Almost Gypsy Soul

My baby sister is getting married and she doesn't cook very well (her words, not mine). So we decided that a kiss the cook shower would be in order so that she could fill her kitchen  with handy utensils and her cookbook with tried and true recipes. Everyone invited is charged with bringing Little Sister at least one recipe for her recipe book that was handmade by Mr. OKTrailerParkFriend. And might I add that he did an awesome job! Her book will even be filled with matching recipe cards. Even with the threat of bad weather, there was quite a showing for the party. We ate some good food, we drank some good drinks and Kelsey filled her cookbook and kitchen cabinets! And a HUGE shoutout to OKTrailerPark Friend and Mr. OKTrailerPark Friend for the awesome cookbook to store her recipes in! Thank you for everyone who was able to make it to celebrate with Little Sister!

We all imagined what our lives would be like when we were "grown up".. . how does that compare to what your life looks like now??  I'm pretty sure that I was going to be a professional basketball player when I "grew up", I was going to change the world, one jump shot at a time. I was well on my way, playing Division 2 basketball in college, except I quit playing after my sophmore year (and I was playing D2) and haven't touched a basketball for more than 365 days. I just knew I'd go to college then I'd get married and then I'd have kids (like real ones, tiny humans, not ones with fur). My life today looks something like this: a 30-almost 30something with a mortgage no place to live and a dog. I've got one of those good government jobs that gives me enough time off to travel. I'm not saving the world and I'm definitely not playing basketball to save said world. Even though my life looks nothing like what I thought it would

Over the past few months I've learned a lot about who I am and who I want to be. The revelations have come from some very unexpected people and circumstances. Its been stressful, its brought tears and laughter and its been stressful......did I mention its been a bit stressful? And that I'm very thankful for those who have shown , not told me what kind of person I am and continue to strive to be. Although I don't do it often, as in I should go more, I spent some time at Hastings the other day. You just can't beat the rows of books, waiting to tell you a story, surrounded by the warm smell of coffee and its quiet! I ended up picking up a devotional book by Joyce Meyer. Joyce Meyer is a favorite of the Assistant Pack Leader and I decided it was high time I tried one out. Because I've been struggling so much with being strong, standing up for myself and making changes in my life over the past few months what better to help me along than Power Thoughts Devotional ? A

Excerpt by Marie - This fund has been set up to help our family with the expenses that come along with Jeremiah having heart surgery.  For those of you who may not be familiar with our sweet Miah our journey began back on October 5, 2010 on the day that he was born. I was scheduled to have a c-section in Hereford Texas but when I went in that morning they found a blood clot in my leg and decided that it would be best for me to be sent to Amarillo. When I arrived I was in active labor, so much for a easy c-section! I was sent to ultrasound so they could locate my blood clot and get a plan together. To all of our amazement there was no blood clot to be found!!!! A God thing for sure only HE could know that our sweet little man would need the best heart doctors in the area the min he was born. After he was born I had the moment every mother waits for I had a screaming baby that I was shown and then he was carted off to be looked over. 

Things I love (not necessarily in this order) : Pepperoni & Onion calzones from the Southside Carne Tapita from the Vaq Bud Light Whiskey and Sprite with Lime from the squeezy thing Outside Friends&Family Oklahoma&Colorado&Texas&Wyoming Insulated coveralls Easy Sudoku puzzles Tylie Traveling Positive friends New hair Jeans Square toe boots running shoes Excel co-ed slowpitch softball Starched jeans Boat Shoes Lonestar beer and riddles 1/2 and 1/2 salads from Marios Snowboarding Free movie channel weekends Campfires Sweatpants and baseball hats Red Dirt music Flip-flops Boating snowboarding Things I don't like (not necessarily in this order): HOT Hearing cars ALL the time People who pull trailers with cars People who drive with only their parking lights on Cooking for 1 Dressing up $4.00 diesel Mean people Cold feet Lost baggage Smoking Cauliflower Leaving Tylie at the kennel American Airlines Driving Broken transm

Go ahead, break a few rules. I dare you.

