Girls Weekend in Arkansas!

 I think one of the hardest parts of having adult friends is finding the time to hang out with them. I am happy for this season of life, (kids are older, job has annual leave) where I can take little trips with my friends. We have to plan about six months in advance, but it is worth it! 

With three of us in Topeka, and one in Oklahoma City; Rogers, Arkansas was an ideal location for a meet up! We got outdoors, did a little shopping and worked on our crafts and books Friday through Sunday. It was just what the doctor ordered, and the weather was awesome! We even learned how to play Mah Jongg from Karen, once you get the hang of it, it is pretty addicting. Thinking about investing in tiles.....

I am so grateful for these lovely ladies for making our weekend happen. My heartful thanks to Jeff and the kids for taking care of everything at home and not making me feel guilty for going away. I have a great support system inside and outside of the house. <3

Big smiles after eating way too much Mexican food!

The view from our deck

This was a great place for me to get in my 4 mile run and the other ladies to hike! This month I ran in Illinois, Manhattan, KS and Arkansas. Ready for my half next weekend! 

Paved trail around a lake with only one hill? Yes, please!

Placemats 80% done, just need fusible interfacing and a back!

My very first Mah Jongg! 

August Goal Post!

 It sure seems hot for the end of August. It was 104 degrees today. Yuck! It was a full month as we sent kids back to school, replaced our fence, took a little trip to Arkansas and celebrated an 18th birthday. I also had a great month for my goals. It leads me to believe that the busier I am, the more I get done! Ready for September, because it needs to cool down. 

Read 30 Books: 20/30

I finished three books this month! 

I started the month with a true crime book recommended to me by my Kindle App If you Tell by Gregg Olsen. The story of how one mentally ill woman ruined her family and a few other families was wild. It was a book that was totally messed up and I couldn't stop reading because it all really happened. I don't think true crime will be my go-to, reality is way more disturbing than fiction! 

The second book was from my pile of books that I have picked up here or there. It was Good Husbands by Cate Ray. My tour into poor human behavior continued but at least this time it was fiction. I'm going to spoil it for you, they were not Good Husbands. Also the ending was a little confusing but thanks to Reddit I figured out what the author was trying to do. LOL This one will be donated. And what did people do with confusing book endings before Reddit? 

The last book of the month was a breath of fresh air after those two. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston was set in Australia and it was a unique tale of switching identities and how we care for people in our community that have lost all of their family. It was full of a lot of love and care and laughs. I would read another book by this author and I appreciated ending the month on a high note. I don't know if I would keep this book on the shelf, however it was a library book so i don't have to decide. 

Run 620 Miles: 434/620

I ran 59 miles in August. I am officially on a half marathon plan for the Kansas Half in November. So even though it is still blazing hot, I do have a plan I need to follow. That definitely helps get me up in the morning to get the miles. 

Grow My Savings by 60% (Done August!) 

Finished this goal for the year! I will still put money aside but it is nice that this is done ✅

UFOs (Unfinished Objects) to Be Completed, in No Particular Order

While we were in Arkansas I actually finished one photo book for Daryl and one for Alex. So I have that line halfway done! We also finished one of our house projects this month. The new fence is up and I'm ready to get started on the dining room redo! We only have three four months left in the year. 

• Alpaca Quilt
• T-Shirt Quilt
• 2 photo books for Daryl and Alex (1 book done for each) 
• 1 knit project from stash
• 1 stitched project from stash

Jeff and I had a long weekend in Arkansas to celebrate surviving kids home all summer!

We stayed in a treehouse!

Finished a whole book by the lake!

I thought I scared the mom bird away from her eggs with my pictures but she came back and the babies hatched! 

Paint swatch done and I like it! We are going yellow. 

Innings Music Festival Review

Last weekend Jeff and I headed to Tempe for the Innings Festival. Neither of us had ever been to a music festival before, so we happily checked that one off our travel list together.

I originally found the festival because last year I missed my favorite college band, Bowling for Soup, thanks to another commitment. When I looked them up to see if they were touring again, I stumbled onto Innings. Judging by the sea of 1985 T-shirts in the crowd, we were not the only Sunday ticket holders who showed up specifically for that 3:30 p.m. band.

The surprise of the day was Big Boi, one half of Outkast. I wasn’t sure how much solo material he’d perform, but he rapped almost all of my Outkast favorites. It was such a fun set! I was dancing around like I was back at Colby Community College!

Closing out the main stage were Sublime and Blink-182. We opted for just one day (because we are realistic about our age) and splurged on upgraded tickets with seats. Zero regrets. 

The weather was perfect, I squeezed in two great runs, and I’d absolutely go back. On the flight home, we finally connected the dots on the heavy baseball theme , the festival happens during Major League Baseball spring training. Apparently there were even MLB players signing autographs. Who knew?

All in all, it was a great weekend and I would do a laid back music festival again! 

Scottsdale!

It was a total coincidence that when it got super cold in Kansas, I left for Arizona. I’m not complaining, although I might be tomorrow when I get home. Mom says it’s going to be super cold this weekend. Yuck.

Jeff had a work conference, but we came a day and a half early to explore a bit. We went to the Sonoran Nature Preserve and Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter camp, Taliesin West. They were both awesome. The scenery here is just unreal.

On Sunday I went for a five mile run, and it was 65 to 70 degrees! The running streak sees another week. I’m up to 28 weeks.

Okay, back to reality tomorrow. Until next time, 70 degrees. We will meet again.

