Relieve Your Mother Guilt Through Properly Cooked Chicken Nuggets

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

So I got this really handy kitchen item.  It’s a Panini Press.  My mother-in-law has one and made me a really nummy sandwich one day when I was SUPER hungry.  After that sandwich, I knew I had to have one.

This little machine has been quite the addition to my little kitchen.  We’ve made some really great sandwiches with it, especially during the first year we owned it.

I’ve had it about three years now and I don’t make fancy sandwiches anymore because it’s just too darn much work and it leaves me with a lot of things to clean up and put away.  I still use it to grill Ham and Swiss sandwiches on a regular basis though.

Its main usage, if I’m being perfectly honest is to press my kid’s Dino Shaped Chicken Nuggets (thanks Costco).

What? They’re healthy, and all natural, I’m sure.  There’s tons of nutrition packed in there.  See, it’s right there on the box.

So now, I refer to this machine as my Dino Chicken Nugget Press.  My husband thinks it’s hilarious.

I get a lot of satisfaction out of this unintended use of this fancy machine, which is how I am quantifying this post under my “Thoughts on Happiness” category.

See, before, we used to just microwave the nugs.  They were sick that way if you ask me.  My kids didn’t seem to notice or mind, but inside I felt all this “mother guilt” for feeding my kids something I myself was NOT willing to eat.  Sweaty chicken nuggets?  No thanks!

Since I’ve had the Dino Nugget Press, I sometimes join in on the shaped meat lunches.  It’s one of the only shaped meats (besides In-n-Out burgers)I can tolerate.  (I have a problem with shaped meat.  No meat loaf, hotdogs or sausage of any kind.) Nature did not intend for meat have a particular shape.  (Sometimes I think I am only about three inches away from being a vegetarian.)

The Panini press puts awesome grill markings on the “meat” and makes the outside all crispy.  My favorite way to eat my Cuisinart Panini pressed Dino Chicken Nuggets is drizzled with Frank’s Hot Sauce and Dipped in Lite House Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing.  It’s delicious and reminds me of eating Chicken Wing Pizza at Gerlando’s Italian Restaurant in Watkin’s Glen, New York.  It’s my favorite restaurant. (It’s very frustrating to live 2000 miles away from it.)

Please note that none of these brands or institutions paid me for this post.  They should have, but I didn’t ask them to and they probably would have said NO if I had.  These are my honest and true feelings.

So if you’re wondering what the point of this post is, you’re probably not alone.  Even I, at this very moment, am still trying to work that out in my head.

The point is this…If you’re feeling “mother guilt” about something that you are doing on a regular basis (like feeding your kids something that you find repulsive), find a way to restructure or eliminate that action or behavior. Life is too short to be feeling like a “bad mother” all the time. Find something fun to do instead.  Heck, you could even include your kids.  There are plenty of bad mothers and derelict parents out there, but I’m willing to bet that you’re not one of them.

Keep pressing on!

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Slide In The Woods–#285

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

We had planned to do yard work today since it was supposed to be warm outside and we have a bunch of weeds growing in the flower beds.

I actually HAD been looking forward to it right up until the exact moment I had planned to start pulling up weeds. Then, I decided that yard work sounded incredibly boring and like a waste of a perfectly good Saturday afternoon.

So we decided to do anything else.  We ended up in the canyon to see what was happening at one of our favorite spots, Donut Falls.

We didn’t really know what we’d find once we got there.  We were dressed in our warm weather clothing, but brought everything we thought we might want including sleds, snowshoes, snow pants, boots, water bottles, ski gloves etc.  We weren’t sure if we’d be walking in the woods or snowshoeing, sledding, or trudging through mud.

With our gear packed up, we were delighted to be headed up the canyon and were delighted to find 8 foot snow banks to park next to.  The kids immediately wanted to suit up and start an expedition.  It only took them a few minutes before they were both on top! Then me.

We only walked 200 yards or so when we found some pretty decent sledding.  Since we had the sleds we decided to make a go of it.

There were several good hills to choose from.  Some steeper than others.

We found one that was fun, but it wasn’t long enough or steep enough to hold Adventure Girl’s interest for more than five minutes.

So we moved on. Looking for a bigger better hill.  Since it was a warm day we found ourselves falling through the snow a lot.  Just when you thought you were sure footed boom! You’d sink down into the snow to your knees. Or further. After a while we got smart and transported ourselves via sled whenever possible.

We slid down this gentle slope and headed toward the hill on the other side of the meadow.

