Saying Things....

It’s been an interesting week; the best part was the weather. It hit 80 degrees this past weekend, in MARCH! Last year at this time, I was still snow shoveling and wearing Ugg boots.

The hard part of the week was the board meeting for NDYP, where the organization that has been providing coordination effort has decided to restructure and has decided to dissolve the board. It was incredibly hard to hear as I’ve enjoyed the times I’ve spent on the board, the leadership opportunities I’ve had, and the relationships that I’ve made.

The nice part was taking Alaina out to supper to celebrate her passing! I got her some scrubs for her future, excited to see where she gets to wear them at. I also gave a private house tour to G M'Dar, Mom, and Alaina. Texturing is now complete. Hoping in a couple weeks I'll get in to see the cupboards and floor!

The best part was that I’ve been given the opportunity to work one day from Dickinson a few times a month. It was a successful day and gave Matt and I a bit more time together. It was a great kickoff to the weekend. We had a memorable Friday night where we had a moving picnic…bought a pizza, took a drive, had some conversation, and ended the night with drinks on the brand new bar. I’m a lucky girl, I date a man that can make a French martini, and likes it!

Saturday, we took a drive to Bowman. Matt is looking at new pickups and has dealt with Bowman before. We took in a bit of the town and ate at the Chinese restaurant. Sunday started too early. We helped out at the Dickinson Rural Fire Department Ladies Auxillary’s breakfast. I forgot how good I was at the waitress card, but I remembered how not good I was with syrup plates, ewwww.

Favorite quote:
MJR: I need to run a few errands this week, including the dry cleaner.
ALM: I like that you go to the dry cleaners, that's so nice
MJR: You like that I go there? What, didn't your ex's go there?
ALM: No
MJR: How did they clean their suits?
ALM: Bwhahahahahaaahahaha

Favorite meal: Beef and chicken kabobs tie with the moving picnic.

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."- Henry Drummond

Something Old, Something New

I’m still playing blog catch-up…I guess I’m okay with that. I can give a rundown of the past little bit…

While I was off on my “adventure” learning the proper way to park a camper, Mom and Dad ripped down the old barn. I know this sounds absolutely silly but I actually choked up a bit. I have a ton of memories in that barn, both bad and good. It has always been there, was there before us, and I think part of me believed that it would always be there. They said it came down fast and a majority of the burning went pretty quick. It was very alarming for me when I came home and saw “its space” in the light of day. The new barn is already going up, Dad decided, because of how busy his spring has been, he was going to hire it to be rebuilt. So two guys, my age, come out every day and slowly it’s beginning to take shape again, slowly. I feel bad for the guys working in the mud and slop.

Also, in the past little bit, I attended the 2nd Great Plains Young Professionals Summit. I honored to be a presenter. The conference was a great opportunity to broaden my network and hear some amazing speakers. I attended the first summit, in Bismarck, and was impressed with how well Fargo had done in such a short amount of time.

House selling has become somewhat of a pipedream lately. After having the past 2 buyers back out, we were finally able to get our hands on a copy of the report. Nothing surprised us but we decided to try to fix a bunch to help with the next inspection. I put a new door in, repainted the porch, had the shower plumbing redone, reviewed the inside soffits, had a little electrical work done, and so on…and when I say I, what I really mean is my amazing family and Matt. They spent some time helping me, if it weren’t for them I don’t know what I would have done. I admit, sometimes this process has been so overwhelming. I am ready for the house to be sold and to move on, it’s just hard. Someday, I know all of this worry won’t matter….I’m looking forward to that.

This past weekend was great; Matt took me back up to Lansford, as he was the best man in his best friend’s wedding (Brendan and Claudia). We stayed at his parents’ house again, they are so good to me. It was fun to hang out with them while Matt was preoccupied with wedding stuff. I will admit though, my favorite parts of the weekend was seeing him dressed up in his tux, having fun on the dance floor, and being able to hear his best man’s toast. You can tell that him and Brendan have an amazing friendship and I like how genuinely happy he is for Brendan.

