Jenny Sue Where Are You?

So this little note is specifically for Jenny. Why can't I access your blog? For some reason it says that you can't publicly view it? Anyway, I wanted to comment back. I miss those reunion days too. I haven't seen you for years! I've never been to Washington that I can remember, maybe I'll have to save up :) I write a lot of insurance in Walla Walla & always think about Erin every time I see that name :) Talk to you later!



P.S. for all those who are wondering, yes, I will be at the reunion. I'm coming out with Mom & Dad. I think we leave the 11th and will head home on the 17th so I think I'll be out there when Olivia is. YAY! See you all in a few weeks. Except for Jenny Sue, who knows when I'll see you....hey that rhymed.

BYE

You Asked, I Delivered! Actually, Steff Is The Only One Who Asked So You All Get a Freebie :)

So this is Tyler & me. We were on our way out the door to go see a movie & I snapped this super quick. He doesn't like pictures much which is okay because neither do I. There's not much to tell except that we've been dating officially for a little over a month & unofficially since October (I think).

I met him at a friends house. I was actually pretty brazen, surprise surprise. I was sitting on the couch & he was walking by. Without thinking, I reached out & grabbed his belt buckle (I know, I'm a hussy) and asked him if he had earned it. It's a team roping belt buckle. After I realized what I had done, I decided I'd better introduce myself. We've been semi inseparable ever since. Actually, that's not true. I'd hang out with him for a week or two and then flip a 180 on him & avoid him for a while. I guess he saw something worth getting dragged through the mud over & stuck around.

That's about all I have to say about that. Anything else you wanted to know but were afraid to ask?

No News Is Good News, Right?

Yeah, I got nothin. Life in my neck of the woods has been pretty uneventful. Aside from the weekly tornado warnings, things have been pretty quiet. I'm in my 4th week of training at my 'new' job. It's going okay. I'll be glad when it's over.
I guess there is one exciting thing going on.....my roommate and best friend is getting MARRIED!!! Her boyfriend of 5ish years proposed to her 2 weeks ago. The date is August 1, 2009. I get to be the Maid of Honor. If you all know me even a little bit, you'll know I'm going to be a terrible Maid of Honor. BUT it's the thought that counts, right?
Oh, and I guess I should mention that I'm seeing a guy. His name is Tyler & he's a super sweet redneck, right up my ally. We're spending the 4th of July together so maybe I'll get some cute pics & post them in my next blog. I guess if you want to know more than that, you'll have to call & ask, although there's no guarantee that I'll answer :)
Until next time......

Nationwide Is On Your Side?

For those of you who don't know, I started a new job last week. I still work for Nationwide Insurance but instead of working commercial accounts, I now processes personal accounts. That means, if you had Nationwide, anytime you send in a request to update/change your policy, I put it into the computer. I left the commercial department because they are eventually going to move all commercial operations to Des Monies. Lincoln will still be considered a growth site for personal lines so maybe I'll have some opportunities there. I'm a bit sad about the change though. I loved my job & the people I work with.
I'm in training right now so it'll be about 15 weeks before I actually get out on the floor and fly on my own. I gotta be honest, I'm none too excited about this new position. It's not as challenging as my old job. I don't know, maybe it'll pan out, it's only been about a week. My hours changed from 8:15-4:30 to 7:00-3:15. It's nice to get off early but I haven't been up that early since high school!
Other than that, nothing new on this end of the line. Super excited to see everyone at the reunion! My roomie Katie might come with. It should be a good time. Although, and I know I'm preaching to the choir right now, I'm a little miffed that it's only one day. I drive 14 (give or take) hours to see my family & have to take off more time from work just to drive to & from that any of them do just to be there. Not cool. 28 hours to drive so I can hang out Friday night & Saturday day? I suppose time must run differently in Nebraska since it seams that it's 'easier' for me to make time for these things. That might have been a bit harsh but oh well. It's only the Internet, not like anyone will see it :)

