Photos of the Week: Week 17

I am super excited to share my photos today because....it finally happened! I was chosen as a favorite in one of the challenges I enter. Seriously y'all, I have been waiting for this moment forever (17 weeks to be exact!) and I am excited to share my photo with you!

Theme: Quotography - Spring

This is a new challenge just started over at My Perspective. The idea is that you take a picture and find a quote to go with it for each weeks' theme. I love photography and I love quotes, so this was PERFECT for me! I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks as well!

Theme: Keeping In Lines

Last week I was in Santa Fe for work and I had some time to kill between my hearing and meeting some friends for dinner, so I went to the Santa Fe National Cemetery to take some pictures. Having been to Arlington a couple of times, I knew that this place would be beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

Theme: I Miss You

This photo also comes from the National Cemetery. I loved both of these photos and decided that I could use one for this theme. Every one of these headstones, in every National Cemetery in the country represents a person--someone's son or daughter, husband or wife, grandchild, friend, parent.....Every one of them is missed by someone. Please remember the sacrifices that have been made, and continue to be made, to allow us to live with the freedoms we do.

Theme: Trees

Remember my photos from the hotel/farm/store that I found a few weeks ago? Well I went back and snapped this shot of the entrance. I love these big, old cottonwood trees.

Theme: Anything

Last weekend after Easter church, I went out snapping photos, I came across this and thought that it was so beautiful. It seems like the perfect example of southwest decor. I'm linking this up with Live Every Moment, so be sure to check out the other entries!

Theme: Matthew 5:43-44

I also took this picture last weekend. It is a small grotto and shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, located in a back alleyway. As you might remember, I have a thing for grottos. I just love the idea of somewhere around a random corner being designated for people to come an pray. I thought that idea was perfect for this week's verse. Be sure to check out the other takes here!

Family Farm Friday #51: That's Being a Neighbor

"I won't forget that Sunday, when God filled the neighborhood. It might have been a little old fashioned, but done us all some good." ~Conway Twitty, Me and My Neighbor

First off, I have to tell you that I'm super excited because my Family Farm Friday blogs have been featured on a list of examples of good "agvocacy" blogs! So exciting....and because I read most of the other blogs on that list, I'm super flattered to be included with such great bloggers!

Okay for today's post, this really will be the last post about the grass fire that you've read about here and here.

At church last week, the priest said that God does not do evil things, but that He will use the evil things that we do in order to further his perfect plan. Have you noticed that sometimes, actually I think a lot of times, we are reminded how good people are when bad things happen? People come out of the woodwork and show kindness and concern and compassion. This made me look back on the last couple of weeks. Our neighbors and surrounding communities did just that after the fire.

Once word spread about the fire, it was like an AT&T switchboard at our house. We got so many phone calls from friends just making sure we were okay. We got calls from the local feedlot saying that if we needed a place to put cattle, we could bring them over and they would not charge us any board, and that we could just pay cost for feed. We got a call from a local businessman who offered to bring out his crew to help repair any fences that needed to be fixed right away. A waitress at the hometown restaurant offered to help anyone with a place to stay if houses did end up being lost. One man showed up at our house to apologize that he was not able to respond to the fire when the department was paged.

(The photo above is of our fire deparment a LONG time ago--40 years or so? Even today I could tell you stories about just about every one of these men and of what they've meant to my family over the years.)

I'm here to tell you, I don't think that any community does a better job of pulling together after a crisis than small town America. I think that one of the biggest reasons for this is that we all know each other, and we have known each other for years. We know everything about each other---we remember when good things happened and everyone celebrated, and we remember when tragedy has struck and everyone showed up to mourn (and bring a pie and an enchillada casserole...because that's what you do). You've read a little about this before. When you grow up going through things with other people in that way, it's not something you forget. Chalk up another one to small town life.

One Step....Case....Blog

"This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything." ~Scott Reed

First off, it's my mom's birthday, so everyone say, "Happy Birthday, Mom!" She's turning...yea right, like I want any part of that fight!

And now, on to today's blog. I feel like lately, I've been taking the "one step at a time" approach to several things in my life. I'm constantly telling myself, "Just do one (fill in the blank with the appropriate word here) at a time."

