Flabby Farmwife Trains For 5K: Weeks 2 & 3: Getting Back On The Horse That Threw Me!

Weeks two and three went by like a flash!

Time is ticking away and October 6th is fast-approaching! That's when women from across the state, including this flabby farmwife, will be taking part in the North Dakota Cattlewomen's Beefin' It Up; Fuel for the Finish 5K at Fort Lincoln State Park in Mandan, North Dakota!

To see how my first week of training went, click here:

http://www.farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2012/08/flabby-farmwife-trains-for-5k-week-1.html

Week two began with some MOTIVATION!

What motivates me to do this?

1. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."   Jesus suffered and died so I could live, and I'm going to live this life to the fullest and run to honor God!

2. This is MY body. Like the verse above states, it is my own personal temple and it is the ONLY ONE I get.  If I don't take care of it, no one else will. I need to take care of myself, so I can take care of them...

Easter 2012.

3. I am at a high risk for diabetes and blood clots.  My Dad is a severe diabetic and is disabled from the effects of that awful disease.  We love him and we all try to make the best of the challenges that diabetes presents, but I don't want my future grandchildren to draw this sort of picture of me for a very, very long time, if ever.

CW (age 5) drew this for my Dad for Father's Day 2012.

To focus all that motivation, I downloaded a free "Couch to 5K" App for my i(love you)Phone.  In case you're wondering, the i(love you)Phone was my Anniversary present from Jeremy :)

I got serious about this thing and went to, of all places, the gym! There is something you need to know about our local YMCA.  It is a wonderful place that provides childcare from 9 to 11 every morning, so I can drop off the Wee Wilson's and have a little time all to myself, however, it is a facility that is also shared with Jamestown College.

Yes, I strode in there amongst those wrinkle/cellulite-free, slender college girls that look like gazelles on the machines and got myself all set up on a treadmill.

And I ran!

That's right, this Mama, who formerly only ran if a) something was on fire or b) if one of my children was about to be hit by an oncoming automobile, actually RAN for FUN.

It actually felt good!

Much to my relief after thirty minutes of walking/jogging, the material of my running pants between my thighs had not burst into flames and I had not keeled over!

Although, curiously, two random people stopped and asked if I would like a fan facing my way. I realized once I sat down in the driver's seat of my pickup and looked in the rear view mirror that I was BEET RED :)

No big deal, I was officially a runner!

No sooner had I gotten into a groove, then I had to go on two business trips and those were followed immediately by a HORRIBLE virus.  Four of the five Wilson's went down with high fevers, including me. I hit a lifetime record high of 104.5 degrees and then spent the next day in bed with a migraine and the days after that caring for wee Wilson's and my ailing husband.

However, as I begin week four, I'm getting right back on that horse that threw me!

This time I'm armed with new RUNNING SHOES!

Now Grandma B. is a fine gal, but nothing says cool like "Hey Mama, you've got the same shoes as Great-Grandma!" :) So I figured it was about time to retire my old JC Penney specials and get myself an updated look :)

My little farmer got NEW BOOTS too!

Handsome little fella, dontcha think !? All ready to help his Dad on the farm! Thanks to daycare for sending along this pic!

I had no idea how worn out my old shoes were until I tried the new ones and now I'm feeling a little more gazelle-like every day :)

Here's to WEEK FOUR being a success!

What motivates YOU?
- Sarah :)

Farming: "We Do It For You"

Last month I was asked by one of our Jamestown City Council members to write the "We Do It For You" column for our Main Street/Downtown Association Newsletter. (THANKS for the opportunity, Charlie!)
Thought you all might like to read it too! Enjoy! Sarah :)

"Agriculture is the backbone of our economy, making up almost 25 percent of our state’s economic base (Source: ND Department of Agriculture).   To reinforce this fact, I recently compiled a list of local businesses our farm and our family patronized in one year- there were FIFTY!  There were the obvious- our local implement dealers, tire repair service, seed, fuel, fertilizer and crop protection product suppliers, but many more were on Main Street and in Downtown Jamestown- our bank, grocer, office supply store, dry cleaning service, restaurants, gift shops, etc.

