The antics of a proud sister and aunt!

Just thought I'd share some pictures of my little sister and neice for everyone from a recent jack-pot show. The kids had their jack-pot before county fair this weekend.

Kaitlynn - a first year 4-Her, but a serious veteran, finished 5th in both sheep and cattle circuit points. She had to attend 4 shows and all showmanship and class placings were cumulated to get a final "circuit score". We are extremely proud of her, since it's her very first year of showing competitively. There are a couple of pictures with her and her pig, "GLORIA", but she also has "BLACKY" and "HUMPY". She also has a couple of lambs, "STINGY BENJI" and "ROSY" but I didn't get pictures of those. This picture is now dated, I am told. Because Kait just got a "BLING" belt and necklace she will be fashioning the rest of the season! Little diva in training, I am fully convinced!

Cute little wrangler butt, watching Kait in showmanship.

Her prize money! She got to visit with Brett for a minute or two, but I think Kait did all the talking. I'm sure he got a lesson or two in pigs AND sheep!

The last four pictures are of my our neice Kenya showing her "piggy" or "BLACKY". Kenya is very much a showman in training. She loves to go with Papa to the barn to feed pigs and walk her pig at my Mom and Dad's house in the evenings. On Monday after this show, she threw a tantrum because Papa and Uncle Ben wouldn't go with her to "Walk her Pig" right before lunch. Her mother may not have a choice as to Kenya's extracurricular activities if she continues to live close to Nana and Papa Godsey's house. (I think Emily secretly enjoys watching Kenya - even if she never admits it!)

Just a thought here and there.

A couple of weekends ago - Ben and I went back to Gaylord (Smith Center) to watch attend my cousins' high school graduation. It was an great time to take a couple of shots of my mom, sister and I - since we don't get to take pictures very often. If you can't tell (which you probably can't because of my tank ass (oops censor!)) but my sister Emily is just about 7 full months pregnant - so Ben and I will be Aunt Corineah and Uncle Ben for the second time over. About time for some of our own, right? Maybe someday! No, but seriously - she's due July 23ish. Just about county fair time (and the hottest time of year, good planning Em! haha).



Picture #1: Emily and Shelby (my sister was quite cute in this dress my mom bought in the Bahamas is December). If you know my sister, pastels aren't her thing!

Picture #2: Ben, Shelby, and I.....if your paying attention, this is the 2nd event in a row I've worn this dress - I had to assure Ben it would get its wear in this summer to justify making the purchase on our meager graduate student pay.

Picture #3: A decent picture of my mom, sister and I prior to graduation at the Godsey ranchhouse. It would be better if I wasn't pseudo-make-me-a-supermodel posing disquised the fact that I have no chin and makes me look 450 kg (which is about 992 lbs for you still living in the standard system). Mom and Emily look great, I did however, edit Emily's swelling belly so I didn't get my butt chewed. It only took 5 pictures to get Mom to smile and keep her eyes open.

Picture # I can't keep track: Isn't it funny that at 7 months pregnant we look the same size? What does that tell you - I should definitely quit the popcorn, ice cream and 3 gallons of ice tea a day? I've recently (okay 2 months ago) gave up pop (short relapses here and there) but those benefits have yet to be realized - therefore, I'm seriously reconsidering re-instating my 24 oun. habit (it could be worse right?). Ok - enough, my sister and I haven't taken a picture since my wedding, so I jump on any chance to catch her: a) in a good enough mood to stand next to me and b) in something suitable enough to take a photo in (Emily I love you - but the sweat-pants gotta go sometimes)!

What's all the self loathing you say? I think it's just the "let's be done with school so I don't have to sit on my butt one more nice day this week" blues. It'll get better, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Hope you enjoy the pictures and the commentary!

Strength, faith and heart

1) 2)
3)
4)
5)

Picture captions

1) James and Jaci (girlfriend) out for a stroll in the chair, he would really like to "Pimp his ride"
2) James and Sarah (sister) smiling for pictures
3, 4, and 5) James spending time in therapy or out for a stroll

I would like to take the time to tell you a little bit about my cousin James. This past spring, while visiting his sister and extended family in Colorado was involved in a life-altering snow-boarding accident which has left him temporarily paralyzed. Although the prognosis was not in James' favor, he has continually surprised the nurses, doctors and staff involved in his recovery. He was initially told he would never walk again - but he has proven the doctors wrong on every level. He has regained function in his left hand and is able to feed himself with both hands. In addition, he has re-established his tricep muscles, which is very uncommon for this stage of recovery. I believe James has been able to move into a completely manual chair (not motorized) which he is able to operate himself - which is amazing for just over 2 1/2 months post-accident.

