Throwback Thursday #33: San Francisco in a Different Light

"She had no rings on her fingers, she had diamonds in her eyes. She had no money to be reckoned with, she had love within her life. And I heard her singing. Wouldn't you say that life is beautiful?" ~Life Is Beautiful by Michelle Tumes

Last week I caught an episode of "The World of Jenks" on MTV. The show centers around a 24 year old documentary film maker, Andrew Jenks. He travels around living a week at a time with different people to get a taste of their lives. The first episode I saw was about a girl in San Francisco. You know me--if it has to do with San Francisco, I will be watching!
After having lived there, I always recognize places when the city is on tv. They showed the park where I went running every afternoon. The beach by the Golden Gate Bridge where I took my favorite pictures (see above). I even saw my apartment building with the trolley waiting to pick up riders to head to Market Street (see below). The girl on tv was standing in the same places and seeing the same exact things I did. The girl on tv was great. She was funny and smart and insightful. She had dreams and hopes and a desire to make a difference in the world. In a crazy way, she reminded me of myself living in San Francisco two summers ago. I remember experiencing the beauty of the city and the excitment of the people. I remember a sense of hope and wonder about where my life would lead me next and what I would end up doing. She seemed to have the same feelings.

But her life was completely different than mine had been.

The girl who Jenks was living with for the week was homeless. Actually, I learned, that's not the right terminology. She refers to it as "houseless." This makes sense--no one wants to think they have no home. She was 22 years old an had been on the street in San Francisco since she was 13 years old. She had nothing, except the few things she could carry on her back and a dog named Lucy.

So while we may have been similar in our hopes and dreams, we were completely opposite in our situations. She was houseless, living on the streets. She came from a terrible home life and felt like no one in her life really cared about her. I got to live in a beautiful apartment, that was overflowing pretty much all summer with friends and family who loved me enough to come visit. She never had the chance to go to college. I was on a scholarship to law school. She couldn't get a job because she didn't have an id. I was working at a dream job in a sky scraper downtown.

It's so funny how two people can physically be in the same place, and be worlds apart. What was different between that girl and me? I had been given opportunities and chances and people that made my life go own a different path. She didn't get those opportunities. And that sure doesn't seem fair to me.

I don't know why I got the breaks I did and that girl didn't. I do know that when God gives us much more than others, he expects much more from us. Because of what I have been given, I know that I have a huge responsibility to find a way to give back and to make a difference. Seeing the girl on tv sure reminded me of this in a major way.

So...the next time you are in San Francisco, or anywhere else, and you see a houseless girl on the street, remember that she might be an awful lot like you, minus the good fortune and blessings that you received, yet didn't deserve.

I sure hope that the girl can find a way to make her dreams come true. I hope she changes the world. I know she changed my perspective on things. Maybe that's a start.

Easton and I

"Mumps, measles and puppy love are terrible after twenty." ~Mignon McLaughlin

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting pictures from my meet and greet experience at Brad Paisley since I first wrote about it. Actually, you probably haven't, but I've been anxiously awaiting posting them!
Now, earlier in the year I decided that I could check off my bucket list item "take a picture with a famous person" when I met Alex, the lead guitarist for Miranda Lambert and his wonderful girlfriend snapped a picture for me. While some people questioned if he counted as 'famous' for the checkmark, meeting Easton Corbin certainly counts and the checkmark is for sure done!
So first off, I just love Easton Corbin. He's adorable. He's got the a super cute southern accent, and is really, really good looking. But more than that, he's smart too....degree in Ag Business from the University of Florida. See?? We were soul mates.....except that he met his wife before I got to him!
Anyway, he sings three songs I love......"I'm a Little More Country than That" and "Roll With It" are both on the radio right now. But my favorite might actuallly be one that's not been that popular...."Don't Ask Me 'Bout a Woman."


Anyway, after his concert was over, I was standing around chatting with Brett-Brett and his twin brother Michigan State. Well, low and behold, I see Easton Corbin signing autographs and taking pictures with people right behind us. At first, I just snuck up to snap this photo.
When Miss Texas and I realized that the line wasn't too long and saw that he was hugging everyone he met, we decided standing there was a must! Turns out, the meet and greet only went until 7:00, then they shut the gate. We were the last people through. PHEW! This kind of thing NEVER happens to me. Ever in my life.

Anyway, here you go.....I met Josh Thompson first (singer of Way Out Here....you've heard it...."We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere). Notice my eyes were already scoping out Easton Corbin to my left!
Then I met Steel Magnolia (singers of Keep On Loving You). That girl is adorable an had on killer heels. The guy was less cool. He said he didn't like football. I was over him quickly. (You might wonder how this came up during the 30 seconds I talked to him...let's just say I learned nothing from the Kirk Herbstreit blog!)
And then, it was time for Easton Corbin. He hugged me. Twice. And called me darlin'. I was like a 16 year old with a crush.
And then, like that, our relationship was over. And I went back to my seat on the grass to watch the rest of the concert. But hey, I have the picture to show everyone how cute we look together. And apparently it's believeable. My brother didn't realize it was Easton Corbin and he called me asking who the dude was I was with and to tell me that he would be here soon to kick his you-know-what!

