Kearney, NE

The fam & I just got back from 4 days in Kearney, Nebraska. The reason for our adventure four hours east was so the Mr. & I could partake in the annual NE District Minister's Winter Retreat. The girls got to miss 4 days of school. (Though, their backpacks weighed heavy with all the schoolwork they must do while ON this trip.) When we attended last year, it was a really hard trip. It was a horrible snowy yucky mess. PLUS, we had car problems, which left the girls & I trapped in the hotel room most of our days. This year, we had an excellent time!

The Mr. & I attended morning & evening sessions, engaging in really refreshing worship & listening to the speaker, Pastor Rod Loy, who was very chill & just a regular guy, passionate about God, & full of amazing stories. I felt very encouraged about our own passions in ministry, having a heart for young people & those young at heart. I could have listened to story after story after story. But, really, it just made me excited to tell my own stories someday. Stories of God-appointed moments. Impossible scenarios that cannot be explained without a bit of a miraculous ending. Stuff that makes your skin tingle & your heart thump. Stuff that makes you believe anything is possible, because, really, anything IS possible.

While in the hotel room the girls got to watch a marathon of "The Little House on the Prairie" episodes on television. (Loved it, but sooooo thankful we don't have cable.) We spoiled them with video rentals from Redbox. And they kept themselves quite occupied with the usual hotel pool & hot tub action, along with toys brought from home --& ALL that homework!!!

But this time around, we managed to find things to do OUTSIDE of the hotel as well...

The Big Apple Fun Center

The bestest fun the girls had was right across the street from our hotel, at The Big Apple Fun Center. (Wish someone woulda told us about this last year when we were stranded!) We paid for passes to play at Ballocity. We ran around, mostly with the place to ourselves, having an absolute BLAST! One of my friend's calls Ballocity a "McDonald's play area on crack". That is EXACTLY what it is. You can shoot foam balls from cannons & guns that are set up on any of 3 different levels. (I can attest that getting hit in the face stings a little.) My favorite thing to do was to lie underneath a giant vat of balls that dumps at different intervals. (I'm not so sure Zoey liked it.) The Mr. & I were climbing all over up in that play area too. We all pretty much squealed for 2 1/2 hours straight.
In the arcade, we not only got photo booth pics, but I won the jackpot in the Cyclone game! I was so proud as the machine spit out 140 tickets. (The Cyclone, or possibly called something else in other arcades, is a game of reflex. A light spins around the "board" & you have to tap your "buzzer" in a specific spot in order to win the jackpot.) I got skillz. The girls left with prizes: bottles of disappearing ink, plastic whirlygigs, tubes of green lipgloss, animal pencil toppers & eyeball poppers.
And I left feeling: awesome, & reminding everyone throughout the night how awesome I was.

The Cellar Bar & Grill

We happened to go to dinner on a night when United Way of Kearney volunteers were helping out the servers & hosts/hostesses to raise money. (I can see the Mr.'s blue shirt & blue jeans on the left in one of their facebook photos.) All tips went to the United Way. I thought that was cool! Our host, & UW volunteer, Ken Anderson, was the most jolly & welcoming person I've ever met that "worked" at a restaurant. The Cellar menus are huge & heavy & it was awkward as we sat around our little table with 4 of those wonky & weighted tablets.  The onion rings, served with ranch, are yummy. So that slightly made up for the cumbersome restaurant props. This is silly, but I always judge a restaurant on how good their ranch is. The Cellar's ranch is the good kind. Maybe only I know what that means. haha! I shared the 4 cheese (or 5 cheese?) ravioli with Zoey. It was just ok. I think I've watched too many "Kitchen Nightmares" episodes because I kept picking the place apart as Gordon Ramsay might have. (He would have had a FIT with those menus!) I WISHED I had ordered the Western Burger. The Mr. gobbled his up. It was voted the best burger in Nebraska by the Nebraska Beef Council. And it is SOOOOO delicious. I would know. I stole a bite. Pazely had the longest corndog on the planet. And she loved it.

