Once you see it...

DO YOU SEE IT???

It's sooooooo weird!!! I saw it  and then I looked at it again the next day and all the plates were still flipped right side up!!! And every time I look at them they are STILL right side up!! Kinda like once you see Jesus, REALLY SEE HIM once, and your life will NEVERRRRR be the same again!!! 

"And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God..." (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

♥Mary Frances :)

Can we be besties???

Soooooo the other night I was asking my nephew, LIL O if we could be BESTIES??? He thought about it for a moment, then he said, Uuuuuuh, I can't, I'm...

 TOO HOLY right now!!!! 

I'm like seriously bro???? AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

Such an ADORABLE LIL STINKERRRRR!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Which would you rather???

Sooooooooooooo on the way to SoCal, as I said earlier we were listening to Anne Of Green Gables and Anne and her friend discuss this question, Which would you rather be: Divinely beautiful, or dazzingly  clever or angelically good?! We all discussed it annnnnnd I'm just like, okaaaaaaaaaaaay sooooooooooooooooo BASICALLY WHAT YOUR ASKING ME IS: 

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WHICH TWO OF THESE THREE TRAITS CAN I LIVE WITHOUT???? 

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!

Good one Mary!!!! 

Okaaaaaaaaaaay so for REALZ tho, I think out of these three I would pick DAZZINGLY CLEVER!!! Just cuz it seems like if your really clever you wouldn't really need to all that good looking! Plus it leans more onto your personality and I would NEVERRRR want to lose my personality...because, personality is ME!! Looks is only what HOLDS ME!!! What holds me can be damaged or lost or whateverrrr...buuuuuut I would never want to actually lose ME...cuz I mean....ME IS ME...I would pick my Maryness over good looks a million times over!!!

(Not to say I can't have both...HEEEEEEEEEYYY!!!;)

♥Mary Frances :)

No Alternatives!!!

What are my options??? That is a question that we ask quite frequently. We are living in a day and age and a society that is BIG on alternatives...Options...choices. You could be on the airplane getting a meal and there is going to be someone that doesn't like what they are being given and they will say, What's my alternative??? Resturaunt menus are filled with OPTIONS for all the different eaters.

There is a vegetarian section, gluten free, low-carb, fat free... People want OPTIONS!!! People want ALTERNATIVES!!!

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Everyone wants to hear an alternative to what they should do. Someone Is diagnosed with cancer and the first thing they will be told is, their OPTIONS!!! A girl gets pregnant and people will tell her, these are YOUR OPTIONS!!! There is alternative music, alternative thinking, alternative schools, alternative educations, alternative lifestyles, alternative religions, alternative marriage there is EVEN alternative meat for vegetarians!!!

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What really perturbs me is when people think of living for God as just an option. That alternative thinking seeps into our everyday living. But there has to be a time in our life that we decide when it comes to living for God, there are NO ALTERNATIVIVES!!! There are NO OTHER OPTIONS. If things don't turn out the way I planned, OH WELL, I'm gonna KEEP ON LIVING FOR GOD!!! Fixed! It bothers me so much when I hear people say, "I ALMOST backslid!"

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I don't say that to sound holier-than-thou, I say it because it is worrisome to me. It means that somewhere in their mind backsliding IS an option in their life. We can't live in a way that says, well I WANT to live for God, buuuuuuuuut if it doesn't work out, I guess I'll jus go back to the world! I have a dear friend that I was extremely close to. I watched as God picked them up from a life of NOTHINGNESS and miraculously changed their life for the better, buuuuuut they NEVER could get it out of their mind that GOING BACK TO THE WORLD, wasn't an option.

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There is a bumper sticker that says, "Try Jesus, if you don't like Him, the devil will always take you back!" We can't live with that mentality, we can't just TRY Jesus!!! We have to BURN all of our bridges of alternatives and options in our life till we can say, I can't go back, BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO GO BACK TOO!!! We have to say, THIS IS IT!!! This is my ONLY OPTION!!! There is NO PLAN B!!! I have NO ALTERNATIVES!!!

