Britta Jones

Moonlight!

2011-03-28T21:37:00.002-06:00

This year being an Advocat has paid off way more than I expected it to. We have gotten two free ski days at different resorts. Moonlight gave us a free day on Sunday which turned out to be the perfect day to do it! We had to meet up there at 830 so it was an early morning but that was ok because when we got up there it was snowing and there was tons of fresh snow.

They started the day off by giving us a guided tour of the mountain which was great because we learned lots about the events they put on and their great deals. Students ski for $39 Sunday through Thursday. They also have a great deal for next years season pass. It costs $450 but you only pay $250 now and then you have until the end of September to pay the rest. Which being a broke college student is AWESOME.

Anyway, I got side tracked. After our guided tour they brought us back down to the lodge and fed us cinnamon roles the size of my head! I ate the whole thing and could not believe it. We all decided that we were going to gain ten pounds. Luckily we went out and skied the rest of the day which I hope burnt off all of those calories.

The rest of the day was amazing. It snowed until about noon and then the sun decided to show its face. Perfect timing in my opinion because I was getting a bit cold.

We stopped for lunch and to meet some friends who had luckily brought leftovers from the giant Thanksgiving feast we cooked on Friday night. Not only did I get a free ski pass but I didn't even have to pay for lunch and I ate the best turkey- potato salad-sandwich ever.

The day was full of fresh snow and great people. Except for how sore I am today from falling so much, I have nothing to complain about.

Thanks Moonlight for being such great hosts!

Mama comes to town!

2011-03-28T21:28:00.002-06:00

Since my mom took an extended spring break I told her she should come to Bozeman and take my roommates and I to dinner. Considering that she is their landlord and they are my friends and she had never met them she agreed it was a good idea. We went out to Ale Works which is my favorite restaurant in Bozeman and it the one that we always go to when people come into town to take us out. It was great to have my roommates finally meet my mom. I have met all of theirs and I feel like I learn so much about someone by meeting their parents. I don't know what my roommates thought, but maybe they understand a little bit better now why I am the way I am. They have known my brother since freshmen year which is explanation enough... but meeting the mama was great. I even got to share my bed with my mom and snuggle!

Stuck in Billings

2011-03-28T21:12:00.002-06:00

Two extra day's of spring break was alright with me for the most part. I had to miss all my classes on Monday due to my grandpas funeral which was very sad and tough but I was happy to not have to go back to school. My cousin Christy and I were planning on driving back on Monday night but decided we were having fun hanging out with all the family that was in town, so we would drive back in the morning. To our dismay we were stopped by a blizzard at 6 in the morning. We were heading west toward Columbus when we saw two snow plows sitting between the interstate and they seemed to just be waiting for a storm. Christy and I looked at each other and said "that can't be a good sign..." not three minutes later and it was a white our blizzard. The snow was so heavy and wet that we were hydroplaning on slush. We made the decision that we didn't want to risk our lives just to make it back for class. We found out we made the right decision on the way back when we heard that Reed Point had school canceled and then Big Timber had a snow day as well. The Bridger snow report kept coming on saying there was 8 new inches of snow and it was still coming down! At that point we were just pleased to be headed safely back to grandmas house. It snowed pretty much all day in Billings so we went to a coffee shop and did homework like good little girls. Later in the day we heard that Bozeman was sunny and the storm was moving east. We decided to give it another try around 5. The first part of the drive to Reed Point was a little scary but after that it was like mother nature had one of her bipolar fits and we had a beautiful sunny drive back into Bozeman. It was such a relief! At least we made it to 3 our of 5 days of the week after spring break :)

Spring Break College Tour with the Sis

2011-03-28T20:48:00.003-06:00

I SURVIVED A TEN DAY ROAD TRIP ACCIDENT FREE!!!

For those of you who don't know me... this is an amazing feat. I have the worst luck when it comes to cars. From speeding tickets to hitting deer to getting them set on fire, you can count on me to damage a car when its in my hands. Thank goodness the curse wasn't with me this trip. I am convinced its due to my good luck rock I purchased at the dollar store that I wear every time I get into my car.

With lack of accidents or tickets, not counting my mother, the trip consisted of tons of great stops.

I began my trip driving to Spokane and stayed with some friends I played Volleyball with in High School. As I have said before in my blogs it is SO good to see old friends. It brings a happiness to see people from home. The next day I went to pick my little sister from Whitworth University and we started our journey! My little sister Sonja is in search of the school she is going to attend next fall. We hit up four great schools. After Whitworth we headed down to Moscow Idaho where we stayed with another friend from home and toured their campus which great, they showed us the dorms and brought us into the labs where their engineering students were working with large machines. Exciting stuff to see!

From there we hit the road for the seven hour trip to BOZEMAN!!! Being an Advocat here of course I was trying very hard to get my little sister to come here so I took her around and showed her every cool thing I could think of about Bozeman. Which is a lot! Unfortunately we didn't get to stay in Bozeman as long as we had hoped due to our grandfathers passing so we headed to Billings to support the fam instead of hit up the hot springs and go skiing.

We didn't let that kink in the road get in the way of seeing all the schools though! We spent two days in Billings helping out with funeral plans and then headed down Colorado School of Mines. Seeing as my little sister is a genus and super nerd (I just like teasing her because Im jealous) she got accepted and offered the most money they give out to freshman for test scores. My mom tagged along on this leg of our road trip which was great because she paid for everything! Of course we also enjoyed having mother daughter time. All three of us fell in love with School of Mines right off the bat. My mom and I both decided we wanted to start over and go to school for engineering. This part of the trip was super quick, we drove down on Thursday and back on Friday so that we could get to the first funeral of two in three days... A bit rough but we all made it though together and got to see lots of relatives and friends that we hadn't seen in sometime.

Saturday morning we headed to Wibaux Montana for my Great Uncle Leroy's Funeral which made my trip milage pass 3000 miles!!!

I have decided I am done being in a car for a while now.

Being in the car for so long made me feel like I aged 40 years and became bent over and arthritic. It was so good to get back to Bozeman and sleep in my own bed!

Preparation for Spring Break

2011-03-09T12:30:00.002-07:00

There seems to be a secret pact that professors have to get together and plan when they want to load on a bunch of test on students all at once. This week, right before spring break, seems to be one of them. This morning I have an art history test which are always miserable. I studied my little butt off and still got to the test and played the hit or miss game on weather I happened to come across certain silly little details in my studies. It's very frustrating to me because I feel that I have learned a lot and know a lot but my grades on the multiple choice never reflect that. I can only hope that this time it will be different. Monday I had a test in my Exceptional Children class and we already got our tests back today! It was awesome. I went to class just excited that my art history exam was over and then got my test back and I got 51/50!! It made me feel like I was back in high school. I used to get grades like that all the time and really took them for granted but not anymore! It feels great, and better yet I got a better grade than my roommate who still gets the perfect grade overtime. I think she was a little jealous... which is fine with me! :)

Now that I am done with my two tests and had my sculpture critique yesterday, all I have to do is cruise through the next two days of classes and then I am off!!! Road Trip with my sister!! Who hoo!

