Iowa Jokes in 3...2...1....

All right, so this week was an interesting week. Not only was it my birthday, but it was decided that my dad and his siblings would get together for a family vacation. However, this was the first family vacation they've taken with all siblings together in about 50 years....which turned out to be interesting to say the least. But it was pretty fun! Minus the Spam Museum chatter...but anyhow. All of the randomness shall now commence with photodumping and much hilarity.

First, I-29 was road construction haven...more construction than I've every seen going on in SD at one time, mind you. So that was pretty much the gist of our Iowa exposure in the first hundred miles or so. Plenty of wind turbines too, and what they called "modern rest areas". How modern were they? They were so modern, that it resembled a parking lot with garbage cans place strategically along it. Srsly.

Past the wind turbines, we detoured to Winterset, which was pretty fun. Of course, as we detoured there, we detoured the detour to go check out one of the bridges of Madison County...we didn't actually realize what county Winterset was in until we saw signs pointing toward the bridges, so we figured why not. It was taking a little while to get there with the gravel roads and everything, but then my dad commented, "With our luck, we'd end up visiting the one ugly bridge out of all of them."

After that, it was predestined to be the ugly bridge. No matter what our opinions were after the matter. :P

This actually was one of the few bridges that still had a good amount of running water underneath it....at least that's the impression we got. In its original spot, too. Then right next to it was the also awesome NAKED bridge of Madison County! :D

And in between was Iowa's version of Stonehenge:

The rest of Winterset was driving past the birthplace of John Wayne (also caught unaware that there was more shit down here), and checking out the Fons and Porter store. All in all, very successful detour. Then instead of getting back on crappy interstate roads, we just headed straight east towards Knoxville. KNOXVILLE! One of the greatest dirt tracks in existence. It was actually a lot bigger than I expected, but then again, it's located in the middle of town, not built into a hill....I'll get to that explanation later. We also managed to stop by while their county fair was in session. Sweet!

After that, all we had to do was drive north to hit Newton, which is where Iowa Speedway was. Which turned out to be equally as awesome, and we got a shit-ton of stuff for only $70. The lady working at the desk (her name was Pam) actually gave us next week's sale prices on what we got just that Saturday, she was so awesome!!

A couple days later, I had my first ever motorcycle ride, thanks to my uncle. This was probably one of the biggest highlights to the trip, but it was awesome!! Plus, this is where I get to rub in the fact that my uncle is also in a motorcycle gang. And yesh, that's me in the awkward back. :P

We were heading off to the Amana Colonies, which was pretty nice. Only about 25, 30 miles from where we were staying in Iowa City so it was a decent motorcycle trip. However, there wasn't much to the Amana Colonies. :/

Yuup, that's a good portion of it. Then there were little random kitties all over, it was awesome!

Uhh, what else.....the next day we drove around some more, came across a pretty cool pond that was absolutely covered in lilies. But it was a bit rainy that day, so not many were in bloom. But still, pretty nifty.

.........and this just explains itself. /facepalm

Next day was the day we made the trek home, but of course we had to detour to some strange little town to visit! This time it was Kahlua, aka AMISH COUNTRY! Amg, buggy parking!! :D

And if you look closely, you can see a couple of the bearded Amish menz. lulz!

We also stopped at an amazing cheese factory and some more quilting shops, and also a bakery, but it was the Amish people that were so awesome. Amish/Mennonite, but we've got our share of Mennonite colonies near home, also.

What can I say about Iowa? Well, for one they find just about every town as "historical," or a county that must have it's own museum...all right, but no one else really thought your land was very sacred or special. Drive down I-29 and look at how the Omaha and Winnebago reservations are all in Nebraska. Yeeeeeeah.... There's also a shit-ton more semis on the road than I'm used to seeing, as goes the same for the number of trees. Not just any special trees, basically run of the mill trees that no one cares to learn about. At least in the Black Hills, the trees are a particular pine family. :P This was also the first time ever that our camera has fogged up when outside, so the weather is a bit wonky. But it was a really unique experience...

Of course, there was a lot more to the trip than it appears. There were plenty of restaurant eating that my family would probably like to forget about thanks to my aunt, and there was plenty of shopping and touring and stuffs. I experienced Sioux City in the daytime for the first time ever, we bought a crapton of food, and our hotel was directly across the street from the ACT testing headquarters, which was pretty sweet for me! I know for sure I'm missing something, too, but it'll come to me--most likely when I'm more awake. In the meantime, posts of RAGBRAI and Huset's racing (and my new favorite driver) will be coming up soonish.

