Pioneer WEEKEND Celebrations

Catch Ya On The Flipside...

We gave/donated/borrowed our fabulous Love Sac (it's really a Fiesta Sac) to my little brosha Ty-Ty. He came late one night last week and hauled that bad boy away...

Am I sad?

Yes, but with a 2 bedroom house the Love Sac has definetly taken up more than a fair share of our backroom.

Catch ya on the flipside Sac-y...Hello open space!

Where Champions Are Born...

and sadly this year, I was not one of them!

We go with some friends to Park City once a year (usually around the 3rd week of July and the Triple Crown). Our only problem this year was that Donnie has been sick [still is], so instead of our usual 4 day stint we were only able to make it about 2.9 days, which is still vacation enough for me!

One of the traditions is going down the Alpine Slide and racing...some of us take it more personally than others, but for the most part it is a blast!

Other fun things that take place in Park City are carmel apples dipped in heaven [RMCF], horse racing, puzzles, almost getting thrown in the pool by six drunk guys whose daughters had just won the Triple Crown [softball tournament for 12 yr olds], and relaxing!

Can't wait for next year!

[Thanks Ash for taking pictures!!]

Pimp Your Blogspot [Part II]

Remember where we left off...With our Magical Width Numbers, Neil Diamond and creating our TEST PICTURES?

Well if you are up to speed, I will show you the final steps to put your newly scrapped pictures into action! The first thing you will need to do, if not done so already, is upload your test picture into Photobucket.

Once there, copy the HTML code [also can be done by clicking directly on 'HTML Code'].

Then paste code into body of your blogspot post & click Edit Html in the Upper Right Corner of your post...

Then click Compose in the Upper Right corner of your post...

and then...

Now publish your post and Wowzas! A totally Pimped out Blogspot Post...

P.S. A BIG PLUS of doing your pictures with a transparent background is you can change the color of your blog background and your pictures will not be affected...so much fun!

**If you've made it this far and done your own...leave a comment I'd love to see your Pimped Out Posts!!

An Exciting Ride...

Last night I went with my sistas and Mama to the American Idol Concert.

At first I was telling people, "Oh, I'm just going for my Mother."

But seriously who I am kidding? I went to go see the idols, do some fake-flashing, and scream like Mary Murphy [All of which a not aloud at home or in public places, unless it's a teen-boppin' concert]. Lucky for me!

I screamed soo loud that the girls infront of me kept giving me dirty looks, I may or may not have proclaimed my love to Michael Johns too! But let me defend myself by saying, I have been to a fair share of concerts...and even I know that it is not worth it to spend money to sit on my beetle-end and text people the entire concert...they looked miserable, might as well have been watching in on TV.

People I did not care for...Chikezee -- Bland, Horsegirl -- BORING, Ramiele -- Minnie Mouse Wannabe, & Seyesha -- Fake Boobs + Short Skirts DO NOT = a good time for anyone...

Love, Love, Loved...Michael Johns -- Best songs ever, Brooke White -- Soo Talented...Carly Simon-esk, Jason Castro -- WOW, CarlySmithson -- Is better looking in person...Loved visiting our 'Temple', Archy -- Adorable, & David Cook -- Pretty good, Weird guitar solos and Short hair does not do him any favors.

If by chance you have made it thus far, you will be rewarded with pictures...

{If for any reason this whole post just does not make sense...I'm tired and will re-edit later}

G-G-Giveaway!

One of my favorite blogs, Ponytail Challenge, is hosting a giveaway this week and giving away one of my Apostrophy Design Necklaces as part of her Weekly Challenge...Straighten Up!!

The great thing about Camille is she is always trying to find ways to challenge herself and her readers, and she's fun too! [She also helped me get 3 columns on my blog...best thing ever~]

So What is Ponytail Challenge you ask?

"It all began the day I realized that my hair went in to a ponytail every single day- not because it was cute, but because it was easy. I was busy with kids & I wasn't taking any time for me. The first challenge on this blog was the official 'Ponytail Challenge.'

-Each week there is a new challenge.
-Some weeks there are prizes.
-Most weeks have a little "funny" somewhere.

This blog is dedicated to all of us women who may have knowingly or unknowingly found ourselves in a slump or two; here or there."

Thanks Camille!!! There is also a giveaway going on for a $60 giftcard to Mikarose and they both go until Sunday July 20!!

PIMP Your Blogspot [Part I]

I received 4 or 5 e-mails this week, asking me various questions about my blog...

So I thought I would share some of my favorite tips on how to PIMP Your Blog, [I mean PIMP in the lightest of terms...]

The thing I get asked the most is about my pictures I post in my blog...Blogger is great to post a one or two pictures, but I like to share a bunch of pictures and got sick of fighting with its weird spacing issues. So the first thing I am going to share is how to scrap/edit pictures and sharing them in a post without fighting weird spaces.

First let's start with the preparation:

1-Go to Photobucket and sign up for a FREE account.
2-Make sure you have some sort of photo/scrapbooking editor
3-Check your POSTING Dimensions**aka Magical Width Number...


**This is done by going to the layout of your blog and clicking Edit HTML...

Scroll down until you see something like this....

Ok, so the width of my posts is 470 pixels wide, therefore when I am editing photos in Photoshop I tend to not make them any WIDER that 400 pixels wide because I like padding on either sides of my pictures. On my dangerous days I might go with 450 pixels, it's up to you! This is your magical width number.

