met up with the bride and others for breakfast that morning. Hubs was helping a friend move and then playing a few games of racquetball.

I left my car at IHOP for hubs to pick up after he was finished with racquetball. He was leaving his car at the home of the friend who was moving. We were going to pick it up after church on Sunday.

This morning, hubs called me and asked if there was anything we forgot to do this weekend. I felt like we'd accomplished alot and had not forgot anything. I was wracking my brain, but couldn't come up with anything. Hubs mentioned he was watching the cat be on display (meaning she was on the foosball table), so I knew he was home. I couldn't figure out why he was there though. You probably know at this point why he was home, but I hadn't figured it out.

Of course...we forgot to pick up his car!

So, he decided to ride his bike to work, then he'd ride his bike to where his car was parked and drive it home. Only the front tire of his bike was in the trunk of his car. It's been in there since the last time he rode his bike. The bike frame and back tire sat in our living room for at least a week. I got tired of looking at it, and we were having people over so it had to go to the garage. Since hubs didn't put the bike away himself, the tire was left behind in the trunk. Hubs used the leaky front tire from my bike, which he fixed by putting a cap on the valve, and rode off to work.

The last time he rode his bike to work he lost his dress shoes. I hope that didn't happen again today!

First Date...

Three years ago Hubs and I had our first date at Chili's! Only, neither of us realized it was a date at the time! We were just meeting so I could borrow a Fantasy Football magazine from him. We split some Monterey Jack fajitas. After all I didn't want to look like a pig in front of the guy I hadn't known long! In fact, I think this was one of first times we talked in person. Other times were over email planning for the Amazing Race or talking about Fantasy Football.

I think I pretty much spilled my guts at dinner on my life up to that point. We'd had plenty of email convos, so I knew that I liked his personality. And, I'd recently found out he was pretty cute to boot! I figured, if he didn't like me after that night, then there was no point in trying to date him. We walked out to his car after dinner to get the magazine. Only he forgot why I was walking to his car with him. He was acting a little awkward on the walk, so I gently reminded him about the magazine. I figured he thought I had something else, like a hug or kiss, in mind by walking him to the car. We later laughed because that was exactly what he thought! He was probably pretty proud of himself about that one!

Tonight, we're going to Chili's to celebrate. Only, they don't have fried cheese sticks anymore, so that's a bummer.

Homemade Sugar Scrub...

After my relaxing foot rub last night, I was inspired to make a homemade sugar scrub! Girls, you must try this! My recipe is adapted from here.

Super Simple Sugar Scrub
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (I think any oil would work)
splash of lemon juice
splash of almond, coconut and vanilla extracts (you can use all or any combination)

Mix in a plastic container with a twist on lid. Scrub your feet and hands with the mixture in the shower. Make sure your tube isn't slick and that you wash the oil from your feet.

Doggie Cure...

Tonight I swung by Davene's to return her card tables we borrowed this weekend and to give her a plant that I'd been promising. I had to get rid of the plant because the cat is allergic to it. Davene and I ended up talking for two hours! During which her beagle, Chelsea (I hope that's how it's spelled) decided to lick both my feet and my legs! It tickled, but it was so cute! I felt bad for her because she was just working so hard, but Davene said the puppy enjoys it! After the doggie cure, Davene let me use some of the dead sea salt scrub she got in Israel! It was awesome! My feet are so soft now! Thanks Davene!

Happy Birthday Mom...

Happy Birthday to my mom! I love you!

Road Trip Day Three...

Hello Kids! It's vacation post 3 of 14! Yes, I am still way, way behind! The Olympics are on, am I supposed to do other things during this time?

Back to the road trip. On day three we woke up in Dubois, WY at the Stone House Bed and Breakfast. We had the most fabulous breakfast: cereal, strawberry and cereal parfaits, corn muffins, slices of homemade cranberry bread, homemade cherry rhubarb jam and scrambled eggs with basil and cream cheese mixed in! On my gosh, it was so fabulous! We got to eat in a gorgeous, bright sunroom and enjoy the mountain scenery! This was the best start to a day. I can't wait to recreate this breakfast soon! There were even wonderful chocolatey cookies in our room for a snack.

We set out for Grand Teton and Yellowstone for a nice relaxing day!


Beautiful flowers along the drive!


The Grand Teton Range. Phenomenally beautiful and snow capped in July!


Fish in the tub at the B&B...being a Fisher, I think fish are cute!


Turnout along the road with the Teton range in the background!


View from Jenny Lake at Grand Teton National Park.


View from the staging area just before the rest of the hike up to Inspiration Point. I skipped the rest of the hike from this point. Too steep, narrow and rocky. Hubs went all the way up and took some pictures. He said the view wasn't much different.


Boats on Jenny Lake. By riding the boat, you save yourself a six mile roundtrip hike.


More from the base of Inspiration Point. There were cute little chipmunks scavanging for food around here!


Tableside phone to place orders at A&W Lanes in Shoshone, WY. Yes, the A&W burger place was connected to an eight lane bowling alley complete with flourescent cosmic decor. I'm pretty sure the food came from the bowling alley snack bar kitchen.


