Wednesday Loves September Style

I'm loving that my Sweet Autumn Clematis is blooming like CRAZY this week. So pretty.

I'm loving that it is already Wednesday and the weekend is just around the corner. Oh the possibilities.

I'm loving that I got a $10 Starbucks card for $5 with this Living Social deal. It's like getting a free drink! And yes, I spend $5 on a drink and I'm OK with that. (I think it's good until midnight tonight!)

I'm loving the Purdue has its own Pinterest account and that I found this on it.

Source: keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk via Megan on Pinterest

I'm loving this title - Because writing is easier than quitting - from DesignHER Momma. I read it. I nodded my head at some of her words. I blinked back tears at others. I understood where she was coming from. This post is why I love being part of this online community.

I'm loving that I had some time to spend with my nieces at my parents' farm. We actually stopped and smelled the flowers.

Linking up to What I'm Loving Wednesday over at this kind of love.

Indiana Fever Basketball Oh Ooh

Watching the Indiana Fever WNBA game last Saturday night, got me thinking about a few things that you - my reader (I do have at least one reader, right?) - might not know about me that are kind of related to basketball and the Fever.

1.  I "played" basketball in high school. Or as my junior varsity coach told everyone at our end-of-year sports banquet one year, "Megan plays all positions for the team...She sits in the CENTER of the bench, leans FORWARD, and GUARDS the water bottles." Gotta love Mr. Skinner.

2.  As a Purdue graduate, I fell many ties to the current Indiana Fever team. Not only did current player, Katie Douglas, play for the Lady Boilers, but so did assistant coach Stephanie White and head coach Lin Dunn coached at Purdue my freshman year.

2a.  Actually I had class with Stephanie White my freshman year. We were in the same Algebra class and our TA was AWFUL. He faced the chalkboard the entire class and none of us could hear or understand him. Luckily, he left mid-semester and the next TA at least looked at us when he taught. I'm sure Stephanie remembers all of this as clearly as I do!

3.  I still remember the night that the Purdue women's basketball team won the NCAA Finals my senior year of college. People took to the streets (my roommate and I watched from our window - we were a bit timid) in celebration.

4.  I still have my long-sleeved National Champions '99 t-shirt. It rocks.

5.  I literally stopped and stared at this advertisement that was hanging in the hallway of the Fieldhouse this weekend. It's right outside the Legends Suite...

It spoke to me in so many ways. I too am corn-fed. I too am proud of that fact. The rest of the Maker's Mark advertising that dominates the hallway is cool too. But it doesn't mention corn so I didn't take a photo of it.

6.  Going to the game and seeing the young girls cheering on women who can probably kick most men's butts on the court, made me wish my nieces were just a bit older. I think they would have so much fun at these games. And it's a really affordable family night out.

In fact, if you are interested in going to the game, you can get quite the deal on tickets for this Friday's (June 8th) game against the Connecticut Suns at 7 pm. The Fever are offering TWO free tickets (just pay the 75 cent per ticket TM fee) to anyone purchasing tickets through this link - www.wnba.com/fever/offer.html.

Here are a couple of other deals from the Indiana Fever that might interest you:

Family Night:

Tickets start at $13 and include a free hot dog, chips and drink (and a t-shirt, I think). This applies to all Saturday night home games throughout the season. June 16, July 7, August 18, September 1 are the remaining family night games.

Two for Tuesday/Thursday:Two for one ticket prices at all levels at all Tuesday and Thursday home games. According to @JustHeather, "Tuesday, July 10th would be a fantastic game for kids, with Freddy's (Fever's mascot) birthday celebration. It's a ton of fun and a daytime game this year, perfect for younger kids."

NOTE: The Indiana Fever hosted #FeverGNO and the Indy Geek Girls free in the Legends Suite - which can host your group of 15+ for $25 per person (and includes food/drink). So while the ticket was paid for, my opinions and experiences were not.

Friday Thoughts

It's Friday!! I'm so ready for the weekend. 

Didn't this work week seem like it was 7 days long?

I just don't have the brain power to write anything thought-provoking...wait a minute, that doesn't happen on a day when my brain is charged fully!

So here are some Friday thoughts/confessions that I just needed to share.

1.  Went to my alma mater this week to catch a men's basketball game. Here's the only photo I took...Instagram makes it look arty when it's really just out of focus! There's nothing like going back to the place you spent your years between 18-22 to make you feel OLD. I swear those college kids look 10...I probably look 40 to them!

2.  Speaking of college kids, there were NO male cheerleaders at the game. What's up with that? I'm not a huge watcher of the cheers but I enjoy it more when a 100-pound co-ed gets thrown in the air by a couple of cute guys!

3.  Speaking of cheerleaders, my sister and I think it must be a rule that they have to have long hair - there was not one with a shoulder-length cut, let alone a bob or pixie cut! We decided that neither of us could have ever been a cheerleader due to our hair (and our lack of coordination and inability to do a back flip).

4.  Speaking of hair, I grew mine out (not enough to be a Purdue cheerleader) for a while but recently got it cut to my shoulders but I'm just not feeling it. Thinking about layers...thoughts? I just don't know what to do!

5.  Speaking of Purdue (how did we get back here?), being back on campus reminded me of just how much I love it. I guess it was destiny as some of my earliest memories is of sitting in front of our old console TV watching Gene Keady yell at inspire his players while my dad yelled right along with him. It was a running joke that our TV had a direct feed to Keady's ear!

Reminds me of the bumper sticker that hung on the bulletin board in my room back in the day..."Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God."

Boiler Up!

Random Shots from My Phone...TOTALLY Random

I have so much to blog about that I really don't know where to start.