With as much good that’s been happening, there have been some dark spots; the flooding that happening around the state is devastating. Bismarck/Mandan has been dealing with the river for the past month. Houses are starting to be taken away, close to 500 families have relocated, and all people are doing is wondering when this will be over. In the meantime, Minot’s Souris has also flooded. It has incapacitated the city with over 1000 houses impacted, many businesses, the roadways, the surrounding towns, etc. It was a shock to see places that I had memories with from my college years submerged or had a levee running through the front yard. Then when the boil order was issued and the tornado sirens go, how much more can they take? While I was in a meeting, Matt assessed the downtown area, he ran into a woman who was crying. She had put everything she owned on the second floor of her house and when she pointed it out to him, all you could see was the roof. She had lost everything and kept saying, “It wasn’t supposed to get this high.”

This quote seemed to fit the weekend; it reminded me of Matt’s speech dedicated to the newly married couple. “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” ~From the movie Annie

Spring's here…JUST Kidding!

We’ve had a rollercoaster of weather since my last post and since it’s been my fashion lately to start off the time with the weather update…I’ll just continue on. Awhile back, when I was supposed to go to the URL Pokerbowl, we had a terrible storm hit us. Dickinson wasn’t affected but the central strip of ND was. Visibility went down to a foot in front of your face and they closed 94 for a solid day because of all the stranded people. I wasn’t able to make it to Poker Bowl but Mom and Grace still went and had a good time.

I was able to make it home for a bit and I took a stroll through the calves. Dad’s got a great set again but he’s had a ton of bull calves and not very many heifers. I know that they’ve had a slow start but I heard things have been picking up this past week. Dad also informed me that we will be prepping for the big barn take-down this summer. They will be taking down the old barn and putting up a new one. Will be weird to see as that’s how I’ve always known the place. I was in Bismarck on the 14th to judge the DECA competition. For the most part, we had a great group of students present to us. Reminded me how I liked working with youth and that I enjoyed that aspect of teaching. However I know that those students were not your average. Marketplace for Kids was on the 16th. We had over 100 students from many schools come to participate at DSU. Aside from the President giving a welcome address, we also had an appearance from First Lady Betsy Dalrymple. I emceed the opening ceremonies and helped give out project ribbons with interviews. It was a nice day and we saw a ton of energy with these kids.

St. Patrick’s Day was pretty quiet. DYP held their annual chili cook off. Although the numbers of entries were down, the quality of chili was the highest it’s been! I’m proud to say that Aubrey was the grand winner and took home the traveling trophy!! A few of us got pranked though; we were told there was an Irish jig band playing at a local bar. However when we arrived we realized it was actually line dancing night. Jokes on us! I haven’t seen line dancing in for-e-ver…didn’t know that people actually still knew how!

Last week’s weekend spent with good friends but the best part about the back half of last week was the weather. There was so much sun and melting, I actually drove with my window down for a bit…Made me actually believe that summer might be coming.

Earlier this week, we had the God’s Child Team, including Executive Director and founder, Patrick Atkinson come to Dickinson for an event schedule. I had been helping organize the events and make sure that the details were taken care of and it was great to hear Patrick speak. His words and story took me right back to Guatemala. It’s amazing to see what he has accomplished and how he has changed the world, and all on the theory that you change one person at a time. Sometimes the simplicity of the whole thing leaves me breathless. So there I was thinking it was spring and bam, winter reared its ugly head and dumped a foot or so of snow back on the ground. We were actually seeing lawn and had hope.

They closed the college for a day and a half, and Mel and I spent the afternoon shoveling. The worst part was because the snow was so heavy and wet, we couldn’t use the snowblower. We had to handshovel it. Well, to ensure that moral was high…I brought us a little piece of summer to keep us going. Who says an occasional break is a bad thing? If summer can’t come to us, we’ll go to the summer the best way we know how!

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” --Charles Dickens

It's Been a Hard Winter

Well we’ve entered March…I remember in school we talked of this whole in like a lion out like a lamb. Funny how we remember these childhood lessons because they were to give us hope that spring may actually come.

This week I was crabby because I’m still dealing with a broken car. The insurance company, USAA, is awful and rude, and I do not like them. I wish them occasional audits and plumbing problems, just kidding, not really. I hope to get my car back the early part of this week. I’m tired of bumming rides. I think I will buy myself a second car so when idiots back into my parked car I will have my fancy el camino to take care of me!

