Where I Come From It's Cornbread and Chicken

{me with the pigs}

If someone were to ask me what experience has shaped my life and personality the most, I would say, without the slightest pause, growing up on a farm. There is a certain sense of pride that comes from having your dad work with his hands and your mom take care of her family. As far back as I can recall, we've always had cattle and enough land to keep us more than busy.

Lessons learned on the farm were countless. Such things as

• I was born knowing how to drive a truck and a tractor.
• It is important to know how deep and thick something is before you cross it.
• The better you treat an animal the more they are willing to give you.
  
• Everyone feels hot and sticky and miserable in a 2pm sun --you’re problems are not unique.
• There is always going to be another solution. You can't do it one way you can do it another.
• A piece of twine will do some amazing things. (It is similar to duct tape.)
• You can't start it-- push it. You can't push it--pull it. You can't move it--ask your brother.
• The best time to sing at the top of your lungs to Dixie Chicks and Tim McGraw is while driving a tractor. Country music doesn't belong anywhere else.
• It isn't always easy to find "this size bolt" from 6 five-gallon buckets of rusty pieces of metal.
• And it important to always have a lot of duct tape and WD-40 on hand.
• You don't get to take a hour lunch.
• Machines talk. They tell you when they are feeling normal and when something is amiss. STOP if anything sounds bad.
• Go to bed when you have the chance.
• Run everything to the dirt and then some.
• An most importantly, the harder you work at something the better you feel about yourself.
  
  Family and your stories are part of who you are and what you stand for. Dad can fix anything and mom knows how to make everything good. The habits you keep for years are as strong as life itself. We are part of the land we work. Pray a lot because it all depends on Him. However, work like it doesn't.
  
  No other experience in this world can offer the satisfaction I feel when I watch the sunset after a day of sweat and hard work and the realization I've "done some good in the world today."

Thought:

Sometimes there is nothing better than a man hug.

Period.

Ode to Earrings

I was super excited to get my ears pierced when I was younger.
Mom kept telling me I was too young to get them done, so

on a day in town with my sisters we rebelled and got them done. My older

sister signed the permission slip as my mother (she's only 10 years older than me)

and I went home a little sore but happy and feeling very mature.

I love earrings, especially when my hair is shorter.

I've collected quite a few in my life (I just wish they were cheaper) and

I never knew how to store them. They end up all heaped together

in a cup on my dresser.

This idea solved all my problems, and I love it:

I started with a $1 frame I found at the D.I. , sanded it down, and painted it a fun lime color.

At about any craft store they have plastic mesh. Mine was only a dollar.

I measured out the mesh and hot glued it to the back on the frame where normally the glass would go.

I don't have a craft stapler, but if I did I would have used fabric for the back on the frame. I used paper, measured it out and just taped it with double stick. It works wonderfully.

I added a scrap booking flower I had and some ribbon to hang it with.

I stuck my earrings through the mesh and hung it up.

I love the color and how it grabs attention. Fun, fun, fun!

Total spent: $2.00