The most magical fair on earth...

One of the biggest things I miss about my hometown is the Kern County Fair. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the greater Bakersfield CA area allow me to enlighten you.

 

Now this is no ordinary fair..it is a magical time that happens the last week of september into the first week of october. As a young girl I have many fond memories of getting to take our annual trip with the neighborhood to this magical place. It is funny how an empty and downright ugly plot of land takes on a surge of life during these magical weeks.

It has everything your little heart desires…warm gooey cinnamon rolls, deep fired foods, pizza, the most amazing caramel corn and of course the most wonderful smell of hay and dirt (normally those smells aren’t appealing but at the fair it is totally different)! Oh and who couldn’t forget the deep fired snickers and twinkies (have to admit I never tried them). There are always fun concerts to attend, rides to ride and exhibits to browse. It may seem like any normal (and not even grand) fair to all you non bakersfieldians but for us its like no other!

As I got older the fair started to take on different roles in my life. In high school I was really involved in the FFA program (Future Farmers of America) and therefore raised two lambs and two pigs to show and sell at this glorious event. And oh how much fun that was! I basically got to live at the fairgrounds during those few weeks, but I never left the fair without the tears of saying goodbye to my beloved animals. I loved every bit of it though! And yes I do know that most people enter the animal area and wrinkles their noses at the umm well stench they seem to produce, but for me it is a smell full of memories (please don’t judge). Oh how I miss those days! Those joyfilled times of animals and cheerleading competitions.

P.S. Remind me to tell you guys about the time the little piggy jumped over the gate and I had to chase him all over the fair..soap suds and all!

Anyways, once I graduated from High School I no longer had the privilege of living in the animal pens of the fair :) However, I still did love going to the fair.

Sidenote..i’m always skeptical of the rides though…I mean seriously how sturdy can these rides be when they are put up and taken down so often?!

In college I got to help out and work in the City Firefighter booth selling all the yummy fair goodies (like fried burritos..yummm) with my dad (by the way he’s a firefighter)!

No matter what I am doing there I always come alive when entering between those golden gates of the fairgrounds! So therefore it has been hard to be away and not get to participate in this annual magical time. It has been probably 3-4 years since I have been able to attend and they say each year gets easier..well their wrong!

And why oh why do all you fellow facebookers have to torment me with all this talk and bragging of your fair trips this year..so not nice!

Maybe one day i’ll get to return to my beloved fair :)

And for you viewing pleasure..

Do any of you lovely bloggers have local fairs that you love?

Rescuing a damsel in distress..

So since I was a horrible wife and neglected to post anything in honor of the hubs birthday (which was on Thursday) I am going to brag about him a little now!

One of the biggest things that I had to get used to when we moved on base was always having my ID with me. You see, I have this problem..well I have many but this one affects my ID! Anyways, for some reason I never put my cards (ID, credit, debit) in the right place. I own a wallet yet it has been sitting doormat in my purse for a really long time now! I have admitted this problem and know that try as I might the wallet thing doesn’t work for me :) So instead I stick them in the middle pocket of my purse (hopefully none of you are pickpocketers and if so I didn’t just reveal that) and it seems to work..well most of the time!

You see the big problem comes in the fact that a lot of times I will also stick my cards in the pocket of what I am wearing that day (ie, jacket, jeans, etc.)! I have been known to be caught without my credit cards while making a purchase for this very reason!  Also because of this known fact about myself I have been very good lately about making sure I have said cards (especially the ID) with me when I leave the house!

Yesterday unfortunately my efforts fell short! Do you ever have those days where you just feel scatterbrained and it’s like you thinking is one (or five) steps behind your actions..well that was me! I had to make it to the doctor before 10 am and as I left my house (running late) I knew that I had my debit card and assumed I had my ID. I had so much else swirling around my mind, I needed to get air in the tire and the air on base was broken, I was running late and I had to make it on time!

As I reached the Dr’s with a few minutes to spare I realized that I had forgot to fill out my insurance form but luckily I had it in the car with me. As I go to search for my Info and ID I freeze! I tear apart my purse (and yes there is a lot of trash in there) but no ID! Oh no! Seriously guys I freaked out, this hasn’t happened to me yet (only in my nightmares) since we have lived on base.

