3 Years

“You can shed tears that he is gone, or you can smile because he has lived." ~David Harkins

Three years ago today, First Valentine went to Heaven. I still remember getting the phone call from Teacher Friend. I was walking across the living room of my apartment and I literally fell ot the floor that Sunday night. I had just seen him two days before. And I had bought cookies to take to him in the hospital on my way to law school the next day. But that day...that opportunity...never came.

Today, instead of remembering the sad, I wanted to remember the happy and the funny and the silly stories about First Valentine. He'd like that better anyway. So Teacher Friend, The Cheerleader and I got together to do some reminessing!

1. Teacher Friend had a twin brother. One day in elementary scohol, we were all sitting around talking about where we were born. First Valentine said Oakland. I said Albuquerque. Teacher Friend said Amarillo. First Valentine looked at Teacher Friend's brother and said, "What about you?" The brother looked at him like he was stupid and said, "Phoenix." First Valentine said cool. He never clicked...nor did he ever live it down.

2. In 6th grade, all of the boys, The Cheerleader and I got sent to the Superintendent's office. Twice. Once for playing tackle football and hurting Teacher Friend's twin brother. And once for playing too rought on the buck-a-bounce and hurting Teacher Friend's twin brother. On the way to the office the second time, First Valentine threatened to beat him up if he got hurt again. Ha!
3. He had this ridiculous inability to say the word "magazine." Instead, he said the "g" sound, like a "j" sound. It drove me crazy. I am about 90% sure that he did it on purpose.

4. First Valentine always picked me as the first girl when choosing teams. Sometimes, like in kickball, this wasn't that much of a gesture because, well I'm just going to say it, I was really, really awesome at kickball. But sometimes, it was making a pretty big sacrifice. Like in swimming relays. The Cheerleader was far and away the best swimmer. But if First Valentine was picking teams, I got chosen first. And we probably got beat. Sorry about that, buddy!

5. One day First Valentine and Teacher Friend's brother went swimming in the stock tank at their house. They didn't have any swimming trunks, so they just went in their underwear. Apparently they got worried that they might get in trouble for swimming, so they didn't want any evidence. Apparently they buried their underwear somewhere near the tank and went commando the rest of the day.

6. In second grade, First Valentine and Teacher Friend got in trouble. Another boy wrote Teacher Friend a note that said, "I love you, I love you, I love you" and they wrote back, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." They had to write sentences as punishment. I don't think "I hate you" was the sentence they were assigned!

7. One day, First Valentine, The Cheerleader, another boy and I all got in trouble for something in Mrs. Graham's class....probably passing notes. If not, we should have gotten in trouble for that. Our punishment lasted about 5 minutes until she realized that she left something at her house and sent the four of us to go get it. I think times were different then....what teacher sends 2 boys and 2 girls to her house during the middle of school?

8. In high school, First Valentine convinced The Cheerleader to try chewing tobacco for the first time at baseball practice. He was a bad influence.....she threw up on the field!
9. Once in high school, First Valentine took me to a football game in a town about an hour or so away. He was driving the shiny red camero that he loved. I mean...LOVED....like pulled out some sort of cleaning rag to wipe it down after we got off my dirt road and back on the highway. Well, somehow, I convinced him to let me drive it part of the way home that night. I have never seen someone that nervous in a car (and if you know my mom, that's saying alot!) and I finally just pulled over and told him to drive because he was killing my fun.

10. You already heard about how he saved me from failing Home Ec in the 8th grade. (If you missed that prior blog--go read it. It's a good one.) This explains why I had gone out and bought cookies to take to the hospital, rather than making them myself. He knew me too well for that.

Anyway, now you know First Valentine a little too. And now you know why August 31 is such a hard day for his family and friends every year. Please keep his family in your prayers today.

Quick Update.....

"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” ~Walter Hagen

I don't have time to get into anything very in depth today. I didn't leave the office last night until 8:30, so I have ZERO time to get a blog written. But, that's okay.....because......I'm off to Oklahoma this weekend!

