What's Up Wednesday

This week I'm trying out "What's Up Wednesday," a linky party that one of my favorite bloggers participates in.

1.  What we're eating this week...

This is my last week in South Dakota for the summer, so I'm trying to make sure I eat all my favorite Midwestern things before I go.  

My favorite breakfast treat of all time comes from the Royal Bake Shop in Centerville, SD.  They are most well known for their "zebras" - a thick glazed donut with a layer of chocolate donut in the middle.  Zebras are great.  However, not my all-time favorite.  That title goes to their filled maple sticks.  Yummm!

This little treat is a long-john filled with a maple cream and topped with mapley, crumbley goodness.

Next on the list...

On Monday I finally got my Taco John's fix.  Every time I come back to visit I crave some potato ole's!

There's also the good old-fashioned Midwestern comfort foods - basically anything Grandma makes!

2.  What I'm reminiscing about...

While I've been back at the farm this summer, I have been going through the house and purging all the crap that has accumulated over the last 130+ years.  I have found a lot of junk, taken a lot of things to Goodwill, and found a few treasures along the way.  Just yesterday I found some school writings and art projects of my grandpa's from 1937 and 1938.  Reading his papers, and just seeing the way he signed his name again has brought back so many memories of my first best friend.

3.  What I'm loving...

Bachelor in Paradise!  It's my favorite trashy TV show and guilty pleasure.  And right along with it come Sheaffer's weekly recaps!

I laugh so hard during the show, then on Wednesdays I get to laugh at it all over again when I read her take on the week's events.  

Normally I watch every episode of Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor in Paradise with my friend Heather, then we read the recaps together after.  We love the nicknames and comment on so many of the same things that show up in the recaps.  Having been out of town for nearly two months, she and I have had to settle for texting each other after we've confirmed we've both watched the show (different time zones are a pain), and for reading the recaps together.

We'll be back together for it next week though!

4.  What we've been up to...

We just finished our county fair, where my family was named the 4-H Family of the Year!

It was so much fun to be back at the Turner County Fair for The Four Best Days of Summer!  I grew up going to the fair every year and spending all week there.  We showed sheep and always tried to outdo our total number of head from the year before.  It was fun - but a little strange - to be there for the sheep show without having any sheep of our own to show!

I've gotten to spend so much nice time with my family this summer, but the fair last week also gave me a chance to spend time with my "fair family" - those people that become like parents and siblings because of the amount of time you spend with them in the barn.  Papa Flint is one of those people that I've known for so many years and he has always been like another father to me.  I know that he and his family will always be there for me in any situation.

We can goof around and have fun just like I do with the rest of my family.  Papa Flint still likes to give me a hard time about having a bony butt when I was growing up, so I had to sit down on his lap and see if anything has changed.  This picture was snapped right as he was tickling me!

5.  What I'm dreading...

Packing!  I've been in SD for 6 1/2 weeks now and I'm finally going home on Saturday!  I'm happy to be going home, but I'm dreading having to get everything packed back up into my suitcase!

6.  What I'm working on...

Since everyone in my family teaches, this is a busy time of year for us.  I helped Baby Sister set up her classroom for the first time, and then yesterday morning I helped my mom get hers ready for the start of the new school year too.

While going through her things, we came across this gem:

Wasn't I a cutie? :)

7.  What I'm excited about...

This week marks my dad's third round of chemo for his neuroendocrine cancer.

When we finally figured out what type of cancer it was, the prognosis wasn't good.  He decided to try chemotherapy anyway, in the hopes that it will do a little bit of good.

After two rounds, the oncologist ordered a PET scan, which happened last week.

We got the results on Monday morning and they were much better than we ever could have expected!

He's still going to complete his planned four rounds of chemo, then they will scan again.  The chemo probably won't be able to kill everything, and he probably won't be "cured," but it's working and we'll take that!

8.  What I'm watching/reading...

I just finished reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite.  It took me a long time to read it.  But it did have really great parts, as well as the beautiful language I've come to expect from Rowling.  The character development was also incredibly well done.  However, it was a bit of a slow read for me, partly because the narrator changes with each chapter, requiring me to mentally change gears more than I otherwise would have.

I've been working my way through Gilmore Girls on Netflix and am obsessed.  I would watch it all day if I could.  I watched the show growing up, but had never gotten even close to watching every episode, so it has been fun to go through them in order!

I'm also finally finishing Sherlock, the BBC miniseries.  I watched the first two seasons right after they aired, and simply forgot to watch the third, so I'm finishing it tonight!

9.  What I'm listening to...

Since I'm driving my grandma's '94 Ford Escort while I'm here this summer, and I'm spending so much time in the car with my dad, I've been pretty much restricted to whatever is playing on the two country radio stations we have!

