Run No More - Nylon Edition

     First off, I am sorry for my being late posting. This last week was finals and it took all of my concentration to put forth the effort needed to get through the first part of this week. I am blogging to you straight from my new hammock.

No more camping on the ground or in the back of a truck, this girl is sleeping in quite the comfortable hammock from now on. Totally worth the money. Just saying.

     On to today’s post. This is another one for the ladies. We all know that one of the most inconveinient part of official dress is the nylons. But as I know many agree, they are a key part in making official dress look as shnazzy as it does. It just wouldn’t be the same. Now I know that putting nylons on are not fun. Those thin sheet of fibers are just contraptions of endless issues. You rub up against things, you get a snag (which you all now know that that can be fixed with fingernail polish). You pull too hard while adjusting, you tear a whole. You sit down, they fall almost off your butt. Even more annoying, when you do manage to keep a pair nice enough to last through a few events, they get caught by the Velcro of your make up bag or the zipper of your suitcase, the whole saving part is moot.

     So today is a two-for-one. I will show you the best ways to store your already opened nylons so that if they last through the day, they will see a tomorrow. Also I will demonstrate a sure fire way to keep those nylons up all day long.

     Now trust me on this one ladies, this sound odd but it works. During about this time of year, but usually a smidge closer to Easter, Walmart and other fine retailers, sell these plastic eggs. One half colored, one half clear. Nylons fit perfectly right inside that egg. And in their little shell of plastic-y-goodness, they are protected from rips and snags, and the egg is easy to transport full or empty, even more so making a lot easier to throw an extra pair of nylons in your purse. Cheap and resourceful those things are.

See, easy as 1,2,3!

     But McKenzie, how on Earth did you keep your nylons all day long? Well that is an excellent question you have there. One word, SUSPENDERS. Those long strips of elastic do a lot more than keep your pants up. By simply tucking in all undershirts and white button-ups, clip your nylons to your skirt. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this trick until I had gotten State Office and was given FFA suspenders. And what is even better (and I am sorry if it is a bit of too much information, but trust me it is a life saver), when Nature calls, removing and replacing your nylons is easier than you could imagine. But the best part is, because of the fact that you usually put your skirt in the same position, your nylons will do the same.

Adjust your skirt to where you want it, pull the waistband of your nylons up to match the skirt's.

Then just clip both waistbands together with your suspenders, they stay all day long. Honestly, I don't know why I went so long without doing this. 

     Here are a few little tid-bits of nylon know-how:

          1.  Spend a little more on reinforced toe nylons. A lot of runs start at the toe. The little extra in strings down there do help out a lot.

          2.  If you catch run starting to go up the top of your food and you catch it soon enough and put and end to it with your fingernail polish, the next day, considering the underside is okay, you can wear your nylons “backwards” from the day before. The run will be under your foot, and not a soul will know that there was even a run there in the first place. 

                   3.   If you wish to have a blacker look, tights are the way to go. They are also thicker and don’t rip quite as easily. However, I am not a huge fan of tights, I prefer to have a transparent look. But it is up to you.

                   4.  If you cannot find any black nylons, it is okay to settle for slightly grey ones over any designed ones. Grey at least looks close enough from a distance and most people won’t be able to notice. One of my teammates actually preferred grey nylons over black.  

     Well people, I hope that this post has been one that will help ladies defeat the unease about nylons. Find yourself a plastic egg and while you are there, pick you up some cheap, not super flashy I might add, suspenders. Keep it classy ladies!

Peace, Love, and FFA!

McKenzie  

P.S. If you have any questions on something, and want to know if I have a hack shoot me an e-mail at ffahacks@gmail.com. Also if you have any things that you have picked up and want to share, send me an e-mail and we will work together to get your hack out there and helping others!