Rail Jam

2011-03-09T12:19:00.002-07:00

Every year Bozeman has their annual Chamberlain Rail Jam event which consists of a snowboarding and ski competition in the evening, followed by a concert at night. This is a really cool event because there are a lot of MSU students that compete in it. I knew a few of the guys who competed and did very well this year. After the competition there is the concert which is always a good time. It only goes till ten o'clock which always feels like they cut the night in half but it is still a blast. They changed the location this year from the Fairgrounds to a cow pasture... which made the whole experience kind of stinky. It also made the parking experience seem more like we were cattle being herded through a small gate rather than cars leaving a concert. It took us an hour of sitting in our car alongside two hundred other cars waiting to get out the one exit. This part wasn't planned out very well but that just gives them something to work on next year.

Intramural Volleyball!

2011-03-09T12:09:00.002-07:00

I finally got myself on a volley ball team! I played volley ball in high school and have missed it so much. I have wanted to get a team together for three years now to play intramural but haven't been successful. Two weeks ago I got an urgent call from my brothers best friend-

Isaac-"Hey Britta we need people to come play on our volley ball team can you come?"

Me- "umm sure I'd love to when do you need me?"

Isaac- "In ten minutes."

It was very short notice but Im so glad he called. I ran up to the gym and made it just in time. I am now an official member of the team and it is a blast. We haven't managed to win a game yet but I feel it coming on. Tonight! I did however manage to hit a girl in the face with one of my serves and she was not happy at all, understandable but she was really rude about it even after I apologized. After that I had no sympathy for her anymore especially because I have been hit in the face with a volley ball before too and it really is no fun but it is no reason to be unsportsman like.

Norris Hot Springs

2011-02-28T22:25:00.004-07:00

Norris Hot Springs is one of the greatest activities you can do with a group of friends on a weekend night, especially after a long day skiing. It forty miles out of town so it is a bit of a drive but it is completely worth it when you get to sit in the hot springs while listening to live music that they have every night. They have a sweet deal where if you tell them in the beginning of the night that you are a designated driver then you get a coupon for a free entrance next time you come. I really like to take advantage of this because there is nothing wrong with a good soak and good music especially if you aren't 21! They most often have folk music playing which is my personal favorite and is the perfect music to relax to. And if you are lucky, which in the big sky is quite often, you may just get a clear sky that provides you with a beautiful starry sky to peer up at. As they like to put it, It's the water of the gods! I like to agree.

REACH Art Program

2011-02-28T22:14:00.002-07:00

Through most of the departments at MSU there are tons of great opportunities to get out into the community and get hands on experience relating to your major. I got the opportunity to help out every Monday afternoon working with adults with disabilities. Every week we have a new project that we work on and they are all so great and have pumped out some amazing works of art! It is so much fun to get to know them from week to week and see how their personalities are reflected in their art work. We are almost done with our six week class and at the very end we are going to have an art show where we will invite people from the community to come and see what we have all been working so hard on.

This has been such a great opportunity for me going into education because I have never worked in this field before and I don't think I could enjoy it anymore! Today we painted watercolor flowers and they turned out beautiful. We all have a grand time enjoying great company and doing one of the most fun things in the world... ART!!!

OOOH Canada...

2011-02-28T21:47:00.005-07:00

For one night durning my trip out west (see below for more information) we decided to turn right and head up to our friendly northern neighbor, Canada! Vancouver is breath taking the second it comes into sight. We drove over a huge bridge and at the top the city scape of Vancouver appeared. The sky scrapers are scattered into a few groupings of tall white buildings that seem to mimic the vast white Canadian Rockies that provide a beautiful back drop. As for big cities I'm usually not a fan but Vancouver changed my mind a bit. Maybe Im just becoming more open minded in my old age :)

I have a friend that plays basket ball for the University of Alaska Anchorage and they were playing at Simon Frasier, a college in Vancouver. This was actually the reason the whole idea of this trip came into play. We went to the game and just happened to be the only four girls in the stands cheering for UAA as well as the only fans with a big sign saying GO ALYSA!! We only got a few dirty looks from the little girls basketball teams that came to watch as well. It all turned out great for us because UAA took the win so we didn't look so stupid in the end. I got to talk to Alysa for a total of about 8 minutes after the game but it was so good to see her play that it was all worth it.

Another girl from Kodiak wrestles for Simon Frasier so we crashed in her dorm room. Before which we headed down town for the thrill of being allowed to drink in the bars at 20 years old.

There were a few strange things about canada. Their money is all multicolored as well as their coins being called loonies and toonies. Their green traffic lights blink half the time which was so confusing and I could not figure out why this was happening. I came to the conclusion that until I figured it out they meant to watch for moose. So I did, until I asked our cab driver and he told me it meant watch for pedestrians, which was a big disappointment.

I want to send out a big old thanks to my father, Papa Bear himself for providing me with the gas funds! Your a peach dadio!

To the Ocean and Beyond!

2011-02-28T19:55:00.006-07:00

We just recently had a three day weekend so I decided to get out of my normal groove and head west! I have some friends from high school that go to school in Bellingham Washington and I have been dying to see them so that is where I headed. My roommate Liz had never been to Idaho or Washington so she decided to tag along and we also got to make a new friend Quin who wanted to go see my friends as well, she went to Western Washington for the past two years and was roommates with one of my friends. Small world! Having grown up on an Island where the ocean is a constant presence, living in Montana, where the water is much more scarce, makes me feel like there is something missing. So you can imagine my excitement when I finally got to see the big old blue again!! My goal for the weekend was to jump in but I epicly failed which makes me embarrassed to even say that I had the plan in the first place. Despite my failure I still had a blast and got to see my amazing friends and smell the sweet salty scent of the ocean air. After twenty four hours in the car in four days it was definitely a relief to see the gorgeous Bridgers shining in the moonlight once again.

Sculpture

2011-02-28T19:21:00.004-07:00

This semester I have one studio and it is sculpture. I wasn't so excited for this one because I had never made a sculpture before. Once we got started though, I realized that it is actually amazing and I am loving its. Surprise! I always end up being really excited about whatever class I am in at the time. Eventually maybe I will need to stick with something for a while.

Our first sculpture assignment was to pick a story of any kind and choose one feeling that describes that story. Our sculpture had to be made out of wood and depict that feeling.

I chose to use wood that I found outside like dead tree branches and rounds of wood. I ended up cutting the rounds into disk shapes and cutting those in half and then attaching those to the wall all around the top of a staircase and creating an environment that you walked into. My original idea was not even nearly close to this idea but my feeling of confusion may still come though if you think very conceptually... ;)

I was only allowed to keep it up for a week so it no longer exists but I think I'm going to make some shelves out of the left over parts.

MSU Friday

2011-02-28T19:09:00.002-07:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one to write about MSU friday this month considering that most of us are highly involved in the activities. For me the day always starts off super bright and early to help set up at 7 am. The one thing that always gets me going is the thought that as soon as I get there there will be a plethora of donuts, coffee and even orange juice. Now this is not the point of MSU fridays by far but it definitely doesn't hurt the early morning mood. MSU fridays are awesome and I enjoy sharing my love for the school with students who should come here!!! Our next MSU friday is actually this friday coming up, March 4 and I am super excited to mold these little minds yet again!

