Pandora's Box?

Many times I have opened a so-called "Pandora's Box" --- saying something that I shouldn't have, being negative about a friend or a situation, or simply living in a place that is not in a place that is about love or life.

I think we usually think of Pandora's Box in the negative. In Greek mythology it is understood that the box Pandora opened held things of evil - greed, envy, pining, vanity. This whole random train of thought began when I had a lingering thought about something I read (it seems eons ago) about the other part of Pandora's box. In mythology it wasn't just evil that was carried and opened through the box, but also "hope."

Pandora's Box held hope too. I guess too often we don't open the "box of hope" and consciously search for the things that we wish to be or want to happen in our lives.

Today, while doing my 3 Minute Journal I jotted down three things I wish for today. Hope was one of them. To be inspired the second. Abundance of love the third.

As a side note, and keeping with the Pandora theme, there is a really great website called Pandora that finds music that you like. It is part of the music genome project. You enter an artist you like and for FREE it plays other artists that sound similar or sing the same type of music. Very cool thing as you can hear new artists that you are nearly guaranteed to like.

A final note -- a quote I find "hopeful" ---

"Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

-dr. martin luther king, jr.

I am We are

This is my version of the "tag" that has been going around. I asked Peter if he wanted to do a "fun writing exercise the other night... " He looked at me like I was crazy. I think I need to re-word my "pitch" one this one if I want success in convincing him to write about himself...

Here is me... Peter's will come later...



I am a daughter
I am a wife
I am a sister
I am a neighbor
I am a best friend
I ... am many more things I am sure.

I love salty things
I am right handed
I have a birthmark on my right wrist and it's how I learned my rt hand from my left
I miss Oklahoma nights and the mugginess of it all
I am named after my mother
I go by my middle name, Brooke, first name is Kerri
I like my new last name
My eyes are blue
My hair is light brown and blond
I like my eyebrows
I am 5'4"
I will not tell you how much I weigh

I like being creative
I enjoy working with my hands and manual labor
I enjoy running with friends, but not alone
I have life long friends, many I have had since pre-school
I love to keep in touch
I rearrange my house about 1/month
I want to take dance lessons
I am not much of a phone talker, most days

I need to be around people
I need my alone "down" time even more
I experiment with painting and it looks very childlike
I don't like to shower everyday
I love photography and pictures
I hate washing my face before bed (but love it when I do)
I want to change the color of my house

I wish I could make a living from blogging
I look forward to being a stay at home mom someday
I want two kids
I want my kids to look like their father - especially have his legs

I would have a monthly facial if I could afford it
I love to play cribbage and solitaire (with real cards, not on the computer)
I love yoga, but don't go often enough
I enjoy cooking new things
I make a huge mess when I cook
I have to have milk duds at the movie theater
I don't like waking to alarm clocks
I enjoy the anticipation of traveling and packing my bags

I wanted to be a scientist, teacher and a veterinarian when I was a child
I think I would be a good teacher
I love to babysit my friends kids

Girly books / beach reads are my favorite
It takes me an average of 1 month to read a book - even if it's 30 pages
Politics and the news depress me
Celebrity gossip is addicting and I shamelessly love it
Lying in bed with Peter and the dogs is one of my favorite things
Netflix might be the best invention ever
My garden gets better every year

When I clean the house I bang things around and find it therapeutic
Dishes are my least favorite thing to do
Actually folding laundry is my least favorite
I don't mind mopping the floors

I talk alot to my co-workers at work
I talk alot in general
I miss my family in Oklahoma and love to talk about them
I miss porches and Coors light and talking with my best friend Micca

Micca and I have:
the same middle name (Brooke)
the same comforters in college
practically the same wardrobe (without trying)
same taste in food and just about anything
mom's who served us on "the red special plate" growing up
blue eyes
used to have the same car (Explorer)
the same sense of humor
the need to talk about everything
married men who are practically identical
travel extremely well together
always get along

I want to travel to Europe with Peter
I want to travel to South America with Peter
I want us to take a honeymoon in the next 5 years
I love Pete's scar on his face
I love his high pitched laugh

Our dogs bring me more joy than I can describe
I hate being cold in my own house
I want to eventually have a well designed and landscaped yard
I can't wait to hang our new hanging chair from the tree in our front yard

Girls nights are my salvation
I am in a much better mood when I am exercising regularly
I love lunch dates with friends
I prefer to not have my weekends "pre-scheduled" but plan as it goes

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up
I'd like to develop a marketable "skill"
I am good at planning events and parties
I get really excited for other people's joys and accomplishments
I say that most things are "the best ____ ever!" and mean it every time
I love my down coat
I still haven't found "the perfect pair of jeans" that everyone talks about

I am a blend of my mother and father - in looks and personality
I miss my brother everyday and always enjoy his company
I am not competitive at all
I love a cold Coke with ice
I enjoy making homemade breads
I like looking for spelling errors
I enjoy writing - technical and creative

I have no regrets in life
I get anxious about my future
I look forward to the future
I really like my life.

