Good, Clean Redneck Fun!!

I am a firm believer in taking the time to have a good adventure, especially if it's a little out of the ordinary. Thanks to some of my fellows at the 2011 Yellowstone Writing Project, we were able to have just that this weekend. We spent time doin' it up at a local demolition derby, having a few Moscow Mules out on the town (I even met one of the real Busch men!), and finishing the two-day event with a gopher huntin' trip (my first experience). Wow, was it a weekend to remember. It reminds me of the power of amazing friends, great adventures, and the natural wonders of nature.

What will your next adventure be??

Pre-Wedding Adventures...

It's safe to say I'm still coming off of the wedding buzz... We had one heck of a day but an even more eventful pre-wedding week. Given that we decided to have our wedding in Montana, it meant that for more than half of our guests it became a destination wedding. I quickly learned that a destination wedding equals much entertaining! And boy did we ever cram a whole lot of Montana in just one week! It was great to share our "Treasure State" with our Midwest friends and family, though. I think it helped them begin to understand why we live here instead of there.

One of my favorite days of the pre-wedding week, however, was the bachelor/bachelorette days. My hubby took his friends on a full day/night float, fish, 'n camp on the Madison river. Apparently they schooled the local fishermen, which is really no surprise as many of his friends are professional fishermen or semi-pros in the Midwest. They even took my dad along, which made me a little nervous but ended up being a fantastic idea! I always knew Mr. N and my dad had a lot in common, but I didn't realize just how well they got along until hubby and friends came back boasting about how fun it was to have my dad along. After seeing the pictures and hearing the tall tales, it was safe to say they had a wee of a time on the river that day.

I can safely say that the ladies trumped the boys' day on the Madison with a zip & dip over and on the Gallatin river (the river on which much of A River Runs Through It was filmed). I had never gone zip lining before but am always up for a good challenge/scare. I was also excited to show my mom, sister-in-law, and best friend our Montana playground from a completely different angle. The zip lining ended up being far more serene than scary, despite my initial aversion of climbing a wobbly rope bridge hundreds of feet off the forest floor. The zip lining itself was actually very relaxing. It was nice to let go and let myself be taken by the momentum of the line. Not to mention that the English teacher in me loved the metaphorical life parallels between jumping off suspended stations hundreds of feet off the ground and the events that week! ;) My mom decided to be a camera man as the three of us zipped through the Gallatin National Forest and across the Gallatin river, but she was definitely ready to raft once the afternoon rolled around!

I've been on a few raft trips in Colorado and in Glacier National Park, most of which were okay but mostly anticlimactic. The raft trip we took two weeks ago, however, was fantastic! It was the perfect mix of slow & fast water, saftey & danger. I won't lie, when the guide told us that if we fell out of the boat during the last stretch and tried to stand up that we would die, I did feel my stomach do a little flip. At the same rate, there's nothing like a little fear to make a person stronger, and in our case, laugh and scream a little louder! :)

To top things off, my mom was wearing the most fantastic shoes. See, she had forgotten her aqua sox at our cabin in the Midwest and had to buy some inexpensive river shoes. So off to Walmart she went. She came back with a pair of navy and white tiger striped canvas shoes which she called her "tiger toes." The only thing they were missing was the handywork of a bedazzler. On the raft, every time the bottom of the boat scraped over a rock, she'd giggle and say, "ooh... that one tickled the tigers!" Trust me, between her cute little tiger toes and her curls curling out the sides of her seemingly too small helmet, it was a rather amusing ride! It was one that made me love my mom just a little more and proved yet again how good of a sport and adventure buddy she can be.

After our raft we raced back to my house to get ready for the bachelorette party downtown... It was fairly tame given that three of us were totaly wiped out from a day over and on the river, but we cowgirled up, put on our pink pearl snap shirts, laced up our boots, and headed down town. My friends had arranged a sort of scavenger hunt/challenge course that involved several very Montana tasks... and to protect their identities (they too are teachers with reputations to keep) they wore bandanas... My reputation, however, was only given the protection of the cowboy hat they had made me for the special night on the town. It's good things didn't get too out of hand!

At the end of the night, I slipped into my bed (still safely snapped in my adventure shirt) with a grin from ear to ear. It was such a fantastic day. I was surrounded by my best friends and family, plenty of Montana adventure, and lots and lots of laughter. What more could a girl ask for? Little did I know that it was only an omen to how great the week would end...

