Back again

Well, it is that time of year when I get back to the daily grind. After a summer of playing around and spending nearly three glorious weeks with my kids, grandkids and playing hooky with my hubby to celebrate our 34th anniversary it is time to head back to school. I have spent the last couple of days in a really warm library cleaning, rearranging, trying to decide whether to switch software and getting books back on the shelves. Just a short week left to get the rest of it done before kids starting tromping through the halls.

I am also registered for four college classes this fall. Then I will have just two more left to finish my Sociology degree! Yahoo!

I really do enjoy the kids and spending time with them daily, being an influence on their lives. So, time to crack the books!

Woohoo!! I did it!!

Can you believe it! On May 9, 2009 I finished up my Associates in Paraprofessional Education Degree at Black Hills State University. Two close friends, Karen Jensen and Hope Komes walked with me. What a joyful day. Afterwards Karen and her husband Jim and Bruce and I went to celebrate at the Prairie Berry Winery and Deli and then my loving spouse took me to a movie. What a great day. Now, I am off to finish my Bachelors of Science degree in Sociology. I hope to double major in Criminal Justice (Human Services). I only need five more credits to do it.

Wedding Time

It won't be long now. The wedding season is beginning soon and I will be busy with wedding portraits. The first is a trip to Bismarck, ND to shoot a wedding for the children of a couple I know there. Then we will fill in with some Senior Portraits till the next scheduled wedding. I love photography. I love to chronical the day with special shots and making coffee table books of wedding photos so that the happy couple can remember those special hours when they committed themselves to each other. What could be better? There is one thing.

Sharing that love of photography with my daughter who has taken some pretty fantastic shots lately. She is really great at scenic photos; old buildings, the woods, streams and various other things. But she also does quite well at portraits as evidenced by her shots of a sweet little boy last fall playing in the leaves. Maybe it's genetics but I am very proud of her accomplishments and loof forward to sharing my love of photography.

Counting Down

It has been totally crazy lately in my life. First of all I was trying to get all the stuff done for my college classes, study for finals and prepare to attend BHSU graduation to receive my Associates Degree in Paraprofessional Education. I have also registered for summer classes for more sociology credits toward my Bachelors in Science for my Sociology major. Then add to that fact that we have been preparing and moving my in-laws to assisted living, closing and cleaning and listing their duplex and trying to figure out what to do with all the stuff that won't fit in their new place. Plus somewhere in there we celebrated Mother's Day, covered several things for the newspaper and wrote four articles for the magazine I write for, SD Athletes.

Now we are in the end days of the school year here at Newell. Just 7 1/2 days left of actual school. Then I have a week to close the library, take inventory and clean and cover all the computers, etc. Also, my daughter and sweet grandson are coming for a visit from Canada. And I have been putting in some grandma hours babysitting my sweet granddaughter. Ah, life is good!

Isn't it supposed to be spring???

Isn't it supposed to be spring? I know the calendar (nearly three weeks ago now) stated that it was the first day of spring. For crying out loud it is nearly Easter and we still have a 5 foot snow drift in our backyard. And this picture shows after several days of melting! It is still about eye-level when I stand on the ground!

We have had three snowstorms in a row, missed 5 days of school and been very frustrated at times. But thankfully we have not lost our electrical power. One night in the middle of the night it went off several times but always came back on. So for that I am thankful. But, it really is time for some warm weather. I think when the snow all melts we will need pontoons on the sides of the house to keep it afloat!

It won't be long now though, whatever the weather, that school will be out for the summer. The kids are getting antsy, a bit disrespectful and it is more and more difficult for them to settle into studying. I think part of that is that they were out of school so many days. But mostly it is just the time of the year.

So we will grin and bear it. Smile, shake our heads and just say to each other, "Hang in there, it will all be over soon!"

OPPORTUNITIES

You never know when an opportunity is going to come knocking. Recently I got an email at my school account in the high school library by a new magazine that is being published in the state of South Dakota. It is called South Dakota Athletes and it is being published by Peg-leg Pubishing. Editor in Chief is Scott Denney. The email was kind of generic asking if there was anyone at our school who would be interested in possibly being a contributing writer.

Since I have written free-lance artlices for years for different publications and enjoy writing about and photographing sports, especially high school sports I fired off an email by offering my services. Next thing I know I am published in the magazine. So far they only have two issues but they have incorporated a great deal in those two publications and the content is all about South Dakota. What a great deal.

