Gobble Gobblin´ Good Time!

I hope EVERYONE had a FANTASTIC Turkey Day and that you all have as much to be THANKFUL for as I do. There is just somethin´ about coming home and being around "your people."

I have to tickle her to get her to smile at a camera these days :).

We had LOTS of time with family and friends and it seemed like the holidays just kinda flew by. Over the Thanksgiving holidays I went to two Thanksgiving gatherings, a dance Wednesday and Saturday night, Black Friday Shopping, a Ranch Sorting get-together, and to help Uncle Mele pick up, write-up, tag, pen cattle for the sale on Monday. Yeah....It was BUSY, but me and Uncle Mele got a little time to bounce some ideas off of each other. The license still hasn´t come in the mail, but it should any day now :).

So starting from Wednesday when we got to town...Kyle and I met up with a few friends at a little dance hall that has re-opened in Nechanitz. We had a really good time!! Lots of our friends showed up and we ran into a few class mates we hadn´t seen in awhile. The Emotions played and I was really impressed. They need to get them back there sometime!

Megan, Me, and Shayne

Kyle and a few of his classmates: RaChelle, Cordes, Jenny, and Lauren!

Then for lunch on Thanksgiving we went to my Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Fritz´s. We had lots of turkey, ham, sweet rice, potatoes, rolls, sweets...the list goes on. We looked at some deer horns that my cousin and her sweetie shot.

Sue´s Horns

Kim´s Deer (Sue´s Sweetie :))

Then, Kylee helped Cody tend his herd :) and saw Uncle Mele palpate a few cows for him.

They were trying to pet Smokey :).

I´m pretty sure this calf was ready to come at´r, so I snatched her up real fast.

Can´t say that this happens at everyone´s Thanksgiving....

Kylee and Aunt Mandy. Kylee was tryin´ to figure out what Uncle Mele was doín´ :).

Then we played a little 31, sat around and visited, watched Kylee play with the puppies and left for the next one with some of Mandy´s Cranberry/Apple Sauce in tow...(It´s REALLY good.)

Kylee was lovin´ on Moon and leadin´ him around until we left.

She kept trying to make him look in the house through the door. Reminds me of how we looked trying to set up show lambs when we were little.

She got it done!

We had dinner at Kyle´s Mom and Daddy´s. Kylee played with all her cousins, we ate more turkey, and started figuring out our Black Friday plans.

Here she is with Kelsey and Kaben on Kinsey´s scooter - which I now have to track one down for her for Christmas. She LOVED it!!

Her and Kandon on the 4-wheeler.

I went with my Mom and Sister and my little Brother and his friend met us at Wal-Mart. My sister, brother, and his friend have NEVER been. Mom and I have gone before. So.....Mandy wants a laptop and a shop vac and a camera and maybe a few other things. Chance and Ben just kind of came along to check it out (I put them to work :)) and Mom mainly wanted to look for things for Kylee. The main thing I wanted was a camera and later decided I also wanted a hard drive. I´m gonna do my best to not bore those of you that already think I´m CrAzY for taking part in this. We all got EVERYTHING we came there for and wound up going home with a little more. We are all pretty good at makin´ friends with the people around us, so we didn´t have TOO MUCH craziness. We did have a  little.

My sister waited in line for the computer for over 2 hours and saw one girl she made friends with exchange words with this guy that was trying to help her b/c she thought he was trying to steal her computer :). They didn´t bring out the cameras until right before midnight and after they cleared out some of the toys that you could start buying at 10pm. So...I was already in line for the hard drive. I put Chance and Ben in charge of grabbing a camera for me and Mandy.

My little brother is not really AGGRESSIVE like me, Mandy, or Mom. He´s kind of calm, likes to be funny and make jokes, and isn´t exactly Mr. Muscles....so I was nervous. They wheeled the cameras out and he was standing by Mom and our shopping cart. I´m looking at him like "GET OVER THERE!!" He looked confused. Finally...he came over and we got him there. He wasn´t right in the front, but I figured he was close enough. So....midnight is approaching. (In the mean time these two people get grumpy with me and another girl that was in line for a hard drive. Ultimately we told them that if they didn´t like people and felt claustrophobic in such a tight space, with so many people, that Black Friday shopping was OBVIOUSLY not the place they needed to be. They got all chummy after we gave them a couple of memory cards....:).

