Remembering Today

"I want to believe that he was...blessed. And I do miss him. And I hope that he has left something, some little part of himself with me. That would be miracle enough, wouldn't it?" ~John Pielmeier, Agnes of God

I realized in looking back on posts from this day for the past couple of years that I've only briefly talked about two people who were really improtant in my life. For those of you who may not know, seven years ago today, one of Little Brother's best friends, who we'll call Rodeo Star, was killed in a car accident. The next day, one of my oldest friends, who we'll call Jeans, and his father were killed in another car accident. That was on my 21st birthday. So, needless to say, this time of year remains a little sad for me.

But today, I've decided that I'm going to tell you my favorite stories about Rodeo Star and Jeans. Because I know that both of them would rather a funny story be told than some depressing blog anyway.

Rodeo Star

If you ask anyone who knew Rodeo Star what they remember about them, I'd venture to bet you that 90% of people would respond the same way. "His laugh." It was this hilarious, unique, sort of ridiculous cackle that you couldn't help but join in once he got going. It's no question that his laugh was part of the legacy that Rodeo Star let behind when he passed away at the age of 17.

My favorite story about Rodeo Star involves that laugh, Mr. Franklin, and a classic butt chewing after a judging contest. Here's how it went down.

Our FFA chapter was at our first judging contest of the year in Hobbs. We did not have a particularly good day. (Mind you, it was like everyone else's 3rd contest and our first, plus we had lots of young guys on our teams...including the three amigos Little Brother, Rodeo Star, and Opie, all of whom were in the 8th grade).

Anyway, so after the results are posted, Mr. Franklin gathers all of us (or he thought all of us anyway) around the suburbans and starts his lecture about how we have to work harder and he's disappointed and this is unacceptable. It was classic Mr. Franklin. So good, in fact, that BFF's dad who was sitting next to the suburbans in a bus opened the window to listen. So here is Mr. Franklin in the middle of his speech, and all of a sudden.....you hear it. The laugh. Coming from across the parking lot.

I turned and looked in time to see Rodeo Star roping a dummy with some other kids. And then, I heard the second thing. Mr. Franlkin bellowing, "GGGAAARRRCCCIIIAAAA!" (Rodeo Star's last name.) And like that, the laugh came to a screaching hault, and that little kid bee-lined it across the parking lot faster than I had ever seen him move.

No lie, years later, ag teachers and kids that were there that day still talk about this little event. It wouldn't suprise me if those two don't talk about it now and laugh about that day on the other side.

Jeans

You know how you sometimes hear a person described as someone that never said anything mean about anyone? And you think to yourself, "Yea, okay I'm sure." Well, I am here to tell you, Jeans honestly never said a cross word about anyone to me. And we were friends for over 10 years. I think that I'd have to say he was the nicest person I knew. And he had this way about him of inspiring other people who he was around, just by being himself. That's a gift that too few people have if you ask me. When Jeans was killed in a horrific car accident, along with his father, at the age of 19, the world lost a great one.

My favorite Jeans story happened when we were maybe 15 years old and a bunch of us, including me, BFF and Jeans loaded up to go to livestock judging camp at K-State. I don't remember too much about the camp itself, but I do remember seeing fireflies for the first time and stealing silverware from the cafeteria for card games of spoons that got insanely heated. And I remember a prank call, that is the subject of my favorite Jeans memory.

Jeans' mom is the sweetest lady in the whole world. So why we decided to play a prank on her is not clear to me, but she fell for it and it was awesome. There we were, BFF, Jeans and me in the House High School excursion. BFF pretended to be the shriff in Hooker, Oklahoma calling to tell her that Jeans just got arrested. Then Jeans got on the phone pretending to cry and confess to shoplifting jerky because he had run out of money and was really hungry. So he begged her to come and bail him out and she was saying something about getting dressed when I couldn't take it anymore. I burst out laughing, ruined the joke, and made everyone in the car mad. But we laughed all the way home....and that's the way I like to remember my friend.

They say that a person never really dies so long as their memory lives on in those that they have left behind. I am a better person for having known and loved both of these boys. And today, I hope to leave a little piece of their memories with you, and maybe leave you better off as well.