When I am running, I keep telling myself to focus on one step at a time, because if I think about the fact that the reason I am doing this is to run 13 MILES in July, I sort of have a panic attack and want to quit. (Yes, we've previously discussed that I talk/yell at myself while running. It's awesome.)
At work, when I look at the list of things to do, and sometimes even the list of things to do for one project, there are days when I want to crawl under my desk and hide. But instead...if I think about things one step at a time.....just read this set of cases....and then just Shepardize this set of cases.....and then just write this one section of the brief.....I come out from under the desk and seem to be able to function.

I'm totally a pre-writing blogger, meaning that I schedule them throughout the week and don't write them on a daily basis (lest you think I'm up and functioning well enough to write coherently at 6:00 every morning). There have been times where I've had 2 weeks worth of blogs ready to go. Today, I looked at my dashboard and saw that I have only one pre-scheduled. I immediately thought, I have to write blogs for the rest of this week, oh my gosh and then next week, and every week after that....I have nothing to say! I'm not that interesting! I'm going to fail at this! I could either continue to freak out, or I could get it together. I went with the second option, took a deep breath, and decided to start with just writing one blog (this one!) and that I'd worry about the rest later.

I was talking to one of my friends recently about running, and I said that I really thought it was 90% mental. She agreed, but added that if you think about it, life is probably 90% mental. We spend a lot of time building things up or worrying about things we can't control or trying to figure out how to fix problems that really aren't as bad as we think. We let ourselves make life more complicated than it is. We become overwhelmed with the big picture and wonder how we will ever accomplish whatever it is we are working on.

In an attempt to break this little trend, I'm trying my best to take things one step (be that a literal step or one case or one blog) at a time. And you know what? Everything that I have to get done will get done....it always does. The only difference is that if I can make myself focus on the "one step" approach, I might have a much more enjoyable time doing it!

WILW #5 AND The April Giveaway!

"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same." ~Francesca Reigler

It's Wednesday, so it's time to share What I'm Loving today!

First, I'm loving the fact that I've become one of these.....

Except not a house, but a friendship. One of my best friends in the world, Chocolate Brown, just found out that he was accepted to law school.....at OU. Now, as the orange color of everything on this blog indicates, I'm a Cowgirl....Oklahoma State through and through! During this law school admissions process, I can't tell you how hard it was for me to pray for ANYONE to get in at OU.....but I did it. That's friendship people! I rationalized that if OSU had a law school, he would be going there, but we don't, so he sort of had to go to OU. Anyway, he got in! SO proud of him! Oh, and major upside: Chocolate Brown, his wife, and I will be going to Bedlam football! Go Pokes!

Second, I am not a huge jewelry person. I have a lot of necklaces, but I never wear rings or bracelets. However, that said, I found this ring and sort of fell in love.

Shock of shocks....it's expensive. So, I've made a little deal with myself (I do that you remember?). If I turn 29 and don't have a REAL ring on my finger (and the corresponding billboard I've promised) .....I'm buying myself this baby. And I'm going to wear it every single day.

Third, last week, I got the chance to be a guest speaker for an agricultural law class for undergrad students at New Mexico State University. It was a lot of fun---and admittedly--I felt sort of old sitting on THAT side of a college class! But then I got a super sweet email from a girl in the class who had some questions about law school. She closed her email by thanking me teaching the class that day and said that, "It was exciting to see that not all lawyers are old men!" Bless you, college girl! And if that was just a line to get me to help you with your law school admissions process....you better believe it worked!

Fourth, I am loving ND Friend and the amazing package I got in the mail last night that contained this....

That, my friends, would be a signed copy of Kristin Armstrong's book, Mile Markers, addressed specifically to ME. ND Friend stood in line while she was at the Boston Marathon expo to get this. How awesome is she?? And, FYI, I am putting ND Friend's signed note to me in the book, because as we already discussed, she did BEAT Kristin Armstrong in the Boston Marathon. Just saying.

Fifth, Y'all know how much I love me some Red Dirt Music. Pat Green was one of my favorites years back, but then he went sort of mainstream and I found other artists that I liked better. Well, last Friday, while I was working, Pandora played me a Pat Green song that I thought was awesome, "What I'm For."