I also had a great opportunity happen. I’ve been keeping track of the 2011 Great Plains Young Professionals Summit, which I also attended in 2010. This year the summit will be held in Fargo and they sent out request for proposals for speakers. I was approached by a professor on campus, who I have a lot of respect for, Dr. Deb Dragseth. She asked if I wanted to do a partner presentation on young entrepreneurs. I said ABSOLUTELY. So if chosen we will present in June on a great topic. I’m very excited and honored to be asked!

Saturday, I spent my day helping out at the Elks. I did not think I would be donating 10 hours straight but it was a good cause that helped out a friend and I was surrounded by good company.
I did find out that Alaina’s first horse, Beauty, had to be put down. It made me sad to know that a creature that had changed my sister’s life has passed on. I know the family took it hard and my thoughts have continued to go back to Alaina and her spotted mare.

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; All that we love deeply, becomes a part of us.”—Helen Keller

Laughter Warming My Heart!

What a weekend…I had a terrible week but it was made ALLL better by the amazing time I had on a getoutoftown trip!

Here’s the rundown of the week:
Sunday-Snow dump..they said 8 inches, but I think that’s a bit modest
Monday-shoveled and had some tough conversations
Tuesday-my car got backed into…GRRRRR!!! The moron did $1600 worth of damage to my door.
Wednesday-had some shopping issues and argued with the moron’s insurance company who is paying for the fixing of the car
Thursday-picked up the rental
Friday-RAN AWAY!

On Friday, 5 of us (Shantelle, Krissy, Becca, Burke, and myself) got out of town and headed for Bismarck. We stayed with a past DYP member Dave but enjoyed some of the downtown scene before crashing. We had dinner at the Blarney Stone and drinks at the Peacock.

Saturday morning, we got up at a decent time and took off for Grand Forks for the UND SIOUX GAME! I love hockey! Talk about luck when we walked into our SUITE, where we got to enjoy the game in style! The game was great, UND won 5-2. From there we went to Joe Blacks, a great little bar. This was a NDYP event, where Grand Forks hosted all the networks to come visit. They were awesome hosts and great to visit with. We are hoping to visit more about opportunities to partner.

The best part was all the laughter and fun. The five of us filled a car but also made sure there was great conversation and a ton of laughs! This was so what I needed and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have great friends and make memories.

“Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories.” –From the movie An Affair to Remember

Hot Gumbo Is Way Better Than Cold Weather!

Groundhogs are dumb! Where’s this spring he proclaimed. I just don’t know if I can ever trust a varmint again. Saturday night’s 8 inch dump of snow was disheartening and depressing. There were parts were the snowblower wasn’t tall enough to take out the drifts. The only part that was good was the previous warm weather had allowed for me to put the snow somewhere.

After recuperating from “whatever” I had, I played catch up at work. We presented the NDYP Best Place to Intern award to a local Dickinson Young Professionals Sponsor, Ebeltoft . Sickler . Lawyers. We had a nice turnout from both of their firm and our YP network. I also have been working on the details to bring Patrick Atkinson, from the God’s Child Project, out to Dickinson to speak. That will happen in March.

On Saturday, before the blizzard attack, I went to the Gumbo cook-off with Becca as my date. We went for a couple reasons, something new to do AND also to see if DYP wanted to do something like that next year. We realize that it will take some money, maybe a sponsor but it would be great to do as a team. There were a couple great ones…and then there weren’t some good one. The place was PACKED!! We’ll see about next year.

I’m so looking forward to a well needed trip out of town….for a variety of reasons. Can it be Friday yet?

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." -Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

And the Groundhog said: Let there be Sping!

Dear Weather- I see we have reached a light agreement. Thank you for sending warmth and sunlight as a reconciliation for the crap you made me endure for the past couple months. OR maybe it’s not you and you are really influenced by a groundhog! Either way, I can put up with the melting! The driveway has emerged again…I don’t think I’ve really seen it since November. I’m not saying all of it’s there but a good 60%!

