I want my SMILE!

A normal part of my daily routine is to tune into Smile FM radio station. 88.7. Michigan's postive hits!

Literally, when I first shuffle down stairs in the darkness, I go right to the radio and turn it on. My station is there waiting for me. When I hop in the car, there it is again! Right there waiting for me! I literally think that station plays in my house all the waking hours of our day. The kids know almost all the songs. They are truly positive messages!

Well, then today happened! I turned the radio on, bright and early, and all I got in return was silence! The volume was cranked and the radio WAS plugged in. But, nothing! What in the world is going on, I thought!
When I got into the car to drive daughter to school I was presented with same quiet station. Grrrr!

I went to their website and saw that they didn't suddenly change station channels on me! They were still 88.7. I decided to call the radio station (I LOVE it THAT much!) and spoke with the man on the other end. He told me that there were outages in my area (really? ONLY THAT station, I thought to myself?!)

So here I am, in a quiet house and no radio on! It prompted me to go on youtube and find a song that I WOULD be listening to and share it here.

 

The group is Building 429 and the song is Where I Belong (which I am pretty sure is not in a QUIET house with no radio on! ) But any way, the song is awesome and it speaks to me everytime I hear it ON THE RADIO!!! Lol...



 

 

"Where I Belong"

Sometimes it feels like I'm watching from the outside
Sometimes it feels like I'm breathing but am I alive
I won't keep searching for answers that aren't here to find

All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

So when the walls come falling down on me
And when I'm lost in the current of a raging sea
I have this blessed assurance holding me.

All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

When the earth shakes I wanna be found in You
When the lights fade I wanna be found in You

All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong
[x2]

Where I belong, where I belong
Where I belong, where I belong

the Iditarod...

The Iditarod. I know this won't come as any great interest to many of you. But, for some reason it does for me, as well as my family.

 Known as "the last great race", the Iditarod 2012 began in Willow, Alaska last Saturday, March 3rd. Over 60 mushers with their dog teams set out; hoping to finish to the end.
 The race's history is an interesting one, at best. Each year, in early March, mushers and their dogs embark on an 1,049 mile journey, through excruciating conditions, from Anchorage Alaska all the way to Nome.

The race can go on for almost 2 weeks! Along the way the mushers make sure that the dogs are well taken care of. Those dogs just LOVE to run...

I have always had a great fascination with all-things Alaska,the Iditarod being no exception.

When me and the family had the awesome pleasure of visiting Alaska last summer, (see here and here) we stopped in Wasilla (yes, Sarah Palins home-turf.) Wasilla is home to the Iditarod Trial Race Headquarters.

Inside, it contains ALL things Iditarod. It was a fascinating place to visit.

[Joe Redington Sr. - Father of the Iditarod]





[our less than 1 minute dog sled ride...those dogs were FAST!]

                                                         [paw mits from previous sled dogs]               

Later on our trip, at our stop in Denali we learned even more about the power and necessity of these hard working dogs. Our tour guide, Jamie, explained all about how necessary these dogs actually are in the Denali National Park, as well as surrounding areas. No vehicles of any kind are allowed in the park in the winter; yet there are park rangers, field guides and other naturalists that still work and live there over the winter. The only way for supplies/food/ and other items to be delivered into the park and the several miles to where they need to be is with the help of the sled dogs. Without the hard work of these dogs there would be no way to get this job done.

You may or may not have heard the name Balto before? Well, he was the dog that became famous for traveling hundreds of miles to deliver a serum that would help stop the deadly diphtheria epidemic in Alaska. His heroic efforts are still near-and-dear to many people, even to this day.

                                          

A great book: The Great Serum Race by Debbie S. Miller.

                                                                                  

                                                                  

...route 66



" A stop in one of the small towns most anywhere along old Route 66 offers evidence that life begins at the off ramp. Away from the super slab, you can still order a piece of pie from the person who baked it, still get your change right from the shop owner, still take a moment to care and to be cared for, a long way from home."

Tom Snyder ~ Founder, route 66 Association

Back in the summer of 2010, our family took a road trip down to Texas. The route down was an impromptu one: we knew the "where" we needed to get, but the "how" was all up in the air. Some of the fondest and dearest portions of this trip took place on the old route, once well-known as Route 66.
Here is a brief glimpse of some of the samplings we encountered on the Mother Road.

So we left Michigan and headed into Indiana; then the long journey down to the deep-southern part of Illinois.

Day 1 ended as we stayed there for the night.

                                                                    

Springfield, Illinois

[The Great Western Railroad]

[Abraham Lincoln's tomb. Rub his nose for good luck..I guess]



[Maid-Rite..home of the original loose-meat sandwich]

[Frank Lloyd Wright~ The Dana-Thomas House]

[Cozy Dogs]

...Continuing on from Springfield on old Route 66 can be challenging at best. A lot of the "old road" no longer exists; forcing one to continue back on the highway. Bits and pieces of roadside America still lives and breathes on, though, in the tinest nooks and cranny's along the way...

                                                  [Our Lady of the Highways - Raymond, Illinois]

                              [The old Soulby Shell filling station ~ Mount Olive, Illinois]

 

 [Rabbit Ranch ~ Staunton, Illinois]

 [a defunct filling station ~ somewhere in Illinois]

                                           [St. Louis (and the arch) kindly greets us into Missouri]

 [Oklahoma here we are!]