Tru Cafe

My friend Sarah, a former Bridgeport neighbor who recently moved to Kearney, picked me up at my hotel. We ate lunch at a place she'd never been, but heard good things about. Tru Cafe, in downtown Kearney, is AMAZING!! I loved the mismatched table & chair sets scattered about the place. The atmosphere was one of those totally chill hangout places where you can eat lunch & then plant yourself for another hour or so. The whole bring-a-book-or-your-laptop vibe. And they often have live music events. It's just perfection. I enjoyed the best potato soup I've ever eaten, alongside a half chicken salad bagel-wich & iced tea. Yummers to the max. There are also some handmade items in a little room off to the side for sale. Handmade AND the best potato soup in my tummy? Score.

Wooly Mammoth Yarn Shop

My Knit Witz crew have been telling me about this shop for about a year now. I FINALLY got to step foot inside the place! It is so cool. And, it's just a couple blocks from Tru Cafe. I WISH I knew the name of the lady that was working there that day. She was so nice & so helpful. I even brought some Marina yarn from home & had her show me how to knit with it. I left there with some Bazinga yarn, in THIS color palette, & a skein of silk yarn from India, made from recycled sari's. It is so gorgeous!! (Most yarn shops will wind your skein into a ball if you ask!) I have no idea what I'm going to make from either yarn, but I wanted to leave with treats. And I did.

Barista's Daily Grind

Definitely great coffee. Friendly staff. And cozy spaces to sit. (Couch seating in coffee shops get great bonus points in my book. Coffee houses sans sofas are an anomaly.) Sarah & I both sipped on Moosetrack Mochas (chocolate, caramel & toasted marshmallow flavorings), & had a bit of a knit while we wasted away the last of her lunch hour(s) from work before we had to ske-daddle. The coffee was smooth, not like the bitter Starbucks flavor I so dislike. Served with a chocolate covered coffee bean sitting in a wee nest of whipped cream, right on top of the lid, over the sippin' hole. I've been on a spiced chai latte kick forevers. So, it's been a while since I've ordered a drink with any actual coffee in it. I was pleasantly surprised. And wished I lived closer. I'd be a customer for life.

On a side note: Of course, you know me & my camera. Snapping photos everywhere I go. The manager approached me & asked me what I was taking photos for. As I enter different establishments & places of business, I sometimes forget to ask if it's alright to take photos. Like then. I felt like a dork. But Ryan was cool once he found out that I am just a photog nut & a blogger. And not trying to steal their plans for a time travel contraption that is powered by  palatable roasted coffee beverages.

(Or am I???)

Pane Bello
We seriously lucked out with most of our eating choices while in Kearney. Pane Bello is an Italian eatery & bakery. They also serve coffees, make fresh breads & pastries daily, &, along with their lunch & dinner menu, serve breakfast all day. I had a halvesies of soup & a panini. The smoked gouda chicken panini was tasty, although the tomato bisque soup was just disgusting. It was watery, not like any bisque I've had & it had a strong taste of ham. Pazely had mac-n-cheese: so happy to see homemade mac-n-cheese served at a restaurant instead of the boxed Kraft kind that we usually see. Her side of choice was a chocolate chip cookie. Zoey chose the pepporoni pizza, which she loved. And we ordered a cookie for her as well. The cookies were SO DELISH! They are giant & soft & a fun after-meal dessert for the kids. Of course the Mr. & I couldn't leave without dessert of our own. We ordered 2 canoli's to go. We could only eat one. We saved the other one for later, inside our mini hotel fridge. (And then, when I felt like it was "later", I ate it. All by myself.)

There is SO much more to do in Kearney. We were sad to not make it the Children's Museum, & wished the weather was warmer for a visit to some of the nice parks in town. I would have loved to walk up & down the shops in downtown. And to have found more "gems" along the way.

