One month from today, on May 24th, I will turn 60 years old. I am not normally someone who makes a big deal out of my birthday, but I’m having some difficulty acknowledging the fact that I will be SIXTY this year. So, in order to ease into my new decade, I have asked some of my friends to help me. I asked them to write a short essay, talking about what “age” was their favorite age and why. I asked them: What did you accomplish that year? What were your dreams? Did you go somewhere on a trip that left a lasting impression? Did you meet your true love? Did you learn something about yourself that you needed to know? Several of them responded, and I will be posting their stories throughout the next month. Here is the first one, written by Rachel, of Yellow Tennessee:
Rachel from Yellow Tennessee
I have spent the entire weekend racking my brain trying to figure out what my favorite age has been. Like everyone, I have had some amazing experiences in my life that I will never forget. I have also had some horrible experiences in my life that I will never forget.
When I was 14 years old I moved with my family from St Louis to South Africa. I spent 2 years there. I met some amazing people, some of who I am still friends with to this day. Of course being a 14 year old girl, if you had asked me then, moving to South Africa was the worst thing that had ever happened to me.
Although I didn’t know it at the time, when I was 19 years old, I met the man I was going to marry. He became my best friend in the whole world. We shared some equally amazing times and some not so amazing times in our friendship.
I used to think that 20 was my favorite age. It was a good year. There was not a single event that occurred that made it really stand out. But I felt as though I was in a good place. Becoming the type of adult I wanted to be while still being young and carefree.
At the age of 28, I married my best friend. This day still goes down in history as one of the best days of my entire life.
When I was 30 years old I had my first baby. My beautiful baby boy. He is hands down the funniest, smartest, most amazing little boy I have ever met.
Rachel and her family
After almost 4 years of trying when I was 35, I had my second baby. My gorgeous baby girl. This girl is the light of my life. She is awesome and never fails to bring a smile to my face.
As I approach 37 and with my wonderful friend Karen approaching 60, I have spent a lot of time trying to really figure out what my favorite age has been. And to be honest, I cannot come up with one. I have had some years that were marked by incredible experiences. I have become a wife, a mother twice and have had even had the awesome opportunity to become a self employed blogger. I have seen the world and met some of the most amazing people. And I cannot wait to see what comes next. So instead of picking a favorite year, I have to say I am just so thankful to God for an amazing life. Every experience I have had has made me into the woman I am today. So far I wouldn’t change any of it for anything in the world.
Happy upcoming 60th Birthday Karen. Thank you for asking me to be a part of your celebration. I hope you have an amazing year!
If you would like to contribute to this series, please send me an email with your story, a picture or two, and a link to your blog if you have one.
We stayed at the Grants/Cibola Sands KOA in Grants, New Mexico for two nights on our recent roadtrip. The campground was well marked with signs and was an easy access off of I-40. The first thing that grabbed our attention was how nice the owner was. She got us registered and on our site very quickly, and even gave Fabgrandpa a couple of fresh chocolate chip cookies.
the office
The office building also contains a camp store, a game room, a small diner type restaurant, and a laundry room.The management offers a free continental breakfast, and you can buy dinner meals from their menu. We ordered dinner on our second night, and it was delivered to our door. Fabgrandpa had the turkey and dressing and I had “Suzanne’s Favorite Plate” which was a boneless chiclen filet baked to order with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. The person working the desk was very familiar with the needs of a gluten free diet and was able to suggest several choices on the menu that would be gluten free.
the store and diner
Most of the sites at this campground are long pull throughs, and are very level. There aren’t many trees on the property, but it is New Mexico and in this part of the state there aren’t many trees anywhere. It is a nice campground, though, if you are passing through on I-40 to somewhere else, or if you are planning a stay in Grants to see the many unique sites the area has to offer.
our site
There weren’t many campers staying at this campground this time of year, but it was still cold out, with temperatures dropping below freezing at night. There were several units that pulled in in the evening both nights, though. The campground offers tent sites, and has two Kamping Kabins as well. There was a nice playground for the children.
Kamping Kabinsthe playground
The campground, laundry room, and showers were very clean and well cared for. They provide free wi-fi access, which worked very well for us. There is a dump station on the property and they sell propane on site. There are several interesting local attractions that would be well worth staying an extra night, such as Bandera Volcano and Ice Caves; the New Mexico Mining Museum (call ahead to make sure they are open); and Acoma Pueblo.
As with most campgrounds, the camping fees vary according to what type of site you require. We had a long pull through site with full hook ups and 30 amp electricity. The charge per night for our site was $44.50 plus tax, making a two night stay cost $94.95. If you have a KOA Value Kard, you get a 10% discount.
First, let me make it clear that this is NOT a healthy dessert. Yes, it is gluten free. Yes, it has fruit in it. But for someone like me, who also has Type II diabetes, this is full of sugar and fat and calories. But, let’s face it. Everyone wants a really good delicious splurge now and then. I don’t eat stuff like this every day, or even every month. However, on occasion, I do want something that is sweet and gooey and not good for me. So, when my friend Alison posted her recipe for Banana Split Cake on her blog, Being Alison, it dredged up memories of the Banana Split Cake I used to make years ago. And, because I had just found Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Graham Style Crumbs, I knew I had to convert the recipe to gluten free. It wasn’t that hard to do.