Favorite lines: "I'm for havin' faith in something that hasn't happened yet; For the shy kid in the corner afraid to ask the girl to dance; For the ex-con outta prison who just wants a second chance; For the inner city teacher with her heart stuck in her throat can still see God in every child and never gives up hope; I'm for soakin' up the wisdom when an old man speaks his mind..."

And....The Giveaway! Speaking of Texas Country....I have something to share that I'm NOT loving. This weekend is Calf Fry back in Stillwater (you've read about it before), and I won't be attending. Sigh. I have a hearing that makes it impossible to swing. This adult thing is not so great sometimes.

Well, because I'll be listening to my playlist (and looking at pictures from last year) all week to try and kep myself from having a nervous breakdown over missing the fun, I've decided to share that with a lucky winner. Hello April Giveaway!

The winner will get a cd of my favorite Red Dirt songs. I'm talking Eli Young, Stoney LaRue, Josh Abbott, Wade Bowen, Jason Bowlin.....you get the idea. Seriously, y'all, I've got quite the collection!

To enter, just do two simple things: Follow My Blog (instructions here) and leave me a comment with your favorite song (can be Red Dirt but doesn't have to be!) Get your entries in by Friday at 6:00 pm and I'll announce the winner on Saturday! Good luck!

Crisis Prevention.....A Steeplechase

“When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.” ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

So I know I usually blog about upbeat things....how great life is and how lucky we are and how wonderful (fill in the blank) is to me. And it's true---I feel like that 95% of the time. And the other 5%, I should feel like that, because I've been so incredibly blessed. But, sometimes even this girl gets in a mood. So, I decided that I'd share.

Do you ever have of those weeks where nothing is wrong, but nothing is really right either? I mean, you're sort of in a blah place? College Roomie calls this magenta. Whatever it is, sometimes it hits. During one of these phases a couple of weeks ago, I decided I'm going to have a mid-life criss. A conversation with Nomad (who is the worst influence in this kind of situation since he lives his life like a mid-life crisis) confirmed this for me.

So I had been analyzing life and what I want and where I'm going and all that jazz. I came up with this theory that concerned me. What if there are two kinds of people....the first are the people who get good jobs and an IRA and they get married and buy a house and drive their kids to practice in an SUV (because I refuse to own a mini-van). And the second are the people who don't end up getting married, which sucks, but instead they end up getting to do a whole bunch of crazy fun things and have all these awesome life experiences and go on great trips. AND....what if I'm really the second type of person, but I'm trying to be the first? And what if, because of that, I miss the good parts of both the first and second people? Have a headache yet? Yea....try living in mine. :)

At one point, I thought to myself, "Maybe I should just sell everything I own and move to a beach somewhere to sell surf boards." And then I thought, "Maybe I should just go do something crazy like sky diving or swimming with sharks." Along with these thoughts, I had this mental picture of a bald, overweight dude with some coctail waitress on a motorcycle and realized.....I'm totally going to have a midlife crisis if I am already thinking this way. Sigh.

Fortunately, it must not be time for my crisis just yet. I got some good sleep, spent some time outside in the fresh air, got some runs in, and began to feel better about life. I also knew that it was time for a trip. Turns out, when this girl doesn't have somewhere to go, she gets restless. And contemplates selling surfboards and jumping out of airplanes. Makes spending some money on a little getaway seem like a necessary investment!

It was time for a trip......but I wasn't sure where to go. And about that time, my dear law school friends Top Gun and Mrs. Top Gun came to the rescue by inviting me to fly out to Washington, DC and go with them to the Virginia Gold Cup Steeplechase. There are no words for my excitement---cute dresses, fun hats, horses, and mint julips---this place is going to have it all!

Only problem.....I have less than 2 weeks to find my hat....ANY suggestions would be very much appreciated (preferably something cheap that has fast shipping!)

(via)

And just like that, my magenta mood was cured. So for now, mid-life crisis averted thanks to a steeplechase. But stick around for a few years.....because I doubt I'm over my crazy ideas!

Meet the Cast Monday #16: Gran (Part II)

Just in case you missed my explaination of how I have these little gems of Q&A with my grandma, click here! And....if you missed Part I of the interview, click here.

