Monday, August 31, 2009

Reconnection Weekend

Okay, it seems like this weekend was a weekend of reconnections for me. It was pretty nice, actually. Being home alone, it was nice to get out of the house and see people I haven't seen in years. I already told you about my dinner on Friday. Well then on Saturday I had another reconnection which was pretty random, actually, but I'm so glad it happened!

I was trying to work around the house on Saturday, but really I just kept getting sidetracked and ended up spending a lot of time on the computer. I was browsing Facebook and saw one of my "friends" on there mentioned she was hosting her first bunco night that night. I knew this girl in highschool. She was a freshman when I was a senior so we weren't super close or anything, but we were both in band and hung out. She went to the same college as me, but again, I was on my way out as she was on her way in so I only saw her a few times. Anywho, she mentions something about the fact she's an old married lady since she's playing bunco. Well. I've been playing bunco for years now, so I had to comment and let her know she was not alone! A couple hours later, I get a phone call from her! (my phone number is on my Facebook page...) She says she saw my comment and they actually still needed another player and wondered if I wanted to come play since she had seen that my husband was out of the country. Aww...how sweet! Bunco lover that I am, I of course said yes!

I get over there that night and turns out there were two other girls from her class in highschool that were there as well! It had been even longer since I had seen them. We had a really fun time playing bunco. Most of the people there had never played before or had only played once or twice (besides me, the master...) so it was quite entertaining. :o) And I might even play with them again if they're still short a player. And I will definitely be calling her up for our bunco night since we almost always need extra players.

Anyone else care to join us?

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Catching up

The other night I mentioned that I was going to meet up with an old friend last night. Since John had to jet off to Brazil last minute, it ended up just being me, her, her husband, and their 9mo. old son. But let me tell you, it was fantabulous time!

H and I grew up together. We lived just down the street from one another. We played softball together, had classes together, practically lived at one another's houses when we were young. We stayed close for many, many years. Then our sophomore year of high school, I believe it was, her family moved from Texas to Minnesota where her dad was originally from. It was sad to see her go, but I knew it wouldn't be forever. We'd been too close over the years!

We corresponded here and there. Saw each other once or twice. But it was hard being across the country from each other, trying to live our own lives. A few years later we got a wedding invitation in the mail for her. I was so happy she had found a great guy and fell in love, but I knew after that it would be even harder to try to keep in touch.

Well, thank the heavens for internet, right?? She recently got a Facebook page and it just so happened that she was one of my "suggested friends" since we both had the same hometown. I was overjoyed to find her again! I thought about her a lot over the years and was so happy we could finally talk again! It was like 8 years hadn't passed at all.

She still has some family in the area so she sent me a message saying there were coming down for a visit this weekend and would I like to get together. Of course I would! That would be awesome! So we met up for dinner last night and spent a good two and a half hours catching up. I got to meet her husband, who is really a wonderful guy. I got to meet their son, who is just too cute for words! It was a great time and while I wish John would have been there to share it, it didn't make it any less special.

I gave her my blog address so she can keep up with me, so H, if you're reading, I'm soooooooooooooooo glad I got to see you!! And we will most definitely keep in touch!!

Sweet Corn Festival

Both of my parents are from Iowa. They moved to Texas in 1976 when my dad got a job down here so my entire life has been filled with trips back to Iowa. I believe my first trip up there I was 2 weeks old!

Anywho...in the town where my parents lived and my grandma still does, they have a Sweet Corn Festival every August. When we (my sister and I) were young, I think we came up to the Sweet Corn Fest every single year. It was awesome! Now, the town is like population 1000. It's tiny. We can walk from my grandma's house to town square (where they hold the festivities) in about 10 minutes, if that. It's a gorgeous, peaceful, sleepy little town and I love it!

But since the festival is held about mid-August, once my sister started high school (and therefore summer band about August 1st) we could no longer make it to the Sweet Corn Fest. I was about 11 years old the last time we were there.

For years now, I've been talking about wanting to go back for the Sweet Corn Festival. I mean, heck, John and I have been together for 9 years and he's never been! Well, this was the year we were FINALLY able to make it. And I am so glad that we did. My grandma's pushing 86 and has lots of health issues so it's quite possible this was her last festival. But tons of the family came in for it this year, and I think we made it really special for her.

We had an absolutely wonderful time. I even got John almost convinced to move to Iowa! Haha! I didn't take a TON of pictures, but I'll share a few here that I did take. Just another brief synopsis of our little trip to the Midwest. :o)


I had to take a picture of our SWEET rental we got. I'm definitely glad that John convinced me to upgrade. It was AWESOME!


Us, at the infamous Shuckfest. We helped shuck 17 TONS of corn that evening. How long did it take? About half an hour. Crazy, huh?? And yes, that is a corn necklace I'm wearing!

That Friday we went out on the Mississippi with some cousins and their friends for their annual Empty Koozie Day. 8 hours on the river. It was TONS of fun! As you can see we didn't make it back to the marina until almost sunset. So peaceful out there...


I thought this turned out to be a great picture of us. That's my super cute pearl snap shirt I got at Marshall's right before we left. Perfect outfit for a small town festival...I was just missing the cowboy boots! :o)

Every year at the Sweet Corn Festival my family has our annual "Axe Throwing Contest". Yes, you heard that right. Axe throwing. John was quite excited to compete in his first contest. In our family, we take our axe throwing quite seriously. :o)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Punta Cana!


Gorgeous, isn't it??

Okay, okay, so it's a tad overdue. What can I say? I been busy. What's important is I'm finally posting, right??

Here is a quick trip through our vacation to Punta Cana. Six days of blissful-ness with 2 awesome friends!


We snorkeled.


We rode horses.


We rode dune buggies...


...and got all muddy!


We played with monkeys.


Lounged by the pool.


Had dinner on the beach.

And, oh yeah, got henna tattoos! :o)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fresh start.

Since I've been so swamped lately at work (and now have much more limited internet usage) and have been out of town so much, my Google Reader counter was through the roof! It said 1000+, but I'm sure it should have said like 2000+. I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but this evening I went through and just marked them all as read. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to actually catch up on everything you guys have been posting in the past month, but I just needed a fresh start. I will be working quite diligently from now on to keep closer tabs on everyone and hopefully even start commenting again! Oh how I miss giving all my bloggy friends comments they all love to receive!

This is me, making a fresh start and I aim to be the best bloggy friend I can be!

Exciting news!

I got some exciting news from my husband a bit ago. Though I have no details what-so-ever. All I know is that he is no longer on the rotation for Brazil! So he won't be gone so much anymore! He won't be gone for 20 out of 30 days next month! I can say he is still on the project since he said he still may need to go down there for a few days for meetings, but that's all. But seeing as he sent me this info in a brief text, I have no other news about what actually prompted all this. So hopefully I can talk to him later and get the scoop, but for now I am a happy lady! Yay!

Monday, August 24, 2009

My Season

Okay, I had to steal this one. I love little quizzes like this. :o)





Your Soul Is Connected to the Fall



You are a somewhat sensitive soul with a tough exterior. You are street smart and wise about the world.

You have the heart of a poet, but you're not too eager to let anyone else see it.



You are very creative and deeply talented. You are still looking for the perfect outlet for your expression.

You embrace change and think the cycles of life are beautiful. You don't shrink away from the darker elements of life.





Now, I'm not completely sold that this is all true. I don't think of my self as very creative, but I do love the Fall!