Crazy Early in the Morning

These are the Crazy Mountains near Big Timber, MT. I love these mountains because they're so majestic looking. This picture was taken at about 6:30 in the morning, on my way to visit my sister in Bozeman a few weeks ago. I was setting up my photo, and suddenly the train came into view. It couldn't have been more perfect and I thought I should share it.

Rubber Chickens

Last Christmas I bought my sister Katie a miniature rubber chicken (about 6" tall) and placed it in her stocking. She found it incredibly disgusting, but wasn't disgusted enough to throw it away...she left it under my pillow that night! Ugh! And so it began.

It's gone back and forth rather innocently ever since then, but about a week ago it went to a new level. She wired it to the front grill of my bmw!!! So I drove around town (for only about 24 hrs) with a bright yellow rubber chicken in flight.

Well, paybacks are harsh sometimes. ;-) This morning I offered to make her a yummy latte...with extra foam. She asked for vanilla flavoring, but got a little rubber chicken as well. Oh, the look on her face was priceless.

aaaahhhhahhhhaaaa (evil laugh)

I'm rather nervous now about where I'll find it next. Any suggestions about where I should leave it next time it's in my possession?

The Dykstras Came to Montana!!!

Woohooo!!! Some of my favorite people in the world came to visit. We went to my family's cabin and relaxed.
Here's a slideshow of a few fun pictures.

Random Facts

I've been tagged by my friend Colette...which means that I am supposed to post 8 random facts about myself on my blog. So here goes...

1. I have a shoe problem. Whenever I sit down, or sometimes even slow down, my shoes come off. You'll find pairs of shoes under the kitchen table, by the couch, by the front door, on the steps. In fact, if I am driving for more than 15 minutes, I'm usually barefoot in my car as well.

2. I don't sleep "on" a pillow. I do use a pillow, but I scrunch it up against the side of my face...it's not actually under my head. Weird, I know!

3. I'm a sucker for flowers. I love all the colors and types and shapes. They instantly brighten my mood. As a little girl I had my own room in our family's barn for arranging flowers. I often buy flowers for myself...and I can't wait to have a beautiful garden to learn to grow them. In fact, I think the perfect job would be to own a flower shop and deliver flowers. Everyone loves to see the flower delivery person!

4. My favorite pen color is blue. I "red line" documents with a blue pen! Red just seems so harsh and teacher like...black blends in and seems too formal...so blue it is.

5. I love Italian sausage - If I'm in a restaurant, and there's an item with Italian sausage in it, I'm very likely to order it.

6. I don't consider myself a picky eater, but I don't like bananas or raisins or ketchup or miracle whip or blue raspberry flavored foods or slimy eggs (over-hard please!) or pickles in my potato salad or ...hmmm, that's all I can think of right now.

7. I am a data hound. I like spreadsheets, getting to the bottom of tons of confusing data, and helping draw conclusions. There's nothing I like to do better than playing with lots of data, making charts and graphs, and demonstrating trends, etc all day long. Call me a nerd!

8. I've only lived in 2 towns in my entire 30 years of life: Billings or Spokane. I actually just realized this and was rather surprised.

Ok...enough about me...

Big Sky Beauty

Last Saturday (meaning June 23...yes, I'm a tardy blogger), I took a drive into the mountains with the purpose of reminding myself of one of the reasons that I actually moved to Montana. Believe it or not, it's been harder than I expected to adjust to this move! Anyway, I decided to go soak in some the beauty that God created, enjoy a roadtrip in my new-to-me BMW, and try to get some good photos. Well, I did get some pictures, but I can't say I'm pleased with the quality or that they did the views justice. (I'm seriously considering a new camera at this point.)
None-the-less, let me share with you some of God's beautiful creation...

These are the Beartooth Mountains...about an hour's drive from me...
Isn't this church in the most beautiful location...I think I'd get distracted from the sermon by looking at the mountains out the window...though I suppose that God would be pleased that I noticed his handiwork on display. :-)

Love Antiques and Tools?

I recently purchased this antique Machinist's Tool Box at an antique sale. I very rarely get giddy over a purchase, but I came close on this one. ;-) It is in such good condition, with beautiful quarter-sawn oak and lots of tiny little drawers, each lined with felt. What to use it for? I'm thinking a perfect jewelry box for now, but maybe office supplies later. Anyway, I'm just so excited that I have to share it. ;-)

My niece has learned to smile

Too cute!!!