We were all ROASTING like toasted CHEEZERS in our coats, so after traversing over to our new hill we shed some layers. Shirts and snow pants turned out to be just fine.

This hill was perfect for us.  Long and not extremely steep. We had an absolute BALL! We laughed and screamed as we made the most of our sleds against this hill.


You can see from this video that Adventure Girl approved.

Sunny was also a blast to have with us.  In the past she’s been known to rain on the parade by incessant whining.  Not this time though, she was even brave enough to go it alone a time or two.  Steve got this cute video of her solo slide.


No need to go check if your tea kettle is whistling, that was just Sunny screaming.

At the end of all our runs I decided to read the sign that was clearly posted at the top of this hill.


Oh well…Nothing makes you feel more alive than laughing in the face of danger!  Oops.  Maybe next time we’ll read the posted warnings first.

We trudged back through the snow and to the car to shed our snow clothes.

I’m not sure I’ve ever worn Capri pants under snow pants before.

The girls’ boots turned out were terribly leaky.  Both their feet were soaking wet, wrinkled and FREEZING!  I put our gloves on their feet, which they thought was hilarious.  They both thought they were Curious George.  It did turn out to be very effective.

They also thought it was hilarious that I dried Alyssa’s wet shirt by hanging it out the window. Also very effective.

We had a great day in the mountains.  We were super happy with the way our  walk in the woods turned out.  It may have been one of our favorite family adventures ever. So even though we didn’t technically “walk” all that much, we’re still counting this as #285 on the list.

Posted in DAYTRIPS, PLEASANT EVENTS, VOCAL SOKOL LOCAL | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

This is good as it gets (Part 2)

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

This is a continuation from Wednesday’s post…So if you missed Wednesday’s post go back and read it before you read this…If you’re back for the dramatic conclusion…Read on and thanks for your patronage.

Now…I want to tell you about one last conversation I had with my Sister-in-law.  She brought all this madness home for me and put it in a nice little package.  It’s the title of this post.

You should know that my SIL is slender and beautiful and is apparently one of the only women I know who IS happy with her body. She told me the women in her neighborhood are ALL thin and seem to know they are thin.  Even so, she reports they do nothing but insistently talk about the way they WISHED they looked.  The big trend in her neighborhood is to have (or yearn to have) plastic surgery. Everyone wants an augmentation, liposuction, or a lift or tuck of some kind.

My SIL, who is a very grounded and practical person, is on a mission to convince these ladies that they can and should be happy right now.  She said this to them.  “This is as good as it gets.  We’re in our late 20ies and early 30ies. This is as good as we’ll ever look.  If you can’t be happy with the way you look now, what are you going to do in 15 or 25 years when you start to age and have wrinkles on your face and things start to sag?  How will you feel about yourself then if you’re already miserable now?”

Her message is that you better save some of that self-loathing time for down the road when you really do have something to feel bad about.

It literally seems crazy, and makes me feel crazy that SO MANY WOMEN (even those who have every right to feel proud of their accomplishments) cannot be happy IN and WITH their own bodies.   I get caught up in my own self-pity from time-to-time, because my body isn’t perfect, but then I realize I cannot allow myself to waste mental energy on this black-hole of a thought process.

Our bodies are wonderful machines capable of doing so many varied and wonderful things.  It’s my dying wish (I’m not dying) that women spend more time thinking of things they want to do with their bodies instead of thinking about the shape of their bodies.

If you’re self-loathing over your body image consider this an invitation to STOP and redirect your energies into something more constructive.

JFK said it best…Ask not what you can do for your body. Ask what your body can do for you.  Okay maybe that wasn’t a direct quote, but he said something like that.

Make your body learn to swim, or dance the Tango or walk up and over a mountain, or dress it up pretty, or let it rest a little or let it take you to France or at least to Fresno.  Make it lift an incredible amount of weight, or run faster than it ever has before, make it float down a river in a raft.

Look at my imperfect body here sitting at the foot of this rock with my family.

Taking Kids to Delicate Arch, Moab UtahIt was an incredible place to be and I didn’t need a perfect body to be there.  Just do stuff. Celebrate and enjoy what your body IS and can take you to do.

Do ANYTHING but worry about what it’s NOT.   Bodies are amazing, enjoy what you’ve got and make the best of it.  Give bod a chance to show you how amazing it is without being so hard on it all the time.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

This Is As Good As It Gets (Part 1)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

I’ve had some bazaar conversations lately and I need to record some of them for my future self or maybe for my daughters when they grow up.  This post is about body image.

