Scion xD



Tough times always have a silver lining. Mine is that I got this awesome new car! Of course I would rather have NOT crashed in order to get this car, but hey, now I have my sweet ass xD. Thanks to Clint and everybody at Smart Scion for being so wonderful once again. Buy a Scion, I’m serious… my xA saved my life, and my xD is the coolest thing I’ve ever driven!

Now I’m going to get a little deep, so I apologize in advance. The new car is a coincidence in that I am now beginning a new stage of my life. I don’t exactly know what that stage is, but I do know that I am in a strange new place now. I don’t really know what the new place is, but I feel that even without any major events happening, I am stepping into a new chapter. And boy do I hate change, especially when I don’t even know what that change is. Within the last few months seven of my friends have gotten engaged, and one of my best friends just had a beautiful baby girl. In college, I was SURE I would be married and have children before 30, but that obviously wasn’t the case. I’m actually okay with that. It’s taken some time and a lot of thinking, but I do believe that almost everything happens for a reason. I need to grow much more as an individual before I take that next huge step. In the past few months, I’ve rediscovered how important all of my girlfriends are to me. In the past few weeks I’ve made many new friends, and really reconnected with the old ones. I am so lucky to have all of these wonderful people in my life. Where will the next few years take me? I have no stinking clue. But I will make darn sure to stick to my direction: live life to the fullest with experiences I love, and do everything I can to make a difference.

Last weekend we had a retreat for Huntington’s Disease Society of America chapter leaders in the great lakes region. Not only was it a wonderful weekend with some amazing friends, it was also a weekend that filled me with a renewed dedication to my life mission: seeing a cure for Huntington’s Disease. The state of Wisconsin has one of the strongest boards in the country, and I am proud to be the president. I am VERY excited to bring all of these new ideas to the board, raise insane amounts (please note the professionalism…) of money for research, and create programs to help all of the afflicted families in Wisconsin. Okay life, keep throwing punches, I’m going to keep doing what I do best.

Angel on My Shoulder

After watching the story about how the body shops of Wisconsin are having a record year, I left Appleton to head back to work in Madison. After only driving a few miles on highway 41, I went around a slight bend, hit an ice patch and spun out of control. I slammed into a van, then bounced off the median, and finally hit the side rail and stopped. I’ve heard stories of car accidents, seen them on the news, and even seen them happen right in front of me. But I have NEVER been driving during something like that. And the stories are true, everything happens in slow motion. I remember looking at the van I slid into and thinking about the people inside. I then remember facing the wrong way, and watching all of the cars coming at me. I remembered my dad and Ken telling me how I was supposed to steer into the direction I was spinning while out of control. I thought about a photo shoot I was supposed to go to, each client I was supposed to train, what I would tell Ken and my dad, and my ability to afford a new car. Pretty amazing eh?
With some amazing luck, despite the fact my car was smashed to crap, I didn’t have a scratch on me, and the other van hardly had a dent. When I finally stopped shaking, I saw that another accident had happened in the exact same spot just before mine; and a few minutes after mine, another. We were able to get my car off the road and to the nearest body shop. I could tell the police officer was quite flustered with all of the accidents of the day, and I think he unintentionally took it out on me. In fact, despite the fact I did nothing wrong, he treated me like a criminal. He also said I should expect a ticket in the mail for my reckless driving. WHAT??!! I hit ice! I was driving the speed limit! If any of you are familiar with law, please give me some advice on this one. I’m also worried his anger will show up on the police report, which will then reflect on my insurance rates. Super. After all of this I actually thanked him anyway and his response was, “You really shouldn’t be thanking me.”
I was so relieved when the folks at Bergstrom Body Shop in Neenah were amazingly friendly. Despite being busier than they ever have been, they immediately helped me out, calmed me down, and explained the damage. They gave me a shuttle back to my apartment, and even offered me warm chocolate chip cookies while I waited! I knew I must have been shaken up, because I actually refused cookies!
Ken took me out to a nice lunch, then I rented a car and drove (like a grandma) back to Madison.
I’m not a super religious person, but today I was truly blessed. I could have been seriously hurt, or seriously hurt somebody else. If I do have to buy another car, it will most definitely be a Scion. I have no doubt that car saved my life. The various things I hit, I hit HARD, and I didn’t even come out with a bruise. I was blessed to have the wonderful people at Bergstrom to make me feel better and taken care of. And I was VERY blessed to have Ken spend the rest of the afternoon with me.
I’ve met several people over the past few years who NEVER wear a seatbelt. Accidents happen to almost everybody, and many aren’t as lucky as I was. Don’t be an idiot.

You Tube Crazy!

With the help of Ken LaBarre (www.rolittakeit.com) I've gotten quite a few of my old video clips up on YouTube! These clips cover my life from 1991 to just a few months ago at the Fitness America Pageant!









And even more videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/shanaUW