Memorizing Like a Pro

     Although I never actually won as speaking contests, I loved them. But it wasn't until State office and the beginning of memorizing parts, that I realized my somewhat useful skill of memorizing speeches/parts.
      For those of who have never had the opportunity to take a glimpse at a State Officer's State Convention script binder, it is huge. Imagine a 2 inch binder jammed packed with stage set up, directions for awards ceremonies, and parts that have to be memorized. Without this "Bible" as we referred to it, State Leadership Conference wouldn't be possible.
     However, the weeks and months before, we are given our memorized parts.
     As daunting as it seems, I came up with a way when I was memorizing the creed, that makes it, at least for me, considerably easier to memorize.
     Now for those of you who don't know me well, I love notecards. I probably went through a 100 pack all on my own from the time we got script to the time we finished Convention. And what I did with these notecards is I would have a progression of my part. So on the first I would have the whole part that I needed to memorize. On the second, I would have just the first letter of each word in the part. And on the third, fourth, fifth, I would have just the first letters, but as they went on, I would leave out letters, forcing me to memorize the words that were in those spaces. Soon enough I would have just a blank notecard with the title of the part at the top. Now if I messed up on more than once on one of the notecards, I would simply go back to the previous one and work on it more, till I felt comfortable to continue on.
      I found that this method works especially well for parts like Opening Ceremonies, especially in high school when I was learning a new part every year. And for those longer speeches, like the creed, I would split it up into paragraphs and memorize a paragraph at a time and make it less daunting.

Here is an example of what I would do for my Treasurer Opening Ceremonies part

    When I was National Leadership Conference for State Officers, one of our facilitators was the great Ryan Best. One comment that he made about National Office was that he figured out the best way to memorize. He said that he would put his need to be memorized parts in a gallon sized ziploc bag and then stick it to the side of the shower so he could memorize while taking a nice relaxing shower. Now I don't know about all y'all, but I do some of my best thinking and memorizing in the shower. For heavens sake that is where I learn a lot of the songs on the radio these days as I attempt to sing along. Well people, I tried his way of memorizing. My addition to his tip was I got little sandwich sized bags and put my second notecard in there with it. The water from the shower makes the bag stick, while your notecards stay nice and dry. Honestly, it is the most ingenious thing that I have ever came across. 

    My final advice to all those who are trying to memorize a speech especially, the iPhone has a voice memo app preloaded on it. Now, when I was memorizing my retiring address, I just read each paragraph and made a recording. I also made a recording of my entire speech. I figured that since I could learn a new song by just listening to it several times, there is no reason that I couldn't do the same with my speech. Not even kidding, I listened to that speech several hundred times. When I would be driving to FFA events or even home (which is a 4 and a half hour drive) I would have it plugged into my cars stereo system. That is all I would listen to. Soon enough, I was able to say the speech along with the recording. 

      Although memorizing has been semi-simple for me through my FFA career, I know that there is always difficulty when it comes to remembering all those little words. Relax. It will come soon enough and you will sound amazing. 

      Good luck to all those Utah FFA members who are competing at their State CDE's this week. Good luck to all of you who are memorizing something for whatever reason. 

Talk at all y'all next week!

Peace, Love, and FFA

McKenzie

Momma Carma

      Before I start talking about my blog post today, I just want to say that State Convention was AWESOME! The Delegates made great decisions, those competing in Ag Sales had some crazy cool products, the retiring addresses all made me cry, and the dance was nuts (yes, I snuck into the dance. I couldn't resist, I just love to dance). Although there was minimal amounts of sleep involved, there wasn't a single thing that I would have gave up in order to obtain more sleep. Having experienced State in three different ways, chapter member, State Officer, and Backstage Crew, I have got to say that being behind the scenes is something that not many get to see, but is so exhilarating that I cannot wait to do it again.

Now just a few highlight photos

(Thank you Lauren Gleed for your photography skills)

Tanner Beymer, Seth Pratt, and Erica Louder. Backstage crew unite!

David Stitt, Past Washington FFA Officer and State Convention  Helper. I am known to have a knack for finding sleeping people. Beware....

Thank you Lauren again. The above caption says it all. Ag teachers, can't live with 'em, can live without 'em. 

This next picture is not one of quality, but one of quantity. This is a scene that not many people can or will ever see. The moment after your name is called and you bolt up onto stage and you are shoved backstage and given a rush of instructions and you are frantically wiping the tears off your face, is a moment that any person who experiences it will never forget. No caption is ever needed. 

