Earth Hour

Untitled from Junebug57 on Vimeo.

Four Wheeling Heaven

With me driving my own four-wheeler, I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked.  It was impossible to get any action shots or riding trails.  A couple of my friends will have some action shots that I can borrow later.  Here my hubby and I are at Little Missouri Falls.  This day turned out to be beautiful and sunny in the afternoon.
This lake was beautiful and big.  There is a fisherman and his dog that pulled up when we were eating our lunch.  I have some more shots of him later.  That dog was a real fisher!  
The fog was thick this morning as we rode.  It started to burn off in a few hours.
A little rain must fall even on my lens.  oops!  This is Sugar Creek overlook.
This was a small cave.  The water flowing in these creeks was extremely cold.  But it made some beautiful music as we rode along.  There were great big ferns growing and little wild flowers everywhere.  We could even tell the direction north by the moss growing on the trees.  

I Wear My Helmet!

It was pretty cold this day but we had the best time.  It's not too hard to dress warmly in layers and shed them when it warms up.  This is at the top of an area called Sugar Creek overlook.  We rode for miles and miles.  I honestly can say that I have never in my life had this much fun.  I mean outdoors, wind on your face, sailing along the road, climbing up mountains, eating a packed lunch outdoors, crossing creeks, and being with good friends, what more could you ask?  It's like being a kid again having outdoor adventures.  Fresh air is not highly overrated.  It's priceless.  

Greetings from Arkansas

An old rock tower at the top of the mountain.  (and Pamela, I do wear my helmet when riding my ATV)  :D

Wordless Wednesday-On Fire

For more Wordless Wednesday look here. 

(We're back from trip and I will post photos soon.)

Spring Break

We're headed for Arkansas tomorrow for spring break.  It will be so good to get away with some friends.  We'll be staying in three bedroom/three bath cabins that have fireplaces, hot tubs, and grills.  Also all the amenities of home to use.  We most likely will be eating out every evening, but we might choose to grill sometime.  There is a lake and marina.  We will be taking our four wheelers out every day.  We won't be far from Crater of Diamond State Park.  I have so over packed but we don't know what weather to expect and I have plenty of room in our Tundra.  We'll return next week and I will post photos and videos.  

Income Tax

Here begins my little rant:

I always put off rounding up my income tax information to take to the CPA because we always have to pay.  I avoid it as long as possible. I don't mind paying the government for their job of governing and the freedoms we enjoy in this country.  

BUT...

I don't like the idea of redistributing my wealth to bailout Wall Street and whatever else the government tacks on to it.  My husband and I work hard for our money and I don't mind sharing with the poor and needy, but I don't enjoy paying for unnecessary spending and funding people who buy houses above their means and expect the government to bail them out.  (or banks that were predators in lending)

We are very fortunate to have our house paid off.  Our vehicles are paid in full.  We do not have credit card debt.  Two of our children are in college and that is paid in full.  Our oldest daughter has graduated from private college and that is paid in full.  We are very fortunate to be in this position.  

When I think of the term "paid in full", I must tell you that I am reminded of our salvation which is paid in full.  I also must admit that everything we have been given is from God.  

Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

So there you have it.  A political and religious post all in one!  What is the world coming to?  It makes me wonder how far down the road to socialism is the United States?  We may find our tax bracket increasing to 39.6% with the Obama administration this year.  We already pay 5.7% state income tax in Oklahoma.  We also pay 9.25% sales tax on most everything we buy, including groceries.  Our gasoline is taxed at a rate I don't even know.  We give at least 10% of our money to the church and a few charities.  We also pay for all of our own health insurance and health care.  We can't even deduct that 100%.  We find ourselves in the middle where we make too much to get any breaks or tax credits and not enough to get any breaks or loopholes like the rich.    Adding together federal and state and contributions we get about 44.7% left for ourselves.  I hope that President Obama does not retroactively take back our tax cuts (?) from the last few years we supposedly received from the Bush administration.  I read in Obama's programs listed before he was elected that he intended on asking Americans to give back those tax cuts.  If he is asking, then I guess I will just say "no."  

Does anyone understand why everyone paying the same percentage of their income on taxes wouldn't work?  Just a flat rate for everyone?  

I apologize for the soap box.  I will now step off it.

Lunch with Swampy

What a great delight to get to meet and visit with Swampy and her Little Miss P.  We had lunch together at Frank and Lola's restaurant.
This is the very first time I have been able to meet another blogger.  I tried to find a way to meet Bossy but it didn't work out.  I must tell you that after 1-1/2 years of reading Swampy's blog and her comments to others and me, I felt completely at ease.  It was like meeting someone you already knew to some degree.  She made me feel very welcome and we visited and had lunch together with Little Miss P.  I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did.  It certainly made my day!  It's such a small world after all.  When you think of all the people that are connected to other people, really we are just degrees away from knowing many people.  