Main Street, Jamestown, North Dakota (Source: ScenicDakotas.com)

Along with having such a positive economic impact, the values that have carried farms and ranches through the generations are the heart of our community.  Every day farmers and ranchers are working hard to provide safe, wholesome, consistent, affordable products, in an environmentally conscience manner, for all of us to enjoy.

Harvesting soybeans with a combine.

With some help from Stutsman County Extension Agent, Lance Brower, I discovered that according to the National Ag Statistics Service and US Census, there are 1,043 farmers in Stutsman County.  According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, back in 1940, each farmer fed just 19 people.  Today, the average American farm consists of 446 acres and each farmer feeds 154 people.  However, Mr. Brower and I found that in Stutsman County, our average farm is 1,144 acres and each of our local farmers feeds 398 people!

Jeremy Wilson. One of 1,043 farmers in Stutsman County, each feeding 398 people each year!

While farmers and ranchers have increased our overall productivity, we have significantly increased our efficiency as well.  For example, Dr. Jude Capper, Washington State animal scientist, writes “Modern dairy practices require considerably fewer resources than dairying in 1944 with 21% of animals, 23% of feedstuffs, 35% of the water, and only 10% of the land required to produce the same 1 billion kg of milk. Waste outputs were similarly reduced, with modern dairy systems producing 24% of the manure… The carbon footprint per billion kilograms of milk produced in 2007 was 37% of equivalent milk production in 1944.”  Thanks to technology, the same trend of making more with less is happening in every sector of agriculture.

Dumping soybeans from the combines into the semi.

 Jeremy and I farm because we want to have successful business that will provide for our family for generations to come and we certainly love the work that we do, but at the end of the day, we farm because God has called us to help feed His people.  Truly, we do it for you."

Jeremy and Sarah Wilson own and operate J.S. Wilson Farm in Jamestown, North Dakota.  They have three children who are the fifth generation on the Wilson Farm. They are the winners of the 2011 Stutsman County Soil Conservation Achievement Award.  Sarah is also a professional speaker and blogger at http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com

Contest: Name the Triplet Calves, Win a Dairy Good Prize Package!

What an exciting day July 14th was!

TRIPLET calves arrived at the neighboring dairy farm, Entzminger Dairy!

We partner with Entzminger Dairy on our farm.  In the spring and fall, they bring a group of cattle over to graze on some of our land.

The Entzminger family and the employees on their farm take EXCELLENT care of their cattle and we're proud to work with them. Not only are healthy dairy products for my family made with the milk they produce, but their cattle also help keep our soil fertile to grow better crops.

Pretty great recycling program!

Entzminger Dairy also hosts many local school children each year on farm tours. 

So what are the chances of triplet Holstein calves? According to Holstein World, 1 in 105,000!

You can imagine how excited everyone at the dairy was when these little ones arrived!

My friend, Bobbi Entzminger, notified me on Facebook of this incredible birth and sent along some photos to share!

There are two heifers (girls), numbers 200 and 201.  At the dairy, cattle are individually identified with eartags so they can get the best treatment possible.

There was also a bull calf (male), as seen in the foreground.  Looks like one of his sisters has a case of the wiggles! Word spread pretty quickly about these wee ones and the dairy employees, including Armondo in the photo above, shared in the joy of their arrival! 

Cow number 931 (owned by Mitch Entzminger) is the dam (mother) and the sire (father) is bull 187691 Cobra from the Genex Cooperative.
That's a whole lot of calf to have carried for 9 months! They're so new in these two photos that they're just learning how to hold themselves up.  Pretty impressive that within minutes of being born, calves can stand up.

Here little 201 gets a check-up, while 200 looks on from her comfortable spot in the straw.  Each calf at the dairy (except these special little gals who get to hang out together) gets an individual pen with a bucket of fresh water every day. Over their first two months they will transition from being bottle fed milk to eating grain from a bucket.

