West to Branson (Monday, July 28)

I actually can't remember what time we finally got to my brother's house to leave. I know we were late, but when I got home, I was glad I had taken the extra hour to clean the kitchen floor and wash up all the dishes. It is good to come home to a clean, non-smelly kitchen.

This day was primarily spent in the mini-van. It was a beautiful Jimmie Johnson blue color and I wish I had taken a picture. My nephew picked it out. Somewhere close to St. Louis we stopped at a Rest Area and ate a beautiful lunch packed up by my sister-in-law. I really need to buy some applesauce. I like it a lot.

We played car bingo, read a few chapters of "Mr. Popper's Penguins", and talked about how much fun we were going to have. This was a long day in the car, but I didn't notice it too much. Was it the excitement? Or just that it was new? It wasn't too long before we stopped at Lambert's Cafe, the home of throwed rolls. Yep, throwed rolls. There is a guy that comes up and down the aisles throwing hot rolls to anyone who asks for one. He throws them all the way across the room. Pretty cool. And our table only dropped one! Check out their menu. Definitely not on the heart healthy list of approved restaurants, but it is an experience. And hey...we were on vacation.


After dinner and about an hour more of travel, we were settled in our condo and ready to crash. The next day would be full of activity!!

This Blog is on Vacation

This blog is officially on vacation. I'll catch you all up in a week or so.

Day at the Track

What a day we had yesterday! I was so tired last night, I couldn't do much of anything. A day in the sun at the track can really take it out of you.

I picked up my nephew yesterday morning, we packed our lunch of Peanut Butter sandwiches and some chips and headed for the track. When we got to the track, we actually got the best parking spot ever, right in the 3rd Turn, next to the family viewing mounds. We could actually see the track sitting in the car, but the viewing mounds are really a cool place to watch the action.

We got to the track around 11:30 and practice was to start at 2:00. The plan was to take the tram up to the main area, walk around the Pagoda Plaza for awhile, eat our lunch, and wait for the action to begin!

What a perfect day! The sun was out, but there was a great breeze. We really needed a hat, so we got matching ones from the booth sponsored by St. John's Church of Christ. So many nice people are at the track. They are all there to have a good time and just enjoy cheering for their driver.

My nephew was excited to see the garages from the viewing platform (which is actually the walkway to some public restrooms) and ready for the track action!
We picked up some sodas and headed to the main grandstand to get a good seat in the shade, eat our lunch, and watch the racing begin!

The focus for my nephew is Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet (pictured above). He has had Jimmie as his favorite driver since he was 3 years old. Yes, 3! Jimmie ended up having the fastest practice laps of the day at over 180 mph. And now, 90 minutes into qualification, Jimmie is on the pole!

I was actually pretty lucky to get a few pictures with cars in them. The cars are so fast that most of my pictures ended up looking like this:

For the Love of NASCAR...

Yes, I used to be one of you. One of those people who used to make fun of NASCAR. I know all about the Billy-Bob stories and making fun of the people who think the Moon landing was filmed in a Hollywood studio while NASCAR and pro wrestling are REAL.

There are a few things that changed my thoughts on NASCAR. One of which was the eulogy given for my Aunt Edith, who was always a big racing fan. I knew that she liked Indycars and the Formula 1 series (the elite of Auto Racing), but I didn't know that she liked NASCAR. The minister of the Zanesfield United Methodist church who did her eulogy talked about the years upon years of my Aunt's community service, dedication to the church, care for the sick, volunteering at the local library, and her love of NASCAR.

The minister said that when he first came to the church, my Aunt Edith talked to him about the length of his sermons and the need to get out of church by 12 noon. He said at first he didn't really realize what she was getting at, but she then explained that she had to get home for the start of the race. Over the years, the minister and my Aunt worked out an agreement that she wouldn't complain if he got a little long-winded and during NASCAR season she had his permission to leave the service when she needed to so that she could get home for the start of the race.

I can't say that I've ever watched an entire race, but there is some sort of connection that I get with my family by keeping up with it a little bit. My Mom watches NASCAR now, my brother and nephews watch too. It is all about picking a favorite driver (which I officially have not done yet) and seeing what happens. Part of it is that I love sports, and I can find a way to watch about any sport. But more importantly, I feel a family connection to NASCAR.

