Blanchard Springs Cavern

While out traveling I decided to go on a tour of a natural live cave, (photo) Blanchard Springs Cavern, it was a guided tour and I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.The trail I went on was called the Dripstone trail. It is open year round for tours. My family was amazed as we were walking through the cave. It is located in a town called Fifty Six, Arkansas, nestled in the Ozark Mountains.
There are other trails that you can go on as well, but they are seasonally operated. I am very excited one day to go on the wild cave tour that they offer. Our tour guide was awesome, though I forgot his name. He explained a lot to us and answered our questions well. He was telling us how the wild cave tour takes about five hours to complete and you have to get into hiking boots, coveralls, and head lights. It's not as easy of a trail as the one we went on, but my boys seemed to be very curious about it.

About ready to dive into a new blog

Coming soon I'll be creating a new blog to share some of my many photo's that I've taken! Some raw and some edited photo's. Yes, I have a new gadget, and I've fallen in love with it! Finally stepped into the DSLR league! I find so much fun when I get out during the day to  do absolutely nothing other than to capture photo's of this, that, and others!! Will probably still share some here, but my new blog will be fully dedicated to the art's, graphic design, & photography! Stay tuned... And have a great day to all out in the wonderful blogosphere! Here is one my photo's! Not bad, right?? :) Practice; practice!!! :)

American Idol 2011 Way To Go James Durbin

Pull yourself together Fantasia Barrino

Was up watching the early morning news and I'm saddened to hear of American Idol season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino hospitalized after an alleged suicide attempt. Apparently she overdosed from pills. And supposedly just recently rumors emerged that she made a sex tape with a married man. As an adult I surely believe in the saying "you layed in the bed now make it", as in take responsibility for your actions. Of course with that being said I don't know of any truth to the rumor. But I do know it doesn't take much to have your name and image dragged through the mud. Why give the media the chance to do it? Think!


Come on Fantasia pull yourself together girl! I have been a fan since the show and still is. I've purchased all of her Cd's and is anticipating the release of her new album Back to Me on August 24th, not to mention I read her book Life Is Not a Fairytale. Tell me it isn't so, why would you want to take your own life? Look how far you have come. Just take a moment to look back on your life then and now. I know the celebrity lifestyle isn't a easy one. Your privacy is pretty much gone out the window. You have the paparazzi and reporter's patrolling just about everything you do, especially the negative. Most importantly take a long look at your daughter, look into her eyes. Would you really want to leave her motherless? Whatever it is you're going through, rise above it! Keep it positive and I'm wishing you a speedy recovery! Sing Tasia, sing to yourself, to your daughter, to your mother, to your brother, to your fans, just sing girl!!! Wishing you the best!

Intex above ground pool with the saltwater system

Being in the pool is always fun during the hot months of summer. It's great to have a pool right in your own backyard. It can be costly going to swim in public pools. Where I live we have to pay on average $6 per person just to swim. I know much of this cost is due to park districts offering slides and then the prices are more upward of $9 per person. We previously purchased Intex Easy Set 15-Foot-by-42-Inch Round Pool Set a few years ago and it only lasted us two summers before we ending up trashing it. We were spending more time patching up leaks and wasting money on chemicals trying to keep the water clean. After so much patching the top inflatable ring, wouldn't hold up anymore and we putting air in daily. We did enjoy the pool at first, the durability of the pool just wasn't good, as it didn't last long for my family.


I thought I would never purchase another large size pool mainly due the fact that my water bill roused drastically from steady refilling the pool with water as all the chemicals and filter with the pump that came with the pool just wasn't getting the job done well enough. After hearing about a way to keep the pool clean using salt it sparked my interest into purchasing another pool. So we decided to purchase the Intex 15-Foot-by-48-Inch Round Metal Frame Pool Set which looked to be more sturdy than the easy set. At first it was difficult for us to find level ground away from the trees in our backyard. After a couple of trys we settled on an area that wasn't perfectly level, but probably as close as we were going to get. The difference in the water level when filled is about 3 inches from one side to the other, so fairly even enough.


Well I shall say that I am very pleased with both pool and salt water cleaning system. We have been enjoying our pool all summer. So far it's been filled for 6 weeks and we haven't had to change the water, which is great because I know the amount of water that it took to fill this pool has increased our water bill, but in the end we are having clean safe water, not to mention tons of fun while not having to purchase gallon's and boxes of chemicals to use. We had a hard time finding the "actual" pool salt, but to my surprise after searching all over the internet we decided to do like many others and purchased a few 20 pound bags of Morton Solar Salt and it has worked fine. Added benefit is soft water in the pool, very relaxing and not rough on our skin. It has been working great, we set ours to run for 6 hour's overnight with the timer, and purchased a separate timer for pump that came with the pool. We have also been changing the filter every 2 weeks. It's not salty at all. I am pleasantly surprised and happy with both purchases.

Giving home canning and preserving a try

I really think I have a new hobby and I'm enjoying it! It all started last year when I first gave backyard gardening a try. It didn't turn out very well, but it was indeed a learning experience, nonetheless. I figured out some, do's, don't's, spacing and etc... There is just no better tasting vegetables than freshly grown veggies. We go to the farmers market often. I am absolutely in love with tomatoes and will bite into them and eat them just as I would a apple. Not the one's from the grocery, but the one's from the farmer's market & now hopefully as I begin to harvest them from my own small backyard garden this year, yummy!!! They are so delicious!!!


So, after taking much liking into gardening, what comes next? Learning how to enjoy those fresh flavors all year long. With that being said I went and purchased me some supplies so that I can do my own canning and preserving at home. I have to get a few more things and I shall soon be on my way, yay!!! I already made my first batch of pickles from the cucumbers in my garden. Needless to say they didn't even last a week. We were so shocked at how great they turned out. I plan on making a few batches this week and at least two of the jars I'm hoping to keep sealed for 2 weeks without getting eaten, lol!! I know I won't have a large harvest, so I do plan on steady shopping with the local farmer's to help me get a nice stock.


This is tasty & enjoyment all put together, not to mention learning!! I can't wait to try out some of the recipes I've been finding and share them with my family!