Simple Solutions

Sometimes it's the simplest things in life that are the solutions to some of the biggest issues in life. My simple solution for a major problem, since utter exhaustion doesn't seem to work, Lavender Baby Bath. It combines two things I like, lavender and taking a bath. Since I have started using it I have slept through the whole night and don't wake up until my alarm goes off. The good news is the cheap Wal-mart brand works just as good as the expensive Johnson & Johnson brand too.

Picture Proof

Here is picture proof that it is cold in Whitefish and that my door doesn't seal tightly.

This is the bottom of the door on the inside. A little ice, and of course the snow on the bottom that comes in on the biting wind that came along with the blizzard last night.

Oddities of Life

Student teaching, what exactly does that mean? Well, for me it means being forced to resign my job for 3 months and not have it guarenteed back. Pretty sad that in order to teach, even though I have a teaching certification, several degrees on top, and am going back to get an endorsement I have to give up my position in the school in order to get a job in the school. Tell me how ironic that is in this era of "teacher shortages." Okay, I'm sorry, I'm done venting. I'm actually looking forward to student teaching after Christmas break! I get to teach in the classroom that I started in last year. I will have some of the same students I had last year and will be under the same great teacher. Long story short, less stress!!!!!

The End is in Sight

The end to another school program! Yeah! I begin my student teaching Jan. 1st and then will only have one class left in the fall. That is of course if I get caught up on the homework that I am way behind on. Gotta go!

A few tidbits...

So, what has been happening in my life lately? Well, a lot actually and at the same time only a little.

1. I got to go horseback riding with a friend from school. It was so much fun and I truly miss being out in the woods on top of a horse. We went for about an hour and by the time we got back to the truck we had seen so much even though it was night. On one side of the mountain we saw the full moon shining so bright that it looked like daylight. The other side we saw the sunset with it's gorgeous pinks against the clouds. Sorry the pictures of the moon and sunset didn't turn out because the horse wouldn't stop moving. But here are some that my friend took of me on Traveler.

2. A new job! After a stressful summer at the hotel and a fight to get the amount of hours I needed I quit and found a new 2nd job. I now work at a small retail store in Whitefish. It's still the same distance as the hotel was but more hours, less stress, and much better employees. It has been fun and I'm learning lots of new things. One of the major pluses is that I get to move throughout the store so I don't hurt near as bad as at the hotel.

3. Seely Lake finally! After all summer hearing my adoptive parents (the Dustins) talk about their cabin at Seely Lake I finally got down there a few weekends ago to help them remodel it. We had great weather with only a light sprinkle for about 10 minutes and cool crisp autumn air. I loved working outside with my hands again. After not working like that since my accident I was so sore the next morning but it was worth every minute of it. Not only did I get out of Whitefish for a few days but I also got to spend time with Betty, John, and Cameron. The first night down we went to Missoula and had dinner with Perry and his girlfriend, Sadie. It's amazing how much laughter can do in just a few days! I laughed so painting the trim on the windows.

4. Walking has taken a good portion of my free time now. I have started walking this past summer and have tried to get out at least a little bit each day. Some days I walk for over almost 2 hours, others just 30 minutes. It's helping me on my road to recovery from the accident. I'm down to an appointment every 2 weeks...yeah! It has also gotten me back into some of my pants that were no longer fitting, a skirt that I haven't worn in a really long time, and wearing a belt for all of my newer pants. Woo Hoo!!! I have seen some new numbers on the scale that I haven't seen in years...160...159...158...157...156 and still dropping!

5. I booked my plane tickets home for Christmas! It's been over a year since I've been home to see my family and I can't wait to spend even a few days with them. Johnny and Travis have grown so much, are both in school, and Johnny will be in Middle School next year...aye, time sure flies.

6. Hopefully school is almost over. I'm waiting to hear if I get to student teach next semester. I have 2 classes this semester and 2 left, 1 when I student teach and 1 in the fall. I'm so ready to be done with school, once again. Remind me never to take a whole program again.

I'm alive

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm alive and a new post will be coming with what has been happening in my life lately. I want to wait until I have the pictures to go with it though.