Anyways...back to Chance.... I see him and Ben laughing and cuttin´ up with these other people in line. Definitely not very DETERMINED to get those cameras. So I´m texting him and making faces and hand signals at him and he´s looking at me like..."I got this" when I knew he was not ready for what was about to ensue.

He even lets Little Girls beat him up :)!

It´s midnight. They unwrap the packages. I get my hard drive and snatch a different camera that was right beside the hard drives....just in case Chance doesn´t pull through for me.

I was right between both of them, so I had a REALLY good spot.

After I pick myself up off of the cameras that I was pretty much pushed into I look over at Chance..... He´s still fighting for the cameras...none in his hand. I just look down at the one I grabbed and think at least I got one.... Then I look up again and the people in front of him just start passing cameras back to HIM!!! I couldn´t believe it. By the time I made my way to him...he had 3 cameras and a hand FULL of memory cards.

Chance was like 3 people behind the tall guy to the right.

So we venture over to my Mom... We get there and realize that Mom ALSO has cameras... 3 of them (one in every color) and memory cards. She said she looked at Chance and thought the same thing I did....He wasn´t gonna get´m. Mind you...that MOM was on the OTHER side of the aisle. So....she had to run around the aisle to the other side where ALL these people are GRABBING and PUSHING to get to the items they want, push through them, grab 3 cameras (1 of each color), the memory cards and STILL get back to the shopping cart to make sure no one snags something out of it - BEFORE we get there. I´d have to say that´s where we get our SCRAPINESS. WHEW!! It WAS as INTENSE as it sounds. I´ve been Black Friday shopping in Katy and College Station and never saw it that CrAzY!! I mean someone got stepped on over SHEETS.....from WAL-MART! Then...we had breakfast at Denny´s where I laughed off a few calories. My family is NuTs...but Hilarious!

The Wal-Mart employees and Security kept telling us if we were on the white part of the aisle we were too close. We all had to squeeze onto the brown part, which was a single strip of brown tile, OR move into the clothing section.



People are in line on the other side...the same way we are.

Me, Mom, and Mandy made a few more stops then went home to catch a little sleep. Then a few hours later...Kylee wakes me up and we meet my Mother-in-Law at Bealls in La Grange to try and get this Zebra Print Duffel Bag with wheels. They didn´t have it. She still wanted to see if Wal-Mart had a few things - so we decide to drive on over to Giddings, see if the Bealls there has the bag, and go to Wal-Mart there. I couldn´t hardly believe it! They had ONE Zebra Print bag left!!! Lois didn´t get everything she wanted, but we still did a pretty darn good job.
Okay....SO...if that´s not enough adventure for one weekend we decide to got to a little Thanksgiving gathering at a little ranch out in Caldwell to do a little ranch and arena sorting. Well...it rains pretty much all morning, but we decide we´re still going. I´m kinda glad. I got to visit with Mrs. Shirley and dance a little jig with Buddy. Plus...they haven´t seen Kylee in a LONG time and she really enjoyed herself.

Kylee playing in puddles... I was just happy to see water on the ground.

Well...the main sortin´ pen has water standin´ in it, so we decide to do some 3-man arena sorting. This is where there is a line across the arena. The calves are numbered and they call out a number and you run them across the line in numerical order. No other calves can cross the line until they are supposed to and if a calf runs back you are DQ´d. Well it was all for fun b/c the rain kept people at home, but we had a good time. Little Miss Kylee Jo sorted some cows with me and Aunt Mandy and enjoyed every minute of it.

Later...we moved it over to the covered arena where we did some actual 2-man ranch sorting....all practice. Kylee really liked that!! 2-man ranch sorting is ultimately the same concept I described above except there is no line. There are two pens and a gate. One person works the gate and the other goes and gets whatever number the announcer calls out. Then...depending on the circumstances, the person in the gate usually switches off and goes to the herd and gets the next number. That cycle keeps going until all the calves are penned in the correct order without any mistakes in the opposite pen. Your working in a much smaller amount of space also.

Later on that night we met a few friends at a little dance hall in Fayetteville. I hadn´t gone out with Little Sister in a while, so it was a much needed outing!

Willie was breakin´ down with all of us gals. I got my first cutting/penning mare from him many years ago.

I´d say Mandy had a good time :)!

With all of these goins on...I still fit in a few hunts. All these people shootin´ deer have me itchin´ to get one. The right one´s gotta walk out though and so far....no bueno.

My Father-In-Law´s Buck he shot this past Wednesday.
(Low fence 12pt..probably scoring around 140)

McKenna´s (Kyle´s cousin) 8-pt buck.

