Volunteers Plant 'Garden For Hope'

Tonight, I am going to the dedication of the Garden of Hope in NOTO.

The garden is being planted near the Topeka Rescue Mission and aims to feed the homeless in Shawnee County. I think this is a great idea, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. 

Keep America Beautiful has partnered with Silverbakks, an organization that helps to feed the homeless to plant the garden. 

I've always wanted a garden, but they are so much work and I'm scared to get myself into something I can't handle. Such as having a ton of food I don't know what to do with. I never thought about donating that produce to those who need it more than I do. 

Maybe next year I will try my hand at growing my own food. I can hardly keep my house plants alive, though, so we will see. Later, I will have more photos of the garden and volunteers.

For more about the event:

http://www.wibwnewsnow.com/garden-hope-feed-hungry-homeless-shawnee-county/

Kansas Food Truck Festival 2014

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Kansas Food Truck Festival in Lawrence.

Although there were a couple of kinks, I still had a blast and tasted some good food truck food. It rained off and on but because it was warm it didn't bother me any and it didn't seem to bother anyone else, either.

Upon arrival, my group and I had to wait in line to get in. Then, because I already had a ticket, I didn't really say anything and just slipped through -- bad idea. If I wouldn't have just slipped through I would have received a $5 voucher for food, which came with each ticket. Later, I tried to explain this to a lady at the front gate, but she wasn't having it. No surprise there.

First, I tried Richie Rich's BBQ and Catering. They had cheap food -- two sliders and fries for $5, choice of turkey, brisket and pulled pork. I chose the brisket and pulled pork. I enjoyed the food -- obviously because I forgot to take any photos before I scarfed it down -- but it wasn't the best barbecue I've ever had.

After eating some barbecue, my group and I were thirsty and we wanted to look around a bit.

My biggest complaint about the festival is that it didn't seem as organized as I had hoped. To get any drinks you had to first purchase tickets, but you had to stand in like for them first. Then, once you got the tickets, you had to wait in line again to get your drinks. This included beer, water and soda, although a few trucks were selling drinks for cash. This was confusing to me and I wondered why it was necessary. We could have just used cash to buy drinks and skipped the unnecessary step of buying tickets. I also ended up giving away some of my tickets when I was leaving because I purchased too many.

After quenching our thirst, we were ready for round two of food truck food. This time we tried Indios Carbonsitos, a Mexican food food truck. For their menu and photos of their food: click HERE.

We searched for the end of the line to find that it curled back behind another food truck. We decided to wait in line because if the line was that long, the food must be good, right?

In the picture to the right, it took us 40 minutes to get to where we were pictured. What was even more disconcerting is that after waiting 45-50 minutes just to order our food, we still had another 25-30 minutes to wait on our orders to be served to us.  The food was good, but I am not sure it was worth the long wait. I want to try the food again but probably won't wait that long again.

I ordered the Tinga Sopes. It was basically chicken on this round taco shell with sauce, onions, cojita cheese, pinto beans and cilantro. I liked the taco shell -- it was substantial and held all the toppings, and it stayed crispy. The order came with two of them and I couldn't eat them all because I also ordered some churros. Churros are these fried sticks of dough that are tossed in sugar and cinnamon. Can't go wrong there. I enjoyed my food, I just didn't enjoy the wait.

I had a lot of fun at the Kansas Food Truck Festival and can't wait until next year. I love that there were a couple of art galleries open for people to check out. One piece that stood out to me was a horse made of keyboard keys from old computers. It was interesting to look at the different keys, their shading and see how they contributed to the texture of the overall picture. Food is always better with art.

The news just pissed me off today

Everything I read today is made me angry. Usually I can find something that makes me happy, but not today.

