My bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

Nevermind. Screw that song. It gives the impression that I'm all sad and droopy about leaving and that, my friends, is certainly not the case here. Plus, I'm only going to be gone for three days. Maybe that's the sad and droopy part...

Don't get me wrong - Nebraska and I have a relatively comfortable relationship. I mean, we tolerate each other and that's enough for the time being. But, my tiny Nebraska apartment doesn't have room for horses, and that means that I'm ready to head home for the weekend and get some horse time under my belt.

By the time this post hits the web, Scoop and I will be on the road and headed East. My suitcase is packed, the cooler is packed, the camera is in the car and I've made goodies for mom and Janell and they're in the car, too - the only thing we're waiting on is for the clock to strike five on Thursday and our butts to be in the driver's and passenger's seats. In other words, it's on. It is SO on.

But, I'm not excited or anything.

All singing, yelling, shouting, parade throwing and skipping aside, I think I've picked a pretty good weekend to hit the road for home. This weekend is the Illinois Horse Fair, and mom is taking a few sale horses over, so we'll have a little booth set up and I'll probably have a chance to run into some old friends that I haven't seen in a while. We're also donating our horses for the judging contest, which may mean that I get to log some time in the saddle, too.

And, David...well, I don't know what David is doing. All I know is that I'll be spending my time in Springfield, where I get to play with horses, talk to some friends and do some much needed western shopping.

Oh, bring it on.

Oh, spandex.

You're not going to believe this, but I bought spandex.

Pick your jaw up off the floor - it's true.

Don't worry - I don't plan on wearing it outside of my house. Well, unless of course, I can find some giant, circa early 1990s shirt that hangs down past my knees to wear with it.

Anyway, my best good friend and I went shopping this weekend, and near the end of our day, ended up at Scheels. We started poking around in the wind pants and, somehow, stumbled into the yoga pants section. I can't explain it, but I was just drawn to these pants. They felt so nice - despite the fact that they're largely made of spandex-like material and I have a big-time aversion to spandex. I started looking for my size and much to my surprise they had it - and, I could get them with extra length. How could I not try them on?

Big mistake.

I slipped (okay, tugged) them on and was instantly in heaven. By no means do they make me look good, but - man oh man, let me tell you - they sure are comfortable. And, they're be perfect to run in when it's a little too chilly for shorts. Or - gasp - great for yoga.

I know. Who would have thought that yoga pants would be great for yoga? Shocking.

Of course, after trying them on and loving these crazy spandex pants, I went a little crazy. Partially because I love comfy clothes and partially because my doctor told me I HAD to lose weight or he was going to start me on another type of medication.

So, I found a long sleeved shirt great for running when it's cold outside and a new sports bra. I've left myself with no possible excuse for not working out. Damn.

I don't know why it's so hard to stick to something like working out every few days - I like to run and lift weights, so why won't I just do it? Who knows. Either way, I'm hoping the four people that read this will help me stick to my guns and push me to keep going. In other words, feel free to use condescending and rude remarks - even blackmail - to help me through this. Or something like that.

Even my skinny-ass husband has offered to help by going down to the work out room at our complex and working out with me. That should provide enough drive right there - I mean, the kids loses five pounds when he even looks at a set of weights or a treadmill.

Anyway, my plan is to NOT look like this anymore (seriously - I wore a green shirt to work today, so the resemblance is uncanny. That, and I do have a habit of walking around the office with a giant turkey leg in my hand...or whatever that is)...

And, look something like this by the end of the month:

Okay - maybe not. But, that's beside the point.

No matter what happens, I'm sure this little expedition will at least provide me with a few blog posts worth of humorous stories and happenings from the work out room and the girls that, oh my god, like, love to, like, get on the elliptical and, like, sweat and, like, watch E!

Yeah.

I have nothing interesting to say.

Probably not the best way to keep you hooked and interested in reading my blog entry, but I figured I should give you some kind of forewarning before you got halfway through the post and thought, "What the...this added no value to my day."

Anyway, the list that follows is a collection of my thoughts from the past few days. Yes, I'm fairly certain I have ADHD.