Anyway, let's have a take away point from this. All of you out there who have graciusly volunteered to help me in my search for Mr. Right---take a good look. This is what we're after. Except for the whole part about him being married. Now that we're all on the same page...get to looking!

A Lesson from the Kids

"When you're a beautiful person on the inside, there is nothing in the world that can change that about you." ~ Sasha Azevedo

We hear a lot about kids these days being trouble-makers and how rude they can be and about the hurtful things that they do to each other. Well, finally there was a front page news story about the opposite.

Last month at Cibola High School, the kids got it right. James Keefner was elected homecoming king. He's a favorite among the students--popular, good friends with the quarterback of the football team, hangs out with the girls on the volleyball team, enjoys weight-lifting class, and is friends with just about everyone in the school. Sounds like any other homecoming king in America, right?

Except that James has down syndrome. But to the kids at Cibola, he's just one of their classmates and one of their friends. They look beyond what society has deemed a disability to the person. One student said that there was absolutely no question as to who would be homecoming king at Cibola, because everyone loves James.

These teenagers put aside judgment and prejudice and selfishness. They looked beyond stereotypes and what judgments society imposes on people. They looked not at the outside, but at the inside of James. This kind of thing doesn't happen to often in high schools, or in the world. Maybe if we would all look at a person's heart and spirit and personality first, and let everything else be only secondary, the world would be a better place.

The world would do well to take a lesson from the kids at Cibola High School.

Happiness Project Month 4: Parenthood (or not!)

"Much is expected from those to whom much is given. Much more is expected from those to whom much more is given." ~ Luke 12:48


So month 4 of the Happiness Project focused on parenthood.....needless to say I had to improvise. So, because I previously replaced a non-applicable happiness goal with doing something for myself, I decided that this month I would focus on doing something for others....so my goal: volunteering.

I'd been trying for a while to find a volunteer organization that I was passionate about to get involved with. I feel really strongly about finding a way to give back and about making a difference in the world. So when I decided that doing something for others would be the topic of the Happiness Project this month, I started to do some research. I landed on two different ideas.

First, I signed up with the National Bone Marrow Donor Program's "Be The Match" Registry. If you're not familiar with the organization, they have been working for 20 years to help find life-saving bone marrow matches for people with life threatening diseases, such as leukemia. Finding a bone marrow donor is often a patient's last hope, but 70% of people who need this transplant do not have a match in their family.

That's where the Registry comes in. They keep a database of sorts of people who are willing to be bone marrow donors. If someone is looking for a donor, they can check all of the people on the registry. If someone finds a match, the donor is contacted and the donation occurs. Signing up is easy, you just fill out some short paperwork, mostly about your overall health. After that, they mail you a little kit that has you send in three cheek swabs. And that's all there is to it.

I signed up earlier this month. So far, no call that I match anyone. My mom swears that I don't know what I'm getting into....I pass out when they take my blood pressure....this involves a needle into the bone! But you know....the idea that I might be able to save someone's life would make the passing out and the needles and the sore hip more than worth it. I sincerely hope that I do get the call and that I can make a difference!

You might wonder why I decided this was something that was a fit for me. I don't have an elaborate answer. But I have seen a lot of death in my life, and I'm tired of sad. If I could help save someone's life, and help to prevent the sad for their family and friends, well that would be amazing.

Second, I signed up to volunteer as a Wish Granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I'm particulary excited about this because unlike the bone marrow registry, I don't have to wait around to make a difference....I have already gotten started!
The Make-A-Wish Foundation works to grant children with life threatening illnesses between the ages of 2 1/2 an 18 their fondest wish. A couple of important clarifications. These kids are not all terminally ill. In fact, many of them live to be adults, somewhere around 60%. They all have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses.....this can be anything from cancer to cerebral palsy and a whole host of other illnesses. And the wishes are not just for the kids, but instead they are for the whole family. So, for example, if a kid wishes to go to Disneyland, the Foundation sends the parents an any siblings who are under 18. All free of charge. The entire idea started with one kid who wanted to be a state trooper before he died.

So, as a Wish Granter, my job is to help get these wishes underway. The volunteers do the interview of the child and family and help them come up with their wish. Then we work to coordinate the wishes and to help with "enhancements" to make the wish even better....think decorations in a hotel room or fun gifts to open on the plane.

Talk about a great gig for me! I have always wanted to be rich....not so much because there are things I need or want for myself, but because I think I would love having the money to really help people. Being a Wish Granter for Make-A-Wish is sort of like having the money to help people make their dream come true....but instead of having to save up for years, I just get to spend someone else's money! And I'm a huge believer in having dreams (hello bucket list!) and making them come true. I've been fortunate to be healthy and have the gift of time to check items off my list....I love the idea of helping others do the same.

The worst part of my work with Make-A-Wish is that I will not be able to share specifics on the blog. I will be able to tell you that I helped grant a wish, but I can't give out any details about the kid or the wish. But....I will tell you that I signed up for my first kiddo last week and I am meeting with her this week to get this wish planning under way. If you want to get an idea of how this works, the national organization has some stories on their website. I'd encourage you to read about Andrew, Christian, Ethan, and many others.

I think it's pretty obvious from the blog that I give this month's project a big fat A+ as far as increasing my happiness. They say it is better to give than to receive--I agree wholeheartedly. As much fun as the golf lessons were during the month of "doing something for me," the idea of saving someone's life or giving a sick kid their biggest wish is so much better!

