Defining the Dash

"A beginning and an ending, dates upon a stone, but the moment in the middle is how we will be known, cause what defines us can be found within a line." ~ Mark Harris, "Line Between the Two"

A couple weeks ago, the Blonde Oklahoma Girl went to a funeral. They talked about how the dash on a person's headstone signifies their life. The idea is that the dash between the date of your birth and the date of your death is really what matters.
Well in this context, the Blonde Oklahoma Girl was also talking about a stupid boy that she was dealing with. She said that the idea of the dash put things into perspective, and then she said that she wasn't going to worry about him anymore because that stupid boy didn't define her dash.

I thought this was pretty insightful. There are so many things that bother us or that we worry about that don't matter because they don't define our dash. How much time have I worried about things that just didn't matter? Boys, stupid arguments with people, minor decisions, what size of jeans I was buying.... It's easy to waste too much of your dash on things that don't matter.

So this year, I plan on focusing what does define my dash---the things that are important. Living my life, loving the people in it, experiencing as much as I can while I'm here, being kind to others, fulfilling the purpose that God has planned out for me. If I can succeed in these areas, and if they can define my dash, well then it should be a pretty darn good dash when that time comes!

Meet the Cast Monday #2: Yoga Master

Today you all get to meet my friend Yoga Master. She and I worked together in San Francisco when I spent the summer of 2008 at a law firm there. Yoga Master grew up in southern California but then got the good sense to flee north to San Francisco! :) She seriously is one of the funniest people in the entire world and I am so excited that she agreed to do Meet the Cast Monday!

Introducing.....Yoga Master!

I named you Yoga Master because you went to a yoga teacher's retreat. Tell us about it!

A few months after taking the CA bar exam, I was lucky enough to spend a month in Denver, CO learning how to teach yoga from a master yoga instructor named Ana Forrest. We would meet at the studio at 4:45 am every morning. I was staying around 30 minutes away from the studio which meant I got up before 4 am every day! We would meditate and chant for about an hour, practice for roughly three hours and then around 9am we would break (aka nap). Then we would start to learn how to actually teach yoga until around 8 at night. It was an amazing challenge. Eventually we taught a few classes to some beginners and then had to watch a video of ourselves teaching. It was a very humbling experience and a much needed departure from learning law. {I had to share this picture....seriously....how cool is she?}

What is your favorite part about living in San Francisco?

It's hard to say what my favorite part of San Francisco is because there are so many things I love. But, if I really have to pick I would say the food. As a quasi-vegetarian (aka picky eater), I love that almost everywhere has something seasonal, vegetarian and delicious for me to chow down on. And as much as people here emphasize healthy eating, its more of an emphasis on fresh food rather than the low-fat, low-carb food you'd be more likely to find in LA.

Tell us how you met your boyfriend.

Sigh, just starting to think about Sam brought a smile to my face. About 2 and a half years ago I decided to join a kickball team to meet new people and have some fun. Everyone on the team was really nice and super laid back. I already had a boyfriend, but was immediately attracted to a silver fox on the team named Sam. He was super funny and sweet. He even wrote me a poem that to this day is the funniest thing anyone has ever written to me. A few months later, I finally decided to break up with my boyfriend after a kickball game. I didn't waste any time and rushed to the local bar to meet the rest of the team. When I got there I made sure to tell my friend Kate, as loud as I could yell, so Sam could hear, "Yes!! I broke up with my boyfriend!" Needless to say, about 24 hours later, Sam, who I had been calling my "kickball crush," asked me out to dinner. About a week later my "kickball crush" became my boyfriend. Two and a half years later and I am more in love than I ever thought I would be. {And this story has officially solidified his name as "Kickball Boy" to me for the rest of his life.}

What is your favorite food?

My favorite style/type of food is thai food (any fried tofu noodle dish). But my favorite food of all time would have to be olives. Mmmmm. Olives. {I set her up to admit that even as a quasi-vegaterian, she LOVES bacon....but she didn't bite!}

Where is the best place you have ever traveled to?