Work has been crazy lately! We’ve been working to rebuild the Masterminds program…if you’d like to see more info, check out the February issue of the City Magazine. It’s a business/networking group for women that own their own businesses. We had a great turn out the beginning of the month. They are really a curious bunch that is willing to share and learn from each other! Other things that have been happening include a trip to the legislative hall…one to host a NDYP social with the legislators and one to take the Leadership Dickinson students there. I was glad that they were so close together, it allowed me to have some nice carry-over for the students.

I’ve also been surrounding myself with good friends. We had a girls-night this month, we met to play games but after sampling Mama Rosina’s cheesecake…we got distracted by good conversation! Scott came down to visit me again but because of the Anti-super bowl party plans, he couldn’t stay long. The girls had previously decided to hunker down and take in some movies and hot toddies(and NOT watch the football game)! Aubrey and Becca did decide to take on the driveway before we settled in…I was amazed at the “damage” they did to the snow! What good friends!

This past weekend I took a quick trip home to attend the God’s Child Dream Maker’s Ball. It was a great event to raise awareness and funds for the God’s Child Project. It was amazing to see photos from the Guatemala project…it took me right back there. The best part of going was that Mom and Grace also attended! It was fun to share something that was a big deal to me with them…and they are always a riot…I’m so blessed with good family.

The only down spot was that I got really sick on Sunday night/Monday morning. I don’t know what happened but I’m still working up my strength. I’m not a good sick person but despite my illness, I had a nice Valentine’s Day snuggled up with two kitties! It was Lola’s “anniversary” date with me and TonyDanza was so comfortable under the covers that he snored! It made me giggle a bit!

“The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we allow into our solitude.” –Robert Brault

Winter Blues Be Gone.

I feel like I’m living a 2AM song…”For as long, long as she can remember, it’s been December. This weather is ridiculous. I’m tired of cold, snow, and today, now, rain. Boo to shoveling and boo to compacted snow and boo to ice.

This week, I had a treat at the end of the week. Mom, Dad, and Alaina came out to Dickinson with a herd of bulls for their third annual Bull Days. The event has been going on for 12 years and Mom and Dad have been coming out since I’ve been in Dickinson. It was nice to visit a bit over a bowl of chili!

I also worked on a few project at work including the NDYP website, an adult leadership class (Leadership 20/20), a high school leadership class (Leadership Dickinson), and took a few YP meetings. These included an exec meeting, a power lunch about finances, and a wisdom team meeting.

Besides seeing my family, the other highlight was going out for drinks with a group of friends. We went out Friday night to celebrate drinks and friendship. It was nice to have great conversation with a diverse group of people.

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right”—Oprah Winfrey

I drink a toast to innocence, I drink a toast to now....

So a look back of 2010 in Reader’s Digest terms….

I got a trash compactor.
I went to Guatemala.
Mel (and Dudley) moved in.
I used my snowblower, too much.
I went to Deadwood.
I started a wishlist of things I wanted to do sometime.
I played golf a bit.
I went to Kansas and saw family.
I learned how to use my lawn mower.
I tried to learn how to use my leaf blower….it didn’t suck, literally.
I got new flooring, still loving it.
I celebrated my golden birthday in style.
I got new furniture in the living room.
I got strep throat for the first time.
I was on the radio.
I spoke on a Women’s Panel.
I completed my grant review, which totaled closer to 50 sheets of paper.
I had ink done…twice.
I performed faux-plumbing efforts.
I tried to date.
I waited.
I volunteered.
I Yp’d on the local level and on the state level, I was elected to the state board.
I had a Scentsy Party, I became a Scentsy distributor.
I got new tires on my car, I blew out a tire, and I got another new tire.
I celebrated milestones with my family…Mom and Dad’s 30th and Alaina’s 18th, and Grandma and Grandpa’s 60th.
I went gun shooting and loved it…I want to start developing that hobby.
I went to Moline.
I sat on TWO brand new combines, one was at the JD museum, one was Dad's.
I went to a couple weddings and even was a bridesmaid in one.
Janice made me laugh, a lot.
I wakeboarded and got up.
I was busy at work with events like Community Field Day, Ladies Night Out, and Leadership Dickinson.
I celebrated my Saturday and Sunday mornings with Lola and TonyDanza.
I took a class.
I cheered for Tiffany, one of my best friends, a Rodeo Queen.
I started a writing project, I have stalled with a writing project.
I ate pizza.
I celebrated like a rockstar, whenever I could.
My most used word on facebook was “don’t” but I didn’t take it negatively.
I met a Tibetan girl and saw a Tibetan Monk creating a healing and purity mandala.
I was dubbed a princess.
My second most used word on facebook was “know” considering that my first word was “don’t” I’m not surprised.
I fell more in love with pie.
I watched reality tv.
Sat around a campfire, started a campfire with a Victoria’s Secret magazine.
I slept on a boat.
Taught Mel how to use the snowblower, the dishwasher, and the golf ball washer.
Taught my mother and my 72 year old aunt how to use Facebook.
I drank wine.
Heard great quotes from all sorts of people.
Became acquainted with a drain/sewer CEO.
Went to Fargo, Minot, and Bismarck.
Most importantly I realized how rich I am with friends and families. This year has been made possible by the amazing people that are in my life. I know that next year has a lot to offer and I hope the possibilities lead me to great opportunities. The best part is knowing that I will be surrounded by these people that continue to make me smile and support me.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Less Than 12 Days Till Christmas (or the New Year)