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I can honestly say that the thought of backsliding does NOT enter my mind! You know WHY??? Not because I'm ultra spiritual, buuuuuuut BECAUSE I have NO OTHER OPTIONS!!! Its like what Peter said to Jesus, "Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." (John 6: 67:68)

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Yes, there are times that its HARD!!! Yes there are times that there is sin in my life! Yes there are times that I need an attitude adjustment!!! Yes there are times that I'm confused, bewildered, frustrated, sad, mad, devastated, heartbroken... Buuuuut its like Peter says, TO WHOM SHALL I GO???  I have no alternative for myself outside of a life devoted to living for my God!!! WHAT ELSE IS THERE??? I have NO other plans! I have NO other options!  

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 LIVE FOR GOD???

I have NO alternatives!!!

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:  I will sing and give praise" (Psalm 57:7) 

When God imagines...

"The world looks like something God had just imagined for his own pleasure." (Anne Of Green Gables)

Saw these snow-capped mountains on the way to SoCal this past Friday, listening to Focus on the families audio drama of Anne Of Green Gables, I couldn't help but think how fitting  that quote was for the beauty around us!!! God has created such a beautiful world!!! "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." (Genesis 2:25)

♥Mary Frances :)

Mary Selfie without ME!!!

A picture of ME, without ME!!! 

Hiking, the mountains, God's beauty in creation, The Word, something to write in, annnnnnnnnnnnnd CUUUUUUUUUUTENESS...THAT'S ME!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. The only thing missing is a lil something SPARKLY!!! 

CMM If Mary were a man!!!

So I'm at Starbucks with my laptop the other day writing and THE FUNNIEST THING EVERRRR happened!!! I got up to use the restroom and there was a man walking in front of me to the restroom as well, men and woman restrooms were located right by each other...

and the man walks into the men's and then waits and holds the door for me, my hand is on the woman's about to open it, but he's just stand there all gentlemanly like waiting for me...

I mean GENERALLY SPEAKING, I really appreciate it when a man holds the door open for me, it's very kind and considerate of them, I always smile and say thank you, BUUUUUUUT...this is THE DOOR TO THE MEN'S ROOM HE IS HOLDING FOR ME...i dont wanna be rude buuuuuuuuut... lol...i just kinda pause and smile at him and continue to open the ladies room...in that moment he realized what he was doing and we both busted up!!! It was HILARIOUS!!! *Chivalry-sigh!!! 

 I think he was REALLY embarrassed cuz he was sitting behind me and he had just gotten there but when i got back he was packing his stuff up and leaving!!! The funniest part was that it TOTALLY reminded me of something i would do!!! Now you all know what this blog would be like, IF I WERE A MAN!!! 😂😇

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The difference between him and I tho, is that wouldn't have left!!! Bahahahaha

I mean really, IF I LEFT THE SCENE every time I did something embarrassing, there'd be NO SCENES left in my life!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!

Mary Frances 😊🙃

Just wait til you taste it!!!

So my new little running partner for the 5k races is my nephew Odin! We recently ran the pizza run and the way it was set up, the track looped back around through the park so the people that were the fastest would pass the slower people.

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Well there was a particular runner that I noticed that was one of the first runners to pass back through, and it wasn't just because he was tall and handsome and fast that I noticed him, if so I would have forgotten about him by now. But what struck me about this guy as so memorable was that after he completed the race as one of the first to complete it, he may have even come in first, I'm not sure, but after he completed the race, he ran back through the course towards all of us runners that were still finishing the course...

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And as he ran towards us runners that he didn't even know, he began yelling encouraging things to us. He was saying stuff like, come on guys, keep going! Don't give up! Just wait til you taste the pizza it's so good! Come one, come on, come on!!!! And he kept running, going past my group to the people further back and the ones even further back, cheering more and more for his fellow runners that he didn't even know.

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And in my mind I couldn't help but conjure an image of what the Bible says about the cloud of witnesses in heaven, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses...

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There are people in heaven, that have already made it, that have completed the course and they're cheering us on. Telling us to keep going! It could be someone you love that has finished, but there are others that have never seen us but they want us to have what they now have.

 

 I imagine them saying COME ON! Keep Going! It's worth it! There's no heartache, no offense, no hurt, no disappointment that is worth missing heaven over! Your so close! Your almost here! Soon you'll be dancing on streets of gold!  You can do it! Don't give up! The crystal river is so near, just wait till you sit down to the marriage supper of the Lamb!