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Graham Style Crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
Mix all ingredients well, then press into your greased pan.
Gluten Free Graham style crust recipe
For the filling:
filling ingredients
2 sticks soft butter
2 eggs
1 box confectioners sugar
1 20 oz. can of pineapple tidbits, drained
3 or 4 bananas
1 small container Cool Whip
1 jar Maraschino cherries
Beat the butter until fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Then add the confectioners sugar, a cup at a time, and beat well after each addition. Spread on top of the crust.
filling
Spread the pineapple tidbits on top of th butter/sugar/egg filling.
pineapple
Next, layer sliced bananas on top of the pineapple.
banana layer
Spread the Cool Whip over the banana layer, then dot with cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
mmmm, gluten free banana split cake
This dessert is so easy to make, and is so delicious, you will be tempted to make it every week. But don’t. Your hips and your blood sugar will thank you.
This was the last day of our roadtrip to Arizona. We left Flagstaff, headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, to our seasonal jobs there. Though the North Rim doesn’t open until May 15th, Fabgrandpa has to start working on Sunday, so he wanted to get there a couple of days before that. The drive from Flagstaff to the North Rim has such diverse landscape. It is unbelievable how it changes so in just 195 miles.
We passed by snow covered mountains near Flagstaff.
San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff
Ponderosa Pines along the roadside north of Flagstaff on Hwy 89.
Hwy 89 north of Flagstaff
Just a few miles later you are driving through painted desert land.
Painted desert
You see some really different types of land formations along this road.
A butte along Hwy 89
Then the landscape changes again to red cliffs.
Hwy 89 north between Flagstaff and Page
The look of the cliffs changes again when you turn west on Hwy 89A into Marble Canyon.
Cliffs near Lee's Ferry
The cliffs are near the road when you head into Marble Canyon at Navajo Bridge
Rounding the bend into Marble Canyon
Even though I have seen this place many times in the last five years, I still am amazed by it.
Just beautiful!
The landscape changes yet again as you begin the climb up the Kaibab Plateau. There begin to be trees again, this time scrub pines and desert plants.
Climbing up the Kaibab Plateau
Once you turn south on Hwy 67 towards the North Rim, you begin to see Ponderosa Pines, fir trees, and aspens. There are lots of meadows, too.
On Hwy 67 south towards the North Rim
About ten miles south of Jacob Lake, you’ll drive through eleven miles of burned forest. This was the Warm Fire that was caused by a lightening strike in 2006 and burned about 60,000 acres.
The Warm Fire burned in 2006
As the elevation gets higher, the temperature gets colder. This frozen pond created by snow melt is about five miles from the entrance to the North Rim Grand Canyon.
Frozen pond created by snow melt
The entrance station to the North Rim. The park doesn’t open until May 15th so the gate is locked until then. There was not as much snow this year as there have been in recent years.
The entrance gate is locked
You can see the difference in the amount of snow in this picture, that was taken in 2010 on about the same date as the one above.
Entrance station in April of 2010
This is about a mile south of the entrance station inside the park on Hwy 67. It looks like a lake right now but it’s just snow melt in the meadow.
The first bend in the road inside the park
We finally made it our campsite, within view of the canyon. I love my summer home!
I really wanted to get to a couple of thrift stores here in Flagstaff while I was here, but that was not to be. I did get over to Tuesday Morning, and found a couple of really good deals there, though.
I found two bras that were normally $39 that had been marked down to $10 each. I also found a hank of really nice soft yarn that is a blend of cotton and viscose, regularly sold for $12.99 but marked $4.00, probably because they only had one left.
My best find this week
Did you have any good thrifty finds this week? Link up and share yours with us:
Our plan was to spend three nights and two full days in Flagstaff. It is the last town before we reach our destination of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where we work for the season, from late April through mid October. We always stock up on supplies we’ll need before taking that last two hundred mile drive. This year was a little bit different from other years, because we decided to actually see a little bit of Flagstaff. But first, we had to get the chores out of the way. Laundry, grocery shopping, etc.
My favorite store in the world!
A trip to Flagstaff always includes a shopping trip to New Frontiers, a health food store. They have so much good stuff! Lots of gluten free items, even gluten free options in the pastry case in the bakery. Another must go place for us is Picazzo’s Pizza. Fabgrandpa can get regular crust and I can get any item on the menu prepared gluten free. We usually wind up getting two pizzas and taking home most of it. It is delicious reheated.
Purl in the Pines
Yesterday, after breakfast, and the trip to New Frontiers, we had to do laundry. It didn’t take very long though with us working together to get it done. Then while Fabgrandpa took a nap, I went out to Oodegarde’s Sewing Center to find some flannel fabric to make myself a new pair of jammie pants. My old ones have a massive hole in them that I have already repaired twice. It’s about time for a new pair. I also made a trip to Purl in the Pines yarn shop and picked up some nice cotton and bamboo blend yarn to make some washcloths. I want something lush and soft and 100% organic to wash my face with.
