400

This blog has reached  400 posts! Aren't I awesome? (Don't answer that.)
Here are some of my faves throughout the years:


I learned about trucking and camping.

I counted my blessings on my birthday, I loved on some food, and I went to the Farmer's Market.

I made some weird food,  I freaked out some random guy at Target, I lost my mind while being pulled over, and we had some serious library adventures.


All in all, it's been a pretty fun 400 posts, and here's to 400 more!

Things I Learned While Camping

I love camping. Maybe you wouldn't think it to look at me, what with my 5 inch stilettos and this hairdo, but it's true.
Every summer while growing up, my family went on a camping trip, everywhere from the beach in Florida to high up in the Colorado Rockies to our own backyard. I also went camping with the Young Women at church every summer for 7 years.
Now, I should clarify. When I say camping, I don't mean sitting in an air-conditioned RV with a stove and a bathroom. I mean pitching a tent, making a fire, gathering water from the nearby stream to boil and drink, bathing in the creek, the whole nine yards.
I love every minute of it. I love sleeping under the stars, eating crappy food that you cooked on a tiny stove over the fire, even bathing in an ice cold stream. It's awesome!
Let me tell you a few things I learned while camping.


1. I learned some basic survival skills. From Girl's Camp, I learned how to build a shelter, start a fire with just sticks, purify water, make a splint and a turniquette, and even tell the difference between Poison Oak and Poison Ivy. From my family camping trips, I learned how to cook on a fire, stay warm and dry at night, and shave my legs in the wild (it's crucial folks). I also learned that my mom is deathly allergic to Poison Oak and Poison Ivy.

Mom, look away! You might get a rash!

2. I learned that the beach is my most favorite place to be. We went camping in Pensacola FL one year as a family, and it was amazing. White sand, huge waves, millions of jellyfish. Wait, what?
Yeah, I said jellyfish. They were everywhere; I must have been stung a hundred times,  but it was still fun.
If I could live on the beach, I probably would.

Me and Carrie, in our swimsuits. 

3. I learned how to entertain myself in long car rides. When we went camping every year, we drove sometimes 12 hours or more to get there. That's one boring drive folks. 

4. I learned every cheesy camp song ever written. Girl's Camp does that to ya. I hated them, but I sang them.

5. I learned how to be a leader. At Girl's Camp, I was a YCL, or Youth Camp Leader, for several years. A YCL's job is to help younger girls with their hike, take them swimming, and teach them some of the things they need to certify. I was always assigned to the 12 year old girls, most of them had never been camping before. It was a blast teaching them and getting to know them, and I am still friends with a lot of those girls today!

6. I learned that we live in a beautiful country. Sleeping under the stars and hiking through the woods shows you that.

7. I leaned that if you give a raccoon donuts, he will love you forever. But he might still try to maul you, so don't get too close.

8. I learned that if the name of the campsite is anything like "Camp Runamuck," turn your car around and drive away. It will be crazy.

9. I learned that my sister and I look really good in snorkels.

You know you're jealous.

10. This isn't really something I learned, it's just one of my favorite memories. 

We were camping in Pensacola, and my mom wanted us all to get up early and watch the sunrise on the beach. 

My mom LOVES to watch the sunrise. Maybe it's because she enjoys the beauties of nature, maybe it's because she wakes up at the crack of dawn already and wants company, we may never know.

Anyway, we didn't have an alarm (we were sleeping in a tent for cryin' out loud) so Mom woke us all up at the hour she thought was close to sunrise. Turns out it was closer to 3 am, but we didn't know that at the time. We drove to the beach, set out a blanket, and settled down to wait for the sun. And we waited. And waited. Aaaaaand waited.

It was cold that morning, actually really cold for Florida in August. We were dressed in  T-shirts and shorts, and I remember just being freezing. It was really cloudy, and after about 3 hours of waiting, we started to realize that the sun wasn't going to show. You see, there was a storm off in the distance over the water (something else we didn't know) and the clouds were hiding the sun. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we started to beg to go back to our tent. We were hungry, cold, and tired. But my mom is nothing if not persistent, and assured us that if we waited, something good would happen. We crawled under our blanket on the sand and my dad got the Coleman cook stove from the car. He made one of the best tasting breakfasts I can ever remember. White rice with curry in it. We ate it in mugs, all curled up under our picnic blanket. 

Then, something good did happen. Remember that storm? Well the sun actually had come up, even if we didn't see it, and we got to watch the storm out over the ocean. It was one of the prettiest sights I can remember. We could see every swirl of the clouds, and even the rain as it came down, all miles away. It was amazing. 

I guess I did learn something. I learned that the simplest joys are the best. And I learned that my mom has good ideas, even if they do involve getting up at 3 am.

things I learned while trucking

When I was a little girl, my dad drove a semi for a living. We didn't get to see him a lot, so during the summer, my sisters and I would take turns and go trucking with Dad. We were usually gone about 2 weeks, and we traveled all over the country during that time.

Here are some of the things trucking taught me:

1. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Some of the nicest people in the world are truck stop regulars, and they look terrifying. I remember a guy in Florida who gave me a raisin box full of real shark teeth while I waited for my dad to finish tarping a load. I was a bored little girl and he took the time to stop and entertain me for a bit. I still have those teeth.

2. Sometimes you have to take the scenic route. This is a beautiful country, with some of the prettiest places you'll ever see. Go for a drive, look out the window, stop at the rest stops, enjoy the beauty around you.

3. The best place to eat in Louisiana is the Tiger truck stop. Its a tiny little truck stop/restaurant right off I-10; the owners of the truck stop have live tigers in pens right there on the lot. Get the Crawfish Etouffee. Oh my heavenly stars, it is amazing!

mmmmmmmm

4. Follow the rules of the road. My dad told me enough stories about bad wrecks he's seen to teach me that no matter how annoying I may find the rules, they are for our safety.

5. Ricky Skaggs is a musical genius.

6. My dad is also a genius. Seriously. Close your eyes, point to a random spot on a US map, and my dad can tell you how to get there, right down to the exit number.

7. If you eat a chocolate yoohoo and a crawfish meat pie in one sitting, you throw up.

8. My dad doesn't like it when you throw up right outside the door of the truck.

9. Embrace your weirdness. There is a phenomenon that is not widely known, called "trucking personality." I'll explain. When one is stuck in the cab of a semi for 2 weeks, one begins to lose one's mind. To keep sane, we develop trucking personality. Everyone's trucking personality is different. Daisy talked nonstop, Jeannine read book after book, Carrie sang at the top of her lungs, and I just became weird. Really weird.

10. My dad loves me a lot. He let me spend 2 weeks every summer crammed in his truck, hogging all the room, eating his food, drooling on his pillow, and he never complained.