You went to college. Where did you go and what did you major in?

I went to New Mexico State, and I majored in Home Economics.

Did you have a job to help you pay for college?

Everybody worked that I knew, going to school and I worked at the Canteen, I worked at the telephone office, and sometimes in the Dean of Student’s office. You wanted to get as many hours as you could. And did I mention you were paid 25 cents an hour and that was the going rate all over campus.

Do you have any advice for someone who is about to graduate and go to college? Well I hope they don’t have to work as hard as I did, but they need to do some so they appreciate it. I was the first one in my family to go to college, so that was a big thing in my country. {I had forgotten her saying this, but I think this explains why she would always slip me a $20 bill when I was home for school before I hit the road again!}

In your lifetime, what has been the most significant world event that you lived through?
I guess it was World War II, and also the Korean War. But World War II mainly.

How did the war affect you? Well, they took all the boys out of college there, and then they changed the schedule and we were on a fast pace and you couldn’t get hours you wanted and the subjects you wanted, it was just different all together then.


So I decided to go work in a defense job and help with the war effort I thought. So the girl that I roomed with, who was from Tatum, went with me. And I had a brother out there, working in the ship yards. For health reasons, they wouldn’t take him in the service, so he kinda got us squared away and we found jobs and I worked as an airplane mechanic and a lot of women in that shame shop. And some men who were considered 4F so they weren’t eligible to go to the service so they had jobs there also. And I worked on airplane generators and what’s that other little motor? Alternators. And that was a different life. I’ve thought about it many times, and I’ve wondered how we really did win that war with so many people that were just really kinda goofing off on the job.

But I learned a lot and I wouldn’t take anything for that experience. {Sound familiar? Remember my experience in San Francisco?} And all the neighbors at Tatum said I’d never go back to college, but I knew I would. And when my year was up out there in Oakland, California, I returned and went back to New Mexico State. {Trust me people, if there was anyone in the world who would prove you wrong, it was Gran.}
I know that you were working on airplanes that your brothers might have flown. Did they give you a hard time about that?

They really did. They didn’t want anything to do with an airplane that I might have worked on, but those airplanes, before they went up again, they were checked by so many special people that had been in the business for years, and so they didn’t really need to worry about that.

You said that three of your brothers had gone to fight in the war, and all three came back alive?
Yes.
And that was pretty odd for a family to have all of their children come back alive wasn’t it?

Yes, but my cousins right south, three miles south, they had I believe it was 4 or 5 in there at one time and they had a write up in the Lovington Leader, this was during the war, that they had this one family had served more than any other county in the state, I believe. By that I mean that the four of five brothers were were the only family with that many in the service.


Stay tuned....in a few months we'll continue meeting Gran and learn about her favorite trips, her teaching career, her thoughts on ranching, the most significant impact on her life, her happiest moment, and her advice for living a good life!

Photos of the Week: Week 16

Happy Easter! I hope each of you have a wonderful day celebrating the greatest gift that was ever given.

So this week was very full (trying to follow The Crazy Canadian's advice and not use the phrase "busy") for me, so you've got several photos from the archive. I'm still keeping with my goal of using photos that I've taken since the first of the year, so I'm good!

Theme: Holiday

As I wrote about earlier this week, Easter is one of my favorite holidays, so I was excited to be able to snap this shot of an Easter lily with the chapel in the background.

Theme: Easter, Bunnies, Etc.

Last week while out and about at the flower gardens, I was amazed at all of the Easter colored flowers that were blooming. I decided a little pastel college was in order! I'm linking this up with the Live Every Moment Challenge.

Theme: Brokeh

This is one of those pictures that I knew I loved as soon as I snapped it, but I had to wait until there was a theme to use it for. Y'all know I'm a sucker for a cow picture!

Theme: Growth

And speaking of, I also seem to take a lot of flower pictures. I snapped this when I got out to do some photographing after church on Easter Sunday and liked how the flower in the front is just starting to open and grow, but the ones in the background are in full bloom.

Theme: Cake

Well this was kind of a cruel theme beings that I gave up sweets for Lent! So, because I have not had any cake because of Lent, I thought a picture depicting Lent would be appropriate.