Yes We Can!

2007 49'er Wrap-Up

My Christmas posts are coming... Promise. But, I ran across this re-cap of Livingston's highlights for the year 2007. It will enlighten all near and far of life in Park County. 49'er by the way is our licence plate numbers. In Montana you refer to people from particular counties by their "tag number." I know when I see other numbers other than 49-xxx that they are "from out of town" and obviously have no idea what they are doing.

Buckle your seat belt, and prepare for funny, scary and interesting long read. Also, feel free to peruse by topic (fire, pet killings, politics, or wind). Yes, "wind" in Livingston is a topic in itself... Another story to follow on that fun natural phenomenon!

This is courtesy of my friends at the Livingston Enterprise

Park County saw it all in the year that was 2007

By Tahlia Ganser and Peter Vandergrift Enterprise Staff Writers

EDITOR’S NOTE: The year 2007 in Park County had it all. There were stories that made big headlines, like roaring wildfires, a murder sentencing and pet killings, to quieter but nonetheless important ones, like a super-low unemployment level and a home-schooler finishing second in the first-ever National Vocabulary Championship.

Here is that year in review, the good and the bad, and sometimes, a little of both.

Crime and punishment

• Guatemala native and former Los Angeles gang member William Wassmer, 23, admitted in June to murdering the former owner of The Main Hotel, 63-year-old Marcia Beck, in her Wineglass Mountain home last year.

Wassmer was sentenced in September to 160 years in prison. He will be eligible to apply for parole in 2047.

• Former Livingston Church of God pastor Terrence Passmore, 49, was convicted in December of molesting two sisters from his congregation nearly a decade ago. Passmore was released to return to Virginia, where he is now living. He’ll come back to Park County for his sentencing.

• Three alleged burglars were arrested after a rash of local business break-ins last spring. One of the three men, Charles Rickett, admitted to taking part in the burglaries, and was sent to Montana State Prison.

Politics

• After a turbulent year with the rest of the Livingston City commissioners, including suing them over the procedure involved with putting the old East Side School up for sale, Commissioner Patricia Grabow lost to Juliann Jones in the November election.

• The city split from Park County on the issue of trash, deciding to build its own transfer station and haul its own garbage.

• County Commission Chairman Larry Lahren faces a possible recall election if two local residents who filed a petition against him this fall gather enough signatures to place the issue on a ballot.

• The county faced numerous lawsuits, including two from former department heads, one who was fired and another who claims she was forced to quit because of a hostile work environment.

Animal shootings

• A worried mother, who claimed her neighbor’s dog, Marbles, was growling at her three young children, shot and killed the dog, sparking a statewide campaign by the owners against pet killing.

• Less than two weeks after Marbles was shot, another perturbed neighbor shot an emu that, he claimed, was harassing his horses.

• Several months later, another man shot an invading pit bull when he walked into his own home and found his dog being attacked by the vicious dog.

• On Cokedale Road, a horse was shot by a trespassing hunter.

Wind

During a particularly windy day in November, gusts up to 85 mph knocked over three semitrailers on Interstate 90 and uprooted two 50-foot trees onto a Livingston couple’s home. The wind also wreaked havoc with signs, garbage cans and flower pots.

Super-low unemployment

• Unemployment in Park County reached an all-time low during the summer, leaving local businesses struggling to find workers.

• With a looming threat of new floodway/floodplain maps, Livingston’s east side residents feared they would soon have strict regulations applied to their lots, causing a a drop in property value.

Wildfire

Wildfires again ravaged Park County in 2007. The Wicked Creek Fire started from a lightning strike on Aug. 10 and grew from about five acres to more than 15,000 acres on one blustery, dry Sunday afternoon.

Soon after, another blaze — the Hicks Park fire — began in the Main Boulder drainage. A Type 1 suppression team came to fight the fires, which grew to more than 28,600 acres.

It cost the Gallatin National Forest $5.5 million to fight the WH complex fire, which state officials said might cause erosion, flushing thousands of tons of sediment down Mill Creek in 2008.

Grizzlies, wolves and trout

• The federal government took grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone area off of the endangered species list in 2007, and the gray wolf might be on its way to delisting as well. Both delistings have met with opposition from some environmental groups.

• With wolves venturing further from Yellowstone National Park in search of food, area ranchers dealt with them attacking their livestock as close as Springdale.

• In August, trout suffered at the hands of illegal dumping of chemicals, possibly dumped in a storm drain or into Fleshman Creek. Dozens of fish, including Yellowstone cutthroat trout, were killed. A Bozeman-based hazardous materials crew quarantined the area, but the culprits were never found.

• However, a culprit was found in the case of a car driven into the Yellowstone River off of Ninth Street Island in July, but the car remains submerged just upstream of the Ninth Street Bridge.

• Grizzly bears mauled five hunters in less than two months in two areas of southern Park County in early fall. Three of the hunters were hospitalized, with one seriously wounded. Hunters shot two of the bears during the attacks, and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks officials urged the public to carry pepper spray in the wilds.

