BREEZY

BREEZY DAY!
HOORAY!
...
Happy Halloween.
Yes, that too.
See you TONIGHT!
:) :) :)

four days off!!!!!

is everybody ready? hoo-hoo--i can't wait to get up there. i worked 4 days this week and got 37 hours in. not bad-only 3 hours short of a full week. good enough for me considering last week. i had 35 hour of ot and claimed 8 so they only took out 200 plus child support of course. but that check was more than i make all month with no ot. sweet!! lu, i have everything packed up and ready to throw in the car when i decide to get up. i plan on being at the casino about 1 or so, so i guess we can meet at plums for lunch or something. call me when you get close and i'll try to meet ya at the door. what's jen and connie got planned? they usually get up there early. do they plan on stopping at the casino? i don't know why i'm writing this cause chances are no one is gonna respond before i leave tomorro anyway. oh well. see ya all in a matter of hours. yap at ya all later.

GREETINGS TO ALL

HI EVERYONE!! WE'RE ALL GETTING EXCITED AND PREPPED FOR OUR FUNTASTIC WEEKEND. MOM IS MAKING HER SPECIALTY-NONE OTHER THAN BLACK MIDNIGHT CHOCOLATE CAKE (I'LL BRING THE BUTTER)

JEN WOULD BE A BETTEER ONE TO ASK, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE SUZ IS COMING.

JESS, YOU MAY DEF. HAVE A BUNK-(B.Y.O.B.) CUTE, HUH? AS FOR GOLF, I DON'T BUT ALWAYS WANTED TO SO I'D BE INTERESTED IF I COULD SHARE YOUR CLUBS AND GET YOUR WISDOMONIOUS POINTERS. I DON'T HAVE TO WEAR FUNNY PANTS DO I? I WANT TO PLAY W/SKIP NEXT TIME I GO DOWN TO SEE HIM.

I SPOKE W/ LISA TONITE AND LIKE TAM SAID SHE'S WORKING TIL POS. 8 SO IT'LL BE LATE. I, HOWEVER AM DEF. GOING TO THE CASINO. I MADE UP MY HOURS AHEAD OF TIME (WE'RE WORKING TIL 2:30) SO I GET TO LEAVE AT NOON!!!! YEAH. ALSO, I'M GOING TO STAY TIL MOM GETS THERE, (SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 2 & 3:30) TAMMY, CAN I MEET YOU SOMEWHERE AT 1:30?

JEN AND JESS PLEASE WEAR YOUR MATCHING WALKIN GEAR!!! GREAT PHOTO OP.

SIX MORE HOURS OF WORK AND I'LL HAVE 17 HOURS OF OT ON NEXT WEEKS' CHECK, WHOO HOO!!!! I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR THAT!!

THIS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND - SORRY, CATCH Y'ALL UP THERE.
PS--KATHY, JUST FOR YOU I'LL PRINT THIS IN ONE COLOR! SEE YA IN A MATTER OF HOURS!

Any golfers out there? I'll bring my clubs just in case. It is supposed to be sunny and 60 on Saturday... I'd like to do 9 holes if anyone else is interested.

I am working a whole day and won't be stopping at the casino on the way up. But I do plan on drinking some strong coffee on the way up, should be to Breezy around 7:30 and hopefully I can stay awake past my usual 10 pm. I am excited too!!

casino anyone?

kathy, thanks for the update on lisa. she must have monthend or whatever it is she has at this time of year. i still plan on going up for about an hour or so and heading up to breezy. i guess it doesn't matter if anyones there cause we all kinda go our seperate ways anyway. i worked 35 hours of ot in the last couple weeks that will be on this check on friday so i should have some money for ya whether you need it or not. i too am really excited to get there this year. it must be a sign of something. hopefully a good one. anyway, i will see ya all in three days. yap at ya all later.

