Erika Jean

The Grass Couple

2009-11-08T14:27:00.002-07:00

Howdy. Well, guess what? After 3 long weeks of sitting on that store shelf together, we decided to take the plunge and get ourselves hitched!

Here are a few pictures from the weddin' day:

By the way...I'm Mr. Bent Grass and this is my beautiful wife, Mrs. Blue Grass. This is us shortly after exchangin' vows.

I hope that you will enjoy hearin' about our lives from time to time. Our Landlord, Ms. ErikaJean had bad luck with her last tenant. She wouldn't go into details, but we hear he was a bad seed.

We're goin' on our Honeymoon, but I hope to post just as soon as we get back. I reckon it should be in about 5-7 days - hard to tell, we're drivin'.

We'll, we've got out selves packed...

Bye Y'all!

Postcrossing Sunday - Taiwan

2009-11-08T00:01:00.002-07:00

Today's Postcard

Winners!!!

2009-11-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Watch to see if you're a winner. Please forgive my mistakes and mumbling - I did this in one quick take!

Winners, Please e-mail me your address so I can get your goodies into the mail! Thanks!! airrikajswan{AT}gmail{DOT}com

Thanks for entering everyone! Happy Postcrossing!

Blog Contest - Postcards

2009-11-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

*STICKY POST*MORE POSTS BELOW*

PLEASE CAREFULLY READ INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ENTER.

Any incorrect entries (comments) will be deleted from the selection pool.

I only say this because someone does it wrong every time I do a contest ;-)

Blog contest time!! Today's items are related to my hobby of Postcrossing. If you are a postcrosser, this is your opportunity to stock up on postcards. If you are not a Postcrosser, this is your opportunity to start Postcrossing. If you don't want to start postcrossing, this is your opportunity to get something for free and then possibly re-gift it! Ha!

If you are not quite sure what Postcrossing is, You can find out more here.

Since this is my 1,000th post I decided to hold a contest for three small items.... That means 3 winners! I will pick three random winners out of a hat. If you are picked 1st you win the 1st prize item, 2nd pick gets the 2nd prize item and 3rd picked gets the 3rd prize item. It's that simple!

* * * * 1st Prize * * * *

Now, here’s a holiday postcard collection with personality, wit, and style! Unlike the endless droves of generic Christmas greetings with clichéd sayings, sugary sentiments, and sparkly angels, these cards stand apart from the rest by expressing what people really feel when Noel rolls around—and it’s usually not merry and bright! There’s something for everyone on your list…especially every bad boy and girl.

* * * * 2nd Prize * * * *

* * * * 3rd Prize * * * *

10 Arizona postcards

To enter in the drawing you must do one or all of the following (each task = 1 entry):
Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each of these the entries to count also include your twitter name and/or your blog address where necessary.

*Twitter about this contest. You must tweet this exact sentence:
"Check it out @_erikajean_ is holding a blog contest! www.erikajean.com #EriJContest #postcrossing! Hurry... It ends Nov. 6th."

*Subscribe to this blog, and tell me what method of subscribing you chose. If you are already a subscriber please tell me the method of subscribing you use - and you will earn this entry as well.

*Blog about this contest on your blog! You must link back to my blog and mention the contest in the post.

Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each of the entries to count. I will be checking the comments, printing out entries, cutting them apart and drawing out of a bowl to pick the winners.

DEADLINE for entries: Nov. 6th -10pm EST

Fine Print:
Family members are not eligible. You do not have to be a US resident or a blogger to enter - just be sure to leave a way for me to contact you. The winner will be announced on wwww.erikajean.com November 7th, 2009.

*STICKY POST*MORE POSTS BELOW*

Peanut Brittle

2009-11-04T12:43:00.001-07:00

My friend and I decided not to exchange Birthday presents this year, but I still wanted to send her a little something. I went Michaels and got a cute little tin, some ribbon and a bow. On the way home I stopped at Safeway and picked up supplies for peanut brittle. When I got home, I started cooking right away!

I wanted to make it on the stove, the old-fashioned way.

