Farmgirl Chaos

Cattle Tag Key Chains

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:54:00 +0000

Thanks to my favorite brother and a key chain he has,
I have decided to venture in to making something ‘farmy’ but cute.

Cattle Tag Key Chains!

I am currently sharing the key chains on Instagram {farmgirlchaos}
and selling them using PayPal.

If you would like to place a custom order, just shoot me an email at

farmgirl.chaos at gmail.com

For now, they are $8 shipped.
{I have yet to get to a post office to see what it will really cost to send them….
so the price might go up to accommodate that cost.}

Here is what I have made so far.

I also take custom orders, so let me know what you would like!

I will also have some key chains available for purchase during the
Back Roads Vintage Market, on June 22.
{And will hopefully take and possibly make custom orders there as well.}

Country Drives

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:01:00 +0000

A few times the past couple three weeks,
instead of taking the 4-lane road home
{which is busy with road construction},
I have been taking myself on country drives.

This means:

Back Roads

Country Roads

Gravel Roads

Little or No Traffic

Traveling at Slower Speeds

Enjoying the Sights I See

Getting Home MUCH Later than Usual

Enjoying some of the best views in Iowa!

Have you gone on a country drive lately?

If not, I encourage you to!

Rural Iowa. I love it!

Howdy Kitchen….Baby Showers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:03:00 +0000

The first weekend in April,

I was hired to make a rainbow cake for a baby shower.
Because I was going to use a frosting technique that hadn’t used before,
I did a practice cake the weekend before, which happened to be Easter,
as well as my dad’s birthday.

Perfect timing!

The cake was 6 layers tall, in ROY G BV order. {No ‘I’.}

This frosting technique took awhile, but I think it’s fabulous!

If you search around online or even Pinterest,
you will see lots of different styles and ideas for this technique.

Finally, the inside of the cake…..

It was a Noah’s Ark themed shower, so of course the cake as rainbow,
and the frosting blue to resemble water.

But this frosting isn’t just colored blue.

It is actually blue raspberry flavored.
And is currently my favorite frosting!

Last weekend, I was hired to make cupcakes for another baby shower.
I went with the following flavors:
Wedding Cake with Blue Raspberry Frosting
Chocolate with a frosting I made up
Strawberry lemonade with a whipped cream frosting

I’m a fan of cupcake tablescapes!

So much better than picking them up out of a pan!

{Note….I did not do ANY of the displaying of the cupcakes or the work to set it up.
I just made the cupcakes, and shared some of the items
around my home to help pull it together.}

After making all of these….I must admit that my current favorite cupcake is:

Wedding Cake with Blue Raspberry Frosting.

Up next for the Howdy Kitchen…..

Making a couple hundred {likely more} mini cupcakes for a graduation party.

What flavor of cupcake would you want to enjoy a graduation party?

Shower Gift Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:03:00 +0000

Yup. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted.
Life happens. So I’m enjoying it.
:)

Let’s back track to the beginning of March.
My ‘little’ sister, a friend, and I hosted an

‘I Do’ Barbeque

for some friends.

I made the invites for the gathering…

and mailed them out as well.
That required me to print off address labels for the envelopes.

Then I got to thinking…
I should just print out a double set of labels,
and make the thank you cards that keep with the theme.

So I did.

I went with a simple look.

But I knew I had to use the ‘I Do’ saying again.

I think it works.

The kraft cards and envelopes, ‘burlap’ ribbon, and paisley ribbon
were all found at Hobby Lobby.
Of course I got it all on sale or used a coupon, if it wasn’t below $2.

So next time you host a wedding or baby or whatever shower,
think about printing off a double set of address labels.

Even if you don’t make the thank you cards to go with the addresses,
it is one less things for the couple, new parents, whoever to worry
about addressing the thank you’s.

And because this is the ONLY picture I took the night of the gathering,
I might as well share.

Keeping with the barbecue theme, the napkins were hankies.
Plastic silverware and thick paper plates = easy clean up!
Of course, Ball, Mason, or handled jars to drink out of.

The fun part, Gina had recently purchased the
RedNek Wine Glasses, so we used those for the
Bride & Groom.
White hankie and ribbon for bride.
Black hankie and ribbon for groom.

:)

True Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:49:00 +0000

Time to be real here……

Here’s my ~~crap~~ craft room.

All because a couple friends talked me in to switch-a-room too many months ago.

Read about that here:
Switch-A-Room
Switch-A-Room Update 1

Because it feels like I’m never home,
it hasn’t been a priority in my life to get this done.

But, my nomadic sister and her husband will be visiting
and spending the night on Friday and Saturday…
OF THIS WEEK!

That means I need to get this done…as much as possible.

I usually work well with deadlines.
So I’m hoping it will work out well!