Theme: Siblings

I really did try and get a new shot for this theme, but I couldn't figure out how to do it without seeming creepy while taking pictures of other people's children at the park. I opted to go for an archived shot instead! I'm linking this up with Happy Monday, so be sure to check out Allie's blog to see the other entries!

Theme: Joshua 1:9

When I saw this little pathway at the flower gardens last weekend, I knew it would be perfect for a verse. The one I had in mind was "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and He will make your paths straight" but I checked out the list of verses, and that wasn't one. Fortunately, I thought it workd just as well for the idea of God being with us wherever (and on whichever path) we are on. Check out the other entries here!

Project 64: Week 16 - Pacific Blue

I was so excited to see this week's color because I knew exactly what photograph I wanted to use!

Here is my take on Pacific Blue.

This is the front of our grain truck. I have lots of happy childhood memories that include a grain truck. Watching the combine dump the barley or wheat or milo into the truck, playing in the grain after the truck was filled (only to discover that I'm apparently allergic to barley and break out hives!), driving do the grain elevator with my dad to sell the grain. It's funny how an old piece of farm equipment can hold so many memories (and be the perfect shade of blue!)

Check out the other entries at Project 64 and at Saturday Snapshot!

And, as a complete unrelated sidenote, I have a video that I want to share with you. If I had seen it before last night, I would have totally posted yesterday. Anyway, I just thought it was a perfect reflection for Good Friday....and I am so thankful that Sunday's coming! Have a blessed Easter weekend!

Family Farm Friday #50: Coming Over the Hill

"Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

You guys already heard about the grass fire on the ranch a couple of weeks ago. In a minute, you're going to hear....the rest of the story. (Where's that from?? Anyone??)

Our house sits sort of at the bottom of a hill, so when you are driving home, you crest the top of that hill about a mile from my parent's house, and can look out at our house and land from there. I always love topping that hill and knowing that I can see home all spread out right there in front of me. When the fire started, we were at our sheep sale, along with several of our neighbors who were there helping us. Because the sale was literally about to start, we couldn't leave to go get on a fire truck (mind you everyone is a member of the volunteer fire department where we live), but our neighbors headed that way. Even though we were about 15 miles from our house, all I could see when I looked out the door was the sky covered in black smoke.

At one point, we got word that the fire had burned down our rental trailer where my parents' friend lives. Next, we heard our neighbor had lost his entire place. Then another neighbor called and said that while she did not think the fire was by our house, she couldn't see our house due to all the smoke, so she couldn't be sure. Those were not fun reports to be getting while you were unable to do anything to help.

We worried about our house, our cattle, sheep and horses, our neighbors, and our history. At one point, my dad said that he was just praying that the tree row was okay, and that he would rather lose the house than that tree row. See, for 3/4 of a mile preceeding our driveway, there is a row of evergreen trees. My dad planted those trees when he was a kid with his dad, before his dad passed away. When you think about the things that could have gone up in smoke, history may have been the worst.
When we finally able to get to our road to head for home, there was charred grass as far as you could see. It was like a sea of black.

And then, we came to the hill. I just kept wondering, and dreading, what we would see when we came over it as I had done so many times. I'll show you what we saw....
Our house. And our barns. And the tree row. Not a bit of black in sight I'd never been happier to come over that hill than I was that Saturday afternoon. (And FYI, the reports were wrong--in this fire no homes, barns or livestock were burned. Praise God!)

Unfortunately, many people have not been so fortunate in the last couple of weeks. Huge grassfires have burned up homes and cattle and millions of acres in the southwest. Please say a prayer for those who have been impacted. Not everyone was able to come over the hill to the same view as we were.

Throwback Thursday #51: Easter

"But from this earth, this grave, this dust, my God will rise me up, I trust." ~Walter Raleigh

I love Easter. Although all-in-all I would probably say Christmas is my favorite holiday, Easter is a very close second. First off, I love the reason for Easter. How fortunate are we to be able to celebrate a savior who rose from the dead and who allows us to defeat the grave? I've thought a lot about people who are not Christians, who do not have this hope. I honestly don't know how they get out of bed in the morning. Last year at church, they played "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin, and to this day, that song gives me goosebumps. Easter is celebrating the fact that one day, by God's grace, we will rise!