Final Countdown to Breezy

I gotta get to bed soon, but I read the posts and wanted to respond to Tammy's. Lisa won't be up there til late. I don't think she will come to the condo until Saturday a.m. She may possibly pop in Friday night, but if she's tired she'll go to her hotel and sleep and catch us in the morning. So...she won't be at the casino in the afternoon as she has been in the past.
We are on our final countdown. I can't believe how much I look forward to getting up there this year. I can hardly wait. Yeehah!! I don't know that I will be bearing any gifts this year, but I will be there nonetheless. See y'all soon!!! Love you all! Kiash

jess, as far as i know, there will be 14 of us. that's if all three of lu's girls come. which i'm guessing they will, at least for a day. so if you're thinking about gifts, shoot for 13, unless you want one. i have a mattress too. someone let me know if you think we'll need it or else i won't bring it.
wow! three more days and we are there!!! i'll check back to see if anyone thinks we need the mattress. i'm guessing not. lu's bringing a few and she has that room reserved, so we should probably be good to go. see ya all in a couple days. jess, we are planning on stopping at mille lacs on the way up(glen laughed when i said that cause it's really not on the way up for most of us).me and lisa usually get up there about noon or 1:00.(lisa, are you planning on that again this year? it's not planned but we usually meet up there about that time. it don't matter i guess, just wondering), gamble for a few hours and head up. are you working a whole day? let me know what your plan is. i am really looking forward to it this year for some reason. yap at ya all later.

Hi

Hello everyone! Not much is new with me, just wondering if anyone knows exactly how many people will be there this year If I do think of something to get for gifts, how many should I bring? Does everyone paint their nails? Lu- I would like to reserve a spot on one of your air mattresses please. Jenny- I'll wear my 3day shirt on Friday, and if you do too, we could match.... :) I just lost out on our sunday night holdem' tournament, saving all my luck for this weekend! See ya all Friday!

HI AGAIN

HEY JEN, I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT GRANDMA HAS SOME PITT HAM LEFT OVER FROM ED'S PARTY AND SHE'S BEEN SAVING IT FOR BREEZY. JUST THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW.

ALSO, I RESERVED THE MOTEL FOR FRI AND SAT NITES. IT'S CONNECTED TO THE COMMADOR (OR IS THAT COMMANDER) AND IS ONLY $60 PER NITE. THERE ARE 2 DOUBLE BEDS, SO IT SHOULD SLEEP 4 COMFORTABLY, IF YOU DON'T MIND BUNKIN'
WE CAN DECIDE NOW OR WHEN WE GET UP THERE WHO SLEEPS WHERE. TALK IT OVER AND SPEAK UP. I HAVE A SINGLE AND 2 QUEEN AIR MATRESSES FOR ANYONE WHO'D LIKE TO USE ONE AT THE CONDO. (I GET THE TWIN OR WILL SHARE A QUEEN), THE OTHER 4 SPOTS ARE UP FOR GRABS.

SEE Y'ALL NEXT FRIDAY!!!

OOPS

i used black ink and i guess that can't be so here's what didn't show up. i didn't mean to cause such confusion. i just meant that in the early years, everybody used to bring their own groceries and alot of it wasn't even opened and ended up going back home, therefore money was spent that could have been used elsewhere. bring whatever you want, when it's time to go home, take it with ya that's all. i was just trying to help those that are financially tapped and looking for ways to come up with enough money. but i do believe it makes sense to make a list and send someone shopping. bring your own beverages and the rest will be bought there and divided among us all.

clarification (hopefully)

i did not mean to cause such confusion. i simply meant that it makes sense to get together, make a list, and someone go shopping. me and kathy never seem to find bonding time anymore, so i figured i would volunteer our services. we don't have to go. it doesn't really matter. i didn't mean to imply that no one is allowed to bring something from home. i was just saying that we all used to bring up our own stuff and by the end of the weekend we had alot left that wasn't even opened. so therefore, money was spent on groceries that weren't needed. that's all. bring whatever ya want, if it's still there when it's time to go home, take it home with ya.
DON'T WORRY--BE HAPPY -- BREEZY IS IN NINE MORE DAYS--NO STRESS ALOWED!!!

can we swear here?

I saw a couple darns and thought they might deserve to be damns. just wondering what the rules are. :)

mom - I don't think anyone was thinking you are always doing it and taking the fun away from others...I think Connie and I have done it the past couple years. I don't think it matters who gets the groceries if we decide to do groceries as a group like normal. So is that the plan? I was a little confusesd but it looked like that's what we are going to stick to.

I talked to Jeannie today and she is going to bring this spinach and artichoke dip that she likes to make, she's making plenty for everyone so we can count that as one good snack/app...also when she moved back to MN she found this potato recipe, au gratin like, we like to call it the hert attack casserole...don't tell grandma... :) anyway she asked me today if I thought anyone would mind if she made that (it needs the oven fri night) I said you better make it!!! ok that's not quite how it went but pretty close. So i think she is going to make that so really from kath and tam we need something to eat with it fri night, I'm sticking to the cheap idea of yummy ham sandwiches, but I'm not the one shopping so I don't care. Just wanted to let everyone know what's going to be brought from jeannie. Unless something jumps out at me i'll not bring anything so as to avoid the usual over abundance of food. I'll just pay my share of whatever is bought. unless I'm needed for something.

