my first blog...

How do we live without it....

2006-04-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know it is Spring and with spring comes the beginning of new things...baby animals, flowers, warm weather, and ah....a new season of baseball! Baseball is a sport that I have grown to love.
It has not been a lifetime interest for me or even a "favorite American sport".....Nope, not for me! In fact, at one point in my life I even claimed I hated it! Why? I didn't even really know why, except for the fact that it prevented me from watching my favorite shows while growing up! All I knew about baseball was that dad would watch games almost every evening, which in turn, would prevent me from watching anything else on tv. There was no arguing or whining over it, even though I tried, and if I was lucky he would flip over during a commericial and I would catch a glimpse of another show, but that was it. And I guess growing up I spent many evenings outside riding horse or whatever, so I avoided it all together. And then October would come. The dreaded, but yet finalizing month for the baseball world! And man did I ever celebrate when it was over, not for a team, but just for my freedom to have the opportunity to watch normal, non-baseball shows!
There was one time growing up, that my dad did convice me to sit down and watch part of the World Series. The year was 1991, the Minnesota Twins were going for the World Series Title and Kirby Puckett was playing for them! For ah, what seemed like a long time but probably only a total of 10 minutes a night I would sit down and watch the game with him and I decided that year, that if I ever was going to like baseball, Minnesota Twins would be the team that I would root for!
(Little did I know how that would play a role later in life...)

Ok, lets fast forward to college I was just 20 and a couple of the guys that I worked with wouldn't settle for my "lack of reasons" for "hating" baseball! So off to Minneapolis we went to watch the Minnesota Twins! And the rest is history....they took me to a few more games that summer and I really started getting into it....over the next couple summers at college it became a routine to go to a few games every summer! It was great! and before I knew it I was looking forward to summertime to get to go to a baseball game! What was happening? Could this really be? Could I be falling in love with the game of baseball....??? Driving four hours one way just to get to experience the atmosphere of the baseball field, eat a greasy hot dog, do the wave, and chew sunflower seeds all the way there while playing the radio song game, chew sunflower seeds the whole time during the game, and drinking soda and coffee and chewing sunflower seeds the whole ride home to stay awake, and finaling arriving home around 1am....to get up and go to work at 7am! yep, it was happening...

Then, during my time at home, it was a big topic with a couple of the locals and me. We discussed politics and baseball! Those were the only important subjects! We each had our teams and we each harassed the other! And kept track of each game played and runs made! It would come down to me even writing Twin comments on their pizza boxes! Ah, the good times!

So once again another season has began, and I find myself, just like my dad (and my grandpa Welch I found out later was an avid baseball fan! so it's in my blood, it was bound to get me!) coming home from work, sitting down and watching the Twins play. I absolutely enjoy it and I am so excited to see where this season will lead, and it's only the first month! My dad and I have already been discussing players and teams and game highlights. During a game I find myself, even if I'm home alone, jumping up and down and cheering for them, yelling at the umps and making the calls. And at the end of every game, I say, "Man, how we live during the off season without baseball?!!"

Snowed In....aka...a day off....