Photos of the Week: Week 43

Sorry this is so late...it was quite the weekend! Homecoming in Stillwater. I plan on telling you all about it on Wednesday, so stay tuned. And FINALLY, we have pictures (3 out of 4 anyway) that I actually did snap this week. Hope you enjoy---feel free to comment---you know I love your thoughts!

Theme: Show Off Your Shot

I love seeing these big ol' orange flags....mostly becuase it means we just scored! And we did plenty of that on Saturday against Cousin Swiss Mister's Baylor Bears! I thought this shot was fun becuase of how the sun was hitting the flags. To see the other entries, go to Show Off Your Shot!

Theme: Anything (Quotography)

I just loved this picture of these kiddos all decked out in their uniforms at "The Walk" before the game. I thought this quote about dreams fit perfectly with their wearing jerseys watching the current team parade down the street. To see the other entries, visit My Perspective!

Theme: Memories

Good timing to have this theme fall on Homecoming week. I had lots of ideas for this photo, but then I saw this quote on one of the house decs (be sure to check in on Wednesday to hear about these!) and I knew it was perfect. The quote says, "I found something in Sillwater that I didn't find anywhere else." Amen!

Theme: Turquoise (Project 64)

And this is the only photo that I didn't take this week. I snapped this over the summer in Santa Fe outside th St. Francis of Asassi Cathedral. And, because we're in New Mexico, you know there is turquoise jewelry involved. Go over to Project 64 to see the other entries!

Family Farm Friday #65: An Eared Cattle in Texas Lesson

"Texas is a state of mind." ~John Steinbeck

This is a little bit of a hodge-podge Family Farm Friday....try to stick with me. I didn't have time to organize my thoughts as I spent the week writing a 20 page (single spaced) memo so that I could be out of the office today at OSU HOMECOMING! WOO HOO!

Anyway, last weekend, I attended the American Ag Law Association conference in Austin, Texas. There were about 150 or so attorneys in attendance, which I find to be really uplifting to know that there are so many people who are interested in and committed to representing agriculture. The conference had lots of great sessions including talking about negotiating oil leases or wind leases on your property, how to defend an animal cruelty action by HSUS or PETA, estate planning for agricultural families and how to best serve your clients. After a weekend of this, I was inspired and excited about the opportunities that I might be able to develop over the next year in my own practice!

And so after two days of pretty much non-stop legal talk, I loaded up in a car and headed to BFF's house in College Station. The drive from Austin to College Station is about an hour and a half through rural Texas. I can imagine that during a regular year, the drive is beautiful. It was pretty, but you could sure see how dry everything still is, and see areas that were part of the huge wildfires that struck a couple of months ago.

But I have to say, there is something about just getting out in the country and driving. Rolling hills, a cool fall breeze, farm houses, Red Dirt music on the radio.....it's good for the soul. I just enjoyed the "me time" and sort of decompressed. And then when "Carry On" by Pat Green came on the radio, I rolled down the windows and belted it out. Not a bad Saturday afternoon.

And, of course, I stopped along the way to snap a couple of pictures to talk about on the blog with y'all this Friday. For the past few weeks, we've talked about agriculture on the east coast and on the west coast, so today, we'll chat a little bit about agriculture in southern Texas. Specifically, let's chat about eared cattle.

I should back up---do y'all know there are different breeds of cattle? Sort of like dogs--german shephard, lab, poodle--there are cattle breeds too. You've probably heard some of them like Hereford or Angus. Well Brahman cattle (which some refer to as "eared cattle" for slang...you'll see why in a minute) are a breed that is especially suited for warm, humid climates. They come from India, and have more sweat glands than other breeds of cattle. They also (at least according to my college animal science professor) give off less internal body heat than other cattle breeds, which also makes them better suited for warm climates.

You can recognize Brahman cattle by the large hump on their back and their big, floppy ears. I pulled off to the side of the road and got these shots to share.

And that, folks, wraps up our three-part fall tour of agriculture across America. Hope you've enjoyed it!

