Bits of my LAST Weekend Vol 4

So, I was out of foundation, moisturizer AND I felt that I needed an spf for my face.

May I introduce my favorite new product:


It is amazing. It's light, it provides coverage and it is ALL three!


And then there's this: it's blush. And lip stain. It's like a miracle product.


And I had THIS wonderful family over for dinner. Asher looks excited, right?


Yep - made the tortillas. Just like in Africa, only better? Maybe? Ava (the seven year old) said they were better than the store ones because they were made with love. Yes, she really is that adorable. Through and through. These GREAT people are friends I only recently reconnected with. What a blessing they are. Todd and I go back to ORU days. After college, there was a time when he and his two friends were friends with me and my two friends. It was a fun period. And Brook is simply lovely. One of those people that you literally feel like you've known forever. Kind, sweet, intuitive, smart, a true delight. AND! They live really close to me!


My class - I LOVE this class. I'm in Week 8 of 14 weeks, and I can honestly say, it's life-changing. It's quite a commitment, but it is exactly where I need to be right now. And the most interesting part for me is, if I hadn't gone through such a season of brokenness, I would not have EVER made the sacrifice to take it. Because, I have had to say NO to any Fall Tours on the East Coast - which financially, is a bit of a big deal. But, it's been really good for me to remind myself that neither ACTS, nor me, nor anyone else is my provider, but that God is, and He will.


And - must admit - my favorite part of the weekend. Talking on my phone at night. For hours.

Next week... CAbi. Get ready.

Yellowstone - July 19, 2010

Yes, it was awhile ago... doesn't seem so long ago, on the one hand, but on the other hand, it seems long ago, because that Sohailah seems like she was a long time ago.

It's beautiful. And huge. I left Great Falls, Montana around 6 in the morning. I think I arrived around 10.


Being the History Geek... (sorry Ginger) just think this is cool.

There's so much TO the Park. I guess that's why it's a National Park.


Evidence of a fire. But, still beautiful, huh?


I'm not a HUGE picture taking flower person, but when they're everywhere and growing so freely, I become semi-inspired. (Of course, for truly beautiful photography, one must peruse Just Mom's blog - I'd link you to it if I knew how)


I stopped at the beginning and asked a Ranger what I needed to not miss as "highlights".
She said, "You must see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and of course, the Craters". She was right.


The Grand Canyon is pretty, and has this GREAT waterfall.


To do the waterfall justice, I think, you need to go the bottom. The trail is called Uncle Tom's trail, and is 328 steps to the bottom. That doesn't really sound like much. It FELT like much. This is my proof positive.


And then, on to the Craters. Kinda stinky, but fun to walk around and see.








There are LOTS of craters there aside from Old Faithful.



Who was not faithful. Ahhh... there are so many relative comments I could make at this point...

What are these called? Is this a buffalo? Or a bison?


Animals are not my thing. But it was big and just sitting there. And I can appreciate the coolness of that.


And this park flows right into the Grand Tetons. I really LIKE the Grand Tetons. Maybe that will be tomorrow's post.

Finished!

OLD


NEW


Finally, after an embarrassing 10 (yes, T-E-N) months... my cabinets are finished.

In my defense... yeah. whatever. not a lot of defense. They're not putting me on any hgtv shows.




But. they are finished, and I am happy. Now for the floor.




But I'm thinking I need to paint. I believe the yellow will clash with the tiles/cabinet color when all is said and done.

Bits of my Road Trip - BONANZAVILLE!

This is especially for Heidi Jo. I've sensed, in my spirit, that Heidi Jo doesn't think there is ALL THAT MUCH TO DO in North Dakota - she was NOT impressed with Salem Sue...

So, Heidi Jo, I am pulling out ALL THE STOPS with this one. I believe West Fargo is a destination that will be put on your Bucket List before long.

I visited my aunt, uncle and cousins in Fargo. And went out to the farm with my aunt. That will be another post.

On our way back into town, I saw this old fashioned looking place, and being the nerd interested person that I am, I asked my aunt about it, and she told me it was called Bonanzaville, and then she very obligingly (as only aunts and uncles really do), stopped so I could look through the fence, and she pointed different places out.

So, here's the deal: North Dakota has acquired these original old buildings from all over the state, and put them in one place. It's set up like a little town, and they tell you all about the buildings - where they're from, when they were built, etc.

But, really, let me just SHOW you how amazing this little place is. Because, of COURSE, the next day as I was heading out of town, I drove right by, and, well things being as they are, I had to stop. And go in.


