Hello

Hello hello. I have had several new people follow and comment on my blog in the past few weeks. Thank you all so much! I've enjoyed hearing from you, and about where you're from and what you do. I've been to several of your blogs and loved reading your stories and looking at your pictures as well.
I recently saw a post where a girl went through the ABC's to describe herself. She had great little questions for each letter, and I didn't save it and can't find it again. But, I thought the idea would be a relatively quick and easy to tell you a little about me if you're new to reading this.

A- Agriculture. It's how I was raised and encompasses my life, as it has generations of my family before me. It's also the primary focus of this blog.

B- Blonde. I'm a natural blonde. (you can take that any way you wish)

C- Cattle. I love cattle, and am especially fascinated with genetics and using them to improve cattle. I head up anything regarding genetic selection on our operation, and raising cattle is my favorite thing to do.

D- Dogs. I have two, a mini Aussie named Emmie Lou and a mini Dachshund name Pearl.

E- Expectations. I expect a lot out of other people. But, no matter who you are and what the situation is, I always expect the most out of myself, in every instance.

F- Family/Faith. I have a very strong family. We are a great team and love and support each other through everything. I also believe in God wholly, and know, without a doubt, that the only way I've achieved what I have is with God's help.

G- Government. I am very conservative, and believe less is more when it comes to government. I also believe if you want to run for president you should have served in our military. If you want to be in charge of our country you should be willing to fight for, and die, to protect it. I also have no sympathy for people who complain about government, but who don't vote. This is the only place in the world with this form of democratic government, if you don't like having that right, feel free to move somewhere where it doesn't exist.

H- Heather Hamilton. That's me, and the name Hamilton encompasses a lot of hard working, ambitious people that I'm proud to be related to. I have a family that keeps track of their history, and we can trace our ancestors back to before they came to America, and tell you what they did, and how we came to be where and what we are. It's fascinating to know where you came from in my opinion.

I- Impatient. I do not have patience.

J- Journal. I keep a journal so I can remember what I've done, where I've been, who I've met and what I've seen when I'm not living this sometimes fast-paced life I currently have. It's just a short entry each day, depicting the days events, and I would recommend trying it. I enjoy glancing back through it from time to time, remembering trips and people.

K- Kids. No, I don't have any, yes I do want them, someday. I would like to have a big family in the future, and, in typical girl fashion, I have names I picked out for both boys and girls.

L- Lattes. I love lattes. Not black coffee - lattes. I have my own (cheap) espresso machine, coffee bean grinder and syrups, and make my own pretty much every day. Making your own is considerably cheaper than making a trip to Starbucks every morning, and I enjoy trying different kinds of beans and syrup flavors.

M- Music. I love music and am much more likely to have music playing instead of the tv at my house. I listen to Texas Country a lot. I also enjoy modern and older country and rock. I listen to the more pop/rap stuff when I'm running. My favorite instrument is the piano.

N- NyQuil. I have an awful time sleeping, especially in town. This is my go-to nighttime sleep aid, when I choose to take something.

O- Occupation. My jobs include being the assistant editor of a statewide weekly ag newspaper in Wyoming, my photography business, and working on the family ranch. Certainly keeps me occupied most of the time.

P- Photography. I truly enjoy it, and after cattle it's my favorite past time. I literally have a camera with me 24-7, except when gathering cattle on a horse.

Q- Quarter Horses. I have two horses, and enjoy using them. I do not trail ride, or anything like that. However, some of my favorite activities include sorting pairs and moving cattle horseback.

R- Reader. I love to read, especially fiction, and anything that deals with cattle reproduction or nutrition.

S- Short. I am 5' 2 1/2" tall, and I am quite proud of that extra 1/2' - at my height you have to take every little bit you can get : )

T-Thrifty. I enjoy thrift store shopping, and hunting for that perfect piece of furniture or decor at a fraction of the cost new. I also enjoy antiques, and other old items, which adds fuel to the fire in this area. While were on it, I pretty much love shopping in any form.

U- University of Wyoming. This is where I got my bachelors degree, in Animal Science.

V- Vacation. Yes please! I've been all over the U.S., to Canada once and Mexico twice. I love to travel and see new places and am hopeful I can plan a trip to somewhere new sometime this year.

W- Wyoming. This is where I was born and raised, and I love it here. As mentioned, I've traveled a lot, and lived in other parts of the U.S. I feel it's important to be well-traveled, to make sure where you end up is where you belong. I've enjoyed seeing many new and exciting places, but this is, and always will be, home.

X- hmm...how about my mom's family. Another example of a hard-working group of people. My grandparents did everything from own trailer courts, gas stations and an excavating company to managing and maintaining now famous ski resorts in Colorado. My grandpa is also a veteran and worked as miner for decades, and my grandma was the secretary at the high school.

Y- Yacker. My dad says my sister is just like me, she gets going and just, "yacks, yacks, yacks." While I'm not that talkative if I don't know you, or around a big group, I talk a lot around my friends and close family, and get teased about it regularly.

Z- I've got nothing, but since it didn't make it anywhere else I would like to mention I am one of those people with lots of acquaintances, but very few really close friends. My best friend is like a sister, and I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Veterns Day

I would like to take the time to thank all our past and current troops for the sacrifice's they have made to keep our country and its people free.

I am proud to be from the state with the highest number of people in the military per capita of any state in the nation (I didn't check the validity of this statement, but have heard it spoken as a fact by numerous times by several distinguished speakers around the state)

I can think of people from my high school class, of which there were 34 students, who were and still are serving in the military. Numerous other individual's from classes before and after mine, and people throughout my very small community, have fought for our country, many doing multiple tours of duty.

My mom asked one of these young men why he kept signing up for additional tours of duty, and he said that it was because he didn't have a family, and if he went back, that might keep one more person with a family here.

I remember the parades we had when convoys of troops drove through my hometown on their way to be deployed, and the flags we waved and their happy waves as they cruised by in their loud trucks, hummers and other green and black vehicles.

Both of my grandpa's fought for our country, at the expense of getting their college educations in both cases. One was a mechanic in the Navy, and the other was a pilot in the Army.

My grandfather that's still alive lists a college education as one of the most important things you can do with yourself, and will tell you all about his grandchildren's degrees and other accomplishments.

I have a facebook friend from college whose husband just returned from a tour of duty. It gave me a new perspective on military families as I read her posts throughout his deployment. They have two small children, and she made a lot of sacrifices too.

Thank you to all our military for what they do!

Thankful November

Lots of people have been mentioning things they're thankful for throughout the month of November. I like the idea of taking the time to mention and note these important things, and am planning to do a few posts listing some things I am always thankful for in my life.

To start, I am thankful for God, who sent his son to earth to die for our sins. I am very thankful for my family, friends and boyfriend. I am grateful to live in a country where we have things like freedom of speech and religion, and I am thankful for the people in the military who fight for our freedoms.
I'm very thankful to have been raised where I was, in a way that I love! Nothing beats wide open spaces, good cattle and nice weather!
In addition to that I am thankful to have a father who embraced having a daughter who loves cattle, and who encouraged and challenged me in my interests! My mom was right there too!
I love having a brother who is smart, athletic, witty and one of my best friends. I love having a special needs sister who constantly reminds what's important in life, and who is so much like myself it's eerie sometimes.