Feel free to leave any tips and suggestions!
Or, if you are local, feel free to come over and help.
I’ll make cupcakes! :)

At this point in time, I don’t really want to buy anything to make it happen.
I need to work with what I have.
Or donations or free finds.

Or better yet…if you are need of crafting supplies,
come on over and take stuff!
There are a few things I can’t part with.
Other than that, I’d be happy to share.

And as I quote my brother from the comment he left me on this photo on Facebook….
”Talk about (farmgirl) chaos.....”

Drop Cloths to Curtains

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:54:00 +0000

Back in January, I was ready for a change of curtains in my living room.

Here’s a glimpse of what they looked like.

I still like those curtains.

It was actually one curtain panel that I bought at Walmart.
I just rotated it, then had my mom cut in half and sew for me…
since I don’t have my own sewing machine.

But, I was ready for a change, something with less of a statement.

I have seen people use drop cloths as curtains,
and have at least one friend that has them as well.

So after seeing them and confirming I want them,
I decided to go for it.

One Sunday, my parents visited, and we had to make a Lowe’s run for a different project.
So while there, I picked up one 6x9 drop cloth.
After my mom was too kind and ironed it for me, we got it hung up.

The curtain eventually came back down last week for a couple days
for some alterations.

Mom visited me in Marshalltown with my favorite farmboy nephews
for a post-birthday ice cream date.

Mom took them with her to cut, hem, wash, and then iron them.

Instead of just one panel, I now have two.
They are no longer stiff, but have a little flow to them.
And best of all, they no longer smell!
They just had a distinct fiber smell to them.

And thanks to my dad heading over to my town for a farm sale,
my curtains were returned 2 days later.

Talk about service!
I even waved as we passed each other on the highway.
Did you see me dad?

And now the finished product.
{Sorry, I don’t have a full size picture yet.}

I love them.
I feel like they ‘soften’ the room a bit…if that makes sense.

The best part…$11.

If you are in need of some simple, neutral curtains,
go to your local hardware/home store,
get yourself some drop cloths,
WASH and iron them,
hang them up,
and enjoy!

My coworker recently got herself a few drop cloths for curtains from my suggestion.
She’s adding something extra to them, and I can’t wait to see what she does.

Feel free to check her out blog!
Simply Adapting

Farm Sweet Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:24:00 +0000

Thanks to Instagram, I ‘met’ Contented Sparrow…and eventually found her Etsy store, and found an item I had to have.

Isn’t it awesome?!

I actually messaged Megan on Etsy, and asked her if she had any Iowa maps, and if she could do a custom stamp job.

To my surprise and enjoyment, she messaged me pictures of SIX maps to choose from.
{I picked the colorful one.}

And, being the farmgirl that I am, and loving everything farm, I asked her to put
Farm Sweet Farm
on my map.

It’s fabulous. I love it!

After I was finally able to get to the Post Office on Tuesday afternoon,
{after the card was left in my mailbox on Friday}
I got home and opened up the cardboard.

This is what I found inside….

I mean, really! I thought I could hang it on the wall just like that!

But I didn’t. :)

I had it hanging in one stop, but then moved it to its current home.

Moving it caused me to pull a bucket of vintage hankies from my room,
and put it by my collection of glass bottles in a wire basket,
on top of a vintage suitcase.

It works. I love it!

So, if you want a unique and custom piece of art for your home,
be sure to give Megan at Contented Sparrow a holler!

You can thank me later. But be sure to share a picture! :)

Decor Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:20:00 +0000

With all my cleaning, throwing out, giving away, selling, purging that is going on,
I have done a little organizing and redecorating…
via Instagram and Facebook.

And it’s fun!

It all started with some washi tape. I had no idea what to do with it.

One suggestion and donation via Instagram lead me to this:

Now I just need to get it hung up in the craft room.

My second project started with a tool crock I have had for a few years.

And believe it or not, I had to take out some of the tools, because there were too many!
Since I use most of them, I decided to upgrade to something different.

It was my plan to find something white and simple at Target, but I forgot when I went there.

During one of my cleaning spurts, I found a cute pail/bucket, and put it to use!

Yup. I love it!

So I shared it on Instagram, which shared on Facebook.

Little Prairie Girl mentioned using a magnet on it to hold recipes.

Yup. It works!

Yesterday, my ‘coffee table’ was bothering me, so I went to work.

I started with this:

I knew I wanted to use the basket and include the truck somehow,
but my mind wasn’t in the thinking mood at that point in time.

So instead, I share the picture on Instagram which shares to Facebook,
and got some great suggestions.

~Put magazines or books in the basket and the truck on top of them.~
~Plants in the basket.~
~Wrap books in plain paper and wrap them together with fun string/twine.~

But this is what I did before most of the other ideas came in.

