Thursday, April 30, 2009

that’s funny…

In grad school, to keep our minds off of school and to avoid talking about homework or economics, we tell each other the latest happenings in our lives…and more often than not, they are funny stories.  I’ve noticed (after several of these accounts) that my comment to everything somewhat funny or not is, “that’s funny!” Is it really, or is that all I ever just say out of habit? Maybe I can be like Paris Hilton and coin the term.

So my goal for the week is to come up with creative responses to humorous jokes or funny stories told by friends. I will keep you updated on my progress.

And, in essence of funny things…here are a couple of pictures that you might think are funny…

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Red neck tank top. Thanks Grandma, for sending me this pic. :)

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A chair back-support that Mom and I saw in China. Notice this elastic. Common theme between these two pictures.

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Lastly, in lieu of the current pandemic…don’t do this. :)

that’s funny…

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

fighting…

Today’s blog is honor of my friend, Sara. She is a month older than me, and was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in February. It is hard to think about someone my age with cancer. I know it was hard on her at first, but she has been blogging about her treatments, experiences and even Critter Tales (her wiener-dog) and just through her writing, I can see how strong she has had to become. She has always been a strong girl, but this has been a whole new level for her.

I’m a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society and especially Relay for Life, and Sara is participating this year. You can check out her story here.

Yesterday, Sara wrote that she had a PET scan and her tumor has shrunk a lot! She won't get to reduce her treatment time any, but her doctors were very pleased with the results.  And she hasn’t even lost her hair yet! Please keep Sara in your prayers that her lymphoma continues to go away and she is cancer-free soon!!

stevie ryan me and sara 
Stevie, Ryan, me and Sara around Easter

Friday, April 24, 2009

Tallgrass Brewing Co., Manhattan, KS…

I wanted to give Tallgrass a shout out because they are a local brewery right here in Manhattan!! GSAE (graduate students of agricultural economics) have a club and we try to do things to culture ourselves as well as have fun and especially show the international students what this great place is all about. So Matt reluctantly set up a tour with Tallgrass Brewing Co. Can’t you tell he didn’t really want to go?DSCI0149

Here are a few of the guys enjoying a free sample of the new brew, Kold, which is a German-inspired lager. DSCI0142

The mush tin and brew kettle.DSCI0145

Being agricultural economics students, we were very interested in the process, supply chain and production of where the wheat, barley, hops and yeast come from…surprisingly mostly from Germany, because these crops grown in the U.S. “don’t taste as good” according to Jeff, the owner. :)DSCI0147

You can purchase Tallgrass brews most places in Manhattan and other larger cities in Kansas, and they are expanding to Nebraska.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

countdowns…

Well first, happy half-birthday to me! Not that it’s that special of a day because I really don’t like getting older. But the most exciting part of today is that in 149 days from today, Ronny and I are getting married!!! This seems like such a small number from the 400 and some days from the date when I started the countdown. 

Yes, we’ve been engaged for a long time, but we live in two different states and I wanted to finish graduate school before starting our new life. Some days I think this was the dumbest idea ever! I miss seeing him everyday. But we’ve been weekend warriors (not the shopping kind of weekend warriors that Mom and I are) but only getting to see each other almost every weekend and making our relationship last that way for almost three years! Crazy to think about.

Here’s a few of my favorite pictures of us.

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kels 100 kels 106

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Friday, April 17, 2009

birdie background…

So, in an effort to procrastinate even more on a trade liberalization term paper on U.S. and Japan beef trade (sounds really interesting, huh?!) I decided that I was bored with my old background. Yes I know I’ve only had this for a month…but I didn’t realize there were SO many fun backgrounds out there!

There are only two requirements for my background:

  1. It has to have a bird or birds on it…hence the name and my nickname; and,
  2. I have to like it.

Can’t be too hard, right? So I’ve settled on this new one for now, but I’m sure I’ll change it again soon because there is much more procrastination to do in grad school! If you find any fun new birdie backgrounds, send them my way!

I got this new supercute background at Simply Chic Blogs. Check it out!!

But now I have a problem…I lost my cool settings on the side like my music, and favorite blogs! Ahhh, I should just go back to what I know…economics.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

more tagging…

My next baby heifer calfie was born yesterday, weighing in at 90 pounds…big girl! I tattooed and tagged her today since I am home in CO for Easter weekend. DSC02717

Here is the first tag I made with the dremel tool.