[Linking up with Hayley and Lauren ] These two got a good idea! This link up is awesome because it tells me what to write about and I love it! Up this week? What is one tangible thing you have that holds intangible value to you? When graduating from Limon High School and as a Girls Track member, one could be sure to receive a black banner from Coach Grimes that read Limon Girls Track - Teammates Forever, Thanks Grimes.  Lots of you are probably wondering why a black banner is so important to me, why that would mean anything. At the Limon gym all state champion teams have black banners showing the sport, the year. Black = champion . In addition to black banners, there are white banners covering the walls of that gym in eastern Colorado. White banners are runner-up teams, showing the sport and the year. Limon has a long legacy of excelling in sports....all of them, football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, track and softball. Many are proud to call themselves a B

The kitchen was probably the biggest makeover in this house. It took a long time and I had ALOT of help. As in they did most of the work and I played the part of the 'assistant'. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here we go! Good riddance tiny, crowded, dark, ugly kitchen!

When I turned 30, I made a Dirty 30 list which remains unfinished. Since its a new year, I'm making a new list of things to get accomplished in 2014. Its going to be a good year folks! What's in store for me (I hope)? 1. Meet a yearly savings goal 2. Have a spa day/weekend at a legit spa ( with a robe ) 3. Palisade, CO vineyards pedal bike tour 4. Get to/maintain goal weight 5. "Pay for" season snowboarding pass 6. Finish the Dirty 30 list - See what I have left! 7. 12 months, 12 massages 8. Only go to Wal-Mart once a month 9. Instagram Photo Challange (copying Football Fan once again) 10. Sell my house 2014 Goals

This year Military Friend and I had BIG plans for NYE....we just couldn't stand staying home and doing nothing. But our big plans kept falling through, so we decided to hit up Monarch with our season passes and celebrate with big time in a small town. Verdict? Small ski towns really are the best ever!   We rang in the New Year with the Boys from Kansas, who we kept running into all weekend trip long. They were a riot and impressed that I requested Randy Rogers Band. After ringing in the New Year and staying up way past our bedtime....and by way past I mean until 3 AM. Ouch. We hit the slopes on 4" of new snow by 930AM on New Years Day. Military Friend and I are usually a chatty pair, but we mostly just sat in silence on the lift that day.  After playing in the snow, we decided that a trip to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs was exactly what was needed to prepare us for the nap that was to be taken before dinner on New Years Day. We had some VIP passes and the hot springs

[Linking up with Hayley and Lauren ] This is a new link-up for me and was given the heads-up by none other than Football Fan. I'm tellin' you guys, my blog would be spotty at best without her. I've been struggling with writing lately, so help and prompts are welcome! This link-up provides a prompt for the next week's link-up with the goal of getting to know other bloggers better. So here we go and this week's topic is: WHAT IS SOME OF THE BEST ADVICE ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? WHY DID IT MEAN SO MUCH? Advice is everywhere, its our job to sort through all that is given and decide which pieces we are going to take, use, pass on or toss aside. When I read this week's prompt, my mind immediately went to 2 pieces of advice that I think back to frequently. And, alas, I couldn't pick just one to share with you. Can't shine a turd - Coach Gibson Its true, you can't. A turd is a turd, not something to be proud of, it can't be cleaned

I've gotten an invitation for several years to join the fun in Red River NM from Football Fan and this year I made it a point to go. After all, the snowboarding was "free" . Although this year's group was smaller and calmer and abided by the the new rules. Rules like: 1. No puking 2. No bar fights 3. No cops/jail. Even with rules in place, we had a great time and even got some fresh snow to play in. **We may or may not have even needed rules, as we were sound asleep by 11pm, we were on vacation, we do what we want** I had a conversation before I left on the trip that went something like this...... Friend: So how many people are going? Me: Oh, I'm not really sure, I think like 10-ish Friend: Wow and you know all of them? Me: No, I actually only know one person, but I'm sure we will all be friends because she likes me and she likes them so its pretty much required right? Friend: Um, sure. I win, I came away from the weekend with some new frien

This is the room that I really haven't done anything with. Its an awkward long skinny space and I'll be honest I just don't really need it. I had some extra furniture so I made a little reading nook on one end....that I never use (I read in my big comfy chair in the living room). The other end was converted to my workout room, which I never used until recently. Now I use it at least 5 days a week and its totally worth having it!