Earrings!

2011-01-30T22:13:00.002-07:00

Lately I have been having a blast making cool earrings in my spare time. I have been trying new things and messing around with different materials. I made one pair of earrings our of the heads of a spoon and a fork. They are my funkiest pair I have made yet. I sat down and made about ten different variations of this style with wire and some wooden beads. I think they turned our really fun and I have gotten lots of complements. So far I have only used them as gifts but I have plans to make enough to sell any put together my own booth at the summer farmers market. Its a quick and fun way to make and extra buck, or get on your friends and family's good side!

Finally! A clean room!

2011-01-30T21:48:00.002-07:00

The first few weeks of school are over and I feel that I maybe am getting a handle on this thing they call being a student again. Today something strange came over me and I decided I wanted to clean. On these rare days I have to take advantage of it because cleaning my room is never on the top of my priority list. I must say though that having a clean space to be and do homework and come home to after school and relax is very nice and soothing. If there isn't clutter in my room then there isn't clutter anywhere else in my life. I can't even explain how nice it feels to sit in my room right now and look at my clear floor, counters and a bed that is freshly cleaned and made! It's a marvelous feeling and I hope that I can only keep it this way for some time. Wish me luck!

Ski Class

2011-01-30T21:35:00.002-07:00

I have made a big decision in my life and have chosen to learn how to ski! Luckily my wonderful university offers ski classes each spring semester. With all of my Christmas and Birthday money I collected over winter break I headed down to the local used sports equipment store and purchased myself my first pair of ski's! I was a bit wobbly the first few times I headed up to the hill but we have had three classes so far and I feel like I have improved ten million times since the first day up. My ski teacher is hilarious and a great teacher so every class is a whale of a time. He always makes us bring a joke so last week I told the first joke I ever learned... What's the difference between boogers and broccoli? .... Kids don't eat broccoli!! :)

<----- I don't have a picture of me skiing yet... I will have to work on that!

Free Ski at Big Sky!!

2011-01-30T21:26:00.003-07:00

Being an Advocat definitely comes with its advantages! Big Sky Resort came to the admissions office and offered a free day at Big Sky for all of the Advocats, Orientation leaders and employees of the Admissions office. This was sweet because it just happened to me on a beautiful day that wasn't too cold at all. We got up there early, waited in the long line of MSU students and got our free pass. The slopes were great and it was so much fun to get out there with friends. By three o'clock my legs were killing me so my roommate Liz and I decided it was time to go check into our hotel that we got for the night in order to attend that Snow Bar. The Snow Bar is an annual thing that Big Sky puts on where they build walls out of snow and have a stage for a DJ and a bar for everyone 21 and over. It was a great time especially after the much needed hot tub!!

Its Been A While...

2011-01-12T19:43:00.003-07:00

Soooo... I have been a bit of a slacker in the past few months. My Dad has been on my case quite a bit but didn't work until this last email I got from him when he asked me if I even remembered what a blog was. Well father I do!! and I have decided that it is my New Years resolution to stay on top of it this year so if I get to slacking keep on my case!

There has been so much happened since my last blog I can't even recall everything I should have blogged about so I will try to hit the most exciting points.

Lets see... My last blog was October 27...

Halloween!- For halloween this year I was a gypsy which was a blast because I wore my old belly dancing costume and got to some belly dancing which I haven't done in for ever! I dressed up a total of three times and one of the times one of my roommates and I decided to dress up as future versions of ourselves, I dressed as a crazy hippy art teacher and my roommate Hillary dressed as a crazy cat lady.

Volunteering at Art Day- There was an Art Day put on at Bozeman High school for kids from ages 5-11 which was a blast! They asked for volunteers to present the workshops so I decided to teach the kids how to make lanyards because I remembered having so much fun as a kid making them.

Cat/Griz- CATS WON!!!!!!!!! This was one of the best days of 2010 due to the fact that the Cats won a long over due rivalry against as my father would say..."the lower learning establishment" (only thats what he called MSU... but he is WRONG! take that Dad!) My favorite part of the whole story was that there was a wild bobcat that was wondering the streets of Missoula the Wednesday before that game. It was an omen that we were taking over their territory and it became true!!! The saddest part was that I didn't get to make it to the actual game due to prior commitments to teach children how to make Lanyards. I still was able to watch the amazing feat go down on TV with some friends and it was just as exciting!

My 21st- This is a big milestone in a young persons life and as my mother warned me many times before hand not to get to out of control and stay safe I surly did and remember the whole evening. Mostly due to that fact that my older brother came in the night of my birthday so I had to go to the airport at 11 which made the drinking get cut short a bit, never the less my brother got into town and got to buy me a beer at the bar on my 21st birthday after we hadn't seen each other for four months. It was a great reunion indeed.

Family Time- Three days after my brother got into town my mom dad and little sister all flew into Billings where my whole extended family on both sides of my family were meeting for Christmas. The best part of my Christmas was that I got to spend it with my family and I can't even express how excited and how wonderful it was to be with them all. I got many great gifts including 3oz of silver from santa and sweet pocket knife from one of my uncles. I also acquired a large some of money between my birthday and Christmas which I bought a pair of skis and boots as well as a big new fluffy coat that should keep me super warm all winter. Over all it was an amazing winter break!

Skiing- Over break I managed to hit up four different ski resorts. Bridger Bowl of cource because I have a season pass. Big Sky because I have a frequency pass and lots of my friends ski there. The day after Christmas my family took a trip up to Red Lodge which was awesome because I got to teach my cousin how to snowboard and she was basically a pro by the end of the day. I was super impressed. And the best skiing of all break was the trip my immediate family took up to Discovery Basin where I had never been before and it was a great find as well as an awesome time hanging out with my family, skiing, hot tubbing, and ice fishing.

The Bio-Science Experience

2010-10-27T12:44:00.003-06:00

As a college student it is quite common to be a little short on cash. An excellent solution that I have found to this problem is to be part of the wonderful world of medical experimentation. Down town in Bozeman there is the Medical Arts center where they have studies going on constantly and are always in need of guinea pigs. One study I was a part of I made $350 dollars! Granted I had to go on a product restriction which meant I could only use the products they gave me for two weeks and I had to avoid all anti-bacterial cleaning agents. I then had to go a week without showering and two days wearing patches in places that I won't mention... I got a little stinky and had to lay on a lab table and get poked and prodded but all in all it wasn't half bad and I came out a happy camper. The best part is when you are done and you get to go home and take a shower!! The worst part by far is if you go in to get tested after a week of not showering and you still don't have enough bacteria so you get payed $25 dollars instead of a few hundred. I guess thats just the risk you have to take for a little extra easy money.

Intramural Softball

2010-09-29T14:56:00.002-06:00

This semester I was asked to join an intramural softball team which has been nothing but a blast. Its super easy to get a group of kids together and play two games of softball a week just for the fun of the game. Most of us have had some experience with a bat and ball but there are a few kids who are just trying out for their first time. It was really exciting yesterday seeing my tiny little friend, who has never payed in her life, hit a ball right past second base and into the outfield. She got out on the next play but hit two runners in. She didn't realize that she had even done anything good but we all made sure she knew it. Intramural sports are a great way to get involved, meet new people and play sports that you maybe have played once upon a time but aren't fortunate enough to continue playing into college. Luckily MSU offers tons and tons of different intramural sports so everyone can have something just for them!