(Zipping)

(Dipping)

(Hiding...)

Oh Happy Day...

I know I've been out of the blogging world for far too long, but here is my attempt to jump back in with both feet.

I've actually been doing a lot of jumping lately, the most notable jump being my jump into matrimony with "The New Chapter" on the 24th of July. It was a happy day for sure, and was complete with a morning champagne hike with my best girl friends, amazing wildflower blooms, a lovely ceremony, and a fantastic evening of "music, and dancing, and feasting" (quote from our ceremony's benediction) with our closest family and friends.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day, a more perfect husband, a more fantastic family, or amazing friends. Most of it is a pleasant blur of happy events that came as quickly as they went; it was truly perfect. I still can't quite believe it happened. It felt more like a dream than reality...

Needless to say one of my wishes from my wishing basket came true this past Saturday. And don't you dare worry; I was quick to thank God for granting me my wish! :)

(looking down the path with the bouquet)

(a moment with my dad and nieces before my entrance)

(Our first steps together as Mr. & Mrs. N)

(dancing under a heart shaped moon)

Interesting Concept...

I just read a book that has me scratching my head and wondering about things, so I thought I'd take a moment to share....

Yesterday I finished Kris Radish's book, Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral. It's a book about a middle- aged woman named Annie who has died and planned this fantastic traveling funeral for her best friends-- no traditional ceremony/memorial service for this woman! She sends them to the places that mean the most to her and where she left, or in some cases found, a little bit of herself. At each spot she asks her best friends to spread her ashes, in order to help them let her go. In the process of the funeral, the women find each other and are reminded how important it is to make the most of life at every turn. The women walk away as tight friends who realize it's important to remember those who have gone before, but it's also important to keep on living, loving, and forgiving. Generally speaking, it's standard "chick lit" (In other words, it's not Walt Whitman, Keating, or Hemingway), and it has it's really hoaky moments. At the same time, it still has me contemplating... musing, if you will.

I know thinking about life and death might seem morbid, but this is the kind of book that makes me think about life and death in a non-morbid way. It even sort of feels like a challenge to live life instead of letting life live me. I'll be honest, I'm sort of a sucker for books with this theme, mainly because I've been dead set since high school on living my life to the fullest and sometimes need a reminder or two to keep it that way. It also helps me to reflect on the things (both outlandish and not) that I have done so far, and it makes me wonder where I'd send my best friends if I were to send them on my traveling funeral... Morbid? Maybe. Intriguing? For sure.

So let me ask you, dear friends, where would you send your friends if you were to have them go on your traveling funeral????

A Special B-day Shout Out!

(Photo from here)

My dear friend, Alissa, over at Grace's Birdcage is celebrating her birthday today, and I wanted to give her a little shout-out. She is one of my dearest and oldest friends (as in, I've known her since 8th grade). She deserves nothing but the best today. Happy birthday friend. May your day be filled with more glitter than you thought possible! :)

One last thing...

The day after the wedding was probably just as entertaining as the wedding and reception themselves. I woke up on my friend's couch still wearing my little white, Jackie Kennedy party dress and black Mary-Jane shoes. As I lifted myself off the couch smacking my lips wondering what was yielding this awful taste in my mouth, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw there was still a blade of grass attached to the button on my shoe. I didn't look in a mirror because I'm certain I would have screamed in fright, so I contented myself by thinking I probably looked a lot like somebody's drunk Aunt Ethal after one heck of a night... My friend assured me this was so.

It's been a long time since I let my my hair all the way down... and I realized that the wedding reception was just the reminder I needed to not take myself so seriously. And so now, I vow to remember to laugh at myself more often and focus more on the light-hearted stuff than the deep, dark realities that seemed to have consumed a lot of my being this past school year. When I announced this to my very wise friend, she was quick to give me a high five and said, "It's about time you realized that... Welcome back."

At that moment we also decided that after we had tracked down my missing phone and picked up my car from the reception site (Ya, it was that kind of night... but at least i didn't try to drive!), that we would make the most of our hungover states by partaking in a really greasy burger and going to the movie The Hangover. We giggled most of the way out to my car as we started to recall the evening's events. What a way to start the summer! The movie also had us in stitches even if it was a bit off color.

Luckily our hangovers weren't too horrible, and we had a great day despite our foggy heads. So here, here to great friends, fun weddings, and not taking ourselves so seriously.

