Friday Dare-day : Issue 1

It's Friday. 
You probably have a completely open weekend. You definitely don't have any plans to go out, stay in, see family or friends, have fun, or (heaven forbid) work.  You have lots of time and can't dream of a single little thing to use it for. Huh. 

Lucky for you, I've come up with a few little things to keep you busy, so you don't have to spend your Friday night sitting on the couch, watching Duck Dynasty and eating. Not that that's a bad way to spend your Friday night. Or anything I've ever done. 

But dang, that man is FUNNY!

Anyway, don't worry about him, because you won't be seeing him anytime soon. (But if you really want to, you can come over and watch with me.) This Friday and most Fridays from here on out, I'll post a few dares (yep, that's what Issue 1 means!) Some you'll be able to fit into a busy schedule, some you'll have to clear your schedule for, but I promise that they'll all be worth it. No, no, this isn't peer pressure. Not unless peer pressure is me trying to help you have fun like everyone else is.



 Take a picture of each thing that makes you happy this weekend. 

Learn to take better photos here. 

More Time Travel: Greenfield Village

Yesterday (well, I guess that was about 4 o'clock this morning, as a matter of fact), I left you hanging, with the (I hope) tantalizing prospect of some photos from 50's style dancing at Greenfield Village. Never fear - I am back; I'm here to rescue you! That is, if you can handle just a bit more of my lamenting over my situation.

Thanks to my friend at Passion for the Past, (check out the link for even more good old tunes) I've got some music for you all, for ambience. Experience it. 

 If you read my my post about The Color Run, you know the drill. Press play and enjoy. 

Held in the main area of Greenfield Village, the dance was staged as a radio broadcast to the troops in World War II. A live band played from the grandstand and couples got in on the fun. It didn't take much to be transported from the crowded 21st century outdoor museum . . .

Time Travel: Greenfield Village

I'm afraid I've been badly misplaced. Alright, that's a lie. I've got this horrible habit of compulsive lying that I'm trying to break by admitting it every time I do it. (Friend: I love this movie! Me: Me too! Wait, not I don't. I lied.) Ok, now its out in the open. Hold me accountable, please.

Let me clarify.  Because I know that God doesn't make errors, I know that I belong right where I am. However, all other evidence points to me being born about 60 years later than my prime era.  I am forever yearning for another year.

That year, or era, really, is the post-war era. The fifties. Sigh. Please don't correct me if I'm wrong. I've grown pretty attached to my little picture of what life back them was like. People ALWAYS looked good. Women wore dresses (no muffin tops here) and in general looked a lot more classy than we do in general today. You'd never catch a man out in his holey, stained, disgusting undershirt and sweats if he could help it. They didn't sag or have pierced ears. Everyone could dance (no, I'm not talking about grinding, jumping, or fist pumping), and the music was fun and live more often than not.  Everyone was always having a good time.  And most cars had windows that rolled down manually. I love that.

Now, I get that the fifties had its fair share of rough times. Their fun just seems like it was funner, and you'll not convince me otherwise.

Meanwhile, here I am, stuck it the two-thousand-teens, where people sag, can't dance, and have power windows in their cars. And that's great; that's where we're at as a society right now.  Maybe in 60 years there will be someone like me wishing she could see every guy's boxers. I don't know. But until then, I'll be traveling back in time as much as possible via Greenfield Village, a place for people stuck in a past they'll never really know.

A window in an old (duh) lumber mill at the Village. 

Greenfield Village really is a very spectacular place. The dedicated souls working there have manages to salvage countless pieces of American history, from Thomas Edison's workshop in Menlo Park to Noah Webster's home.  It's a village made of places where crazy important stories began once upon a time, and I think that's another reason I love old things. I love places with a story.

As we entered today, it was a bit rainy. We were definitely the odd ones out, weaving between people trying to make a quick getaway from the precipitation armed only with umbrellas, which the masses seemed to have left at home.

A Cake That's Tie Dye For

What's pretty, tasty, and SCREAMS summer, all while being surprisingly healthy?

 How about this baby?

This lovely little creation was the child of

#Instalife

I've been kind of a jerk blogger recently, I realized.

"We get it, you've been a jerk," you say. (And get major props from me for quoting Sky High)
Really, though, I have. Its been, what, 10ish days since I've visited here? Life lately has been full of final exams, grad parties way out who knows where, my brother's baseball games, and late, long talking nights with friends. I'm the last awake in one of those right now; we've decided we have our best talks at 4 in the morning after too much chocolate and Fat Amy - you know those talks, the ones where you make big life decisions and talk about what you believe and what you want to be when you grow up. Luckily for me, I've got my phone handy and now that the girls have dropped off I can give you an update!

Due to the "fast, beautiful photo sharing" provided by Instagram, I'm able to keep track of what I've been up to; namely, sending off the 8th graders at my former gradeschool, wearing pink on Wednesday, dyeing my hair Aqua Rush (a rebellious color, according to the box), drawing with chalk, and becoming a ride warrior at Cedar Point.

Chalk + rain = tye dye chalk. Highly recommend!

I've coached these girls since they were in 6th grade, and I'm pretty proud of them!

Cedar Point with some of my favorites. 

Business in the front, party in the back?

On Wednesdays, we wear pink. (If you don't know what I'm talking about go watch Mean Girls right. now.)

I'll leave you with that. 

Love, Bella

Supersets and Summer Squash

Say that five times fast! Supersquash and summersets. . . super summer squash sets . . . Summer superset squash . . .

Ok, that's enough of a brain workout for a Saturday night.

Back to the supersets - I tried them for the first time this morning/afternoon, and it was great! After a late night with some good friends, I woke up around 11 a.m. (WAY late for me!) in the same clothes I had worn the night before . . . at least I remembered to brush my teeth. Anyway, those mornings-after always leave you feeling a little sluggish, don't they? They definitely don't leave you feeling in the mood to eat a nutritious breakfast, do your Bible Study, get ready for work, and then actually go to work - and yes, that was my agenda for the day. I definitely didn't feel like doing (dun dun duuuuuhhhh) supersets.

Luckily, that 2 days old shirt I was still wearing was very inspiring and around noon I dragged myself off the couch and got down to business.

Naughty, isn't it? It comes from a friend of mine who's a fantastic, hard core . . . badgrass cross country runner.

Anyway, the supersets I did cam straight out of the June 2011 issue of Susie, a Christian magazine for girls I used to get, but don't let that fool you -