I'm so thankful for a refreshing, energizing, inspiring trip.
I'm so thankful for fun with my fam.
Click HERE to view ALL the photos from our trip.
♥

Fort Collins Road Trip

Two friends & I headed out last Thursday morning for a trip to Fort Collins, CO. We left at 9am & got home at midnight!! I saw the Rocky Mountains on the way there & a super fantastic sunset on the way back. (That photo was not edited, by the way!) I had a checklist of "to-do's"---both necessary AND fun items included. And I got all them checked off, crossed out, & scribbled done. All except one item: I have had these certin socks for about 16 years (is that gross?) that I got from REI & they are the bestest! They are grey, but on the toe & heel, they are black with this extra cushy cushion-ness. Oh, they are so cozy! I wear them every winter & my feet & toes are happy when I do. But earlier this year they got their first hole. Sadness. I was too busy having fun at Barnes & Noble on our road trip to head next door to the REI. There's always shopping online I guess. (Which I do a LOT more now since moving to this small town.) But in this instance I need the touchy feeling sock moment before purchasing. Anyway, that was random.

Now for the pics!!



On the way to Ft. Collins we saw this vehicle. haha!



For lunch we ate a YUMMY restaurant: Five Guys Burger & Fries. SOOO tasty!! They dump the fries in your bag. It looks like a mess, but it was Oh. So. Delicious. They could have stacked the fries on my head & I would have still eaten 'em.





Though I'm a jumpy photo fanatic, I was stretched a bit by doing SUCH a public shot. But you know what? It wasn't bad at all!!!!

Sarah & I got Susan out of her sporty shoes, into some animal print high heels. Rowr!!!

I made a game of our shoe shopping moment. I think I found one of the ugliest pairs of shoes in the joint. Around the ankle are chains. Grody. I kept my socks on for the full dork effect.

Dressing room jumpy fun! Sarah, in the dressing booth next to mine, heard the jumping & hopping & giggles & said, "What ARE you doing??"

Those are Sarah's legs outside the dressing room. haha! I'm so happy to have friends that play along.

I combined 2 of my favorites: a photo booth & a jumpy photo.

I not only love this photo for obvious reasons, but I also love it because we are all 3 very different people & I just realized this pic shows our differences in a subtle way. Susan (on the left) is wearing jeans & some sporty casual shoes. I (center) am wearing Converse & high-cuffed jeans. Sarah (right) is wearing super cute & stylish gold sandals.

Even as we were shopping, we all had our stores we wanted to hit & places we wanted to see. As I walked into Michael's craft store, I softly sang a melody while lifting my hands towards heaven. I was at home.

Susan walked into REI. And she was home.

Sarah walked into this giant store with purses & shoes everywhere. She was home.



Tres nerds.

One of the things my gal pals were SURE to take me to was the Great Harvest Bread Company. Oh. My. Gosh. You walk in & you get a free slice of bread. And this is not wimpy slice. It was SO yummy! I purchased a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread (I think that's what it was? It was cinnamony & sugary & sweet & kinda gooey & really delicious.) From now on, wherever I go, I'm scouting out to see if there's a Great Harvest Bread Co.on my route!!

♥

Road Trip

Ok, I am about to fall over with sleepy-ness, but I wanted to write real quick. I cannot explain to you how tired I am. I have been working all day (& the past few days) on party prep stuff for Zoey's birthday bash this Saturday. People think I'm crazy to do so much, but I love it! It's exhausting AND happy work all wrapped up into one giant crafty bundle.

Anyway, I feel like this is the eve of Christmas. I get to wake up tomorrow & go on a road trip with 2 of my girlfriends! We're heading to Ft. Collins, CO for the day. It's not often that I get out of this small-town for big city adventures.

I expect silly & random & spontaneous &--OH! I can't wait!!

Extensive choices in shopping, dining & entertainment?? It'll be like a dream....

