Ponderings by Plowgirl

Today's blog is dedicated to my niece Katie. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. Your uncle Mark and I were at college, and I went over to pick him up and take him to class. He came out of his apartment just BEAMING. He'd just got off the phone with your dad, who had informed him that you had arrived. Katie Ann, perfect and healthy in every way. You have grown into a beautiful young lady who we are very proud of. You are smart, talented, energetic and most of all, a sweet, caring, kind, giving person. You are a wonderful aunt, and cousin to the youngsters in the family. They adore you. You are a loyal friend, as can be seen in the MANY pictures Tessa posts on Facebook! She got into texting at an early age. No wonder she's so good at it now! This butterfly would not leave her alone one spring day. It was so cute! Autocrossing in the grass First grade picture. One of our favorites! Homecoming parade with Dad as her driver Hanging with the clas...

I received an email this week. It was not a particularly nice email. But it did make me stop and think. It made me stop and think about how wonderful of a life I do lead, and to appreciate the “small” and the big things in life. I have a great husband, a beautiful, joyous daughter (even if she does drive me slightly crazy!), and a nice house. I drive a nice car. I’ve not had to work, but it’s something I enjoy. I have a wonderful family. And I’m not just talking about “my” family, but my in-laws. We all farm together. I’ll admit, some days it’s hard. We can get on each other’s nerves. But we do work well together. I have the.BEST. in-laws. EVER!!!! They have become as close to me as my own family. I honestly do not know what I’d do without them. Friends….I am so blessed to have many friends. Hubby says I know more people in our community than he does, and he’s lived here all his life! We have a GREAT core group of friends. We all share common goals, beliefs, values and a...

In my family, Sunday night is known as Pizza Night. Sunday night, pepperoni pizza, and 60 Minutes, it all goes together. To this day, I can't hear the "tick, tick, tick and the familiar "I'm Harry Reasoner, I'm Morely Safer, and I'm Ed Bradley" without tasting Mom's pizza. For as long as I can remember, we've had pizza on Sunday nights. She always made homemade pizza. She was FAMOUS for her homemade pizza. In fact, for one of the church bazaars, she put up a gift certificate for 2 homemade pizzas. It brought well over $100. I think she actually ended up making about 5 to fill that gift certificate, as a neighbor bought it, and we had their whole family over that night, plus the 5 of us! In college, I had several speeches to compose for Speech 102 class. One of the criteria for one of the speeches was an "exciting or overwhelming" fact. (or something like that). I'd just been home for the weekend. As I was driving back to M...

Back in April, I mentioned that I wanted a new(er) car. The black 2009 Challenger was my dream car. Wellllllllllllllllll, that wasn't quite what I ended up with. I bought this car: Therefore, the old car is going to have to find a new home. (Altho, plowbaby swears we are keeping it for her to drive when she is old enough!) 1997 Dodge Intrepid Dark teal green with grey cloth interior Power and tinted windows Power locks with child lock-out back doors All new tires, and new battery Air conditioning works GREAT! Asking $2000 and hey, I will even shop-vac it out and maybe wash it for you! :=] email me for more information at kansasplowgirl@gmail.com

Well, yesterday was the last day of me being a mom to a baby. Today, she started preschool. "I'm a big girl now Mom" is quite a common saying for her now. On Monday we went school supply shopping, bought new tennis shoes at Payless, and had lunch at her favorite place - Applebee's. Tuesday, I spent the day convincing her that she IS going to preschool! "I'm not ready was her reply". I told her that I'd already paid for school, so SOMEONE in this household IS going to school! She thought that maybe Dad should go! But, I reminded her that Dad has to work, to which she replied that then I could go. When I told her that she would have to stay here alone, and I expected her to do laundry, dishes and have supper ready when I got home from preschool, she started reconsidering her options! Later in the day, her teacher Miss Barb called and visited with her a bit. That seemed to do the trick! After their conversation, she went to her room and picked...

The theme this year was Hello Kitty. Pink, pink, and more pink......with a little bit of orange, blue, green and white thrown in for color! This by far is my favorite cake that I have made for her, and the cupcakes turned out great too. I used the "animal crackers" pan by Wilton for the cake, and trimmed the "bear" ears to look like "cat" ears. My friend Deb made the buttercream frosting for me. (I always wonder why she and I can use the same recipe and hers tastes SOOOO much better! - Thanks Deb!) The bow, eyes, nose and whiskers are from rolled fondant colored with Wilton gel. I had a template to work with, so it wasn't like I was constructing this blind! The template is her snack pack that came with her backpack for school. She even picked the "funfetti" cake mix. YUM! The cupcakes....just your standard chocolate cupcakes with white buttercream frosting and confetti sprinkles. They were yummy too!

The County Fair starts this week. We have been out working on the fairgrounds getting buildings and pens cleaned up, grass trimmed and mowed, a new "ice house" has been constructed and painted. (That is "we" as in : the Fairboard members, 4H families, FFA members and other community leaders). Plowboy wonders why I spend time out there, it's because I enjoy it, and I believe that Crawford County has a great Fair, and I would like to see it keep improving. The following press release was written by a long-time Fair supporter. (Thanks Kari!) GIRARD, KS — Plans for the 93nd Annual Crawford County Fair are underway. The Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29 through Saturday, August 1, 2009. It features exhibits from 4-H and FFA members, Open Class exhibits, in which anyone can participate, and will include a variety of livestock shows and the 4-H Livestock Sale on Saturday. Complete rules and classes are available in the premium catalog, available at the Craw...