Nothing - What a Great Word

I have absolutely no big plans this weekend, and I LOVE it that way.

Back From the Rodeo

The rodeo was great - Aaron Watson played again, (for the second year,) and we had a huge attendance. They're still tallying, but we think it was probably a record year. It was a lot of work, really long nights, but really good. Yay!

Big Spring Rodeo

The Big Spring Rodeo started yesterday. I'm driving home after work today to go. Yee-haw!

Memorial Day

A long weekend, yippee! I'm loading up the boyfriend, the cat, my new fishing pole and some sunscreen; then we're heading for the ranch with my family and a couple of Ali's friends. AHHHHH.

On another topic - you should call me. I have some interesting news.

Good Weekend

- Went fishing at Lake Benbrook (Caught NOTHING)

- Went geocaching and found one! (Awesome)

- Went to Cabela's a bought a new fishing pole (An Ugly Stick)

- Ate crawfish at Razoo's ( So hot)

- Sat in the hot tub (So nice)

- Hung out with Lori (Yippee!)

- Made a chocolate cake (Mmmm)

- Got a haircut, (Goodbye to 4 inches!)

Hmmmmm

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269915,00.html

Interesting. This guy is running on a squeaky-clean campaign, and that image may have just been ruined. You can't need special protection earlier than anyone in history and be considered just a normal guy. I'm gonna enjoy watching how they spin this one.

Daisy

This is Daisy, my sweet little kitty Bud gave me for Christmas. When I talk about becoming a cat lady, this is the little lump of fur that drove me that way. (Isn't she cute?)

Spring Has Sprung

A very sweet, beautiful girl I know with blonde curls sent me some flower seeds a few weeks back. I diligently planted the seeds, not expecting to see much, (I almost always kill them if I start from seed.) However, I now have about a dozen little seedlings poking their heads out of the dirt. It made me so happy to see them come up. I'm taking very good care of them, and can't wait to see how they grow. Thanks, my little curly-haired birthday girl!

1 Whole Week of Bud-Time

Due to spring break, Bud has been in FW all week. It's been GREAT, and a nice little preview of having him in town all the time. (His last day at TEEX is March 30.) So, we've been hanging out after I get off work, and he's been getting things in order to move up here during business hours. We've gone fishing, watched movies, all sorts of fun stuff. I forgot how much fun it is to have a boyfriend who actually lives in the same town as you. :)

Spring's a Comin'

The usual signs of spring are making their appearance: 1) The groundhog predicted an early spring, 2)Temperatures are warming up, and 3)Baby bumps are EVERYWHERE!

I went to a baby shower this weekend, which wasn't too awful, (normally I hate baby showers; they're embarrassing for everyone there, including the mom-to-be.) But, as I got caught up with all my old friends from high school, I realized that almost EVERYONE I KNEW was pregnant or had just had a baby.

They're everywhere. Everywhere. Now don't get me wrong, I love babies. But it was just a bit overwhelming. Has there been some political push to multiply like in some Asian communist country? It just seems like many of these girls, or I guess I should say women, are getting preggers just because that's what you do after you get married.

Why? How come it has to be that way? Why can't you get married and spend a little time enjoying that before moving on to the next huge milestone? I just don't understand.

Bizarre...

My beautiful little sister showed her American Cross steer at Fort Worth last week and placed 10th! Yay for Ali! She showed like a champ, and squeaked into the very last sale hole. So proud.

Saturday, at the Sale of Champions, the sale started around 9 a.m. Due to Ali's low position in the sale, it was around 3 or 4 before it was her turn. The Grand Champion went for $185,000, ( unbelievable!) and by the time Ali was up, they were selling for around $4 a pound. Pretty good,

compared to the average salebarn prices of $.82

a pound.

Anyway, so we were all very excited about the whole thing, (except for Ali, who had been crying since yesterday about selling her pet.) Then, when Ali came out there, the whole thing turned surreal. A man in a white cowboy hat stood up and yelled "$12!" The auctioneer was so caught off guard, he stopped mid-sentence to say "$12? Per pound?"

