Turquoise Thursday Cowgirl Crush Giveaway

Time to do a little shopping!

Turquoise Thursday has arrived and today I want to introduce you to a pretty cool young lady named Courtney Nolz. Now Courtney and I had never met in person but I would certainly consider herself a social media friend. I have a lot of those which I think is completely normal, and the Boy gives me a funny look when I talked about these "friends."

Courtney owns an awesome online boutique called Cowgirl Crush and whether you are a real cowgirl or just have a little cowgirl spirit you are going to want to check her stuff out.

I have put myself on a shopping limit but I love this top. I really want a peplum. 

Wanted to buy this too. 

I love my turquoise bubble necklace and am thinking a black one would be nice. 

Turquoise multi-string necklace, yes please.

And these earring I love, and you could love because we are giving a pair away of the Miss Independent earrings. 

The earring are a little more green than turquoise, but they are already becoming a favorite of mine. 

To enter just follow the instructions below in the Rafflecopter widget. You must like Crystal Cattle and Cowgirl Crush on Facebook and there are a few others ways to enter. Oh and did I mention from 9am today to 9am Friday Cowgirl Crush is giving 10% all orders. Visti http://cowgirlcrushxo.com/ and use coupon code CCturquoise10. p.s. we'll announce the Boot Barn winners this weekend. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Another Boot Barn Cowboy Boot Giveaway

Love these boots. 

Remember this summer when the Boot Barn graciously gave me a pair of Shyanne Boots to try out, and then we gave a pair away to the Crystal Cattle readers. Well the Boy also got a pair of cowboy boots in the deal. Meet Shyanne's brother Cody James. 

These were the Cody James Boots the Boy picked. 

As you can see the Boy went with something a little more conservative compared to my black and red flowered boots, however they have been a great pair of boots for him. The benefits the Boy tells me: 1. he likes that the square toe isn't too wide. You know how some men's boots it looks like there is a big old box on the end of their foot. This boot has slimmer square-toe. 2. Comfort - these boots were made for walking. The Boy has worn his mostly around the farm, and I have wore my Shyanne Boots on the farm, in the city and everywhere in-between. The Booy Barn has comfort figured out!

Always got to get a little dirt on your boots before they are truly broken in. 

My own Shyanne cowboy boots, the sister boot to Cody James. Got the family tree down? 

Now here is your very own chance to win a pair of Cody James or Shyanne Boots. I am trying something a little new with this Rafflecopter gadget. I did it on a friends blog and it worked pretty slick. If it crashes (it really shouldn't) I'll figure out plan B. 

OK first glitch - when it asks for your favorite boots leave that comment in my comment section. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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A week of Instagram: Bills, Hot Rollers and Cows

Crazy about those little square pictures. 

I love Instagram. For those of you who are wondering what this little word I am talking about is let me give a quick run down.

1. Instagram is a photo sharing social media site. You use an app on your phone to do it.
2. You can post, follow, like and comment of photos
3. You can add color filters (think of photoshop) to your photos
4. It is awesome and I am going to start posting a little recap each week using Instagram photos.

This was supper last night. Grown-up nachos. My side contains veggies and the Boy sans veggies. Had to get my protein fix before my run. That's right I am still sticking to the running. 

Tuesday was bill day at the farm. We paid a feed bill, vet bill, crop insurance bill, lumber bill and more. Good thing we sold a heifer this weekend. 

Have you noticed the Christmas stuff out in Walmart! I was really tempted to buy these recipe magazines. Some one said there are less than 100 days until Christmas. Not sure how I feel about that!

What do you do on a Thursday night while waiting for the laundry to finish. Dig out your old hot rollers, of course. These are from my high school days, and I used to use them almost everyday. In the mornings I would go feed cattle, come back in, throw these in, and while they were setting do my make-up and have breakfast. They curl didn't hold too well this time. I think I need a setting spray. 

Of course the week wouldn't be complete without cows. These were a few of the heifers we watched sell in Illinois. I posted a video of a different lot selling for $25,000. Yes, $25,000 for a cow. 

If you are on Instagram let me know, and you can find me by searching for @crystalcattle

p.s. Anyone notice you can't search for Instagram people via Twitter now. Annoying. 

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Best tailgating dip ever - ugly dip

Feel free to devour

I have a confession. Part of the reason I love tailgating is the food. And not just eating it, but also making it. During the Iowa vs ISU tailgate I brought two dips, a corn & tomato salad, sausage, burgers, a speciality drink and it wasn't even our tailgate.

I decided to break out one my good friend's recipe, and an old K-State tailgate favorite, Ugly Dip. (I actually used to joke it was the only reason I was friends with her so she had better keep on making it).

I kind of forgot to take a picture of it before it was devoured. 

Pretty sure it went over well because I was told by some of the Boy's guy friends don't bother showing up at their homes if I didn't have this dip in tow. Success!

Ingredients for Ugly Dip

8 oz. Sour Cream
8 oz. Hellman's Mayo
8 oz. Shredded Chedder Cheese (I used the Colby/Jack/Cheddar mix and it still worked)
1 - 10 oz. can of Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
2 - 11 oz. cans of Mexi-corn (well drained)
1 pinch of sugar
1 bunch of green onions chopped (you can use the whole onion if you like)

Mix ingredients well and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Caution: The waiting just might kill you.

p.s. You'll be glad if you read this all the way through because I am giving away another pair of boots this week! Stay tuned.

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Cow sells for $25,000

I'm not joking.

This weekend the Boy and I made a trip over to Illinois for a couple Hereford cattle sales. It was a great weekend catching up with a lot of friends. The only not cool part - driving through Galena twice and still not getting to stop. Who wants to meet in Galena and drink wine? Pick me.

