Monday, September 15, 2008

Welcome to Iowa!



Hello and happy Monday to all of our lovely visitors from Blog Around the World! :) It's great to have you!

Today we are touring the beautiful state of Iowa!

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I am a recent "transplant" to Iowa. I was born and raised in Colorado Springs, but went to college in beautiful and historic Dubuque, Iowa where I met my uber-fabulous husband (whom i write about every Friday during ~my husband rocks!~ Fridays!) who had lived his entire life about 3 hours away in small-town Iowa.

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I never thought that I would move away from Colorado, but I fell in love with the green and the open space and the ambiguity of driving through town only to run smack into a cornfield.
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Oh, and I fell in love with Austin, too. He's a pretty big part of the reason I live here :).
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My Iowa experiences have been wonderful and varied. Camping and donkey-riding, crazy flooding, complete home restoration, gnats, an amazing proposal, finally getting a Chipotle, more camping, hair fiascos, the world-famous Iowa State Fair, emergency room visit. We're pretty busy :).

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I hope you enjoy our beautiful state. It is a place where not many people vacation (unless they have family here), but more should, because we sure have a lot to offer. If you ever decide to take a trip out our direction, drop me a line, we have a couple of guest rooms :)

Is this heaven, no . . . it's Iowa!

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Have a great Monday, and thanks for reading! Be sure to check in with Darcy and Britt, my fellow Iowa ladies! :)

59 comments:

  1. Whew! I was getting worried that you had forgotten about today!

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  2. Good morning, Katy-Lin. Thank you for the tour of Iowa. It was fun! :) May you have a great Monday!

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  3. What a totally darling blog you have!! Thanks for the Iowa overview :-)
    Just enjoying Blogging Around the World... Susan

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  4. I must admit, you definitely do make it sound much more fabulous than I've ever given it credit for :)
    Thanks for the intro!

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  5. You make me want to visit! I've never even driven through Iowa, but I know it's a beautiful state. And I'm sad that the Goldfinch is not Mississippi's state bird. They are so bright and yellow in the summertime they look like canaries. Thank you for the tour!

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  6. Perhaps one day when my hubby and I go cross country on a motorcycle together we will pop into Iowa for some of those large taco type things you like so much! I forget what there called! :)

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  7. Nice to 'meet' you. Great post and I really like that 'my husband rocks' thing. I might have to come back for that one.

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  8. Thanks so much for helping me move my post! Stupid blogger .. we were totally not getting along this morning! :o)

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  9. Hi Katy lin,

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a wonderful comment. Tis appreciated!

    You were a truly beautiful bride. I love the hourglass idea. Your hubby rocks!

    I enjoyed the Iowa tour. It looks like a beautiful state.

    hugs,
    Barb

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  10. Never been to Iowa, but I heard it is vert pretty. I love your blog! Stopping by from BATW

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  11. Thanks for hosting us today. I would agree that Iowa has a lot to offer. We Nebraskans are typically stopping in to gamble. (One of my least favorite things to do.) I hope you enjoy your comment love today!

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  12. how do you live without the beautiful rockie mountains....i will say a quick hello to them for you from the land of fields of corn--wheat--some kind of grain...hello from CO! we miss you over here...but i agree, the flatlands have their own kind of beauty--i've spent some time in oklahoma and i think it is beautiful there as well. (but i am always, always glad to get back to the geographical variance of the mountains! thanks for sharing with us BATW-ers

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  13. Hello from Kansas althought I lived in Sioux City for 7 years. I really loved it and am now in a small town very similar to Sioux City :) Crazy, I moved from Denver, CO to Iowa so you and I have some things in common!

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  14. Visiting from BATW, wonderful to visit Iowa!!

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  15. Thanks for the tour, Katy Lin! You are so sweet and such an encourager. I'm so glad you are having your day in the spotlight on BATW!

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  16. Greeting from Wisconsin. Congratulations on your BATW feature. I hope that you are enjoying your day in the sun:-)

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  17. Thanks for the Iowa tour. I didn't know much about it, except that my brother-in-law is from there.

    Visiting from L.A. through BATW!

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  18. I love wide open spaces too, being a Kansas girl!

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  19. Greetings from Texas and BATW. Sounds like you now have a wonderful new state to call home. And a husband with a good Texas name - what could be better??

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  20. Hello from VIRGINIA!!!! though i am an Iowa Girl at heart! i miss Iowa SO MUCH! Virginia ain't that great. :P

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  21. Hello from Louisiana. Visiting via BATW.

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  22. Hello Iowa - you've lifted the lid on what is clearly a special place to you.

    Thanks, JT (www.domestic-executive.com)

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  23. Hey there, neighbor! I'm coming over to see ya from neighboring Wisconsin. Iowa has a special place in my heart--College Girl's BF is from Cedar Rapids. And, my college roomie lives on a farm west of Des Moines, in a town called Earlham. They have fainting goats--they actually really fall down in a dead faint when they're scared! Thanks for the tour--I love me some BATW!

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  24. Iowa it is...thanks for the tour, and I love the "My husband rocks" posts.

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  25. Cute blog! Thanks for the tour :)

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  26. Too cute! My husband was born in Iowa and has many relatives that still live there. So, we do travel to Iowa to see his extended family! We also travel through Iowas to get to my home state....Nebraska!