It turned out really good.

But for the second batch I used a microwave recipe that my mom got from somebody, who probably got it from somebody else, and so on. It is a lot easier (and it tastes better!). You make it in the microwave, and don't need to fuss with a candy thermometer.

Here's how:

It's best to have all ingredients measured and ready to go before starting the process.

Mix in a glass bowl 1 cup white sugar with 1/2 cup white corn syrup.
Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Add 1 cup salted peanuts. Stir quickly.
Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Add 1 Tablespoon softened butter and 1 Teaspoon vanilla. No need to stir.
Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Remove bowl from microwave.
Add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Stir quickly and thoroughly.

Pour on well greased cookie sheet. Spread out with spoon.
Tip: while spreading, the mixture will stick to your spoon like crazy, I used a pair of clean scissors to cut the goo away from the spoon so I could continue spreading.

Cool, break into pieces.

*Y*U*M*

The Secret Life of Money

2009-11-03T00:01:00.002-07:00

62 Pennies
1 Nickel
17 Dimes
5 Quarters

$3.62

All found (with the help of a few screwdrivers) in the door panel of my car.... between the plastic and the door.

Where's your money hiding?

Postcrossing Sunday - Portugal

2009-11-01T00:01:00.001-07:00

(Click Postcards to Enlarge)

Halloween Sign

2009-10-31T08:06:00.003-07:00

FWD:FWD:haha look at this halloween sign i saw at the gas station!
Originally uploaded by airrikajswan

Saw this this morning @ the gas station & it made me laugh. Thought I'd share. Happy Halloween everyone!

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Posts on the Blog.

2009-10-28T00:21:00.001-07:00

999 blog posts and going strong. I can't believe I've posted that many times. I want to say a big THANK YOU to all those who read, subscribe and comment. It really means a lot.

I started this blog as nothing more than a personal record of my life.

From my 1st blog post:
This isn't meant to entertain you. Why? Because its MY thoughts and MY memories. Things I would like to note. But if you enjoy it, I will not stop you from reading about my life. I feel that so much is going on that I need to write it down. Just not in a journal.... Because, well, there is no spell check.

While I still document what I do in life, I do also try focus on being somewhat entertaining and interesting. I don't know if entertaining and interesting are the right words, but lets just say things around here are much more put together than they once were. I never though I'd actually have people come back to my blog - and for that I am grateful.

Over the past 3 years (and more) I've dealt with annoying residents on campus, hated my job, hated my professors, hated shopping, graduated college, moved across the country, developed a love for photography, started hobbies, stopped hobbies, had blog contests, done experiments, tried my hand at cooking, traveled here and there, shared fun links and blabbed about myself.

It's been a journey, and it's not stopping any time soon.

As a THANK YOU to the blogosphere and in celebration of 1000 posts, I will be holding a small blog contest. It starts Friday, so be sure to come back and enter!

PS. I love that evil grin ;-) yes it's me!

My 1st Webcam Cache!

2009-10-26T06:25:00.002-07:00

Webcam Cache: These are caches that use existing web cameras placed by individuals or agencies that monitor various areas like parks or road conditions. The idea is to get yourself in front of the camera to log your visit. The challenging part, however, it that you need to call a friend to look up the web site that displays the camera shot. You will need to have them to save the picture to log the cache. If you’re a tech-head you could use your wireless modem and save the image yourself on your laptop.

With the help of my mom, I was able to complete this cache. Wilbur's Wildcat Webcam was on the University of Arizona campus. I had been there, but never really had the chance to explore it. So thank-you Geocaching for giving me an excuse to walk around a bit!

Here I am at the cache. Phone to ear and camera around the neck. We also happened catch a biker in the background.

The University of Arizona campus was really pretty. I walked right through the main street, where all the eateries, bars and stores were. There were a lot of people out an about, many of those people on bikes. Tucson is way more bike friendly than Cincinnati! Though, Cincinnati is hilly, and I don't know that any one would choose a bike over walking for getting around there anyway...