I'm excited when ranchers out of my area have exciting opportunities to promote agriculture and tell the story of range sheep operations because what they do, how they make a living is not known by many and its pretty fascinating. Recently, a 3rd generation rancher in southwest Wyoming hit a deal with Farm to Feet socks. Farm to Feet is a completely American made product. The wool is American, the manufacturing workers are American in America, packaging is made in America....well you get the idea, American made. Fred's some 7,000 ewes provide wool for these awesome socks. Go ahead check out the official story....I'll wait for you. I have a few pairs and I love them. I wear them alot! to work, snowboarding, out in the field. I'm being converted to wool as we speak. It's not itchy (even though I was convinced it would be), its warm and it keeps you dry, plus they have some super cute designs! Farm to Feet, ready to hit the slopes! If you are looking for

I spend most of the time when I'm at home in the living room. I love big furniture and some of my favorite things have found their home in my living room. I love my couch and chair, they are the first furniture I purchased brand spankin' new when I got my first job in Tennessee. The other piece that I love in my living room is the antique radio cabinet that doubles as my tv stand. My mom and dad bought this at an estate sale for $5 and refinished it and I LOVE it! And for the record, I was nearly in tears when I finished painting this room before I moved in because it was so ugly. BUT, I was so tired of painting that it just stayed and I ended up loving it after moving in my big furniture!

As usual Football Fan has awesome blog ideas and as usual I'll be copying her. My ideas on the best Almost Gypsy Soul blog posts of 2013: Dirty 30 : Well I'd be lying if these weren't some of my favorite posts, mainly because its the whole reason I started blogging in the first place. Although I didn't get my list finished and it will be spilling over into 2014, I did get alot done! Letters to a Soldier : I really enjoy putting together care packages for deployed soldiers and even though I never heard a word from them this year, I know it made at least one person smile. God bless our military! Sweetwater Series : There is so much neat stuff around my 'new' home and I want to share it with everyone! Especially those who think I live in the worst place in America! Just get off the Interstate! And my favorite because it got a lot of comments! Filing Cabinet in my Wallet. Do  you guys have any favorite posts? What would you like to hear more about? What

When I started pushin' 30, it started pushin' back ......and I compiled this Dirty 30 list . I'm at one year of working on my list and about 3 months until I'm 31. ouch, that hurt to type that! I realized quickly after my last update that I wasn't going to complete my list, but I'm still workin' on it....the longer it lasts, the more I spread out the fun I suppose. I'm going to whittle down all my comments on here, check out my Dirty 30 tab for recaps of all my goals and what I got accomplished off my list this year. I'm adding on to my first quarter report (shown in brown ) and my running totals after the second quarter are in green , the third quarter accomplishments are in red, and my newest accomplishments are in blue. And remember when I reserved my right to change and amend my list....yep I'm doing that and those are in purple. What I got done this year 2. Run Complete the Tower Rock 10K 5K While I didn't finish in th

Well I'm fashionably late and it was actually my fault not Bryan's. I'll admit it. Here is Music Man's picks for the New Year! New Year, new tunes. Some people make resolutions for the New Year; make yourself a better person, better health, yada yada yada…. I say why not do something that makes you happy, or maybe, something you have never done before, do something that you will follow through with. It’s high time we did something like that for the New Year, so here are some tunes to get you started. True Love Never Dies, Cody Canada and the Departed Even If It Breaks Your Heart, Eli Young Band Springsteen, Eric Church Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain), Gary Allan Fly Over States, Jason Aldean