I really want to finish up my "Random Shots from my Phone" series but I also just co-hosted a baby shower for Brat, my Baby Sis, and have been prepping for my Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 (starts September 17) premiere party (see my prep post). Add to those some interesting travels last week and the start of corn harvest, and I have all kinds of stuff to talk type about.

So, I think I'll go ahead and finish the Random Photos series with a collection of truly random shots I found on my phone recently. Here we go...

First, I'm all about good fashion repeating itself. I also really like the leggings look (on folks who can pull it off, not me) that is out there right now. However, I cannot believe that stirrup pants are back in.

Yes, you read right - STIRRUP PANTS. I stopped in Gap the other day and was busy digging through their jeans selection (all were $35) when I spied these...

I admit that I was a stirrup pants wearer back in the day, but if they aren't bringing back the slouchy socks to go with them...I just don't see the appeal. Maybe I should ask Leslie over at Blonde Ambition or Little Miss Can't Be Wrong over at how i met your father because they are much more fashion aware than I am!

Moving on...

The next two photos are of some paintings I fell in love with during a visit to Gwen Gutwein's studio in Fort Wayne, Ind. I bought the painting in the middle of the first photo - my first real piece of art!

It's of soybean plants awaiting harvest. I am not sure what it is about the painting that speaks to me so loudly, but I'm in love with it still, always.

This painting is one that I thought my mom would really like. She loves birds and while this one is very simple, it's striking...at least to me.

The organizations I work for have a program with the Indianapolis Colts and Tight End Dallas Clark is the spokesperson. We spent a day last spring filming some television and radio spots with Clark. In this photo, he's doing a shoot with the Indiana FFA State Officer Team (last year's). He stopped filming when he realized the FFAers had memorized their lines while he was reading off cue cards. I was impressed by both Clark AND the FFA officers. Both were approachable, professional and lots of fun.

Can anyone tell me who this is? Some of my co-workers and I were eating lunch at our hotel in California last March and this former contestant on the Bachelor was our server! Now, I don't watch the show but a couple of my co-workers do and they begged me to get a shot of her.

This one was taken very casually as I "checked my e-mail" while she was taking our order.

For the life of me, I can't remember what her name is and what season she was on. I guess I could zoom in on her nametag and Google the show, but I really don't care that much!

Isn't this a cool shoe? I snapped this shot while eating in a great outdoor courtyard this summer. If you don't know what the "P" stands for...shame on you. Just kidding, it's for Purdue - the Boilermakers - THE best university in the world. Boiler Up!!!

Every post needs a monkey, right? Haven't you always wanted a Monkey? Sorry, I always think of that Barenaked Ladies song when I see a photo of a monkey...I know, I'm weird.

This very well-dressed monkey (maybe she needs some stirrup pants...) was at a small town homecoming that I attended for work earlier this summer. This was the same place that had the frog jumping contest. It was just excitement everywhere!

While I'm on the subject of animals, here's a shot at the pool in my neighborhood. My sister, nephews and I had just gotten out of the pool when these guys decided to take a dip.

We haven't been back since...

And last, but not least. Did you have a Monchhichi growing up?

We had one in the house but I can't remember if it was mine or one of my sisters. I saw these in Target the other day and just had to get a shot of them. Again, like fashion, I'm somewhat amazed what toys cycle back into circulation every few years!

That wraps up my "Random Shots from My Phone" series. Now that I've cleared off some shots from my phone, I have room for even more so stay tuned for more in the future!

Linking up to:
Mingle Monday

INCREDIBLE Sweet Corn...Let the Freezing Begin

Last week my family gathered at the farm to freeze the first sweet corn of the season.

I took way too many photos (check out my Wordless Wednesday post from last week) and am having trouble editing them to just one post. So, I've decided to stretch it out into several posts over the week.

It all starts with the corn! A co-worker asked me what variety of sweet corn my dad planted this year and she rattled off three or four varieties. After seeing the blank look on my face, she shook her head and said "Never mind."

Truth be told, I hadn't seen an actual ear of corn off the stalk yet and hadn't asked what variety of sweet corn Dad planted this year. I just knew it was sweet corn and it was going to be GOOD!

Once on the farm with camera in hand, I went out to the field with Dad and asked what variety we were he was picking. I found out it was Incredible, a yellow corn. After a quick search on Purdue's web site, I found out that Incredible is a sugar-enhanced variety. According to the web site, "Sugar-enhanced (se) sweet corn has a higher sugar content and is more tender than standard sweet corn."

From the photo above, you may be wondering why the corn in front is shorter than the corn in the background. The reason is that the corn in the front is sweet corn and the corn in the back is field corn (or dent corn) which stays in the field until it's dried down in the fall and is used for livestock feed and processing (starch, alcohol and sugars).

Unlike most folks who plant a few rows of sweet corn in their gardens by hand, my dad uses a bit bigger piece of equipment - like a 12-row planter pulled by a very big tractor! This year, he planted five rows of sweet corn along the two short sides of the field closest to the house. He also has patches in a couple of other fields planted a bit later so we can enjoy sweet corn throughout the summer.

So, how does you know when the sweet corn is ready? Dad said that he looks at the size of the ears and squeezes the ear to see if it's firm. He also admitted that he "spot shucks" a couple of ears right on the stalk to make sure it looks ready to go!

This year the ears were slightly smaller than normal - probably because of the tremendous amount of rain we got early in the season and the lack of rain we've gotten in the last several weeks.

Note the 5-gallon bucket in his hand below. These buckets are staples around our farm. In my lifetime, I've seen them used for everything from gathering sweet corn from the field to transporting baby pigs. They are an essential tool on the farm!

Dad picked six buckets of corn for our first evening of freezing.

Tomorrow, the shucking begins! Stay tuned.