After I completed the Webcam Cache, I headed toward a nearby traditional cache. On the way I stopped at Penguin's and had a reallllly good smoothie. It was sort of a create your own smoothie place, so I had Pineapple Juice, Mango Tart Frozen Yogurt, Strawberries and some Kiwi. Mmm mmm good!

I sipped on my smoothie on the way to the cache. I made a quick and easy find and snapped a goodbye shot of the Tigger TB I was carrying.

Have you done a webcam cache before?

Feed Readers: Quick Comment HERE

What is Geocaching? Answer here.

Sabino Canyon

2009-10-25T17:25:00.001-07:00

Sabino Canyon was also on this list of things to do while my friends were in town last week. I had never been there and didn't really know what to expect... but it was absolutely beautiful. I don't think the pictures do it any justice - but they are still fun to look at!

When we got there, my friend Jessica starting reading the pamphlets they gave us at the gate. It was about what to do if you saw a mountain lion and how to prepare yourself for a mountain hike. One of the suggestions was to carry a walking stick (basically a weapon). Having thought about buying one before, I decided to get one at the gift shop just in case. I figure it will be good for poking in all those holes while geocaching too - so its not like I won't use it again.

There were no geocaches on the trail we took, but that wasn't really part of the plan anyway. The plan was to hike, see Arizona, hang out and have fun. We did all of the above!

We hopped on the back of the tram for the ride up and got off at the last stop.

There were a lot of people on the tram, but we only saw a few people on the trail. Besides our loud and very random singing, it was very quiet and peaceful day. Yes, I said singing. What else do you do while you're on a hike and bored!?

When we got off the tram, I asked the driver if that was really the way we had to go. Sadly, it was. Sure a ½ a mile doesn't sound like a lot, but that is how far we took the connector trail to the main trail. Straight up.

I had to stop and catch my breath quite a few times on the way up, but once we started getting rolling on the main trail it got a lot better.

We hiked around 4¼miles more, including the way down. We were glad to see the path down, but I think it was one of the hardest parts of our hike. At least the view made up for it.

I had a great time and would really love to explore some more trails in Sabino Canyon. Oh yeah, we did not encounter any mountain lions. Thank God ! !

I was also able to add this trail on my walking stick! I think I will be putting all the ones I do with it on here! I'm such a nerd - but I am excited about that...

Postcrossing Sunday

2009-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

(Click Postcards to Enlarge)

Fun With Travel Bugs - Tigger TB

2009-10-24T00:03:00.003-07:00

Do you ever take pictures of the Travel Bugs you help move along? I don't always, but I like to when I have the time. I think the whole process of moving a TB can be rather fun. - it is what you make it. If it were my TB I know I'd be very appreciative of pictures!

Here is a little example of the pictures I take and the things I write:

Tigger scared me a bit when he bounced up on to the fence. I had forgotten that's what tiggers do! Here he is standing in front of Safford Peak.

Tigger was tired from all that bouncing, so he bounced right into the pool and onto the raft where he could catch some rays and rest a bit.

Tigger told me not to tell you... but he loves the weather here a WHOLE lot better. He is excited about his goal and to bounce there soon, but he is worried about having to bounce back to cold weather!

What is Geocaching? Answer here.

Friday Flashback - @ The Lake

2009-10-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

Good times at the Grandparents' in Michigan.

Sara, Lisa and Erika. I'm touching my tongue to my nose. My only talent.

Dad, Nort and Erika

Nort and Lisa

I have great memories of knee-boarding, swimming, fishing and jumping off the dock! Grandpa had a few speed boats and then eventually a pontoon. They sold the boat this summer (or are still trying). It kind of makes me sad, but Grandpa is getting old. I started to get nervous every time he had to put gas in the boat ;-)

Phoenix Caching

2009-10-22T00:01:00.003-07:00

The last time I tried to grab a cache in Phoenix, it was 115∘out, so the caching plans were aborted. This time was different. Fall has hit and temperatures have started to drop. When my friends came to town, their arrival times ended up being a couple hours apart. Since we had some time to kill, I took Stephanie geocaching while we waited for Jessica to fly in. It was Steph's first time geocaching, and I was excited to show her what it was all about... since I talk about it all the time!