Uncle Mike´s 12-pt buck (Kyle´s Uncle).

To end the holiday break....I rode around with Uncle Mele on Sunday... pickin´ up cows from people that wanted to sell´m at the sale on Monday. We had to pen some, doctor on some, load´m, unload´m, check´m in, tag´m....you get the point. IT WAS COLD!! I kinda dig cool weather, but not COLD weather :/. It was good. I got the chance to pick his brain a little, make sure what I was plannin´ on doin´ was the right thing to do. We bounced around some ideas and the best way to go about them. We talked about what steps we need to take, upcoming auctions, what works, what doesn´t, tax stuff....all kinds of things really. It´s just what I needed.

I´ll be honest... I´m exhausted just reading about all this excitement. BUT.....It´s time to BUCK UP BABY!! The holidays are approachin´ and I´m fixing to get REAL busy with EVERYTHING - (Real work, auction stuff, upcoming fundraising auction, the holidays, other events....). There is just simply....NO TIME TO WHINE!

Thanks everyone for reading. I APPRECIATE it.

I PASSED!!!!

Hey! Hey Everyone!! So....GUESS WHAT?! :) I PASSED!!! I made a 92...only got 6 wrong. Now....once I get the license in the mail I will be a FULL-FLEDGED, FAST-TALKIN´, LICENSED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS AUCTIONEER!!

Proof :)

So now what...you ask? (If you´re not askin´...I am.) Well...I´ve decided to do all kinds of things and not really limit myself.

I´m going to help out at an auction house about 40 minutes from Rockport. It´s pretty cool and I think I´ll be able to learn a lot from helping out here. They sell smaller boxed lots, nice antique pieces, boats, trucks....a good VaRiEtY :). I´m also meeting with an auction company after the Thanksgiving holidays. This fella was inducted into the "Texas Auctioneers Hall of Fame." I´m pretty pumped about talkin´ to him. He´s also won a state bid-calling competition. I want to get experience selling all kinds of different things and working in different settings.

Me and Uncle Mele might be conjurin´ somethin´ up too. There is just no tellin´ about us. I mean...you can imagine....I have TONS of ideas floating around in my head. It is just a matter of sortin´ through all of them and figurin´ out what will work, when it will work, and if we can make it happen.

Nonetheless...I´ve had some really AWESOME conversations with a few VERY interesting people. I´ve got lots to look forward to and think about.

I´ll be sure to keep you all posted and let you know when I get the license! I´m ready to BUCK UP BABY!! I´m just even more ready to $$$ (Buck) Up :).

I just wanted to let all you know that I´m VERY thankful for my little Blogging Community. If I don´t post again before....have a very happy TURKEY DAY!!!

5 Day Countdown!!!

Hey folks! This won´t be a real long post, but I wanted you all to know that I just scheduled the licensing exam to get my Auctioneer´s License this morning!! That´s where I´ll be next Monday morning!

Let the studying begin!! You can´t even imagine how anxious I am. There are some REALLY GREAT opportunities in my future! I´ve met with one auction house and am meeting with another this week! They may be able to put me to work....who knows?! I´m just THRILLED to start the process. Auction School was just the beginning. Now it´s time to get some experience and explore some of the other possibilities coming my way!!!

Thank ya´ll SO much for following me on this journey! I´m serious about this! I´m gonna have to BUCK UP BABY!! I have several things I feel like I need to work on, but I can´t do it without DOIN´ IT! It´s all about bein´ there - in the middle of an auction - and rollin´ with the punches as they come my way!!

WOO HOO!!! I´M EXCITED!! Saddle on up and join the posse!! The ride is only gonna get wilder from here!!

On a sadder note....we just found out that our dog - Kane has Cancer :(. Kyle got Kane from his brother Kory a few months after we started dating, so he´s been with us almost the entire time we´ve been together. He is a GREAT dog. He lets Kylee crawl on him, sit on him, grab him by his collar and lead him around. He´s around 9 1/2, so he´s gettin´ up there. He is still very energetic and playful and 70 lbs. We are going to the vet tomorrow to see just how bad it is. Say a prayer for him and us. It won´t be easy for any of us. God Bless!!

Here he is before he started getting gray in the face.

I´m a Rockin´ Rural Woman!!!

Hey Everyone! I have been featured on the RURAL WOMEN ROCK page and am MORE than honored. Please be sure to check out the post below (which is also on their site) and be sure to check out the otherAWESOME feature stories!!

