Fair it Up! Go to the Iowa State Fair

My family and I LOVE our state fairs! These are the state fairs that I remember: Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I am sure as a youngster I went to others but I don't feel they 'count' unless I remember them :)

Every year we go to the Wisconsin State Fair because it's the closest state fair and a grand ole time :) It also happens to have my mother's favorite- cream puffs.

Over the past 5 years, I have been lived in Minnesota and Indiana. While in Minnesota, I got a job as a 'runner' for one of the food vending places at the Minnesota State Fair. As a runner, I would pick up or drop off anything the food vendor ran out of during the fair like caramel apples, napkins, sugar, potatoes, etc. I was on-call for the entire two weeks of the fair but got paid for being on-call. I got more than double the pay when they actually needed me. I got to go 'behind the scenes' of being a fair vendor. It was great money for the two weeks.

The Minnesota fair had the most 'on a stick' items that I had ever seen- spaghetti on a stick? yep!

After Minnesota, I moved to Indiana and went to the Indiana state fair with my mother and sister, Julia. We loved this fair! It was set up in a circle so you couldn't miss a thing. They had the world's largest leather boot on display and even Dole Whip (which we thought you could only find in Hawaii)-none dairy dessert.

Over the past few years, my family and I have talked about going to see the Iowa State fair which claims to be the best and largest state fair in the nation.

My parents and I went to the Iowa State fair on August 12th from 8:30am to 5pm- yep 8.5 hours! We walked around the entire fair and saw everything except the chickens and rabbits.

So what did we think? It may be the largest but was it the best? It depends who you ask...all families go to fairs and festivals for different reasons- the food, the atmosphere, the people watching, the music...

As a whole, we decided that we prefer the Wisconsin State Fair to the Iowa State Fair. The Wisconsin State Fair is fair AND music with small stages every where so you can check out the pigs for an hour and then go grab a beer and relax in the sun for an hour while listening to music.

I'm glad I saw the Iowa State Fair but won't go back again. What's next? Texas? Michigan?

Achievement 5 of 30: Read 30 books

Last year I started reading the Plum series by Janet Evanovich. To date there are 17 books in this series and I hope this series continues for a while longer :) I was hooked instantly but stopped reading them in mid 2010 so I didn't get burnt out from reading one after another.

In July I started reading the series again and read book 10, 11, and 12: Ten Big Ones, Eleven on Top, and Twelve Sharp.

These books have a little bit of mystery mixed with humorous family drama. These books are better than watching any television series. A movie for the first book of the series was slated to be released this summer but has been pushed back until Jan 2012.

Achievement 2 of 30: Read 30 books

A few months ago, I saw a book at Costco that I thought my boyfriend's father and I would both like to read. I ended up buying the book for his father and suggesting that he read a few chapters and hand the book off for me to read a few chapters and so on. When my boyfriend's father was done with about half the book he gave me the book to read. When I got the book I was already reading 2 other books (yes,you can read more than 1 book at a time), but I knew that I had to focus on finishing this book so I could return it to my boyfriend's father.

I ended up taking a lot longer finishing the book than I intended to take because (as stated in another post) I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to read when I hit my pillow at night (I usually only read at bedtime).

About 4 weeks ago I finally finished Inside of a Dog. This book made me laugh, learn, and cry about loving dogs :)  I learned that dogs want to 'greet you' a their level meaning they want to smell your nose to greet you- that's why they try to jump on you- to get to your face. The book reminded me that I should take walks for just my dog sometimes- smell walks. The purpose of these walks is to allow your dog to smell whatever and for how ever long he/she wants to- i.e. don't tug him/her away from the tree, bush, or ground that he/she is so interested in. Yes, this walk means there will be a lot of standing around for you, but you'll be treating your dog without edible treats :)

Good read. I've read better dog books, but I liked the writer's style and her small stories about her own dog.

Achievement 1 of 30: Read 30 books

I am a huge reader but tend to only have time to read in bed at night. Over the last few months, I have been so tired at night that reading hasn't been an option unless I learn how to read while sleeping....

In early Spring, I read Water for Elephants. I read the entire book in less than 24 hours. A few days later, I watched the movie. I have read many books that have been turned into movies and am always worried about how the movies will turn out. I think they did a good job with the movie....but the book is still WAY better.

2 thumbs up from me!

Achievement 5 of 12: Worship at a church once per month

It's been a while since I've updated. March 7, 2012 is almost 6 months away!!!

As for my church goal, I have attended church in March, April, May (Mother's Day), and July (twice).

I was unable to attend in June, however, I 'made it up' by going to church twice in July. :) I will try not to miss another month.

In August, I plan to go to a different church....i'll keep you posted.