2011...A Quick Review

This past year was certainly been filled with ups and downs, but all in all it has been a good year because I survived it all!  I will miss 2011 and all the good times it provided me but I am so ready for a new year like never before!  So here are the goods (ups) and bads (downs) of my year, 2011:

Goods:

• Started a blog to keep people in the loop regarding my life
• Began taking fitness classes at the gym at school
• Met and began dating Brian
• Finished my second year of college
• Went to Nampa, ID for the first time
• Got to ride my horse nearly everyday during the summer
• Boated on the Columbia River for the first time
• Moved into my first apartment with my best friend, Laura
• Got an apartment pet, a fire bellied toad
• Started my junior year of college
• Turned 21
• Got my own gun...a BB gun
• Hosted a farm Thanksgiving
• New football coach at WSU
• Finished fall semester with really good grades
• Got done with finals week really early, which meant more time at home for the holidays
• Caught up with the times by getting a smartphone
• Family, friends, food on the table, and a roof over my head

Bads:

• School starting after winter break last January
• 20 inches of snow in 24 hours and I had to work and go to school that day
• Summer break ending
• Living away from my family and Brian
• Family health problems

By making this list, I can easily say that 2011 was a pretty darn good year for me!  2012 has big shoes to fill but I know it and I can do it!  Happy early new year!

My Favorite (Easy) Recipes From 2011

Pretzel Hugs

• A Hershey's kiss melted between two pretzels
• http://cookiesandcups.com/pretzel-hugs/

People Pleasing Cinnamon Rolls

• An easy to roll dough with good texture and flavor once baked
• Can serve a small army
• http://www.bhg.com/recipe/sweet-rolls/people-pleasing-cinnamon-rolls/

Simple Shrimp Scampi

• Simple, fast, and tasty
• Good over rice
• http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Simple-Shrimp-Scampi

No Bake Cookies

• Chocolaty
• My friends' favorite cookie that I bake
• http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/No-Bake-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx

I love cooking and baking and trying new things!  These are a few of my favorites from the past year that I have made multiple times...sometimes more than once in a week!  I've sure enjoyed making them and eating them, and I hope you do too!  Also, never be afraid to throw random stuff in the crock pot! 

Christmas 2011

My most favorite time of year, Christmas, has come and gone once again.  It was a nice quiet time with lots of tasty goodies, visits with family and friends, and a big beautiful tree!  Treats, visits, and the tree are my favorite parts of Christmas!

These are the treats my mom, sister, and I baked together to share with our neighbors.  We made two types of brittle (peanut and cashew), Russian tea cakes, frosted sugar cookies, fudge, and a chocolate chewy bar.  All were quite yummy.  The cinnamon rolls I made for my family's Christmas breakfast were also wonderful!

This was our tree this holiday season.  It was around 12 feet tall and once in the stand with an angel on top it was near 13 feet.  We love big trees!  This one was a beauty as usual.  We kept the decorating quite simple and pretty this year by decorating it with multi colored lights, a red beaded garland, a silver garland, and old fashioned shiny ball ornaments. We sure enjoyed it!

I got several wonderful gifts this Christmas, and my favorite are:

Victoria Secret eye makeup

Taste of Home cookbook

Betty Crocker cookbook

Jewelry from Brian

Shower head for my apartment shower

and Being with my family!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mid December Update

Well its been too long since I last posted, but I've been busy wrapping up this semester and coming home.  The last two and half weeks of the semester flew by and all my finals went really well.  I am so anxious to see my grades, though.  I check to see if they've been posted like every hour because I have a feeling that I'm going to have good grades.  I just want to see how I did!

Although I was busy cruising through the last couple weeks of school, my roommate, Laura, and I managed to find some time to have our own little Christmas.  We went out for dinner, took pictures with our Christmas tree, watched a movie, and opened a couple little gifts.  It was sooooo much fun and such a nice evening together!

Now Christmas is nearing along with a new year!  I'm having such a good time wrapping presents, shopping, and baking. It's also super nice to be home with my family and taking a short, sweet break from school!

A Farm Thanksgiving

This year my family hosted my mom's family for Thanksgiving.  It was sure nice to have relatives come to us this year on the farm.  Everyone sure enjoyed themselves!

We shot guns!  Well BB guns to start with and then moved up to bigger and better guns.