♥
Oh, & for some reason I can't get pictures off my camera card onto my computer, which is why my iphone has been providing the visuals these past few posts. This particual photo is from the bathroom in McDonald's yesterday. (Zoey's real birthay was yesterday.) I picked her up at school with eight big rainbow colored balloons. Mr. WhiMSy love didn't think I should do that. He thought she might get embarrassed. But she came running out, beaming & excited at the balloon welcome. I later found out that it was the HUBBY who was the embarrassed one. Whatev. haha! Zoey had gifts waiting for her at home & then we went to the mall so Pazely could pick out a prezzie for her sister: a diary with lock & key!! (Sweet!!) And then it was on to McDonald's for dinner. (Zoey's choice.) And then home for a bedtime story. We finished up Charlie & the Chocolate Factory & THEN we read the missing chapter from that book that I recently ordered. ("Spotty Powder") A fun-filled birthday day for sure.

I'm Back. Bridgeport Style.

I'm back! For reals!! Ahhhhh....this feels absolutely wonderful! I have missed you blog & blog peoples!! Even though my iPhone has pacified my internet cravings, THIS feels stinkin' AWESOME!! Howsabout a picture???? Or 50?????

Sit back, yawn if you want, & get ready for sharin' time. Here's the "Travelin'" portion of my photos:

Cheeto Walrus Teeth (anything to help pass the time, ya know?)

We were so amazed by the beautiful sky. Especially on the first day. I tried capturing the rays of light shining through the clouds, but my point-n-shoot can only capture so much.

Despite catching the electricity pole in the photo while driving, the sky at sunset was AMAZING. We couldn't stop oohing & aahing!

The windmills were rather majestic. I had never seen any upclose before. Look at that little fence post in the forground to get a  better clue of the massiveness of those things!! It sounds odd, but they were breathtaking.

The long road ahead. Rather daunting.

We hit some snow on one of our stops. I really had no idea where we were half the time. But the girls LOVED it!

I was so in love with the minute detail of every single snowflake. I tried capturing some on my black glove. Look at the perfection!

Cheese. I didn't cut it.

Rest stop jumpy action. Getting the wiggles out after being cooped up in a car.

Zoey joins in on the action. Lovin' those purple toilet stall doors!

One more before we hit the road for another few hundred miles!

Wyoming Maps.

Some rather awesome seats outside a Subway somewhere in either Wyoming or Nebraska.

Wish this were a better photo. The white snow covered hills blending in with the white windmills was so cool looking!!

Abe-tastic! We stopped--in 1 degree weather to see this giant bronze statue of Abe Lincoln's head. I was so cold I cannot even describe it.

Nebraska scenery.

Me & my new house. I keep thinking how funny it will be when the "locals" see me hopping around town. haha!

The upstairs is now officially unpacked. And I unpacked my first box from the art studio tonight. The mannequin head residing in that box TOTALLY FREAKED ME OUT! I seriously jumped back & felt my heart shoot through my chest. So my advice is: if you're packing mannequin heads (or heads of any sort really) LABEL the boxes.

More tomorrow!

♥

My Weekend.

What a really nice trip I had. It was an all-day-Saturday, very tiring, emotional event. My brother & sister & I traveled in the morning by the light of the moonlight. (Yes. THAT early.) At the top of Snoqualmie Pass we made a stop---as is our family tradition whenever we travel this way. Mostly we have to pee anyway, but even if we don't, we get out to ooh & aah & enjoy the beauty. (The top picture was created using Tiltshift Maker. It makes "miniatures" out of your pictures. Thanks Rachel at One Pretty Thing for sharing this!)

My sis & I had to pee so bad, but when we walked into the women's bathroom & heard a MAN coughing-- we RAN (!) out of there as fast as we could. HAHA! After the man walked past us, we BURST into giggles. Look at the view from the bathroom!

