a little birdie told me...

Happy St. Patrick’s Day | God’s Green Earth

2012-03-17T07:16:00.000-05:00

Two things for St. Patrick’s Day:

1. I’m running the St. Pat’s Road Race in Manhattan, KS today with three great people, Patricia, Melissa and Ronny running through the beautiful K-State campus and ending up in Aggieville!

Shelley and I ran it last year, you may remember here.

2. And from my favorite Christian artists perfect for today, “God’s Green Earth”.

Home office redo | Weekend Project #5

2012-03-11T17:04:00.001-05:00

Remember one of my goals for the end of 2011 was to redo our spare room for my home office/reading room? Well, I took a huge step to completing that project this weekend.

Thankfully, my Mom loves to paint. So my parents came to Nebraska to visit us, help paint my room, and for Ronny and Dad to get all caught up on their cattle talk.

Here was some of my room inspiration:

Source: notjustahousewife.net via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: housetweaking.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: hikinginstilettos.blogspot.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

So here we go. Before:

During:

Almost there…

Thanks, guys, for the help!

Now, I need some accessories to look like this room layout:

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelsey on Pinterest

I really like these chairs:

I will update you all when I get it all furnished and finished! {Thanks again Mom and Dad for helping!}

Training

2012-03-06T19:09:00.001-06:00

Ronny and I have been training for an upcoming 10K that we are planning to run – the St. Pat’s Road Race in Manhattan, KS. I ran it last year with Shelley and really enjoyed it. Probably because the course runs through one of my favorite place on earth – Kansas State University!

This year, Ronny is going to run it with me after he has picked up a liking to racing with the BoulderBOULDER race last year. Shelley will be there again, and Patricia and Melissa plan to run as well!

I’m glad that I have my Garmin Forerunner 210 watch to help me work on my pace, breathing and heart rate. And I’ve had some fun with it – taking it along on all my travels so if I can squeeze a run in, I have the information saved where I ran!

Here are a few of my courses:

Charleston, SC - this was the easiest 3.22 miles ever because it is SO beautiful there!

Charlotte, NC – I did not like downtown Charlotte. It was hard to run in with all of the big streets and there was too much construction going on. But some different sites nonetheless.

Kearney – has the best trail, park and pond that is right by the conference center where a majority of my conferences are. I love getting a chance to run on this trail – especially when it is nice out in February!

Seward – The weather has been so nice, so I’ve gotten some good runs in around town.

Now, I just need to reach that 6 mile mark!

A leap day list

2012-02-29T21:22:00.001-06:00

It’s a good thing that there was an extra day in February because today was my first full-day in the office since January.
My co-worker pointed out to me that people on salary positions were working for free today.
I had a great lunch with my cousin, Megan, today – a much needed catch-up session.
I took a nap when I got home from work today.
It was great, but Hank was mad so I had to take him on a walk afterwards.
Today I wondered if people who have birthday’s on leap day get sad that they don’t get overloaded with Happy Birthday Facebook messages every year. I know I would be.
Hopefully on the next leap day, I will have something more inspiring to write about. :)

Panama City Tour

2012-02-25T15:43:00.001-06:00

Mom and I got to Panama City a day early for the conference so we could take in a tour of the city.

There is some great history there – like with pirates and conquistadors and old city walls and plazas and very old churches.

Panama City was founded in 1519 by a Spanish governor not long after Balboa first saw the Pacific. Although the Spanish settlement quickly became an important center of government and church authority, the city was ransacked and destroyed in 1671 by the English pirate Sir Henry Morgan, leaving only the stone ruins of Panamá Viejo – pictured below. The tower has been restored so visitors can climb to the top and get a good view of the ruins and the city.

After Panama Viejo was destroyed, the Old Town of Panama City was developed – now called Casco Viejo – in 1671. It was constructed as a walled city on a peninsula off of Panama City to protect its settlers against another siege. This is a very unique part of the city because many of the original building structures still stand today – many are in disrepair, but several are being renovated.

(Lindsay – you will like this part as I know you’re a fan of cool architecture). The 16th & 17th century Spanish & French Colonial architecture is breathtaking and only one of the many reasons that has attracted the growing number of new businesses to the area – along with tourists.

The tide was low – on the Pacific side, the tide has a 20-foot drop!

Notice the new sky scrapers through the old city wall.

Check out all of my Panama pictures on my online photo album.

Viva la Panama Canal!

2012-02-19T14:12:00.001-06:00

Stay home? What does that mean?! After my work trips to Charleston and Charlotte, I had one day of ~~rest~~ work before I packed back up again and headed south to the Republic of Panama. But what an opportunity it was! I certainly couldn't complain about the 90 degree weather, even if I was in meetings a majority of the time. I also got to bring Mom along - which was so fun to experience together.

The reason for being in Panama City was for the US Grains Council's International Marketing Conference. I am excited to be serving on the Membership and Communications Advisory Team to help launch the new branding initiative, fresh and new with an updated logo and vibrant, user-friendly website (launching in the upcoming week). As my involvement with the US Grains Council has increased, so have my opportunities to see the importance of agriculture to the world (you may remember the corn mission through the Council that I traveled to Japan, Taiwan and China with in 2010).

Traveling through the Panama Canal and getting an up-close view of the new Canal expansion site was a highlight for both Mom and I. An excursion from the conference gave us a beautiful, balmy evening to enjoy on a dinner cruise through the Panama Canal and through the locks from the Pacific side going inland to Gatun Lake. The locks, which have been installed and working since 1914, are the same and have not been replaced. Can you imagine all that it took to carve out the canal back in the early 1900's without the technology we have today, and it is all still in working shape?!

Also while in Panama City, we had a great city tour, got some shopping in, and just enough sun to forget all of the snow back home. I will post about this next!

Find my pictures on my online photo album here.

Read here about my blog on the importance of the Canal to US Agriculture.

Charlotte and NASCAR

2012-02-18T15:30:00.001-06:00

Right after the CommonGround Conference in Charleston, I flew up one state to North Carolina to the city of Charlotte – home of ALL things racing – for the NASCAR Communicators meeting with nine other corn state and national communicators.

In preparation for the upcoming NASCAR season, I represented the Nebraska Corn Board to discuss the National Corn GrowersAssociation's (NCGA) partnership with American Ethanol.

The purpose for meeting in North Carolina was for us to to learn more about NASCAR, the RAB Racing and Richard Childress Racing teams, and to discuss activation events promoting American Ethanol and E15 to consumers.

What is exciting for the 2012 racing season is that American Ethanol will be sponsoring two drivers - Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) with RAB Racing and Austin Dillon (@AustinDillon3) of RCR Racing. Dillon will be racing the black No. 3 car in the Nationwide series and Kenny will be hoping to qualify in the upcoming Daytona 500 to race in the Sprint Cup series in the No. 33 car.

