Middle School Memories

As I am spending this day at home sick with a virus, I was surfing on Twitter. One of the topics I found was "#middleschoolmemories" It gave me an idea, so, without further ado, my memories of my 4 years at Storm Lake Middle School

*We called it studyBACK instead of studyHALL
*Guidance class with Mr. Larson and Mrs. Mangold
*Taking Home Ec, and always getting mad when you had to do sewing, finance, or laundry units, because you didn't get to eat anything
*In 6th grade, anytime Mrs. Miller accidentally called you by your sibling's name, you got a Jolly Rancher
*The fifth grade AR party at Mrs. Steenblock's house
*8th grade Science with Mr. Petersen; he almost lit his hand on fire with a bunson burner, and Laurena Wells screamed SO loud
*7th grade lunch was the best, because we got seconds (the only downside was that we didn't get to eat until quarter til one)
*Mr. McCabe's homeroom in 7th grade; Laurena and I would steal his keys, rate his outfits, and hook all his paperclips together into one big long chain
*8th grade Jazz Band "What happens on the jazz band bus STAYS on the jazz band bus"
*SLMS High School Musical 2007
*Fun bucks in fifth grade
*Fun Fridays in fifth grade
*The awesome green bowties and cumberbunds for 7th/8th band and choir
*Always knowing when Mrs. Jones was walking down the hall because all you could hear was "clack, clack, clack, clack"
*Learning how to juggle in PE on early dismissal days
*Getting excited about picking locker partners for the next year
*Mrs. Patten ranting about Nazis during 7th grade art
*Making oobleck in 7th grade science with Mrs. Hixon
*5th grade Wax Museum
*Getting out of school early because the squirrel fried himself in the transformer box
*Hearing Mr. Ryherd say "Crispy. Toes" Every time we were having CRISPITOS for lunch
*Finally having a salad bar
*Watching West Side Story in 7th grade music
*Going to the elementary school to play our band instruments for the fourth graders
*Middle school dances, they were actually FUN
*The DJ's hot son that was at the 8th grade Valentine's day dance
*Taking compatibility tests before the Valentine's day dance, and  then getting SO upset because your crushes' name was not on there
*Smacking your shins almost everyday on the tables in the commons

So there you have it. Some of my middle school memories. Stay tuned for "Elementary School Memories", "High School Memories", and "Girl Scout Memories"

2011: The year in review

It is so hard to believe that 2011 has already up and gone. It is January 2nd, 2012, and I decided to do a review of my 2011 for all my blog readers. 2011 brought many smiles, laughs, and, unfortunately many tears. I lost my Uncle Dan Steinkamp to cancer after many hard years of fighting, and a former classmate Alex Hermstad also passed away after a long medical fight. I think about Uncle Dan and Alex everyday; I have a picture of my Uncle Dan and Aunt Marilyn on my desk, and I have my "Alex's Army" bracelet in my top desk drawer. Whenever I had a bad day last year, I just looked at those things and knew that Alex and my Uncle Dan were watching over me, and I know that they will continue to watch over me.

Although I had my share of sadness, there were also many happy moments. I made All State for the 2nd year in the row, and had the prestigious honor of sitting 4th chair in the Iowa All State orchestra. I also made University of Iowa honor band last year, and sat 2nd chair with some pretty stiff competition. I was also accepted to Buena Vista University here in Storm Lake, and received one of the top three academic scholarship awards. I ultimately decided that my mom was right after all these years that music would become my career (A small sidebar: My mom always said that music would somehow end up being my career, and I always called her bluff, because I was going to be an English teacher. Well, I enjoyed a nice helping of crow after I decided that I wanted to major in instrumental music education; but I digress...). I survived my first semester of my senior year in high school; got A's on all my finals, and didn't go crazy. Looking back, I finally realize that music is essentially my life, and I honestly wouldn't want to have it any other way. 

Perhaps one of the most exciting things that happened in 2011 was  that my Aunt Fran and Uncle Bern moved back to Storm Lake. It's kind of a crazy story. We were in Cherokee visiting my Grandma Helen at the nursing home, and my Uncle Bern got a call from a 712 area code. After he took the call, him and my aunt had to leave all of a sudden. We just assumed that they wanted to get home since they lived in State Center at the time. The next night, the phone rings about 7:30. My dad starts screaming "Oh my God" and "No way." My mom, sister, and I ran to the living room, thinking that something bad had happened, and he goes "Fran and Bern are moving back to Storm Lake." I was really shocked at first, but my parents weren't. My Aunt and Uncle lived here before I was born, and Bernie Pro always said he would retire on Storm Lake, and they did. It's been really awesome having relatives in town. None of my relatives had ever really got to see me perform before, so it was really cool that they were able to come to one of my concerts and to a basketball game to see the pep band play. I've also gotten to spend a lot more time with my other relatives at their house. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas there, and it was the first time that I can remember being away from home on a holiday. I was a little apprehensive at first because it wasn't "our traditions" but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

So many things are going  to happen in 2012; mainly my last semester of high school and my first semester of college. Lord knows I'm apprehensive about the 2nd one, but I'm confident that I will be able to get through it just like I got  through the year 2011.

New Year's Resolution Update #7

September 6, 2011- 101 books read, 199 books to go (I can honestly say that I do not think I will read that many by January 1, 2012; sorry to disappoint blog readers!!)

Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer
The Forbidden (The Courtship of Nellie Fisher, Book 2)- Beverly Lewis
Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature- Robin Brande
Fat Cat- Robin Brande
Am I Right or Am I Right?- Barry Jonsberg
1001 Cranes- Naomi Hirahara
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West- Gregory Maguire
Alice in Zombieland - Lewis Carroll and Nikolas Cook
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- L. Frank Baum
The Complete Adventures of Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
Patiently Alice- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Alice on her Way- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Alice in the Know- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Almost Alice- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Intensely Alice- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Alice in Charge- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Incredibly Alice- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, Book 1)- Rachel Caine
The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires, Book 2)- Rachel Caine
Arousing Love- M.H. Strom

New Year's Resolution Update #6

July 31, 2011 - 81 books read, 219 to go

The Parting [The Courtship of Nellie Fisher, book 1] - Beverly Lewis
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- JK Rowling
Throwaway- Heather Huffman
Suddenly a Spy- Heather Huffman
Jailbird- Heather Huffman
Ties that Bind- Heather Huffman
The Phantom of the Opera- Gaston Leroux
The Vampire Diaries: The Return-Shadow Souls- LJ Smith

A Community I love

A lot of people have tons of complaints about Storm Lake. "There's nothing fun to do here." "There's no cool places to hang." I beg to differ my friends. I am here to offer you 10 reasons why Storm Lake, IA is a community that I truly love (to be quite honest, it's the only community I have lived in, but I digress)

1. Pages Bakery - If you are in Storm Lake, and you want donuts, don't even think about Casey's or Hy-Vee. Pages is the best hands down. It is a family owned business that has been in Storm Lake for a very long time, and it's as good as it's ever been (so I'm told). I recommend the donut holes, bird-eye's, or chocolate yum-yums.

2. Honey Kissed Pizza- The number 2 tourist spot in Storm Lake, this is the best pizza I've ever eaten. The secret is the HONEY on the crust (hence the name Honey Kissed Pizza). They have tons of specialty pizzas, and the decor in the restaurant is completely awesome!

3. The Star Spangled Spectacular- This hometown tradition is one of my very favorite things about Storm Lake. Everything about the Star Spangled Spectacular is awesome: the parade, the food, and the bands/booths. I have only missed 1 Star Spangled Spectacular in my entire life, and I cannot imagine NOT being in Storm Lake for the 4th of July.

4. The Storm Lake High School Music Department- If you go to any school in NW Iowa and mention the Storm Lake High School Music Department, chances are they will get a small look of fear in their eyes. Our Music Department has been a staple in our town for awhile, and that's mostly thanks to Jeff Tollefson, our former vocal director and now HS Vice principal. Tollefson was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and because of that, our choir got 2nd in a national competition in Florida. Our band got 1st place, because Senor Heeren is the same no-nonsense kind of guy, and we have a great orchestra. Our department is lucky to have such community support.

5. Boz Wellz- I've mentioned a lot of food in this blog, but let's face it : we love to eat. This is another hometown restaurant with amazing food. They always have good soup, the cheesballs and onion rings are to die for, and the club sandwich is amazing. And don't even get me started on the Gooey Butter Cake!

6. Santa's Castle- My family always goes to Santa's Castle every year, and I have had the opportunity to work there through the HS Key Club. It's not as exciting as it was when I was younger, but I love seeing the little kids there and they're reactions. The goats are my favorite exhibit.

7. Our diverse community- Many people would see our diverse community as a bad thing, but the people in Storm Lake embrace it and make the best of it. Getting to learn about all these different cultures is awesome. Tasting the food, seeing traditional dances, and all of those things truly make us lucky to live in Storm Lake.

8. The Skating Rink- Sure, this place is the same as it was in the 1960's, but you can't tell me you never went skating there in middle school. My friends and I still love to go skating when we are able, but I've only been there a couple of times since I broke my tailbone skating during Adventure Club freshman year..

9. King's Pointe- I don't think this waterpark is as awesome as some of the little kids, but it's nice to have. However, it is ridiculously over-priced and not nearly as AWESOME as the Marshalltown Aquatic Center. Just sayin'..

And, finally, wait for it. Drumroll please.... *BZZZZZZZ*

10. Grand Central Coffee Station- I've never actually tried the coffee because coffee disgusts me, but the steamers, smoothies, tea, and muffins are really good.

There you have it folks. Although our town is sometimes smelly, the lake is pretty gross, and we're surrounded by cornfields, Storm Lake is truly a community I love.

New Year's Resolution Update #5

June 29, 2011- 69 books read, 231 to go.

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle- L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion- L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return- Nightfall- L.J. Smith
Rainbow Boys- Alex Sanchez
Rainbow High- Alex Sanchez
Rainbow Road- Alex Sanchez
Getting It- Alex Sanchez
The Weight of Silence- Heather Gudenkauf
Cool Beans- Erynn Mangum
Life's a Beach- Claire Cook

Caramel Chocolate Bars

Recipe courtesy of the Palo Iowa Quasquicentennial Cookbook


1 (14 oz.) bag of caramels
1 can evaporated milk
1 (18 oz.) package chocolate cake mix. (I used Devil's Food)
3/4 cup melted butter
1 pkg. chocolate chips


Combine the caramels and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk in pan. Stir until melted, and keep warm. Combine the cake mix,  butter, and 1/3 cup of milk and mix well. Spread half of the batter into a greased 9 X 13 cake pan. Bake at 350 for 6 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Spread the caramel mixture over crust and top with chocolate chips. Drop the remaining batter by spoonfuls over the cake. Bake for 18 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.
These are very very yummy!!