I Love Stormy Weather

Check it out - this is what we've been experiencing the last few weeks! Yesterday, the sirens went off in Lincoln (that hasn't happened since I moved here forever ago). For you westerners that don't know the joys of severe weather, a siren only happens when we are in a tornado warning (a warning means take cover now! A watch just means conditions are favorable. Warnings can be pretty serious).
So I'm driving home from the southwest side of town to where I live in northeast Lincoln. It's nice & sunny, albeit cloudy (figure that one out), and I look to the north - dark as night! I flipped on the radio to see what was going on. The DJ said we were in a tornado warning. The most dangerous part of that warning? Northeast Lincoln - right by my apartments!
Then, I hear the sirens. That's almost a guarantee that a tornado is on the ground. I start to drive a bit faster. I called Dad to make sure he was aware of the situation, he never pays attention to these things & the warning stretched all the way to Milford. While I'm calling him, I get a whole bunch of text messages and voice mails.
Then Kate, my roommate, beeped in on the call waiting. When I answered, she said, 'I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do.' I said, 'You're fine, I'll be home soon.' She said, 'Everyone is out in the hall, what do I do?' I told her to grab a blanket & go into the hall with everyone & I'd find her when I got home. We don't have a basement or storm shelter in our apartment building & Katie & I are on the 3rd floor.
Back to driving. I was actually pretty nervous. To get home, I had to turn off of what seemed like a safe road & head directly into the storm. I had goosebumps and the hair on the back of my neck was standing straight up. I kept thinking, 'Oh my gosh! How will I react if a tornado drops down right in front of me?!?' So what did I do? The same thing I always do when I get that kind of ominous feeling. I sing 'A Child's Prayer' at the top of my lungs over and over until I get out of the situation. I'm sure the people at the stop lights thought I was crazy! That's okay.
As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, & got out of my truck, the rain and wind started. It went from being perfectly still to torrential down pours. The winds were blowing in circles so the rain was horizontal & kept switching directions. I walked into the 1st floor hallway to find Katie & she wasn't there. My blanket was sitting on the floor so I thought, man that must have been a super selective twister to suck her up & not touch the building :) A nice girl that lives on the first floor let a few of the people in the hallway into her apartment.
So, we sat there until the warning expired. I kept walking out the porch door to look at the clouds. There were some amazing shapes I'd never seen before. I can't even describe it. The warning expired at about 9:30 so we went back upstairs. The night was far from over. There was an amazing lightning storm, the likes of which I have NEVER seen in my ENTIRE life. Katie & I sat on our balcony and watched it. The storm was only lightning & a little bit of rain. It stayed right on top of us for about an hour. That's pretty unusual for a storm. The usually move on their merry way.
We got lucky, no tornadoes in Lincoln last night, at least not any that actually touched down. There were a few in the towns around us though.
Tonight, we were supposed to be in for one of the worst storms in Lincoln's history, according to Katie. I'm pretty sure it moved to the northeast of us & will mostly miss us. However, it is super cloudy, muggy & dark so you never know. We're in a tornado watch until 1 am (see explanation above). It should be pretty cool to see what we're in store for. While your waiting for my weather updates, check out these photos!

Lightning around Seward County (where Mom lives)

This is crazy! This is a tornado that went through

Kearny last week (where we had our last Nebraska reunion)

These clouds were actually right near my

apartment last night!

This is what went on ALL night last night!

Amazing!

More Lincoln skies.

Just makes you feel a bit awed and maybe kind of small :) I love it! I'll keep you posted all through the summer!

Judgement Day Synopsis

Alright so not much happened at the WWE Pay Per View. No titles changed hands, no one was injured. But all in all, it was a fun time. We saw a steel cage match, always exciting. There was a super cute little boy sitting kity corner behind me. After about five minutes, I wanted to rip his legs out of his sockets! Quit kicking my chair!! Then, there were the super cute, super drunk college boys behind us that kept making fun of the wrestlers, they were actually pretty entertaining. Then, Katies cousin, bless his heart, sat two people away from here, one of those two being me. It was constand, "Katie, Katie! What do you think.....Who do you think....Which do you think.....?" Binoculars being shoved at me while I'm trying to take pictures, spit flying in my face, you name it. It was a blast! :) After the show was over, we went to the car to leave. It took us like an hour to get out of the parking lot! Some 'de duh de' in front of us kept letting people in front of us. Now I'm all for being courteous but this guy was letting cars in that had cut in front of people & didn't deserve to be catered to. THEN, we were starving so we stopped at McDonald's. The most Ghetto Micky D's I have ever been to. We had to wait for ev ver to order & about 5 minutes into waiting for our food, the power went out! It was out for a few minutes & then came back on. The incompetent, albeit cute & flirty, employees couldn't figure out how to get the computers to come on or how to stop that infernal beeping! It was a disaster! I didn't think it would ever end.

So there ya go sports fans, that's Judgement day in a nut shell.

Until next time!