Facebook Foes

Last night I was disturbed by somebody bombarding and attacking another person's facebook page for writing a comment on the new debates in regards to our right to bear arms. My friend wrote a simple "wall post" about how our right to bear arms is a given yet Congress is questioning it and how it's protected under our Constitutional Rights! Yet, this other person, who didn't agree, was so over the top and unrealistic in their views. I didn't care nor did I find it my place to jump in until this person started personally attacking my friend. So... of course, I couldn't remain quiet. Below is my comment that surged on an additional 35 comments posted back and forth on my friend's page by this maniac! It was actually quite entertaining...

Jana, This is YOUR facebook page and, given our constitutional rights, you have the right to express your opinion. The constitution was written to be a static document. It is a law on how to make laws. Of course there are different interpretations and there's nothing wrong with a debate, but I find it rude and condescending for a person to launch a personal attack on you given these circumstances. Don't let anyone make you feel belittled or uneducated. I have a degree from an accredited university in this field and have taken many classes on constitutional law and have never been in a class with a person that approaches a debate in this manner, nor do I find it necessary to challenge your view of thinking on YOUR facebook page. At least you follow what is actually going on in this country which is more than a lot of people can say. Keep thinking, creating your views, and be open to other suggestion. But, don't feel the need to tolerate those that are more out to make a point rather then educate; especially on your personal fb page.

The person that I was talking about saw this comment and went on and on... Lasted quite some time and got me all fired up! Great stuff!

Oh the street dances

I attended the annual Newcastle street dance last night. My oh My! Not much has changed. It was actually quite fun. As hard as it's been for me to be plopped back into Newcastle with not much to look forward to, I really enjoyed myself. I saw people that I haven't seen since high school and it was great to say hello. The only thing I CAN NOT stand are people that don't have the guts to say hi that you hung out with for years and years. I mean, really? Are we still 16? Here's the part that gets me, this particular person asked to be my friend on Facebook not too long ago but doesn't say hi in person. Still the same politics in a small town. Now, I wouldn't be able to complain about this if I wouldn't have tried to say hi either but I did! So, I am proud to say that I broke the mold.

How Spiritual Are You?

Spiritual quotes from my 5, 7, and 9 year old nieces and nephews. We'll start with the oldest to youngest kids:

Abby heard that I was asked on a date the other day and she says to me as I'm visiting with my sister about it, "You need to ask him if he's a Christian before you date him." WOW! I told her she sounded like my mother. Then she says yesterday, "Auntie, did you know that Jesus died not knowing that he was really gonna go to heaven again!?! Can you believe that? I mean, he just got to go back to heaven as an added bonus! That totally changed the way I view everything!"

Gideon and Afton were in my vehicle the other day at the grocery store and Afton says something about how cool another vehicle is and how she wishes that was ours. Gideon says to her, "Afton, Don't Covet! We're not supposed to covet our neighbors."

Tonight Afton asks me what we are doing and I tell her that we're stealing their trailer cause we have to take it to Rapid tomorrow. I said, "Don't you know, stealing's not against the law anymore?" Afton says to me... "Ahuh! It's the 10 commandments!"

You can see as it trickles down from oldest to youngest how it goes from most intellectual to least but, the seeds are planted. I can't get away with anything around these kids!

GO HUSKERS

I suppose I should start learning how to yell, "Lets go Big Red!" as it looks like I'll be moving to Lincoln. It's official. Today I was offered a position with the state of Nebraska. The official title is a Unit Caseworker which essentially means that I will be assigned a caseload of inmates and it will be my responsibility to prepare documents for them, monitor their progress, participate in parole hearing, etc. The position is in a prison that houses around 1,000 inmates. They have a deathrow unit, about 120 segregation beds, and the other 850 beds are for maximum and medium security offenders. Max and Medium offenders live together. I would be assigned to these offenders in a specific unit. I have been wanting to move into the adult system, but I must admit that it's a little intimidating to go from juveniles to a max adult facility.