My haul from the fabric and yarn shops
That little ball on the left is cotton and bamboo, and the greens and browns are 100% cotton. That pink hank is one I found in a thrift store and is cotton and viscose. I’m loving these colors. And they are displayed on the green flannel I got for my jammies.
Today we went to Wal-Mart to finish up our grocery shopping. After everything was put away, we decided to go to downtown Flagstaff for dinner and a walkabout. Dinner was at Pata Thai. I had the Pineapple Shrimp and Chicken Fried Rice and Fabgrandpa got the Spicy Scallops. Both were yum, but I couldn’t take more than one taste of his because he got his hot!
Spicy ScallopsPineapple Fried Rice
After dinner we walked around downtown “old” Flagstaff, going in and out of stores and window shopping. We loved one shop, The Artist’s Gallery. There was so much in there that I want that I could spend my whole salary in there. We bought one piece, a kiln fired glass wall hanging. I love it! It will hang in our hallway someday at the house.
Kiln fired glass "face"
On the way home, we saw this unusual cloud formation:
What a weird looking cloud!
In the morning, we’ll hook up the trailer and be on our way again. The last two hundred miles from Flagstaff to the North Rim will slip by really quickly, and then we’ll be “home” for the season.
This giveaway is now closed. The winners have been notified via email. Thank you to everyone who entered.
I was asked to review the ZeroWater® 10 Cup Filter Pitcher, and I was so excited that I was going to get to try it out. Unfortunately, the review item did not arrive before we left on our road trip to our summer job in Arizona. I KNOW this pitcher would have come in very handy for us because when we travel west the water always tastes so bad to us. We have bought so much bottled water, and that adds up to a small fortune over time.
The ZeroWater® 10 cup Water Pitcher would fit in my RV refrigerator, and has a pull and pour button spout that would make it o easy to fill any glass or bottle.
From the Zerowater® website:
The ZeroWater® filtration system combines FIVE sophisticated technologies that work together to remove virtually all dissolved solids from your tap water, delivering you great tasting water. This 10-cup system comes with, our patented Ion Exchange filter, a laboratory-grade water testing meter and a guarantee to remove virtually all dissolved solids from your tap water.
ZeroWater’s® first layer of filtration, activated carbon and oxidation reduction alloy removes the chlorine taste you are accustom to with tap water. The Ion Exchange stage removes virtually all dissolved solids that may be left over from public water systems or even leached into your water from piping such as Aluminum, Lead, Zinc, Nitrate and more. Three additional stages are included to remove other impurities and to ensure your water receives the appropriate amount of treatment time to deliver a “000” reading on your laboratory-grade Total Dissolved Solids meter included. ZeroWater®: Advanced water filtration.
There is a Total Dissolved Solids Meter you can use to find out how the water in your hometown by entering your zip code. I did this for my hometown of Buchanan, Georgia, and for each of the towns we stopped in for the night o our trip. Here is how they all stacked up:
Buchanan, Georgia 104
Corinth, Mississippi 95
Russellville, Arkansas 95
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 142
Shamrock, Texas 142
Tucumcari, New Mexico 18
Grants, New Mexico 129
Flagstaff, Arizona 148
As a reader of Fabgrandma, you can receive a 30% discount off of your purchase of a ZeroWater® 10 Cup Pitcher by using the discount code MC30
If you’d like to win one, just leave a comment telling me what your TDS score is for your water.
For extra entries, do any of the following, and leave a comment for each thing you do:
Tweet this giveaway, one time per day, ” ZeroWater Review & #Giveaway + #discountcode http://bit.ly/I3rMiV @fabgrandma”
This giveaway ends at midnight MDT on April 28, 2012. Two winners will each receive a Zerowater 10 Cup Filter Pitcher. The winners will be selected using And The Winner Is…plugin. Winners will be notified by email, so please make sure you use a valid email address when entering. Winners will have 48 hours to respond to the notification of winning. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. You can enter once each day by tweeting about the giveaway one time each day per twitter account. Giveaway is open to residents of the United States only and must be 18 years old or over. Prize is the responsibility of and will be shipped to the winners by the sponsor. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery after the giveaway closes.
“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ZeroWater and received a water pitcher to facilitate my review, two pitchers to giveaway, and extra filters to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
Ever since we bought this RV six years ago, I have been picking my clothes up off the closet floor every night when we travel. The first trailer we owned had the closet in the middle, and it was tiny, so we never had this problem. This one though, has a huge wardrobe closet across the entire rear end of it. So, when we travel, it always looks like this:
What a mess!
I have tried everything I can think of to organize my closet better so that I won’t have the avalanche of pants and shirts. I tried using packing tape to strap them down but they just came down in one hunk rather than one at a time. Then, I tried using a belt to attach the clothes on hangers to the rod. That only caused the whole rod to bend and fall down. Next, I tried folding all my shirts neatly and stacking them on the floor. The end result of that was my pajamas, which never fell down before, fell on top of the neatly arranged shirts. Sigh!
The only RV closet I have ever seen that looked like it wouldn’t have this problem was one that a friend of ours customized with lots of drawers and bins built in, like closet organizers. I would love to have something like that in my trailer!
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