When I was in college I participated in Semester at Sea where I was on a cruise ship around the world for 4 months. I was able to see a huge part of the world - South America, Asia, Africa, India. However, I think my favorite place I ever visited is Mt. Rushmore. I was totally shocked to see the scale of the sculpture and felt more patriotic than I ever felt before. It is really a wonderful thing to see.

Where do you want to be in 10 years?

In ten years, I would like to own some property (fingers crossed if I stay in San Francisco),own have a dog, maybe go back to school, learn how to cook better, have published a book or made a documentary and have opened a yoga studio. No biggie!

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

I would like to perform a stand-up comedy routine. {When you get ready to do this, you call me because I'll be there!}

Project 64: Week 1 - Yellow Green

Well, because I never do things halfway, I've joined another photography challenge, thanks to The Bride! This one is called Project 64. This means that you can expect two photography posts from me each weekend. You've been warned. :)

Anyway...for Project 64, each week they will pull out a crayon of a different color, and that is the theme. I think this is going to be a great way to get me noticing color more and to (hopefully) improve my photography skills!

So....for Week 1, the theme was Yellow Green. Here's my photo:

This is actually a photo of a painting that my dad had done for me two Christmases ago. I do love me some John Deere, so when I downloaded this and it looked yellow green, I knew I had to enter that baby!

If you want to see some entries from real photographers with real talent, be sure to check out the results of this week's challenge!

Photos of the Week: Week 1

Well....here goes nothing! As I blogged about before, I'm taking part in three photography challenges this year. Here are the pictures for the first week:

Theme: Happy New Year!
I took this picture of the first sunrise in 2011 from our condo at the base of the ski lift in Red River, New Mexico. I thought it was cool to have a picture of the first rays of sun shining on 2011.

Theme: Still Laughing
I fear that this picture may be one of those "you just had to be there" situations, but I was there, so I think it's great. Here were the "adults" on the Family Ski Trip ringing in the new year. It's hard to catch action shots, but capturing the champagne bubbling over in the bottom left corner seemed to work out!

And for the challenge with no theme: Suisse

I caught this shot with Cousin Swiss Mister's camera while I was traveling in Europe in August 2009. The flag was on the back of a boat that was sailing on Lake Geneva with the Alps in the background.

2011 Photos of the Week

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away." ~Eudora Welty

Okay, we have some house cleaning to do today before we get to the blog.

First off, no one (mom, dad and Loud Oklahoma Girl) panic because there is not a Family Farm Friday blog this week. I am not doing away with the theme, but I just might not post something every week. As soon as I get my new scanner up and running, I've got some great ideas!

Secondly, I have breaking news to announce (that is unrelated to the rest of this blog post).....The Blonde Oklahoma Girl has FINALLY started her own blog titled, I Was Born a Red Dirt Girl!! Click here to read it and to become a follower. I can't tell you how excited I am about this!

And finally, back to the point of today's blog...The Bride is a bad influence on me. She has taken up photography. And she has an awesome camera that she uses to take amazing pictures! The Bride is one of those people who does nothing halfway---I can assure you that she's read more books on cameras and photography and picture taking tips than just about anyone! She has joined several photography challenges and has inspired me to take part in a couple of my own!

The first is called Memories Dreams and Reflections. It was this post by The Bride that convinced me that I needed to start a photography challenge. Her pictures were just amazing! I think that the post intended you to use pictures that you had taken in 2010, but whatever...I'm going to try and photograph one of the 25 themes every week until I have shot each one!

The second challenge I found is The Weekly Photography Challenge. For this one, you take a picture a week that fits with the theme given to you.

The third is a Flikr group that has a weekly challenge, but there is no theme. My plan for this one is to upload some of the pictures I've taken previously, instead of taking new pictures (like I plan to do for the other two!)