And yes, I got to meet Austin Dillon and Richard Childress both at the Richard Childress Winery. Austin graciously let me take a picture with him. :)

As part of the tour in Charlotte, we got to tour both RAB and RCR racing shops where the cars are made, and learn more about what it takes to be a driver and part of the crew. The in's and out's of racing are amazing! Here are just a few of the pictures:

More of my photos are on my online photo album.

If you want to know more about the NASCAR/American Ethanol partnership with NCGA and Nebraska Corn, check out these blogs:

Another year

2012-02-12T08:57:00.000-06:00

I am currently traveling (yes in a tropical place that is 90 degrees – but I won’t rub it in because I’m here for work), but today is someone’s birthday that is very special to me and since I can’t be with him, I wanted to give him a shout-out for this special day!

Happy Birthday, my love!

Friday Fun

2012-02-10T17:15:00.000-06:00

Just for fun, here is a video of Hank and I playing fetch with is favorite ball.

Link here.

Happy Friday!

Charleston

2012-02-07T09:56:00.001-06:00

I was in Charleston, SC the end of last week and this weekend for the Shared Voices Conference for the CommonGround movement. I am a co-coordinator of CommonGround Nebraska, and my mom is a new volunteer for CommonGround Colorado.

CommonGround is a movement of a group of farm women to get the conversation started about where food is coming from. Consumers aren't getting the real story about American agriculture and the volunteer farm & ranch women plan to change that by starting a conversation between women who grow food, and the women who buy it. It really was a great conference to give the volunteer women the tools and resources they need to talk to consumers.

But while we were there, we had some free time to get a feel for the city.

While strolling by the College of Charleston, we found the Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity house – I was a Theta at K-State, so it was so fun to see this house, especially since it was painted up in Theta colors!

You can see all of my pictures on my online album.

We also learned some neat things about South Carolina agriculture (like about tobacco and indigo!), and my fellow corn-colleague, Megan, from Indiana, summed it up great in her blog that you can read here.

Now I’m headed out to Charlotte, NC for some work meetings with NASCAR/American Ethanol, then home for a day before I head to Panama City, Panama for the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference.

Sunday Peace

2012-01-29T16:39:00.001-06:00

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

The backside shows the work…

2012-01-28T15:59:00.001-06:00

…when it comes to quilting.

I like taking a picture of the backside of a quilt – because that really shows the hard work you’ve put into it.

I snapped this picture quickly before I sent it off to the Aimee at Splendid Stitches to be quilted..

Another thing checked of my goal list!

New art

2012-01-23T18:12:00.000-06:00

For my birthday (actually two birthday’s ago), Ronny got me this great Tim Cox painting of Red Angus cattle called, “Where Change Comes Slowly”.

Our friend made a barn wood frame and we got it matted and finished last week. Ronny hung it for me today and I love the rustic look of it!

We also got another new piece of art – thanks to my sister-in-law, Lindsay’s, talents. She took some great pictures of Eastern Colorado a couple of summers ago, and I had a Groupon for a canvas picture. So we ended up with this for Ronny’s new office space in the basement:

More pictures from the new office space and my reading room to come, until then – choices, choices, choices!

Frozen

2012-01-22T17:54:00.001-06:00

Even though the weather has been nice, it was cooold last week. But Hank was bouncing off of the walls, so I took him out to the trail to be able to run off of his leash.

We walked by the frozen creek – the swirls of ice looked so whimsical and I’m glad I took my camera.

We played only about 15 minutes and both my fingers and Hank’s paws were frozen.

Nonetheless, I was grateful to get outside in the sunshine and not have to trod through snow. Thank you, God, for this mild winter!

Fido Friday

2012-01-20T07:10:00.000-06:00

We’ve really been spoiled this winter by nice weather. It’s been chilly the past week, but that hasn’t stopped Hank and I from our walks in the field. He pretty much loves it.

We’ve had two snows – and even then we had a chance to be out in it.

Happy Friday!

Shortly. Shorty. Short.

2012-01-18T16:35:00.000-06:00

I realize that I’ve been doing a lot of looonng, very picturesque blogging lately. I haven’t just shared my recent thoughts, only recent doings. So I’ll make this short - sometimes hard for this writer.

Blessed with what I get to do daily.

But it takes me away from my loved ones which I don’t always like.

Been doing a lot of praying lately for others. I don’t like to see them hurting, but I know the power of prayer can heal.

Feeling unsure today.

My self-control has been out of control. Need to refocus.

Hitting the gym again tonight. I wish the weather was nicer to run outside.

Not always sure what I want, but glad for choices.

My desk is a mess.

What am I cooking for dinner?

That is all. :-)

DIY | Hank’s dog vest

2012-01-12T21:43:00.001-06:00

Remember Hank’s vest from this post?

Well I made it out of an old pair of jeans! Ronny has a great fleece-lined jean vest that my grandpa gave him and he wears it quite often. So we thought it would be fun for Hank to have his own, too.

I first used a brown paper bag to create a pattern that would fit Hank. Then I cut three pieces: the back and two front sides.

The fleece material that I found was pretty thick, so I decided the best way to line the vest was to fold it over the sides of the jean material. It didn’t match Ronny’s vest exactly that way, but it was easier for me – and cuter.

After I cut out the jean and fleece materials, I simply pinned the fleece down and sewed as close to the edge as possible.

I did this with all three pieces individually, then sewed the sides to the back. Simple enough!

And we’re pretty sure he likes it…keeps him warm in these cold winter days we’ve had!

Cotton Bowl 2012

2012-01-11T17:22:00.001-06:00

I’m finally settling down from the Cotton Bowl.

For Christmas, in lieu of gifts, Ronny and I had the opportunity to go to the Cotton Bowl. Our K-State friend in Seward, Dustin, invited us to go with him and his dad – they had everything set up so why not!

We left Thursday morning, picked up Dustin’s dad in Salina, KS, then headed south to Fort Worth, TX. That evening, we had a great time in the Stockyards listening to Texas Country music and and met up with many K-Staters we knew.

The next day, we headed back down to the Stockyards to check out some of the historic sites.

We ate a great big lunch at Coopers Ole Time BBQ to fill up before heading to the game.

At Cowboys Stadium. It was ginormous – there were 80,956 people attending the game!

Inside the stadium was just as impressive – yet it was frustrating that they partitioned off the stadium so that us – sitting in the west endzone – couldn’t get to my sister sitting in the east endzone. But we saw her on the screen four times – she was a rockstar!
The view from our seats:

I found one of my besties, Patricia!

Congrats on a good season, Cats! Thanks for giving us the opportunity to attend a bowl game and cheer on K-State!

A mustache story

2012-01-08T16:52:00.001-06:00

Before Thanksgiving, Ronny started growing a mustache. It really wasn’t purposeful – mostly that he just was too busy with work to shave his face.

But because the rest of the hair on his face grows in patchy (except his neck beard…but that is gross on any man), he decided to see how long he could stand his mustache. Didn’t talk that one over with the wife, but I played along for awhile.

