29 + 1 = 30.

Saturday was the first anniversary of my 29th birthday. There were lots of things that made this one extra special, but my mom and dad got things started with a great surprise: 30 gifts and one to grow on! My mom said it started out as a few little gifts; and then she thought it'd be fun to do keep going. I agree. I am overwhelmed by their generosity and love. What a way to make a girl feel special!

I think other than the fact that I will surely be called Ma'am wherever I go and no longer be mistaken for a college student, I am a little sad that I can no longer classify myself as being in my 20s. For instance, take the all-important magazine advice: it's about to get real. Real old.

Thanks to all my family and friends for making this day so great and for sending me some birthday love. I look forward to the next thirty and going to bed early. 

We bought a planter.

Farmer Tim and I just got baptized into the fire that is farm equipment ownership. We purchased a Case ih 24 row corn planter. Here it is in all its 60 feet of glory. Friends, don't you want to come visit?

Under normal weather conditions, Tim would tell you he likes to start planting corn around April 25th. Given the more recent ahem snow events, that date will likely be pushed back a few days. No matter the start date I know he's dying to take Big Bertha for a spin (or two, or three, or four...).  

This was early Tuesday morning and also what 9" of snow looks like on April 23. It's melting fast, but it's still a major player in the aforementioned delay. I'm secretly glad about it because despite his best efforts to think otherwise, I like having my farmer around. But don't tell him.

Other than the fact that's it's really huge (that's what she said) and he can cover a lot of ground really fast, my favorite thing about the planter is the camera he had installed on the back. This way, he can see what or who is behind him when he's driving down the road between fields- all from the monitor in the cab! We're high tech. No seriously, Tim has GPS in the tractor so all he has to do is press a button and it drives itself; he only has to turn the tractor at the end of the row to get it started on its next line. Seriously. If you don't believe me, ask Barry. He not only geeks out at technology but he also came to visit and we force fed gave him all this information. We love you, Barry (and Paige and Carter).

If I've said it once, I'll say it again. And probably again and again, but we'd love for you to visit. Come see what farm life is like and watch Tim work. Or at least you can watch the tractor work while Tim plays games on his phone. I'm kidding because that would be dangerous. Yes, I love technology, but not as much as you, you see. Always and forever.

#laterblog #puertorico

While I'm on a #laterblog roll, I should probably mention that Tim and I went to Puerto Rico back in February. Maybe it's because I'm a little sad about all this April snow, and maybe it's because I miss my friend and I want to vicariously live through my pictures; whatever my reason, here's a peek at our trip. Who wants to go back with me?

We met up with Buffalo friends, Nicole and Todd, for a winter break rendezvous. It was an 85 degree, hair enlarging humidity, conversation-filled, does-your-heart-a-lot-of-good kind of week.

We were far from family during our time in Buffalo and Nicole's family treated us as their own, and were kind enough to include us at holidays and family birthday parties. A home away from home- we were blessed.

This trip had no real agenda, which was a little hard for this Type A trip planner; but it was easy to relax once we got there. Just look at that first picture- how can you not? We rented a car an absolute necessity, visited the rain forest, walked through Old San Juan, kayaked in the dark to see fluorescent organisms ah-mazing and laid by the pool. Before you all get in an uproar about my being in the sun, we did rent a cabana so as not to scorch by pale exterior. Me and my buddy, Jim Gaffigan. Also I wore a hat. And sunscreen (I think we sprayed through three bottles).

My advice after going to Puerto Rico: take heed if the proprietor of an eating establishment offers you homemade moonshine. That is all.

Better late than never.

This one time I went to Washington DC and it felt like yesterday but it was really over a month ago already. Whoops. Time flies when you're not blogging. I alluded in an earlier post that I would eventually get to posting about our kind-of-annual trip to DC. We went last year and as you might have guessed we went again this year. I think that's what annual means. The primary purpose of the trip is to reward county Farm Bureau presidents in Kansas for their service. Farmer Tim is still the Sherman Co. President, so they continue to let us intrude tagalong attend a week-ish long trip where we get to tour around, do a little lobbying and learn some stuff about issues affecting agriculture. But we also get to do fun stuff like visit family and friends. Win-win.

As was the case last year, the Farm Bill is still elusive as ever but a hot topic, nonetheless. The Sequester is of course a concern to farmers as it will likely result in major cuts to programs, affecting the way we do business. We did a lot of listening, which was good, but also frustrating because you see so much dysfunction (on both sides of the aisle) and you almost feel helpless. But I suppose our being there at least says something about our caring- or at least I'd like to think it does anyway. And since this post is so belated, I'll end this with a picture trip-in-review.

Where I live.

It might be flat and brown, but Northwest Kansas sure is pretty. #lookatthoseclouds #blueskies #justrainalready

Strike while the iron's hot.

Some things I just can't make up. If you follow the blog, I proudly posted that after two years of living in Goodland, we had finally won the free movie tickets. I'd like to think it happened again because we're the most popular people in Goodland. Or because we're the best patrons of the movie theater and newspaper. Or because Tim's winked at all the right people. Or perhaps it's because Tim is secretly scheming to make all my wildest dreams come true in time for my 30th birthday. Whatever the happenstance, it's awesome. And also they probably forgot to switch out Tim's name with the new winner. But out of the whole ordeal we have received TWO BOXES OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES, which we got when we renewed our paper subscription, and why we were probably drawn for the free tickets in the first place; and now FOUR, 3D MOVIE TICKETS. When did my life get so exciting and when did Tim's head get so huge. Someone come talk him down.

For those of you wondering about The Croods: don't go. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good.

Fridge of pics.

There are two different kinds of people in this world: people who have pretty Christmas trees and people who have family Christmas trees (aka: homemade and/or mis-matchy ornaments). There are also people who use their refrigerators to store food and people who use them to display pictures and magnets. I fall into the latter of both categories. I come by it honestly, as my family read: my dad collected magnets from places we traveled. I figure I could have picked up much worse tendencies, (albeit maybe not as tacky) but I just can't resist a good magnet. I have even taken it a step further from childhood, and strategically place pictures of family and friends throughout under the magnets. So every year, I take an array of Christmas cards, birth announcements, school pictures, etc. and decorate. It's an acquired taste, I'm guessing, based on visitors' comments and stares; but I love it. It was a daily reminder of family and friends when Tim and I lived far from home in Iowa and New York, and it continues to brighten my days. So thank you to those who support my habit and continue to send me pictures. And if you want your 15 minutes you'll get it at our house!

Winner winner.

Although I know nothing about The Croods movie, it appears I'm fixin' to since Farmer Tim won us some tickets. Woot woot. Guess this means we'll be going tomorrow night...Thanks, Goodland Star News and The Sherman Co. Theatre!