The Picture You Have Been Waiting For....

Today was the Harvest Days parade. We celebrate at Tru Stories with her in-laws. The parade goes by her house on two sides. To say we have amazing seats would be an under statement. The parade gets long. Very, very long. What helps is lots of delicious food and interesting people. It is a relaxing day. Today there were long pauses in the parade. I decided to work on my reading. I figured if a band was not passing by, I did not need to be watching. I get the festival is called "Harvest" Days. I understand we are a farming community. That said, we all know what tractors look like. We do not need 100 in the parade. Anyway, I digress. About the middle of the parade I am walking out of Tru Stories house with another snack. I see someone walking across the yard, the day just looked up. It was Munchkin. I had my camera with and caught this shot.

To answer the question on your mind, is Munchkin as funny in person as she is on her blog, no. She is funnier. She has great facial expressions. In addition to being funny, she is very smart. Her family is very important to her and she loves kids. I would adopt her if I could. Munchkin makes a phone call and after the parade is over the Mrs. drops by with her darling girls. It was time to get the picture you have all been waiting for:

Notice how I tower over Munchkin. She is adorable. Next to her is the Mrs., Tru Stories holding Coco, and the one, the only, Flag Girl. It is great to watch a parade with Flag Girl. She knows all the behind the scene stories about what it takes to be a Flag Girl and what the moves are called. It is not just about marching in the parade and carrying a flag!

Next you probably want to know what they talk about. The Mrs. is all about her races. I think she is trying to talk the group into the Boston Marathon. Tru Stories, Flag Girl, and Munchkin like to relive their Park to Park 4th of July race. They were also talking about the HUGE Relay for Life dance in January and Halloween. I took a pledge not to discuss anything of the Halloween conversation I was privy too. Just to be in the presence of these girls is something special.
This is the picture I like to call, Deep in Contemplation. You are look at a Blog Brain Trust. You can see the gears turning. What should we blog about next. Note, the Mrs. is not drinking. She is a driving Mother today. Just stopping by on the way to visit her new niece.

In conclusion, I would just like to say, you never know what life is going to bring your way. When I woke up this morning I never thought my day would end like this. As always girls, thanks for the laughs.

Another Blog Review

Another one of my favorite blogs is called, The NieNie Dialogues. Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson was a blogger before she survived a near fatal plane crash. While she was in the hospital recovering her sister took over writing the blog. It was a popular blog before the accident. Now it is famous.
This blog can be hard to read. Stephanie was burned extensively. She continues to go through surgeries. She is very honest with her struggles. Stephanie has appeared on many talk shows, including Oprah. Stephanie was very beautiful. There are times she discusses how hard it is to see herself in the mirror. The longer I read the blog, the more I see Stephanie's inner beauty emerge. Stephanie is Morman. She discusses her deep faith in the blog. She has four children and an amazing husband who was also in the accident.
One of the reasons I enjoy the blog is how honest Stephanie is about her struggles. She has an amazing support system from her family. There are times I read the blog and feel so sad. The medical struggles seem constant. Her children are so young. When I finish the blog I am impressed with her strength. I am amazed by her faith. I am reminded how lucky most of us are. If you are feeling over whelmed by your life, this is a good blog to read. It might be easier to count your blessings at the end of the day. I know it helps me.
I am not going to give this blog a number rating. I will just suggest you check it out sometime at nieniedialogues.blogspot.com. Just do not turn to it on a day you want something to cheer you up.

Does Reading Blogs Count as Reading

The lilacs have nothing to do with my blog topic. I have the smell of lilacs on my mind. One of the greatest things about Spring is lilacs. Yesterday I was walking to my car from a store and the smell of lilacs was so strong. I looked around this concrete parking lot and there was a little bush. Just packed into a small spot by a curb. That ugly spot was not going to keep a lilac bush down. The smell was amazing. To keep my commute from completely exhausting me I stay with my friend once in awhile. Last night was one of those nights. When I was leaving for work today, her lilac bush smelled so good. When I had all of my stuff in the car and was getting ready to leave, I just had to go back and pick a couple of sprigs. While I sat at my desk today the wonderful smell would over whelm me and remind me of the beautiful spring outside my building.

I may as well make my confession right now. I did start Grapes of Wrath today. Just as I remebered the words and descriptions are amazing. I could see everything so clearly. I could feel the dust on my skin, almost taste it. That John Steinbeck sure knew what he was doing! That said, I did not make it through a full chapter during my lunch. It was a start.

Since I am spending my time reading blogs instead of books, I will talk about some of my favorite blogs. I will start with a review of a little blog called, Munchkin Land. This blogger makes me laugh out loud. She had a great blog yesterday about her experience with yoga. Some of her blogs are only a few lines long. Those can be the most hilarious. Reading the labels are a must. Sometimes the best part of the blog is the label. On the downside, she blogs on a whim. Cannot count on a new blog more than a few times a week. Not a regular scheduled blogger.

This is what I have learned about Munchkin from reading her blog. She is short. I have been lucky enough to meet her in person a few times. (Dreams do come true. Cross that off my bucket list.) She is even shorter than me. I like that in a person. She cannot technically be classified as a little person. That disappoints me. I love little people. They fascinate me. I digress.

Munchkin loves her dog. She picked a great name for her dog. She is a dog person. That is a good thing.

Munchkin likes to dress in costumes. She appears to be especially fond of spandex. Hold tight to the eighties Munchkin. When you find an era you love, embrace it. Munchkin puts on a great show in her spandex at least once a year. Tickets are necessary.

This is where my review may lose credibility. Munchkin is a doctor. I am not kidding. People I really trust have said this is true. If you follow her blog this could be shocking. I hate to keep throwing around my affiliations with famous bloggers, but I have had a few conversations with Munchkin. In person, even in short conversations, even when said conversations happen at bars, Munchkin comes off intelligent.

Munchkin likes kids and is a wonderful Aunt. That is a great thing.

Most my followers already follow Munchkin. If you do not, stop over at her blog sometime. She is very funny.

On my 1-5 scale I am going to rate Munchkin Land a 4. I hate to go so high with my first blog review. If she blogged on a more consistent basis, I think she would easily be a 5.

Really this review is a pathetic attempt to win points with Munchkin. Now that she is back in our Village I am sure to run into her at some extended family events. Shout out to Munchkin, how did I do?

Check out Munchkin Land here: http//munchkinland-julie.blogspot.com