For all of you new readers...If you want to watch a video of me auctioning something off - you can check out several of my blogs. I´ve put links to them below:

A Little Constructive Critiscism

Kinda Sorta Hittin´ My Stride

Auction School Day 2: Bid Calling

Auction School Day 7: Quizzes and More Bid Calling

Buck Up Baby: Heather Kaspar

Sales Account Executive/Auctioneer. I love how Heather is mixing it up- chasing her dreams, and doing what she loves. Rural women are doing some amazing things! Quoting Calamity Jane:"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one."
 Heather says, “I want to make a difference and I want a STRONG legacy when I leave this world”. Knocking your socks off  from: http://buckupbaby.blogspot.com/

Meet Heather Kaspar!

Hi there!! I´m Heather and I am really all kinds of things, but what moved me into the blogging world (besides my good friend Kacie over at Pistols and Cupcakes) was my decision to become an Auctioneer. I just got back this week from Auction School. To become licensed you have to take an 80 hour course (amongst other things) to get your license. Now I´m in the process of filling out all the needed paperwork and working on scheduling a date to take my state exam (another requirement). I´m SO excited!! Some of my other titles include: Christian, Mother of a 2 year old little girl, wife to my high school sweetheart, Cable TV Ad Sales Account Executive, Mentor, Texas State University - San Marcos Graduate, and...MOVIN´ AND SHAKIN´ RURAL WOMAN!
I grew up in a teeny tiny community (in the GREAT State of Texas), where I graduated with 20 other people. I was brought up around cattle auctions and started showing cutting horses at around age 12. I was also pretty active in 4-H and FFA where I showed market lambs and commercial heifers. I´ve also (within the last 10 years) taken´ a likin´ to hunting and fishing (husband´s influence).

I sell TV Advertising (on a local level) in a little coastal community close to Corpus (Rockport). We have GREAT fishing! Anyways…I started out in sales in College Station, TX (Home of the Fightin´ Texas Aggies). When I started I hadn´t even finished my college degree, but I paid for most of my way through school (besides a few scholarships and a little help with books every so often) and I´LL BE DARNED if I wasn’t going to have a “good job” when I graduated. Well…to make a LONG story short…I was good at it….still am. This job has given me the ability to learn about ALL KINDS of different businesses and help create marketing strategies that help them grow their client base. The main thing my career has done is show me that I have GRIT. You don´t really realize it REALLY until you look back and you remember where you started (no actual billing client list), notice the number of people that have walked into your life for a short while, and moved onto another profession, and realize the number of people you have helped. It´s always nice when people in a certain type of business ask: “Have you ever worked with a frame shop?...church?...outdoor shop?...mattress store?...jeweler?...restaurant? cattle genetics operation? (you better believe it)....etc.” AND I CAN SAY YES!! Of course it took close to 5 years, but I have learned A LOT about A LOT of things – through this job.
You can really get to know LOTS more about me by checking out my blog  I wear A LOT of different hats and I sit and ponder on how I manage it all and why I am the way I am. When it comes to business I feel like I´m pretty buttoned down…but not stuffy. I enjoy the company of people…ALL KINDS of people! I cherish my family and friends and am SO grateful for all the blessings the GOOD LORD has bestowed upon me. I AM BLESSED! I like to have fun and I REALLY have a hard time tolerating DISRESPECT. There is a right and wrong way to go about any given situation and I think it is important for people to take a step back and look at the entire situation before talkin´ ugly about somethin´.

I have decided that the reason I am the way I am is because of ALL of the different people that have influenced me in my life, like: The people I admire (some have no idea and most people wouldn´t guess that I´d admire), the people that make me realize what I DON´T want to be like, all the people that have taught me some sort of life lesson - whether it be nicely done OR brutally honest. Then...not letting the negativity DEFEAT me, but fight like hell to rise above it. All that started in the rough and tough years of becoming a teenager and not understanding stuff. Ultimately I had a "Comin´ to Jesus Meeting" with just me, Jesus, and God and worked it all out. I figured out who I wanted to be, thought about the people I admired, thought about the people I didn´t, and figured out what steps I was going to take to BECOME the person I wanted to be. God is there, and he guides us all. You just have to be willing to listen and DO! If we all would just DO something the Lord will light our path.