We celebrated Erin's 17th birthday, which is only the second time her birthday has fallen on Thanksgiving since she was born!

We had homemade donuts the morning after Thanksgiving!

We played games like Scrabble!



We Skyped family, and it was sure nice to see them!

Overall, we had a good time filling our tummies and enjoying each other's company all while having some good laughs!  Hope we can host Thanksgiving more often!

Round Two of Exams...Done

Well round two of exams came to an end on Wednesday for me.  Thank goodness this semester is moving along!  Round three of exams starts this Monday.  I just want to remind my readers that from when I had my first exam this semester to when I have my last exam this semester (during finals week) I will have averaged one exam per week this semester.  It's just not nice or fair!  No relaxing for me!

On a good note, though, I have been doing quite well in school and am pleased with my performance.  I keep making little improvements as the semester goes on.  This is great because I keep getting more tired, more worn out, and more work and responsibilities added to my plate.  I like doing well and improving!  None of my classes are a walk in the park...each requires plenty of work and time.  However, I can confidently say that Organic Chemistry 348 is my most difficult class.  It's tough and I never want to take it again!  With that being said, I hope I pass the class.  Otherwise I may have to rethink never wanting to take the class again because it's pretty much a requirement if I want to graduate and be whatever it is I decide to be when I grow up.  Pharmacist?  Lab technician? etc.

Now I better get back to finalizing my five page paper that is due next week.  I also need to study for my biology exam that is on Monday.

I'm 21!

So I turned 21 last week!  It was a great birthday and a great birthday weekend thanks to my roommate, college friends, family, and boyfriend!

When I woke up on my birthday morning, this cake and other decorations were out and waiting for me.  Thanks to Laura for all the pink decorations and birthday surprises!

Cupcakes!  Pink on the inside with pink frosting and sprinkles on the outside!  Made by me to share with my friends at my "pink" themed party!

Me with my birthday stuff!  Laura made this sign for me to wear because that's what girls wear out on their 21st birthdays here at WSU, and she insisted I wear the sign for my party!  It's pretty cute!

These roses were the best part of my birthday.  My wonderful boyfriend had my roommate get these for me and surprise me with them since he couldn't come on my actual birthday.  It was such a surprise and the sweetest thing ever!

When Brian came for my birthday weekend, he brought me this cool camo Daisy BB gun.  I love this little gun, and had a good time shooting it while he was visiting.  I'm taking it home for Thanksgiving break because I want to shoot it with my sister.

My birthday was great!

I Know I Have a Blog

But I've been too busy to update it because I've had a lot going on!  Classes, work, and exams keep me busy during the week.  Homework, work, and socializing keep me busy on the weekends. 

Don't worry...I plan on updating my blog this coming Friday.  There will be updates with how my exams have gone along with my twenty first birthday!

So stayed tuned and I'm sorry I'm so behind in my blogging life.

Pet Toads

 Laura and I got pet Fire Bellied Toads! 

This was decided after lots of thinking, sharing of ideas, researching, questioning, and trips to the pet store.

They're pretty cool looking.  They have green backs with black spots.  Their tummies are orange with black spots.  Their coloring is sooooo cool.

They are quite active, too.  As I write this post, I can hear them jumping around and climbing in their cute little habitat we put together for them.  Mine, Chesney, is the climber and Laura's, Brantley, is the jumper.  Chesney is shown above on the leaf and is twice the size of Brantley.

Laura and I are both very excited to have them as pets, and know we will enjoy them very much!

Brian Came for a Visit

Even with a busy school schedule, I found a weekend that Brian could come for a visit.  This was two weekends ago now.  It was quite nice to have him around for a couple days.  We enjoyed getting to spend time together just us and with our friends. 

After he got here Friday afternoon, we went out for dinner at one of Pullman's finest restaurants, South Fork.  We both enjoyed a tasty french dip.  He got frys and I got pasta salad for my side.  Then that night we hung out with friends.  We all had a good time playing games, watching movies, and laughing!  The pictures are of Brian, Laura, my roommate, and I ready to hangout with friends!

 On Saturday, Brian and I went on a drive to the little town of Palouse.  It's quite a cute town.  You get there by driving 15 miles through rolling hills of wheat fields.  Yet, to both Brian and I's surprise, we could see trees in the distance.  So on our way back from Palouse we drove out to one of the tree areas, which was Kamiak Butte.  It was quite pleasant to get out of the car and smell fresh forest type air.  When we got back to Pullman, we went out for dinner at Mongolian Fire Grill, which is another good place to eat in Pullman.  After dinner, we hung out with friends again!