Please watch this video!

This video is well worth the time and is from an American Soldier. Please take the time to watch it. http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm

Black Bears

With my cousins arrival came another trip to Glacier and a trip to the Bear Park. Here are the resulting pictures. Sorry some of them have the reflection from the windows. If you click on them it will enlarge them and you'll be able to see the bear a little better. The tall picture is really cool because the bear was sitting against the tree and reminded me of a grandparent watching the grandkids playing in the yard. His paw was patting it's knee as it sat there.

A Great Weekend

This week has been quite a change of pace. Cameron came home Wednesday night for a fishing trip with his dad. I got to spend most of the day with him Thursday before they took off for Canada. I also got to spend most of the morning with him on Sunday before we took him back to the airport. His visit was short but good and I laughed a lot.


Grandma called on Saturday to let me know that some of my cousins were going to be in Kalispell on Monday so I passed on the message for them to call me. In between Olympic coverage I decided to head to Kalispell to run some errands. On my way I stopped at work to check my schedule. As I left a guest was checking in at the front desk. About half way through the lobby I hear, "Hey you!" When I turned and looked at the guest I had no clue who I was looking at. Being the dork that I am I responded with, "You act like you know me, am I supposed to know you?" "Yes, maybe if you see my name you'll realize who I am." When I looked at the name on the reg card it was my cousin. It's been three years since I've seen him and he has changed a little bit from what I remember. If his wife had been next to him I would have known exactly who he was, she was in the bathroom though.

We went to Glacier and went over Giong to the Sun Road and trucked it back to Columbia Falls to eat at The Back Room. It was a great trip, we saw lots of wildlife, including a bear, mountain goats right next to the road, and lots of deer. Dinner was great and it all provided a great trip to reconnect with my cousins.

Pictures of my apartment

Okay, so here are the pictures of my apartment that I promised so long ago.This picture is of the dining/living room when you first walk in the door. Living room. Reading chair in the living room. It is also the home of Hard Hat my Build a Bear that I made when I went to North and South Carolina with Genna. You can also see my exercise ball that is helping me slowly get back to health. Alpha, the lone male in my life right now. He doesn't talk back and best of all I don't have to put the toilet seat down after him or smell those icky smells that come with boys. Kitchen. Small section between kitchen and bathroom, just outside my bedroom door. Bedroom. One of the things taht I love about my apartment is the window spaces where I can put pictures and trinkets on the sills. Reading area in my room. Laundry closet in my room used for storage since Cameron has my washer and dryer in Wyoming. Not that I would have had room for them since I needed the storage area. Bathroom.

Kayaking

So I got to go kayaking twice more, this time on Whitefish River. It was so peaceful, quite, and relaxing. I even managed a few shots before putting the camera away in a water proof compartment. They are of my friend Nikki. Sorry, they are my usual poor quality picture. For the next trip I'm going to purchase one of those waterproof disposibles so I don't have to worry about it getting wet and can take all the pictures I want. Like the deer, King Fishers, ducks, and all the beautiful scenery we saw.

Latest Adventures!

So, now that I have a summer...yeah!!! Can you tell I'm excited? No school until end of september and work at school doesn't begin until beginning of Septemper means I'm getting outdoors and having some fun.

Without asking permission from my chiropractor I went kayaking with a friend on Whitefish Lake. We had a blast. Since we are both just getting into kayaking we only went for about an hour. As my strength builds back up and she gets used to the kayak we are going to venture for longer trips. Our next trip is Whitefish River and then hopefully Lake McDonald in Glacier. The really good news is that I didn't get in trouble from the chiro, he actually encouraged me to keep going (good thing because I was going to no matter what he said). I have my next eval tomorrow so I'm really hoping he'll let me start my taebo again too.

I've been out and about for several walks that ranged from 2-5 miles just in and around town. Unfortunately there are some perverts out there that find it funny to ruin a perfectly great walk by yelling lude, crude, absolutely disgusting comments as you walk past. Good thing I'm a teacher and know how to ignore annoying people when necessary.