Hiking in Bozeman!

2010-09-29T14:28:00.004-06:00

As I have previously stated in this blog, Hiking is amazing in Bozeman! We just happen to sit in the center of about four mountain ranges which provides for so much great outdoor activities. Recently I made the trek five miles up to Emerald lake and five miles back. It sits far up in Hyalite canyon in the Spanish peaks and has some of the most astonishing views along the way. Hiking is one of the greatest things to do with a group of friends and its awesome if you have a dog to bring along too! I am planing on indulging myself in the wilderness this weekend seeing as right now the weather is beautiful and knowing Bozeman it could be May before we see another weekend like this one is suppose to be. For the daring people, like myself, it is a vary large rush to jump into a cold mountain lake on a hot day. So if you get the urge go for it! You won't regret it.

Advocat Retreat!

2010-09-28T21:40:00.002-06:00

I am an Advocat at MSU which is an awesome group of kids that give campus tours to prospective students and parents when they come to campus to visit. Every year we have a retreat in the fall to kick off the year and get to know everyone. This year we went up to Bear Canyon and stayed in a cabin with fifty college kids sleeping on the floor. We played lots of fun games through the night and I made tons of new friends. My favorite part of the retreat was when we had a competition to see which group could make the best impression of a college student out of a potato and a bunch of other random vegetables for eyes, nose and ears. I also met Ronda Russells daughter, Maggie, who I have been hearing how much I look like since I started school at MSU. We are both red heads and Jen Dunn, another admissions representative has beautiful red hair as well. We all go together to document the photo op and it turned out adorable!

Wild Clay Intensive

2010-07-29T00:28:00.003-06:00

I took a two week class at the end of June where we had class from 8-5 Monday through Friday. It felt a bit like summer camp. The main focus in the class was to collect local materials from around the area and make our own clay and glazes. It turns out its one of the greatest learning opportunities I have ever had, not to mention the most fun. I made myself a cereal bowl out of a clay sample from up in Bear Canyon and added a glaze we made by grinding up recycled glass. There is no better feeling than eating out of a bowl you made from scratch with your own two hands.

If I ever teach an art class as phenomenal as this class was I would be very happy with myself.

The picture is of all our glaze sample we made from different minerals and ROCKS! that we found along the way.

The best thing about the whole thing is that I'm taking up a minor in Earth Science so learning about the geology behind making clay and glazes really made a connection for me. It got me excited to go onward with my studies in that area.

Yellowstone Park Trip

2010-07-29T00:11:00.004-06:00

My brother, his girlfriend and myself all took the Monday after the 4th off of work so that we could make a day trip through Yellowstone. I haven't done it since I was a little girl. It was beautiful as I expected. We did however get stuck for 45 minutes in Construction but I got a lot of states on the license plate game watching all the cars pass, so it wasn't time lost. It was a great day to spend in the park, beautiful and sunny with a thunderstorm that rolled in right when we were arriving back in Bozeman. My dog, Bubba, was the perfect pup which is a new concept for him. He may be getting old, just don't tell him that.

Fishing With Dad

2010-06-28T20:24:00.003-06:00

My dad came down from Alaska to visit this week and I got to go fishing up in Martensdale MT with two of my uncles and my good old dad! I drove up there after Clay class was over on Friday and we camped out in my uncles trailer. Quite luxurious camping if you ask me. It was more of a fishing trip anyway. We got up at the crack of eight or so and headed out to do some fishin'! We caught 7 rainbows and 1 brown trout and filled my freezer with some good food that should last me a while.

The greatest part about the trip was getting to spend some good fishing time with my dad. We usually go fishing up in Alaska and catch big salmon and halibut so fishing down here is a lot different but fishing is fishing and a day spent sitting around with great people either catching fish and having fun, or sitting around chatting and wishing the fish would bite. Which is fun in its very own way.

If you ever wants to take me fishing, I would love to! ;)

Farmers Market

2010-06-09T20:26:00.002-06:00

Every Tuesday night during the summer in Bozeman there is a small farmers market in Bogart Park. I had never been to a farmers market before and it was one of the coolest things ever! Everyone had there own little booths set up full of things from tomato plants to wool sock or even wind chimes made out of flattened silverware! Seeing everyone's creative ideas and inventive nature, inspired me to want to make a bunch of my own stuff to sell at these places. Just think of all the money you could make! I plan on buying some tomato plants next week along with some candles to go in my new living room. I just have to make sure to limit how much money I take with me. It's a dangerous place!

Hiking!

2010-06-09T20:21:00.004-06:00

The sun finally came out for a change and allowed my friend and I to go for a little hike. Since its been raining sooo much lately I haven't been able to get outside much and play. Everything is sure looking green though! We took a hike on the hill across from the M which I had never done before. It was a short hike but pretty steep so I definitely broke a sweat and enjoyed the nice morning sun! The view from the top was gorgeous as it usually is from the top of anything but the best thing about the Gallatin Valley is that it is literally surrounded in mountains so when you get to the top of anything you can see the whole valley along with all the mountains across the way. The hike got me really excited for a summer of exploring the mountains and getting outside to enjoy our mother earth!

Refurbishing my living room!

2010-06-09T20:13:00.002-06:00

This summer I have a lot of spare time on my hands and a very old, large, run down house. So what better to do with my time than to fix it up?! I started with the living room which used to be dark dreary and not very fun to be in. Now it is bright cheery and my favorite room in the house! Due to HGTV, which I spend a lot of time watching at work, I have learned lots of great tricks and easy ways to make your house look a lot better without doing a whole lot to it. I've managed to keep it pretty cheep too!! Our main ingredient is paint, it's a miracle worker! We took one wall and painted it red to add some excitement to the room. We have a nice fire place that was hidden behind a couch all year last year so I decided to bring it out and make it the focal point of the room. (that sounds almost exactly like something that would come out of Genevieve Garners mouth on HGTV... but shhh.)

Its fun and exciting to make over a room and is totally worth every minute of work put into it.

Sasquatch Fest

2010-06-02T22:09:00.003-06:00

This weekend was memorial day weekend so I decided to head west and see what all the fuss about Sasquatch was. Turns out that it was an amazing weekend that I got to spend with dear old friends. There were somewhere around 70,000 people in attendance which made it feel a bit like we were in a large ant hill. I have never seen that many people in one place at one time and I kind of hope I never do again... but it was totally worth the experience. Everyone was there to have a good time so the spirits were up and laughter could be heard coming from any camp site. I can speak for myself when I say that a short time with great company makes the long times apart seem not so bad.