Awesome Cousin I've Got, Right...

I am just about to start an epic retelling of my vacation, but first, I think I should start with the goings-on of yesterday.

Monday was pretty typical, but pretty fun. Mom and I went to the Attic for lunch with the relatives, and we got to see the aunts and uncles....then Tiffany showed up, so it was awesome to see her! Tia and Tessa were also there, which was also really cool, and Tessa's birthday was Monday too, so she was spoiled. As usual. Silly aunts....mostly Aunt Ruth does the spoiling though.

Then after lunch, we went to Vision Care to pick up my mom's new pair of glasses. They're cute, and she likes them, so I'm happy. :P

Been doing quite a bit of reading, or at least trying to. I started Tina Donahue during the trip, called Close to Perfect. Super hot cover and super hot book, but I wish I was farther in than I am. :/

I'm also looking forward to my birthday, sort of. One week to the day. I told my parents I wanted the Sims 3 for my birthday, which I'm somewhat looking forward to? I'm iffy because of people's complaints, but I think sometimes people just whine too much.

And on top of it, I'll be 18. And I have no clue if I'll have a party, or celebrate, or whatever. It's just....why put the work into it, when I'll be stressing about impressing everyone else. I'll be more concerned about whether everyone else is enjoying themselves, when it's a party for myself....which is point #2--I hate celebrating myself. It makes me feel conceited, self-centered, etc. :/ Ah well....

And surprise! Whymyexsucks.com thought Jackass's three flaws were worthy of popping up on the site. Surprised me at least, but I was especially pleased by the title. What can I say, there's always a rogue in the family...or a very stupid relative. Check it here --> http://whymyexsucks.com/post/140788695/awesome-cousin-youve-got

Stupid People Piss Me Off.

I'm getting really sick of people and their whining. I'm sick of my own whining. Granted, I know many would say that venting and ranting is different from whining, but that's what it feels like to me...I don't like to bore others with my problems. Because it drags the conversation down, and it might drag them down, and what I need most from friends is happiness. Sooo...that's mostly why I feel like I've been doing nothing but complaining.

There are way too many people who do hardcore whining nowadays, though. I swear, I need to stop reading comments posted online. I made the mistake of reading the comments on Alice and Kev, that cool website with two homeless Sims 3 people. Honestly, most people need to SHUT UP. If you have nothing good to say about it, don't say it at all. As of late, posts are alternating between Kev and Alice. Kev is entirely photos, without words. People, GET OVER IT. Do you have an explanation for his wandering around the countryside? Oh wait, is that a NO I heard from you? Well durr, didn't it occur to you that the author ALSO has no fucking clue what he's doing? And on top of that, there's something called Free Will on the stupid game. The author already said he does as little manipulating as possible on the game, which is why all interactions with other characters are all done on their own free will. Dammit.....

And another thing: the website is not a fucking STORY. It's an experiment, to see just what will happen if you take two characters, make them as homeless as possible, then leave them alone to their own machinations. You don't like a post without words? Do you really want the author to come up with a retarded storyline that may turn out WRONG in the end? Fine, go find someplace else. Someone already ripped the idea off on the Sims 3 website, you can go read her shit. And it really was shit....I much prefer Robin's version. He won't even stoop so low as to narrate every damn photo. "Kev is walking across a field. And still walking. And now he's crossing a bridge." Fuck, that'd get so boring I'd quit in a second.

But when there's no words, we can only wonder what's going on. And I like that.

Now because I just want to say it: Jackass isn't just a jackass, he's a total ASSHOLE. I can't believe my cousin is stupid enough to not see that, but I guess I'd thought wrong. And I will celebrate when he moves away, so much...He tried doing things on his terms again with me. "I'm willing to talk, but someone's not responding". Burn in hell, asshole, you sure weren't willing to talk before! Just because YOU want to now, on YOUR terms, doesn't mean I want to. Fucking get over yourself.

