Did You Know?

DID YOU KNOW...that there is a SPAM Museum? Okay... well I had no clue, but while visiting a friend up in Austin, Minnesota this Memorial Day Weekend, I was able to check it out! It is located near the HORMEL plant in Austin, just over the border into Minnesota. The museum was actually pretty big and had a lot of neat stuff in it! Here are some photos from my trip!

Above is the entrance to the museum... with a perfectly quaint statue of a farmer and two pigs guarding its doors!

Directly inside, there is a giant wall of SPAM! I couldn't believe how big it was... I mean I had to zoom out the lens of the camera just to get all that meat into the photograph! It was quite the entrance I'd say! And check out the GINORMOUS spatula below! That thing would fix you quite the hearty breakfast!

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you might remember that I am a huge supporter of Brett Favre. Guess who I found in the museum promoting SPAM!? #4 himself! Can you believe my luck?

There were so many interactive things to do in the museum. You could try on HORMEL gear like I am doing in these two photos. There was a game show room where you could test your knowledge of the product. You could hoist crates of SPAM high into the air, grocery shop for SPAM products, learn how to cook dishes from all over the world made with SPAM, and so much more.

PLUS, there was huge gift shop where you could purchase anything from SPAM clothing to SPAM cooking utensils to SPAM refrigerator magnets to actual cans of this "gourmet" meat. I bought a SPAM shot glass as a souvenir of this crazy experience. I've never even tried SPAM before, but don't worry... if you are interested, they were also handing out samples!

Overall though, it was a pretty enjoyable visit to the SPAM Museum! Definitely something to check out if you are ever in that area! Because how many people can honestly say, they've seen that many cans of SPAM in one room! Not many... And of course, everyone who hasn't, will be completely and forever jealous of those who have!

Interesting in checking out the SPAM MUSEUM in Austin, MN? Get more information at http://www.spam.com/!!

FUN FACT: The SPAM Museum in located at 1937 SPAM Blvd. Ironically, SPAM branded products were first made in 1937.

                                                           

He Sways

Swaying

like the cross around his neck,

his faith follows.

a pendulum,

swinging back and forth

with the weight of the cross

and the world.

Frightened
he says he believes
but does not attend
to receive the Holy Meal
or gather in community.
So alone he remains
like a lost lamb,
in His presence
unable to peer
through the stained glass,
or compromise
with the stained cross.
Unsure
he prays to his translucent Lord
righteously repenting
only to retreat back into sin
sorrowfully.
Weary
he continues to search
for something to steady the swaying
someone to ease his troubled soul.
But the waters do not part.
his feet are not washed clean.
and the wine is too thin to be blood.
So stagnant he stays,
he carries his burdens,
he wears his cross,
but his faith is ever swaying
ever wavering
ever watchful
and ever hopeful.

To read you like a book...

I get a little self-conscious when I am reading a book around people I don't know...I feel like they are somehow judging me by the cover of my book. It's awkward I know... but I just can't help but wonder what they are thinking about me and my choice of literature.

Like if I was reading Harry Potter... would they be thinking, "Gees, what a follower!"

Or Nicholas Sparks... "She's one of those crazy romantic girls."

Or The Da Vinci Code... "Why is she reading that crap!?"

Or James Patterson... "Oh she's the mysterious type!"

Or The Bible... "Turn and run!"

Or The Trial by Franz Kafka... Or Dante's Inferno... Or Persuasion by Jane Austen... Or The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer... Or a Karen Kingsbury novel... Or Sisters by Danielle Steel...

Are you judging me by the authors or novels I've mentioned? It may be a silly thought... but even if no one even notices that I am reading, I still try to hide the cover of my book when reading in a public place. I fear the judgement. However, I really don't know why I care.

I think it's because what you read reveals a tiny piece of who you are... a piece I might be scared to show, even to a complete stranger. So whenever I am reading and catch a stranger's eye, so curiously leaning to see the title of my book, I shudder and try not to notice, as I adjust my position to face the opposite direction.

A New Phase

Yesterday, at 10am, I graduated from college...finally. After getting home from the final track meet of my career only four hours before,  I proceeded to walk with my fellow classmates across the stage to receive our diplomas. It was a happy day! I graduated, moved out of Pi Phi for the final time (tear), went out to eat with my entire family, checked out Goodwill with my sister's fiance (LOL), and went gambling and to the racetrack at Prairie Meadows with the family. It was relaxing and very fun! I wouldn't have wanted to celebrate it any different.