I came across an especially annoying article today that got me worked up enough to write this blog. Remember the Colorado theatre shooting during the July opening of The Dark Knight Rises? Twelve people were killed and 70 were injured by a man named James Holmes, who is now facing multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder. This article, http://news.yahoo.com/colo-theater-shooting-kin-reject-movie-invitation-184020439.html is about how the theatre where it happened, Cinemark, is inviting the families of victims to their reopening of the theatre and a "night of remembrance" for the victims. The families think it's a "disgusting offer" that came at a really hard time. I agree the timing is crappy, but the gesture is not.

Some of the families are also suing the theatre, for reasons not stated in this article. (http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/22/justice/colorado-shooting-lawsuit/index.html --- this article talks more about why) In my opinion, the theatre has nothing to do with the fact that a crazed killer shot their family members. That killer made his own decision - however insane it was - to come into that theater and shoot people. Holmes didn't have some deal with Cinemark, the Texas-based theatre company, to come in during their biggest movie of the summer and kill people. Actually, it would make no sense whatsoever for that to have happened. It was a big release and companies usually try to squeeze every last penny from something instead of stopping income altogether. It's just petty of the families to then turn their sights on Cinemark as well as just plain greedy. The money is not going to bring back their dead loved ones and it's really just going to create a lot of negativity in a town already dealing with something horrible.

 I read later on into the article where one of the family members, Sandy Phillips, acknowledges that it's unrealistic but she would like the theatre, where her daughter was killed, to be demolished. This is completely absurd. Why in the hell would they do that? It was a huge movie and of course the theatre The Dark Knight was played in was one of their biggest ones, as to pack as many bodies in on opening night as possible. The theater would be taking a huge hit if they got rid of their theatre, but also, where would they build another one? I don't understand where the money will come from for them to do this, and I don't expect that these families have thought of it. Sounds to me like it's people grieving and will hopefully all blow over, for the theatre's sake.

Nobody is talking about the theatre being a victim, so I will. Their whole summer was messed up because some jerk went crazy and one of their theaters had to be shut down. It also will affect the other theaters and whether people want to come see a movie after something so horrific. Imagine this happening in your hometown - I am sure it would change your decision on which theatre to attend. Yeah, now everyone has heard the company Cinemark but in a negative light and they also have multiple families suing them and spitting at their kind gesture. The families even go on to say that it's a ploy by the theatre company to show that the victims and their families support the reopening. My question is, why shouldn't they? The theatre was a victim, too. If anything they should be helping to open the place back up so everyone can move on. Plus, was it so bad that they offered to make a memorial? If that was so absurd we wouldn't have Ground Zero.

I am just fed up with people trying to sue other people and companies especially over such stupid shit. Not only is the theatre company not responsible for paying these families their grievance pay but why aren't they focusing on the guy that is responsible? James Holmes' hearing is next week and I hope this story will blow over and people will start focusing on what is important, getting this guy in a mental institution or behind bars, not suing companies who didn't do anything wrong.

What do you think about this article? Do you agree that people are focusing their grief in the wrong place? How would you handle the situation if it was your family member or yourself who sustained an injury? Please comment below to give me your feedback.

New Year, New Blog. sort of...

2013 is just about here and I really can't believe it. So much has changed, for the best and for the worst, and that is what makes me look forward to the new year. An article in Wired magazine inspired this post and new blog. It was about technology and how we are now able to program devices to turn on and operate when we want to, when we aren't even in the house - just touch a button on your smart phone while you are riding home and your jacuzzi turns on and will be hot and ready by the time you pull in. This scares me and intrigues me.

The last line of the article is what really sticks with me, even now: "In the next few years, more and more of our stuff will start talking. I can't wait to see what it says," - Clive Thompson. My phone talks to me and I think it's pretty cool. Could you imagine getting in your car and saying, "Take me to work," - not even telling them where you work, just saying "work" and it knows. Pretty sweet. although the Stephen King fan in me can come up with a dozen ways that wouldn't be cool and could go way wrong. I mean, what if you are en route somewhere and the car decides to take over and won't listen to you? A little crazy, but 20 years ago, telling your car to take you somewhere would be considered crazy, too.

