Friends

March 4, 2019

13th Annual Biker B!tch Run | July 2018

January felt like it lasted 328 days, February maybe 10, and now March is showing signs that hell has literally frozen over.

Winter: Get Over Yo’self!

Summer 2018 was a scorcher so I believe now is a perfect opportunity to reminisce on those so humid I need to take a shower to dry off kinda days.

Enter in the 13th Annual Biker B!tch Run with these Babes.

.

.

The run began in Council Bluffs, IA at the Hard Luck Saloon with the divvying of shirts and morning Bloody’s before heading off to the Aeroplane Inn.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Kickstands up and off to Sportsman Bar in Pisgah, IA.

.

Stop 1 & 2 are always the calm before the storm.   Stop 3 you can bet on it…

Shit gets weird.

.

Some photos just can’t make it to cybersphere.  Sorry.  That saying “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?”  We all know that’s not entirely true, but you can bet your bottom dollar that you don’t want to see what kind of situation that selfie stick found itself all up in.

Alllll up in.

She’s cute.  She ain’t innocent.

.

I am not quite certain, but I believe a bet was involved here, along with the age requirement question.  Small towns, man.

.

Children must also remain in their designated locations at all times.

.

.

.

.

Photos, Photos, and More Photos.   The gang was snap happy.

.

.

.

.

Let’s Roll! Up next: fuel for bikes and humans.  Pop N Docs, delivered.

.

 

.

.

Heidi’s man happened to be out boating and made his way to the bar in time to buy us all a round of cocktails.  I can assure you, no one was upset about that.

Thanks, Shannon!

.

Moving on: Tekamah, NE to Ronnie’s Bar, who we blew off a few years back due to tire issues and timing… so we thought we’d stop in and repay them… with nonsense, of course.

.

.

.

.

And finally to a bar in the literal middle of NOWHERE, somewhere West of Blair, NE.  I don’t have a clue it’s name, but what I do know is:

  1. You have to cross a myriad of railroad tracks to get into town.
  2. The bar serves Chicken for every meal, every day.
  3. If you ask bar patrons nicely, they let you take their van for a spin.

.

Shag carpet, a cooler of beer inside AND Free Candy, too!

We took the bait.

#sorrymom

.

.

.

With bellies sore from laughter, many cleared out and headed on home at this point, while a few others made our way to Waterloo, NE to the Dog House.  A tried and true, never fail ya, bar.

This bar brings out the feels… I guess?

#deepthoughtsbylizandjordy

#trueluv

.

And how about this CUTE little kitty…

.

who was having NONE of it.

.

Now you know, this wasn’t the end.  Never is.   One more nightcap at another bar I fail to remember the name of.  It was also in the middle of kinda-nowhere, north of Omaha, off I-680.  Descriptive enough?

You’re welcome.

Poor Tyree.  All she wanted was a last man standing photo.

.

Nailed it.

.

Cheers to Year #13 with some of the BEST ladies I have ever come to know.  Two-Wheels create such unique and fulfilling friendships.

As for #14?  We will see.  #13 seemed like a good time to close it out.  Call it good.  End a GREAT run.  It became my baby and it meant a lot to a lot of people.  There are a lot of reasons for closing a great chapter, and many of those will remain inside that lil heart of mine.  But, not all sequels are bad either.

We shall see.  Until then…

 

 

Cheers!

January 15, 2019

Sugar and Sass, Champagne and Class… That’s What 40 Is Made Of

VALERIE

Age: 480 Months

Height: 61 3/4″

Weight: Fabulous

 

.

Every girl, everywhere, listen up.

Take a page from the book of Valerie and celebrate age with enthusiasm, youthfulness and excitement.

Like fine wine, we get BETTER with age.

.

By 40 we’ve been through a lot, learned a lot, mourned losses, and celebrated wins.  We’ve redefined boundaries, established meaningful relationships, and evolved into our best selves.

 

And we are wise enough to know that we will continue to evolve and redefine who we are, what we stand for, and what we believe in.

.

We take life seriously…

.

But we know how to let loose, make fun of ourselves, be eccentric, and LIVE our life for us.  And only us.

.

We get ONE life, and darling… 40 is another chapter in our book.  A chapter WE get to write ourselves.

.

Valerie, my friend.   I am not sure in what chapter we became acquainted, but I am ever so thankful we did.  Your spontaneity, humor, EXTRA AF attitude is everything.

EVERYTHING

.

May you never lose your light, your sparkle or your youthfulness.

.

.

.

Forty

(well, near 40 since you started celebrating exactly 35 days early)

looks SO good on you.

.

.

Cheers to your teens, twenties and thirties.

Forties? 

Watch it… She’s coming for ya.

.

CHEERS!

 

January 14, 2019

Snow {Love} Birds

Nebraska’s most recent snow storm created the most beautiful backdrop for a Sunday morning shoot at Zorinsky lake.  Add in the warmth these two lovebirds share and we barely noticed the 28 degree temperature.

.

Cole’s MILLION dollar smile, Tyree’s natural beauty, and the love and affection these two share gave way to an easy, natural and relaxed morning.  My goal was to simply capture the respect and admiration these two share for one another.

 

.

.

.

Between walking through the snow capped trees and wading through ankle deep fields, we made sure to have fun and enjoy the moment in nature, which is definitely their element.

.

.

.

And can we just take a moment on this next one.

Simply. Stunning.

 

Thanks for the fun, Tyree and Cole!

.

 

.

Cheers to July 4th in Colorado!

October 4, 2018

Which Wolf Are You Feeding?

The Fight of Two Wolves Within You

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

”It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

What wolf are you feeding?

Our thoughts can be our own worst enemy, or are biggest advocate.  How we channel our thoughts effects the trajectory of our lives.  It is inevitable that both “wolves” will always be a part of our journey, however, we have the power to choose which one wins minute by minute, day by day, one small victory at a time.

The evil wolf allows negative thoughts in that add up over time to where you no longer realize you are living in your own self-made world of pity, sorrow, skepticism.  You have fed into the negative talk for so long that it has now become a part of who you are and maybe even how you are perceived.  This wolf is the easiest to feed.  It’s easy to slip into negative self-talk.  It’s even easier to complain, gossip, brush-off, ignore, or give-up.  Even the negativity that you brush off as joking is feeding into the evil.

Negativity breeds negativity.

But the second wolf?  That second wolf is full of promise.  It’s also full of work.  And THAT my friends, is where the magic resides.   The second wolf requires patience, commitment, tenacity, grit, perseverance, trust.  It feeds on learning, sharing, praising and the forming of habits.

The second wolf brings forth a sense of accomplishment, pride… peace even.

What’s that cliche phrase?  Nothing worth having comes easy.  You could apply it to this evil versus good wolf scenario.   Take the road with the challenge for the end result is worth more than its weight.  Feed the good wolf.  Feed the wolf that reaps the most benefit.

Right?

But what if I told you to feed both.

…

If you read into the Cherokee story, the alternative resolution is “if you feed them both, they both win.”

Think on that for a moment.

.

Both wolves have characteristics necessary to life.  The evil wolf provides fearlessness, courage and strong-will.   The good wolf provides reason, clarity, courage, longevity.  When paired together they are powerful.

It is up to us how we manage our thoughts and how we provide an avenue for both wolves to co-exist. Mental clarity, self-awareness and confidence resides in the mind over matter.

“How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both.”

.