A Time For Everything

Credit goes to me--image taken in a random Kroger in North Central Texas last June. :0)

Happy Fourth of July!

Three days hence, the nation will be collectively grilling tasty meats, drinking wonderful beverages, and watching fireworks. I hope you have a wonderful day whatever you have planned.

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My newest Funko Pop--a birthday gift from DD: Alexander Hamilton.

"I'm not going to miss my shot."

A couple of weeks ago, DD dragged me to a mall. In two different stores, there were these huge sections of Funko Pops.

I've said this before, usually about the massive number of varieties of cereal in the grocery store, but let me just say it again in general...there is way toooo much crap in the world.

Why...just why?

Don't get me wrong, I own my fair share of crap, including five Funko Pops, but whenever I go to a store (pick a store, any store), I'm flabbergasted anew.

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Buc-ee's ~ Hillsboro, TX

Two Saturdays ago, DD and I finally checked out the brand new Buc-ee's in Hillsboro, Texas. It wasn't jam packed as I expected, which was a nice change of pace on a hot Saturday afternoon. I bought the requisite magnet, but I also filled a gap in my wardrobe; I now own a Buc-ee's tee shirt. :0) 

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Hope you're all well.

Catch you in a couple of weeks.

...short lived though it was.

But by the time you're reading this, Sonshine will have come and gone. I was gonna post this last Monday, but random things conspired to make me forget. Oops. :0)

But spending five days with my beloved Sonshine was wonderful. He did let me know, in no uncertain terms, that Texas was, sadly for me, no longer a place he wished to live. I'd been holding on to hope that he'd eventually move "home." But home for him is now across the Sound from Seattle proper. Of course, him being there and the Brown Eyed Girl being in Colorado gives us good reason to visit two very gorgeous geographies.

Any who, time with Sonshine is always prized so we spent five days mostly talking, but we also did puzzles, played some games, and just generally hung out. We even took him out to eat for his "half" birthday.

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On a sad note, my Dallas Stars just couldn't get through the Western Conference Final to the Stanley Cup Final. I have been soooo sad and disappointed for them. For me now, though, hockey season is over. I have had no desire to watch the Stanley Cup Final. (Nor listen to my podcasters break down what happened!) I just hope the Eastern Conference Champs, the Florida Panthers, win the Cup.

On a muuuuch sadder note, one of the NHL's favorite veteran players and hugely popular Dallas Star Joe Pavelski says he's retiring. My heart cracked a little when I heard the news. He's 39 now and that's considered old in hockey years. He'd defied the aging curve up until the last month or so of hockey, but it seemed to have finally caught up with him. I hoped he stays with us one more year playing in the bottom six, but that remains to be seen.

There were tears in the dressing room and tears across the Stars fan base at his loss. We're hoping that if he doesn't accept another one-year player contract, he takes a job in Dallas Stars management, consolation prize though it be for him.

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And finally, Happy Birthday Dad!

Today would have been his seventy-seventh birthday.

This is my first picture ever of Buc-ee. I was introduced to the beaver at the Madisonville (TX) store by my dear friend Michelle. I don’t think either of us expected things to turn out this way—me dragging DD all over the southern United States to visit every Buc-ee’s there is. :0) But I think she’d get a kick out it.

Any who, day one (Saturday) was mostly about travel. But we planned a visit to the Memphis Zoo to get some physical exertion after seven hours in the car. And the Memphis Zoo is awesome. So if you’re ever in Memphis and have the time, visit their zoo.

DD and I had an awesome experience with a lion... We got to hear the lion roar! And it was just the most amazing thing to watch him and to hear him as it echoed and vibrated in the air. It was just more incredible than I can really describe.

Check this out...same critter, two different perspectives:

On Sunday, we hit the first of two Buc-ee's locations with lunch with a friend sandwiched between beaver sightings. We also traversed the bottom section of the Appalachian Mountains which was both a surprise and very beautiful. We weren't on roads with any kind of steep drops, but they were very windy and very narrow and so just a little anxiety inducing.