Tammy - I'd be happy to bring my scissors so that you can make me feel better about $20,000 of my debt. :) I'll try to be quick but I know that won't happen. Thank God I quit. Whatever, it's still worth it (everything happens for a reason, right??). I'm sure Brea is due too! By the way, I couldn't get an 88% in any type of math to save my life (ever wonder why I try to NEVER score shanghai??) so good job with that; I guess that's why occasionally I'll shoot out some proper grammar...gotta make myself look edumacated somehow...I have you to thank actually; I learned how to spell "kinda" from a birthday card that you had given me when I was a small child. Maybe around 8 or 10 yrs old. So thanks!! :) Did anyone notice that was one ENORMOUS sentence? I wonder if Kathy is pulling her hair out right now. :)

Yall have filled up this blog pretty well and I can't remember what else I was going to respond to so I apologize if there were questions I'm leaving unanswered. But I don't think anyone asked me anything. so there.

did everyone get my thank you cards?

later yapperoonies. see yall in 11 days. not that I'm counting.

BREEZY GROCERIES

HEY TAM, I GUESS I WASN'T VERY CLEAR ON THE GROCERY IDEA; I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAY THAT BUYING FOOD UP THERE MAKES NOTHING BUT GOOD SENSE AND LATELY IT SEEMS ALOT OF FOOD HAS BEEN COMING UP TOO. I ACTUALLY LIKE GOING SHOPPING BUT I SURE DON'T MEAN TO BE THE ONE THAT ALWAYS GETS TO GO. YOU AND KATHY CAN SURE HAVE A TURN. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYONE ELSE WANTED TO. SORRY IF I GAVE THE IMPRESSION IT HAD TO BE ME OR THAT I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.

AS FOR THE "GIFTS" WELL, I'M THINKING, YOU CAN JUST LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM AND THAT IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, AS FOR ME, I WANT MY NICKELS. :)

I TOO AM TRYING TO SAVE MY OT AND KELBER MONEY FOR BREEZY, UNFORTUNATELY, MY CAR HAD TO BE BOUGHT W/ THAT MONEY AND HAS NEEDED SEVERAL REPAIRS SINCE I GOT IT. I AM HOWEVER GETTING OT THIS WEEK (8HRS) AND I'LL GET 20 HOURS, OR SO IN AT KELBER NEXT MON AND TUES, WHILE GETTING PAID FOR NOT WORKING UP HERE. SO THAT'LL BE THE SAME AS DOUBLE TIME- ALMOST. I'LL WORK APPROX 20 AND GET PAID FOR 40!! THAT WILL HELP ALOT!!!

CATCH Y'ALL LATER! LUKE

my 2 cents

i don't know what day would work for jessi, i do know that i only get tuesday off. yes, gramma is coming. we always go every other tuesday. i don't know if i'm gonna do the usual nickels yet, it depends how much money i have to spend. i've had 20 hours of ot on each of my last two checks and i'm getting there already on this next one. today was my day off and i went in this morning for 6 hours, sat and sun are both 14 hour days so that puts me up to 18 already. so i will probably do the nickels i'm not sure yet. don't hold your breathe for that $4 in gambling money. i hope this doesn't wreck anyones financial plans for the weekend. as far as groceries goes, we always used to bring stuff up and it got so out of hand that we all ended up taking half of it back home. that's why we started making a list and going shopping up there. i think it's time for me and kathy to go so if we are gonna do this again, no-one has to worry about going shopping. i think it comes up to about $15 bucks a piece or something. it's cheaper than everyone going individually. but whatever i guess. thanks for the vote of confidence about finishing school by the end of the year. i'm thinking it will happen, but i don't know what the remainder of classes has in store. i won't get my next class until i turn in one test for this last one and i still have the last half of math to finish. working ot is nice but it kinda puts a damper on school work. oh well. that's ok. well, that's it for now. see a few in a few days, the rest in a few weeks. wow! yap at ya all later.

Drinking Water

Well Lu, my roommate said you're supposed to ease into it and add more everyday. But I just plowed into it and it sucked for about a week. But after that it wasn't such a big deal. Now it's no problem, and it's been less than two weeks. I think the key is just keeping water on you at all times. Then you're bound to gradually drink it.