So....each Sunday I will post my "Photos of the Week" for you to see! Don't be expecting anything great here. I'm starting out with my plain ol' point and shoot camera to see if photography is something that I enjoy before I invest in an expensive camera. But I do love pictures and I'm excited to have a reason to carry my camera around and look for fun things!

Hopefully, we'll all enjoy this little project!

Throwback Thursday #44: A Decade

"The days are long, but the years are short." ~Gretchen Ruben

Sometimes I'm oblivious to obvious things. Okay, a lot of the time. :) But until I returned from our family ski trip on January 2 (blog on that coming soon!) and read another person's blog, I didnt' realize that January 1, 2011 marked not only the beginning of a new year, but also the beginning of a new decade.

As I thought back on the 10 years that were 2000 - 2010, I realized that this time frame will likely be the time where the greatest number of changes occurred in my life. Don't get me wrong here---I think that I still have some pretty great days ahead of me (so keep reading the blog). But the sheer volume of changes that occurs between the time a person is 17 and 27 is unbelieveable. With that, I'd like to take a little Throwback to some of the important things that occurred in the last decade!

2000: My team won the State FFA Dairy Judging contest and were Reserve National Champions, I won my first Grand Champion Lamb banner at the county fair, learned that sometimes "friends"will stab you right in the back.
2001: Thought Mr. F was crazy for making us judge poultry, won my second Grand Champion Lamb banner (and watched Gran almost get into a fight with another grandmother in the process), won State Star Farmer, enjoyed my senior year of high school. 2002: Played in the state basketball tournament, went on a great senior trip to Dallas, graduated high school, started college at Dodge City Community College, met two amazing, important friends (The Crazy Canadian and Flintstone), placed in the top 10 at my first 5 college judging contests, learned that sometimes life doesn't work out like you had it planned. (Sidenote: I tried to find a picture of graduation, but digital cameras didn't exist yet, so this is the only picutre of my last semester of high school I could find....I'm sure The Bride loves getting included!)
2003: Left junior college and headed to OSU, moved in with College Roomie having no idea I was making a best friend in the process, began what would be 3 of the best years of my entire life, loved my student tickets to OSU football, met SoulMate Friend in a very round about way.
2004: Lost my Gran in June and three close family friends on back-to-back days in October/November, changed majors to Agriculture Business, joined the Pre-Law Club at Oklahoma State, watched OSU make it to the Final Four.

2005: Took the LSAT, applied to and was accepted to law schools, managed to survive calculus with my GPA still in tact, went on my first real vacation and fell in love with San Francisco!

2006: Enjoyed my last semester of college at OSU to the fullest, took a Spring Break trip to the east coast with College Roomie and Cousin Whitney, had a Calf Fry Weekend that could only be described as epic (HOW have I not blogged abou this??), graduated from OSU, got mono and thyriod disease over the summer, took an amazing trip to New York City to see Teacher Friend, started law school.
2007: Went on a fantastic cruise, worked my first summer of law school at my current law firm, survived a broken heart, applied on a long shot and somehow got a job offer with a great law firm in San Francisco for the folowing summer.
2008: Welcomed College Roomie home from a year in China, had the time of my life working as a summer law clerk in San Francisco, had an amazing girl's weekend with the Cashmere Mafia, made the stressful decision of which job (and life) I would take out of law school. 2009: Bought my first house, graduated from law school, studied for the bar, took the bar, escaped to Europe for a much-needed post-bar relaxation with Cousin Swiss Mister and Cousin Whitney, started my first job, was a pall bearer for one of my favorite people in the world.
2010: Continued to travel around to visit friends all over the country (lots of weddings and babies), ran 7.5 miles at Bay to Breakers, celebrated 100 years of owning my family's homestead ranch, survived my 1 year review at work, took in a football game at Notre Dame while getting to reconnect with and see great friends before and at the game!Clearly I've seen a lot of changes in the last decade---some good, some bad. These last 10 years have made me into the person that I am (and hopefully into the person that I'm meant to be). I'm excited to embark on a new decade and see where life takes me next!