Transportation for this trip was an issue but I figured it out and ended up making it home safe and sound! I caught a ride to the concert with Karen, one of the other bloggers, but she was heading all the way back to Alaska so I figured I would just ride the Grey Hound back. I got on the bus at 5pm on Monday night and slept the entire trip back to Bozeman. Bus rides sure go quick when your snoring the whole way! It was an awesome weekend and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Climbing in Hylite Canyon

2010-05-24T19:46:00.003-06:00

A sweet opportunity came upon me last Friday that I just couldn't pass up. My cousin invited me to go climbing up in Hylite Canyon with her and a few of her friends. I was hesitant because I had never gone climbing before but she ensured me that her friends were really nice and they didn't care that I was a newby and they were actually really excited for me to tag along. Turns out it was one of the best adventures I've been on in a long while. I can't believe that I have been missing out on this great outdoor activity my whole life. I loved climbing straight up a cliff and all the sudden you are at the top and have a birds eye view of everything that you had no idea was there ten minutes earlier. Not only is it a blast but it was the best work out I have had since high school basket ball. I am still sore from the climb. I can just see myself six months down the road with ripped arms and abs of steel!!! I've heard that Bozeman is the perfect place to be as a climber because there are endless possibilities of where you can go. I was so surprised at how different each climb was when you just moved over twenty feet to the left.

My favorite part about it was all the great butt shots you get when standing at the base... ;)

Summer is upon us!

2010-05-17T17:53:00.002-06:00

Summer time is finally here and hopefully the snow will leave us alone! The weather has been gorgeous and hot which is awesome because there are so many fun things to do outside! I love being able to just hop on my bike and not have to worry about getting snow in my eyes or getting soaked by the rain or blown over by the wind. Bike rides are at the top of my favorite things to do as well as hang out in the yard and play yard games like bean bags, frisbee and baseball!

This summer I have decided to stay here in Bozeman. I have a job at a little alteration shop down town and I am going to be taking summer classes as well. Along with school and my job I plan on doing lots of fun things too! I want to go hiking and camping as much as I possibly can. I also want to paint and fix up my house! I have a feeling its going to be a fun and wonderful summer. I just hope I don't get to sun burnt!

My Finished Ring!

2010-05-02T21:15:00.004-06:00

I told you about the ring I was working on earlier in my blogs and I have the finished product, so here it is! I decided to have the theme of my ring be home so I set some beach glass and engraved Kodiak into one side and mountains on the other side. I was originally thinking that the colors of the beach glass could represent ocean, mountains, and sun but then I realized that there really isn't that much sun in Kodiak so the yellow now represents rain gear. I had a lot of fun making this ring and it turned out pretty cool, I just wish that it was a little smaller so that I would actually wear it. I also wish that the computer wouldn't flip words around when you take the picture.

Silly mother nature, snow is for winter...

2010-05-02T21:05:00.003-06:00

I've been warned a time or two about Montana's weather and it's turning out to be true. The weather here can never seem to make up its mind. A few weeks ago we were starting to see the first signs of spring and so everyone started pulling out their shorts and sandals and strutting their white winter touched legs all over campus. Little did we know that we were being pranked... I walked into my class at 3:30 with the sun shining high in the sky, sat day dreaming in class about what fun activities I could do later in the sun, walked out of class at 4:45 and the snow was falling so hard that I could barely see across the street! My walk home was really cold and wet.

So it just goes to show don't think you can predict this kind of stuff, although people do expect it to happen. Late snow storm in April, probably may and wouldn't be surprised if we see a little snow into June.

Preparing for Finals

2010-05-02T20:59:00.002-06:00

So the week before finals is called Dead Week, someone told me that that was because it is suppose to be dead and you aren't suppose to have a lot of homework and things to do but I think that is wrong. I think its called dead week because it kills you... Its the last week of real class and so all your big projects are due and professors that want to take the stress off of finals week just have their tests the week before! This happens to me every semester and I always end up with practically nothing to do on actual Finals week. Which I guess is nothing to complain about its just seems silly to me. I am looking forward to finals being over which will be on Wednesday for me. All I have to do now is write an essay for 19th Century Art History and finish my necklace that I'm making in metalsmithing. Look out summer here I come!

Bobcat Fest!

2010-05-02T20:53:00.002-06:00

Once a year the Alumni Association gets together to put on a huge extravaganza down on Main street. It happened this Friday and was a huge success! They cook FREE hamburgers and hot dogs and the first people there get FREE T-shirts. I waited in line three different times to get second and thirds ;) Several bands shared their music with us and we hung out in the middle of the street with hundreds of other Bobcats! It was a great celebration for the end of the year and I always will look forward to it. I can only hope that it won't snow on us again next year.

Mustaches and Apples to Apples

2010-03-09T14:17:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite times in college is when friends from out of town come to visit me. This past weekend on of my friends that goes to school in Missoula came to town for the Rail Jam and gave me a surprise visit on saturday night. She brought Apples to Apples, Mustaches and some new friends. We spent the night wearing fake mustaches that look super silly and played what is possibly one of the greatest games ever.

Nothings better than making new friends and playing games with them!

Condom Fashion Show!

2010-03-09T13:34:00.002-07:00

Friday night was the condom fashion show which was an event to promote National Sexual Health Month. Student organizations from all around campus had some brave and daring soul to design an outfit out of purely condoms. To me this sounded very difficult but like it would be a very fun challenge. The outfits they came up with were so incredible and intricate that I could harley believe that they were all made from condoms. The condoms were used in many different ways. Some used them to make frilly skirts by grouping hundreds of condoms and letting them hang and some people chose to keep them in the rappers. One girls outfit even used the condoms stretched out and laid next to each other as part of her shirt. Since condoms now come in fun and crazy colors, color was definitely a big part of the designing process. What I wanted to know what how the heck did they get them all to stay together?

Each model strutted their stuff down the raised walkway to show off their clubs rendition of a condom outfit. There were boys and girls and even a few sets of twins. In the end the judges chose winners from three different categories; Most Creative, Most Wearable, and Most Unique.

This has inspired me to want to create and outfit for next years fashion show. I already have some ideas brewing!

At the event they gave out tons of free condoms and did a very good job of promoting safe sex. They even had a 'guess how many condoms are in the jar' which a girl got to take home for guessing the closest to the actually number, 189.

Metalsmithing

2010-03-09T13:23:00.003-07:00

My art studio class that I am taking at the moment is metalsmithing. It is so much fun! Right now we are working on making rings which is turning out to be more difficult that I thought it would be because we have to make a hollophorm ring which means that the ring is hollow. It would be so much more simple to make a plane old ring that sits flat against your finger but no... we have to make things difficult. Today I did make a plain old ring and it was really simple and quick which was amazing.

The last project we did was making a belt buckle. This was a long process but we finally finished and I got and A!! My belt buckle has a tree and three stones which we had to set onto it.

Right now my buckle is being displayed in the case outside the medalsmithing room but I can't wait until I get it back so I can sport my sweet new bling!

Fresh Pow Day at Bridger Bowl!