I do want to share (what I think is) the best quality of all rural people. WE ARE REAL!! I have friends and acquaintances of all kinds of different backgrounds and upbringings and I just really appreciate the people that aren´t all about TOOTIN´ THEIR OWN HORN! You know the best way to get to know someone is ask them questions about themselves….NOT tell´m all about how wonderful you are. Rural people are DOERS!! You don´t have to talk about it….JUST DO IT (like Nike says). Actions have a lot more merit (in my eyes) than words and I really think that is what sets RURAL people apart from the rest. Be a Doer….not a Tooter.
I´m sure that some you gals readin´ have had the thought: "I am bigger than what I´m doing." Well I had that thought, light bulb went off, and I made the decision to follow in my Uncle´s (cattle auctioneer) footsteps and become an AUCTIONEER! I was SO nervous at that first fundraising auction, but I opened my big mouth, said I wanted to do it and there was NO TURNING BACK. Luckily...I was pretty good at it. SHOCKED the heck out of me. I was thinking that maybe I´ll just help Uncle Mele and do this on the side. Then 6 fundraising auctions later...I have people telling me to "Keep it up....Don´t quit!" I thought to myself....no one is holding these people at gunpoint...they must really mean what they´re sayin´. I don´t really know where I´m goin´ with all this yet, but I´m gonna keep goin´ somewhere! Let me just say that going to auction school solidified it for me EVEN MORE. I have been given a NATURAL GIFT and I better do something with it. This is ANOTHER way that I can really help people and I am just tickled to pieces about it. Hence…..where Buck Up Baby! began. I was SO overwhelmed with everything that went along with me auctioneering….I needed a place to unload it all and well…The title is literally something I had to tell myself on the ride over to Plum (first auction).

Folks....it really is AMAZING how the GOOD LORD works through all of us - if we let him. Do you know how many of MY FRIENDS looked at me confused and crazy - when I told them I was going to be an auctioneer? You just don´t hear very many people talking about it…much less a young woman. All I know is I decided it was time to BUCK UP BABY! You can´t be scared...well maybe a little scared, but you still have to DO it!!

I found a quote on an AWESOME GROUP OF WOMEN´S website (The Junk Gypsies) . This is what it is:

"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one."-Calamity Jane

Now...I don´t have a clue what kind of legend I may be one day BUT I KNOW I want to make a difference and I want a STRONG legacy when I leave this world. . I ENCOURAGE every one of you to let every person you meet, every book/article you read, and every situation you encounter leave a mark on you. We learn from each other and we can ALWAYS continue to educate ourselves. The way you handle any given situation builds CHARACTER!! I want to make people PROUD of me and HELP OTHERS. That is really what it is all about!

Ladies! Don’t be scared. Buck Up Baby and let´s show the world how much RURAL WOMEN ROCK!!! I really do look forward to getting to know you ladies and lettin´ you inspire me!!

Storytellers

Hey Everybody!! I had thoughts on writing this blog (maybe a week or so ago) after I had a new Account Executive shadow me.

Just a little background for new readers... I work in Cable TV Ad Sales. My job consists of doing all kinds of things like putting TV ad schedules together, writing scripts for commercials, help shoot commercials, meet with new and existing clients, and all the in between stuff that goes along with it. I´ve been doin´ this right around 4.5 years.

Here I´m at a shoot for a local hospital.

Commercial Shoot at Young´s Pizza in Kingsville :) Gotta love those Patooties and Texicalis! That´s my high school classmate in that hat.

Well...when they hire a new Account Executive they usually send them out to shadow other Account Executives that have been out sellin´ for a while. The company hired this little Montana gal that, quite frankly, I took a likin´ to. I enjoyed her company and enthusiasm. I took her with me on client meetings with a Detail Shop, Retina Specialist, and a Jeweler (good mix of businesses I´d say) and when I dropped her back off at the coffee shop she said to me "I really had a GREAT time and appreciate you letting me go out with you. I just really enjoyed ALL THE STORIES and they helped me to get a good idea of what I´m gettin´ myself into."

It really got me to thinkin´ about my experience at Auction School and how Mr. Moon told us LOTS of STORIES about his experiences throughout his years as an auctioneer.
So...my plan was to expand on that a bit and tell you about some of the storytellers that I´ve had in my life (which I am still going to do), but after this weekend I have a little more to share.

My husband used to work with a fella name Larry (he retired) that lets him hunt out at his property in Swinny Switch (teeny tiny place in South Texas). Let´s just say that I really enjoyed my weekend. Larry, Connie (his wife) and their little puppy Buddy along with their other new livestock made our stay VERY fun! They are the kind of people that you can just be yourself around WHEN YOU FIRST MEET THEM - no reservations! They are just GOOD PEOPLE.