I can't wait for Bingo! I'm coming home tonight and Mitch is picking me up at the airport. I'm really excited. Can't wait to see you all soon.

Love ya,
Shayla

Hi all you "Chatty Cathy's"

Yes, I do plan to go to bingo on Tues. Tam, do you know the schedule enough to know what day might work for Jess? On the 31st Mille Lacs has no matinee bingo session, Mom checked it out.

Shayla, are you saying if you (when you) drink enough water for a long enough period of time you quit having to pee all the time? I've tried the exact deal you're talking about but I guess I gave up too soon. I got soooo sick and tired of running to the bathroom all day. Maybe I should give it another shot.

Good idea, Jen, about groceries. Actually, it'd be getting back to why we started buying them up there in the first place.

I finally get an OT Friday. They've been talking about it for a month and we get 8 hours this week!!! Yeah! Breezy $$$ I, too, am doing "gifts" this year; (please take that lightly) It's fun and I always stay under $5. Tammy usu. does 4 so I use that as my guide. So either trinkets or cards but so far no one's getting both. You'd laugh if I told you when I started. :) Also, I have a bonus treat this year. See ya all there:)

Pam, how's the first few days of the last job you'll ever have going? :) I really hope I'm in the last one for me. Unless I get rich another way, then this one can be my part time job til I'm about 70!

Tam, you will def. get done by the end of the year and you'll have a great final score!!! You are doing so well. Just keep it up and you'll be done before you know it.

I guess this is it for now. See you gals in a couple weeks. TTFN, LUKE

Bingo!

I will do my best to collect my Jesse and my Mamma for bingo. I think mom will probably be up for it, Jesse might have to work, but if he doesn't then I'm sure he'll come. Is Gramma coming? It sounds like Lu is!:) We were going to go visit uncle Rhonda this weekend, but I guess he needs the weekend for his anniversary(the nerve of that guy). It's too bad, cause I haven't seen him for while and the drive would have been gorgeous. But that's ok. Can't argue with an anniversary, especially when his wife works for the airlines.

I like that you are a slacker online, not only must it be nice for you, but it makes us look pretty good. Just kidding, punctuation is for nerds. I just can't help it, I've never fallen out of it since school. And I would say that going from D's to B+'s is really great. And I'm glad you only have to read 100 pages out of 900, because that would be awful! And about the smoking, I just think it's great that you've been trying to quit, even if you don't always succeed. It's not really fair for me to pretend to know what it's like to fight an addiction. I'm sure it really sucks! But just think of how much less you smoked in the last few years compared to all the rest. So in conclusion, I won't be mean to you at Breezy or anything. Jessie is coming to Breezy right?

I am totally willing to split up the cost of groceries for Breezy, I think if everyone pitches in evenly it shouldn't be too much for any one person. I know it might suck for those who only stay one night, but all the more reason to stay for 2 or 3, and again, if everyone does it than it shouldn't be so bad.

I'm really loving my new place so far. I got some really great furniture for really cheap yesterday. I have this big dresser that's covered in stickers. I love it. Most people would call it tacky, but to me, it's perfection. I think I got that from my mom. Love you Mom! :)

I'm really trying to make an effort to be healthy these days. I think the yoga is really helping, today was day 6. But even more so, I think for the first time in my life I am finally drinking the right amount of water. My roommates were telling me that if you don't do it, it's kinda like the rest of the stuff you do doesn't really matter. Like if you stretch or exercise or get a massage and don't drink the right amount of water, you're muscles won't keep the strength or they'll cramp up and be more sore, and your toxins won't go anywhere. You're suppose to drink half of your body weight in ounces, so if you weigh 180lbs then you need 90oz a day. And if you have coffee or soda, you basically need another liter to cancel it out. So since I'm a coffee addict, I'm going for 4 liters a day. I've been doing it for about a week and a half. And it's great. I'm finally getting to the point where I don't have to pee every 40 minutes. Which sure is nice. I highly recommend it. Keeping it consistent has actually kept my body from retaining a lot of water too. Which I wouldn't think works that way, but it does. And already my nails and my skin are starting to look better. And I don't get sore from big workouts. But heck, I'll be home tomorrow, and I'm sure all of my healthy habits will be on there way down the john in no time.

