So, here in good old Iowa, we have had the shift as with many other states that went from blue to red. A new, well really old actually, Republican Governor and part of our congress. Now, all of these people pretty much ran on 2 issues. Jobs and the economy. So far, here are the priorities that they have put first: Stop gay marriage Discriminate based on religious beliefs Stop early pre-school (or at least make it more difficult) And now – ban abortions and many forms of contraceptives.

So far, I’m off to a good start in completing one of my goals for 2011. Its not a huge stretch goal for me, but it keeps me in a certain shape in order to complete goal #5, run 3 5K races in a year. Race #1 is in the bag. Considering it was run on 2/12 in Iowa, you would expect absolutely freezing temps. To be honest, I was overdressed seeing as it was in the mid 30s at the start of the race.

This guy has way too much time on his hands. But damn cool.

Living in the midwest teaches you a lot of different things. One of those lessons, Mother Nature always wins. She can be awesome with warm springs and falls that make the trees turn all sorts of wonderful colors. But she can also be pretty mean. A tornado can devastate mile wide tracks across the midwest. Floods can wipe out farms, homes and everything it reaches. Winter in the midwest gives you the opportunity to experience freezing cold temps that would make a fish stick shiver.

Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl Champions! Not gonna lie, its kind of fun to say.