This doesn't do the scenery justice, but here you go...

We also got to experience Atlanta traffic at rush hour and, yowza, it was more harrowing than cutting across the Appalachians!

We passed the Olympic Torch Tower which was actually not the official Olympic Torch Cauldron from the 1996 Olympics.

Monday was our trip to the World of Coca Cola Museum, lunch with another friend, and two more Buc-ee's visits.

The museum was fun and we got to taste all kinds of Coke products from around the world. I took some pictures, but am just sharing this:

Tuesday was another looong travel day with a stint through Dallas traffic at rush hour to cap it off. But we had fun and made it home in one piece--obviously.

Now to turn my attention to my friend's visit. She arrives tomorrow and *we're going to hockey game together!* Her team is on town playing my team, so that should be a lot of fun.

I'm very excited. :0)

Take care and catch you in a couple of weeks.

Your regularly scheduled blog post will return next week. DD and I are visiting new beaver dens…

Last summer, I'd planned / hoped to have DD and my March Buc-ee's Road Trip fully funded by December 31st 2023. Well, that didn't happen, buuut...it will be fully funded* by the time we hit the road. And I'm not counting any of the money from Mom's house. I've also got a line item in the personal budget to fund next year's trip starting in March.

* I won't have 100% of the money in hand, but once I finish a proofing job, I will. It's just that I probably won't finish the job and get paid until after our trip.

And not only is there a line item for our Buc-ee's Road Trips, there's also one for my annual road trip to visit my family. I'm excited to stop going into debt while taking these trips.

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I watched this a couple of weeks ago and I highly recommend it. It's a bit sad and a bit bittersweet and hit a little too close to home, but it's really, really cute just the same.

The tag line is "It's never too late to chase a dream." It spoke to me...does it speak to you?

Anyway, the main character, Martha, became a cheerleader as a senior in high school but had to immediately drop out to care her mom who'd gotten sick. Fifty years later, she herself gets a cancer diagnosis. She decides to forgo chemo and move to a retirement community as she never married and doesn't have children.

One of the rules of the community is that you have to join a club, but there are no clubs of interest so she's encouraged to start her own. She ends up starting a cheerleading club with seven other senior women. They encounter a variety of obstacles but eventually overcome, and the journey is a lot of fun and amazing.

If you check it out, let me know what you think.

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Remember all the to-doing I was doing and going to do? Well, less of that is happening now. We implemented some changes at the office, so I'm working till five these days. It took a few days to adjust, but now I'm handling the extended hours pretty well, but yoga and cooking and cleaning lost their time slots, so now I've got re-think things. I'm not keen on shifting all the cleaning to the weekends, but I may not have a choice.

I did start to do yoga on the non-Hinge Health days (for the hips/bursitis) and that seems to be working well. It's not the every-day yoga practice I was going for, but it's a good compromise. And to be honest, I was having issues remembering to yoga on the weekend afternoons when we're all home and hanging out. And even if I remembered, it would have been weird to put whatever we were in the middle of on hold so I could do yoga for twenty minutes. :0)

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And last but not least--I got my car back! It was in the shop for 2.5 weeks getting fixed. Did I mention I got rear-ended right before Christmas? Well, I did, and now it's fixed and it's soooo nice to be back in my own vehicle.

Hope you're well. Back in a couple of weeks. Take care.

May your day be merry and bright and filled with all things Buc-ee's!!

Okay, maybe that's just my wish. My new neighbor seems to be a fan of Buc-ee's as well.

Take care and have a super day whatever your plans are.

MWAH!

Hope you're enjoying your three-day break from your usual labors.

As I have done for at least five years now, I went home to Omaha, NE to visit family. Actually, today, the Monday of Labor Day, is the day I'm making the ten hour trek home.