No Answers

"The hardest part of saying goodbye is having to do it again every single day. Every day we face the same truth that life is fleeting that our time here is short and to honor the fallen we must live our own lives well." ~ OTH

One year ago, my world changed forever. There are some wounds that time will never heal. Somehow, we just have to find a way to live with the scars.

Over the last year lots of things have touched me....whether they have been in books, in songs, in stories, in pictures, in memories, in smells.... More times than I can count, I've burst into tears out of the blue after seeing or hearing something that took me back.

But I think that the thing that has had one of the most profound impacts on me was a quote by Jim Johnson, the preacher at my church in Stilwater.

"Sometimes there are no answers. Just a need to trust in a sovreign God."

So that's what I'm doing today. Trusting and remembering, missing and loving, mourning and never forgetting.

Red Dirt, Football and Brad Paisley

“If it's not fun, you're not doing it right!” ~ Bob Basso

Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about everything I did over the weekend. Here's a little taste for you!

Friday

I had my one year review at work. They didn't fire me. I call that success! Below is a picture of what I came back to in my office from my secertary and paralegal. The paper says, "Here's a box to pack your stuff. We'll miss you!" But they did put a cupcake inside, so all was forgiven.

After the review I made mad dash for the Junior Livestock Sale at the State Fair. It was fun to be a buyer....talk about seeing the other side of things! I don't have my picture yet, but I will do an update and include it when it arrives.

Then on Friday night I went to the Eli Young Band concert at the State Fair with two friends....we'll call them the Twins' Girls. Trust me---I needed my Red Dirt fix! I listen to the music constantly on my iPod, but there is just nothing like a good ol' live Red Dirt concert! And Eli Young has some awesome songs---Guinevere, Small Town Kid, Oklahoma Girl (which incidentally I'm pretty sure was written about me...) Great night!Saturday


I got the firm tickets to go to the UNM/Utah football game. My Aggie Friend said she would come along.

Now, let's be real....I'm not a Lobo. I did get a law degree from here, but long before I set foot in that law school it was clear that I bleed ORANGE and everyone knows where my allegience lies. And I wore my OSU shirt--we were in the process of beating up on TU, so I had to support my boys! (And, FYI....I was NOT the only OSU fan in the crowd--another guy had his orange an black on supporting the Pokes as well!)
Anyway, I didn't care that UNM was going to get killed (one of my bosses referred to the game as the slaughtring of the wolves). All I know is that I got to see a top 15 team play college football live.....it was a great night under the lights (until they went out an we had to take a little break). Seriously, I have said for years I will watch any game, any time, any where and have a blast.
We made it through half of the 3rd quarter before making a break for food and better games on tv. We actually saw UNM score once and everyone cheered. That was about the only good point for the Lobos, so I was sure to snap a photo.

Sunday
Sunday afternoon I headed out to the Brad Paisley Water Tour at the Hard Rock. College Roomie, McCain, and Aggie Friend all bought lawn tickets for the show and had a blast!There were so many great acts....Steel Magnolia, Josh Thompson, Easton Corbin, Justin Moore, Daruis Rucker (aka HOOTIE!) and Brad. Because of all of the excitement, I will be doing another post just on this alone....so stay tuned! Let's just say that if a certain singer was not married, we would have very cute children, and I have the picture to prove it! :)

You Do You

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ~ Steve Jobs

Okay, I thought about quasi-lying in this blog. Here's the deal. The phrase "you do you" is the topic of the blog and I was going to tell you that I learned of this phrase in the Jason DeRulo song "Ridin' Solo" (which I love by the way...check it out!) when he says "Finally doing me and it feels alright."

But the truth is, I first heard this on Jersey Shore. Yes--I know it's totally trashy, immoral, junk. And I should not watch. And honestly, I'm not someone who watches every episode. But if I'm channel surfing and there is nothing else on, I'll admit--I watch the re-runs on MTV. There you have it. I confess. Ugh. I disappoint myself.

Anyway, back to the point of the blog. I like the idea of "you do you." The whole point is that we need to live our own lives. I know I blog about this a lot, but I think it's important. We are the ones who get to decide what we do with our lives--from where we live, to what we do for a living, to who we want to be around, to what color we want our hair. And if for some reason we are not happy with some part of their lives, then we can change it! (Julia Roberts agrees!)

And the "you do you" idea is especially important while we are single and have nothing tying us down. We deserve to make some decisions completely for ourselves! Someone mentioned to me that thinking this way is sort of selfish. I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong---when I get married and have little ones running around, I will not be making life decisions based on what I want. But at this point in my life, I have the freedom to make my own decisions. This is the time in my life that I get to figure out who I am and what I want. Knowing that seems like a pretty important thing before getting tied down and trying to make decisions for more than one person.

I get to do me, and I don't think that's selfish at all. I think that's smart!

Sick Days

“Only in America - do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front of the store.” ~Unknown

Most people come home from the State Fair livestock shows with ribbons or buckles or banners.

I came home with a terrible cold.

So....my life consists of gatorade, kleenex and a lot of sleep. Since this is not interesting, I'll be taking a couple of sick days from blogging.

