I was helping Morgan do some research for a paper she’s writing. The topic of her paper is how rising fuel and corn costs are affecting the beef industry, so I was looking through some of the agricultural magazines we get. I ran across an article titled, Gut Feeling: Farmer Forecasts Weather with Pig Spleens. Apparently the spleens are 85% correct (better than weathermen, the spleen-readers point out . . . ) giving much food for thought . . .

My thoughts, however, went to the topic of writing. As I paged through the rest of that magazine and several others, I saw articles about cooking, health, and even family issues. The magazines each have several editorial articles in each issue, with writers sharing their thoughts about showing cattle, the price of hay, and just driving down the road.

I thought, “WOW–I didn’t realize that I could write for farming magazines!” And since I’m always thinking in some way about writing I thought, “I should write about this on my blog, so my readers can look at different magazines to write for, too!”

My challenge to you? Look through several new magazines this week. When you visit a friend, ask her if you can look at the magazines she and her family receive. At the library, take some time to page through a magazine you’ve never read before. Bookstores are a great resource for unusual magazines; you can read them while enjoying a cup of coffee!

When you find articles similiar to those you write (or could write), either purchase the magazine or write down the information so you can check it out more in detail online. You just found a new market for your writing! 

And even if you don’t find a new source for writing, you’ll probably learn something. Now, excuse me while I go check out my pig spleens and decide if I’ll need an umbrella today . . .  

We had a good weekend at a cattle show only about 50 miles from here. There was a show on Saturday, and a separate one on Sunday. They were both in the same place, but sponsored by different groups. That was nice because we could “go to” two shows while loading and unloading the cattle and equipment just once.

The weather was kind of cold and rainy, but the show itself was in a nice barn. Since I “don’t know how” to do much with the cattle, my main job is to sit in the stands and take pictures and provide moral support.

There is a lot of “waiting” at cattle shows. The cattle show in groups according to their breed and size, depending on the show and type of calves that are showing. The shows on Saturday and Sunday had approximately 50 total classes. Morgan showed in about 6 classes, Cody in 4 or 5. Obviously, there was plenty of time between the times they showed! This weekend I took along a pile of magazines I hadn’t gotten through. I have a habit of starting to read new magazines, then saving the rest until “later” . . . except some of the magazines were Christmas issues so it was a lot “later” before I got back to them!

When I go through my magazines, I tear out lots of articles, recipes, exercises I want to try, websites to check out, decorating ideas, and so on. Then I throw away the rest of the magazine. At the end of the weekend I had several magazines to throw away, and a pile of torn out pages to sort out. I have file folders labeled “exercises,” “websites to check out,” “stuff to put on blog/in newsletter,” etc. “Recipes” go in a pile of probably hundreds of them to be sorted out . . . (it’s on my to-do list for the week!)

The kids did well at the show. Morgan was the Champion Intermediate Showman(woman!) on Saturday and Reserve Champion on Sunday. She and several other friends her age are often in the top 4 or so kids in showmanship. They all get along and it’s a very friendly competition.

Cody is more into clipping the cattle and getting them ready to actually show. He helps quite a few other people get their animals ready too. His cattle did well at the show, and he had a fun time with his friends, too.

I saw several of my “cattle showing mom” friends, too! One family that usually brings cattle, didn’t, so the mom and I got to talk all afternoon on Saturday (she’s a mom who does “know how to help” get the cattle ready, so is usually doing that at shows). Her kids are roughly the same age as ours, and it’s always reassuring to talk with her and know my kids aren’t “the only ones” to face whatever teenage issue they’re facing . . . and I’m not “the only mom” who isn’t always sure what to do or think of the kids.

I got to spend some time with another cattle show mom/nurse on Sunday. She’s the Director of Nursing at a local hospital. I enjoy hearing about hospital nursing from several moms who are nurses, and whose kids show cattle.   

All in all, it was a really nice weekend, full of friends, lots of junk food, and family. As another show cattle mom e-mailed me today, “everyone seemed to play well together.”

The weather in Nebraska is teasing us! About every other day we get a taste of spring–temp in the 40′s, sunny, etc. But then every other day we go back to winter, with wind, cold, and sometimes a bit of snow.

Several days ago it was very windy but mostly sunny . . . and then all of the sudden snow was coming down while the sun was still shining!

It’s been a long, cold winter here. The snow started in Oct., which isn’t unusual, but it stayed cold, and bits of the snow are still on the ground in shaded areas.

We almost always have a late March storm, and I don’t think this year will be any different. The positive part of that is that the snow might be deep, but it usually doesn’t last very long at all.

Is anyone else ready for spring? 