All the crazy long hours and stressful days at work are paying off because I'm flying out for depositions on Thursday and I get to stay the weekend. Which means......

I will be here:

Watching this:

And seeing these folks:

And you know what? That makes me forget about the fact that I just put in a 12 1/2 hour work day! So bring on the weekend and GO POKES!

Meet the Cast Monday #29: Flintstone

Welcome to another Monday and another cast member to meet! Today you're going to get introduced to my dear friend, Flintstone. He lives in Kansas, works in sales, and has an absolutely adorable daughter.

We're a really strange friendship, he and I, but it has worked for 9 years now, so we're going with it! We met in junior college when we were on the same judging team. We were polar opposites--he's a cattle kid, I'm a sheep girl. He was the life of the party, I was Little Miss 4.0. We never should have clicked, but we did and we never looked back. Even though we have not seen each other since 2003, I consider him one of my best friends and don't know what I'd do without him in my life!

With that....Meet Flintstone!

What is your favorite memory with me?

My one favorite memory is how I used to chase you around on the judging van with my feet because you hated it....That was a hoot!!!! {Yea....a hoot.....that's not what I'd call it. I'm still traumatized.}

What is your favorite junior college judging memory?

It is hard to decide on my favorite moment....It would have to be when we took 2nd at Louisville. {We were actually 3rd....can you tell he used to be a steer jock and has typical memory problems??} We worked so hard that year and it was nice to finally see our hard work pay off!! A hell ya goes out to Matt, Tiffy, Mike and Robyn {Who we all know as the Crazy Canadian}!!!

Best part of having your adorable daughter?

My daughter is the one true love of my life!! She lights up the room everytime she enters one!! The coolest thing ever is to become a parent and I love it!!!

You travel all over the place (except MY city) bowling--tell us why you love the sport so much?

I love bowling because its a challenge...I played golf for quite awhile and kinda got bored with it. With bowling I have had to opportunity to visit alot of cool places. For instance I get to see the Oklahoma Girls once a year because of bowling. The other thing is it is something my girlfriend Laura and I love to do together!!!! {Sidenote...the Oklahoma Girls and I named him Flintstone after we were talking to him on the phone one night and the Loud Oklahoma Girl made a comment about how he should be hanging out with us instead of bowling like Fred Flintstone. It stuck. Margaritas may have been involved.}

What's your favorite song?

My favorite song is "When I Come Around" by Greenday...For those of you that know me know there is no explenation needed. {I asked this expecting to get an Eminem song as the response...he made us listen to that song from 8 mile before EVERY.SINGLE. judging contest that year! You never know what you'll get when you a question I guess.}
We frequently have chats about self confidence (crazy to think that you’re like my life coach!)…give everyone some of your sage wisdom on this topic.

Well it is something that I have a lot of {classic Flintstone right there, ladies and gentlemen}.....You need to be confident in your self and how you look everyday...The one thing that I always say is there is a difference between self confidence and arrogance...be careful your not on that side of the street.

People might not know, but you're a pretty good cook. What's your favorite recipe to make?
My chicken vegtable soup....It is to die for.
What would you say is your biggest regret?
Giving up on show cattle....I haven't totally given up on it but sure am not in the loop anymore.

What is one (or more) item(s) on your bucket list?
Go to the Kentucky Derby
Visit St Andrews..THE HOME OF GOLF

Photos of the Week: Week 34

Time for another week of photos! A couple of my usual challenges are having a week off, so we've got fewer total photos, but I am really happy with the ones that we do have! Here we go!

Theme: Peace

I got this shot while we were skiing at the lake on Saturday. The weather was perfect, the skiing was great, and the water was so clear and smooth it was reflecting the clouds. This is also my favorite shot of the week, so I'm linking it up with Show Off Your Shot at "And Then She Snapped!"

Theme: Blue

I've got to admit that blue is not one of my favorite colors. I blame it on being the color of the rival team in high school and Mr. Franklin brainwashing me! But, I took this picture when I was in DC a while back and thought that it was the perfect picture of a colonial house--white picket fence, green shrubs, brick home, and the red, white and BLUE! Check out the other entries at Project 64.