• I do not own a single piece of clothing I like. When did that happen?
• The previous realization is most likely directly related to the fact that I like to cook. Damn.
• Why are all work out clothes so small? I will never work out in public if every piece of work out wear is made of spandex and could fit a Barbie doll.
• Nebraska is eight hours away from my home and that sucks.
• It is completely unfair that I am not independently wealthy. And, that I don't look like my sister.
• I need more Champaign-Urbana in my life. The same is true for Kirky, BK, Lock and Skitter.
• The Girl Scouts are in cahoots with the devil. Can you think of another reason they would dispense a delicious product like Girl Scout cookies only once a year?
• Nothing irritates me more than when my favorite pair of underwear lose all of their elastic.
• I am too cheap to replace above underwear.
• Square-toed boots are the best thing ever made. EVER.
• I miss the glory days of Illini basketball. Given the amount of yelling that has happened in my apartment of late, my neighbors probably do, too.
• Puffs tissues with Vicks and lotion are the best thing ever made. EVER. (Yes, I realize I previously made this exact same statement on this very list).
• If I wasn't already married to the man of my dreams, I would totally become a groupie for the Josh Abbott Band or Brandon Rhyder. Or both.
• I will never - and I mean NEVER - wear a "shirt dress" with tights. Who thought that was a good idea?
• Horizontal stripes are not good for anyone. Seriously, it's not even worth trying.
• Why do all of the national holidays have to be grouped at one end of the year? Couldn't we space this out enough to have one holiday a month? I don't think I'm alone, here.

I think that's the extent of it for now. But, don't worry. I'm sure more of these little beauties will pop up again in the near future. Stay tuned.

Even deer get a break.

It's the truth. If you're a deer hunter, you can't just run out and take a shot at that 10 point buck any time it's convenient for you. Instead, you have to wait for deer season to roll around to stock the fridge with venison.

So, why is it that agriculture has to endure open season year-round?

Most recently, antibiotic use in food animals was sucker-punched by Katie Couric. Shortly before that, the dairy industry was thrown under the bus on Nightline. Before that, it was TIME Magazine, Food, Inc., and The Omnivore's Dilemma getting their shots in. Can we get a law passed here, people?

What makes the fight harder for those of us involved in the agriculture industry is the fact that we're rational. I know - crazy, right? Agriculture is a science-based industry, so we tend to fight back with rational, evidence-based information. However, shotgun-wielding hunters like Bryan Walsh, PETA, HSUS, Robert Kenner and Michael Pollan are using emotional attacks in their battle plan. And, sadly, it's really hard to fight emotional thinking with rational thinking.

In fact, sometimes it seems like there's no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to defending the industry and livelihoods we have come to rely on and cherish.

So, what's the good news?

There are more ways than ever to spread the message that agriculture is good and individuals and organizations like PETA and HSUS are spewing word vomit decorated with giant chunks of incorrect information - sorry, that was gross. Moving on...

Take, for example, the blunder recently committed by Yellow Tail wines. Now, I have to admit, I'm not much of a wine drinker. But, when I did choose to have a glass, I usually reached for Yellow Tail. The wine was great-tasting and inexpensive - two of my favorite things. But, when I found out that Yellow Tail had decided to donate $100,000 to HSUS - an organization pledged to ending food animal agriculture in the United States - the first thing I did was log on to Facebook. I changed my status to reflect my disapproval of their donation and urged all of my friends to do the same. Then, I prepared for my attack. I made my way to their fan page with every intention of starting a revolution and unleashing the fury of a woman scorned. What can I say, an attack on my livelihood creates that effect on me - not so much love.

Anyway, much to my surprise, I wasn't even close to the first person to share my discontent with the company. Hundreds of people before me - a majority of them involved in the agriculture industry in some way, shape or form - had already left comments saying they would no longer purchase Yellow Tail products - and they were definitely prepared to spread the word to their friends and families.

As the week went on, the Yellow Tail fan page quickly filled with former customers voicing their disapproval. Finally, Yellow Tail updated their page to let customers know that they were listening and had decided to add a stipulation to their contract with HSUS. Instead of letting HSUS use their money arbitrarily, the money donated by Yellow Tail was to be used only for animal rescue. Unfortunately for Yellow Tail, this last ditch effort to appease customers didn't go far enough. The comments kept coming, only this time, many were accompanied by pictures of people dumping their bottles of wine into the sink or toilet.

The moral of the story is this: while activist groups and radical thinkers seem to have the ear of the mainstream media, they certainly can't control the content of social media - and the people that use it. What's more, using social media has become increasingly simple with texting and smart phones.

Now, I'm usually pretty far behind the curve when it comes to revolutionary tech gadgets - don't judge me. Anyway, I received a smart phone for work. And, let me tell you - I'm not sure how I functioned without it. While at a trade show a few weeks ago, I was able to keep up with my office email and other goings-on just by checking the little phone in my pocket.