He had to show it off first at Thanksgiving, then keep it long enough to show his older brothers during Christmas, then show his friends on New Year’s, then keep it through the Cotton Bowl.

We did have some fun with it, however. It’s funny the things two people can do when they are alone on Christmas Day with nothing to do – let’s take some old-fashioned pictures! So, here is Grandpa Pope and Grandma Frasier (as Ronny named us):

We had too much fun making that one.

Some of our friends joked that he was just trying to keep up with his dog. Hank happens to have a new vest just like his father (I will blog on that later)…so we took father-son pictures before I convinced him, er… I mean, he finally decided to shave it off.

Before:

After:

Don’t worry, Keith Stone – you’re still smooth. Literally!

Garmin–a new incentive to run

2012-01-03T07:10:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, I asked for and received a Garmin Forerunner 210 watch. It is a GPS-enabled sport watch that has a premium heart rate monitor that I strap around my ribcage.

What is so cool about this GPS running watch is that it calculates my time, distance, pace, elevation change, heart rate and calories that I burn. I borrowed my friend, Shelley’s, for the Lincoln State Farm 5K and it was great to keep track of my splits and know how consistent I was.

What is even better about this is that I can now track all of my usual running routes here in town and know exactly how far I’ve been running, my elevation change, and the exact distance. Then I can plug it into my computer and upload all of my info to GarminConnect.com. Even my walks with Hank are fun to track. Here is my normal 2.5 mile running route:

For any runner that doesn’t have a GPS, I’ve been using www.runningahead.com – which is a great site to help you put together a running route or map out where you ran.

I’m excited to run in some new races this year and try out my Garmin! Thanks again, Mom & Dad!

Seasons of 2011

2012-01-02T10:44:00.001-06:00

2011 was a great year for us and we feel so blessed for the opportunities we were able to have and everything we accomplished.

In the spring, I was able to speak at the CLA’s Marshall Frasier Beef Symposium in honor of my Gramps in Colorado and travel to New Orleans and Tampa, FL for work. We ran a 5K in Lincoln, 10K in Manhattan and the BoulderBOLDER 10K in Colorado. In May, we traveled to California to a friend's wedding in the Redding area and visited Kelsey's grad school friend in the Sacramento area. We had the chance to travel through Napa Valley and wine taste along the way - amazing!

In the summer, we had way too much fun growing our garden, playing with our dog, Hank and I traveled to Japan to promote U.S. beef.

In the fall, we traveled to Texas to visit Ronny's Grandma Polly. Made several trips to both of our parents' homes in Kansas and Colorado, where a little cattle work was involved. Ronny was in “full swing” of golfing and we celebrated two years of marriage.

In the winter, I worked on several quilting & sewing projects, we spent Thanksgiving in Colorado and did a few DIY projects. We also enjoyed a K-State football game and Ronny flew over our house.

We are so excited for 2012 and what is ahead. We are heading to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas to watch K-State beat Arkansas, looking forward to some fun trips with friends, more quilting projects and 10K races. Most of all - spending more time together and with Hank!

Happy 2012!

Up in the air

2011-12-27T18:37:00.000-06:00

Last week, Ronny had the opportunity to fly with one of his customers/friends to Kansas to look at some heifers. His friend, Jon (pictured below), owns and flies a 1968 Skyhawk 4-seater plane that they were able to fly right out of Seward.

Ronny wanted me to blog this, mostly because he was so excited for this new experience, but also to brag to me about his “flying experience”. With all of my travels for work, I have to drive an hour and a half, check in my bags, go through security, and wait an hour for my plane to take-off. Ronny left our house at 9:45 am, got to the Seward airport at 9:50 a.m., found Jon and the plane, and took off a little after 10:00 a.m. Jealous. Even better was that he was at his destination in 45 minutes! (Probably not as fancy or fast as your jet ride, Mom & Dad!)

Jon did a swoop through Seward to fly over our neighborhood to get the bird’s eye view.

Jon was even brave enough to let Ronny fly solo for a few minutes.

Ronny says thanks, Jon, for the opportunity, I say thanks for being safe, Jon!

DIY | Sewing small, drawstring bags

2011-12-26T08:54:00.000-06:00

To add a lil’ something something to a few Christmas gifts this year, I threw together some small bags that I made out of some extra fabric pieces I had.

These gifts for the gals had jewelry in them, so they would make perfect jewelry bags, but they could be used for just about anything and made to any size.

DIY Small, Drawstring Bag
Cut two pieces of fabric to 6” x 10” (or whatever size you need for the sides of your bag). Then press the long side seams in 1/4-inch.

Fold over end 2-inches and press.

Sew 1/4-inch above the bottom of the folded over seam.

Measure up 1/2-inch and sew across again. This will make the channel for the drawstring.

Next, cut two strips of fabric 2-inches wide for the drawstring. Sew ends together to make one long piece (length is up to you).

Fold the long end in 1/2-inch and press. Do the same with the other side – fold in and press. You should have about an 1-inch wide piece.

Next, fold the narrow end in about 1/4-inch, then fold the entire piece inwards length-wise to create a 1/2-inch drawstring.

Sew as close to the open end as possible the length of the drawstring.

Use a safety pin and thread the drawstring through both sides of the bag before sewing each side together. I found that it was easier to lineup and sew if I put the drawstring in before sewing. Pin both sides together, front side facing each other. Be sure to tuck in the drawstring before sewing sides together. Sew the length and bottom of the bag in 1/4-inch, Then tack the small area above the drawstring to hold in place.

Turn inside out and use a pencil to pop out the corners.I decided to personalize my bags with a monogram (which I put on before sewing both sides together).

I simply cut the letter out and used a zig-zag stitch to hold in place.

My First Quilt

2011-12-22T18:43:00.000-06:00

I finished my first quilt.

It’s not my first quilting project…you may remember my very first quilting project, a runner that my grandma helped me with. I hand-quilted that – never again after machine quilting!

But it is my first quilt that I cut all the pieces out, pieced them together and quilted it by machine all by myself. I made this quilt, “Theta Sisterhood Kites”, for my sister for Christmas. I was able to give it to her early because I really wanted to see her open it.

I did hand-sew the binding, but I think it makes for a prettier, clean, finished look.

I used a diamond/lattice design to symbolize kites – which are a symbol of the sorority that we are both in – Kappa Alpha Theta. I got the pattern from this baby quilt book, but scaled it to be a larger, lap quilt.

Our colors are Gold & Black, hence the color scheme.

Here are some other close-ups:

Being able to give this to my sister was such a gift in itself. She is one of my very best friends and making something special for her to keep was a joy.

I love you Miss Em!

Christmas Card

2011-12-17T08:30:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Feel free to read about our year in our Christmas letter….just click on Christmas Card above.

Pallet Shelves

2011-12-13T21:26:00.001-06:00

I found these super-cute shelves on Pinterest made out of pallets.

