Another #MCM

I can't even remember the last time I did a #MCM... and seeing as the coach once again proved to be the most amazing husband in the entire world over turkey break, he deserves a My Coach's Moment post.

This one - however - is not of his ... uh ... picking. It's one from my archives. Turkey break marks three years since the coach asked me to come to Bastrop to "picture his cattle" .... or, in all honesty, to meet his family (which scared the poop out of me, considering we had only been talking for about a month... and only publicly dating for about a week and a half.). I guess he really did want me to take pictures, too - but y'all get my point. Anyway, at the time I had owned a DSLR for only about three or four months. And I had only been taking livestock photos "professionally" (for ShowChamps) for about two months. So I was pretty terrible. Well, I thought I was awesome... but looking back, I was terrible.

Which brings me to this version of #MCM. The coach and I bonded - years before we started dating - over our mutual love of cattle. So when he asked if I would come to Bastrop and take pasture shots at his family's ranch, I jumped at the opportunity. He loved the shots and used them as Christmas presents for his parents that year. He still has some of those 'original' pictures hanging in his office. It drives me nuts, because I think they suck. So every time I stop by while he's working, my skin crawls.

Well, anyway, this past turkey break we had a bit of an emergency involving our dear Jessie. She's fine. Crisis over. She'll heal in no time. But back to the point of my story. I planned on taking pictures of the cattle this year like I did three years ago... Well, that wasn't exactly possible. So, after picking Jessie up from the vet on Friday, we went to the pasture about an hour before the sun went down.... Not exactly enough time to see all the babies AND shoot more than two or three groups. But I still got a few... check out one of the shots from three years ago compared to a very similar pose taken this year. No, the 2013 picture isn't my favorite from that night, but I think it's cool from a comparative standpoint. PS- the recent image has not been run through photoshop, lightroom or even bridge. I shoot on jpeg, not raw... because honestly, I'm too lazy to do any kind of editing. I don't remember editing the image from 2010, but I really can't remember.

Thanksgiving 2010 shot

Thanksgiving 2013 shot

Things certainly have changed over the past three years. I mean, we honestly knew back then that we would be married at this point... but I'm not sure we could have guessed that we would be almost exactly where we always hoped we would be, professionally speaking. Don't get me wrong, I still have an insane amount to learn. But, I look at the image taken in 2010 and just have to smile. So much has changed, and I really think I'm headed in the right direction. But, I don't think that would have been possible without the coach.

This holiday season I'm most thankful for having such a wonderful, handsome and supportive cattleman/husband that pushes me to be a better person on a daily basis and is behind me 100%, no matter what I do. He loves my career as much as I do... and I love his as much as he does. That's really something wonderful.

Thanksgiving 2013 shot

It's a beautiful life. Take the time to notice how breathtakingly unique your every day truly is.

#MCM

I should have posted this yesterday. I even had time to post this yesterday. But I was way to caught up in a book to desire to post this yesterday. It's true. Go ahead, judge me. But for those of you who have read the Divergent series/trilogy/two books that are currently out... you completely understand. I can't even begin to describe how awesome the first two books are. There is a trailer out for the first movie. Google it. Then buy the book. And nod your head in agreement.

Back on track....

This week's #MCM :: appropriate and professional social media posting for the collegiate age.

Yup. You read correctly. For those of you who have been through the trials and tribulations of college, you understand where the coach is coming from. AND if you are in a coaching position and have access to the internet, you REALLY know where he is coming from. Let me make one thing clear - the coach does not have a facebook, twitter, instagram or any other type of social media outlet. But his wife, mother, friends and coworkers do. And, he has a phone. What does that mean? When he is looking over my shoulder at my facebook or he hears someone talking about a picture or status that was posted about his students doing something they shouldn't be, he gets a little irritated.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Joelynn, you are a froggin' hypocrite for even posting this. And you're right. I am. However, I'm old. Above the legal drinking age. I have a career. I post some pretty nutso, blunt, rude and even somewhat humorous stuff on this here blog of mine. Since you see the way I am now, just imagine how I was in college.

Here's the difference - 8 years. In the past 8 years, social media has gone from "oh hey, what's a Facebook?" to "you DON'T tweet? You must be a loser". That doesn't make my past actions right. But it does mean that if you post something stupid on any forms of social media, it is just that - social. That means your dirty laundry or night long beer olympics is now viral. Anyone can access that information.

Just about every single employer now-a-days will run a standard "stalk-out" on a young person before they hire them. This way they can see what a person is actually like, not just the robot in the interview chair, trained to respond exactly as they should to impress their hirer. Heck, the coach had me facebook stalk each recruit as they came in - sorry guys! This is just what our society is leaning towards. If you don't like it, don't post stupid crap! Then you won't have to deal with the repercussions!

