View from the Block

That is what I have today. I am all logged on and ready to roll in Madill, Okla. for the Spring Edition sale at Buck Cattle Company. I love working part-time for liveactions on days like this. Great people and great cattle don't make me such a grouchy morning person.

Getting to the sale pretty early is part of my job. It is also mostly entertainment. Right now, I am up on the block looking out over the ring and the early comers. I can also see out the door at what looks like a great day in southern Oklahoma, minus the horrible winds. But, a plus to those winds will be them pushing me home instead of hampering my drive like they did yesterday!

There are only a handful of people in the sale ring and they are into their catalogs. They have their pens out, heads huddled together planning what they are going to invest in. It isn't just a purchase to this group here this early. It is an investment in family, in their business and for the long haul. These are salt of the earth people who contact their banker and make solid decisions. These are my type of people.

I am also being entertained by a youngster in a Polo hat, carrying a book that is almost as long as he is tall. Hat pulled down low, short legs bowed he is all about moo cows! The Buck family and their crew make it a point to talk to everyone, make everyone feel included and part of the crew- even little old me. I have grown to love my new tradition of spending a few days with these guys. That is what this is all about- putting smiles on people's faces, helping shape their kids, and to make valuable memories. Or at least that is what showing cattle means to me.

And it is times like this, while up on the block all alone, that I remember how amazing my mom and dad are, what they sacrificed for me to show cattle and meet these wonderful people and that I better call both of them while I am driving home. Dad loves to know about all the sales I go to because he loves cattle and is interested in my life. Mom likes to check in on both my brother and I to make sure we are okay. She will want to know how my cold/allergies are after a day in a dusty barn. AND I LOVE THEM FOR IT! I am not sure I would be the person I am if they weren't interested in my life. How can parents have kids and not care about them every single minute of every day?

Now get off the blasted Internet and call your parents to check in with them, will you?!?!?!?

Almost sale time!
KCK

10,000 steps

That is the magic number, or so they say. Everyone should get 10,000 steps a day. Well, not this basement dwelling troll! Or at least, not until I bought a pedometer. Ah heck, who am I kidding! I have only, in two weeks of jaunting around with it, made my goal. I even walked 24 blocks, round trip through the hood of OKC (AKA- where I office), to get a pop and that didn't do it.

Do you know how far 10,000 steps is?! About 5 miles! I never paid attention. I do now. I toss my pedometer on my hip every morning and check it a million times. I got my goal on Friday because of the Youth Expo. I walked a nice click around the grounds all day and worked with kids.

It didn't dawn on me how lazy I had become until the first two or three days of wearing the stupid reminder! It does the math, too, in case you can't figure out what percentage a number is when put into 10,000. I am pretty lame at math, but I can do that. However, I hate seeing that percentage there b/c it is never close to my goal.

But, if the weather EVER gets nice and we don't have more spring blizzards, I will be on to my goal each day. I can at least do that when the rest of you people are doing boot camp, marathon training and the likes of real exercise. So, if anyone needs an exercise buddy, pick up a pedometer and the phone. We can walk and talk!

Random notes from KC.....
A cat jumped out from a car last night, prompting me to yell "Oh jeez oh pete's!" Which made Chisolm decide to bag on me all night about my random choice of words. SO, in a future blog, look for my list of KC-isms.

I helped my pal Shellie Collins with some stain advice this weekend and she thought it odd that I was teaching her something. This started a chain reaction of me coming up with handy and helpful hints to share with the world. Look out for those, too!

Guess I best get out of your hair. Do you take 10,000 steps a day? I bet you don't! Dare you to buy a pedometer!

Chow!
KCK

Friday will be my reward!

It is days like this that I really like my job. Friday will be my reward for being here- I get to spend the day at the Oklahoma Youth Expo as a part of their OSU Ag Day. Mind you, I office in a basement with three other people. I am a chatter bug who can't talk most of the 8-hour work day. You understand that could be the death of me, right? Well, Friday I will get to talk my head off. I will get to teach youth about agriculture. I couldn't think of a better thing to cap off a week.

So, this also gave me an excuse to finally, finally recreate my work display to be more geared to kiddos. I also got to make phone calls to get some stuff donated. Those are two things that I don't get to do much of.

Whenever I go teach about wheat, I am floored by some of the misconceptions about the food we eat. And, EVERY TIME I get asked if rice is made from wheat..... did you catch that? Some kids don't even know that rice is its own plant! I have learned to hide my emotions when they ask questions like that since I wear them on my face.

95 percent of the kids I encounter have never seen a plant be grown, have no clue that they would be hungry and naked without a farmer. They think cotton is something you buy at the store, they don't get that chicken fingers and down coats are from the same place and they think that dirt is gross. Serious- the boys in high school even cringe when we force (and it is forcing them) to touch the dirt.

Therefore, my week has been using a budget of $0 to create a booth that I can take and actively engage students with. I am pretty proud, but I won't break my arm to pat my own back. I can let y'all do that for me:~) Here are some pictures------

This is the whole thing. You can't read the little stuff, but from right to left it will take you from a wheat plant (hard red winter type here) to a kernel (showcasing all six types of wheat) to flour and the milling process (with white and whole wheat in the mason jars for them to see the variation of texture and color) to the finished product.