Theme: Animals

When I was home two weekends ago, we were feeding cows and Little Cowboy decided that he really liked this one because it looked like she had a mowhawk. The things kids come up with never cease to amaze me! So I promised him I'd take a picture. Turned out pretty good I think. Check out the other entries at Live Every Moment on Friday!

Family Farm Friday #64: 2,000 Words

“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” ~Winston Churchill

First things first.....today is a very important day......it's Blonde Oklahoma Girl's Birthday!! You know what she wants? Comments and followers. :) So go over to her blog and give her some love!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Remember the article I wrote a scathing blog about a while back....the one that claimed being part of organizations like 4-H and FFA and showing animals de-sensatized kids and turned them into cold blooded, unfeeling killers (or some such non-sense?)

And do you remember the blog I wrote in response to that explaining that this article was completely untrue and outlining the huge impact that shoting had on my life?

Well, a sight at the county fair a couple weeks ago said all of that so much better than I ever could have dreamed to do. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Here are 2,000 for you.

Crazy activists can talk all they want. The proof that they are completely wrong is in that little girl's face.

What if....

Wow. Ouch. I have nothing else to say.

(But just so you don't miss me too much today....you can go over and check out my interview at Suitcase and Stilletos!)

Veggie Tales

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~Jim Davis

I'm just going to say it. I'm not a good vegetable eater. At all. Which is ironic because growing up, my mom was convinced that any problem in life could be cured by doing three things: (1) driving slower; (2) drinking more water; and (3) eating more veggies. We're talking everything from a headache to a broken heart to a bad ankle.

Recently, I've been trying to get more veggies in my diet every day. So...I thought I'd share a few of my tricks and recipes with you all. If you have any tricks or great recipes, I'd love to have them...so PLEASE share!

You Put What In That Smoothie?

Spinach leaves. I know what you're thinking. I already thought it too. But after reading about this on several blogs, I knew I had to give it a shot! So I bought some baby spinach leaves at the store, cut the stems off, and threw them into my smoothie on Monday morning. I was pretty nervous, particularly when the spinach turned my normally bright pink smoothie a really ugly brown color. Verdict: You cannot taste it AT ALL. And it completly blends up, so you are not getting any sort of hunk of leaf in you mouth.

Why is this such a good thing? It doesn't taste like a veggie and I love smoothies--win win! Plus, spinach apparently gives you every benefit known to man!

Casserole to the Rescue!

I don't know if this is a country thing or a working mom thing or a southern thing or what, but I'm here to tell you guys, I love a good casserole! I was super excited to see a recipe recently for a chicken zucchini casserole. I apparently really liked it because unbeknownst to me, I printed it out from two different websites.

Anyway, I made it on Monday night and it was awesome. SO good! And I love the amount of zucchini and carrot in the dish. It would be super easy to dice up some other veggies and include as well.

I made just a few modifications. I used low fat sour cream and margarine. I also used rotisserie chicken meat instead of cooking up my own chicken breasts. Oh, and left out the onion--I don't care for them at all. Lastly, because I'm a total New Mexican, I added green chile to it and it was awesome! I'd highly recommend this recipe!

It's What's For Dinner

Just so we're clear....this cattle girl had beef for dinner last night. Didn't want you guys to think I was going all chicken on you! (Get it? Chicken? Ha!) Anyway, I found a great recipe for honey bar-b-que meatloaf. The flavor is really, really good. Highly recommend it!

One thing I did differently was that instead of making one big loaf, I made them in a cupcake pan. I learned this trick from my favorite food magazine, Food and Family. It cooks quicker and it's easy to pack leftovers for lunch.

How many of you are thinking....what does this have to do with veggies? Well, I also made a great summer squash bake recipe that I got on the shelf at Sunflower...sorry, no link. If you want it, email me to go along with the meatloaf. BUT....I also want to point out the great nutritional value of beef!

