Dusty

Well, friends...This is the last post you'll see including photos of Dustin's basketball until next season. They lost to a great team last night which ended their season. Awwww...It's ok, though. Now, on to track! Keeping up with my brother's sports is so much fun. Track season will bring pole vaulting, hurdling, and running for him. The kid never stops; I don't know how he does it!

Here are some photos to get us back on track....

158/365: Here's Torie and Halle watching the game. Dustin's friends Brooke and Ashley made these shirts for the 3 girls. On the front they say "That's my uncle!" So adorable. I think the Eagles have the greatest fans in the world! =D

Some "action" shots...I wish I had a nice flash or some strobes or something for the games...I hate needing such a high ISO. I've been trying to blur out the noise a bit, which leaves the pictures looking kinda funky, but it works, I guess. Oh well. Once track starts, I'll have the good ol' sunlight helping me out!

Isn't this a foul?

The game was frustrating to watch. I think it would have been much better if half our team would have showed up to win. Seemed like a few of them just didn't care. Too many turnovers and crazy shots. To me, it felt like they came into it without any confidence. Anywho...They had a fun season and should be proud of the District title. =)

This weekend we're heading out 'West River' for a weekend in the black hills. Brian hasn't been there since he was a kid so we're going to do all the touristy stuff - Mt. Rushmore and cave exploring and scenic drives. I'm pretty excited to get away from Madison for a few days and have some fun stuff to photograph.

On that same note - I could have a very fun and interesting summer ahead of me. More details on that in the future.

157/365: What am I?

156/365: Having some fun with water.

155/365: What's taking up my entire kitchen table right now. All that blue is difficult.

The future is exciting...Do you agree?

District Champions

Well, for anyone reading this who is NOT on my facebook friends list (and therefore does not already know,) The Eagles came home with the "W" last night! The last time we played Centerville, we were down by 18 at one point in the game, and came back and won by one point. Last night's game seemed to be headed the same direction - we were trailing the whole game - until some excellent shots were made and the guys' spirits jumped back up. This started a nice rally of 3-pointers and we ended up winning by 5. It was incredibly frustrating and exciting all in one.

Dustin finished off the game with 16 points (though, the papers say 18) and was the leading scorer.

I took some photos throughout the game, but none of them really turned out great. I was too excited and into the game to focus on my camera, so they weren't the best and I'll just leave them off the blog. =P

The gym when we arrived. The game going on here was Canistota vs. Bridgewater-Emery. Canistota won. The place was packed!

154/365: The boys receiving their plaque. District Champs!!

My favorite! "Uncle Dusty" with "Dobber Bay" =P I came up on this late and didn't have my flash on, so it kinda turned out like crap. But for a moment as cute as this, who cares about the quality of the photo?? It was captured, and that's what matters. =)

Dustin with the plaque. I took a ton of these, and he got annoyed. =P

Hey, there's me! Brian took this picture. I'm on a B&W kick these days, can you tell? And WHEN did he get so tall???

Dustin and Brooke and the excellent t-shirt she made for the game. THIS is what I remember high school basketball being. Lately all I see is girls trying to dress "prettier" or "more stylish" than their friends, so nobody wears Eagles clothes, or even the royal blue color! But THIS....This is how I remember high school. Homemade t-shirts to show support. It was great.

Our little cheering section of I-W students. Small school = Awesome. We're small, but we're mighty. And look at them all with school spirit dressed up in funky clothes and wearing the right colors! I love this. Wish it happened more often...

And since the game was in Tea, which is right outside Sioux Falls, we went out for pie & coffee at Perkins with D&E after the game. I have to admit, even though some of my classmates are chilling in London right now, taking photos and exploring the world, last night I was glad I was still home in SD, enjoying family time and a good old high school ball game. Someday I may able to travel the world...But right now I'm content in staying here. =)

Talent

Let me just say, I am extremely glad that Dustin's game is actually tomorrow night and not tonight. I had thought I was going to miss Nate Edwards's CD release party tonight. Turns out, my dates were off and the game is tomorrow.

