Gracious Loser?

Can someone please take a black Sharpie (permanent) marker and write CHOKE.......IDIOT........LOSER on my forehead?

This weekend I had a barrel race at the Bridle Creek Arena. It wasn't just any barrel race, it was the final barrel race for the Rockin' C Productions 5D Series and I was in second place to win a saddle. I felt very confident. I believed in my horse. And I had a great support team behind me, including my Cowboy.

"Missy Whitfield, you're up." We entered the arena and Iceman ran the fastest to the first barrel as we've ever ran and he ate it up. Awesome! As we were running to the second barrel, I must have left my brain back at the first barrel. We hit the second barrel. Not good. And the worst part about it was that it was completely my fault. Who me? Yes. Me.

Along with hitting the second barrel, I lost my chances of winning the saddle. Insert sad face here. Anyway, back to my story.

Other than hitting the second barrel, Iceman made a great run and I was very proud of him. I walked back to my Cowboy who was wait for me with a hug and words of encouragement. "You'll get'em next time." I smiled and went on to cool Iceman out. As I was walking him, I was humbled to have so many people come up to me and say that they had been rooting for me and knew that I must be sick about it. But what got me the most was when a fellow barrel racer's husband came up to me and said, "Anyone can be a gracious winner, but not just anyone can be a gracious loser."

Was I being a gracious loser? Does it count that all I wanted to do was go back to the truck and cry and scream and bang my head against the window? Well, I wasn't throwing a fit in public. I wasn't jerking on my horse. It wasn't his fault.....it was me that had a brain fart.


My Cowboy was right when he said that I'll get'em next time. And if I don't.......there will always be a next time after that. That's the wonderful thing about doing something that I love. It doesn't matter that I fail, as long as I learn from my mistakes and continue to have fun.

Until next time,

MW

Cowboy Capital Fellowship and a Red Head

This week I was supposed to leave early Monday morning to spend a week working in Edmond with a partnering company representive from New York. Thankfully, Mother Nature blew a nasty snow storm into the Detroit area and that representative was stuck. Now don't get me wrong, I do feel sorry for that New Yorker. I never wish for someone to be stuck away from home, believe me when I say that I've been stuck in that position many times before. What I was thankful for was that I got the opportunity to spend another night in my own bed, spend more time with my Cowboy, and as luck would have it my mom and dad were down visiting so it gave me one more day with them. Being home for one more night also allowed me to attend church with my family.

Now I know that some of you might be wondering.....Church? On Monday night?

Yes, church on Monday night. But it's not just any church it's cowboy church. Cowboy church allows for those of us who are busy roping, ranching, barrel racing, etc. on Sunday to meet in the evening during the week. Don't worry about dressing up, just show up in your boots and jeans.

With my work travels, I don't get the opportunity to attend Cowboy Capital Fellowship as often as I'd like. But thanks to Mother Nature, this Monday I got to. But this Monday's services wasn't your normal run of the mill service, we had a very special guest. Susie McEntire!

This is Susie McEntire, a country christian artist. Yes, the name is familiar. Susie is Reba's little sister. Isn't she just the cutest little thing you've ever seen?

Susie asked this young man to dance. Can you see how red is face was?

Susie did an amazing job entertaining us "country folk" all while telling us about her walk thru life with God. After two separations and divorce, Susie is a mom with three adult children. "After 25 years of marriage, I could not continue to be in a situation of verbal and mental abuse and remain healthy. I had to make a choice to do what was best for me and my children,” Susie shared. Even after 25 years in an abusive marriage she taught us that if you have God in your life all things are possible. She was so upbeat and positive.

This is Susie with her new husband of 14 months, Mark. It was so nice to see two people so in love. They were funny and told hilarious stories of Mark becoming accustomed to the Okie/Cowboy way of life.

Thank you Susie for visiting Cowboy Capital Fellowship. We really enjoyed your visit.

Click Here to learn more about Susie.

Click Here to view Cowboy Capital Fellowships Facebook Page.

Until next time,

MW

Baby Bryson

I normally try to take a newborn's portraits within the first 10 days of their beautiful life. However, when our area gets 20 inches of snow the week baby Bryson was born and then another 15 inches the next week, we had to push back his newborn portrait session. But that was ok, I love babies of all ages. It really doesn't matter if a baby is 10 days old or 3 weeks old, they are still precious as precious can be.

See I told you......Simply Precious!

Ladies, I would like to introduce you to Bryson. Look at his eye contact with the camera! Did I say... precious?


Thank you Amanda and RJ for letting me capture memories of your handsome little guy!

God I love babies!

MW

Sandwiches Galore

We all have abnormal likings that others will look at as weird. It may be popping your knuckels. It maybe putting ranch on everything. Maybe it's picking your nose. What ever it is, it doesn't matter because its one of the things that makes you, you.