Now onto today's topic. 

Carma. 

    K, so there is always that one mom in FFA that would come in before you left on a trip and handed everyone water bottles, or ran to Walmart to pick up a tie, or is willing to chaperon no matter how many crazy high school kids will be going. For the Vallivue FFA chapter, that mom is my mom. Now let me explain something to you about my mother. She is literally a 20 year old girl stuck in a, not going to say actual age because I love to live, mature woman's body. She can dance better than any person out there, swing, cha cha, droppin' it low, anything she can do it (just don't ask her to twerk, that she can't quite grasp ha!) . She is a  lot of things, but if it could only be narrowed down to one, it would be simply put as Momma. Mess with her kids and the bear comes out, support flows out of every pore of her body, and the huge tackle box first aid kit is always with her for when her alter ego of Dr. Carma has to come out. This lady continues to do so much for not only my family and myself, she continues to go above and beyond for Vallivue and Idaho FFA. 

    Honestly, I don't know how the woman does it. She manages to keep the lawns mowed, garden weeded, dogs fed and groomed, the property not covered with important plants sprayed with weed killer, sit down and help my baby sister do homework, makes sure that the middle sister makes it to all of her many doctors appointments, grocery shops, makes it to the school by 3 to set up for Dairy Foods practice, sends me the occasional care package, throws in the occasional nail appointment, and then repeats the next day. Day after day she puts more and more miles on her "FFA Taxi". And never does she ask for recognition. She is truly Super Woman. 

    I have watched as she has given up things, appointments, lunch dates, so she can rush to help when needed. I can also say that there have been times where things would have failed because of the selfishness of others and she steps in and simply says, " I won't let those kids suffer. I will do it." Now I don't mean to go on tooting my mom's horn and professing how amazing she is and without her everything would crumble, but without her, there would be a lot of things that would have crumbled. But because she loves "her kids", she does what she does. 

    So thank you Momma Carma, for everything you have done and continue to do. Without your constant hard work, there would be kids who wouldn't have been able to attend that State Convention, kids missing ties and wearing ripped nylons,kids that would have gone without lunch, and kids that wouldn't have a refined milk tasting pallet. You are truly appreciated. 

She managed to make these rag quilts for my team and Casey that we then signed. Each had each person's favorite color and also the teammates favorite colors. Her heart knows no bounds. 

And somehow she manages to help my dad with whatever he needs. Not only is she pretty, she is tough. And she can operate heavy machinery and power tools.  And of course my beautiful border collie is just leash candy to add to her beauty. 

This lady is quite the woman, and if you ever get the chance to meet her, I can bet your lie will be changed. FFA members, blog readers, people my mom badgered to read my blog, whoever is reading this right now, I present to you, my mom, Carma.

Peace, Love, and FFA

McKenzie

P.S. I am going to try and make Tuesday's the normal post date. So check back next Tuesday for tips on how I memorized script parts and speeches.

Running?

     One of the most exhilarating four days of my life was when I ran for State Office. As just another girl from another chapter and big dreams of being up on that stage the following year, I was just another person in the line up to go through the interviews. I made friends, cried, rejoiced, and stressed. But all in all, that was just my experience. You, as a State Officer candidate will experience a whole new meaning of emotion over the next few days. Life as you know it is about to change.

    What I want to tell you all today isn't to scare you or to make you second guess your decision to put in your application, it is to make you aware of what is to come. 

    First off, to the six of you who make it onto the team, the next year is going to consist of the most tiring, building, and hardest days. There will be times where you will want to quit. There will be times where you may not completely disagree with you teammates at all. There will be times where you have to get up at 4 am and stay up till 1 am the next day and then repeat it all over again. There will be times that you are so sick of being in a fishbowl where you have to always be a role model and everyone is watching you. But, this next year is going to be the most rewarding, amazing, fruitful time of your life. In order to do that, you have to give it your all. You go through trainings and meetings so you can prepare. "It is about you know, so it can be about them always." Keep that quote in mind. Your members are the reason you are in office, and it for them that you serve. And if there is only one thing that you take from this whole post, it is to stay humble. Remember the way you felt when you received your letter or told you made it past first cut. Remember how you felt when you stood in the back of the auditorium with the remaining candidates. Remember how your heart dropped when the Nominating Committee chairman calls your name and chapter. And remember that there were friends, past teammates, and fellow candidates that are still standing in the back of the room. Serve them and your members from around the state more than you serve yourself. 