Closer up you can kind of see the labels I made for the tables and the flour sifter I am using as a pin holder. I told you I had a $0 budget! SIDE NOTE- I have gotten a million compliments on the Harvest Welcome sign that I got at Ross for a mere $.5! I needed a little retail therapy one day and BAM! There it was. Focus, Keffer, focus!

White flour on the left, whole wheat on the right. Even in these not so bueno pictures you can see the difference. Kids get a real hands on feel when I show them these old, used Mason type jars.

SO, now I am just stapling hand outs together and getting my matching game about types of wheat food products all ready. So, for those tasks I have my Valentine's Day soundtrack on repeat and a Diet Coke in my hand. Nothing can stop me from teaching this kids a thing or two about wheat on Friday! PS- if you know of any teachers that would like a day of planting wheat or learning tell them to call my office! Please!

Stapling, stapling trying to NOT get my fingers. Until I become entertaining and put up some sort of antics, away I go!

Tootles, Keffer

Youth in Action

I am having a really, really hard time staying at my desk today knowing their is a cattle show right up the road. The one I am referring to is the Oklahoma Youth Expo- cattle, sheep, pigs and goats. Friends from all over are in town and I am chained to my desk! Oh well, I will head that way in a few and see the grand champion drive.

There is no feeling better than going to a youth livestock show and realizing that our future is in pretty good hands. Helping a 4-H or FFA member with their cattle is something I would love to turn into a full-time gig. Not only are they learning about agriculture, they are making friends, getting a lesson in the hard knocks of winning and losing. They know what dedication and hard work will do for a person. I have asked my 'rents what they think would have happened if my brother and I were not the end result of cattle shows. I think they can both tell you we would have ended up in jail. I mean, my one piercing episode almost got me hard time! Could you imagine me hanging out, playing video games all day in the summer. YUCK! Don't know how kids do it.

I was shocked to learn that a huge ag state like Georgia was thinking of cutting their state 4-H program. They propose it would save over $6 million. Do they not understand what trouble kids can get in to if they aren't mentored, shown the right path, taught to have a work ethic and to be honest? How sad. If you are the project of a 4-H program, like I am, I think you need to help spread the word. If you know anyone in Georgia that has one or two ears and something stuck between them, give them a rundown of how sad things could be without 4-H. I all ready have, that is why I am posting this here:) People won't answer my annoying calls anymore! HA

Until I get away from being boring, I will log off.
Signed,
A girl without a trip to juvenile rehab, jail or court b/c of 4-H (and her mom and dad and her God given common sense!)

All Worked Up

div>Man, am I worked up! Down right agitated! Livid! Outraged! Pretty peeved!!!! And I want to do something about it. No, it isn't that fact that I am now driving to work in the dark and descending into my basement mortuary-esk office, it is about piss poor service. Sorry to be so mean..... and I am divorcing Home Depot!

Let me lay out the events that have my panties in a wad. Granted, I know I have worked myself up more than it might actually warrant but still- where are all the nice people?


Saturday was going to be a productive day for me, as I couldn't go to southwest Oklahoma b/c I was getting a new microwave delivered and installed. Now, mind you I would have loved to buy the cheap one, plug it in and call it good. But, upon the death of our four-year-old unit I realized how much I need it. It is my vent, my over the stove light, my life blood! Starting my grouch like status over this whole dumb saga was the delivery service narrowing down their time frame for their arrival- somewhere between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nice way to dork up my whole dang day, HD! But, I got lucky and they came to me first. At my house by 11 a.m., putting a smile on my face and putting in my much needed product.

Then it happened. Then they tried to leave the dead appliance in my kitchen. Then they took it and sped away. They drove off like bandits after a bank hist, minus the cool tire squealing effect. That would have made it so much cooler! THEN I saw why they left. The mess they made was STILL there. They didn't even try to feign cleaning. They didn't brush a single piece of dust or remnant of cabinet away. I took pictures, so you have to look at them. Most will scratch their heads and say "so what?"

Check out those chunks and that dust!
Rotate your head and get a good look at the crime scene. They didn't even move or ask me to move anything in the general vicinity. I had no clue it would include a drill and two grown men proudly displaying their butt cracks to finish this product. Maybe I am glad Circle K, the husband not the gas station, didn't undertake this project. B/c I would be divorcing him for this mess and not Home Depot!

I called, they listened and they didn't offer to give me any monetary compensation. After all, the installation and delivery ended up costing me only a few $$ short of the price of the unit. That is what has me on a witch hunt to get my money back. And, the icing on the cake- they broke one of the cool red canisters you see in the first picture. Now I only have two and it is throwing the fung shei of my kitchen off. I just don't feel zen in there now!

Okay. Dismounting my soapbox. If you know how I can really get back at this company, do tell. But, from now on my little projects and flowers will come from TEAM LOWES!
Thanks for sticking it out with me. If, in only my third post, I have sent you running I am sorry.