I'll be back next Monday!

Texas: Football and Brimstone and Oil and Cotton....

"Football's so important in Texas. On the West Coast, it's a social. On the East Coast, it's a culture. Here, it's a religion." ~Major Applewhite

As I mentioned previously, I took a quick trip to Texas a couple weekends ago for one of the Animal House boy's wedding. Because none of my friends seem to get married at places with good airports, I ended up flying into Midland, renting a car, and driving to San Angelo for the wedding. I arrived in Midland about 9:00 on Friday evening, got all set up with my little Hundai and hit the road. As I was driving, I decided that a blog about my small town west Texas observations was probably necessary.

First.....the radio. I'm not too picky about radio stations. I grew up in the middle of nowhere myself, and we had two radio stations. One country, one something that resembled pop and/or rock (I just remember they would play Love Shack over and over and over it seemed like!) So I hate to bash on radio selection giving my humble roots.

However, as I hit the road and kept pushing the "Seek" button, I thought my finger might fall off from exhaustion. Apparently a person driving through west Texas on a Friday night has two options for radio: high school football and fire and brimstone preachers.

Now, I do love me some football of any sort. But listenting to high school games of kids and schools you don't know, and then after the game listening to the analysis from the old has beens on the radio is not very exciting. It does totally remind me of the tv show "Friday Night Lights" however. And I've said for years that is the most real show on television. This experience only cemented that belief.

Watch here for a taste of what I heard on just about every station in west Texas.



As for the second option of fire and brimstone yelling/preaching, understan that I enjoy a good sermon. I think I've said before I frequently listen to sermons from my old church in Stillwater online. But I'm not sure how effective it is when a preacher (or one on each station actually) gets on the radio on Friday night to yell at you and tell you that you're going to hell. I think that there are probably far better ways to tell the world about Jesus.

And finally on my trip back home, I captured a picture of quintessential Texas. As I was hurrying to get to the airport on time on Sunday morning (fyi--early flight after a wedding with an open bar all afternoon--not the best call). But I knew I had to stop an snap this picture. Here we have an oil derrick in the middle of a cotton field. Seriously, this should probably be on the Texas flag.

Hope you enjoyed getting to share a little part of my journey into west Texas. Football, preachers, oil dereks and cotton fields. That pretty much sums it up!

Regrets

“Regret is an odd emotion because it comes only upon reflection. Regret lacks immediacy, and so its power seldom influences events when it could do some good.” ~William O'Rourke

I read a great article written by a former hospice nurse, Bronnie Ware. She wrote about how every person with whom she worked found a sense of peace before they died. She also realized that when asked about regrets that they had, or what they would have done differently, common themes kept recurring. She developed a list of the 5 most common regrets of the dying.


I thought I would share:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

When I read the article, I was struck by how many of these involve people wishing that they had done the things that they wanted to do. I've written about it once or twice or three times before on the blog--but we have to figure out what we want out of our lives and go get it! When we don't--when we try and do what other people expect or what we feel like we should want--that's when we get into trouble. That's when we end up with regrets.

I'm not saying that doing these five things will be easy. (Nor am I saying I think that a person can live life with absolutely no regrets--I've written about that before too). It's hard to try and work less--especially when you are young and that's expected of you. It's hard to try and express your feelings when that is not your personality, or you are scared. Even staying in touch with friends can be a hard task sometimes when you feel like you are the one who does all the work. They may not be easy, but I think they are important.

When a person realizes these things on their deathbed, there is usually very little that they can do to remedy the regrets. Being healthy and able to walk and run and talk and GO is something that I think a lot of us can take for granted. But if we think about these regrets now, when we still have the power to change them, maybe when we are on our death beds, we won't have to worry about these missed opportunities. We should learn from those who have gone before us. We only get one shot at this life thing--it's up to us to make the best of it while we still have the chance.

Shut Up Joe!

"You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have nearly a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football team in the land for 2 years. And you're getting a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself." ~ My favorite line from the movie, Rudy

One of my favorite movies of all-time is Rudy. I think a lot of people would say the same thing. In fact, I'm taking a bucket list trip this fall to check off a dream I've had since I was five years old and first saw that movie. At the same time, I've always liked Joe Montana. He played at Notre Dame (which automatically means I like him based on that alone!). He was a great NFL quarterback. He's in the Hall of Fame.

Well.....today, I am no longer impressed. This week, Joe Montana came out bashing on Rudy. Now, in case you live under a rock and haven't seen the movie Rudy, which is hands down one of the best movies of all time, get your butt to the movie store and rent it RIGHT NOW!

The movie is based on the true story of Rudy Ruettiger. He had always dreamed of playing football for the Irish. He was small--like really small, and not very fast, and only mildly athletic. He didn't have the grades to get into Notre Dame. So he went to work at a steel plant with his father and brothers. After his friend was killed in the plant, Rudy decided it was time to follow his dreams. He packed up and headed for South Bend. He started at Holy Cross junior college, trying to get his grades up to get into Notre Dame. He applied three times and failed to get accepted. Then on his fourth, and final, try, he got in.