 

JUST WAIT TILL YOU TASTE IT!!!

Just wait till you see Jesus face! Pretty soon you'll be touching His nail-scarred hands! I know your tired, buuuuuut don't stop running!

 

"...Let us lay aside lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Brain-boosting Wednesday!!!

Here's your middle-of-the-week brain booster!!!

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MY FIRST WORD EDITITION!!! 

"Did you know???..."

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What would you all guess MY FIRST WORD as a child to be???

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I'll give you ONE HINT with this picture below...

BTW: Look at this LIL flower, it's sooooo little annnnnnd soooooo CUUUUUTE!!!  isn't it just ADORABLE??? 

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OMW!!! Did you guess FLOWER??? Yeeeeeesss my friends, MY FIRST WORD everrrr, according to my mother, was FLOWER!!! Quite fitting I must say if you know me!!! 

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"...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll NOW YOU DO, annnnnnnnnd don't you FORGET IT!!!" (AIO BTV quote;)

I suppose you all could just call me...

Or NOT so-Little-Miss-Flower!!! Hee, hee!!! ;)

♥Mary Frances :)

Never-to-old!!! #3957362

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

 We have beautiful weather right now here in AZ, it's like spring when you go hiking. So much greenery and flowers blossoming, I LOOOOOVE IT!!! WHY pay for exercise in a boring O room when you can get out and exercise and GET SO MUCH MORE!!! It's like a total freebie OR BOGO...BEST DEAL EVERRRR!!! Get out this week and take some time to enjoy the beauty of God's creation!!!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." (Psalms 19:1)

♥Mary Frances :)

A Ginty Christmas!!!

MJ and O got a new dog for Christmas, they named her Sugar Marie Ginty, she's adopted just like them!!! :)

Our house DECOR!!!

Guess which one is MY SPECIAL TOUCH BELOW???

IF I do run a MARATHON...

Soooooo after this post  yesterday, I just wanted to clarify and say, that IF I ever do run a MARATHON, and I happen to fall over dead after finishing it, I only have 2 requests of you all...

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1. SOMEONE GET A PICTURE of me crossing the finish line!!!

2. You all can RENAME the Marathon run. I was thinking it could be called...

THE MARYATHON!!!

HEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY!!!!

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♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Brain-boosting-Wednesday!!!

Here's your middle-of-the-week brain booster!!!

Have you ever wondered WHY a marathon is 26 miles???? Not 25 miles? Not 30 miles, buuuuuuuuuut 26 miles??? I mean, if you ask me, that seems SUPERRRR RANDOM!!! Soooooooo to be honest with you all, I've never really had a desire to run a marathon...I mean...THATS A LOT!!! 

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 Now, since my weight loss journey in the last several years, (weeeeeellll my WHOLE LIFE has pretty much been A WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY, I mean literally, for as long as I can remember, even back to 3rd grade, I've been TRYING to lose weight,) buuuuuuuut to clarify, after my weight loss surgery in 2016, I've really gotten into a lot of new physical activities that I never thought I would want to be involved in, hiking, boxing, weight lifting, hiking, bicycling, HIKING, walking ANNNNND 5k races. Now I NEVERRRRR thought I was going to be into all this stuff before hand, I always thought I wasn't that kind of person, buuuuuuuuuut turns out I was WRONG...I just needed to lose another 100+ pounds to realize this. 

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Sooooooo STILL, I don't think i'll change my mind but running a marathon, buuuuuuuuut who's to say what will happen over the years as I strive to reach more and more physical goals, with that being said, back to the point, WHY IS A MARATHON 26 MILES???

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Me at my 5k Leftovers Run!!! 

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"Did you know???..."

Why a marathon race run is called a marathon???

Sooooooooooo I did some research and came up with some interesting info!!!! Not only can I tell you WHY it's 26 miles I can tell you WHY it's called a MARATHON!!! Sooooooooo long story short, In a nod to Greek history, the first marathon commemorated the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. According to legend, Pheidippides ran the approximately 25 miles to announce the defeat of the Persians to some anxious Athenians. Not quite in mid-season shape, he delivered the message "Niki!" (Victory!) then keeled over and died. 
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Sooooooo it's called MARATHON, because the runner ran from the town of Marathon Greece to Athens Greece, hence the name, annnnnnnnnd the original marathon WAS 25 miles because that's about how far he ran. HOWEVERRRR, THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND, changed all that...