I figured I was on a fun pail/bucket kick,
so I decided to keep it going!

It is now the fashionable and functional home for my remotes.

I did put some magazines under the truck as well.

I thought about wrapping them in string/twine,
but I still read them!

So that didn’t happen.

But overall, what was fun about this for me was getting fantastic input from people on Instagram and Facebook.
On Instagram, I got tagged in a few pics of people sharing how they kept their kitchen tools.
I’m a visual person, so it’s great they can take a picture and share how they display, store, use their items.

I know Pinterest is a great resource,
but sometimes it’s just overwhelming with too many ideas.

Where have you found inspiration/ideas for your organizing or decorating projects?

A Year of Instagram

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:58:00 +0000

As you might be aware, I took on the challenge of taking/sharing a photo a day, via Instagram. There were some days where I might have shared a picture I took on a different day. Really, I wanted pictures that made me happy, or made me smile, or made me laugh.

I’m happy to report…I was successful in sharing 366 pictures during 2012!
One of these days, I’m hoping to put it all in a book for myself.

Given the fact that I succeeded, and it seemed that some friends enjoyed my pictures as well, I have decided to take on the challenge again!

I know my photos aren’t always perfect.
You might not understand why I’m sharing a certain picture.
You might wonder why it seems I take pictures of only farm things, cupcakes, and kids.
Well, I think of it as a glimpse of my heart.
The things I love, that bring me joy.

So, here’s to another year of Instagram photos!

And here’s my start so far….

If you want to follow along, my Instagram name is farmgirlchaos, you can see the photos to the right on the blog, or through the link on my Facebook page.

Be sure to let me know your Instagram name if you are on there as well!

Peppermint Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:03:00 +0000

Here's a quick and easy {altered} brownie recipe.

I made these for connection group, and then shared them at work as well.

If you love peppermint and chocolate {like me!},
these will be a big hit!

Even though they were a gooey mess, everyone seemed to enjoy them!

Peppermint Brownies

{I used a jelly roll pan for these…so doubled the recipe}

1 box fudge brownie mix
mini chocolate chips
mint of your choice: Andes mints, York Peppermint Patties, crushed candy canes, etc.

Make and bake the brownies as directed on the box,
but add in some additional chocolate chips.

As the brownies are cooling, prepare the frosting.
1 tub of white frosting
Peppermint flavor
Food coloring {red or green}
Toppings of your choice

When I make these next time,
I believe I will use crushed candy in the brownies themselves,
in addition to adding some to the frosting
and on top of the frosting to finish off the look.

A quick and easy recipe to add some great taste
and fun color to your holiday plate of treats.

Sister Countdown!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:35:00 +0000

Christmas is almost here!

Which for me, means that my sister and BIL are almost here!

I don't remember the last time I saw them in person.

Sister...do you remember?

As of today, there are

scheduled days until they arrive in Iowa at the farm.

But, with the snow storm/blizzard that is brewing,

I might get to see my sis earlier than planned.

I guess we'll see what happens with the weather
and the vehicle she might be traveling in.

Until I see her in person,

I'm planning on seeing my little sister in 4 days!

Do any of you have a countdown for seeing your long-lost family members?

Windmill {Display} Blades

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 04:42:00 +0000

Christmas Decor continued.....

In addition to my ladder mantle,

my other favorite piece happens to be my
windmill blades!

I decided to do a little something different with them this Christmas season.

They are now displaying my Christmas photo cards!

I used some mini clothes pins that I picked up from Wally World,

in the office section.

{I think I might need to pick up a couple more boxes.
It seems I use these a lot!}

Since I'm missing some of my decor,
I'm looking for some new ideas.

I do have some bakers twine,

that might be making an appearance if need be.

How do you display your Christmas cards?
Ideas are welcome!

Decking My Halls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 05:57:00 +0000

Howdy!

I do {still} exist!
I guess life just took over for awhile.
And I'm okay with that.

But, I have a moment,

{and maybe I was harassed about not blogging....Jessica!},

so here we go!

After Thanksgiving 'break', I decided to start decorating my place.

As I was decorating, I quickly realized I was missing

one, if not two, tubs of Christmas decor!

That set me back a bit. Jeesh!

But lucky for me,

I feel that I was still able to decorate well with what I did have on hand,

in addition to some 'new' purchases.

{By 'new', I mean junk finds.}

This wreath was new new...
and I LOVE IT!!

On my sofa table, I had a tin container that was full of 'N's,

so I dumped them out and added a bunch of
found ornaments.

The jumbo clothes pin is something I crafted last year,

and just change out the month flash card every month.

Well, for the most part.
I might have missed October and November. :)

Next to it sits this...

The blue Ball jar has a chalkboard label on it.
I bought it with the bulbs inside for a great price,

from Rescued Junk a couple years ago.

