Has anyone else noticed that DIE is almost the whole word Diet?

So this last month a friend of mine pointed out that we
always eat out... and than suggested we stop doing it.
Fine by me I thought, I really don't have the money
to do it anyway might as well keep the money and use

it for it doing something else.


But what she suggested
next threw me for a loop....
How bout we Diet?




AAAAGGGHHHHH! Ummmm Heck No...
This is what was running in a Panic
around my mind shouting at me PLEASE PLEASE
PLEASE TELL HER NO!!
Did i listen to myself? Of course not... and now i am
wondering if maybe the spirit was trying to guide
me at that point, because people i have to say
I am a MEAN DIETER!!!



nobody touch my food and nobody gets hurt!!

I have had my weak moments,
At lunch time the McDonald's across the street
(LITERALLY ACROSS THE STREET...)
taunts me.... DA DA DAT DA DA... I am not loving it!!!

And when i fill up my car at the Maverick
those cheesy hot dogs are calling me ...
Don't judge me they may sound gross but it brings
me back to my childhood memories of those cheesy
bit hot dogs... does anybody else remember those?











Worst of all is when i come home and my grandmothers
food closet just sits there and laughs at me.


Hey Mandirae you know we got what you need
cheese its and wheat thins with auntie Fara's cheese ball,
you want some oreo's or double dipped mint thins,
hot tamales are fat free don't ya know,
Baby Ruth's, Sugar Slices, and Good and Plenty's,
Brownie Mixes, Cake Mixes, Cheese cake too...
Swedish fish and Rice Crispy Treats...
I mean Dang Gina can you really not gain weight
living here?




But i resist, I am doing good...
I even have been on the tread mill.
I am working my way up from a slow crawl...
I was on the slowest speed huffing and puffing,
to a faster crawl...
and well I haven't cussed my friend out in my head in the
last two or three days...


Of course I blame this on my lack of energy due to the
no food thing and the lack of oxygen due to the huffing and puffing...
But i do have one question...

to all of you dieters...


Has anyone else ever prayed that their carrots
will taste like oreo's?


I guess when i am smoking hot i will be more grateful
until than i ll keep praying i make it through,
that and of course that my vegi's taste more like chocolate!!

Back to Boise and 137 cookies later...

Did you know that Virgina is for lovers?... No really that is the state motto and with out knowing that, Va. is the state where I decided to be to well be with my soon to be lover...

What I have found is that Virgina at least in the last couple of months is full of CRAP!!

For lovers? I think not, not at least for me... However i did find that in my experience :

Virgina is for broken faces, camping in your car, unemployed, penny less people who are willing to wait for that lover part to happen and wait and wait and wait and wait...

So Back to Boise I go...

Yup I'm back.

I flew back for a job opportunity hoping to get to get back to Va in time for the loving...

and have found that Boise is not the state to be in for employment...

Hmmm I'm just striking out left and right.

Oh well at least I got cookies this last week...

Dinner at Grammies

Peanut butter cookies (137 of em) they lasted approx. 4 hours...

Boise the state of the depressed eater...

Yup that would look nice on a license plate or a big ol' bill board...

(attached is what i am now dubbing better than Va. lovers peanut butter cookies, recipe... hope you enjoy...add chocolate anything on top and it becomes better than...hehehe)

1/2
cup granulated sugar
1/2
cup packed brown sugar
1/2
cup peanut butter
1/4
cup shortening
1/4
cup butter or margarine, softened
1
egg
1 1/4
cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4
teaspoon baking soda
1/2
teaspoon baking powder
1/4
teaspoon salt
1.
Mix
Heat oven to 375ºF.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes

please note for severely broken faces, lack of kissing, or lack of money please times recipe by about 11 times and don't feel bad about eating entire contents while watching some cheesy chick flick where the girl gets the guy.

warning not recommend to actually eat all 11 batches of cookies as this may cause entire body swelling...

Broken Face

Here it is folks my beautiful face!!

It was a long hard battle and in the end i came out well broken and defeated.

Sorry dad all that Gene Coder basement karate did not help against the big and bad fight of the dumpster...

I got "slammed" literally into the rim of a dumpster by the lid of a dumpster. I didnt see it coming and after couldnt see anything but stars!!