Source: thestoriesofa2z.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

While we were in Colorado for Thanksgiving, I decided to get a little crafty and use some of Dad’s old pallets (thanks, Dad!).

It was a very cold day, but Ronny helped me and we cut off the two ends of the pallets.

Then we cut out the center pieces from the middle of the pallet to use as the bottom of the shelf. (Thanks, Em, for supervising!)

We adjusted the right height for the base of the shelf, then nailed it in from the back side.

All done!

We decided to brand a couple of pieces of old pallet wood to use as decoration in our house also.

When we got them home, I put felt on the back side of the shelves to prevent scratching the wall. I haven’t hung them all yet, but I did use one on the top of my photo shelf.

Anyone else used pallets for new, creative things?

Christmas Card Holder

2011-12-11T16:28:00.001-06:00

I was inspired by Pinterest (again!) and decided to get a little crafty with a Christmas card holder.

When I saw this on Pinterest…

Source: ucreatewithkids.blogspot.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

…I immediately thought of using Hank’s paw prints.

And he didn’t mind taking part in this Christmas craft. I started with a plain, white canvas. I used a square, but you could use any size.

I made sure to use washable paint that wouldn’t harm him.

Almost done!

Phew! We made it with no green paw prints across the house either.

To make the trunk, I just used a little brown paint and dabbed it to add texture.

In order to make this a card holder, I used a glue gun and clothes pins and glued 11 pins to the back after the front was dry. They may be too close together, but I wanted to have options in holding a lot of cards. (After making this…I decided it might look better to paint the pins white, but that’s always something I could do next year…I like the natural look of the wood though.)

To make the top of the tree, I had some gold fabric, so after cutting out a star, I used Mod Podge to make the star stiff and stuck to the canvas.

To hold the canvas, I bought a silver picture frame easel. Craft complete…and thanks Hank for the help!

Christmas Advent

2011-12-01T06:45:00.000-06:00

One of my six goals was to make an advent calendar. Realistically, I didn’t have time to make/sew a calendar, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate Christmas and Christ’s birth with an advent!

I am actually going to do two advents. At home, Ronny and I will be doing a Bible verse advent calendar that I got from Happy Home Fairy with a free printable advent calendar that I can cut and put in my new fun little jar from IKEA, and read the Bible verse from every day.

I also found a great Countdown to Christmas advent calendar from the wonderful Women of Faith blog. The Countdown to Christmas is an online, clickable advent that allows you to click the gift each day that says “open me” to see the devotional, holiday fact or even a gift!

I encourage you to participate – in one way or another – to remember the reason for the season and to stay a little more leveled during this time of year that is so focused on material things.

DIY | Laundry Detergent

2011-11-30T08:13:00.001-06:00

During my vacation for Thanksgiving, my sister, sister-in-law and I all decided to make some home-made laundry detergent using a recipe from Why Not Sew? that we found from Pinterest:

Source: whynotsew.blogspot.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Here is what you will need:

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
a big pot (that holds more than 2 gallons)
a grater
a funnel
a long spoon
2 empty gallon jugs/containers

Step 1: Grate your bar of soap into a large bowl, or directly into the pot.

Step 2: Add one gallon of water to the large pot on medium heat and stir occasionally until the grated soap is dissolved.

Step 3: Add in the washing soda and Borax (both found at Wal-Mart…look on a bottom shelf). The mixture will thicken as you stir. Bring to a boil.

Step 4: After the mixture is boiling, add the other one gallon of water and remove from heat. Mix well and let cool.

Step 5: Use a funnel to put the detergent in your containers.

We ended up making 2 1/2 batches (with different types of soap – thus the different colors).

Step 6: The directions recommend using 1/2 cups per load.

This detergent solution won’t get sudsy, but will do a great job of getting the clothes clean. You may have to shake up the jug before using as I noticed the soap clumped up, but it got my clothes clean!

The Why Not Sew? blog estimates the cost t0 be $6.00 for 576 loads. Worth the little effort for the savings!

A Thankful Week

2011-11-28T19:05:00.000-06:00

We were blessed to be able to spend some extra time in Colorado for Thanksgiving this year. Since I’ve gotten married, I’ve only been able to spend short weekends here and there at home. Six days was much needed.

As planned, we:

1. Worked cattle. I was the vaccinator!

It got really smoky with the branding and I eventually put on a mask.

And Ronny got to do some branding. In Colorado, it is state law to brand the cattle as a form of identification and required at point of sale.

It was warm enough after working cattle that we ate lunch outside. Pretty rare for this time of year! And Hank serenaded Emily for our after-dinner entertainment.

2. Ate a great Thanksgiving meal!

3. Took a much-needed walk.

4. Saw some great Colorado sunsets.

5. Crafted….pictures to come!

I also spent some great time lounging with my sister and sister-in-law while the guys shot guns. I didn’t join them this time. :)

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessing to you and your family!

A Colorado Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:58:00.000-06:00

These are things that consists of Thanksgiving vacations with my family:

1. Working cattle…in the cold.

2. Lounging around with my sister.

3. Shooting a variety of different things…trap, paintballs and brother’s handguns.

4. Going on walks in these beautiful trees.

5. Most importantly…eating.

Which is obviously more important than taking pictures which results in why I have none! I will work on that today.

Today, I am thankful for my family, the abundance of the blessings I have in my life (wonderful husband, job, warm home, food on the table) and our God who provides all of this for us.

What are some of your family’s Thanksgiving traditions?

Craft Fair Finds

2011-11-19T15:38:00.001-06:00

It's Saturday and my alarm clock goes off at 6:50 a.m. Ronny is up and about ready to take off for a long day of breeding cows and making rounds...what am I up so early? It's the Craft Fair day! But I want to get an even earlier start so I could go to the gym first and then get all stretched and ready for the event full of ladies pushing each other around the crowded aisles.

Usually, crowds get me anxious. But not at craft fairs because I know it's ok to push and shove. But today really wasn't too crowded and I only bumped into one small girl who happened to be the same height as my elbow...sorry little girl!

But I did find some great finds. First, a knitted earband. I probably could make one myself, but I don't have enough time, especially with my six goals I'm trying to get done before New Year's. I like the little details on this one - and it can go with black or brown - my staples. $12

Being a good K-State girl, I of course had to come home with something purple! I love this little ring. $5...bam!

The last thing I got for myself were these hand-croqueted dish scrubbers....these are the best and you can't go wrong with $2 ones. I was a little disappointed that two booths down from the one I bought these at, they were selling them for $1. I'm sure these are higher quality though.

My main purpose, however, for attending the craft fair was to get two important gifts for two important people. I came home with three gifts. But I can't reveal them yet!

Now, if only I could have also attended the Holiday Bazaar in Kansas that Lori from Home on the Range Exchange & The Craft Coop was at today!

Six goals

2011-11-16T18:31:00.000-06:00

Wow…six more weeks until 2012. And I have SO many things I want to get done before that!

