Halfway for Beef

Three kids ago, I ran my "comeback" half marathon. It was my first since I started having kids, and since it was in Champaign, where I had started my long distance running love and trained for all of my other marathons and halves, so it seemed only appropriate.

And I ran it with a ribeye on my racing shirt.

Seriously.

See? And, oh my heart! Look at my big girls...they're so little!

Check out the charbroiled goodness...on my shirt that is!

While I got quite a few funny looks, and a lot of questions, I was proud of my Team Beef shirt, and went on to purchase another one and one for my running partner two years ago.

Team Beef, Amy and Emily, rocking the Yates City 5 K!!

I purchased them, gladly, as I knew the money was well spent, marketing our product, and was going towards promoting the Beef Checkoff.

I was going all the way, by manner of half marathons, for Team Beef.

However, when I googled Team Beef, to link for this post, I not only got the link to the Idaho Team Beef where I have purchased shirts, but there's a link to nearly every large beef producing state, each having its own Team Beef. My friend, and former neighbor, Kandy, just ran her first half in Austin, Texas, and the Texas Team Beef?? They're for real. They sponsored runners, free t-shirts! There were a whole bunch o' beef runners!! I was THRILLED!!

So, I'm looking into how I can a) be in Texas to be sponsored b) try to get Illinois Beef to start up a Team Beef chapter...I couldn't find a link (anyone out there know of the Illinois Chapter?), and then c) try to train for another half...maybe. So far, the only half I have done is half-way cleaned the bathroom, and while I'm up and running, just the logistics of training and then getting to a place to run a half is exhausting to me already.

So, if you're interested in being a part of Team Beef, let me know. I'm doing some investigation...and I'd love to flood the start line of races this year with Team Beef shirts!!

Happy running!

Date Day at the Farm Bureau Meeting

I know. You're at the edge of your seat with the excitement that this title brings.

Joe and I really know how to live it up! The funny thing is, we DID have an actual date night...but it started at a design center for our new bathroom and ended at Target.

Again, we know how to live it up.

Anyway, Joe is a board member for our county Farm Bureau. It's my home county, Knox County, and I have written about how I have come to terms, and have come to enjoy my home county (more than I thought I EVER would!). So, when I walked into the banquet facility, I was not only greeted by happy, familiar faces of the staff and neighbors, but dads of friends from elementary school, life long friends, and even folks who were good friends with my grandparents.

It's a good feeling.

Having Joe on the board has meant a few more evenings that he's gone, which can get tricky, but this past annual meeting was particularly eye opening for me as a Farm Bureau member. Maybe I was paying better attention because I was just there, sans any kids. Maybe I was more in-tune because now I understand a little more, or maybe I was just more engaged in the speaker because I was the speaker with my good friend Holly two years ago, so I know how it felt to be paid attention to (or ignored).

Who knows?

Regardless, I actually took notes! The speaker, Mark Gebhards who is the Executive Director for Governmental Affairs and Commodities, was eloquent, and with the changing of the guard in our state (we now have a Republican governor, and in a room full of farmers, you can imagine the excitement level!) and the changing role of government in a farmer's operations, it was an interesting talk.

I won't bore you with the details (although I was not bored...just hungry by the end...it's a lunch meeting...and we're on a weight loss challenge...and I'm nursing...and was within eyesight of the CAKE) of the talk, but Mr. Gebhards challenged our already very active county. Farm Bureau, for those of you who may just think its name is indicative of yee haw and drive your tractor to the meeting, is quite the opposite. The level of professionalism by not only just the state, county and volunteer staff is astounding, but also the impact its programs have is pretty impressive. Sure, there's some flaws, every organization has them, and there's a lot of patting each other on the back with awards within the system, but who doesn't like to be recognized?

I'm digressing.

Back to the challenge.

In his position, Gebhards walks with the politicians, talks with them, gives them insight to how producers are being impacted by various regulations, rules, etc. He challenged us to stay involved, at a very basic level. Calling legislators, writing letters, staying involved with programs like Illinois Farm Families, and Ag in the Classroom (to name a few local programs). By being active, we ACT like we CARE.

Who would have thought?

