Photo Friday: So God Made a Farmer

February 8, 2013February 11, 2013 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 2 Comments

The Dodge Ram Super Bowl commercial, So God Made a Farmer has been all the buzz on Ag blogs everywhere. I remember seeing the black baldie in the opening scene of the commercial and thinking, “Oh no HSUS or PETA have a commercial tonight!” Then two words entered the screen, Paul Harvey. Next I thought, “OH MY GOODNESS someone is using So God Made a Farmer.” The pictures that followed brought me to tears as I listened to the words of Paul Harvey’s poem.

After the commercial was over I quickly tweeted, “Best commercial ever! #godmadeafarmer #dodge #ThankAFarmer”

All the Ag tweeps (twitter people) I follow had the same reaction as I. Here are some of my favorite tweets from Sunday night.

After reading Heather and Sheridan’s tweets I got pretty emotional and wished my Dad could have seen the commercial.

Clark’s tweet was my all time favorite of the night.

I absolutely loved that this commercial was played during the Super Bowl, one of the most watched televison events. Farmers were represented in a positive way and those who were tuned in Sunday night got the chance to see it.

Listed below are some blog posts about the commercial. I love how passionate these bloggers are in telling the story of agriculture.

To sum it up, So God Made a Farmer for you and for me and I tip my hat to Dodge for shinning a light on them. But the real people I want to thank are farmers. Thank you for being God’s chosen caretakers.

Photo Friday: Young Farmer Conference

February 1, 2013February 11, 2013 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / Leave a comment

This past weekend I attended the Indiana Farm Bureau Young Farmer Conference. It’s the second weekend in a row where I’ve surrounded my self with individuals involved in the Agriculture industry. Farmers and ranchers are best company to keep…well in my opinion. I had such a great time with future industry leaders learning about advances in ag technology, ways to promote yourself, and of course socializing.

The keynote speaker was Josh Bleill, a Marine that lost his legs in active duty. He now works as a motivational speaker for the Indianapolis Colts. His story of hope and courage moved me to tears. Josh comes from a farming community in Indiana and was so appreciative to all the farmers in the crowd, “Farmers are a lot like Marines. They get up early, go to bed late, and come in at night with dirt on their boots.” After everything Josh has been through he remains positive about life, “Life is a blessing, look at it that way.”

I am a member of the Marion County Young Farmer group. Our group was recognized as top county in donating number of volunteer hours and food dollars raised. I got to go up on stage to represent and accept the awards for our county.

I am so blessed to know and work these young ag professionals. We all had such a great time at this year’s conference. I look forward to another successful and exciting year for our Young Farmer group.

Photo Friday: Denver 2013

January 24, 2013January 25, 2013 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 1 Comment

Last Friday I jumped on a plane headed west with my sister, Katherine and friend, Lindsay Bowman. We had our sights set on Denver to go to the National Western Stock Show to see the best of the best in the cattle industry. The weather was gorgeous! It was warmer there than at home in Indiana. I had such a great time meeting up with friends in The Yards, drinking some red beers in the Cowboy Bar on The Hill, meeting new friends, and celebrating the success of friends’ hard work. Livestock breeders do such an amazing job of caring for their stock. National Western Livestock show is a great place for them to display their family traditions, values and to showcase their stock. I am already looking forward to NWSS 2014!

Photo Friday: Tis the Season

December 20, 2012December 21, 2012 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / Leave a comment

Earlier this week my best friend Emily, and I took a drive through our small hometown to see the Christmas lights. We drank hot coffee and listened to Christmas music as we cruised through the streets downtown and up the roads in the city park.It was a great way to reminisce together on the year. We talked about our holiday party schedules, this year’s display of lights, and how much we love being from a small town.I love how my homwtown remembers and knows how to say “thank you” to our troops. I also love how my hometown knows how to pay tribute and respect to those who recently lost their lives and will not be here this Christmas. God bless each and every one of them. And God bless small town USA.The courthouse and town square are my favorite display of lights. They are so simple and classy. I feel like I have stepped back in time when I drive around the town square. Snow is finally here!! I don’t think we had this much snow in all of winter last year. Thank you Lord for this beautiful snow! I hope it helps and gives our soil some nutrients. Thank you all for stopping by. I pray that you travel safe and enjoy the Christmas season with those that mean the most to you. Merry Christmas and God bless!!