I put in a frantic call to the Hubs asking for his social and what I should do! And let me tell you, the Hubs handled it really well! I know that he gets frustrated with me that I don’t use my wallet like a normal person but he didn’t even have a hint of irritation towards me as I explained to him my dilemma. He calmly explained to me a few options and told me to call him when I needed him..hubs you are my hero!

It all ended up working out fine, I was able to meet him outside of the gate and he vouched my on. When I got home the first thing I did was ran upstairs and what do you know…the ID was in my jacket pocket from yesterday..ayaya!

Hopefully I learned my lesson…well probably not but at least I will be more aware for the next few weeks :)

Have a great day!

Perfect timing..

Lately I haven’t been getting called that much to work (sub) so imagine my excitement when I was called Monday!  Don’t get me wrong I have had plenty to keep me busy but the lack of income is never fun :) I don’t know why, but no matter how early I get up or how much time I give myself to get ready, I am always running late. On monday the call came later than usual, I had already assumed it was going to be another fun-filled day of cleaning and computer work, when they called. So therefore, I was really running late! Luckily the job was for a sub ed assistant so I knew that I would be okay if I just barley made it before the 15 minute report time.

Imagine my dismay as I fly walk down the stairs running and trying to grab everything I need and make it out the door on time only to find two big piles of dog regurgitation! What the Heck! Thanks Charles, once again you have proved your horrible unique ability to complicate my life! Oh you lovely dog you! I drop everything and go on a search for the lost carpet cleaner neatly placed carpet cleaner and try with all my might not to throw up myself as I clean up his lovely present. Oh and of course he had to throw up in the most publically seen part of the carpet in TWO different spots..sure why wouldn’t he?!

I clean it up and head out trying not to speed as I am frantically trying to make it on time..luckily the teacher was really understanding! But now I still can’t get the spots out and they are right where everyone can see them..stupid cheap carpet! Oh well, it’s just another day with the Charles:)

Have a wonderful hump day!

Try’em Out Tuesday – taming the beast

Okay so I know that I am late on this but at least it is till tuesday (which is better than I have been doing lately)! This special edition of Try’em out Tuesday is for all of you wonderful dog lovers out there :)

If you recall from my posts here and here sometimes I have a hard time controlling the beast currently known as The Charles. According to his latest vet weight he is now a whopping 87 pounds which isn’t a whole lot less than me…oh and he’s a whole lot stronger! During one of my ventures out with the Charles (trying to help him get his exercise on) one of my kind neighbors took pity on me and let me in on a little secret for big dog owners. She claimed that this insiders secret was the key to keeping me sane and my dog alive!

However, being the cheap person that I am I never could actually get myself to spend the money on this special product..I just decided that it would be a good workout for me to try and use all my strength to control the Charles when we went out in public (much to all of my neighbors dismay)!

But guess what! ..that is what grandparents are for :) When I was on my cali vacation this summer my MIL came to visit the hubs and came bearing gifts for her grandpup!

So now we come to the big reveal of this weeks feature product(s), the miracle of all miracles, my one and true sanity keeper..

The Gentle Leader leash and worker backpack (can’t remember real name)!!

We put soup cans on the side of the backpack and it makes the Charles feel like he is working, has a purpose, which is good for dogs. It also gets him tired faster which we love as well! Let me tell you folks, if you struggle to control you big dogs then this is a must have..please don’t wait as long as I did to take advantage of these wonderful product! The gentle leader also comes with a training dvd (which I didn’t see till right now when I was looking at the case.hehe) but i’m sure it would help with the taming of the beast dog as well! I don’t really know why but he is a lot easier to control with this leash than with the pinch collar.

Oh and one other funny little tidbit…we have no idea why but The Charles tends to freeze when he has anything put on his back (like literally doesn’t move a muscle) so it is really funny to watch him freak out when we put it on him. He is getting used to it though and he is also finally learning who to properly mark all of his hydrants on the walk without falling over :)

Have a wonderful night!

Oh and these products get an A+ ..the Charles agrees b/c they have probably saved his life!

Practicing my Sir’s..

One of the things that I first caught onto when I met my hubby was is ingrained ability to insert “yes sir” or “yes ma’am” when talking to any adult. You see, growing up in a military family I guess that is one of the requirements to surviving. Now, me on the other hand grew up in a family that called adults by their gasp first name and only allowed the phrase “yes sir/ma’am” come out of my mouth when held at gun point (not really but you get the point). My family was a very casual family and therefore was never trained in the sir’s or ma’am’s.