In the parking lot, beside us was this HILARIOUS sight. It's a car rack shaped like a giant foot wearing a giant flip-flop. On the side it reads "My Bunion is Burning". And, sure enough, I noticed the large painful protruding bunion. HAHA!Seeing my dad in the hospital was quite hard. But it gave me such relief to be with him. He was quite loopy from all the drugs. We did have a lot of laughs! And I can't wait to tell my dad all the funny stuff he said when he gets all better. The hardest part was leaving my parents. My mom is able to stay at the Fisher House there. What a NEAT home for families of veterans & those in the military. I'm VERY impressed & happy that she has an extremely comfortable place to stay. I was hoping the snow would fall so hard that the mountain passes would close & we'd be trapped in Seattle. But that's not what happened. Bummer.

On our way home we stopped at the Alpental Ski Lodge at the top of Snoqualmie Pass. We played in the snow & had a GREAT time! I didn't want to leave. This is the bridge that leads to the lodge & all the skiing. We didn't ski or snowboard, but had fun anyway. I only wish we'd packed a sled!

On top of the bridge we saw the most beautiful view of snowy trees, & a stream running underneath. Giant snowflakes were falling from the white, white sky. It was so magical & wonderful & lovely & magnificent. And, of course, my simple point-n-shoot camera can't explain it well enough either.

A fire-pit was set up outside. What a cool place this was. I loved watching all the tiny skiers bundled in turtlenecks, puffy winter pants, stomping clumsily around in their ski boots. Reminded me of winters with my family when I was a kid.

I was given this link by Nic & thought I'd share it with you: A project called Spirit Jump connects a person battling cancer with a gift giver. A small act of kindness to lift someone's spirit. It could be a card, something handmade, anything really. I think this is so amazingly neato. Click the 'Spirit Jump' link to read more about this super cool idea!

A Weekend Away...

I'll be gone this weekend on an adventure of sorts. My sis & bro & I will be leaving at 5 in the MORNING (?!!!?!) tomorrow on our way to Seattle (a 3 1/2 hour drive on a good weather day) to see our dad, who just had surgery. Cancer sucks & it's definitely taken our family on a little ride. The rollercoaster kind. And I hate rollercoasters.

Despite our reasons for traveling, the 3 of us are very excited about hanging out (without spouses or kids) & just being together. We're all in our 30's now & I can't even remember the last time it was just "us". Maybe never?

The mountain passes have been closed due to weather & avalanche warnings. Thankfully they've opened up & we can squeeze on through.

Thanks so much to all my blog friends, Etsy friends & Twitter friends who've sent prayers & well wishes. It really means a lot to me--& to my family.

And you better believe I'm packing a GIANT bag of crafty things to do. (**To view one of the projects I'll be working on, see & click photo up top**) Although, me + cars usually = sleepy girl. I've always been that way. My sis has already said she's planning on keeping me awake the WHOLE time. But 5 AM??!! Hey, maybe I'll get a random burst of inspiration at that time----a morning hour I rarely see. I doubt it though. I'm pretty sure I'll be in some sort of daze or tired stupor. Or sleeping with my eyes open just to appease my sister.

I'll be back Monday.

Happy Weekend!

Weekend Recap!

Hi blog peeps! I had a really nice weekend road trip to Lewiston, Idaho with the fam! The girls were on their best behavior, so that was a MAJOR bonus!

I got away on Saturday with my friend Tara & we went to a few antique-ish/thrifty spots. I got some fun vintage stuff I plan to put in the shop this week.

I even saw a beautiful rainbow!

Look! Here's another boring scenic photo!

Do any of you have a flickr account? I do. But, it's been pretty stale & unused for a long time. I just recently had the urge to get it going again. I've had a problem with my computer being OVERLOADED with pictures, so I think I'll take advantage of flickr's "pro" account & save my computer's memory--(a HUUUUGE pet peeve of Mr. WHiMSy love's!) There is so much inspiration on flickr anyway, so it'll be another fun resource! YAY for organization!

I have sent a message to those that won the bottlecaps in the drawing last Friday. But, I have no way of contacting two of the winners: Stabitha & Bethany D. Please contact me with your addresses so I can mail your super duper prize!

**UPDATE: All the winners bottlecaps (except the above mentioned) will be mailed out Tuesday the 15th!