Now, I have moved home and am proceeding to unpack and get settled in. I plan on living at home for awhile to save on some money and pay off some loans. I have a week off, in which I plan to visit friends out of town, then I will start a new phase of my life.

I don't know if I've yet mentioned that... I GOT A JOB! So, if I haven't there it is, but I am now going to be spending my days among old men and green tractors (small pun). In exactly a week from Tuesday, I am going to be the new marketing coordinator for Southard Implement, which is a John Deere dealership in central Iowa. My duties will include building a new website, keeping it updated, making signs, sending out newsletters, creating radio and magazine ads, selling four-wheelers, and of course, having a lot of fun while doing it! I am really excited to start!

And not only my new career but my new life. Who knows what God has planned for me now that I've graduated... It's exciting not to know and a little nerve racking too. Hopefully it will be another twenty or so years of family, friends, and fun...  I can't wait to begin!

Another shot...Another chance...

Not to keep boring you all with track meets and talk of the javelin, but it's been on my mind... because even though, I have qualified for Nationals, I need to throw farther in order to actually compete at Nationals. And while it's not going to be easy, it's not impossible. I need to throw like two feet further then I have thrown in order to make it, which is not very far at all... I just gotta do it!

So today, we head back to Central in Pella, and I hope that in one of my six throws, I can get it done. It would be so exciting if it did!

I Did It!

At the IIAC Conference Championships, I placed second, which makes me an All-Conference javelin thrower. I also set a personal record by almost two meters. And my longest throw, which was 40.25 meters, makes me a 2010 Division III National Qualifier in the Javelin.

I can't believe I did it. It was so exciting and fun! And my parents and my coach, who is also my sister, were all there to watch me. I really did feel like Zeus, at least for a little while.

And it was a great weekend for the ENTIRE Simpson team. We had fifteen people provisionally qualify, not to mention there were personal records set and All-Conference honors received. The Simpson women ended the meet ranked second, only to Wartburg, and the Simpson men ended up fourth with the 10 points received by our 4 by 400 men's team pushing them out of fifth. Everyone did amazing! And it was a great meet to watch! :)

It's Thrilling...

It's thrilling...throwing the javelin. And tomorrow I am going to throw at the Conference meet in Storm Lake at Buena Vista University. I am going into the meet in second place, but things can always change. Everyone has to throw and compete. It's any one's win. And I am so excited that I am afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight, and I've already chewed my mouth to pieces this afternoon just thinking about it.

I am .31 meters from provisionally qualifying for Nationals, a small distance from being one of the top Division III ladies throwing javelin in the country... and I feel like that is way too close not to qualify, so I intend to. I just have to actually do it. I hope I can do it.

Today, I was holding my javelin at the regional softball game, because I had just finish practicing... And I felt powerful. People were turning to look at the giant spear I was holding in my hand. I felt like Zeus with his bolt of lightning, all powerful and all mighty. I need to be like Zeus tomorrow. I HOPE I can be like Zeus tomorrow.

And then there's this great feeling that comes from competing, knowing that it is all in my hands... literally. I don't have to rely on anyone else. No one can disappoint me but myself. And then it hurts knowing that I CAN do it, when some days my throws are contradictory to my thoughts. It's tough.

But tomorrow, I have six throws to change my life, because then I will have made history. Yes, it's just a very small piece of history, but a girl's gotta start somewhere.

Pretty Face

I decided to try Bare Escentuals makeup, facewash, and lotion. I am excited and hope that my face clears up and does not look so caked in makeup. It was expensive stuff, so I'll be disappointed if I do not see a difference. Let you know how it goes!

If you are interested, there is a new Bare Escentuals store in Jordan Creek Mall. Check it out for yourself!

Someone

I always feel better when I am at home, probably because I feel less alone in the world. Mom and Dad are always around, always complimenting me, always asking what I've been up to. It eases my fears for at least a little while.

My home is like this dome that protects me from everything hurtful or despressing or wrong, but then I walk out from underneath its shadow, and there I am, vulnerable and afraid.

