FREE

Let me just say that if you have something you want to get rid of but don't want the hassle of loading it up and taking it to the nearest thrift store, all you gotta do is put it in the online classifieds under the FREE section! We wanted to get rid or sofa and first tried selling it online for $100. No bites. Then I switched it to FREE and got 8 phone calls in one hour, and now it's gone! Somebody came and picked it up just a few hours after I posted the ad! Awesome.

So long fella. You've been a good place to sit for the past 5 years or so. Thanks for that.

So perhaps you (my dedicated readers) are wondering why we got rid of such a wonderful sofa. Well, it's because we moved. Did I forget to mention that?! Hee-hee. Well we moved in with my Grandma to help take care of her, and we didn't want to move the sofa because 1) it's really heavy, 2) there's no room for it in her basement, and 3) we'll just buy a better, more comfortable one the next time we move!

So there you have it. Online classifieds are the best. We had better results with KSL than we did with Craigslist, but it doesn't really matter because the couch is gone! Three cheers for a job well done!

My Hometown

Not everyone can say they grew up in a town that 100 years ago had the largest on-land oil spill U.S. history.

I can.

Although as the feature that NPR recently did on my hometown says, "no one ever considered the Lakeview Gusher a disaster. It was a time when small lakes of oil covering the landscape meant only one thing — wealth and prosperity."

I don't know how an oil gusher shooting 200 feet in the air and raining down onto the surrounding hills for a year and a half wasn't considered a disaster, but apparently it wasn't anything to worry about. I guess all they saw was dollar signs.

{Take a listen right here or read about it here.}

As you may have deduced from the previous info, oil means a lot to my hometown. It's pretty much the whole reason Taft exists. Those who know me may have heard me talk about the upcoming 10-day celebration called Oildorado. It happens every five years, and since this year's celebration coincides with the 100th anniversary of Taft, it's a pretty big deal. The city has gone all out for the celebrations with everything from parades, barbecues and carnivals to hot air balloons, beauty pageants and dinner theaters. Should be fun! Sara and I have plans to visit my folks and attend most of the festivities, and Rob will join us in time for my 10-year High School reunion which is scheduled during the last few days of the Oildorado celebration. We are ready to party!

Oh, and if you happen to visit the Oildorado Days website (out of curiosity or just plain boredom), just go ahead and ignore the part about men having to grow a beard or purchase a "Smooth Puss Badge" to avoid being thrown in the hoosegow that travels around town looking for miscreants during Oildorado. It's just one tiny little redneck part of Taft's anniversary celebration, and I'd prefer if you would just go ahead and forget I ever made mention of it. Thanks a million.

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p.s. ~ thanks to Katie for her post about the NPR article. Hope you don't mind my copycat post!

We went to Colorado

We visited the town of Castle Rock, CO last week to visit Rob's sister and her family. Rob's brother-in-law recently opened a new Pediatric Dentistry practice, and Rob did a lot of the design work including the logo and website. So when we got an invitation to their open house in the mail, we decided we should attend! Plus, there's the added bonus of Sara getting to see her cousins. She spent the week doing a whole lot of this:

While in Castle Rock, we helped setup for the dental office open house, and also helped pass out balloons and free toothbrushes in a booth at the local Oktoberfest. In between those two events, we spent a day down by Colorado Springs to take the cog train up to the top of Pikes Peak. Much easier than hiking the 13 miles to the top!

 The train

taking a ride.

enjoying the scenery.  

At the top.

 
It was cold up at the top. And the summit was much larger than I imagined. It was pretty flat, and looked like it had been cleared a little because it wasn't completely rocky. Makes sense because you can actually drive a car on a paved road all the way to the top of Pikes Peak. There is even a restaurant up there! We got two donuts (world famous of course); one covered with chocolate, and the other with vanilla fudge. Yum!

Sara with her cousins.

Don't get run over!

Oh, and also while in Colorado, Sara became the world's best 21-month-old soccer player. Don't believe me? See for yourself. 

Zebra child

 

This is what happens when you let your kid play with a pen.

 

Staring Contest

I find this completely awesome.

What a fun excuse to get together with friends!
I just might have to copy this idea sometime. Any takers?

{Found here}