Watch out Whiskey Jacks!

Alli and I are working together today. Alli said this is a refreshing change from shoveling rotten beans out of the grain bins together!

Dedicated to You

I've loved it SOOO much out here in Big Sky so far. It's been a terrific experience because of these two:

I'm with my favorite people ever, Shawn and Alli. I can't say enough great things about Shawn. He's so patient, considerate, and always thinks before he speaks (a quality I need a little work on). Alli always makes a positive impact on your day. She's smiley, funny, and altruistically caring (to her dog, friends, and family). I'm so lucky to be around one or both of them 90% of my day!

I am not without a pining heart, however.

I miss making lefse with my mom and dad. That is a tradition I hope to enjoy for years and years to come. I miss playing games of around the world with my uncle Duke in the shop. I miss cross-country skiing on the farm with Karley and Robby. I miss doing Lily's make-up, or at least admiring the artwork she does on her own face. Laughing with Heidi & Sam about things Lily does/says is something I yearn for almost on a daily basis!

My mother's generosity in general is something that hasn't diminished since moving 800 miles away from her. She's played an ESSENTIAL role in my acceptance to the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. A million blog-posts could not express how thankful I am for Mom.

I miss my dad's radiant demeanor. My siblings and I's non-stop smile is definitely a combined effect of my father and mother's contagious grins. My dad is the ultimate definition of ingenuity. He's a go-getter, a problem solver, and a man who walks with the Lord. He's a funny guy and someone that loves to laugh. I hope I've attained a bit of each of those qualities from him!

Simple little things...

I love doing puzzles. I never tire of a good crossword, sudoku, or brain teaser.

Bath & Body Works always has something for the lady that wants to smell good. I like candles, lotions, and body washes.

Shawn doesn't think so, but I need a loaf pan!

I've never in my life had a good quality thermos. I think it's about time!

The third season of The Tudors would please me greatly to own (spoken like King Henry VIII, the subject of the Showtime series).

Just ask Vicky...

Victoria's Secret has lotsa good stuff. You really can't go wrong. ESPECIALLY since I'm out of sweatpants. Size large works for all the following.

I love Pink's boyfriend pant in red and heather charcoal.

Pink's MVP yoga pant is something I've been eying up for a while as well. Would go for a 35" length.

Pink's flannel boyfriend pant is always

a lounging must. Love it in blue kisses and cheetah purple.

Did I mention I love makeup? I hope so, cause it's pretty.

Turns out Vicky sells some pretty rad eyeshadow. I love gilded fierce and taboo (and pretty much every other one!)

A comfy, colorful long sleeve is a lounge win!

It's that time of year...

December is in full swing and Alli, Shawn, and I have been having a blast in the big sky state. Yesterday Shawn and I spent the day riding. I've been working already so it's nice to be able to get some money in the bank!

In no way do I expect any gifts for Christmas since I know shipping during the season can be a hassle. But, per request, I'll list some things I'd be overjoyed to receive:

Knockaround sunglassses in black/sunset or frosted grey/red

sunset.

Knockaround belt in orange/silver buckle.

MAC anything. I know, this is the same as last year. But I simply cannot get enough of it. Love the paintpot in this constructivist and quite natural!

I've always loved Coal's winter accessories. Their hats/beanies feel

like putting a warm chinchilla on your head: THAT COMFY. I love the Parks beanie in purple.

I've been into Wii Fit a lot lately (Shawn might say obsessively). I love how it makes it easy to get some exercise before or after work without having to buy an expensive gym membership up here. Some games that would enhance my Wii experience tremendously are Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum and Just Dance II.

I would love a new purse. I know that's somewhat intimidating buying for another person but I'm not too picky. I love colors and textures. I've founds some pictures of ones I like, but I do not expect to receive a Fossil anything. It's just meant as a guide :)

I'll keep racking my brain for more ideas.

I'M IN!!

Today I was invited to be a dental student at both the University of Minnesota AND Oklahoma University schools of dentistry. Which one? WHICH ONE??

'There's just a bit more on the floor I need to get off the floor Jill '

This is what she's choosing to do on her birthday

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Just scrubbing away

She can't stop

What a deal!

Do I get to pick the boy I kiss?!

Care to join me?

My dinner tonight of roasted sweet potatos, mushrooms, asparagus, carrots, and onions

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Blog neglect!

I have vistited my blogging dashboard every day since I've been back from Montana and said to myself, "you really should blog about how coolio the trip was, Jill." but then I reply, "Yeah, but maybe I'll check my facebook wall again (for the 11th time) and see if anything new has popped up." Then Karley comes in and asks who I'm talking to... hence the avoidance of my blog.

Let's play catch-up!

I week after New Year's Shawn and I went to Ashby because we had a very special date planned with my cousin, Miles. He recieved a snowboard from Santa (with some heavy lobbying from Shawn and I) and we promised we'd take him out and get his feet wet...or cold in this example.

We had so much fun at Andes Tower Hills outside of Brandon, about a 25 minute drive from my house. I was very impressed by how quickly Miles picked up the basics. It worked out especially well since he rides 'regular' or right footed and I ride 'goofy' or left footed so we went down the hill, hand in hand, giving him some extra stability. Eventually he was like, "I'm gonna go down the bunny hill...you guys stay here." He wanted to figure it out by himself, he wanted to get up after falling without our help, he wanted to coach himself with us hovering by him. Those are the exact qualities you need to succeed in snowboarding. I'm thinking he'll do just fine!

