I'll be home for Christmas

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks now, but I have been back on the east coast visiting friends and family for the holidays. I will be back in Montana on January 2, but until then I am enjoying visiting Virginia again. It has been a busy trip with a lot of mileage being rolled up on my folks' jeep! It has been great to see everyone back east and I hope to see a couple more friends before I leave and head back home to the prairie! I'll post some pictures from Virginia when I get back. Until then...

Frustration Averted!!!

My Christmas shopping is DONE!!! As of 10:00 this morning I completed the last of the shopping. Now comes the part where I have to figure out how to get everything into the luggage securely for the flight back to VA. This might be more difficult than the actual shopping! I do have an extremely large suitcase that I am using for this trip in an effort to pack everything carefully and hope that TSA will be gentle with my luggage. Can anyone out there order up good travel weather for Thursday? No delays and nice security people would be a plus as well!

Christmas Season Frustration

First off, I hate to shop. I like the idea of giving to people, but hate to deal with the crowds and commercialization of the holiday. Now, Saturday I really did not feel like going to Billings to shop, but Danielle wanted to take Macks (the dog) to have his picture with Santa Claus at PetSmart (I think that is a bit silly, but I agreed to take them). The plan was to load the dogs in the truck and be gone from Hardin around 8:00 am; at 8:30, Danielle is bringing the dogs out to the truck (we decided to take Maggie as well) and they see the neighbor dog outside and want to "say hello" and pull Danielle down in the yard and take off. Now the search for the dogs is on; twenty minutes later we flag down one of our friends who is a deputy here in town and she told us that she did see the dogs and that she had caught them and taken them to the pound (she didn't know that they were our dogs). So now I have criminal dogs; "Dog at Large" is the official charge. At 10:00 we finally leave for Billings; now I realize that Billings is the largest city in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming, but does that have to mean that everyone from those three states have to descend upon Billings at the same time to shop? Traffic was a snarling mess. Macks did get his picture with Santa, and we did get to do a little shopping, but as we were trying to make our way out of the Wal-Mart parking lot (I HATE Wal-Mart, but that is a story for a different day) I had to navigate around a bone headed wreck. Apparently someone was tired of waiting in line and tried to beat a truck out of the parking lot; this did not end well for the car...or the truck...or anyone else who was trying to leave Wal-Mart. I think that I will complete my shopping from the safety of my desk chair!

Guess What

I just realized today that I will be traveling back east in two weeks! Wow, time really has flown by; it doesn't seem like that long ago that I was in VA in September. I guess with all that is going on here it just didn't occur to me that the trip was approaching that quickly. It will be good to spend the holidays with my family in VA. It still is a bit strange how my life has changed over the past two years...I could have never believed that I would be where I am today back in 2005.

Another development has been that I am trying out a new camera that I may buy. I am looking at a digital SLR and am enjoying using it...I haven't taken anthing of any aesthetic value yet, but I'm working on it.

I guess that I have to put some work related material in (does that make me a "work-a-holic"?) Next week is going to be a tad bit crazy with a conference on Tuesday and Wednesday and an all day program on Thursday, plus my part time gig; I may not be around too much next week.

Finally, I have mentioned in a couple of earlier posts that I am taking a financial class through the church entitled "Financial Peace University"; it ends this upcoming weekend and it has been wonderful. I would highly recommend it to anyone who, like me, may have made some bad decisions with money and credit and needs a good, sound, idiot-proof program to get out of debt and have real peace with money. It is not a "get rich quick" scheme, but rather a "get rich slow" plan. It is all really just common sense stuff, but the message is so encouraging and uplifting it just motivates you all the more. Check it out www.daveramsey.com

Entertaining Again...and enjoying it!

Here is the deal; I have to redecorate the outside of the house. Mother nature did a number on my outdoor decorations this week and now they are in the front yard rather than on the house...and of course now it is cold (currently 14 outside) so climbing up on the ladder again will not be the easy task it was the first time. I hope to have that done tomorrow morning prior to watching the ACC Championship Game and rooting for the Hokies to get revenge on the Eagles of BC!

Tonight I am going to a friends house for a surprise birthday party! That ought to be fun...and tasty; I heard that there is going to be Aces chicken there (only the best fried chicken north of the Mason Dixon Line!) We're supposed to park up by the car wash and walk down to their house (next block east), I may just walk from the office; it's not like this is a huge town so it's not too far.

I am hosting a Christmas party at my house on the 14th; having some friends over and having a good time...we'll see how it goes in the small house! I'll probably have to put the dogs outside; I'm sure that Maggie will love that! I don't know what to make for the party...any suggestions? I may do a brioche as a dessert and maybe a batch of lil' smokies...everyone likes lil' smokies right?

