Search continues for missing Talkeetna musher

Melanie Gould during Iditarod 35 (2007).
Gould has not been heard from
since May 31, 2011.

Talkeetna musher Melanie Gould was last seen by friends on May 31st gassing up her pick up truck. When she didn't return to work on Tuesday, June 1, her friends and coworkers became concerned and reported the young woman missing.

Troopers have been searching for her from Tuesday until today when they called off the ground and air search. They reportedly will be continuing their investigation, but their efforts - for now - have been exhausted in the area that Melanie's truck was found. Search dogs hit in and around the truck, but no where else. This could mean she took a different vehicle out of the area - but with the weather the way it was up to the day of the find, it could also just be that the scent no longer exists.

Friends and family - including Gould's community of Talkeetna - are picking up the search. Their meeting this evening had a basic game plan for tomorrow. They are asking for anyone with the time and resources to please come out and search. They are looking for former military, SARS, and police officers to head up the search teams.

To see how you can help visit the facebook page HAVE YOU SEEN MELANIE GOULD. Join the team to bring her home!

CONTEST: What's In The Bible

One lucky blog reader will win a copy of the fifth volume of What's In The Bible. All you have to do is comment on my blog review (the post right under this one) with your name!

DVD Review: What's In The Bible 5: Israel Gets A King!

My parents and I watched the latest volume of Phil Vischer's What's In The Bible series this past weekend. I received my copy of the video earlier in the week and we immediately popped it in to see what the team had come up with. This video did not disappoint.

What's in the Bible is VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer's new Children's Video series. After watching his dream die when he filed bankruptcy and lost control of the beloved Christian Children's video veggies, Vischer says God got through to him and gave him a second chance. What that gives families is a fantastic series of Biblically sound and educational videos taking a more indepth look of the Bible.

This isn't your typical "Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun" series. This is meaty goodness that is sorely lacking from Children's ministries. As a former Sunday School teacher, I can say that I've never seen children taught in this way. Yes, I've seen puppets used, but instead of just teaching the story of David - as the fifth volume does - Vischer's cast of colorful puppets digs deeper into the significance of David's life as well as why his story is so important to the bigger picture of the Bible. This isn't your typical David and Goliath story.

May 1st Prayer...

May 1st Prayer...
Now I lay me down to sleep
one less terrorist this world does keep.
with all my heart I give my thanks
to those in uniform regardless of ranks.
you serve our country and serve it well
with humble hearts your stories tell.
so as I rest my weary eyes
while freedom rings our flag still flies.
you give your all, do what you must
with God we live and God we trust.
Amen.

-Angie Whitmore

I cannot come up with words to express the news of tonight. Needless to say I am so proud of the men who served our nation in this covert operation. They will forever be the unsung and unnamed heroes of this war. The War on Terror is far from over my friends, and for our media and government not to see that is disturbing, but tonight is a night for a celebration of victory.

30 Days of Song: Day Three

Day 3: Song that makes you happy

This song got chosen simply because it's been in my head all week and it never fails to put a smile on my face. Who would have guessed I would have fallen in love with a musical entitled "Hairspray"?

World's Greatest: Alexei Yagudin (RUS)

Alexei is considered one of the greatest skaters of all time. He's one of the few skaters that has 4 titles to his credit as well as an Olympic title. Plagued with injury through most of that time, he made it a full cycle before being taken out of competition by his knees. They just couldn't handle the stress and strain. He skated with Stars On Ice after his forced retirement from competition. Now he's still Mr. Celebrity in Russia and his the father of an adorable little kid.

Alexei got me hooked on men's competitive skating. Most of the time I waited until they were pros to make a determination on if I would like them, but Alexei did for competitive figure skating what Kurt Browning does for the pro world. He was able to seamlessly weave athletics with musicality/art. Skaters like Alexei are rare.

Alexei had the difficult hardware, but he was more known for his footwork. Many still claim it's the best ever, however if one takes a look at what he does it's not only simple in comparison with other skaters - it's pretty much the same step sequence over and over (and the same from program to program). Tarasova and Morosov found a formula that worked on their skater, and people blindly follow.

That does not diminish Alexei's mark on the sport, however. He is a fantastic showman and athlete. I truly believe we'd be hearing more out of him competitively but his injuries - and knee surgery - kept him out of the running. Still, four world titles and an Olympic title is nothing to sneeze at.


My favorite program of his at worlds - a year he didn't win - his SP to Revolutionary Etude:

What the Worlds [Figure Skating Championships] Need Now...

I'm a little slap happy as it's been a long day, but I'm planning to revive my blog a little bit and in the next few days leading up to the World Figure Skating Championships set to be held in Moscow later this month. I'm going to feature my favorite World Champions. From Kurt Browning to Gordeeva & Grinkov, Yuka Sato to Torvill & Dean and beyond. These will probably be more editorial, as they're my favorites.

Just a heads up, there's going to (hopefully) be more skating in the coming days.

30 Days of Song: Day Two

Day 2: Least Favorite Song

Hmmm. Blogger ate my post about favorite song, but that's okay because it's good as it stands, I sat for hours trying to think of my one favorite song. Anyway, least favorite would have to be ANY song from the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana collection. That stuff is horrible.

30 Days of Song: Day One

Day 1: Favorite Song

Oh this is difficult. I could go in so many different directions. I could go with favorite country song, Christian song, Hymn, Disney, broadway, movie theme... where do I start? How do I choose?!

Oh look! Another 30 Day Challenge!

So I have a lot to share, but I just don't ever get down to sharing it, so for now I'll share a new 30 day challenge I found.

day 01 - your favorite song
day 02 - your least favorite song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds of you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year