10.  What I'm wearing...

The weather has cooled off a little bit here, so I've actually been able to wear jeans and boots for the first time all summer!  The problem with this weather is that I didn't bring home any jeans to wear with my boots, so I had to dig out some jeans that were still hanging around from my sophomore year of high school!  To my surprise (and enjoyment), they fit!

11.  What I'm doing this weekend...

I'm hoping to spend time with one of my SD best friends Friday night for a night out dancing before heading home.

Saturday will be spent flying!

And then, if plans don't change, Tall Dark and Nerdy and I will head up to Tahoe for Saturday evening through Monday!

12.  What I'm looking forward to next month...

My birthday!

13.  What else is new...

Counting down the days until I am back with my wonderful partner and my dog!

Life Lately

Here's a peek into what I've been up to lately:

Katie and I spent a wonderful day together, and I got to spend more time with her sweet kiddos.  Big Rig even got to go on the go-karts!

Papa Rist and I had a movie night together this weekend and enjoyed some of our favorite bourbon.

  

I have been trying my best to get as much cleaning and organizing done in this house as I can while I'm here.  I'm almost finished with the kitchen - finally - now that Baby Sister and I finished off the pantry!

The most recent organization challenge was the overstuffed coat closet on the porch.  Most of the things in there hadn't been taken out since we moved in 10 years ago, and others had been there longer than that.  I found hats, coats, shoes, you name it that had belonged to my grandfather.  I have 7 garbage bags full of coats, hats, and backpacks to take to Goodwill now this week!

Life Lately

Here's a peek into what I've been up to lately:

This handsome guy is my nephew.  He was tuckered out after his baptism and needed some naptime with Auntie Jenna.

Baby Sister and I had a night out last week and saw the Eli Young Band at the Sioux Empire Fair.

Tall Dark and Nerdy is trying to make the most out of me being gone for the summer by getting in lots of backpacking miles with the boys.

Baby Sister has been working on a new patio at the farm with some nice landscaping and new flowers.  Our hibiscus has been blooming and has been stunning.

One of the great things about being back in SD for the summer is getting to spend time with my dear friends and their sweet babies.  I've been enjoying spending time with my goddaughter McKinley and her big brother Rig.

There's just something about a fire that makes it feel like summertime.  Baby Sister and I sometimes get in the mood to have a fire, so we just do it.  Living in the country is nice for that!  We start a fire, have a beer, and make some s'mores.  Perfect summer night with my sister.

Little Max is 15 now, which means he's getting a little grumpy.  His newest habit is pooping in the house on Mondays to let TDN know that he's angry for being left at home.  Poor little guy, he wishes it was always the weekend so he could have fun with his humans.

That's what's happening lately!

Ag Family

Teaching is the family business.  Especially teaching agriculture.  Both of my parents, as well as my older sister, are full-time agriculture teachers.  My younger sister will also be co-teaching with my dad during the coming school year.  I guess I'm the odd one out!

Last week was the annual conference for South Dakota Ag Teachers.  We had the rare opportunity to have all five of us (plus my new baby nephew!) together for the banquet and auction on the last night, as some of the proceeds of the auction were to go towards my dad's medical expenses.

It was so nice to all be together for an evening with not only my "Ag Family," but also the "SD Ag Family."

2013 Year in Review

2013 wasn't all roses, but, looking back, there are so many wonderful memories that I kind of forgot the hard parts of it all.  The first half of the year involved many, many physical therapy and doctor appointments for my knee, but the half-marathon I ran in the fall kind of made up for it.

January

2013 literally started out with roses when I traveled to southern California to watch my Stanford Cardinal play in - and win! - the 99th Rose Bowl.  My friend Kyla and I made the trip together, celebrating New Year's at a fabulous mansion party in the Hollywood Hills before watching our team in Pasadena.

At the end of the month, we celebrated Jas's birthday by going to a pop-up black-and-white masquerade ball and dinner party.  Masquerade ball has now been officially checked off of my bucket list!

February

My second knee surgery in six months happened on February 6.  The first surgery wasn't able to heal the whole tear in my meniscus, so they went back in and re-did the surgery to get the second half to heal.  My friends and neighbors were so sweet to bring me care packages.

 March

In March, I flew back home to South Dakota for "spring break" and Easter with my family.  Baby Sister, my cousin Les, and I had fun with the baby lambs, dinking around on the 4-wheeler, and going shooting with a dear friend of mine.  Holidays in South Dakota are definitely one of a kind!

April
April was marked by the start of the season for our garden.  We spent a day planting and setting up the drip irrigation system, and it was all worth it for the months of fresh veggies we got to enjoy!

May

In May, I had my first Bay to Breakers experience - a "run" across San Francisco with thousands of my closest friends, in costumes, with a lot of beer.  It was definitely memorable, and I'm glad I did it with this guy.