Now, I have to tell you, this was a disaster right from the start. I'm a terrible cook. I seriously keep flour in my house not for cooking, but in case there is a greese fire. No lie. Don't tell Mr. Right. First off, I meant to put some ground up spinach leaves in the meatloaf and realized that only after I started it baking. Oops. Then turns out that I accidentially got the recpies mixed up and put crushed crackers in the meatloaf. I didn' thave any more for the squash. So I just used the breadcrums that were supposed to be in the meatloaf. And then I had fits trying to "wisk together" the butter and flour--I finally busted out a spoon. In my book, wisks are used for kool-aid only...thank you very much. (Maybe we need to add ability to cook to the qualifications list?) So I'd like to try this recipe again without all the screw ups...but I added some cheese to the top and green chile to the mix and it turned out edible.

Twist on Ramen

I am excited about my recipe for tomorrow night, an Asian Chicken Noodle Salad. I'm using the rest of the rotisserie chicken from the chicken zucchini casserole to whip this baby up tomorrow. I plan on putting the salad into a whole wheat wrap. It sounds really good, right? I'll let ya know how it goes!

Lady On The Bench

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

One of my dear friends (who you've met previously on this little ol' blog) sent me an email last week that cracked me up. It had this picture in it:

Funny, ha ha, right? She proceeded to tell me that this picture reminded her of me, not ONLY because I am waiting on the perfect man, but also because of the outfit. Remember my steeplechase attire? Let me split screen this for you:

Oh. My. Gosh. Is it a sign from the universe?? I'm going with no. Here's why. I'm not looking for Mr. Perfect like the lady (who is quite well dressed, I must admit) on the bench in the pictue. I'm just looking for Mr. Right. There's a difference.

See, contrary to popular belief, I am not THAT picky. But, a girl has to have standards. I have organized mine into two groups. Non-negotiable and Potentially negotiable qualities for Mr. Right to possess.

Non-Negotiables

Let me give you some examples from real life experiences.

1. He must be single. (Meaning NOT in a relationship with another girl.) Sad that this has to be said.




2. He must be interested in girls. (Yep...had a friend trying to play matchmaker and a week before we got something set up, the dude he was setting me up with came out of the closet. No lie.)




3. He can't be a crazy-pants control freak stalker. (Didn't get all the way into this issue, but saw the potential and decided that was a bad plan.




4. He can't only be interested in me until something better comes along. (Enough said.)

That's right, ladies. I've seen it all. And I don't think anyone will deem these requirements as being "too picky."

Potentially Negotiables

It's possible that these are where the "she's too picky" idea comes in to play.... These, unlike the ones listed above, are negotiable. To a point.

1. He has to be able to bench press my weight. (I mean, I don't want to marry a wuss and this is necessary to protect my own self esteem. Nomad and McCain assure me this should not be a problem for a guy.)




2. He has to be able to beat me a basketball game of 1 on 1. (I'm trying to find a husband to help me raise freaking college athletes here, okay?)




3. He must be able to ride a horse and to have seen a cow in real life. (My own father says I may need to let this one go. Those of you who know my own father, please tell me, how would he react to some city slicker that I brought home? I thought you'd understand.)
   



4. He must enjoy college football. (Let's be real-I'm not getting off my couch on Saturdays during the fall, so dude better just be ready to deal with that.)




5. He can't wear flip flops. (I hate feet. Especially boy feet. I don't want to see them. This is one that I really am working on trying to compromise on...like maybe at the lake.....but even then, what's wrong with a pair of water shoes? Deep breath, Tiffany.)




6. He can deal with puking. (Let's be honest...I'm going to get car sick on this guy. Probably more than once. Might as well plan ahead.)

Anyway....I just want to be clear that I am not looking for Mr. Perfect. Just Mr. Right. There are qualifications that we can negotiate on. Please, oh please, let that be enough to keep me from being the lady on the bench!