Well some of the presents are wrapped and we are in the home stretch now for the holidays. I know next weekend will be busy. Christmas Eve is spent with the Dagmans at Grace’s house. Christmas Day is at Mom and Dad’s to open presents, fondue, and relax and Christmas with the Mosers will be on December 26 at Mom’s house. Mel has left for a bit to visit a friend until Christmas. The house will feel a bit lonely for awhile without her and Dudley.

This week, I finished my class on Interpersonal Communication. I had an amazing professor that I really enjoyed. I am anticipating a good grade and hope that she enjoyed my final that I had to write on Conflict Management. I decided to put it into a working example, so I explained a relationship between me and a dragon in conflict terms. I won’t be taking a class this coming semester as I’m not sure what’s going to happen with my grant and my workload.

This week was also the DYP Holiday Party. We had a great turn out…30 people. We had Scott Wild with the Wild Trivia Tour. I didn’t win but I had a pretty good team and we didn’t do too shabby!

I’m a bit worried about Lola….she has had a limp for the past couple days. It’s been hard to get her to day down and stay off of it. It reminds me of when she little and was declawed. Her hobbling around could just break my heart.

Nothing much else is happening in my life. Wish I had some big news!

Idle hands...OR No rest for the...Either way, I'm Busy! :)

September is flying by.
The past couple weeks have been filled with Labor Day Weekend fun: including having Paul do some home repairs for me, sitting in a combine—separating grain and hay, spent a day in Bismarck—where I got to fill up on Olive Garden (*sigh) and we searched for the perfect toolbelt for Paul!


I spent a few hours in Dad's combines. It will be the last time I drive them as he's upgrading. He's had these two machines, or at least one of them, since I can remember. It felt good to finish up the oats. I just hate that I have to come home and show him up and finish things for him! Ha ...I know I can write as he probably doesn't read the blog! OR ...I just gave him incentive to!

The past week has been crazy busy at work. We have so many projects started right now Community Field Day, Women’s Community Development Social, Ladies Night Out Downtown Shopping Celebration, Leadership Dickinson, Young Professionals Network, and other community work. Julie and I have been feeling like we are knee deep in 14 different projects but not sure where we are going. We have also taken a consulting role with the Bush Foundation to have listening groups in SW ND….I’m looking forward to accomplishing some of these big projects!
We actually had our first experience with Leadership Dickinson Students last Wednesday. The class has 10 students and we anticipate it to be a good year. We took the group to the Medora High Ropes Course and then I gave a presentation on the platinum rules personality styles. Next month, the theme is agriculture. We are having Uncle Wade come speak about his time with Stockmen’s Association, tying all the ag day all together, and how to become a leader in your field.

We also had the second annual Dickinson Young Professionals Banquet this past weekend. We met my goal of 35 people and had Nicole Morrison-Mathern speak about PEARL (Passion-Education-Awesomeness-Resilience-Love). It felt great to give the president’s report and emceed the event. It feels good to finish the year out. I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot in a year and I know I owe a great deal to a great team that has been able to commit their time and talent to the network. We’ve put together a newsletter, a p&p manual, a strategic plan, an executive exchange, a great showing at the Great Plains Young Professionals Summit, creating a Wisdom Team, and holding multiple successful events.

