We Crazy!

Yo yo yo blog readas! Thought we give you a shout out from the gangsta paradise of Wharton!

Well it never fails, around 3:00 p.m. everyday Jessica and I loose all control and start waiting for the end of the work day to come around. At the office we all have instant messenger and we sometimes like to put random names or sayings as our name. For example: "Only 25 minutes until we get go to Larry's" was a favorite of mine and I would continually update it as the time passed. So today Jessica and I got on this gangsta kick. We was talkin like we was thugs and tellin Liz that she better watch herself 'fore we shanke her! Continuing with the thug theme we found a great web site that you can type your name in and get your 100% authentic thug title. So here are our new names here at the RHD Headquarters:
Rachel — Steamy Jungle Robba
Catherine — Black Gat Slinga
Tricia — Chewy Tha Tree Hugga
Ashlei — Played Out Hoopti Rida
Liz — Butt-Jugglin Hoopti Rida
Audrey — Mad Cow Daddy
Jessica — Fried Green Mint Flava
Luke — Cow-Tippin Drug Smuggla
Luann — John Cougar Ho Slappa
Emily — Stanky Left Hand Killa

So if you are calling our office within the next week, please make sure to call us by our new names because "dat all we be answerin to playa." Man it is sure hard to live the gangsta life.

Well now that I have wasted almost 30 minutes looking up everyones names I think that I need to get back to work. If you would like kill some time at work and look up your own gangsta name, go to www.gangstaname.com and see how thug you are. Peace, Holla Back!

A Little Mud on the Tires

I'm writing this blog from what I would consider the backwoods of Arkansas, where I have gone to 'get away' for a few days and visit John. Obviously, I use the term "backwoods" with all possible respect, but I have to admit it's a little bit different than the good ol' gulf coast I'm used to.

I realize this might sound like somewhat of an oxy-moron but on my last few trips up here, we've really done some "sophisiticated" things which make me feel like I'm not some boring person who lives i the tiny town of Boling, Texas. For example, on Thursday night we went to eat at P.F. Chang's which is mine, Catherine, Luke's, Mom, Dad's and Anne McCain's favorite restaurant of lately. This restaurant beats our little local Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet like a red headed stepchild.

I've also decided that lately I need to "break out" of my typical jeans and a t-shirt attire, so with the help of Catherine, Anne, and the online clothing store of Bebe, I've really decided to perk up my wardrobe a little bit. So yeah, I admit, I felt pretty cool eating dinner at this nice restaurant while wearing my new cute dress and enjoying a chocolate martini.

On another night, I got to chill out for an afternoon and evening at the Arkansas cabana at Jim & Rhonda's house (J&R Brahmans) and enjoy the swimming, grilled fish that Rhonda actually caught herself, and enjoy some homemade mojitos.

Then, on Saturday night, again I got dressed up and went to this really cool restaurant right on the river called Brave New Restaurant. I felt like the food could have been right out of Top Chef. The appetizer was amazing! It was this mozarella/tomato/crab thing that was to die for! I got the salmon, which again was the best I'd ate!!! Combine this with it's about an hour drive into Little Rock, I was really feeling impressed.

But, probably the event that topped off the whole trip was Sunday night. We decided to go over to one of John's friends house and eat dinner with Bryce and his girlfriend Heather. So we're enjoy a nice, normal night at a friend's...grilling, visiting, swatting the mosquitos off ourselves. Well, then I guess that's when all the too-good-to-be-true Arkansas sophistication had to end.
Bryce had just bought a new Jeep the day before. Being the true-blue Jeep customer that I am, I was impressed. (For those of you who don't know, the only car I've ever driven are Jeep Grand Cherokee's, I love them!!!)

Anyway, we grilled out, the evening was winding down, and the guys get the idea that we need to go "Jeep'n It!" So, yeah, of course we all think that's a great idea! We hop in the Jeep and head out to Bryce's pasture. Radio blaring, bouncing around in the Jeep, riding through the pasture. I'm REAL HIGH CLASS now! At this point, I realize I'm about to have my first experience of something that we all should get to do in our life....MUDDIN'!

