Livin' life Nebraska style...

I know, I know...it's been a while. Sorry.

This big news this side of the Mississippi? David is out here with me. He came out last weekend for a few job interviews last week. So far, he's heard back from one, but we're still waiting to hear back on the others. He's decided to just stay out here this week then we'll come back to Illinois next weekend for Labor Day weekend. It will be a nice long weekend to be able to drive home, plus I have a whole bunch of wedding stuff that really needs to get done.

I'm hoping that something comes up soon because he's so discouraged. And, the thing that really sucks is, he's very talented. He's smart and he's got a ton of experience, but there just really isn't anything out here right now, and it's really starting to get to him. He's just going stir crazy sitting around with nothing to do all day.

I got back from Oklahoma last weekend - it was really a great trip. I had a lot of fun down there talking to people and taking pictures. And, the countryside is just BEAUTIFUL. Not to mention the numerous tourist attractions. For example: Bullnanza, red dirt, ranches and the ever popular, Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo. Yes - the Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo. If I would have stayed a couple of extra days, I could have witnessed one of the greatest spectator events in history - or at least the South.

I did get to visit this awesome farm - Lazy E Arena. They house 1100 broodmares, 11 stallions and around 400 yearlings (the yearlings are for sale prep). All Quarter Horse racing bloodlines, but still a really cool place to visit - and absolutely beautiful - I've included some pictures.


Anyway, great trip, but I was exciting to be back home and spend a week in the office. This weekend has been spent doing wedding things. I ordered invitations and they came in a couple of weeks ago, so today, David and I spent time buying stamps ($100-worth!), stuffing invitations and digging up addresses. So, be prepared, you all will probably be seeing those in the next few weeks.

My friend, Kristina, got to go home this week. She went home Monday and has been doing some home therapy and out-patient therapy. Before she went home, WMBD out of Peoria did a neat feature story on her - if you would like to watch the story, follow this link:

http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=17951

She's looking absolutely fabulous and I have no doubt she'll be walking down the aisle by herself at our wedding. However, her parents told us the doctors have said it will be one full year before they know if she is fully recovered.

(I know - it just keeps going and going!) Janell moved into school this week - I've already gotten two phone calls. The first one was from mom telling me that she called Janell (the day after she moved in) but Janell hadn't called her back and if Janell called me, I was to tell her to call mom. Ten minutes later I got a call from Janell asking me where she needed to go to get books. When I asked her if she called mom, I got, "Yeeessssss. I called her." I can feel the love. Or something.

And finally - Project Runway. How funny was the last episode?? Oh my gosh - I thought I was going to die when they were designing these clothes for drag queens - it couldn't have been better. That is, until Tim Gunn said, "It looks like a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park." FABULOUS! Michael Kors giggled the whole time. I loved it. But, I still don't love Blaine. Or the gay mormon. Yikes.

Chillin' Okie-style.

Day No. 2 in Oklahoma and I have to say, I'm really enjoying myself. It truly is beautiful down here and so different from home.

Yesterday and today I spent my time down in southern Oklahoma (I was actually about 25 miles from the Texas state line), and was just amazed by the difference in landscape between central and southern Oklahoma.

Coming from Illinois, and even Nebraska to an extent, I'm so used to seeing cornfield after cornfield after cornfield (with a few acres of beans mixed in there, too). Southern Oklahoma was a huge change of pace, seeing ranch after ranch. I couldn't have found a cornfield if I wanted to. It was awesome to see some of the enormous ranches and homes to some of the horses that I've seen pictures of in magazines.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day, too. Okay, so, it would really only be exciting to me and a few other show junkies, but still. I have to drive over to Tulsa to interview the official vet of the AQHA World Show - while he's at the Reichert Celebration. The Reichert is one of those huge shows that I've always wanted have a horse good enough to show in, so it will be fun to go over and be able to watch it for a couple of hours.

The other thing that has been so interesting is completely unrelated to my interests here in Oklahoma: football. I've always heard that football is a religion down here, but I found out it was true today as I listened to the radio. Every radio station I listened to frequently listed each area football team's opening game information. You could find out who was playing when, what kind of fundraisers to attend for each team and find out how many practices per day each team was committed to. It was like living in Varsity Blues.

After tomorrow's excursion in Tulsa, I'll return to Guthrie to talk to a couple of vets on Friday, then it will be time to head home. Hopefully, by the time I get home on Friday night, David will already be at the apartment! He's coming out to Nebraska Friday afternoon and is planning to stay for a week or so - he has an interview on Monday for a sports sales position with the city of Lincoln. I'm so excited for him - he's been submitting resumes left and right and hadn't heard anything back yet. So, he's really excited about having an interview - and, is excited about the job. So, it will be nice to be able to spend my open weekend with David and see him this week.

I think that's it for now. In the words of Paul Harvey, "That's the rest of the story."

Back by popular demand...

Ok, well, maybe not popular. There was only one person who ragged on me about not updating my blog.

I was home this week and was given a stern (I use the term loosely) talking-to by Aunt Cheryl for not posting nearly often enough - and not being detailed enough! She had read my blog and was still not aware that I was going to be home - and made sure that I knew the last time I posted was a week ago.

