TBT: Totes Ma Goats!

My sisters and I with our first goats, Jack and Gus.

I talk a lot about how much I love cows, which I do truly enjoy their company, but they were not the only four legged creatures that I spent a lot of time with as a child and young adult. I also enjoyed spending a lot of my time showing and breeding goats. My mom had always wanted goats, but my grandfather had told her, it was him or the goats, so she never got one. About two years after his passing when I was nine, we had a speaker come talk to our 4-H club about goats. My sister and I, being the go-getter little girls we were, of coursed wanted to show all the livestock species we could, we easily convinced our parents to let us get goats. They were cheaper and safer than cattle and my mom had always wanted them, so it wasn't too hard. Jack and Gus (after the Cinderella mice) were our first goats. They were the friendliest and most loving creatures. We were immediately hooked and have been raising goats ever since.

Over the years we have had some amazing and colorful creatures. The black beauty in the picture above in Yaoz. Before I even picked out Yaoz, I googled Y names (this was the year that every one of my 4-H animals had to start with a Y.) The name Yaoz popped up and it said it meant "he will be mighty." Little did I know this would be the perfect name for him. He ended up weighing 106 pounds at the county fair, almost over weight. Actually at the state fair, he could not weigh more than 108 lbs. So just like the beauty pageant contestants, he went on a running workout to turn his fat to muscle, we ran at least two miles a day. He weighed 103 at the state fair. I was so proud of this amazing guy. He also had the personality of a king.

This next picture was my last goat that I showed in 4-H. His name was Mufasa. Often while running I would say come on Mufasa, muuuuve fasta! (playing fun at his name.) But he was a little bundle of joy and would dance with me like he was doing in the picture above.

Goats have taught me so much about keeping a positive attitude about everything. They are so happy most of the time. But they also taught me that some times its ok to be dramatic, maybe don't ball like a baby like they do, but do not be afraid to show your emotions. And finally, they taught me that you can't get a rocking body by sitting on the couch being lazy, you have to get out there jump those hurdles and run those miles because skinny and fat goats don't win, muscular ones do.

Style: Uniquely Mine

The third point of the crown that I am going to talk about is Style. Style, you'd think that since it is almost my last name (Stiles;)) and as a Queen, I'd have it all figured out, right? Well I don't, haha. But my style is a little bit of everything, yet pretty simple. I like comfy clothes, I like stiff professional clothes. I like blue jeans, I like dress shorts. I like flowy tank tops, I like tight v-necks. I pretty much like everything, but my main obsession is shoes! I love shoes and often will make an outfit just based on the shoes I want to wear. My go to everyday shoes are cowboy boots and Sperrys in the spring and summer, cowboy boots and riding boots in the fall, and those two plus Uggs in the winter. Then I love heels so much and enjoy wearing them when I can. However, I am not a fan of sandals. I think I honestly like shoes so much because they cover up feet, so a shoe that still shows my feet isn't really my style.

My favorite thing to wear is a smile. This may sound cheesy, but it is the part of me that truly shines and shows everyday too, also my parents paid for the wonderful braces to fix these pearly whites, which I am so grateful for. It is a look into who I am and how I am doing. In my senior pictures, my photographer tried to take those sexy no smile pictures, but I completely failed on all of them because it was so natural to smile. I guess I am just a goofy person, not a sexy mysterious one. Haha

A Memorial Day Message and Thank You!

According to http://www.usmemorialday.org, "Memorial Day started off as a somber day of remembrance; a day when Americans went to cemeteries and placed flags or flowers on the graves of our war dead. It was a day to remember ancestors, family members, and loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice." Now it has changed into days on lakes, huge sales in malls, and whatever else our commercialized world can think of. However in my family, we keep the tradition and we spend the late morning into afternoon at the cemetery honoring all of the fallen heroes, including my grandfather, as well as the other loved ones we lost. We stand around telling stories and jokes from all of the amazing people who are no longer with us, while we wait for the band to come play. Then more importantly, we listen as the band plays the national anthem, the VFW and ladies auxiliary speak, and then tabs is played to conclude the memorial.

My amazing grandfather, James Madden, in uniform.

Today it was chilly and cloudy, but a wonderful chance to honor the people who have gone before us and given up so much for our freedom. I would like to take this chance to thank everyone who has served and all of their families. It is because of your bravery and sacrifice that I am able to write this blog and exercise all of my other freedoms. So thank you for keeping our country free and the way our founding fathers wanted it to be. I am so proud to be an American!

TBT: California and Finding Independence

Today I got very nostalgic as my second internship for Cargill is now full swing, thinking back to my time spent in California with Cargill last summer. I traveled almost 2,000 miles from all of my family and friends to pursue my dream internship; performing research on hundreds of calves and working with dairy producers to help improve their farms. I ended up meeting the most amazing people and put 9,000 miles on my vehicle, but learned so much as I travelled parts of California, Utah and Idaho.

I always thought that I was an independent person, but I never learned true independence until I had to find my way alone in so many strange cities, including Oakland (because of course I had to visit another Major League Baseball stadium.) I learned to be strong and stand up for my friend at midnight in a sketchy emergency room because they would not listen to us. I learned to take peoples' harsh words (because I was a white girl from the Midwest on their farm) with a grain of salt. But more importantly, I learned that no matter where I go, I want to help dairy farmers more than anything. They are my inspiration and my heroes. I hope that one day I can truly impact all of America's dairy farmers with my promotion or my research.

Scholarship: Go Big, Go Blue, Go Jacks!