I have now joined in the fun of playing Wii. Let me just preface this part by saying I stink on all levels and every game. In bowling I did better left handed than right. However those I have been playing with get a kick out of watching me play, creaming me, and love to watch my Mii because of the funny face it makes when I lose every time. One of the girls from work and I have been hanging out together, woo hoo I actually have somewhat of a social life again! We were joking around about my state of health and she said I do lots of things healthy, read, sew, puzzles, and my flowers. I told her that doesn't mean I'm healthy, it just makes me an all around loner.

Sorry Mandi, no pictures to go with the adventures. I'll try for next time, although I'm hoping there will never, ever be a camera at hand when playing the Wii.

Sewing projects have begun again and I'm trying to get a few of them wrapped up before school begins. I have some more baby blankets that I'm working on and just finished my nephew's pillow. I was able to send one home with my grandparents but hadn't finished the second. I told Johnny I would try to get it to him before summer was over. That means I need to get to the post office tomorrow.

Well, gotta scoot, I've gotta try programming my VCR to record the Olympics. That may be a whole other adventure.

Pics on Cell Phone

So, since most of you know my non-existent talent of taking pictures I thought I would share a few of my recent pics I took with my cell phone that turned out half decent. Japenese Irises at Sizzler's

Sun coming through the clouds

Tips for if you total your vehicle

So a few hard lessons I learned when I rolled my vehicle:
Make sure you stay right on top of everybody who is supposed to be doing something for you.

example 1 - Gap Insurance, they owe me $500- I spoke with the guy from where I bought my car. He had me send him all my original contracts, told me the bank usually notifies the Gap Insurance but he would check into for me. Nope - now he says that they don't do that, clients have to make the claim. He's also saying he never told me about the bank taking care of it. And to top it all off he purged his files because he thought it was all taken care of, and you have to purge files everyonce in a while. So tell me, if I was supposed to make the claim why would I send the orinal contract to him like he asked me to do? Which by the way I have in writing. I think I would remember being told that I need to make the claim myself when it involves $500. Grrrr.......

example 2 - AAA - Mama called AAA after the accident because she was furious that the tow truck driver had me drive the car instead of towing it. I was busy with insurance and appointments so she made the call for me. It took the guy over 2 months to call Mama back. When he did he said that they had talked to the driver. The driver claimed he thought I had already contacted the police to file a report (even though I had told him I hadn't and asked him how I needed to go about filing it), that he didn't realize I had rolled it (even though I had flat out told him I had rolled it when he asked it I tried driving it out of the ditch), and that he didn't take me to Whitefish because he didn't feel comfortable towing a car in those situations (so why in the world is he a tow truck driver in Montana, and why is it anymore safe for me to drive a vehicle that was rolled in a blizzard?) When Mama asked if there weren't going to use that company any more they said that the driver had a serious talk with his boss. Great, good to know that I am paying money to have my life put into jeopardy and they don't do anything. As a result I sent a letter to AAA requesting my money back since they didn't provide the service I'm paying for. I sent it to the head guy in Montana and he passed it off to the guy Mama had talked to. He called and left a message while I was in class. I called him back the same day before 4:30 and left a message. Still have not heard from him again. I left another message a few weeks ago, again, still have not heard from him....grrr....

Update on Prayer Requests

Mama's surgery went well and she is on her way to recovering. They ended up having to go in abdominally because she had a cyst that was connecting her uteris to her ovary, so they had to take both. The cyst is benign but they were going to do some more tests on it. I talked with her yesterday and she sounded really good. She's been up and around and the doctor told her to lay off drinking so much water. Her expected date to go home is Friday or Saturday.

I still could use a lot of prayer for school. I have several papers due this next week and a half with one more class next weekend. While I did well in the 2 classes I'm done with this summer I completely spaced a 5-7 page paper that was due last Saturday. Thankfully the prof is letting me make it up.

Genna is home, however, I'm not sure how that is going, we definitly could still use prayer there too.

Thanks again to all of you who were and are praying.

Prayer Requests

My family is about to make some major changes and I ask that you pray for them, please.

1) Mama is going in for surgery on the 15th. The surgery consists of 2 procedures. Also, because she has to take at least a month off from work she has no income coming in.