P.S.
I've included the movie trailer from The Hangover... oddly fitting for the themes in this post. :) Enjoy, I highly recommend it.

The Highlight of My Week...

My friend Don over at Musings and Misc. Thoughts asked a good question, and because I'm short on creative juices, I'm going to take him up on it. In his April 4th post he asked, "What was the highlight of your week?" I've had a rather eventful week, so I've decided to give a top-three list of major events and highlights.

1. It's the end of the quarter at our high school this week. This inevitably means long nights of grading and stressed out students. And, not to my surprise, this week was what I expected. There were some high points as I graded, like when students did better than I had hoped. There were a few low points too when I saw just how lazy some of my students were this quarter. Overall, it was a relatively easy grading period, which in and of itself is a highlight! Not to mention that my grades are posted two days BEFORE the deadline-- which NEVER happens to me. I usually slide right under the wire at 7:59 Monday morning-- the deadline is 8:00. Wahoo! Oh, and did I mention that this also means there are only nine weeks left of school! That's worth a double Wahoo and a heel click in and of itself!

2. My friend Lisa and I had a reverse Friday on Monday and then a few other times throughout the week. Our lives have both been so busy lately, or one of the two of us has been sick, that we have been short on quality friend bonding time. We made up for it this week though! We watched Paranormal State on Monday with a few hard ciders, Criminal Minds on Wednesday-- even if it was a re-run, and last night we had a quick stop at our local micro brewery; then we followed it with a light dinner and a night of movies (Amityville Horror (the new version) and Happy Go Lucky (very British, and a little on the boring side). All in all, it was a great week to take a step away from the end-of-the quarter school stress and get back in touch with my dear friend.

3. The new chapter and I have decided to start a new phase this week. Based on where we are at in our relationship, a looming decision about finding a new roommate (he had to find one by May 1st), and our budgets, we have decided to become roommates. This is HUGE for me. I've never lived with a guy I've dated before, and am a little nervous but am also really excited. I will still have my own space (own bedroom and bath), but I won't have to stress about moving back and forth between two houses any more, which will be awesome. Not to mention that this will save us both a good chunk of money-- hello new running shoes and gym membership!

Although I am excited to take this next step, it has also made me realize that I really am an adult now and am making adult decisions. I still sort of feel like I'm 21 most of the time, so realizing that marriage and a family aren't really all that far away has been a little trippy for me this week. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready-- if I weren't, I wouldn't have agreed to move. It just marks yet another chapter closed and a new one started. I'm so glad I love new starts! :)

Well, dear readers, those were my highlights this week. What were yours?

A Twilight Stroll

Photo by Highlander

Thanks to the folks over at Pictures, Poetry, and Prose... I was inspired to write about my walk at twilight last night...

My new chapter and I had the chance to take our first walk at twilight last night. It was ineffable and fantastic all rolled into one. We live in the northern Rockies, and the mountain ranges we can see from our house stood majestic and snow-caped against the backdrop of a perfect winter sky. Our big sky was all shades of blue, purple, pink, and orange with a few white, scraggly clouds bringing out the white chill of the snow around us. The air was crisp enough to make our eyes water, sharpening our view of the surrounding beauty, but not crisp enough to deter us from our quest. We had just missed the alpen glow, but it didn't really matter; the sky and mountains were still magnificent in those few moments before the sun slipped completely below the horizon.

As we walked down to the hill overlooking town and the three surrounding mountain ranges-- the hill where I've had most of my solo, starry-night walks, we chatted, confided, shared, laughed, hugged, cried a little, and took a few steps deeper into our relationship. We had our first Montana Moment together as we stood silently on top of the hill, hand-in-hand, ready to take on the world as a team, and feeling support from the mountains around us and encouragement from the horizon before us. Standing in that spot at that moment with this person made the current state of affairs feel a lot less bleak.

Christmas Perfection

Luther College's Annual Christmas Concert aired on PBS last night, and I had the luxury of watching it with my good friends while drinking three rather robust glasses of wine. As the snow fell outside, we were warmed by the music, wine, and glow from the Christmas tree inside. It was no short of Christmas perfection! :)

The art of giving a good gift

I have a dear friend who decided he was going to make all of his Christmas presents this year. He's an amazing woodworker, so his gifts were, of course, beautiful. He made some great porch chairs for his friends in WI, a toy storage unit for his niece, and another unit for a friend's daughter. When he showed them to me, I was not only convinced of his character and why I am so drawn to him, but he also reminded of the art of giving a good gift. It's not about the dollar amount associated with the gift or fulfilling some one's wish list; it's more about giving something that is genuine and heartfelt to show how much we care.