My post however is not to ask to spread sad words about my cousin. This post is a tribute to the sub-conscious strength an individual possesses which presents itself in situations such as these. Not only is James a physically strong person - his inner strength is inspiring. I believe in every one of the pictures I had included - you'll see James beaming with happiness. His positive attitude is very contagious and I'm personally working on a maintaining a very positive outlook in life. I think we could all use a little bit of James in us.

I know everyone is facing a hard decision in each of the lives in some way or another. I would like for everyone to remember the blessings we do have in our lives - family, friends and inner strength and faith to get us through even the darkest of times!

Away on Hiatus

As you might have noticed - I've taken a small hiatus from the world of blogging. I'll be in-and-out of the loop for the next few weeks trying to finish my thesis for June 1st deadline! Maybe I can convince Ben to keep updating the blog in my absence, but I won't hold my breath!
I've included a few pictures from Ben's graduation this past weekend! But I let the formatting get the best of me, and I'm not pleased with the page placement (oh well)

We had some of Ben's family in town to help celebrate - Regina, Amanda (+ Nick) and Anna. The graduation ceremony was sort of a drag, but as always in tradition of Williams' family get-togethers - we entertained ourselves with people watching, inappropriate jokes and lots of laughing. For example, three of the four pictures I've included, it took almost 15 minutes to take because we had people walking in the1 1/2 foot space between the cameras and the red wall we used as a backdrop. People were either 1/2 or the full way into the frame before they realized they were "extras" in pictures.

The other picture of Amanda and Nick is from the awesome door to door shuttle bus we took to- and from- the Devaney center. Quite "metro-politian" right?

We had a small intimate BBQ on Friday night with family and friends. Pretty good showing really, around 25 people invaded our backyard and yet - no complaints from the neighbors! We entertained until 2 a.m. (which if any of you know Ben and I, that's approximately 4 hours past our bedtime - so we were pretty proud of ourselves).

On Saturday we ventured around Lincoln, taking in the sites. I love it when Regina and the girls visit, because a) I have an excuse to go shopping, for anything and everything

b) I have an excuse to go to new shops, ie - our new favorite clothing boutique called Blue Velvet. Regina and Anna made a few purchases - which are a few of the cutest, most unique pieces of clothing I've seen. I'll be a more frequent visitor of this place.

c) I have an excuse to cook - most of my recipes don't work well for 2 people.

It was absolutely beautiful this weekend, we spent a lot of time outside eating, playing hill-billy horseshoes, roping the dummy, etc. Saturday we showed everyone the Haymarket area in Lincoln (one of my favorites) and ate Cajun food at Buzzard Billy's. The highlight of the night was probably breaking Nick in - we typically play Trivial Pursuit or some other board game at least one night everytime the Williams' get together. Although we were missing a few key players (Craig, Lyndsey and Matt) - I think he got a "sneak peek" at what it takes to hang with us.

We've got a busy week, Ben and I are headed in opposite directions for "business trips" for school and then travelling on the weekend to graduations back at my folks!

Other exciting news to report: The first show of the season for my sister Kait and cousin Shelby was rather successful. At the Russell Co. Spring Show - Shelby's big wether (I'll post pictures soon) was Champion Market Lamb and she also had Res. Champion Ewe Lamb (both lambs from Diamond W Club Lambs (Craig and Regina Williams). Kait had a second place lamb and won a class with the gilt (previously pictured in older blog) Grady and Ben (and Kait) jointly own. In addition, she was 5th in junior showmanship (swine) which is AWESOME for her first year in 4H and first ever REAL (not mini-4-H; show-and-tell; etc.) showmanship contest.

Yeah for progress!

As you can see, it's been a few days since I've posted anything. I haven't been away without reason...I made some serious progress on my thesis this week. Thank goodness - because I was able to complete my literature review portion. If you are unaware of the process, a thesis is broken into portions:

1) Literature review over anything and everything in past research that has lead to the objectives of your thesis work. A literature review can range from 0 to 100 pages, most right around 20 to 50 pages of text, followed by 20 or so pages of lit. cited (bibliography) and then 0 to 10 pages of tables, charts, and figures.

2) Manuscripts which are the actual experiments you perform in school. These include materials and methods, results, discussion, and tables, charts, etc. They range from 10 to 50 pages per experiments. Since I have four experiments - I'll have somewhere between 50 and 100 pages of manuscripts.

My lit. review has been a process, taking me almost 2 full months to write. Ben wrote his much quicker - I struggled with finding motivation to get through it. All in all - I'm about 85 pages done with my thesis, just about 90 pages left! Yeah for progress!

One another note - We're off to Garden City to our friend Marisa's wedding this weekend and then home to get ready for some of Ben's family to visit next week! Be looking for upcoming pictures of our travels!