     To those who are waiting for their name at the back of the auditorium. Good job. "Why?" you say? "Why good job? I didn't make office." Good job because you made it that far. Good job because you turned in the application, you went through the days of hell, you showed leadership and desire. Not very many people can make it past the first step of filling the application out. And to be honest with all y'all, I almost didn't either. I was going through a time where I had more than one enemy battling me, pushing me backwards, pulling me towards failure. The day that it was supposed to be post marked and as it sat in a neat stack in the manila envelope on my kitchen table, my momma said to me," Kenzie Leigh, if you don't mail that, you will be so upset because you won't know what might have been." Wise words. So I congratulate you on that much. You did what you needed to do so you could know what would happen. And I am sure that it is utterly disappointing to not represent the Association but I want you to not dwell on that. Grieve and be upset but then, as hard as it is, try to move on. I am not a super religious person, but I have had it all throughout my life and I believe that God (or fate if that is what you believe in) has something for all of us. Just because you didn't get State Office, doesn't mean it is the end of the world. It means that you have something bigger and better out there for you. For example, my teammate Kyle ran his senior year of high school and was one of the ones who didn't make it. He ran again and he go the chance to serve as the State Sentinel. He always told us that he wasn't mean to be on that team, he was meant to serve a mission in Honduras. There is something else that life, God, fate has planned for you, and if you decide that you want to try again, then do so! Believe in yourself and the things that life may or may not have planned for you. 

    Now as for the running process, I have had a lot of people what I suggest. I have three pieces of advice. 1) Be yourself. Don't be fake or try to be a "better leader" or try to become something that you think Nom Com will like more. Nom Com picks the people who are the most real and will be best fit to serve the state. 2) Don't be afraid to show emotion. People, I cried during at least two of my interviews. They want to see passion and that you love FFA and you truly want this. Show how much you want it. I mean, don't go getting ridiculous and just cry to cry. Use that tool with meaning. 3) Make friends with those who are around you. Those people who you are running with will be friends you keep for a long while. For heavens sake, we colored together and made a paper chain with our names. These are some of Idaho's greatest people, take advantage of this great opportunity and keep these great people in your life. Once you view them as your competition is the moment that the experience stops being all that it can be. 

    State Office is a best of it's own and you won't completely understand all that goes on or what it is like to be an officer until you are an officer. 

    Good luck this next week. I wish you all the best. FYI, Erin and I plan on dropping by and chatting with y'all periodically during the week. I cannot wait for State to come, I am jittery with excitement to see all my peeps. Although I am not jealous of all those running, I am jealous of the fact that you only have to pack Official Dress. My suitcase is all too small for this adventure. 

See y'all TOMORROW!

Peace, Love, and FFA!

McKenzie 

Erin Time!

    For the last few years I have had the grand opportunity to serve with Erin. Little did we know that when we were district officers together and took silly pictures at District Officer Training, that we would become best friends and even State Officer teammates. Today we are all lucky enough to hear a little bit from her.
    As the first one ever from her home chapter, Homedale, to ever get State Office, I wanted her to talk to those who are thinking or running for office. Many people do not understand the struggles that can be associated with office, and most won't understand those struggles until they are wearing the Association jacket.