I have a lot of good childhood memories are of gardening; I think our garden then was acres and acres big . . . at least it seemed so to my childhood mind. (A not-so-good “garden” memory is of the worms that were sometimes in the broccoli and sweet corn . . . sometimes not discovered until it was on my plate . . . )

This year I decided I was going to have a garden, for the first time in many years. My dad has a garden of all raised beds; he made boxes out of 2 x 8 pieces of wood, filled the boxes with dirt, and planted the plants or seeds in the raised beds. Cody and Tim made me two of these raised beds for Mother’s Day. 

I can be a procrastinator; I’d purchased a bunch of tomato and pepper plants early in the season, but left them out in the elements, forgot to water them, and they dried up. I started herb seeds in the house, forgot to mark what they were, and then put them outside to get used to the weather. One night we got about 4″ of rain and they were flooded; in the 95+ degree weather of the next few days, they roasted.

But I was DETERMINED to have a garden, even if very, very tiny. I planted basil and another herb (remember, I forgot to mark them) in one box. In the other box, I planted two hills of cucumbers, two hills of canteloup, and 8 beans.

I was thrilled when they started coming up . . . and mad at the deer when the beans and either the cateloup or cucumbers got eaten (forgot to mark them again!). 

BUT–the basil is doing great! I have 16 BIG plants, and have been picking the leaves to eat with fresh tomatoes from the farmer’s market, or in salads. I’m planning to dry some for use this winter, too, and keep a few plants for the window sill.

I’m already planning my garden for next year!

Do YOU have a garden? What’s your favorite thing to grow? To eat?

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Books are on their way! My first shipment of What Should I Say? The Right (and Wrong!) Words and Deeds for Life’s Sticky, Tricky, Uncomfortable Situations, is on the way. As soon as the shipment gets here, I will mail out the advance orders and orders I’ve already received.

I’ve had several people comment that they see themselves in What Should I Say? . . . and they tell me that is not a bad thing!  One friend said it helped her see a negative trait she has, and she’s going to work on correcting it. After she e-mailed to tell me she saw herself in the book, I wrote back to assure her I didn’t write any section with one particular person in mind–all the sections had been suggested by several people. She wrote back to tell me she wasn’t upset–she’d have been hurt if I hadn’t included things that were important to her. Then she told me that she saw ME in several sections, too . . . I’m not brave enough to ask her which ones.

Yep, Cody and Morgan are out of school for the summer! This year they have mixed feelings about the last day of school; they are going to a different school next year after attending the same one since kindergarten and will miss friends and teachers.

Thanks to technology, they’ll be able to easily keep in touch with friends via e-mail, Instant Messaging, cell phones, and regular phones. I remember when I was a kid, and the only way we had to use to keep in touch was using a regular house phone–with a cord to keep us tethered within hearing range of our parents! (any teenager reading this is now rolling his or her eyes . . . )

I love summer! I love being outside and seeing the brilliant colors–if you have not lived in the country you can’t appreciate how many variations of green there are, on different kinds of trees, flowers, plants, and even weeds. I enjoy the wildlife. This morning on my way to work (at 5:15 AM–yikes!) I saw at least five jackrabbits hopping down the road. I can look out my back window and see at least 100 cows and their new baby calves, running around playing tag like kids. In the evening we’ll occasionally see deer and raccoons drinking water at our pond. 

 As well as the beauty of nature during the summer, I enjoy the more laid back routine. Yes, we still have plenty to do, but we’re on much less of a schedule. And when it’s light out until at least 9:00 in our area of the country, at this time of year, we aren’t so rushed to get everything done before dark, or before the kids’ bedtime.

I like to set summer goals. They’re usually less serious than winter goals, partly because summer is supposed to be fun, and partly because I just have three months to accomplish my “summer” goals, as opposed to “school year” goals, which I try to accomplish in either four months (by the end of the year) or nine months (by the end of the school year).  

One of my goals for the summer is to learn to drive the 4-wheeler. It’s partly a safety issue; I ride out on the 4-wheeler with Tim and the kids to check cattle sometimes, and if they would get hurt and be unable to drive it, I would have to get them home. It’s partly an issue of convenience; I could help check the cattle, or go on little errands around the ranch, much easier if I could drive the 4-wheeler. AND . . . everyone else knows how to drive it except me! Morgan has agreed to be my teacher; she has more patience than the guys.

What are YOUR goals for the summer? They can be serious, or fun. In the next few weeks, I’m going to write posts about the importance of making goals, and give step-by-step advice on how to write good goals–goals you’ll be able to work towards and reach.  There is great satisfaction in defining, working toward, and reaching a goal. Another of my summer goals is to show you how to reach YOUR goals.

I welcome your questions and comments, about my blog entries or anything on my website.