School Blog

Folks, We Have Reached The End: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:50:00 +0000

There comes a time when all good things must come to an end and my good times at Montana Tech as an undergraduate student has done just that. I have to admit, for my last week of finals ever I really didn’t stress that much. My physics finals was what I expected…not easy but manageable, animal ecology was tough but only because Rick loves to make us think a little bit, and zoology, well let’s just say that it wasn’t even worth studying for to be quite frank. I couldn’t have asked for a better week to end my four years here at Tech, and I couldn’t ask for a more heartfelt and gut wrenching graduation experience. The big day provided us with beautiful weather, thanks goodness, and amazingly enough out of the 410 students who went through the graduation ceremony I managed to get seated next to someone I knew so I had him to talk to! What are the odds huh? The speaker, like most speakers that come to Tech, talked about the economy, engineering, and a lot of mining so most of the speech was kind of lost on me from that outlook. My one little piece of advice for everyone though….if you can make it to graduation practice do! I was the first one to go through for Bachelor’s degrees and I had no idea what I was doing, but I’m pretty sure no one could tell because it was like give them your card with your name, degree, and if you graduate with honors (I graduated with High Honors) shake hands, take the picture, get your $40,000 water bottle (just a little fun I like to poke at for the alumni foundation giving the graduates a water bottle and license plate cover for graduating, but really thanks because its a really nice water bottle!), and hug and shake your professors hands and then wave to the crowd as you go back by with your family and friends cheering you on. I don’t believe I have ever seen my mom and dad so happy as they were to see me walk through that line, I’m not sure it was something they ever thought I would get finished with since I loved it so much here! It was hard to not just decide to become a professional student haha! I’d like to thank everyone who came to the ceremony, it was amazing to see you all there and feel the support you guys have given us throughout our four/five years here at Tech! Amanda, my blogger boss, snapped that photo of me and Kelsey, the only two biology undergraduates to graduate this year, and I thought it turned out really well. I'd also like to say congrats to Amy Nickel for graduating with her Master's degree, we made up a pretty good looking Biology Department Class of 2010 if you ask me! Congrats to Kels for getting the outstanding biology student for this year, it’s a tough decision for the faculty to make and quite an honor to receive. After the ceremony was officially ended though Rick kept insisting that I come up to the cafeteria with my family for something so I made my parents trek all the way up there to find out that they had also given me an Outstanding Biology Student award. It was an honor to be presented this by Rick himself and I tried to tell him I wasn’t going to cry that day, but when I saw his waterworks turn on a few tears slipped out. My past four years here at Tech are something I will never ever forget. I have made lifetime friends with not only students my age, but with my professors and they will continue to be my mentors in years to come. I want to thank the entire Biology department faculty for all the support and encouragement you guys have given me in the past four years, you truly are the best department any student could wish for. Thanks Montana Tech for making my college experiences everything I could have ever wished for and so much more. I’m going to miss this blog; it’s been a sort of journal for me over the past two years, and to all of you who have read it, thank you. This is only part one of my final blog entry to stay tuned for the next one….it should be here within the next couple of days!

Soooooo Close!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:11:00 +0000

Can this really be the last week of regular classes for me at Montana Tech? The entire process seems almost surreal when I look back at it and quite frankly I'm terrified to look forward at the looming prospect of the real world. Finally I'm done with everything for my online education class and let me tell you, that Unit plan was quite a piece of work but it was so worth it in the end! I really enjoyed thinking up different lesson plans and activities that I could use in my future classroom, even if it was a long process of getting to the finish line! These past two weeks have been jam packed with papers, projects, and quizzes to say the least! I'm super excited for all of that to come to an end, but at the same time anxious about what I'm going to do with none of that to look forward to. If you think about it, I have been in school for basically as long as I can remember and really don't know any other way to live.....this may possibly be the reason I chose to be a teacher because I love this lifestyle and want to continue! Now don't get me wrong, I love the thought of being a teacher and I love it because of the prospect of getting to reach out to our future leaders, but you can't deny that way of life is not a bad way to live either! Right now I need to get my thesis done and a presentation put together so I can focus on studying for my physics and zoology finals! The rest of this week should provide ample time for that since all I have are Anatomy and Physiology and a cell bio lab practicals to help out with and a couple classes. This semester has been surreal and the people I have met will always stick with me, it amazes me how close you can get to someone within two weeks of graduating and I'm going to miss having the time to spend with them that I have right now. Right now however I better get to bed so I can get going on my thesis again tomorrow.....graduating is a great thing huh? Oh and by the way, the next blog I write will probably be one of my last ones and don't be surprised if its gushy and extremely sappy....its just the way I am :)

One Month....The End Is Approaching!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Talk about bringing on the stress as the end approaches......I can't believe its only one month away from graduation! Right now I need to get a move on with my thesis and a paper for my ecology class. Not to mention a philosophy of classroom management, finishing up a unit plan, and signing up for the praxis. Its amazing how all of this kind of just comes up all at once now that the semester is almost over....oh how I miss the past three years when I didn't have all of this pounding down at me. Not to mention the fact that its about time for me to get a new job and well that isn't an easy task to do when you are going to have take a summer class that pretty much kills any chance you have at finding a regular job. It sounds like this is going to be an interesting next month and I'll be sure to keep you updated! Right now I have an application to turn in, a unit plan to finish, physics homework to get done, and finally a thesis to get started on. Just a few simple tasks to take care of :) One thing I have to look forward to this summer.....I'm playing on a co-ed softball team with a few of my friends and I'm super excited to get to play again. I might take a few games to get back up to par since well its been forever since I played, but its just like riding a bike right? Ok well if I'm to ever get any of my to-do list done I better get some shut eye so I'll talk to you all again soon!