Photo Friday: A Dying Art

December 14, 2012September 13, 2013 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / Leave a comment

Last night I worked on signing, addressing, and stamping my Christmas cards. Christmas cards are one of my favorite things about Christmas for a few reasons:

1.) They are a great way to give AND receive the Christmas spirit

2.) They are so personal

3.) I love the cards with pictures. Especially the cards with family and friends’ little ones on them (I don’t love how old they make me feel when I realize how fast those little ones are growing up).

I hope people continue to send Christmas cards. To put it simply, sending and receiving cards of any kind, letters, postcards, invitations is a dying art. More people use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to send their messages to others. I love social media I do, but I also love sending and receiving snail mail. I’m that girl that put stationary on her Christmas wish list, if that gives you any idea just how much I love the art of letter writing. My grandmother went to Hallmark to get me some for Christmas. When she asked the sales person, the woman replied, “We don’t have many choices for stationary. It’s a dying art.” The woman at HALLMARK, a card making company said that!! Call me old fashioned, say I’m an old soul, call me crazy, I don’t care, I will always send snail mail! It’s so personal and lovely. I just hope more people out there love it the way I do.

Most of my generation does not understand the importance of writing and sending a hand written letter. I’m sure many do not send thank you letters after job interviews. I know for a fact that many do not understand how to send a RSVP (I am guilty of this at times). My generation has gotten lazy. They think sending a text or email will get the job done. For me, those forms of communication do not even come close to a hand written letter. You better believe I will teach letter writing in whatever classroom setting I’ll be teaching in in the future!

I have a friend who feels the same way I do about this lost art. You can read her blogpost about the matter here.

To sum it up, please continue to send your Christmas cards, birthday cards, letters of congratulations, wedding and party invites, or just a simple note to your friends. The receiver will greatly appreciate them, I am sure of it!

Photo Friday: Another Door Closes

December 7, 2012December 7, 2012 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 2 Comments

Today is my last day student teaching 6th grade. I have so many mixed emotions. I am going to miss my students. I am going to miss the mentor teachers and staff at the school. I am going to miss seeing those “Ah Ha!” moments from the students. What I won’t miss are the long hours in the car, grading papers, saying, “I’ll wait,” and the morning staff meetings. 6th grade is such an awesome and awkward time in a young person’s life. I am so blessed that I got to be a part of it for my students. I will never forget them. They will always be my students.

I had such a great experience with these students and mentor teachers. They have taught me SO much! I cannot thank them enough. They have influenced my teaching philosophy and have helped me become more open-minded. Because of them I know what kind of educator I am meant to be.

So another chapter of my life is coming to a close. Next semester I will be student teaching 1st grade. Oh what an experience that will be! I am nervous excited about this new opportunity, but am confident and know that I am prepared for it.

Next thing I know that experience will be over and it will be time for me to graduate in May!! Some days I think that day can’t come soon enough, while other days I don’t want it to come. I don’t want to have to venture out into “The Real World” yet, but I know that when that day comes I will be ready. I’ll be ready to walk through that new door.

Photo Friday: My First Field Trip

October 26, 2012October 28, 2012 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 1 Comment