MiMi Connie and G-Pa Larry :)

Little Buddy! Kylee had him plum tuckered out at the end of every day, but I think they both had a ball.

Kyle and the doe he shot Saturday morning w/ big grinnin´ Kylee Jo.

I´m not quite sure what it is that draws me to CREATIVE people, but I just am. Mrs. Connie (Mimi Connie as my little girl calls her) makes these ADORABLE teddy bears called "Mimi Loves." You should be sure to go like her page on Facebook: MiMi Loves Bears. Kylee was carrying one around and it was almost as big as she is.

How cute is she?!

Or what about these little ladies? She makes them for little boys too :).

Anyways...(I know I´m gettin´ side-tracked) we went to this festival in George West called....STORYFEST! I wasn´t quite sure what it would be like, but was more than willin´ to check it out. We went and checked out this contest called the "The Texas State Liars´ Contest." (It´s copyrighted -Don´t even think about stealin´ it.) Oh my gosh....It was SO Funny!! I mean there were stories about red-eyed coons, a monkey with a gun, roosters, horse snatchin´ vultures....you name it. I snagged a couple of videos of people that previously won the award. UNFORTUNATELY...I´ve been trying to load them all day and I´ve finally given up. I´ll try and figure out what the situation is and share it with you later. They are between 8 and 10 minutes. Who knows? We didn´t get to watch them all and don´t even know who won, but I mean to tell you. It was a neat little festival. They had booths set up and other tents with all kinds of different speakers - Christian, Inspirational, Cowboy, Funny....you name it. I DEFINITELY want to go back again!

I do believe that there are people that have a knack for tellin´ stories. I mean....we can ALL tell stories, but to tell them to where PEOPLE ACTUALLY LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR SAYING...is a talent. It´s just like any great speaker or comedian. First off...you´ve gotta have the guts to get up there and DO IT.

That was my worst fear when I started auctioning. Not only was I getting in front of LOTS of people, but I was gonna be talkin´ funny :) AND I didn´t even know if my "talkin´ funny" was bein´ done right.

Well...I can tell ya´ll one thing. Whatever you´re doin´ PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! That´s what has gotten me through the auctions I have done and what you better believe these storytellers had to do also.

Goin´ back to my ORIGINAL thoughts about this Storytellin´ Blog. When that little Montana Girl told me she "enjoyed all my stories" well....I felt pretty proud of myself. To be honest I didn´t even realize how many I had told. I was just tellin´ her what worked for me, experiences I had, and I guess found the humor OR the lesson in them. Not only did I teach her something, but she enjoyed learnin´ it!

Then it got me to thinkin´ about all the stories that I had recently heard from Mr. Moon and how they helped us get a better understandin´ of all those rules and laws we were learnin´ about. I mean...we´d remember the answers to quiz questions b/c of his stories. They were funny OR pretty serious. Either way...they made us pay attention.

I know some of you readin´ this KNOW my Daddy and my Uncle Fritz. Now...THEY are some REAL STORYTELLERS. Someone should ask Uncle Fritz about his "Old Red is Dead" story or maybe "The Woman at Cummins Creek." Daddy´s got a few of his own like his "Nursin´ Turtle," "Candy cane Rat Tails," or just ask him about his "Little Brother."

My Daddy and my Little Brother-Chance. Chance is freakin´ HILARIOUS when he gets goín´. I always tell him he should write some stuff, practice, and go to an open mic night at some comedy club. It´s those storytellin´ genes...

Here´s my Uncle Fritzie w/ Little Miss Kylee at her 1st Christmas. My family LOVES them some babies! Look at him glowin´!

I mean....it´s one of those things...when you grow up around all that, I guess it´s bound to rub off on ya a little bit. It still just shocks me, like touchin´ a hot wire fence for the first time, that I don´t realize it right away.

Just to give everyone an update: I´ve got all my paperwork sent off. I´m just waiting on a reply from the state to schedule a time to take the licensing exam for my Auctioneer´s License. I got a receipt back saying they received. (GREAT idea on Mr. Moon´s part) I´ve also talked with an auction house that is willin´ to let me help out at the auction and sell a few things - once I get licensed.

I am still SO excited about all of this, but feel like I´m just kinda waitin´ now. A lot of the fundraising auctions are over for the year. Nonetheless, I´m still amped up and ready to BUCK UP BABY!!