I had a good laugh at the er trying to explaining it...it was good that Janna was with me so my story was backed up.

Anyway there will be more pictures as my nose will be worked on and fixed to look more like it did before the lid came down on it.

And if anyone has any suggestions on whose nose to switch out for my own im up for suggestions!!

Toto we arent in Adna anymore?!! Hey Toto do some of our new neighbors look the same?

Hey so sorry for all the waiting .... I am here in Va,

I have a buttload of pictures in this particular blog so if you feel like Chirs in that "if you dont take a picture to document it, than it still happened", well you really dont need to read on. However if you are like me or any of my scrapbooking family (love you mom) Than a picture for everything is very, very necessary and if you dont have proof than whats the point in even showing up with a camera?!!







I showed up with the camera and I bought the correct ammount of Mt Dew, Dr Pepper, Chocolate, Chips, Oreos, Redvines, Doughnuts, Gum, and what ever else was on the shelf with caffinee, I am ready for this road trip!! Or at least ready until the next stop...

Oh and yes Mr 7-11 man, I also have Gas... Grammie knows what im talking about. She is the one who taught me how good it feels to have gas!

The above picture is me(of course it is me who else could pull off the blue head band with the kermit the frog jacket and still look so sexy!! this picture is for you matt!!)

So we are on the road, I had picked up mel after a long (about 8 hours longer than it should have been... took a detour to Rexburg on the way to SLC) We stopped to have lunch with Auntie Fara Marki and Chad...mmmm...good stuff... Any way we get on the road and are all ready to have some huge adventures, about 12 hours later and still in Wy we decide that we got to do some thing crazy or go insane. Checking out the map we find this spot for Saratoga Springs Hot Springs... Skinny Dipping!! Should have known when we couldnt find the road off the main highway that it would be kinda children of the corn creepy? Here is the road in... Literally gated off. Do we stop and turn around? Heck NO We Dont!!

Hobo pool...What the Crap? Since When do you put a Building up over a hot spring...There goes the skinny dipping plan, Oh well i Guess i always knew there was something wrong with a thing that was so poorly Named. I mean come on.. Skinny Dipping? Mean stupid name. It just makes me as a Chubby activist want to rename it and bring it back as Fat Dunking. I was so sad about not getting to go that i almost wasnt creeped out by the town, Did i mention it was gated....

There were no windows on any of the buildings... I swear!! I was really freaking out!! So if you take a road trip, go to see the scary town but cross Fat dunking off the list of things to do in Wy.

Here is the first Hotel that we planned on staying in did i mention the lack of windows... I was laughing when we realized that and the fact that it was right over a bar, PERFECT! Only slightly better then the Rest stops we were forbidden to sleep at!

Along the way through Wy we hit some snow and it was drive 10 feet stop and take the ice off your wind sheild wipper, drive 10 feet and stop to take the ice off your wind sheild wipper, stop and you get it right? By the third time stopping we should have been to afraid to drive or at least smart enough to stop...we did stop to get a picture...we were laughing so hard!!

Hotel #2. Wy has some serious window issues... the windows are all boarded up and the rooms are all up stares...Hmm yup I know we promised no Rest stops but Id rather sleep in the car!!

Sorry bout this picture just thought youd want to see what i was seeing all night long... Beautimus!!

New York all ready? Shoot I thought it be taller?

This picture is for grammie, Who needs to stop at the biggest ball of Twine? NO WAY WE STOP FOR CABELAS!!

Yes we did stop at the worlds birth place of Ronald Regan, John Wyane, John deere Green and of course Cabelas!

Why you ask? FOR THE BEST FREAKIN FUDGE YOU EVER DID HAVE!! (I think we got like 6 pounds of fudge!!)

Hows that fudge Bert? Better than just about anything you ever put in your mouth huh? alittle be of fudgy heaven in a box? would you even say Fudge-a-lious? HMMMM... Id have to concour!!

Motel #3 ...Did You say the Bates Motel? and check out the classic M out of order... Did I mention how nice the rest stops are through Wy?

We were driving out to see the old Dutch Wind Mill and out in this field was Buffalo? It looked so real that we had to stop and make sure...