Sadly, though, the weekend came to an end.  Brian had to go back to school in Walla Walla and I had to study my little heart away for my Organic Chemistry 348 exam that was on that coming Wednesday.  It was a great weekend with my boyfriend!

Round One of Exams...Done

Yes!  Round One of my exams ended last week!  For three weeks, I had atleast one exam per week.  I will also be having one exam per week until the third week of November, which is the week right before my Thanksgiving Break.  With an exam each week, it is hard to decide when one round ends and the other begins.

Oh well...I survived one round and I will make it through the next rounds.  I am happy with my grades on all my exams.  No they were not perfect scores but that is a good thing.  If they were perfect, then I would have nothing to learn and that would be boring.  However, I really do know a lot.  If I didn't, then I would not be where I am today. 

With that quick little run down, I better get back to studying for my AgTM 315 lab exam that is tomorrow.

Quick Trip Home

Last weekend I made a quick trip home because I hadn't been home for five weeks and I was really missing my family and boyfriend.  It was a quick trip, but it was just what I needed to to get pumped for the next several weeks of exams. 

I cruised home Friday afternoon and spent Friday evening after dinner with my boyfriend as he packed to head off to college because his classes started Monday.  I spent Saturday with my family taking some pictures, going to a car show with my dad's jeep, playing with the horses, and making homemade pizza.  It was a great weekend at home!

Taking these pictures was something my dad had been wanting to do.  I say his idea was a good one!  I mean look at them--they look great and so do Erin and I!  I have a feeling these pictures will be making more appearances...perhaps around Christmas time on a card?  Now, I have to share this because this is always how it goes.  Erin and I we just going to wear black t-shirts, but it was cold outside.  When we met in the hallway after getting ready we were wearing these matching flannel shirts.  Kind of funny, but we often wear similar or matching clothes without out planning to.  Turned out nice, though, for the pictures if I do say so myself. 

Also, the Hay King is something our farm is quite proud of.  We won this recognition at the Grant County Fair back in August.  We won this competition for making great hay.  We are pretty happy about it!  We've won twice now in the last four years!

So the weekend at home was just what I needed.  I survived my two exams this past week and am ready to take on one exam per week until Thanksgiving break comes around.  Happy Fall!

I Want A Pet

So I really, really, really want a pet of some sort.  However, it is not going to happen because I don't want to clean up after one and I don't want to pay the fee for having one at my apartment.  The fee would be for a cat or dog.

My three pet choices are a cat, dog, and tarantula.  There are pros and cons to each of these critters.

Cat 
Cons:  smelly litter box, hair, claws, meowing, pouncing in the night
Pros:  a friend, cuddly, cute, entertaining, sleeps a lot

Dog
Cons:  too big for apartment, may bark at night, my be mean to other dogs, needs walks
Pros:  would get me to go on walks, could be a protector, a friend, eat leftovers, lick the dishes, play with

Tarantula
Cons:  a spider, creepy, needs a warm environment and I don't want a high electricity bill, can hold
Pros:  small, inexpensive to feed, doesn't need walks, would be quiet

So obviously there are goods and bads to my pet choices.  Even if I could have a pet, I would have a hard time choosing which one to get.  I would also like to have my horse here at school but she is isn't allowed at the apartment complex and she would miss her horse friends at home.  So for now I will keep dreaming and loving all my friends' pets here at school.

It's Been Ten Years Since 9/11

It is hard to believe it has been ten years since that awful day.  I remember it all very clearly.  I was a fifth grader.  Every time I think about 9/11 I get chills.  I've been watching news videos today and I get chills listening to the stories of those who lost a loved one and those who survived.  Every time I see the towers fall it's like it's happening all over again.  At every event since that day, I have gotten teary during the playing or singing of the National Anthem.

As an eighth grader, my family made a trip to New York and we went to ground zero.  Three years later debris was stilling being cleaned up, surrounding buildings were still in disrepair, and people were leaving memorabilia on the fence around the site.  It was a sad site to see.  There were people crying and embracing one another.  I know that there were people crying and hugging each other today at ground zero.  September 11, 2001 affected America greatly, and I am certain that there will be people visiting the site  every day who will cry. 