DSC02718 The work is done…with mama looking on.

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Get up, little one!! She was really wobbly. :)

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Are you coming?

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All the kids together.

TODAY’S SONG: Give Me Jesus by Fernando Ortega. This was played at Rick & Bethany’s funeral last week. Very powerful.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

humane society is not what you think it is…

When many of you hear the words “Humane Society”, you think of sad little puppies and kitties who are abandoned and need a home. There is a humane society for those dogs and cats, but many people confuse that with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the animal rights activists group.

Today’s animal rights movement has never wavered from its ultimate aim: the complete abolition of a long list of consumer choices that most Americans enjoy. These include meat, dairy foods, hunting, fishing, zoos, aquariums, circuses, rodeos, fur, leather, wool, and silk. Activists even want to do away with vital medical research that uses animals—the very lifesaving work that provides insulin could one day cure cancer.

Inch by inch, groups like PETA, PCRM, and HSUS continue to advance toward a society that views human beings as no different from (and no more important than) barnyard livestock and lab rats. And they have an army of people behind them.  HSUS has been quietly trying to get Carrie Underwood voted Entertainer of the Year via the Academy of Country Music. The problem is, a large percentage of country music fans are also gun owners and hunters who do not like Carrie Underwood’s active support for HSUS. And HSUS knows it.  Nonetheless, they aimed to get enough votes for Carrie Underwood to win the ACM Entertainer of the Year, and they succeeded.

Additionally, PETA killed a record number of pets in 2008. Despite its $32 million budget, PETA does not operate an adoption shelter. And its employees make no discernible effort to find homes for the thousands of pets they kill every year. According to public records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, since 1998 a total of 21,339 dogs and cats have died at the hands of PETA workers. Last year, PETA killed 2,124 pets and placed only seven in adoptive homes. PETA and HSUS have false premises and don’t let the public know everything to keep themselves protected. Let’s all tell the truth about what animal right’s activists are doing and spread the truth about animal welfare and animal agriculture.

A little knowledge can be a powerful thing. Share these “7 things you didn’t know” resources with a friend, a family member, your government officials, or even your community’s newspaper or TV news team.

This is a summary of the “7 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HSUS”, but you can click here to read more.

1) The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a “humane society” in name only, since it doesn’t operate a single pet shelter or pet adoption facility anywhere in the United States. During 2006, HSUS contributed only 4.2 percent of its budget to organizations that operate hands-on dog and cat shelters.

2) Beginning on the day of NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s 2007 dogfighting indictment, HSUS raised money online with the false promise that it would “care for the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case.”

3) HSUS’s senior management includes a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group designated as “terrorists” by the FBI. HSUS president Wayne Pacelle hired John “J.P.” Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described himself as “spokesperson for the ALF” while he fielded media calls in the wake of an ALF arson attack at a California veal processing plant.

4) According to a 2008 Los Angeles Times investigation, less than 12 percent of money raised for HSUS by California telemarketers actually ends up in HSUS’s bank account.

5) Research shows that HSUS’s heavily promoted U.S. “boycott” of Canadian seafood—announced in 2005 as a protest against Canada’s annual seal hunt—is a phony exercise in media manipulation.

6) HSUS raised a reported $34 million in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, supposedly to help reunite lost pets with their owners. But comparatively little of that money was spent for its intended purpose.

7) After gathering undercover video footage of improper animal handling at a Chino, CA slaughterhouse during November of 2007, HSUS sat on its video evidence for three months, even refusing to share it with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Relay For Life…

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This was my second year to participate in Relay For Life at K-State, put on by the American Cancer Society. My team raised $530, but there was only 5 of us on the team, so we did a pretty good job I think!

My reason to Relay: My family and I lost the greatest person in the world last year, my Gramps, to cancer. It has been such a struggle for me, but I know he is ranching in Heaven and is rid of cancer for eternity! I dedicated my time to Relay for Life to fight cancer, and to support those who have survived.

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Above are two of the luminarias I made for Gramps. Mom & Dad and my two uncles contributed to the cause, and I made luminarias in honor of Gramps for them. I can see him smiling at the pictures.

DSCI0146 It was a pretty chilly night and the wind was horrible as usual, but there was a good turn-out and we ended up raising over $35,000 despite the economy. Thanks to those who support cancer research, and thanks to those on my team for hanging in there and having a fun time!