Thanks for reading. You never know...you may just hear about me tellin´ stories in George West - The Storytelling Capital of Texas. I think I may have added something new to my bucket list :). Be sure to check out all the links!

The Baddest Raddest Mamma Jammas of the Antique Fair

Sorry this blog is a little late, I was just waiting on some pics, but MUCHAS GRACIAS goes out to Ms. Lindsey for bringing her camera. Knowing me....I would have lost mine :).

Now...even though I think me and my friends are some pretty Rad, Bad to the Bone, Super Cool Mamma Jammas...I´m actually talking about the original Junk Gypsy Clan themselves.

(MAMMA JAMMA: (n.) 1. something that is considered by many to be very sexy and/or boss. - Urban Dictionary)

I grew up and went to school in Round-Top/Carmine - the area home of the Bi-Annual Antiques Festival. Growing up, myself and most of the local kids there, played some part in the Antique Fair from holding class and 4-H booths, waiting tables, helping the Antiquers load up what didn´t sell, parking cars, you get the point.

Well...I met the Junk Gypsies (Amie, Jolie, and Janie Sikes)....I think when I was working at Cafe Pie in the Sky - a little traveling restaurant that was on the Dillard´s field (where they used to park their RV). It was either there or when I stopped by and bought their famous "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History" tank. Go buy you one :). Amie and I kind of hit it off...but then again....who doesn´t. She is such a chill, hard-workin´, sweet little thing. Then I met Jolie, and well...she´s the same way!



You can find all their styles and sizes on the website - http://www.gypsyville.com/!

 I started going to college and working and didn´t really come down for the fair as much or make it by the tent all the time to visit with them (b/c I was working at the show), but did my best to go to as many JUNK-O-RAMA PROMS as I possibly could.

If you read  "Our Story" on their website: http://www.gypsyville.com/ you can see just how real they really are. All I can say is they (along with some other pretty awesome people) really helped to inspire me. I mean...this little ole´ country girl has some mighty big dreams. I´m bound and determined to figure out how I can make a difference in this world and do what I like. Make the money I need to and help as many people as I can along the way - WHILE HAVING A GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE. These gals are proof that it can happen!

If you haven´t heard...These girls have their own 13 episode series on HGTV starting in November!! It is well deserved and LONG overdue and I am just SO STINKIN´ HAPPY FOR THEM!! These are some accomplished women, that found a way to do what they love, be who they wanna be, have put more than enough work hours in, and are truly an inspiration to many. I´m so very HaPpY to welcome them to our little community in Round Top! To read a little more click here.

The reason I say they are the Baddest, Raddest, Mamma Jammas of the Antique Fair is that they started this little JUNK-O-RAMA PROM and it turned into something MASSIVE!! It is SERIOUSLY SO MUCH FUN...I can hardly contain myself for the next one. I mean I pretty much have my outfit figured out :). Who doesn´t like some gals that know how to throw a PaRtY!! Plus the whole fact that HGTV thinks they are THAT COOL - that they wanna put´m on TV doesn´t hurt their Mamma Jamma-ness.

Stacia, Me, Crystal, and Lindsey! (Crystal is going to HAVE to color my hair like hers...LOVE IT!)

I could TOOT their horn for a good long while (and everyone be sure to watch their pilot on the HGTV Facebook Page), but I guess I´ll move on to this year´s Junk Gypsy JUNK-O-RAMA PROM story. Boy is it a DOOZY!

My friend Lindsey and I decided we were going to make the trek from Rockport to Warrenton for the JG Prom. She came over the night before and helped me figure out my dress and how to finagle it to look the way I wanted it to.

Let me just say that it was POURING DOWN RAIN (Thank you Jesus!), Lindsey had to go potty (no bathroom in sight), and once we get to Yoakum (Don´t ask why we were there) saw what we thought could be a little twister. Well...actually a pretty big twister - BUT...it wasn´t. The wind just picked up all of a sudden and blew up all the dust from our dry drought weather. APPARENTLY neither one of us have ever seen a twister before and we started thinking "You might as well call us Dorothy and send us off to OZ b/c we DON´T KNOW WHAT TO DO." Anyways...after our mini panic attack- we finally get to a bathroom in Hallettsville, but the power is out in town b/c of the weather. Lindsey plays hide and go seek with the light switch for a little while, we get back on the road and HERE WE ARE!!