Back to the cows. These sales are special because they are put on by purebred cattle breeders. What are purebred cattle? Think of a purebred dog. They have a pedigree, registration paper and are typically worth more than mixed breeds.

For example the heifer that started the sale on Saturday brought $25,000! Below is the video of her selling.

$25,000 would make pretty expense steak, however this heifer (female cow) won't be eaten. She instead will be using for breeding and likely shown. Eventually, she may go onto raise a bull calf, that could then go on to sire (father) calves that end up in our freezer. Clear as mud?

So why are some purebred cattle worth more than others? It has to do with three things - genetics, phenotype (how they look) and marketing. In some parts of the country more emphasis is put on certain traits, and a lot has to do with personal preference. The Boy and I raise purebred cattle and definitely have an idea about which ones can make us money and which ones can't. Because no matter how much we love our cattle we they have to make us money because that is what pays the bills. (You can see some of the marketing that we do for our farm on our JJB Cattle Co. Facebook page.)

On a side note. It is hard for me to explain how much I love cattle. I was thinking about this as I was sitting watching the sale. Yeah I had on my new Ily Couture bracelet, designer jeans, J.Crew shirt, sound a little like you? But how many of you have ever had the thought running through your head "I love cattle so incredibly much I have no idea what I would do if I couldn't be around them or have them in my life." Weird? Maybe. But they are my passion, and I think about how much I love cows daily.

If you do have questions and things are still clear as mud comment below or email me. You can find my contact information on the About tab. Have a great Monday!

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What is the government talking about?

And is it important to you?

My good friend Chelsea recently this link about the words that both Republicans and Democrats used during each of their national conventions. I actually watched a good chunk of the Republican Convention and some of the Democrats. I will tell you that I quite enjoyed listening to the speakers that weren't part of the prime time slots. During the Republican Convention a lot of personal stories were shared about Romney from church members and people that worked for him or with. I have a whole new outlook on the man.

What words were used in the speeches at the national conventions.  

Obviously things like employment, health care, taxes and immigration (I'm actually working on my U.S. residency right now) are important to me. However, food and agriculture are also really important because 1. that is my livelihood, 2. I want safe and nutritious food sources and 3. it scares me that eventually government won't trust what farmers are doing and will regulate us out of business.

Using the Word They Used Comparison this is what I found. (Click on each of the pictures to enlarge).

Agriculture was spoken:

Well that doesn't look promising. Zero, zip zilch. 

Farm was spoken:

The Republics did a little better here. It was brought up twice. 

Food was spoken:

Thus, far the most popular term I searched. 3-2 for the Democrats.

Environment was spoken:

Only 1-2 for the Republicans. I thought this term would have been a lot more popular. 

So what does all this mean. I am not sure. But it is interesting. Here's to hoping that a candidate who really understands 98% of farms are family owned and we can't feed the U.S. and all those other countries that depend on us on from gardens.

Use the comparison link yourself and let me know what you found out. 

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Tailgating T-shirts and Underwear

It is football season. 

Eek! That pretty much explains how excited I am when Saturdays roll around. I mean was is better than spending time with friends, gorging yourself on tailgating food while cheering on your favorite team. Nothing. OK maybe being at a cattle show. I really like those too.

This weekend the Boy and I with a bunch of other friends headed down to Iowa City for the Hawkeyes vs Iowa State game. The majority of them are Iowa fans, which suits me just fine. I bleed K-State purple and there is no way I am cheering for that other Big 12 team - Iowa State.

The day worked out perfect. We had a big screen at our tailgate so that meant I got to watch the K-State game at eleven (and we dominated) and then we watched the Iowa game in the afternoon. That one didn't go so hot. They lost, but it wasn't to a good team by any means. I declared that neither team really should have won because they both did way more wrong than right.

By the end of the day I think I had won some K-State fans. I mean they played great and the K-State Mask videos definitely raised our level of cool.

I knew that during the tailgate it would be proper to support the Boy's team, but I needed to represent my team. Thankful to Threads, this awesome T-shirt store in Manhattan, KS, I was able to make my plan a reality.

Presenting my K-State Girls Like Iowa Boys T-shirt. Threads does all kinds of custom work, and will ship anywhere. The shirt ended up being almost $30 I think. They carry American Apparel clothing, which I love because of their super soft shirts, but be warned their women's sizes runs little small. This is a size medium and it fit perfect. 

I wasn't the only one with a unique piece of clothing though. A gentlemen showed up pretty early to our tailgate with something he called Game Day Undies. 

Our best man's dad decided to big a pair for himself. The idea is that with these boxer briefs you can successfully sneak your own alcohol into games. You never are quite sure what you'll see at a tailgate. 

Here's to another great weekend and a countdown to Saturday. 

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I'm talking about what comes from playing for a Midwest school

I am K-State Proud. 

Recently, a gentlemen known as the K-State Mask has entered the college football scene. And whether or not you have any desire to bleed K-State purple you've got to watch. He is moving (I literally get goosebumps), hilarious, motivating and ridiculous. Below is a quote from today's video as we get pumped up to play Miami this weekend.

I think I fell in love.

This quote goes on longer and get pretty funny after the heartfelt stuff in the K-State Mask video. You can watch it all hear. 

And this is the link to the K-State Mask's Missouri State Post Game Video. It is amazing. My Iowa 

loving husband even felt a little purple pride. 

Be sure to follow K-State Mask on Twitter. 

"We need to be loud, proud, and a helluva a crowd. Mark that down."

- K-State Mask

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