Incredible! The colors here are just amazing! So many shades of green, blue, grey and purple.


USGS marker at the top of Signal Mountain.


More from Jenny Lake. Up close with the mountains.


Us at Hidden Falls. These are on the way to Inspiration Point. The wind blows off the falls just right and feels like someone has turned on the A/C! Several shaded spots along the trail offered the outdoor air conditioning as we called it. It was very neat and a nice break when you're sweaty from hiking.


The living room of our basement suite at the B&B.


Lobelia, a beautiful purple plant that I want to try to grow at home.


The first elk we saw on the trip at Grand Teton.


More falls! You could hear these way before you saw them!



More from Signal Mountain. So lush and vibrant!


And more from Jenny Lake!


By the falls...that hat looks goofy on me.


Characters outside the A&W Lanes. Wow, these pictures are in no order whatsoever. I should really learn how to do that.


So beautiful, it's hard to believe they're real!


Sunset over Boysen State Park. There were people waiting near here to watch fireworks over the lake. Would that be gorgeous! Too bad we had to keep driving.

Day 4 is next! Yellowstone!

Curious Cat...

There are two rooms in our house where the cat is prohibited: our den and our bedroom. She's also closed off from the rest of the bedrooms and bathrooms. But if she got in any of those rooms, it's not the end of the world. Our "allergy havens," however, are off limits.

She's allowed in the rest of the house, since it's hard to close that off without her busting through the doors (we learned that on day one). Tonight, I was walking into the den and as I opened the door, the cat was staring in and bobbing her head around just to get a good look in the room! It was so funny! She's just chomping at the bit to see what's in that room! Ha! Sorry kitty! She also waits outside of our bedroom door for us. We can see two little black paws under the door waiting for us. Then at 7AM, the meowing begins because the cat is just starving for attention by that point!

UPDATE: The cat has now been in our bedroom. As soon as I finished this post, I walked into the kitchen and noticed our door was open. Someone left our bedroom door cracked and a curious cat nosed it's way into room. She was lurking in the bathroom when I discovered her.

I Need to Read More...

From Dana's blog...

The story is that apparently the National Endowment for the Arts estimates that the average adult has only read six of these books.

Here are the markup guidelines:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Mark in red the books you love.
4) Post the list to your blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (I told my 9th grade teacher my parents wouldn't let me read it because I found it so boring)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert -
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Man, thanks to AP English! I may have read some of the others and forgot about them. And I'd like to point out that number four is seven books totalling a lot of pages!

08.08.08...

The Olympics start on Friday! Woohoo! I love the Olympics, especially the Summer Olympics. I get chills during the commercials for the opening ceremony (while watching American Gladiators)! Hubs and I have been through one set of Winter Olympics together, but I'm not as obsessed with those. He's in for quite the shock. I enjoy the figure skating, speed skating, skiing, etc. during the winter. But in the summer I am totally addicted to gymnastics, swimming, diving, track and field. I've already got the opening ceremony ready to DVR since I'll be on a plane when it starts. So, if you need me in the next two weeks, check the couch.

More Road Trip Posts to Come...

I'm going to try to get some more blog posts up of our vacation. I've just really been slacking in updating the blog because so much has been going on and things aren't really slowing down. Maybe this weekend I can get some additional notes up!

I Learned to Play an Instrument Today...

It's called second fiddle. The first fiddle is a furry, black kitty cat that we "inherited" from a friend (more on this later), named The Uncle. Hubs loves kitties, and right now he is studying in the kitchen so he can comfort the cat with his presence. I'm in the bedroom with the door closed, and my computer to keep me company! It's actually pretty cute that hubs cares so much about the little animal. She escaped to our front room while we were out this evening. Now she keeps trying to get back in there! She hasn't eaten much since she got to our house, just three treats I gave her. I know she's adjusting and that she will eat and drink when she can't take it any longer. We'll probably go pick up some litter from her old box (just the litter, not the junk) so she can recognize the scent and know where to go. The Uncle is enjoying her kitty cube though! Looks pretty comfy for a kitty!

Two Years Ago...

I married the perfect guy for me! The man of my dreams! Did I just say that? ;-)

I was thinking this morning about writing this post and all the wonderful characteristics of my guy: loves Jesus, loving of people, giving, caring, helpful, thoughtful, generous, kind and selfless. He exhibits these characteristics on a daily basis. I have a lot to learn from him! I'm just so thankful that God found me worthy of such a good man. I'm thrilled to be married to him and look forward to many years with him, God willing.

Radio...

I listen to quite a bit of country music. And I've heard "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" quite a few times. Today, the DJ introduced the song and said it was by Darius Rucker. My brain went into high gear, reached deep into my memory and shouted "From Hootie and the Blowfish!?" Yes, one in the same. Only, he doesn't really sound like he used to...there's no slur to his sound anymore. I'm thinking it's because his country songs aren't enhanced by illegal drugs and copious amounts of alcohol.

I asked Hubs if he knew any Hootie and the Blowfish songs. He couldn't think of any off hand so we took a tour of You Tube. Hubby recognized them, but didn't seem as interested in the comparison of Darius the Rocker to Darius the Country Singer as I was.