I think the guys seem to get a kick out of seeing just how much they can make the girls scream. Heather and I are screaming/laughing/scared/loving it while Bryce is ruttin' up his pond and taking the offroad to a whole new level! Each time, we get deeper and deeper in the water, we're screaming louder and louder, and each time Bryce informs us that it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get a 4-wheel-drive Jeep stuck.

Guess what.
We got stuck.
At first, we thought Bryce was joking. Then he informs us that even if we are moving, even if it's just a couple of inches, he can work us out of the mud. So inch by inch, we go. Mud is flying everywhere. We look out the zip-up-plastic windows and see the mud over the running boards. Hmmmm, so Heather and I both state at this time that we are NOT walking all the way back to the house.

So...thank goodness for cell phone's Bryce phones up his brother, who summons the tractor complete with a bush hog attached to it, and pulls us out in no time. Needless to say, we didn't attempt anymore passes through the pond. And, the night was pretty much cut short after we had to sit and wait about 30 minutes out there in the middle of the pond for the tractor to come.
But hey, you're not really livin' till you can get a little mud on the tires!

Our first Texas Music client...

Last week we got to work on a pretty exciting project, for an up-and-coming Texas Music artist - Brandon Dobbs. I'm betting that within 5 minutes of reading this post that my friends Shane & Gretchen Richey will find him on iTunes and download his music.....since they seem to know more about the latest Texas Music Artists than me, and they live in Indiana :)

So back to my story, I met Brandon back while we were both at Texas A&M in the animal science department. Brandon (or "Dobber" as we called him) transferred to A&M our junior year to be on the livestock judging team. We were both in Block and Bridle together, and spents lots of time together in the fun-loving town of College Station, whether it be working at the Saddle & Sirloin Show Futurities, dancing at the Hall of Fame, or hanging out in the Rolling Ridge Trailer Park where myself, Dobber, and all the "COOL KIDS" lived at that time.

Of all the times I spent hanging out with Dobber in college, never once did I hear him sing or play guitar. And trust me, there were LOTS of opportunities for this, such as our weekly Karaoke nights at the Kolle's house where I distinctly remember lots of singing by myself and Cassie to anything and everything sung by Cher, and the most memorable song -- Ralph Stokely singing Sweet Child of Mine. Did I mention most of this was occuring sometime between the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m??

Last year at the Texas A&M/Tech football game weekend, which also coincidentally was the "reunion" of the Habanero Hotties (me, Cassie, Tara, Kim, and Anne) 1st Place Chilifest Team....I ran into Brandon and we started talking about his music. He picked up singing and songwriting after college, and he has really taken off lately. Last week, he hired us design his ad that would be in the Lone Star Music catalog, and also some promotional posters to use around town where he can write the dates of his upcoming shows. I was totally excited to do it - since I'm a huge fan of Brandon's and also I've never done anything in the music industry.

If you like to be in the know of Texas artists, check out Brandon Dobbs on iTunes or also on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/brandondobbs. My favorite songs he sings is Boomtown, Outside of My Mind, and the title song on the album Time Will Tell.

And, keep in mind this famous person is just like a lot of us -- grew up showing and judging livestock, was a normal, down to earth, good ol' guy in Aggieland, and how he's making it as a Texas music singer!

Proud of my cousins...

Well I'm going to take some time to brag on three of my favorite cousins, Emily, Erin and Ellie Forgason. Actually, in our family, we have a relative small group of relatives, and we don't get the joy of having like big family reunions with hundreds of people.

Other than our one first cousin, our closest relatives are the Forgasons. My uncle Richard and aunt Flossy would be my great aunt and uncle. Their son Lex and daughter Lana Jo and my dad are first cousins. So me and Catherine are like somehow 2nd or 3rd cousins with Emily, Erin and Ellie...but it feels like they are more like our sisters than our 3rd cousins. I know that sounds a little like a family history -- but I'm just trying to explain the relations here ;) Anyone who's been to Hungerford knows it's a little inbred...everyone is related to someone in some way!

So just like me, the Forgason girls love Brahmans. So naturally we get along so well! I myself have some braggin' rights in the Brahman shows, because Catherine and I won the Brahman Junior Nationals a record of like 8 times in the 10 years we were showing. Well, this past week, Emily made history in the Brahman breed and I'm just really really proud of her. So I'm bragging!!!

