Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

Today in the Liberty Bracket we have the 19th state to join the union, Indiana with the 11th state, New York. New York came close last year. Will they be able to pull it off this year? They have some stiff competion with Kentucky and Ohio advancing to the finals.

I was about to have a fit when I saw Indiana's state bird was the Cardinal! It's a conspiracy, I tell you but New York broke the streak by having the Brook Trout as their state bird.

Let's check the map. (Does anyone else hear Dora Explorer or is it just me?) All I can think of if New York wins is New York City. I'm not sure how much crafty-community blog business we would actually get done with so much to do and see but it would be a fun trip. As for Indiana, where would we go? Indianapolis? Well, heck! Louisville, Kentucky is smack-dab on the border and Kentucky is in the finals! Hmm...

Go VOTE! ---->>>over there-->

The quiet before the storm...

Happy Friday everyone. Here's where we stand. There will be no voting today. We will resume our semi-final round next Tuesday with voting for one bracket only.

Tuesday will be the Freedom Bracket:
Kentucky will duke it out with yesterdays winner Illinois.

Wednesday will be the Independence Bracket:
Virginia will battle it out with yesterdays winner Ohio.

Thursday will be the Liberty Bracket:
Indiana- state de la Cassie- goes up against New York.

The winners of the above competitions are our winners of each bracket. Taste of USA will be decided on Friday between those three states! Got it? Good!

Now go have a great Memorial Day weekend with your peeps!

I feel ick.

This is going to be short because I'm not 100%.

Plain and simple.

Vote over there------>>>

Freedom Bracket:
Georgia or Illinois

Independence Bracket:
Ohio or Arizona

Liberty Bracket:
Oklahoma or New York

Where do you want to go?

Closer and closer we creep to a winner and a treat! We have some super competitors today! Let's get ready to VVVVVooooooooote!

Freedom Bracket:
Iowa or Arizona

Independence Bracket:
Florida or Illinois

Liberty Bracket:
Mississippi or New York

Vote over there------>>>>>>

I am kicking myself for not squeezing in sometime yesterday to update the brackets. I'm going off the notes in my Planner Pad. I do know that we will have a winner next Friday!!!

Whacky Wednesday

Take a whack at voting over
there---->>>>>>

and while you're at it whack your brains and tell me where you think we should go in each of the following six states. If you enter the cities you would like us to go, you will be entered in a drawing for some yummy Starbucks!

Freedom Bracket:
North Dakota or Arizona

Independence Bracket:
Wyoming or Illinois

Liberty Bracket:
Rhode Island or New York

Good luck my friends.

Week Two Contest Day!! (and purple cowboy boots!)

Wrapping up the week, let's start with Idaho.

Cassie let us know that her husbands family is from Idaho and still has a farm there where they go to escape the Texas summers. What's to escape? Texas Summers are the BEST!

My mom, aunts and uncles made it to their Idaho destination on Tuesday. The photo below is my mom and Aunt Kay in McCall, ID.



Treye did a report on Alaska in the 4th grade and thought the state sucked but has upgraded his thoughts since the age of 9 or 10 and now would like to visit the Alaska.

Heather and I are only visiting either Idaho or Alaska if we have appropriate living conditions... like a hotel or a nice cabin and preferably in the summer months.

We all have love for Claudia's home state of New York. Katie visited her grandparents in the Monsey area when she was a kid. Her mom does not like the Empire State Building do to a fear of heights and she has a tendency to get lost.

I was looking for my cousin Dianne to visit us from Kew Gardens and chime in on New York. Maybe she'll visit today.

And lastly, our regular highlowaha participant and Girl Scout, Maureen still lives in New York near Long Island South and is loving it.

I'm pretty sure Cassie is rounding up some purple cowgirl boots for Maureen.



Heather has helped us out with Michigan and Tennessee. She recommends the Charlevoix, East Jordan and Mackinac Island areas in Michigan. I love the way Mackinac Island sounds. And then, we need to rent a chalet in the Smokey Mountains for a vacation destination. Sounds relaxing.

Maureen, as a regular, you can push New York into the lead with this contest with just one posting of what you think makes New York the Taste of USA!

But wait- don't give up if your state's date has past... Make Up Days are going to be coming up.... Stay Tuned!

Welcome to the Big Apple

Don't you just love Frank Sinatra?



Okay New Yorkers, I need some help. You see, when I think of New York, I think of New York City. But, I know there's a lot more to your state than just Manhattan. Don't get me wrong, I love Manhattan! It's great! My sister nearly killed me on a Manhattan vacation. We were going to be at 1 and 2 am and getting up at 4 and 5 am. And we weren't partying. We were seeing everything! I've never walked so much in my life. And on vacation! But I have never seen so much in my life and it was fun. I like razzing my sister about it though. She's a super hero when it comes to sight-seeing. I've compiled some pictures from my trip below.

Okay, so Manhattan is grand. You've got everything from Time Square, Rockefeller Plaza, Broadway, Central Park, the Empire State Building, Chinatown (great purses), Soho, Museums (i love the Met), Museums, Museums, and so, so, so much more. I love it but it's just not fair, is it? So much packed into one city! It's amazing and should be on everyone's bucket list- twice.

But wait. New York has mountains. I know. I was there, too. I spent one summer working at a sports camp for kids in the Catskills. I was 21 or 22 years old. I spent the summer bunked with 9 nine year old girls and an 18 year old "co-counselor". It was hell. I mean FUN! Okay, it was both. But, it wasn't Dirty Dancing for sure! Can I just tell you how beautiful the camp was. Or still is, I'm sure. Warm days, cool night air, starry nights, a cute New Zealand boy to kiss under them. I mean... never mind. Maybe it was a little like Dirty Dancing.

On our days off we would explore the nearby area. It is the one and only time I have hitch hiked. I was with the Kiwi so I felt safe. Kids, your Cruise Director instructs to not do that! We went to the town of Woodstock where the festival was not. I still had fun looking around. I just saw on CBS Sunday Morning that a museum dedicated to Woodstock (the festival) is opening up on June 2nd (that's next week) and if you are in New York I think you should go and report back to us. It looked like you could actually experience the event minus the mud. Their very cool site is here. Being in this area is such a contrast to being in Manhattan.

So, from Manhattan to summer camp. New York has it all. What about Niagara Falls? Okay call me stupid but did you know they have casinos there? What else is there? If you want to go to Niagara, hit this site.

Before I move on, some fun facts are the state flower is the rose and the state bird is the bluebird. Aw, pretty.



Of course, I can't make it through New York without mentioning the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. I know it wasn't the first attack but it's the one that I remember. I can't even imaging the pain the city felt. I was being completely selfish that day but that's another story for another time. I wanted to embed the video by Ryan Adams, New York, New York but they have removed the code. So the link is here and you can see it on youtube. He filmed the video on September 7, 2001 and the towers are in the background along with other cool moving traffic scenes. We will always love you New York.

JB & Drew sporting their I Love NY tshirts

Okay, so there's my take on New York. Yay! I've actually been there. Twice. And need to go back! So, all New Yorkers meet on the Empire Deck, Friday May 30th and tell us what you think makes New York the Taste of USA!