2 for a $1.00

Just for the record - garage sales are hard work. I won't be doing one again for awhile (maybe ever) I'll gladly put things into someone else's garage sale, but its not for the faint of heart. Here are the things we never thought. Things to think about before you have your own garage sale:

1) Read your farmers almanac (and check weather.com) and then throw it away and ignore the forcast. Also, ignore your weather-man wanna-be friends (and husband). No matter how nice it can be all week (80 degrees) Nebraska can unleash a fury on you in just a matter of hours. See picture at left - we spent all day doing this. It just so happens that the rain had subsided long enough for us to set outside.

2) Price things ridiculously (sp?) cheap. Nobody wants to buy a gently used bicycle for $10.00 -seriously. The cheaper you price things - the faster they come running. Ignore the fact you spent hard-earned cash on a cute top and wore it once - bargain shoppers don't care. Also - scour your house for the things you would normally just throw away and put it in the garage sale. It doesn't matter if its burnt, water-marked, or broken - give it a try. Your junk is someone else's treasure - believe me.

3) Prepare to be "gyped" and "haggled with". We spent a good half hour giving a women a bulk discount as she "shopped" only to be taken by her husband. I think that family went away with $40.00 worth of merchandise for $20.00 - he even took the desk (as a "throw-in"). I got "HAD" - big time. We had to absorb $15.00 of errors across everyone because of that one. But - what else could you do though - either you sell it or you keep it. The stuff was on the garage sale because you obviously didn't want to keep it. I just wish I didn't feel like a putz in the process. I'll remember this next time (however - if you scroll back to paragraph one - you'll see that I won't be experiencing that feeling again)

4) Ignore #3 because if you're not willing to make a deal with someone - you'll get to keep your junk. No matter what - at the end of the day - you still don't have to deal with the old, stale blankets, beer signs, or purses that crowded your closets, spare bedrooms, and painted your college dorm room walls. Put tables together that say "ALL ITEMS $0.50 - this table" makes it alot easier.

5) Know when to call it a day. There's something to say about calling it quits when no customer's visit in 30 minutes. It's much warmer inside!

6) Finally - surround yourself with good people to spend your time with in these situations. If nothing else was gained from this adventure - I got to spend time with Ben and our friends laughing at customers and watch they purchase! All in all - I'd say it was a successful day - I think Ben made $5.00 and I made $21.00. Yeah - not great, but at least we can say we tried.

So grand total - our garage sale brought in $216.00 dollars - mostly from a few keys items people can't resist: a mini-fridge, discount Mary-Kay make-up, kitchen dishes, and old candles and some wedding decorations. Not bad for a days work.

Little bits of everything

I've got lots of little tid-bits to share today...let's get started.

A) One of my oldest friends - Andrea - and I have a long history. Most of the updates from the details of our lives have been shared through our families. Mostly I get the "SCOOP" from Grandma and Grandpa, as well as my brother and she keeps updated with me through her mom. Our brothers have been best-friends ever since they could hold guns and we've were in 4-H together for 12+ years. Oh get on with it right?

I recently found out she got engaged -- VERY EXCITING RIGHT? So I was thinking okay, it happened sometime in the previous week. Seems logical Grandma/pa and Lisa would have spoken at coffee one morning. NOPE not in Gaylord, it doesn't take long the for the phone tree to kick into action and nearly everyone (all 89-100 residents) know the scoop in 45 minutes or so! Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't trade where I grew up for anything, but Andrea hadn't even had a chance to call anyone before we found out at 9 a.m. the following morning.

Anyway, Congratulations ANDREA AND LANCE! They will be getting married at around home (I assuming) on Sept. 5th of 2009. So here's happy planning to you!

B) It's closing in on May (graduation) and I couldn't be prouder of my little brother. He and his girlfriend, Gretchen made it through what I consider the toughest test of a relationship. He started college last year at Butler Community College while Gretchen finished her senior year at Hays High School. Now most couples won't be able to survive the distance and temptations, but these two did. I am extremely proud of both of them - its a true test of character. I love Gretchen, she's been a blessing to my brother (who had never dated publically before her) as well as our family.

She has become a serrogate sister to Kait (my youngest sister) and she loves teaching Kait cheerleading and helping my family out around the farm. I think it's about 2.5 years they've been together. This picture is from her senior prom, aren't they gorgeous together! So, here's to the two of you and hopefully many more memories to be made!

C) Finally, wish us luck tomorrow - we're having our first garage sale. Normally I am a big "HAND-IT DOWN" person either opting for giving items to family/friends or donating to the Salvation Army - but I thought I'd test my luck at a garage sale. So I found some consigners, we set a date - and I've been stressing out. How funny is it that a little event like a garage sale could stress someone out. The weather, neighors, advertising, etc. really get to me.....I think I have to learn to be less controlling and a little more laid-back like Ben. He's much less worried about this than me - mostly because his plans include drinking summer beer in a lawn chair while watching me run a garage sale. I think I deserve 35% commission right? I'll work on it.

Have a great weekend everybody! Get some sun - hasn't this weather been beautiful? I know our grill has been getting a workout!