Letters to Mr. Right: Letter #4

"Fall is the artist." ~Takayuki Ikkaku

Dear Mr. Right,

I can't wait for you to be here in the fall. Not that I won't enjoy you other times of the year, but I think I'll like you most in the fall. Like I do everything else.

When we can go on runs in the cool, crisp air. And watch the trees change color. When we can sit on the patio and watch the hot air balloons overhead. You can my crazy family and tryto stuff your face to keep up with them at the dinner table at family Thanksgiving. And I'll take you to Homecoming at OSU and we'll hold hands hands in a sea of orange at Walkaround. Watching the junior shows at the State Fair and spending Saturdays curled up on the couch watching college football games all day.

And when you get here, I'll even spring for cable so we don't miss any of the excitement. Because that's love in my book.

Waiting for that (fall) day,

Me

New Blog Segment: Ask Little Cowboy

"There are only two things a child will share willingly - communicable diseases and his mother's age." ~Benjamin Spock

Well after the overwhelming response that he received for his Meet the Cast Monday blog, I'm proud to announce a new segment......Ask Little Cowboy.

Here's how it's going to work. You guys can submit questions (by commenting below) for the Little Cowboy. You can ask him about himself, his thoughts on life, politics, western wear, his girlfriends, for advice...whatever floats your boat. I will then get the questions to his Moomoos who will get the Little Cowboys answers. (I'll contact his people, if you will.)

Now how good this plan will go is up to y'all.....let's get some good questions! Oh, and heads up, he's really busy shooting bad guys, going to school, taking care of all his horses, and fitting in a daily nap, so there could be some delay in getting answers. Fair warning.

I decided to start us off with the following question: What are your thoughts on school uniforms? (I ask this because he just started at a school where uniforms are required and he was NOT happy about it one bit this summer. He's calmed down quite a bit now judging by his answer below).


Little Cowboy says: "My uniforms are baggy pants with a polo shirt. They are hot but I like them ok now because I know what they look like. I just can't dress like a cowboy and that makes me so mad! I can wear my boots but not my dang hat. I mean what the heck is up with that? All the boys dress the same but none of those others wear boots, just me. I don't like tennis shoes. I like the uniforms but I can ski on my pants 'cause they are so baggy." (Note from Moomoos: His pants are long enough that he can put the bottoms under the heel of his boots and slide around on the floor, this is what he calls skiing.)

So.....with that intro.....it's your turn to comment below.

Ask Little Cowboy!

Photos of the Week: Week 42

Before we get to the photos, I have to give you guys some exciting updates.

First, remember my blog oh, 9 months ago, about the miracle baby that Teacher Friend and her husband were expecting? Well I'm happy to announce that the baby is here! Miracle Baby was born on Sunday afternoon and....drumroll please....it's a GIRL. Everyone is doing great. I can't think of a better example of the fruits of faith than this baby. On days when you are tired and frustrated and feel forgotten or like your answers may never come....know that God is faithful. And sometimes, that means sending little miracles our way! Oh, and rest assured that Aunt Tiffany has already sent a tutu. Hot pink, no less. :)

Second, #3, baby! That's right---my Cowboys are now ranked third in the nation! GO POKES! I can't wait to cheer you on in person this weekend against Baylor! (P.S. --Justin Blackmon is a scary looking dude!)

Third, one of the calves that we raised is for sale in an online club calf sale (meaning that 4-H and FFA kiddos will buy him and show him at the fair....if you didn't read my blog about the benefits of that activity, please click here!). If you want to check him out for yourself, just click here and scroll down to #124.

Okay, and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Theme: Texture (Quotography)

I actually took this picture a while back when I was home and forgot to download it onto my computer. I thought that the old wooden fence was perfect for "texture." I also loved the blue sky and big fluffy clouds. I thought this quote fit it pretty darn well. I blame my Gran for my love of old wooden fences...they were her favorite and when we were kids, she took lots of pictures of us climbing on this fence. See the other entries at My Perspective.

Theme: Gold (Project 64)

Okay.....I had to cheat a little big on this one. I tried to think of something gold to photograph this week, and when I was thinking about gold, I kept going back to the dome at Notre Dame. So back to the archives I went. I can't believe it's been almost a year since my amazing trip. I did a little fun editing and used this shot. I'm telling you guys, if you ever have a chance to visit the campus in South Bend...go. You won't regret it. To see the other gold photos, click here!