Then on top of it, when I told him what bothered me, he defended himself. As usual. By sending the retarded message "I don't". You DO asshole, or I wouldn't have a fucking problem with it in the first place! And what the fuck did you think you don't do, huh? You don't talk about my cousin nonstop? You don't have a life? You don't have anything better to do? Well look at that, those two have some pretty substantial evidence to back me up. God....

See, that's why I don't like venting. It riles me up, then it takes forever for me to calm down. :/

But anyways, back to my actual life....I've been bitten quite a bit the past two days, with the 4th of July and helping the neighbors cut down branches. Earlier there was a bite on my right ankle that was bothering me to no end, but now the other one on my left ankle is what really itches...grrr.

Today I had lunch with Aunt Mary & Aunt Ruth too, so that was really cool. We went to the Olive Garden, and OH. MY. GOD. The Tour of Italy platter was HUGE, but absolutely amazing!! I had to bring about half of it home, but it was so worth it...

Then Wednesday is our trip to the Hills! I'm looking forward to it so much, I can hardly stand it....let's just see if I can talk the parents into letting me bring the new laptop along. :)

Every Time You Watch Ghost Adventures, Two Spirits Are Having Sex

So if a person has no respect for hypocrites, yet is dating a hypocrite and knows it (or at least ignores the fact), wouldn't that person be a hypocrite?

Fascinating how that works out.

It's the 4th of July, yay! I'm really excited to go see the family, that's going to be awesome as usual. Then we're going to watch the fireworks show at the fairgrounds, so that'll also be fun. I just hope that 1) it doesn't rain on us, and 2) we can go out and get batteries for my camera, because I want to take pictures!! Sheesh...

Annnnd....well, that's about the most that's been going on since what, yesterday?.....*sigh*. Ah well.

Man, every time I look at my title banner on this blog thing, I think back to the Hills and want to go back so bad. But I will! Very, verrrrrry soon....just have to wait till Wednesday! :)

My parting quote is from last night on Ghost Adventures: "Do you think we caught two spirits having sex? --Well you might've interrupted something!"

When Caffeiene Fails Me

After the past few days, I've started to realize something. I am VERY mellow when it comes to life. I don't seem to rush when I want to go someplace or do something, I'm just really chill about it. Yesterday I could see it, 'cause I never really got down and dirty to play with Logan and Tyler--now that's not all that different to any other time I'm around them, but with Aaron thrown into the mix, I used to join in the tackling when I was little. Definitely not the case now.

Then today, as I said before, my uncle Glen stopped by, with my cousin Brooke and a couple of the grandkids in tow. I was ESPECIALLY glad to see Brooke, as I haven't seen her in forever, but it was nice to see Tory and Peyton too. They were so well behaved and everything!! But of course, they're under 10, so they're bound to get a bit bored as time goes by--and also energized as they got used to me.

Oh boy. All that energy is not for me. I like kids, they're cute, but I can't play forever with them...I could really use a nap right now. But they were very well behaved, even though we couldn't exactly say the same of Junior...but oh well.

*Phew*. Yep, I'm so mellow I could be Mellow Yellow....or a pillow...wow, what a statement that is! Stupid, and it rhymed. Ahhh the creativity that comes out when one is tired...which is why I should really take a nap....

Waiting.

Today might be a good day. Mostly 'cause my uncle is coming to visit, and we NEVER get to see my uncle Glen! But Mom's got this hatred towards Minneapolis, so we never really go up to visit him... :/

Confidence level is up today too, for some reason. However I think I know why this is the case. Yesterday I got to see Aaron, my olddd neighbor Aaron. Who happens to have a wedding at the end of the week. Gah, his fiancee is so sweet, she's awesome! But it had been a while since I had last seen Aaron...so when he was nice enough to say that if I ever have guy trouble or anything, I could call him and he'd kick their ass for me. Which is really touching for me, really. I could use some muscle when it comes to Jackass. Ha, asshole doesn't know what's coming when Aaron's on his front doorstep...but anyways.

There's just not much going on lately. I'm waiting for my birthday so I could have a shot at getting Sims 3, still waiting for Shopko to come back and interview me, have to go to Aaron's wedding, and registration at USD is coming up on the 24th. So much waiting, gah. Like waiting right now for zee relatives to show up....yeahhhh....

And I stocked up on books. Primarily Up in Smoke and Sabrina Jeffries' newest book that is supposed to be out on Tuesday. Not now. Ahh I'm such a rebel... :P