Sometimes the most obscure chances you take can have a return on the invested time and energy. I was recently listening to a speaker talk about how he went to a party and met someone who later ended up giving him the opportunity to teach at a university. Something he would never have expected. But he went to an event he really didn't want to attend and ended up with a job he loves.

Take a chance and try something new or pursue something that seems like a rabbit trail. You never know where it will lead. But as this speaker pointed out, be prepared.

An Elvis Sighting

Those of you who know me well have probably heard this story before. However, a recent opportunity causes me to share it one more time. Way back in 1977 when Elvis Presley was in the last year of his life and scheduled to be in concert in Rapid City, of course, the life-long fan in me shouted, "I want to go!" Since it was in the early days of my marriage to my wonderful husband, I expected an enthusiastic "go for it." What I got was, "The tickets are how much????" Needless to say, I did not travel to Rapid City to watch my favorite singer in live action. And kicked myself forever after since it was not long after that he died.

When Bruce and I traveled to Hawaii a few years ago to celebrate our 30th anniversary (albeit a year late) an Elvis impersonator was at a local club so we attended. The impersonator was a bit older than expected, not quite in such great shape and really looked little like "The King of Rock and Roll." But being a true Elvis fan, it was good to hear the songs again, even if the entertainer also didn't sound a great deal like the famous crooner I loved to hear. And to top it off Bruce was not feeling well so the night was kind of a bust.

Last night I had another opportunity at the Four Aces in Deadwood, South Dakota to hear a really top-notch entertainer in the form of Brandon Bennett. He looked, sounded and acted like Elvis. A trip back in time to 1977. If you are an Elvis fan check this website out and see if you can find one of Brandon's performances to attend. It will be well worth the trip. http://www.brandonbennettlive.com/index.html

Hey, I just saw Elvis!

Even Photographers Struggle

Do you know how hard it is to get twelve people to stop moving long enough to get a formal family photo? We had our plans (or at least I did) to get a nice family picture so that I could update the one on my living room wall. The most recent one was when we were still on the farm. It is several spouses and grandchildren later by now. We managed to snap one the last time we were all together but it was a last minute, not great shot. I really hate those kinds of pictures.

So, we planned several different scenarios and the family members were cooperating. The weather, not so much. Finally we decided to take one in the lobby of a motel in Spearfish where Bruce and I had rented a room for Christmas eve. Nice decor, large enough, perfect. We decided before the Christmas eve church service would be great. However, the weather got kind of nasty, everyone got busy and it didn't get done. I did have my camera and tripod in the car during the Christmas eve service at our daughter and son-in-laws church though so after the service we decided to just get it done.

The church had a beautiful backdrop complete with sleigh, snow decorated trees and even an old farmhouse front. A more perfect setting was not going to be available. And we got twelve people all lined up, a friend actually took the photo and amazingly we got it done. Thanks to Countryside Community Church for their fantastic setting and to my wonderful family for their cooperation.

Now there's only one problem. The photo is already out of date. Little more than six days later another addition to the family was born and little Audrina Colleen made her entrance into the world. Since we probably won't all be together in the same place for possibly two more years I guess we just have to make do with this one. But I already have a new goal.

Family photos are important and not just to photographers. They mark milestones in the history of your family, they are visible chronology for future generations. No one should let much time go by without getting the family together to make that special memory. Even if someone is missing that is no excuse to not get as many as possible together. Do it now.

Oh yeah!

Well here I am again after three months. It must be about time for another post.

Life has been a big whirlwind since the last time I was here. With college classes, work at the school library, work for the newspaper and keeping up with family there hasn't been a minute extra. Plus I got sick in there for a while so . . .

But I have to let you know that life is good. I just spent two weeks running around and having great family time when ALL the kids and grandkids were home for the holidays. Then we had our first GRANDDAUGHTER born to join her cousins, Nason (7), Jakin (4), and Caden (4 months) . The best moment (yeah, Kevin, here it is) was on Christmas eve when we were at Countryside church with ALL my family surrounding me. How cool is that? Even baby Audrina was there (inutero) although we didn't know she was a she at the time. I have to tell you the tears flowed freely then.

The best part is we now have family photos to prove what a great group this is. I will be posting one here shortly. Yes, life is good.

Now we are in a new year with new challenges and joys. Someone recently reminded me that we have choices. We can choose when we get up in the morning to be happy or we can choose to be unhappy. I choose joy.