Cacti!

We saw a Drunk Shakespeare version of Romeo and Juliette. It was pretty funny!

Learned a lot about Frank Lloyd Wright. Now I need to visit the original Taliesin in Wisconsin. 

Doing work e-mail isn't so bad with that view. 

A nice paved path, don't mind if I do! 

Bye Scottsdale! 

A Long Relaxing Weekend

I've been back in the real world for one day, and I'm already ready to be back at the lake! This last weekend was so peaceful and productive! I got to catch up with my friends, drink coffee, work on my llama quilt, read and run. It was such a great vacation! 

We also drove across one scary bridge --- Thanks Karen! 

The Bergmans went to visit Lucas at School and they had a pretty great weekend too! And it is cool outside, and the leaves are pretty and I am not dying on my long runs. Yay Fall!!! 

The view we had drinking our coffee and watching the birds!

Also in the backyard, a cliff.

Lunch in Eureka Springs, it was the witch festival...total coincidence! LOL 

Riding a trolley! 

The scary bridge we drove over. One car at a time! 

All the sewing I got done on Saturday. Yay!

My running buddy!

Siblings reunited! 

Lucas is now a full MMA cadet! 

September Goal Check-In and Clint Black!?

I was lucky enough to finish September and start October in Nashville, TN! Jeff had a work trip there, and I tagged along, meaning I got to add another state to my map. I think I only have six left to go before I’ve seen all 50!

Before the conference began, we packed in a little sightseeing. We toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, checked out the Parthenon replica (with its full-size Athena inside), and strolled down Broadway where live music poured out of every building. Nashville really is an experience.

One morning, I even talked Jeff into joining me on a running trail. I logged close to 8 miles under shady trees and along the river. It was busy, but I loved seeing so many people out moving and enjoying the outdoors.

The last evening of the conference was something special—we were treated to a performance by CLINT BLACK after dinner. As a 90s kid, this felt like such a big deal. It was like being back in my childhood car with the radio on, and I surprised myself by knowing almost every word to his songs. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip!

Now we’re heading back to the airport, and while I’ve loved our Nashville adventure, I’ll be glad to be home. It's always good to be home.

Thanks, Mom, for holding down the fort while we were away!

Read 24 Books 16/24

Finished two book in September and they were both good fiction reads. 

The Perfect Divorce, by Jeneva Rose was a great sequel to her book A Perfect Marriage. I read that book last year and thought I may have waited too long to read the second but the story came back to me. Since I knew the twist from the first book I thought I had the second one figured out, not really. It still kept me guessing till the end. A very fun read. 

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams covered many themes. It was a great read about a woman's experience in the 1880's to the 1920's. The main character grows up in and around the creation of the dictionary. Her father worked with men at Oxford as they crated the books letter by letter. She figures out from her view that many words are not "fit" for the publication. Those are the words that the working class used and that women used. The book was very layered and meaningful. While also fiction it was a great balance to my other book of the month that was a fun ride that didn't require a lot of thought. I thought a lot about this book when I wasn't reading it. Highly recommend! 

Run 650 Miles 468/650

I ran 75 miles in September making it my best month of the year! I enlisted help for my weekend long runs and it turned a weekly chore into something I looked forward to. I've also been getting a 4 mile run in during the week and that has helped not only with the monthly mileage but with my weekend long run more bearable. Gearing up for the next race in Salina on November 8th. If I run 60 miles a month the rest of the year I will hit my yearly goal!  

Money Goals

Fund 3-6 month ER Fund- Done April 2025! Yay for selling my house! 

Pay off Car - Done April 2025! Yay for selling my house! 

UFOs (unfinished objects) that need Finished 

T-Shirt Quilt (have the shirts)

Alpaca Quilt I didn't snap a picture before we left for Nashville but I finished the first row of the quilt this month. Yay! Progress! 

Placemats - Done April 2025 

Alex and Daryl Photo Books 2021-2023 Just missing 2023 at this point. 

No big deal, just a little Clint Black concert. 

Got a tour of they Ryman Auditorium

For some scale Nike that is in her hand is 6 foot tall.

Build a full size Parthenon in Nashville, Sure, why not?

Of course we had great food while we were here. That's half the fun of traveling!

Michigan Vacation Part 1

 Last Tuesday through today was our first family vacation with a party of 7! Last year Alex couldn't go because his appendix decided to burst a few days before we left for South Carolina. 

Not only did we visiting where Jeff grew up in Michigan but we are crossed some states off of my list. On the agenda were Indiana, Ohio and Michigan! We rented a big van to take our party of seven. This was the best idea we had of the whole trip. The kids were all able to have a little space as we drove 11 hours to Michigan then to Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Casey, IL! 

In Michigan we got to meet with some of Jeff's Michigan friends. We visited all the restaurants he likes, fished and visited the roller coaster park Michigan Adventure. It rained a little every day but when we had our day at the pool the sun was shining and it was perfect. After our few days in the Muskegon area of Michigan we headed to Cincinnati. In Ohio we enjoyed the River Walk and visited the Ohio Black Music Hall of Fame. It was a cool area and let me check Ohio off of my states list! 

Part 2 coming next so I can include lots of pictures! 

Our rented van for the trip! We didn't tip over!!

Day 1 in Michigan we got to go fishing!

Putting our toes in cold Lake Michigan 

He humored me with a picture by the sign of his Alma Mater

Swinging at the Cincinnati river walk

Our view from the top of the Ferris wheel at Michigan Adventure Land