101 in 1001 update.

Hello folks. 

What have I bean up to recently? Well our wedding is around the corner, and I promise afterwards I'll have tons of pictures to share. My sister and I spend the weekend in Vegas, pictures of that to come as well. And it is definitely springtime at the farm. There are babies everywhere. Tonight should be an interesting adventure as we round up the calves and put their ear tags in. (An ear tag is like an picture earring that has identification information on it.)

13. Go see a play or musical - Crazy Horse in Vegas
My sister and I had been to Peep Show before, so we decided to go to the iconic Vegas Crazy Horse Show this time. As expected there was a lot of nakedness, but it was more cheesy than I expected. I was glad that we bought discounted tickets.

14. Eat at a new restaurant - Cu in Waterloo, Iowa
The Boy took me to this steakhouse for supper. The vibe of the restaurant and the presentation of the food was awesome. The food got an A.

37. Teach myself something new - I Skyped
In February I had the opportunity to talk to the Kansas State agriculture magazine class by Skype. It was wonderful to be able to connect with K-Staters while sitting in my office in Iowa. Although, a trip to Aggieville would have been a good bonus.

In progress...

39. Continue to learn about corn
I am so excited about this. A good friend called me up last week and we've been brain storming. I can't wait to share with you what we have come up with. I can reassure you it is going to be a lot of fun!

51. Book 8 speaking gigs
In April I will be speaking at a Kansas Farm Bureau event along side the former Miss American Teresa Scanlan. I am so excited to have this opportunity!

Are you working on your list? Remember - "You can have everything in life you want, if you just help enough people get what they want," - Zig Ziglar

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The start of 101 in 1001

Write and share goals.

Last week I shared with you that I had completed my first 101 in 1001 goal list. I had start the list way back in 2009, and 1001 days have since passed. You can read more about my first list under the new 101 in 1001 tab. And let me know if you have your own 101 in 1001 goal list published. I would love to link to your page.

My new list is posted on the side of the blog and I can't wait to get going on it, but first I thought I would share the reason or importance behind some of the goals.

Beginning date: February 29, 2012
Completion Date: November 14, 2015

1. Travel to 3 new states - I have traveled to 26 states, but it has been awhile since I have traveled to a brand new state. I haven't spent much time in the NW corner of the U.S. or along the Eastern side of the U.S. Lot of opportunity for a new adventure.

5. Travel outside the U.S. (Canada doesn't count) I am getting the travel itch again. I would love to go back to Australia in the next 1001 days, but South American would also be an awesome experience. Time to start saving again and make a plan.

18. Complete Pinterest Projects. I love Pinterest. And my boards are filled with recipes and DIY projects. Time to start creating!

27. Donate to K-State/28. Donate to Butler. Giving back to the schools that offered me so much is really important to me. I know I paid an awful lot to attend those schools, but there were also alumni before me that gave a lot for me to be able to secure scholarships and complete my goals.

44. Read devotionals everyday. This is part of my Lent project. I gave up chips (I LOVE tortilla chips), but I also wanted to add something. So far I have missed a few days, but I will read for 30 days straight.

51. Book speaking gigs. This past year I was blessed with the opportunity to speak to some agriculture organizations about my experiences of sharing agriculture's story through social media. I've had to turn down a couple events this year due to prior commitments, but I can't wait to connect with other groups and individuals.

58. Meet social media friends in real life. This was one of my goals last time, but now I am upping the number. I love being able to connect with the people that I have spent so much time reading about or tweeting back and forth with.

59. Offer to judge a 4-H or FFA event. Growing up in Canada we just had 4-H. However, it was a huge part of my life. I would love to get more involved in my community and state through these organizations.

70. Golf 18 holes. I can't wait to get the clubs out and start golfing again this year. I picked up the sport two years again, but didn't find a ton of time for the greens last summer. Hoping that will all change.

77. Become a USA resident. Once the Boy and I are married we will start the resident process. Residency is like citizenship, but you can vote. Through school and now I have been on educational and work visas.

85. Make a 101 in 1001 List with Jon. The Boy and I have already started working on one, but we need to get a few more goals posted.

100. Give updates on my list. I wasn't great about this last time, but I hope to do much better this go round. Hopefully, it will get me closer to finishing all 101 goals!

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101 in 1001 comes to an end.

Checking things off the list. 

Well, just over 1001 days ago I posted that list that is found on the left hand side of my blog. The goal was to complete 101 goals in 1001 days. By posting it for the world to see it was going to make me a more accountable.


How did things shake out?