2010-02-17T20:29:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday was probably the best day I have had a Bridger. Despite the very crowded lift lines, due to all the new snow, it was a perfect day. It was great to see so many people out enjoying the very thing that brings most of us to Bozeman in the first place. By Saturday morning we had 23 new inches of snow and we could tell on the drive up. The normal 20 minute drive took us 35 minutes because half of the way up the traffic was nose to trunk. On the chair ride up we looked down at the beautiful untracked snow and new that it would be a great day. We rode until our little tummy's rumbled then headed to the lodge for lunch. On our way in the door some Health and Human Development Majors were doing a hydration survey outside the lodge and asked us if we would like to participate for a $5 dollar lunch voucher. Being college students and not having a lot of cash flow, we agreed and took the survey. Once we had finished our surveys they handed us each a cup to pee in and told us to go to the bathroom and then a women would trade our pee for five dollars. I was a bit hesitant at first but decided that it was a pretty good deal considering that at the doctor you usually have to pay them to pee in a cup and here I was being paid. So we all did it and lunch was a bit cheeper. The rest of the day was great as expected and we headed down the mountain with a sense of enthusiasm and accomplishment. We then proceeded to sit on the couch and watch the Olympics for 6 hours. It was in the end a perfect day.

MSU Friday

2010-02-08T17:29:00.002-07:00

Last Friday MSU held MSU Friday up on campus. MSU Friday is a chance for all prospective students to come and check out our school. I am in Advocats and as an Advocat we help put on this huge event. I spent my friday waking up at 6:15 to be on campus by 7 to start the crazy day of fun. I love MSU Friday because I get to show people the school that I attend and love so much. I gave tours of campus and got up in front of 500 people to tell them why I came to MSU.

I came to MSU because it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We are snug right in the middle of big mountains. I also came because I felt that the people at MSU and in Bozeman itself are super friendly and welcoming. I am so glad that I chose to come to MSU and if you haven't had the chance to check out our great school you should take up our great opportunity that we offer through MSU Fridays!

2010-02-01T15:05:00.002-07:00

There is no shortage of Hot Springs around the Bozeman area and there is no better thing to do after a long hard day up on the mountain. Soaking in the nice hot natural springs is so relaxing and tons of fun.

My all time favorite hot spring is The Boiling River which is about 90 miles from Bozeman so its a longer trip but totally worth it. It's inside Yellowstone National Park and is the most natural hot spring you will ever come upon. There is a hot river that is more than 200 degrees that comes straight out of the earth and runs into the cold Yellowstone river. Where the two rivers meet is right where you sit. The hot water runs off rocks and you can sit under the hot waterfalls and relax in the beautiful Yellowstone wilderness. Its a great day trip!

My second favorite hot spring is Norris hot springs and it is about 40 miles out of Bozeman. Its just one pool but they have live bluegrass music every Sunday night. Nothing is better than being able to sit in a hot pool listening to great music and looking up at the stars all while enjoying company of friends.

Hiking the Ridge

2010-02-01T14:52:00.002-07:00

Bridger Bowl is a super close and awesome ski area. It sits only 16 miles out of Bozeman and has tons of great terrain for anyone from beginners to experts.

Most of the mountain is accessible by chair lifts but for the expert terrain it requires a bit of a hike up to the ridge.

I Hiked the ridge for my first time last week and oh my goodness it was definitely bitter sweet. Once I made it through the horrible straight up hike carrying a snow board and dressed up in snow gear, It was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Looking east you see about three other mountain ranges around the area and looking west you see the entire Gallatin Valley and you can see over where the Big Sky Ski area is. I knew that once I got up there it would be worth is and thats what I kept telling myself the entire hike up.

The ride down was just as worth it too. It had just snowed like two feet the weekend before so there was some nice powder and open terrain that hadn't been completely tracked out yet. Once I was done and made it to the bottom I was exhausted but it was that good accomplished exhaustion. It also was a gorgeous day all around which happens quite often up at Bridger.

Star Gazing!

2010-02-01T14:01:00.003-07:00

Bozeman is a perfect place to star gaze. The city lights aren't too bright to pollute the light from the stars so pretty much anywhere you are, as long as its a fairly clear night, it's the perfect time to look up and see the pretty sparkling stars above.

One of my favorite things to do is climb up on my roof with blankets and my roommates and lay and try to find and many constellations as we can and also wait for shooting stars!

Last spring semester I took a class called Mysteries of the Sky and it really got me into learning about space. I have bought a few books on star gazing and have learned tons about our night sky just by looking up!

A great site to check out every day is the Astronomy picture of the day. They have a new picture up every day, sometimes its of the moon and it will give you a little blurb telling you what's so cool about it and then other days it will be a picture of a white dwarf star the the Hubbell space telescope took a picture of. Check it out and learn about the Universe! http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Ski Premiers

2010-02-01T13:53:00.002-07:00

A very popular and fun thing to do in Bozeman is go to Ski Premiers. They are put on frequently by different organizations around town. Usually they range from 7-12 dollars and you get to go see a sweet ski film where they give out lots of sweet prizes. I was sitting by one of my really good friends at one and she won a really nice backpack which made me really mad because I went and picked up her ticket for her and it could have just as easily been my ticket as her but thats just my luck...

These events are always supper fun and a great thing to go out and do with a group of friends!

Belly Dancing!

2010-01-28T13:26:00.003-07:00

Here are Montana State the gym is awesome! They offer semester long fitness classes of all different sorts. You can take any class from Ab Lab or Boot Camp to Belly Dance or Yoga.

These classes are not only fun but they also are a great work out and help you stay in shape and not gain those extra pounds your first few years of college.

The belly dancing class was just added to the schedule last semester and I just started taking it this Spring. I belly danced for a while in high school and got really excited when I saw that it was being offered at the gym. Taking this class gives you a little bit of an insight on the different cultures around the world and is a fun taste of Arabian dance.

I also very much enjoy the Yoga classes that are offered. Yoga helps keep your body flexible and it is also a great stress reliever. If you are a skier Yoga is a great way to ensure yourself a safer season because your muscles will be stronger and your body more flexible.

Back at it again

2010-01-21T15:08:00.002-07:00

Back to school, Back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool...

So New Years Eve and Christmas seemed to fly by and now I’m back in Bozeman regularly attending classes. I must admit that my schedule this semester does indeed rock. I only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then I have a snowboarding class on Friday afternoon which I really wouldn't even consider a class except for the fact that I get a credit for it :)
So far my classes are going great. I have Medalsmithing on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then a three hour nap break followed by 19th Century Art History in the afternoon. Tuesday mornings I have an 8'oclock and Thursday nights I have a night class from 6-9 which could be killer. For the most part though, I am going to have a laid back semester with lots of fun up on the slopes! My one goal for the semester is to shoot for straight A's in classes due to my light load.

Christmas Time!

2009-12-31T15:24:00.003-07:00

Christmas came and went so fast. I got my presents all rapped and under the tree just in time for us to rip them all open. My family tradition is that we open all of our presents on Christmas Eve night and then open our stockings that Santa leaves on Christmas morning. My mom got me and my siblings footie pajamas which we all put on and hung out around the house in. It was very rainy and windy on Christmas so it definitely wasn't white but my father decided that we did have a white Christmas after all because when we woke up on Christmas day the fog was so thick we could barley even see the trees right across the street. It is so great being home and spending time with my family again. :)

My Journey Home

2009-12-31T15:06:00.005-07:00

My brother and I had quite the adventure trying to get home for Christmas. The whole fiasco started out when we found out that our flight left Sunday morning @ 7:45 out of HELENA?! It was such short notice that both of us decided we would just pull an all nighter and leave for Helena at 4am. I was trying to stay awake on the drive to Helena to make sure that Thor didn't fall asleep at the wheel but I drifted off and started dreaming that I was awake driving to Helena... We finally got to the air port, checked in and went straight for the nice couches in the terminal. The trip all the way to Anchorage is a blur because I slept every second that I didn't have to walk on and off the airplane. We then had to spend the night in Anchorage because our flight home was at 6am the next day. We got a hotel room, watched some sunday night football and then went to Avatar 3-D, which was AMAZING!