Tick Tock!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:43:00 +0000

Another week down, not many more to go! Made it through another round of tests for classes and the never ending onslaught of quizzes from Physics these past couple weeks, but with graduation fast approaching it seems like my time is extremely limited and I just don't have the motivation to get stuff done! I haven't even picked up my cap and gown yet from the bookstore! Just one more thing to pile on the to-do list....I really need to start getting some of that done here pretty soon. Looks like tomorrow night is going to be another fun filled night at the library, but I think that seems to be the only productive place I have right now. Home is just too filled with T.V., Wii, Internet, and a roommate to talk to instead of getting work done. Speaking of Wii, I just recently ordered Wii Fit and the Biggest Loser game in hopes of trying to get this very out of shape individual back into a better fitness routine and I may have over done it on the first try. It was just so much fun that I couldn't stop trying out all the games, but now my legs are sore as all get out and work on Saturday was a little painful. It's not fun to be up and moving around on your feet for eight hours when your legs already burn from the workout you did before......stupid me! That's OK, no pain no gain right! Now my days consist of attempting to track down all of the classes and outside things I need to get done for Western before next fall and this summer and try to keep my head above water with Tech.....time to prioritize! Looks like I better get back to my unit plan if I ever hope to get everything accomplished for my online class this week. Talk to you all again soon!

So Uh, Where Did March Go?

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:24:00 +0000

Wow, does anyone know where the month of March went? It seems to have slipped by me without my knowledge of it even happening, even though I believe I got a lot accomplished this past month....perhaps that's why I didn't get a chance to get a blog in! Let's start off with where we left off last time, and I believe that was a trip to Yellowstone. For starters, that was amazing! We saw a ton of HUGE bull elk and of course your usual assortment of cows and calves. People who have frequented Yellowstone usually refer to the Bison as like seeing moo cows and this was of course no exception. As always, Rick's cooking was amazing and delicious in the field! You just can't ask for better food when camping. March was also the month of every college kid's favorite time of year.....SPRING BREAK!! Naturally the week leading up to spring break is filled with quizzes, tests, and projects because every professor wants to take the stress off of spring break so they like to freak us out the week before. I managed to make it through the on slot of tests and papers and eagerly awaited the trip to Vegas!!! Ok so this was the first time I had ever had a true spring break experience, you know like the whole thing of going some place just to veg out and shop and do nothing but have fun, and man it was amazing!! The first day we didn't even make it all the way to Vegas because we actually got caught in a blizzard on the interstate and only made it as far as St. George for the night. The next day we headed out early and went to Mesquite where I ended up winning $74....not a bad way to start out the trip! Instead of heading straight to Vegas we decided to take a short detour to the Hoover Dam where we got to take a tour of the turbines and see the new bridge they are building to help out with the traffic problems they have in that area. I have to admit that I had my doubts about how much fun it would be to tour the dam, but it was an incredible thing to see and I'm glad we went! Then it was off to the races and to the hustle and bustle of fabulous Las Vegas........and fabulous it is! I loved every minute of our time in Vegas and seeing every thing there was to see on the strip. We stayed at the Excalibur, an amazing hotel, and I don't think we ever did manage to see the whole thing. Its simply amazing to me that you can go into these buildings and actually forget you are in one because they sooooo freakin' huge! I also think they have the names of the major cities mixed up because I don't think that New York is the city that never sleeps, Vegas most definitely should be named that! It was amazing to me to that you still saw people going strong at four thirty in the morning and I'm pretty sure some people just never stopped going all together. We had a great time going around to the different stores and getting the entire Vegas experience! I can't wait to go back! After the trip to Vegas it was back to reality and school started up again. One thing that has been taking up a lot of my time is getting all of my paperwork ready for student teaching next fall. A lot of time goes into getting all of the paperwork done, test taken, and classes done before next fall. Luckily, we have a great teaching department to work with and they have been nothing but super helpful in getting everything together and taken care of. I can't wait to get going on my student teaching, it's gonna be a great time! Kathy Shipman has been great to work with and if I have any questions she is the first to get every single answer I need to me as soon as possible. Now I'm working on trying to get my thesis started and finished before school gets out.....just about another month and a half! Right now I'm sitting at home relaxing with my niece enjoying some great family time over Easter and I hope that everyone else has had a nice relaxing weekend as well! Sorry to keep everyone in such suspense for so long since I didn't get a chance to blog, but I'm hoping this gets everyone caught up to speed and as we speed toward the finish line of graduation I hope to keep everyone caught up with what's going on!

Yellowstone Bound!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:17:00 +0000

In my world there is nothing better than the prospect of a camp out in Yellowstone with Rick and a bunch of my friends to make it through a very very crappy week. There is simply nothing better than the prospect of hanging out with a bunch of your fellow friends/classmates in a tent in freezing weather playing card and dice games and eating Rick's cooking. If you looked up the definition of what I would love to do for the rest of my life it would be an assistant to Rick on his field trips because there is simply nothing better in this world. Luckily he has decided against putting Chili on the menu (I hate that stuff its absolutely disgusting) and we get the joys of tacos followed by moon pies and hot chocolate.....perfection in a nut shell. Shane came through yet again with an awesome sleeping bag for me to use because well let's face it, I just don't have a good winter sleeping bag! I can't wait to get out of Butte for a while, I haven't left since I went home for Christmas and I just need to get out even if it is for only one night! Speaking of getting out of town.....spring break is a mere 17 days away and guess where this 21 year old is headin'? VEGAS BABY!!! You wanna talk about feeling like a kid in a candy store.....yeah I do! Since I've been to college I haven't had the traditional get away and go have fun Spring Break vaca and for my last one I fully plan on making it memorable. I'm so excited to go with Kerrie and her boyfriend, should be a great time! Now I just have to make it through a couple more tests, probably another Zoology paper, some Western stuff, and then its home free to Spring Break extravaganza!!! HOLY COW I CAN'T WAIT!!!! Please excuse my excitement but with one friend getting seriously beat up the other night, another in the hospital, mounting paperwork, and the prospect of an incredibly intense physics test coming up I'm a little more than just excited to get out of town and forget about the world for a while. Alas, I better get back to reality and get some of that done before I completely bury myself in a to-do list three miles long.

