Meet the Cast Monday #41: Super Mom

It's been a while since I've done a Meet the Cast Monday post, but I've got several lined up over the next few week that I'm really excited about! For those of you who are knew, my blog title comes from the quote, "My life has a superb cast, I just can't figure out the plot." And, so, I use this little series to introduce you to the people who make up that superb cast through a series of questions.

I have been friends with Super Mom since I was in about the 8th grade and she was winning all of the contests in FFA.  She and ND Friend (they're sisters) were some of my favorite FFA friends.  Seriously, she's a rock star.  Brilliant, beautiful, one of the nicest, most genuine people you will ever meet.  And, as her name suggests, she is a great mom to three of the cutest little boys I've ever seen.  From hanging out at State FFA to her giving me a tour while she worked at the White House to our multiple emails every day now, I could not be more grateful for her friendship!  Oh, and she has an adorable blog that you all need to go read and follow. Seriously.

Meet Super Mom!

What is the best part about being a mom?

 

Gosh, there are so many wonderful things! As many say, I didn't know I could love someone in this way or with this intensity until I became a mom. There are days in which you are at your limits, stretched thin and praying that one more thing doesn't get thrown across the room or dropped behind the couch, when to discipline just one more time would send you over the edge, and when you can barely find time to get dressed. However, to combat those days, there are the moments when your child looks at you and says, "I luh you, Mommy!," when they give you hugs like you've never had before and when you watch them sleeping like angels on earth...those are the times when you think, why me? Do I deserve to be blessed like this? These little ones are miracles...every single one of them. The best part of being a mom is being blessed with the opportunity to raise them.  {Could there be a better answer to this?  No.  No there could not.}

 

 

Tell us about how you met your husband.

Ahh, it was in sixth grade! I remember; he doesn't.  {Go figure!  Men!}  He was a senior at the time, ha! His mom and my aunt grew up together and had boys about the same time. So, my husband was friends with my older cousins. I met him at my cousin's house when I was twelve, and he was nice to me...little ol' me. He took the time to visit with me when tons of people were there, and it made my year! I then dreamed of marrying him, probably like all young girls dream of someone. Life went on, and I would secretly wish for updates on his well-being from my aunt, but I never mentioned him to anyone (minus my sister who I share everything with). Then, years later, when I was finishing college, and he was immersed in an Army career, we met up again at my cousin's wedding. After dating a few months and then taking a three-year "break," we got together again and now have been married almost four years.  {Just like Ross and Rachel on Friends---we were on a break!}  I am the luckiest girl alive!

 

 

How was working at the White House?

It was a dream, in so many regards...walking the halls of our great Presidents, sitting in chairs/rooms where major history decisions took place, knowing the news before most, and being a part of political history. I gave tours of the West Wing, helped Make-A-Wish kids meet the President, held Barney (the President's dog) and worked under Karl Rove. We would host events such as those recognizing the winning Superbowl team or congratulating Olympians on their medals. I was there when Justice Alito and Justice Roberts were appointed and when Hurricane Katrina hit. Life was adventurous from about seven in the morning until nine or ten at night most days, and the weekends were full of tours and going out with the work crew. However, I began to notice that I valued myself based on how much I got done and what events I helped put together. I was an assistant, but my world revolved around my work, and part of the high of working there was telling others I worked at the White House. It was then, and when I began to see the lives of those older than me and with families, that I realized I could not stay in DC and have the life I had dreamed about...raising a family much like I was raised...with loving, committed parents who made me (and my siblings) their priority. So, I didn't stay long, but I am grateful for having had the experience.  {I feel like this answer right here is something that so many women deal with but we never talk about--the difficulty chosing between a powerful career and the family life that you want to have.  I love that Super Mom made the decision that was right for her!}

Our White House Visit (oh my lanta...my hair!)

 

Favorite FFA memory?