You maybe asking what made me think about weird likings. Well, let me tell you. It's all because of my Cowboy. Isn't it always about my Cowboy? So what is his weird liking? Sandwiches! He makes sandwiches out of everything! And I'm not just talking about bread, meat, and cheese. I mean everything! The guy is weird!

If I make hamburger helper, he puts two pieces of bread in the toaster and makes him self a Hamburger Helper Toaster Sandwich. A piece of toast on the bottom. Layered tall in the middle with the noodley creation. And topped off with another piece of toast. He picks it up with two hands and eats it just like a sandwich.

It doesn't matter if I make spaghetti, lasagna, or hamburger chow mein medley he adds two pieces of toast and makes a sandwich. This morning he even added to the list with biscuits and gravy.
Making biscuits and gravy for my Cowboy just wasn't good enough. He asked me to make bacon too. Pretty Please. Ok Ok, I'll make you bacon too! And so the creation of his breakfast sandwich began. Biscuits, Gravy, Bacon, and Shredded Cheese.




And what the heck......let's put more gravy on top of the amazing creation! Yes, he did it. I've found the key to my Cowboy's heart........Sandwiches. What other sandwich creations can I make him to keep our love alive?

Until next time,

MW

Take Off Your Jewelry

So during my travels this week, I've had to visit a few towns in southeast Texas for work. I pulled into the community and there were bars on every window and door of every business I drove by. I nonchalantly reached over and locked my car doors, that automatically lock when you put your car in drive. My motto is, "You can never be too safe."

Two weeks prior when I was making my travel arrangements I should have known it was going to be this bad when one of my Cowboy's coworkers warned me not to stay in the community. In fact he said, "That town isn't safe for a grown man once the sun goes down."

I walked into the office this morning and was greeted by a great group of people. Reps that had a great taste of style, just like me. And a love for fashion brands like Coach, Louis Vuitton, Jessica Simpson, BCBG......just like me. I'd decided that this town wasn't as bad as it looked. Wrong. As I was about to go ride around with the first rep of the day, I was warned that I needed to take off my jewerly. What? Really? Why? I then looked at the reps left hand and saw that she was wearing no wedding ring and I knew she was happily married, she'd just got done telling me all about her husband and kids. So I took my jewelry off and thought to myself that it was probably a good idea. I didn't want to mugged on the street.

Now, I'm a strong girl and I try to be as cautious as possible. I've been traveling on my own for almost 5 years now, and have learned to be very aware of my surroundings. I kept thinking that this town can't be that bad. People live in the community by choice, so it can't be as bad as I'd been warned. Wrong.

Once the rep and I left, we went to our first appointment which happened to be at a eating place ran by 2 brothers that also owned their own meat processing company. The 2 brothers were very nice and I really enjoyed speaking with them. Of course, as soon as they found out I was from the Tulsa area they said......Wow, how about that weather ya'll have been having? As the rep and I were about to leave, one of the brothers shook my hand goodbye and told me to be safe during my visit. I simply responded that I would. He then said again, "I mean it. Please be safe. If you have a gun, keep it on you." What?!?! If I have a gun? And then the rep simply said, "Don't worry, she's with me and I'm always packing." OMG! My Cowboy's coworker wasn't lying.

Past that incidence, my visit has been very enjoyable. But let me tell you, that I have noticed a gun in arms reach of every business owner I've visited all day. I guess I'm going to say that I should feel very safe with all of the security weapons and security that I've been around. My Cowboy has been texting every couple hours all day just "Checking in on me."

But don't worry, I've come up with a list of things that I'm going to do to stay safe during my visit.

1. Walk to my car with my car keys through my fingers for defense.
2. Wear an outfit that lights up. Like the Super Bowl Half Time entertainment.
3. Walk around with a whistle in my mouth blowing it in short intervals.
4. Wear a homemade macaroni necklace, instead of my cross.
5. Invest in a few blow up dolls and walk around carrying them so that I looks like I'm not alone.
6. Ask God to watch over me during my travels.

Until next time,

MW

Signs

Isn't it just amazing how signs are sent from up above? When you don't know what road to take, and miraculously a road sign drops out of the sky and says "This Way." Lately I've had a lot of signs that I didn't realize were signs until after the fact. God has a plan for all of us, a road, a path that he wants us to take. Sure we may stray from the planned course, but he always brings us back.

I had to fly to Houston, Tx this morning for my 'real' job and will be staying the entire week. I wasn't looking forward to this trip at all, especially after getting to be home during the week before due to weather. Home for seven glorious days. Slept in my own bed for seven days in a row. Saw my husband for more than 3 days in a row. For those of you that don't know this, I have a job that requires me to be on the road every week. I've been doing this for a little over four years. I was so upset about leaving that I forgot to look for positive happenings throughout the day and only focused on the negative. That was until I checked into my hotel tonight. As I was checking in, the front desk lady looked at my license and said, "Nowata, Oklahoma. Do you know where Vinita, Oklahoma is?" My eyes flew open and I looked at her with amazement. "How do you know about Vinita? It's only about 20 miles from where I live." This sparked a much needed conversation.