I'm not saying 'don't have fun' ... go ahead, act like underage idiots. Risk your future. See what happens. But I am saying keep that crap off the internet. You look trashy. You look lazy. You look like a depressed drunk. You look factionless (book worm humor).

*****

So here's the take-home message.... No matter what you post, the people you don't think will see or you don't want to see it, see it. So every time you are about to post something, think to yourself - would I say these words, show this picture or video or talk this way directly to my parents, my grandparents, my coach, my professors, my future employer, my future spouse, my future children or even my friends? If you hesitate or answer no to ANY of these people... backspace, delete, rewind and DON'T FROGGIN' POST IT!

*****

Oh, and if he breaks up with you... please.... for .... the .... love.... of... God.... KEEP THE TEARS TO YOURSELF! Twitter doesn't care.


Whew! That was fun.

#MCM

Okay, so I've been neglecting my blog. And by neglecting I mean I'm just too darn busy to actually post regularly. The fall has started. The team is back in town (THANK YOU GOD!). And, well, sleep overrules my blog 98% of the time. I will work harder at being more frequent with my posts. I promise. I think. 

So since it is monday... 

This edition of #MCM, My Coach's Moment, isssss :: First day of school.

Oh yeah. Revolutionary, huh? But the coach isn't just a coach... he's a professor, too. He teaches AgEco both on the brenham and bryan campus. I think he's happy to be back... wait, no. Sorry. That excitement is dedicated to the team and getting back to a hard core workout schedule with them. Don't get me wrong, he enjoys teaching. I just think he likes it more when four animals are standing in front of him. 

Anyway. Here's my take on the "back to school" "first day of school" posts that have been flooding social media; if you have kids - I'm obsessed with seeing your posts. If you are in college - wake up. The first day does not equal happiness. You are stuck for either one, two, three, four or more years in what I consider to be cruel and unusual punishment. I mean, take aTm for example. How cruel is it that you can look out of the window in some of the buildings on campus and see North Gate? Like COME ON! But seriously, for those of you who dressed cute on the first day of college.... I warn you.... that mentality won't last another week. Just saying'.... I mean, I'm sorry but an hour more sleep far outweighs combing my hair. 

I'm happy school is back in session, however. Why? Well, it's obvious you see! The number of "selfies" on social media has drastically decreased from the hours of 9 am until 3 pm. It's awesome. Everyone saw Miley "twerk" (SOMEONE DEFINE THAT FOR ME PLEASE!) on the MTV Music Awards last night (except for this kid - proud to say I missed that mess), right? It was painful to watch... even ridiculous, right? Well that's the pain selfies cause me. I'm serious. 

On that note... I started snap-chatting! It's kind of creepy... but kind of hilarious! I have some pretty unique facial expressions - for those of you who know me, you know this to be way too true - so snap chatting is like texting with more emotion (for me at least). I dig it! But if I get one more pic of food, I might stab someone (Kait, you're the exception). I mean, my belly does NOT need a reminder that I haven't eaten in the past five minutes. 

I blogged. I'm happy. The coach is laying on the couch watching Warm Bodies - surprisingly one of my fave movies. About to cook up some italian (Authentic... like legit.... like it's from our Italy trip) grub. Life is good.

You might see another post tomorrow. Eh, actually that's kind of unlikely.

#MCM, tuesday edition round... 5?

As many of you are well aware, there has been a bit of a mass coaching change throughout the country.  For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about... the collegiate judging world is going through a bit of a topsy-turny summer. A large number of schools will be debuting new coaching staff this fall, or have in the past year (the coach included). 

Here's a few of the schools/universities that have experienced changes this past year, or will be experiencing change starting in the fall::

Last year change >

- Blinn 

- Texas A&M University 

- Black Hawk East 

- Probably a few others... my brain is going blank, however. I'm old. Forgive me.

This year >

- Butler Community College 

- KSU 

- Conners State College 

- South Plains College

- Redlands Community College ...

which brings me to ...

- Blinn (again.....)

So here's where this week's #MCM comes in.  Brandon Callis (former coach at Blinn) has moved to El Reno, Oklahoma, thus taking the role as head coach at Redlands Community College. We love the Callis family and will certainly miss them dearly - and wish Brandon all the best at RCC. 

So... as many of you have heard, this means a new coaching staff member at Blinn... and let me tell you, the coach has been so excited for this particular #mcm, he could hardly sit still....soooo...

