A Weekend in Fayetteville, AR

This past weekend we traveled up to 'The Natural State' of Arkansas, specifically Fayetteville. Our very dear friends, the Jeffus', moved there about two years ago and we haven't seen them since our wedding almost 3 years ago, where Jeff was our marriage officiant and Megan played her cello. 
Well, Fayetteville is as beautiful as has been described to us. What a magnificent city! There's a lot of our country I have not yet seen but what I have, downtown Fayetteville is by far the prettiest & cleanest. Saturday we ventured out to enjoy the plentiful Farmer's Market located downtown.
(insert imagination here) I can hardly believe it but, I totally forgot my camera at home :( Wow, that's a little embarrassing to admit out loud. What pics I took were with my iPhone which, take good pictures for a phone but not for the kind of landscape we were surrounded by.
After sampling bits of what Fayetteville's best farmers, crafters & bakers had to offer, we headed onto Little Bread Co. for brunch. Yes, this place is delish! When you order a slice of quiche, I hope you're hungry cause it's huge! And, I was, so annihilating it was no problem :)
(insert imagination here)
After filling our bellies with absolute goodness we headed to "the falls". "Oooooo, where's that?", you ask. It's this little hidden gem & you really must know where you are going in order to find it. Plus, once you arrive, there's about another mile to mile & a half (easy walk) to the actual water. 
(my imagination used below)

Our crew taking turns jumping off the cliff.

Pic taken by Jeffus' at another point in time of the falls.

On a hike with our trusty guide Tobias

 Entering Mother Nature's den

 Cliffs at the top of first landing

"Hey Dude!" (waving)

Beautiful

(Little blurry)

A small pool at the far end of first landing

Tobias asked that I leave my phone as I would need both hands as we scaled higher. Looking at my reaction of not being able to take photos of what we would witness, he said, "just try to explain, in words, what you see". Words of wisdom from such a young man. Thank you Tobias. 

However, I cannot begin to explain the full beauty. And once we got as far as I was going to venture, we noticed what looked to be a cave. My words to Tobias, "I have the utmost respect for Mother Nature & her creatures. I do not wish to find, if anything, what might live it that cave. I'm going back down now."  

 A few groovy rock sculptures

  

Mark's rock sculpture, "balance"

Patent Energy!

May I have your attention please! Why, thank you :)

There is a great new service out there by the name of Patent Energy which, will help Texans save money on electricity for your home &/or business. When electricity was deregulated in 2002, several similar companies have popped up. But none better than Patent Energy.
Their website is clean, easy-to-use, straightforward and will certainly find you the best possible energy rate available. Patent Energy services both residential and commercial customers. They've also partnered up with Adopt A Classroom. What this means is, when you sign-up, Patent Energy donates $13 right off the top to be used for the purchase of school supplies within your area. The average teacher spends upwards of $1,000 of their own money every year for supplies for their classroom. As parents, buying school supplies each year, we all know how expensive that gets. Imagine if you were a teacher with child(ren). You're buying supplies not only for your kid's school year but for your own classroom as well. Ouch! Can you imagine?

Let's talk the Texas Lottery. Waaay back in 1992 Texans voted on an amendment authorizing lottery sales in Texas. What we were told was that a high percentage, if not 100%, of the profits would go to public education. Fact is, from 1992 - 1997, not a single dollar went towards public education. Not $1.00. It wasn't until 1998 that a part of the lottery proceeds began being allocated for the Foundation School Fund. We understand that the Texas Lottery Commission needs to pay the prizes, it's people, the retailers, etc, etc. but, for 5 years, billions of taxpayer's dollars where being deposited to the General Revenue Fund, to be used for any expense by the state government, NOT for public education. Oops! They must forgotten to tell their banker to make that small change.

Any-who, I'll get off my high-horse now, I'm sure you get my point.

Companies, such as Patent Energy, who have partnered with Adopt A Classroom are telling Texans, "We care", and they really do. This $13.00 that Patent Energy is donating to Adopt A Classroom, comes out before anything else and doesn't cost you a dime. PLUS, you know you're paying the best rate for energy in your area. So, when you're ready to check out what other providers in your area have to offer you, please visit Patent Energy.

*I do a little work for Patent Energy, as does my husband. We are paid for the work we do not for our expressed opinions herein. 
*Information on the Texas Lottery found on http://www.texaspolicy.com/center/fiscal-policy/blog/tracking-distribution-texas-lottery-revenue & http://www.kcbd.com/story/14579932/kcbd-investigates-is-the-tx-lottery-really-funding-education