Meet the Cast Monday #28: My Dad

Today you all get to meet my Dad! For those of you that know my family, you know that my dad and I are a LOT alike! And he's one of my favorite people in the world. He's a farmer/rancher and works as a pipeline mechanic for an oil company.

He's one of the funniest people you'll ever meet, and he's the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off of his back if you ever needed it. And, much to my mother's chagrin at times, he's constantly the life of the party. Doesn't matter if you're at a wedding, my law school mock trial, a fair, or my law firm retreat--my dad will be the center of attention (see Exhibit A).

Here you go---meet my Dad!

What is your favorite part about farming?
My favorite part about farming is RAIN! I like the Spring of the year when we are planting. If we have moisture, things are greened up, and I feel like we will have a good summer. I like living in the country and don’t plan on living anywhere else.

What is your favorite memory of when Little Brother and I were kids?
My favorite memory from when you and Little Brother were kids is that when you were probably in kindergarten or so and I built a swing set outside for you. (That would be the same swing set made of two-inch windmill pipe cemented into the ground that when you were a teenager, you crashed my pickup into!) {Was it really necessary to bring that up? Trust me, it was not as dumb as he makes it sound. I did end up on cruches for a while though...} Every morning before I had to leave for work and before you had to leave for school, we would go out and I would push you on the swings. You would say, "Tee-dee taader, tee-dee taader."

A favorite memory I have of Little Brother was when he was very young, his first word was "boots." He was fascinated with boots and would go to my closet and pull out all the boots and bring them into the living room, line them up and really study them. He would do this over and over. Another favorite memory of when you and Little Brother were kids was when you, Little Brother, Mom, and I would saddle up horses on the weekends and all four ride together.

Our family vacations always involved a sheep and/or pig show. What is your favorite showing story or moment?
I have many "best" showing moments or showing stories from raising you and Little Brother. There are honestly too many for me to single out "the best one."

I really liked the time Little Brother won Reserve Breed Champion Cross Pig at the State Fair. That was the first time we ever rang the bell at the State Fair.
I liked the time when everyone at the County Fair was just sure they had you beat and would finally see you "whipped"...you came in the back door with a Cross Bred Lamb and won Grand Champion!! {There's a LOT of back story to this...first off a cross lamb in the grand drive is always a big underdog....but let's just say that everyone was really excited to think they would finally see me get beat and go down....walking out of that ring with the purple banner for the third year in a row felt pretty darn awesome!}
I also think my favorite moments were when both you and Little Brother would win because you were able to out-show the competition. I am still proud of the showing skills both of you developed. {Like we had a choice....he pretty much beat them into us every night! But hey, it worked!}

Besides showing moments, I would have to include that traveling to National Contests once with you and once with Little Brother to see you both compete is for sure a favorite memory. Another favorite story I have was the trip to Las Cruces to hear Little Brother give his State Officer Retiring Address. And the day I watched you accept a $10,000 scholarship from the company I worked for, Valero Energy, is a great memory I have too. {Anyone get the sense that my Dad likes winning? Wonder where that competetive streak I have came from??}

Tell everyone what you thought of San Francisco when you went with me to pick an apartment and came to visit when I lived there.
I loved San Francisco! I liked all the “Mom and Pop” businesses and the fact that San Francisco
is not packed with national chain businesses. I liked all the fresh seafood. Other than breakfast,
I ate seafood every meal. San Francisco had the best seafood I have ever eaten. I would love to
be able to go back to the apartment you lived in and kick back a few hours just enjoying that view of San Francisco Bay. I am also ready to go back to the tour or Alcatraz right now! {My country, slightly redneck father is proof that EVERYONE loves San Francisco!}

What is one secret to a happy marriage?
COMPROMISE.

They call you the Wizard at work because you can fix anything. Give us one fix-it tip that might come in handy some day.
My fix-up tip would be: Use some COMMON SENSE and look at what you are working on to help analyze the problem. {Funny, my tip would be to pick up the phone and start the sentence with "Daddyyyyyyy....."}
What is one (or more) item(s) on your bucket list?
I am not sure that I have a Bucket List. I am pretty squared away living just like I am.