I think it was my junior year. My ag teacher, Mr. Geary was having heart problems, and they hit right in the middle of judging season. To know Mr. Geary was to know that he lived to win, and he did everything in his power to prepare us to do so! That particular judging season, he simply couldn't do it. He needed to regain his health. So, community members took the reins and helped coach our teams. We, as members, stepped up to the plate as well. We wanted so badly to win, for Mr. Geary. When state judging came around, we had eight teams...as we always did. And, it came down to the wire, but we won Sweepstakes, and it was one of the proudest moments of my FFA "career."

 

Who is your favorite saint?

I am just now delving more into the lives of the saints. At first when I would read about them (and still at times), I would have great despair...thinking "I can't do this." Instead of seeing them as ordinary people who did extraordinary things, I saw their actions and lives as unattainable. After some advice from my sister, I let their stories bring me to joy instead of despair thinking "look what we have to reach for." With that said, I love St. Therese and her constant choice to love God in all things, mainly the little things. I love St. Teresa of Avila in her struggles with being worldly but coming to realize that God alone is all we need. St. Clare is my confirmation saint, and I look to Mary the most for an example of how to be a mom and how to surrender all. I have so far to go :)

Super Mom and ND Friend

 

What is the best advice you've ever gotten?

 

My mom always says, "offer it up." I never really got it, and still struggle to do it. But, in essence, she is saying that the struggles we face can be offered back to God as a sacrifice. Instead of winning an argument, say, "I'm sorry" and offer it up. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, look for the positive in the situation, and offer it up. Instead of running from pain, bear it, and offer it up. By carrying our crosses rather than running from them, we can uniquely participate in the suffering of Jesus in order to become closer to Him.  {Great advice from your sweet mama!}

 

How do you like living back in your hometown?

 

Honestly, I never thought I would be back. I wasn't one of those people who hated my hometown growing up; I just never thought I'd come back to agriculture. The riskiness of the business scared me. However, that changed when I got married. My husband wanted to try his hand at it, and we wanted to raise our children in a place where we could focus on the simple things and grow together as a family. Country life provides that, and I couldn't be happier to be back!

 

You are a cookie-making expert....tell us your favorite recipe!  {Super Mom bakes cookies with her kiddos every week and they give them--at least the ones that the boys don't eat!--to their friends.  She blogs about that project weekly here.}

 

Ha! I'm really not, but I love to bake. I'm a big fan of my mom's oatmeal cookies. They are not the spice-filled raisin kind. They are a more buttery, non-raisin cookie, and they are amazing!

Here is the recipe:

1/4 C. Crisco

1/4 C. butter

1 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. White sugar

1 egg

1/4 C. water

1 t. vanilla

3 C. quick oats

1 1/4 C. flour

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

Cream wet ingredients. Add mixed dry ingredients. Cook at 350 for 12 minutes. (I never come close to 12 minutes - more like 8-9, but I like really chewy cookies).

 

What is something you constantly pray for?

 

Gosh, so many things: rain, my boys, those suffering, my family and friends. Lately, it's surrender. I am too much in need of control, and when I lead my life, it never works as it should. When I let Him, it does. However, I still haven't really learned that.  {Um....I'll just say ditto to that entire control issue.} 

 

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

I have two, one I am in total control of, the other really is God.
 

1. I want to visit the Vatican.

2. I want to have a large family :)  {I'd say she's well on her way!}

 

 

Family Farm Friday #80: Just a Farm Kid

"It’s that way with kids who grow up as farm and ranch kids.  Their resume is written on their foreheads and in their hearts."  ~Rudy Taylor 

A great article that appeared in a rural Kansas newspaper has been getting national attention.  It's all about how being a farm kid is not something to apologize for--it's a resume all on its own.  I thought that "Just a Farm Kid" was a good follow up to my blog last week called "Just a Cow."   Here's the article, along with a few photos from my own life.

‘Just’ a farm kid is a job prospect extraordinaire

By Rudy Taylor

While attending a job fair last week where Taylor Newspapers manned a booth, I met lots
of job seekers. Some brought resumes.

Others just moseyed by, picked up the free stuff on our table and asked a few questions.  But one young woman created a memory for me.

She was a senior in high school, seeking summer employment before starting to a community college in the fall.

