December Updates

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." ~ When Harry Met Sally

I only have one update this month. And I don't have a quote of the month, or if I did I forgot. Luckily, the update is so good that I think you'll all forgive me! I'm usually not much of a sucker for big, elaborate engagement stories. But.....this month's update is an exception!

Hopefully you remember last May when I met Alex, the lead guitarist for Miranda Lambert (and former lead singer of Honeybrowne) at Calf Fry. The reason that I got to meet him was that his adorable girlfriend, KP, works with the Loud Oklahoma Girl. KP heard we were coming to the concert and drug Alex off the bus to chat. He was so nice, even letting us snap a photo for my bucket list, and he stayed and talked with us until another band member came to tell him it was time to go on stage. I always say that getting in with the girlfriend's friends is a good idea....he apparently agreed! Anyway, a couple of days ago, KP went from Alex's girlfriend to his fiancee in pretty impressive style!

Miranda was doing a concert in California when Alex played a guitar solo on his famous (at least with the Oklahoma Girls, College Roomie and me) red guitar. He was playing right in front of KP and at the end of the solo, he played the first few chords of "Here comes the bride," flipped the guitar up and it read "KP will you marry me?"

At this point she said yes and Miranda announced the news to the entire crowd! Check out a video of the moment below.



Later on in the show, Miranda brought out her own fiancee, Blake Shelton, and the two sang "Home" to KP and Alex to celebrate their engagement. You can see that video below.



So, Alex has changed my mind about big, elaborate proposals. I'm so glad that he found his Texas Angel (my favorite Honeybrowne song, ya'll!) in KP. And I agree with Miranda, he would have been an idiot not to propose to KP!

Congratulations guys! And by the way, if you need an official wedding blogger, I am available! :)

October Updates

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.” ~Unknown

Another month down....time seems to be going by like crazy!

Coming Full Circle.
A while back, I mentioned that I attended the Junior Livestock Sale at the State Fair. It was really fun to be there as a buyer--it felt like things had really come full circle for me after having sold animals there for several years growing up.

I still maintain that the 4-H and FFA show programs are the very best activity that a kid can be involved in. I love that the program helped make me the person I am, and I love being able to give back to it now!

My Blog Could Save a Life.

Hopefully you remember my blog from last month reporting on my Happiness Project goal of volunteering. Well, last week I got a great suprise that seriously made my day. One of my friends, Colorado Girl joined the National Bone Marrow Registry after reading my blog!

Now, I write this blog for myself mostly---to get my thoughts out and to have somewhere to look back on my life and see what was going on. But the fact that my blog convinced her to join the National Bone Marrow Registry, and potentially to save someone's life is so exciting and humbling. Thanks, Colorado Girl for making me feel like there is a chance I could make a difference! If you are interested in joining the registry, click here.

Wedding Bells.
Happy news regarding my blog about the 33 rescued miners in Chile. A couple of weeks ago, 5 of them proposed to their girlfriends. You can read the full story here. Apparently sitting in a mine for over two months makes you realize how much you love someone. (Perhaps that's where Mr. Right needs to be hanging out.....)

(Photo by Hugo Infante)

Quote of the Month.
The trend of two quote winners continues. The Blonde Oklahoma Girl continues her reign, but we have a new addition to our list of winners.....Coach McCain. Well, he didn't actually say the words, but he found them and sent them my way, so he gets credit.

First, the Blonde Oklahoma Girl. You may or may not have heard, but there was an earthquake in Oklahoma last month. Insane, right? Well, we were discussing how stressful that was and about whether tornadoes or earthquakes were worse. She decided earthquakes were. First, you have no warning that they are coming. And second: "How's is a doorway or desk really going to help you when the freaking earth cracks open?"

Second, McCain was reading an old brief (legal document where lawyers make arguments to the court) and came across this line: “Defendant's counsel is not behaving like a member of a learned profession, but more like a caged monkey flinging crap.” He claims that this statement was not written about him, but I have my doubts.

(And, in case you are curious, the worst name I have been called so far in a legal document has been a "circus gypsie.") But I've only been practicing for a little over a year. Give it time.

DON'T FORGET.....enter in this month's giveaway....click here and leave a comment by Thursday at 9:00 pm!

September Updates

"Live in the present and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering." ~Ida Scott Taylor

Is it just me, or did September fly by? How is it already October?? Anyway, here are a few updates on stories that you may have enjoyed.

More of the newest Mr. and Mrs. Animal House's Big Day.

I promised more pictures last time, so here we go!

And you have to watch the video....they're just adorable. The Mrs. is officially in charge of planning my wedding one day.

