Slacklining In the Park

I have brought the sport of slacklining to Casper...well, at least I haven't seen anyone else doing it, but perhaps now they might. We set up the slackline in the park at our impromptu BBQ tonight with Mick, Lisa, their kids, and Dan. Kameron walked on it, too. That little guy...he immediately knew he was supposed to put one foot in front of the other and he was laughing the whole time. As for the rest of us, I made it 4 steps (personal record), Kurt got up on it once, and Dan was having trouble with the muscle stabilizers in his leg to even get up once, but at least he tried. He also helped me set it up. I did remember how to tie a clove hitch! I am going to set it up at home and keep on--after I get a new anchor. The rope I have now isn't doing it. I need more webbing I think.

Rest and Relaxation

I've actually almost forgotten what is like to not be busy 14 or 15 hours a day...I'm just now starting to remember how to read a book for longer than 20 minutes at a time! I drove to Casper on Monday and have been hanging with my nephews. Kaelan was so excited to see me. Kameron wasn't too sure about me at first, but by that evening he was ok with the situation. We have big plans for the next couple of days and my main goal is to set up the slackline in the park.

Countdown

I am almost on the way to camp. Almost because I don't fly until Thursday and because I haven't even started packing yet. I am crap at packing. It is something I do not relish.

Anyway, I drove home on Sunday from Casper and it was so hard to say goodbye. Those two little boys are my best buddies. Kaelan is growing up so fast and Kameron is a kick in the pants. He's the funniest 1 year old I know.

Today I am going into GF to get all the little things that make camp a successful summer--socks, shoes, head bands, etc. And then tonight I am driving to Helena to spend the night with Brandt and Ashlie in their new house. We'll hang out and them I'll come back on Wednesday for some serious packing. And Thursday I fly...hopefully much lighter than in previous summers. Like I said, I am crap at packing.

Convicts

Since I have started working at Precision, I have seen more convicts than in my entire life to date. We are always having guys come in from the many different Honor and Conservation camps scattered around Wyoming. Are there that many in other states, too, or is Wyoming just full of convicted criminals? I guess I'll have to do some research. Anyway, just today we had 4 guys in, all wearing those colorful shirts they make them wear--red, orange, yellow, blue--but definitely some type of prison uniform. They were very friendly, but very rough around the edges. One of them was there because he had been 'hip shot' as he put it, in the robbery or whatever it was that landed him in jail in the first place and this resulted in a twisted spine and a leg length discrepency. They had two armed guards there to keep an eye on them. It is a very interesting experience for me. I'm not nervous around them, because there are all those guns the guards carry, and I'm pretty sure I saw pepper spray and a tazer in the one guard's belt o'fun. On the other hand, I think we're all kind of conditioned to be wary around them. Who knows what they are in trouble for, after all. And of course there are the ones who come from the State Pen at Rawlins, with the orange jumpsuit and full on arm and leg shackles. The guards who accompany those guys keep one hand on their gun butt at all times.

Another story, while I'm on the topic of guns. Kamil hired a tech to work in the back with he and Vince today and when Sandy asked for his two forms of ID he handed her his driver's license and his concealed carry permit. It was awesome and struck up a conversation between he and I about guns. He used to be a police officer and he is now an instructor and still carries a gun around. I was interested by that. Research!! I am always researching.

Machine Guns

I went with Dan to the machine gun shoot here in Casper--well, actually it was outside of Casper by about half an hour, in the middle of nowhere, but that is understandable. The whole gist of the idea is to be able to shoot whatever kind of big gun you want. However, the prices? Not so great. You could spend 40 bucks to shoot one round of something. Yikes. I chose to just watch and keep my money. Dan shot a few things by haggling them down a little, but they weren't keen on the idea of haggling much. The .50 caliber was amazing! It felt like a huge explosion of air whenever it would go off. And then everytime one of them would go offyou off you could feel it in your stomach. It was cool. We watched some random guy sniping prairie dogs with a spotter and an enormous silencer on the end. Poor prairie dogs, to end up living in the field where the targets were set up. I really enjoyed seeing the tracers from the .50 flying way the heck over the field--like over 1000 yards or so, I think. We also got a good lesson from the Fort Casper reenactor guys with the cannon. At one point they showed us a real charge they had found in Fort Sumter. The guy said they didn't know if it was live or not, so they backed up and shot it with something! I was thinking, geez, no matter it's historic. It was hilarious, though, that the first response for them was to shoot it with something. Anyway, I got some sun and broke in my new Chacos--dust and dirt, yeah!--and got to see some very cool guns in action. That hobby is too expensive for me.

