OSU: The Reason God Made Oklahoma

"Stillwater has a population of thousands, but is home to millions."

When I saw that a blog I follow was doing a theme asking other bloggers to show off their alma maters, I obviously knew that I would be participating. I am a proud Oklahoma State University alum, as most of you probably know. I mean, there are a few hints on my blog....the orange background, the OSU jersey picture in the header, my frequent blogs about my Cowboys, my referring to Stillwater as "The Happiest Place on Earth".....you get the picture?

I just feel like there are no words to describe how much I loved my experience at OSU. I mean, it could not have been better (unless it had lasted longer!) and I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful college experience. With that, here is my attempt at sharing my alma mater via a Top Ten list!

10. Everything is clothed in orange. I remember some high school friends coming to visit me in Stillwater and us all heading directly to Eskimo Joe's for dinner. We were only there for about 5 minutes andone of them looked at me and said, "Okay, I don't get it....what's with all the orange? It's everywhere...on walls, on people, on signs...." And while OSU orange is my favorite color, I have to admit, that's not the real meaning behind #10. What makes this special is that the whole town is behind the university. Shoot, the whole town revolves around the university. And that's a special thing!

9. Calf Fry. Need I say more? (I will, obviously and I have before). Calf Fry is a huge outdoor concert held at hte end of every April at the Tumbleweed Dance Hall. I may have frequented a few of these concerts in my day..... Anyway, Calf Fry is just thousands of people hanging out, drinking beer, and listening to country music. Doesn't get much better than that folks. I know several college students who attended school in different states who would come to town just for this event (and then crash on my floor....) It's a big deal. 8. Cowboy Sports. You guys know I'm a sports fanatic. Especially college sports. And while I can't say that OSU created the monster that you see today, it certainly helped increase it. There is just not enough to be said about a game day in Stillwater--whether it be football at Lewis Field or basketball at Gallagher-Iba. I was lucky to be in school during some pretty great glory days.....a Final Four Appearance, a Cotton Bowl.....they spoiled me! 7. America's Greatest Homecoming Celebration. I am going to just tell you that my blog won't do homecoming at OSU justice. They dye the fountain orange, shut down the streets, and everyone has the best time! It's unreal to see how many alums descend upon Stillwater every yera to come home. And that really is what it is....remember this blog?
6. The Happiest Place On Earth. OSU is located in beautiful Stillwater, Oklahoma. Stillwater is what you would call a quintessential college town. Small, safe, friendly.....the people are great, you can leave your doors unlocked or go running around Boomer Lake at night, there are adorable "mom and pop" shops, lots of great restaurants....I could go on forever (and I'm not the only one). I swear if I ever win something big and they ask me what I'm doing next, I'll say going to Stillwater. Forget Disneyland!5. The Copper Penny. I think most college students have "their bar." Well, that was The Copper Penny for us. On the Strip, there are lots of different bars, each with its own personality. The Penny was the ag college bar (and you know things are better in the ag college). There would always be boys in boots, cow poop on the floor, cattle pictures on the walls and usually a dog meandering around. The owner, Penny, knew us by name. Everyone knew everyone....sort of like a midwest version of Cheers. I guess you could say we made our mark on the place....literally.

4. We're One Big Family. When you go to OSU, you become part of the family automatically. You might remember reading about this in my post about Remembering The Ten. But there are happy stories too. I frequently wear OSU garb when I travel, and I am almost always stopped by someone else who went to OSU, even if it's just to say a quick "Go Pokes!" My dad has an OSU cap that I got him, and he said that he experiences the same thing. And the OSU spirit goes with you even when you're away from home (like the picture below from San Francisco)!

3. 44th and Western. I realize that to most people, this address means nothing. But to my friends and I, it means Animal House. I've heard people say, "If these walls could talk" but I'm telling you guys.....there is no better example of that saying! From scary movie night, to decorating after the boys won Louisville, to ending the night with real hugs, to the biggest craziest house parties, to fight club on the front lawn, to "family" dinners, to serving as a refuge.....this place had it all.

2. Sunnybrook Christian Church. You've read previously on my blog about my Small Group from my college church. I just can't say enough about how wonderful this church was. Beyond the small group (which was just amazing itself), there were so many other great people that I got to know volunteering in the nursery and kids church. And the preacher is just out of this world--I am telling you guys, he's amazing. If you want to check out some of his sermons, click here!

1. Forever Friendships Started Here. I cannot imagine my life without the friendships I made at OSU. I would be flat out lost without these people. I made new friends.....The Oklahoma Girls, SoulMate Friend, most of the Animal House Boys......and I cemented friendships that I brought with me to Stillwater....BFF, College Roomie, the NM Animal House Boy. I only hope that everyone is able to make one friend as amazing as those that I have named on this list.