Theme: Show Off Your Shot

I took this picture the same day as the wooden fence one above and it, too, was lost on the camera. So even though I didn't shoot it this week, I did find it this week, so I figured it counted. Love the blue sky! To see the other entries, go to "And Then She Snapped" on Wednesday!

Theme: Foliage

No, sadly I wasn't back in Chicago last weekend. This baby is from the archives from last November too. I love this picture of "The Bean" which is really named Cloudgate (see the clouds reflecting?) in Millenium Park. Note the beautiful yellow leaves.

Meet the Cast Monday #36: BFF

Happy Monday, everyone! Today I'm introducing you to BFF. As you might gather from his name, this kid is my best friend in the world. We've been friends since we were 10 years old, then somehow ended up at college together. I can't say enough good about BFF---he's smart and funny and has literally been there for me through anything and everything over the past 18 (yea...18) years. He's game for anything, whether it be flying across the country to be my date for a weekend or getting us tickets to a football game or listening to my problems on the phone. And he just makes things in my life better. I think that's what being a best friend is all about. And he's got it down.

And with that.....Meet BFF.

What is your favorite memory with me?

Ok, favorite memory.... Tough question, I'm thinking it will probably be something along the lines of me turning 21... OR, that Easter gathering we had was cool too... {I love the fact that neither of these were anything crazy or expensive or exciting---both were just little gatherings at our college apartment. I think this is a prime example of the little things being the big things.}
Tell us what you're going to be a doctor of when you finally get out of college.

I'll have a Phd in Animal Science, my emphasis and research is geared towards production systems, immunology, and some genetics jargon to go with it. {He likes to say that he will be a doctor, but you will still need to call an ambulance in an emergency.}

You've spent time at both OSU and Texas A&M. Tell us why Stillwater is better.

Stillwater is Stillwater: SO.... I don't know what else needs to be said really. {FACT.}
What was your favorite part of the wine tasting weekend in San Francisco?

Two parts to this answer:

1: Explaining how buying a bull and selling his semen is a sound business decision to a crowd of wine drinking lawyers and "soon-to-be lawyers" from California... Yes, those people looked at me like I was the leader of some twisted beast loving cult.... Tiffany can explain more to you about how this conversation even got started in the first place... {Here we are in front of the fanciest hotel in Napa waiting for the bus. BFF is off to himself on the cell phone...shocking to no one that knows him in real life....and one of the attorneys asked what he was up to. I told them he was trying to buy a bull. It all snowballed from there and led to lots of marginally inappropriate conversations the rest of the weekend. But he ended up being the star of that trip....I think they wanted to hire HIM more than they wanted me!}

2: Negotiating a river in California via canoe... (not as easy as it looks on TV, Louis and Clark deserved more than their names in history books for their accomplishments... those freakin canoes are NOT designed for successful transportation.) {For that full story, click here.}

What is your favorite college memory?

College memory, I can honestly tell you that its an impossible task to rank memories of college... I'm actually still in college so probably going to continue adding to those details. I'll say that 3 snowdays + the weekend in Stillwater was a damn good time though...
You're really good at life advice....give us one general piece of important life advice.

Ah, another tough one... Ok, general important advice-- Life is a garden, just dig..... No No Not really---- those cliche's are dumb, and I still don't understand how digging and gardening reflects life at all....

I feel that alot of complication that is experienced could be a residual of un-stellar decision making, So-- for simplicity sake, just make good choices. {He says this all the time. Like this weekend when I got in the car to leave his house, he said "make good decisions" rather than "drive safe" or "be careful."}
OR

Know your limitations and play accordingly... (example I suck with my 3 iron and 4 iron SO... I either hit a 5 iron and take another stroke or give the 5wood a wack and see what happens.) {He's classic at these sports analogies. You might remember this prior blog about field position.}
What is one thing you have learned from past relationships?

Read the answer above. {I'm not sure if he's referring to the one about good decisions or about knowing his limitations.....Kidding, kidding!}

We've been friends for a long, long time. Why do you think that is?