2006-04-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone...I've been bad at not writing, aka blogging. It's been crazy but that's no excuse. So today I'm going to hopefully get you caught up, ok, or at least on today, that is hopefully before the power goes out and I lose this! :) You see, we have a blizzard raging in our neck of the woods today! It actually started yesterday and is supposed to last until this evening. So far, I'm not sure how much snow we've gotten, at least a foot, if not more. The wind is howling and has created snow drifts in my yard over 5 feet tall! :) It's still snowing and the power blinks off and on. I attempted the idea of going to work today. (I was going to drive my land lords jeep that has four wheel drive, because the snow is past the bumper of my car when you open the garge door!But as I was shoveling the driveway, and you ask, where is the famous 200 pound snow blower at a time like this, well, it's safe and secure in the front of the garage, unable to get out of it's dry corner because both vehicles are in the garage....yeah, I didn't really think it was going to snow THIS much, I guess, or I would have moved it last night to a better location, closer to the garage door entrance, had I anticipated this much snow...ok, maybe I have listened to too many of the New Orleans stories and excuses for not leaving their under sea level residential areas they called home before Katrina hit!....Anyways, so as I was saying, me and my trusty shovel were getting the job done when it occured to me, ok, once I get out the drive way and let's say I make it to work (I had already watched one car get stuck on our street this morning, and a couple four wheel drive pickups having troubles traveling through the neighborhood), if I make it to work, then what? Will I just be snowed in there instead of at home?.... nice, cozy home??? That is when I ceesed shoveling, and began calling. My boss was on his way back from a meeting in Lemmon yesterday, no cell phone service....and I didn't have Ross's cell phone number, the only other person that would show up for work on a day like today....So with many alternate numbers dialed of people with possible connections and information.... No luck, finally after 8am, I called work and Ross answered! I was surprised he made it. He said he barely did and he has a four wheel drive pickup! And that I should stay home until we hear from Jon, our boss...So again at 10am I called work and Jon had made it to Sturgis but then got sucked into the ditch by all the snow by Fort Meade. So on that note, we decided that I should just enjoy the day off! Which I am! :) You ask, you crazy person, why do you want to go to work so bad....Well, we have a show to pack for for tomorrow. But it can wait if need be like anything on a day like today. But the main reason is because a couple people at work use the littlest things as excuses not to make it to work or get their work done, so I want to be a person that goes beyond the call...even if it is just in getting to work! :) or craziness! ha,ha,ha....I'm not that scared of bad weather as many people are. It doesn't bother me to drive in bad weather, but don't worry, I do know my limits, and I'm not going to die in a snow storm anytime soon!
So today I am enjoying a weekday off!!! Catching up on some cleaning and watching the 5th season episodes of the Gilmore Girls that I haven't seen! They are a past time obession of mine if you didn't know! Also getting in some reading and hopefully a nap! :)
As far as getting out for work tomorrow! eh, I'll figure that out tomorrow! :)
Yay, the electricity has stayed on long enough to finish this! So I'm going to end here before it blinks again! :)
Later....

ah...spring?!!!

2006-03-27T19:25:00.000-08:00

Let's see....it's been a little while since I've written...but last week it snowed...about 13 inches in Sturgis....I was at home at my parents ranch and the visibility and roads weren't good, so I stayed over Sunday night when I usually drive back and left early the next morning. I arrived in Sturgis early enough to snow blow my drive way, which was like a remake of the robber on the movie Home Alone after the kid hosed down the stairs and he kept falling down on the iced pavement. yeah, that was me in the drive way because in Sturgis it had rained first and then snowed, which I didn't realize until I was driving a huge 200 pound snow blower and lost my footing and the next thing I know I was staring at the sky! Yup, you got it! Dressed for work, Peacoat and all, lying on my back in my drive way covered in snow, with the snow blowerstill running! Thank goodness it isn't like a lawnmower, or I might have lost a foot or a toe or some other body part! Yeah, so I'm laying there laughing at myself, still in shock that I just fell snowblowing! So I jump up and brush myself off and look around and I saw no one! All I could think was did anyone else just see what happened? Oh, and then it got better. The drive way was so slippery with the ice and fresh snow, that I fell two more times! I was laughing histerical by the time I was done, and I had worked up a sweat, more from snowblowing or laughing, I'm not for sure, and still wonding if any of the neighbors saw me and were laughing too!
Anyways, that's how I started off my day last Monday! I still chuckle just thinking about it! That's when I decided that I would be alright if spring came.

Well, this weekened ended differently. I drove back Sunday night from the ranch to Sturgis in pouring RAIN! So I'm hoping Spring is here and here to stay! I hope that it rains from now on, I don't mind some snow, just not enough to make me have to get out the 200 pound snowblower again, and that the green grass would begin too grow! It's calving and lambing time! It's time to see green grass! It's going to be April at the end of this week! It's time for spring! My favorite season of the year...