Monday morning we got up 6 hours before the crack of dawn to head to the airport only to have our flight be delayed due to weather in Kodiak (typical) until 2pm. So we headed back to our hotel to get a few more hours of sleep. 2pm rolled around and they decided to just cancel so we were stuck in Anchorage for another night with about 25 other college kids from Kodiak just trying to get home. Six of us decided to get two hotel rooms and keep each other company while we were stranded. The hotel was super night and had a hot tub so the night ended up being pretty good. We got coupons for a restaurant across the street and went there for dinner while we watched the Washington Redskins get annihilated. The next morning the weather had cleared and we Landed! Back to Kodiak Alaska where it was 40 degrees and raining. We were finally home sweet home :)

Week Before Finals

2009-12-08T13:46:00.001-07:00

Finals are next week! I can't believe they came around so fast. In reality though, this week is more like finals week to me and most people I talk to as well. I have two big projects due, a band concert and three of my professors decided to have our final this week instead next to reduce the stress during finals week. Well I sure won't be stressed out during finals week because I won't have anything left to do. It just seems silly to me. School could have been out a week earlier.

F-f-f-f-f-freezing

2009-12-08T13:34:00.004-07:00

I learned in my Geography class that the Jet stream is moving south right now and that is why all the sudden the United States has been pounded with cold temperatures across the map. The first sign that told me to bundle up before I go outside was when I took the garbage out right after I had taken a shower and my hair instantly froze solid. There have been temperatures down to -30 degrees here in the past few days. When I walked to school on Monday morning it was 20 below and I thought I was going to die. My face felt like it was going to crack and fall off.

The cold also ruins the fun on the mountain. I was so excited to go snowboarding for the first time this season last saturday. I got up there and on the first chair ride up I was already too cold to have any fun. I took a few more runs and by then I couldn't feel my toes or my nose so I decided to call it a day once I had warm soup in my stomach. I then preceded back into the comfort of my queen size bed and slept the afternoon away as snug as a bug in a rug.

Now are the times you wish you had a nice wood stove to cuddle up next to.

<---- Before I got cold...

Thanksgiving in Fargo

2009-12-01T13:50:00.001-07:00

Seeing as I live 3000 miles away from Montana State I couldn’t just drive on home for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I decided to join my friend Liz and go home with her to Fargo North Dakota.
It is a 10 hour drive to Fargo so we packed up the car and headed out after our classes were done on Tuesday. We arrived late Tuesday night and I got to meet Liz’s Mom and sister. I kind of felt like I was going home to meet my boyfriends parents or something but it was my best friend instead.
College friends are different from the friends you had all through high school because you always knew your friends parents and siblings. I feel like you family is a big part of who you are and being at school away from your family no one gets the chance to get to know that side of you. So I took the opportunity to go home with a friend and see the other side of what makes Liz who she is. It turned out to be a wonderful experience. Liz’s family was so welcoming, friendly and hysterical. Not far from what I was expecting from what I had known about Liz in the short year we became such good friends.
I had never spent much time in the planes of our country and that turned out to be really strange. Not having mountains anywhere in site was a new and alien experience for me. As much fun as it was I think I choose to stick with my Mountains.
The hockey games sure were a treat!

Undie Run!!!

2009-11-24T10:00:00.002-07:00

This past weekend was the big Cat/Griz game and sadly we lost :( but our students still had a blast and joined in many fun festivities for the big rivalry weekend.

The very first Montana State Undie Run was held on friday and I just couldn't help but join in and run through campus in nothing but my skivvies. My theory is that when you are naked you run faster and so wearing just your underwear has somewhat of the same effect. It must have been true because everyone was running SO fast and the air was so cold so I basically died, it was a blast though. I loved being a part of the very first Undie Run. Being at the start of a tradition makes me feel like I have done something meaningful that will continue on into the future.

Everyone arrived at the east end of campus at noon on Friday which is the time when campus is the most crowded with people going from class to class and people going on lunch breaks. The event in itself also drew a large crowd. People lined the course all the way across campus and the crowd probably quadrupled the amount of people running. There I was standing proudly in the middle of my educational institutions campus in nothing but blue and gold striped underwear, a bright yellow braw, knee high socks (one blue and one gold) and two scarves to fly my proud colors behind me as I ran so swiftly through campus.

The course was a lot longer than I expected and there were way more people there to watch than I thought there would be but this all just contributed to the great experience and the beginning of a wonderful tradition.

I hope to see EVERYONE out there next year!!! ;)

Oh the Places You'll Go

2009-11-12T13:44:00.006-07:00

Montana is such a great state. From the mountains to the rivers and the gorgeous Big Sky, everywhere you look you just can't take your eyes off the beautiful world we live in.

This blog is more just for the pictures and to make sure that everyone realizes how wonderful and beautiful this place is.

In Montana you can find places that will take your breath away and make your heart beat fast, almost like your falling in love or something...

Art History Test

2009-11-12T13:35:00.003-07:00

On Monday I had my third art history test. Art History is honestly one of the most difficult classes I have taken in my life. There are so many pictures, time periods and cultures that you have to memorize.

Usually before my Art history exams I put a good 12 of studying in. Most of which I do in the library. The library becomes my second home for the weekend and especially the night before a big exam.

I studied super hard for this last test and Im really hoping that it payed off.

I feel like I went into this test much more prepared that the previous two, so we shall see!

-------------> Thats my studying hard in the Library face. (really I just procrastinate by taking funny pictures of myself. oops...)

Band Concert

2009-11-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am in University Band and on tuesday night we had our first band concert of the semester. I was a bit nervous because I haven't had a band concert since the end of my senior year in high school but it ended up going great.

Another guy and myself had a small little solo but he ended up getting sick right before the concert so I had to play it by myself! I was so scared but I played it perfect and it was amazing!

Being a band geek is so much fun :)

Snowy Days on Campus

2009-11-12T13:25:00.002-07:00

This morning I woke up to look out my window and find about a foot of snow on my window sill. Last night at midnight there was absolutely no snow. I was so excited because wearing my snow boots is one of my favorite things to do, so I crawled out of bed put my long johns and thick socks on, found my mittens and warm coat and trudged off to class in deep fresh powder.

Walking on campus in the snow on a day like today makes a smile appear on my face. I know I'm not the only one either. When the snow comes you know who the skiers and snowboarders are because they are chipper and excited and have no problem walking through snow up to their knees. The only reason there is to be upset is because we are stuck on campus instead of spending this wonderful powder day up in the mountains making some beautiful fresh turns.

