Free Chik-fil-a

I just read that if you dress up as a cow and go to Chik-fil-a on July 11,2008 you get free meal or entree'...check out the site!
http://www.cowappreciationday.com/

Farmington, MO

We went to Farmington to visit with Kenneth's brother Terry.

We hadn't seen each other for several years, notice the family resemblance?

We were able to visit with him a couple of times...in between we went sight seeing. We visited a park in town where they advertised a tree covered path where you can walk beside two ponds and see birds and wildlife.

This is what we discovered.

Another path.

that led to a wildflower field.

the lacecaps were my favorites, they reminded me of snowflakes where no two looked alike.

we discovered where the deer had bedded down the night before.

and another path

which ran beside a creek.

We went back that night to see the path lit up.

We drove around downtown and saw a sign that read "Historic Farmington, established 1786"

They had some beautiful old homes.

everywhere there were hanging baskets.

and we visited Earth Mother natural food store.
I got whole vanilla beans to make my own Vanilla flavoring.
These pots are all planted with Herbs for medicinal use.

I wish I knew what they were all used for.

Are we there yet?

Hopefully by the time this posts we will have returned from our excursion full of happy memories, and be ready to return to work. Refreshed and eager to be back. May you all have a happy summer vacation too.

24 TIPS FOR A BETTER LIFE

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

Visiting Amanda and Charles

We took Dusty to them to take care of while we are on vacation. Here is a picture of the "baby belly". No name has been picked yet, but they do know it's a girl.

She won't need any clothes for at least the first 6 months. Charles has a relative that has a 7 month old, she gave them all kinds of things and Amanda got some things from her cousin as well.

and then there were the puppies. their rotten!

"The Simple Woman's Daybook"

Every Monday you are supposed to fill in the following...


Outside My Window... I see clothes drying on the clothesline;
I am thinking... Boy am I glad to be home;
I am thankful for... a safe trip;
From the kitchen... We have cherry tomatoes! ;
I am wearing... T-shirst/shorts/barefoot;
I am creating... my first Simple Woman Daybook;
I am going... to watch TV after this post, BONES is on;
I am reading... "all you" magazine;
I am hoping... That I remember how to do my job when I go back tomorrow. ;
I am hearing... the air conditioner running;
Around the house... I need to sweep the cat hair up;
One of my favorite things... the garden flowers;
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: get the house reorganized after unpacking. ;
Here is a picture thought I am sharing... I have a Peace Frog;



"The Simple Woman's Daybook" is sponsered by:

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

Please, check out her sight.

We're Back

We arrived back home at 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning. It was a long drive from Gatlinburg, TN. to the house, but when your within just a few hours of sleeping in your own bed, it's hard to stop and sleep in a strange bed.
(I will begin posting pictures tomorrow.)

Miles travelled: 3307
Gallons of gas: 115
MPG: 29 (approximately)
Least expensive gas: Cassville, MO. $3.62
Most expensive gas: West Virginia $3.99

States visited (14): Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas
(we only drove about 18 miles through Georgia, but I had to stop and go to the bathroom, so if your feet touch the ground it counts.)

Sites Visited: Farmington, MO.; Virginia Beach, VA; James Town Settlement, VA.; Yorktown, VA.; North Carolina Farm Museum; Smokie Mountains, NC & VA; Gatlinburg, TN; Pigeon Forge, TN.;

another To Do

Clothesline poles, rain, sandy loam soil and riding lawn mowers do not go together. Kenneth was mowing the other day and trying really hard not to blow the grass onto the patio and into Dusty's pool (thank you for that) and backed into the clothesline pole. It knocked it loose about 2". So we are going to be re-cementing the poles in with an 80 lb. cement this time instead of the 40 lb. we used the first time.

Another thing you need to think about if you decide to put in a clothesline, depending on your soil type, how much cement do I need to use?

Update (Tuesday, June 24, 2006): This job has been done. Because of all the burning going on in the backyard I wasn't able to use the clothesline this weekend anyway, so Kenneth got this job completed before we left on our road trip. (I guess if you don't mind smelling like a campfire it would have been OK.)

Happy Fourth of July, 2008...

Today we are in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

4th of July Midnight Parade
Come see the first 4th of July parade of the year in Gatlinburg, TN. The parade starts at midnight on the evening of July 3rd. The 33rd annual Midnight Independence Day Parade is expected to bring in 90,000 to 100,000 spectators. The city of Gatlinburg says this will be their most patriotic and colorful parade ever. There will be a tribute to our 5 military branches which will be a major highlight of the parade and rightfully so. The streets will be closed to vehicles at approximately 11 pm on July 3rd so plan to get there early. Also, traffic in and out of town could take 1-2 hours, so keep that in mind as you make you’re way to and from the parade. You can see the parade anywhere from downtown on the main strip, so don’t sweat it too much if you have trouble finding a spot in the middle of downtown…you’ll see the same parade at the beginning and end of the route.
Also, Gatlinburg will be having a fireworks show on the fourth of July, which will begin about an hour after sundown. The display can be seen along most of the parkway from the skylift all the way down to Applebee’s. The fireworks show is supposed to last around 20 minutes.

After I read this I was just like...OH YEA...we are so going to be there!
Hope you all have a Happy and Safe 4th of July

Happy 32nd Anniversary

33 years ago my best friend told me...

"Kenneth is going to ask you to go steady", is that term even used anymore? Anyway she continued..."and I want you to be sure and tell him, Yes".

So on the night of the big moment I was all prepared for him to ask me and I had practiced in my head on saying, "Yes." Only he never asked me to go steady... he just gave me his class ring, no words just placed his ring on my finger.

A few days later he was driving me home after a date (Olivia Newton John was singing "I Honestly Love You" on the radio) and he asked me...

"Will you marry me?"

and because I had been practicing I said "Yes!"

wait a minute...I said "What did you say?"

and he said "What did you say?"

So you see it was all a miscommunication...

But, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Zucchini Bread

Last Tuesday, before we hit the road, I used up one of the zucchini to make bread (sorry no pictures). But trust me... It was wonderful! I made two loaves, we ate almost a whole loaf right after it was baked. You can't beat fresh baked breads. We'll take the other loaf with us on the road. I ended up using the recipe from my "Better Homes New Cook Book" (dated 1981) and guess which recipe I discovered there...the one from "Chickens In the Road" Cinnamon Crisps, I thought that was too funny, its the one I was making with my bread that weekend. Makes me wonder about her Grandmother Bread recipe.

Amanda has been posting on her blog, take a look over at "Chaos, Laughter and Love" and check out her garden.