At the Texas State Brahman Show, which was last week at the new Brazos County Expo Center in Bryan, Emily did something that no other exhibitor has ever done! She showed both the Grand Champion Bull and the Grand Champion Heifer at the show. And, even in addition to Emily's wins, the other two "E's" of the 3E trio also had a pretty good showing! In the champion bull drive - it was Emily, Erin and Ellie winning all 3 divisions! Erin won the Sales Talk contest and Public Speaking -- and Ellie was the All Around Champion Girl! Pretty darn good for these Hungerford girls!

Anyway, yeah, I'm definitely a "has-been" in the junior Brahman show stuff, but I'm sorta getting to re-live some of my past junior show excitement through the great accomplishments of my good friends and cousins!

Drivin' My Life Away...

It's been a while since I've blogged, but that's because, like my ol' buddy Eddie Rabbitt says, I've been drivin' my life away.

I'm happy/stressed to report that things are still busy here at RHD. Last week was major ad deadline week for Rachel and the print division, but now that most ads are sent in, I think the entire RHD staff breathed a cumulative sigh of relief. I don't envy the crazy deadline-week stress level of the print division, but I do envy the fact that they have concrete deadlines that projects have to be finished. So, when a magazine goes to print, that month is done, and there is a definite period of slow-down time. Here in the web division though, it's a slow and steady pace of work trickling in and trickling out, and instead of concrete "to-print" deadlines, people tend to do things at their own pace. That being said, we maintain a pretty steady level of busy.

Just a few weeks ago I took a few days off of work to go to the Shorthorn Junior Nationals in Kansas City. We left on a Wednesday afternoon to make the 15 hour journey to Kemper Arena. Before we left though, I did have something exciting happen: Luke and I got engaged! I definitely wasn't expecting it to happen that day, but I am so glad that it did. He said he was planning on my birthday (July 7) but that he figured I'd want to be able to share the news with my Shorthorn friends at the show. He was correct, and very thoughtful. Dad, Luke, and I made the trip while Rachel and my mom stayed home to work on those August ads and take care of the family pets, respectively. On our trip, we had the pleasure of stopping at El Dorado, Kansas (Luke's former junior college residence) and eating at one of his favorite (pre-Larry's) restaurants, Suzy's Chili Parlor. Their Frisco Melt (ask any Butler alumni) is to die for.

The show was very fun. I love the American Royal . I'm glad that I decided to go to Junior Nationals, because part of me was wanting to skip because of all of the web sites on our to-do list. But, I told Rachel, I've been to 19 junior nationals (every one since 1990) and if I miss one, I can't say I've been to every one! On our first night at the show, we went to dinner with Bill and Becky Rasor of WHR Shorthorns and Laurence Pathy of Shadybook Farm in Canada at the Hereford House, which somehow turned into an impromptu engagement party for Luke and I, complete with toasts and everything. Mr. Pathy always amazes me with his generous outpouring of kindness and hospitality. Back in 2004, he sponsored a trip to the Canadian Shorthorn Junior Nationals for Sara Hunter and I when we were on the AJSA junior board together, and we had a wonderful time back then. I can't wait for my next trip to Canada to see those beautiful cattle of his!

In addition to all my long-time Shorthorn friends, it was fun to see some of the other breeds' people who were sharing the facility. It was great to see Matt & Ashley Hueber and Matt Lautner, although I am sad that I somehow missed Katie. I also had the pleasure of sitting with the Bloombergs for a while during the show, and boy, do I wish I got to hang out with Mary more! She is just hilarious! Another person I loved getting to sit with was Michelle Guidry. She's such a world traveler, and I got to learn all kinds of great info, such as the location of Ricky's tattoo he got on one of their trips! Don't get too excited... it was a temporary tattoo! Ha ha!

The show went really well for V8 Shorthorns. We had 3 class winners, all of which were shown by the Teague Family from Colorado. The Teague's also racked up plenty of awards in the leadership and showmanship competitions, too. Congratulations to them!

Well, back to work for me. I hopefully can get some work done since I will be in the office for a few days now that I am done drivin' my life away.