Speaking of pork products, I just put in for a hog from one of my ranchers. I am hoping to go out and help process the meat when they butcher...you just can't beat buying right off the farm; well, maybe growing it yourself (not an option for me since I live in town). That will mean that I have pheasant, pork, and deer to choose from...not to bad. I am also hoping to get some shell beans from this rancher; pintos to be exact. I do hope that they have some left. Maybe next year I can buy a little bit of malting barley from them and try my hand at home brewing. I've tried wine making and would like to try beer...we'll see.

I went over to the primary school today for Native American week. The Native American Club at the high school came over and did some native dances for the kids. Pictures can be found here.

Quick Trip

This was a good weekend! I went hunting on Friday; I didn't kill anything, but a bad day hunting is still better than a good day doing most anything else. I did see a couple of pheasants while we were out, but I did not have a clear shot at anything and I didn't want to pull a Dick Cheney on my hunting partner! Saturday I watched the VT/UVA game on television. Very good outcome...UVA lost. I then went down to Cody, WY for the evening; shopped at the Sierra Trading Post outlet store...very cool (and I HATE to shop) and ate a saloon in town. Sunday I got up and drove across the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway to Cooke City, MT (11 miles of the road was closed, but I made it just fine). Cooke City is at the end of the earth; there were a lot more snowmobiles in town than cars. After refueling in Cooke City, I drove through part of Yellowstone and up through Gardner, MT to Livingston and back home. All in all a good weekend. Pictures from the trip can be found here.

FIRST SNOW!!!

Yesterday, we got the first snow of the season!!! I usually don't like snow, but this is kind of nice...for now. I took a couple of pictures of the house decorated for Christmas during the snow storm. All said and done, we got around 4 inches. Not too bad!

Last Week, Weekend, and Upcoming

Wow, last week we had an amazing wind storm across Montana! The wind was blowing so many tumbleweeds that it actually stopped train! The train ran over the tumbleweed and got stuck on them and then the tumbleweeds actually buried the train...it was pretty neat. I was driving over to Billings during this and the interstate was black with tumbleweed; fortunately, I did not get stuck on them!

I did hit a deer on the interstate last week...just caught a rear hoof so there isn't any damage to the truck, but it was close. It's amazing when these bucks get something on their minds how they lose track of everything else. Anyway, I am kind of glad that it was a deer and not a 'lope or an elk...certainly not an elk.

I went pheasant hunting again this weekend and I brought home another bird. I am probably going to hunting again of Friday...really looking forward to it. I am also looking for a dog, probably a German Shorthair, but there are some Weims for sale here in Hardin right now...so we'll see.

I got the outside Christmas decorations up this past weekend as well. We are having unseasonably warm weather in Montana right now, so I figured I'd get it done before the cold sat in later this week...the high on Wednesday is 29. I will probably work on the inside decorations this week. There are a few folks that want to have another party at my place so I want to get things decorated before that. I guess that I will be buying most of my decorations new this year...I used to have some really nice things, but the whore that I was married to thought that those things would be better suited to her and she kept them in the divorce...not that I had much say in the matter. I am planning to go get a tree on Wednesday or Thursday...I have to get a "permanent" tree due to travel times this holiday season and since there aren't any trees in Eastern Montana.

Work, life, and anything else...

Well, here it is Veteran's Day and I am the only person in the entire court house. I have a class tomorrow that I need to prepare for so I am working on the holiday...oh well. I am burning valuable hunting time at the office; maybe I can get out this afternoon...maybe. The rest of the week does not appear that it is going to slow down; tomorrow I am teaching in Billings, Wednesday, I have a meeting in Circle, MT, Thursday and Friday, I will be finalizing a class for December and planning 4-H activities for January. I also have to sell beer and porn to the citizens of Big Horn County on Thursday and Friday nights.

This upcoming weekend I had planned to go to the Cat/Griz football game in Bozeman, but maybe I'll just watch it on television...I'm not sure that I really want to drive to Bozeman and go to a game that I can't really get in to. I'd much rather watch the VT/Miami game, but it regionally televised and we won't get it here in Montana...everyone is showing the Cat/Griz.

What's goin' on?

Well, I know that Montana's weater is different from Virginia's, but this is really crazy. Yesterday was 72 and today it is 33 and snowing...crazy! It's not snowing hard and it isn't sticking, but there are in fact snowflakes falling from the sky. I kind of like it.