Tootles,

KCK

Crafting on a Thursday night

Now, don't get all excited that what I am fixin' to share with you will be a project you will set out to accomplish. The two letters in my name, the K and the C, don't stand for the Kid's Crafty by any means. I just wanted to do something with my evening, kill time before the OSU-KSU game. (and that is a whole other can of worms!)

On Monday I did a wonder 'round Wal-mart that is so me when Spring is toying with me. I enjoy plotting and planning what kind of plan I will have for my flower scheme. So, upon finding the two containers I purchased in the clearance aisle, I decided I would try my hand at "container gardening."

I spent a whole $20 on this project! The barrel containers were marked down from $15 to $5, so that made my Monday. I don't know if any of my seeds will grow, but if they don't I can always plant flowers in them. I am a great potted flower producer- not to toot my own horn.... toot, toot, tooty, toot.

NOTE FROM WRITER- Don't get your hopes up for some amazing pictures to follow. I have a simply point and click. I would love for someone to give me some guidance on buying and using a nicer one. Please and thanks.

These are the seeds I want to grow.....
My mouth is watering thinking of all the great nights of steak fajitas and guacamole that will come from the cilantro. And all the great spinach salads with homemade poppy seed dressing I will serve my summer guests. (now taking reservations, btw)

And here is the coups de gras, the steal that started this whole ball rolling.....

I got two of these cedar barrels. The color just really blends in with everything and if my herbs don't grow, I want to use them for flowers. And, the last growing season, which was my first one trying to grow things in Oklahoma red dirt, wasn't the best. However, the flowers in the planters flourished! So, I painted the random Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar containers turquoise, red, and other rainbow colors. Now, when I kill the stuff in the ground, I can place a pretty planter with lovely live flowers directly in my beds and they add an EXTRA pop of color. Pretty quick thinking, Keffer... Way to be!

Notice the theme of me being a cheap butt, so you will appreciate the fact that I picked the cheapest spray paint to add my pop of color. And, if you remember my families days as "Oakbrook" you will appreciate the color:)

Once I grabbed a beer, answered a call from one of my lovely leading ladies and connected my hands free option, I was ready to get down to business. Layer of newspaper on the table- check. Shake the paint- check. Sip the beer- check and double check. Away we go!

Now if you know me at all, you will remember my extreme case of self-diagnosed case of ADHD and love of shiny objects. That means projects must be snappy or they will remain half finished for eternity. Serious- come to my house and check out my bar stools for crying out loud:( So, I used the whole can of paint to do these barrels during one 20-minute conversation on the phone.

After work, I have two shiny, blue barrels waiting for me on my back porch hungry for some soil and seeds. Or, maybe tomorrow they will get them.

TGIF y'all. I am signing off until I do something else I deem entertaining!

All Because I Turned the Big 3-0!

That is why I started this. That is why I named it "Over my head" because that explains a lot in my life, whether I am "In over my head" or that joke was simply "over my head" Turning 30 (insert shaking of the head and a muttering of "damn, that is old!" here) also caused me to wonder what I would put on a bucket list. It also makes me stare at my reflection as if waiting to see if grey hairs and wrinkles magically happen in a mili-second. Gaw, I sure hope NOT!!

So, I mentioned my bucket list. Why did they ever make that movie and bring such a phenomenon to light for me? PS- I just had to look and see if spell check was available on this program and it is. If not, I was going to never venture back into the blogging world!

As if you care about my bucket list, I am going to place it on the WWW for the world to see, or the two people that I get to read this. It might get you to thinking. And, there isn't too many earth shattering things on it and I realize all I really want to do is be a spoiled, rich socialite!

BUCKET LIST ALA KEFFER (I still like my old last name, so please, by all means refer to me as Keffer:)
* donate blood and plasma
* Go to the New Orleans Jazz Fest
* Purchase season tickets for Pokes football
* Start a scholarship at BHE and/or OSU
* Go to NFR- CHECK
* Go to Mardi Gras- CHECK
* Take a long train trip
* Visit my family in South Carolina
* Start a blog- CHECK (duh!)
* Volunteer somewhere
* Start a book donation center for cancer patients at a hospital
* Sponsor a family's Thanksgiving dinner
* Sponsor a family's Christmas dinner
* Become part of a church
* Judge showmanship at the Hoosier Beef Congress
* Help with an FFA or 4-H chapter
* Start my own Hereford herd
* Get down to 125 pounds- You can either stop reading here or break out in laughter!
* See Buffett in concert
* Participate in Relay for Life
* Vacation in Key West
* Plant a garden that PRODUCES
* Return to the Toronto Royal Winter Fair
* Guess I can add more any time:)

TaDa! That is it. Simple. Now if only I remember I made it and start to scratch some things off.

So, this married, 30-year-old, mortgage having, desk job holding chica is going to sign off. Hope I remember this is here and I hope it helps me become more fun. Because if I have fun, I can rub it in your face with my posts! Joking:)

So, until I do something fun or funny, I am signing off...