Well, I 'd have to say I am one lucky feller

I haven't been on here since last week cause I been traveling. I went on "tour" to help out with the IWUA's Pesticide Applicator's Recertification Workshops. Went home to Burley for the first one and slept in my bed at home for the first time in a month, soooo nice. That was Tuesaday. First meeting was on Wednesday. Good turnout and all. Then I loaded up with dad and Hooter and we went over to Filer to go ropin. Fun stuff, heck, I roped pretty fair for not being on a horse for over a month. A darn good friend gave me a ride over to Jerome, as I was staying in a HOTEL in JEROME (crazy, I know. I have never stayed in a hotel in Jerome, never needed to). Good trun out at the meeting in Jerome. Then off to Ada. Went to Nampa for the last of the meetings on Friday. I was sitting in the back of the room, dinkin around on my computer. Checked my email and saw one from LSAC (Law School Admissoins Council) and realized they had sent my test scores! I am not a complete moron, but I am far from being a legal smartee pants. I think with my grades I will be able to get into the Law School I am shooting for. Nice huh? Yeah.
I helped Riley paint his kitchen on Saturday. Looks pretty darn good if you ask me. Truth be told, I didn't really paint too much. Riley is a great painter. His kitchen looks great. Spent some quality time with Davis Annabelle and Adylyn. Good fun.
Hope all is well for everyone out there. I am doing well and having a good time, hope you are too!
Its okay, Huh... Yeah, Its okay....

Yessir I believe that there is a Car wash...

Dad brought up a couple of horses to have finished by Barry Johnson. He picked up Kody from Interstate Feeders on Thursday and Kody was covered in manure. Not liquid or easily removed poop either, it was stick to your guns, pull out the hair on the hide, balled up tighter than a frog's butt manure.... So we took the horses into nearby Notus. However, the carwash there was out of order. Well, onto Caldwell. We found a nice car wash with hot water and commenced to washing. Took us about 2 hours, but we got it done (the owner of the wash stopped by and said he'd never seen it done, but said it was okay that we did, "those horses looked like they could use a bath). Horses looked great after that. I smelled like nasty manure. We proceeded home after dropping of the horses in Parma. On the way saw some hops Fields. Talk about neat! I don't drink beer or advocate the consumption thereof, but those hops Fields, even though they weren't growing were a sight to behold. Chad hooked me up on a blind date with a nice young lady. She seemed to be a bit shy, course it might've been me. Anyhow, we sat down to watch a movie after hot tubbing and 3/4 of the way through the movie I leaned over and said "You ever cuddled with a cowboy?" She said she hadn't. I then proceeded to ask her if she wanted to, to this her reply was a simple "No." I could take a hint, I backed off and watched Frank Hopkins win the great race. When the movie was over she lit out of there like she was on fire! No real goodnite, no phone number to exchange and she didn't look back! No, I am not ashamed or disappointed, I thought it was a good line and at least know what kind of girl it WON'T work on. Like I usually say, "Could be worse."
In other crazy news, I always have a way of picking the wrong time to say the right thing. Dadgummit. You'd think I could get a bit of better timing down, but heck, I am a team roper and not a genius, and I'd rather be lucky than good. Sometimes I just ain't as lucky as I would care to be.
That is why coming home is such a great thing. Home is my fortress of solitude, my hole in the wall and my place to just relax and rejuvenate. I am typing this in my home after sitting in a hot tub and letting all the stress in my body just leave my muscles. Felt sooo nice. It was cold out there, but I really couldn't feel it. Okay, no more rambling. I would just like to say, for what it's worth: Sometimes I can't accomplish everything I'd like to. I have my shortcomings and I would like everyone to know that I am responsible for the things in my life. I know that. Let me also say that just because right now, I can't do what I would really like to, doesn't mean that I won't do all that I can. Hey, it could be worse.

Reckon I should do a bit of clarification

I hope that everyone can see that this morning's post was a bit negative. I sure didn't want to come off that way. I want ya'll to know that I am doing pretty good, and I forgot to include some good things that happened this weekend. First off: spent quality time with mom and dad. That is priceless. Dad and I just about cooked ourselves in the hot tub, 109 is a bit too hot... Mom and I had ample time to chat. I got a chance to ride Tiny. Dangdest thing happened: I split my pants open right down the front. First pair that I bought when I got back from Japan. They lasted over two years (let's see some sissyfied city-boy pair of pants handle that much livin'!). Also had a heckuva good time with an old friend. You never know how much you miss somebody 'till thier gone. It was good to chill with a real good friend. We headed up to the mountains, saw a herd of deer in Albion and checked out the full moon from the lookout spot on the way up to Pomerrell. It was great to talk to a good friend. Sunday morning I got to go to church with Mom and Grandma Matthews. What a treat. I love my Grandma. Not only that but in Mom and Dad's ward I got to hear two great talks. I realized as I heard these talks why I am who I am: my mom and dad. They gave wonderful talks. Very uplifting, and I also got to sit next to Grandma Larsen. Good day, how can you beat going to church with your grandmas? Pretty tough. Hope all is well with ya'll and that the sun is smiling on your day. Good luck and God Bless.