To help keep myself accountable, I’m going to post my six goals here and attempt to get them done (and a few more things!) before the new year. Call it pre-New Year’s resolution, resolution.

1. Put together an advent calendar for December. I really like these from Pinterest:

Source: sewmamasew.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: kimberlypetersen.typepad.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

2. Finish my two quilts I’m working on. One is a gift that I cannot say what it is, but the other is my bedroom quilt which I just need to finish the back of and send in to get quilted.

3. House reorganization: Move Ronny’s office downstairs and reorganize his current office room for better storage and a seating area for reading/blogging.

I would love for a little area like this:

Source: housetweaking.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: grandinroad.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

4. House cleaning: I really need to deep clean. :(

5. Christmas cards & gifts: Have Christmas cards sent and all gifts purchased/made by December 17th!

6. Mend clothing & thrift trip: I have about 4 outfits that I can’t wear because of seams that were ripped out or a tear here and there. Also, I’m inspired to find some fun stuff at a thrift store – I just need a buddy to go with me?!

Anyone else have some great year-end goals that I need to get inspired to get done, too?!

Wildcat Weekend

2011-11-14T20:57:00.001-06:00

We got to go to the land of purple this weekend – Bill Snyder Family Stadium – for the K-State vs. Texas A&M football game.

And we got to see Bill of course:

And a great 4OT game…heart-wrenching! But so glad the Cat's pulled out with a win. My sister-in-law, Misty (and her hubby who didn’t want in the picture) was there and it was great to get all caught up.

And I had to get this picture…two of my favorite things:

I didn’t realize how much I missed going to the games until we were there.

Go Cats! Check out that score, too. :)

Our garden timeline

2011-11-12T08:21:00.000-06:00

I wanted to show off the transformation from beginning to end (April to November) of our Garden. Enjoy!

Garden Update | Final Harvest

2011-11-11T12:56:00.001-06:00

Today, I decided it was time to clean-up the garden and harvest the gourds.

I harvested 24 unique gourds and a couple of little carrots that I found growing beneath the gourds.

I gave them a diluted bleach bath and will leave them on the pallet to dry out and cure for a few months, rotating occasionally.

I’m excited to use them for fall decorations next year and make a few birdhouses!

Little {i miss} Sunshine

2011-11-08T21:36:00.001-06:00

It’s true…I was spoiled last week and skipped out on all of the snow in the Midwest.

I was in the sunshine in a little, warm place called Tucson.

It really wasn’t able to enjoy much of the sunshine because I was in meetings and presenting about the mission to Japan this past summer. But it sure was a nice view. :)

I miss the sunshine now and am in summer denial. I’m even not excited about all of the Christmas commercials that are on TV. Sunshine…come back!

i {heart} pumpkins

2011-10-31T07:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Fall from the Pope’s…

… and Hank.

Garden Update | October

2011-10-20T18:39:00.001-05:00

The garden has changed a lot since September – even in the past two days! Last night we were to have our first big freeze, so I picked as many peppers and cherry tomatoes as possible.

I can’t believe how many jalapenos those four little plants have produced! I can make some more cowboy candy! And the cherry tomatoes have been to-die-for juicy.

And look what I found underneath all of those pepper plants!

The gourds have changed a lot also. Started to lighten in color and some have spots.

So after last night’s freeze, this is how the sad little plants looked.

I have a few more carrots to dig up and then need to cure the gourds, then can wrap up my harvest report.

A memorable weekend

2011-10-17T18:28:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend with one of my best friends, Melissa, helping her celebrate her wedding! Here’s a picture recap of our weekend:

A great winery with the bridesmaids, followed by pedicures.

Devastating flood damage, but the roads were open from Atchison across the Missouri River finally!

Getting all pampered and beautiful for the big day!

Beautiful bridesmaids’ dresses and beautiful bridesmaids!

Great new memories as newlyweds:

Theta sisters:

And a Wabash Cannonball to celebrate a Wildcat win! What better way to end a great weekend!

Congrats, “Twin”! I’m so very happy for you in finding such a great guy and hope you find marriage as quite the blessing.

Deep in the heart of Texas

2011-10-04T22:30:00.001-05:00

Ronny and I had the opportunity to visit his grandma in College Station, Texas this past weekend. We had a great time – she made some great tasting food (grandmas are good at that!), saw some fun sites and learned some new things about Texas (like did you know Texas was its own country for almost 10 years?!).

One of the best parts of Texas…stars are everywhere.

This was the greenest thing we saw in Texas: a turf farm.

Grandma took us to Independence, TX, where there is a historic church and beautiful antique rose emporium garden.

Then we went to Washington-on-the-Brazos – the birthplace and original capitol of Texas.

We ate lunch at this great little place in the adorable town of Brenham, TX, then ate some Blue Bell ice cream – made right there in town! Ronny just couldn’t get away from his work and decided to judge the dairy cow.

We had such a great time with you, Grandma Pope! Thanks for treating us to a fun weekend and I’m glad we could help you finish some projects. See you again soon!

Canning cowboy candy

2011-09-29T18:35:00.001-05:00

As you know from previous garden posts, my garden has been popping with jalapeno peppers. I used some in salsa, some in casseroles or other recipes, and froze some – but a little bit of pepper can go a long way!

So I decided to give my first go of canning. I found this recipe for Cowboy Candy (candied jalapenos) from Tasty Kitchen. I started with about 3 pounds of peppers.

Then I sliced them all up…warning: wear gloves!

I cooked these in the vinegar/sugar/spice mixture for about 5 minutes, then funneled them into the sterilized jars.

Then I used my handy new little canning basket to put the jars in and boiled for about 15 minutes.

Then I let them cool overnight and will let them mellow for a good few weeks or month.

I am looking forward to enjoying them on this…

Source

Wordless Wednesday | Vines at sunset

2011-09-28T07:45:00.000-05:00

Gourd vines at sunset. It sure is feeling like fall around here.

Branding our mark in Nebraska

2011-09-21T20:02:00.001-05:00

After State Fair, Ronny and I are really feeling like Nebraskans. I really shouldn’t speak for him, but I was pretty proud to be a Nebraskan and have the opportunity to leave our mark at State Fair with our brand.

When the State Fair moved to Grand Island last year, they started a new tradition in the Barn Bar that cattlemen (and women) could bring their brands and brand a small placard to be hung up in the bar. They had a handful last year, and even more this year. Our friend from Seward who is also a member on the State Fair Board, invited us to attend and bring our brands.

Thanks Doug!

2 years

2011-09-19T12:04:00.001-05:00

Wow – two years have gone by since Ronny and I were married!

To celebrate, we decided to check out a new winery near Seward/Lincoln, called Prime Country Winery. Since it was during the Husker game, there was no one there. Planned that perfect! So we got the place to ourselves to chat with the winemaker and enjoy some good vino.

Instead of buying gifts for each other, we purchased a new camera. I love the DSLR that I use at work, but didn’t want to invest that much into a camera, so we went with this little number:

It has some of the features of a DSLR, but is compact!