Thus, this is my attempt to make an effort to post on a more regular basis. Here's an update from the past couple of days:

1. I still totally dislike Stella on Project Runway. I was able to catch up with last week's episode and she is still going on about leather. Does everything have to be biker-chic and rock and roll? Oh, and Blaine doesn't know what the Yellow Submarine is? I don't care if he is younger than Tim Gunn - did he grow up in a freakin' cave (or perhaps a tanning bed)? Who doesn't know the Beatles, honestly? Maybe the artificial rays from the tanning bed are starting to go to his head...
2. Flying into Lincoln, Neb., at 10:15 Sunday night and finding out that your bag didn't actually meet you there is not fun. Especially when you have to leave again on another trip the next day. Fortunately for me, the idiots who didn't put my bag on the plane in Chicago Sunday night were apparently blessed with a spark of momentary intelligence and got it on the flight first thing Monday morning, so my bag (and all of my belongings) were able to accompany me to Oklahoma.
3. I'm in Oklahoma (see above). The 8-hour drive down from Nebraska wasn't bad, and I actually enjoyed the scenery. I'm looking forward to my week here (collecting testimonials for work) and will try to take some extra pictures to post up here.
4. Don't be fooled - inflatable water slides aren't just for gradeschoolers. You might have seen them before - a giant, inflatable slide with water spraying from the top - specially made for kids ages four to ten or so. Now, imagine, if you will, four adults (again, I use this term loosely) playing on a giant inflatable water slide. David, Janell, Brian and I remembered just how much fun they could be on Sunday afternoon as we took turns launching each other off the slide and into the pool of water at the bottom. And, to enhance the mental picture forming in your brain, think of my David sitting at the top of the water slide and my cousin Brian (big six-foot-five, 250 pound fire-fighter Brian) running from a short distance and jumping on the back of the slide to fling David off the top of it. The answer is yes - it is just as funny as you imagined.
5. My good friend Greb will be returning home at the end of this month! Her halo is gone and she is now sporting an ever-so-sexy C-Collar. She's up walking around (and promising to be walking by herself at our wedding) and impressing the heck out of all of her doctors. David and I went to visit her on Saturday and she just looks absolutely fabulous. I can't wait to be able to visit her at home.
6. It's time for the official countdown. That's right, people. At the end of this week, the wedding will officially be only three months away - official freak-out time. I have this whole list of things that I said to myself I didn't really need to do until the wedding was about three or four months away - well, I'm there now and I still don't have them done. Yikes.

I think that's it for now. That's my life in a nutshell for the past couple of days. And, Aunt Cheryl, I'm going to try really, really hard to post more often - just for you!

"Wise man once said, 'Know thyself.'"

"That man's name was Tater-Nuts!"

Are you confused? That quote - otherwise known as the funniest thing ever said in a television show - is from That '70s Show. I think the show is absolutely hilarious, but it's more than just that.

I'm fairly certain the characters are based on me and all of my friends. For instance: Donna and Eric. Anyone who knows David and I knows that we're just like Eric and Donna. I'm a giant lumberjack and David is smart and skinny. On top of that, our personalities are even similar. And, I could probably slate some of my friends to fit into the other characters on the show - but, I'll save that for later.

Aside from the character similarities, who can ignore fabulous quotes like these:

"We were goin' at it like rabbits that just got out of prison."
"When my time comes, I want to be buried face down - so you can all kiss my ass."
"If Pastor Dave comes over, we'll never get rid of him. He'll just go on and on about how great.....God......is."

Anyway...Where did May go?

The past few weeks at work have been pretty crazy with projects, meetings and traveling. I've been on the road a lot the past couple weeks - South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and next week, Oklahoma. In between all of those states and status calls, I apparently have just neglected to look at my calendar - well, any calendar for that matter.

Today, while I was working out of the Milwaukee office, I wandered into Jenny's office and glanced at the calendar and realized that summer - the ENTIRE summer - was gone. I'm not sure where it went - I'm thinking wormhole somewhere around mid-June - but, it sure is gone.

The good thing is, I've been home for the last couple of weeks and have been able to get a lot of stuff for the wedding done. Tomorrow, I need to run to Champaign to order my veil, then I need to head over to see the lady that is doing the alterations on my dress so she can get them started. Plus, it's been really nice to be able to spend some time with David and the rest of my family.

Better sign off for now. Wait, what's tomorrow? October?

"Holla at ya boy!"

Let's talk about how much I love project runway - seriously. It still can't quite take down Deadliest Catch or Mike Rowe (maybe if Heidi Klum had a voice like Mike Rowe's...), but it's a very close second.

Of course, the new season has started and I just live for Wednesdays. Tonight, I laughed out loud when Tim Gunn said "Holla at ya boy!" I can't wait for the episode where Michael Kors says, "Slutty, slutty, slutty!" That's going to be fabulous. And, seriously, how cute is Kennley? Oh my gosh, I want to look like a '40s pin-up girl!