At first every time I heard the Hubs address people it caught me off guard, not because of the use of those polite words, but because of the fact that it simply rolled off his tongue without him even thinking about it! Then I met his family (now my family too) and I saw what a big part being polite and respectful was in their family which included using “sir” and ma’am when addressing an adult. I don’t mean to sound at all like my family was rude or impolite, we just weren’t as formal. Anyways, now being married into the military I see even more what a huge part these two titles play in this new life! I am embarrassed to admit that we have been married now 2 1/2 years and I am no closer to using those regal words than I was when I first met the hubs! It’s not that I am trying to be disrespectful or anything, I just think about it after the fact and then am like “shoot I should have said yes sir instead of yeah”!

Which brings me to the reason that I am writing this post…I need accountability people! Maybe by telling all you out there that I am committing to ingraining these words into my brain too will actually force me at gun point make me do it! I am starting to see now that it is not only a way to respect to the person I am talking to but also to show respect to the hubs, since after all I am representing him in all that I do on base.

I also really want our kids to grow up with the same respectful manner that the hubs did and it will only confuse them if he is saying it and I am not (and just for the record we are not pregnant yet)! I really do feel that there are many different ways to raise your kids to be respectful (and a lot of it is guided by the type of lifestyle you family has), but for us I see this as a vital part of the Reno family that needs to not be overlooked!

Wish me luck folks, ask me how I’m doing, do anything you feel you need to in order to nag  make sure I am doing my part in this military family :) thanks ladies!!

What are some of the important things in your family?

Try’em Out Tuesday – Another Wednesday Edition..

Man I have been seriously slacking lately! Every time things seem to be calming down something happens and it is crazy once again :) We are going through some big changes that hopefully I will be able to share soon.

Now onto this edition of try’em out tuesday! This one is special because if come directly from my sister-in-law’s bathroom..literally! As I mentioned in my previous post, we stayed at my SIL’s (sister-in-law) house this last weekend during the marathon. One of the first things she showed me when I got there was that she had just bought the Aquafresh Iso-active toothpaste…I had totally wanted to try this! Score! It has been all over the t.v. lately and I since I have horrible teeth (no lie) I am always up for anything that can help. Especially since the dentist has been taking all my money lately..not cool!

Anyways, I am so excited to share this product with you all!

First I will give you a little description straight from good old Aqua’s mouth (and by that I mean http://www.aquafresh.com/IsoActive.aspx):

“Aquafresh Iso-Active Whitening doesn’t look like an ordinary toothpaste, and it doesn't act like one, either! Given that 40 percent of your tooth surface is hidden between your teeth, getting your mouth healthy and clean can be a challenge. But Iso-Active's revolutionary gel activates the moment you start brushing, transforming into a micro-fine foam. This active foam penetrates hard-to-reach places around your mouth, protecting between your teeth and giving you a whole-mouth clean.

Breakthrough gel transforms into an active foam

Penetrates hard-to-reach places to protect between teeth

Removes 3 times more bacteria* as it whitens

Provides Aquafresh Triple Protection for healthy gums**, strong teeth, and fresh breath”

Let me tell you folks…their right! Now I don’t have a microscope to  see if all the sciency stuff is right (plus I wouldn’t know what to look for) but I do know what a clean mouth feels like and boy did my mouth feel squeaky. It is so cool b/c you just have to put a little toothpaste on the brush and as soon as you put it in your mouth it expands..a lot! I actually had to spit some out b/c I wasn’t used to this new technology and I had used too much :) I also really liked the fact that I could feel it going in-between my teeth, and yes I did let the little kid inside come out for a little bit and play with the foam in my mouth!

I give this product an A+! Rachel you rock..thanks for suggesting it! for all of you out there who love the feeling of a clean mouth stop what you are doing and go buy it! Oh and if you have sensitive teeth they also have a sensodyne version that has the same foaming nifty technology!

Have a wonderful Hump day everyone :)

Warning weekend 1/2 marathon craziness ahead..

Hey all you lovely bloggers! Sorry I have been a little neglective as of late..I was totally planning on doing an awesome “Try’em out Tuesday” and well with this being a short week for me (explanation to follow), things got crazy and time ran out on me! But don’t worry, it WILL be back next week!