2006-03-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

I had the privelage of going to a small high school so there were no cuts in athletics. A student could play any or every sport they wanted. Yes, the best players played the most and were on varsity, unlike larger schools where they only allow a selected best to go out for a team. I played basketball, volleyball, track, and rodeoed. It is through these athletic events that I learned life lessons, how to work together with different personalities, communicate, and winning and losing.
One of my favorite sports was volleyball. I loved volleyball. I played once when I was in junior high but our coach was really bad and she didn't teach us anything. If we made mistakes we had to run with the wrestlers, so I got to be good friends with some of the wrestlers and was in good shape, but that was about it.
My sophomore year we finally got a new coach, so I decided to give it another try. I always liked the setters. (Setters allows take the second hit, setting the ball up for the third person to spike it, creating the best possibility to score points) The setter on a volleyball team is like a quarterback in football. They decide where to place the ball and to which player and how high or low. I had never set or even really tried, I guess now that I think of it, but for some reason I just had a feeling that I would like it.
So after the first practice I asked the new coach if I could try setting because I always wanted too! That was all it took. The next day she had me do some drills and I was a natural at it. I became a starting setter for our volleyball team, besides another girl who was a senior, and the rest is history.
I loved it! We didn't make it to state that year but the next year, my junior year, we did! The first time in eight years at our school. So we were really proud of ourselves. It was a fun time, although I decided not to play my senior year, I have always loved volleyball! I took a coaching of volleyball class in college just for fun. I played intramurel volleyball all during college and now once again I am playing on a league in Belle Fourche. It's so fun and brings back so many memories! Although, it is a little different this time around, things jiggle now when I jump, the net has seemed to have gotten a little taller than the last time I was in front of one, and my eye-hand cordination is slowly returning! :) I am not even close to how good I used to be but it still is fun!
So to all of you who played volleyball or any high school sport, I'm sure you can relate! :)
later...

Drum Roll Please...."We Love Total Axxess"...

2006-02-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know we all have our little addictions, tv shows we love, or have to watch weekly, tivo-ing it if we aren't able to watch it, especially when Friends used to be on and back when it was just VCR's....well, I do have some tv shows I like to watch, but even more I have a favorite radio show that I LOVE listening to! I know it sounds crazy...and you're probably going a radio show? Are you kidding me? Well, hang on a sec and let me explain....The show's called Total Axxess! (See it's even spelled Cool! ;)
Anyways, it's a Christian radio show out of Nashville, TN, with host Jayar who's from Seattle and he's hilarious! He's got this cool west coast accent that I love and a crazy, fun loving personality that makes you feel like you're in the studio with him! His goal of being a radio show host is to make listening to Christian music fun and entertaining because while growing up, the Christian radio stations that were available to him were dull and boring for his younger generation. Which this is something that I had to deal with while at college in Brookings until the Refuge out of Minnesota started up my last year or so, and even then you could only get it in Brookings and half way to Watertown and half way to Sioux Falls, so it was limited! Which was also frustrating....
Anyways, Jayar made it his goal to change Christian radio and make it fun and appealing to the younger generations. His producer Shimmy and him are hilarious! They are always having bets with each other that usually turn into contests that listeners can become involved in in some way, shape, or form. They have different Christian artists on almost everynight interviewing and promoting their records and tours. They keep me up to date on the latest news in the world of Christian music.
But to spice things up from the same ol studio interview, they do other things....like almost anything with artists....such as.... go on tour, Christmas shopping, baking cookies, calling their parents, repeating lines from movies....I'll never forget Michael W Smith's and Jayar's version of Titanic....writing songs out of listeners' comments.....that still is my all time favorite moment...Matthew West had to write a song out of 12 listeners comments. Their comments ranged from botox and lieing about their age, running over a possum, to chasing kids, to making pizzas, to grilling out in the backyard, getting a shoe thrown at them, and I dont' even remember whatever else!...Anyways, he did it! He wrote a song and it was hilarious and Awsome! It's called the Total Axxess Song and the chorus goes "We Love Total Axxess. We Love Total Axxess".....
They did a backyard BBQ in Toby Mac's backyard and flew in a listner who had the best "BBQ recipe" and broadcasted the show from there live!....And I can't forget....thanks to American Idol they have Cell Phone Superstar! ha,ha,ha....it's their own version of American Idol, but a listener sends them his or her phone number and if they call 'em up, and the person has to sing a verse and chorus of a song and listeners vote for their favorite "cell phone singer". The winner gets to sing back up vocals for Matthew West's new cd! Those are just a few of the things they've done and some of their contests since I started listening almost a year ago!
So, yeah, like I said they do just about anything...even letting Ginny Owens (who's blind if you didn't know) drive Shimmy's new SUV! Did I mention they're nuts and hilarious?!!! :) It makes me want to write and tell them they should go sky diving one night or something....lol...
And I can't forget to mention their Famous Bowling for Plugs. It's always funny. At the end of the night when they are in the studio and have artist(s) there, they make them do "bowling for pluggs"! An artist rides on a skateboard somehow (on their belly or back and don't worry they wear a helmet! :) and roll down the hallway of the studio trying to knock over as many pins as they can, hense the bowling part, and the number of pins they knock down is the number of allotted seconds they receive to promote themselves or say anything they want! Anyways, I'm always laughing at the things they say or are doing. Plus, they always have the newest Christian bands in the alternative Christian music scene on, and for those of you who don't know, Christian music is a really big part of my day to day life! From the time I wake up in the morning to when I fall asleep at night.
Ok, so that's my big addiction....I listen to the radio over watching tv many nights of the week....I enjoy the drive home on weekends because the music is great and the entertainment is even better! It's encouraging and fun to listen too! So there you have it....that's my addiction! :) ....And if you think I'm making this up or that I'm nuts....just go look at their website, just their opening page makes me laugh....www.totalaxxess.com...click on the photo vault to see pics of everything I've told you or better yet, go to audio vault, matthew west, total axxess song and listen to the song....it's hilarious and worth it! :)