Well, me, in starting this blog, but that should be the tip of my iceberg. He cited an instance where he was sitting in Senator Durbin's office, addressing a bill or something that would impact farmers. Durbin asked Gebhards if the farming community would be impacted negatively by this particular issue. Gebhards answered, "Yes," emphatically (and if I were paying really great attention, I could tell you what it was...sorry, my blood sugar was plummeting by this point of the talk). Durbin then shared that he had received over 10,000 phone calls from the other side of the coin, and only SEVEN...like one hand and two fingers SEVEN...from the ag people.

That's ridiculous.

I am on my phone all the time... why not add Senator Dickie Durbin to my list of contacts, and instead of whining to him through the TV, TALK TO HIM.

So that was interesting.

Our date concluded with a lovely meal, and at the risk of sounding 75 years old, I'll spare you the menu, but at an ag function, you tend to eat good beef.

I will challenge you, friends, that if you're at all interested in agriculture, if you're not a member, or if you even are a member, do a little research on the Farm Bureau. You may be surprised how active your area may be, and you don't even realize it. You may notice programs that are happening that are sponsored by your county's Farm Bureau. You may want to join because you get a great deal on a rental car, who knows. I have decided to find out more because they just had their annual national meeting in SAN DIEGO...in January...how can I become more involved and go THERE???

Our unconventional date day was a success, I'd say, even if we traded in the more traditional movie theater/dinner date with politics and beef. Either way, I was fed, and was happy.

When Three Months Feels Like Three Seconds or Three Years

In an amazing feat of grace and sleeplessness, and through massive piles of laundry, doctor's appointments, and kid shuttling, Joe and I have emerged and made it through the first quarter of our twins' first year.

Did you read that?

They have already lived a quarter of the year.

Yikes.

These past three months have felt like three seconds: Caroline and Mary are both smiling, and are so close to rolling over, as they hate tummy time. Albeit important for development, why must I torture my babes this way??? And didn't we just sell our cows? The past week has made us feel happy, sympathetic and especially warm in our house as we think of our dear friends and all of you livestock men and women out there. However, it feels like three seconds ago that Joe was dressing as a Northern Ninja in his face mask and heavy Carhartts to assist in birthing calves on what seemed to always be the coldest day of the year.

Along the same lines, these three months have felt like three years. It seems like a long time ago that we were up in the air with our house project, and although we have insulation and the words, "drywallers arriving soon" have been whispered, it seems like we will NEVER have our space, that our office will always look like a disaster of storage totes and demo-dust, and that I will constantly be covering up for fear that a plumber/electrician/contractor will walk through as I am feeding babies. Yikes.

Such a strange feeling.

While I know that this year has been and will continue to be a blur in many ways, I find myself wanting to make time stand still. The twins suck the life out of me, and yet are so cute and pleasant, and AREN'T mobile, so I'd like to keep it that way as long as I can.

Then there are my big kids.

We are in such a sweet age spot for the big kids. I know it sounds cliche, but they are growing up so fast: becoming more and more independent because of our circumstances; able to put their own laundry away, entertain themselves and have good conversations with....that's a sweet spot. Enjoying the holidays with them was happy, and yet I found myself wistful as we have just a few more years where the magic of the holidays will still be the majority.

Anyway, before I start singing, "If I could have time in a bottle," I'll leave you with this question, how do you make time stand still? No, I'm not asking for something magical, I'm asking how do you preserve your memories? Are you just a rememberer (because I think I'm using that as an excuse for not filming/photographing everything...in actuality, I'm just tired and forgetful...not just "enjoying the moment)? Are you a scrapbooker? Instagrammer in the hopes it will never crash? Baby book writer?

Help me enjoy these next three months without waxing too much poetic. Otherwise, you'll be the readers of some pretty sappy blog posts!!

What a Difference a Year Makes

Remember this one: When Is It Too Cold To Shut the Farm Down?

How about this oldie, but a goodie from 2013: Diary of a Snow Day

The gist of both is that a snow day for a farmer is not really a day off, but more work.

However, what a difference a couple of years makes...as it's currently nearly 11:00, and Joe's chores this morning consisted of answering the phone when school was cancelled, letting the dog out of the basement, and taking my car to town for an oil change. Granted, our show calves needed tending to, but our lovely friends where they are being housed...just a few miles north and south of here, have graciously fed, bedded, and checked in with them. My uncle was in need of a tractor to get the drifts off the hog chutes at his building (hogs are being hauled out tomorrow...won't that be fun?), and Joe jumped at the chance to use his tractor and blade to scoop him out.