     So a little bit about my very short and loving friend. She grew up riding and even did a stint with an eye-patch. She loves her horse Coffee just as much as she loves the liquid version. Let me tell you, you had a death wish if you got in between Erin and her morning coffee. All through FFA she showed beef steers. When she was in the show ring, nothing could ever stop that girl. Not to mention she always had interesting names for them, like Optomus Prime-Rib. Throughout her year as an officer, she expressed to all who would listen that everyone is special and she meant it. With an older brother with severe special needs, Erin had a special ability to love everyone instantly. She never had any issues talking to any member ever and would be instant buddies with every industry individual, advisor, and even random people we passed along the way. Honestly, I look up to her outgoing and personable personality. She taught me patience and to have a grand love of Red Bull.

Erin and her older brother Mark

    She now is living her lifelong dream of being married to her high school sweetheart Cody. They now have one very very very adorable little girl, McKinley. She is an amazing wife, mother, and friend. I am so thankful to have her in my life. Even though her last name has changed to Rhodes, she will always be my Erin Shenk-ers.

Erin, McKinley, and Cody

Baby McKinley

    Here is her note to all y'all.

Three hundred and sixty-one days, eight thousand six hundred and sixty-four hours, or five hundred and nineteen eight hundred and forty minutes ago six individuals from very different but very similar walks of life began their journey. A journey to end the year of service they had fulfilled and would now pass on to six more individuals. State Conference: a week unlike any other.

Getting to become one of those six, was a journey all its own. I learned who I was and how far I was willing to go to complete a dream. As the week of State Conference draws near, I can still feel all of the same feelings I felt after my first night as a state officer candidate. Nerves, excitement, and amazement are all still fresh in my mind. I will never forget the first night of interviews I got back to the hotel walked into the lobby, where my advisor and mom were waiting, flung myself over the end of the couch and cried. Why? I will never know, but it just felt like what I needed to do.

So my advice to those running is be prepared for the most amazing and tiring whirlwind adventure of emotions! Be yourself. Not in the cliché what the Nominating committee wants to hear kind of way, but in the down to earth, true blue, laugh so hard milk comes out your nose way. Be friends, the individuals around you are walking the same path you are. They are and will be your greatest allies. Most importantly, tell your story, why do you want to be a state officer, why do you want to make an impact, what is it that you offer that no one else can. Find that and use it.

Remember to have fun and show some emotion no one wants a stick in the mud ;-).

                                                                        Good Luck!
                                                                        Love always,

                                                                                                Erin Shenk Rhodes

                                                                                                PSO/ Has-been

   And to think that she wanted me to edit that. She is an inspiration to everyone. I hope that her words inspire you to make a decision that is the best fit your your life. 

    

   As we are getting closer to State, I am getting more and more anxious as I hope that you all are too. State Convention is seriously the highlight of my year. 

Peace, Love, and FFA!

McKenzie

Guaranteed Good Hair Day

     So ladies, if there is one thing that I cannot stand even more than bad make up (which is still refusing to cooperate) is bad hair. Now I can't do videos like I originally planned, because that is the reason that the make-up part won't let me finish it. So I will just tell you my favorite dos. But first, I think that a little bit of honesty needs to come forth. First off, for those of you who seem to think that I just wake up with the hair that I have, you are wrong. I have photo proof that it has to go very wrong before it can go right.

Story of my life. Just a little humor for the day. 

     Now I believe that there are two types of people, those who shower at night and those who shower in the morning. I am a night showerer. This doesn't always help me out very much because I have cowlicks.
Bad ones. And not to mention, I have this weird curl that turns into gargantuan waves that have no rhyme or reason or even look good. So I have to tame the mane every morning.
    There are a lot of ways that I like to tame my mane.

The Classy Straightened

Curled, with a curling iron or rockin the natural 

Half Pony Tail (State Officer Favorite)

French Braid - all your hair, bangs, Catniss style

Classic Ponytail

The list goes on and on and on. 

    

    Now if you are anything like me, you believe that it is quite unhealthy to wash your hair on daily basis. At least that is what my hairdresser tells me (Love Ya Momma!). And see, my hair is just now getting long enough that I can curl it and it looks not shrunk and odd. So I love curling my hair but that seems like the biggest waste. I am also really into the whole "Greek Goddess" hair wrapping hair do. Come to find out, that hairdo works great when your hair is dirty, and even better when it is curly and dirty. Just add that to your list. 