a favorite winter hobby...pumpkin pie....mhmm

2006-02-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend a friend from college came out to visit and go skiing. It's been kinda a yearly event accept for last year because there was not enough snow. This year we went to Deer Mountain. I've never been to Deer Mountain so it was fun to ski some new slopes. I've always went to Terry Peak to ski. I guess because that is where I learned and I feel comfortable with. I was thinking about it and I've been skiing for twenty years now! Is that crazy or what??? And honestly, I probably shouldn't even tell people that because I only go a couple times a year, so I'm not an Olympian in the making or anything like that, but it's still fun! And a good workout! :) Ok, so here goes....a trip down memory lane everyone...

I was five years old, my parents planned a weekend in the Black Hills staying with family friends and going skiing at Terry Peak. I remember being afraid, and telling mom and dad that I didn't know how to ski! (I have to smile and laugh at it now, but at the time it was a big deal and like my parents didn't know I didn't know how to ski! ha,ha,ha...anyways) They both must of thought that it was cute too, because they didn't seem as concerned about it as I was, and mom assured me that they would put me in ski lesson and I would learn how to ski and it would all be fine. Well, that was a little comforting, but then the lesson was just going to be me and my instructor, which my parents just don't leave their children like that, so I guess I no choice but to trust them. After I was abandoned and left with the "ski instructor" aka "stranger" in my eyes, fear crept back into my mind, because I honestly had no idea how to ski! Well, the first question she asked me (I think it was a she, my memory hasn't kept all the details over these years now, but I'm pretty sure it was a lady...) anyways, she asked me what my favorite pie was, and that hit it off with me! Of course, as some of you know that it is pumpkin, which just the thought of pumpkin pie brings a ton a different memories flooding into my mind...ha,ha,ha....but I'm going to keep focused on skiing today....ok...
:) So, this "stranger" that I was left with just became my best friend for the next hour because we shared a common love of a dessert. (I love how things are so simple when you're little! ha,ha,ha)
Well, I guess I mostly just learned how to snow plow in that hour lesson, my parents returned after the hour and I was unharmed, and could ski, or at least I thought so in my little five year old world! Mom and I hit the bunny slope and it became a family tradition every winter to go skiing a few times.
As I got older, my dad took me on as his little prodigy and challenged me to graduate from the bunny slope and green chair lift and head on over to the bigger slopes with him. I did, once again afraid, but he's my dad so I trusted him and wanted to ski just like him!
Skiing has been part of my life since I was five years old and now I am very glad my parents started me so young because if they hadn't I honestly would probably be too afraid now to try it and I don't think the pumpkin pie lesson would have convinced my fear to go away as easily now as it did back then!
I also learned how to snowboard this winter but haven't gotten back up to practice. See, I've always wanted to learn how to surf! And I was told by a guy who grew up surfing and snowboarding, that snowboarding is just like surfing but on snow instead of the ocean, and since the nearest ocean is over 1000 miles away, I figured snowboarding sounds more realistic! And when I do have the chance to surf, I will be ahead of the game if I could master snowboarding. (also I don't think the small slopes around here are as dangerous as the crashing waves and tides of the oceans!) So once again I'll be out on the slopes battling out a new fear, only this time it's because my feet are strapped to one board instead of two!!! ha,ha,ha...

