The gang's all here!

Buckley is quite the dancer!

Enjoying some live music at Mo's Irish Pub

Miller Park ... This stadium is unbelievable!

Milwaukee Baby!

We had our NC region meeting in Milwaukee and it was great! Wednesday night we had a group dinner at Benihana's (mmm ... sushi) and then we checked out a live band. By band, I mean two guys that played guitar and keyboard and sang some really great songs. It was a blast. Thursday consisted of meetings (held at Miller Park) and Thursday night we watched the Brewers take on the Pirates. The Brewers lost ... boo, hiss ... but it was still a great game!

I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again ...

I started to type this and got that song stuck in my head! I'm leaving tomorrow for Milwaukee. We have some meetings for work there, but it won't be all work and no play. We're going to the Brewers vs. Pirates game Thursday night! Hopefully I'll have some fun pics to post when I return on Friday.

Congratulations John and Amanda!

Their son, Nathan John, was born last night!

Happy Birthday Lucinda!

Cheers to 21 years!

Yay Tonic Sol Fa!

After the week I've had, the perfect ending was the Tonic Sol Fa concert I went to last night with my mom and my sister. These guys simply amaze me. If you've never heard them, check them out (they'll be at the Sioux Empire Fair and the SD State Fair this year). I guarantee you will be a fan. They showcased some new songs last night that are awesome ... I can't wait for the new cd to come out!

The little girl in the picture is the daughter of one of my co-workers. Yes, I shamelessly used her to get in line, get my cd signed and meet the boys!

Better luck next time, I guess.

Our offer wasn't accepted. Turns out there were four other offers made on the house ... the listing agent didn't tell our agent about it, even though he knew that we made the first offer on the house last night. So we spent a better part of the day thinking that we would be home-owners by this afternoon. Our hopes were dashed around 2:30.

I guess that will teach me to get my hopes up!

Home Sweet Home?

Well, we did it. We put in an offer on a house!! Hopefully I'll have some good news to post tomorrow.

Keep your fingers crossed ... your toes crossed ... say a little prayer ... anything!!

Happy Birthday baby!

Dustin finally got his truck! My favorite feature is the adjustable pedals!!

My competitive singing days are over ...

Last night was the local karaoke finals, of which I was a participant. The top two advance to the state finals next weekend in Sioux Falls. Alas, I placed third. I got a koozie for my efforts though! All in all, it was fun. When I entered the first contest it was simply for fun, something to do. I went last night with no expectations (Shel - what did you say expectations were?) other than to just have a good time and sing my best. I had a great time. There were some really great singers in the bunch ... and of course others that weren't so great! For those of you hoping to see me on the next season of American Idol, I'm afraid that won't happen!!

I've kind of been in a funk this week. Not sure why ... maybe it's stress at work, maybe it's the weather. Who knows. Either way, this week has sucked. So, I made myself some flowers!

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Spring Fling!

For a special day ...

It's a great day to be a jackrabbit!

Congratulations to the South Dakota State University Women's Basketball team on a thrilling 60-53 victory over Indiana State University. That game was awesome!!

Go big. Go blue. Go Jacks!

My current desktop wallpaper. This was originally (and still is) a cover for one of my steno notebooks. I found the tickets and the text and my friend incorporated the guitar. Then I turned it into desktop wallpaper. If you look real close at the tickets you can see how cheaps concerts used to be. Those were the days, I guess!

thoughts

"There is a gigantic difference between

earning a great deal of money and being rich."

- Marlene Dietrich

Happy Birthday Abby!

Make it stop!

My refrigerator is driving me crazy! It's on the verge of dying and it will not go quietly into that gentle night. My only relief is that I'm getting a new one tomorrow. Only it's not tomorrow and I'm ready to scream! That is one thing that I will miss about living in an apartment ... one phone call and you get new appliances.

I went over to Nichole's last night to watch a movie and we put Piper's new vest on her. She absolutely hates it, she will hardly move when she has it on! But we love it ... it's so cute!

I'm a singin' fool

Friday night started out as any other Friday night. I met a few friends from work at Skinners. Dustin met up with us later and we headed over to Rachel's for a couple drinks, then to The Cellar for an art opening. After that we headed to Main Street Pub for a little karaoke. Turns out they were having a karaoke contest. After quite a bit of encouraging from Dustin, Rachel, and some other work friends that happened to be there, I decided to enter. Another girl that I work with also entered the contest. I sang I Hate Myself For Lovin' You and I won! She won too. We both received $10 bar tabs ... we basically broke even, the entry fee was $10.

Desktop Publishing

I presented to the Desktop Publishing class at SDSU yesterday. A friend of mine teaches the course and another friend of mine is in it. They are currently learning InDesign, a program that I use every day at work. I told them about a few features that I really like and also told them how I use the program. They asked a lot of great questions and I actually had answers for them! I think they enjoyed seeing that you don't have to be a graphic designer to use these programs and that even Journalism majors can be desktop publishers! I've been told that I will be invited back next year!

Some things to think about ...

I subscribe to Real Simple (if you've never perused this particular magazine, I suggest you pick up a copy ... it's great!) and they feature a reader every month. They have several questions that they pose to the chosen reader. Some of them are silly, but some of them really make you stop and think. So, I thought I would share some of them with everyone.

What is your motto?
What makes you laugh?
High road or Low road?
What's the one thing you'll never understand?
What's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you?
What surprises you most about your adult life?
What's your favorite place in the world?
Biggest waste of time?
My life would be simpler if ...
The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is ...
If I knew then what I know now ...

