About Me

If you ever meet me in person, you will realize very quickly these facts:
1.)  I love to talk.
2.)  I love to meet new friends.
3.)  I've been many places, seen many things, and I am constantly reinventing at least parts of myself.

My world revolves around Tink, Bear, and Tall Guy out here in Benton County, Indiana. (In ibcfarmgirl, the I is for Indiana, and the bc is for Benton County!  I know you were just dying to know that!) We are one county north of Purdue University and about 100 miles south of Chicago. I waited so long to have a family, when we married I was 39, so these three are my focus.  I don't always get the mom stuff right, but I do try. When time allows, I love to walk, read, travel, take pictures, and watch our feeder calves roam around the pasture underneath the windmills that fill our little corner of the world.

If I had a compulsive side, I would have to say it involves taking pictures.  I. Love. To. Take PICTURES!  I believe they are a powerful way to tell our stories.  Be it family, trips, projects, big news, or other life events, our pictures tell others who we are, what is important to us, what moves us, and what we value in our lives.  I hope I can help you tell your story in pictures.

I was a high school English teacher for 18 years, so I love to know what others are reading. Right now I am addicted to Diana Gabaldon, Nora Roberts, Kristin Hannah, Barbara Kingsolver, and I'm jumping in to Rick Riordan's books so I can read what the girls are reading.  I'm also a John Grisham, Michael Crichton, and Dan Brown fan!  Don't worry about being grammatically correct around me.  I retired my purple grading pen in 2002, and every once in a while, you will catch me making a mistake or misspelling. Sometimes around here, you just have to tap the Publish button and pray.

I am a huge sports nut, faithful to Purdue and the Chicago Cubs.  When it comes to the NFL, though, I have a hard time picking just one team.  My first love was "Da Bears," but I will also root for the Colts, New Orleans, and Denver.

My heroes are my parents, my grandparents, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Google that last name, and I challenge you to read Michael Shaara's Novel, The Killer Angels.  It is an amazing story about the Battle of Gettysburg and the friends who found themselves on opposite ends of the battle field.

I am a country girl from my music to my boots.  While I have lived on the outskirts of a big town, and I DO miss pizza delivery, over half of my life has been lived on a country road.  With that being said, I have traveled to 38 states, England, France, Italy (just a wee bit), Switzerland, and Canada.

I truly love farming, farmers, and all things Agriculture.  It is my goal to share our lives here on the farm so that you have a better understanding of what we do each and every day.  Even though I have been out of the classroom for 12 years, I never miss an opportunity to tell others about grain farming, raising livestock, and living our lives out here on "The Ridge."

I hope that you always feel that you can ask me a question about this wonderful life we live. I will be honest with my answers, and if I don't know the answer, I can consult with a large resource of amazing people, including Real Farmwives of America and Purdue Staff and Faculty.  I have friends in all sorts of places!