Monday, March 28, 2011

A story of Hank the Cow Dog and his bone

Hank the Cow Dog here, and I want to tell you a little story about my favorite bone....


Or maybe you can just watch this video and watch what I like to do with my bone in the snow!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

State Farm 5K

I ran the State Farm 5K in Lincoln today for the second time. Last year, I ran with my favorite running friend, Patricia, and I posted on it here.

Pat now lives in Pennsylvania so she obviously couldn't make it back for the race.

But I still had a running partner.....

Last year we ran in rain, this year we ran in snow. But I ran a lot faster and really enjoyed running with my husband. We had to take a picture that we actually did run in the snow.  

And here are my new stats. I think I'm most proud of how I did compared to others in my age division:

Distance: 5K
Time: 26:59
Pace: 8:42
Overall Place: 155 of 670
Place in Gender: 50 of 425
Division F2529 Place: 13 of 102

Compared to last year's stats:

Distance: 5K
Time: 31:10
Pace: 10:02
Overall Place: 308 of 767
Place in Gender: 148 of 482
Division F2024 Place: 31 of 72

Ronny's time was 26:20 and was placed 127 overall. Great job, honey!

Next up, BolderBOULDER!!!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

1:01:34...

...was my 10K time. And it really was a lot of fun! My friend, Shelley, and I went together - she's a pro at these races. I really didn't feel too tired until the last mile, then adrenaline kicked in so I could "beat" the person in front of me - really I just wanted to pass her, I was just trying to beat the clock to 1:08:00 so I can run in the BolderBOULDER with Uncle Mark.

Thanks to Ronny and his mom for following us around town and taking pictures of Shelley and I during the race!





 And of course we had to re-hydrate and get some green beer for St. Patty's Day afterwards!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Running in the Little Apple

I'm running a 10K today. Pray for me!

This will be my first one. I have been running 4-5 miles at least twice a week for the last month, so I should be ok. But it is still intimidating.

Yet I'm really excited because I get to run through the beautiful campus of Kansas State University - and enjoy some spring air.

And I get to run with Shelley - my friend and carpool buddy from Seward!  Then, us girls and our guys can go drink some green beer for a late St. Patricks Day, and dinner with the Pope's!

Life is good.

Friday, March 18, 2011

My role in social media


One of my roles in my job is coordinating the social media to help promote agriculture. And I love it.

I know a lot of people don't quite understand it, or they think, "Why should I tweet what I'm doing all the time?", or "Who cares what I eat for dinner?", or "Nobody wants to read what my day was like". Well probably for most people -they don't. However, for farmers and ranchers, it's different.

Consumers want to know where their food comes from, how their animals are being taken care of, and generally, are just curious about life on the farm! Also, farmers and ranchers are trusted by consumers - so they want to hear it from them. So yes, people don't want to know about me sitting at my desk all day or I'm flying to now - but if I can help the farmers/ranchers tell their story by passing on what they are saying, or giving them the resources to tell their story, then it is worth it.

Using social media in agricultue is just one form of promoting - but mostly it's a form of a continual conversation. Like last year when I had a conversation with an atheist vegan. I knew I wasn't going to change his mind on anything, but at least the conversation was open for others to join in, read or click on the links. Hopefully I was able to reach someone that day with my positive messages.

And my role in it is kind of a beast that's grown it's own legs! Now here is the best part:

Last week, I received a phone call from Washington. Yes, like D.C., like from the government, like from a little department called the USDA. They were wanting my advice on using social media to promote agriculture. Whoa, I was totally excited! Not only did I help them out by sharing my thoughts and ideas, they shared some really great info for me to utilize as well.

I've also heard from some people in the field that what I'm tweeting and posting on facebook is where they get their first information for ag updates. A pretty nice little compliment to know what I'm doing is helping someone. And that is the biggest reason I'm telling this little story about social media - helping others, promoting agriculture and educating about issues that affect us is what it's all about.

I should have known when I was a 4th grader and couldn't decide between being a writer or a teacher when I grew up - I guess I'm kind of both now.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Not enough sunshine

I was in Florida this week for the annual Commodity Classic – a national convention for corn, wheat, soybean and sorghum growers. It was very nice being in 75-degree weather, but I definitely didn’t soak in enough.

I was excited to see some crew teams practicing in the Bay. For a minute, I really missed it – but then they started racing patterns and that ended it!DSC_0004

We were in meetings or indoors the majority of the time, but the RiverWalk was really nice to stroll down, enjoy the weather and sites, and just feel relaxed by the swaying palm trees.

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The four of us Corn Board gals had a great time together, too!DSC_0039 - CopyDSC_0048DSC_0023 Most of all, it was really nice not having to wear a coat. But as soon as we got back to Nebraska, it started snowing…..back to reality!