Here is Stephanie making her first find!

The cache was a magnetic tin.

We were excited to find some signature items from our home state, Ohio!

We decided to grab one more before finding somewhere to eat..

I think Stephanie enjoyed our mini caching trip caching. It's always fun to teach someone a little about the game of caching!

Who was the last newbie you shared the game with?

What is Geocaching? Answer here.

Colossal Cave

2009-10-21T11:25:00.007-07:00

My friends were in town earlier this week, and one of the activity suggestions I gave them was a visit to Colossal Cave. They thought it sounded interesting, and after learning we'd be out of the sun on a 92∘day - the cave trip was set in stone.

I have been to Colossal cave before, I've even been on the same tour. This time though, was different. Our guide took us a slightly different way, a with a lot of tight spots. After almost getting stuck twice, I have now decided caves are for skinny people only!

Sure, it was a tight squeeze but we had so much fun! We were covered in dirt from head to toe and scraped up our arms from army crawling, but it was so worth it. I'd definitely recommend the Colossal Cave Ladder Tour for anyone wanting to get "off the beaten path."

There were a lot of ladders. This one was the smallest, being only the width of one foot.

We also had a lot of tight squeezes. This was only the beginning.... It got much tighter, leaving very little wiggle room.

We also went across these itty-bitty catwalks. It was a loooong way down.

I wasn't a geocacher the last time I visited the cave, so this time I was also able to claim a find on an Eathcache. I had to answer a few questions about the cave and take a photo. Sadly I forgot to take a picture where I needed before entering the cave. So here I am afterward all sweaty and dirty with hat hair. Gross!

I'm up to 4 Earthcache finds now!

What is Geocaching? Answer here.

Postcrossing Sunday

2009-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

(Click Postcard to Enlarge)

Back in 5.

2009-10-16T10:25:00.005-07:00

It will actually be more like 5 Days. Two of my friends from Ohio are in town, so I plan on hanging out with them while there here! I will be absent for a while, but will come back with a ton of stuff I'm sure. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them. My last couple visits to Ohio were rather rushed.

We plan on doing quite a few things here in Tucson, which is exciting because I haven't done a lot of the things we have planned! So It's good to be able to get out and explore my city. Hopefully I can grab a cache here and there. ;-)

I'll probably be rather quiet on Twitter and FB as well...

Postcrossing Sunday will post as scheduled, but other than that... see you Wednesday or Thursday!

Hey... While I'm gone, why not meander though my archives on the right sidebar? I know a lot of you haven't been around very long, I'm sure you'd find something interesting :-)

Lollipop Perfection.

2009-10-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

I made Lollipops! Well, technically all I did was melt some candy down and stick a stick in it. There was some effort involved... like picking what flavors and colors would go best together :-)

Mmmmm!

I found the idea on another blog. If you go to The Decorated Cookie, you can see the easy instructions.

7th Street Cemetery

2009-10-13T10:36:00.009-07:00

Cemeteries always used to give me the creeps. My sisters and I used to hold our breaths when we passed them - Just like we did when we'd drive over a bridge.

I don't know if its the geocaching or the fact that I've grown up, but I they don't bother me anymore. I find my self reading headstones, comparing dates and wondering what happened.

Take this stone for example. There has to be a story behind it.

Alice was Phebie's daughter and there deaths are 4 days apart. It gets me wondering. Was there some kind of accident and Alice held on a little longer? Was there some kind of disease/illness or something that both of them were battling? I'll probably never know, but it sure is intriguing.

After a day of caching in Benson, Arizona and stopping at two cemeteries, I have found that cemeteries here are a little different than in the Midwest....

First of all, there aren't many around. After living here more than a year, these cemeteries were the first I've come across. I guess it makes sense - the ground is a lot harder here. But where do all the dead people go. Do the majority of Arizonans get cremated and placed on the nearest mantle?