I found the image above earlier today and thought it was a good symbol for representing the attacks of 9/11.  I know this isn't my best post, but it is still hard to put words to what happened ten years ago because it is still so shocking that people would do such a thing. 

I am very proud to be an American and am thankful for those who defend the United States of America!

Laura Turns 20!

On Thursday, my roommate, Laura turned 20! 

For her birthday, we went out for dinner with a few girlfriends.  The place we went to was called South Fork.  One of Laura's professors owns this restaurant so we had to try it out.  The food was great!  I had Mac & Cheese that was made with Cougar Gold Cheese, topped with bacon bits and scallions, and was served with an amazing bread stick.  I want to go eat there again!  Check out their menu at http://www.southforkpublichouse.com/ !

On Friday night we had some friends over for dessert and snacks.  The dessert I made was Candy Bar Apple Salad.  It's pretty darn good.  The recipe can be found here http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Candy-Bar-Apple-Salad.  We had a good time hanging out, talking, painting nails, and watching movies.

The birthday girl making a wish! 

 All the girls that came over to celebrate!

 And the boys!

I'd say she had a pretty good 20th birthday.  Next birthday...My 21st!

My Four Day Weekend

So for most students they get three days off from school for Labor Day weekend.  I am not like other students, though.  I got a four day weekend because I don't have classes or labs on Tuesdays!  Having four days off has been nice, but busy.

It began with some decorating in our apartment with Laura on Friday.  Once we got things to stay securely on the wall, which took a few trys, it was time for a ten second tidy because our friends wanted us to come hangout.  We had a good time at our friends' house and spent most of our time snuggling with the adorable puppies and dogs  they have.

 Our "Welcome Wall" in our entry way.  The mirrors required some special treatment for getting them to stay on the wall.

This is baby Ruger and me.  Ruger is a very sweet chocolate lab that belongs to a friend.  I want him!

Saturday morning was a bit of a frenzy because there was more cleaning to do before my parents showed up for the football game.  I also wrote a paper, took out the garbage, and got ready for the football game.  Getting ready for the football game meant taking several photos with Laura in our WSU gear.

Saturday was a good day.  The Cougars won!  It was hot out!  I got to see my family!  We ate pizza!  Then I worked the closing shift at work.  It was a long day, though.

Sunday was another long day.  I did some homework, went shopping, went to spin class, and then I worked the closing shift again at work.  Shopping was great, though.  I got cute sandals with stones and jewels for eight bucks and a cute shirt for eight bucks, too!

My Monday morning did not start early.  After being up past midnight for several nights in a row, I slept in.  After I woke up, I had some breakfast and then started my reading assignments.  From what I can tell I didn't get much reading done because I feel asleep and didn't wake up until after noon.  Once up from my morning nap, I did some homework and then headed to work.  It was a pretty easy day considering most of it was spent sleeping!

Now today, Tuesday, has been a catch up day.  I'm doing lots of homework and studying.  I also worked out this morning because I haven't done that for a couple days.  Tonight I will work again.  I also thought it'd be a good idea to update my blog since it's been a couple weeks.  So hopefully you now feel more up-to-date on the last four days of my life!

Fall Classes Have Began

My junior year is off to a great start, but I'm only done with three days.  I have class from nine to two with an hour break on Mondays and Wednesdays with a two to five lab on Wednesdays, too.  I have NO classes on Tuesdays!  Thursdays I'm in labs from noon to five.  Then I finish off the school week by having only three classes on Fridays, which go from eleven to two.  It really isn't that bad.  I will also be working about eight hours during the school with with an additional 6 or so hours every other weekend.  I'll also be going to fitness classes at the gym three days a week for an hour each time.  I'm really quite happy with my schedule!

I'm taking four classes this semester, which adds up to be 14 credits.  The classes are Anthropology 101, AgTM 315/Hort 346, Organic Chemistry 348, and Biology 106.  The last three classes I have listed also have labs that are two to three hours long. 

Out of my classes this semester, I am most excited about anthropology.  So far it's been quite interesting and has presented me with concepts, terms, and ideas I had never considered to be anthropology.  I'm going to learn so much from this class!

So three days of year three of college are complete!  Here's to more!