This weekend was a blast of craziness as the hubs and I headed out to partake in our first 1/2 and full marathon. That’s right folks, we headed to Ohio (land of the free and the runners) for the Air Force Marathon..whoot whoot!! I know that I have mentioned it on several occasions but have yet to come out and tell all you lovely ladies what has been monopolizing most of my time for the last few weeks. so here it is…I just ran my first 1/2 marathon this last weekend!

Now this is Big because as of June 2009 I was a total anti-runner! Seriously folks, the Hubs would beg and plead for me to join him but I would either make some lame excuse or claim I hate running and even more it hates me (so we would all be better if  we just avoided each other, me and running that is)! The Hubs would continue to beg me claiming that I would so learn to love it and even begin to gasp be addicted! And yes, as much as I hate to admit the hubs was right, I soon fell victim to the running addiction too :)

It was not easy at first; in fact I quit many times. But alas..with the hubs encouragement I persevered and soon could not live without it really started to love it! One of the other things that kept me going through the training was the fact that I had committed to running the AF Marathon in Ohio on September 19th and didn’t want to disappoint!

Oh and what a weekend it was!! I had the tremendous pleasure of getting to run the 1/2 marathon with my sister-in-law :) The hubs and I also got to stay in her new house which is incredibly cute and so much fun! A lot of the Hubs family lives near Dayton Ohio so not only was it an amazing time to get to participate in the marathon but we had a blast getting to hang with the fam!

We arrived in Ohio late thursday night and on friday we got to attend Chapel at the college where we met..so many good memories there! The rest of the day was spent hanging out with family, getting to see my sister-in-law’s class and preparing for the festivities of the next day.

We woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday and headed out to Wright Patt AFB. I made it just in time to see the Hubs group (there were so many people there i couldn’t see him) take off for the Marathon. The lines for the bathroom were crazy so Rachel and I spent the next 40 minutes waiting in line so that we could empty our bladders before our race started. Once the tank was empty we had just enough time to tear off our warm-ups, hand them to our lovely family members that came to support us and run to the start line! By 8:30am we were off and running :0

I had two main goals for this race:

1. to run the whole thing (no walking for me) and..

2. to keep about a 10 minute mile pace!

I’m not going to lie..some parts of the race were really tough. there were some hardcore hills that really got to me but overall I felt like I was keeping a steady pace (I didn’t have a watch to keep track). AND I ran the WHOLE thing..whoot whoot! The first two miles it was hard b/c there were a lot of people to try and get around so that I could find a spot to fall into a good grove (I really don’t know why people stopped in the middle of the road to walk..so annoying..move to the side people please!). Also it was funny b/c around mile nine the burps started coming out..not from me though..from those around me! I guess it’s about that time that your body just has to let it out :)

It was really neat getting to run through the base, there were some really cool houses to look at which helped keep me distracted. There wasn’t a lot of spectator spots but it was so cool hearing the cheers of the active duty military members cheering us on as well as the volunteers :) It was also neat to get to run with all the active military members participating..some ROTC students even ran with packs and boots..craziness! Knowing that when I finished I would then get to cheer the hubs on to the finish helped keep me going!

The end was the coolest as we got to run through the AF museum planes to the finish line with all our friends and family cheering us on!

You can’t really see me but I am in the pink and grey! I was able to sprint to the finish with all that I had left! It felt so good to finish and my final time was 2 hours and 11 minutes (which is right about the 10 min mile pace)! go me :)

Once I finished and finally snapped out of my daze (I was basically wandering around while people were handing me towels, food and my medal) I found the family and was then able to cheer on the sis!

Go Rachel! she did amazing and I am so proud of her!

A little while later the excitement mounted as the hubs came into my line of view..

he’s in the blue (you can’t really see him here)! Rachel and I followed him and yelled at the top of our lungs all the way to the finish line!

Isn’t he so cute!! He was totally amazing and I can’t even express how proud of him I am!

I am now totally hooked and I am already looking for the next race I can participate in :) What has happened to me?! I even went out and ran 6 miles today! I now can’t wait to do a full marathon (though i think I might do another 1/2 again first).

Sorry for the long post :) I just couldn’t wait to share! hope you had a  wonderful weekend!

Stay tuned for Try’em out Tuesday tomorrow!