I completed 66 of my 101 goals. Some of my most memorable?

Falling in love. Way back in 2009 love, marriage, etc. was not in the picture. But now as I write this the Boy and I are under 50 days until our wedding. I couldn't ask for a better partner or best friend.

Despite K-State losing, I had a blast attending my first K-State away game in Lincoln, Nebraska. Good thing I went because with UNL leaving the Big 12 there definitely won't be another reason to see that stadium. p.s. K-State tailgating still wins.

Getting to travel to Australia had been a dream of mine for a long time. The trip that I took in 2012 was amazing. I wouldn't trade the friendships I made or the experiences I had for anything. I can't wait to go back one day.

Sleeping in a tent was awesome. The Boy completely surprised me by setting up a tent by our cornfield.

Attending church 12 times in 12 months was a big personal accomplishment for me. With my travel schedule things can get a little hectic, but I loved the church I found when I was living in Missouri. I haven't gotten as involved since I moved to Iowa, but hope to change that soon.

I also partially completely 11 of the goals. I wish I would have made the push to finish that last little bit of these goals (especially getting that last MAC make-over). However, I am not giving up on these yet. I am so close to reaching one of my financial goals that I'm going to keep on pushing through.

Now for the things that I just wasn't very good at.

Sending out birthday cards. I am the worst person ever at buying cards (birthday, Valentine's, Easter, etc) and not sending them out. Ask any of my family or the Boy. It is not one of my strengthens!

I tried so many times to read USA Today online everyday for a week. I really enjoying reading the paper (even though I do it on my iPhone). I'm going to have to work on this.

I wasn't super successful on my fitness or athletic goals. Oops.

And scrapbooking wasn't so successful. I love looking through my junior college scrapbook, I need to get the others done.

I am glad that I inspired so many of you to start your own lists. I'll be posting my new list soon, and I one of my goals is that the Boy and I will do a list together. Here is another great 1001 days. I hope you are reaching lots of your own goals.

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Agvocacy Goals

SMART Goals

Earlier this month, when I spoke about connecting with the consumer at the American Agri-Women Conference, I asked all the participants in my session to write down a goal of theirs regarding how they would become more involved in agvocacy. The participants wrote each goals down twice, keeping one sheet of paper for themselves and handing me the second one. 

You see goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely, is how the acronym goes. However, I like to interchange Attainable for Accountable. By sharing your goals with others it gives you more accountability, just like when I shared my 101 in 1001 list on my blog. 

The goals that the participants wrote down ranged form blogging once a week, join Twitter to speaking to groups about agriculture, and going to law school so she stand up for family farms and agriculture. 

I love when others share their goals with me because it means that I might have some of the knowledge or resources to help them achieve their goals. What are you working towards? No need to wait until the new year to start thinking what you want to achieve?

p.s. Don't forget that December 1 is the last day to vote for the Best of the Barns Awards. I've been nominated in a couple of categories, and would love your vote. 

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Camping by the cornfield - 101 update

That list keeps on staring at me.

I always get lot of questions about my 101 list on the side of my blog. It actually wasn't my original idea to do a 101 in 1001 list, there is a whole website dedicated to the idea. When I started 1001 days seemed like lots of time to complete the list, but as I am getting closer there are some things that need to be knocked out.  And the Boy helped me do just that this weekend.

When I arrived at our future home in Iowa the Boy said he had to burn some cardboard. Great a mini campfire sounds fun. It was very dark out by this point, with only a little bit of light coming from the yard light, and cardboard was not lighting very efficiently. As my eyes adjusted to the low light I saw something behind the house, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. I asked the Boy, "What is that over there." There have been painters at the farm all week working on some of the silos, and the Boy responded, "It must be something of the paint crews."

I thought his answer was a little odd, I mean why would the painters put something behind the house. The cardboard caught fire and there was the real answer. The Boy had bought a tent and it was all set up right beside the cornfield!

Our new tent, right beside the cornfield. 

The boy gets major props for doing this. He is not a big fan of camping or tenting as I like to call it, and sure enough he didn't have the best sleep in the world. The next morning went like this. 

Me: How did you sleep

Him: Not good. It was too noisy.

Me: Oh I like the sound of the crickets, and wind moving through the corn

Him cutting me off: and the AIR CONDITIONER! 

I guess next time we'll have to move the tent a little further away from the house! I still had a blast. Stay tuned because tomorrow I'm announcing an awesome giveaway and on Wednesday I will have one of the best corn reports yet. 

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I’m thankful for roadtrips

101 in 1001

We survived our 2nd
Calf Fry together. 