And now for the wedding bloopers. Sadly, the best blooper didn't make the video (the videographer should really be ashamed of himself!) Anyway, they are saying their vows. Mr. Animal House goes first. Then it is Mrs. Animal House's turn. The priest says, "Mrs. Animal House, reapeat after me. Brian, I love you because I do." Now, because you don't know Mr. Animal House's first name (unless you watched the video...) you don't realize why this is funny. Suffice it to say, it's not Brian. And, because it was Mr. Animal House, he doesn't just let it go...he leans over and very calmly says, "Um....I'm [insert his actual name.]" Everyone in the church about died laughing.

Second blooper was the bus. All of us out of towners hopped the bus out to the wedding. Very convenient an safe considering the open bar that was ahead. But the poor driver managed to high center (is it called that when it's the back instead of the center of the bus??) the bus at the cemetery next to the church. Yea. Everyone had to catch rides with random people to get to the reception. Classic.

State Fair Report

I don't think that I ever did a blog about how the sheep show went for my family at the State Fair. I got terribly sick that week, so forgive me! You'll remember back in April we had our annual show lamb sale. Well, things turned out pretty well!

First, in the show only for lambs born in this state, we had a class and division winner! Say hello to the champ himself, "JB." (Excuse my dad who looks like he's taking a mug shot!)
In the regular show, we also had a class winner in the crosses, but the picture of that lamb has not arrived yet. Stay tuned for another upate to come.

The Ring.

You might remember a while back I blogged about our Family Centennial celebration. One of the topics I covered was the ring that I remembered seeing when I was 9 years old and got to see again while I was in town. I discovered a picture and felt the need to share so that everyone understands just why I remembered this ring for almost 15 years! It would be the huge rock on her right hand.
Quote of the Month:
This month, we have two winners. They are (not surprisingly) the Okahoma Girls.
First, the Blonde Oklahoma Girl and I were discussing boys. In particular, we were discussing this recent situation we keep seeing where they are into way younger girls, and ignore the fact that a great girl their own age is right under their nose. And, I'll probably get in trouble for telling on him....but I guess we'll see if he actually reads the blog. Cousin Swiss Mister was one of the worst examples. He wrote something in an email along the lines of "Girl #1 is Norwegian. She's smart and a PhD and she is really nice and cooks dinner for me and has a good head on her shoulders. But Girl #2 is a young, hot Spanish babysitter." (Note: Country names have been changed to protect the innocent). Needless to say, we were not impressed. The Blonde Oklahoma Girl's analysis: "He is being an ass in every language!" Well said!

Second, Loud Oklahoma Girl and I were also complaining about boys. Does anyone notice a pattern here?? Anyway, I emailed her an said that I was going to become a nun tomorrow because I was sick of boys and all that jazz. Her response: "Please wait to order your habit until after I come down and see you. We have a lot of drinking to do for your birthday!" Hard to argue with that logic.

August Updates

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

July Updates

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

Best Wedding Job Ever. As you have read about, and seen pictures from, I go to a lot of weddings. In fact, last week, someone told me that I go to more weddings than anyone he knows. I blame this on the fact that I know A LOT of people! Anyway, I've done pretty much every job at a wedding--guest book girl, cake cutter, videographer, bridesmaid.....just need to be the important one in a white dress and I have them all checked off.

But a couple weeks ago, I got the best wedding job appointment ever. One of my boys, the Animal House Boys, from college is getting married in September to a fantastic girl. (For those of you who know the boys....he did not live in the house, but he might as well have, so he's included in the group definition).

Their wedding website listed all of their wedding party, which included just about all of the boys from our group. I was sadly absent, so I sent a little text message asking if I was just chopped liver or what! Literally two minutes later, my Animal House boy told me to look at the website again. And there I was....listed right under the flower girls as.........."Legal Counsel."

Talk about making my day! So, Animal House boy and his soon to be Mrs., thank you for the title....I can't wait for the big day! Flowers. I know how Miranda Lambert feels. Yes, that's right. I've killed more flowers. (Remember this is the second death....) The after picture would be too depressing, so I'll spare you. I blame this death on being out of town for the weekend of the 4th to sort sheep and for the Centennial Celebration. So, in light of this growing season being a disaster, I have given up on flowers. Instead, I'll go to Trader Joes and buy the already grown ones and put them in a vase. That, I can handle!

Happiness Project. This month's Happiness Project focus was on being happier at work. The last couple months have been insanity at the office, so it's taken longer than I hoped. I've been able to implement a few of my goals, but several others are still in the works. So...I'm giving myself an extra month on this one. Stay tuned for my report at the end of August!