My ladder mantle.

I kind of love it!

After I took this picture, there have been a few changes to it.

I can't get a new picture now,

because the top lights of the big tree blinked off a few days ago.

Any ideas on how to fix it?

I know I'm a little behind on the bottle brush trees scene,

but now I have 3 of them,

in different sizes. :)

I like this little guy, hanging out with my little boot.
{They are on the far left side of my ladder mantle.}

This little truck was another junk find.

I believe I first saw the idea of using an

old toy truck for decorating

from Farmgirl Paints.

I'm still on the hunt for a different truck though.

I'd prefer Chevy or Ford, or even an IH.

This truck, I have never heard of the name.

But at least it looks cute!

To wrap this up,

my obsession with 'fun' socks.

During the month of December,

I have enough Christmas/winter socks

to wear a different pair each day of the month....

and not repeat them!

Hopefully I'll be back in a few days

to share some more pictures from around my living room.

Have you ever lost/misplaced/forgotten

any of your decorations?

At the Farm! {LongView Farms}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:08:00 +0000

Instead of harvest pictures from the family farm this year,

I have been taking LOTS of pictures for LongView Farms.

{They are in the process of getting a website up and going. Once that happens, I'll share!}

I still hope to make it back to the family farm one of these days before harvest is over

I just have no idea if it will happen or not.

So, until then, I'm making sure to make the most of my time by visit other people's farms.

Whether that is Center Grove Orchard, which is also a working farm,

or LongView Farms.

To round up my Friday,

how about some Instagram pictures over the past couple three weeks.

I haven't been out to their farm at all this week, and I've missed it.

I'm hoping I'll find a few spare minutes next week.

Have a great weekend!

Center Grove Orchard Play/Work

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Finally...HARVEST season and fall have arrived!

If you didn't already know, harvest time is my favorite season of the year.

Crisp weather.
Time spent in fields during harvest.
Fun at Center Grove Orchard!

Again this year, I have the joy of ~~playing~~ working at the Orchard.

What started out as mainly weekends has turned in to many more hours.
And I'm thrilled with that!

Any time I get to spend on a farm is fabulous in my eyes.

I'm sure getting my fill this fall.

Doing farm photography for LongView Farms.

'Playing' at Center Grove Orchard.

Just too bad I haven't had time to head back to the family farm for some fun. :(

This year, I have 2 main jobs/duties at the Orchard.

1. Driving the hayride tractor.

2. Making the fudge that is sold in the store.

{And watching entire pans of it 'disappear' in only 1 work day...
leaving only the sample piece left.}

Pretty different jobs if you ask me.

But it's a good thing I enjoy both.

If you are in the central Iowa area or are wanting a road trip, check out

Center Grove Orchard!

If you haven't liked CGO on Facebook yet, do it!
You can find more updates and pictures there.

If you are lucky enough, you just might have me driving the hayride tractor in my pearls and flats.

Which is what happened on Monday, when I was asked to fill in for a driver who could no longer drive evenings. My response, "Sure! As long as you don't care how I'm dressed."
I didn't have time to run home to change after my real job before the fun job.

As I made my last round to the pumpkin patch that evening to pick up a mom and an excited bunch of boys, I was greeted with a big pumpkin!

My first thoughts...I wonder how they are going to lift that to the hayride.

The mom and boys tried. No success.

I tried helping them out, but that was just not working.

Then the farmgirl in me took over.

I lifted the whole thing up to the hayride...on my own.

{Remember, I'm still in my cute work clothes and wearing my pearls.}

In the end....I lifted the pumpkin to the hayride, moved it off the hayride to the pumpkin barrow, pulled it in the pumpkin barrow to the store, the pulled it, moved it, and lifted it again to weigh it....

all while wearing my pearls.

Here's the pumpkin.

The weight of it.....

{photo taken from the Center Grove Orchard Facebook page..faces blurred by me}

Did you read that?

102 POUNDS!

No wonder it was a little heavy. Jeesh!

Last night I decided to show my true farmgirl self,

and sport my cowgirl boots.

It's kind of dusty out there!

Even though harvest is going on, I don't think a little moisture would be bad right now.

Things are dry and dusty in the corn and bean fields as well.

One of my {many} favorite things about the Orchard/farm....

the sunsets!

They are absolutely amazing!

I just can't get enough of them.

Which is why I feel like I have a different sunset picture every night. :)

Yup. Love it!

Oh, and if you are sneaky like me,

you just might catch the boss-man himself

having a little 'play time' in the kid area.

{Okay...maybe he was just back-filling the dirt in to any holes kids dug.}

Farmgirl In...Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 03:27:00 +0000

Thanks to another database training for work, I had the privilege of going to Colorado again!

Every time I go there, I love it!

Here are some pictures from my trip.