Then he tried out for the football team as a walk on. He was beat up and bleeding and bruised and exhausted, but he worked hard enough he got to stay. For the rest of his time at Notre Dame, he was on the practice squad, getting banged up every single week, but never seeing the field. His family didn't believe he was on the team, because they could never see him on tv on Saturdays. He cut a deal with the coach that he would be allowed to dress out for one game his senior year. Then that coach left. The new coach didn't care too much about the deal. The last game of the season, the other players volunteered to let Rudy have their spots. Rudy got to suit out, and got in on the last play of the game. He sacked the quarterback. He was carried off the field. No player has been carried off since that day in 1975.

Now, jerkface Joe Montana called Rudy out this week. He said that Rudy was more of a joke than an inspiration. He said that none of the players offered to turn in their jerseys. The crowd didn't really chant his name. And when they carried him off the field, they were just joking around. They said he didn't work any harder than anyone else and that he did not understand the hype.

Well thank goodness someone came to Rudy's defense. Another Rudy teammate, Jak Achterhoff says that the movie was 98% accurate. According to Achterhoff, "Rudy was carried off the field that day ... but not as a joke -- but because he finally got to play. You've never in your life seen a guy who wanted to be on the field more."
Seriously Joe?? Come on dude. Maybe it's a jealousy thing. At least one article has referred to Rudy as "Notre Dame's Most Famous Graduate." Probably Mr. Hall of Fame Joe Montana doesn't like that too much. And maybe Rudy didn't work harder than the other players on the team like Joe. But you know what? Rudy got NO credit for that hard work. He didn't run out of the tunnel every weekend. He didn't talk to reporters after the game. He kept his head down and worked hard becuase he wanted to be a part of Notre Dame football in any way that he could.

Now, of course there were Hollywood additions to the movie that didn't actually happen. It's a movie! But that doesn't make Rudy a joke. Far from it--I think Rudy is much more of an inspiration to people than Joe ever was.

Rudy's message about having dreams and following them and working hard and never giving up is far from a joke. Seems like this message would probably be more important and more inspirational to regular people than the fact that Joe Montana played pro football. Life doesn't always work out that way for everyone. In fact, it hardly works out that way for anyone. Hardly anyone makes it into the pros. For the rest of us, lessons about life from a regular guy who made his dream come true mean a lot more.

So shut your mouth Joe Montana. I'm not impressed. And I can assure you, when I go to see my first football game at Notre Dame this fall, I'll be thinking about how Rudy played in that stadium and not you. And that's not a joke either.

Family Farm Friday # 29: What It's All About

"The welfare of the farmer is vital to that of the whole country." ~William Howard Taft

Okay, by the time this next week is over, you guys are going to have had more than enough of my yapping about State Fair! As you can tell (from this and that), showing was a big deal in my life, so bear with me.

Anyway, I was chatting with someone at work this week and mentioned that I would be out of the office next Tuesday for the sheep show. She said, "You know, I wish I knew where the animals were at the fair." I had a befuddled look on my face I said, "What are you talking about? Like the livestock?" She said, "Yea, I've never seen the animals." I didn't know what to say--she is missing what it's all about!

She apparently goes to the midway, maybe hits up a horse race, eats a corn dog or some other fried food on a stick, and does some of the commercial buildings and art exhibits and calls it a day. And apparently she's not alone. One of my friends just started school at UNM and was shocked that most of the people in her dorm had never been to the fair, despite living here their whole lives!

My experience, obviously, has always been exactly the opposite--I don't think I've ever set foot on that midway! I have always spent probably 95% of my time at either the livestock barns or in the dorms where the exhibitors stay during the week. The other 5% would be divided between rodeos at Tingley, street dances in front of Tingley, and the horse races in the afternoon.

For me the animals are the State Fair. For her, they had nothing to do with it. I think we have a big disconnect here that we need to fix somehow.

A huge point of having fairs is to give the public an opportunity to see animal agriculture in person. Today the average American is 3 generations removed from the farm. For a lot of people, this might be the only time they ever see a steer or a pig or a lamb in person. Educating consumers is something that is vitally important to agriculture--and somehow our State Fair is missing a great opportunity to do that.

In the livestock barns there are not only the junior exhibitors' animals, but there are also sheep shearing demonstrations, wool weaving exhibits, and they actually milk dairy cows and talk people through the entire process. All of these things are great ideas and important things for people to learn--but they are only effective if the people who we want to educate make it into the barns!

I'm not saying some people don't wonder into the barns. Every year showing I would get three questions from "city people" in the barns. And I do mean every year, without exception. (1) [Referring to the lambs wearing muzzles] Do they bite your fingers?; (2) [Regarding shearing the lambs] Does that hurt?; and (3) [Referring to the finewool lambs] Is that one a boy because he has horns?

Some of the questions seemed silly, and sometimes it was annoying when people wanted to pet the lambs, but you know what, it was usually pretty cool too. It's fun getting to teach people about animals and our way of life. It's great that they are there, forming their own opinions about us and our industry, instead of listening to one of the crazy anti-agriculture organizations that exist today.

I hope that this disconnect between State Fair goers and the livestock exhibits can be cured somehow--I'm not exactly sure what the "fix" is. Maybe we need to be sure the people on the State Fair Board or whatever it's called know about agriculture and showing an want to work hard to promote it. That's probably not something we can fix over night. But I know that if everyone tells all of their friends that they should go to the fair AND be sure to check out the animals, that might be a start.