Happiness Project Update

"Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response." ~Mildred Barthel

Okay people....I've got to get back on the Happiness Project wagon. I really enjoyed the book and the 5 month's goals that I completed. But then, somehow, life got in the way and I just forgot! Luckily for me, The Bride is starting her own Happiness Project, so she's motivated me to get it back in gear.

Since it's the first of a brand new year, YOU can join in with us if you want to! The best part is that you can totally customize your project to what you want to do. Just to give you some ideas, you can check out The Bride's list, and my list is as follows:

Energy (did this last May....read the blog here! )

Do something just for me (last June....remember golf lessons? )

Work (worked on this one last July and August....recap here)

Do something for others (did the Bone Marrow Registry and Make A Wish blog in September)

Hobby/Leisure (blogged about my new scrapbooking method in October )

Responsible grown up stuff (January)

Nutrition (February)

Fitness (March)

Cooking (April)

Money (May)

Catching up (June)

What really matters (July)

I'll fill you on details of each goal after I complete that month! And, if any of you decide to do one, let me know! I'd LOVE to hear about your ideas and how it's going! And come on...who doesn't want to be on the happiness wagon??

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! :)

Meet the Cast Monday #1: Blonde Oklahoma Girl

You all have read countless times about the Oklahoma Girls. And the Blonde Oklahoma Girl has been the quote of the month every month since that little tradition began. I'm so excited that she will be the first friend I introduce you to on Meet the Cast Monday.

Just a really quick background---Blonde Oklahoma Girl is in her mid-twenties, lives in Oklahoma (where else) and works as a receptionist for a physical therapy office. She enjoys long walks on the beach....just kidding!

Anyway, here you go.....Meet Blonde Oklahoma Girl!

You are the constant winner of "Quote of the Month" on the blog.....what is your favorite quote?

I love Audrey Hepburn quotes one of my favorites is, "I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."

I believe her quotes to be so true to who I am as a person or who I want to be anyway, plus Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorite movies along with Pretty Woman : )

You're single (and we have made a pact to get engaged at the same time so neither of us are the last ones standing)....what is your least favorite question/comment that people make?

How come your not married? That has to be the rudest question. It would be like me asking, How come your bald, or how come your fat? Or how come you didn't go to college, get a degree, get a job, have your own house, pay your own bills, you know where I am going with this. We both feel the same way. Obvisouly I want to get married, if I knew why I wasn't married, don't you think I would fix that! I just think in our society, or at least where I live for that matter, everywhere you look people who are younger than me are married and starting on like their fifth kid. Its crazy. Just because I am not married doesn't mean I don't lead a fun, fullfiling life...I believe you have written about this a time or two : )

What are your favorite things to do?

Being able to get together with the Cashmere Mafia {this would be our group of four girlfriends} of course : ), spending time with my family, going to the lake, working out (I put this here because I do like to do it...I just haven't in awhile, but its a new year so starting it out right), girls nights, going to concerts (Red dirt of course), OSU football, drinking wine maybe a margarita or two, spending time with the two most adorbale dogs ever...Bella and Bentley

You watch more tv than anyone I know. Tell us about your 3 favorite shows.

Ok, first of all....maybe its just every time you call me I am watching TV...that doesn't mean I watch a lot of TV, lol. I blame it on my DVR. If I didn't have that I know I wouldn't watch much tv, but for some reason I think just because I can record a show, means I have to record every show that I think I might like to watch. My must see tv shows are: Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, One Tree Hill, Top Chef, Real Housewifes of everything except Atlanta...you know maybe I do watch a lot of tv : )

Do you remember how we became friends? Like specifically when we met? (Because I don't.....but if you do I want to know!)

I have no idea how we became friends. Its one of those things where I don't remember a time when we were not friends. I can't put an acutal date and time on it. I do know we would have never met if it hadn't been for DonEtta Ann Cothren, I also am sure it involved the Penny somehow : ) All I know is, is that I am truly blessed to have a friend like you and with out a doubt would be lost with out you : )

Tell us about your New Year's resolutions.