Yesterday I went on a field trip to Kelsay Farms in Whiteland, Indiana. Now, it really was not my first field trip, but it was the first field trip that I have ever planned and been responsible for. My first week of student teaching I asked my mentor teacher if I could take my students on a field trip to a farm. He said, “sure but you have to plan it.” So, I planned it and we went and from the photos you can see how much the students enjoyed it. Marion County Farm Bureau sponsored 87 students from my school to attend. When we returned to the school the students wrote thank you notes to Marion County Farm Bureau and included something they learned from the tour and something they liked on the farm. I’ve read all of the notes and the students learned how many times the cows are milked each day, how the cows are milked, how a heifer becomes a cow, how much a cow can eat and drink in one day. They enjoyed all the fall activities: climbing on hay bale mountain, the corn maze, petting the calves, playing in the corn crib and being outside on a beautiful fall day. I also had a good time watching the students react to the smells of the farm and on how the cows were acting. It was quite entertaining for me! It is important to me that my students know where their food comes from. As their teacher, it’s my responsibility to teach them with the help of the awesome people in the agriculture industry. Help from people like the Kelsays. I would like to thank Marion County Farm Bureau for sponsoring and making this trip possible for the students. And a huge thank you to Amy Kelsay, all the Kelsay family and Kelsay Farms staff for taking the time to teach students about ag and inviting them to the farm. All in all I think my first field trip as an educator was a success!

Photo courtesy of Melissa TaylorPhoto courtesy of Melissa TaylorPhoto courtesy of Melissa Taylor

Photo Friday: Boiler Up!

October 19, 2012October 19, 2012 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 1 Comment

Last Friday I made my way up to Boilermaker country to join in Purdue’s homecoming festivities. I was very excited to see my Dad’s roommates from when he was at Purdue. One is from New Jersey, one is from San Diego, and another one is from the Chicago area. I was also looking forward to spending time with my sister and family friends. I had a fantastic weekend with everyone even though it rained most of the day on Saturday and everyone got soaked. Bill, my Dad’s roommate from San Diego brought his daughter, Allison with him this time. In all the years our Dads have known each other this was this first time for she and I to meet. We’re the same age and I had a great time getting to know her and how different her life is from mine in this flyover state. I see an adventure opportunity out west for a visit in my future!

Me and my sister, Katie at Harry’s Friday night.

At the game on Saturday before it started to rain!

My new friend, Allison and I at Harry’s Saturday night.

Photo Friday: Young Farmers

October 11, 2012October 12, 2012 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 1 Comment

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Obrecht

What is one thing all of these people have in common? A passion for agriculture! Wednesday night Marion County Farm Bureau Young Farmers held a social at Stoneycreek Farm in Noblesville, Indiana. We roasted hot dogs, made s’mores, went on a hay ride and enjoyed each other’s company on a perfect fall night. We also got to meet Loren Schmierer, the owner of Stonycreek Farm. Mr. Schmierer grew up on a farm in California. He worked for Elanco until 1978 when he decided he wanted to farm full time, “I wanted to come back to my roots and was tired of standing on my feet at cocktail parties because I am flat footed.” I loved listening to him tell his story and love for agriculture. It’s important for younger generations to hear these inspiring stories. Mr. Schmierer answered our questions about agritourism and how to connect to consumers. As a group of young professionals in the ag industry or with an interest in ag it was great to hear about Stonycreek Farm’s success.

If you would like to visit or learn more about Stonycreek Farm visit their website here.

Follow Marion County Farm Bureau on Facebook and Twitter!

Advice From a Tree

October 2, 2012October 19, 2012 / Sarah Thomas Cleveland / 2 Comments

The Advice from a Tree image and words previously posted were an infringement of the copyrights of Ilan Shamir and Your True Nature and has been shared around the internet. We are reposting the correct version of this and encourage you to visit the Advice from Nature website at http://www.yourtruenature.com for Advice from a Tree and over 100 other advice bookmarks, posters, journals, tshirts and other eco products. copyright 1993-2012 YTN

Who knew you could learn so much from a tree??

Actually I have heard much of this advice from many people in my life but this is a great reminder. You should always stand proud and tall on your beliefs even if you have to go out on a limb to do it. ALWAYS remember where you come from! I would not be the person I am today if I did not appreciate my roots. My mom has always told me to drink plenty of water and my skin always thanks me for it. Being content and accepting of my natural beauty is a struggle at times but I do like the person I am, so that’s a start. I try to take in and enjoy life’s scenery.

Speaking of tress, they are so beautiful this time of the year. I have definitely been enjoying the view of the fall season.

Thank you kindly for stopping by and enjoying the view!!

Sarah Sums It Up

Keeping it simple and summing it up one post at a time.

Photo Friday