To celebrate this special arrival, together with the Entzminger dairy family, I'm hosting a Calf Naming Contest. 


In the comment section below, leave your suggestions for the names of these calves (remember: two girls and a boy) and on August 6th, the Entzmingers will choose the winner of this MOOVELOUS prize package which has been so graciously donated by the Midwest Dairy Association!

Here is what is included, from left to right:

Dairy Makes Sense potholder, Chocolate Milk Sports Fuel information, Dairy Makes Sense lunch bag, Dairy Makes Sense pizza cutter, Recipe Cards (Pumpkin Pie Squares, Pulled Pork Tacos, Mozzarella Pepper Salsa, Blues Buster Smoothie, Pumpkin Pancakes, and Peanut Butter & Banana Breakfast Shake), 2 samples of Whey Protein, Whey protein informational pamphlet, Cow pen, Whey protein recipe cards and a Dairy Makes Sense blender bottle.

GOOD LUCK, CONTESTANTS!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah :)

p.s You may also be interested in this poem, by dairy manager, Terry Entzminger:

http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-our-farmers-stand-with-pride.html

Flabby Farmwife Trains for 5K: Week 1.

Yep, that's me, the Flabby Farmwife.  In the last 6 years, this old body has been pregnant five times, delivered three children, nursed each of those children for almost a year, traveled a gojillion miles, and has been the official "go-fer" on the Wilson Farm, all of which has made keeping a schedule and committing to a working out nearly impossible.

I have reached a new low and so have some of my body parts.  I'm tired a lot and more than "stressed out tired". If I were a cow, the vet would call me "lethargic".  People still call me "thin" (God bless 'em), but I now weigh more than I have ever weighed when not pregnant.  I am still wearing my post baby "fat pants" and the "baby" turned a year old last month.

Bottom line (pun intended): I AM OUT OF SHAPE.

I recently saw a Facebook post about the North Dakota Cattlewomen hosting a 5K and I thought. Now those are MY people.  If other farming and ranching women are going to be hoofin' it (pun intended) then I can do it too. I got this new thing, you may have heard of it, it's called HOPE!

Thankfully, I'm not training alone.  I've got Mrs. D.!

Mrs. D is an old friend from my grad school days and now she ranches about 200 miles west of here.  She too has a crazy busy life and has EVEN MORE children and they're EVEN YOUNGER than mine. Bless her heart!

We're in this thing together and we're either committed or we need to be committed, lol, because it takes some sort of insanity to try to fit working out into our schedules. Through Facebook, we're sharing our training experiences and encouraging each other.

So without further adieu, welcome to a series of blog posts, tracking my progression (and let's be realistic, probably regression at some point) on the journey to the "Beefin' It Up: Fuel up for the Finish" 5K/10K"

I began "training" last week.

Here's how that went:

Day 1. Had a milkshake.

Day 2. Went on "long walk" with the kids.

Pushed baby in stroller up steep incline, while children cheered "Go Mama Go".

Had a tall glass of 1% chocolate milk. This is actually a healthy way to re-fuel after a workout.

Day 3. Went camping with family. Ate s'mores with those jumbo marshmallows. Mmmm...

Day 4. Ate an ice cream sundae with chocolate syrup.

Day 5.  Rested. This training for a 5K is really tough.

Day 6. It hit me.  This is pitiful.  This is not training.  The way I'm going I'm going to be flabbier than when I started.  Sheesh.

Day 7:  Turned over a new leaf.  Dusted off ye olde bicycle.  Aired up tires. Noticed some parts have dry rotted.  Sheesh.  Went on 2 mile bike ride.  Actually broke a sweat.  Felt I could conquer the world.  Well, not the whole world, but MY world. Yay for endorphins!

Bring on week 2! Let's do this thing!

Feel free to leave encouraging comments for Mrs. D and I below! We could really use them!

THANKS!
Sarah :)

Where's the Beef? In My Freezer!

Today is a glorious day! Our beef arrived!!!

Beef, you ask? Aren't we farmers? Why don't we raise our own?

