Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Let’s go racing!

Sunday was a first. Our first NASCAR race in Kansas City.

Ronny and I have become NASCAR fans because our friends, Dustin and Shelley, got us started in a fantasy racing league. Ronny may have been a fan before that, but it kick-started us I guess. I wasn’t excited about doing this, but I wanted to learn more about NASCAR as part of my job is promoting ethanol and the NASCAR racecars have been running on E15 for the last two seasons. I wanted to know more about the sport so I could do a better job promoting it.

We took two buses of corn farmers and people in agribusiness from Lincoln down to KC on Sunday and my sister, Emily, met us there.

I hung around the American Ethanol tent in the midway for awhile, then met up with one of my best friends and avid race fans, Bailey and Michael|
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The racetrack buzz was really amazing. All of the people – I’m usually not a crowds person, but I felt fine and not claustrophobic walking around. We rented scanners and headphones so we could listen to the drivers and race announcers during the race. This was probably one of the highlights and I definitely recommend it if you are going to a race!DSC03110DSC03112

American Ethanol was featured on the back of the track.
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And Ronny was pretty much just like a kid in the candy store at the race. :)
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It was a beautiful, warm day and fun experience! DSC03116

Monday, October 22, 2012

Go K-State!

Ronny and I had the awesome opportunity to go to the Iowa State vs. Kanas State football game two weekends ago to cheer on our Cats.

My friend, Claire, is an Iowa State alum and invited us to come down and enjoy the festivities with her in Ames. We stayed with her Friday night and then left for tailgating at 5 a.m. Like early.in.the.morning. But we looked ready to go for the day considering the time!
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Why did we get up so early to tailgate? Because you have to get to the Tip Top bar by 6 am for chili and beer to avoid waiting in line! It was so funny to see the bar packed at 6 am – Claire said to get the whole Ames experience we had to go there. She was right!
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It was pouring rain in the morning, but we didn’t mind. We tailgated through it and found some really great Iowa State fans to talk with.IMG_0462[1]

Our friends Phillip and Lori came also and scored us free tickets into the game. We are blessed with some great friends!

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We also found Crystal sporting her purple and got a good chance to catch up with her. Lori and Crystal pulled out looking great in the rain! We also found my friend, Sara, but didn’t get a picture. :(IMG_0479[1]

It was a fun day and glad we could pull out a win! Our Iowa State friends were still nice to us after the game thankfully.
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Lastly, on a K-State note, if you haven’t yet, go check out the K-State Mask videos! Ronny doesn’t find them too funny, but I happen to think they are hilarious. Oh, and go #3 ranked K-State! 7-0!!!

Missing a cow?

This little bovine beauty showed up on our doorstep last night. Hmmmm is right.DSC03123

At first I thought this had to do something with Genex and Ronny’s work with dairy cows. But with no note or sign, I brought her inside for the evening. Anyone want to claim her? It really gave me a laugh to came home to last night, but is killing me to find out who put her there! :)

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Galena in the Fall

I’ll keep this mostly wordless for Wordless Wednesday. I was in Galena, Illinois last week for a work meeting. Beautiful country!

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Holy creepy white horse!DSC03078
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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Fall gourd decor

I shared last week that I did a DIY craft project with my gourds from my 2011 garden harvest. They have been drying and curing for over a year and I’ve made a few projects with them including these DIY birdhouses.

I started with this lineup in my backyard shed: gourds, cardboard & spray paint.
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The Rust-oleum paint I used  (gold, bronze and slate) left a hammered finish which I love.
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While I took a break to let the gourds dry, Ronny managed to steal the camera and snuck up on me as I finished up the last coat. Creeper! What is really funny is that I didn’t know about this picture until I was taking these photos off of my camera. :)
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When they were all dry, I incorporated them in my china hutch and centerpiece.
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I got the plate from a HomeGoods store when I was visiting my sister in Olathe.DSC03101

What do you think about my placemats? They were our 3rd – leather – wedding anniversary gift from my parents. Love ‘em, thanks Mom & Dad!
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The extra gourds that I spray painted may have shown up in other areas around the house. I decorated right before leaving for a work trip and Ronny called to tell me that gourds were poppin’ up everywhere!
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I love fall decorations.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

An October afternoon

This morning was pretty chilly, so I left Hank inside to stay warm. But boy, was he ready to play this afternoon when I got home! So we went for a walk in the field.
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And we explored. We found a golf ball and lots of curly-q corn leaves.
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And Hank sniffed just about everything.
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Then when we got home we did a craft project. More on that later!
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