Time to give a little gratitude on the blog as part of my 101 in 1001 project. This past weekend I headed to Stillwater for my annual Calf Fry trip. This time my co-pilot was the Boy. It is hard to believe that is was at this event last year our relationship really kicked off.

We arrived at Miss Northerner’s trailer house (I mean what would a weekend of Red Dirt Music be without a trailer house). The Park West Palace would be home to eight people during the next three days. Eight people staying in a trailer = someone is going to have to sleep on the floor. It also means it takes approximately three hours to get everyone showered. Water tanks are not that big.

Randy Rogers was the musical highlight for me. Yes, I was that girl belting out Kiss Me in the Dark, and I was in great company. Throughout the weekend there were too many inside jokes to count, Eskimo Joes, my slowly becoming famous Shrimp Gumbo, a pitching contest, in which I made a hole in one, Zebra Cake races, dancing and a terrible rendition of Fancy. I am really not a good singer.

Dana can literally eat a Zebra Cake (similar to a Little Debbie) in 30 seconds.  This has become an annual tradition.

Now that is great form.

What I am most grateful for is the friends that accompany me on this trip every year. Sometimes we don’t see each other often, but it doesn’t matter because we pick back up from where we left off. And each year I seem to leave with a few new friends in tow. I mean the Montana Boys seen to your right probably know more about my personal life then they ever planned too. My Alberta heritage quickly gave me street cred, and they quickly declare I was just a norther sister. The bottle of Canadian Rye I bought with me probably didn't hurt.

Throughout the weekend I saw friends from 10 different state and a bunch of Okies, all gathered for a little fun in Stillwater. 

Pretty girls. Great friends.

Dana was the further traveler again, this year flying in from Detroit.

So thanks friends. I hope that you have people you can count on like these awesome people. Can't wait to do it all again next year. 

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Goals accomplished 101 in 1001 update

Scratch them off. 

It has been a pretty big weekend in terms of completing some goals. Slowly the 101 in 1001 list is becoming smaller which is a good things because I've got less than a year to finish it off.

So what is scratched off?

19. Pay for the next person's in line meal.
For the past two months completing this goals was apart of my #3in30 challenge. However, it wasn't until Friday that I succeeded. Going through the long Starbuck's drive-thru line in Manhattan, KS, was my opportunity. I giggled to myself when the lady handed the cashier for it to be refused. Good deed gone, now hopefully others will pass it on.

30. Scrapbook 2010 
It is started. I am pretty sure my roommate thought there was a paper/sticker explosion when she got home, however I made a good dent in the 2010 Scrapbook.

47. Buy a heifer
I found one I really thought about buying, but I decided to pass. Not quite the right one, not the right time. But I have chosen a name for the heifer that I will one day buy.

56. Write in my journal for 10 days straight. 
Yup, I did it. I have decided I don't know how much of a journal person I am. I guess I would rather type it out. Anyone have an online journal. Thinking that might be the route for me. This was also one of my February #3in30 goals I completed.

80. Get in the habit of writing down everything I spend money on 
Working on it thanks to the Mint.com - I'll be blogging about this more later on.

94. Attend church 12 times in 12 months
DONE! So excited to have finally crossed this off my list. It was a challenge, not because I don't like going, but because of my travel schedule. So many weekends I am on the road for work or headed to see the Boy, but it done, and I am very proud of myself.

I think I am going to take March off from the #3in30 goals. But I enourage to take a look. It is a great community to be apart of!

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Goal Update 101 in 1001 and #3in30

Progress

Currently, I am working on two sets of goals. The 101 goals in 1001 days and my 3 goals in 30 days, with some of these overlapping. Here is how things are looking.

#3in30 
I actually haven't completed any of these goals yet this month, but two of them are in progress and I am confident that I will complete them. I have really enjoyed writing in my journal everyday. Total for the month I have wrote in it almost 10 times, but I have to write in it 10 consecutive days to scratch it off the list. I also can't wait to finish Robyn Beazley's book, Live an Amazing Life. I only have one section left! p.s. you might want to check out Robyn's blog she has a ton of give-a-ways going on.

101 in 1001
40. The beginning of the month I made a donation to K-State through their Telefund. I know some of my classmate dread the Telefund call, but I always looks forward to it. This year a member of the current livestock judging team called me. I owe a lot K-State and I always try to give back even if it is just a little.

68. Clean my car - it looks so good. Still have to do it one more time to completely scratch it off.

Do you have a 101 in 1001 list or are you participating in #3in30? Let me know what your goals are?

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