The second difference I noticed is the overall look, it was very different. There isn't a lot of green grass and big trees... well, because this is the desert. They also have these gate things around a cluster of stones. The family plot I guess? Maybe a sign of money? Some of them were individual stones only. Whatever the reason, they are unusual and interesting!

Some gates were more elaborate than others.

The last thing I noticed that was different in these Arizona cemeteries, was the condition of the stones. I'm crediting that to Arizona's extremely warm and dry weather. At home it's not unusual to see old stones cracked, broken, and covered in moss....

Here in Arizona though, the old stones were in pretty good shape.

And before I go, I wanted to share this stone with you...

I did some Googling and it turns out Gumm was part of the 1st Territorial Volunteer Infantry. Finding a bit of history is always interesting!

Previous Posts about Cemeteries:
Roy Cemetery
Harlen's Doorstep

Mini Caching Trip

2009-10-12T17:43:00.005-07:00

Earlier today I went down to Benson, Arizona for some geocaching. I ended up with 14 finds. Like always, I had more in my GPS - but I didn't get them all. It started to get warm, and I started to get tired so I headed home after 14. I'm glad I did becuase the hour drive home was rough. I was sllleeeeepy (not that sleepy, I was still safe to drive).

Anyway, I only had two DNFs (did not find) - which was a pretty good day for me. I usually come home with more DNFs than that ;-)

I packed a lunch for the day and sat down to eat around 11am, near a cache site.

While there, a bee started buzzing around me - and then left. He then returned with 5 of his closest buddies and it was my turn to leave. Luckily I was pretty much done eating...

After the bee attack I made my way to the cache in the park... and.... I FOUND THE SANDLOT.

Well, it's not the sandlot from the movie (which is awesome), but it is a sandlot and I got a kick out of it.

I also made friends with a three legged walking stick today. I met him in my car, trying to steal a ride.

I told him "No free rides here!!" and brushed him out the door

What is Geocaching? Answer here.

Fly, Fly Away

2009-10-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
Perhaps she'll die....

Video

This big fly was hanging out near our... GREEN pool.

Yes, it's that green. Gross I know, but it has been chemicaled to death and hopefully it will clear up soon. It has gotten so green becuase we've been ignoring it on account of the "cold" weather.

My, what big eyes you have...

Are those pinchers??

Yikes!

Postcrossing Sunday

2009-10-11T00:01:00.003-07:00

(Click Postcard to Enlarge)

I made my own postcards this week! I got prints done at Walgreens and used spray adhesive to spray them to some thicker metallic paper I had in my craft stuff. The paper is white on the back and great for writing on.

In the past, I have had postcards made on www.moo.com - I liked them becuase they looked like REAL postcards. However, they are a little more than I can afford right now so I decided to try something different. I'm glad I did, I think these turned out pretty good! It was a rather quick and easy process.

I got 44 pictures for a little over 12 bucks. That is roughly 27 cents a postcard. I'm sure I could get cheaper prints too - but Walgreen is super close and I think they do a good job. Oh yeah, it only took 20 minutes for them to do my pictures! I'm not sure how much the shiny paper costs, luckily for me I have a ton of craft supplies to go though before needing to by more of that.

Update:
My only issue with the postcards is the metallic paper I used. After the postcards dried for a day our two, the photos would pop off the paper if you bent them backwards a little. Knowing they wouldn't make it though the mail... I tried a few securing techniques.

I did a little fastener button thinggymabober on the first one, sewed the second and stapled the last. I sewed a handful and stapled the rest. Sure the staple is a little tacky... but it works. At least now I know for next time... no metallic paper ;-)

Friday Flashback - Back Rub

2009-10-09T00:01:00.001-07:00

Need a back rub? This is how we used to give my dad a back rub.
:-)

This is at my grandmas house though... and this could possibly be my uncle and not my dad. Haha.
My older sister (Sara) is giving the back rub in this picture.

2016

2009-10-08T19:53:00.003-07:00

With Rio De Janeiro winning the bid for the 2016 olypics, I was interested to see how many geocaches were in the area.

Not many. I wonder if that number will grow by the times 2016 rolls around....