Ropin is SOOO much easier than...

Just about anything. I have always said I'd rather be lucky than good. I still stand by this. I have consigned myself to the fact that it will be a heckuva lot easier for me to win the world roping than it will be for me to find a wife. I know you think this is crazy talk, but let's look at the facts: If I practice hard and get a better horse, I could perform better. That's not too tough to do. However, I have tried all sorts of stuff to find a nice girl, and I still am trying. It seems like I keep hitting the same wall. Like one of my brother's freinds said "I find a girl, she likes me but I do not care for her, then I see one I like and she cares nothing for me" (when you read it say it with a French accent, I can't remember if Sylvere is French or Swiss, but he spoke French). He was a bit older when he got married. I want you all to know that I am NOT obsessed with finding a wife, but it might be a bit better than bumming around trying to get dates. Back to the original premiss though: Roping is just easier to do. Yeah, I spend lots of time and money on my roping, but how often have I come home from a bad night of roping and wanted to never to it again? NONE!!! Why, because at least with the roping I know that I have a CHANCE at taking something home with me, like a check or a saddle or something!!! Okay, enough with the drivel... I am doing well. My truck is having a bit of a rough time (No, Linds, it isn't cause it's a Ford, but it could be something to do with the 180,000 miles on it, like Chris LeDoux says "It ain't the years, its the miles"). Life is realatively good. The more I look at the blessings in my life the more I realize that life ain't bad at all. I have a great family that loves and supports me, friends that are true and cheer me on in my pursuits and I know that Heavenly Father is watching over and taking care of me and guiding me to something good. I also know that I have the faith to make sure that I can get through it all. Remember folks: Pray like it all depends on Him and then get up and work like it all depends on you.

I have never felt so stoopid

Those of you who know me closely know that I am a fan of being somewhat educated, but I have never felt as dumb as I did on Saturday. What was Saturday? The LSAT. I know that I have a decent grasp of the English language and I am somewhat fluent in my speaking and writing abilities but I must be a retard when it comes to reading and comprehending information!!! I swear my brain just shut down about the third section or so. I hope that I never have to re-do the test, of course, Uncle Reed provided me with a word of advice and solace: The only other day you feel as dumb as you did on the day you took the LSAT is the day you get your scores back. 2月27日へ楽しみまっています。I am looking forward to Feb 27. Any way, after I took the test I called a good buddy and we headed out and went shotgun shooting. We bought a brick a piece and took a 12 gau., a 40mm, 356, .22 and girls with us. Good fun. I know I went through 80 shells, my shoulder is a smidgen sore, but it was a great way to unload my frustration. Oh yeah... Yesterday the legislature was quite entertaining, the constitutional amendment for the definition of marriage to be between a man and woman passed 53 to 17. A good debate and I was pleased with the outcome. I was not impressed with a comparison that one gal made that compared my religion with the gay/lesbian community in that the constitution shouldn't tell people what is and isn't marriage (for you who aren't Idaho History buffs, the Idaho constitution used to say that Celestial marriage, temple marriage, was not recognized by the State of Idaho and that those who entered therein could not have some rights that others enjoy. That was changed in 1982, and to make that kind of comparison is completely assinign!). Any how the measure is now going to be debated in the House, and I think that it will go through. A good moral victory for my home state. God Bless Idaho and America.

Some folks go a bit too far....

I chose not publish a comment that someone made on my blog, why? Because they didn't leave a name: if you have something to say KEEP IT CLEAN and RELATED and then leave your name with it. Any how....
It has been a while since I had the time to tell everyone what I have been doing... I attended the Idaho Water Users Assn. Water Conference. It was fantastic, for a conference it wasn't bad. You know you can always learn something! I have been helping get ready for another conference that we will be putting on for pesticide applicators. This one will be good and I will get to go home for a day or two. Then we'll head to Jerome and back to Nampa.
Mom told me that I was on TV the other night. I attended Norm Semanko's formal announcement for his running for Congress in the 1st District and the camera caught a glimpse of me. GO NORM!! Norm is a good man from what I know and the association I have had with him so far. Shoot I figure the more folks we have like him in the world the better off we'll be.
I would really like to throw a line out to all my friends that I kinda miss: you all know who you are and I hope all is well for you!