Happy Anniversary, babe and here’s to many more!

Wordless Wednesday | The game of chase

2011-09-14T07:15:00.000-05:00

Warning: These are not great photos – in terms of composition! But they crack me up of my hubby and doggy playing chase – Hank looks super fast!

Garden Update | September

2011-09-08T06:49:00.000-05:00

The gourds are continuing to grow. They are climbing all over the fence and the non-producing tomato vines and baby gourds are popping up everywhere. I’m even pruning some of the baby gourds because they are just taking over.

It’s also still popping with peppers. While Emily was here this weekend, we picked over 30 peppers (jalapenos and hybrids) in one day! Good thing these freeze well!

Front row seats

2011-09-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

Ronny and I are the occasional concert-goers. Usually we like the low-key red dirt county concerts like Aaron Watson, Wade Bowen or Jason Boland at Longhorn’s in Manhattan or Uncle Ron’s in Lincoln.

But at State Fair, we were given a couple of tickets by a State Fair Board Member to a concert and we weren’t doing anything that night, so we decided to go for it. He told us to meet on the West side of the event center and they would take us from there. Well, they did. Right to the center of the front row! What a great surprise.

And who did we see?

Leann Rimes!

I’ve always thought she did a nice job musically – and she was quite the entertainer! She sang a lot of classic country songs, as well as a few of her new ones. And being right there, not having to view her from the big screen or peering around others for a good picture, was quite impressive.

A much-needed break

2011-09-05T21:36:00.001-05:00

Well, I made it through State Fair and had an awesome long weekend before another few busy weeks. We were grateful to have a random visitor come up Sunday night and enjoy Labor Day with us…

And since she (my sister, Emily) loves to work with plants, I put her to work pruning my daylilies, roses, garden and…pretty much everything!

But she enjoys this so don’t feel too bad for her. The weather today was just perfect and it was awesome to relax with Miss Em and enjoy being home. I am also grateful for planting butterfly bushes because I’ve been able to watch some amazing butterflies in our yard!

A much-needed break! Will write about State Fair shortly.

Hank’s summer

2011-08-29T17:43:00.000-05:00

Hi, I’m Hank the cow dog and I like being outside during the summer.

I like being curious…

I like trying to eat my mom’s green foot…

But what I like best are bones…

And don’t you try to take it away…

Yeah, me and my bone. I like summer.

Quilting project

2011-08-28T20:50:00.001-05:00

After the county fair and my first two quilted-runner projects, I am onto my queen-size quilt project.

I have 40 of these ready to be put together…

And the back design started as well…

More updates to come. This has been quite the challenge but fun to do a much larger project!

Long-awaited furniture

2011-08-25T19:28:00.001-05:00

I started shopping for a china hutch after Ronny and I got married (almost two years ago – amazing to think it’s been two years since we’ve gotten married!). Anyways, I knew exactly what I was looking for and wanting, but just could never find exactly the right one. But this summer, I found “The One”. I wanted it more modern, with a buffet server, plenty of storage space in the server, lights, glass on the sides, and legs on the bottom – not too high though. Picky enough? Ronny was proud of me for knowing what I wanted and not being indecisive – which I can sometimes be.

So I got this beaut in the middle of July (after I had to rush home to meet the delivery guys and got pulled over…another story another time!) – however – the glass was not installed correctly, and the furniture store had to order a new part.

Which took forever… then the service guy had to come out and fix it, meaning I couldn’t put anything in the top of the hutch until it was fixed. But it got fixed last week and I was finally able to pull out my china and crystal we received for our wedding to display = one happy wifey who gets to see her china + one happy hubby who gets to see the pile of boxes disappear from the basement.

My kitchen is finally looking more finished.

Faces

2011-08-21T17:27:00.001-05:00

If I didn’t know any better, I would say my husband has quite the talent for taking great, raw pictures of people…up close and personal! After going through our pictures from family pictures, I found these pictures he took. I think he does an awesome job of capturing each person’s personality.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Oops…maybe missed that one.

And maybe some of us are goofballs. :-)

Wordless Wednesday | Family pictures

2011-08-17T07:17:00.000-05:00

Pope Family Pictures – August 13. More to come…

Garden Update | August

2011-08-16T20:46:00.001-05:00

The garden is ever changing.

Looks a little different from last month.

We had to take out the zucchini plants as they were done producing and started to rot at the base. But that was fine because it made room for the populous gourd plant vines! They are truly taking over – even more than the zucchini plants were!

But what’s exciting with the vines taking over…..are baby gourds!

I received these gourd seeds after attending an Ag Sunday with the Lutheran Church, and they gave us unmarked packages of seeds. So with a little Google search, I figured out the seeds were gourds – but still wasn’t sure what kind they were. I am loving the shape they are though!

What is disappointing are the tomatoes. They have pretty nice vines, but no fruit.

But the ever-growing gourds make up for it. Tonight, Ronny told me to look behind our lot at the other side of our fence…

This really makes gives me a chuckle – especially since Ronny has worked so hard to keep them in our yard – they just have a mind of their own! And little baby gourds that are producing outside of the fence!

The peppers are doing really well also. I have lots and lots of mini-peppers starting, and I have harvested about 45. These are just from the most recent haul – and they are hot!

We’ll see what another month brings!

Quilting and the county fair

2011-08-15T18:41:00.001-05:00

I finally finished my hand-quilted runner that I’ve been working on for awhile. My grandma taught me to quilt with this runner from cutting the fabric, putting the pieces together and hand-quilting.

So I decided to find out what the Seward County Fair is like and enter it, along with another machine quilted runner that I made, in the open class. I ended up getting a red ribbon, but got some really good suggestions from the judge – so now I know how to improve myself!

It also put me in contact with the local quilting guild where they meet once a month with a speaker – not a group quilting session – to talk about new quilting techniques. I’m going tonight with my quilter friend, Shelley, so we’ll see how it goes!

And I can’t sit still too long. Here is my next project…

Wordless Wednesday | Dog days of summer

2011-08-10T06:54:00.000-05:00

Now I know why they call it the “dog days” of summer. The dogs are even too hot to do anything!

RiverBend skies

2011-08-09T06:55:00.001-05:00

After posting about Colorado skies, Dad told me that Mom had taken some more great pictures of the sky just that night at the ranch.

Aren’t they beautiful! You can see more on the Frasier Farms RiverBend Ranch facebook page.

Colorado ranch work

2011-08-08T06:47:00.000-05:00

Last week, Ronny and I were in Colorado helping my family AI (artificially inseminate) the registered cow herd. Since this is part of what Ronny does for his profession – he was a big help!

The cattle work and working together as a fam was fun. We enjoyed just a little down time in between the early mornings and late nights, and I got to see my grandma which is always humorous.