If you're looking for an update on work/assisting/dental school it goes about like this: great/fun/think I'll be applying next year. Believe me, I know the true definition of 'bummer' after going through this process. But I can show them that I'm resiliant and I truly want to be a dentist.

There's so much to talk about regarding the Montana experience... I fear this blog will be as big as the state itself! I'll try to summarize efficiently. Key word here being try. :)

The best thing that happened to Shawn and I was that we left. That's a weird statement to start off with but it's true. That mixed with 'timing is everything' would maybe fit better. A huge rain, snow, & ice storm ravaged across the Dakotas and into western MN Thursday night and all day Friday. Leaving Thursday morning, Shawn and I had a beautiful, sunny drive across the plains. We even had the air on for a few minutes! Mom, Dad, Karley, Heidi, Sam, and Lily on the other hand attemped the journey starting Friday night and made it as far as Jamestown before getting a hotel. I94 was glare ice and very slow, scary going for the caravan of 2 vehicles. They were torn about staying westbound, or waving a white flag and turning back. Alli and I encouraged them to keeping going but they turned around. Some very emotional minutes ensued which led to Dad turning back once more, detirmined to see his youngest at Big Sky. They made it safe and sound on Saturday night around 8:30 PM. Sam and Heidi and Lily made it back to Fergus and were stranded at their house as the ice storm made it impossible to drive anywhere safely for at least a day.

Whew! That was intense. Now to the fun stuff.... when I have time to post again! Enjoy your Monday, everyone!!

p.s. More awesome photos also to come!

Sharing is caring. And snowboarding is epic!

Shawn sharing his soup with Al. We're in for lunch after a morning of plowing powder on Lone Mountain.

Couldn't ask for a better day for an 850 mile jaunt across the country. Someone let the Post know we're motoring!

My life in x-ray hell

I feel like I'll be spending eternity here! All week I've been doing errands for the front desk. I've been banished into slavery. K that might be a bit dramatic but here's my task from now until probably next week: Un-mount and duplicate x-rays from several charts. Finding the charts alone is like a non-fun version of Where's Waldo. Here's my new radiation emitting friends. The least they could do is give me a tan!

and then...

I develop the x-rays, cut them out of the mount, label and organize them, and send them off to the insurance company. I sure hope delta dental appreciates it!

I'm working the front desk today. It's very intimidating to say the least! Imagine walking into your dental clinic and your receptionist is stammering on and throwing health papers every which way. Not a pretty picture

Kelly and I utilized some creativity to spend our cold saturday afternoon!

Anyone want a t-shirt?

Holiday Top Ten!

The holidays went whooshing by and now we get to look forward to Valentine's day! [READ THE VALENTINE PART WITH HEAVY SARCASM]
Wouldn't you hate to be the holiday that follows up the Christmas/New Year's super-holiday-combo? Maybe that's why Valentine's day is so depressing, because it, ITSELF, knows that it's pathetic. Sorry, V, but nobody likes you.

I know I've been neglecting my blog, which is odd because I've come to enjoy it more than I ever thought I would. So much so that I call Shawn to ask him to read it and then later call him back and ask him if he got it. It's a wonder he's still putting up with me :)

I have so much to fill this blog up with... updates on my life and pictures of the last 15+ days spent hopping between Duluth, Maple Grove, Big Lake, and Ashby. I've had some terrific times in each of these places.

Here's Jill's HOLIDAY TOP TEN:

10) Shawn and I getting a ride home from my boss, Dr. Kaake, and his wife after bar hopping all over the northland for our holiday party. Dr. Kaake says to me the following Monday, "We sure don't take 2nd place in partying, do we?" I love my job.
9) Making (and perfecting) the art of gourmet pretzels with Shawn. We made a batch and shared them with family & coworkers.
8) Backyard rail session! Dad helped Shawn and I prepare and place a rail in the yard and we spent the afternoon pulling eachother behind the four-wheeler to gain enough speed to hone our rail skills.
7) Hotubbing in the snowfall. Shawn and I were in Big Lake at his mom's place when the 'big Christmas storm' hit. We sat in the steamy water catching up on the past week of work as we watched little piles of snow gradually accumulate on eachother's heads. Magical.
6) Christmas Eve service with the entire family (minus Alli). We all were entertained by Lily hopping over the pews... it got a little nerve racking when we had to juggle her AND our burning candles!
5) Seeing the extended Balgaard Family. The last of my grandpa Alfred's siblings passed away on the 21st and I was fortunate to attend the services with my dad and brother. I caught up my Balgaard cousins, many of which define memories of my childhood summers.
4) Shoveling. Yup, Duluth got 20+ inches of heavy, wet snow over Christmas and Karley and I returned to Duluth to see our driveway and sidewalk BURIED with rock-hard, crusty snow. But it was no match for she and I as we poured in 2 1/2 hours and perfected the chop, throw, and scoop method to combat the icebergs that stubbornly held their ground.
3) Lily's new Dora tent. Maka (Lily's word for grandma) gave Lily her very own play tent that pops up in .3 seconds. She was so excited about this thing, it was histarical to watch.... but what put us all into a laughing frenzy was this: the material created static such that it looked like every strand of Lily's hair was standing straight up. This combined with her OVERJOYED face was too cute to handle.
2) Miles got a snowboard for Christmas. I spent the afternoon today with him at Auntie Barbie's teaching him the basics, which is: always know where your edges are!!
1) Oooo, this is a toughy. Sorry Shawn, but ringing in the New Year (and decade) with my best, best friends was quite a treat. I can say this knowing that moments with Shawn will make this next year even more memorable than 2009.

I'm trying to figure out how to do this mobile upload thing... Ugh