Tagged....13 Things....

2006-02-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

13 things that you might not know about me...hhhmmm.....here goes...

1. I'm NOT afraid of heights!
Alot of people are afraid of heights it seems, but I can honestly say thanks to my dad that I am not anymore. I often tell people that I didn't have a choice to be afraid of heights and they always look at me funny. I say that because my dad always made me get up on the roof of the house or barn with him when it needed fixing and he would put me up in the tractor bucket usually to get up to these places, and I guess over time it worked! His famous saying is "Just shimmy right up there"! Anyways, I guess I am kinda proud of this because so many people are afraid of heights! I went cliff diving in high school and I know if I would have been afraid of heights I wouldn't have done it.

2. I used to rodeo!
I've ridden horse since I was two years old and have actually trained a couple horses that I used for rodeo. I rodeoed for almost nine years growing up and actually was pretty competitive in a few events! Most people never would guess that about me when they meet me!

3. I grew up on a ranch and that will forever be apart of me! I love ranching and the life of it. I love everything about it, from the long hours during lambing and calving chores and feeding everyday to farming and planting crops to haying the crops and combining them at the end of the summer. Riding horse through a green lush pasture, nothing else seeming so perfect, frogs croaking from a nearby damn, bugs buzzing, and the smell of the mossy water filling the air combined with smells of wild flowers. I also love harvest time. Long hours, usually hot days, spent out in the field combining and hauling grain during the day and into the night with the bright orange harvest moon shining in the darkness making it seem not as late as it actually is, the sweet summer air, suntan arms and legs, and the sweet sleep after a hard day's work. There is nothing like that feeling!

4. And because I am a country girl at heart and because I still live close enough to visit home often, each weekend, after a week of being a city girl, I drive home 120 miles one way for a mini vacation. Every weekend is like a retreat for me. I love it because my mind and heart are a million miles away from everything else in the world. I go home and that's where I dream, that's where I rest (I love my bed at home! and it loves me!), that's where I retreat from the rest of the world. It's my happy place....When I want to go think I ride my horse to a big hill that overlooks our whole ranch and miles around it and I just sit there and it puts things into perspective.

5. Shoes and purses are my weakness!
I love shoes! Shoes are a woman's best friend! And purses! I never get tired of looking at them when I go shopping or just browsing. My favorite brand of shoe is nine west and my dream is to own a Louis Vuitton purse...

6. A new hobby of mine that I've started the last couple years....is gardening...and planting flowers! yeah, I've never been a green thumb, but I'm learning! It's time to order garden seeds and I fine myself getting all excited over corn kernals and walla walla onions and flower bulbs...Funny, huh?!!!

7. I prefer reading self help books....I always want to be a better person so I'd rather read a self help book over a fiction book anyday! one of the best authors is John C Maxwell! I also love reading money books and financial books...Robert Kiyosoki Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of the best books!

8. My radio is always tuned into 883 The Point, a local comtemporary Christian radio station. I'm addicted to Total Axxess. It's a radio program...tune in soon for a post contributed to it! It's coming soon! :)

9. I studied Greek in my spare time my junior year in college with a group of peers and I want to start studying it again! ( I mean reading Greek, not speaking it) But I also want to learn Italian and French! (to speak them, and to get brushed up on spanish again, even though I probably wasn't that good to begin with...lol...)

10. I plan to go spulunking this summer or "Caving" it is sometimes called. I went to Wind Cave last summer and they offer personal guided expeditions that are not too costly, so I want to do it. I would have last year but we got there too late in the day and never made it back. I also want to go to Jewel Cave!

