Events, Family, Favorites, Memories, Nature, Travel

Places I Visited On My Road Trip of Awesomeness Earlier This Summer

  • Mount Rushmore
  • Wall Drug (Wall, South Dakota)
  • Gillette, Wyoming
  • Missoula, Montana (including dinner with 2 college roommates)
  • Spokane, Washington
  • Idaho (a gas station somewhere along I-90)
  • Columbia River Gorge
  • Horsetail & Multnomah Falls (Hood River, Oregon)
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Crescent City, California
  • Redwoods National Forest
  • A beach somewhere along the California coast
  • Trinidad Bay & Memorial Lighthouse (Trinidad, California)
  • Redding, California
  • Reno, Nevada (visit with the Lewis family)
  • Virginia City, Nevada
  • Lake Tahoe Overlook
  • Bonneville Salt Flats (Utah)
  • Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Casa Bonita (Denver, Colorado, with another college friend)
  • State Capitol Building, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Huxley, Iowa (Aunt & Uncle’s house)
roadtrip2
Columbia River Gorge
roadtrip3
Multnomah Falls
roadtrip6
State Line

roadtrip1 roadtrip4

roadtrip7
Wyoming
roadtrip5
Salt Flats

roadtrip8 roadtrip9

roadtrip10 roadtrip11

roadtrip12
Casa Bonita

roadtrip13

Books, Favorites

Books in the Flavia DeLuce mystery series by Alan Bradley (which you should definitely read if you like good mysteries with interesting characters & fully developed environments)

  • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
  • The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag
  • A Red Herring Without Mustard
  • I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
  • Speaking from Among the Bones
  • The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
  • The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse
  • As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust
  • Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d

flavia

Events, Family, Favorites, Holidays, Inspirational, Memories

Twenty Three Ways My Kid Is Amazing (in honor of his 23rd birthday today)

  1. His sense of humor is unmatched.
  2. He’s smart and conceptual and thinks deeply.
  3. He never gets embarrassed. About anything.
  4. He taught himself to play guitar.
  5. A headbanger from the start, he now headbangs in his own heavy metal band.
  6. He’s hilarious.
  7. He is deeply compassionate and empathetic.
  8. He desires to make the world a better place.
  9. He works ridiculously hard.
  10. He desires experiences more than things.
  11. He sets goals and works to achieve them.
  12. He’s been “adulting” since the age of 19, paying his own rent and bills and way.
  13. He married his high school sweet heart and loves her with his entire being.
  14. He has a global outlook and cares about the world outside of his own.
  15. He laughs with his whole body.
  16. He carries things for me, (which is to say that he helps me any time I need it.)
  17. He programs electronics for his grandparents.
  18. He still loves old school video games.
  19. He has an inborn gift for music.
  20. He hugs his mama and tells me he loves me.
  21. He is never afraid to show affection to people he cares about.
  22. He has been through some things that would cripple lesser men, but the fires have forged him into a resilient and capable man.
  23. He is the best thing I have ever had a part in creating.

wedding jump

Games, Geek, Inspirational

Things I’ve Learned From Clash of Clans

  • Be patient. Everything good takes time.
  • Ask for help. It’s the best way to have success as you are learning.
  • Help others. It pays back those who helped you and you get credit for it too.
  • Choose your battles wisely.
  • Protect what is most important.
  • You can’t do everything at once. Decide what you need most and focus on that.
  • Every member of your team has different strengths.
  • Just because something is available doesn’t mean you need to use it.
  • There comes a point when it’s best to rearrange everything to meet your goals.
  • Don’t worry about things to come. You’ll learn things as you need them.
  • Resources can be used to acquire new items or develop current ones. Stay balanced.
  • Keeping things tidy brings a reward.
  • You need a team with similar goals to advance as far as you can go.

clash

Books, Brands, Favorites, Words, Writing

Books About Writing That Are On My Bookshelf

  • On Writing, Stephen King
  • How Not To Write A Novel, Howard Mittelmark & Sandra Newman
  • The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers, Betsy Lerner
  • Writer’s Market
  • Revision & Self-Editing, Bell
  • The Writer’s Digest Guide to Query Letters, Burt-Thomas
  • Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us, Jessica Page Morrell
  • Characters & View Point, Orson Scott Card (Elements of Fiction Writing series)
  • Description, Monica Wood  (Elements of Fiction Writing series)

bookshelf

Holidays, Inspirational, Seasons

Ways To Tell People How Important They Are To You Because It Is Valentine’s Weekend And You Should Do This All Year But You Probably Don’t

  • I’m glad you are in my life
  • You are awesome
  • Thank you for standing beside me
  • Thank you for pushing me when I need it
  • Your smile is amazing
  • When I am with you, I forget to be stressed out
  • You can always make me laugh even when I’m crying
  • You are my favorite person
  • I’m so glad we work together
  • Thank you for being part of my team
  • I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be
  • My favorite time of day is when I see you
  • You are the most stylish person I know
  • I value your advice more than you know
  • I admire your commitment
  • Your energy makes you sparkle
  • I can’t wait to see you again
  • The time we spend together is never long enough
  • Tell me all about your day
  • You remind me of a beautiful painting
  • You are the smartest person I know
  • I knew you could help me with this
  • I will always make time for you
  • Good job, great work
  • You are an amazing mentor
  • This group would not be complete without you
  • I like to hear your voice in the morning
  • Your messy wake up hair is the favorite part of my morning
  • Your enthusiasm is contagious
  • You always have a way of encouraging me
  • Your ringtone is my favorite sound
  • I love that shirt on you
  • I love that shirt off of you
  • You make me want to write poetry
  • I love that sparkle in your eyes
  • When I’m with you, I laugh so hard my stomach hurts
  • I have learned so much from you
  • You are such a help and comfort to people
  • Some of my favorite memories are of you
  • I need a hug from you
  • You are my favorite distraction
  • My life would be emptier without you
  • Love you to the moon and back
  • You make me a better person
  • I will always be here for you
  • I love you
aaa
love fearlessly
Health, Lifeguarding, Work

Water Exercise Classes You Could Take at the Two Rivers YMCA

  • Aqua Zumba
  • Water In Motion
  • Shallow Water High Energy
  • Slow & Easy (Arthritis class)
  • AiChi body/mind/spirit class
  • Aqua Combo (Deep & Shallow, high energy)
  • Fluid & Flexible (for Fibromyalgia & other joint & muscle pain)
  • Multiple Sclerosis cool water class
  • Deep Water High Energy
  • Day’s End Warm Water Workout (Deep & Shallow)

Lists of All the Things You've Never Wondered About