Another one of the points of the crown is scholarship. The Miss America Organization is actually the largest provider of scholarships to young women across the nation and this is a reason most girls find the Miss America Organization in the beginning. So this Tuesday, I am going to go more in-depth on my school experiences and why I chose South Dakota State.

I started at South Dakota State University in August of 2012, but that is not where my SDSU Journey began. When I was a freshman in high school, my mom went to the Central Plains Dairy Expo in Sioux Falls, SD. While she was at the show, she stopped by the SDSU Dairy Science booth. She thought it looked like something I would be interested and brought me home a packet of information. I was so excited about the details about the school that I saw. The dairy science department had 100% job placement in the students' field of six months after graduation, with salaries starting at $45,000, almost $100,000 in scholarships each year, and it was going to only cost me $15,000 a year. To top it off even more, it was in the beautiful and Agriculture based South Dakota and they made their own ice cream (the reason my dad was hooked when we visit.) I immediately emailed the head of the dairy science department and have never looked back.

I only ever wanted to be a Jackrabbit, I only applied to be a Jackrabbit, and I am so proud to be a Jackrabbit. This school has done so much for me and has brought me out of my shell, helping me become the woman I am today. Never have I ever regretted coming to this amazing school and am so thankful for all of the amazing memories I have made and look forward to making so many more! Go big, go blue, go Jacks!

What a Weekend!

This past weekend was our Pre Pageant weekend for the Miss South Dakota Pageant. With this only a month away, we got the chance to learn all of our production dances (or for the non-dancers like myself, at least try to), do a set of mock interviews, check over paperwork, get wardrobe help, and more importantly, get to know each other better. To top it all off, we got the amazing opportunity to speak with South Dakota's Secretary of State and former Miss South Dakota, Shantel Krebs, and Attorney General, Marty Jackley. After both of those talks, I can definitely see myself one day becoming a part of South Dakota politics and making a difference on the legislative side for the Dairy Industry. It was such an honor to hear them speak about the on goings at the Capital in Pierre and their personal stories, including how they got to be so successful in this great state.

Miss South Dakota and the Class of 2015 with SD Attorney General, Marty Jackley.

All of the events of this weekend have me so excited and nervous for June. It truly showed me all of the progress I have made so far, but also all of the things I still need to keep working on before the pageant. And no matter the results on June 20th, I have just been so thrilled with the experience so far and only foresee more positive things for the rest of my year as Miss Brookings.

TBT: How I Got My Start in Public Speaking

As a Speech Communication major, I get asked all the time why in the world I would subject myself to the torture they like to call public speaking? And honestly, I love it. I love having the attention of everyone in the room, making them laugh, maybe even making them cry. I love more importantly talking to people about my passion for agriculture and helping them to understand and love it just as much as I do.

This easily started with my involvement in 4-H. The picture of the young lady making Kool-Aid was the six year old, clover bud in 4-H, Maggie making her very first public speaking appearance. I started from a very young age, with very simple topics, getting up and talking to people, educating them. My family said from that moment they knew I was made for the public speaking stage. Over the years, I did more and more activities that got me up in front of a crowd and actually was selected as the Public Speaking Contest Champion in my last year of 4-H.

I simply love the thrill of watching my audience. I love the feeling I get in the pit of my stomach as I am about to speak. I love the feeling of accomplishment when the speech is completed. And more importantly, I love the feeling that I made a difference in my audiences day and hopefully their lives.

Service: My 20th Appearance

In the Miss America Organization, the crown has four points; style, scholarship, success, and my favorite point, service. Today as Miss Brookings, I made my 20th appearance. I spent three hours at the Brookings' HyVee, where I handed out samples of chocolate milk and educated the customers, going through almost four gallons of chocolate milk. It was so great to be able to interact with the kids and adults, as they went to make their beverage selections. I was thrilled as adults would say "I haven't had this in years," or "Wow I forgot about chocolate milk" and then proceeded to buy a gallon or half gallon. Seeing an immediate result is so reassuring. I also was thrilled when a young lady said, "You came to my school and now I drink chocolate milk after every track meet." Hearing that I actually got through to at least one student was so rewarding.

As I look back on my first twenty visits, I am so proud that I was selected as Miss Brookings. I originally was going for the title of Miss SDSU and was given Miss Brookings, as this title was also given out at the same pageant. But I am so happy they gave me Miss Brookings. This has allowed me to visit places I never even thought of in the amazing community that I have lived in for three years. I have met so many amazing citizens of this community and am so proud to be their representative. Also I can now say that I represent the 2013 5th best small town in America. How cool is that?

New Name and Welcome

For those of you who have read my blog before may be wondering why I changed my blog from A Cow Story to The Farming Beauty Queen. Well in March, I was crowned as Miss Brookings and to help promote my platform, "Chocolate Milk: Building Healthy Bodies and Kids One Glass at a Time" and to help people get an idea of who I am, I am changing my blog's name. I am no longer going to just tell the cow's story, but also mine. Don't worry, I will still be chatting about my cows and the dairy industry.

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome. I am a farm girl from Lakeville, MN that grew up on 200 acres with cows, goats, chickens, rabbits, and various other animals. I started working on dairy farms at the age of twelve, where I fell in love with the dairy industry. I just finished my junior year at South Dakota State University, where I am studying Dairy Production and Speech Communication, with an Animal Science minor. I am very new to the pageant world, but I have loved the first two months I've experienced. On June 18-20th, I will be competing for Miss South Dakota and I am very excited for this experience, hoping to put chocolate milk mustaches on the great faces of this great state!