The DARK KNIGHT

I have to continue to update from last week. Last Tuesday Michele, Jim, and I went to "The Dark Knight" in Spearfish. Michele and I watched the first Batman of the series by Director Christopher Nolan, "Batman Begins," awhile ago while Jim and I watched it just a few weeks ago. They both enjoyed the first one and I was extremely excited with this encore! Keeping the same cast was simply a must in my eyes and what a great movie "The Dark Knight" was! It is truly unfortunate, however, that star villian Heath Ledger died before he could truly enjoy his work as the JoKeR. This is such a great action movie with a few WOW factors and lots of action. A must see for anyone around 12 years old and up! This is a movie that is worth the hype. Go see it, love it, and eat a lot of popcorn. Oh, and be sure to ask me if I want to go again, I've got $8.25 burning in my pocket to see it again!

Greatings everyone! It sure has been a long time since I've posted anything here so I'll let you know what I've been up to. Work, work, work, bills, bills, bills. That sums it up for the most part. I do have some Exciting news however. Jim, my brother, and his family moved back to Spearfish on June, 23!!!! It's great to have them back and I know they've been wanting to move back for a few years now. Jim has already gotten a new job as an Executive Director for the BSA and Jess will be working at BHSU as an English Comp. teacher. They are expecting a baby in September and the other two kids are excited to be here. They just moved into a rental house and bought a minivan. LMAO! I have to give my bro crap about having to own a minivan :)

SUPRISE! "LJ" has been spotted!

In case you haven't heard, many of you have, Michele and I are expecting a little one to bless our lives in December. The 'Official Date," as of May 14, 08, is December 11th. We had our 10 week Ultrasound and we saw the lil' one rub his or her eyes and wiggle all around like you wouldn't believe. The heart rate was just under 170 beats per minute and his/her is "1 1/2 inches from head to butt." For now, we will be calling him/her 'LJ,' which are the initials for the female and male names we have picked (so far). In the second picture, LJ is standing up if you rotate the picture clockwise. Here are the pics of the lil wonder!

Death of a Respectable Actor

Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment yesterday 01/22/2008 around 15:26 PM (EST) of an suspected overdose. An autopsy was done on 01/23/2008 but came out unconclusive. Which means more tests will have to be done and may take up to 10 days. He performed in such movies as: 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knights Tale, The Patriot, Brokeback Mountain, and Batman's DARK KNIGHT which will be in theaters this Summer and will be Ledger's final performance. Rest In Peace.

Setting up for a Life's Change

Hey everyone! I can't believe it took me SO LONG to mention this! Michele and I have enrolled in a financial class called Financial Peace University. It was developed by a man by the name of Dave Ramsey out of Nashville, TN. This "class" is a 13 session course and done in a group of people, in all age brackets, who are looking for that financial stability whether they're just starting college or already retired.


I think it should be part of a High Schooler's life! The course is based on 7 baby steps. The first step is to get a $1,000 Emergency Fund as fast as you can. This step is the easiest and yet the hardest to achieve if it's not already in place. Why?! It's easy because it's the start of your savings that it's only the $1,000 and helps motivate you to dedicate your mind to the idea of the course; however, its the toughest because some have to make sacrafices to reach that first goal.

Anyhow, I've been to 3 sessions and I can honestly say, "I LOVE this stuff!" But I also have a tough time with it. We've had to make a written BUDGET, I prefer to call it a Cash Flow Chart :) Meaning I have to quite spending on the items I want and pay more attention to the items I need. I am looking forward to getting rid of the debt that I've obtained the last 4 years and working towards more giving to good causes, owning my own house, saving for education, and finding that financial peace. These times that we're (meaning the group I'm with) together; we watch about an hour long DVD of Dave Ramsey speaking with a group at a conference, we speak in a large group about what we learned from the DVD and the readings in the book that we read throughout the course, then we split into smaller groups and go into the questions a little more and learn from others group member's experiences. Everyone gets the workbook to the course and get to see Dave Ramsey live and animated, I mean ANIMATED! He really knows how to connect with people and that includes large audiences.

I was first introduced to the idea by Jim, my older brother, who took the course in Mankato, MN with his wife. Then Mike and I had gotten together for a Bible Study and breakfast and he spoke to me about finances and gave me a book called Your Money Map: A Proven 7-Step Guide to True Financial Freedom by Howard Dayton so we could work on it together. Then Dane spoke to our church and wanted to put the Financial Peace University course together.

The course was only $90 and it's being "managed" by Dane and Mike. Two awesome guys who have been through thick and thin in their own lives, and are great examples and resources of how money works. I have already referred 5 people to this course and would encourage many more to do so. I'll keep you updated on my journey to financial peace. ~