Photos of the Week: Week 33

Well I am going to get this post up on Sunday...but barely! I finally had nowhere to go for a weekend and just stayed in town and tried to get a few things done....you know...paying bills, laundry, cleaning...those unfun things that I put aside while I'm traveling! You guys may be sick of pictures from my San Francisco trip....but there were so many good shots and I took several with this week's themes in mind, so here we go!

Theme: Green Yellow (Project 64)

As soon as I saw this week's color, I knew that I'd be using a picture of grapes from Napa. I loved this shot because the grapes were nestled in among the leaves and the sun shining on the vines was beautiful. Check out the other entries at Project 64.

Theme: Show Off Your Shot

This was one of my favorite shots from San Francisco. It's of the "Full House houses" at Alamo Square Park. I love the contrast--the cute, old-world Victorian houses up against the backdrop of American skyscrapers. Go over to "And then she snapped" and check out the other shots that people entered this week!

Theme: Brands

I had seen this theme on the list and knew I wanted to take a picture of our brand on our cows for it. I played with lots of different ideas, but ended up getting this shot while standing in the bed of the pickup counting cows with my dad when the girls were all lined up eating out of a trough. That's our brand....D6 Bar on the left hip.

Theme: Bokeh

I absolutely love "brokeh" shots. When I first started taking pictures and doing photo challenges, this was the one shot I wanted to learn how to take. I got this one in Napa and really liked it--the focus on the red flowers with all the grape vines in the distance worked out really well! Be sure to go see the other entries at Live Every Moment on Friday.

Theme: Daydream/Dreaming (Quotography)

I've got to tell you, this theme threw me for a loop. I almost didn't do an entry this week. But I decided a few minutes ago to just google qoutes and see if I could find anything. When I saw this quote by Ashley Smith, I knew I had the perfect photo to go with it! Be sure to check out the other quotes and photos at My Perspective!

Family Farm Friday #63: Wrong and Right

"Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived." ~Shane Claiborne

On Tuesday, I drove back to eastern New Mexico for a situation that was just wrong. Parents and grandparents burying a 14 year old kid. A huddle of teenage boys in the back of a gym--not to learn the next play in some basketball game--but to get their instructions as pall bearers. A eulogy that contained a discussion of the unrecognized excitement of getting a driver's license. It was all so wrong.

And then, at some point during the day, I looked around and realized that in the midst of all that was wrong, I also saw a perfect example of everything that is right with rural America.

There was a community--and I mean beyond the town where the kid lived, but the whole eastern side of the state--rallying around a family to share their sorrow. A high school gymnasium packed to the brim. Hundreds of people. All there to show their love and support for the grieving family.

And you know what? There were no divisions among those there. There were different races. Different religions. Different economic classes. Different ages. And not a bit of that mattered. The gym full of people cried together. They prayed together. Afterward they ate together. They were there, for that family, together. If you ask me, that's how it's supposed to be. That's right.

And there was food. In rural New Mexico, when someone dies, we cook. It's an automatic response. The second you get the bad news, you start praying and dumping ingredients into a bowl. It's totally not about the food (although I'm just going to say it....in my opinion it's hard to beat funeral food in a small town!), it's about doing something--anything--to help. Because that's what we do when there is a problem. We offer help in any way that we can. Be it a hand, a tractor, a check, or an enchillada casserole. And that's something right.

There was faith. From the preacher leading the gym in singing Colten's favorite hymn about the roll being called up yonder, to the discussion of various papers and markings in his Bible, to stories about the book of Job and prayers for the family. And there was a heartwrenching, beautiful song about saving a place in Heaven. In tragic times, people seem to either cling to their faith or walk away from it altogether. We're clingers.....and that's right.

And, finally, there was love. You could feel it in that gym. You could see it by all of the hugs being shared by everyone there. You could see it in all of the eyes welled up with tears when "When I Get Where I'm Going" blared from the speakers. You could see it when his two teenage sisters walked up to the stage, hand in hand, to speak about the lessons they had learned from their baby brother. There was love in that gym...and it was right.