This weekend didn't produce any memorable moments, I cleaned out the truck, went to the financial peace class, watched the Indianapolis Colts do their best impersonation of the Hokies and give up the game in the final minutes of the game...way to go Colts. Looked an awful lot like the performance that the Hokies had against BC.

Now this upcoming week should be interesting. I am preparing for a class that I am teaching next week in Billings, I have 4-H Council this Thursday night (always full of excitement), I am selling beer and porn to the fine citizens of Big Horn County on Wednesday night (Crow Tribal payday...yippee!), and I am tryng to register for spring classes at MSU-Bozeman. All in all a fairly busy week.

Something New!

I just added a link on the profile page to a photo gallery. I have posted pictures from Yellowstone, Glacier, and Waterton Lakes National Parks as well as a few pictures from Big Horn County. I will post more pictures as I take them. Yes, I did take these pictures with my camera...I know that some of the pictures are REALLY good, but it helps to have beautiful scenery.

Results from the Weekend

Well, I did go hunting on Saturday. I shot one pheasant! We saw several more, but they were all hens and illegal to shoot. I saw one other rooster, but a shot at him would have meant through a tree and over the head of my hunting partner...I didn't take the shot. I also got a deer this weekend. I don't deer hunt very often and I didn't kill this one; my neighbor did and gave it to me. So Sunday I processed deer meat all afternoon. I now have a nearly full freezer of deer steaks and roasts, and I still need to grind the hamburger (approximately 25 lbs of it)! I would imagine that the grocery bills will be lower for a while! The dogs also made out good yesterday; I gave them all of the trimmings!

Plans for this Weekend and Beyond

I bought airline tickets for a trip back east for Christmas yesterday; they are terribly expensive. The airlines surely know that they have you around the holidays. I guess it is still cheaper than driving, but it is a huge chunk of money to lay out for travel.

Now, for the weekend plans. I think that tonight I may go to the Roadrunners 4-H club party. That should be fun. Tomorrow I am planning on going pheasant hunting in the morning before I have to go to my part time job serving beer and porn to the citizens of Big Horn County. I am looking forward to the hunting, maybe I can work off enough agression killing birds that I can put up with some of the idiots that come in looking for beer and/or porn. Sunday, I don't have any firm plans, but I may go fishing or maybe go over to Billings for a while...who knows!

UNO and 4-H...what could be better?

Well, this weekend was fun. Saturday we had a few friends over for a small function. We had WAAAAAAYYYYYY too much food; but it was all tasty! I made a crock full of chili, which turned out very nice. I tend to make things hotter than most folks like, but this was not too bad; especially since a couple of guys thought that they would test their masculinity and eat the super chilis that I use to spice up the pot before the peppers could really make the chili too warm. After that we ended up getting a rowdy game of UNO going; anyone who doesn't think that UNO can be a contact sport should come to my place and play!

Sunday was our 4-H achievement day; where we recognize the kids' accomplishments during the 4-H year. We had a decent turnout, but it was the first day of general deer and elk season in Montana so our turnout was affected by this all important holiday. I gave out the overall achievment in agriculture award this year to a girl who is not a ranch kid. I chose her because her knowledge base jumped exponentially during this year after taking on new projects (she did swine and lamb for the first time). It is very encouraging to me to see 4-Hers take an interest in ag who aren't exposed to it as a way of life. I also got to recognize my teen club during the program. What a great group of kids this is to work with! I have seen growth in these kids that has completely blown me away. I don't want to brag, but I think some of the best leaders will come out of this group. They are amazing! Now, my only concern with this group is where are all of the boys? My "typical" teen leader is a thirteen year old girl...you'd think that would be a selling point to the boys! Oh well, I recruited a couple of boys yesterday to join so we'll see what happens.

Finding a Niche

I am hosting my first party in Hardin this weekend. I don't know how many folks I have showing up, but it should be interesting in the little house. I think the plan is to do some cooking, so I guess I should go to the IGA this evening and buy something tasty! It is fun making a niche and finding friends in this community. It is rather easy to meet people, partly due to my job, and partly because this is a fairly open community; albeit with some social issues (but what location doesn't have its social issues?).

Intro...The First Post

I just returned from Miles City, MT from annual conference. I do enjoy Miles City...a really neat cowboy town; I highly reccommend a visit for anyone planning to be in Eastern Montana. I toured the Fort Keogh research farm and got acquainted with my colleagues from around the state. Montana is a great place to live and work. I do enjoy the remoteness that is afforded to one in Montana. Next week, is national 4-H week and I have planned some activities with my teen group to recuruit new members into 4-H; one of which is pumpkin painting at a local day care facility...that ought to be fun don't you think? I got to experience the first sugarbeet harvest of my life last week! That was a blast!