Yes, I am alive. This is my first post since December, and that's not good. Initially, my plan was to blog on a regular basis, with an emphasis on the Kansas State Fair, coming up in just 4 weeks! More about that later....

It's a bit of a bittersweet day. It's my final commitment-free day of the summer. No plans, nowhere to go, just a day to be lazy. I had planned on doing this for the full 2 weeks I had off, but I made the mistake of letting people know I had that time off, and I got "voluntold" for a lot of stuff. I feel that I was taken advantage of in some circumstances. My full days off are few and far between, and I tend to be selfish with them, so that I can use them to rest and recharge. I don't have any school stuff going on tomorrow, but I'm working at the Alley tomorrow evening, so it's not a full day off. In the meantime, I was able to do things I enjoy, like helping out with a kids day camp a few weeks ago, and having the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.  On that note, I'm looking toward Monday, when my school schedule begins again, with trainings on Monday and Tuesday, and then school starting on Wednesday. I have missed these kiddos, and it will be good to see them again. The only drawback is that I'm not a morning person, and I'm not looking forward to getting up at 5am again. 

This past summer has been brutally hot! My garden did not fare so well. I lost most of everything except for my tomatoes...yet. When it's too hot, tomatoes don't turn, so I haven't had much of anything so far. I'm hoping that when it begins to cool off, my tomatoes will start popping out and turning red. That's the prayer.  

Fair season is upon us! My question to you is this....would you like to see a daily blog this year? They tend to be wildly popular, but if there's not enough interest, I won't put the effort into it. I ask this question every year. It is a lot of work to blog daily, but I enjoy it. My other question to you is...would you like to see State Fair flashbacks, leading up to the Fair? If there's enough interest in that, I will put that into motion as well. I visited the fairgrounds this last week. The first thing I noticed was that the House Of Capper has been torn down. This building is very old, and its age was making it unsafe. The plan is to rebuild it in the same fashion as the previous one. Whether it will be done by the start of the fair remains to be seen. I have spent a lot of time in the shade of the House of Capper, resting from the sun and enjoying some fair food. I'm looking forward to seeing the new House of Capper built. I also noticed that there was a Fried Cookie Dough trailer parked out there, waiting for the fair. I'm going to visit more often as we get closer to the fair, and post updates as to what is there and what is happening. 

I am ambitious this year, and am entering 5 types of cookies into the Fair. Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter, and Monster. I'll be preparing them the Thursday evening before the fair, and entering them Friday morning, so they'll be extra fresh for the judging. I honestly am a basket case all day on that first Friday, wondering if my cookies will place. I guess I shouldn't get so worked up, but getting a State Fair ribbon is kind of like a pretty cool status symbol. There is a lot of stiff competition out there, and to win a ribbon makes a person feel that their work is recognized and appreciated. Throughout the years, I have received blues on my chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, and reds on my snickerdoodles. I've also gotten whites on my chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.  Wish me luck!

I have a few more things I want to get done tonight, so I need to jump off of here. In closing, I need to know if you want flashbacks and/or daily blogs. 

Thanks for reading, and God bless you!!