Read the answer above, you're a good decision maker, (not as much on golfer :-) ) {Well isn't it cute that he brought that up. In college, BFF decided to teach me to golf. So we go to the driving range. Let me explain---I'm pretty athletic. I'm no Michael Jordan, but you give me a ball or a club and I can usually figure things out. Golf does not care about athletic ability. Also, please let me explain, that BFF is 6'3 and left handed and a boy. We had lots of harsh words including the following statements being screamed across the driving range: "BFF, there are these things called boobs that you don't have to deal with!" "Tiffany, you're swinging like a dang girl!" "BFF, I am a dang girl!" "I did not bring enough beer to teach you!"} Tell us one thing that you think girls do wrong in relationships.

Ahhh, well girls girls girls... Its been my observation that the female gender is like a bush of roses, they can be beautiful, delicate, and really enhance the state and well being of everything and everyone around them... but under the surface they are very dense, covered in thorns and other spiney-spiteful features, and are overwhelmingly complex. How does this translate into what girls do wrong in relationships??? It's like this, don't expect guys to always understand or like the "under the surface" part of you. When guys don't get it, don't fuss at him because YOU'RE COMPLEX... {He tells it like he sees it.....}

What is one (or more) item(s) on your bucket list?

I want to observe the Great Migration in Kenya and Tanzania before urban sprawl ends it.

Family Farm Friday #65: A Tobacco Lesson

"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness." ~ Letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington (1787)

As I promised last Friday after my discussion of experiencing agriculture on the west coast, today I've got a little post about agriculture on the east coast. Tobacco farms in Tennessee.

You might remember that at the beginning of September I headed to Tennessee to spent a few days with Cousin Swiss Mister and the family after the Southern Santa passed away. I hadn't been there for 24 hours before I got a text from Little Brother saying, "Take me a picture of a tobacco field." Apparently this loving agriculture thing is genetic.

My family lives about an hour from Nashville in the hills down a bunch of windey back roads surrounded by farmland and old barns. (No, I didn't get car sick, thanks to my magic car sickness pills!) It was the perfect place to check out farming. So here are a couple of shots of tobacco fields in Tennessee.
You can recognize a tobacco plant buy the big green leaves.

You guys may not know this, but those old barns that you see in the south? A lot of them are tobacco barns--meaning that they are (or were) used for curing tobacco. Once tobacco is harvested, the stems (with leaves still on them) are hung from poles inside the barn. The purpose here is to dry the tobacco leaves. As drying occurs, the leaves will change color from green to yellow and then to brown.
Some farmers use heat to help with the drying process, so lots of older tobacco barns will be stained black from the smoke from fires that helped with drying. When tobacco is fire cured, it takes between 3 days and 10 weeks, depending on the type. During this time hardwood fires are continuously smoldering in the barns. Chewing tobacco is usually fire cured.

Like I said last week, agriculture is such a diverse industry that I'm constantly amazed at the different crops, techniques and farmers involved. And I'm always up for learning a little something about life on a farm elsewhere (although, I'll admit, ours remains my favorite!)

Letters to Mr. Right: Letter #3

“I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.” ~Thomas A. Edison

Dear Mr. Right,

I worry sometimes about how you're going to react to my guy friends.


Because I'm just going to tell you now that while I've been waiting on you to show up, they've really taken care of me.

They listen to my problems and always respond accordingly--by either letting me cry or telling me to stop being a girl. They send me flowers to celebrate the Day After Valentine's Day. They've danced with me at weddings so I would not be alone. They've shown up with Oreo ice cream and two spoons when the situation called for it. I've been inspired and encouraged and (only sometimes) annoyed to the point where I want to shake them. They've cooked me dinner on birthdays and bad days and on regular days. They've made me laugh until I've literally sprayed my drink all over everyone at the table, and at other times have held my hand and let me cry. They've told me to ignore people who were rude or stupid or just plain mean. And they assured me that you would come, and that when you did, they would probably not think you were good enough.

But you'll prove them wrong on that last point.

Waiting for that day,

Me

Are You The Person?