The same it true for farmers and ranchers all over the country. They're using their phones to update Twitter and Facebook from the seat of a combine or while they're out feeding cattle - making communication between the consumer and producer that much easier.

And that is how we're going to be able to bridge the gap. I know - it took me a long time to get on with it and make my point. Sorry.

By making ourselves available to the consumer, we can become (well, return as) the experts in our field once again. Rather than turning to Katie Couric for the most up-to-date information about the livestock industry (obviously she knows what she's talking about - I'm sure she's running 250 head in her Manhattan apartment) the consumer can go directly to the source.

So, whip out your phone and update Twitter when you're feeding calves or baling hay. Tell your story or post pictures of your stewardship practices on your Facebook page and make yourself available to tours and questions and the consumer that really wants to know the true story about where his or her food comes from, how you treat your animals and why you truly love agriculture.

I am....

...officially a slacker and a bad person.

Yep. My last post was December 19. DECEMBER 19! Like I said, I'm a slacker. And, a bad person.

My aunt had to post this on my Facebook wall to get me to do something about it:

"Oh where, oh where has your little blog gone?"

Nothing works like a guilt trip, I suppose.

I didn't even get myself together enough to post pictures and commentary from the many family Christmases this year. And, let me tell you - the was commentary aplenty. There were so many pictures I could have posted and snarky comments I could have made. I'm sorry. I know this makes the four people who actually read my blog really, really sad.

I have plenty of excuses as to why I couldn't update my blog, including: Chritmas, winter sucks (so what if that has nothing to do with tapping out a few words on the computer keys?), long hours at the office, stress, I became obsessed with The Office (how did I function for so long without watching this show?), I forgot I had a blog (not true), my dog ate the power cord to my computer (I don't have a dog), Scoop Jackson wouldn't let me use our computer (again, not true) and I was cooking (probably true, but I don't have the data to back this up).

Whatever. Either way, I did not keep up with my blog as I should have. Which means, I probably have a lot to catch up on. But, instead of boring you with two-month-old Christmas pictures and snarky commentary (you can see a sampling on Facebook if you want to), I'll just pick up here and try to get things rolling again.

For Scoop and I, things didn't really calm down after Christmas like I hoped they would. I had a couple of week-long trips for work that took me to Las Vegas (just before Christmas) and San Antonio (the first week in January). My trip to San Antonio was particularly interesting because I was down there for NCBA - an event that I have never been to before. It gave me a chance to learn quite a bit about the beef industry, meet some new people and see San Antonio - a city I had never been to before. Which reminds me - if you've never been to San Antonio - GO! It is such a neat city with lots of fun things to do and places to go.

Scoop spent most of December and January (and the first week of February) on the road, too. Add in a few nasty snow storms and some long hours at the office and we've stayed pretty busy. Which means we were totally ready for a relaxing weekend.

Of course, this past weekend was Valentine's Day. But, don't worry - it was still relaxing. If you know anything about Scoop and I, you know that we didn't have any magnificent plans. Instead, we went out to dinner on Saturday night and rented a couple of movies to watch. Sunday, we just chilled out at home (i.e. I ignored my blog some more). It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend after what seemed like a never-ending January.

Once we get through February, Scoop and I are looking forward to heading back home for a long weekend. We have both decided to take the first Friday in March off in an effort to spend a few extra hours at home. Scoop will be making the rounds and I will be helping mom and Janell with the set up at the Illinois Horse Fair - and I am so excited to get a little horse time under my belt.

Well, I think that's the official rundown for now.

I'm thinking about setting an alarm on my phone so that I don't forget to write another rundown sometime this week. Is that what my life has come to?

Out with the old and in with the...old?

Do you really want to read about all things wedding planning for weeks and weeks and weeks? I didn't think so. I'll think about it and pick out the craziest stories from our wedding planning adventure. Until then, we're going back to the same old updates and my witty banter of the past. Well, something like that, anyway.

Oh, quit complaining. You're just going to have to deal with it. I promise I'll try to keep things as interesting as possible (I have always enjoyed a good challenge).

So - here's a recap of the past few weeks:

Thanksgiving

Because we had a four day weekend, David and I decided to head home for the Thanksgiving weekend. I mean, really, who can resist four days of delicious food? I know I can't.

My family was first on the list and, as always, they never disappoint.

I also had a chance to run over to Mom and Chuck's store. I hadn't seen it since they decorated for Christmas, and let me tell you, it is BE-A-UTIFUL! If you have a chance to run over to Chestnut to do some Christmas shopping, make sure you take it.

Finally.

