My Fair...Fair!

I have long wanted to change the look of my blog. The Daily B changes her look regularly, and I love it. But me, well, I'm too stingy to pay for custom templates, and I haven't found anything free that was easy enough for me to figure out. My brain is rather baby-fied these days, and time to figure out code just isn't in my day. I can't remember how I found out about The Cutest Blog on the Block, but I'm so glad I did! There are some great FREE templates (did I mention they were FREE???), and they come with easy-peasy how-to instructions. So I picked out a fall-ish background. It's not without kinks...I'm trying to figure out how to fix a slight overlap at the top of the posting section. Heck, I might just leave it for now. I just hope I pay close enough attention that I remember to change it at the appropriate time! :-)

************************************************************************

We Texans love our fried foods. We will, in fact, eat practically anything that has been battered and dropped into a vat of hot oil. And nowhere is this more evident than at the The State Fair of Texas. It is quite possibly the best place on earth to find such tidbits of deliciousness. As everything is bigger in Texas, it makes sense that we have the largest state fair in the United States, and let me tell you, it is a blast! While the fairgrounds are a permanent fixture in Dallas and are open year-round, the Official State Fair opens each year at the end of September and goes till the third weekend in October. There are lots of things to do and see. The Red River Rivalry is renewed each year as the University of Texas Longhorns battle the University of Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. The winner gets bragging rights for the next year.




There are two car shows--one for domestic, one for imports--that give fair-goers (is that a word? Probably only in Texas) a preview of the new models for the coming year. It's one of my favorite exhibits and one I never miss. Sorry...didn't get any pictures of the cars.





The Midway opens up with loads of games, rides, freak shows and fun houses.


Here's a fun house that Little Bit and I went through.






She was not impressed. However, once we made it through, she was, of course, ready to go again. That guy in the bathtub has been around for a looooong, loooooong, loooooooong time. He looked ready to fall apart at any moment.




Big Tex greets everyone at the gate and gives regular announcements of the various Fair 'goings-on". He's pretty huge...I don't think I even make it to the top of his boots!

But one event that everyone anticipates with baited breath is the announcement of each year's fried food. It's a pretty fierce competition with lots of good, and not-so-good, ideas.




One year the winner was fried Oreos (which I cannot fathom trying to improve on perfection).



Another year was peanut butter cups, another year Snickers won the prize...




Still another year, bacon.

That just seems wierd. Again, why try to improve on perfection?

This year's winner?




Deep fried butter.

Yep, you read that right...FRIED BUTTER.

The thing that is so funny to me is that the Hoffer has joked about eating fried butter smothered in white gravy for years!!! AND HERE IT IS ON THE MENU!!! Well, without the gravy, anyway. And from what I heard, it was really quite good! A columnist for one of the Dallas newspapers wrote an article on what fried foods were worth trying. She said the garlic-flavored fried butter was the lightest, fluffiest, most incredible thing she'd ever eaten. And yes, I did say garlic-flavored. There were several flavors, although I'm not sure what they all were. You see, as badly as we wanted to try some of these delectable delights, the lines to purchase said delights were HUGE! We would've spent the rest of our day just waiting to eat something designed specifically to clog arteries. Alas, we must wait another year to try the fried butter. But that means there will be yet another new fried food to try! Woo hoo! Can't wait!!!

Pleasant Words

The question was raised recently, once again by astute blogger Shauna at The Coffee Stop, as to how to share something personal on one's blog knowing that one will have to ultimately face lurkers. Here's what she said:

"There is a reason I haven't been blogging as frequently, and hopefully I'll feel confident enough to share it here soon. Quick question: how do you get personal on your own blog, knowing you will come face to face with some of the lurkers?"

It's something I've often wondered myself. How do you blog about something difficult you've been facing without sharing something lousy about another person? Any suggestions? I'm listening! I haven't been blogging for long, but my basic rule of thumb, for life as well as blogging, is that if I don't have something nice to say then I should keep my mouth shut (something The HOFFER has been asking me to do for quite some time--LOL!!!). While I've learned over the years that unkind words or gossip usually come back to bite me in the butt if I don't keep quiet, that doesn't necessarily mean I follow that little nugget of great advice with any regularity. Words can be used to build up and bring joy, or they can be used to destroy and hurt. Once spoken, they can't be taken back. In print--letter, email, note, BLOG--it's even worse, because it's written out for all to see and read again and again. Here's what the Bible says about what we say and how it affects others in James 3:3-12 (I'm using The Message translation):

"A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!

My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?"

Yikes. That IS scary!

I had originally planned on this post being about a few pet peeves I have, but reading those verses has caused me to change my mind. Pet peeves are negatives. So perhaps another time when I really need to vent...perhaps. Since words can be used for good instead of evil, positive instead of negative, I would like to share some pleasant words written about my Beloved (a.k.a. The HOFFER), as well as one more Bible verse. It's from one of my favorite books, Proverbs (New International Version, this time!).

Proverbs 16:24: Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.


Boy, did we find out just how true THAT is!!! Check out these pleasant words that someone wrote recently about The HOFFER! And yes, his name really is Cash. This was posted in a BMX chat room that he has been a part of for several years. (OldschoolBMX and Vintage, as referenced in this post, are both chat rooms focusing on BMX racing, mostly past but also present.)


"If anyone knows Cash, they’re a better person. What can I say but THANK YOU!

There are very few people on this earth that I look up to and admire. My dad was one. A good Christian man when he passed just after his 56th birthday. My pastor is another for instance. He brings the word of God to his flock every week in and week out. He’s genuine, not judgmental. He loves Jesus and he loves people. Then there's Cash. Cash is another person that I really admire. He is a genuine person and really loves people. When I first started back into this BMX thing, I thought it was kind of silly to be racing BMX into my late 30’s. However, with my involvement in OldschoolBMX and later Vintage, I found out that Cash was racing and that to me told me that it was alright to do so also. As time went on, I found Cash to be a warm and caring man. Never have I heard a discouraging word come from his mouth. He always has something positive to say and you can see Christ working through him. I consider myself fortunate to have met Mr. Matthews and to have him call me friend is truly an honor that I cherish.

Cash, I love you like a brother. If there’s anything you or Katy need, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I pray for you, your wife, your daughter, and the one in the womb. Cash, you are doing God’s will. Keep up the good fight!

Thank you!

Your friend, Mike"


Oh my goodness. How would you like it if someone said something like this about you? I was weeping openly after I read this. But what's important is this: our friend Mike hit the nail right on the head. The HOFFER is EXACTLY what Mike said: encouraging, always has something positive to say...pleasant words indeed. I am truly blessed to have him be such a major part of my life.

Happy 17th Anniversary and Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart! I love you.

The HOFFER is a Blogger!!!

One more thing: my husband Cash--affectionately known around here as THE HOFFER because of his Hall of Fame status--decided I was having way too much fun blogging and decided to take the plunge into the Blogosphere! Check out Cash Flows when you have a few minutes. He already has a couple of posts!