The Lost Rant Letters. I hear a few people wrote rant letters after reading that blog. Well, I found two of the long lost rant letters that me, College Roomie, and the Oklahoma Girls circulated. I had to share some of the funnier ones.

"I honestly have no idea why I ever even liked you...actually I know why. That year that I met you, I had become very close with my friend Jose Cuervo and he had obviously convinced me that I should go out with you. Never again will I ever listen to Mr. Cuervo."

"You were skinnier than me, which is a long-term deal breaker."
"I blame it on on halloween parties, and the fact you were once dressed as a penguin...it was kind of cute. Not anymore...I will never trust a penguin."

"You're getting fat and feel like you have to put other people down to make yourself feel better."

"You didn't want anything to do with me after I went to the George Strait concert. Your loss....you should know, no one and I mean no one comes between me and the King...no one!!"

Letters to (Future) Me. My girls and I all did a letter to me (except for one of the Okahoma Girls who needed to do a man rant letter instead...understandable!.....but she'll do one soon). Anyway, after we wrote those, we decided that we wanted to write letters to ourselves--to be read in the future! So, the plan is to each write a letter in 2010 that will be opened in 2020. We're also each getting a disposable camera and taking pictures that we will not develop until 2020. Let's hope that they still develop film by then.... And last, but not least, the quote of the month.

College Roomie had a really good quote, but we both forgot what it was. Sorry about that. But never fear, the same Oklahoma Girl struck gold again!
"Wanted: tall, dark and handsome good lovin manly man that can two step, loves Jesus, his momma and OSU football. Is this too hard to find?.....Apparently!"

Amen, sister!

(I also have a blog comment of the month--my friend Pig Farmer's Wife left a gem on my blog about why Kirk Herbstreit is killing my love life). It led to all sorts of interesting comments!

June Updates

"Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once." ~Lillian Dickson

Every month I try and update my readers on any developments from prior posts. Here we go!

Expanding my herd. You probably all remember when I purchased my cow a while back. Well, my livestock herd has expanded once again. I'm now the proud owner of 8 hamp/suffolk cross ewes. I'm pretty excited to see how this little project turns out. I love having cattle, but if we're being honest, I'm a sheep girl through and through.

After spending so much of my life lately cooped up in an office, I cannot wait to get home this weekend and spend some time with the animals, out in the sun, wind and dirt! I'll get some pictures of the new little ladies to post soon!

More Senior Quotes. Well, you may remember one of my favorite blogs about funny senior quotes from one of my Oklahoma girls. You might also remember Mr. G---he was responsible for the quote about the shirt and about his wife thinking about a diet. Anyway, we have good news to report. Mr. G has been discharged from physical therapy. Yay for him, sad for us because that means no more quotes from him. He did, however, leave us with a dandy.

(Mr. G is leaving the office after his last appointment).
Oklahoma Girl: "Mr. G, I sure am going to miss seeing you."
Mr.G: "Well, me too... but I am just glad those cops never caught me."

Oklahoma Girl informs me that she has no idea what he was talking about. Classic.

Casting Call. After the blog about who would star in the movie of my life, I continued thinking about who would play other friends in my life. I decided to give you some insight on who would play the people you read about frequently in my blogs.

The Oklahoma Girls will be played by Joanna Garcia (actress who played Cheyenne in Reba) and Adrianne Palicki (who plays Tyra on Friday Night Lights--which is my favorite show by the way!).

The Crazy Canadian will be played by Melissa Peterman (Barbara Jean from Reba). She's perfect....they are both so perky and happy and full of life. I think this one is the best casting yet! A picture will not do it justice, so watch this video!

BFF was the hardest one for me to cast to be honest with you. After a lot of thinking about this, I went with Dermot Mulroney, the guy on My Best Friend's Wedding and the Wedding Date. He's funny and nice and really cute. BFF isn't sold on this yet, but I think it's a great idea.

Flintstone will be played by Luke Perry. Sort of in a cross between Dillon from 90201 and Lane Frost from 8 Seconds.

Cousin Swiss Mister will be played by Jude Law. I really do think they look sort of alike!

Cousin Kevin will be played by Danny DeVito. I'm kidding, I'm kidding---his head probably just exploded. That was payback for his suggestion that Meryl Streep should play me. Um....no. Actually, I think I'd go with Bruce Willis for Cousin Kevin.

Quote of the Month. For the second month in a row, one of the Oklahoma Girls wins quote of the month. Summer is the season of weddings, which can be a little frustrating for single twentysomethings. This fact led Oklahoma Girl to pronounce this month's quote:

Even bald people are getting married.....I have a full head of hair...how is this fair??