Happy Singles Awareness Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:34:00 +0000

What could possibly be worse than the Colts losing the Superbowl? That was the question I posed to myself this past week and my answer came Wednesday evening in a blaze of glory.....I got a sore throat. When I went to bed I thought, this can't be that bad I'll just sleep it off and be fine in the morning. Oh man was I wrong! I woke up to go T.A. for anatomy lab and couldn't even talk, my head was pounding, and I felt like I was going to throw up at any second. Needless to say I didn't make it to T.A., barely made it through my physics quiz, and then had to get my shift at the casino covered. I'm pretty sure I did nothing but sleep for about 16 hours on Thursday and still didn't feel a whole lot better till about four o'clock on Friday afternoon. Finally today my sore throat has gone away, but I have acquired this lovely cough and nasty mucus thing in my lungs so I still sound like I'm dying about every five minutes. What is my saving grace? NyQuil, best stuff that ever came out of a bottle! I don't care what anyone says, I live and die by that wonderful blue liquid when I'm sick and I never sleep better! Course nothing could be worse for a cold than not getting sleep, which is exactly what happened Saturday night since I thought I was well enough to go in to work and be fine and then stupid enough to agree to work the Sunday day shift the next morning. Yeah, getting to sleep at four in the morning after I finally stopped hacking up a lung and then having to wake up to get to work before ten (I made it with exactly five minutes to spare!) was not the best remedy. I guess that's what I get for not having a Valentine, you can't say you have plans when you have no one to make plans with! I did get a very nice surprise when I finally made it home though....Shane brought me a very beautiful rose to celebrate Valentine's day. He's a very sweet guy and I appreciate him making my day a whole lot better! If you were wondering what the heck the title of my blog meant, it was an alteration on the name of the day we celebrate every February 14th, a little day I like to call Singles Awareness Day, or S.A.D. for short. Yeah I know what you're thinking, how dorky but you know what? It works for me! Well I better get going cause I just finished the last of my unit plan and I have a lot of work still ahead of me this week so I better get to bed before I just pass out from the NyQuil!

P.S. I do NOT condone taking NyQuil in any way other than the recommended dosage, but I thought this image was funny and appropriate since I have a cat :)

Super Let Down

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:36:00 +0000

Stupid New Orleans Saints.....and no I don't want to hear about good for them it was their first Superbowl blah, blah, blah!!! All I have to say is this, Peyton you were a major let down with that stupid interception. Needless to say I pretty much wanted to throw my phone out the door when the game was over and the people rubbing it in yelling "WHO DAT?" at me in the bar is still ringing in my ears. I guess that's the problem with going to where you work to watch the game, everyone in there knows you! Luckily I didn't have any money down on the game so I didn't lose that way, but I do have to take one of my guy friends to dinner at the Suds Hut in Helena now so that kinda blows. I was really hoping for a free dinner myself but nooooo, stupid Colts. However, the night was not a total waste because I did score a sweet coozie, a Bud Light shirt, a Twisted Tea shirt, and a cool key chain.....all-in-all not a bad night! Now I have spent my entire Monday trying to get caught up on all the stuff I should have done yesterday but didn't because I spent the entire day hanging out with everyone at Shorty's. I personally think they should make the Monday after the Superbowl a national holiday.....I mean who doesn't agree with getting a day off just because of most everyone getting drunk watching football the night before? The next major event coming up on the national stage is something I like to call "Single's Awareness Day". It was formally known as Valentine's Day, but for those of us who don't like to think about our failure of not having a Valentine I decided the other title was much more appropriate. Now I better get to crackin' on all this work that has piled up so I can spend my Single's Awareness Day wallowing in a marathon of chick flicks and lots of chocolate.....alone. Yes, also wallowing in my own self pity in case you were wondering.

Christmas Party In January?

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:29:00 +0000

Another week down, a ton more to go......kinda. Seems almost like all these weeks are just running together in one big blur, but when you're on your last semester it appears that everyone experiences the same thing. I have finally gotten all of my books ordered, almost all of them in, and classes are running along at a steady clip of reading, writing, homework, quizzes, and lesson plans to design. You know what they say, no rest for the wicked! On a side note I think my cat has officially gone crazy, and she is currently running a racetrack between my room, the rocking chair, and the lounge chair we have....mom what did you do to poor Taffy when she was up there?! Anyways, back to what I was saying before, physics has kept up the pace of homework followed by quiz followed by homework followed by quiz.....I think you get the picture. Its amazing how uninterested you can be in a subject only two weeks into it, but I have to admit physics never has and never will be my thing. We had our first animal ecology lab today and that is going to shape up to be quite entertaining I have a feeling. You can only stick college kids in a fifteen passenger van so many times before we devise ways to entertain ourselves while counting ravens as a lab activity. It helps that the majority of people in that class were the ones I shared such fun times as a trip to Freeze Out lake with and we just continue on with the fun :) You are probably wondering about the title of this blog, or if you weren't you probably are now! It seems that when you work at a bar/casino that is open seven days a week it is hard to find a time and date that you can close it down in order to make sure all of your employees can get together and have a fun time. Hence why our Christmas party was a month late! We did all have a blast though eating a fabulous prime rib dinner, watching the football game, and playing dice games. I always enjoy hanging out with my co-workers, we are a pretty fun bunch of people! I also got the joys of making one last trip to Bozeman, I hope, to get my third BlackBerry in three weeks on Friday in the snow storm. I always seem to have problems with my cell phones and this BlackBerry has been no exception to the rule. Now that I currently have a fully functioning one, I LOVE IT!! That trip to Bozeman was just a quick jaunt because we had to be back in time for the Elite Pro Bull Riding event hosted by the Depot at the civic center that night. I had a blast hanging out with Shane, my sister, and my roommate watching all cowboys strut their stuff and the one bull fighter was pretty entertaining himself. This week looks like just another same old same old week with work and homework. I don't think I have any plans for this weekend actually....hmm might have to get on that!

Beginning of the End

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:50:00 +0000

Its kind of a bittersweet statement to make, but this is officially the beginning of the end of my college career at Montana Tech.......tear! While I won't officially be done with school till next December because of student teaching with Western, I will officially graduate with a bachelors in Biological Sciences in a mere five months. Talk about scary! The first week of school was the usual, some classes decided they were going to hit the ground running like physics which gave us homework and the prospect of a quiz the very next day (oh goody) and animal ecology where Rick talked at us for the whole fifty minutes. Personally zoology was my favorite because Scott talked for about five minutes and then decided that was enough for the first day.....perfect way to ease our holiday numbed minds back into the fact that yeah its time to wake up and work now. Looks like physics is going to be the one class to rattle my cage this semester because you really have to stay on top of things when you have a quiz every single class meeting and we meet four times a week......ugh. Physics never was my favorite subject to begin with, but Dr. Kurtis Link actually makes it more interesting because he relates it to things that the majors that have to take this class would actually be interested in. I'm really looking forward to animal ecology with Rick this semester because not only is Rick a great teacher, but its pretty much the same group of kids I took natural history of the vertebrate with and we really like to have fun! I love it when I have classes with people I know because it makes it so much more fun! Books this semester have slowly killed me, my freakin' zoology book cost $140 alone! I don't think I even spent that much for all of my books last semester, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do right? I have one online class for Western this semester and it seems to be going smoothly so far, but I really hope my books show up sometime soon because I kind of have an assignment coming up out of the book and well its kind of hard to complete if the book hasn't come in yet. Right now I'm spending this Martin Luther King Jr. day in style......cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, contemplating going to Hastings and buying a bunch of Disney movies, and eventually getting around to my physics homework. So far its been a pretty productive day and I better wrap this up to keep the trend going! I also threw in a picture of Elliot, me, and Joe just cause I want to put up more pictures for my last semester so enjoy!