Some of the best gifts I have ever received aren't the ones that I was longing or wishing for, but the ones that were the thoughtful, unexpected gifts from the heart... a handmade blanket, a quote book my friend scrap-booked together, a scarf, an inspiring poem with a hand-made border of stamps from a family's heirloom collection, pictures or maps from adventures, a tiny flashlight to help make sure I didn't loose my way, a pair of mittens to keep my hands warm in the sub-zero weather, a quarter that my oldest brother gave me the day I was born. Although some of these things seem trivial, they aren't. These gifts are about so much more than the object itself; they are the things that remind me I am loved and that I love.

So taking my friend's lead, I'm doing my best to make sure the gifts I choose this year not only make the recipients smile, but also serve as a reminder of how much I love those who will receive them.

Skiing

I've been skiing for a long time now, since I was five-years-old, and sometimes it just doesn't thrill me like it used to. Don't get me wrong, I still love to do it; I still love the thrill of cruising a top speed on my own two feet. I love seeing the beautiful mountain ranges, and of course I love playing outside. I just don't get up at the crack of dawn to get first tracks anymore or ski top to bottom from first chair to last.

Yesterday, however, I had the pleasure of teaching one of my good friends how to ski, and it put the fun right back into it again. It's funny how sharing something that you've always done with someone you care about can put a new spin on things. It's even cooler when you know you helped someone check something off her "bucket list."

Yay for the mountains. Yay for good friends. Yay for skiing! :)

P.S.

Unfortunately, my friend found out the day after that she pulled her MCL, and yet she still wants to get back on the hill as soon as possible. No wonder why she helped put the fun back into it! Next time, I'll try to take it easier on you, Lisa! Sorry you messed up your knee.

Posts to think about...

I was flipping through the blogs that I follow today and found these two really great posts from my fellow bloggers, Peter and Don. I don't think these two guys know each other, but they made a really good point about perspective today. So if you're looking for an attitude booster, stroll on over to these posts ("What about Me" by Peter and "Affirmations: a lightning rod for goodwill" by Don).

Love Poems From God

My best friend over at grace's birdcage wedding, is doing a blog series on poems written hundreds of years ago and have been republished in a book called Love Poems from God. I've been reading them as she posts and am usually blown out of the water by how the poets understand God and love. It's amazing these were written so long ago and from the perspective of so many different cultures; I guess this further reiterates that the subjects of Love and God are timeless universals. The fact that my friend has decided to post these particular poems with these particular themes is indeed one of the many reasons why she's my best friend. :)

So head on over to Grace's Birdcage Wedding to check out her series of tags on "the poems." I don't think you'll be disappointed. :)

Cocktail Connection

As a wandering spirit, friendship can be hard sometimes. Because I have a tendency to wander around, my dearest friends and family aren't always close by. This can be especially problematic when life gets hard or frustrating. But thank God for technology (a.k.a. phones and the Internet)!

Tonight I had the chance to have a 3-way-long-distance-cocktail. See, I started chatting with my best friend from college while sipping on a glass of wine, and before I knew it I was also chatting and sipping on wine with my best friend from home via the Internet. We all sort of know each other, so I started sharing what I was hearing from both ends of the conversation with my two friends, and before we knew it we had a long distance cocktail party that joined three very good friends from three very different locations (Kansas City, Montana, and Oregon).

I know this may sound silly, but when you find yourself so far away from the friends who have known you the longest, the friends who keep you grounded, and know you for who you really are without a need for explanation, this is a gift.

I feel lucky. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I have such good friends even if we live far apart....

Thank you Lord for amazing friends, the technology that helps us stay connected, and for a good glass of wine. :)

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged by my friend over at grace's birdcage wedding. I'm supposed to tell six quirky or boring things about myself and then "tag" a blogger or two to do the same... I thought it might be kind of fun and a light-hearted way to start out Thanksgiving Break.

#1 I sometimes put juice on my Rice Crispies. I don't remember where I picked up this weird habit, but I remember trying it out once and thinking it was delicious. I still do it now but only on occasion.