Anyway, can't wait to see you all next Tuesday. Love ya,
Shayla

welcome back ladies, nice to hear from ya both. jen, i'm smoking so get over it or stay home. i'm glad you are concerned though. i quit again for a while but now i'm smoking again. be nice to me. shayla, jessi has class now on tuesdays so she won't be there. you can bring your jesse though. (and your mama). yes, it's a week from today. nothing much new here. work and school are keeping me busy. glen is good. he's also busy working. he is the oldest one there and works the most hours. he's getting tired but won't say anything so he just keeps working the long hours. about the gifts, if ya find something, that's great, but if not, don't worry about it. hey, can ya all tell i'm done with my engish class? screw all the rules about capitolization and paragraphs. i can type faster this way. although i noticed you two were quite awsome with yours. in fact, you both did so well, i feel that it's only right for someone to slack and it may as well be me. i did a math class today before i went to work and got 88%. which i thought was pretty good cause it was alot of figuring stuff out that i really have no idea how to do. in the book i did ok but when it came time to take the test everything got mixed up so 88 is good. besides, keep in mind in school i was happy to pass with a D. C's were pretty darn good for me. so i think i'm doing ok. still hoping to be done and job searching be the end of the year. i got Health Information Management Technology in the mail the other day. it's over 900 pages. i was getting a little worried(ok, alot worried) but i looked through my study guide today, and i only have to read 100 pages of it. ROCK ON! i still have 2 research assignments on previous classes that i haven't done yet. i think i'm gonna bring them up to breezy and if there happens to be a laptop up there, someone can help me figure out where to find the information i need cause i've tried and it's really overwhelming where to look. i spose i should go read for awhile and go to sleep. see some of ya on tuesday, and the rest i'll see in 17 days or so. i am going to the casino early fri afternoon. probably about 1 or so. jen, you can bring your scissors if you want. i would hate to see all that schooling go to waste. everyone else.... didn't mean to leave ya out. nothing personal. I LOVE YA ALL!!!!

Seattle

Well I moved in to my new house yesterday and it's going great so far. And I went for a drive today around my neighborhood and it's lovely. I live really close to a beautiful harbor with lots of sailboats and cute restaurants. And a cool bridge going over Lake Washington. It's all kind of reminds me of San Diego a little bit, although it's slightly more colorful. And not as warm.

Jen~Congrats again. I think (though this is kind of bad advice) NOT training is as good of a way to go as any. I guess you just miss out on the benefits of always walking to train. But you seem super fit anyway. It sounds like it didn't matter. And walking is altogether a thing that your body is ok with. I think. This summer I was hiking over 20 miles a day sometime consecutively. And my body was like, "what? this all you got?" I guess what I'm trying to say is that it sounds a lot more treacherous than it actually is. And as humans, we're probably supposed to walk a hell of a lot more than we actually do. But good for you. And great! that you're going to keep on going to other fund raisers. And I'm in Seattle because it's got a little bit of everything I want out of a place to live, a great theater scene, lots of bars and restaurants to make money in, great coffee shops, lots of freaks like me, and Obama sign in every window, good radio stations, beautiful water everywhere, mountains, national parks very near by, lots of yoga, great vegetarian food, and two of my best friends from high school are out here going to a great school, which I could go to if I decide to go back to school. I wanted to live in the city I liked best, I think that's how life should be. And Jesse is in MN, he came to spend the whole month of September with me in Glacier, then helped my come out to Seattle and headed back to MN. I'd really love for him to move out here, but he really wants to save up money and go to LA for a while to audition for stuff. Which I want him to do, and quickly, so he can not have it hanging over his head anymore.He's the same with L.A. as I was with N.Y. It's something he just needs to do so that he can know what he's not missing and get it out of his conscience. And yes, I'm addicted to travel. It's a disease, but a good one. I know I should grow up and start hitting the theater, but I can't suppress this need to see everything. I'm thinking of going to Africa this winter with my friend Mel. I still need to hear details and see if I can afford it, but if I can I'll go. And postpone buckling down for yet another few months. But theater is always there, and so in and out. I might even be able to get a job this Christmas season and then still go in January.

Tam~ I miss the mountains a lot. It was really really hard to go, and even harder not to go back. But then again, it's probably under several feet of snow by now, so I might as well get comfy here. And it's great here so I can get used to it. I think 89% is great! I'm glad it's winding down too. That must be a really nice thought. I might still try to bring presents, but I haven't found anything great AND cheap. That seems to be the problem pretty often in life. I would love to play some bingo on the 21st. Next Tuesday right? I'll be around. Can Jessie come? I miss her.