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 As the story goes, Queen Alexandra requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium—so they, the royals could see better...a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards)…

. Which I, MARY FRANCES GINTY, think was a very RUDE AND SELFISH REQUEST OF THE QUEEN!!! 

.*Insert eye roll

*Insert eye roll

I mean, the soldier Pheidippides, fell down and DIED after running the first marathon everrrrr, and the queen is just like, oh, can you change the miles so we can have a better view of the race??? Oh, soooo sorry QUEEN, how inconvenient for you, sure, lets just change everything so you can see better...LIIIIIIIKE WOW!!! 

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If anyone would like to start a petition with me to change the marathon BACK to 25 miles to honor the soldier, feel free to email me! I mean, don't you think we should honor him and keep the 25 mile marathon as tribute to this brave soldier that DROPPPED DEAD after running it??? Liiiiiiiiiiike HELLLLLLLOOOO!!! 

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"Did you know???..."

"...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll NOW YOU DO, annnnnnnnnd don't you FORGET IT!!!" (AIO BTV quote;)

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♥Mary Frances :)

P.S. IF they change the marathon BACK to 25 miles, I WILL run/jog/powerwalk/crawl/drag myself over the finish line in completion, as an honor and tribute to that first soldier that ran it!!! Buuuuuut emphasis on IF!!! hee, hee!!! ;)

MOM EYES!!!

Sooooooooo my mom had really BIG brown eyes and she had this thing she would do to kids when they were misbehaving where she just bugged her eyes out at them, and it was SOOOO STERN looking, she didn't have to say one single word but kids would just halt WHATEVERRR they were doing and start behaving!!! (I wish I had a picture of her doing this so you all could see, buuuuuuuut unfortunately, these aren't the things you think you'll want a picture of before someone dies...so that's a tad to aim for...IF you have a loved one that does something funky, capture a picture of it...not be morbid buuuuut I'm jus sayin...Only God knows what tomorrow hold!) 

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Also, this was my mom's trademark, buuuuuut she only used it when speaking wasn't an option, like if company was over, or your at someone's house or another person's child was doing something she didn't approve of buuuuuuut to say something with the parent there would be awkward or the parent might get offended, MOM just did, THE MOM EYES to the child and they just straightened RIGHT UP!!!

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Soooooooooo after I had started losing weight, my sis in law Grace told me one day that with my weight loss my eyes were starting to look different, she said she could see now that I had THE SAME eyes as my mom's, they were just a DIFFERENT COLOR!!! 

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I was like, REALLY??? NOOOOOOOO WAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!! I was sooooooooo HAPPY cuz no one EVERRR says I look like MY MOM...I was always just her lil white baby!!! LOL So she's like yeah, you have Mom's eyes!!! The she was like, CAN YOU DO THE MOM EYES??? I was liiiiiiiiike, IDK...LET ME TRY!!! ANNNNNNNNNNND the answer is...

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

It's not possible for me to look MENACING...creepy...PERHAPS;)...buuuuuuuut big eyes or NOT...I can't do THE MOM EYES!!! 

I HAVE SOMETHING TO WORK ON!!! 

#GOALS

AHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

LPC Ladies Cookie Exchange 2018

Soooooooooo catching you all up to our annual ladies cookie exchange!!! In the holiday spirit and to add a little extra SPAZZ to our Cookie exchange, I add in a CHRISTMAS FASHION CONTEST!!! 

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There are several categories, for the adults it's THE MERRIEST AND THE CLASSIEST, for the kid's it's LITTLE MISS MERRY, you get a sash and a fun gift, usually a little something Kate Spadeish...Hee, hee!!! ANNNNNND...This year I made a new rule, you can't vote for me!!!

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Denae said that wasn't fair, buuuuuuuuuut, I'm not gonna give myself a gift I bought, that's just WIERD annnnnnnnd the contest is for fun and encouraging everyone else to get dressed up!!! I'm a very festive person and pretty much any day of the week in December, i'd probably be festive annnnnnd READ TO WINNNN, buuuuuuuuuut seeing everyone else be festive is a prize enough for me!!! 