Once we hit Oklahoma, we went one way and Route 66 went the other way.
I would love to continue on further; continue with the Mother road of the past.
One day...







For some good books on Route 66, check out Route 66 The Mother Road

 and The Route 66 Cookbook.

One recipe from the book is Murphey's Slip Slide Custard Pie. Bill and Wanda Murphey owned Murphey's Restaurant in Baxter Springs, Kansas until the mid-1970's. Today, there are different owners, but Wanda's pies are still the rage. It was said that customers would come in to the restaurant just to see Wanda put her Slip Slide pie together.

Murphey's Slip Slide Custard Pie

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

sprinkle of nutmeg

Beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, salt, milk and vanilla.

Stir well to blend.

Grease a 9" pie pan and set it in a pan of water.

Pour custard mixture into pie pan and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until custard is firm to touch.

Cool thoroughly.

Loosen custard around edges with knife and slip into baked crust.



pinterest

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a gal who asked me if I had been on Pinterest. Pinterest? "What is that?", I had asked. She told me that it was an awesome website and that one cannot go visit without spending at least 2 hours on it! Really? Sure, I thought. I need to check into this.

So I did... and now.... I can honestly say that I have become addicted to Pinterest!


What is Pinterest you say? Well, not being totally familiar with all of it yet, (since I just signed up last weekend..) I can tell you this much so far.
Pinterest is a social-media website that allows users "to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site's mission statement is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting." 

It is pronounced like "interest"-but with a "P" in front of it.
The first step I had to take to start the Pinterest process was to "join" and "become invited". This was done via email and took a couple of days before I got "in". I must say, it felt a bit unfriendly as I waited for a "website" to accept me! But alas I was allowed to enter. Once I could join I had to create a page for myself that would in-turn hold on it my"boards". Think of this as an office room. In it you find a bunch of bulletin boards. Say there are 10 different bulletin boards, each with a different theme associated with them. One could be craft ideas...another, food...yet another, cutsey-pootsy pets...and so on and so on. You are in charge of what you want to call your boards. You can be as creative as you wish. You can have an infinite amount of boards as well. Once you decide on your board names you can browse other peoples boards and find interesting "pins" that you like.

Now, here is an example of someone else's Pinterest boards...I couldn't figure out how to save and show you mine.

Now, a pin could be compared to a normal push-pin..or rather, what a push-pin is holding into place. Whether it be a photo of a fancy scarf that was made from old t-shirts, to a hairstyle that I think is cute. These pins show a snippet of the item you like, but once it is clicked on, it will lead you to that website.  



Now, once you click on a specific "pin", it will show up with specific info.
 (AGAIN, this is NOT mine...just an example of someone else's!)


Confused?! I bet! But wait!! All the nooks and crannies on Pinterest can be found here. If you love searching the web for ideas on anything crafty, cooking, home-related, travel, etc...then Pinterest my just be of interest to you. Check it out!

Oh, and be sure to visit my boards!

in God's country....part two

After we left Seward Alaska, we headed west to the Kenai Fjords National park to see Exit Glacier.

It was a few miles hike to actually "view" the glacier. The air got noticeably colder as we approached the glacier.

The "blue" color in the glacier

We took a path through melting glacial water to a spot where we could actually touch the glacier!

 A very cool glacial river needed to be crossed.

Clouds seemed to be out constant companion on this leg of the trip. The weather was cool and rain came and went as it pleased. Still, the views were breathtaking!

We camped on the Cook Inlet. Mudflats and cloudy skies.

Interesting sign...actually, these types of signs were quite a common sight.

This bakery was SOOO yummy! The donuts were HUGE and SO good!

 Hard to choose!

We pulled up behind this guy. Notice the gun on its rack.

I kept seeing this interesting type of mushroom. I had never seen one like it before.

We stopped along the Russian river to try our hand at catching the HUGE salmon swimming up-stream. No luck.

Back up through Anchorage, we continued north towards Wasilla, Alaska.

Wasilla is the Iditarod Trail Headquarters. Very cool!

We paid our $10 per person and got to ride the sled dogs around a loop. Boy, was it fun...but it was over TOO quick!

 A dog booty decorated tree. These colorful mittens were once worn by Iditarod doggies.

 The husky pup was SOOO cute and cuddly! The kids demanded that we take it home. Sorry!

 An abandoned igloo? Yep! I later read that it was thought-up to be a hotel..but it never saw its completion.

 The scenery depicted autumn...although it was late August. The colors were intense and thrilling to the eyes.

 Guys (and gals) like these were common place here in Alaska. Lost souls, wanderers, seekers of a "frontier life", were kinda pleasing to see...in an odd way.

 The hills (mountains) came alive with the streams of bright sunshine.

 Denali. What a dream to be there...truly!

 We got out of our RV and proceeded to walk to better view this lovely moose.
 I must say! I was a bit scared!!

 The scenery was amazing. Mt. McKinley was in the distance..only to be viewed from time to time.

 Amazing! In the HUGE park we felt so small and undisturbed. It was nice.

Our park ranger...after telling us about a recent sighting of a "three-legged" grizzly near our site, proceeded to inform us all about the wonders of squirrels.

...to be continued...