So...I got to attend the show, and I am so so so glad I did! It was such a fun and relaxing time. Once again, I went with my buddy Paul, and one of our new friends and DSU Live members, Zach. We talked and laughed and listened to amazing music. Nate collaborated with a whole bunch of local musicians, including DSU faculty and students. I was in awe of all the talent packed into that little coffeehouse. I shot some photos - not as many as I would have liked to, but I was enjoying the music and atmosphere so much that I didn't want to be hiding behind my camera the whole time. It was, surprisingly, a nice feeling. I did, however, get these shots:

Nate and Cassie - Possibly the most talented couple I've ever met. Both of them are amazing! Definitely check out Cassie's blog! She's an expert artist, photographer, knitter, and cook! (Actually I can't say for sure about the cook...I've never tried it. But judging off her photos of her food...It's gotta be delicious!) They are both so great!

And a few more random photos:

This little "tip jar" (goblet?) was my favorite. Paul thinks this should be an album cover. Haha. It's pretty cool.

Please help me out and tell me which of the above 5 photos is your favorite. I'm not sure which to use as today's photo of the day. Comments are lovely!

So...Guess who was the goober and didn't bring money to the CD release party? Yours truly. Who goes to a CD release party without money?! Yep...I thought I had some cash in my camera bag and I most definitely did not. Zach was going to lend me $10 so I could buy one, but I figured I'd never get his $10 back to him (cuz I'm forgetful like that,) so I didn't accept. So, I asked Nate to put one aside for me and I'd buy one from him at some point in the future. Instead, he gave me a "trade" for some of the photos I'd taken at his previous shows. I do enjoy art trades. That's my second one this year, actually. Last semester I made a trade with Laci - Some photos from me for some character drawings from her. Now, if only I could find someone to trade me hundreds of dollars..... Ha. Just kidding. But, anyway -  Thank you, Nate, for the wonderful music. Both on disc AND live. =)

Yesterday morning I got up at 4:50 feeling nauseous and shivering. The feeling lingered throughout most of the day. I tried going back to sleep but couldn't. I unfortunately stayed home from class, despite being awake far long enough to make it. I ate some crackers for lunch and watched Pride & Prejudice and was just a complete downer all day. I did, however, trek down to campus and spent a small amount of time at the rock show happening there last night. Didn't stay long, sadly, because my head started hurting like crazy.

152/365: He was sitting perfectly under one of our very few working lights. Love it!

Tuesday we made some philly cheese steak sandwiches. Or some form of them, at least. It was Brian's idea. I used some of the round steak my parents gave me (meat care packages rule!) which I slow cooked all day. Then we mixed in some grilled onions and peppers, and melted cheese on top. They were pretty great.

151/365

And, lastly, today I made these: Snickerdoodle Blondies. They are sooooo good! I made a ginormous mess in my kitchen (creaming butter and brown sugar isn't the easiest of steps with a hand mixer,) but it was worth it. One of my new favorites, for sure! Try them out - They're super easy!

Basketball game tomorrow! Wishing Dustin and the Eagles luck as they advance in their District Tournament. A win tomorrow means championship game next week! Positive thoughts are always welcome. As always, I'll have some photos for you after the game. =) Have a good one!

Salt & Pep

Enjoyed a nice day in Sioux Falls yesterday. We did some shopping (in which I hardly bought anything. I am so broke I can't even afford to pay attention (Haaaa! My brother told me that once and it's been my favorite ever since.)) Brian spoils me too much. When I say that, I don't mean he buys me fancy things or gets me anything I want (which I'm glad for, I really wouldn't like that)...What I mean is, he takes me to Coldstone before movies and he will walk around Walmart with me for hours, even if I'm not buying anything, and he'll put up with my constant search for the lowest price on grocery items. But mostly it's the Coldstone that gets me. =P Last night I got Oreo Cream Filling with strawberries mixed in. It was magnificent.