2) Genna is going to be moving home with Mama until the end of August. She moves on the 12th of July.

3) I am also in need of some major prayer. I'm struggling with my motivation in school. I'm waiting until the last minute to do my homework and that isn't necessarily the best way to do it. Also, I just don't want to be going to classes right now. I'm tired of school and need a refreshed sense of bettering myself for my students and God's purpose and plan for me.

4)Last but definately not least - I'm homesick and really wanting to be home when Mama goes to surgery but can't be there. Pray for peace and the depression that is on my heart is lifted, that I remember God in all of it and that I lift all my worries and fears to Him.

Thanks Ladies for always being prayer warriors for me! I thank God that He has blessed me with such great friends.

Grandma & Grandpa's Visit

Book Suggestions

As most of you know, I LOVE TO READ! I have come across some authors that I can't get enough of. The best part is that they are Christian authors. Here are my lists of recommendations.

Dee Henderson - Christian Romance/Mystery -
* O'Malley Series - 7 books
* Uncommon Heros Series- 4 books
* The Witness
* Before I Wake

Karen Kingsbury - Christian Romance/Family Drama -
* Redemption Series - 5 books, the beginning of the Baxter Family Dramas (the first of 3 series)
* Firstborn Series - 5 books, the 2nd series of the Baxter Family Dramas
* Sunrise Series - 4 books, the 3rd series of the Baxter Family Dramas, the 4th book hasn't been released yet.
* A Thousand Tomorrows
* Just Beyond the Clouds - Sequel to A Thousand Tomorrows
* 9/11 Series - 2 books
* Women of Faith Fiction Series - 2 books
* Oceans Apart
* On Every Side
* Even Now
* Ever After - Sequel to Even Now

There are many more but these are the ones I have read so far. I highly suggest reading these. What I love the most about them is that they aren't the fakey romance that you usually find. They all have real life situations in them. I cry on a regular basis when reading them because it hits so close to home. There aren't any detailed sex scenes and the constant underlying message is a relationship with God!

It's raining, it's pouring...

in Whitefish it's snowing. Yep, you heard me right (well, actually you read it right). June 10th and it's snowing hard in Whitefish. It's sticking on the grass and cars but melting on the asphalt.

'Cause I Fly Like That

Alternative titles for this blog:
* Litter Patrol
* Facing and Conquering My Fear
* Floods, Landslides, and Automobile Parts
* Wedding, Birthdays, and Diaper Cakes

This weekend was an interesting one full of rain, friends, and hugs. I got to travel to Great Falls for Kim & Cory's wedding. I took Friday off so I could go on Thursday after school. During my drive over it poured, but I would take that any day over the ice from last time. I got to visit with Jeremy, Hannah, and Benjamin for a little while. It was great to get to see them and catch up with them since I haven't seen Jeremey for 3 years and haven't seen the kids at all. Unfortunately Laura Beth was in Atlanta so I didn't get to catch up with her.

My next stop was where I stayed for the weekend. I stayed with Cortney, Jesse, and the boys. Friday morning I helped drop Colton off at school, one of the ones that I taught at for 3 years. I got to visit with teachers and students that I worked with and taught. It was great to see familiar faces and receive so many hugs. The students even asked me to autograph their yearbooks. One didn't have his yearbook so he asked me to autograph a blank piece of paper. I felt like a celeb.

While Colton was at school Corntey and I took Christopher and we did our errands. The most important errand was to find a slip to go under my dress for the wedding. Unfortunately there wasn't a slip to be found in Target, Ross, or J.C. Penny. Fortunately J.C. Penny had their sun dresses on sale. I found two that I liked and one wouldn't require a slip. My new dresses...

Friday night we went to the movies and watched Prince Caspian. I enjoyed watching it and would definitely recommend it. To top off the night Cortney and I put a diaper cake together for a lady at the church who just had a baby boy.

Saturday morning Cortney and I went to Sam's Club to pick up some meat to make a fingerfood tray for the wedding party. We put the tray together, delivered them, and then ran home to prepare for the wedding.