Mom~ I really can't wait to see your new place, and Mitch's too. I feel so terrible about Lacey. I'd love to see her while I'm home, but I know it still might be too soon for visitors like me. My new air mattress was pretty cozy last night. I slept well, but my room sure is in need of some personality. It's empty walls and a bed in the corner with a couple of suitcases on the floor. I could really use some furniture and posters and a nice rug. Maybe I'll look for some home decor in MN. I miss Max a lot too. I really can't wait to be home. I talked to Mitch last night and he said he wouldn't mind at all if I stayed at his house. Then his cats wouldn't be so lonely. It'd be nice for me too. And he might play hooky from work to get some Pizza with Jesse and I on Thursday night when I fly in.

I'm doing this Sweatbox yoga for a week. It's good, and I can tell that it really helps get the toxins out of you body. But they turn the room up to 100 degrees. And last night the instructor forgot to turn it off halfway through class like she's supposed to. And I swear it was at least 10 degrees hotter than it has been. It was killer. I ended up just lying down on my back for most of the last 15 minutes of class. And it's a 90 minute class, so imagine how hot it gets in a room of people sweating that starts out at 100 degrees. Other than last night, it's been going really well though. I can really feel the benefits. They say the routine works every muscle, organ, and cell of your body and detoxifies everything.

That's pretty much all I've done in Seattle so far. It's too early to apply for jobs if I'm going to be gone for 3 weeks. So I'll hit all of that when I get back. Can't wait to see you all soon.

THE WAIT IS OVER

I know it has been a while since I've typed anything in here and you have all been so sad and lonely without me. Well, I'm back!...So you can all smile now. Thank God.
I haven't looked at it in a while, although the last couple times I was reading everything I didn't post either, so it hasn't been as long as it looks. I'm sure I'm missing plenty of info but I just read what was available on the first page here. Which will now be bumped off to a different page because mine is always long.

WOO HOO BREEZY!
Thank God I am not the only one that cannot afford to buy gifts for everyone this year. I still want to, so I hope I can find something cheap so that I can do everyone. Maybe I'll steal Kathy's idea and give scratch offs. I bought one for myself the other day, first time in many years; I won $3 and kept redeeming it for new tickets until my money ran out (only because I'd win $1 or $2...had I won even $5 i would have cashed that baby in!:)). But those can be fun. It would be kind of fun if Breezy got so big that we had to draw names for our gift exchange! :) That would be funny. For me I still want to give something to everyone because it's fun, so it just won't be anything great. I have Friday off and am playing it by ear; hoping that Connie and I can do our usual and go together and sneak up early to go to the casino with everyone else. It's going to be a full house this year! We will really need to figure out food. I know it's hard because sometimes if people aren't staying the whole weekend they don't want to chip in towards the grocery bill, and there will be a lot of people this time. I was thinking maybe we could each be responsible for an item or meal (or split a meal between a couple people) but that would be a lot of work to organize, so I'm guessing we'll have to go at it just as we do any other year. Chaotic and with too much food! :) But hey, it always works out in the end. I just don't want someone to go get the groceies and be stuck with a huge bill and worried about getting paid pack. That isn't fun for anyone. So maybe we can figure something out when we get up there. I'd recommend eating out for the two or three meals that we'll need, but helLLLLO! That is precious poker and shanghai time pulled out from underneath us!!! :) I have an idea...ham sandwiches and snacks the whole weekend. Inexpensive and easy.

Breast Cancer 3-Day 2008
Well, it was pretty amazing. I didn't train, at all, and it all turned out in the end. I knew it would. In my opinion, well, experience, you can't possibly train your mind or your body to endure such a strenuous event. I mean, really. I "trained" for the marathon, a little...I did a 5 mile, 6, 13, 16 and a 20 or so (mile) walk and I was supposed to train six days every week, plus the saturday walks started at 5 miles and increased by a mile each week soas you can see I trained very little according to the schedule, and guess what, the marathon was a lot of work but I did it. I didn't feel any worse walking 60 miles with absolutely no training than I did with training and walking 26.2 miles. In fact, I felt better by the end of the 3-Day. So there. Hopefully everyone has received my thank you card by now. Sorry to those who just received theirs late last week; I needed those last few addresses and just didn't get them like I should have. But hey, better late than never, and it hasn't been that long since the event.
As far as when the next one is, to answer my mom's question, well I'd do the 3-Day again but I'm a gemini and variety is the spice of life, so another 3-Day won't be soon...there are so many other great causes that I want to get involved in. I don't yet know what I'm going to do, but my next fundraiser is going to be for Ovarian Cancer; possibly MOCA specifically (Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance). Like I said, I don't know what the event will be, if anything, but that's my next fundraising adventure. I'll just turn on the water works and people will have money coming out their ears. Kidding!! But not really though...I do think that one of the reasons it was harder for me to raise money for breast cancer was that I am not personally affected by the disease with my family or friends, so I think people fels less sympathetic towards me. Instead, I said I was walking and raising money so that I never have to walk for someone, and I don't know how moving that was to the people that I know, but when we were at the 3-Day and people would ask me why I was walking or who it was for, they thought it was pretty cool that I was trying to make a difference for a cause I'm not actually affected by. So that was awesome.

