I know, I know...

It's Wednesday and I haven't posted since Sunday. It's actually been a pretty lame week.

Oh, except for our trip to Honduras.

(I have the feeling that none of you are surprised by that statement. You know us too well.)

Stephan's niece Sahra is a student at DePaul, and they have a chapter of Global Medical Brigades (GMB) there. They're organizing medical outposts in the poorest parts of Honduras (the second poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere). The DePaul trip is working with a children's group: Sociedad Amigos de los Ninos. Could you be genetically related to Stephan and not be inspired to help people? I don't think so. She signed up for their next trip in June, and called Stephan to ask him if he would come with. He was so proud to hear her excitement. Now, however, we're both very humbled to realize we don't have the necessary money go. We've been stressing about this all week. We're both very proud, and hate hate HATE asking for money (talk to my college roommates about all the white blood cells I donated for $14.00 a week Junior year).

We're formulating a plan- it involves asking everyone we know for $10. We don't know if we're going to do something fantastical to raise the money (Stephan's idea was walking from Baker to Miles City- an 80 mile walk), or just get out our knee pads and start begging. If anyone has any good ideas, feel free to post them. Until then, check your mailboxes for the begging part.

Global Medical Brigades website
Sociedad Amigos de los Ninos website
DePaul's website

One Year Ago Today-ish

Boy, am I glad that THIS is over!

Stunned Silence

Remember in the first Matrix, when we see Keanu all hooked up to those wires in the gooey bubble-pod? And then, later, we see the metal ports in the back of his head and back where the wires used to be? And it's like, whew! He's all off-the-hook now?

And remember in the Wizard of Oz, when that b--ch Glenda tells Dorothy that she had the power to go home the whole time?

That's what it's like to see the laptop running on it's own, without being tied to the backup drive . I had the power the whole time (well, since getting the data off the dead-thing and onto the backup drive). The answer was so simple, it had been staring me in the face the whole time.

Remember in Ghostbusters at the end when Gozer asks "Are you a god?" and Ray says, "No" and Gozer says, "Then... DIE!"
and lightning flies from her fingers, and then Winston says, "Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!"?

Well, when the computer asks EVERY SINGLE TIME you boot up the laptop if you want to "initialize" the new drive, you say "YES!".

About Guns

Here's the gun. We're off to shoot it today. Since I technically bought it, and it's registered in my name, I'm feeling kinda good about handling it. Not so frightened.

Like I said to my friend, "It's not scary, it's shiny!"

Overheard: In our living room

Me: Really! You shoot skeet?

Her: Yeah, I used to back in the day.

Her Husband: Uh huh. That's when the shooting range was next to the airport.

Us: WHAT!?

Her Husband: We were aiming the other way, so it was ok.

Overheard: Blogging

Me: How do I blog about this?

Him: This is about your... you facing your... one of your deepest, darkest fears.

Me: Yes. And I triumphed. Mightily. Do you like it?

Him: Well, for your Valentine's Day gift you'll be receiving a membership to the N.R.A.

Me: So you like it?

Him: Duh.

"It" is a new rifle. A shiny...

Me: What do I call it again?

Him: It's a Savage, 270 bolt-action with a Simmon's Scope. A .270 caliber if that's what you mean.

Me: I have no idea what I mean; I'm just trying to tell everyone how much I rock for buying you a rifle. A good rifle. Just what you wanted. AND it's in my name, meaning I'm a gun owner, which should NOT be okay with me.

Him: We went over all that in the car.

Me: I'm just sayin'.

More about Cows

If there's something I've learned more than anything else out here, it's how much effort, love, and work goes into each and every cow/calf/steer/bull. Yesterday morning Stephan took me with him to help 'water' some cows. Luckily I wore boots. I had this picture of walking around in the dirt, petting and talking to the cows.

Not so.

We were only 'watering' four of the cows. Stephan filled the bucket with a hose, and the slowly creeped forward. They didn't get close enough to touch. AND- they don't lap up water like dogs. I saw their huge noses plunge in, and then the water level started steadily dropping. No slurping. No lapping. Just, sucking, as if through a straw. With their lips. How weird!

I spent some time with our rodeo friends, the loopie and the roughie, this weekend so I have more to post about the intricacies of those folk. Until I post it, enjoy this post from last year!

What Do You Mean the "Road was Closed"?

I mean that Tuesday night was very warm, over 40F. Then, in the early hours of Wednesday, about 2" of water froze solid onto the roads. We started the car and left the driveway at 5:15am. Immediately, the tires slid out from under us, and Stephan grabbed the wheel a little tighter. Turns were impossible. Accelerating was impossible. Stopping was cause enough for a minor TIA. Climbing hills produced a feeling in my bowels that I'd never felt before.

So, at 6:10am we arrived at the hospital, and I was not too excited to get back in the car and drive myself home through all that ice. Luckily, we left the girls at home, so they were happy and warm. Wearing my pink flannel pajamas, no bra, not having brushed my teeth, I fell asleep on the couch in the ER waiting room. 2 hours later I woke up, and headed out the door, assuming that the addition of sunlight would be enough to make the roads passable.

Instead, the roads out of town were barricaded. Thou Shalt Not pass, not North, South, East, or West. There are three levels of road conditions: go for it, emergency only, and Thou Shalt Not. If you Pass while Thou Shalt Not- thou wilst be put in jail. It wasn't until 11am that the road West (to Plevna and home) was declared Go for it.

So I went, and now you know.