Start of Apartment Life

This fall a friend and I will be living in an apartment together.  Living in an apartment is new for both of us.  I did two years in the dorms and she did one.  We are both very ready for living off campus and for living together.  We are going to have so much fun!  Our apartment is quite wonderful, too.  We each have our own large bedroom with a walk-in closet and bathroom.  There is also a laundry room in the apartment, a good-sized living room and dining room, and a kitchen.  It's really perfect if you ask me!  Take a look at our set up below!

 This is our living room.  The only reason stuff matches is because my roommate's mom rocks!  She got the couch, chair and ottoman, coffee table, and a vaccum for $175!  Amazing!  (Also, if my Uncle Chuck is reading this, that is your lamp.  I will give it back, but I doubt you will want it since it's been in Pullman and touched by a WSU Cougar.)

 This set of table and chairs was also part of the $175 purchase!  (There is a fourth chair.  It just didn't make the first move in trip with my roommate.)  Right behind the dining area is the kitchen with a dishwasher and newer fridge.

 This is my $75 bed I got off Craigslist.  I chose to go with lime green, grey, and black in my room because I have lime green from living in the dorm, and I really like grey and black.

I call this my beauty corner because my mirror and jewelry are all here.  I got the table with the stool at a cute consignment shop in Waterville for $50.

 This is my $25 Goodwill desk.  This desk is an inch shorter than when I bought it because my dad had to saw the bottoms off the legs so that is would fit through my bedroom door.

My walk-in closet...not too exciting.  Just big!

Fianlly, my WSU bathroom.  I'm sure there are many WSU themed bathrooms in Pullman, but oh well.  I have school spirit, too!  Go Cougs!

Boating at Cresent Bar

So this summer my family went boating at Cresent Bar for a day.  It was my third time down there this summer because I've gone two other times with my boyfriend's family.  It my family's first time down on the Columbia River, though.  In the past, we have boated at Mardon/Pot Holes, Banks Lake and Lake Roosevelt. 

 Erin tubing

 The family

 Me tubing

 The Gorge

The bridge at Vantage

We just spent the day cruising the river, looking at the scenery, and tubing.  It was really quite fun and we had great weather!



A Party Hit!

It's called Caramel Crunch Cake, and is absolutely delicious! 

I tried it out as a new recipe on my friends last night at a BBQ.  Most everyone had a second piece!  I think it's safe to say my friends found it tasty and weren't just being nice.  Someone even asked me if I would share the recipe with them!

Since it was such a hit, I thought I'd post it here on my blog for others to enjoy.  The cake is really quite simple and fun to make...after all I was capable of following the recipe and people ate it.  I mean who doesn't love devils food chocolate cake, caramel, whipped topping, and butterfingers...each on there own?  Now imagine all those yummy things in one mouth watering cake...you've got yourself a Caramel Crunch Cake!

I got the recipe out of one of my cookbooks, but I found it online at  http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Caramel-Crunch-Cake  Bet you'll have a second piece!

Nordstrom Sale

I have filled a cart at Nordstroms and the sale only started a few hours ago!  I have four pairs of Vigoss jeans selected, a plaid shirt, a sweater, and some very cute grey colored Simple brand tennis shoes.  The Nordstrom sale is awesome and is something my mom, sister, and I look forward to every summer!  Normally, we plan a day to Bellevue to do our shopping.  However, our summer schedule isn't looking like it is going to allow us to go to Bellevue this summer.  Therefore, we are filling our online carts!  I can't wait to finalize my order and have it arrive so I can try it all on!

Shop now!  http://shop.nordstrom.com/

Happy Fourth of July!

My family spent the day celebrating the Fourth of July in George, Washington.  Yes, that is really a town, and it's only 30 minutes from our house in Royal City.  George is a much smaller town than Royal City but they sure know how to celebrate Independence Day!  To learn more about this little town go to http://www.ci.george.wa.us/!

My mom, sister, and I started the day of in George by walking in the Cherry Bomb race.  Then we watched my dad drive his jeep through the parade.  Ask anyone in our family and we will tell you our jeep was the cutest thing because of its red color and American flags! 

Once the parade was finished, my dad entered the jeep into a car show at the park.  Sadly, it didn't win any prizes but people sure enjoyed looking at it!  At noon, some long-time George community members served cherry pie to all attendants at the park celebrating.  It's pretty good, and it's pretty cool to see such a huge pie being served!  They pre-made some pieces a couple days in advance, but most assembling of the pie happens the morning of the Fourth.  It is a huge and tasty pie! The town of George sure does a great job upholding the fact that is known as the town with the largest cherry pie!