There are also the people who hate the snow. This makes me sad because its so beautiful and everything looks so peaceful and serene, and then you see someone with a scowl on their face. I just want to give them a big hug and tackle them into the snow.

As my facebook status says... I feel like I woke up in a snow globe and someone won't stop shaking it.

I think tonight I'll make a snowman!!!

Road Trip Nation

2009-11-12T12:50:00.003-07:00

This summer I had the opportunity to go on a road trip from Kodiak Alaska to Bozeman Montana. My brother and I were going to make the drive anyway but when this organization called Road Trip Nation came to MSU last spring I had to jump on board and apply for their grant.

Road Trip Nation is an organization based out of costa mesa California and they travel the country interview people who inspire them or who they believe truly love what they do in life. State Farm teamed up with Road Trip Nation to get more kids out on the road to "define their own road in life." State Farm provided the funding for eight groups of kids from eight different college campuses to go out and film their own road trip.

I applied for the one thousand dollar grant, and to my surprise I actually got it! Road Trip Nation sent us a video camra, free hats, atlases and a check for $1,000 and we were off.

We filmed 20 hours of footage and by the time we got back from our 9 day trip we were exhausted and sick of each other. We then sent road trip nation our footage and they made it into a ten minute highlight video of our trip.

Road Trip Nation came back to our campus last Wednesday to premiere our video and they had free pizza for anyone up in the center of campus.

Road Trip Nations purpose is to get kids out on the road to start looking at their lives and really thinking about what they love so that they can be successful in whatever way they think that is.

Through my experience I can say that getting out on the road really does open your eyes to what is out there. There are so many things in this world that we don't even realize exist, and those could be the opportunities that you need to make your life what you want it to be.

So my advise to anyone and everyone is get in the car and go see and experience something that you never though possible!

Here is the link to our video and team profile online:

http://www.roadtripnation.com/roadtrips/media.php?roadtrip_id=1457

Halloween

2009-11-12T11:21:00.003-07:00

As everyone knows this past weekend was halloween. Most college women take halloween as an opportunity to dress up in as little clothing as possible and call it some sort of ferry or princess or something. But on the other hand many people take this holiday and go crazy with creativity. There were so many great costumes and excellent ideas walking around town on Saturday night.

I decided to be a cow. To put a spin on it I was a classy cow and I do admit that I did try to make my costume somewhat attractive, considering I was a cow I think it was needed. I spent the full week before halloween staying up late and slaving away on my sewing machine to make sure my costume was done and ready for the weekend of dressing up. I made myself ears, a tail, and even an udder bag. I then accessorized added jewelry, my necklace had a cow bell hanging from it.

The whole costume made my weekend. I had so much fun dressed up as a cow and it was so much fun to make it too. I feel like the costumes that you see in college are far more advanced than costumes people wear earlier in their lives.

I know that this halloween I had the best costume I have ever had in my life and I hope to wear it on many other occasions.

College Halloween is so much FUN!

Away Football Games

2009-11-12T11:16:00.002-07:00

Our dear old Montana State Football team travels to away games on the weekends that there are no home games.

Due to my brother and my absence from last weekends game we decided to go to Eastern Washington University to cheer on the Bobcats at an away game.

We drove six hours Friday afternoon and stayed at my friend Erika's house. Saturday morning it was Game Time!!! Thor and I were super excited and got fully dressed in our Blue and Gold Bobcat attire. We headed to the game hit up a few tail gates and went into the game.

The atmosphere of an away game is very different from a home game. There were very few Bobcat fans strewn amongst the sea of Red Eastern Eagles. Every time we past people wearing blue and gold I would give them a "Go Bobcats" yell.

There was a little girl wearing a blue mesh skirt with a yellow feather trim. She told me she is going to be a fashion designer someday and she inspired me to make a skirt just like hers for Cat-Griz.

Sadly our team lost it was a fairly close game most of the game but we just couldn't hold out and lost in the end.

I have faith that we are just saving up the wins for November 21st when the Griz head our way.

GO CATS!!!

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-26T13:48:00.003-06:00

Movies are great things and one of my favorite pass times. Not only are they very entertaining but they often show you things and help you learn lessons as you go along the trip with the characters.

On My trip to Billings my cousins and I decided to go see Where the Wild Things Are. None of us had read the book and really had no idea what to expect.

The movie was great! It brought me back to my child hood days when my imagination was booming and I was loving every minute of life. There was actually a way deeper meaning to the movie that I was totally not expecting. I expected it to be a little kids movie that was funny and cute and all of that fun stuff but it turned out to have a great message attached.

The movie is from a young boys prospective and he starts off very confused and distant from his family. This drives him to run away and while he's away he stumbles upon this mysterious land filled with giant beasts and he just so happens to feel right at home. He forgets all about home and what had happened their until his new friends start to quarrel and its not such a peaceful place anymore.

One of the girl monsters helps him come the the realization that the reason his mom acted the way she did was because she cared so much about him and only wanted the best for him.

This was a great movie for me to see right now because I have recently been feeling as if I am starting to understand where my mom has been coming from for my whole life. I called my mom up the other day just to tell her that I was sorry I never helped out around the house more because now I see how hard it is to keep a house with five people living in it clean all the time.

Its always strange when you step into someone else's shoes, but I feel like you always come out on top with some sort of lesson you can go on to share.

Greyhound Bus

2009-10-26T13:48:00.002-06:00

Sometimes in college you come up with great ideas of a sweet trip you could take this weekend but then realize that there is no way for you to get there. But wait! there is always the handy dandy Greyhound!

Last weekend my cousin and I wanted to go to Billings to see her mom and sisters but my brother had gone two days earlier and left us in Bozeman with no way to get there. So, we got online and ordered ourselves a Greyhound ticket!

The ride was very interesting, the people you see on these busses are great. There is anyone from a grandma going to see her grandchildren to some crazy dude who has been riding Greyhounds around the country for the past five years. Who knows why you would want to do that but I suppose its a good way to see the country.

For entertainment, I studied! I felt like such a good student! It was the perfect opportunity to get some stuff done before I spent the weekend goofing off with my family. The bus ride game me two and a half hours of good quality text book reading and when I wanted a break I would just look out the window and the scenery passing by.

If you ever run into a transportation problem and need a quick fix, don't forget about the great Greyhounds!!!

Ceramics Wood Firing

2009-10-26T13:45:00.001-06:00

This semester I am taking Beginning Ceramics and so far it has been a blast. One of our first assignments was to make a pot inspired by the ancient Japanese Jomon pots. The second part of the assignment was to make a box out of slabs big enough to fit your pot into. We then had to put the pot in the box and fill it with organic materials that would combust and make crazy designs all over our pots. For my pot I used some isolated wire which came out as spirals on the side of my pot. I also used cheree-o's which made clusters of small rings. I tried toothpaste with coal stuck to it, which I expected to turn out really cool but that part came out pretty lame. I even ended up with some greens and some really vivid red colors on my pot. The whole process was exciting and I really had no idea what to expect.

For the actual wood firing our class signed up for shifts during the day to go in and stoke the fire. I worked for about an hour and a half throwing wood on the fire about every three minutes. It was handy because it was a really cold day but the kiln got really hot and kept us warm.