Look Ma, No Brakes!

Ok, so the title is flippant--the situation kinda wasn't. My brakes have been making a squealing noise for a couple weeks now. My dad told me I need to get new ones. I asked Kurt where to go and he said he would do it for me--being a nice big brother, right?--and it would be way cheaper. So I took it to his shop today with the boys, because I am watching them for the day. Kurt put my new brake pads on and all was well. Until I went to back out of the shop. Pretty much I had no brakes and was speeding backwards toward a pickup and a fence and I don't know all what because I stopped looking. Kurt was yelling for me to pump the brakes and I was pumping like crazy with no effect. I'm sure my face looked pretty hilarious--wide-eyed, mouth open, kinda like a fish. And finally, right before we crashed into the back of a pickup we were stopped by an obliging trailer hitch that took one for the team and stopped my car by jamming itself between the door and the back tire. We jolted to a stop. Kurt and Mick and whoever else were there were laughing hilariously. I was not laughing--I was too much in shock. However, there is no damage to either the nice trailer or my car, so that is cool. And I will forever ask what the possibility is that my brakes won't work for the first little while. They are working quite well now, thank you for asking. I think it was funny...or at least I will tomorrow maybe.

Dance Party

Ok, so there weren't much pictures in the way of actually dancing, but if you look behind Kameron and me you'll see Kaelan busting a somersault move on my bed. We were dancing to Big and Chunky, of Madagascar 2 fame. The boys dig that song. I dig Moto Moto, so all is well.

We needed to commemorate our dance party, but lack of photographers meant that I had to take the pictures myself--and the boys aren't real good at actually taking a picture of someone yet. We'll work on that.

This doesn't have anything to do with the dance party, but I thought I'd tell everyone the good news: Brandt and Ashlie are having a baby! I will be an auntie for the 3rd time. Very exciting.

Terminator

I can remember watching the first Terminator movies in grade school. It is extremely interesting to me when stories I grew up with come full circle now that I'm an adult. Take for instance the Star Wars franchise, or Die Hard. Heck, I would be thrilled if they would finally make the sequels to Willow. And hey, George Lucas, how about a Labyrinth 2? Ok? Ok. That being said, I really enjoyed this last Terminator movie. It did leave a lot of questions unanswered, like how in the heck did they manage to send people back in time? Curiouser and curiouser. But in any event, I liked it. Peace.

The First Step Is Admitting It

I recently went shoe shopping with my mom, Kat, and the boys. The object was to get Kaelan and Kameron some new summer sandals and some running shoes for Kaelan. We stopped off at a place with the biggest selection of Chacos I have ever seen!! Of course the bait was right...I had to go back. I tried on a pair and yes, you guessed it. They now reside in my closet or on my feet. My 3rd pair of Chacos...I have an addiction.

I can't help but justify my love of Chacos. Not only are they very stylish, they are the most comfortable sandal I have ever worn. My feet feel great while wearing them.

And hey, at least these were the cheapest pair yet. Ok, money is not an object when it comes to my Chacos. And now that I have 3 pairs, I can rotate them! So welcome, Chaco #3. I am sure you'll be very happy.

And the Hunt Begins...

My camp list--something that fills me with dread every summer and I don't know why. I am suuuuuper-excited about going to camp this summer. I can't wait to see everyone again and to just jump right into that Bryn Mawr lovin' that wraps everyone up all summer long. However...to get there, I need to go shopping for the camp necessities, and I dread that.

I also dread packing, but that is because I am crap at it.

I have fulfilled 3/4 of my uniform list, however--yeah Soffe shorts on sale! I just need a few pairs of navy and a few pairs of white with some structure to wear with that Awful Polo we have to wear for visiting day. And yes, the Awful Polo is in capital letters--trust me, if you'd seen a picture of me in it, you'd know why. It is invariably 2 sizes too big and makes me look sloppy if I don't have anything to tuck it in to. Hence the structed navy and white shorts. I hate walking up to parents and giving them the 'Hi! I'm the responsible adult taking care of your children all summer, but don't I look like a slob' vibe.

Ah man. On with the hunt.