11. I love to hear about other people's dreams and what they want to do with their lives and just their passions that they have. I love to encourage people in their dreams because I think we each have special desires placed in us and make us each different from all other people, giving us each our own purpose in life. And it seems to me that there is so much negativity in our society today that we kill each other's dreams. So I try to always be positive about every situation and encourage people even if it sounds crazy to me, because you know what, it's their dream not mine! So it doesn't matter if I think it's crazy or impossible! When the Dream is BIG enough, the facts DON'T count!-(Dexter Yager)

12. Going on mission trips and helping people who are less fortunate than me, especially going to orphanages, that is a deep passion of mine! Nothing else touches my heart more than to meet an orphan child who has nothing; no material things, no family, and doesn't even know where his or her next meal is coming from and yet is filled with joy and laughter! It is AMAZING! Here I am in the most wealthiest country in the world, worried about having the latest updated styles or casually throwing away scraps, after just one of my daily meals, that would feed people for a whole day or maybe even more in another country; it's at these moments that I recall experiences from mission trips and think of what is really going on in the world and in other countries. It is so humbling and I try to hold so close and never forget!

and finally....

13. When I get married, I want to elope! Well, maybe not completely eloping because I want my family and my close friends to be there, but I want a private wedding and I want to get married on a beach! I just want a small ceremony and then have a big party at home later on!

OK, well, maybe you knew more of these than the number of the ones you didn't, but there you have it....13 things... :)

PS I TAG AJSCHILLER! YOU'RE IT...NOW YOU HAVE TO WRITE 13 THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF!

Weather Update...and a baby shower...

2006-02-19T07:13:00.000-08:00

It became winter last week....we ended up getting around 6-8 inches of snow in Sturgis and the temperature reached -20 F. With wind chill, it was -30. It was cold, I have to admit!
Deer Mountain (the other local ski "resort") was having a promotion with a local radio station Friday and Saturday. Skiing rates and rentals were very affordable and I have never been to Deer Mountain so I was thinking of attending, until the change of weather. The High was -6 Friday and that was without the wind, so I decided I would go home to the ranch for a full weekend instead. I have a baby shower that I'm helping host and put on.

Baby showers, they are always fun! Today's baby shower is for Shawna, a friend that I have only known for about a year. Her and her husband and their daughter moved up here last year because her husband got a new job with the forest service up here. She is originally from Ohio and he from ND, but they lived the last few years in Hill City, SD.
I was still working in Buffalo and shortly after they moved here, she started part time at Cenex with me. I actually got the opportunity to help train her. She is a year younger than me and has a bubbly personality. I get along with her great and she's just hilarious, so we usually find ourselves laughing alot!

Well, after or maybe it was before i moved to Sturgis, they found out they were pregnant again. They were excited! They found out it was a boy! So the nine months went by and it was time to bring this new bundle of joy into the world to play and grow! She was scheduled for a C Section towards the middle of January and would be in the Spearfish hospital for a couple days. I planned to go visit them in the hospital a couple days after the surgery when Shawna thought she'd be up for visitation. So I went to go visit and the secretary told me that they had been released the day before! I thought that was weird because it way earlier than she had told me they were planning on staying because it is a surgery. I said alright, I'll just stop by their house on the way home. Well, no one was at their house, which kinda made me concerned.

I found out later that there was some complications with the baby during the C Section and he had to be taken to ICU in Rapid City. He had fluid around his lungs. Then Shawna moved to Rapid too to be with her new baby! But after a couple days in Rapid, everything was fine and they came home! Shawna sent pictures via email and assured everyone that everything is alright and they are home safe and sound. A couple weeks later, I stopped in to see him, "Danny" and his family. It always amazes me how small babies are. I always forget until I hold a newborn again!
So today a month later, we (the local lady friends) have come together to put on a little party and celebrate this new baby boy that is in our community!

Happy Valentines Day!....and the weather....

2006-02-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!
I just wanted to wish you a lovely day and tell ya thanks for being my friend! I am so blessed with such great friends. I don't know what I would do without you. You have seen my through my trials and challenges over the years. And I just wanted to say thank you!

Let's see....what's been going on in my world....well, this weekend I had a very important engagement to attend...Our neighbor girl turned 3! So it was party time! Ice cream cake from DQ, Dora the Explorer decorations, complete with party hats! (she's a cartoon in case you weren't up on your current cartoon series), neighbor kids and parents, punch drinks, more cake....It was fun. I've been babysitting her since she was a baby and her sister was about 1 1/2. It's always a fun time to go visit and hang out when I go home on the weekends. I also got to catch up with a couple that I babysat (their kids and ranch) for almost a whole week while they went to the NFR in Vegas a year ago. It is was a really good time to see them and catch up...overall, it was a successful party!

