Broken Caffeine Addiction!

I did it!

Hallelujah!

I broke my caffeine addiction!

On Friday of last week I ran out of Mountain Dew.  So, on Saturday there was no caffeine to be had.  I felt like it was a sign.  It was a sign that it was time to give it up. 

And besides, it was hot outside, which meant that it would be hot in my car, which meant I would be halfway to the gas station before it got cool.  And me being one who has become a lover of air conditioning and ceiling fans, decided that maybe I could be tough enough to withstand a few headachs.

But I didn't get a headach.

I went to sleep instead.

I know, that's lazy of me.

But I didn't get a headach.  And those of you who know me, know that when I get a headach it's usually a killer.  So, when I felt the headach coming on I just laid down and took a nap!

I already feel healthier!

I can even talk about it now without salivating!

Uh oh!  I'm thirsty, I better go get a glass of water.

Water, Yummy!

Amy

I am still here!

Ok, so I didn't forget about you, I have just had a whirl wind week.

1. I'm Caffeine free! (and no headaches)
2. I took dinner to the field twice!
3. I'm making stuff for the craft fair.  (I may regret that wild hair.)
4. I'm doing P90X every morning.
5. We're putting down anhydrous.  I'm using we very loosely
6. I gave the dog a bath.
7. I swept the floors.  (seems to never make a difference because as soon as I finish someone comes in and the wind blows the dirt back!)

I can keep going with this, but I think you get the picture

Love Amy

Cool Video

My husband LB is a Farmer.

Which should explain why I chose Farm Girl...

But, he is also the Vice President of one of our Local Banks.  And last week he had a commercial made for our town website.

 I thought I might share the video with you:  First National Bank & Trust.  (That's LB in the Blue and White Polo shirt)

Enjoy!

Sunday Sermon

When I was a little girl, my mother had me memorize this particular verse:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  - Philippians 4:8 KJV

Well, it's been on my mind lately and I've been trying to recommit it to memory.  (I started this even before what I'm getting ready to share with you.)

A couple of weeks ago, our preacher preached a message called thinking "God Thoughts".  That message definitely spoke to me, especially since I'd been going over this verse again.  I've been trying harder than ever to keep this verse on my mind and control my thoughts.  And I just wanted to share a few notes from the sermon with you.

Reference Verses:

     2 Corinthians 10 :  3 - 5

     Isaiah 55 : 9

*If we control our thoughts we will handle situations differently, we will understand how to pray more effectively, & our priorities will become clearer.

*Genesis 45 - Look how Joseph handled the situation with his brothers.  If he hadn't had good thoughts he would not have been able to tell his brothers what he told them.

I challenge all of you guys to pay more attention to what you think, listen to, read etc...  And see if you can start finding the good in everything.

Your Farm Friend

Amy

Favorite Quote #4

Wouldn't it be nice if we could give without remembering,

and receive without forgetting?

                                                                       -Anonymous

The Chandor Gardens

My nieces had been telling me about the Chandor Gardens ever since we arrived at their house.  They wanted to show Little Sis and me the really long fish (Koi) that were bright orange!  It rained the day we had originally planned on going, so when we finally got to go it was hot and humid and sticky, but it was worth it!

It was a beautiful garden.  It was built by Douglas Chandor of Weatherford, Texas in 1936.  After he passed his wife kept the gardens open to the public for the remainder of her life.  Then the care was passed on to the City of Weatherford.

The gardens were beautiful and well worth the trip to see them.

My nieces showing me the "really long fish"!

One of the two waterfalls.

If you're ever in the Weatherford, TX area, I suggest you take time out of your day to stop by here, I know you'll enjoy it; I did!

Your farm friend,

Amy

Shopping In Fort Worth!

Our next adventure, SHOPPING!

My older sister decided that she would take all of us girls shopping in Ft. Worth.  I for one, was very excited!  I live in a small town you see, and shopping is a planned luxury.  Now don't get me wrong, I go to Wal-mart and a few other clothing stores, but we have to go to the big city to get anything special. 

So, the next morning we get up, get dressed, tell the guys goodbye, and head out.

My nephew was not to happy about this. 

His Aunt, my Little Sis, thought it was funny, but we were determined to not let his pitiful face stop us.  We went ahead and left him with his daddy.

