FIRST ENTRY FROM A NEW MEMBER (Adri) OF THIS AMAZING BLOG>>>> I can hardly figure out the Spanish directions to add an entry to this blog. I'm in great shape... I have a feeling that most of these entries will be about my awkward and strange times in new places. As I have already told some, I have already had some real jewel experiences. I almost missed my first flight down here(Chile that is). Upon arrival I was fed way too much, and the first two meals consisted of hot dogs + accoutrement. I was blessed recently at a small church gathering for about 5 minutes by the daughter of the pastor. I was uncomfortable already and this did not help. I am a smidge too tall to go unnoticed here, and my hair color does not help. It's "freezing" here, (with everyone in their winter coats) but in reality only 65degF. The view from the plane of the sun rising over the Andes was breathtaking and I hope I get to make some nieve turns at PORTILLO yo! My host mother lives about 5 minutes from the beach, her cooking is way better than the hotdog preview. Her daughter is 23 and plays her guitar and sings on the bus to earn some plata. I'm learning fast that classroom Spanish in the United States does not suffice when actually abroad. Yikes.

College Time

Kirstin (mini-Steph) is on her way to college as we speak. She is headed to Bozeman, land of boys and engineers. Can't believe she is this old! That means it was 10 years ago that I first left home for college at good ol' Utah State. Good luck Kirstin and don't study too much.

More summer, less work

I recently completed the longest walk of my life. That's right, I sweated and toiled my way through 14.5 miles EACH way. Kendra and Nate practically had to carry me through the last mile. But, it's official, I made it INTO THE BOB! (bob marshall/great bear wilderness to be precise) And let me tell you, those trail "dogs" as they call themselves don't have that hard of life. I think they are exaggerating with their disgusting stories about defecation and bears. They have a flushing toilet, a bunk house with cots, a huge kitchen and dining room, and...the woods! Trail crew doesn't look so hard to me. Especially when your visitors pack in gallons of liquor for you to enjoy. Nate made it in with approximately 2.5 gallons. I can do those parts without stress: drinking, standing around a fire, cooking various meats in hot oil, watching the stars come out, avoiding mosquitoes, playing cards, showing off magic tricks, "bathing" in the glacial stream, making up words to rap songs ;), kissing coworkers, and writing letters. The part about axes, whatever that fancy word for an ax is, chopping and digging stuff, yeah, not so sure about that.

I would gladly go back. To the woods.......!

Down With Noxious Weeds

This is how we take care of that pesky task called weeding in Montana. Free the sheep! These dudes are actually paid by the state to herd their sheep down the highway and over the hills.

Is This a Joke?

Wow, and I thought nothing could be worse than Dick Cheney. Here's a couple of community pillars for you. I'm sure their heterosexual marriages are in great shape.

I Know What I Did Last Summer or My Other Car is a Pirate Raft

Time for summer ruminations. I miss the pirate raft! Apparently, it fell apart at the end of last year. I only got to ride on it once, but a once I'll never forget.

Last summer on July 3, I left Missoula at 11:30 p.m. and drove the 200 miles or so to Bozeman. I thought I lost my dog, cried, almost drowned, said "Beer me" way too many times, got a ridiculous sunburn, was photographed in a swim suit and didn't even care, (should have because it ended up on the Internet of course), drove back to Missoula at 6:00 on the fifth and tried to get through the work day. Ah, the joys of youth!

Two Favorites

I can't get enough of this site. One of the writers from The Onion started someecards.com. It's the funniest site I've seen in a long time. They have literally thousands of ecards to browse, all sarcastic as hell. I think you might find how similar they ring to your workplace, friends, etc. It's wild. I have spent way too much time reading the cards. Everything I say now has the ending "I bet there's an ecard for that..." It's not the solution anymore, it's the problem. And I love it.

Ring a bell?






The other favorite is this dude Pogo and the song Alice. It's so addicting, I can listen to it over and over. Anyone else care to share their recent favorites?

I'm loving Patti Griffin, Be Good Tanyas. I finished Anthem, great short read, trying my hardest to get through Eat. Pray. Love., it's very boring once you get past Italy.