I don't really think all this will happen in 2013 but I could see it someday in the near future, like 5 years - I mean, look at our cell phones and TVs. This article, Sensors Everywhere, by Clive Thompson in Wired's December 2012 issue, helped me to look forward to the new year and to think about it in a different way. Before it was just another year added on to my life, making me 29 instead of 28, waaah waaah waaah... But now, it's one more year of cool gadgets and new technologies to delight and intrigue me and you. I personally can't wait.

What do you think about technology? Does it scare you or intrigue you, or both? Answer my poll!

Our Anniversary Weekend

This weekend has been an awesome blend of flavors, and continues into tonight. My husband and I are celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary and our goal is to try new flavors of our homeland. Yesterday we began in downtown Kansas City, MO at a little tapas bar, call La Bodega. The food was extraordinary expecially for Topekans such as ourselves, and exactly what we were looking for. The chorizo-stuffed dates melted sweetly in your mouth with the greens providing that little crunch one's pallatte almost insists upon. My husband especially loved the goat cheese and tomato crepes, the heaviness of the cheese sets off the lightness of the expertly crafted crepe. Because it is a tapas bar, you can pick and choose a variety of small platters at a small cost. We chose a good variety, then indulged ourselves in the raspberry filled churros with fresh whipped cream for dessert. It was well worth the calories, crisp and sugary on the outside and soft and raspberry-creamy on the inside, warm against the cold whipped cream, is the perfect end to a summer lunch.

Today we set off to the West and visited two wineries. First we sampled Oz Winery in Downtown Wamego, KS where we even saw a little girl dressed up exactly like Dorothy, ruby red slippers and all! Although they do not grow thier own grapes on site, they do use mostly Kansas grapes. What stood out mostly was the names of the wines, which were very clever and pretty funny. "Ding Dong the Wine is Red", as well as "Good Witch Gone Bad" which we bought to drink at home, were among the silly names for their wines. They offered a variety of wine novelties and free wine tasting so you know what you are buying.

Next we stopped at Wyldewood Cellars Tasting Room, where elderberry wine is their signature wine, and after tasting it you will instantly understand why. They offer a variety of fruit wines, in sweet, semi-sweet, or dry, and free wine tasting so you can figure out what is for you. The elderflower wine was the most interesting, smelling like a flower and tasting of wine . The amazing thing about Wyldwood is that they not only specialize in wine, but also fudge, jelly, and fruit concentrates. They offer samples of each flavor as well, and believe me, we took advantage!
I truly enjoyed myself at both wineries and plan to revisit sometime in the near future. This weekend was an amazing taste of Kansas, and I recommend every place I have mentioned in this article. I had so much fun, and as I told my husband, I hope in 20 years we can have as good a time as we have on our 4th anniversary!

I just went to the Washburn play, "The Secret Policeman". I was disappointed with the storyline, but impressed with the acting. I understood the plot, but could hardly keep my mind from wandering, "What is the point?" I wish I could say I loved it, but then I would be lying. I am not lying when I say that the actors did an exceptional job. Although the plot was non-existent the actors were able to show emotion in an entirely convincing way. There was a lot of fist pounding, shouting, and one chair got thrown around almost constantly. The acting was there, the story, not-so-much.

Cancer sucks. I am sure you have seen those bumper stickers, and probably some of you are offended, but most of you agree. Cancer sucks. I know because I lost my father last year to pancreatic cancer. That sucked. Moving back to a town you hate becaue of cancer sucks too. I think pretty much anything that you can say that has the word "cancer" in it SUCKS.
Excuse my bluntness but I just have to let it out. I found out about a week ago that my Aunt Susie has a huge tumor in her stomach, of course it is cancerous...that SUCKS. Exactly. I have been trying to figure out how to write a blog about it without sounding bitter, but of course cancer sucks, so that is really hard to do. So I decided to write about how much cancer sucks, and pretty much everything that has to do with it sucks too. Did I already write that? Oh well, did I say cancer sucks? Because it does.