http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT7fc1hapzY&feature=youtu.be

Click on the link above to check out the new Pecan Shed commercial. I think Presley and Dotty did a fabulous job!!! Of course…I may be biased…Presley is my niece and Dotty is my kiddo!

It is crazy to think not that long ago Presley was just a baby in the commercials. Those days we had more fun watching her play with (and occasionally chew on) the Texas toys. (We did make Memaw buy the toys that got excessively drooled on.)

Then it was just a few years ago that we spent well over an hour trying to film a 30 second commercial because Dotty and Presley were fighting so much! Those times made me rethink having little ones in our commercials, but somehow we made it through. Thanks to fantastic editing, no one was able to see the tantrums and tears that went on “behind the scenes” that day!

This year was a pretty smooth shoot I must say. Once the girls got their microphones on it was like they became true professionals and they “hit their marks” without much trouble (although Dotty did try to talk over Presley a time or two…nothing new there though). I am not sure if it was having the battery pack clipped to their dresses or if it was my subtle…yet stern…threat…I mean pep talk…that I gave them just before they “went on”…either way…they did great!

Stop in to the Pecan Shed for New Crop Pecans, yummy fudge, Texas gifts…and so much more! If you are lucky you just might run into Presley or Dotty and I have no doubts they would LOVE to sign an autograph for you!!! (In fact, if they ask you if you want one…please say yes…child actors have such fragile egos! LOL!)

Wichita Pecans Coming Soon

Jake harvested a lot of Wichita pecans this past weekend. Right now they are going through our cleaning process out in Charlie. I should have some Wichita pecans availabe in the shell and cracked (hopefully) by the end of this week.

As you may well know...the Wichita pecan is a very oily pecan. It typically has a darker color meat as well. Some people claim it has the most flavor of all the pecans we sell. It does fill out very tight in the shell and thus makes it a tad difficult to shell out.

Weather permitting...Jake will try to harvest some Cheyenne pecans by the end of the week and we should have them in the store in 10 days to 2 weeks.

New Crop Shelled Pecans are Here!!!

New Crop Shelled pecans are now available at the Pecan Shed. Right now we just have the Pawnee pecans available but the Cheyenne pecan and the Wichita pecan should be coming off in a few weeks. Then the Choctaw pecans will be closer to Thanksgiving.

Our new crop shelled pecans are priced as follows...
1 pound of pecans - $8.95
3 pounds of pecans - $25.95
4 pounds of pecans - $33.95
30 pound case of pecans - $225.00

We do still have some of the 2011 pecan pieces available at a reduced price. These pecans are available while they last.

2012 New Crop Pecans Are Here

The 2012 harvest is under way! Dad recently brought me in some of the New Crop Pawnee Pecans. Currently they are available in the shell and cracked. (Shelled pecans are still a few days away though.)

We have Pawnee pecans available in the shell in 5 pound bags for $19.75. We also have them cracked in 5 pound bags for $21.75.

If you need 100 pounds or more our wholesale pricing is $3.00 per pound for in the shell and $3.40 per pound for 100 pounds or more of cracked pecans.

Our other pecans such as the Wichita, Cheyenne, and Choctaw pecans will be coming off soon and should be available at the Pecan Shed within a month or so.

Remember we do crack pecans for the public for $0.40 per pound. So if your pecans have already started falling we would be happy to crack them for you. Please make sure all your pecans are dry and that no rocks, sticks, anything other than pecans are in your bags. Our machines can be damaged by such debris.

We have been getting a lot of calls about when we will start buying pecans. The first day we will buy pecans will be Friday, Oct. 26th. However, we will not know the price we will be paying until then. All the pecans we buy are shipped to shelling companies (none are sold through our retail store). Therefore, they must meet the requirements set by the shelling company. Pecans must be new crop, well filled out, and dry. The pecans cannot be cracked or have broken shells and they cannot have the green or black outer hull on them. When you sell pecans we will not accept them if there is a lot of sticks,rocks, leaves, or other debris in the containers with the pecans.

We are open Monday through Saturday 9am until 5pm (unless otherwise posted due to holidays or other events).

Half Marathon...Whole Lotta Good Memories

So...I did it...We did it! Along with my good friends, Jeri and Becky, I did a half marathon (13.1 miles) yesterday up in Lawton, OK.

My 2012 New Year's Resolution was to do a half marathon and I was bound and determined to do just that. At first I thought it would be a lot of fun...a big challenge...and a way to hang out more with my friends as we trained for the event.

The first few months were great! The training was not that difficult since I had run several 5Ks before that. However, about mid-summer I was beginning to wonder what the heck I had gotten myself into.

I endured a lot of pain in my knees and feet and especially in my left hip (which has given me problems since I was pregnant with Dotty...and carrying her on that same hip for the past 5 years has never helped the situation). Many times I just wanted to give up! I wanted to look at my friends and family and say "You know what...I tried...but I cannot do this." I never said those words though. I thought them often...but never said them.

Around early September I started truly dreading the half marathon. I was worried I wouldn't finish...that it would be 110 degrees on the day we ran...or that it would be pouring rain. I thought I might be hurting too bad to even start the race. I spent many a nights including this race in my prayers. I prayed I would be able to do it...that I would be able to finish...that it would not be 110 degrees on race day.

Be careful what you pray for.

I did finish the race and it definitely was not 110 degrees. It was more like 40 degrees and sprinkling.

Note to self...be more specific in prayers.

When I first made this resolution to do a half marathon I thought it was all about the finish line. All about crossing that line and raising my arms in the air in triumph! Don't get me wrong...I was glad to do all that. But it was not all about the finish.

More than anything it was about the journey. The ups and downs. The struggles. The successes and the failures. The friends that took the journey with me. The family and friends that supported me and cheered for me along the way. It was about learning how far I could push myself. It was about learning to be forgiving of myself...my shortcomings...my weaknesses. I really did learn a great deal about myself on this journey.

The truth is I had a "vision" as to what my "road to the finish line" would look like and the reality of it was that road was nothing like my vision. However, I learned that taking another road is okay if you still get to your destination. Sometimes a different road is a better road. And actually...if I had not been able to make my "destination" by finishing the race that would have been okay too...because sometimes in life the destination we want is not the destination we were meant to reach.

I am a planner. I like knowing what will happen in my life. I like my lists and making set and concrete plans. It is hard for me to deviate from a plan or to be flexible and I am rarely spontaneous. But this journey taught me that sometimes I have to let go of the plans I had in order to take the journey I was meant to take.

Some of you might wonder how long it took to finish a half marathon and my answer that is...I was not first. I was not last. I finished somewhere in the middle. For me this goal was never about time...it was simply about finishing.

I cannot thank Jeri and Becky enough for doing a half marathon with me. I know at one point (or several of them) we all thought about backing out. But none of us wanted to let each other down. Becky plans to run another one (perhaps Tiffany...who started training with us and due to her job could not run with us the weekend...will run with Becky later on). Jeri and I have no plans of doing another half marathon. However, we are in talks of doing the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred (a bike ride here in Wichita Falls) next year. I personally need to get over the pain of the half marathon before I commit to anything!

All in all I have lots of great memories about this journey. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful life. And when I am in my 60s I hope to tell my grandchildren about my half marathon experience (no doubt Dotty will have heard it a million times by then)!