It seems that someone in the sale committee saw her showing earlier that week, mentioned how cute she was, and happened to be standing close to someone from our county. They told the man all about her, how she got the calf from a local salebarn, and how my dad had fit the calf and trimmed his hooves all himself. The story charmed the committeman, and he told it to some of the buyers. They rallied together, and decided to make a big statement, a $12 per pound statement. (Now, for those of you who haven't done the math, $12 a pound doesn't sound like such a big deal until you realize that her steer weighed approximately 1250 lbs.)

The bizarro-like situation just increased when we went behind the stage to take her picture with her buyers and her steer. The main buyer informed Ali that she could take her steer HOME if she wanted, or she would take him to HER RANCH to be a PET. Well, Ali's no dummy, and knew if he was taken back to our house, his name might as well have been Hamburger. So, she asked the woman to take him home to her ranch in Throckmorton. No kidding. He's gonna live out his days on a ranch with other pet cows.

This was all so unbelievable, my family and I were sort of in shock throughout this whole thing. Ali was crying, and all we could really do was continue to say "Thank You" over and over again. I still have a hard time believing it.

Now What?

I've been leaning on a crutch of an excuse for the past several months: "I'm too busy with the Stock Show to have a life, call my friends, etc." Well, that crutch is about to be taken away; the Stock Show's wrapping up.

I was talking to my Mom about my lack of a social life, or really, any life outside of work, last night, and I realized that I have kind of LIKED not having a life. It was a nice break to not be in 14 clubs, workings, going to school, visiting family, friends and the boyfriend. I just had the job, and everything else was dropped to allow for adjustment time.

Well, the adjustment time is up. Time to get my fanny in gear, literally and figuratively! I need to start getting some exercise, I need to keep in touch with my friends, and I need to work on having friends outside of work. No more excuses. I will NOT be the cat lady. I will not grow eerily pale from lack of contact with the sun. I will act like I am 23, not 83.

Signs I'm becoming the Cat Lady

1) I have a cat

2) She sleeps with me

3) There are cat toys scattered all over my house

4) I buy the 30 lb. bucket of cat litter

5) When I get lazy and don't go to the grocery store, the thing that spurs a store trip is when I get low on cat food, not when I have more condiments than food in my fridge.

6) I own a cat t-shirt (no earrings or knick knacks yet, but I know it's coming.)

It's Cold Out There

It's officially Stock Show time: the world has frozen over. It was so cold, Bud had to stay up here an extra day; it was too icy to drive home. As a matter of fact, when I was in my car about 3:45 this afternoon, the thermometer read 26 degrees. 26! That's not very many degrees. I hear it's very yucky and cold and icy further south, too. TAMU shut down. Brrr baby, it mustbe REALLY cold out there. So tonight, I suggest we all put on our most comfortable jammies, make some hot tea, and snuggle up with a good book. Ready, set, go!

Grrrr!

Do you ever read Mike Staka's column on Fox News? It's called Grrr!, and it just sort of talks about what irritates him that day. Well, this is going to be a Grrr! column for me today.

What really irritates me is when expectations change with the wind. When something that may be considered perfectly acceptable, even good, changes and becomes pure trash with the spin of an ego.

Now, I'm not foolish enough to say anymore about it. I've had my venting time; now I'll move on.

On a happy note : Bud and I are going to the highly popular Ranch Rodeo tonight. Put on your taco-creased Stetson, tuck those Wranglers into your knee-high Lucheses, and tie that Wild Rag on tight!

The first event

Today, I covered my first event. Nothing huge, not a lot to coordinate, but it was my first and both of my bosses have been out of town all week. Scary. However, things went well, had several stations come cover it, all cartoon animals acted appropriately, and my client gave nice quotes and posed for pictures like a champ. Yay! Now, on to bigger things; the Stock Show begins tomorrow.

Told 'Ya

So Crystal and Mason's wedding was rockin', literally. Quite the concert, complete with Mason's own personal groupie, (Crystal.)
I must say, seeing everybody there made me realize how little contact I've had with the outside world since I started working. Time to nix that little problem; work is definitely not everything. (This is really pretty hysterical talk for someone who's spending their Saturday in freezing rain, possibly snow, standing around downtown watching the world's largest non-motorized parade.)
For those of you who don't know, Bud's exhibit at the Stark Gallery opens tomorrow. Definitely suggest you go by. It's not every day you get to view an exhibit by a finalist for the BBC's International Photographer of the Year. :)