Almost Gypsy Soul

1. 12 months, 12 massages (12/12) 2. Yearly savings goal Totally did not make this one....as in not even close. I did spend my whole vacation fund on a downpayment on the trip of my lifetime , so that is something......right?   3. Territorial Prison Museum 4. Glow-in-the-dark Golf Tournament 5. Soldier's Angel *Angel Tree* I adopted 2 senior citizens and 1 kid this year. I have so much fun with the Angel Tree every year and this year was no different.  6. Goal Weight It took me a while, but I'm finally there. Operation maintenance has now begun. I'm motivated and I'm excited about the "new" life I have! 7. Complete Les Mills Pump 8. Mountain Bike Trip 9. Maui, Hawaii 10. Palisade Wine Biking Tour 11.* Donate 100 Charity Miles (111/100) I'd say I did pretty darn good this year! I added one goal, changed one goal and didn't make only one goal, I'm chalkin' it up as a win! Goodbye 2015 and bring

Minute to Win It , Round 1 was such a hit that we had to follow it up with Round 2 for our WYASCOE sponsored event at a work training in Casper. Everyone has so much fun with these games and of course there are always a few corny trophies up for grabs! I highly recommend putting together a M2WI game for your next gathering of friends, family or co-workers! Its best to get the boss to do the best game too! Stick 'Em Suck It Up The competitors The Champions

As 2016 comes closer and closer, I am reminded that I've got to get all my posts done that have happened throughout the year that I never actually gotten posted....because I'm a slacker.   If you remember back when we decided that our evenings at training shouldn't just be sitting around talking about work and knocking a few back with our coworkers and we decided to spice it up a little bit....by hosting Minute 2 Win It ! Well it was a hit! And we hosted a second Minute 2 Win It (which I realized I never blogged about....I'll get on that). Minute 2 Win It games are fairly simple, but we've found out they do take a surprising  bit of planning. Especially when you have somewhere between 20 and 30 people to play. Since this training happened to fall the week before Halloween and I was unmotivated to organize another game night, one of the girls suggested a corn maze and Halloween costume contest. While the corn maze didn't work out, the costume contest did. We

The angel tree is absolutely my favorite thing about Christmas. I love imagining the faces of little kids opening presents on Christmas morning when they may not have had a single present if not for the thousands that play "angel" at Christmas. I love imagining the relief and smiles on the faces of their parents, who probably worried and lost sleep over not being able to afford presents for their children. While I love the angel tree, I have repeatedly been disappointed by the number of requests for xbox, iphone and the like. Pretty much if you ask for one of those things, you will still be hanging on the tree when I walk away. After spending some time at the nursing home with one of our ranchers and with Bonnie's mom, I've added senior citizens to the angel tree as well. Those living in nursing homes are often forgotten or no longer have family nearby. I can't imagine how difficult the holidays must be when they are so lonely. While the season has become mor

Ok, so its December, I’m not going to play any Christmas music, we get enough of that on the radio. So, instead I am going to (maybe/maybe not) introduce you to some new tunes I’ve recently found. You’ll have to let me know they are any good. Mr. Misunderstood, Eric Church Dangerous After Dark, Cole Swindell Tennessee Whiskey, Chris Stapleton Wasn’t That Drunk, Josh Abbott Band I Love This life, LoCash Cowboys Enjoy! and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

The mother of all Thankful Thursdays has arrived! Thanksgiving. Today we (hopefully) are celebrating all that we have to be thankful for. Its easy to forget how much we have to be thankful for, but hopefully by taking a day to reflect on just that.....and writing it down....will help me remember far past this one day. So what am I thankful for this year? health and fitness - The past couple of years has shown me I'm stronger and capable of far more than I ever thought possible. I am thankful for the health that I've been blessed with and the hardwork I've put into gaining back my health and fitness. Its easy to be thankful when I'm out enjoying God's creation. the dog - My little old dog is my immediate family. She has so much personality and unconditional love its hard to be grumpy when she is around. Seeing how happy little things make her, little things like going for a walk, getting a chewy or a belly rub in the morning....that's what l

