Let Your Colors Burst

Fourth of July + heat wave + muggy damp air = SPARKLERS!

Out here in Peoria we have nightly light shows displayed by our neighborhood fireflies. So on the holiday of freedom we chose to give back and dazzle the fireflies with our wild sparklers' drawings. We drew dizzying circles, squares, figure eights and at times let the sparks sparkle on their own. Next year we'll incorporate some color.

Lamar Lovin'

The blizzard in Lamar has me craving snow. Nevermind that I wouldn't be snowboarding at seven months pregnant, I still wished to be in mountainous Park City instead of snowless Peoria.

Years ago I stressed over the perfect snowboard. I found one that I love, it's beautiful and brought many days of joy and bruises. But had I known about LaMar Snowboards things may have been different...

Hiatus

Maybe you wonder where I've been. Where the witty words and silly stories disappeared to? They are lost in the ice of the Illinois River. I hope they land in my head, flow through my fingers and magically publish on my blog when the icebergs melt. Until then it's bleak skies and dreary days in the cold. I could tell you that my nose hairs froze walking to the car this afternoon. And I did.

Here's hoping life picks up...with exciting new adventures.

P.S. I imagined I'd be sharing snow shoeing and X-Country skiing stories and photos with you. Uh, you need more than a dusting of snow to do that!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I know I know, why take a week to post a birthday review? Because at the end of Birthday Weekend, when the songs and salutations ended I broke down. Tears of age and I think some nonsensical babble about being old. Now some of you who have passed this milestone (every year is a milestone), you will smirk and sarcastically think it could be worse. Maybe it could, but it couldn't have been better. Before I freaked out I had a nearly perfect snowy celebration, and if I weren't so old I could have gone sledding, something I'd wished all 18 years in Lamar.

To start we visited the Pretty Part of Peoria uptown. This outdoor shopping mall is Utah.5 and makes me feel at home. It didn't hurt that I got to pick out all my birthday presents either. I'm a great shopper with other people's money.

On Saturday we recreated my youth. We had a pizza party! This excites me because there are two different chains that offer GF pizza. A treat that has failed when I tried making it myself. The toppings did not compare to my Grandma's colorful palate, but other than that it felt like home. After eating over half a pizza on my own I continued my glutenous state by visiting the second Pretty Part of Peoria, Peoria Heights, where the local shops held a Chocolate Walk in my honor. Every store had chocolate samples and I think the smile behind the owners said Happy Birthday! even if they were unaware.

We did hit one of my all-time favorite ridiculous speciality stores, Vino & Olio...or something similarly Italian. Anyway I'm standing between a line of gourmet flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Only in Peoria. What I did learn is that you can mix Blood Orange olive oil with Chocolate balsamic and taste a chocolate orange. Or add the Vanilla and Pear with the Blood Orange and drink a tangy creamy cream soda. If you're wondering I spend some downtime playing with flavor mixing there. Just like alchemy.

Due to a snow storm the all-night dance contest was post-poned.

By the time I actually turned 28 I was snowed in and content. Well, almost. I may have requested that all my presents be wrapped with homemade bows. Ha Ha Ha Ha ahhahaha. Skip thought I was joking until I handed him the scissors and tape.

Not as horrible as expected, but 28 has a whole year to screw up or prove itself. Make that six months. I think 29 might need some prep time.

Midwest Ghosts

We've been driving and driving and driving. Sure we stayed with friends and family along the way, but the point in this post is the driving and more driving and the wrong turns at the end of our journey (I should not ever be leader). It was the wrong roads, the road food, the creepy truck stops, swollen eyes and gypsy lifestyle that had me on edge. What pushed me over was a scene that could be found in Amityville Horror.

A charming farmhouse near Peoria, Illinois, my new home, looked warm and inviting. The spiders also thought so and decided to move from the newly spun webs on the patio to the bathtub and kitchen. Welcome! or not. As I sat on the toilet I couldn't avoid the eye-level hint scrawled into the wall   LEAVE.

Right. Can do. Can't go. Creepy tree shadows everywhere. Spiders falling on my head. Black cats and bats and a witch cackle drifting in the wind. Spooky!