Fairs should be free advertising and education for agriculture--and I can't think of better spokesmen than junior showers! They are what it's all about!

Throwback Thursday # 32: Thursday Before State Fair

"The older I grow the more earnestly I feel that the few joys of childhood are the best that life has to give." ~Ellen Glasgow

There were a lot of school days where I was pretty worthless through out my elementary/high school days. I'm thinking back in particular to the time that we decorated the ITV room with toilet paper, balloons and streamers and then spent the rest of the day burning paper with a space heater, which caused a big investigation into whether or not there may have been an electrical fire. (Mrs. F....if you read this, don't be mad!) But I can promise you, there was no day where I was more worthless than the Thursday before the State Fair every year.

You know how when you're a little kid, you can't sleep the night before Christmas because you were so excited about the next day? Yea--imagine that instead of trying to sleep you were trying to pay attention in math class. No dice. Anyway, once the school day finally ended (and we finally finished playing our volleyball game that was always scheduled that night--usually against Texico) we FINALLY got to go home and get ready for the best week of the year.

That night we would spend getting all of the last minute items in the showbox, loading feeders, making sure we had feed, and hay (including enough for when the Perez brothers would need to mooch). Then we would go to the house to pack our clothes, shower stuff, sleeping bags, jackets, boots......you know the drill. After the poor truck and trailer were loaded down, we would get a couple hours of sleep and then wake up early in the morning to head for Albuquerque. (Note that digital cameras did not exist back in my day--so I have no pictures of any of this to share with you!)

When I was really young, the whole county met up and went at midnight. I remember everyone all bundled up and running around to say hi to our friends as we waited at the fairgrounds to leave. But that sort of ended at some point around my freshman year or so. It was just too many people being late and too many blowouts on the way and getting to Albuquerque too early which meant sitting in the parking lot for hours. Instead, Logan FFA started meeting up and leaving out at about 4 in the morning. This stopped a lot of the sitting in the parking lot--but not the blow out issues. I remember once Mr. F calling as we were pulling out of the driveway to meet everyone at the truck stop to tell us that another family already had three blow outs between Logan and Tucumcari, which is about 24 miles! Needless to say we headed for the shop to load up several spares.

The trek to State Fair was only the beginning of an awesome week. I'll blog more about the actual State Fair events next Thursday. Once we arrived, there was unloading and feeding and sending someone to the dorms to get a bed in the corner (very important). After all of that there was naptime, from which I would always wake up and wonder if it was the same day or the next morning (and from which I got the nickname Sunshine when I forgot to brush my hair after said nap time one year!)

Today is the Thursday before the 2010 State Fair. I would sure love to be a kid again, packing up the show box and heading to meet everyone at Loves at 4 am.....flat tires and all!

August Updates

"The measure of good life is the accumulation of good memories." ~ Anonymous

Mr. and Mrs. Animal House Boy. As you may remember from a prior update, I headed to Texas over Labor Day weekend for the wedding of one of my guy friends from college. These two are a perfect match and their wedding was beyond gorgeous! More than once someone said, "Man, this is just like a movie!"
I failed to get pictures of the venue (which was the bride's parents' ranch) so I have been keeping any eye on facebook to find some. So far, I just found one, that shows the lake (over which fire works were set off through out the night!) I'll keep an eye out for more and share in a later update.
And I always love love love getting to catch up with my Animal House boys and their wives. These are some of my favorite guys in the world!

Pokes Win! Pokes Win! College football is off and running---love love love this time of year! I missed most of the games opening weekend because of the wedding. But no worries, the Governor kept our whole group up to date on all of the details with his trusty i-phone snuck into his tux pocket!
Anyway, in case you haven't heard, my Pokes come out firing and beat Washington State 65-17. And just in case you forgot---OSU would be the team from Oklahoma that killed a PAC-10 team, and not that other team who almost got beat by a no-name WAC team. Would have hated for there to be any confusion. You can check out game highlights below!



Kirk Herbstreit Syndrome Strikes Again. You all probably remember the prior Kirk Herbstreit blog. I was chatting with a guy sitting next to me on the plane ride back home from Texas. He noticed I had out my ESPN magazine to prepare for my fantasy football draft (thank you Childhood Friend for giving me that!). We got to talking about football......and at one point he was talking about how excited Denver is about Tebow. The he says, "They really hate....oh shoot, I can't remember the last quarterback's name." I immediately respond, "Jake Cutler." He looks at me sort of perplexed and says, "Wow, you really do know your football don't you!" Sigh. Yes. I do. And apparently this knowledge is a curse.

Getting Old. Not only am I apparently no longer Forever 21, but I've noticed myself doing things, and getting excited about things, that just make me seem really old. First off, last week I finalized my Advanced Healthcare Directive (aka a healthcare power of attorney--you appoint someone to make healthcare decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitated). Young people don't do these things. Secondly, I was balancing my checkbook the other day after not doing it for a couple of weeks and when I got to the end and it balanced with the bank statement, I was so excited. And then I wasn't because I realized I'm becoming a loser.