What I'm Loving Wednesday #2

"Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do."

Well hello there friends! I'm back with another edition of "What I'm Loving Wednesday." As always, click here to go over and check out all of the bloggers and what they love today!
1. That other girls went the “being single is great for now” route for their Valentine’s Day blogs. Check out the Blonde Oklahoma Girl and Rachel at How Fickle Is Woman who wrote this one and this one. And, a shout out to one of my non-single friends, Crystal, who took a picture of her V-day flowers next to the cattle she was helping clip.....read all about it here (and know that this is SO what I'm looking for from Mr. Right!)

2. That College Roomie broke into my house (okay, technically she has a key) and left these pretty flowers to surprise me for Valentine's Day before she went on her date. And that she texted me during her date as she was peeing. That's friendship at it's finest, people! Oh, I almost forgot....she also left me the napkins that you see below, which read "to support himself through college, dave held a series of degrading jobs. exotic dancer was by far the worst." because they reminded her of the Animal House boys. There are just no words.

3. Reminders about how we should treat other people, in the form of blogs by the Very Worst Missionary about dog poo and Vintch about grouchy co-workers.

4. The nice man sitting next to me on my flight last weekend who bought a round of drinks…for the WHOLE plane! Thanks, Mister! (There is a high probability that he did not know I was taking his picture….so if you know him don't rat me out!)
5. That Southwest has brought back their honey roasted peanuts….I remember these from one flight I took as a little kid and I’ve missed them ever since. But…they’re back for the next year (I confirmed this length of time with the flight attendant, who probably thought I was crazy) but appreciated my excitement so much that he brought me like 20 extra packets! Yay, Southwest! (So if you’re keeping score, that meant a free drink AND a boat load of honey roasted peanuts on the same flight!)

6. How creative Oklahoma State students are. Below you will see the OSU fountain as it usually looks. And then how it looked last week after record snow fall hit Stillwater. Nice work, kids.

7. That the Oklahoma Girls and I hit up a great Martini bar in Tulsa last weekend….hello peach martini! 8. That I seriously watched a wedding this past weekend……at a hockey game. That’s right. And I have pictures to prove it. (The Blonde Oklahoma Girl wrote a blog about this as well you can check out here.)

9. Sugarland’s new song called “Little Miss” that I’ve had on repeat for the last several days. You can listen to it here. Favorite verse: "Little Miss I'll get tough don't you worry 'bout me anymore!"

The Rain Came

“Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

I heard this story when I was a little kid about a farmer who was living during a terrible drought. It hadn't rained in forever, but he went to town and bought a rain gauge and put it out. Everyone laughed at him, but to the farmer, that rain gauge was a testament to his faith. He believed, despite evidence to the contrary, that the rain would come. And he acted accordingly.

This story struck a chord with me. So, I have this place that I call my "rain gauge shelf" in my house. When I feel like I need to make a testament of faith, it goes on this shelf. I've bought law school books that awaited a friend to get the acceptance letter, I've bought congratulations cards that awaited the new job announcements, and....I've bought baby clothes awaiting the positive test.

Well, those baby clothes are why I'm writing this blog. One of my good friends had been trying to get pregnant for several years. They had done just about everything possible. In January, they tried one more option, but were told the odds of it working were not good.

I won't lie....every time over the last few years that I would get a text message telling me that the most recent thing hadn't worked, I got frustrated. You've actually read about that frustration before on this blog, but didn't know what it was about.

Although I got frustrated, I kept on praying and about a year ago, I bought a metaphroical rain gauge to put on my shelf. I had to, because my friend didn't give up. Instead, she kept believing and she had a whole herd of people praying for her (seriously, God and I had frequent talks about her uterus!) to get pregnant.

Well, last week, the rain came! My friend called screaming into the phone that she was pregnant. I joined right in the screaming fit, and then we both cried, and I ran to the shelf to get the rain gauge outfit ready to mail. Only to realize that the post office was closed.....after which I proceeded to literally around in a circle in my house because I just couldn't figure out what to do next. But, the next morning, the rain gauge was shipped to my friend and it became her baby's first onsie.

So I write today to tell you to forget the stupid odds....and believe in miracles. And in rain. Because right now, that rain gauge is running right over!

My Valentine's Day Blog

"The fact is, sometimes it's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes. That's why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun." ~ Carrie Bradshaw, SATC

It's Valentine's Day. In celebration of that, I give you my favorite heart photograph. (Cousin Whitney, College Roomie, Me and the Oklahoma Girls in San Francisco!)

Most blogs will probably be one of two things today: (a) I am so lucky to be in love with someone so great; or (b) I hate this day and want it to end. Well, I can't write about (a) and I refuse to write about (b), so....let's try a different approach.