I hesitate to talk about these conversations, because it’s a very REAL possibility that these people read this blog without my knowledge.  However, what I am saying is that ALL these people are beautiful and look PERFECT to me.  So, in my mind this is a compliment.  I think the message is important enough that I am just going to take the risk and say it anyway.

A few months ago I had an after-class conversation with one of my fitness instructors.  I needed tech advice about using my heart rate monitor correctly.  I was telling her that I had a naturally slow heart rate and as a result believed that my metabolism was on the slow side.  I cracked some offhanded joke about how even though I might live longer, I couldn’t eat as much food as I wanted without gaining weight.  I was joking, but she took me seriously and told me that perhaps I wasn’t eating enough.  I laughed that off quickly, because not eating enough has NEVER been my problem. Case in point; I ate nine Samoa Girl Scout Cookies the other day.  Nine! That’s most the box folks (darn those Girl Scouts and their cookies).

Then she started telling me how discouraged SHE was with her own body.  I stood there in shock.  Total shock.  This is my fitness instructor who by all accounts has a PERFECT, lean, tiny body. She looks like a muscle covered in skin.  I mean…she MIGHT weigh 90 pounds soaking wet while holding two dumbbells.  She is seriously THAT small.

She went on for a minute giving me the details about why she was so unhappy and discouraged about her body, and how her husband tried to comfort her and tell her that she needs to find a way to be content.  I also tried to comfort her; and by “comforting her” I mean I told her she was INSANE if she had a problem with her perfect body. Very comforting, I’m sure.

A few weeks prior to this conversation, I overheard two tall, slender ladies talking about how working out regularly made them feel great and how their clothes were fitting better. BUT (oh there’s always a BUT) they just WEREN’T seeing the results they wanted on the scale.  My eyes almost BUGGED out of my head when I overheard this.  I couldn’t believe they were trying to lose weight.  Where would they possibly lose any weight from?  Their bodies were rock hard.  They were both totally svelte.

I had yet another interaction with some other women a few weeks later.  These two are fixtures in the one of the classes I attend.  As far as I can tell, they’ve never missed class.  I assumed they were on the path to becoming instructors themselves.  They are some of the smallest, strongest, fittest, most beautiful people I have ever met, yet they were talking about their dissatisfaction with their bodies.  One of them even mentioned that she’d joined Weight Watchers.  Are you kidding me?  How do you plan to lose weight? Will you be cutting off a limb? I know from experience that Weight Watchers discourages this.

Listening to all these conversations made me wonder if I am too easy on myself?  I know my bod isn’t perfect and I do worry about it, but I feel pretty good that I’ve come a long way.  Is everyone concerned with body perfection?  I wish these people with superior bodies could enjoy them more.

To be continued. . .on Friday.  (Sorry this post was way too long to post in one day)

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

My Mother Told Me I Could Do Anything–Tauni Everett

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

If you don’t know Tauni Everett, you’re probably missing out on something you wish you knew.  Something that would probably make your home life way more amazing.

I got to know Tauni a few years ago, if you’re just meeting her for the first time, you should get to know her through her totally kick-awesome super helpful blog SNAP Creativity at your finger tips.    Seriously, this blog is helpful to everyone everywhere interested in almost anything cute.

A little background.  Tauni and I met several years ago while we were both working as government beat writers for a community newspaper.  I always looked forward to our monthly staff meetings so I could see Tauni and snicker with her about all the community goings-on and people we knew.

Have you ever known someone whom you actually didn’t know all that well but you felt like you must have known them in another life?  Someone who made you feel valued and wanted to spend time with you?  That’s Tauni. I believe she treats everyone this way.  I think that’s why she’s had so much success.

Speaking of her success, I remember her asking me about my little family blog trying to get advice about her new creativity blog.  I wasn’t a big-time blogger then (and I’m not one now) and didn’t have much advice for her.  I guess she didn’t need it, because LOOK AT HER NOW! 

I am beyond impressed and beyond blown away.  All I can say is, I knew her before she was the big-time.

If you didn’t already check out her blog, she’s hosting a conference. A CONFERENCE!  She has a line-up of inspiring professionals who are flying in from all over the country to deliver their passions to hundreds of people also flying in from all over to attend the conference.

I had the privilege of taking Tauni to lunch earlier this year.  During our lunch I asked her where she got the nerve to think that she, one woman, could create and manage not only a blog but a multi-day-program for hundreds of people.  Her answer moved me.  “My mother told me I could do anything.”