Quote of the Month. We have two winners this month. And I have a picture of them together. :)
Our first winner is College Roomie. We were laying by the pool last a couple of weekends ago. She asks me, "What are you going to wear on your date this week?" I responded, "It's not a date, we're just friends having dinner. It' just like when you and I go to dinner. That's not a date either." And then she responded with the quote, "Hey, he's paying. And he has a penis. That's a date in my book." Classic. Just classic.

And while it looked like Blonde Oklahoma Girl was going to be dethroned from her reign as winner of quote of the month, she came through at the last minute with a gem. "Stupid Tiger Woods. He really ruined everything for us girls, because now every guy thinks he can be a [non-blog friendly word] and get away with it. I knew I didn't like golf for a reason."

If You Really Knew Me

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Confucius

It's ironic to me that this is my second blog about a tv show on MTV (remember my love for The Buried Life). I didn't grow up with MTV.....it wasn't one of the 4 channels we had in my house the entire time I lived there. I don't really watch too many music videos of any kind. And some of the shows on there just look plain dumb to me. (i.e. 16 and Pregnant...don't get me started!)

Anyway, this show titled "If You Really Knew Me" is about a program called "Challenge Day" that goes into high schools across America. They basically gather up the student bodies of these schools in a gym. They have these kids go through several different activities, all to try and break down the clicks and prejudices and different groups that exist in high schools (and in life!) everywhere.

One of the exercises has them sit in a small group and complete the following sentence, "If you really knew me, you'd know _____________." The things that people share are amazing--their pain and their struggles seem unbearable for high school kids. People who have no friends, whose parents don't support them, who have lost loved ones, who are homeless, who feel guilty for friends who have died. And no one in the school knew.

This is true of everyone we encounter in our lives. Everyone has problems and struggles and gone through hard times, but they keep these things hidden. People put smiles on their faces, act as though everything in their lives are normal, and inside they are a wreck. We never really know what someone is going through. We never know how our negative words or actions can impact someone, or to be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

In the same way, we never know how a kind word, a hello, or a simple smile might be something that could change someone's day, or even their life. Life is hard. If we can do something to make it just a little bit easier, even just for one person, shouldn't we try?

Happiness Project Month 3: Work

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” ~ Unknown

It's time to report on my happiness project again! Well, I mentioned before that I spent two months on my work-related projects. Since I spend most of my life at work (they never tell you that when you're a kid or even in college....but it's true so choose that job wisely!), I guess it makes sense I would have a lot to do there. I don't ever talk about work on the blog......I think that is a pretty good policy for me to stick with. But, I'll break it today since there's nothing paticularly juicy going to be shared. Here were my projects....

1. Set up my candle lamp. Those of you who know me are probably thinking, "Wow, this is what a lawyer really has to worry about all day?" And no....I have much more important (although maybe not more exciting) things to think about. But, it's my happiness project so I'll do what I want! I hate being stuck inside all day every week day. I'm a farm girl at heart and being stuck in a stuffy office just about makes me crazy.

So, I decided that I needed to get a candle set up to at least make it smell good in my stuffy office. My mom gave me a great candle lamp for Christmas---you just plug the lamp in and the light melts the candle (without any fire) and your office smells like homeade apple pie (or any other flavor...but I don't know why you'd chose anything else!) I have to admit...it improves my mood when the apple pie scent fills the room!

2. Sign up for an ag law conference. My law firm is wonderful and I love working there. But I am the only one with an agriculture background. So....I'm the only one specifically interested in agriculture law. Luckily, they are very supportive of my interest and have encouraged me to take certain steps to try and make connections and learn about building my own ag law practice. One of those steps was signing up for an ag law conference.

I finally got all my ducks in a row and I will be attending the conference this fall and am looking forward to meeting the people and spending a couple of days learning about the hot issues in agriculture law. Because this is something I'm passionate about and really interested, being able to have my firm support me and encourage me to pursue my goals is wonderful!

3. Organize, organize, organize! You probably remember the extreme happiness boost I got during the first month of the Happiness Project when I organized my life. Well....work was about three times that exciting for me! Let me explain. As a young associate, I always have partners sticking their heads in my office saying things like, "Hey, what's that state court case that says you can't blindside someone in discovery?" or "Hey, what are the elements of tortious interference with an existing contract?" The most annoying thing EVER for me is when I know I've reasearched this issue before, but I don't remember who it was for or what case it was in to find it. So.....I knew that a key to my happiness at work was going to be getting organized and developing a system for this kind of thing!

I ended up doing a few different things. First, I did an email folder called "My Research" that I have all sorts of subfolders with case citations and reasearch I have emailed previously. That way, the next time someone wants to know the elements of something I've already researched, I have them just a click away. I've also decided to build a "brief bank" of sorts. This means I'm going to try and collect everything I've written in the last year and organize it. So when I need to write another Motion to Compel, I have about 15 examples all at my fingertips.

Okay---be honest---this blog was boring. My friends will attest to the fact that my being a lawyer can be pretty unexciting! But....for me, these simple steps really have made work easier and more enjoyable! So....if you've decided to follow the happiness project, maybe this will inspire you to make some changes at work that will increase your happiness level.

Or, if nothing else, it will make you happy that you're not a boring lawyer and your life is more exciting than mine! :)

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming....

"You've got plenty of time to focus on tomorrow, but these tonights....they're going by fast." ~ Coach in "Boys of Fall" video.