This is one SMALL world!!!

So, I sent a good freind off on a mission. She is headed to Okalhoma City, and I wanted to get her address as I didn't have it. I called her mom and she was in the process of looking ofr it when she asked me where I was from. Of course, everyone knows someone from Burley, and as luck would have it, she was actually from Burley! She graduated about the same time my folks did and she knew mom and dad. She mentioned that we were DISTANT counsins, I say that so that folks won't think I am nutty for "writing" to a sister missionary that is my cousin... It's not that close. ANYHOW: work is going good and I am helping get ready for our big conference this week (to find out more about the conference check out www.iwua.org). I have made all sorts of copies and booklets. NICE. I want to tell you paperwork is not my favorite thing in the world, but hey, whats an intern to do? Right, you just bow your head and do whatever. If any of you reading this want to, feel free to leave commments!!! I haven't seen any yet. Anyhow, I hope all of you are functioning well and enjoying life. If you're not it's your own fault!!!

Happy Human Rights Day!!!

That is a Holiday for some of you, but not me. I don't mind though. Good day to get some decent work done. I am scheduling conference dates for our Ditchriders and Pestcide Applicators. Tons of fun... I went over to the State House, or as a coworker calls it the Great Wind Tunnel, and sat in on the few meetings that were going on. I missed a perfect opportunity to take a good picture of a protestor, thats right I said 1 protestor. Her sign said "Impeach Bush and Cheney!!!" She was all alone and wasn't making a ruckus, I hope freinds showed up later to add support, but I did't notice any on my way out, back to the office. A great photo opportunity missed... Zannen da yo. So downtown is free parking on holidays, in case you didn't know.
OH YEAH, this weekend Chad and I went out to Black's Creek with some of his freinds and some girls and went shooting. We had a few 12 gauges and a 22 pistol as well as a Bereta 40mm. Fun stuff. I may have to get into that stuff. I was shooting the Bereta and I couldn't hear ANYTHING. It was sooo loud, but it was fun. Chad also bought a used Bereta 40mm, it is a sweet feeling pistol, quite nice indeed. I know he got a great deal on it, but I just don't see myself dropping $500 for a gun anytime soon, I'd rather spend it on entry fees and fuel to get to the roping.
Also went out dancing at the Cowgirl in Kuna. I know it's a bar, but it's was the best option for going dancing. Yeah, so they played one song and some girls climbed up on the bar and started dancing. At this time I felt a fist in my back. I turned around to see an old roping buddy. He looked at me and said "I'm tellin your dad I saw you here!" Course, I told him that the strongest thing I had to drink was a water. He asked who I was there with I looked around for my date, she was on the bar dancing!!! Nothing vulgar mind you, but it was quite the shock to the system. Fun night, oh boy!!! We had quite the time dancing and we danced quite well together, I would have to say. That is the first thing I think that matters about a girl, after the usuall things; can she dance? Not only that but can she dance with you? Don't worry kids, nothing serious and I am not replacing my old dance partners (you know who you are). I just need somebody to dance with in the Treasure Valley...

Good crud, What a week.

I have almost made it through my first week as a lobbyist intern. What a different world! I attended a fancy luncheon yesterday. I saw the size of the salad and thought, crud if that's the salad, the main course is going to rock!!! However, I soon discovered, that WAS the main course! Dadgummit! I reckon people with lots of power don't need a whole bunch to eat... I made the aquaintance of an older gentleman and he took the time to talk with me and offer some sage advice. He told me that if you wanted to make a name for yourself, be patient and work at a constant pace and don't try to basically ram your name down people's throats.
I sat in on some interesting meetings. Here is my summary:

Legislative week in review

For the week of January 9-13, 2006

This week started of with the Governor’s State of the State address. Some of the issues addressed were the need to redesign the Medicaid system, create a law to keep government for misusing eminent domain for gains on a private level, and to use the surplus of money the state has. He has developed a plan for the surplus which includes putting away $67million for a rainy day fund, $67million to improve parks and for prison expansion, as well as $63million in an energy rebate (a check to virtually each Idahoan for $50). To read the entire State of the State or listen http://gov.idaho.gov/.