So real it even had real "boy" parts Mel and I were rolling when we walked around and noticed the Artist really wanted to get all his bits and peices right?!!

This house was pretty cool too... right next to the Buffalo was the Buffalo Dung house? (I dont really know what it was made of but it was cool I just didnt want to touch it)

This cute little old lady asked us if we wanted a picture TOGETHER WITH THE BUFFALO... So sweet...Where is the Buffalo? Who is that in the Picture?

Another cool stop was the Pony Express. This is where it all started folks!! Way amazing out in the middle of this tiny town...

The full view... Did anybody see KNOWING... just saw it the week before going to the pony express and well right here at the pony express is a rock (you can see it here in the bottom right) with a time capsule that is to be opened next year... I laughed so hard and figured Id be coming back for sure, I mean if the world is gonna come to an end and winged alien angel freaky thingies are gonna take me away to the tree of life I wanna be there and fake the whole I can hear them thing to get a ticket on that Noah the ark version of a UFO...i will even bring my own darn rabbit.

Speaking of freaky angels. So it was late again and we were needing something to see at like 1 am when we pass this thing on the highway up on a hill and its all glass and like 4 stories high and glowing kinda weird but what ever. We needed to fill up on gas and Dr Pepper and Oreos so what the heck right. We pull off on the next exit to the "Holy Family Shrine". So I am telling you Wy Iowa... they for sure have the children of the corn thing down... FOR SURE!! Its late and I still want to drive up and see it cause I am thinking Crazy lite up clear bldg. May be cool like the ball of twine? Holy Crzy is more like it. BIG EMPTY GLASS TOWER OF NOTHING... and Not a way to get into it? Creepy for sure! No statues or Christis or anything. Should I mention that Mel wont get out of the car it is sooo creepy. I am out there by myslef investigating this and i find the way to get in....see below

it is this little glass sliding door into a cave that has this huge mound of dirt like a tunnel to the creepy glass bldg. I couldnt see anything else? it was so weird!!

Well what can top that?

You guessed it, next town and the stop we made for some junk and supplies for driving... and a quick stop at the Council Bluffs Police Dept. So convient, shop for anything food electronics hunting gear house hold items and pay your tickets right in the local walmart?! What is even better is the two guys in front trying to get support for the local police station... So they can what buy a better station house?

You know what happens when you have no plans on a road trip? You see signs for a wind mill in the MIDDLE OF THE US for a Dutch Wind mill and you have to HAVE TO stop.

This was a good stop though, look at it!! So cool!!

Yes look at the shirts!! Twilight and Wicked!! This old wind mill was soooo cool!!

We even got to climb up it and outside on the little railing. Did I mention i am so afraid of heights? I totally peed my pants and well it wasnt because i was sick...

Yup REALLY REALLY afraid of heights. I think we were not even a full story up.

do you see the pure joy on my face going down the stairs?

LOVE THIS PICTURE... There is this random statue of a viking? with a bumper sticker that says "ive been thru the mill in elkhorn Iowa" got a kiss that!!

And on the way out of there you have to stop and see the only mermaid in iowa? cause there was soooo much water around of course iowa is the first place i would think to put up a statue of "the" "little mermaid"

it is a really cool statue in a fountian with no water, how fitting...

I just loved this on the front of this old truck we found where we parked.. yes the back horse is well he is really happy the girl horse is in front of him!! Only in Iowa!!

Bridges of Maddison County... one of the actual bridges it is beautiful... you would have thought the movie would have been a little more interesting?

check it out!!

see in foucs and you can see part of the bridge, thank you little cute old lady but we will be taking our own pictures from here on out.

I really liked this bridge huh?

Iowas rest stops...

Almost didnt make it!!

Yes this is a Manly street... JOHN WAYNE DR...

Right in the same county as the bridges is the birth place of the coolest manly man of all ...JOHN WAYNE!!

I dont think you can see it but like everything in this town is named after him and well kinda

looks like one of his old movie sets? it was amazing and how cool would it be to say, you live in Hawaii, shoot thats nothing I live where John Wayne was born...yeah that would be Sweet!!

With that note That is the 1st part to my adventures on to Va...

More to come...