Something funny that we have in common is my nickname and her dog's name, Junebug.  My middle name is June and my dad always called me Junebug.  My mother's middle name is June also, but at least she was born in June.  I passed the middle name on to my oldest daughter too.  

Now isn't everyone envious that I was able to meet Swampy?  If you noticed that road trip she made recently I think half the country could have met her!  (ha ha)  I count myself lucky and can't wait to see her again someday.

Super Heroes Unite!

My Super Hero self.  You can make your own at The Hero Factory.

Wordless Wednesday-Like Mother, Like Daughter

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Like Grandmother, Like Granddaughters

Look here for more Wordless Wednesday.

P.S.  I will tell you about the two beautiful people I met yesterday.  You'll recognize them too.  It was a wonderful day!

Ride Like the Wind?

My very own four-wheeler. This is what I have been doing this past week. Learning to drive my four-wheeler.  I bought a green Honda Saturday.  We are going to take our four-wheelers to Arkansas next month with a few couples.  Our pastor has dubbed us the "Scorpions."  They decided to make tee shirts for us to wear.  We went last year to Mena.  This year we are going to Daisy State Park near Kirby, Arkansas.  We have some cabins reserved.  We are so looking forward to getting away with our friends.  We'll be trail riding and going out to eat at nights.  We had a great time last year except I didn't drive my own, I rode on the back with my husband.  We went on some very advanced rider trails.  We shouldn't have but we did make it through without getting hurt.  This time I will be driving my own Honda so we won't be doing anything advanced.  I am a complete novice.  That is why I am practicing these next few weeks.  I certainly don't want to get injured.  That would not be fun!  They say practice makes perfect, but my band director always said perfect practice makes perfect!  I had every confidence in my husband's driving abilities.  Now I am trying to build my confidence in my own.  

This is some of the most fun I have had in years!  White water rafting was the most fun I ever had in 2007.  Last year four-wheeling was the best.  My grown children probably wonder what mom and dad are doing now that they are gone!  We're having fun!  

Here is a little sample of my progress!  This hill doesn't look very high on the video but it was daunting to me at first.  And it is higher than it looks.  It's probably 20 feet tall.  I brought my tripod out for this shoot.  (ha ha)


Untitled from Junebug57 on Vimeo.

Ride like the wind!!  

And The Winners Are...

Winners of the book giveaway are:

about the author- won by Pamela at The Dust Will Wait

The Reader-  won by Allison at Allison Says

Hannah Coulter-  won by Pat at Back Porch Musings

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered.  I used the Random Integer Generator for the results.  So few numbers, but it worked.

Winners please e-mail me with your snail mail addresses so I can get these books to your door.  My e-mail address is:  junebug57 @ gmail dot com

I will have another book giveaway soon.

Book Giveaway!

I want to give away these three books.  To enter, just leave a comment choosing which book you would most like to receive.  There will be three winners, one book each.  I will draw names to choose the winners.  Let me tell you a little bit about each book.

Hannan Coulter by Wendell Berry:  

Hannah is a member of Port William, Kentucky. She is twice widowed, alone, and in her seventies when she recalls her childhood, young love and loss, and raising children. She has strong opinions (some of the author) about old ways and how they should remain. It is interesting to get the insight of an older generation. It gave me some understanding and good thoughts to remember.  I liked the grandmother the most of all the characters in the book.  I think you will too.  

about the author by John Colapinto:  

"Just how did Cal Cunningham-a twenty-five-year-old bookstore stockboy who is new to Manhattan and who has never written anything---publish a bestselling novel that sells to the movies for a million dollars?" "About the Author" is his first-person account of how he performed this remarkable feat." This was a very readable book.  I was satisfied with the ending.  It is pretty explicit, just so you know.  

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink:  

"When fifteen-year-old Michael Berg falls ill on his way home from school, he is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover, enthralling him with her passion, but puzzling him with her odd silences. Then she disappears. Michael next sees Hanna when she is on trial for a hideous crime, refusing to defend herself. As he watches, he begins to realize that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder." Sounds pretty interesting, right?  It was a good book, easy to read quickly.  I was not happy with the ending though.  Quite a few things made me wonder.  Sexually explicit.  The setting is Germany several years after WWII.  It involves a moral dilemma.  I hope to see the movie sometime in the future.

Please tell me in the comments which book you would like and I will set a deadline of next Monday evening.  