Day 1...a trip to Mt. Evans, immediately after landing.

Do you see the elevation?

My recommendation....

don't go to the highest road in North America within a few hours of landing in Colorado.

We all got dizzy.

There wasn't enough time to adjust to the new altitude.

Next time, or for you to take note,
don't make the trip up the highway until you get use to the elevation.
After getting off an airplane and getting the rental car, this was our first destination.
The higher up we went, the worse it got.
My sinuses hurt, and so did my ears.
I got a little dizzy if I moved too fast.
So I just took it nice and slow.
It was weird.

But the scenery and views were awesome!

There are even some fun little critters that pose for you. :)

How can you not enjoy Colorado with the beautiful scenery it holds?!

Cupcakepalooza!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 02:46:00 +0000

I survived the

WEDDING CUPCAKEPALOOZA!!

This past Friday morning,

I headed a few miles down the road

to the wedding/reception venue.

It was time to get my baking on!

I decided to bake the cupcakes at the venue...
because there were 3 ovens!

As well as lots of counter space.

The 3 recipes I used are all from scratch.

No boxed mixes for this wedding!

{I'll share the recipes another day.}

Flavors:
Strawberry Lemonade

Red Velvet

Chocolate

Saturday, I frosted the cupcakes.

I thought it would be best to break it up in to two days.

Plus, I didn't know how the icing would hold up.

The red velvet had cream cheese.

Chocolate has chocolate buttercream.

Strawberry lemonade with strawberry lemonade wedding cake frosting.
{I made this recipe up myself. Kind of proud of it!}

In the end, there were over 300 cupcakes.

I made sure each of the piping tips was different,

so each cupcake looked different.

When I left the reception Saturday night, there were only a handful left....

and there were still over 2 hours of the reception/dance to go!

Believe it or not, I think I'd do it again if asked!

So, who needs some cupcakes?

Sweet Corn Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:45:00 +0000

I finally had my first ear of Iowa sweet corn last night.

It was delicious!

After work yesterday I stopped at Aldi.
While loading up on flour, sugar, powered sugar, cream cheese, and butter

{for the 240+ cupcakes I'll be making/baking tomorrow}

I decided to grab some bacon to have with my sweet corn.

Growing up, I often remember having BLTs with sweet corn.

But me being me and the picky eater I am, I'd have BLCs instead.

Bacon, Lettuce, Cheese.
{Sometimes I'll get a little adventurous and even add deli meat!}

And that's what I made myself last night.

It hit the spot!

When I posted the picture on Instagram, it seemed that lots of others eat BLTs with their sweet corn as well.

Which got me to thinking, what are other ways people add a meal to their sweet corn?

So please share your favorite meal with sweet corn.
Let's get this sweet corn debate going.

Another meal I really enjoy is brats and sweet corn. Yum!

Bracelet Board

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:13:00 +0000

Awhile back I was on the hunt for a bracelet board/holder.

Somewhere I came across a blog that had a slab of wood, where the gal put fun knobs on it.

{Sorry I can't find it now!}

It took me a while, but I eventually got it done!

The starting point....

Finding a fun piece of blue wood from JB Knacker, in Gilbert, IA.

{Yes, I know I could paint a piece of wood a fun blue,
but this piece had some great character.}

I collected some knobs from HobLob when they were 50% off....

but had to make another trip to a different store when I changed

my mind on what colors I wanted.

Good thing they were still 50% off!

After some measuring and drilling,

here's the finished product.

{all photos taken with my iPhone....and late at night}

Do you have any idea of how hard it is to pick out only 5 knobs from Hobby Lobby,

and not wanting to keep changing them?

I'll tell you...it's hard.

Even looking at these pictures now, I think I want to change some of them up.

Oops!

{Go Cylcones!}

Due to the knobs having a little nut on the back to hold them in place,

the board sticks out from the wall a little bit.

But no big deal. I just hung it up on a nail that is a little longer.

And do you notice the chain?

My dad found that somewhere in a shop while trying to find some

wire to hang the board.

I like the look of the chain a lot more! :)

Look at all the rusty and chippy goodness!

A look at my necklaces and bracelets...nicely organized.

The bracelets on the board were purchased from two great places.

Mama Peacock......I LOVE her stuff!!

{Facebook}
{Blog}

{Etsy}

Lather and Lace.....in addition to jewelry, fabulous lotions and things!

{Facebook}

{Website}

Ultimate TRiO Southern Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:50:00 +0000

Where has the time gone?
I keep doing double takes at the calendar,
because it's hard to believe it is already the middle of July! Jeesh.

On Monday, July 2, I boarded 1 of 2 coach buses,
along with 75 other high school students, college-student counselors, and TRiO staff.

Our planned destinations:

St. Louis

Atlanta

Savannah

Tybee Island

Nashville

St. Louis

But of course, our trip started off with a little excitement.