Well...we were supposed to meet up with my sister, a couple of her friends and her new roommate BUT...in pure Mandy fashion...she forgets her cell phone and can´t find Cordes´s house. They go on to prom and we get there a little later than expected and we then meet up with my good friend Shannon Buck (thank you for finding my peacock feathers my dear), find the little sister and her crew and just HAD A BALL!!

Pam, Mandy, Lindsey, and Myself over @ Zapp!

I don´t really know where to start. First off...my little Puddin´ Pop Kylee Jo came out with us for a little while and enjoyed playing in an old antique carnival ride car!Then my Mom and Pops took her home and we just really enjoyed ourselves.

Oh! I just LOVE her to pieces!!

Kylee Jo in the car...She didn´t want the little boy to ride with her AT ALL! Daddy would be proud :)!

I just wanna say that it seemed like my friend Lindsey met a new person every time we walked two steps. It is my hometown and all, but I doubt she remembers anyone´s name besides Shannon (who also introduced her to someone new every two steps) :). We kept walking back and forth between the JG Tent and Zapp Hall (both places had live music). I did have trouble with my feathers. Lindsey and Shannon did their best to keep them straight for me, but by the end of the night I either gave them to someone or someone stole them.
I was able to meet my blogging friend Robelynn - by random chance!! Check out her blog @ redneckchic.blogspot.com. She´s got some really AWESOME stuff!! I´m a little sad that I was not able to meet up with  my other blogging friend Leslie! (You can check out her blog @ retreauxgirl.blogspot.com). We texted all weekend and never could run into each other. She told me she was dudded up in red and black - SO I see a lady dudded up like that. I look around and I don´t see anyone else fitting the description, so I RUN UP TO HER AND GIVE HER A BIG OLE´ HUG! Well...It wasn´t her. Luckily she didn´t mind the hug and I made myself a new friend. Poor lady probably thought I was NUTS...some CRAZY girl runnin´ up huggin´ her with peacock feathers everywhere.

Me, Lindsey, and Shannon! BTW- Budweiser was $1 CHEAPER?!

Carrying on...after the music stopped we visited with some new friends, old friends, and aquanitances about bow hunting, auctioneering, Rockport, and who knows what else. Lindsey gets "scolded" for not throwing her beer away and then we head off to a little shindig afterwards. Boy did it get entertaining from there. We got there thinking we were the oldest folks there. Then realized, that we were all old folks! LOL! I don´t know who this girl was, but she became WAY COOLER after she let me wear her top hat with the PEACOCK feather in it. Really...I very much enjoyed her company and we sat there on the porch singing "Hell on Heels" and "Delta Dawn." I´m sure we sounded like a couple of cats in a sack - but we had fun. Really....if anyone was there and reads this...let me know her name, so I can friend her on FB!

Me, The Top Hat, and Mystery Girl...

Then Shannon, Lindsey, and I trek it on over to Whataburger where Lindsey conks out before we get there! Then....we get home. (Thank you Kyle Cordes for letting us borrow your house.) We get there and I realize I LOST MY CELL PHONE! It´s not in Shannon´s truck or anywhere in the house... It´s not outside. Then I try to backtrack in my state of mind.

I sleep on it and wake up the next morning freaking out! So Shannon and I narrowed it down to either the porch of the shindig or our rest stop between two vehicles (LMAO!). All I have to say is THANK GOODNESS I woke up before 7AM and we went back and looked. You´ll never guess where we found it OR how LUCKY I was.

It was sitting on the step side of someone´s truck at our little "rest stop."

Oh the stories from JG Prom Nights.... The next day Shannon and Lindsey drove me all around town to get papers notarized and turned in for my defensive driving course. I got a ticket going to pick up the best friend to get our hair did for our other friend´s wedding.

At least our hair looked good :)! (Thank you...once again Crystal!)

Then we had lunch and went shopping where I ran into a couple of old classmates!! It really was good to see them. Check out my friend Stormy (and husband´s) Facebook Page - Vaquero Designs!

A pretty stinkin´ old pic from Sr. Trip... I tried to find a pic of us in our FFA jackets (I know I have one), but no luck!

Me and my friend/old classmate Megan. She was at her 1st JG Prom EVER!!

So....another JG JUNK-O-RAMA PROM bites the dust, but I´m BUCKIN´ UP and ready for the next one. Thanks for reading about all my RANDOMNESS!! I just got back from AUCTION SCHOOL and boy did I learn A LOT!! Be ready to throw those hands up! I could be coming to an auction near you :)!