Why State Fair?

I was not going to work again at the WI State Fair this year. I was going to go out and do new and wonderful things. I was going to grab life with both hands and let it take me for a ride. Needless to say, I was back at Gate 5 on Aug 3 ready to work another amazing fair.

In early spring when I received an email from my boss in the Ag dept. of state fair asking if I wanted to work Gate 5, I just could not turn him down. And when the AM supervisor for the Real WI Cheese Grill was offered a promotion she couldn’t miss, I was quick to take the position and be back to my normal duties.

The Cheese Grill is most times a super, fast-paced stand where grilled cheese come flying off the grill every second. I work with amazing people keeping the lines to a manageable distance and the grilled cheese hot and tasty. The crew I work with always impresses me and we work like a well oiled machine together to get through each of the eleven days of the fair.

After the 7 am to 3 pm shift, it was back up to Gate 5 till 11 pm. Gate 5 is almost like home. It is so familiar and comfortable. All the people from the past 2-3 years were back and this fair at the gate was best yet. We all know our own jobs, as well as each others, so when cars get backed up and customers get too excited, we all know how to handle it. We also have so much fun joking around, singing, dancing, teasing, or just chatting up a storm. But mostly it just feels like fun and games and a little work.

It only lasts two weeks, but the State Fair is such a happy time. People come to the fair expecting to see all the animals, eat the delicious not-so-healthy-for-you food, take home free goodies, take home not-so-free goodies, enjoy cold beverages, and walk around just seeing the sites. The Ag exhibitors who come through the Gate are so nice to work with. They come from all over the state and it’s wonderful to get to know them and their faces throughout the fair.

Sleep becomes treasured during the fair as long working hours cut into the bedtime schedule. Food also becomes scarce as throughout the work day you just don’t stop to take a break to eat anything.

But, I enjoy every day of the fair. I love the exhibitors, the grilled cheese crew, and my home at Gate 5. When I take the chance to walk around the fair with a fellow cheese grill worker, ride the sky glider with a good friend, stay up late to hang out with other workers and ag staffers in the Ag Oasis, or just stay longer and talk with someone, the fair becomes complete.

It has not been decided if I will return for yet again a fifth year at the State Fair. If I do, anyone will be able to find me at the grilled cheese stand or working Gate 5.

A Summer Past

The new couple! Jonah and Chrisley!

Summer is such a wonderful time of year. It brings warm weather, picnics, family get-togethers, new life, and lots of fun. For me, my favorite way to spend my summer is at home.

This summer I was at home again after graduating from K-State. I was able to come home and take care of all the beautiful Jersey calves. I love babies. All kinds. So, working with calves is one of the best things to do.

Besides loving and caring for the baby calves, I also do a lot inside the house. We joked this summer that I was my Mom’s Wife for the summer. I did most of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. One may not usually find those jobs exciting, but they worked for me!

All of my summer wasn’t work and no play; I also watched a lot of movies. Anyone who doesn’t know that public libraries have great DVD selections, needs to check it out for themselves. Julie and I brought home five movies at a time and never had to pay a dime for any of them.

Some of our favorites were Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Eragon, The Blind Side, Leap Year, and Whip It. We watched Precious, a movie that received many awards. It was definitely not what we expected. If you really want to see it, watch it. But we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

Books are a girl’s best friend if you ask me. Julie and I worked our way through the entire Narnia series this summer. Amazing books is all I got to say! They take you to a new place on incredible journeys through another world. Many times at the end of series it is a sad situation knowing the books have come to an end. Narnia adventures ended in a way that just made me smile. It was beautiful and I would not change anything about the books.

So working at home and living it up with movies and books filled my summer with other random adventures such as a wedding in Montana, State FFA Convention, and the WI State Fair. It was a successful couple of months! A super time to live.

Summertime

I cannot believe at all that I have not posted anything on here for almost two months!

A quick recap:
- took last finals
- worked final days at Meat Lab and Dairy Bar
- said good-bye to many friends
- packed up my apartment
- Graduated!
- had a super celebration with family and friends in Manhattan
- drove back to WI

And now I have been back in WI for about a month and it surely is beginning to be summer around here. Every day is nearly the same thing. I feed my baby calves night and morning, clean the house, bake or cook, read books, watch movies with Julie, run errands, or just take a nap! The heat is definitely here and so is the rain. Hopefully it doesn't stay this wet all summer!

Few plans await me this summer. Those that I do have include attending State FFA Convention, driving to Montana for a wedding, feeding more calves, working at the WI State Fair, and then driving to TX in August to start a brand new adventure!

It may be a month or two before I write again, but I hope everyone enjoys their summer! ENJOY! TAKE CARE! GOD BLESS!