HOMEWORK:

Do all of the preparation work above. Then create a picture using your Photo/Scrap editor

...extra hint is to create your picture using a transparent background, this will especially help those who have colored backgrounds, also remember your magical width number and create your TEST picture...

Once your TEST photo is done save as a JPEG or PNG. Go ahead and load your TEST picture into Photobucket, I would recommend creating another folder titled Pictures or something along those lines, to save your pictures in.

**For Mac Photoshop users, to make pictures smaller but without losing dimensions I use Apple T and then hold Shift while shrinking picture. I think for PC users, Ctrl T works too!

to be continued...

Fat To Fuel

I love this picture and have seen it everywhere, but what if there were a different way to fuel our cars?? Some people at work were watching this today and I think we're finally on our way to finding an alternative fuel...

Favorite Quotes...

"Burger King and McDonald's are True American Heroes..."

"Butt fat is better than Gut fat..."

"Skinny people aren't doing anyone any favors..."

Let Freedom Ring...

Here are some pictures from last weekends festivities, the 4th of July just happens to be one of my favorite times of year...

We started out by heading to the Stadium for some fireworks...big mistake?...the fireworks were great as usual but the entertainment** was terrible! (Some of us were NOT lucky enough to get Neil Diamond). Plus, we were fewer in number this year for the fireworks + parade, so that felt weird. The ONLY plus were the kids next to us with full-on rattails.

Saturday, we met up with some of Don's friends for a party and then headed to my parent's house for a BBQ.

For Father's Day we gave my Dad a fire pit and since then, the grandkids have been dying to roast hot dogs and marshmallows...so naturally we got our grill on. After eating we jumped on the tramp, played basketball (did you notice Don's rattail? I think he was really envious of the little boy at the fireworks or something), lit some fireworks of our own and had a little sing-a-long of America's Greatest Hits About America**.

**An idea that wouldn't be bad for entertainment at next year's firework show?? I would even be up for leading such an event.

If a Bear Begins Eating You...

Today Don received some IMPORTANT information on an impending Scout Camp he's attending about Bears...

"A bear that is looking directly at you and has its ears back feels threatened and is warning you that you are too close. This bear may make a barking or woofing sound to further indicate its distress. And if it pops its jaws, it is an indication that it is very agitated and likely to charge.

Again, the charge may be a mock charge to test your courage and resolve. (And an excellent test it is. If you dont run when a bear charges, you have all the courage and resolve that you'll ever need in this world.)

If the charge is not just a test and you are knocked down, don't take it personally. Understand that the bear is merely attempting to remove the threat that you represent. Also understand that the bear will use just as much force as it believes necessary to remove that threat. This is why staying down and playing dead has been proven to be the most successful tactic to use in such an attack situation. Make it easy for the bear to think it has made its point. Getting back up and/or fighting will just encourage it to show you who is boss.

**Remember the biblical advice: Turn the other cheek while curling into the above-described protective position.

If a bear begins eating you, realize that it is just letting you know that its hunger has overcome its common sense. At this point, you want to let it know by your body language that the lunch counter is not open. Stop turning the other cheek. Fight back with all of your power."


Scout Camp Anyone??

Simply Hilarious

I have read Twilight, became addicted, got over it...only to get sucked back in again!

Thanks Google Reader for suggesting this to me...





...it's hilarious, every single Twilight Guy post is worth reading!

More [Lovin'] It

Getting ready to celebrate the Fourth and I've got nothing to write...I have had these things sitting in a folder just ready to share. These are inspiring me at the moment, mostly I am covetting for them...if I post them, I can delete them and that will be that, right? RIGHT!

1. Hoop.de.doo 2. ??? 3. Anthropologie

4. ? Kitchen Inspiration 5. Delia's [want these BAD!]

Summer [Things I'm] Lovin'

I have attended quite a few baseball games, among other things and had some fun times babysitting. The top picture is my nephew Brack's baseball team, I also went to a few games for my other nephew Landon, both boys are great baseball players and have had their fair share of homeruns this summer!

The next two pictures are of my adventure to Mickey-Donalds Play-Place on a Friday Night, you can only imagine how awesome of people, were there...my sister had taken time to make sure her kids had socks, but there were kids running around without clothes on...let alone socks! Oh Geez...at least we all ended up with Ice Cream!!

P.S. Don't you just love the 'Bryton' face? He was even saying 'Cheeeese' as I took the picture! He's the one who kept asking me the whole way to McDonald's if we were going to
Mickey Donalds.

Happy Canada Day!

Don has a connection with Canada...he lived there for 2 years & continues to watch Ice Road Truckers every Sunday to help keep his accent up...

The past 2 years without fail Don hangs the Canadian Flag up over our back porch on July 1st to celebrate Canada Day...

Too bad I will never get to visit you (too many unpaid parking tickets).

Old Skeeeewl

This picture was taken a few weeks back, before our friends Katrina & Jordan headed to Oklahoma for Dental School. We were talking about weird it seems that it's been 5 years since we graduate from High School...this year it's also Don's 10th year anniversary...but how fun it is at the same time, we all live(d) fairly close, still see each other often, have or are expecting children and so on...

This isn't even close to all of our friends, I even had a couple Old Skewl pictures to post but couldn't get the scanner to work so I'll try again in 5 more years...

Until then I feel my five greatest accomplishments since High School have been:

-Becoming Don's Wife
-Being Addicted to Reality TV
-Graduating College
-Starting an Apostrophy Designs
-Getting REALLY ridiculously good at Guitar Hero