March Madness!

First of all, let me apologize if you came to this post expecting to read about basketball.  There will be no Final Four talk, no opinions about who's the better team, etc.  So if you want to read about that, check out ESPN.com or something.  Go ahead, I won't be mad if you leave. Really.  :)

Now those that are still with me, this entry is about my crazy month of March.  Please don't take any of this as bragging or being boastful...as you will remember, I started this blog as a way to catalog my adventures and what not. 

First up, Comal County Junior Livestock Sale in New Braunfels.  Every year, our company purchases kids livestock projects...part of our way to give back to our community.  The sale is something I look forward to each year and during that 12 hour endurance test, I visit with lots of old friends and see their children.  It's so fun to see the kids grow into young adults, learning responsibility from raising their animals and earning money for college. 

Now why a livestock sale?  Well, for those of you who don't know, I showed steers from middle school until graduation.  The time I spent showing provided me many memories and created great friendships.  Now I may have caused some trouble here and there, showing steers helped me learn responsibility, time management and created a network of life long friends. 

Next up, the Rodeo Austin!   

Miss Rodeo Austin Scholarship Pageant: Bring on the big hair, sparkly clothes and plenty of leather!  The 3 day contest puts the girls through the ringer to earn the title of Miss Rodeo Austin and a $16,000 scholarship.  I admire each of the contestants for their hard work and courage to compete in front of many people.  I love working on this committee and have a true admiration for these girls.

Rodeo Austin BBQ Cook-Off: This year our BBQ cook-off team celebrated its10th Anniversary!  If you haven't been to cook-off, it's a 2 day event where the teams not only compete on the BBQ-ing skills, but provide food and drinks to the public in exchange for donations to the team tip jars, which goes to the Rodeo Austin scholarship fund. In the past, we have placed in all food categories, swept the Bloody Mary contest in various years, and even won brisket in 2010.  With our 10th year celebration, we wanted to make it our best year yet and we did!!!!  1st place Brisket!! Top Hospitality!  And.........drum roll please....1st place Fundraising!!!!!  We raised $77,520 for the scholarship fund!!!!  We broke the record for most raised and took out the team that's claimed 1st place for more than the past 10 years.  Awesome!!!! 

Rodeo: Buckin' broncs, crazy bulls, gypsy cowboys, quick tie times...it's all apart of rodeo.  What a great sport!  Our seats in Austin are awesome and I hit as many nights of rodeo as possible.  I love going with my friends and family even it makes for late nights and tough mornings at work.  I figure it's only 2 weeks of every year and I can always sleep when I'm dead!

Finally, a quick trip to Port Aransas for a friend's bachelorette party!  My long time friend gets married in a few weeks and I road tripped it this past Saturday to the beach for the pre-wedding celebration.  Now it was a little tough getting up Saturday morning after a late night at the Rodeo including the Bret Michaels concert and fun times at the 100X club.  I arrived at the beach around 2 pm and the fun was already started.  We headed to the beach for a while before coming back to the house for dinner and the lingerie shower.  I wouldn't say it went down hill from there, but we did head to Sharkey's!  The music was loud, the drinks were cold and we all had an amazing time.  It's been a while since I've been to bed at 3 am, but it was definitely worth it!  A great group of girls spent a great day celebrating a great bride-to-be!


All of this on top of my regular work schedule, volunteer commitments, and life, made for a hectic, tiring, crazy, but fun, exciting, wouldn't-change-a-thing, March!  I relish the slow days I've enjoyed so far this week and look forward to a restful weekend at the ranch.  For now, I will not think about the craziness that lies before me, as it will be here soon enough. 

Until then, happy travels and many laughs...