Someday I will pick a favorite driver. But for now, I'm off to Practice Day for the Brickyard 400.

Anyone been to Branson?

So, the big vacation is coming up. My Mom, my brother and his wife, my nephew and I will be loading up the minivan and driving to Branson. Not the best gas prices for a car trip vacation, but I am looking forward to it anyway. I'm purchasing the in car DVD, and really by the time we've watched Ratatouille and Monsters, Inc. we'll be half way there. No biggie.

But, have you been there? Do you have recommendations as to what we should do with an age range of 7 - 78? It seems like everyone has been to Branson, except for us. Are there good shows that we shouldn't miss? The best funnel cake you've ever experienced? Let me know, otherwise I may just be at the pool.

To Click, or Not To Click...

and I'm really voting to Not Click.

So, while this is not a dog blog, I am going to write about Tiger again. Tiger and I have been taking a class called "Manners for Shy Dogs" from a local dog training school. I have taken dog obedience classes before, taking the first one in 4-H when I was probably 12. I've also done the PetSmart classes in the past with other dogs. This time, I wanted to try something different with Tiger. I was doing okay training him on my own (the first thing any trainer tells you is that they are there to train the owner, not the dog), but what I couldn't figure out was his timidness. He is really scared of a lot of things. I have not quite figured out the pattern of things, but "Manners for Shy Dogs" hasn't really helped me either.

Do you know about dog people? In some circles, I am considered a dog person. I love my dog(s), other people's dogs, many people ask me questions about dogs. I take classes, I read about dog anatomy to learn more about diseases, I try to figure out the psychology of the dog. But, compared to the people who run this dog school, I am nothing. These people are serious. They are the decendents of Pavlov. And they click.

Clicker training is very behavior based psychology. It trains a dog that the click of the little clicker (see photo) produces a treat. So, the dog becomes focused on doing whatever is necessary to make the clicker click...to get the treat.

I'm just not that into the clicker. Do I really want my dog to think that I am a treat machine? Not really. I think for some people clicking is great. It gets them a very well behaved dog. I'm just trying to connect with my dog on a different level. So, that gets me to a crossroads. I think I am going to quit the class.

Now remember who we are dealing with here. I have quit very, very few things in my life. I can hear my Mom saying, "Didn't you pay for that class?" But, I feel as if I paid for something that I didn't really get. You see, I thought this class for "shy dogs" was going to help my dog overcome shyness. Nope. Not at all. It is the same old teach how to sit, down, stay, go to a specific spot, loose leash walk class I've taken several times. Nothing in particular about shyness or helping with it.

So, I am not going again. Tiger doesn't particularly have fun there. And potentially, I could get more benefit out of taking him on a walk where we could interact with some people or different situations. So, I think I can do it. I'm getting rid of the clicker.

I miss Corn

When I was growing up, there was a commercial on TV for a place called Indiana Beach. It had a very snappy song, complete with animated crow called "There's More than Corn In Indiana" (which I am unable to find on You Tube).

Have you ever just stopped to look at the corn? It is beautiful. Tall and green and reaching for the sky. How does a little seed grow that tall? Or three little seeds (the way my Dad used to plant corn)?

This year due to the floods in Indiana, the corn is not looking as strong as it normally looks. The saying goes that the corn needs to be "knee high by the 4th of July" and in a lot of places it doesn't look like it made that guideline.

A few years ago, I was at work at a diversity workshop. I had to go, but I usually like to go to those workshops anyway. I ended up sitting next to a manager that I knew, but not very well. I knew she was originally from a coastal state, but we had never really talked about anything like that. Anyway, she had just been in Indiana for a couple of years and she said that as a runner, she found running in Indiana to be very boring because of all the corn. I said, "I think corn is beautiful", and I got a look as if I had 3 heads. Yes, there's even diversity in the landscape that we prefer.

I do believe that corn is beautiful. But just wait until I see my first amber wheat field of the season. Then, we'll talk about beauty!!!