Uninformed ignorance

While out here in Denver we were shopping around and stopped into a leather and fur shop where I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely vegetarian (insert sarcasm). So this lady was telling us how she is a vegetarian because she does not agree with how animals are slaughtered and killed. At this point there were a million things going through my head. I asked her what about slaughter she doesn't agree with and she told me that they slice their throats and let them bleed to death. I was in shock and ready to retaliate. I calmly asked her if she has ever been to a slaughter house and where she saw that happen. She said she saw it in NEW ZELAND. really? I then told her she needs to go to a slaughter house in the USA because we have some of the most humane regulations on slaughter and the USDA enforces them very strictly.

At this point the lady really didn't have a response. I then asked her if she is a vegetarian and against slaughter then why is she working in a leather and fur shop? She says that she justifies it by saying that obviously the best animals are used and they have a very good life.

This makes it very evident to me that she really didn't know what she was talking about and by forming such a strong opinion perhaps you should get the facts straight before u start throwing out accusations. Slaughter houses welcome tours and visitors all the time so if you are questioning practices go see for yourself!

National Western Stock Show Update

Good afternoon from DENVER!!!!! I am so excited to be out at the stock show and see the amazing scenery of Colorado. There are some great things going on out here and I'm excited to see ABS's bull Brilliance continue to be at the top in the ring and take the purple ribbon!!!!

A group of us are out here and it is quite the educational experience for my cousin who has no idea about the cattle world, bless her heart. Here are just a few things we have educated her on 1.) you don't wear leggings to a stock show. No matter how fashionable they are in Chicago it won't go over as well out here
2.) we explained to her the different cuts of steak at lunch
3.) she wondered why all the purple? Because purple is the color of champions......clearly!
4.) and we are taking her to her first rodeo tonight!!!

I'm sure there will be many more exciting stories so stay tuned.......

cow's and women.....I tend to mix the two

With so many of my friends getting pregnant and having babies I thought I would share some info on the similarities and differences between cattle and humans with pregnancy.  Working in the cattle industry I see calvings and pregnancies ALL the time, I mean it's my job.  So I tend to mix the cattle repro when people are discussing human repro.  For example, when women talk about being cystic I don't understand why the doc doesn't just give them a shot of GnRh and go on with life?  That's what we do in cattle and it works like a charm!  These are questions I clearly am going to have to ask my doctor. 

But to share some similarities and differences here ya go.  Both cattle and humans go through 9 months of pregnancy.  Just like humans cattle are fed a specific ration to help maintain health and weight throughout pregnancy.  Most of the time it doesn't change as much until closer to calving.  As humans are expected to eat healthily to have a healthy baby and take your vitamins!!!  The repro tract of a cow and a human are also quite similar except for the uterine horns in a cow are quite a bit larger than the fallopian tubes in a woman.  I have added a diagram to show the difference.

As you can see in the picture the top is the females repro and the bottom the cows.  The uterus in the cows is much smaller than in a females.  Some of you may be curious as to why I am comparing the two but this is my life and I deal with the repro tract of a cow on a daily basis so I thought it would be interesting to share with some of you that have never seen or heard of the differences.  And with both cattle and humans they both love and nurture their babies.  Some cows even get pretty protective and defensive when you try to get close to their young....as I'm sure some females do as well :)

Well that is all for now.  I'm off to Denver this coming week for the National Western Stock Show so be prepared to get up to date info on what's going on out there and I will definitely be getting in some skiing!
Enjoy!

Reflections of 2011......what I learned about myself and life in general

So as i was looking at everyone post the best of's for the year I thought it would be fun to reflect on what i learned about myself and life in general from 2011.  Now some of these i didn't just realize in 2011 but they were definitely brought to my attention more this year.  So here ya go...........

• Kindness is easily taken advantage of 
• People don't hesitate to ask for favors but hesitate to return them
• Losing weight is 90% diet and 10% working out
• Everyone will eventually get cancer. early detection is key
• Everyone i know is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or already has children
• Traveling is my passion
• Agriculture is my life
• Cattle, turquoise, and cowboy boots are my obsessions
• No matter how hard you try it is inevitable u will wrinkle
• The government has no idea what is going on or how to fix it

So those are just a few things that i either realized this year or was brought to my attention much stronger than usual.   Now it is on to the resolutions....now they say that you are to make a resolution that is achievable.  you can always try the weight loss thing but that just drives me bananas trying to keep track so i will just continue to work out weekly and (try) to eat better with the help of  my amazing trainer Michele. I tried the whole have a better attitude towards my job and coworkers but that lasted only a solid 3 hours.  So I am going with give back monthly.  I thought it would be a grand idea to give back in some way be it to a charity or pay off someones layaway that appears to be in need, work at a soup kitchen....you get the idea.   So that is my goal!  I will be updating monthly on my give back so if you don't see one then i clearly failed.

Happy New Year all and i hope 2012 is a prosperous and happy year for everyone!