XOXO Justine

Happy New Year?!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:17:00 +0000

Ok so I may have forgotten all responsibility over the long holiday break, but I intend to make up for it so sit back and relax cause this is going to be a long one! First off I hope everyone had a great Christmas spent with family and/or friends! My Christmas was great, I got everything I wanted/needed and then some so no complaints here!! Spending time in Cut Bank was a nice break from the hustle and bustle that has become life in Butte, but when that break ended boy did things back here pick up right where they left off. The first few days back were great, just hanging out with friends and a couple of days of work, but it seemed to go downhill in a hurry.....not so good. For a couple of weeks my sleep schedule decided that it was going to do a complete 180 degrees and turn from night to day......imagine how exciting that was to not see the sunlight for a few days. Finally that situation got under control and I'm very very slowly getting back to being a normal, productive, daylight loving human being. New years was a blast at work, we had an entire case of champagne and since it was the holidays and New Year eve after all, even the workers got to join in the fun of toasting the new year. Since I only had a couple of patrons in the casino side we decided to mosey on over to the bar and bring in the new year with the rest of the gang. It was a nice evening because no one decided to get unruly so no fights and no one had to be kicked out! New Years day was spent hanging out with friends for hours on end and we had a blast deciding the best way to bring about the best possible new year. I decided that instead of making a New Year's resolution, I was going to simply decide on doing what made me happy. I guess if you really wanted to you could count that as a resolution, but I really don't consider it one. It seems to be working for the most part so far, little drama has occurred and that drama that has is completely unnecessary. All I have to say to those friends is take a good look at what you think may have happened and then truly ask yourself if I would do something like that to you knowing how good of friends we are. If you still think I'm guilty then you obviously don't know me and probably don't deserve my friendship. To be completely honest, I suppose you could consider my New Year's resolution as cutting out the drama in my life and those that bring it. It hurts to let good friends go, but if they aren't willing to really consider the truth and want to jump to conclusion or let others talk them into thinking a certain way then they really aren't being that good of a friend to me now are they? Sunday Eric Henrich and I went out to check Shane's trap line for him since he headed off to Idaho with his sister to visit one of his good friends who just moved down there. Needless to say I was not the most alert person on the trip considering I didn't get to sleep till 6:30 in the morning and we left my house at 8:45, but it was a whole lot of fun! I haven't hung out with Eric in a long time and I missed just talking with him and him showing me all the different things he knows about the area around us. We searched for ducks for a little bit, but alas no duckies were in sight that morning! On the trap line we did manage to catch a mink, just a little guy but beautiful all the same, and a muskrat. The funniest part of the entire trip.......Shane drew out an absolutely perfect map of the trap line for us, and I mean perfect, and even labeled all of the ice that was good and safe and that which was bad. Now anyone who knows me and Eric knows that we are kind of the free spirits of the group of friends and tend to neglect such important details as which is the good ice and which is the bad, that was until we heard the cracking and then we immediately scurried over to the thicker ice. After looking at the map I proceeded to make fun of Eric for not being able to read the map and trying to kill us......what a great time! I hope that sometime I get to go out with Shanners on one of these trips, but I won't hold my breath cause he is kinda of a lone wolf when it comes to these matters. Well I better be getting to bed, big last day before school starts with a re-shoot of the casino commercial for Little Nevada (if you have cable T.V. look for the Shorty's commercial!), getting my hair dyed, and then making sure I have all the essentials for my very last semester at Tech! Not sure how I'm gonna sleep with all this anticipation!

Merry Christmas To All!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:17:00 +0000

Hey Folks! I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas and Santa met your every Christmas wish. I had a really great Christmas myself, hanging out with my family opening gifts and enjoying all the new toys that are around when you have a six year old niece. Its a funny thing that happens to you when you grow older, Christmas comes around and no one gets you toys anymore because they think you need all these grown up things like appliances, books, and artwork but deep down you're super excited to have little kids around because you know they are going to be getting all the toys that you still want to play with. Well I guess maybe that's just me who thinks that way, but I'll fully own up to that one. My niece made quite the haul this year on gifts, at least three times the amount I had, and she got some fun dolls and color explosion things to play with. I've thoroughly enjoyed my break so far by sleeping in ridiculously late, hanging out with friends, leaving work for a week, and now I have the prospect of going back to Butte to spend another couple of weeks alone in the house. Don't get me wrong, I love living with my roommate but I think there comes a time when everyone needs a little time alone and that's way hard to do when you're both going to school and then live together. This time away will be a nice vacation for all the group of friends and give us a little time to appreciate each other again. I'm just jazzed that I don't have to work till this coming Tuesday because its been a hell of a couple of weeks at the casino. The Griz game kept both Levi and I moving till around midnight and then things slowed down enough for use to deal with the aftermath and try to get everything restocked and ready to go for Saturday. Saturday was just about as bad with a bit of a blowout between patrons of the bar and casino and it spilled over into an upset patron with an employee, not to mention that later on in the night I managed to get the key stuck in the machine, and Levi almost couldn't get the vacuum put back together after we finally decided to see why it wouldn't suck anything up. We decided to salvage the situation with breakfast at Perkins, where we saw more patrons (although these ones we absolutely love!) and didn't manage to get home till about four in the morning. Guess what happens when you take two sober people, put them on edge for the last four hours of their shifts and then pump them full of chocolate milk and food? You get two people who are extremely hyper and can't sleep till seven in the morning. Usually this wouldn't be much of a problem, but we got the joys of going back to the casino at 10:00 to explain what happened. So there we sat, sleepy eyed and sucking down coffee like it was a life source explaining what happened and once we were free to go did we leave? Naw we decided it would be a good idea to go up and gamble some more! Levi and I are a couple of the most brilliant people I know, haha. All that aside, I hope that everyone had an amazing holiday and has a happy New Year!