My Boys

I woke up this weekend feeling a little bit under the weather--yet another cold strikes again! I feel tired and just generally without energy. And to top it all off, I was babysitting Kaelan and Kameron. I felt pretty crummy until this moment:

I turned around to find the boys cuddling and when I grabbed my camera Kami gave me one of his huge grins. It made me feel much better.

Pirate Treasure!

Kaelan and I were investigating a huge tree in the front yard--it is the kind that has branches that drape to the ground like a big skirt and hide what's going on underneath. And what did we find?? A PIRATE MAP!!!! Complete with enormous red 'X' to the treasure! Of course we loaded Kameron in the stroller and jumped on the trail. With the help of a trusty Pirate compass to show us the way, of course.We had to go over the Bridge of Death--which apparently used to have water flowing there when pirates frequented the area, but alas no more--and then to the Beanstalk, which lucky for us was still standing in our front yard. Then it took us on a round-about walk through dangerous places (or so we devised, considering the map had pictures of skulls in this area) and finally behind the schoolbus. Wasn't it lucky the schoolbus was used as a marker by these pirates? The treasure contained the best pirate treasure EVER! A bubble sword that makes bubbles as big as Kameron's head, tons of pirate gold, a few necklaces, a sweet orange squirt gun, and the best thing of all in Kaelan's eyes--a brand new Monster Truck, War Wizard! Pirates are pretty awesome, aren't they?

I Would Run Off With Spock

First of all, let me just say that I am not a die-hard Trekkie. That being said, I was down with the idea of a prequel coming out to Star Trek. I've grown up on the Star Trek movies--we watched the original television show, the remade television show, and all the movies, both with Captain Kirk and Picard. I didn't differentiate between any of them--they were all good.

The new one, though, was pretty fantastic. Let me list the reasons! First of all, they managed to make Spock sexy. Who knew that could be done? Of course James Tiberius Kirk was sexy, that's a given. And Karl Urban as Bones??? Be still my heart. Enough with the fact that most of the male leads were totally hot--although can I just say it's such a bummer they grow up to look like their counterparts?? Leonard Nemoy is not sexy, and neither is William Shatner. Anyway, I really enjoyed the fact that they kept the basic costumes, and I completely dug all the shots of 'rural' Iowa with the futuristic, space-tech thing going on at the same time. And a big shout out to the guy they found to play George Kirk who really resembled his son.

I also really enjoyed the fact that they didn't tow my car while I was at the movies today.

Certified Fitter

I just recently went to Denver for a course in Mastectomy fitting--as we do that at Precision Prosthetics. Anyway, it was a super-cool course and I learned so much. They brought in 3 models who had a breast removed and we were able to practice fitting a bra on them and picking out which breast prosthesis would work the best. I learned so many new techniques. Now to get Kamil to let us order things...

And I am officially a Certified Fitter, as they call it.

Look At My Proboscus!

Kaelan got on too! I have never been more surprised. Of course Kameron was down--he started getting excited the second we got near the elephants. He can't really talk yet, but he was really making noises and pointing. The only thing he didn't like about the experience was the strange circus man who took him away from me to lift him onto the elephant. He wasn't into that at all. All in all it was a good experience--and I'm glad I did it, even though it was horrendously overpriced.

Circus Circus

I would put the circus theme in here, but I doubt the way it goes in my head sounds the same to anyone else. Yes, the circus is coming!!! I have long waited for this moment--not because it would be awesome to share this with my two little nephews. Not because I know they will love seeing clowns and people on the trapeze or walking the tight rope. Nope, my reasoning is purely selfish.

I will finally get to ride an elephant!!! Because, as Kaelan put it, Kameron is my ticket. Yes, folks, it is true. I have stooped to using a 1-year old to get my dream of riding an elephant. Now, granted, it won't be the same thing as actually being in Africa and riding an elephant all by my lonesome, but if the only way to ride one is to have half a dozen little kids on there, I'm good with it. Kaelan will probably chicken out at the last minute and not get on, as he does that. Kameron, however, will ride absolutely ANYTHING fearlessly. He's my little adrenaline junkie.

Therefore, I too will get to ride an elephant.

Diabolical, isn't it?