You know, I was at a very low point emotionally today. But God threw a sign out infront of me, to remind me that I'm never alone. Having the lady just mention something that was familiar to me, made me look back through the day and think of the positives.

1. I woke up next to my Cowboy this morning.
2. I made it to the airport on time.
3. My flight was on time.
4. My plane didn't crash.
5. My luggage wasn't lost.
6. I made it to my destination on my first try. (Thank you GPS)
7. Texas has a lot of Dairy Queens! (and oreo blizzards)
8. I found a great book to read at Barnes and Noble. (It was the last one on the shelf)
9. I have a husband that loves me very much.
10. I have faith.

It's amazing how I thought my day had been terrible, but after making a list of all the positives my day doesn't seem so bad. I've decided that from now on, when I think that I've had the worst possible day I'm going to make a list of all the positive things that happened that day.


Things that I'm thankful for:

My Cowboy

My Gus Gus

My Home


And Amazing Boots!

Keeping my eyes open for signs,

MW

Put a little Zest in your Blizzard

What is it about being snowed in that makes me want to cook non stop? Well, maybe it's because I'm not home often and I've decided to take full advantage of being snowed in. But that can't be it. It's got to be a woman thing. I've read a million different Facebook status updates from friends of the "female" gender, stating that they've been cooking and baking, and baking and cooking. I find it funny that I've heard very little about cleaning.....hum.

Maybe it's all the males fault. I've noticed my two boys eating the entire day. If they are in the house, they have some sort of food in their hand. In fact, my Yankee Kid just came thru the kitchen, opened the pantry, opened each cabinet that contains food, and opened the refrigerator and stated that he was hungry for something sweet.

Of course, all of this food in the house hasn't been the best on my beautiful love handles. After weighing myself this morning, I made an emergency date with the elliptical. Believe me, it's a love hate relationship.

After a hard work out, what could be better................than a lemon cheese bar! I made a batch last night and I will have to tell you that they are pretty delicious! My Cowboy and Yankee Kid both gave them 2 thumbs ups.

With northeastern Oklahoma under another winter storm warning and an additional 4-6 inches of snow, this was a great recipe because it included ingrediants that I already had in my pantry. I guess going to Walmart isn't as important to my Cowboy as it was to me. I didn't have any fresh lemons to get lemon zest, so I just added a little extra lemon juice. I hope you enjoy!


Lemon Cheese Bars

1 package of vanilla or white cake mix
2 eggs
5 tablespoons melted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 to 3 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar

Grease and flour a 13x9 inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together the cake mix, 1 egg, and butter until well blended. The mixture will be crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture for later. Pat the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan to make the crust. Bake the crust for 12 minutes and remove from oven.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese with the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and the remaining egg. Spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly over the baked crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the cream cheese layer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned. Store the leftover bars in the refrigerator.

Until next time,

MW

Cooking Lessons

Let's just say that I am not a natural Betty Crocker. Growing up I spent most of my time outside, not in the kitchen learning how to cook. I can't blame my mom for not teaching me, because I simply didn't want to learn. And let me tell you that it really bit me in the butt once I was married. I was so lost in a kitchen, that my mother-in-law arranged all of my cabinets and draws in our first home. I had no clue where anything was. To prove to you how bad it was, Kyle and I have some really good friends that used to frequent our home often, Erik and Angie. You see Erik and Angie live in town and Erik loves to come out to the country and do some "Man" things. Anyway, Kyle and Erik would be outside and Angie and I would stay inside to cook dinner. Here's how Angie and I's conversations would go........

Angie - So what were you planning to make for dinner?

Missy - I was thinking pork chops, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable.

Angie - Ok, what do you want to start on first?

Missy - I don't care, just make yourself at home and I'll try to find everything you need.

Once we'd start cooking, I'd come up with some reason to go out and check on the boys. The next time I'd come back in the house would be when Angie was yelling that dinner was done. Angie knew her way around my kitchen better than I did. I guess this would be a good time for me to say "Thank You" to Angie, without her Kyle wouldn't have gotten good meals EVER. So I was back in the same situation yet again, I hadn't learned how to cook.

One day I made my mind up that I was going to learn how to cook. How hard could it be? Let me tell you that I'm amazed that Kyle is still alive after some of the things I made for him. Oil Drenched Cheese Frenchies, burnt pork chops, uncooked potatoes (or apples as Kyle will call them), etc. etc. etc. So I got the idea that if I learned to make gravy, and not just any gravy, my mother-in-laws gravy, I could put it on top of any thing and it would better the taste. So during a trip to the in-laws I asked my mother in law to teach me how to make her gravy. And so the episodes of bad gravy began.