#MCM :: Welcome, Brice Mund

I could have said "welcome to the Blinn LJ family", but that would have been incorrect. Brice was on the 2006/2007 team here at Blinn, and has been a crucial member of the buc nation ever since. He has helped with the team on trips, and significantly assisted with recruitment while holding his previous position as extension agent here in washington county. Brice was a member of the 2008 TAMU livestock judging team. After receiving his degree from aggieland, Brice got his master's from Sam Houston State - where he served as coach of the University's Livestock Judging Team. As I mentioned, for the past few years, he has returned to the Brenham area, rocking his job at the 4-H offices. 

If you know Brice, you know this addition is a great one! The coach could not be more pumped to have Brice standing beside him in years to come here at Blinn. Oh- and I really have to give a shout out to the -now- leading lady of #blinnwinn, the beautiful miss Brylie - Brice and Callie's baby girl. 

I mean, is Brylie not the most precious child ever?! 

Brice and (his gorgeous, talented and wonderful wife) Callie Mund

To say Brice and the coach are ready to get things rolling this year is an understatement. The kids cannot get back into town and back into the vans quick enough!!! 

#blinnwinn

#MCM, another day-late edition

Don't hate. Life happens. This past weekend we were in ftw for the AMAZING Taylor/McGolden wedding (SO MUCH FUN). Then we flew to PA on Sunday.... and I got lazy yesterday.... So you are getting your #MCM a day late. Again, get over it.

This week's MCM :: Cheap airlines and hidden fees.

This is a good one. So the coach found some REALLY cheap tickets for our flight home from DFW to Philly. Thought we were getting a great deal. It was with an airlines that neither of us had ever heard of - it shall remain nameless... but it starts with an S and ends with a pirit. Anyway, when we got to DFW, we found out the price for checking a bag was nothing short of retarded. AND your bag had to weigh under 40, not 50. AND you could only carry one personal item with you on the plane. AND the cost of any extra personal items with $50. ANNNNNDDD you had to pay for everything on the actual flight... including a cup of water. It was a little less than ideal.

Essentially, we ended up paying way more for the flight than what we would have it we had just booked through one of the more popular airlines.... or just drove to PA.

But our fun didn't end there. Now, I realize this next part is NOT the fault of our not-so-beloved "cheap" airlines... but still... it adds to the story. About 10 minutes before landing, the captain came over the loud speaker saying we were going to have to stay in the air an additional 20 minutes because the weather was so bad in Philly and most of the runways were flooded. Super. Awesome. NOT. Did I mention that  HATE HATE HATE flying? I mean I froggin' HATE it. I have the WORST luck with airports. I'm talking red-headed step-child bad luck. Last year on the way home from NAILE, the coach and I had two sperate flights. Mine was supposed to leave five minutes before his. Well, my flight got delayed 12 FROGGIN' HOURS and he made it home before I could even find an earlier flight out of louisville. And that's not even one of my really bad stories.... Anyway. Once we got on the ground, we then had to wait for a gate to open... again because the flooding was so bad that only a few gates were in operating condition. We literally "drove" the plane through water. Like ponding water, flooded. I digress. That took another 30/40 minutes. Here comes the really super part --- one of the stuartist came over the speaker and said our luggage claim would not be in a typical area, because the airport was experiencing power outages. She said there would be someone directing us to where we could pick up our bags. Well.. That ended up meaning walking out of the airport and back in through the departure check-in desk area. WHICH WAS COMPLETELY PITCH BLACK. Like no lights.... nothing.... and it was nearing 9 PM outside... during a storm. So.... Picturing the scene from a slasher movie? Yeah, I was too. It was froggin' scary.   In order to get our bags, we all waited around until they were hand taken to the front check-in desks. From there, the check-in, cranky, "I need a stiff drink" wenches used a flashlight to one-by-one call out the names on each bag and wait for the owner to come up with proper identification to claim it. It was special. Needless to say, security was almost called on numerous REALLY pissed off ladies and gents... this Yankee not included (my mother should be proud). I mean, I don't blame the flashlight ladies... it wasn't their fault the lights went out. But I also totally understand where the guy who threatened to "call TSA on all their ignorant a$$es" was coming from. It was kind of a high stess situation. Oooooh yeah, one big pile of brother-love in the Philadelphia airport, lemme tell ya.

Oh, and once we had our bags, we still had to direct ourselves around a PITCH BLACK airport with our over-40-pound bags to the rental car area... You want to talk about creepy, I'll give you creepy. Yuck.

Yeah, it was great. Did I mention I hate flying? I hate it. And stupid fees and charges from cheap-o, crappy airlines.




But I sure do love PA.. more on that later. That is, if I don't get lazy.





I'm walking back to Texas

#MCM

Well, look at me... doing two blogs on their proper days. How nifty....

Okay, so this edition of #MyCoach'sMoment is a pretty good one, I've got to admit. The coach is getting really pumped about the team coming back into town next month. So with that, his brain is 95% geared towards them. I don't mind. I'm pretty jazzed for them to get here too :) I miss my babies.... I mean.... the team. Their the coach's team, not my friends... yup.... oh the heck with it, their my friends too. Sorry.

