Uncle Johnny,

I ate this baked french toast blueberry casserole that mom made for sunday school yesterday.

I know you are probably thinking "So, what does this have to do with me?"

Well, I was talking about how good it was and how much I really liked it...

Then she said, those blueberries are Johnny's.

Uncle Johnny?

Well, that just made it even better! Those blueberries were delicious.

Thanks for giving us blueberries.

Mom, thanks for making that yummy french toast stuff.

Oh and Uncle Johhny and Aunt Cheryl, Thanks for being such a great Aunt and Uncle and following my blog and commenting.

Y'all are the best! :)

See ya before June?!?

I hope!

Love you both!

2 things

1.  This is what I wish I could be doing...

2.  This is what I should be doing (if I wasn't working)...

This sunny, warm, delicious weather is not helping one bit. 

Blanche

Current Temperature:  64 degrees

It's like heaven. I sure do wish I could be riding my horse!! Med surge and work are stopping me. 

Maybe Sunday. Maybe. Med Surge will really be making me feel guilty if I do though.

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend! Blanche is now up in her new home in Illinois... I'm quite sure she's enjoying the 30 degree weather. Brrrr!

Blanche being a little sweetheart, letting Josh brush her!

Gotta get those shavings off of you Blanche!

I had to include this one because Josh said he liked it!

By looking at this picture... you can see just the reason why Blanche should have won the whole show!!! Look how square she is when she is walking. Look how wide! You can't get much more square than that! If the judge would have seen this picture.... sure winner!

Congrats to Josh!! He got Reserve Champion Bred and Owned.

If anybody knows how to breed Durocs.... It's my Joshua!

Josh and Blanche showing in the Open show. You paint their number on the side of them so that all the big time buyers will know which pig is which! Obviously it worked since she sold for a decent chunk of change!

View form the stands. (Can you tell I was tired of standing and taking pictures!?)  :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing Josh and Blanche. Who wouldn't enjoy looking at that precious couple!?  

We'll miss you Blanche!

What I Wore Wednesday #1

I have been oddly into fashion lately. I have all these looks I want to try out and clothes that I want to buy.... I just need the money first!

I have bought a couple of dresses, colored tights/leggings, cardigans, and shirts that I'm pretty excited about! 

I have never been one to shop... or like shopping (I always wanted to ride my horse), but Target and I have become best friends!

So, I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy and trying out WIWW!

Here it goes! Hope this isn't awkward... haha!

Cardigan: Target (last week)

Tank top: GAP

Jeans: GAP 1969

Boots: Nocona

Watch: gifted from the boyfriend! Bulova

Camera strap: Gifted from my sister!

Here are my boots. I love these things and wear them almost everyday.

I just had the soles covered with a protector because the leather had a hole in it on the sole of my left foot.

Next time I'll post more than one outfit! :)

Update!

Here is what I wore... Today!
We had a rainy morning... so I pulled out my favorite rain shoes!!

Silk Lined V-Neck Shirt: GAP

White Layering Tank: GAP

Scarf: Gifted from Anna!

Jeans: GAP

Shoes: LLBean

Next time I'm going to have the 'boot look' in here somewhere! I looove my knee boots!
Thanks for Visiting! :)

Dreamer

Flint has big dreams! 

He asked me to braid his tail the other day so he could be like a show horse...  So I did.

Then he asked me to paint his hooves... I told him that it would have to wait until we actually did get to a show. Then I told him that we probably wouldn't win and he'd be an old man... but we might make it one day!!

I miss it!

Show Pig Success!!

Josh had another show this weekend. It was the Southeast Regional NJSA show. He rocked that thing.

I took many pictures, but as always the pictures look the same! Maybe I will post a few later.

Like the show 2 weekends ago, Josh and Blanche were stars.

He placed 2nd in his Duroc class. He didn't get to go up for Grand or Reserve... this is a much bigger show and it's a lot harder to get that far. Blanche and Josh did awesome though! I must say, I think they could have won the whole Duroc show if it were not for the judge... He didn't know much about Durocs.

Josh also won Reserve Champion Bred & Owned. That is an accomplishment! He should have gotten the Grand... but the NJSA pulled him from the class because some irresponsible people waited until the class was already in front of the judge to decide that they were supposed to be in that class. It was the girl that won 1st of Josh's previous class... he got second so he got pulled from the Bred & Owned. The judge picked her to win Grand so Josh got to go in for Reserve and he got picked.  Not fair, but whatever!

Blanche was also entered into the open show. Once again, 2nd in class.