It would be nice to be by a college town where I could continue my studies and work towards a Master's degree if I had the time. But, I am still waiting to hear from a couple other places that I really want to work at so I'm torn. Nebraska wants an answer to their offer soon and I really can't turn down a for sure offer in an economy like today. Plus the experience would be great and working in such a big facility would give me lots of career oppertunity. I just really wish the other places would get a move on so I knew if I had them as options as well. Those positions are located close to the University of Wyoming and I know football season is right around the corner. I was looking forward to the chance of breaking out my brown and gold every saturday and going to home games. However, I think I could pull off a little red, black, and white. As much as I hate to admit it, I've grown to kinda have a soft spot for Nebraska anyways.

A Little Dirt Never Hurt.

First of all, sorry for all the typos on this here blog. I write this super late at night when I'm about ready to fall asleep and not at my best. Then, I never really proof read them and have to wait until my sisters make fun of me to know that I totally slaughtered a word or used it in the wrong context. I try to go back and change them, but for those of you that think I'm totally illiterate, I actually do know how to write. Got the degree to prove it and all :)

So tonight coming home from Spearfish canyon rendered itself to another exciting event. I tell you what... I have seen more accidents first hand this summer than in all my life before. And tonight was no exception. First, I saw a wreck coming home from Moab, Utah. Me and the girlfriends were in the car and came upon a motorcycle accident. Police nor paramedics had arrived yet, but there were cars stopped already assisting and you could see a women trying to support the neck and all. We passed the paramedics and police about ten minutes later on their way to the scene. The motorcycle was wrecked on one side of the highway and a dead deer on the other; in broad day light. Then, coming home on memorial day from Custer State Park was yet another motorcycle accident right by the LAK. One man standing on the side of the road with the worst road rash all up and down his arms talking to the police. Later we found out (since it's a small town) that a car had pulled out in front of them from the gravel pit turn off and they swerved to miss it (him and his buddy) they knew enough to get on top of the motorcycles and ride it out to avoid serious injury. Although they were ok, their bikes were thrashed. And not to mention the accident a good friend of mine had the misfortune to be involved in regarding another motorcyclist that ended up being fatal. Then tonight, at the intersection of Spearfish Canyon and Lead/Newcastle the Flight For Life helicopter sat; parked waiting for the victim of another wreck. We found out from the men directing traffic that he had rolled his vehicle into the creek. We sat there and watched as paramedics loaded him into the coptor and it flew away. I have dirt on my face and in my hair from the helicopter rise. Sent a silent prayer up with the helicopter for the unfortunate man that was taken in hopes to save his life.

Hot Summer Days and Warm Summer Nights

Today has been a perfect summer day. Finally a day that offers itself to swimsuits and tank tops. Today was one of those days where you hang out at the local lake all day getting a fresh sun kissed tan, then come home for a quick shower, throw on your cute jeans and fun tank tops for a warm summer night. Nights like tonight remind me of why I loved my childhood. As I sit here on such a beautiful evening, memories flood my mind of the summer evenings I spent in this town. A time when my biggest problem was getting a later curfew because I just couldn't miss the end of the street dance. A time when meeting up with your friends was a matter of life or death. And when missing a night out on summer evenings like this was unacceptable and being grounded was equal to the death penalty. Cruising main street, windows rolled down, and blaring the latest great hit was enough to keep any girl smiling on nights like tonight. The excitement of seeing your summer crush at mini mart, the adrenaline that would rush through your body when he acknowledged your presence, and the thrilled feeling of excitement when he asked what your plans were for tomorrow night gave you a feeling unlike any feeling since.

I know that all my friends from high school that read this can totally relate with this feeling. A feeling of the world being at your finger tips with nothing to stop you. School's out, every day is a weekend, and hanging out on the town is a must on nights like tonight. I can see the sun setting and feel the excitement of the night to come. I can still taste the barbecued steaks that were eaten in haste in order to meet up with my friends as quickly as possible. And I can still hear the thud of rocks hitting my bedroom window that the neighborhood boys would throw after curfew. What great times those were. Nights like tonight remind me of such fond memories and excitement for times to come.


Tonight, I hear the crickets chirping, the faraway thunder from the storm that will never actually provide rain, and the slight breeze blowing through the trees in my lawn. It's impossible to not feel the excitement of those times on a night like tonight. I'm older now and have little desire to endlessly cruise the streets and do not look forward to being woken up by the sound of rocks hitting my window, but I sit here and have to grin remembering those days on summer nights like these.