Well, once upon a time, the Wilson family raised cattle, until Grandpa lost his leg in an accident with a hay baler, and they said "adios" to their cattle. Can't say I blame them.

With Jeremy and I and the Wee Wilson's still living in town (even though it's only a few miles from our farm) we haven't acquired any four-legged critters...yet...other than an assortment of farm cats.  However, 4-H age (age 8) will soon be upon our eldest daughter, so soon, we may get back into the cattle business so our children can learn important lessons in animal husbandry.

Until then, we've got purchase beef.

Do I  believe that the beef from our local grocery store is safe and healthy to serve to my family?

ABSOLUTELY.

However, there are FOUR reasons that I purchase beef from a friend:

1. I know him.  Brian Leier has been a trusted friend of Jeremy and I for a number of years now. We share the same interests and have traveled together.

A group of ND Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers visiting the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C. a few years ago.  Left to Right:  Tracton & Victoria Lewis, Kelsey Swenson, Brian Leier, myself, Tanner Davison

2. It's less expensive. Approximately 138 pounds of beef (which was the "hanging weight" of 1/4th of our steer after it had been butchered) cost me just under $350.  It comes cut to my specifications, wrapped and frozen. That's $2.50 a pound, for ALL the cuts, including ground beef, roasts, steaks, etc.  Try finding ANY cut of beef (including ground beef) for $2.50 a pound in the store! I appreciate and respect our local grocer, but to cut out "the middle man" has saved our family A LOT of money on meat.

3. Someday, I bet he's going to run for office and I can't wait to have a sign in my yard that says "Send a Leier to_____." (Insert Bismarck or Washington D.C.)  Hehehe :)

4. This isn't just any beef, it's award-winning beef!

A few years back, Brian, our friend Aaron Skarsgard, and I, competed in the Linton, North Dakota Annual Chili Cook-Off...

...AND WE WON!!!  Woohoo! Champion Chili...including Leier Farms beef!

If you're in the Linton, ND area or south central North Dakota, consider Leier Farms beef.

For more information, go to www.leierfarms.com  You can order a whole steer, half or a "half of a half" (so you get the mix of quality cuts from the front and rear of the animal).  There's a simple online order form.  Check it out!

THANKS for the beef, Brian, and THANKS for stopping by blog readers!

Sarah :)

“Listen, my people, and I will speak...I am God, your God...I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it." Exerpt from Psalm 50:7-12, New International Version 

First Haircut For Our Farmer in Training

The Little Boy on the Prairie turned the big O-N-E this past week!

When his sister did THIS, I figured it was about time for his first haircut too...

Never a dull moment for a little boy with two big sisters :)

Thanks to Miss Brenda's lightning fast reflexes, he's got a new do!

Now he looks all grown up and is officially a farmer in training :)


"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  - Matthew 10:29-31, NIV

"Cowgirl Up! Let's Go Ranching" is Another GREAT Addition to the Chaney Twins' Series of Books!

I've posted before about the WONDERFUL series of books being written by my friend, Rebeccca Long Chaney and her twin daughters, Rianna and Sheridan:

http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2011/12/great-ag-books-for-kidsnow-with-lesson.html

Today a case of books arrived at my door! It's the fourth installment in the Chaney Twin's series. I dropped everything and dove right in!

This time the Chaney girls were off on a Midwestern adventure to the Loos family ranch in Nebraska.

They learn lots of new lessons in animal care and as always, the pictures are gorgeous and the text is simple, educational, and entertaining.

Can't wait for story time with my own farm girls tonight!

I will have to be careful not to muss any of the these first copies I received though, because they're destined for the Accurate Ag Books activities during the 2013 North Dakota Farm Bureau Leadership Conference. One of the perks of my off-farm job is reviewing books for these activities :)

Gotta go! I need to place an order for my family to keep- Christmas is coming you know ;)

Happy Reading!
Sarah :)

p.s. For more information about the Accurate Ag Books program and for a list of other GREAT books to share with your friends and family, go to:

American Farm Bureau Federation Ag Foundation Book Database