As a mother of young girls her simple statement spoke volumes.  Let’s encourage our daughters to explore any and every thing they are interested in.  Who knows where it might lead.  We are so fortunate to live in a time and society where women have so much opportunity.

Tauni was also kind enough to offer me some advice about this blog.  I have such high hopes. I’ve spent so much time planning and writing.  I so want it to reach women and help them in some small way, even if it’s just to provide them something to laugh at for a few minutes.  Tauni’s advice did so much to steer me and this blog into the direction it’s gone. I hope you like it.  If not, please provide me some feedback here or leave me a comment below (I love to see your comments).

Tauni is one of the most open and helpful people I have ever me it the professional world.  She’s non-competitive and more than willing to offer free advice especially to up and coming bloggers (like me) through her blog.

If there were more people like Tauni in the world it would probably be: prettier, more organized, entertaining, fun and well-said.  Thanks for your work Tauni!

Posted in INSPIRING PEOPLE | 5 Comments

Happy Kids = Happy Mom = Happy Family

Posted on March 14, 2012 by

So I was reading my cousin’s blog the other day and she referenced a few websites that were good for moms who were trying to be good moms and enjoy motherhood.  I looked at all three sites she posted and I really LOVED one of them.

It was basically a list of six simple things you could do to surprise your kids.  It was like a pleasant events list for kids.  Check out the list here, then come right back.

I don’t know how hard to please your kids are, but I know my kids would LOVE every single thing on this list.

Most kids are NOT hard to please.  I think we over think things a lot.  Kids really just want our love and attention.  I think everything on this list provides that to them.

I’m going to try it. I hope you do to.

 

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | Comments Off on Happy Kids = Happy Mom = Happy Family

Lei-ing Down

Posted on March 12, 2012 by

I mentioned in my last post that we recently returned from a trip to Maui, HI. You might guess that I had many opportunities for pleasant events while in Hawaii.  One of them was #3 from the list, Wear a Lei.  What better place to make this happen.

I remember watching the Brady Bunch as a child and seeing the family’s Hawaiian vacation. It was one of my favorite episodes.  They received a lei from a beautiful native woman the moment they came down the staircase and stepped off of the plane.

I received mine in the MOST Hawaiian way too.  I bought it alone at Costco.  What’s more Hawaiian than that?

I mean really, what’s more Hawaiian than fighting your way through a maze weaving in and out of people and ginormous shopping carts to find the pile of semi-fresh flower leis.  After pawing through the heap I settled on one that said “extremely fragrant” and was made of gardenias “That’s the one I want,” I thought to myself. I stood in the longest Costco line ever and purchased my singular lei for the bargain price of $10.

I chuckled as I thought about how I my experience, digging for one alone in a Costco (I left Steve with the kids in the parking lot), compared to the one the Brady’s had.  It isn’t really how I imagined it, but….

Back at the car I put my beautiful “extremely fragrant” lei on.  A few minutes later I noticed that I had a raging headache.

We drove around for a few minutes and the smell of the lei started to make me all but sick to my stomach.  It was in fact EXTREMELY FRAGRANT.  I started to wonder if this was what was causing my headache.  It started to feel really heavy on my neck at that point too, like I was wearing a lead chain.

I’d had it on all of about nine minutes when I looked at Steve and said, “I think this lei is making me sick.  I think I want to take it back.”  Steve, being is extremely allergic to flowers, was more than happy to take the thing back.  He said, “leis are like wearing poison around your neck”.

So we turned the car around and headed back to Costco.  I had an equivalently pleasant experience returning my lei.  As soon as the lei was out of my possession, the headache magically disappeared.

So it turns out #3, Wearing a Lei isn’t so much of a pleasant event for me. But really, isn’t this list all about trying new things and having a little variety in life?  Next time I’ll just buy myself a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts and call it good.

Another interesting vacation side bar about leis:

During a beach/snorkeling adventure, a guy came up as I headed out to the water and handed me a lei.  He asked if I would swim it out as a memorial for a friend of one of the other beach-goers that day.  I happily took the lei and swam it to sea.  It was a beautiful lei.

I even took a picture with my nifty underwater camera as the lei sank down into the water and femininely decorated the sea floor.

A few hours later after our snorkel adventure and long been over, a woman from Oregon approached me and thanked me for taking the lei.  She told me the lei was for her 37-year-old friend who had died of Breast Cancer.  She said this was what she needed to finish grieving and finally let go of her friend.

She asked me how old I was (33) and urged me to take care of myself, telling me to insist on having regular screenings even if my doctor tells me I am too young.   I thanked her for the advice and the opportunity to help memorialize her dear friend.