#2 I can speak Dutch and thoroughly enjoy singing the Dutch birthday song at the top of my lungs in public places for my friends. I don't think they appreciate it quite as much as I do, but it makes people smile none the less.

#3 I secretly enjoy a good skinny dip. I became addicted after my first attempt at a camp out with some high school classmates. I'm usually extremely modest, but I get a certain thrill from being a tad bit rebellious and liberated while swimming around in the dark (it must be dark!) in my birthday suit.

#4 I was once a fair princess for my county (a title that still makes me giggle). I didn't quite have the pleasure of being the beef queen or the pork princess, it was just Ms. Butler County. It didn't last long though. Less than 30 minutes after the coronation, I had to give up my tierra because I couldn't go to the state fair competition. I had bigger fish to fry-- my year as an exchange student to The Netherlands was to start the same week as the state fair.

#5 I snort when I laugh. It's funny how people react to this quirk. Either they look at me with disgust and say, "Excuse you," or they erupt in laughter. I have a phrase or two that helps me own this quirk: "Been snorting since '82" or "It's just part of the package." Usually these lines work to gloss things over when it gets awkward.

#6 I sing "I'm a Little Teapot" when I get scared. For some reason going back to my pre-school day memories helps ease my nerves. Perhaps it's traveling back in time to Mrs. Lawler's Wiggle and Giggle Preschool where there were bright colors, fun toys, and lots and lots of singing that puts me at ease. And maybe that's why I still like to sing an array of songs for any occasion including "The Iowa Fight Song" and the fore mentioned Dutch birthday song.

Okay, there are my six quirks. What are yours? I tag my followers: Don, Peter, Saphron, and anyone else who wants to play.

Truth

Last night I had to have a hard conversation with someone I care a lot about. It was one of those conversations where I had three choices-- I could be honest and straightforward, try to sugar-coat the truth, or sweep truth under the rug and pretend like it wasn't there. Over the last six months I tried the later two approaches more often than I care to admit (which didn't get me anywhere but stuck), so I decided to try for the first approach-- being honest and straightforward.

It was messy. I spoke the truth, but he didn't want to hear it. Maybe I went too far, maybe I was too honest, and maybe I should have kept some of the truth to myself. But, I just laid it all out there as naked as a j-bird. After the fact (and even during the fact, for that matter), I felt bad for him--the issues at hand were not easy ones. At the same rate, I couldn't help but put myself in his shoes. If I were him, I'd want to know the truth, I'd want to know it all-- no matter how much it stunk to hear it, and I'd want to know it now. Regardless of my convictions and best intentions, the conversation ended with curt answers, slammed doors, and me standing at the window watching him pull away. Truth is messy.

On the other hand, being honest feels pretty damn good. Being surrounded by others who feel the same way is a gift and was a gift last night. After standing at the window for a second, letting the conversation soak in, I called up one of my best friends. I told her what happened, and before I knew it she was at the end of my driveway in her Soccer-Mom Yukon grooving out to some cheesy dance music that I could feel through the concrete as I walked toward her car. I had to smile. I had just left one conversation where truth wasn't very welcomed and was now jumping into a Yukon where truth is just the norm. Truth feels good.

At the end of the day, I don't regret embracing truth. Sure it was hard to be honest, and it was hard to watch someone I care for pull out of my life, but I had to do it. Truth is messy, but sometimes being messy is just the right thing to do.

P.S.

I just submitted this to NPR... After four years of assigning the This I Believe essay to five different classes, I finally submitted my own. Yee Haw! I don't know if anything will come of it, but it sure felt good to write. I really do encourage you to take Edward R. Murrow's This I Believe challenge.

Wine, Frozen Pizza, and Dessert

I'm about to have a seemingly ordinary night. I'm about to go over to a good friend's house for dinner, wine, and a good long session of cheesy, prime time television. I'm planning on bringing a few brownie bowls and a fresh bottle of Ten Spoon to celebrate the moment.

To most, this sort of evening is pretty ordinary, but I assure you it's not (hence the brownies and wine). See, I've learned there are very few people out there with whom you can just sit and be -- they're not flustered by the silence or the ordinariness of it. I'm lucky because I've always been able to find one of these friends no matter where I've lived, and they have all been responsible for saving my sanity at one time or another. I know I'd be pretty lost without my wine-frozen pizza-dessert night-buddies. So even though tonight might seem ordinary, I know that it's not. How could it be when I get to hang with a good friend and just be?