Walk a Mile in My Boots!

Hello all!

I was pondering my blog topic for the week when I remembered all of the walking and hiking I've been doing lately. I thought, "I've seen some beautiful things over the past few weeks! I wish some people could take a walk in my shoes." But then I realized, as I gazed down towards my feet, that the brunt of what I do doesn't necessarily happen in shoes; it happens in my boots!



This lead to a medley of thoughts in my head associated with my boots! I'd like to take a moment to share with you just what "my boots" have walked in, on, and around in my lifetime!
The first thing that comes to my mind that I ever did in boots was ride in the tractor with my dad as a young child. Dad would be headed out to disk the field, and I would quickly grab my pillow and jump up into the tractor, wedged carefully behind the passenger seat. The pillow would shelter my head from the hard glass so that when Dad hit a bump, my noggin would be saved! I still remember how we'd sing our "Tractor Song" which entailed humming and letting the rhythm of the jostled tractor change your vocal chords! Those were the good ol' days!

My boots have stepped in every kind of manure known to man, it seems. They've seen the top side of cow patties, sheep pebbles, and much more, unfortunately. My boots have raised seventeen hogs, three steers, and 4 sheep in 4-H and FFA. My boots have been to a jackpot show, many an Alameda County Fair, three years of livestock judging contests, and in many show rings and fairs across California. My boots have spoken about agriculture to many consumers in a grocery store, a farmer's market, and in everyday life. My boots exhibited the 2010 Alameda County Fair FFA Champion Market Hog! My boots help spark conversation about agriculture when I wear them places like the movie theater, shopping, or even to dinner. My boots always match my belt, and they always match my mood.

"You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl"

The past year, my boots helped spread the message about the American beef industry at places like the Boston Marathon, the New York State Fair, and the D.C. Cooking and Entertaining Expo where they even met Rachael Ray. They will continue to do so throughout this next year as I am a part of the brand new National Beef Speaker's Bureau.
Fairly soon, my boots will even be headed to Washington, D.C for the summer. I am very pleased, excited, and honored to announce that I was recently accepted for a USDA internship in conjunction with the National Beef Ambassador Program!!! Each year one ambassador receives this amazing opportunity to intern with the Agriculture Marketing Services, Livestock and Seed branch of the USDA, and this year that ambassador is ME! I am very excited to take on this challenge and you better believe, in the words of fellow Cattlemen and CattleWomen, that I will be "burning boot leather on Capitol Hill!"

My boots are who I am! Would you care to take a walk with me?
Sin-steer-ly,
Malorie