I look forward to getting home, but I have to admit that the drive back home is tougher than the drive to Nebraska. Mostly because I'm driving south the whole way and since it's usually bright and sunny, as this time of year is wont to be, the sun is shining directly into the car through the front windshield. I have to take care to consume enough non-caffeinated liquids. Especially once I hit Oklahoma.

More about the trip and the fam later.

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The March 2024 Buc-ee's road trip itinerary has been altered and mostly finalized. We're re-routing from our original Buc-ee's destinations in Tennessee and Kentucky to the two in Georgia and the two in Alabama we didn't realize existed the last time we...went to Alabama.

We'll also be hitting the Memphis Zoo (and a staying at a hotel in Memphis as a way point) and the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta as well meeting a couple of friends of mine, one in Huntsville, AL and one in Atlanta, GA respectively for a meal.

It's going to be a four-day whirlwind of driving...

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Speaking of Buc-ee's...Finance Buzz is offering positions to taste-test Buc-ee's snacks. So DD and I signed up. Chosen Buc-ee's Bud-ees receive money to offset their expenses.

*fingers crossed* that one or both of us get selected.

Still speaking of Buc-ee's, there's a new one being built juuust south of the I-35 split/rejoin which is juuust north of Hillsboro. It should open sometime in 2024. I pass that location at least four times a year on my way to and from the fireworks store which is probably another thirty minutes south of Hillsboro.

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Our new air fryer...

Why oh why did it take me sooo long to break down and buy one? And we've already decided we need another so we can cook two things at once. :0) It won't take me as long to buy the second one though.

The best things so far cooked: tater tots (!!!) and breaded ravioli.

I've even cooked pork chops and burgers in it and both were good. My technique and the timing both need adjusting for even better results although the burgers were pretty good. Pork chops were a little tough, so less cooking time me-thinks.

And thats it for today. Enjoy the rest of your day/weekend! See you Thursday

Our Buc-ee's road trip was fun and successful. DD and I ran into...Buc-ee himself at the Bastrop, TX location!

The drive south was lovely, with high clouds blocking most of the sun until the sun was high enough to not shine directly into the windshield. US Highway 77 veered away from I-35 at the tail end of Waco and I must say, the United States / the State of Texas is sooo beautiful. 

I love, love, love driving along the back roads, seeing the beauty of the countryside as well as the small towns dotted along the highways and byways.

Remember that $1M I talked about a few weeks ago? Yeah, I might invest it in the tiny town of Rosebud, Texas. Turn it into a location for writers retreats. Main Street looked like it could use a little revitalization. Although, I must say, the town is larger than it looks when just driving through.

There were quite a few charming towns along US-77.

As for the Buc-ee's locations--which were the main point of the trip...

First stop, Giddings, TX. Giddings is a small metropolis of approximately five thousand people and it seemed like a third of its citizenry were all at this very mini-location of our favorite rest stop. Okay, not really. But it was tucked in between a Starbucks and a Walmart and was smaller than my house. I'm guessing the chain hadn't quite gotten so famous when they first built it. But most disappointingly it wasn't large enough to rate having the magnets I collect created for it...

DD is going to work her Cricut magic at some point, though, and make me a facsimile magnet to go alongside the others.

Next stop, Bastrop, TX. This Buc-ee's was very much like every other Buc-ee's. Large and crowded. I used the potty and got my magnet and we headed for...

...the third and final stop of Day 1, Luling, TX. This was also a larger location, but so jam-packed it was a challenge just to get in and out of the parking lot. They're planning to build a new store across the highway that will become the largest store in the nation once it's done. I did get my magnet, however. :0)

Also on Day 1, DD and I visited the World Animal and Snake Farm Zoo, a small facility right along I-35. They had an otter exhibit, which DD loved. They also had a petting zoo with a llama. Sadly, I somehow deleted without saving pictures of those two things. I didn't mean to, of course, but devices were being uncooperative and I probably should have just waited until I'd gotten home.  (lesson learned)

On Day 2, we visited two more Buc-ee's locations, New Braunfels and Temple, and visited the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco.