Finals Frenzy!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Here we go again.....finals week.....let the coffee pot start working overtime and the cookies keep flowing. I have to admit that my finals week is actually going to be one of the easiest ones I've had since I've been at Tech with only one test and a paper due Monday, another test that I can take any time this week and then one the very last time slot on Friday, they are all very well spaced out. I did manage to secure one solid A in psychology already so I don't have to take that final anymore....yippie....and this essay for my fiction class has been streaming out at an amazingly fast pace so things are looking up. Once I finish that essay, however, starts the torture of trying to study for Botany and well lets face it, its just not one of my favorite things to do. I can honestly say that I have never had such a hard time forcing myself to sit down and study for tests as I have this year, but lets not forget that I am keeping pretty much an A average, I think I have one B....gasp....., so whatever I'm doing seems to be working out for me. Through the grape vine I have heard some rumor as to suspicions of me not putting in my quality time towards my grades and to that I would like to remind those people to keep out of other people's business and take a look at my grades before they open their mouths......I'm just saying. Each and every college student out there has their own way of spending their free time, some people take that opportunity to study nonstop and have no lives and yet they still don't seem to do that well, while I myself like to take a good chunk of that time and spend it with friends taking my mind off of school and still can get A's. Just because it works for myself and I'm able to maintain my grades but you couldn't do the same thing doesn't mean the way I spend my time is wrong. Sorry for that aside there folks but it was just something that I had to get off my mind. Any who......how about them Grizzlies!!! I only caught the very last few minutes of the last quarter, but that seemed to me to be the most exciting part anyways and when they won the entire casino and bar erupted into a massive uproar of cheers! Unfortunately the night went steadily downhill from there and I've learned that sometimes you simply have to laugh at the stupidity and arrogance of others in order to get through the night. Oh well, I guess sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles......or something to that affect. Apparently the holiday spirit hasn't completely overtaken me because its almost the middle of December and I have only bought Christmas presents for two people.....shoot! Oh well at least I'll have most of this coming week to get it together and start figuring out what to get everyone, as far as my family goes though, don't be surprised if you all get Montana Tech gear once again......I'm just saying. Well I suppose I better get back to finishing this essay so I can start studying Botany....dun dun duuuunnn. Good luck everyone with finals and have a safe trip home if you're one of the lucky few who get to leave soon!

Let The Holiday Spirit Overtake You!!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Ok if there is one thing that I look forward to each and every year it would have to be Christmas time! I love everything about it, and I mean everything! The food....amazing, the decorations.....beautiful, the music.......fabulous, and shopping for presents.....endless hours of fun!! I haven't stopped eating candy canes since last night, I think I'm down about half a box, and its either the holiday spirit that has me in such a good mood or the sugar high from all those candy canes.....either way I'm lovin' it! Thanksgiving break was just what the doctor ordered as far as getting sleep and school work caught up on and let's not forget to mention the amazing food that was devoured at home. I mean who can beat a homemade apple pie or mash potatoes with the most delicious graving ever known to man? When Mom makes a meal, Mom really makes a meal! Sure beats the fast food and meals out of a box I'm use to! Now I'm back to school with a renewed vigor and let's just hope it lasts these last three weeks. I can't believe that its only three short weeks and then I'm done with my last fall semester at Montana Tech :( sad! Inevitably when you go home everyone starts in on the, "Well, what are you going to do when you graduate?" questions and I simply want to look at them and say, "Gee I just plan on working at various casinos and bars for the rest of my life. How about you?" You could say it is the one thing that really hits a nerve with me because frankly I don't want to think about it yet. I have another semester to figure out officially what I want to do, why can't you let me enjoy my candy canes in peace!! Brittany nearly left me alone at Walmart because I didn't want to leave the candy cane isle last night....I can't say I blame her because I probably would have left me there to bask in the glow of the wonderful red and white stripes of pure sugar joy. Yep, I take my candy canes that seriously. Right now I'm officially on the home stretch for classes, only two tests, two papers, a presentation, and one more education project due and then a couple of finals and Christmas freedom! Can you tell I'm a little anxious?

XOXO Justine

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Hey everyone, just wanted to check in real quick and wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!! Hope you all have a fun filled day with your family, and if you can't be at home I hope you spend the day with friends and other loved ones!

XOXO Justine

Almost Turkey Day

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:04:00 +0000

Can you believe its almost the end of November already? They say that before you know it you'll be graduated but I didn't think that they meant quite this fast! The fact that it is almost finals week and I have like three projects due and a gazillion papers to write really sucks because I just have zero motivation right now. This whole senioritis thing is really starting to get to me! At least I'll have pretty much this whole week to get things back on track when I go home for five days.....I can't wait till class is over tomorrow! I haven't been home since pretty much July and it is about time I got out of this town and away from some of the drama and stress it brings at times. Don't get me wrong, I love going to school in Butte but much like anywhere else you're going to live you will find drama everywhere you go and Butte is no exception to the rule. Luckily I get the chance to get away from it all for a while to let things cool off and people think about how stupid they have been and then come back and start it all over again.....oh joy. The only thing that is going to get me through this week is getting to see all of the Christmas decorations up at Mom's house! I love Christmas time! The music is amazing, the food rocks, the decorations are so beautiful, and for the most part people are just in a better mood this time of year. I'm hoping some of that holiday cheer rubs off on me really quickly because I could sure use some. Right now I think the quick fix is going to be getting a box of candy canes and eating them till I absolutely can't stand them.....usually does the trick!
XOXO Justine

Whoever Said Money Can't Buy Happiness Never Went Gambling and Won....