My dude needs his farm chops brushed off once in a while.

Yesterday, I heard the hum of our loader tractor at 5:00 AM, plowing out the six inches of snow in our driveway so the bus could come through. I'm thankful we have that tractor still...a snowblower or a scoop couldn't even make a dent without at least five hours of shoveling in our huge driveway, and our resident teacher/farmer loves to jump on equipment now and again.

I laughed to myself, however, as I reminisced of my days as a town kid. My dad would rise early on snowy days, snow blowing and scraping and scooping so that our driveway, all 20 feet of it (give or take) would be perfectly clear, as in immaculately clear on the iciest of days. My Type A personality is from my lovely father, whose driveway in January would NEVER warrant a law suit, and resembles a mid-June driveway.

Out on the farm, it's a different story. There's no WAY our drive can be as perfect as a town one, the scope is too massive. Our driveway for our car is one entity that must be cleared, and then there's the lot. It's where tractors and combines and semis have to be able to turn around, load, unfold, and dump, and so a snow blower is no match, and it's not worth the hassle, or heart attack to scoop it. Instead, the loader tractor is enlisted with the blade on, and from the cozy tractor cab, we're scooped to freedom!

So today, I have Farmer Joe/Teacher Joe/ Daddy in the house for most of the day...right now he's talking to insulators and our carpenter (isn't that perfect timing to get basement insulation on the COLDEST day of the year???). We're trying this new normal of snow days as a teacher, and so far, so good...

It's early, though...I'll keep you posted!

Against the Resolution Grain

I've been up for a while, sipping coffee amidst Batman and baby toys, watching the Today Show, where Al Roker is sitting at the table with the other anchors in New York, and yet, he's in Pasedena at the Rose Parade as we speak.

The miracle of pre-recorded segments was lost in my fog of sleepiness.

I'm digressing.

Anyway, all the segments in the 15 minutes I was able to catch uninterrupted were about New Year's resolutions, keeping them, trying new things, and basically giving all aspects of your life a makeover. While I'm a proponent of a goal, this year, I'm going against the grain in my resolution.

I have room for MUCH improvement, don't get me wrong, but I tend to be a person in fast forward. My life has been a series of getting somewhere, and fast. While I consider myself a happy person, I'm not necessarily content with everything. Start running? Run a marathon...or several. Buy a new outfit? Want a new pair of shoes. Get a new job? Look for a way to expand on it. Have a baby...HAVE TWINS.

Just kidding on the last one.

I'm the type of person who would have benefited from a Genie in a magic lamp. My timelines for projects are generally unrealistic. I apologize to guests for our lack of a nice entryway. No one expects our entryway to be completed in a finger snap...I do, however. That's a problem.

So, my resolution this year is to be content with where I am, what I have, what I'm doing.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Might sound like a cop-out, but for me, this is as real as losing weight, meditating more, and getting out of debt (all the top resolutions, according to Natalie Morales). I have to figure out a way to just enjoy the moment, not be hard on myself or my family if the house is a mess, my job is on hold, my pants aren't fitting as well as I want. I need to be happy with the fact that we are expanding our house, and not freak out about dust and carpenters and the in-the-process projects that will be finished. Remind me my kids are little for just a bit, and that diapers and toys that impale feet are just a part of a phase. My boy won't wear a cape forever, so I should embrace his creativity. My girls will not always wake up early on January 1st to see who the new American Girl doll of the year is, so I should rejoice that they are excited about these little things (and by little I mean expensive, Ha!). My oldest won't whisper in my ear plans of surprises and dreams she has for long because in 9 more years (as long as we've had her in our life), she'll be gone.

Anyone else weepy?

Maybe contentment isn't the greatest for my fragile, rather hormonal emotional state, but isn't that the point of a resolution? A change? It's hard. It's tricky. It's challenging. Get uncomfortable, and it will be worth it.

Keep me accountable. Should I start to make plans and just invite you to the party instead of looking around and enjoying what is in front of me, let me know. Should I start to wallow, smack me in the side of the head. Should I start to worry more about baseboard dust, and less about who's in the room with the disgusting baseboards, drop me a note.

I'll need it. I assure you.

Happy New Year!