When the car show was finished, my parents headed on home while I met up with boyfriend and friends from the area for the evening.  We enjoyed sitting in the backyard talking and laughing.  When it got dark we headed out to a clear field near the fireworks to watch them.  They were pretty darn good for a small town, in fact, most everything that went on in George to celebrate was pretty darn good for a small town!!

Pretty Things

So last weekend I traveled to Nampa, ID to watch Erin show her horse, HotRod, for three days.  On the way I saw some interesting things, but I also so saw pretty things.  One was this view of the sky.  The colors of pink and lavender were so pretty together.  It was quite amazing to see this much color in the sky in front of me since the sun was setting behind me as I drove.

Once I got to Nampa, I was got to see lots of pretty horses and riders.  However, my sister and her horse were the prettiest to me!  Here they are!

Erin and HotRod before the halter and showmanship classes they won!

Erin waiting for places after an English class.  She won several English classes over the weekend.

Erin waiting for one of her western classes to begin.  She did very well and won some of these classes too!

HotRod is resting and getting in the zone for halter and showmanship while Erin shows off her new outfit.  It looks so good on her!

Well, I think it's safe to say I saw pretty things on my trip, and Erin and HotRod were the prettiest!

On my way to Nampa, ID

I saw something I'd never seen before.  It was quite a sight, and it made my passenger and I laugh very hard.  It began with a jacked up, lime green, four door Dodge pickup stopped in the certain of the on ramp on Interstate 84.  We saw the truck stopped from a distance and as we passed we saw this old grungy man climbing into the bed of the truck.  It appeared that he was going to lay down on everything else that was piled in the truck bed.  What made this sight strange was the fact that it was in the middle of no where and there weren't any other people outside the truck.

After we drove by, I kept watching in my review mirror.  The truck finally entered the road way and caught up to us.  I had my friend get the camera out because I wanted a picture of what I was about to see. 

When the truck passed by, five smiling country boys waved at my friend and I.  I know they saw the camera because they took their speed down a notch, which made it easy to capture this picture.

Yes, the man did end up laying down in the truck.  Yes, his eyes are closed, but I don't know how they could be.  I would be scared to death riding in the bed of a truck at 70mph in a truck with a cab full of boys!  Yes, that is a large suit case teetering on the tool box and could easily fall on him if stopped quick or turned too sharp.

I understand that the man is probably homeless, and if that is the case it was kind of those boys to give him a ride.  I just had to catch a picture of this because it reminded me of those crazy stories others share about the things they see out on the road.

First Cutting

First cutting refers to cutting and making hay for the first time in a season.  Hopefully, we can get four cuttings this season.  We started cutting hay about 8 days ago and finally 2 days ago were able to start baling it.  My dad and I started day 3 of baling this morning at 5 a.m.  There are a few more days/nights of baling until we get all of first cutting baled and stacked.  When I say there are days and nights, I mean it.  Depending on the type of hay we are putting up decides what time of day we can bale.  If it's grass hay, we can bale in the afternoon into the evening.  If it's alfalfa, we can bale during the night and sometimes into the early morning depending on the temperature and dew.  This making hay stuff is tricky business, but when done right is quite pretty and profitable. 

1. First, my dad cuts the hay with a swather.

2. Next, he fluffs it with a fluffer so that it drys quicker.

3. The hay is completely scattered after being fluffed.

4. Then the hay is raked with rake pulled behind a tractor.

5. The baler, also pulled with a tractor, follows the rake to make cute little rectangular bales.

6. After the baler, my dad goes in with the harrow bed to pick up, and stack the bales in the barn.

(Sorry, but I don't have pictures of everything because it is difficult to take pictures of the last steps because I'm driving one tractor or another at this point.)

Normally, we start first cutting in May and would be making second cutting right now instead of first cutting.  Due to rainy, cool temperatures, unpredictable, and over all cruddy hay making weather we had to wait to start making hay.  Let me tell ya, farmers were getting antsy just sitting and waiting for the clouds to clear and let the sun shine warm.  Let me tell ya, we are so happy to finally be putting up some hay and we will be even happier when a semi truck comes to haul it away!!