In times of such profound sadness, such wrong...maybe it's the right that gets us through.

It's Okay Thursday #1

"I can't go on anymore bad dates. I would rather be home alone than out with some guy who sells socks on the internet.” ~Miranda Hobbes, SATC

I didn't get a blog written last night. I just didn't feel like writing.....I was not in a mood where I felt like being chipper or witty or optimistic. My plan was just not to have one, but Blonde Oklahoma Girl called me out on it, so I decided to slap something together. Somtimes, you have to fake it 'til you make it, so here's my attempt.

Oh, and I realize the quote above is really not related to anything, but I thought it was awesome and had to use it.

Today I'm trying on a new link up called "It's Okay Thursdays." You've read before about how I think a little ranting does a girl good. Here we go! :)

It's Okay.....

...that last night I almost had a heart attack when I went to feed Brett-Brett and Miss Texas' cat (they are out of town) and he was laying motionless on the bed. Mind you, he's literally 19 years old and I pray every time I am cat sitting he won't die on me.

.....that once I frantically screamed his name, and said cat looked up at me like he was annoyed that I interrupted his nap, I shook my finger in his face and gave him a stern lecture.

.....that last night I had a "to-do" list the length of my arm, but I ended up putting on my pjs and watching an America's Next Top Model marathon instead.

....that I want to go out and buy new Nike apparel just because of this ad campaign below.

.....that after talking to ND Friend about how it's important to be specific when you pray, I'm thinking about adding a request for Mr. Right to be a square toed boot wearer and to hate flip flops just to be sure my bases are covered. (I hope he takes Miss Canada's amazingly wonderful male fashion advice! Be still my heart...)

.....to wish I could block all "breaking news" about the stock market from MSN. I swear, everytime I see something about the Dow dropping it makes me want to take all of my money and shove it in a pillow case under my matress. (I have not acted on that impulse, so don't attempt to rob me!)

.....that I am perpetually confused about bananas. Let me explain. Every Monday, there are literally three big bunches of bananas in the kitchen at work. I mean the big bunches--like the Chaquita lady wears on her head. I went into the kitchen yesterday (Wednesday) and there was one, yes, ONE SINGLE banana left. There are only 14 people who work here. Where do they go?

......that I seriously considered not buying food or clothing for the next month just to be able to afford the plane and game tickets to go to 3 OSU football games this fall. Takes bleeding orange to a whole new level, no?

WILW #8

"A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble." ~Charles H. Spurgeon

It's Wednesday and I didn't have much time to blog last night, so we're doing a short version of WILW!

Today, I'm loving...

.....that we are less than a month away from college football season! Hallelujah and GO POKES! Here's a little video about game days in Stillwater to get you fired up!

.....that yesterday someone told me that I should be a writer after she read this blog. I told her my dream in life was to move to the country, buy a bunch of cows, and write a book. Fingers crossed!

.....finding an article that was written for me.....I mean she might as well have started this off with, "Dear college-aged Tiffany,"

.....this song, which is my new ring tone courtesy of Blonde Oklahoma Girl (who would LOVE to have more followers...so get over there and follow!). Favorite line of the song: "Never gonna grow up, never gonna slow down, we were shining like lighters in the dark in the middle of a rock show."

.....a beautiful post by Jamie that really touched my heart. It's called "You'd Be Suprised." It's worth your time to read it!

.....that I got to catch up with the New Mexico Animal House Boy yesterday. Of course, we had to reminess about our college days just a little bit. Good times. :)

....caring people. That would be YOU. When I asked for prayers on Monday for the family and friends of the Little Blonde Headed Kid, I was overwhelmed by your kind words. People from literally all over the world who do not know the kid or his family, heck many of whom don't even know me in real life, sent their prayers. People who were not religious sent their condolences, sympathy and positive thoughts. Thank you to all of you. From the bottom of my heart.