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:55:00 +0000

Halloween has come and past and boy was it a fun night at the casino!! Usually I'm not one who likes to dress up for Halloween because well most of the time the girls costumes are a bit provocative and I'm just not that kind of girl. This year however I let Jeri talk me into dressing up as a Sugar Baby and while the outfit was not my ideal idea of comfy it was sure fun! I made it my own and work appropriate by borrowing a black dress to go underneath for added length and then ended up wearing flat shoes after about four hours of heels. I'm actually quite proud of myself for lasting that long in high heels, but I'm pretty sure my feet are still suffering from it. I did see a lot of interesting costumes in the bar side of the establishment.....some more interesting than others! Levi was dressed up as Gene Simmons and man did he hit the nail on the head with his costume! I almost didn't recognize him when I came into work because his makeup was done so well. The past week of class was rather uneventful, just your usual tests and quizzes. I'm to the point right now where I think senioritis may have already set in because man is it getting hard to take the time to properly study for things! Somehow I've managed to keep and A in all of my classes except stats, I never did like statistics anyways, but at least that class is sitting at a solid B! Have you ever just been in rut and feel like nothing is going your way, classes are stressin you out, work sucks, and you just don't wanna be around anyone? Yeah I got that way this week until Bill Good handed me a three day pass to the Planet Beach spa. You wanna talk about amazing timing! I spent a wonderful two hours getting various kinds of massages and then sucking on some extra oxygen for about half an hour.........I felt like a million bucks! Friday was kind of a bummer of a night out with the friends so I went into the casino Saturday on my way to Walmart and ended up hitting the machine for $420 bucks and then I turned around today and won another $180! I'm not sure what I did to have such good karma, but I hope it keeps coming! Like the title of the blog says, whoever said money can't buy happiness never went gambling and won! Right now I'm attempting to clean the house, do some homework, get this blog finished, and wrap it all up by 5:30..........not sure I'm gonna make that deadline so I better get a move on!

Until next time, XOXO Justine

Apparently October Is Birthday Month

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Its amazing how many of your friends can be born in the month of October! The beginning of the month started with Brittany, the middle with Jeri, and now the end of the month concludes with Levi and Thom's little brother Gabe. I really can't believe how many people I know are born in October, I mean come on people this is really a financial strain haha. To be completely honest with you I love birthdays and everything about them. I know for my birthday it was an amazing time celebrating with friends and I love to return the favor for all of them! Wednesday was Levi's birthday celebration since we both had to work on his actual birthday, Thursday, and we all had a blast hanging out. Seriously what is better than a big birthday bash with a bunch of friends? Its a great way to get out all the stresses of school, working too much, and life in general and something that every college kid needs to indulge in every once in a while. The one part of college that is the hardest to deal with is that whole balance between school, work, friends, and boyfriends (or girlfriends for the guys out there) and frankly if you add in the stress of a senior year and thinking about what's to come after the whole college life it gets a little intense. Yes I do tend to be a worrier and over think into the future, but when you have friends who are applying for graduate school, going off to dental school, or constantly telling you that you should be doing those same things it gets a girl to thinking. Like I told Thomas the other day....even at this point in my life I'm not convinced about what I want to be when I grow up, and as he so kindly replied by text message, "I hate to break it to ya but you're rapidly running out of time". What a downer huh? Right now I'm viewing college and my current career choice as a stepping stone, maybe I'll like it or maybe I'll come back in a couple of years and decide that yea I do want to go to graduate school. Until then I think I'll stick with what I have so I don't add even more stress to my life! Moral of the story.....for every freshman or prospective student out there who is thinking "Oh my God what am I gonna major in?!" don't stress, I'm a senior and not even sure I'm on the right track. Right now, all this senior wants to do is get back to a much overdo Gossip Girl marathon.

Until next time, XOXO Justine

P.S. Here's the picture you wanted Steve (I personally love the off the floor hug hug for a picture)! Its completely amazing to find loyal blog readers out and about in my celebrations! Also, for you Mom Thomas is the kid in the black hat in case you hadn't gathered which one he was haha.

How Time Flies

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Well well well, isn't it funny how the time just seems to slip away from you and you realize that well, its way past time to update that blog? Yeah I just got that reality check. I apologize for my lack of blogging in the past couple of weeks, but to my defense they have been pretty busy. Last week was homecoming here at Tech and while the Biology club did not partake in any of the events this year, I hear there was some great competition and really cool designs for things like flags and the can-struction activities. This is officially the first year since I've been at Tech that bed races actually got postponed, but due to the extreme amount of random snow and ice that accumulated Thursday night, it was probably a good call not to send kids down a hill with nothing but helmets on a makeshift bed built strictly for speed....not much on the safety part. Although I'm unsure who the actual winners were, we did have the races this past Thursday and I know there must have been plenty of spectators because my Thursday Anatomy and Physiology lab was looking a little sparse.......hope you kids got the notes from someone! While the activities of homecoming themselves did not keep me occupied, house sitting and making it through another round of tests did. I love house sitting for Rick and Kriss and not only because I absolutely love their dog Aussie, but because it makes me realize just how much I love having a cat to take care of and not a dog! I love Aus to death but he requires so much more attention and time than Taffy does and it really makes me appreciate her that much more. On a sadder note, my grandmother from Nebraska made the trek out to see the family this past weekend, but since I was not able to get anyone to cover for me at work I didn't get to go see her. I did try to send the next best thing for everyone though.....presents! Naturally every college kid's family needs apparel from the school they attend and my family is certainly no exception. I wish I had gotten to see grandma, but I hear she had a fun time with the rest of the family and enjoyed the sweatshirt I got her. I probably should get back to studying though, since its like 1:11 a.m. in the morning and I have a Botany test, that I'm about half way done studying for, at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow......well I guess that would be today.......haha!
Until next time.......XOXO Justine

Test Mania, It'll Get To Ya!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Test mania, good way to describe what's been going on in the past week and a half for sure! Four tests later here I sit with a little bit of weight lifted off my shoulders, at least temporarily until I realize that homecoming is next week and we don't have anything done for it yet.....oops! Guess that's what happens when you try to leave your vice president in charge and he doesn't get anything done. Let's start off with the first test shall we? That would have been Psychology and it actually went, well, fantastic! All of my friends who read this are gonna be a little upset but I did somehow manage to pull off a 100%, not a bad way to start the week! Next we move to Experimental Design, a.k.a. stats, and that one was decent I suppose at an 84%. One thing that's been really hard to figure out this year is finding time to get all of my studying done before I go to work or class, but so far it seems that everything is working out for the best. It's been quite the balancing act and I think that once I'm done with college I could go to circus school with all my skills......ha ha! The results of the Botany test are still undetermined, and I just took my Plant Ecology test today so I'll keep you updated as results are received, but I have a good feeling about them! Now with all the stress of tests off my shoulders and yet another weekend without a home football game I'm wondering what I'm going to do with myself this weekend! Brittany, my good friend from the bookstore, is going bear hunting with her boyfriend and his family this weekend so that leaves her out.......but I'm sure there is someone sticking around this weekend that wants to hang out! Before I get to far ahead of myself I better get to my homework that's due tomorrow so I can actually enjoy this weekend.....hooray!