New RHD Gear

So if you were at Shorthorn/Maine/Chi Jr. Nationals or the Belt Buckle Bonanza you probably saw some REALLY cool people wearing the new RHD caps. I mean, when you walk up to a show and you see Jim Bloomberg wearing you cap, that is big time. So for our loyal customers who are wondering -- "just where is my cap?" rest easy!

As our long time customers know this is the time of year where we usually debut our new RHD gear just in time for state fairs and junior nationals! So if you would like to get a new RHD cap, let us know and we'll be happy to send you one in the mail right away. We have 3 new styles, and a few extras of our oldie but goodie camo cap.

As you can see here by the gorgeous RHD models (me, Luke & Jessica) we have a couple of options. First, we have our old standby which is the RHD camo cap. Next, we have a solid brown cap, a solid maroon/burgundy cap, and a two-tone black and white cap.

So....if you are an RHD customer (or just a friend) and would like one, e-mail me at rachelv8@yahoo.com and let me know your mailing address and we'll get you one in the mail. Be sure to specify which color you want!

Late night music

Well, it's official, we've begun our "all-nighters" working on ads for the August magazines. Okay, no, we're not actually staying up ALL NIGHT, but over the past few weeks it seems we've all been showing up a little earlier, and working a LOT later than normal quittin' time. Yesterday we had a big mail-out to do and my mom and grandma and grandpa Johnston were up here sending out 4000 postcards for the King Ranch Institute. Which don't get me wrong, this is my absolutely favorite time of year. I love the busy-ness (not sure if that's how you spell it) of working on everyone's ads for the state fairs, seeing the new calf pictures, and catching up with everyone. So yeah, I might be mini-complaining about working late, but I LOVE it!

Since Catherine and Luke are at Junior Nationals, tonight it's just me and our new print division assitant, Liz Tovar, up here workin' late. Kinda reminds me of the times before we actually had a real office for RHD when Catherine and I would be working in our home-office til all hours of the night. It's funny how things change because in 2004, we were doing maybe about 15 ads for the August Show Circuit. This was when I still had my full time job at A&M, and Catherine was finishing up school, so we were so overwhelmed to say the least. I remember about 3 nights in a row we were staying up til all hours of the night trying to get them done. Now, we've got about 83 print pages and 49 web sites on our deadline sheet and I'm less stressed out than I was back in 2004 when we only had 15 to do ha ha! But it's amazing what you can do when you have talented people who work with you and everyone has a plan.

So back to this topic post....The thing that gets me through these late nights at the office is my music. Rick Frye says ESPN radio gets him through all his days on the tractor. I think back on the Nebraska AGR show a few years ago where we were stalled outside to our trailer with only one portable heater and about minus 10 degree weather. The only thing that got me, Lautner and the Huebers through that was a Nickelback CD which we listened to over and over and over and over again while the guys were clipping. Every time I hear Far Away or Animals I always think back to that show.

A lot of people ask me where do I get my inspiration, and I have to say a big part of it comes from music. I really can get into a groove when I'm up at the office early in the morning, before the phone starts ringing and before everyone gets here. Or, between the hours of say 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with my iTunes cranked up loud enough that you can probably hear it on the street. I also seem to think I sound pretty darn good when I'm belting out some of the songs. So.....want to know what I've got playing? Here are my last 10 songs played.

1. Where Would We Be Now - Good Charlotte (this is my new myspace song too)
2. All Around Me - Flyleaf
3. 7 Things I Hate About you - Yes, I admit, I listen to Mylie Cyrus.
4. Should've Said No - Taylor Swift. No, my boyfriend didn't cheat on me. I just like the song.
5. Vancouver - Reckless Kelly - Texas music, love this song!
6. Faithfully - Journey. ha ha ha, gotta throw in an old sappy one every once in a while
7. Where I Stood - Missy Higgins - a recommendation from Ashley Hueber
8. Kerosene - Miranda Lambert (FYI I can REALLY sing this one ha ha)
9. 4 in the Morning - Gwen Stefani
10. A Lifetime Burning - One Less Reason

Just imagine me sitting at my desk, designing your ads, singing like I'm Mariah Carey :)