May Updates

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ~Ashley Smith

The month of May was pretty insane for me. I checked off three (probably a record for one month!) bucket list items, took two awesome trips, and got to spend time with a lot of really great friends. Here are just a few updates from blogs past.

Bull Semen Ordered! I think it might have been everyone's favorite blog....Bull Semen and Bonding. Well, the time has come to make our decisions and order our semen. After a lot of deliberation and studying and strategizing.....we've finished. Dad bought Ali 2. We had this great plan to surprise my dad for Father's Day with Indian Outlaw semen, but the stubborn old man wouldn't let us talk him out of buying it himself! So that idea is shot! I bought Bojo. Denton is getting some from a friend in Texas. So we should be set. Let the games begin!

Dumping The Girl Friends Started a Firestorm! Well I didn't expect to start a controversial discussion on my blog page, but I have to admit I loved it! I want to write more pieces that get this type of conversation flowing. In case you missed the drama, read the post and subsequent comments. Anonymous had a difference of opinion, which started the conversaton off. I wasn't surprised to see Laura chime in on my side--I know she's gone through similar situations with the boys in her life. I felt like Kristin's input was extremely valuable, becuase she is a wife and has a perspective that Laura and I can't offer. Please feel free to add in your two cents--I do LOVE blog comments!

Miss Independent Continued! So you remember my blog about fixing the dryer (which caused quite a bit of trash talking on facebook between my two favorite cousins!) a couple weeks ago. Well, my independent girl streak continued when I built a new chair and ottoman. I had to haul all the stuff up from the car myself, put it together myself, and move it to the correct location myself. And you know what? I did it. And it's awesome. Here are pictures of my two projects.

Quote of the Month! You've read a lot about my Oklahoma Girls in the past. They are constantly coming up with the funniest quotes ever. This month, I'll crown one of the Oklahoma Girls as having the quote of the month.

"Did you hear about the tornado in Stillwater last night....don't worry, I checked and the Penny is okay."

For those of you who may not know, the Penny was our college bar. Classic.

I'll be back with another update at the end of June....so if you can think of any prior blogs you'd like to read some follow up on...let me know!

April Updates

"In golf, as in life, it's the follow through that makes a difference." ~Unknown

Do you feel like sometimes I start something on the blog and never finish it? I know some people are annoyed that I blog about something I will be doing soon, but then they don't get to hear any follow up on how things went. So I've decided that every month I'll do a blog of updates---sort of filling you in on the events that have occurred related to the prior month's blogs.

Sheep Sale As I told everyone last Friday, our family lamb sale was last weekend. It went great--best one we've had. We sold 38 lambs. We even broke a goal we set for ourselves....twice. And on top of that, we got to visit some great time with our customers, who are really great friends as well. It's always like a little show family reunion.

My New Cow One Family Farm Friday Blog told you about my new cow (and calf). I have finally seen them, and little brother is still hired as my cattle buyer. She looks pretty good! I'm very excited and plan to spend some time deciding which bull I want to breed her to--which you all probably remember me discussing previously. The calf looks pretty good as well....so I'll have to decide if I am going to keep her or sell her. She may end up being a little fine boned, but we'll see.
NCAA Tournament Well, my Cinderella Stories blog almost was the ultimate preminition. Tiny underdog Butler almost beat college basketball powerhouse Duke. Butler was the smallest school EVER to play in the Championship game. Their coach is only 33 years old. They were the total real life Hoosiers (great movie if you haven't seen it) who were playing for small schools everywhere. They came within on basket of pulling it off. One of my favorite parts of this was College Roomie who had me help her with her bracket. We were filling it out and she said "Butler. I'll pick them. Go Big 12." I laughed and informed her that Butler was not in the Big 12. She was thinking of Baylor. Had I kept my mouth shut, she probably could have won a lot of money. Note to all of you--apparently basketball conference knowledge does not equate to bracket selecting ability!

Bay to Breakers Training Well, I've officially registered for the race, which you have previously read about. Their website has a countdown, which officially freaks me out and motivates me to go on runs most nights! So far my farthest run has been 3.5 miles in 30:45. Not great.....but I'm getting there! Cross your fingers that in 32 days, I will be able to do the full 7.5!

West Virginia Miners The prior blog was sad enough, but the tragedy got even worse. The four missing miners for whom they were searching for and hoping against hope they would find alive in the mine's refuge chamber were found dead. In all, 29 miners lost their lives in the worst mining disaster in our nation's history. These are 29 fathers, brothers, sons, cousins, friends..... Please continue to keep these families in your prayers.