Well, apparently...one of them is to start a blog, I will call this one my Tiffany inspired resolution, also just the normal cliches to work out more, be overall healthy, put a nice dent in my student loans, start and stay on a budget, read my bible more. {Breaking news....she now has a blog up and it's awesome! Check her out by clicking here!}

What is your favorite book?

I don't know if I have a favorite book, I like a lot of books. I really love all of Chelsa Handler's books. I highly recommend them to everyone. And Eat, Pray, Love was a great book.

Tell us one of your favorite bucket list items.

I think everyone should have a bucket list...so if you don't, get one. I haven't got to cross off as many on my bucket list as Tiff, but in due time, right? I can't just settle on one. One of my big ones that I really want to do but take it off and then put it back on, is sky diving. As much as I want to, I am that much if not more scared to do it. Ride in a hot air balloon...I love Hot Air Balloons! I hear I should go to New Mexico for this ; ) Go to New York during Christmas time, and ice skate in Rockafellar Center, Visit Australia, Swim with dolphins...I could go on forever so we will just stop there.

Throwback Thursday # 43: Best of Blogs 2010

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." ~Toni Morrison

Well because this is my last Throwback Thursday for the year, I've decided to look back over this year's blogs and do a list of my favorite posts for 2010.

The plan was for there to be a "Top 10" list, but I couldn't narrow it down to 10, and everyone I asked for help added a new blog to the list. So....we're calling the "Best of" instead! I've hyperlinked each blog so that you can quickly go back and read them if you want and I've tried to give you a little taste of what each was about.

I'd love to hear which blogs have been YOUR favorites! Comment below!

General Blogs:

Dumping the Girl Friends (A little discussion of why a girlfriend/wife should not make a guy cut all female friends out of his life)

Loud Barks and Huge Hearts (How ag teachers impact kids far beyond those in their own classroom.)

Why Kirk Herbstreit Is Killing My Love Life (My expertise in college football may be hampering my love life?!?)

The End of My Mid Twenties (Celebrating the awesome-ness that has been my twenties so far!)


Sweet Home Alabama Disease (I'm a country girl who calls Stillwater the Happiest Place on Earth, loves San Francisco, and lives in a completely different city....no wonder I'm confused! I'm not alone though, as The Bride liked this blog the best of the year!)

Not About You (A simple phrase about God's plans for our lives really got me thinking.)

A Lesson from Pancake Boy (Dating is tough.....ND Friend let me share her story!)

Notre Dame Trip #4: Livelong Dreams and Lifelong Friends (Read about how I got to make my childhood dream a reality this year.)

Here, There or Everywhere (My struggle with how to give.)

Word for 2010: Awestruck (What one word best sums up my 2010? Apparently I picked a good word because The Crazy Canadian voted this as her favorite blog of the year.)

Throwback Thursdays:

#20: Grilled Chicken (This country girl moves to San Francisco and fears losing her job because of lunch.)
#30: Things Built to Last (They don't make men or love stories like this anymore. My dad crowned this his favorite blog of the year...who knew he was such a romantic at heart?)

# 31: Home Ec Hero (How my First Valentine saved me from failing home ec.)

# 36 through # 39: Puking My Way Across Kentucky Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 (A four part mini-series about my food poisoning experience at National FFA Convention 1999. My brother has deemed these his favorite blogs of the year.)

Family Farm Fridays:

#1: What I Learned (An overview of important lessons this farm kid has learned.)

#11: Bull Semen and Bonding (The family that buys bull semen together......)


#15: We’ve Come a Long Way (Tracing my family's show lamb sale back to its roots...chicken gizzards and all.)

# 32: Real Housewives (Those reality stars have nothing on country ladies like my Gran and my mom)

#37: Through the Eyes of a Child (Seeing country life through kids' eyes. My mom was ready to pitch a fit if this one didnt' make the favorites list.)

#42: Christmas Memories (A collection of my favorite Christmas memories with my Gran.)