Apologies. I feel like life has been crazy with Thanksgiving and some new work developments. So crazy, in fact, I just haven't had the time to finish up this last entry. I know you all were waiting with breathless anticipation.

Ok, maybe not. Whatever.

Anyway. Flash forward five years. Scoop and I have settled into our routine as a couple and are, decidedly, perfect for each other. Still, I was fairly certain Scoop was waiting for hell to freeze over before asking me that very important question. I mean, we were both close to graduating and taking jobs and moving to Tanzania. Okay, maybe not Tanzania. But, it might as well be that far away -  there was no telling where each of us might end up if we didn't make a decision to go somewhere together.

Needless to say, I was pretty anxious (and honestly, if you haven't figured that out by now, you should go to a different Web site).

What I didn't know is that Scoop was busy scheming. He had been talking to my friends about rings and had even asked my sister and mom if he could marry me. But, Annie Oakely, the ever observant, didn't know about any of this.

Then, one night he upped my anxiousness by doing his best to throw me off the trail. We sat on the couch in his basement and argued for an hour about what we were going do. I made the case for getting married - there was no reason to be apart, right?

But Scoop, trying to be sensible, thought it would be a much better idea to wait five or six years - at least until the two of us had good jobs and had made enough money to live comfortably.

But what if we settled into jobs 3000 miles apart, I asked?

Of course, he had an answer for that. We could just live together. That way we wouldn't have twice the expenses.

Didn't he remember I was an old-fashioned girl that came from an old-fashioned family? There was no way that Grandma Shirley was going to go for that idea. Forget Grandma Shirley - there was no way The General (my mom) was going to go for that idea.

Scoop said we just shouldn't worry about it. He wanted to make sure we had the best start to our lives together as possible and was just positive that waiting a few years before getting engaged was a better idea.

I was just sure he was wrong, but there was nothing more I could do. Well, nothing more I could do short of dumping the guy - and that would just be stupid. I decided I would just have to get used to the fact that Scoop was moving at his own pace and his pace was a snail's pace. There was nothing I could do.

What I didn't know was there was a beautiful, princess-cut diamond engagement ring sitting in his dad's sock drawer one floor up. Told you he was sneaky.

The following weekend, Scoop's mother had scheduled family pictures. Of course, Scoop wanted me to be a part of said pictures, but again, I protested. Being an old-fashioned girl, I reminded Scoop I couldn't be in any family pictures until I was actually a part of the family (or at least had a ring on my finger and would soon be a member of the family).

After a lot of whining and pleading wtih me to join the family pictures, Scoop finally accepted my answer of "No," but asked that I come home for the weekend anyway. All of his sisters would be home and it would be nice for everyone to be together.

I couldn't argue with that, so, that Friday, I pointed my car West and hit the road.

Friday night, I arrived in our hometown and met Scoop at his mom's office. Scoop had made plans for the two of us, my cousin and my sister to meet at the local Mexican restaurant for supper. Even though it was surprising (because Scoop didn't like Mexican food), I didn't think much of it.

Finally, at the appointed hour, Scoop dialed my cousin to make sure he was ready to go and on his way to the restaurant. Despite Scoop's careful planning (at least that's what I thought), Boots had just gotten out of the shower and wasn't quite ready to go.

"No problem," Scoop said. Instead, he offered to drive over to my family's car dealership while we waited. We often "cruised the lot" to look at new cars, so - again - I didn't think anything of it. Besides, there was a silver Monte Carlo I really wanted to check out.

We got to the dealership and started down the first aisle. Scoop stopped at the silver Monte Carlo because he said he wanted to get out and look at it (of course, this was fine by me). I hopped out of the car with him, checked out the interior of the Monte and turned to go back to Scoop's car. Hey - it was October and I was cold.

And that's when it happened.

"Hey - wait a minute. I have a question of you."

I wheeled around to find out Scoop wanted to know. By the time I got myself turned around, there was Scoop, facing me, with that beautiful, princess-cut diamond ring in his outstretched hand.

The only thing I could get to escape my lips was exceedingly eloquent: "Ohhh my GOD. OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! Wait, are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Of course. OF COURSE I'M GOING TO MARRY YOU!"

He didn't even get the question out. He handed the ring to me and, in my excitement, I dropped it on the ground. After quickly bending down and grabbing the ring, we were back in the car and headed back to Scoop's house.

Of course, dinner at the Mexican restaurant had been one big story to get me out to the dealership. Instead, we were headed back to his house to attend the engagment party that his family had planned for us.

And, the next day, I made my first appearance in Scoop's family pictures.

And, I was happy. Well, that is until the wedding planning started.