“Are you hiring?” she asked.

We said probably not, but we’re always looking for good resources, such as part-time photographers and writers.

“We’d be happy to take your resume,” I told her.

Then she said something that stuck with me.

“I’m afraid my resume wouldn’t be too impressive,” she said. “I’ve spent all my life working on my parents’ farm. I go to school in the daytime and do chores morning and night.”

Whoa.

I told her to go home and create a resume, and write down exactly what she had told me.

As a farm girl, one who has driven a tractor since she was 12, one who has cleaned out barns, scooped grain until her back ached, fed chickens, pigs, cattle and goats --- this girl knows the meaning of work.

She knows about dependability and getting jobs done on time. The morning school bus won’t wait until a farm kid finishes those chores. They’ll be done on time or the young student will miss that all-important ride.

A young person who has put up hay, helped her dad and mother in the farrowing house or candled eggs has something more than words to jot on a resume.

Farm kids don’t need to take art appreciation classes in school. They witness picturesque landscapes, sunrises and changes in seasons as they grow up.

They ride horses, drive four-wheelers and neatly stack big bales at the edge of meadows.

They fish in their ponds, learn to handle firearms and shoot deer, rabbits and turkeys.

They work as a family in the garden, raising, harvesting and canning their own vegetables.

Farm kids learn to keep good records on their livestock.  When they raise and sell a 4-H calf, they can calculate the profit gained after deducting feed, vet medicines and other costs.

They typically know how to stand on their own two feet and give project talks, or give oral reasons for judging a class of lambs or swine.

Many of them earn leadership roles in church, 4-H or FFA, so they can moderate a meeting to perfection using Roberts Rules of Order.

They learn early in life the tactics of conservation --- how to keep topsoil from washing into Oklahoma; how to plant wind barriers and how to recognize grass-cheating weeds that need sprayed.

Any farm kid can handle a paint brush, spade a garden, pull worms from tomato plants, gather hen eggs, mow grass, groom animals and take one grain of wheat, bite down on it and determine if it’s time to start the combine.

And, this girl thinks her resume might be lackluster?

Oh, I don’t think so.

Put her to work in a hardware store, newspaper office or grocery store, and she will enter the front door looking for things to do.

It’s that way with kids who grow up as farm and ranch kids.

Their resume is written on their foreheads and in their hearts. 

They should never apologize.

Never.

My Six (or Eight...) Word Motto

"Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go.   It's gonna hurt.  It's gonna hurt because it matters."  ~John Green

Recently I read a blog about creating a six word motto.  The idea was to find six words that described your philosophy, beliefs, thoughts on the meaning of life....you get the idea.  Never one to follow the rules, I ended up writing an 8 word motto because I just couldn't shorten it any further.  (Anyone who has ever worked with me knows I am always over the page limit, so this is not a surprise!)

What are my 8 words?

Dream big, do good, love hard, have fun.

When I think about my life--the things that I want to do, the things that I want to be remembered for, the things I believe in, the things that I want to inspire in others--I think these eight words probably sum it up.

Dream big.  "Your playing small does not serve the world."  God put us on this earth for a purpose, and my bet is that His purpose is far greater than most of our dreams.  We aim to small, settle for too little, and in doing so can miss our calling and our purpose.  Along these same lines, I am a firm believer that we have to dream our own dreams.  Not the dreams that others expect or tell us that we should have.  The dreams that we have in our hearts.  Whether it be a dream of curing cancer or traveling the world, being a parent or a CEO, owning land or running in the Olympics, we owe it to ourselves, to God, and to the world to dream our own dreams, and to dream them big.

Do good.  "Be kinder than necessary.  Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  Life is hard.  We don't need to make it harder on other people.  So whether it is smiling at someone on the street or volunteering with an organization, bringing a casserole when something bad happens, or dropping extra into the offering plate, we have to do good when we have the chance.