Happy Valentine's Day

Continue to love deeply and risk everything for the good thing.

Miss Allie

Who knew!

After leaving Stef's party, we went bowling! It was so much fun and I wasn't as terrible as I thought I would be. I even got two strikes! We also had the opportunity to meet Shel's boyfriend, Mike. He is such a great guy and we had a great time with them!

Farewell Stef!

Stef is moving on to bigger and better things at Daktronics, so we got together to toast her new adventure. Stef's Mom, Lynelle, loves her some spinach artichoke dip!

Let the house hunting begin!

Dustin and I went to the bank today and we were pre-approved for a home loan! Now it's time to start looking (and not daydreaming, as I have been doing!) for a house. We're both really excited. They pre-approved us for way more than we could probably ever afford realistically, so it will be interesting to see what we can find. Be sure to check back as I will post updates as this progresses!

I'm not a graphic designer, nor do I claim to be, but I made this and I'm pretty proud of it!

New shows ... will I tune in?

The new season of The Hills starts tonight. I'll probably watch it, much to the dismay of my husband. He's not too crazy about those shows (although he won't miss an episode of the Real World/Road Rules challenges!). I get that these shows are supposed to be "reality", but they sure don't seem very real. At least not in comparison to my reality. They do make me feel better about my life though, I'll give them that! They usually end up making me angry (why deal with all that drama ... get some new friends!) and I usually quit watching well before the season ends. At least MTV gives you those marathons on the weekends so you can catch up on all that you've missed.

You can bet that I will be tuning in to the new season of American Idol. I love that show. It's my guilty pleasure. Okay, so I have more than just one guilty pleasure. Regardless, I can't get enough.

Speaking of American Idol, I heard a song on the way to Omaha (went on a little trip for work last week that took me to Omaha and Ames) and I was positive that it was Chris Daughtry. My friend, Brady, wasn't so sure. While I knew he had an album that was released, I read about it in People (another guilty pleasure), I hadn't heard any of the songs. My radio in my car is forever tuned in to the local Classic Rock station. I swear I was born in the wrong decade! Sure enough, I was right. The song is It's Not Over and it's pretty darn good. So, of course, I had to download it to my iPod. He was by far my favorite contestant on American Idol and should have won in my opinion. Although not winning has put him in a far better position ... no ties to the show anymore.

Allie's Baptism

Allie was baptized today and Dustin and I are her godparents, along with Randy's sister Heather and her husband Justin. Allie's gown was made from Nichole's wedding dress ... it was beautiful.

Here's to 2007!

Happy Birthday, Jessica!!

Christmas with the Beringer's

Bryan & Jessica, Cindy (hidden), Grandma Trego, Jackie

GI Granny

Every year, I am reminded how blessed I am to be a part of the Beringer family. We had a wonderful Christmas together this year in Pierre. Thanks again for everything, Jeff and Cindy!

The weary traveler

We left yesterday afternoon around 1:00 ... Dad and Grandpa in one vehicle, me and Grandma in the other. We were headed to Kansas City (well, Overland Park to be exact). We arrived around 7:30 last night and immediately headed out for supper. Per my request, we went to Houlihan's. Don and Shelly (my uncle and aunt) took me and my friend, Sarah, there in September. This place is amazing. The food is spectacular and the atmosphere is awesome. If you are ever anywhere near a Houlihan's, you have to go there. Check 'em out on the web too ... www.houlihans.com.
It ended up being a very early night for us, which was good. We were all up and ready to go around 8:00 this morning. We had breakfast at this great little restaurant (I can't remember the name of it though ... something about First Start ... not sure). Anyway, the food was great there too. I had a turkey dill crepegg. It was crazy!
After that, Dad and I headed back to South Dakota. After stopping for gas in Rock Port, Missouri, we kept the peddle to the medal ... Dad didn't want to stop again. We finally got home around 3:45. Let's just say that makes for a very long trip and a very fast walk to the nearest restroom!! I shouldn't complain too much though. Don and Shelly are driving Grandma and Grandpa the rest of the way ... Weslaco, Texas. That trip is a bit longer than our jaunt home. Travel safe!
I now plan to settle in for a movie and some popcorn ... and maybe a couple beers!

... and all that jazz!

The Employee Committee (well, most of us anyway!)

We had our company holiday party the other night. It was a lot of work but it ended up being so much fun. The decorations were awesome, the jazz band was great and we all looked fabulous! Happy Holidays!!

People only have one way to be. You never know. Write everything down. Keep a journal. Take more pictures. Never let them know. There are no secrets.

Storm

Meet Storm. My friend Rachel got her last night and I am extremely jealous. How cute is she?

Grandma & Grandpa

Shel has been bugging me to get a picture of the proud new grandparents on here and I finally got one last night. Allie even had her eyes open!
I wonder how long it will be before my parents actually look like grandparents?

A good time was had by all!

Chad and Michelle were visiting this weekend (Chad needed to do some good 'ol South Dakota hunting!) and Jodi was home for the weekend, which meant we all needed to go out. We were all completely exhausted, but that didn't stop us from closing things down on Saturday! I even got Jodi to sing with me and now she's totally addicted (she may not admit that to many people though)!

fresh ink

Shelly and Jodi got new tattoo's this weekend. Shelly's (on her foot) means older sister and Jodi's (on her ankle) means younger sister. Really got me thinking that I need to get another one ...