However, while I love the show, let's talk about my dislikes:

1. Suede. Seriously, did his parents hate him or did they just know he was going to grow up and use fabric after his own namesake? I can't decide what's more annoying his name or the fact that he talks about himself in the third person. Wait, yes I can - the fact that he talks about himself in the third person. Honestly, who does that? "Suede, Rachel would like to kick your ass."
2. Blayne adding ridiculous endings like "-licious" to every word. In tonight's episode Tim Gunn opened the door and Blayne actually said, "Hi, Timlicious." Blayne, Tim Gunn doesn't need any help being gay - he's got it covered. Oh, and Blayne, wash your hair, man.
3. "I like leatha. I mean, I'm into leatha - that's just what I do." When did Project Runway turn into The Godfather miniseries? Oy, Stella.
4. The gangster-Mormon cross known as Keith. I don't think I really need to explain that further. When was the last time you saw a Mormon wearing a bandana on his head and a wife-beater?

I'll have to wait until next week's episode to add to the list. It's a little short now, but I'm sure there will be more.

Switching gears: I've decided it's absolutely criminal how cute my sister is. Mom made her a new showmanship outfit with Janell's horse, Lucky, painted on it. Put it all together (Janell and her unfair genetic advantage, a kick-ass horse and a new outfit) and you get what is equivalent to a monopoly in the 17-18 western division at the Illinois State Fair Junior Horse Show.




I get to come home and visit the unfair genetic advantage (and the rest of the family) this weekend, which is exciting. I actually get to be at home for part of the week next week and then the weekend. Hopefully, I can get a lot of wedding stuff done and out of the way so that I don't have to worry about it later. I still need to take my dress to be altered, get my veil, get table linens, line out the flowers, take care of table service and get decorations. Yikes.

Oh well, I'd be bored if I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head chopped off.

Life just isn't fair.

Sure, that thought has crossed my mind a few times before. But, most of the time, I realize that it's just the way thing are.

Even if it is the way things are, today, it couldn't be more true.

It seems like ever since I've left home, things have just happened one after another - things that I need to be at home for, but I can't because Nebraska is so far away.

I found out today that a boy that was on my dairy judging team in college lost both his father and his younger brother in a farming accident yesterday. Apparently there was a problem with some equipment in the manure pit under ground, and when he tried to check on it, he fell in. His sons saw him, and John, my friend went to call 911 while his brother tried to help his dad. But, under ground the fumes were so strong, they both died.

I was not extremely close to John - but we did spend a lot of time together on trips and in judging practice and he is one of the nicest men I've ever met. The accident is so unbelievable and so sudden - it's just hard to fathom. But, I think what makes it worse is I know just what he's going through. I know what it's like to see that happen and to lose someone so close and I want so badly to be able to drive up to his farm and help with chores or just do anything that I can to help his family. I've talked with some other people from the dairy club and they're going to call me when they find out when the services are. Since I'm coming home this weekend, I might be able to at least go to the visitation.

At least, since I'm coming home this weekend, I will get to stop and visit Greb in the hospital. She continues to make remarkable progress, taking on stairs and walking several steps every day. I can't wait to see her and give her a great big hug!

I think my face is thinner...maybe.

The workouts continue. Gilad and I are very close and I continue to do my running - two and a half miles tonight; four and a half miles the night before last. I can't really tell if anything has happened or not - but, I think maybe my face is thinner. That's a plus, right?

It has been a few days since I wrote last - actually, longer than what I thought it was! I have some updating to do!

I'm headed home this weekend for a paint show in DuQuoin. I'm excited about going to a show to see everyone, but since it's in DuQuoin (four hours from home), I won't even get to go home to Clinton. I fly into St. Louis tomorrow night and fly out of St. Louis early on Sunday morning. And, I think I'm going to be the only one from my family at the show - Mom is going to be at the Farmer City open show since she's the superintendent and Janell has other duties.

What are her other duties, might you ask? She's the DeWitt County/Farmer City Fair Queen. I know, I know. Roll up your tongue and close your mouth. She actually ran - and of course, she won. Do you honestly think she wouldn't have won? She's fabulous. Of course, I wasn't able to go, but I have seen some pictures, and as usual, she looks like a freakin' rockstar. I swear - I'm workin' out like a crazy woman and she looks like that in that slinky red dress...

Oh well. Moving on: after I get home on Sunday, I'll be on the road again. I have to be in the office on Monday, but Monday after work, I will be driving up to South Dakota for a scoping event and a horse owner meeting on Tuesday. Then, it's on the road again for some producer testimonials. I'll be going through Iowa to interview vets and consumers about the products they use on their horses Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But, here's the exciting part: I get to go HOME after that! I figured since I was already halfway home, I might as well go the rest of the way. Plus, that will give me a chance go finally visit Greb and get some more wedding stuff done.

I need to take my dress to start alterations, take the fabric swatch to the flower place and rent some linens - all in one day. But, even though I'll only be home on Saturday, I still think the trip home will be worth it. I'll get to run some errands and see my wonderful David!

I can't think of anything else (geesh - there's a lot there!). In my spare time (insert sarcastic laugh here) I'll be addressing envelopes full of wedding invitations....No turning back now!

Oh, wipe that look off your face - you know I wasn't ever considering backing out!