Our first stop was to be at a place called Sam Moon.  I had never heard of this place but I was rarin' to go.  We got in the car, and Big Sis, entered the name in her GPS thing (what are these really called?) and hit go.  That's when it all started...

It should have only taken about 30 minutes for us to get to Ft. Worth, but after 30 minutes we were still driving.  We got to our exited and when we went to exit it was closed.  Well, that just confused our GPS even more and took us all over, and under, and around and before we knew it we were in Dallas.  Dallas was farther East than we intended to go, especially since our starting point was West of Ft. Worth!  But lo and behold we made it to Sam Moon, just in the wrong town.

If you have never been to that store you need to go.  I could have spent thousands of dollars in there, but I practiced restraint and I made it out of there with $30 dollars less than I began with.  They have purses, headbands, jewerely, travel bags, and hair pieces.  All at afordable prices.  I bought 4 of the cutest headbands for only a $1.00 a piece.

Once we finish at Sam Moon, we head back to Ft. Worth to finish our shopping.  Next stop, Hobby Lobby.  Just as long as it is in Ft. Worth!  So, we are on the road once again, and this time our GPS is taking us to the right place.  We're all happy and talking and switching around our stuff into our new purses; all is good.  Then, suddenly, for no reason at all, the GPS turns off! 

Now, none of us has any idea where we're going.  We try everything we can think of to get the GPS to come back on.  Nothing works.  So, My Big Sister decides that we'll exit at the next exit and find someone to give us directions. 

We exit.  And as we're sitting at the stop sign, waiting for our turn to go, we see it.  The Hobby Lobby Sign!  Somehow or another we accidentely found the store.

So, good, we are not lost, we're at the store we want to be at, in the town we want to be in, but don't worry our crazy day isn't over yet.  The weather decides that it wants to monsoon rain on us!  Yes, you read it right.  We are sitting in the car trying to decide if we should wait for it to let up or not.  Big Sister is on the phone with her  husband who is checking the weather, he says it's just a small thunder storm and that it would be better for us to stay there and shop while the storm passes. 

Well, it doesn't look like it is going to let up any time soon, so we make a run for it.  My sisters each grab one of my nieces and we take off.  We were just a few parking spaces from the front doors and we still got soaked.  It was raining so hard, the water didn't have time to run off the parking lot so it was a good 3 inches deep, and the wind was blowing!  We were thoroughly soaked.  But we're girls and that didn't affect our shopping.  (What we go through to get a good deal!)

So, we shopped out the storm and decided that we had had enough excitement for one day.  We all loaded up in the car and headed back home.  Thankfully the rest of the evening was uneventful.

Tune in tomorrow and I'll tell you about the Chandor Gardens!

Your Farm Friend,

Amy

The Frank Buck Zoo

Our first adventure consisted of going to the Gainesville, TX zoo.  I really liked this zoo.  It wasn't a big zoo; there weren't any lions, tigers, penguins or elephants, but I think that is one of the reasons I liked it so much.  It was small.  You could make it through the entire zoo in one afternoon without having to rush to see everything and without being shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of people.  It was very enjoyable.  I highly recommend going to this zoo if you are in the Gainesville area.

Another reason I enjoyed this zoo so much, is because it was very hands on.  We actually got to feed the Giraffes! 

My nieces and nephew loved it!

There was also an elk the we were able to feed, but I accidentally had my camera on the wrong setting so those pictures won't be posted.

Then we made it to the goat pen.  Let's just say that this was probably the highlight of the day...

In addition to feeding all of the different types of animals; all the animals were close.  They weren't in such large pens that they looked like dots.  A few of the pens even had viewing points on platforms out in the pens that you get to by way of bridges. 

 

By the end of the day we were tired, sunburned, and hungry, but it was an evening well spent.  We all had a great time, but it was just the beginning of a fun packed weekend!  Check in tomorrow to hear about our shopping experiences.

The End!

Road Trip!

Left:  Me - Middle:  My Older Sister - Right:  My Little Sister

The three red headed kids belong to my Older sister.

I have two sisters.  One older and one younger.  My older sister has 3 kids and my younger sister is just recently married.

Yes, I am a middle child; and I have middle child syndrome!