*Time's up.  I will post the winners tomorrow.  Thanks for entering.  

Fun Monday-The Foot Challenge

Fun Monday

Gattina at Writer's Cramp is the hostess with the mostest this week:

Please show us what you wear on your feet inside your home ! Do you wear slippers, flip flops, shoes or nothing ? just take a picture and show us your feet !

I wear my comfy house shoes most of the time in the winter or my UGGs.  Most of the spring and summer I go barefoot.

Sweetheart Smoothie

Sweetheart Smoothie

Recipe from The Joy of Food by Kitchen Kimberley

Ingredients:

1 medium banana, cut into chunks

1 naval orange (see tips), peeled and sectioned

5 whole fresh strawberries, hulled

1 (8 oz.) container Hiland strawberry yogurt

1/2 c. Hiland orange juice

1/2 c. ice cubes

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in blender container.  Pulse, then blend until smooth.  Garnish with a whole fresh strawberry and share with your sweetheart!

Tips:

If you can find them, blood oranges would add extra tang and a nice, rich color to this smoothie.  Blood oranges are typically available around Valentine's Day.

For a variation, use light grape or cranberry juice in place of the orange juice.

Enjoy!

Fun Monday-Landmarks

Fun Monday is being hosted by Pamela of The Dust Will Wait.  She requests that we show her some landmarks of our hometown.  I have shown this landmark before so I will direct you to this post.  For more Fun Monday participants visit Pamela.

Wordless Wednesday-Tiffany

For more Wordless Wednesday go here.

Fun Monday-What Are You Reading?

AOJtheLurchers is the place to find all the Book Worms for Mon Funday. Clink the Link to find out who's reading what.

Here's the challenge: OK, I know that pretty much all of you out there are bookworms.

So for Fun Monday on 2nd February, firstly tell me what book you are reading now. What's it about? Are you enjoying it and why? If not, why not?

And secondly, if you were to be stranded on a desert island, what one book would you take with you.


I am reading a few books right now.
I am reading "Hannah Coulter" by Wendell Berry for a blog book club called Hannah Coulter Book Club for Copy Cats started by Lynn in Wi.  Hannah is a member of Port William, Kentucky.  She is twice widowed, alone, and in her seventies when she recalls her childhood, young love and loss, and raising children.  She has strong opinions (some of the author) about old ways and how they should remain.  It is interesting to get the insight of an older generation.  It gave me some understanding and good thoughts to remember.  


I am reading "About the Author" by John Colapinto for another blog book club called the PMS Book Club started by Holly of AFF.
I'll give you the back page:  "Just how did Cal Cunningham-a twenty-five-year-old bookstore stockboy who is new to Manhattan and who has never written anything---publish a bestselling novel that sells to the movies for a million dollars?"  "About the Author" is his first-person account of how he performed this remarkable feat."  It reminds me of the book "A Bear Went Over the Mountain."


I am reading "The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink.  I thought the movie looked interesting, so I decided to read the book first.  Then I will go see the movie.  Again, I will give you the back of the book description:  "When fifteen-year-old Michael Berg falls ill on his way home from school, he is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age.  In time she becomes his lover, enthralling him with her passion, but puzzling him with her odd silences.  Then she disappears.  Michael next sees Hanna when she is on trial for a hideous crime, refusing to defend herself.  As he watches, he begins to realize that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder."  Sounds pretty interesting, right?  


I am reading "Facing Your Giants" by Max Lucado for my Sunday School class.  I'm sure that everyone has heard of Max Lucado or even has had a yearly calendar with his quotes.  Here is the account from the book:  "David's life story is punctuated with nevertheless.  The runt of eight brothers, nevertheless, he was chosen to be the King of Israel.  Nicknamed "Twiggy" by his nine foot nine inch adversary, nevertheless, he slew Goliath with a strip of leather and a pebble.  As king, he committed the double crime of adultery and murder, nevertheless, he was called "a man after God's own heart."  Do you need a nevertheless to be written into your biography?  Fortunately, God has plenty to go around."
Also, if stranded on a desert island, I have to admit I would want the Bible with me.  Because I would be doing a lot of praying once there.  

For more Fun Monday participants, go here.

Operation Love Zimbabwe

Mozi Esmé

The day-to-day adventures of a 1-year-old American bebe growing up in Mozambique.
She and her mommy are having a two-week special on their blog so that more people will be aware of the things that are happening there. Please... go visit them and learn more about what is happening to the people of Zimbabwe.

I found this blog at Pamela's.  I think it is a wonderful thing.

Wordless Wednesday-Red is the Color

Red is the color.
For more Wordless Wednesday, looky here.

Warning: Christian content