(Photo courtesy Bobbie Turner Photography)

....because it's COLLEGE FOOTBALL KICKOFF WEEKEND!!

Sorry to not have a Family Farm Friday for you this week, but I'm just so darn excited that football season is starting I can hardly see straight!

I won't be able to spend my usual Saturday vegging all day in front of the tv because I'm headed to Texas for the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Animal House Boy to serve as legal counsel. I've been assured by one of the other Animal House Boys that there will be a tv available at the reception for us to check the score. (Am I going to make a great wife someday or what!?!!)

Anyway....to get you in the spirit, I'll leave you with a great new song from Kenny Chesney. Even if you have heard the song---watch the video. It's powerful.

I for one am glad to see the Boys of Fall It's my favorite time of the year!

Oh yea....and GO POKES!

Let's Have SOME Standards

"If you're not picky, you're divorced." ~Cousin Swiss Mister

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm picky. I am frequently told by just about everyone in my life (including my own father and College Roomie) that I am too picky. (Thank goodness BFF and Cousin Kevin don't seem to agree---it's good to have those protective boys in your life to make you feel like picky is okay!)

And I'll admit, there may be a few requirements that I have for finding Mr. Right that are a bit overboard. My ban on boys wearing flip flops could probably go. My requirement that he be able to bench press my weight might not be totally necessary (but based on my research a guy should easily be able to do that unless he's a total wimp). My insistence on him being a college football fan also might be excessive (but let's be honest, you know that on Saturdays there will not be anything else on my tv!). So yes....I'm a little picky. Let's not even get started on my rules about him loving and understanding farming/ranching.

But last week I heard a poll on the local radio station. The question was for women. "Would you date Tiger Woods now that he is divorced?" I'm thinking as I'm driving to work....I bet it's less than 10% who say yes. Boy was I wrong. 100% of the women who responded said that they WOULD date him.

Are you kidding me? Hello ladies!??! Have you been watching the news? This dude cheated on his wife (while she was home taking care of or pregnant with his babies) with goodness knows how many trashy other women. Clearly he's a slimeball. (Sidenote: Not only should this morally repulse you and make you not want to touch him, but it should also scare the crap out of you from a health standpoint......yuck!) Out of respect for his poor ex-wife alone, the answer should have bee no!

I know it's hard to be single, and I know it's hard to find a guy who even is a potential Mr. Right, but we have to keep some standards if you ask me. Not only do I think it's imporant for our own self respect, but I think it's important for us to show slimeball guys that we're not going to put up with them doing this kind of thing to their families (remember--it wasn't just Elin who he hurt, but his whole family, kiddos included). Anyway, sorry for the soap box, but I'm just saying.....let's have SOME standards!

Call me picky if you want. But I'm out on Tiger!

1 Year Anniversary!

“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back.” ~ Harvey McKay

Well I realized that today is my one year anniversary on the blog! When I first started this, I didn't really know if I would stick with it, and I was even less sure that anyone would read my ranting every day. So thanks to all of you who read the blog. I love seeing new followers add me, getting comments on blogs, and having people come up to me and say "I just love your blog!"

Last night one of my friends, we'll call her OSU Canadian, hooked me up with a program that tracks how many people look at my blog and where they are from. I'm excited to keep track of these statistics. In the last week, I've had almost 400 viewers. Most are from the US, but several from Canada and England (where as far as I know I don't know a soul) and even two from Denmark! So---if you're visiting and I don't know you---feel free to introduce yourself!

Anyway....a lot has happened in the last year since the blog began.....taking a note from my dear friend, the Crazy Canadian's blog, I thought I would go through a quick run down of the events that happened and were blogged about in the last year.

September 2009: A lot happened last September. Not only did I pass the bar and begin working at my law firm, but I was a bridesmaid and a pall bearer in the same week. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions.

October 2009: You heard about my decision 24 hours before the OSU/Texas football game to jump on a plane and meet the Oklahoma Girls for my birthday in Stillwater.

November 2009: We had a great family Thanksgiving and the blog readers got to know Cousin Kevin.

December 2009: The idea for Family Farm Friday was developed and has managed to continue for 9 months! That's long enough to grow a baby! :)

January 2010: I got to share my suprising Soul Mate Friend at her baby shower...and somehow her whole family managed to keep a total secret! Since then Little Linebacker has arrived and made several blog appearances.

February 2010: The Oklahoma Girls, the Oklahoma Mamas, Cousin Whitney and I got to go see George and Reba in concert!

March 2010: I posted what may still be the most popular blog....Bull Semen and Bonding.

April 2010: Calf Fry weekend brought another trip to Oklahoma....and the timing was perfect for me to meet Little Princess within 24 hours of her arrival!

May 2010: Bay to Breakers. Enough said!

June 2010: The blog featured Baby Cousin as he started his minor league baseball career.

July 2010: Our family Centennial celebration brought blogs about true love and family and dancing.

August 2010: Eat Pray Love sort of subsumed the blog!

So I've realized a few things: (1) I travel back to Oklahoma A LOT; (2) I have had a pretty great year; (3) writing the blog has proved to be a lot of fun; and (4) I am so happy to have this record of memories written down and saved!

Thank you for continuing to come along on my journey...the great cast I have in my life sure makes figuring out the plot a lot of fun!