Still waiting for summer...

28 and none the wiser!

Thanks Ali, Katie and Suzanne for taking me out on the town. It was a great night, as evidenced by the red eyes and tired smiles in this picture, about 11:00 pm.

Finals Week

Finals week is here and Adri is studying. Oh wait, I'm studying too, just haven't started yet. I have a final in Accounting 605, exciting! And a dumb online final in Finance. May is also here and that means birthday and mother's day mania. Why is everyone born in May?

You know it's spring when it's still snowing in Missoula. My lawn is looking really nice. I have one good patch of grass and mostly weeds. The weeds are green so it pretty much makes up for it. Wow, sorry this blog is so boring. I just talked about finals and weeds. Can anyone help me or is it too late?

Phoenix Sun

Well, we're off to the fabulous land of sun and sand, no, not Mexico, just Arizona. Katie doesn't live here anymore, sad! Lindsay is getting married and the "Montana Bulls" as Kay calls us are actually flying this year. No minivan trip. I'm sure Dad is pretty depressed. We come from the north, we haven't seen the sun yet this year in Montana so I'll sure there will be some wicked sunburns. Can't wait!

Fun/Disaster?!?

Adri, Kendra, Nate, Cola and I had an epic weekend. We cross country skiied into a Forest Service cabin in the woods outside Helena. We didn't have a map. So I have no idea how far it was, I only know that I'm done skiing for a couple of weeks! Estimates have put the ski in from 9-17 miles. At one point, I was worried we might die in the frozen tundra. Adri and Nate were separated from the slower people (me!) and Kendra came back for us. In two groups, we struggled on.

At one point, it was getting dark and we weren't sure how far we had to go or if the cabin even existed. Finally, through the twilight, we spotted a sign that said 1/2 mile to the cabin. It did exist, and even better, it was close. We made it and slept well that night. Then it was 9-17 miles back out! I think we probably burned about 5 million calories. I certainly have tried to eat my way back in with Girl Scout cookies.

Nerd alert!

Call me a nerd, but I love to type fast. This is a fun online typing test that measures your speed and accuracy. Check it out and just see if you can beat my high score, 94 with no errors.

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

Brrrr!

Right Now for
Missoula, MT (59802)

Fair
-9°F
Feels Like
-20°F

Awesome shirt

This is a fabulous shirt! If you haven't seen it (Superbad) yet, please rent it, freakin' hilarious.

Brilliant Idea!

I just had one. Quit my job and travel somewhere else to work a temporary job. Maybe I could be a beginning snowboard instructor? I just read this blog: lostgirlsworld.com and it sounded really fun. Three chicks quit their jobs, granted they are journalists and it's easy to go back to that, especially with global experience, and traveled the world for a year on $15,000. Who's in?

Happy New Year!

Since I am definitely not getting any work accomplished, thought I'd post a note to say Happy New Year and best wishes for 2008 to everyone.

Adri has been my pseudo-roommate slash personal assistant for the last few days. We've had a good time making other people think we're really stupid. The latest incident involved a coupon for "Buy two sodas, get a popcorn free" at the movie theater. We tried to walk off with both the sodas and the popcorn free and the high schooler working the reg' was not amused!

I have come to a life-altering decision. I will be driving to Salt Lake for the weekend and New Year's Eve. Boarding at Brighton and a cameo to Sinclair are all I have on the agenda as yet. Next I think a trip to Oregon and Cali again are in order. Though it is Steele's and KT's turn. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be planning a trip for later in January/February. Should probably start that. Ideas?

Genius! Genius! Duh!

Get a Cash Advance

Happy Chrismukkah, etc. Christmas cards are starting to arrive, the office smells of pine and the chocolates are more than readily available. They are practically walking themselves down my throat. It's time for snuggling by the fire. I'm single. Great! Cola it is!

Snow!

TGIS...3 inches this morning and it's still snowing. Guess that means I should buy a shovel.

What should Kirstin change her name to?

	Worst
	Best
	Fluffy
	Wilhemina
	Adri

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