Enjoy some more pictures on this album:

Frasier Farms July Breeding Project

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Colorado skies

2011-08-07T18:27:00.001-05:00

I never realized how beautiful Colorado skies and sunsets are, until I moved away. Sunsets in Kansas and Nebraska just aren’t the same as they are in Colorado. I don’t know if it’s because of the higher elevation or maybe how the mountains look on the horizon? Or probably my bias helps. But they sure are beautiful and unique. And sometimes it’s really hard to capture them on camera.

Some of these were taken last week, some are part of my picture collection, and a few are from my sister-in-law, Lindsay.

Garden Update | July

2011-07-25T06:59:00.000-05:00

Starting to get some major zucchini – and the zuke plants are totally taking over my garden box!

Zukes and never ending broccoli:

We did decide to tear out the broccoli plants in late July as they were only producing small broccoli heads and they were getting eaten alive by green worms. So I got a small basil plant and put it in the space.

And I’m finally getting some produce that’s not green! I have some cherry tomatoes ripening and had to pull a carrot to see it’s progress – still a ways to go yet.

Japan wrap-up | Olympic Gold Medal

2011-07-24T21:09:00.001-05:00

One of the unique parts of our mission was that one of the members of our delegation was an Olympic gold medalist.

Curt Tomasevicz is the only winter Olympian in Nebraska, and has been the spokesman for Nebraska corn for the past year. He and his bobsled team won the gold medal in the 4-man event in the Vancouver Olympics.

Throughout our time in Japan, it was so neat to see the faces of the people we encountered when they saw the gold medal. It was really an iconic, international language that every person recognized. Even when we didn’t have an interpreter, we were able to connect and “communicate” with people because of their recognition and respect for the Olympian.

On Sunday, the team travelled to a Kawasaki City elementary school where we partnered with Lawson Convenience Stores - the second largest convenience store chain in Japan - to meet with a girls soccer team and distribute U.S. beef "bento boxes" or beef and rice microwavable lunches, to the girls. The girls team comprised of 7-10 year olds, were aware that our team was coming, but they were most excited about meeting Curt.

A few of them thought I was cool enough to eat lunch with also. :)

Most girls were shy at first, but had prepared questions in English to ask Curt about the Olympics, his favorite food, and why he was in Japan. It was a great opportunity for Curt to share to the young athletes about staying healthy and eating right, as well as the reason for being in Japan - to promote U.S. beef and that U.S. beef is fed with high-quality U.S. corn grown by farmers like the others on our team.

The team then shared their lunch time with our team and wanted to play soccer with Curt.

We also had an opportunity to travel to Nagano where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held. We met with Mr. Koshi who is a skeleton athlete, as well as a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee. He took us to “The Spiral” – the bobsled track that was used in the Olympics.

Koshi actually let us walk down the track – not as steep as I thought it might be, but the curves were pretty wicked and I can only imagine going down them at 90+ MPH!

They have a pretty unique practice track and Koshi got the practice bobsled out for Curt to show us how it is done.

And look who even got a ride. :)

The whole experience was such an amazing opportunity and I am blessed to have been able to promote U.S. beef and see an amazing part of the world. We need them as much as they need us, and because of modern technology in agriculture, we are able to work together in the incredible global market we have today.

You can see more pictures from our team’s Flickr online photo album.

Japan Day 4: Tsunami Aid

2011-07-19T19:02:00.000-05:00

Our team rode the bullet train north of Tokyo to Sendai. We then traveled by bus to the Tohoku area Minami Sanrikucho, Shizukawa area where we visited a very damaged town after the earthquake and tsunami that occurred March 11.

Imagine traveling through the Japan countryside, through beautiful, green rice paddies and tree covered mountains when you turn the bend and see the coast. You can easily see the water two miles away because what once was thriving coastal cities, is now a layer of debris, mostly flat except for the piles that workers have begun to sort the wreckage.

The earthquake and tsunami 129 days ago and the disaster area is still very devastating to see. Buildings flattened, cars crushed, hundreds of boats inland. It was a very emotional sight. Our team was able to stop near what was the Shizukawa Hospital and take some pictures of the area that was now rubble.

There were boats everywhere. Notice the three story building behind this boat and the car sitting on top of it. The tsunami tidal wave was just taller than three stories.

After this sobering experience of seeing the destruction, our team went to a hotel in Udazu, a fishing village on the coast, that was spared. The hotel owner opened up the hotel as a shelter for people from the area - some full families, some individuals. This shelter was open to feeding the people staying there, as well as local cleanup workers to come and enjoy a free meal.

The team cooked U.S. sirloin steaks that were donated by many U.S. companies through USMEF for the relief effort. USMEF has partnered with trade organizations like food service, wholesale, processors, etc., to lead the cooperative relief effort. They have gone to more than 30 locations, served more than 93,000 servings of beef and pork and have a goal of serving more than 100,000.

All of the evacuees were very grateful for the U.S. beef, as many of them did not have meat for more than one month after the disaster. It was humbling to walk through the line of evacuees waiting for the beef bowl lunch and receive handshakes, thank you’s and big smiles.

What really affected me about this day was that not only were these people’s homes taken away, but their livelihoods as well – all in 15 minutes of what was the tsunami! As many of these people were in the fishing industry, it will take time to redevelop the industry in these areas until infrastructure is redeveloped.

I have many more pictures posted on our team’s online Flickr photo album.

Japan Day 3: U.S. beef bowl processing plant

2011-07-19T07:45:00.000-05:00

Our team was the first of any trade team or USMEF staff that were able to visit the Matsuya Foods Company plant in Ranzan, Japan, just northwest of Tokyo.

Matsuya is a type of "fast-food" restaurant chain with outlets scattered throughout Japan, and even some in China and one in New York City. Their main featured dish is a beef bowl - large bowls filled with rice and topped with short plate beef, boiled and seasoned. They also served BBQ beef short plate cuts that are thicker and the customer can choose the sauce. This was the first time that any USMEF staff or U.S. visitors were able to tour the beef processing plant as they just recently switched to using U.S. beef.

This was a significant switch. Matsuya uses 2 million pounds of short plate cut beef per month. The short plate cut is the muscle around the stomach and is a highly preferred cut of beef in Japan, whereas in the U.S., this is used in making hamburger. By exporting the short plates from the U.S. to other countries like Japan that prefer it, we are adding value to our corn-fed beef.

Food safety is a major concern for Japan and that was very evident the moment we arrived at the Matsuya processing plant. We were asked to sanitize our hands constantly, wore full body suits with masks, hairnets and rubber boots. We then had to go into a machine that blew the dust off of us, were rolled with a dust rollers by employees and had to wash in/wash out. (Yes, that is me…)

But it was all worth the efforts to walk in and see the boxes of U.S. beef, see the machines that were slicing the short plate in different thicknesses for the beef bowls and BBQ beef, and hear the meat buyers compliment the best tasting U.S. beef and USMEF.