Kyle considers himself a "Gravy Connoisseur." Just about every evening he'd try eating too runny gravy, too much flour gravy, too little flour gravy, and gravy that looked like vomit. The dogs became plum fat during this time, because we were throwing out not only the horrible food I was making, but also topping it off with gravy. Well, with a lot of practice I have to admit that I have become pretty good at making gravy. In fact, I've become kinda comfortable in the kitchen and even enjoy reading cook books. Gasp!

So, I've decided to randomly post some of my favorite family recipes or new recipes I've tried out. Tonight I decided to make a Nilan Family favorite, Beer Cheese Soup. Yes, there is beer in the soup, but you cook the alcohol out. My sister's in-laws refused to try this soup, so she simply changed the name to Nilan Cheese Soup and guess what......they love it! This is a great soup to make when you don't have much time to make dinner or when it's really cold outside and you need something to warm you up.


Beer Cheese Soup
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
4 cups chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
16 oz. cheese whiz
1 can beer of your choice (I prefer coors light)
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
dried beef (fresh from the deli, or in the jar)

You'll want to smooth together the flour, butter, chicken brother and evaporated milk before adding the rest of the ingredients. Heat over the stove and serve when hot.

Happy Eating!

MW

Winter 2011 Blizzard Olympics

There may be 20 inches of snow outside and we have a lot of work ahead of us to get snow cleared from the driveway and barn, but our motto on the 26 Ranch and Arena is "Work a little, Play at a little and then get back to Work."

My Cowboy and the Yankee Kid started clearing snow away from the barn and the horse stalls.

Iceman busting thru the snow.

And let me tell you that the horses were happy to get out and run.

All of the snow had to be piled somewhere, so why not make an Olympic Mountain and jump from the top. Don't worry about getting hurt, yeah right! If one of the boys got hurt we had no way to get them to a hospital. Geesh! Hello Cowboy, don't you remember the snow drifted roads? Shoot we couldn't make it to the highway if we wanted to! My mom was right when she told me that men don't always make sense. These were one of those moments. My Cowboy tried to tell me I was overreacting. Me? Overreacting? Ha!

My Cowboy is the King of the World!

Look at the Yankee Kid's form? Wait, I think he's falling!

I give my Cowboy a Perfect 10!

The Yankee Kid has a pretty good tuck. I'll give him a 9 1/2!

There were no roping dummies injured in the sledding adventure!

I wouldn't wish 20 inches of snow on anybody, but I will say I have thoroughly enjoyed these snow days with my little family. We've spent time laughing, eating home cooked meals, and lots of laundry and cleaning.

MW

Our Yankee Kid

My Cowboy and I have a Yankee Kid that lives with us. No he's not our kid. He's just young and from New York. Anyways, this Yankee Kid can be a bit of a show off at times. When we all went out to feed the horses and steers this morning we stood face to face with snow drifts as tall as Colorado mountians. So, I might be exagerating a little, but they were/are pretty tall. I went out first to document Winter Blizzard 2011 with my trusty Nikon before the guys stepped out. As I was taking photos of the drifts covering our back door.........

This is one of the snow drifts I took a photo of.

Our Yankee kid came out and thought it be fun to run thru the drifts to the barn.

And as I said he likes to show off.

See what showing off gets you.......a FACE PLANT in the SNOW!

But don't worry Ladies and Gentlemen, the Yankee Kid is OK!

Until next time,

MW

Baby It's Cold Outside

Are you serious? 20 inches of snow! Doesn't Mother Nature understand that we live in Oklahoma? And let me tell you, the weatherman wasn't kidding. This is what we woke up to this morning.

My bundled up Cowboy trying to figure out a game plan.

Did I say this is Oklahoma? Not Iowa. Not Minnesota. Not Pennsylvania. OKLAHOMA. Some say they love snow, they think it is so pretty. Well, that's all fine and dandy for them, because we don't feel that way at all! We have to get out in the "Pretty Snow" and feed animals.

Can I come in by the fire?

I have a city friend that once asked me if they made raincoats for cows. I said that I didn't think so, but we did have "Winter" coats for our horses. Here's my proof Super C!

Now don't get me wrong. We have spent a good deal of the day in by the fire and keeping glued to the boob tube watching the weather updates. Kyle has been trying to get me to appreciate his Xbox 360, so he surprised me with a Harry Potter Xbox game. Really? Yep. So, you've guessed it. I'm a Harry Potter fanatic. There I said it.....I'm a nerd.....I love Harry Potter and don't get me started on Twilight. Love, Love, Love it!

Oh....and lil' Gus has a coat. Yes, those are booties on his feet. Gus would like to thank his Grandma Merry for making them for him.

More snow stories to come.........

MW