Since Blanche was entered into the open show, she would be in the sale later that night. After a trip to Longhorn's with Josh's family we went to the sale. Blanche was the 3rd pig to go through the sale for the Durocs. That's a really good position! The grand champion goes first, then reserve, then Josh got to take Blanche.  (He usually is in the middle or near to the end of the Durocs, which kinda stinks).

Blanche sold for.... are you ready?......  $1000!!

That is the most he's ever gotten out of one of those sales! It was amazing.

But really... that's nothing compared to the pig that sold for $205,000 at the louisville show. ha!

We met the buyers afterwards and they were really nice! I told her that she had a name and that I just had to tell them! They stopped me and asked me my name and then said Well dang we've already had a Molly! (they were going to name her after me!! aww :)
So I told them her name was Blanche and I was so excited to find out that they  name ALL their pigs! I've always gotten some weird looks when I tell people the pig's names!
"Oh, that's Penelope!"
"Huh?"

So Blanche is going to a good home. We got their contact information and plan to keep in touch. Hopefully I'll be able to see Blanche on their website real soon! And her future babies!

It was a good weekend for Josh's Showpigs! Not only did Blanche do well, but a few pigs that he sold this year and some offspring of some of his past show pigs placed!  One of them was the Grand Champion for the Durocs! That gives Josh a good 'breeder name' the more that his line of pigs win!

Hopefully the 2 litters that are on the way will be just as promising for him!

Dark, Dank, and Dreary!!

Name that TV quote! :)

That was the description of my fish tank yesterday morning. Dark.... Dank.... and Dreary....

Multiplied by.... 20

1. I can't stand cleaning my fish tank
2. I love fish
3. Those two don't match up

I finally broke down and cleaned my fish tank. I must say, sadly, that it took me realizing that my fish were choking one night to do it. I do have a heart for animals.... I netted those fish outta that tank like a mad woman and into a five gallon bucket of fresh clean water! What happened was... I fed them around 11:30 pm, like usual, and noticed that they didn't all start bouncing up and down all excited! I watched them... and watched them. They were all choking. Choking on that green muck that was everywhere. So, I did what any animal lover would do, I saved them from that place! (how dare I even let that place get like that!)

I didn't take a before picture. It would have been too embarrassing!

But I took after pictures!!! It's like fishy heaven.

It took me all. day. long.

First I had to vacuum the rocks, then take all the hunter green, algae eaten ornaments out, then took off the filter that looked like it had red georgia clay in it, then I carried the tank into my bathroom. While I waited on my nasty what use to be cute ornaments to soak in bleach, I washed the tank out with vinegar. Bleach can kill fish. Don't worry, my fish are still kicking!

After I got the tank clean, next came the 5 gallon bucket of rocks that had suddenly appeared. I got a strainer and cleaned all the rocks! Then I took the tank and rocks to my room and set it back up. I rinsed the green ornaments, that actually started looking like normal! I let them soak for a while in clean water and then scrubbed on them. Surprisingly the bleach helped out all the plants and ornaments except one. I scrubbed it and finally got it looking clean!

I FINALLY got it all set back up! I was only missing one thing, a thermometer. Luckily, I went to wal-mart when I got off work that day and picked one up! and a new net! I made sure the fish's bucket water and their tank water were the same temperature (I had to dump a 5 gallon bucket of steaming hot water in the tank to make it warmer) and I netted them back into the tank.

It took them a little while to acclimate... but they did it! They are happy as little larks!

TA DA!!!!

It just makes me want to have 10 more fish tanks!

ok not really.

But I do love my fish tank when it is clean!!

You can even see from one side to the other!

This is my precious, egyptian pot. It even has a horsey on it! Imagine that.

They are very happy.

This is 1 Fish.

This is 2 Fish.

and... this is Blue Fish! ;)

He's a little shy of the camera.

Just to give you an idea of what it looks like... here's a picture of half of my room. The clean half! 

I'm so glad to have happy fish and a clean tank!

New fishies to come!

Oh, and it was My Little Ponies! :)

Inside of Josh's World

I think I've been around my mom and Blair too much... when I typed Josh's World... I sang in my head "Elmo's wooorld".

Most of you know that Josh raises and shows Pigs, but some of you don't know that. Well, today I am going to take you through a day in the life of showing a pig!

After the pigs are transported to the fairgrounds, fed, watered and bedded down they are left there to rest. They will have a very busy tomorrow ahead of them!

Josh loves going to pig shows. He could spend all day, 8am-12am, out there. Yes, I said 12am. Which reminds me... that's how long we were there one night for his Showmanship class! Actually longer.