Second, I've got some pretty great Easter memories! I thought I'd share a few of those today.

Story #1: College Easter. You know how sometimes a pretty regular day turns into one of those "I'll never forget that as long as I live" moments? That was our college Easter. I blogged about this last year, so to read the details, click here. I will never forget the 6 of us jamming into a pew at church. I will never forget NM Animal House boy driving us all there in one car like a big happy, slightly disfunctional, family. And I will never forget having to make deviled eggs to go with the Mexican food. But mostly, I will never forget realizing that these people, as crazy as they were, had become my family.

Story #2: When I think of Easter, I think of my grandmas. Gran and Nannie always made a big deal about Easter.

I remember one year it had snowed on Easter. And I think that our electricity must have gone out or something, because we were spending the night at my Nannie's house. Apparently, the Easter Bunny was concerned that the colored eggs might end up running in the snow, because he put them in little sandwich bags before he hid them. Sharp cookie that Easter Bunny!

I never asked her, but I'd guess that next to Christmas, Easter was my Gran's favorite holiday too. It started on Palm Sunday. In our church, they hand out palms, which commemorate how Jesus was welcomed into town the week prior to his death and treated like a hero. Gran loved Palm Sunday. She'd always save them until they died. And if for some reason Little Brother and I weren't at church, she's be sure to get extra to bring them home to us (Sidenote: She had no problem "getting extra" at church. She told me once that if she was really hungry, she would take a couple of the little communion crackers. I can't wait to be a fun old lady!) Anyway, then on Easter, Gran would always buy us a box of the Cadbury creme eggs and hide them for us to find....they were always on the porch, but we went out and hunted for them every year!

Story #3: I have two words for you. Easter hat. My family is already laughing. They know. Oh, they know.

You need to understand that I was the biggest tomboy in the world. I mean, I seriously think I spent the majority of elementary/junior high dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. My poor mom, however, is not a tomboy. And she thought it only proper that her daughter wear an Easter hat. And by easter hat I mean one of the white straw jobs with yellow flowers and an elastic strap under the chin. (Please note the excitement on my face.)
I wasn't very old, maybe 4 or so. I wore my stupid hat to Sunday School. And I came out afterwards a very UNHAPPY camper. Turns out, this boy in Sunday School had thought it would be funny to pull the hat and then snap it back down onto my head......remember the elastic strap? Yea, popped my poor chin everytime that little tourture artist boy would pull my hat.

Maybe it was becuase I was nicer back then, or maybe it was because I knew you couldn't hit people in church, but my parents are quite lucky they didn't get to have a meeting with the Sunday School teacher after that incident.

For years after that, I would see that boy and still see red, all over the Easter hat. I haven't seen him in years, so maybe I am over it now. But maybe not...take a note boys....don't mess with this girl!

What I'm Loving Wednesday #4

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." ~Angela Monet

Well I am magically out of the funk that was last week, and to celebrate that, I'm linking up to What I'm Loving Wednesday!

1. "There Is A Peace" by Sojourn. I can't find a video for it, but you can listen to it here. The worship team played this at church on Sunday and I was hooked immediately. It gives me goose bumps. Favorite verse: "You've been tempted and shaken, tested and failed. You've been so far from Jesus and too close to Hell, your vision's been clouded by this world's delight, but I tell you you're not of this world so stand up and fight. There's a peace to settle your soul, there is a peace that is calling you home." And, obviously, I'm loving that there is that peace! God is good!

2. That ND Friend TOTALLY rocked the Boston Marathon. Her time....3:31. That's an 8:03 pace. FOR 26 stinkin' miles. She's a rockstar. (And, by the way, that means that she beat my hero Kristin Armstrong...who I still love of course.....but it just seems to me like ND Friend should now have her own blog on Runner's World. Just saying.)

3. That Friday Night Lights has FINALLY started up again. I'm just going to put it out there....I know he was in a prison jump suit. And I know he's a screw up and an alcoholic, and probably not super smart, but I am here to tell you if Tim Riggins showed up on my doorstep, I would marry him tomorrow. (In a brick farmhouse, my mother shudders and prays this never happens).