I love it when I read things that really get me thinking. That happened recenty and I thought that I'd share. It all started when this blog asked the question: "Are you who the person you are looking for is looking for?" (Read it again and take it piece by piece if you're confused...I had to read it like 5 times.)

Well, that sort of stopped me dead in my tracks. I think that as single ladies, we focus a lot on finding Mr. Right and on the kind of person that he should be. You know....a good dancer, tall, broad shoulders, really funny, good with money, better with kids and animals and willing to propose surrounded by cows. (I realize your list may be slightly different...particularly if you're not a farm girl!)

But this question made me realize, "Holy cow...I need to be worrying about the kind of person that I should be too!" I barely even have time to fix my hair in the mornings or get my dishes washed at night....let's add another thing to the list!

Seriously though, it's not that I don't generally think about the kind of person that I am, but I had never thought about that in a relationship context. If I know the kind of person that I hope Mr. Right will be, am I the kind of person that he would be looking for?

I hope that Mr. Right is the kind of guy who looking for a girl who is kind and compassionate, who is loving and smart, who is responsible but fun. A girl who wants to know where she's going and what she is meant to do and focuses the difference she wants to make. And you know, sometimes (maybe a lot of the time) I don't fit into these categories. And maybe that's why Mr. Right hasn't appeared from the forest yet....because until I'm the person he's looking for and he's the person I'm looking for, it's not the right time for us to run into each other.

I know I say this a lot, but I really do believe that God uses this single time in our lives to make us into the right person for our spouse. But I think that we've got to work with Him here. We have to do our part. It's up to us to become the person that we're meant to be in order for this little puzzle to all fit together. And so I'm thankful for this time. Thankful to have the opportunity to figure out who it is that God is calling me to be--and thankful to know that once I do that, Mr. Right will be just around the corner and we ride off into the sunset and our future front porch swing.

White Water Rafting

"The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are." ~Lynn Noel

Okay, so I'm way behind on sharing some of the fun stuff I did this summer. So we're going to jump back to August for a day here to catch you up on my white water rafting trip! Y'all know I love me a good bucket list checkmark. Love it even more when it's free. :) Here's how it went down.

My law firm had a great retreat where they took us white water rafting on the Rio Grande and then had a fancy dinner and put us up at an amazing lodge in Santa Fe. Now I was stoked about white water rafting. This had been a bucket list item for quite some time and I was super excited to check it off! I also happened to know that my dad had really wanted to go white water rafting for a long time too and since he's my favorite boy anyway, he was my date for the rafting. I invited my mom, but she hates water, so she just met us for the fancy dinner and resort part later! So early on a Saturday morning we headed up to Taos to meet up with the rafting guides.

We broke up into groups of 5 or 6 in each raft. My dad and I knew we were definately going with my paralegal's husband, Ronnie, who was drinking a beer when we pulled up at 9:00 am. We're all about hanging with the fun crowd. Here we are getting ready to go.

What we did not expect was that we'd also get partnered up with....drumroll please.......the senior partner and his wife. Understand, this is the guy who signs my paycheck and is in charge basically of my whole career. I just prayed that we wouldn't somehow offend him or knock him out of the raft! Ha! (FYI--all went well. I am still employed.)
Anyway, we had about 6 rafts headed down the river. And I'll just say it, we were totally the best. Between my dad and Ronnie, we were hands down the fastest and they were the best at water fights. We may have spent more time splashing the crap out of all of the other rafts than actually paddling.... My dad is super competitive and hard core and he would literally get up onto his feet and shovel water like he was mucking out horse stalls or something. Can't beat a farm guy, ya know? He ended up being the center of attention, and I would have expected nothing less.
Anyway, after a day on the river, we headed back to a super fancy resort in Santa Fe for the evening. We had an open bar and fancy menu....which made my mom proclaim that she wished we were eating at Furr's Cafeteria. You can take the girl off the farm.....
Anyway, all in all it was a great weekend. I have a strong feeling that my dad and I will be hitting up the white water rafting thing again next summer. I also have a feeling that my mom could get used to fancy resort hotels in Santa Fe......stay tuned!