Every year the three of us get together for a weekend and have sister time.  This year it was my older sister's turn to host.  She has recently moved to Texas, so we were going to get to see her new house!  Which, by the way, was very nice, and, as always, decorated really neat!  She had a very exciting weekend planned for us.  We were going to go to the zoo, shopping, an outdoor garden, and a craft fair.

I met my Little Sis in the City and we drove down to Texas Thursday morning and we came home late Saturday night.   Now that I'm home, I'll be sharing my adventures with you over the next few days.  Check back often!

Your farm friend,

Amy

Deep Rooted Caffeine Addiction

I've been trying to shake the caffeine habit.  I really have. 

I've tried to stop it completely; but that didn't work. 

So, now I've tried to at least cut back.  How's that working for me?  Well, I haven't cut back as much as I'd like, but I definitely drink less now than I used to.  Most days I have only one can instead of two.

But, yesterday I noticed something.  It's wasn't something that I didn't know was there, because I was the one that put it there.  But, I think it definitely might have something to do with my craving caffeine.

I Have decorated my kitchen like this:

and this...

and this...

and this...

and this isn't even all of them. 

I am tempting myself!  How am I supposed to cut caffeine out of my diet if I have to stare at these pop bottles every day?  I don't want to get rid of my pop bottles.  They are fun! (and honestly they are a part of our history.  I have some pop bottles that are dated all the way back to 1928.)  So, why would I want to get rid of them? 

 If I don't get rid of my pop bottles and I want to stop being tempted, then the only thing left to do is stay out of the kitchen. But then that means - are you ready for this?- if I stay out of the kitchen, I can't cook any more! 

This could possibly cause a chain reaction.  If I can't cook, then I don't have to clean up the kitchen.  Which means I'll have 2 extra hours a day to do what I want.  Which means LB won't ever have supper.  Which means LB won't be happy....

I think I had just better leave things the way they are.

Besides, all this thinking is making my head hurt.  I better go get a Coke!

A Funny Word

Zerk:

I think this word is so funny!  I'm not really sure why I think it is so funny, But I do!  Believe it or not this is a real word.  Webster's dictionary defines Zerk as:  a grease fitting.

Every time I hear the word Zerk I want to giggle!  

I see these grease fittings quiet often.  LB and my brother-in-law, The Mechanic, use them all the time when they are servicing the machinery.  A Zerk is what you attach a grease gun to, to get grease into the joints. 

I took the liberty of taking a picture of some Zerks so that you would know what I'm talking about.

These are spare Zerks; in case one needs to be replaced.  These are still clean and shiny.

This is what a Zerk looks like on machinery.  I even cleaned it so it would actually look like something instead of a brown dot. 

Well, You guys enjoy the funny word!

Now, I'm going to go grease something!

P90X

I signed up for a membership to the local gym here in my town.  I don't know what I was thinking because, you see, I've become soft.  I like sitting on the couch.  I like staying inside in the nice cool air conditioning.

Now don't get me wrong.  I like being outside too.  I like going to the farm and doing yard work, but who doesn't like to sit in the recliner with their feet up drinking a glass of lemonade on a hot day?

Back to the gym. 

So, I've been going to the gym for about a month now.  I have usually been going in the mornings; but a couple of days ago I wasn't able to make it until after dinner.  And come to find out there is a group of ladies that meet in the evenings to do the p90x workouts.  They invited me to join them and it sounded like fun so, I jumped in. 

Let me just take this moment to say, for one hour, I died a slow painful death! 

Six years ago I could have done this workout with flying colors.  Well, maybe not flying colors, but I definitely wouldn't have been dizzy, and short of breath, and shaking, and in need of water...

It felt good to have a good workout.  I was motivated with these other ladies.  I feel this workout helped me more than anything I had done the month before.  I needed this if I'm going to get back in shape and loose weight.  At least that's what I keep telling myself;  but I am here today to tell you get ready to feel the burn!

Yesterday morning I didn't want to get out of bed.  I wanted LB to bring me an ice pack.  One that was the size of my body.  Then I wanted him to tell me that he would wait on me hand and foot until my muscles were better and I could move without pain.  But he didn't he just looked at me and said "I have no sympathy for you.  You're the one who decided to do the workout."  Then I said "Fine!"  and I got out of bed (very slowly) and went grocery shopping.

If you're looking for a good workout, I suggest the P90X.