I thought I’d share her advice; let this remind us all how important it is to take care of ourselves even if it’s scary, embarrassing or inconvenient.   Let’s let that be the last memorial lei to decorate the sea floor in Maui.

Posted in HAWAII, PLEASANT EVENTS | 5 Comments

Who Doesn’t LOVE Dolphins

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

We just returned from a family trip to Maui on Monday.  It was 10 days of vacation bliss which ended with a midnight flight back.  Now we’re home and we’re super jet lagged and T-I-R-E-D.  I realize that no one feels bad for me (especially my friend next door who lovingly shoveled the snow off my driveway while I was gone).

Because I was SO out-of-it all week, I didn’t prepare anything for today’s Inspirational Person Friday Feature mainly because I forgot to.  So, I’m going to tell you about an inspirational pod of dolphins we met (saw) in Hawaii.

Seeing dolphins in the wild was like the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me.  Thanks to my BFF Bonnie who came with us, we have a video of the exciting event.

Honestly, they were like a bunch of rowdy teenagers who came by and dared each other to do stupid tricks to impress people.

The show lasted about 10 minutes and stopped any and all action by the hundreds of people on the beach watching them.  We were all mesmerized.

So maybe they’re not all that inspirational per se, and maybe there not actually people, but they ARE mammals which are pretty similar to humans and they were “interesting” which starts with the same two letters as the word “inspirational”, so I’m going to let this one slide.

Hope you enjoyed the video. I’m a little afraid it’ll end up on YOUTUBE and I’ll be the next “Double Rainbow” lady because of how excited I sounded on the video.  I hope the excitement in this video translates a little more than the rainbow clip.  If not, at least I hope to get a tour of New York and LA and get to make an appearance on all the late night shows as they make fun of me.  I do love both Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

While we’re talking about dolphins, I’ll also share with you a fourth hand story that my husband’s mother’s neighbor’s daughter had while she was in Hawaii recently.

So my husband’s mother’s neighbor’s daughter was paddle boarding on the big Island when somehow she got so far out that she couldn’t tell where the land was, or lost sight of land or something…I’m not sure on  that detail.

Anyway…she was lost at sea all by herself, for several hours.  Then, a pod of dolphins swam by and seemed to notice her and that she was out of place.  They led her or she somehow followed the dolphins for some great distance and they eventually brought her to a boat out at sea.  The boat picked her up and took her back to shore.  I’m told the ordeal lasted more than four hours.

Now tell me that’s not inspirational.  It is.  So, if you’re ever lost at sea…Dolphins.

Posted in FOR COUPLES, GREAT FAMILY GETAWAYS, HAWAII, INSPIRING PEOPLE, VOCAL TRAVELS | 6 Comments

Make An Effort Instead Of An Excuse

Posted on March 7, 2012 by

I actually shared this somewhere else a few years ago.  Even though one person told me I should be arrested by the cliche police, I decided to share it anyway because most people who read it seemed to like it.   So…if you’re not afraid of cliches, read on…

Do things that make you nervous. It’s a lie that you CAN’T do it, or that you can’t do it RIGHT NOW. It’s a lie that later in a few hours, days, weeks, months it will be easier. NEWS FLASH—It will NEVER be any easier.

You are able-bodied, a lot of people are not. You are already a leg-up on a lot of people (no pun intended). They would trade you in a second.

You want something? Make it begin to happen now! There is always a way. Always you ask? Yes. Always.   Haven’t you seen RUDY or The Pursuit of Happyness?  If you haven’t you should.

In the olden days when people had a problem, they sat down and figured something out. They planned and attacked. They put into motion a new plan, a new strategy.

You CAN do it, and it IS worth the effort. You don’t have to wait for anything or anyone to make a move first. Just DO what you know you should do. Force yourself if you have to. Strike while the iron is hot.

Lives are meant to be enjoyed. If you are not enjoying your life…that’s a problem worth solving. You need to change the circumstances so that you CAN enjoy your life. That may mean total upheaval or a tiny change. If it means you’ll be satisfied with yourself when you’re done, do it. You have an obligation to be your BEST self for those who love and depend on you.

Let me tell you something I have learned from my personal experience. If you wait for every circumstance to be just right before you make your move, you won’t get to do much.

Behave in a positive constructive way despite how you feel. We can’t just let our feelings call the shots. Control yourself. So what if it’s hard. Turns out, doing hard things is not actually that hard. If you don’t believe me, just ask me.