   Those of you who can rock the, jump out of the shower, throw a little gel in my hair, and go natural curly hair, kudos. When I do want to wear my hair natural, it takes like four products and numerous times scrunching to even make it look like it isn't half straight/ half wavey. And often, when I add a little water and some more product the next day it looks even better. Ladies there is no shame is rocking the same hairdo twice in a row, or even modify a slight bit. Since I don't want to wear curly hair two days in a row very often, I rescrunch and do a half pony tail. I have even been known to go for three days and that hairdo consisted of the "Greek Goddess" Style.
    Second confession of the day. I love hairspray. Aerosol to be exact. I use a lot of it. People could say that I am singularly responsible for a good portion of the depletion of the Ozone layer, ha just kidding. But people, do not be afraid of hairspray. As a State Officer there were many times where we would have to be up and left by 4 a.m. and would be going all day long till later in the evening. Personally, Treseme is my favorite but if I am looking for a long lasting hairdo, it is Big Sexy Hair all the way. Use what you like, but don't be afraid to use it.
   
    So, I hope that this kind of lets you in a little on my bad hair made into good hair. Honestly, I am obsessed with my hair, just look at my Pinterest board. I am so stoked to see all my Idaho FFA peeps at State Convention. T- minus 5 (ish) days till kick off!
    Remember, Monday I am having a guest blogger, Erin Rhodes. She has some great advice for all of those running for state office or even thinking about doing so in the future.

Laters!
Peace, Love, and FFA!
McKenzie

Just soak in the honesty, because honestly, nobody is seeing this in person. Muahahaha! 

Throwback Thursday

      Hey y'all! Welcome to the third day of Count Down to State Convention.
      I apologize for the technical difficulties that I experienced yesterday, and continue to experience, causing me not to get the make-up segment up yesterday when it was supposed to be up. I will continue to fight my computer and the videos and try to get that up and available for you as soon as possible.
    As I was going through my phone, I realized that I had way too many photos of State last year, that I could only choose just a few to put up there. I hope that these will bring back some fun memories.

This was actually not last year, but the year before right as we were announced as a team. We were not only winded from bolting down the aisle but from when Brett rammed into all of us. That is a moment that I will never forget. 

This was taken days before convention started and we were rehearsing our Retiring Addresses with full lights. King of Speaking, Brett, definitely rocked his practice as you can see. 

Now, let me explain. My feet hurt from days of practicing and being on my feet for hours straight so Erin and I decided we would soak them in bath water. I was laying on the floor rehearsing my parts. For some reason I felt the uncontrollable need to lay like this. And of course, the photographer that she is, Erin HAD to take a picture. I would like to say that this isn't a normal thing for me to be quirky like this, but my sad reality is, this is a common occurrence. Maybe not this exact pose, but usually something just as odd. 

These lovely ladies (JC and Sarah) were from my home chapter and were at State helping U of I putting on State Convention. Couldn't resist to take a snapshot. 

Love these chicas! 

Kyle never fails to come up with a good selfie photobomb face. 

If you aren't friends with me on Instagram and Facebook, then this would look like an awesome selfie. But the truth is, the kid in the background was doing the Creed. He was famously put on Facebook and didn't even know it ha!

"Nobody take my Food!" Mnt. Dew, apple slices, and my waterbottle. 

The best and worst part about iPhones is that you can take photos without having to unlock them. Erin, love you long time!

Micheal Heistuman. Enough said. 

We were suiting up for another session and I turned around to see Micheal (pictured in the above) taking a million pictures of me. Needless to say, I had to delete a handful in order to take any more pictures soon after that. He was pretty proud of himself. 

Ty Gramley was the nice gentlemen to help back stage. On the last day, the dude was exhausted. 

Two of my peeps from Vallivue, Hayden Fuller and Brett Quenzer. 

This kid. Gotta love ya some Colton Cooper. 

   These are memories that I wouldn't change for the world. There were so much more that I could have added. It will be so weird to experience State not as an FFA member or a State Officer for the first time ever. But I don't doubt that there will be plenty more memories to come.