My Monday nights (except a few due to scheduling) are spent going to Belle Fourche Rec Center and playing volleyball. It's really fun! Candance and I seem to always find something to laugh about on the trips over and Darcy is a hoot too!
A couple of the other girls on the team were actually on opposing teams during high school, so it's fun to watch their killer serves zip over the net at our opponents heads and not flying towards my face like they were in high school! :) I think we still have a couple more years before we go pro, but we have a good time! Plus, we go to Dairy Queen afterwards, so that's worth it right there! right??? :) Oh, and, I"ve found all those muscles that I don't think I've used since volleyball in high school! If you know what I mean...:)

And how can I not touch on the topic of.... the weather....I've come to the decision that the weather is the most common and nondefensive subject to discuss; with anyone for that matter, family, friends, neighbors, complete strangers, it doesn't matter! If you run out of things to say you can always talk about the weather. And some conversations aren't complete without touching on the topic. It doesn't matter where you are from or where you've been there's always going to be weather to talk about. And everyone has a story to share. Plus, it's the only job where you can be wrong 90% of the time and still get your yearly promotion, or bonus, or whatever types of raises meterologists get. The weather even has it's own channel too. (which by the way, is my mom's favorite channel on tv...and if you don't believe me just come a spend a weekend at my ranch...i think it's the music personally, because she's not watching it ALL the time but it's on!)....

Anyways, it has turned to winter here....a change from our warm dry weather we've been having. A couple weeks ago it even got into the 60's! That's just crazy!!! SD....January....60's....???!!! It felt like golf season.
Well, it's still not too cold right now either but it's started snowing again....Terry Peak (one of the local ski "resorts") received over 15" of new snow just last week! It's so exciting! :) But the cold is quickly moving in...the high, let me repeat, the HIGH for Friday is 8 degrees! So winter is here! And back or at least for this week.... :)

PS....I also have to add 2 more movies to my movie list from last time....1.Home Alone! that one is a classic! I love it and always have to watch it at least twice around Christmas time. the 2nd is Monsters Inc. thanks to my niece Jaya. Every holiday (or vacation for her) we watch Monsters Inc. hoping she falls asleep, but most of the time it's Jean and I that end up falling asleep instead of Jaya. About a week after they leave, I always have to watch Monsters Inc. a couple times to wean myself off the bedtime ritual. Although, sometimes I have to confess when I can't go to sleep right away, I will put in Monsters Inc to lull me to sleep as during the holidays, but if it's been awhile, I usually end up staying up and laughing at Mike Zuowoski, the green one eyed monster....He's hilarious! And all their little jokes in it....
Ok, Goodnight!....

TAG, I'M IT....and finally responding.... :)

2006-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Ok Stace, I wasn't going to do this because I didn't know how consistent I would be. Then I decided I would but had some computer troubles and it's taken me this long to finally get things set up....But aughh (sigh) finally here I am, and I'm responding first to your tag.....

4 jobs i've had....
1. waitress
2. pizza and bakery cook
3. secretary assistant
4. shoe sales girl

4 or so movies i watch over and over...
1. Wild Hearts Can't be Broken
2. Sweet Home Alabama/A Cinderella Story (with Hilary Duff)
3. The Rookie (with Dennis Quaid)
4.Oceans Eleven/Tin Cup

TV Shows I love to watch
1. Gilmore Girls
2. Extreme Home Makeover
3. Wildfire
4. The Bachelor (this season's anyways)
5. Twins baseball games!!! :)

4 places I've been...
1. Yellowstone National Park
2. Mexico
3. China
4. California

Foods I love
1. A good Steak
2. Ice Cream
3. home grown sweet corn (and anything else out of the garden)
4. Chocolate...how can i forget that....

Websites I visit daily...
1.yahoo.com (email, news, movies, etc)
2. google.com (there always seems to be something to look for...)
3. wsj.com (wall street journal)
4. 883thepoint.com (local radio station)

4 places I would rather be...
1. anywhere with my close friends or family
2. on a mission trip somewhere...haiti, africa, or anywhere....
3. hawaii
4. bora bora and australia

And there you have it.... :)