Sonic Happy Hour...

I really wish that I could take my lunch between 2-4PM so I could benefit from half-price drinks and slushes at Sonic! Although, it's probably a good thing I'm not at lunch during that time because I'd spend more money and intake more calories than needed! I sure did enjoy my large cherry-cranberry limeade yesterday though! Mmm...

Road Trip Day Two...

We woke up at the Days Inn Sidney ready to face another day of driving! With one exception, a special detour we decided to take! The night before we left Dallas, we had a discussion about visiting Mt. Rushmore. It was too far from our originally planned first stop, Denver. What we realized was that it was only three hours further if we drove from Dallas. We stopped in Sidney because it was within a four hour drive of Rushmore. Good thing we stopped in Sidney too because there is zilch between Sidney and Keystone, SD (the nearest town to Mt. Rushmore).

We ate breakfast at the motel. Malted waffles! Yum! Don't ask me the difference between a malted waffle and a regular waffle because I don't know. What I do know is that the waffle was tasty!

We finally hit the road to Rushmore. This particular road passes through a lot of territory where those searching for gold bullion in the Black Hills during the 18000s passed. Apparently you can still see wagonwheel ruts in some areas. Don't know if I believe that or not, we weren't looking for any so I can't bear witness to that. We also passed through several historic trails: Oregon Trail, Lewis and Clark Trail, etc. You can also see Devil's Tower (we didn't, a certain person in our party was on a mission to Rushmore) and Car Henge (the US's version of StoneHenge) on this highway.

We did stop at a cute little gas station where a huge, friendly golden retriever lived to ask for directions. Our computer's air card couldn't get a signal out there in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, they had free maps for tourists of the area.

Finally, we made it to Mount Rushmore and we were just in awe! It's out in the middle of nowhere -- and has a huge parking garage discreetly tucked in front of it! You can definitely tell that it has tons of visitors and the National Park Service really takes care of it. Hubs says it was cool, but smaller than he would have expected. It is carved into the portion of the top of a mountain – he was expecting the entire backside of a mountain to be the faces. He says he probably didn't pay attention much to pictures he'd seen before because if he had, he would have known the faces didn’t encompass the entire side of a mountain.

The monument was jam packed this day! It was July 4th and it was totally cool to be there on this day! Tons of people were wearing red, white and blue and it just gave me a sense of pride for being an American. This is definitely the coolest experience I've ever had on the 4th! There's even a fireworks show there, but we didn't get to stick around for it.

There's a quick trail you can take to get up closer to the faces, and that was quite a sight! Mostly, you just get the chance to look up their noses! And you realize that their pupils are just rocks, a few of them cone shaped. Seriously though, it's really amazing how smooth their skin is and how intricate the details are up close, like Roosevelt's glasses. Hard to believe a lot the work was done with dynamite. We used Hub's binoculars (which became his constant companion on this trip) to check out the the features.

We left Rushmore and headed to Dubois, WY where we had reservations for the night at a bed and breakfast. We asked multiple people for directions since our air card still wouldn't pick up a signal, we were parked illegaly and had yet another run in with the law. We also saw lots of fire danger signs as we drove through several national forests...Smoky the Bear was doing his best to prevent forest fires. On the way to Dubois, we stopped in Shoshone, WY at a place called A&W Lanes. It was a combination burger joint (A&W) with eight bowling lanes! The lanes had the neon cosmic space theme. We had dinner here since everything in Dubois closes early.

Next post: Dubois, WY to Grand Teton and Yellowstone.


It was hot, hot, hot! Walking to the Grandview Terrace through all the state flags.


All the granite in this area had a beautiful silver sheen. Wonder how much this would be for countertops?


Us and the presidents. A woman from Louisiana practically laid on the ground to take this picture for us! Her entire family was decked out in red, white and blue and it was super adorable! We later ran into them at a pizza parlor!


He's so strong! The man can move mountains! Which is good because I have a tendancy to make mountains out of mole hills.


George's profile. Could you imagine the size of the dollar bill that this thing would fit on?


Pretty flowers at the gas station.


Old truck with a snow plow attached.


Dr. Denali, slightly like Dr. Pepper...not as good as the original.


The boys from the Grandview Terrace.


Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln (which I finally memorized on this trip).


Wyoming! The land of gorgeous lush mountain sides and desert-like bad lands. Oh, and make sure you get gas at every opportunity in WY or you will be stuck!


There was a snow storm about a month prior to our trip, and this little piece had not melted yet! It was totally cool to be in snow wearing shorts and flip flops...for a few seconds at least. Snow is cold even if the air temperature is in the 80s! This was on our drive through the Big Horn mountains which are incredibly beautiful. This particular area is called Powder Pass. Hmm, wonder why?


God's handiwork! Incredible, isn't it? Too bad my camera didn't do it justice. Snowcapped mountains, tree line and beautiful wild flowers! Plus, the fences in WY are really neat.


This cow was making a break for it as we were driving through Nebraska.


We've arrived!