Meet Blanche. 

We have just arrived at the show barn and Blanche has been munching on her feed and drinking a little water. She is no where near show ready. Look at all those shavings!!! She has got to have a bath. Show pigs are all about pretty. Believe it or not. I always talk about how nasty and smelly they are (which is still true), but it takes a lot of prepping to get these puppies nice looking. The big key factor is FEED! Josh knows how to feed a pig to keep him/her looking their best.

Josh takes her to the wash racks and breaks out the Mane n' Tail. Yeah, you thought that stuff was for horses huh! Well, you'll see that Joshy here uses a lot of horse products. Maybe that's because he's got a horsey girlfriend :)

After the soap.... the scrubbing

and the rinsing

After Blanche finished her bath, Josh used a scrap to take all the water off of her. Another horsey item! He had to buy a wooden one because he broke my black one that I let him borrow. So really, the cool new wooden sweat scrap is mine! Mwahaha

Now, Blanch needs some shine.

You spray that white stuff on her and brush it and... and wahbam! Shiny and pretty pig!

Lola came too!!

"How dare that human not pet me when she walked by"

After Blanche is all pretty and shiny, she's ready to go to the show ring!

Josh walks her down the aisle a few times before heading to the ring.

Waiting to go into the ring.

Josh is the first one out! Look at that smirk on the judges face...

He knows Josh because Josh has been showing for what seems like forever!

These were the judge's words, "You still showin'!?"

Notice: More pigs coming out... Judge you're supposed to be looking at the pigs not chit chatting with Joshua!

The point of a pig show is to get your pig to walk in front of the judge.

See all those other pigs.... they get in the way! You have to beat them... you have to get your pig if front of the judge and get that judge a lot of different views of your pig. Front, back, side, other side... you get it.

See! Other side!

The backside

They like to look at the back side. See how wide the pig is and she how they walk. 

Josh ended up being pinned in the second spot!

That's a good sign! 

I thought he would let them back out and Josh would get a chance to get 1st place... but he placed them as he pinned them in this class. The only class he did that way!

So, Blanche ended up being 2nd in her class!

She was in class 2 of 2 in the Duroc division.

So, here's the sort of confusing part. Since Blanche got 2nd, it was a possibility for Blanche to get reserve. They call for the 2 first place Durocs to come into the ring. So the winner of Class 1 and the winner of Class 2 go in. Whichever pig the judge picks wins Grand Champion Duroc. For Reserve Champion Duroc, the 2nd place pig of the Grand Champion Duroc's class gets to go into the ring and compete against the pig that is left (the 1st place from the other class).

So, the winners went in..... 

 here are Josh and Blanche (getting fueled up) waiting to see if the winner of Class 2 gets picked.

the judge picked the winner of class 2! That means that Josh gets to go back into the ring to try and get Reserve Grand Champion Duroc!

Do good Blanche!! 

Josh and Blanche on the left, going up against the 1st place Duroc. of Class 1

You can just guess who the Judge picked! :)

Josh and Blanche!!

Congrats Blanche! You did good!

Lola got a picture with the winner too!!

haha!

Now we all go back to the barn and get ready to go home!

I'll make it really difficult for you. Since Josh and Blanche won Reserve Grand Champion Duroc they had to wait around all day for the final show to see who won the Supreme Champion. All the Grand Champions of each breed (Duroc, York, Hampshire, Crossbred) went into the ring and the judge picked the Supreme Champion. If the Supreme Champion was the Duroc... then Josh and Blanche would go into the ring and try to get Reserve Supreme Champion against the other breed Grand Champions. The Judge ended up picking the Hampshire, so Josh and Blanche didn't get a chance to go for the Reserve Supreme.

But that was a.o.k with us! Blanche did good getting Reserve Grand Champion Duroc!!

So you may be thinking, what is the point?

Well, Josh does it mostly for fun. The same reason I like showing horses. I loved showing horses and I wouldn't mind getting back into. Ever since I started helping Josh at the shows when his dad would be out of town... I realized just why he stayed around those stinky pigs! It is so much fun getting those pigs ready for a show! 

And there always is a reward!

Feed money!

BCS National Championship

When: TONIGHT!!!

Time: 8:30 PM EST

Who's playing!? 

Come on now...

THE AUBURN TIGERS!!

Be there or be square.

I mean in front of your TV... obviously!

WAR EAGLE!

Pictured above: Tiger aka War Eagle VI

Tiger is now 30 years old and after being diagnosed with skin cancer was retired from flying in Jordan-Hare Stadium.