Love hard.  "Fall in love with as many things as possible."  I've been blessed with what I can only describe as the most amazing cast of people in my life.  And, sadly, I've lost too many members of this cast.  And what I've learned from that is that when you find people or animals or things that are important to you, you've got to love them.  Hard. Because tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

Have fun. "No one looks back and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep." Sing karaoke.  Rush the field.  Twice.  Dance at a wedding or in an Irish pub and swing on a Tarzan swing in the jungle.  Make friends with the strangers on a bus.  Run through the mud or amongst a crowd of naked people.  Life is too short for us not to make an intentional effort to do fun things.  If you don't laugh so hard that you cry, snort, or shoot some drink out your nose on a frequent basis, you're doing something wrong.

What I'm Loving and How Pinteresting Wednesday

"Love is playing every game as if it were your last."  ~Michael Jordan

I'm going double link up today as well since it worked out so well last Friday.

We'll start off with What I'm Loving Wednesday.

1.  My friend Almost Gypsy Soul has this awesome thing on her blog where she has a different playlist each month.  This month she went completely Red Dirt and I love the entire thing.  It'e been on repeat in my office for two days straight.  Go to her blog.  You will thank me.

2.  Speaking from the playlist, I particularly L-O-V-E "Never Been Out West" by Mickey and the Motorcars.  How had I never heard this song before??

3.  Let's talk about my Pokes.  You know, the #15 ranked basketball team in the country.  As a girl who was at OSU during the Eddie Sutton/Final Four/John Lucas/Tony Allen era, I say it's about freakin' time we're back where we are supposed to be!  Check out this dunk by Markell Brown.



That, kids, is how you dunk a basketball.  Bring on the tournament!

4.  Last weekend my friend Fellow OSU Alum and I went to see Silver Linings Playbook.  I'll admit it started out slow for me...probably 45 minutes in I was wondering if we were ever going to go anywhere.  But I realized that I really was into it when it got close to the end and I thought it was not going to end the way I wanted it to end and I was seriously fuming.  Sign of a good movie.  I also learned that this movie is based on a book (I apparently live under a rock?) and since the book is always better I've ordered it from Amazon and plan to read it ASAP.  Oh, and Jennifer Lawrence is freaking adorable.  She and I would totally be friends in real life.

5.  Sometimes nice guys finish first.  Have you guys seen this story?  When a woman accidentally dropped her engagement ring into a homeless man's cup along with some change, he returned it when she came back two days later looking for the ring.  He could have pawned it and made $4,000, but he did the right thing.  Well through the media attention this has created, people have now raised over $175,000 to help him back on his feet and he's reconnected with his family.  I love a happy ending.

6.  Yesterday I had the best English muffin I have ever tasted.  My boss/friend showed up with them yesterday to thank us for working on a certain case.  They.were.amazing.  No, you don't understand, I think I'll probably be dreaming of these things when I move to Texas.  I could have taken a picture, had I not inhaled it in 10 seconds.

And, now, let's talk Pinterest.  Yes, I admit it.  I'm an addict.  It's happened.  Sheesh.  Here are a handful of my favorite pins from the last week.  (All images via Pinterest.)

Love OSU!

Amen to that!

My favorite hymn.

Love this quote.

Totally doing this in my new yard!

This made my day!

Thoughts on Ladies and Gentlemen and Chivalry

Photos via Pinterest

30 by 30 Report: Month 4

"The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years, but the one with the richest experiences."  ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

4 months down, 8 to go.  For a short month jammed full of crazy life-changing announcements, I was pretty excited that I accomplished as many 30 by 30 list items as I did.  Here's the run down!

#1:  Cook 10 new recipes (10/10 completed).

This month I made some black bean and corn quesadillas from the recipe here.  These were not only super easy, but they were also super good.  I would probably add some avocado and maybe some spinach to try and get some veggies included, but other than that these babies were delicious.

Next, I tried to find a substitute for one of the super unhealthy loves of my life...mac and cheese.  I saw this recipe for quinoa and cheese and thought maybe I could make my guilty pleasure a bit healthier.  No.  Dice.  It turned out fine, I ate it, I might even say it was good.  It was not, however, anything close to mac and cheese.  Anyone who says different is lying.  Apparently I was so unimpressed that I forgot to save the recipe.  Sorry.