June

In June, I was finally able to go back to work with a mostly-recovered knee.  The same week, I also started graduate school!

Earlier in June, Tall Dark and Nerdy had an aunt and uncle come to visit us, so in showing them around, I got to see Yosemite for the first time.

July

I went to a lot of concerts in 2013, but two really stick in my head as representing the year.  Possibly because one was the largest concert I've ever been to - Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z's Legends of the Summer Tour.  Possibly because I planned the best date night ever taking Tall Dark and Nerdy to see Weezer in San Francisco at an incredible temporary venue.  Possibly because I went to these two concerts two nights in a row.  Whatever the reason, they were a couple of really great shows!

August

August brought an incredible vacation to Europe with Tall Dark and Nerdy.  With our time together in Germany, our long weekend with friends in Munich, my day by the lake in Zurich, my time in Scotland with my grandmother, and my days in London with friends, this trip couldn't have gotten much better!

September

I was able to fly home and be a part of when of my oldest friends' special days this fall.  I have known this girl nearly all my life and we have become such close friends since high school, even with me living 2000 miles away.  It was such a wonderful weekend kicking up our heels and celebrating a great couple!  And I got to spend time with Baby Sister, which made it even better!

October

On October 20th I participated in my second Nike Women's Marathon.  This time I did it pretty much on my own, and I ran more of it than I thought possible.  After all my struggles with my knee this past year, this was a huge day for me.  I couldn't run the whole thing, but it will come, maybe in 2014!

Now, as dorky as this sounds, the other highlight of October was getting our wood burning stove installed at the cabin.  Now I can relax by a fire all winter!

November

Every fall, the school I teach at has a wonderful auction to raise money for our scholarship fund.  Tall Dark and Nerdy and I went, talked with wonderful parents, and had a really nice evening (and even took a nice picture!)

At the end of the month, we headed to Cozumel, Mexico for a mini vacation.

December

The reason we headed to Cozumel was the Tall Dark and Nerdy was competing in an Ironman triathlon.  I'm so proud of him!

My dad came to visit us for Christmas, prompting a trip to Big Sur to see McWay Falls - which Tall Dark and Nerdy has been tempting me with almost since we met!

Wow, 2013 had a lot of memories!  I can't wait to make more in 2014!

#tbt - South Dakota State Fair

Labor Day weekend for several years was incredibly occupied with the South Dakota State Fair.  It made for a ridiculously busy weekend with more sheep shows than I can count, but a lot of fun.  And, of course, baby sister and I had fun goofing around to break the tension.

 

These pictures are, I think, from the 2008 State Fair, the summer I graduated from high school and about a week before I moved to California to start college.

 



#tbt - Bruce

Bruce [Almighty/the shark from "Finding Nemo"] was my favorite ram.  I realize how weird that sounds, but it's true.  The big guy had a special place in our hearts, and our show schedule!

 

This summer of showing (2007) was made more interesting by the fact that I had recently had ACL reconstructive surgery and was still wearing a huge knee brace. 

 

This picture of me with Bruce and baby sister was taken just inside the barn in Parker, South Dakota at the Turner County Fair - The 4 Best Days of Summer.  I don't even know what to do with myself the 3rd week of August now that I'm away, since every year that I can remember through 2011 was spent there.



I love Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places.  It's the place in California that makes me feel like I'm back home in some of the ways that I miss.  I absolutely love all the weekends I get to spend there with my Tall Dark and Nerdy, like this one in June. 

We get out of the car when we first arrive on Friday night and I spend my first several minutes in Tahoe just staring at the stars.  I spent countless nights growing up lying in a pasture or yard and staring at the stars, so it's nice to get that feeling again.

 

 I also love being near water.  I think I can blame that on my time rowing for Stanford, and on my water-loving roomie Mik.  Lakes don't get much prettier than Tahoe.  This trip was my first time being in Tahoe in the actual summertime, and it did not disappoint!  The water was cold, but it was beautiful, with three distinct colors of blue in layers.








Something about Tahoe makes me want to be adventurous.  I get there and I want to snowboard, hike, kayak, paddleboard, and do anything else I can try!

TDN also planned for us to watch the sunset at Emerald Bay, which has special sentimental value for me.  I saw a photograph of Emerald Bay last year over graduation weekend when TDN, Grams, baby sister, Papa Rist, and I were looking through a gallery.  I looked at TDN and said I wanted to go there - and had no idea where it was!  Over my birthday weekend (3 months later), he planned for us to spend an afternoon at Emerald Bay, and when I looked confused about what that was, he reminded me of the photograph.  He is so thoughtful.  That makes every visit to Emerald Bay special to me.

Any day that ends in s'mores is a great day for me, and this was no exception!