    Thank you for showing us some of Iowa and letting us visit today!

    Go Big Red! :)

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  27. Hi Katy. Your blog is lovely and I love all the cool things you done. Donkey riding is my favorite. Happy BATW. So great you write weekly how wonderful your husband is.

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  28. Very cute blog! Great tour! You guys look very happy! Oh the newlywed days. I miss them :)

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  29. Hi Katy Lin! I am so glad you're on today, because I haven't gotten to you on my post SITS day visits yet. So YOU are the one telling people to brag on their husbands! I am so proud of you. I love to brag on my husband,but am not quite structured enough for that, I'm afraid. Still, the blogosphere totally needs a challenge like that! Blessings to you from your neighbor to the north!

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  30. thank you for your comment about my acne pics...I started the meds in Feb. and have been taking them nonstop and I am so THRILLED with the results :) Im a real life before and after story haha

    but anyways I LOVE your blog it is so cute and I really enjoy how you post a lot of pictures!!!

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  31. I love the maps you provide for us. And I really have to ask... Iowa has a good state fair? The only one I've heard of outside of someone who lives in the state is Minnesota's (and I can verify that it totally rocks). I love fairs in general though!

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  32. Katy Lin,

    You did such a great job! Greetings from Florida this evening.

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  33. Hello from ND. Have a great day.

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  34. Hey Katy Lin! Well, shucks. This was a *much* better tour of Iowa than I gave!

    I'm a Chicago transplant, and like you... never would have guessed in a billiion years that I'd end up in rural Iowa. But I LOVE it here.

    The company sure helps. ;)

    I'm a regular 'round here, so I'll be back!

    Darcy

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  35. Great blog! Thanks for the tour of Iowa!

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  36. Aloha from Hawaii! Looking forward to reading more about Iowa in future posts.

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  37. Hi thanks for adding me to your blogroll. Nice Iowa touring, great for me since I'm from Quebec, Canada. Gives me a bit of an idea of what it looks like down there. Maybe I should do the same about Quebec sometime. Really cute blog.

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  38. What a great tour! But I must know-- what made you decide to go to school in Iowa?

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  39. I love that line...is it heaven...brings a smile to my face each time I see it/hear it!

    Thanks for the tour...happy to hear you found a great home and love in Iowa!

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  40. thanks for the tour. I love your blog

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  41. So, YOU'RE the "My Husband Rocks" lady! You've started quite the phenomenon. I've seen the posts all over!

    Greetings from California!

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  42. It is so much fun to see how everyone represents their state. You did a great job.
    While I was looking at your blog, I noticed the Joshua Project on the side. I am going to Tanzania in October. There is so much need over there. I do not see how it will ever change, but these dear people need to know we care.
    Thanks for letting us visit your state today. Hope your BATW day was fun for you.

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  43. We have a ton of friends from Iowa!!

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  44. We have a ton of friends from Iowa!

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  45. Hi Katy Lin! I'm late for the BATW but I thought it would still be ok since I land on your blog quite a bit anyway.

    Anyhow, your strategy on this post to link to the various posts is great - it got me there! Maybe when I get featured again, that's what I'm gonna do, too.

    Have a great day!

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  46. I've been to Iowa once... just mainly driving through on our family trip out West (I think I was 10 or 11 at the time)... just remember lots of plains and corn fields! Pretty, but I think I'd miss the mountains!

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  47. Coming over from BATW! I had to laugh at the cornfield picture. Growing up in NE, I saw that out my backdoor every day! LOL Now, I am a transplant to CO.

    Thanks for the tour!!

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  48. Stopping by from neighboring WI, sorry I'm a little late. Got stuck in traffic! lol My hubby and I spent a few days in Dubuque a few years back.
    Thanks for the tour, enjoyed your post :)

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  49. Greetings from NC! I am a bit late but thanks for the tour!

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  50. Visiting from BATW...

    Hope you enjoyed your spotlight day!

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  51. Iowa actually DOES have a lot to offer tourists! I went to school there, and we spent most weekends exploring the surrounding areas. So much fun.

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  52. I grew up in Iowa (the first 24 years of my life) and moved to Kansas when I got engaged. It's nice to 'hear' others say good things about it, because it really is a great state....and I miss the Fair....mainly the food. :)

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  53. Shhhhhh Don't let out the secrets of our great state, they will all want to live here!

    Seriously, I appreciate your beautiful post. Having lived here my entire 44 years, as a new transplant you did a great job highlighting our beautiful state.

    I surfed here because of your "my husband rocks" Friday's. I look forward to participating. Fabulous meme idea.

    Blessings,
    linda
    my real blog:
    homeschoolblogger.com/faithfulgrace

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  54. I've been enjoying your MHRF posts for a few weeks and have enjoyed participating the past two weeks.

    This tour was GREAT! Thanks for sharing about Iowa! We really ought to get out there someday! It may be America's best kept secret!


    www.gombojav.blogspot.com

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  55. I enjoyed that! How ironic...I now live in Colorado and came from Iowa! :)

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  56. Catching up on my BATW posts. From a Midwest girl and your neighbor to the North (MN) you have given me a new perspective on Iowa. Ohh and I love the MHR Fridays. Can't wait to participate.

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Thank you!