And here starts a long post.....

{July 2}

The AC on one of the buses went out.
And traveling on a coach bus with no AC in July makes for a hot bus.

After some time spent dealing with the bus company to find another bus,

it was decided that the working bus would load up as full as possible, and head to St. Louis.

There was a Cardinal's game to get to!

Which I did not go to.

I stayed back with the remaining students and spend almost 3 hours at Coral Ridge Mall,

while waiting for another bus to come get us...after riding about 20 minutes to the mall in a 105 degree bus!

{Side note....how can people spend so much time in a mall?! I got bored...fast!}

Finally, the last bus arrived to St. Louis over 5 hours later.

And once we got to the hotel, I had luggage patrol!

{July 3}

Driving through Nashville en route to Atlanta.

Can you find 'Batman'?

When we finally arrived to Atlanta, we had 2 eating options:

1. Ride the bus to some fast food restaurants across the interstate.

2. Walk to Cracker Barrel.

That was a no-brainer. :)

{July 4}

First stop in Atlanta....The World of Coca-Cola.

I was impressed! :)

At the end of the 'World', you get to sample Coke pop from all over the world.

Some were good. A few were awful.

{Gina...notice one of the pops in the picture?! It thought of you when I saw and enjoyed it.}

If you are ever in Atlanta, add the World of Coke to your 'must see' list.

I wanted to go to the aquarium...but decided it wasn't worth the cost for the 1.5 I'd be there.

Next stop...Stone Mountain Park.

This is a very unique place! But...it was HOT!

Once we got there, we all went our own direction.

The staff ended up going to the top of Stone Mountain first, via Summit Skyride.

Imagine trying to fit about 60+ people on a lift and gliding along cables....yeah, not cool.

When we were ready to head down,
we got a crazy hair-brained idea and took the walking path.

I think it took under 30 minutes to walk the mile down.

I'm proud to say....I was the first in our group down. :)

While roaming around more later on, I decided I had to get this picture,

where I found a little country in all the craziness!

The crowd....waiting for fireworks. Glad I found a grassy spot elsewhere!

In my opinion...it was a disappointing laser light show and fireworks.

I prefer small town Iowa fireworks better!

{July 5}

After traveling about 4+ hours on the bus, we made it to Savannah.

Savannah State University was our first stop for lunch.
We eventually made it to the highlight I was looking forward to....Historic Savannah.
But, we were allotted 30 minutes to tour.

Needless to say, I was/am disappointed about that.

I attempted to see the sights...
but turned around and just went to the visitors center and then back to the bus.

I loved Savannah the last time I was there.
{I hope I get to go back again, and tour it the right way!}

It was my goal that the students would get to enjoy the culture and history Savannah holds.

Maybe another time.

But we did make it to Tybee Island....so the students could go to the ocean.

Tybee Island Light House

{ July 6}

Traveled to Nashville....saw 'Batman' again.

Had a quick lunch at the Opry Backstage Grill.

We had a campus tour of Vanderbilt University.

Of course, toured the Grand Ole Opry.
I loved it! Great history and stories are in that place.

I think I'm going to add 'seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry' to my bucket list.

{July 7}

Belle Meade Plantation

Awesome place. Again, amazing history here!

At some point between Tennessee and Kentucky, en route to St. Louis,
I felt like the roads 'opened up'.

This is why.

Instead of tree-lined roads, there were fields!

I made it to the top of the Gateway Arch again.

I still enjoyed the view

Gateway to the {Mid}West!

Last night in a hotel.....some students thought it would be fun to

break rules and leave their room and crazy hours of the night/morning.

Students were caught, consequences were given.

Finally went to bed at 2:30am.

{July 8}

Last stop of our trip...Hannibal, MO

Saw Mark Twain's Boyhood Home & Museum.

When we finally made it to our first student drop off location,
I was happy my mom and my niece found me...since she left her phone at the farm!
The original location had to change due to some construction.

After getting to the farm and crashing for a few hours, I got to help dad round up a few stray cattle after a neighbor stopped. It was about 10p at this point in time.

We each drove different fence lines, trying to find where they got out.
But with it being so dark, it was hard.

Not that I'm an expert or anything,
but I definitely now know what to do and what not to do for this trip again.
Holler if you have questions.
I'd be happy to share, so your trip could be even better. :)

And that's a wrap!

Farming & Dirt

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:53:00 +0000

The past couple of days, I have seen these videos go viral!

I shared them on my Facebook page, but thought I'd share them here as well.

Just another reason why I love the farming/ranching/agriculture life!

Head over to Crystal Cattle, where she emailed the guys and got more details from them.

The next video is from DreamDirt TV. They are from Iowa!