Even though this Matsuya beef processing plant was not directly affected by the tsunami disaster, it has had to make a big change in production. They usually serve 150 million customers per year and have the plant open five days per week. But after the disaster, the Japanese government asked the country to help conserve energy with the power plants being damaged, so they work less hours during the weekdays when more energy is used, and remain open 7 days a week to process in the daylight.

You can see more pictures on the team’s online Flickr photo album.

Japan Day 2: U.S. beef promotions

2011-07-18T17:14:00.000-05:00

Our second day in Japan began with market briefings by USMEF and the U.S. Ag Trade Center office from the U.S. Embassy. After our meetings, the group visited with the corporate Lawson outlet office (second-largest convenience store chain in Japan) and toured a Lawson convenience store to observe the U.S. beef promotion with the “bento” boxes. Bento’s are a microwavable lunch box and these specific kinds in Lawson carry the U.S. beef “We Care” program marketing.

It seems Lawson is targeting young, working men who enjoy beef because they need a high energy, nutritious diet. This is good and will hopefully trickle over their families for more beef consumption.

The team then toured three different grocery stores that carried U.S. beef and were doing a promotion with USMEF and the “We Care” marketing. These grocery stores were very clean and had more choices than U.S. grocery stores in their meat department.

What was awesome to see were moms feeding their children the samples of U.S. beef. That really showed they trusted the safe beef, if they were willing to feed it to their children!

Some other interested things we saw in the grocery stores:

A video of the farmers where the Japanese beef came from:

Look at the price of this cantaloupe – 15,750 yen which is around $200! Similar pricing to these watermelon.

You can view more pictures on the NCB online photo album here.

Japan Day 1: Tokyo Tower; U.S. beef bbq

2011-07-17T21:31:00.001-05:00

I am finally getting over my jet lag and have had some time to sit down and reflect on the mission to Japan with Nebraska Corn Board and the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). I helped organize this trip as a trade mission to help promote Nebraska corn-fed beef and a way for the Nebraska farmers that organized the Japan Relief Grain Donation Program through the Red Cross to see how their efforts were utilized in Japan.

First, Japan is a great importer of beef and pork – especially from the states. The USMEF has an office in Tokyo and does an excellent job of marketing U.S. red meat and creating demand in a competitive market for the lean protein source from the U.S. They have created the “We Care” campaign for U.S. beef after the 2003 BSE scare to help consumers know that beef from the states is safe and U.S. farmers and ranchers care about the beef they produce to send to Japan.

We arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon (pretty much skipped a day with travel and time-change). We had time to drop by the Tokyo Tower before dinner. This is a great landmark and allows you to see the expanse of the second-largest city in the world.

This was as close as I would let my foot get to standing on the glass!

The Nebraska Corn Team:

Our team then went to The Prince Hotel in Tokyo to observe a U.S. beef and pork promotion. The Prince Hotel is a high-end hotel chain in Japan, and USMEF has worked with it to serve all of its red meat dishes of U.S. red meat.

The team had the chance to try U.S. beef tongue, short ribs and steak, as well as U.S. pork tenderloin and sausage prepared by USMEF Japan office staff at the in-table BBQ grill.

You can view more pictures on the NCB online photo album here.

Wordless Wednesday | Tsunami devastation

2011-07-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

I just returned from Japan last night, but wanted to briefly share a few photos of the earthquake/tsunami areas that we visited. We cooked up 500 servings of U.S. beef to give to evacuees - more to come later. Here are a few tsunami pictures:

Fresh, baked bread

2011-06-27T07:28:00.001-05:00

I used the new Bosch again - this time with the dough hook to make some fresh, honey-wheat bread.

Here are the ingredients I started with:

3 cups warm water

3/4 cup honey

2 pkgs.dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened

4 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups white flour

2 tsp. salt

In the mixing bowl, combine and mix together water, honey and yeast until yeast is softened. Blend in melted butter, whole wheat flour, 1 cup white flour and salt into the yeast mixture and turn the Bosch on and run on Setting 1 for 7 minutes.

Slowly add 3 more cups white flour in the opening of the splatter screen until stiff dough forms. Add flour if dough is too sticky. Run dough hook 8-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Take the dough out on a floured mat, grease the mixing bowl, then return dough to Bosch bowl and turn over so the outside of the dough is greased.

Cover bowl with a damp towel and set in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Divide dough in half (or my case remove 1/3 for the smaller bread pan), shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Place loaves in a warm place and allow to rise to top of pans, about 45 minutes.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until loaves are hollow-sounding when tops are tapped. Turn loaves onto a rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Garden update...

2011-06-26T19:13:00.000-05:00

Garden update from today:

Cute baby peppers...

Cherry tomatoes are starting...

Tomatoes are almost ready to pick...

"Lucky in Love"

Technology Review | iPad 2 vs Xoom

2011-06-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

This was my desk today – does it look like technology overload?! Nah – I am in tech-heaven!

I’ve been trying out the iPad for a couple of months (front right), now I’m trying out the Motorola Xoom tablet (front left) – pronounced zoom. I’m going to post my review below, but for an Android platform lover, the Xoom is the way to go and I’m so excited for this new tablet! It will allow me the business options to create, edit and view documents, spreadsheets and powerpoints, as well as provide the ease of utilizing social media to send messages from wherever I’m traveling.

Motorola Xoom

Moto's partnership with Google (and use of the 3.0 version of its mobile operating system, Honeycomb)
32 GB
Free 4G upgrade when it becomes available in the fall
1GHz, NVIDIA Tegra 2-based slate boasts a sizable 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 capacitive display, 3G connectivity
Meant to be used in landscape mode more than portrait – better for video and screen viewing
Front and rear facing cameras (rear facing has a larger zoom)
HD video capability
Wireless options – cheaper with a Verizon contract
With what Google has done on the software side -- the Xoom could represent the next stage of tablet evolution

Apple iPad

Options of 16, 32 and 64 GB – you pay for the memory. Overall, the iPad 2 is more affordable, but to get to 32 or 64 GB, it is more expensive
9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 screen – easier to read both in portrait and horizontal views
Thinner designed and slightly lighter
1 GHz dual core chip, 512MB of RAM, A4 CPU
Front & rear camera for pictures, video
A little longer battery life than the Xoom
Only 3G capabilities
No Flash player available – many movies and pictures cannot be viewed because it is not supported by the Apple platform

Overall

Basically with the Xoom, you have the capability to control what you want to do, and the iPad pretty much controls what you can do.

There are so many more options, especially the business features with the Xoom. I discovered how you can create and share documents, which will be beneficial. There is a similar program with the iPad, but since Mac has their own system, it won’t work as well with our PC computers and data.

There is not much sharing between the devices, except for a few apps, so it’s not like we have to have the Android phone with the Xoom or the iPhone with the iPad. But it would be easier if they were the same platform for familiarity and ease of use.

The biggest difference is that the Xoom is more computer like, whereas the iPad is more oversized-phone like.

Anyone have one or the other tablet that they like?