Buuuuuuuuuuuut check out my UGLY Christmas sweater, it's Santa TRYING to fit down the chimney, and it says, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!!! Get it?!?! AHAHAHA!!! It's only funny if a fluffy person is wearing it, its just not the same on a thin person!!! LOL 

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ANNNNNNNNNNND THE VOTED WINNERS WERE...

LITTLE MISS MERRY

GRACE GREENBANK!!!

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THE MERRIEST

Sister Bella!!!

She had duck tape over her mouth that said: SILENT NIGHT!!!

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THE CLASSIEST

JANELLE KARLSON!!!

Janelle wasn't actually going for THE CLASSIEST section, she was aiming for THE MERRIEST, buuuuuuuut whatevs, she'll take her Kate Spade travel coffee mug, because, heeeeeey FREE IS FREE annnnnnnnd FREE IS MY FRIEND'S LOVE LANGUAGE!!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!! Also, we were laughing cuz she said she wore THE SAME outfit last year and didn't win, I said it was the added baby bump this year, it just made ALL THE DIFFERENCE!!!

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PW OF THE YEAR

SISTER ABBOTT

(Of course!)

Also, I told a really funny story before I awarded her, her award...I'll have to do a separate post explaining to you all, WHY Sister Abbott got THE PW of the year award!!! HEE, HEE!!!

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THE HANDSOMEST 

I'm sure Little O will be our Little Man at the Ladies Cookie exchange every year!!! 

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Heeeeeeeeey at least they're were NO GROWN men that came this year. LAST YEAR, Idk how but some of our guests didn't seem to get the memo that, THE LADIES COOKIE EXCHANGE was ONLY FOR LADIES!!! We were all very awkward about it, the HILARIOUS PART was, he sooooooooo wasn't!!! He just sat there with his wife eating and stuff...My main complaint was that he was MARRIED...I mean...IF YOUR GONNA BRING A MAN...can we let the awkwardness be the hope for SOMEONE??? AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!

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Oh and SPECIAL THANKS TO DENAE FOR FLYING IN SPECIAL FOR THE LADIES COOKIE EXCHANGE....it just wouldn't be the same!!! 

ME WANT COOOOOOKIES!!!!

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YEEEEES I AM!!

If you guys haven't gotten your copies yet of The Blackaard Choronicles, get it NOW!!! Annnnnnnnnnnd IF you happen to LOOOOOOOOVE AIO, check out this post my good friend from Tulsa wrote, SHE FINISHED Mrs. Kramer's poem of 100 Things I hate!!! It's EPIC!!! You can NOT MISS IT!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

Me in my snowman cap at the top of Squaw Peak,  total elevation gain is 1,190 feet. Get it guys??? Snowcapped mountain, ANNNNNND I'M WEARING MY SNOWCAP, literally making it a SNOWCAPPED MOUNTIAN!!!  AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. We may have horrible summers, BUUUUUUUUT we have THE AWESOMEST WINTERS...Don't be jelly...we'll be even by April!!! 😝

That awkward moment WHEN...#248566234444

Thaaaaaaaaaaat awkward moment when your out hiking and you go to take a selfie ANNNNNNNNNNNND...

YOU SEE A JAVELINA PHOTO BOMBING IN THE BACKGROUND!!! 

Yeah, I kinda-sorta- you know, FREAKED OUT!!! 

WHAT IS A JAVELINA???

For those of you non-Arizonans, we ususally just think of them as wild pigs...buuuuuuuuut the technical term: The collared peccary, commonly known as the javelina, is found as far south as Argentina and as far north as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Collared peccaries are in the even-toed, hoofed mammal order of Artiodactyla. Javelinas are mistaken for pigs, but they are in a different family than pigs. 

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Look at how well they blend into the desert bushes...crazy how God did that for THEM!!! Not too awesome for me tho!!! LOL It was the coolest new trail I found to Sunrise Peak in Scottsdale, buuuuuuuuuuuut I was all alone on the trail and the kinda scared me, Javelinas don't really attack unless they are in a pack, buuuuuuuuuut who's to say they're weren't more nearby! 

Anywayz, I didn't complete the hike, soooooooo it's currently on my list for the week...Javelinas or NOT....I will NOT be a sissy about it...I WILL BE BRAVE!!!

♥Mary Frances :)