How have I not heard of them before?
After looking up where Mondamin, Iowa is...since I have never heard of it, I learned.
Far western Iowa.

What a unique and neat treasure we have here in this great state.

Now it's time to share it with the world!

I hope you enjoyed just a little glimpse of true agriculture.

Iowa Corn Indy 250

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Thank you to Iowa Corn,
I won myself a couple free tickets to the Iowa Corn Indy 250
answering various trivia questions on their Facebook page.

The race was this past Saturday, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton.

Being the nice sister that I am, I invited my brother to join in on the fun!

{But that makes me a bad daughter...since I didn't invite my dad! Sorry Dad!}

On Thursday before the race, I picked up my packet of goodies from UPS.

This was inside....

2 tshirts

2 tickets {for actual seats}

2 passes to the VIP tent

Since the Iowa Corn Indy 250 race wasn't scheduled until 9p,

we decided we didn't need to hurry to get there,

even though the gates opened at 10a.

We arrived around 3:30p, which was still plenty early for us.

There was plenty of time to make our way to the VIP to get our free drink tickets,

grab a few handouts from Dekalb...ear plugs!, Dekalb cap, chapstick with sunscreen, lotion with sunscreen, and a little hand held fan.

{On a normal race day, those items would have been crucial!}

We then headed out to the concourse area to walk around.

Adam spent $5 on a piece of paper that had all the drivers numbers to listen in on headsets.

We watched Marlee Scott for a few minutes.

Check out the various race cars that were sitting out.

Got shocked at how much a Chevy Volt is....about $45,000!
{BUT...you will save about $7,500 on fuel over about 5 years.
You do the math! Jeesh.}

Stopped at an Info Booth, and learned Adam could have gotten a paper with the drivers numbers for FREE!

Eventually we made our way back to the VIP tent around 5p

to grab some grub and watch the first race.

I can't remember the name exactly,

but it think the first race was the Mazda 100.

And it was a fast race!

On average, a car can go around the track 3 times in 1 minute.

About halfway through the race, the storm clouds started rolling in.

So did the thunder and lightning.

With the lightning, they cleared the grandstands.

But we stand on the stands we were sitting on.

There were only 4 rows, so a lot less metal.

{Clearing the grandstands.}

Eventually we decided to get under the tent when the rain started falling.

They called that race at about lap 91 or so, and didn't finish it.

It rained for a good 20-30 minutes. I lost track of time.

When the rain finally let up, the troops came out.

The above picture was something new to me.

Maybe I have never seen a rain delayed race before.

But they just started driving around the track, all 13+ vehicles.

They'd drive high.

They'd drive low.

They drove all over the track.

Until the jet dryers came out.

But they still drove around the track.

{The dryers are in the back of and on a trailer behind
the trucks at the left side of the next picture.}

At this point in time, Adam and I decided to head to the truck to get the radio headphones and to drop off our free stuff, since the sun wasn't really shining.

By the time we got to the truck, it started raining again!

So we waited it out there.

The Sukup 100 was canceled...because it was still raining.

But they were able to get the track ready for the

Iowa Corn Indy 250!

Around 8:45p, after visiting with a former coworker of Adam's,
we headed back to the VIP tent.

But since we had actual seats with our tickets,
and there was no room to sit or stand see in the VIP tent area, we went to our seats.

The race was suppose to start at 9p, but started closer to 10p.

And talking about the start, if you watched the race...
did you even notice when it officially started?

The drivers were basically doing hot laps,
to lay rubber back on the track after it all got washed away.

But at some point, whether before or after a drivers engine blew,

the race started.

The funny thing, the announcers didn't even know the race started.

So who makes that decision?

The evening turned out to be beautiful.

I was actually chilly...which doesn't happen in the summer!

The race ended around 11:30p....in a caution. NO FUN!

Next time:

Find the Info Booth that has the drivers radio numbers and save $5.

Pay the $10 for the garage tours.
{Adam and I talked about it, but didn't do it. Next time!}

Highlights of the day:

Learning how they dry out a track with a dozen+ vehicles.

Watching wrecked Indy cars get removed from the tracks. {The 'wrecker' hooks up to the top of the car, and just lifts it up and carries the car to the pit/garage.}
Thinking....I could do this! I like to drive fast and efficiently. :)

Fuel to travel to/from the track: 'Free'...Adam drove.

Radio numbers for the drivers: $5...but Adam bought it.
{But it could have been free.}

An evening at the races: PRICELESS!

Thank you to Iowa Corn Indy 250 {and Dekalb} for a fun day at the races.

An Instagram Life: Catching Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:45:00 +0000

Seriously, I think I would be lost on my days and what I do without Instagram.
Who knew technology would do that to me!

The past couple/three weeks have been LONG!!!

June 5:

I walked 3 miles to vote. I was voter #27 at my poling place...and it was after 7p.