A good time was had by all, even DH who was left behind and enjoyed having the house all to himself. He thought he was getting one more night alone, and was disappointed to find us home Monday afternoon rather than Tuesday afternoon...and suggested we take more trips. :0) A plan both DD and I are happy to carry out.

Hope you have a great week!

Buc-cee's Here We Come!

Image is mine from last year's trip to Alabama.

Since I'm working a no-spend challenge, I already knew I wanted to pre-fund the road trip DD and I want to make during her spring break mid-March. I mentioned that a week or two ago.

So...I borrowed an idea from another dear friend who loves and uses the Happy Planner system for all aspects of her life.

When we meet, those of us who keep meticulous track of our lives via paper and stickers usually share our progress since last we met...

So this dear friend had some new things going on in her planner and that was the tracking of the funding of trips and projects and even her new home.

Her visuals are much cuter than mine, which I won't share, because those are hers-- but I thought if I had a visual, it would help keep me focused and motivated to make this happen.

So I put together a collage, basically, and asked DD to make me some stickers specifically for this project.

Here's the "collage" and the stickers... Each sticker is worth $5. So when I save or earn $5 from somewhere I can apply it toward the trip. I put a sticker on the collage, and when I've applied all 60 stickers, I'll have funded the trip. It'll get easier and more exciting as I get rolling, I think. More stickers means more money found.

This may seem rather child-like, but so what?

If this is what it takes to help me pre-fund a trip, to help me keep my eye on the target, and add a little excitement and fun to my everyday life, then who cares?

I'll probably make some more of these as needed, but this is it for now.

What about you? Do you pre-fund larger purchases or work hard to pay them off after-the-fact?

Have a super day. Catch you next time.

Y'all should know my love for Buc-cee's by now. If you've never been there, you don't know. If you have, you may not harbor the same feels, but you understand. I hope you do, anyway.

I spent New Years Eve, as I have for more than a decade, selling fireworks. Well, less selling for me these days and more catching up with friends and playing cashier.

If you don't know, Buc-cee's is a mecca of gas pumps, delicious food, clean bathrooms, tourist tchotchkes of all kinds of varieties including Buc-cee's own merch...

I collect magnets, even from Buc-cee's...

For a bit more info, here's a post regarding one of my first trips to Buc-cee's. Now it's a destination unto itself. DD and I are hoping for a Buc-cee's centric road trip during her spring break.

If the stores themselves weren't enough, the billboards are amazing as well.

Anywho, on the drive to the store and home again on New Years Eve, I saw at least a dozen Buc-cee's billboards -- each way! I got a good chuckle both directions. Some were tried and true slogans that I've seen often, but there were a couple of new ones. Specifically: "Brisket. Beavers. Bathrooms. XXX Miles."

I couldn't get pictures since I was driving and alone. I Google-searched, however, and found a few images. Hopefully they'll garner at least a smile if not a giggle. Have a great weekend. Catch you Monday.

Well, we did it...

DD and me went on our whirlwind road trip to Alabama to visit the two Buc-cee's locations there.

On the way home, we also stopped at a Buc-cee's on the very outskirts of the Metroplex that we just hadn't had a chance to get to.

Pictures or it didn't happen right??

Beach Express location just east of Mobile.

Leeds location just east of Birmingham.

The Terrell location didn't have the city name on the sign, but here's a pic of the store... You're just going to have to trust me. :0)

While we were in Mobile, we did visit the USS Alabama and the USS Drum. Pictures will be along on Friday.

Hope you're having a great week. Catch you Friday.

Since I earned both rewards last week, DD and I went on a road trip to one of the newest Buc-cee's locations in the greater DFW Metroplex area: Ennis, Texas.

So we wandered around and I'm going to be tempted terribly by the treats...

Look!

I might have to re-think my plan. Or just not venture into the food section of the next Buc-cee's we visit.

Harrumph!

I also got my puzzle which was only 350 pieces and easily completed yesterday afternoon. :0)

Hope you had a great weekend. I did!