Anywho...Today after class, he talked me into going for a run. He even went into my room and found all my running clothes and folded them up into a cute little pile by my door, all without me knowing. Then, after I still hadn't decided on going or not, he grabbed my hat and brought it to me. I told him he was like a dog wanting to go for a walk, who brings the leash to its owner. Adorable. I couldn't say no. And I'm glad I didn't. Even though it was pretty chilly (mid 20's,) it was a nice run and we felt pretty great afterward. Still can't wait for those warmer days, though.

Then he wanted to start the new puzzle that we got last night. Which was a surprise to me, because usually I'm the one who wants to do puzzles all the time. He started it on the floor, but eventually we moved it to the kitchen table.

150/365: Puzzle time!

149/365: Books

148/365: Salt & Pep (Who can guess where we were!)

Saturday night the snowflakes were ridiculously sparkling. I got some photos of them. =)

Enjoying them while they last!

Here's something funny - My bedroom floor is halfway hidden by 5 nice-sized piles of dirty clothes. This is the farthest behind on laundry I've EVER gotten. Last night I had to wash some undies in the sink and hang them over the shower rod to dry, just so I'd have some clean ones to wear until tomorrow. Doing laundry in this building is just a huge hassle. First of all, they're sucking me dry of quarters. Second, there's usually someone else doing laundry so you have to wait 3 hours just to put one load in the dryer. And third...sometimes you have to run the dryer twice in order to get even SOMEWHAT dry clothes. Ugh...Frustrating! Anywho....

Made some pork chop casserole for supper tonight. Getting much better at that one! Now, off to take a bubble bath and then work on some stuff. Tomorrow is laundry day!

Slow Day

Today Brian and I invented some deeeelicious pancake recipes. But they're top secret, so I can't share too much. Been a slow day today. We're watching college basketball...Brian's about to fall asleep on the couch. I'm starting some homework. Quite a Saturday.

Yesterday's photo:

147/365: Can anyone guess what this is? My family should be able to guess it. Not expecting anyone else to. =P Hint: It's one of my favorite recent Christmas gifts.

Snowed a few inches today. I've decided it's not so bad and I should enjoy the last few snowfalls, before it starts getting so hot I don't wanna do anything. Couple fun photo projects coming up, though, and I want need warmer weather! Until then...

Productivity, here I come.

146

Here's another little rant for you. Why do people pretend to like people who they really don't like? I'm not saying they should be rude or mean to them, but why do they flat out pretend to enjoy their company? I know far too many people who talk trash about their "friends" and then turn around and hang out with them and act like they're "besties." It's not something college aged people should be doing. In high school - fine. But don't bring those fake attitudes with you into your adult life. Grow up, kids.

That's all I have to say about that.


I finally put my 365 Project on facebook. I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not, but I finally jumped in. Guess we'll see how that goes.

Brian and I have a super excellent future idea but we are keeping it hush-hush for now. Ha! It's a silly little plan that we came up with and will probably never happen...But we've been having lots of fun thinking/talking about it. I guess you'll just have to wait and see if it happens, to know what it is. =P

Here's yesterday's photo:

146/365: My Valentine's Day roses are dying/dead. Makes me sad. Also, I'm in the dark when it comes to caring for flowers and plants. I don't know how long they should last, or how to make them last longer, if that's possible. Oh well. Maybe someday I'll have a cute little garden where I can learn all that good stuff.

I need 200 more views to catch up to last month's stats. I've been going downhill since December, so I want to jump back up. Tell your pals about my blog! Share it on facebook! Or don't! I just enjoy my little stats graph giving positive feedback.

Now, on to some homework. Woo!

145

Yesterday when I got home from class I was feeling sort of drained. My head was hurting and I was all stuffed up and had a sore throat. I thought for sure I was getting sick. I spent the majority of my day under my blanket (yes, I still have a blankie.) on the couch. Watched a lot of lame TV and drank some tea. Here's my photo:

145/365: Taking it easy.

Perhaps having such a laid-back day yesterday paid off...I'm feeling almost 100% today! I even scrubbed my apartment clean. It's sparkling today! Ha...Another story of proof that a nice hot cup of tea can fix just about anything. =)