This year I tried to write a new Valentine's post, but I just couldn't get away from the post I wrote last year. If you're new to the blog since last February, go read it here. Because try as I might, I couldn't do any better. (And if you do go read it, and want to hear the rest of the home ec story, click here.) Each year on this day, my thoughts turn to the same place, and to my friend, First Valentine.

Beyond that, I want to share a fun Valentine's Day tradition that I started last year. Remember the teaser photograph from yesterday? Drumroll please......buying myself shoes for Valentine's Day! At the rate I'm going, I might have quite the collection by the time Mr. Right comes along! Anyway, the shoes.....

Last year, they looked like this:

This year, they look like this. LOVE that I found red ones--very festive, wouldn't you say?

So yes....today I am reminessing about the good ol' Valentine's Days and enjoying my new shoes. I think that this all sounds pretty fantastic to me!

Photos of the Week: Week 6

Sorry these are a little late today....I was flying back from Little Linebacker's first birthday in Oklahoma and wanted to share at least one of the picutres I took with you this week. The next few weeks will probably be full of pictures from this trip! So, with that, here we go with another week of photos......

Theme: Birthday

I had about ten different possible themes for this photo.....is Little Linebacker not just the cutest kid ever! Here he was properly eating his first birthday cake!

Theme: In The Morning

Last weekend, I got up and went driving around to see what photos I might be able to come up with. I stopped in this field because I saw these geese eating some breakfast. I played with different angles and decided that I liked this one the best.

Theme: Body Parts

When I saw this theme, I immediately thought of the statues outside my office building. I played with several different shots....some of entire statues, some close ups of hands, fingers, feet, etc. I finally settled on this one of the man's face with the skyscrapers (if you can call them that....) in the background.

Theme: Brand New

I realize this picture is a little kryptic. But this is a teaser photo of my Valentine's present. Check back on tomorrow to see the whole present. I am pretty sure I love the macro setting on my camera by the way!

Project 64: Week 6 - Apricot

Okay, when I first saw this week's color, I had a complete flashback to a terrible experience trying on bridesmaid dresses a couple years back. YIKES!

So, with that traumatic beginning, I had a hard time with this color all week. I tried a couple of different objects that were just not quite right. Then, I finally remembered scarves that I got from Gran. I went and hunted them down, and sure enough.....one was apricot!

I also learned a lesson about lighting this week. Because I never get home until after dark, I tried taking this photo at night and it looked terrible. So, on Thursday morning I set my alarm early to give myself some time to play with the shot using natural lighting. HUGE difference. Chalk another lesson up to Project 64!

So, with all of that in mind, here is my version of Apricot.

As always, go over and check out the real photographers who are participating and know what they are doing! To take a look at my prior photo challenge shots, click here!

Family Farm Friday #41: Snow Day

"It's an industry that gives a huge boost to the state's economy, but it stays true to its roots by the sheer nature of the dedicated families who live, work and breathe farming and ranching." ~Susan Combs

Last week, it seemed like everyone in the world got a snow day besides me. Schools were closed. Courts were closed. Other law firms were closed. But I had to be in the office. But you know what? I wasn't the only one.....because you know who never gets a snow day? Farmers and ranchers.

I remember being a kid and sort of dreading snow days that cancelled school. For city kids, they meant a chance to sleep in, watch tv, maybe go sledding.....but for a farm kid, it was a different story. It meant doing chores and breaking ice and feeding cows and checking on ewes or cows that might be lambing. And when that was all over, it was time to start the evening chores all over again. Snow days were sometimes worse than school days.

The reason that agriculture doesn't get snow days is that the animals don't care if the weather is bad. They still need to eat. If it's time to calve or lamb, they lay down and have that baby, right there in the cold. And farmers and ranchers are right in the thick of things, making sure all goes smoothly.

At our house, we calve and lamb during the winter--December through March or so. That means that babies being born in the cold is a pretty common occurrance. Most of the time, we can keep everything on the right track by putting lambs in stalls with a heat lamp, or moving cows into the corrals where they can get up under the sheds.

But sometimes, they need a little extra help to get going. When that happens, we usually wind up with a calf or a lamb in the middle of the living room floor, wrapped in a blanket, laying on the heater vent, with someone running a blow dryer all over its cold little body. Once they get warmed up and going again, they go back out with their mama and they all live happily ever after.

(This would be Little Brother about 15 years ago!)

Last week at my house, it got so cold that my parents let the dogs inside.....which NEVER happens. I honestly think this was his first time in the house, so he was taking it all in!

So think about those farmers and ranchers who are outside in the cold taking care of their animals the next time you get to sleep in on a snow day. And think about those farmers and ranchers when you hear animal rights groups spouting off about how agriculture mistreats them. I think that I know a little hereford heifer (well, now a hereford cow) who might disagree with that.