On a different note: For those of you that have been following this blog since I left for Indonesia and would like to know what's been going on as of late. Or for those of you who want to know how I feel about events that have transpired in recent weeks, I'm sorry for not writing about it and avoiding any relevant issues that are happening with me and being vague at best. I assure you, I want to write about my feelings and things that have been happening, but the Internet is a tricky thing. I find it hard to be truly open on here without second guessing myself and I've had so many disappointments lately that I'm keeping things to myself for now. Hopefully soon, I will be able to open up and not write about irrelevant things that are meaningless to most of you. But I hope, that in the mean time, you enjoy reading the entries with no purpose.

Silly Sophie

Had a great day in Jackson today. I had the most intense dreams last night though. You know the dreams that you wake up from and you can't seem to decipher what is reality and what's not? Yep...it was that kind of dream.

Anyhow... we went on a little walk and I got to have some real quality time with Sophie. Every single niece or nephew that I have has gotten to the point where they follow me around and just want their auntie. Since I don't see Sophie that much and it's very sparatic when I do, she has never really gotten to that point with me but today we bonded quite a bit. It was really nice.

I wanted to go rafting tomorrow down the snake river but it's supposed to be a high of like 50 degrees so, I'm letting Dessa give the nanny the day off and I'll be spending the day with Sophie while they go to work. Probably just as fun as rafting anyways.

Oh yeah... Stay tuned! Have some news to share soon (hopefully). GOD WILLING!

Coloring with Sophia

Sophie loves to color at her table. Below is a picture of her coloring with her crayons on paper. And then she got a hold of something else to color on and we were a little too late noticing.... MY COMPUTER!

Hiking Harney

I hiked Harney Peak yesterday with my father. We've been trying to spend time together but it's proved more difficult than I thought it would be to find time. He's so busy running two offices, constantly on business trips, and at meetings every night that when he does have some down time, I feel bad having him do things with me. He certinally doesn't make me feel this way, but sometimes it seems like just another thing he has to put on his calander. Because that's how it works; we have to plan ahead. So anyhow, we went to Harney Peak and enjoyed a nice long hike. I'm actually pretty sore today. I mean, I never work out so it's normal that I'm a little sore after a six hour hike. I got to the top and in true spirit had to roam around into dangerous spots and scare my dad. But, there was just this thing I wanted to see! I didn't hurt myself though; almost.

Today, I spent the day in Rapid City with my sister and brother-in-law. She is still very sick and I was tired of watching the chronic pain set into depression as of late. I felt it was time to take some action of my own; so I scheduled her two appointments at two different specialist today and went to Rapid. We got some good answers and found a secondary cause to her constant pain. Hopefully she will continue to get better and the additional medication will take care of her surface problems. I told them as we were leaving Rapid that the whole family has been suffering and my mom and dad are on a constant roller coaster as well not knowing what to expect every day from her. Jason said, "now you know what we went through when you were in Indonesia. They were a wreck!" He said, "Even your dad acted differnt." I guess it makes me feel better to know that they're much more at ease now that I'm home but Gideon (my nephew) came up to me tonight and said "you know what Auntie.. It's 10:23 in Indonesia right now." They had set the microwave to the time zone I was in when I was away for my short trip so the kids would always know what time it was for me. Pretty sad. That one hurt a little bit.

Spearfish Canyon

Tonight I was driving home from Spearfish and as I was going through the canyon, on the side of the road, was a huge mountain lion. Literally just walking up the road. As I turned the bend, I first thought it was a deer as it was far up the road on a straightaway but then I thought, "Why did someone just leave their dog out here?" And then it hit me that it was a mountain lion. It just continued to walk up the road literally on the highway until we got right behind it. Then it turned around, looked at us and decided to run for a little bit longer up the road until it jumped into the woods. It was beautiful and huge. We were able to see the muscles retract and it's paws hit the ground, spreading open making them look huge, before it disappeared. My niece was in the back screaming "Look at the mountain lion!". We pulled over to the side of the road staring into the woods hoping for one more glimpse and Abby says to me, "Auntie can I go out and try to find it?" um.... NO!