#MCM numero.... 4? 3? 5? I dunno. Something :: Expect Unexpected Opportunity.

The coach is currently reading John Wooden's Wooden on Leadership. It's a pretty solid read. One of the points Wooden makes is to 'Encourage Ambition'. Like Wooden, the coach sees the value of ambitious players - or in this case, judgers. They work their tails off and love to win. Two things we like to see in the livestock judging world. These ambitious people are key for successful situations. However, with that Wooden stresses that the overly ambitious must proceed with caution - a point the coach really thought hit home. Wooden quotes....

"Be ready when your opportunity arrives, or it may not arrive again."

Often these type of individuals lack patience or the ability to handle failure. As hard as judgers work, it can suck not to get cards on contest morning. But, you've got to roll with the punches and realize that even sitting on the bench gives you a unique opportunity. Make the most of it. One of the best things that happened in my entire judging career was not getting cards the morning of the American Royal when I was judging at Butler. There isn't a more stressful feeling in this world than watching your team judge and having no idea what they are marking or seeing. It's awful. And it also lit one heck of a fire in my belly. That drive led me to getting cards at Louisville, and led Buco to a "w" that day. So, if you sit, don't get down on yourself. For the love of God, do not get all cranky - selfish little.... ugh, sorry - take that energy and push yourself harder with it.

On the other hand, when you do get cards, make the most of it. You might not get that opportunity again. Be ambitious enough to know that when game day does come for you, your gonna lead your team to victory.

The coach also notes how this mentality can relate to the job market. It's tough for people our age to get the job they've always wanted. The market sucks lately, and a high salaried position is tough to come by. However, no matter what opportunity does come, make the most of it. You never know where something or someone will take you. The coach and I are both extremely lucky in that we both have the careers we wanted when we were little. (I know, corny, but true) We both feel very fortunate for that and thank God every single day. But, we see our friends struggles with finding jobs. It breaks our hearts, but all we can say is keep your chins' up y'all! Never give up, keep trying and keep the faith. Good things come to good people who work hard and remain ambitious!

Things might change with the sudden snap of your fingers. You have to be prepared to roll with the punches and know that no matter what, God's plan for you and for us is a great one!


Hope you enjoyed this week's edition to #MCM. I realize it may not have been as entertaining as last week..... for which my entire body is thankful.. woof.


toodle-loo!!!!

My Coach's Moment

Second edition of #mcm coming right up, fresh off the pavement! For this week's post the coach was definitely inspired by our current situation - driving home from Wyoming. Again I must say, thank God for the iPhone's blogger app. Our ETA is 3 am... And as much as I love y'all, I'm not about to be blogging when this ship docks in Brenham. Unless y'all want me to completely lose my personal verbiage sensor. For which I might regret. I digress... 

This week's #mcm :: road trips and livestock judging. 

The two really go hand-in-hand. If you plan on judging at the collegiate level, you better be prepared to sit in a car/van/SUV/cardboard box for hours on end. Simply put, no matter where you live, you don't have access to every type of stock or an endless supply of classes - plus you aren't going to be close to every single contest. You sort of learn how to live out of a vehicle. That means learning how to work up sets and giving them while the vehicle moving (pack your Dramamine and a helmet), finding ways to pass the time, figure out the most comfortable position to catch some z's, avoiding foods that will make you 'that person', timing/controlling how much liquid you intake so you don't become 'that person', and be willing to be someone's pillow, punching bag, game partner and general entertainer.

You think I sound crazy? Pah! For those of you who have judged, you are nodding your head to every word in the above sentences. Just how it is. However, with those preparatory expectations, road trips are also where you make some of your best, life-long friends. The connection you make with your teammates is one that can never be broken. The memories you share with these crazy cats will be some of the best memories of your life. The coach and I find ourselves laughing while we travel over stories from our own teams.

There is another aspect to being on the road, and that's the drive home. Sometimes the drive home from a contest can be the best you will have. Then again, it could also be the most brutal. How you fair at a contest typically sets the mood for the next few hours stuck in a vehicle packed with emotions coming from your coach, teammates and yourself. The longer the trip, the more miserable or grand a drive can be. Either way, you are still enduring these hours with your teammates, thus increasing that bond. Unless you are 'that person' who decided to reenact scenes from Animal House post contest. No one likes the kid holding the barf bag. Just FYI. 

Covering the Nation's highways in a judging van can be the greatest miles of your life. Enjoy them. They will fly by in an instant. 

Final thought - never leave your judging van unlocked in a stock show parking lot, overnight or around Jeff Nemecek. (Love you jeffy!)