Finally, I made some baked zucchini chips--idea being they taste like friend, but are baked.  Although they are not quite like the fried kind, I though these turned out pretty well and that they were quite tasty.  I did add an egg to the milk when I was dipping them to try and get the breading to stick better.

Apparently I shot too low in trying to cook 10 new meals, so I'll keep this one going and we'll see how many we can get up to!

#7:  Read 24 more books (8/24 completed).

This month I read Fearless by Max Lucado and The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan Philipp Sendkin.  You guys saw my report last week.

#8:  Send my friends little gifts once a month (4/12 completed).

Since it was February, I decided it was the perfect month to make these long distance friendship mugs that  have little red hearts on them.  So I went to Target and got some super cheap white mugs, one black and one red sharpie, and I was off.  You just draw the state where you live on one cup and where your friend lives on another.  Then I added in a quote on the back of each of the cups I'll be sending to my friends because y'all know I love me a good quote.  Once the drawing is all done, you pop the mugs in the oven for 45 minutes--this makes it where the marker will not wash off--and you're done!  Easy peasy.  

I decided to include a little candy in each mug in honor of Valentine's Day.  I ended up with two mugs headed to Oklahoma and two to Illinois.  I think they turned out pretty darn well.  Except for one little hiccup that left the shape of Oklahoma in red permanent marker on my computer screen.  Yea.....lesson learned there!

#9:  Eat in 10 new restaurants (5/10 completed).

Once again, a trip to College Station checked two more of these babies off the list.  First, Mrs. BFF and I had a great lunch at Blue Baker.  Awesome salads, brick oven pizzas, sandwiches, etc.  They also apparently have great cookies and cupcakes, but since I gave up sweets for Lent, I had to pass.  Then before heading out for a crazy night at Hurricane Harry's, we headed to a bbq joint in Bryan called J. Cody.  Y'all.  I'm glad to be moving to College Station just for this place.  They have a side bar.  All you can eat sides like creamed corn, cabbage, green beans, potato salad, cole slaw, homemade corn bread....this girl was in Heaven.

#24:  Finally buy a duvet.

Ever since I had THE most comfy duvet ever in life when I lived in San Francisco, I knew I wanted one of my own.  But I just couldn't find a cover I really liked.  But it finally happened just in time for the new bed I plan to get for my hew house, I found this baby.  I absolutely love everything about it!  So, I've ordered the cover, bought a down comforter, and I'm in business.

Photo via JCP.com

#29:  Buy myself a bouquet of flowers once a month (4/12 completed).

This month, I went with my very favorite flowers, tulips.  Red.  They just make me smile.  I took a picture of them, but left my camara at my parents' house last weekend so I can't upload it.  Fail. 

Friday Book Club and Friday Letters

All the best link ups are on Friday, so today I'm going to do a two-parter so I can link up with Friday Book Club and Friday Letters.

First up, for Friday Book Club, I've got a report on my two February reads.

Fearless by  Max Lucado

 I do love me some Max Lucado.  This guy has a gift for taking Biblcal principles and applying them to every day life that is seriously amazing.  This book is all about letting go of the fears that we let control our lives.  I can't say it was my favorite Max Lucado book, but it was good and the topic was pretty appropriate for this time in my life.  Here are some of my favorite quotes.

Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease.  Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry.  Fear never saved a marriage or a business.  Courage did that.  Faith did that.

Fear corrodes our confidence in God's goodness.

To sin is to disregard God, ignore his teachings, deny his blessings.

If Jesus' tomb is empty, then his promise is not.

Every trial and trouble has a place in God's scheme.

When Christ is great, our fears are not.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

In breaking my trend of reading pretty much only non-fiction books, I made an exception for this novel that I heard about on another blog.  It's the story of a daughter who sets off to find her father who mysteriously disappeared the day after she graduated law school.  What she finds is an amazing story of his childhood, of which she knew nothing.  I really enjoyed this book---it was interesting and sort of kept you guessing as to how things would all play out.  I can't give it my illusive 5 on the Goodreads chart (only two fiction books have ever gotten that from me....The Help and The Fault In Our Stars) but I would still highly recommend it.  Here's a few quotes I enjoyed.