June 6:

Kid wrangling gig #1.
Visited Reiman Gardens and a friend's farm.

Kid wrangling gig #2.
2 of my 3 country kids.

June 7:

Helped set up for the Little Prairie Girl Barn Sale.

June 8:

Day 1 of the Sale.

Returning to the farm I saw lots of smoke over the windbreak as I was traveling down the highway.

I was wondering what was going on!

I arrived to this...my dad and brother
burning the scrap wood from an old hog building.

I eventually hopped on the Ranger and checked on
the cows and their calves.

Mooo!

While hanging out with the cows/calves,
I saw an important white van drive by.

So I ran back to the house to pick up 3 of the 4 kiddos!

They where EXCITED to go on a Ranger ride.

June 9:

Day 2 of the Barn Sale...and I didn't take a picture with my phone!

After the sale, I headed back to home where I kid wrangled the country kids again.

But stopped to take this picture on the highway en route to their place.

While helping them with chores, I decided to climb a tree. It was a great climbing tree as well!

June 10:

I had a Sunday night hair cut!

Can you believe that I had my hair cut just over 3 months ago?

Needless to say, I have lots of hair...and it seems to grow fast!

June 11:

Students are on campus from June 10-15.
This day we toured the ISU Dairy Farm.

The calves where a hit!

June 14:

Cupcakes that were a special order.

June 15:

It rained!

And major baking fail later that night.

I was trying to finish up the cupcake order...
but go caught up with watching the guy walk the wire across Niagara falls!

June 16:

Ended a couple of crazy weeks with an evening under this big tree.

It was in the plans to play some badminton...
but it rained again! :)

Monday Blues Turn Orange

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:35:00 +0000

After an enjoyable weekend, my Monday turned into the Monday Blues.

For work, I was impatiently waiting for our new bags to come in.

Then they finally made it around mid-morning.

I ripped open the box to find this....

the Orange bag on the right.

Can you read what it says?

Well, you are suppose to be able to...without having squint or enlarge the picture.

The bag on the left is a similar logo, just MUCH bigger!

I then grabbed the new waterbottle, and noticed....the design is the same size on both items!

After a few frantic emails with pictures and even more phone calls later,

we might have a solution figured out.

...

With all that going on, I started craving some 'fresh' food.

So I headed to the Memorial Union food court on campus and loaded up on the good stuff.

{Orange carrots, Purple grapes, Green lettuce}

And I might have stopped by the convenience store as well and picked up a couple of 'go to' stress foods.

I offerend my vendor contact some Milk Duds...via email.

But she replied back that she moved on to Doritos.

So I sent her the above picture.

Then she was jealous of the Cool Ranch.

All they had in the office were Nacho Cheese.

So it seems that Doritos {of any flavor} are a great stress food!

......

After that fiasco, my night get better.

I headed to my favorite Mexican restaurant with a fabulous family.

{They are moving out of state.} :(

It was a little gathering to wish them well on their new adventure.

But while there, I got to hold, play with, and rock to sleep the sweetest 5 month old boy!

To top the night off, 2 of my favorite couples and I headed to
Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt.

This was my first time going to one of these places.

It was alright.

I think I'll stick to Marble Slab.

I love the hard serve ice cream.

.......

So, yesterday was my Monday.

Today is my Friday.

Tomorrow is a double red headed kid wrangling day.

On the list of adventures:
Reiman Gardens in the morning with both boys.

Taking photos of a friend's farm in the afternoon,

with one excited boy joining me.

Thursday - Saturday.....

Little Prairie Girl Barn Sale!

Which also means time at the farm!

Switch-A-Room Update 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 May 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Because this process is going to take forever....I'll just give you updates as I make progress.

Tuesday night I tackled moving more of my craft stuff out of the nook in my new bedroom,
so I could move my dresser and jewelry over.

This is what you see when you walk in my room.

Yes, my head is right in front of the window.

That is just the best spot the bed could fit, given the smaller space.

However, I already told dad {via mom} that I now definitely need a headboard.

I'll be gathering measurements tonight,

and maybe a headboard will magically appear! :)

However, I do have to get a ceiling fan in the room.

When you live on the 3rd floor of an aparment building, ceiling fans are needed....

if you don't want to run your air conditioning all the time in the summer.

I did get all my jewelry moved over.

I got the necklaces hung up...

But am struggling with what to do for my bracelets.

On the bottle, which is bigger than it seems,

I currently have about 10 bracelets on it.

It works, just not how I want.

But, over at Rustic Living,

I came across a cute idea of Knobs & Necklaces

that I can make work for hanging my bracelets.

I just need to hit up Hobby Lobby,

pick up a few cute knobs,

and get to making myself a holder.

Or, if you have any other ideas, please share!