Shay - didn't know you were in Seattle!!! And here I kept emailing you asking you about Montana still. I'm behind on the times...What are you doing in Seattle now? I know there was talk of it after NYC but I forgot what the buzz was for. Are you getting into theater out there? Or are you just traveling for the sake of seeing the country? (SO jealous...) Where's Jesse?

Pam - Happy belated birthday! I can't believe mom called you out on your age, but if it makes you feel any better, I forgot you were older than her; I'm used to thinking she's the oldest so I can see why she'd feel the need to publicly rub it in. :)

Tammy Jo - looks like school is going well? How's Glenn? What else is new? Don't feel bad that you are on here every day and waiting for someone else to talk. I think that's part of why I lost touch with it for a bit; I felt like I was telling my life story every day and I was bored with myself. Not that that was really the reason, but it is awesome when a handful of people are on here. So Cheers to that! Speaking of cheers, you are only drinking for good cheer, NOT smoking, RIGHT????? The saying is EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY. Don't make me come over there........... :)

Wacky Macky - Welcome to Freedom Weekend 2008! Your initiation requires that you bring everyone chocolate. My mom likes the dark stuff. Don't forget or we'll hang you out the window and give you lots of wedgies. I have no idea where this is coming from...it'll be fun to have you along!! If you are staying, don't forget your pillow and blankie. Also a must, coins for all of the gambling, and something to put your money in when you leave with all of mine. And if you slip me $5 I'll buy you some booze. Kidding...I think liquor is free at breezy until you are 21. After that you can figure it out for yourself. :) We're usually well stocked.

Kath - I can't believe all of your kids are old enough to be at breezy. It's about time. I'm so excited they are all coming! Can't wait to see everyone. How's the apartment going? Loving it? Hating it? Good luck with your cultural festival if it is not over already. Sounds like a lot of fun to put together. Is it snowing up there yet? Are we going to take some back woods way to the bar this year??? I went to a place with Adrian's folks a couple of months ago that I didn't know was there. I'm sure it's old news to you and all the other breezy vets but we may need to check it out. :)

I'm sure I could say plenty more but I'm guessing this is already going to take up an entire page. So I'm outta here, yappers! Pot calling the kettle black, I know. Who ever said the pot was black????? hmmmm.

hi all. shayla, your pictures are great. how did you ever get yourself to leave? although, seatle sounds like it's treating you pretty good also. i too am excited for breezy. to save us all some money, i think 3 or 4 of us decided to forgoe the gift process because it is getting quite spendy with the added people every year. it's not written in stone but just so everyone knows it is not to be expected. maybe the original 7 could still do it. and all the offspring could do their own thing. don't know. i will have the 21st off if you are still here, maybe you could bring your mama and come to st cloud to play bingo. as far as classes go, i am doing math now. it's fun and challenging. i am sitting on 89% with 15 assignments/tests to go. i'm happy with that. i think i am gonna go read for a while because i have been working on math for the last two days. congrats to jen and jess for finishing in the top hundred of all those walkers. good job ladies. i think jess said it was the top hundred anyway. now that i said that, i'm not sure. good job anyway. yap at ya all later. see ya all in 20 days or so.