I am nearly at a loss for words here folks. After watching a FOX News video about the protest going on where college kids are demanding free tuition and student loan forgiveness, I'm at a loss. At what point did we become a nation of entitled, spoiled brats? Now I have my own ideas about how and when this came about, but really when? how? why? I feel strongly about the way I was raised . Hell I didn't even know we were in poverty growing up until just a few years ago. I was raised to make my own decisions and own the consequences of those decisions. Anyway back to the actual free college and student loan forgiveness. As such, I took a few concurrent college/high school classes while I was in high school. If I earned good grades, those credit hours were paid for by my high school. I then chose to go to a small 4 year college on an academic and basketball scholarship. I worked my ass off to earn grades that allowed me to keep that scholarship for 4 years of undergraduate study.

For some reason this year I really had the urge to get some Halloween decorations and dress up. Since I don't really have any friends to go out to the bar with and I wasn't sure what other opportunities I would have to dress up , I decided to take matters into my own hands. I bought a really giant spider, a spider web tablecloth, a flickering orange porch light and invited some people over for a Booze and Boos Bash. Since most of my friends ride bikes and the fall weather has been incredible....it was amended to "Bikes, Booze and Boos", luckily one of the trails at the Wilkins Peak Trail System is called "Better Than Dead"....could it fit any better? Unfortunately the weather did not fit. The wind was blowing about 40 mph and the ride was cancelled. Pinterest helped me nail some party food and decorations.....although most would probably sufficiently serve as the "NAILED IT" variety. My costume was a big fat question mark for a whil

I re-started spin classes a little over 2 years ago with no intention whatsoever to ever go biking. I used it solely as a calorie scorching workout, but then the Mountain Bikers happened. The talked me into getting on a real bike on a real(not so real hard core) mountain biking trail, which was actually a double track and not really a mountain bike trail at all. This summer I really put some miles on the ole' Giant that I bought last year. My first mountain bike and I couldn't be happier with it. So where am I going with all of this? I've learned a lot about myself and about life from mountain biking! Things I never though possible....are. 1. You are more capable than you think Nothing makes you feel stronger and more alive than crushing a drop, a corner, a steep hill that you've never had enough confidence to even try. When you nail it, you nail it and you are on top of the world. Have faith, be confident.....you are capable of great things. 2. Be

The month of thanks is upon us, along with turkey and all the fixings, mmm, mm… It’s easy to think of the bad stuff, but always remember the good stuff, because you can’t have the sweet without the bitter. So, I am thankful for this beautiful country we call home, from coast to coast and border to border, for the Tig dog that sleeps on my couch even when I tell him not to, for being gainfully employed (most of the time), for the Almost Gypsy Soul and her letting me bring you awesome tunes every month. So, here is your list! That’s why God Loves Cowboys, Aaron Watson Shotgun, Randy Rogers Band Country Nation, Brad Paisley That Ol’ Wind, Garth Brooks Everything I See, George Strait Enjoy!

I admire those who can work in professions where they are charged with saving lives every single day because they can't save every single life, every single day. Its something I'm just not sure I'd be able to handle well enough to call it my profession. But, to save a life. wow, what an awesome opportunity. Even if we are not called to be take on saving lives every single day, we can be called to save a life someday....which is why I re-upped my commitment to the Be a Match Registry.   Its free, donors never pay and you could save someone's life. Easy, go to the website, browse around and see what good you could do if call upon as a match and signup. They send you emails each year to renew your commitment. easy peasy. I was first called to join the registry when Assistant Pack Leader was in the situation of needing a possible donor. The doctors were able to use her own bone marrow, so she didn't have to find a matching donor, but not everyone is that lu

Remember that old saying "you don't know what you have until its gone"?  Well I feel it ringing true lately. Although my sentiment is more as its coming back into my life little by little I realize how much I have missed it. All those things that can be found at the end of a dirt road makes my little heart go boom, boom. Since I've became a big kid, I've had to live in town thus making me realize how much I miss the country life. Since I've lost weight and became active again, making me realize how much I miss the outdoors. Its the simple things in life that make me most happy. So what has been making my heart go boom, boom the last few months? Branding Jello Shots and all day horseback rides Playing with puppies for hours! Singletrack Shipping calves Spending the day hunting with The Retired Guy