Rocky Ford's Famous Watermelon Day

One of my dear mom's claims to fame is creating a drawing of her high school mascot...the Rocky Ford Meloneers!! Now, back in the day, no one knew what a Meloneer was, exactly, so she helped to put a face on the name. I'm not sure if this is her drawing, or if it's been updated in the last 30 some years, but take a look:When I think about my childhood, I have fond memories of taking trips down to southeastern Colorado to Rocky Ford...a small town about 50 miles out of Pueblo. Now, when I say small...I mean SMALL. The only place to eat there is Pizza Hut or Sonic. Not even a McDonald's. Now, if you drive about 10 miles south, you can find a few more luxuries like a Village Inn and Wal-Mart, but don't get too excited, La Junta isn't big either. When I go there, I feel this responsibility to spend as much money as I can in order to help their economy. It may not be much money, but it's more than they'd get normally anyhow. To put things into perspective...you can buy a HOUSE for anywhere between $20,000-$80,000. Nope, that's not a typo...$20k will get you a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom ranch-style house. It'll be a little work to get it in shape, but honestly, that wouldn't cost too much either!!

Now, I'm not exactly sure what made me want to go to Rocky Ford for the 129th Annual Arkansas Valley Fair, but I just had a hankerin' to go down for the weekend with my family. So, we all piled up into the stylish mini-van for a 4 1/2 hour drive. The rain during our drive was horrific...both ways!

But we made it, and we got to see lots of family that we hadn't seen in nearly 8 years! It was so strange!! It was great to see familiar faces though, and not so familiar faces (like meeting new cousins, a new wife of a cousin, etc.). A face I won't forget though was one of those strangers in a crowd. The long flowing locks immediately grabbed my attention...yes, an MIA (Mullett In Action). Next, the facial hair added an unique twist of Red Neck-age that I hadn't ever seen before. Check out this work of beauty:





Yes, yes.....












I know....INCREDIBLE!

Anyhow, before we actually went to the Watermelon Day gathering, we went to breakfast at this relic cafe. Let's just say that restaurants try to 're-make' the atmosphere of this cafe. When my family (all of us city folk) walk in, everyone just turns around and stares at us all. It was quite un-nerving at first, but then we got a table and they all stopped staring at us. The decore is literally still hanging from the 60's. Nothing has probably changed there in over 30 years (including the owner). HOWEVER, the food and service were outstanding! I had the most amazing biscuits & gravy with hasbrowns and bacon EVER. You look around and the place is filled with farmers, cowboys, and folks without teeth...and the bar area is prestine and exactly how any breakfast cafe should serve its delicious classic, home-style feast. I mananged to catch a few shots from our time there....check this out...the Lone Cowboy as I like to call it:

Notice the original upholstry on the chairs. Yup...that's just amazing!

Now, the rest of the day was full of corndogs, carnival rides, and of course, watermelon! We got to spend time as a family, and it was totally great! It was a perfect little get-away for the weekend, and I would suggest everyone should take time to get back to their family's roots every now and again. I also claimed lots of cows, sheep, goats, horses, etc. during the continual game of "All my cows (fill in the appropriate animal name)!!!" I got an awesome t-shirt that says, "Rocky Ford, Colorado...World's Melon Capital." I really wanted the shirt that said, "Rocky Ford, Colorado...Small Town, Big Melons," but they were all out of that one. Maybe next time...

CUPCAKES!

DOING WHAT YOU LOVE!

So, here's a cool cat who's managed to make his art into clothing and wearable merchandise! I think this is one of the coolest things ever! Go see Johnny's Cupcakes QUICK! My favorites are the Panda and the Statue of Liberty, but there are many to choose from! Which is your favorite??

I hope to do this kinda cool stuff someday...

Speaking of cupcakes, I think I'm going to make some today! YUM!!

The Devil Wears Prada

So, I got to see The Devil Wears Prada this weekend. I admit, I have not read the book, so I am of little expertise to describe the differences or "pros/cons" of the movie vs. the book. However, I would have to give the movie a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was entertaining...but I still have a hard time seeing a person's life focus be on things such as shoes/bags/jewelry, etc. It was kinda sickening to think about...truly. But oh well...the movie is just a movie.

But, let's just *really* think about how fashion plays a role in our lives...reallly.

My Pictures up-loaded!

Go here to find pictures I find the time to post!

Enjoy!

feeling beat down...

today, i feel tired of myself. ever have those days when you're like, "self...just go away." that's what today's about.

i forgot to put the emergency break on my car in the parking lot. it rolled...bumping into another car. "how far did it roll," you ask? well, i would estimate about 10 yards-leaving a scratch on my BRAND SPANKING NEW bumper that was just fixed due to another accident of bumping (not my fault though).

good news...didn't see any damage on the other car. but, still made me want to kick myself.

*sigh*

life...

Accents

I just had to throw this out there for everyone...

FACT: I absolutely LOVE accents when people speak! It's like an amazing button that someone pushes inside of me...and I melt. It can make the most physically unattractive person become gorgeous--all of a sudden. With the movement of their tongue, words come out of their mouth, and BANGO! Instant beauty.

However, this made me realize how shallow I really can be! I mean, God sees us for all of our beautiful parts...and even the parts that aren't so beautiful are gorgeous to Him. This is *really* how I want to see people.

Lord, give me your eyes that I might learn how to love as You do. Christ, send Your Holy Spirit so that I can have the foresight to love wholly and not piece-meal.

Amen.

911 Cover Up

Loose Change 2nd Edition - Korey Rowe / Dylan Avery / Jason Bermas After sitting and watching this whole movie, my stomach lurches at the thought of our government "creating" 9/11. However, I'm not dumb...something seemed fishy from the beginning. When I hear that companies such as Exxon Mobil are bringing in 414.54 Billion dollars year (more than 1 Billion dollars PER DAY), you have to wonder who's benefitting from our war-time ecomony. I'm not saying that I believe this video documentary as 100% legitimate information or THE TRUTH...I'm just saying, they bring up some really INTERESTING points that need to be examined further. And yet, who do we have 'examine' them? Honestly, the government can't be trusted for such a task. Can anyone say they would not have a biased opinion when it comes to the investigation of a multi-billion dollar roose created by the US government called September 11th? I think not... Perhaps we'll never know what really happened, but did you ever wonder how the passengers of the planes could make phone calls from their cell phones while flying thousands of feet in the air? My cell phone NEVER works on a plane...the battery dies because it spends the entire flight searching for service! Just something to think about....

a little more turtle action

I know, I know...I'm obsessed, but here's a little more awesomeness in terms of TURTLES!

A little old school...


A little new school...

FUN TRIP TO CALIFORNIA!

So, I just got in from a lovely and fantastic trip to California....Coronado was beautiful! I loved the weather...just my style ~75-80 degrees and a light breeze! I loved the beach...really my style~boarding and body surfing in the awesome waves! I loved playing in the pool...absolutely my style~a little volleyball game, laughing with friends, and being in the sun.

I decided after my trip, being a flight attendant is really not all that it's cracked up to be. I gotta find a different line of work. I did this really cool drawing for my flight attendant though. She said she might even get it as a tattoo! Talk about unexpected! It was cool...she suggested I become a tattoo artist! Wouldn't THAT be interesting??!!??