NASCAR, the Hogs, & Me » Uncategorized

Blog Update

Tara — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:32:06 +0000

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was great. I just wanted to post a quick update and let you know that I upgraded my version of WordPress to 2.7 this afternoon. (WordPress is my blogging software, for those that don’t know.) This particular version is still in beta so I’m a little concerned that some things may not work correctly (either for me as an admin or for you as a reader). If you see any issues here on my blog (an error, something doesn’t load correctly, etc), post a comment here or send me an e-mail to tara@tarahog1980.com so I can report the problem and/or try to fix it. Thanks for your help!

Living in the Promiseland

Tara — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:52:34 +0000

There are so many great Willie Nelson songs. Living in the Promiseland is one of my favorites. I didn’t really know the song until about 8 1/2 years ago. It was played at my cousin’s funeral. Ever since that time, I’ve considered it one of my favorite Willie songs.

Willie is going to be giving a free concert (yes, I said free) tomorrow afternoon here in Springdale. It’s part of a celebration of Tyson Foods’ 50th year in poultry processing. I figure he’ll play my favorite and many, many others. I’m planning on taking lots of pictures so stay tuned for those.

Happy Easter!

Tara — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Happy Easter! I hope everyone has had a good day so far. I just got back from a family dinner. I’m now watching Arkansas play North Carolina in the NCAA basketball tournament, which isn’t looking good for the hogs yet.

For dinner today, I took hot spinach dip. I thought I would share the recipe for the spinach dip with you. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it!

Hot Spinach Dip

Ingredients:
2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 8 oz pkg pepper jack cheese, shredded
6 oz parmesan cheese, grated
2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
2 cans Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilis), drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Put mixture in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or until cheeses are completely melted).

Music Anyone?

Tara — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:40:00 +0000

Reading music-related posts on some of my blogger friend’s blogs inspired me to write one of my own. I want to share the albums that are currently on rotation in my CD player and on my I-Tunes.
Blake Shelton – Pure BS – I found out Blake is going to be here in concert in June and have been on a BS kick ever since.
Bleu Edmondson – Lost Boy – I checked out Bleu’s album one day after a friend recommended it.
Bon Jovi – Lost Highway – Nashville suits Bon Jovi.
Garth Brooks – The Ultimate Hits – A Garth album will ALWAYS be in rotation.
Jake Owen – Startin’ with Me – I enjoyed the title cut from the moment I heard it.
Kid Rock – Rock N Roll Jesus - This was also a recommendation – one that I am now passing on to you.
Matthew Good – Hospital Music – Honestly, I started listening to Matt because he is a favorite of Dale Earnhardt Jr. I have since become a very big fan of his music and his writing.
Nickelback – All The Right Reasons – Nickelback is one of my favorite bands right now.
OAR – Live from Madison Square Garden – OAR is my other one.
Various – Hairspray: Soundtrack to the Motion Picture – I went, saw, and loved the movie. I had to get my hands on the soundtrack at the first opportunity.

What music are you listening to?

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The Countdown Has Begun

Tara — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:02:00 +0000

This time tomorrow night I will be in Branson, MO. I have so much to do between now and when we leave tomorrow afternoon. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be running around at lunch and after work like a chicken with its head cut off. Oh well! I can’t wait for the trip!

It’s randomness time…

I have two reality tv shows that I have fallen in love with recently – Gone Country and Jon & Kate Plus 8. Gone Country is hosted by John Rich (of Big & Rich). It has several musical stars in their own rights that are writing a country song in hopes of getting a country record deal. Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a show about parents, Jon & Kate, who have twin girls and then also have a set of sextuplets.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is ranked 23rd in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series after 2 races. (This is 17 ranks better than this time in 2007. His 40th place finish in Fontana this past weekend doesn’t look so bad when I see that statistic.)

In case you hadn’t heard, Darren McFadden is fast.

The Arkansas Razorback men’s basketball team is 18-9 overall this season thus far. (This is after they lost 59-56 to Alabama tonight.) Based on predictions, the hogs will make the NCAA Tournament. I guess the seed all depends on their performance from here to then. The team is just too inconsistent. They show moments of greatness and then fall apart at other times.

The Arkansas Razorback baseball team is 4-0 so far. That’s a great way to get the season started.

The NWA Naturals start their inaugural season at home on April 10th. The stadium is really coming along.

I’m looking forward to seeing the movie The Other Boleyn Girl. Kelly & Megan had me read the book. I literally could not put it down until I was done reading it. I’m busy reading the other books in the “series” now.

I’m going to leave you with a video from Sunday’s race. This was the wreck that ruined Casey Mears, Sam Hornish Jr’s, Reed Sorenson’s, and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s days. I saw Junior spinning first and then saw Casey’s car flip. It was definitely pretty freaky to watch. I’m very glad Casey was ok.

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2007 In Review Linkfest

Tara — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:11:00 +0000

Well, we start a new year today. Anyone eating hog jowl, black eyed peas, and collard greens? I was thinking back over the past year. Nothing really major happened or changed in my life. It was a busy year, though, especially in the area of travel. My sister got married on June 2nd. I went to both the April & November NASCAR races in Dallas, TX. I also went to the October NASCAR race in Charlotte, NC. My family also went to Dallas in October for the Texas State Fair.