Really? The Rear View Mirror?

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Hello all! Seems I have found some time to get on here and actually chat at everyone for a few minutes so I'll try to get everything in while I can! I think last time we left off I was recovering from the brink of death with strep throat.......yep its over! I love not being sick, it makes my life so much simpler and easier to deal with. Last week was the big Tech vs. Carroll game for football and boy did the rivalry come out in all forms! I personally participated in the annual buying of the Eat S*** Carroll shirts because I feel that as a college student it is necessary to support your sports teams and keep at least a few of the old traditions going before they are all lost in this world of "let's not hurt any one's feelings", a little rivalry never hurt anyone did it? I know that many people think these shirts are inappropriate and unnecessary, but if you can't have fun wearing a shirt that supports your team what can you do these days? Next thing you know people are going to complain about the HPER Hooligans saying this is giving our school a bad reputation, come on people get real! This is all I'm going to say on this topic because, well I don't really do the soap box thing and push my beliefs on everyone else, just not who I am. The first half of the game was awesome though and our boys played really well! The second half......yeah not so good, but with five turnovers and still only allowing Carroll to score 26 points I thought they showed a lot of heart and determination. It was also a beautiful day out for the Carroll game and as you can tell from some of the pictures, I got a little sun burnt!!! After the game Kristin and I headed down to Shorty's to get my car, which we had left there the night before, only to find that someone had broken into it and stolen my XM Radio, cellphone holder, change (a whopping $2.23, hope you didn't spend it all in one place), and my freakin' rear view mirror. I mean of all things, who steals a rear view mirror! The jerk wasn't even nice enough to leave all of the stuff hanging from it like my high school graduation tassel and such, no they took off with that too. Lucky for me we have cameras that are recording 24/7 and we got the entire thing on video camera, plus with that radio listed as stolen whoever tries to activate and use it will be soooooo busted........sucker! Hope you had fun listening to it while you could and your rear view mirror with my tassel looks nice in your car........so no impressed! Moral of that story? Don't leave your car anywhere but your house, make arrangements if you need to beforehand! So we move from that sucky part of the day to the best Saturday night ever........the Jason Aldean concert! I love love love Jason Aldean and he sounded amazing this time around with so many good songs out and I think they really upgraded the acoustics and sound system for the Civic Center. It was just me and Kristin who ended up going out of our close group of friends, but we had a blast anyways with the random group of people we stood with on the floor! My new camera kicks some major booty and actually zoomed in quite well to get some awesome pictures even from quite a ways back in the crowd! After the concert I met up with Kordelle (my roomy from my sophomore year) and a group of us headed down to Shorty's to hang out and see Levi. Needless to say he was happy to see us and provided us with an awesome time with his antics (I love that kid!). In general it wasn't a bad week and this week has been a good one so far, but a psychology tests looms in my near future (Friday) and I'm always super nervous about the first test in a class because you just don't really know what to expect! I better get to doing some of the things on my ever growing to-do list I suppose since we have the first Biology club meeting tonight and well, I'm really not sure what I'm going to say! Not to mention I have plenty of studying to get done.........is it Friday afternoon yet?

We Got Spirit Yes We Do! We Got Spirit, How Bout You?!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Oh the excitement is just oozing out at all the seams this week with the biology BBQ, the first full week of classes, and me getting strep throat. Yeah that last little tid bit was probably not that exciting but it provided me with a few days of rest and relaxation that apparently was much needed. Lets start at the beginning though shall we? I have officially decided that this semester will be the one from hell and finding time to get everything in is going to be tricky, but with some careful organization and making lots of to-do lists I should be able to keep on top of all of it! Mondays are going to prove to be super long days starting at 9 in the morning and not ending until 9 at night.....yeah twelve hours at the school with only a two hour break is a super long day, but the only way I could schedule it all in so what do you do? I am once again a teacher's aide (TA) for three different labs this year, one on Monday with Dr. Bill Good for Anatomy and Physiology, one on Tuesday with graduate student Amy Nickel (love her!) for Biology and Man a biology class for non-majors, and the one on Thursdays with Angie Johnston for another Anatomy and Physiology section. I love being a TA because it is not only great experience for my future teaching career, but it's also a great way to meet some of the new student around campus and other departments. This year's lab sections should prove to be good ones!! Wednesday night was the annual welcome back BBQ at Rick's house for the biology department and as always the food was excellent! It's always great to get everyone together and to meet the new biology students and see how every one's summer went. I guess this year was another big year for biology with class sizes still on the rise! Its always great to see the student body on campus increase, but man does it make parking around this place a total pain in the butt! In all reality the students at Tech have absolutely no reason to complain when it comes to parking because even if we do have to park all the way down in the HPER parking lot its not like we have to park a mile away like people in Missoula or Bozeman. Now onto the not so exciting part of the weekend......strep throat. I have a feeling this sickness came on because not enough sleep and simply just going going going without really resting. Apparently my body had enough and waged an all out war against me in the only way it new to make me sleep....get sick. Oh boy was I ever sick! I mean we are talking the kind of sickness that makes you wish mom was there to bring you soup and tea and to put that cold washcloth on your head. I love being at college, but its times like those that really make you wish mom was around still! After going to work Thursday night with my throat swollen and my glads so huge you could literally see them, I decided that maybe it was a good idea to go to the doctor. Yeah they pretty much told me I was insane for not coming in right away and immediately put me on antibiotics and gave me this awesome mouth rinse that numbs it all up so I can swallow without feeling like I have knives sticking in my throat. I should also mention that Kristin has been amazing in this entire ordeal, she is the one who brought me soup, made me tea, and put up with me moaning and groaning and acting like I was going to die. Three days out and I feel so much better! I'm actually pondering the idea of getting out of the house since I haven't left it since I went to the doctor Friday morning and I might be getting a little bit of cabin fever. Oh I almost forgot, as for the pictures and the title of this blog me and Joe Brent, a devote bookstore worker, decided that since he works there and buys all the clothes there and well, I'm just a sucker when it comes to under armour and buy all the clothes there as well, we would dress up like twins! It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of compliments on our matching attire! Man I love the people who work in the bookstore, they are tons of fun and I couldn't ask for a better group of people to visit in between classes! I think this time I have droned on long enough and I better get to taking a shower and doing the dishes that have piled up in the past few days! Plus my cat may be going slightly insane as she is running around the house with a pop tart wrapper in her mouth.....she may need some much needed play time as well.

