Right now, I’m sitting with my laptop, staring out the window and I mostly all I see is snow and ice. I’m hibernating in my house right now because I'm told that it’s minus zero with the wind chill right now. It’s actually kind of pretty out there. Did I just say that snow was pretty? Maybe I’m getting used to it. I have spent more time than usual in this frigid Michigan weather this January. I’m fortunate because I don’t have to leave my condo a lot. The things I need to do just require a phone and a computer, right now. My main goal is to secure funding and go Top Fuel racing. That requires a lot of phone calls, emails, research, and whatever else this is going to take.

It’s going to be an interesting journey. I guess this is part of the life of a professional race car driver. There are a lot of highs and lows. I was on a great high from winning in Australia a little over a month ago. Now it’s a new kind of low having the first race of the season start and I’m not on the entry list. I’ll still keep blogging and fill you in on as many details as I can, because I will be back out racing again. I just can’t tell you when. I have some great fans and great supporters that I am eternally thankful for. I pray that everyone will stick with me through this journey. I need my supporters more than ever.

I’ll be out at the Winternationals this weekend. I couldn’t stay away if you paid me. I miss driving already and I can’t imagine how much I’m going to miss it the first time I hear a top fuel dragster fire up, or the first time a smell one. I’m not going to lie; it’s going to be tough being on the sidelines because driving is my passion. It’s what I do. It’s what I love. Believe me, I’ve done a lot of thinking and considered a lot of careers. All I really want to do is drive top fuel. I will stay positive and stay determined so I can be back out there.

I think it’s going to be an interesting season. I’m predicting that Doug Kalitta wins the championship. Some of the guys from my team that made us so successful last year, are now on Doug’s teams: crew chief Jim Oberhofer, assistant crew chief Troy Fasching, Mac Savage, Mike LaJoice, and Tom Davis. I think those guys will do really well again this year.

This was the first time in a long time, that I didn’t have any preseason testing. Instead of being too down about it, I decided to spend some time with my mom, Ruth, and my sister, Kim. I hadn’t seen my sister in over a year. Since I apparently like snow now, we decided to go on a little ski trip. I laughed so much on the entire trip. I needed it. It didn’t matter if we were driving in the car, at a restaurant, on the lift, going down the mountain. I was so happy to be with them, I just laughed.

We had two days of skiing. I was a little rusty at first. Since I became a professional driver in 2005, I wouldn’t go skiing because I didn’t want to break something and have to sit out any races. I’m not one who can do something half way. Skiing carefully isn’t really an option for me because I tend to go all out. I came away from this trip, thankfully, with only a few minor bruises. I had a couple wipe outs but I actually relaxed and kind of took my time. I had to remind myself that it’s not a race to get down the mountain.

My mom, Kim, and I did a lot of reminiscing about old times. I made fun of and laughed at my little sister like old times. One night in the hotel, I tried to teach them the dance moves Beyonce does in the video to her song, "Single Ladies." It was so funny. Too bad I don’t even know how to do the dance, but it was hilarious trying.

Recently, I came across a passage by Joel Osteen that said, “One of the greatest stress relievers God has given us is laughter. It not only makes us feel better, but it actually releases healing throughout our system. When we laugh, it restores and rejuvenates what the pressures of life have taken out.” I definitely found that to be true.

I’ll write a blog again soon. I know that I really have no excuse for the procrastination. One fan wrote to me and said, “C’mon Hillary write a blog. How busy can you really be? “ I laughed, but then I wrote. I’ll talk to you again soon. Thanx for reading  :)