hello

Thought I would shock you all and post something. Not a whole lot new here, anyway. Shayla called yesterday. I missed her call, but she said she found an awesome place to live in Seattle. It was pretty much the first place she looked at. She will be home on the 16th!!
For those of you who know our friend Lacey (or know of her) who was hit by a car while rollerblading a few weeks ago, she is out of the coma and has communicated with her family via hugs and hand signals. However, this is unofficial as no doctor or nurse has yet witnessed it, but Mac and Emma and others have. So that is cool. On the downside they are saying she will be hospitalized for a year! She has a lot of rehabilitating to do. She has a broken hip, pelvis, tailbone, vertebrae in her neck, jaw, and other injuries. And it's still a mystery to what extent, if any, brain damage there might be.
On a lighter note, Breezy is now just over three weeks away. I think all my girls are coming. I'm so excited to have them all there.
Been busy with work. It's a good year, just busy, as usual, which helps the time fly by. I'm getting geared up for a cultural festival that I'm planning. It should be great. Got lots of things to take care of yet, to pull it off. Definatley have to work on it this weekend.
Hope all is well with all of you. etalk at y'all later. Love ya! -Kiash

Out of the Woods

Hey Everyone~

Well I just got out of Glacier last week and I'm back in the saddle. I gotta say, I miss the mountains a lot already!! I had a perfect summer, the best so far, and I hope to be able to do it again sometime soon. But now I'm in Seattle, which is good too. Especially since I found a really great place to live with some really awesome roommates. It's a 5 bedroom Victorian house with a small backyard that has an outdoor movie theater in it. And my roommates are everything you could hope to live with, yoga enthusiasts, gourmet ethnic chef, talented bar-tender, Nutritionist, and message therapist. So I've got all of my bases covered. It's going to be great. We have movie night and board game night as well. And it's a beautiful place.

So, so far Seattle is treating me well. I'm looking forward to getting home soon. And can't wait for Breezy weekend. Sounds like the 3-day walk went great. And your pictures were so cute Jenny and Jessie.

Congrats Tammy!

Happy late Birthday Pam!

And I really can't wait to see everyone soon. I'm getting to MN on the 16th. So I'll probably be bugging people by like the 17th. Perhaps some bingo would be in order.

I'm working on a photo album of Glacier to send everyone, even though I don't really know if I'm doing it right. Hopefully I'll send it out soon.

Love you all,
Shayla

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAM!!!

HEY SIS, YOU MADE IT THROUGH (& TO) ANOTHER YEAR, YEAH! IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR 56TH YEAR ON PLANET EARTH. SORRY, I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF, I DON'T HAVE MANY FRIENDS OLDER THAN ME TO PICK ON!!! HOPE YOUR DAY WENT WELL. ONLY 6 MORE WORK DAYS...THEN OFF YOU GO TO A NEW BIGGER AND BETTER JOB. MAYBE THIS ONE WILL BE YOUR LAST. :)

MOM /GRANDMA DID OK @ BINGO LAST NIGHT-CALL HER FOR DETAILS.

TAMMY ARE WE DOING BINGO ON TUES? WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO EAT SUPPER FIRST? I KNOW IT GETS KINDA SPENDY KINDA FAST WHEN WE DO THAT BUT IT'S NICE TO DO ONCE IN A WHILE TOO. LET ME KNOW. HOW'S THE HOMEWORK STUFF GOING? WHEN DO YOU HOPE TO BE TOTALLY FINISHED BY? YOU ARE SURE DOING WELL WITH THE GRADE PART OF IT. GOOD JOB! (AND GOOD LUCK W/THE REST)

JEN, THANKS FOR THE THANK YOU. IT'S VERY NEAT, DID YOU MAKE THAT FROM YOUR OWN PICS? YOU ARE VERY TALENTED AND YOU ARE ALSO VERY WELCOME--WHENS THE NEXT ONE? :)

BREEZY IS FOUR WEEKS AWAY LADIES. A SPECIAL PRE-WELCOME GOES OUT TO YOU MACKIE. C'MON UP AND JOIN THE FUN. MOM /GRANDMA IS WILLING TO STOP @ THE CASINO ON THE WAY UP IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED. THE SAME GOES FOR PLAYING DAYTIME BINGO. I AM AND I THINK TAMMY IS. JENNY AND CONNIE MIGHT -DON'T KNOW YET.
I GET OFF WORK @ NOON AND WILL BE PACKED AND READY TO GO FROM THERE SO I'LL BE @ MILLE LACS BY 1:30 AT THE LATEST.

WHAT'S UP WITH YOU, SHAYLA? HAVE YOU BEEN OUT TO SEATTLE ALREADY? WHAT'S THE TEMP LIKE THIS TIME OF YEAR? CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU AND HEAR ALL ABOUT IT.

WELL, I'M THINKIN THAT'S ABOUT ENOUGH OUT OF THIS PEANUT GALLERY FOR NOW. LOVE YA ALL, LUKE (THAT'D BE THE GIRL LUKE :) )