Agriculture

• A May outbreak of brucellosis in Bridger sent the cattle community into a panic about the state losing its brucellosis-free status, which would make it difficult to sell Montana beef.

The herd where the outbreak occurred had ties to a Paradise Valley ranch owned by Rep. Bruce Malcolm, R-Mont. The Malcolm’s cattle were tested and found to be free of infection, saving the state’s brucellosis-free status. The entire Bridger herd was slaughtered under state and federal guidelines.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer advocated splitting Montana into two zones — one of them an area around Yellowstone Park, including much of Park County, and another the rest of Montana. The “split-state status” was met with disdain by county ranchers. The idea was eventually dropped.

• In other ag news, local grain growers benefited from wheat selling at an all-time high of $10 a bushel.

Yellowstone Park and Gallatin National Forest

• Seven historic buses, which carried Yellowstone Park visitors more than 50 years ago, were refurbished and returned to action in 2007.

• In other park news, the Bush administration gave Yellowstone more money through 2016, increasing its 2008 budget by 10 percent to $34 million.

• A controversial winter use plan further limiting the number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone Park went into effect late 2007.

• Another controversial program — the Travel Plan for the Gallatin National Forest — was implemented this year. The plan closed popular riding areas for all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles in parts of Park County. Citizens for Balanced Use, a multiple use advocacy group, is suing Gallatin Forest over the plan.

Schools

• Criticism followed Park High School Principal Erik Messerli into 2007 after he gave a student a “wedgie” the previous fall. Messerli stepped aside at the end of the school year, and former University of Montana basketball player Gary Kane became the new principal.

• Kane urged the school board to adopt breath tests for alcohol at school sponsored events, and the board approved the policy.

• Area students again excelled in many different fields of study, from math and science to music, writing and business.

• Jack Ausick, a 15-year-old home-schooler from the Shields Valley, finished second in the first-ever National Vocabulary Championship, which was hosted and televised by The Game Show Network.

• Park High Student Body President Walker Stole was elected governor at the Montana YMCA Youth and Government in Helena. Stole also traveled to Washington, D.C., meeting Senators Baucus and Tester when a clerical oversight left him out of a national Youth and Government convention at the nation’s capital.

Now who wants to come and visit?

Thought for the Day...

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink
I feel shame.  Then I look into the glass and think
about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes
and dreams. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out
of work and their dreams would be shattered."

Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let
their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."

~ Jack Handy 

New Favorite Micca quote

Mic always has the best advice for me... Today this was priceless.
"Welcome to the world of money flying out your ass!" - Micca Brooke Rasp

Gratitude

As I look forward to my first Thanksgiving as Mrs. Brooke Howell, Peter's lucky wife, I realize I have so much to be thankful for. I have been crying at the drop of a hat lately - all because of wonderful things. There seems to be so much 'good' around me. I am not sure if it is an attitude we take that helps us see blessings and joy instead of pain or negativity - OR if things are really just that wonderful in our lives. Either way - I am filled with gratitude, not just because it is Thanksgiving, but because I have so much to be thankful for.

Some of the things that have humbled me lately or made me cry tears of joy: fluffy white snow, changing of the seasons, employment, quality time with a wonderful man,
having a best friend, healthy babies, conversation over good wine, reunions with friends who you miss, seeing my family do well, seeing friends welcome babies into the world, good parents, dog kisses, playful moments, hot showers, trips home for Christmas, the Village that raised me, amazing in-laws, warm coats and hats, being healthy, keeping in touch, new opportunities, dreams about the future, being in a place where we can choose our destiny, a warm home and bed, coming home to smiles, coming home to barking dogs, planning trips, missing my family, loving that I have amazing family to miss...

I could go on and on... But I will not. Happy thanksgiving! For those who are not all that religious, it doesn't matter...This Psalm is so true in my life right now...

Psalms 100:

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know the Lord is God!
It is he that made us and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him, bless his name!

For the Lord is good:
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Redneck Words of Wisdom

I never really thought I was a redneck until I moved to Montana and managed to catch a few people off guard with my "phrasing."
I guess I thought everyone new what game chickens, cock fighting, noodling, sweet tea, and what it feels like to "sweat like a pig." Apparently NOT!

For all the rednecks, and those who just wish their necks were a bit more pink please check out this link of REDNECK SAYINGS AND QUOTES.

My favorites from the site are:

"I'd love to have a dress just like that, but I don't go to many Puerto Rican proms.
and
"She's wound up tighter than the girdle of a baptist minister's
wife at an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast."

Now Laurie and Mic, I know you have some doozies to add to the list!

Catch ya'll later.

Keep Calm and Carry On - History

For those who would like a little history and meaning to the ever talked about poster.

I wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way. Dr. Seuss

So, Peter and I are starting this blog- for fun mostly, to stop and document the fun little stuff, and to keep in touch with those near and far...
I thought we could start it with a quote and the title of the blog- from non other than the infinitely wise, Dr. Suess!