And so there must be in life something like a catastrophic turning point, when the world as we know it ceases to exist.  A moment that transforms us into a different person from one heartbeat to the next.

There are wounds time does not heal, though it can reduce them to a manageable size.

It's not the size of one's nose, the color of one's skin, the shape of one's lips or eyes that make one beautiful or ugly.  It's love.  Love makes us beautiful.

Love has so many different faces that our imagination is not prepared to see them all.

He expected nothing more from life.  Not because he was disappointed or embittered.  He expected nothing because there was nothing of importance he had not already experienced.  He possessed all the happiness a person could find.  He loved and was loved.  Unconditionally.

Second, for Friday Letters, here we go.

Dear College Roomie, Thank you for being the best friend in the whole world and being on board for a ex-roomie road trip to my new casa in Texas.  I am seriously beyond excited about this.  You bring the mixed tapes, I'll bring the orange juice!

Dear Treadmill, We will be spending some quality time this weekend---about 5 miles worth on Sunday.  Be kind to me.

Dear King of Capitol Hill, You know you want to come to Europe.  Just do it.  We might even have more fun than the picture below...

Dear Creator of Magic Bullet Blender, Someone should give you the Oscar of inventing.  Your little creation changed my life and has probably tripled my veggie intake.  Nice work, sir.

Dear Cardinal Dolan,  I know that the selection of the next Pope is not a popular vote election, but when you write things like this and make speeches like this it seriously makes me want to make a "Team Dolan" t-shirt to wear while the conclave is going on.  PS, you are on my list of dream dinner party attendees, so feel free to come over any time.

Dear Super Mom,  Thank you for sending me the photo below of my precious friend dressed like Elmer Fudd.  I do not think he could be any cuter.  This made my day.

Family Farm Friday # 79: Just a Cow

There has been a photo floating around Facebook lately and I just love it. It says the following:

Just a Cow

From time to time, people tell me, "Lighten up, it's just a cow."  Or, "That's a lot of money for just a cow."  They don't know the distance travelled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a cow."  Some of my proudest moments have come with "just a cow."

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a cow," but I did not once feel slighted.  Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a cow" and, in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a cow" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a cow" then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."  "Just a cow" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure, unbridled joy.  "Just a cow" brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person.  Because of "just a cow," I will rise early, stay in the barn for hours and look longingly into the future.  So for me, and folks like me, it's not "just a cow" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past and the pure enjoyment of the moment.  "Just a cow" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a cow," but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a human."

So the next time that you hear the phrase, "just a cow," just smile...because they clearly just don't understand.

Man.....that hits pretty darn close to home.  I've got lots of "city friends" who completely do not understand our way of life.  They think it's crazy we get up early to do chores, or that every vacation we took for about 20 years involved a trailer and a stock show.  They don't understand the bull semen catalogs I have laying around my house and think it's nuts that I go home on weekends to sort through lambs that other people will show. 

But for those of us who do understand, the "just a cow" quote above makes perfect sense.  Be it the first cow I bought from our neighbor when I was 8 years old, or the horse that my dad bought me before I could walk, or the show lamb that we spent more time (and maybe money!) with than most people spend on a child....I promise you that they are more than "just a cow."  As I explained recently, those animals helped to raise me and that is something that until you have experienced it, you probably won't ever understand. I couldn't be more thankful for all of the "just a cows" in my life.  I thought I'd share pictures of a few of them.



Brent - First State Fair class winner we raised

Baldy - Horse my dad got me when I was 6 months old

Brosic - First Grand Champion

Hoss - Graduation present from Wade

Princess - First County Fair Grand Champion we raised

Lily - My favorite flop eared pig.

Walter - First sale slot and blue ribbon at Roswell

Jake - grouchy guard dog

Lester - Drank prune juice from the can

Harley - Very first banner