4. That I've been a winner in two, count them TWO, blog giveaways! My iPod nano from Living Aloha was mailed today....I've named her Aloha and I'm hoping she gives me the motivation I'm lacking on my runs here lately! And my awesome checkbook cover and mini-wallet from Story of My Life should be here this week. I think this calls for a new Easter purse. And potentially a dress......

5. My "new" camera. So while in Europe, I stole Cousin Swiss Mister's camera and fell in love. A year or so later, I learn that he broke the LCD screen and was going to throw it out. I convinced him to mail it to his favorite cousin instead and let me see if I could get it repaired. Well, low and behold, I repaired it for a fraction of the cost and I am SO loving the pictures that I've taken so far! You saw some last week, and you will see more this upcoming weekend!

6. The feeling after a really good run. I'd been struggling lately on my runs. I would stop in the middle, for no real reason...I wasn't overly tired, my legs did not hurt that bad, I was still breathing pretty normally...but I'd just stop. Well, last night I got mean with myself, yelled a few motivational things like "you suck it up!" and "you're not a quitter!" at myself and finished that baby strong! San Francisco, here I come! :)

Give The Kid a 42

"Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am surer of what is kind than I am of what is true." ~Robert Brault

Last weekend, I went back to my law school to judge the first year advocacy tournament. As a first year, you have to write an appellate brief (which means like to the U.S. Court of Appeals) and then argue it against one of your classmates. My aunt found out about this, and asked me if I was empathetic to them, or if I was a hard a**.

This got me thinking back on my life, and made me realize that I have never been able to be a hard a** in these situations, and I think it all started when I was 10 years old.

When I was 10, my dad made me judge livestock at the county 4-H contest. I know this may be hard for everyone to believe, but at that time, I was pretty shy. I had no desire to go to judge this contest, and even less desire to give reasons. (Reasons, for those of you non-ag people who might not know, are where you have to give what is basically a speech explaining to the judges why you decided to place the livestock in the order that you did, from best to worst.) But, my dad didn't care about any of that and off I went.

I had to give two sets of reasons as I recall (although there may have been a third that I blocked out): heifers and market lambs. Mind you---I had never done this before. I'd grown up around livestock my whole life, so I wasn't a total fish out of water, but as far as how to give reasons or what terms to use or really knowing why I liked heifer #1 instead of heifer #2.....forget it.

There was an intern at the 4-H office that summer who took my heifer reasons. She gave me some terrible score like maybe a 18 or something. (Mind you...you're scored out of 50 and in later years I would have been really upset if I got below about a 43 or so). I'm not saying I didn't deserve it--I'm sure I did. But seeing that number on paper was pretty devastating for me.

The sheep reasons were a different story. I gave those to a guy who was from our county and had just graduated high school with a judging scholarship to college. He had been in my 4-H club, so I knew who he was, and I knew he was good at this thing. I fumbled through that set of reasons and probably deserved another 18. But that guy didn't give me a 28. Instead, he gave me a 42.

I will never forget getting back into the truck with my dad looking at scores and seeing that I had gotten a 42 on a set of reasons from someone who actually knew what they were doing. A 42! Did he have to give me a good score? No. Did he need to do something to encourage a little blonde headed 10 year old who he didn't really know? No. But he did. And I never forgot it.

I thought about that day and that guy and that reasons score so many days after that.....when my team won the State FFA Livestock Judging Contest.......when I won reasons at the National FFA Dairy Contest.......when I got my livestock judging scholarship to college.....when I was in the top 10 at three college contests.....when I got an "A" in my oral advocacy class in law school.

It all started with a 42 from a nice guy who decided to try to encourage a little blonde headed 10 year old. He tried, and he was successful.

Not only did he encourage me to keep judging, he taught me that if I was ever in a similar position, I would go out of my way to encourage the kids (or law students) who were standing in the shoes I once stood in. Funny to think that that one 42 given to me 17 years ago might have made a difference in the lives of other people who have never set foot at a livestock judging contest and who will never meet that guy.

The way we treat people matters. We have the power to encourage dreams, or to kill them. When you are in a position like this, give the kid a 42. You never know what that might start or where it might lead!