Craziness

Yikes! Can I just say that I suck at updating this thing??? So much for my love of writing...although I am currently hard at work on not one, not two, not three, but FOUR books! Well, five if you count the one I am finished with but still go in and look at and work on every once in a while. And no, nothing new to report in that area--apparently no one is digging my chili. (And by that I mean that no agents want to take on me and my book)

Let me see, what else has been going on? I recently made an emergency trip home to be with a friend who suddenly lost her mother. It was horribly hard and I did not enjoy that trip one little bit--other than getting to see my parents and my friends, that is. However, I managed to drive the 16-hour round trip all by my lonesome and was only nominally bored.

I have learned a few things lately. 1) My nephew, Kaelan, is a way cool kid. We have some good times. He's only 4 and completely one of my favorite people to hang out with. We have better conversations than many adults I know. 2) I HEART peanut butter pie and recently came across the best recipe ever! For those of you who want the best peanut butter pie in the WORLD--and also the easiest--here it is: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 8 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 8 0z cool-whip, 1 chocolate pie crust. Mix ingredients and then beat in cool whip--be warned, the combination means you will spend mucho time trying to dislodge the mix from your spoon or mixer. Then pour into the pie crust and refrigerate for 3 hours. And there you have it, the BEST peanut butter pie recipe. 3) Bounce dryer sheets can be used for everything from bee repellent to getting rid of the funk in your car. Good to know. 4) I am a video game junkie, especially anything Xbox 360 related. I have played many a good one this spring.

I have been attending the Casper YSA branch since I got here and am happy to report that my bad attitude is slowly going away. Probably because I don't have anyone here to help perpetuate my bad attitude, like I did in previous wards. I have even been going to FHE.

I have been enjoying my straightener and my hair is extremely long--probably the longest it has ever been. Let's see how I can beat the 2-year old hair I get every summer in PA....

CAMP is just around the corner! A little more than a month until I leave on a jetplane and see some of my very favorite people in the world. I can't wait!

New World

I have finally done it....

I have finally changed the guns my character uses in my book, Gallia. Actually, I mainly changed her number 1 gun from a Beretta 96 to a Kahr P40. I had a little help, of course. Not actually being much of a gun-nut myself, I tend to go on looks for the guns my characters use. However, I have been in touch with Dan quite a bit since he finished reading my book and through much research have come to see the error in my ways. Not only is the Kahr P40 quite the concealed carry gun, it probably shoots better than a Beretta 96 too.

It was hard to break out of my rut--she's used the same gun since I started writing this thing, way back in my sophomore year of college. It was hard to replace it. Writing Beretta had become part of her character. I guess now the P40 will have to become part of her character.

Anyhow, I am going to be sending my book out to yet another round of agents. There are sooooo many out there. One of them is bound to see it for what it is, right?

Rambo I Am Not

It was a beautiful sunny day here in Casper, so we loaded up and drove behind Casper mountain to shoot guns with Dan. He's kind of the 'gun-nut' who happens to be a complete guru about most things gun related, so he is the perfect person to go shooting with, in my opinion. I have a cross-dominate eye, which means even though I'm right handed my left eye is my most dominant. This is a complete pain in the butt when I am attempting to aim. However, I did manage to hit a few targets!

I got to shoot a couple hand guns that I have always wanted to try and a couple other guns--and Dan showed us silenced .22 bullets. They were amazing!

Kameron ate dirt, rocks, and even tried to eat a few shell casings so he was having a good time. Kaelan played with his cars and trucks so he had a good time. The rest of us got to try out Dan's different guns and learn what was what and which was where. My biggest problem is that holding a gun does not come natural to me, so it's hard to know where to put my hands. I think in time that will change. Research, you know, for my book!

And the Winner Is....

I am officially working for Precision Prosthetics and Orthotics once again. Crazy, you might say? Especially since I'm pretty sure last year I would rather break bricks with my forehead than work there.

HOWEVER....

Kamil has some groovy ladies working there now, Sandy and her mom Jean, and they have whipped that office--and Kamil--right into shape! It's a pretty enormous change and one for the better, I might add. And they are just delighted that I know what the heck I'm doing and can run the front desk and do dictations. My hours don't suck, either.

I only just finished up day 2, but I'm feeling pretty good about things. No more dictator standing over you with a whip, no more ignorance on every issue about O&P, no more denials from Medicare!

Now the bad...I have a cold sore and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm getting the boys' cold. I'm fighting that thing with every extra bit of Echinacea I can take and it has held off thus far. Here's hoping.