Back In Session

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:43:00 +0000

The time that every parent of a little kid loves, and the parent of every college kid sheds a few tears over is officially here. You guessed it, school is back in session for Montana Tech and boy do we not waste any time around here. So far we have had four days of school and in that time my schedule has changed at least four different times....classic! The professors have hit the ground running this year and haven't wasted any time getting right to the lectures and quizzes. In fact, I have already completed a quiz and done a homework assignment and its only the first week! My schedule this year is so crazy, I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to work in the greenhouse just yet, but one of these days I'm going to be able to figure out what the heck is going on in my life and get a schedule down pat. My Western class has already thrown a wrench into the mix of my schedule as our field experience days take up at least a half day and its going to be a problem finding the time to go on these things. Work at the casino has resumed as usual, although Thursday was so slow I made a grand total of $34 and then spent $14 of that on breakfast.....wow good night. Other than that, not much going on in my life so I better get to my laundry pile before it completely consumes my room!

Long Time No Post....

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Well folks it seems that I haven't been keeping up with my postings again and a friendly reminder from my parents has brought this to my attention. I'd like to start this one with a little shout out to my Aunt Kay in Nebraska, I know she reads these and enjoys keeping up with what's going on in my life so Hey! The last time we left off I was just getting back from the state fair and hanging out with the family. Now I'm on the verge of freaking out big time.......I can't believe that school is starting next week! Seriously where did the summer go this time? When summer started I had all these plans to go white water rafting, camping, and so many other fun adventures but with jobs getting in the way and summer coming to a close it seems that the only thing I got done was going to the Lady Antebellum concert. Every college kid's dream when summer rolls around is spending time hanging out with friends, going to the lake, and making a little bit of money but that seemed to have slipped away from me. To tell you the truth though, I'm excited for school to start again simply because I'm ready to stop working 70 hours a week! Today I went out and bought all my school supplies......depressing. For the past month I have been avoiding that aisle in Wal-Mart simply so I wouldn't buy anything because that meant that school was really starting, but with books coming in the mail and all the freakin' flyers around town advertising back to school I figured it was time to bite the bullet and go for it. Oh I almost forgot, one of other things I did get accomplished was reading My Sister's Keeper and holy cow did I not expect the ending on that one! I won't ruin it for anyone who wants to watch the movie, but if you like a good quick read this book is a solid choice. Work at the greenhouse has carried on as usual these past few days, but the other day I did have a little excitement when the hose tried to drown me. It seems that down at one of our planting sites the pressure in the hose does not let up when you turn the water off and when you try to unscrew it from the watering tractor it likes to shoot all over. Yes, a muddy mess was the end result of that project, not to mention I was soaked from head to toe, but I got the job done! I wish I had been able to take pictures though because the amount of mud that I managed to splash on myself was pretty much priceless. Right now I suppose I should probably get to actually organizing my school supplies instead of ignoring the Wal-Mart bags that are leering at me from the other room........yeah I'm dreading it that much.

Hog Wild At The State Fair!

noreply@blogger.com (Steeners06) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:45:00 +0000

So as my father so kindly reminded me on the phone last night, I should have had this blog up yesterday but after such a fun filled and action packed weekend I was simply too tired to make my fingers tap out a worthy blog so I decided to forgo the project until today! Work at the greenhouse resumed as usual this past week, but we did have a nice trip out to the Fleecer game range to collect some very interesting plants that had gone to seed. Finally I remembered my camera and got some great photos of the native flowers that are out there, and man do you wanna talk about beautiful! In case none of you noticed or caught on yet, my favorite color is without a doubt pink and so any wildflowers we find that are slightly pink are, at least in my book, the most beautiful ones out there! Its amazing to me that right here in Butte you can go only as far as thirty miles before you are running into fields of wild flowers and are in complete wilderness areas. I'm definitely a forest and mountain area person and if you threw in a great lake it would be heaven on earth for me! The picture is of a gorgeous flower, that I unfortunately do not remember the name of, that we found fields of up on the upper part of the mountain. For me there is something innately freeing when we get out there and there is no people for miles and everywhere you look there are just fields of these beautiful wildflowers. I'm definitely a mountain and Montana girl and could never ever live permanently in a larger city. But enough with my connection to the land, let's get on to the real fun of the weekend, the state fair! This trip home was the first time I have been there since Easter so it was really nice to get up and see my parents and niece for a little bit. I won't divulge all of the details, mainly because she would kill me, but lets just say that my roommate got a very interesting introduction to my mother. I will tell you this much, killing rattle snakes with a car is probably the most fun past times you can find in Ethridge, Montana, and also one of the most hilarious things to observe! Needless to say that snake didn't stand a chance and my mom and I sent it to snake heaven, or as I like to think back down to hell (I hate snakes with a passion). My roommate fit in very well with my family and everyone had a good time getting to know each other and chatting it up at Lewis and Clark days the next morning in Cut Bank. I'll tell you one thing, if you want candy at a parade all you have to do is take my niece because they throw candy at her by the bucket loads! She got so much that me and Kristin brought home a good size zip lock bag full and she will never even notice........at least I hope she won't! Saturday night it was off to the state fair in Great Falls and we had awesome tickets to see Lady Antebellum. You know how when you finally get to see one of your favorite groups live and they just don't sound as good as they do on the radio or through your iPod? Soooo not the case with these guys! They sounded absolutely amazing and gave everything they had in every song they sang, it was an awesome experience and I'm so glad we went! Of course we had to do a little walk around the fair exhibits since Kristin had never been and we looked at all the little knickknacks that people were selling and even got to see a white tiger! Since we were in the "big city" (haha) we had to hit a restaurant that we never get to eat at here in Butte......Applebees!!! I freakin love that place so much I would eat there every time we were in a city that has one! The food and service were amazing as always and I always always always have left overs that seem to only get better the next day, and that means a lot coming from me because I hate leftovers!! OK well enough with my ranting and raving, I better get going back up the greenhouse to see what's on the agenda for this afternoon and then it's off to the casino tonight.........oh joy!