My Nellie

It's not very often that someone comes into your life who brings the sun along with her, wherever her travelin' shoes take her. Meet Danielle. One of my best friends also disguised as sister/confidant/adventure mate/travel buddy/fellow movie lover/fly fishing guide. I wish you all a fwend like Nell in your life, who just can't help it but radiate kindness, vitality, and love. Love you Nellie and I can't wait to see you SOON!

Flip Me!

To better illustrate how freakin' awesome Montana is...I got a Flip! Super convenient, tiny video camera that I can plug directly into my computer USB port. Check out one of its inaugural excursions...lunchtime run/walks up the "M" with my two favorite gals...Carolyn and Meggan!

Some of my favorite ladies...

Part of my job entails me getting out "in the field" with visiting journalists. In late January I had the privilege of accompanying some hard-chargin' gals around the hills in southwest Montana. Snowmobiling Two Top, steaming geyser spelunking, touring Fawn Pass, shredding Big Sky Resort, and dog sledding are just a sampling of the antics we partook in. Thanks Lesley, Kim, Gigi, Sarah and Donnie for making my job so easy!

Music

Those of you who know me well know that I have a bit of a thing for music. One of my professors in college told me that I was probably drawn to writing because it was my quiet little introverted way of expressing myself. She was probably right. But as I've gotten a little older, a little wrinklier, a little more cynical, and a lot more fun...I think that need for self expression has somehow shifted to music. Not that I'm very talented at actually PLAYING music...but I can make one hell of a mixed cd:) Here's my mix for you all today...my sweet fwends who rock my world.

Eyes - Rogue Wave
One Hundred Million Years - M. Ward
Trenchtown Rock - Bob Marley
I'm Good, I'm Gone - Lykke Li
Galileo - Indigo Girls
Feelin' Alright - Sweatshop Union
Middle Management - Bishop Allen
The Motorcycle Song - Arlo Guthrie
Travelin' Thru - Dolly Parton
Skinny Love - Bon Iver
Burn One Down (the live version) - Ben Harper
Old Enough - The Raconteurs
Beautiful - Damien Marley

Happy listening :)

Happiness

For a lot of years, and maybe it's just youth and inexperience, I spent much of my time pointing fingers at why I wasn't happy at that particular moment. "My car is broken." "My boss is unrealistic." "We always do whatever you want to do." "My parents are getting divorced." "The economy sucks." And on and on and on. Luckily I've had a few honest and forthright friends along the way willing to grab my shoulders and shake me out of my self-inflicted victimization. Because after all, the first lesson you learn as a farm kid is that the corn doesn't grow unless you plant it, and if you don't plant it...no one else is going to do it for you. Own your actions and decisions. Take responsibility. As Shannon Hoon (of Blind Melon fame for you non-music-snobs:)) would say, "when life is hard, you have to change."

Some sad news came my way today regarding a dear friend who wasn't happy, and wasn't willing to change to make himself so. We all get bogged down by gray weather, long winters, bad economies, lackluster relationships and aging Siberian Huskies...to name a few :) However what I've somehow learned along the way...and which I hope to never forget...is that we make our own happiness. We are the masters and commanders of our own universes. And despite an ailing economy, the credit market in ruins, a rapidly overpopulated earth and the unfortunate boom of reality television (okay I admit I'm a Hills addict. It's sad but true. I'm currently engaging in an Ernest Hemingway treatment program :))...we have the luxury of free will. The ability and right to wake up in the morning on the sunny side of the street.

So...here's to all of the rays of sunshine in my life...who inspire me each and every moment to be a better person, a smarter person, a happier person. You know who you are:) "There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way." -Buddha

Baffin Island