I plan to do quite a bit of traveling again in 2008. I will be going to the April & November NASCAR races in Dallas, TX again. As an added racing bonus, I am going to the August NASCAR race in Michigan with Penni, Sarah, & Alisandra. I am also planning on going to Scotland with my cousin Rachel to see her brother (my cousin) Jeff and his new bride Katie. Right now, we are thinking of going over there in June but don’t have definitive plans just yet.

I just moved into a new apartment so 2008 (especially the first couple of months) will be filled with getting settled in and decorating it.

Other than the traveling and the new apartment, nothing major is expected for me in this new year. I’ll keep you posted if anything comes up.

Since this is a blog online, I thought I’d do a year in review of websites I frequent. Some of these may be familiar to each of you while some are going to be brand new. I hope each one of you find at least one new one to visit regularly in 2008.

Social Networking:
Facebook
Infield Parking – This one is great for the NASCAR/race fan.
Myspace
Twitter – I like to use this one to just give quick updates throughout the day.

Music:
Last.fm – This is a great way to share your musical tastes with others.
Matthew Good – Matt is an artist that I like to listen to. He also writes several blogs on his site regarding current events and himself.
XM Radio Online – I listen to my XM radio at work through this site.

Photos/Videos:
Flickr
Slide
YouTube

Link/RSS Feed Organization:
Del.icio.us – This site allows me to save websites, news articles, & blog entries for future reference.
Google Reader – This site allows me to keep up with several blogs & news sites. I also use this site to share items with each of you I think you’d enjoy. (These items are shown on the right-hand side of my blog in the “Tara’s Shared Items” section.)

Arkansas Razorback News/Blogs:
AOL Sports FanHouse-Basketball
AOL Sports FanHouse-Football
Hogwired.com
RazorBloggers Network
The Hog Blogger

NASCAR News/Blogs:
Answer This
AOL Sports FanHouse-NASCAR
Jayski
NASCAR.com

Charities:
You can look on the right-hand side of my blog for the list of my favorite charities.
Network for Good – I use this site to donate to my favorite charities. You can use this to donate for yourself and also to donate on behalf of someone else (in the case of birthdays, Christmas, deaths, etc.).

Don’t forget to check out all of the links on the right-hand side of my blog. I keep that updated with links important to me. I didn’t mention them above but I have a list of several friends’ blogs over there too. I’m sure they’d all love to have new readers. Check them out and leave them a comment or two.

Finally, if you like NASCAR and you like reading and/or writing fan fiction, check out Fan Fic Nation. It’s a brand new site that launched today for NASCAR fan fiction.

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By request…Snicker Salad Recipe

Tara — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:17:00 +0000

It was requested that I post the recipe for the Snicker Salad I’m making today for a Christmas get-together. Without further ado, here is the recipe. A woman I work with makes this when we have pot-luck dinners. I hope you enjoy it!

Snicker Salad
1 large dry vanilla pudding mix
1 12 oz pkg Cool Whip
2-3 Granny Smith apples, chopped
6 Snicker bars, chopped
Mix the pudding mix and Cool Whip together. Then, add the apples and Snickers. (You can add more apples or Snickers, depending on how many you’d like in there.) Chill and serve.

Christmas Spirit

Tara — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:33:00 +0000

I’m ready for Christmas. I’m not just ready for Christmas day but the holiday season, in general. Yesterday, we spent the day at my grandma’s & grandpa’s house. We decorated their Christmas tree and the rest of their house. We then had an impromptu baking session where we baked sugar cookies and then decorated them. I have included some photos below from our day yesterday. (By the way…I’m at my parents’ house today and we are fixing to decorate their tree. I forgot my camera at my house, though, so I’ll just have to catch up with an after shot later.)

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I’ve been tagged!

Tara — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:04:00 +0000

The Rules:

* Link to your tagger and post these rules.
* Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names and link to them.
* Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.

7 random and/or weird things about me:

1. I’m a NASCAR fan. Evidently, I’m not your typical NASCAR fan because a lot of people find it strange that I would be one.
2. I’m afraid of heights. Even standing on a stepstool or chair to change a lightbulb makes me nervous.
3. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket. (I’ve actually only been stopped once and that was just earlier this year.)
4. I’d drink milk with every meal, if I could.
5. I’m a pack rat. I still have magazines sitting around from 2 years ago.
6. I love driving in big cities where there are several lanes of traffic.
7. I’ve already been listening to Christmas music for at least a week now.

Tag! You’re it!
Karah
Megan
Penni
Sarah
And…Anyone else that wants to particpate on their own blog

Give Thanks

Tara — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:00:00 +0000

Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the United States. The first US Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1619. It was a day set aside to thank God for all that the settlers were blessed with.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite, if not the favorite, holidays. The past few years we have celebrated with my mom’s side of the family. It is a large family so we celebrate at a church’s fellowship hall instead of in the home of one of the family members.

I have a lot in my life to be thankful to God for. I have a very loving family who I thank God for everyday. I have great friends both offline and online. I have a job that I was blessed with right out of college. I have everything I need and more.

I want to wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. As you go throughout your day, whether it is celebrating with family or watching one of the many football games, I hope you take a moment to give thanks for all you have.

Photo Credit: I took this photo on November 11, 2007. The fall leaves were just gorgeous out my backdoor so I couldn’t resist. My trees have practically no leaves left now.