There must be 50 ways to leave your old life. Just get a new plan Stan. Hop on a bus Gus. Drop of the key Lee and get yourself free. *

Show yourself that you are capable. Take a step into the darkness; someone will be there to turn on the light.
Here are my final parting words.  Do things you’re sure you can’t do.  Get comfortable in your own skin–whatever that may mean to you. Get some professional help to get over it.

Make yourself proud by doing anything you thought you couldn’t or wouldn’t.

When you take action, even if that doesn’t make everything right immediately, at least you know that today, you are doing all you can to change it for your future.

*Special Thanks to Paul Simon for this line.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | 1 Comment

Like a Band of Gypsies We Go Down the Highway

Posted on March 5, 2012 by

This week it’s # 195 on “the List.” I was a late bloomer when it comes to enjoying travel.  It always sounded so cliché to me when I heard people say they “enjoyed” traveling. Well of course you “enjoy” traveling…Do you also enjoy eating delicious food?  Yeah, me too.

In my early twenties I started to travel with friends.  That’s when I realized that some people enjoy traveling and some…just don’t. Plus, they aren’t any fun to travel with.  We did a lot of camping and road trips mainly, plus a few trips across the country to visit family in other states.

One of my best trips was one I took just a few months after I returned home from 18 months doing missionary service in Upstate New York.

I didn’t really have enough money to go and it felt a little irresponsible, but at the prompting of my bestest friend Heather, we went.  We also took my bestest guy friend Jared since he was available and he also spent time doing missionary service in New York.  Both were excellent travel companions.  I’m sure we spent at least 40 percent of this trip full on laughing so hard that we couldn’t contain ourselves if you know what I mean.

I am really lucky that my friend Heather is a professional photographer.  She provided me with this awesome album that documents the entire trip.  That made this trip the perfect one to reminisce about.

We packed up my new (to me) 2001 Saturn sedan and headed across the state line.  We had the best trip listening to Counting Crows and Jewel, John Denver, Blink 182.

We took photos at each State Line.

Did you know Nebraska was home of Arbor Day?  Me neither.  Who cares.

We crossed the Mighty Mississippi.

It really is BIG!

We drove through hours and hours of corn fields.

It really is beautiful. I couldn’t resist pulling the car over and stopping for a picture. Ever since I saw Field of Dreams, I always wanted to see the mammoth corn fields of the mid-west.

Here’s Heather making sandwiches on the dashboard, mainly because we didn’t have enough time or money for fast food.

My Saturn has an unusually large dashboard.  You could have changed a baby on that thing.

Finally, NEW YORK at dawn. It was a REALLY long drive.  Thankfully, Jared pulled an 11 hour driving stretch.  He was amazing!

It was a very memorable morning and a beautiful sunrise.

We saw Niagara Falls. Honestly, I think it’s a little overrated.


 

I thought it would be bigger.

We slept in this hallway while in Ithaca New York.  I used to live in this old (and I do mean old) house when I was a missionary.  Since there was no room inside the apartment, we slept right outside.

We crashed with several friends along the way.  I think we only paid for one hotel room and that was in Coralville, Iowa where my husband’s sister now lives (random).

We really enjoyed our time in Ithaca, one of my favorite missionary cities.  There are many unusual things to see. It’s full of hippies and PhD students at Cornell University.

Here’s what I assume is a couple hippies although sometimes you can’t tell them from the PhD students.  One driving a Rascal, pulling another on rollerblades.  Very Napoleon Dynamite, very Ithaca.  Keeping it classy.

Played in some Gorges. The whole town is built around a river and the surrounding large gorges.  There’s waterfalls around every corner.

Ithaca really is GORGES.

Drove to and through Manhattan.


Saw a Yankees game, rode the subway, played in Central Park, and took the Staten Island Ferry.

On the way back home we stopped in Kentucky and stayed the night with my old friend Brandon.  We met his then girlfriend and now wife Ashley who looks like she’s 12 in this photo.  I look like I’m at least 15, especially while holding that Hello Kitty bag. I’ve always been very mature for my age.

Also toured the Corvette plant. Did you know that Corvettes are manufactured in Bowling Green Kentucky?  Now you know.

Anyway…It was a really fun trip.  I’ve had so much fun reminiscing about it.

I sure you’ve had a few trips worth remembering.  Don’t underestimate how fun it can be to look back at old photos or trip journals and recall your past experiences traveling.   While you’re at it, why don’t you go ahead and plan a trip in the near future too.

Posted in PLEASANT EVENTS | 2 Comments