The wedding was gorgeous of course. Kim was beautiful, Cory handsome, and the decorations simple yet perfect. It was great to see friends and catch up with everybody at the reception too.

Sunday morning Cortney and fam took me to breakfast where Cortney was sneaky and had the waitress put a candle in my omelet. Afterwards we went to church and again I got to catch up with some great friends. I do miss my friends from Great Falls.

On my drive home I stopped by where I had my accident. The pieces were still there so I picked them up and took some pictures. The passenger side mirror was still completely in tack. Here are some pictures of the accident site, just picture it all white with blowing snow. This is the ditch that I landed in, close to the fence. It's deeper now without the snow. When I rolled it wasn't near as far down.This is looking west from the the accident site. Just a little perspective to how far out in the middle of nowhere I was.The direction I originally was heading.The direction I ended up facing and the way I had come.Across the road where I watched the sunset as I rolled. If you want to see it how I did turn your computer screen upside down and then right side up again, picturing white with brilliant pink, orange, and purple clouds. Here's a picture of the parts that I found in the ditch today. Passenger side mirror. Drive side mirror (keep in mind I watched this smash against my window). Top rack pieces.

With all the rain and snow melt off the rivers were running high and one section of the road had water over it. There were also a few spots that had slid since I had driven through on Thursday. Some mountain goats were hanging out on the rocks as I went through the south side of Glacier, and waterfalls were cascading in numerous places. The green of the grass was tremendously bright. The river that is usually a beautiful jade green was really muddy and raging with whitecaps across it's banks, through the trees.

Patio Pleasures

Random Thoughts

1. 32-90 in a week. We had snow last Friday, May 9 and today we are supposed to hit 90. It's beautiful weather and with all the rain and snow from the week before it's so green here. The flowers are in full bloom, families are out walking together, kids are riding their bikes, birds are singing, and you can smell the fresh cut grass! Yeah, spring is finally here!

2. I had a Pampered Chef party last night in my new apartment. It was fun to have a get together of ladies from church, school, and both of my jobs. While my apartment is small there was just enough room for all of us and it was a great motivation to finally get everything put together. Pics to come later, my camera's at school.

3. Why is our society so scared of people respecting other people? While I knew this was the case before, it is even more apparent within the last couple of months. I watch our students at school and wonder why they think they can back talk a teacher, walk out a door without permission, draw on other students' work, throw away or tear up papers given to them for assignments, and expect everybody to step aside even though they are on the wrong side of the hall way.

4. New exercise - My chiropractor http://www.gislasonchiro.com/ gave me a new exercise routine that I'm really enjoying. I still can't do my Tae Bo or Dancing with the Stars routines yet but the new routine involves an exercise ball and some funky weights. ProBodX short for Proper Body Exercise, http://www.jumpusa.com/probodx.htm.

5. Gardening and sanity - One of the things that I really miss from my childhood is having a large garden. I miss walking out the back door and picking fresh cherry or pear tomatoes, blueberries, corn on the cob, watermelons, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans. I also miss having a large flower garden. Living in a city limits what you can have. Since I don't have the large plot of land that's needed for the large garden I did what I could do on my patio. Digging in the dirt, watching the flowers grow and bloom, enjoying the beautiful colors that God has created, and rocking in my porch rocker. Now that's heaven...and to think the true heaven is going to be so much more!

Current Projects

Here are some of the current projects I'm working on. It has been fun getting my sewing machine set up in the new apartment.

Jean quilt that I've been wanting for a long time and finally found the colors I wanted.

Jean quilt for the wall between my kitchen, bathroom, and livingroom.

Baby Blanket

Pillows for my nephews.

Finally Here

Here are the pictures from around Christmas that I promised.

Ashley and I building our snowman. The first to ever be built in the Dustin's yard. The completed snowman. As soon as we turned our backs, Katie the dog in the picture before took the arms to play fetch. Thankfully she didn't knock over the snowman.

The snowman lasted until about 2 weeks ago and we built him on the 24th of December. At one point he looked like he was mooning us after he had gotten snowed on. He was kind of fuzzy too.Making snow chairs.

Testing Cammy J's new bench and opening presents on Christmas Day.