I wish I was different. I wish I made friends easier or got along with people better. I wish I had a life encompassing goal in which I was always working towards, always busy with, so I never had a chance to sit down, just to look at everything I have that I love, only to realize that it doesn't even matter. Yes, it all makes me feel better for awhile, and then I remember, I have no one to share it with it.

And it all sounds so cliche, like I need a special someone, a man in my life. But the truth is, I just need SOMEONE. My family is great, and they are always there for me, but I think there comes a time when everyone needs someone who is not blood related. Someone to laugh with and share their stories with and eat icecream with and swing with and go shopping with and listen to great music with. It's vital... at least for me. And I like to think I am not so different than everyone else. At least I hope not...

For than I truely am forever alone... And I don't know how much longer I can bare it.

Dumb Her Down

It drives me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY when a beautiful, sophisticated, and talented women after a couple of margaritas or beers, becomes a hopeless, annoying, and easy bimbo. Why do women dumb themselves down while drinking? Do guys only go for girls who stumble around with their shirt falling off their shoulders, a red plastic cup in their hand, and a stupid-dumb look on their faces? If that's what guys want... if that's what guys go for... I am screwed.

I have absolutely no idea how women accomplish this in the first place. I simply can't respond nicely to a guy who tells me I look hot and then slaps my ass as I walk by. I don't think its cute when a guy throws out a idiotic pick up line. It doesn't entice me to flirt more when a guy attempts to shove another drink down my throat. I don't find it fun to stick my butt into a man's package as we pretend to be on beat to a song. And I most definitely refuse to appear dumb and wasted in order to catch the eye of a cute boy in a bar.

And maybe I am one in a million in feeling this way, because I know the bar scene is so incredibly popular... but I sure hope I am not.

Ladies we've got to raise our standards. Take pride in who you really are. Respect yourself enough to know you deserve better. You are strong and lovely and intelligent. So act like it.

The Light of Hope

My dad and I were having a serious conversation about suicide the other day. Yes, I know it's a somber topic, but I wondered what made people go so far as to not want to live anymore? I mean, life is hard...lately a little more than usual for me. But I've never actually considered ending my life because of it. But I know depression hurts. And that being alone is awful. So what makes people go that far?

My dad said that those people just lose all hope. So I think THAT is the dividing line. THAT is where the separation is. People who go that far, lose the hope that things will get better the next day, lose the hope that things will get better some time soon. They've gone so long with no hope, that they can't see the light anymore.

Now I know I am just an outsider looking in, and I am not attempting to judge anyone or their decisions. I just know that I still have hope. Because for awhile I was better. I was healed. I saw the light. And I know that it will come again tomorrow.

Limited

The body is a prison,
constraining and confining.
Limiting greatness.
Restricting the imagination.

The skin, too fragile.
The heart, stoppable.
The lungs, penetrable
The brain, too easily misled.

We are pathetic within our bodies
Bleeding, crying, sweating
All weaknesses
proving our lowly existence.

And if it were not for the body,
we could live for eternity.
The spirit could run free,
the soul find comfort.

Because the body is just a medium,
in which our soul must travel.
And it’s only in dying,
That we finally break free from the shackles.

And are given wings.

The Night

Is there ever a night, when time is drifting slowly by, and all you want to do is talk to someone, but no one is around? Everyone is sleeping, as you should be, but for some reason you find yourself awake. You find yourself filling each minute with little tasks like vacuuming, organizing your mail, or picking up and reading an old newspaper. You find yourself busy and not paying much attention to the time, until you finally look at the clock. Wow, it's late, you think to yourself. But I'm not tired. You finally sit down, giving yourself time to think, only to realize that you wish someone was up with you in that moment, in that late hour. You wonder if anyone else in the world is awake right then. You look out the window for signs of life or light, but you see none. Still you wonder if it is possible that someone out there is sitting just like you, wondering if anyone else is out there, awake.

Well I wish I had that person's number. So tonight, in this late hour, that person and I could sit and talk or just sit together and not feel so alone. Because the darkness gets to you, making you feel isolated and almost unknown to the world. Usually, after a while, finding no solace in anyone or any task, you fall asleep, only to wake up in the morning, forgetting the way the night made you feel, forgetting how alone you felt.

But sitting now, in this late hour, alone and isolated, it's hard to believe that I, or anyone, could ever forget how this feels. It's a horrible feeling.