Fargo's First House: Built in 1869.




Also served as a jail, hotel and home to the Martin Hector family.


Wheatland Town Hall and Jail: Built in 1905 in Wheatland Township, ND.




This is where my dad's parents would go and vote. Little jail time, little voting... and supposedly my dad's high school class pictures are in here, also. It was closed for renovations, so I could only look through the window.


Train Depot


The person in charge lived here. I think that's funny and cool.


They meant business here in North Dakota. DON'T MESS AROUND.


Old phones - yeah, just thought they were cool.




If you were a telephone operator back then, would you have listened in on the phone conversations?

Thanks for touring Bonanzaville with me. Well, Heidi Jo?

Random Photos of Montana

This was on the edge of the first lake we stopped at on our drive through Glacier. Reminded me of Abraham and his journey. (Although, I'm not thinking Abraham actually encountered a lot of WATER on his journey...)

Random Photos of Montana

This was on the edge of the first lake we stopped at on our drive through Glacier. Reminded me of Abraham and his journey. (Although, I'm not thinking Abraham actually encountered a lot of WATER on his journey...humor me...)


They take the Indian thing really seriously here, in Montana? Really have no other explanation. But they do sell coffee here. And I WASN'T inspired to stop for some.


I did actually almost lay on the road for this angle. Thank you.


The snow covered the path. I wasn't breaking any laws by "walking on the glacier" - I just did what I had to do. (And handed my camera to someone to pose for a photo- duh!)


Simply not sure.

Bits of my Weekend Vol 3

My plan this weekend was to fill my car with gas and find a nice mechanic to replace my headlight bulb. I was told that if I flipped my hair, batted my eyes and smiled, I should have no problem.


This is what I saw when I turned my car over at 6:30 am when I was going to go running. There is no picture for complete silence, right?

After the run, I jiggled my battery cables, and more lights came on, accompanied by a half-hearted whine. (the car, not me...yet...)


So, my car is in the garage and will NOT go into neutral. Thinking I may have to go BUY a battery and replace it myself, I tried to take the cables off the battery…


I have tools, see?


I tried several of these tools. I couldn’t do it.

I finally decided to call the Honda Service center, and they told me to remove this little plastic piece, and stick my key in to manually move the gear into neutral.


Not THAT little piece of plastic...


THIS little piece of plastic...


I then proceeded to push my car out of the garage and onto the driveway. Which has a slight incline… and I was pushing from the front. So, I PULLED the car to slow it down, and then ran to the door and hopped in and slammed the brakes on and put it into park.


Fortunately I had these.



I called a bunch of people and knocked on four neighbor’s doors, and finally got a response from sweet Lauren – who came to save the day!


Ahhh… don’t they look cute? Nose to nose and all?


We hooked them up.


please oh please oh please



Yippee!


Off to Sams!

That's enough of a day, don't you think?
Well, I pulled up to Sams, not knowing if I should turn my car off or not, because I wasn’t sure it would start again. But, I kinda figured they could handle it. But, see they were out of my kind of battery.
So the car wouldn’t start. A nice man called Justin brought out the jump box. It didn’t start my battery. He brought out the bigger jump box. It didn’t start my battery. He brought his OWN CAR up to my car. It didn’t... He brought out a new battery and unhooked my battery, put this one in, got my car started, and put my bum battery back in, and I was duly warned NOT to stop my car. (A side note - he didn't seem to have ANY trouble getting those nuts off my battery cables - I think he did it with his pinky finger)

I wanted to take a picture of Justin, but I didn’t know if it was appropriate, given the heat and exhaustion. And he tried to change my headlight light bulb, but he couldn’t get the clip out…
So, I got to the other Sam’s and knew I couldn’t turn my car off. But the automotive department check-in isn’t by the garage bays, and the bays were all closed AND I wasn’t tall enough to see in the little windows. So, I kept jumping in front of the windows until one of the guys saw me... (yeah, I'm sure you don't even need a picture to imagine this...)
He told me to keep the car running, and that they would keep an eye on it. I asked him if there were any way he could change out my headlight, and he said to let the people at the check-in know. I figured they would be women, and THAT is not who I thought would be moved by the hair flip, smile and batting of the eyes…
But when my battery was changed, and I got back to the check-in, the same guy came in and told me that he HAD changed my light bulb! Yeay! And my hair was even in a pony tail.