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture, ISDA, made presentations to the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee. They covered the issues of Brucellosis and the measures needed to get Idaho back to a rating of Class Free as well as animal I.D. Worker safety and protection during pesticide application was also addressed. The ISDA has a plan to broadcast via radio to Hispanic workers safety public service announcements dealing with pesticide and general safety. Noxious Weed Program Manager, Matt Voile, addressed the need for funding in fighting a new threat to Idaho’s waterways, the Eurasian Water Milfoil. Milfoil can infest rivers and lakes. This would mostly be devastating to recreational water users, but the economic costs to water users and the general public would definitely be felt as it could cost roughly $4million annually to control and hopefully rid Idaho’ waterways and lakes of this noxious weed. ESPA CREP (Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) a program to enroll up to 100,000 acres to reduce groundwater and surface water consumptive use was also explained, as well as the goals associated with the plan. (For more information please see http://www.agri.state.id.us/, official website for the ISDA).

Another hot topic this week was the current status of the wolf population in Idaho. Estimates are that roughly 600 wolves are roaming our state, enough to shortly become delisted from the Endangered Species Act. The wolf packs have had an adverse affect on some Idaho elk populations, especially the Lolo and Selway regions. The Idaho Fish and Game Department has proposed cutting wolf pack numbers in the Lolo region by roughly 75%, in order to correct the problem. This measure is pending approval by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. To read what the Idaho Statesman has to say on the issue please visit www.idahostatesman.com.

New kid in town

I have made it to the big city of Boise. I have my own office, parking spot and a name tag. I know that isn't too impresive, but for a kid who is still a bit wet behind the ears to big city livin', I don't think I am doing too bad. I commute to work and it takes about 18 t0 30 minutes to travel a whopping 11 miles. That is not normal for me... I used to drive from Rexburg to I.F. in 30 minutes and that is 25 miles! Good crud. I have been shown the capitol building, could have attended the State of the State with good seats, but didn't. I was beat. Life is funny in the way you are presented with opportunities to get toknow more people, I have met a whole bunch of folks that have fancy titles and carry alot of weight with them. I can honestly say its a bit intimidating, but heck I guess that is life... Life is going pretty good and I am not one too complain, remember that when you complain 50% of the folks you complain to don't care, and the other 50% are glad that you have the problem. Off to more meetings this afternoon and wahooey!

Rain... and MUD

Heck, it hasn't stopped raining here for two days, course, it started out in the form of snow. Made some heckuva mess of our pens and the horses are up to thier knees in mud...That made it tough to get to the Rafter 4S to go roping yesterday. I roped with some good folks, had a great time. Getting there was a bit tough, as I took my truck and it is a two-wheel drive. I'd hit the gas and fishtail, with the trailer. a bit scary. Roping sure was fun though. I have determined that my Christmas present of Crooked Stirrups was about the best gift that I got from mom and dad. They are soooooo comfortable. I would tell anyone who has bad knees and ropes to try a pair... Don't get the knockoffs, get the real things, if they don't have the logo of the CrookedStirrups on it it ain't real... OH Happy New Year to everyone and Happy Birthday to my big brother, Riley. I hope this new year has as much in store as the last 23 years of my life has.

Wild wind last night!!!

Went roping with a good buddy of mine to the Rafter 4S. Took his truck and trailer as mine doesn't have lights. We headed out about 5:30, and we weren't due to rope till 8:00, so we figured we'd stop in at the Outback for some steak. I hadn't been there for five years and I forgot how spendy they are! The waitresses were friendly but looked like they were from Australia... They guffed our order up and we ended up having our meals boxed up so we'd make it to rope on time. No tip> No I am not cheap but when a place messes your order up like that and does nothing to correct it, I don't feel like they earned thier keep. I roped pretty decent, heck I was 20 for 25, lots of legs, but a few really good slicks. As we left to head home the wind came up and was blowing like heck! We didn't use too much gas in getting home, and it looked like the rain that was falling was trying to outrun us! Got home about midnight, pretty good deal if you ask me. The simple fact is the worst day roping is WAY better than the best day at work!

Boy Howdy

I am ten miniutes away from being the winning bidder on a new Dell! Yahooey. I hope no little poop comes along and guffs it up. I am a bit nerveous, but I reckon its like buying a steer at the livestock auction on Thursdays. You look the thing over real good and figger its what the farm needs, or its the right price. You bid and so does someone else and your heart gets pumpin like crazy and you shake and yahooey its a good rush. Almost like catchin two feet in 6.8!

What in the world?

In case anyone is wondering, this is the first time I have done something like this, but maybe it'll be a good journal.
I just finished up another semester at BYUI and I am headed out to the big city of Boise for the opportuinity to perform an internship. I hope it will prove fruitful.