This coming weekend I’ll make a trip make to Minot. I haven’t been there in a long time. I feel like I’ve come a long way since my college days! We’ll see how it goes to meet with some old friends and see the community.
I’m also looking forward to the end of September. For my birthday, Sheri, Mel, my mother, and I are going to Fargo, where Aunt Janice will join us for a little birthday fun and giggling! I’m excited. What a great crowd…I know it will be an awesome time. We are already building our list of trip to do’s! Watch for future photo’s including a pile of can’s, a highline bridge, a winery, and maybe a pool picture!
Mel and I are also planning a getaway to Vegas. We want to leave in December and maybe catch a show, walk the strip. Mel has never been to Vegas and I’d like to try to support Tif as she will be vying for Miss Rodeo America. Mom will also be down there, just like last year, so it will be great to spend time with the 2 of them! I am excited that it worked out so well.

As summer closes, I hate to say goodbye to the feeling, the memories, and the sun. The days are getting shorter and the nights colder. It’s hard to believe that I’m approaching my third winter in Dickinson. Fingers crossed that the snow doesn’t cover me up!

A Little Less Talk About All My Actions!

I’m so looking forward to a long weekend…I just need to get to labor day!
This week I played some catch up, around work and the house.

Here’s the reader’s digest version of my week:
Monday: cleaned my shower
Tuesday: Dickinson State University’s President’s Social
Wednesday: Dickinson Dakota Speedway Races with Paul
Thursday: Stress Management YP Power Lunch
Friday: YP Finally Friday Social at Pizza Ranch, Movie UP with the A Rating scale of 3 stars
Saturday: Grandma and Grandpa’s 60th anniversary dinner (I love the pic on the right...that's how I see them in my mind!)
Sunday: put up a child gate in my bedroom to keep Dudley out and give Lola and TD a safe haven. The relationship isn’t progressing very quickly.

Next weekend: I’m being cast in the role of farmer’s daughter. We’ll see how well I remember how to run a combine!

Summertime...and the Livings Easy

Another busy week….I don’t mind but makes me think when summer’s over, I’m going to have to work on stuff at the house!

This week involved some more wake boarding-the bruises are coming from the falls, a Kiwanis picnic-Paul came with, one of my last YP executive meetings that I lead-September will be my official last, a trip to Medora-to oversee some community work, a quick trip to Bismarck-got my hair cut and saw my mother, sister, and Tiffany, a trip to the vet-TonyDanza had an eye issue thinking it will go away with some drops and time, a quick visit from Janie and Jerry-they were passing through to go to Colorado, went out on Saturday night-Candy’s boyfriend’s band was playing at Army’s, went to comedy club in Dickinson-had never done that before, and am still working on redecorating my room-I’m changing some things up and I like it!

Another big thing that happened is I changed my facebook status. Yes, I’m in a relationship. I am amazed at all the comments and likes! I am officially introducing Paul as my boyfriend. For those that are looking for a few facts, he’s from the area, he loves to wakeboard, he’s self-employed as a home remodeler/construction with his brother, and he’s 32 with no kids. I’m not taking anything too serious right now so it’s working out for the both of us. We’ll see…I might have said it last week, but I’ll say it again this week…Que sera sera!

I did not work or visit Sturgis this year, there’ll be another time to take the “festivities” in…I’m sure about it. I had an intern opportunity present itself…but it didn’t work out and I’m okay with that.

It’s been cooler here the past couple days…I admit I’m holding on to summer with everything I’ve got. I’m not ready for the shorter days and the cooler temps. I like the heat and the activities. I’m hoping we have an Indian summer a nonexistent winter…hey a girl can dream!

Laughing My Way Thru Summer...

So this summer is keeping me a little away from the computer and my writing. That’s not a bad thing but I wouldn’t mind some down time! So now I need to play a little catch up!

Last weekend I got to spend a little time with my family! They continue to make me laugh! Had pizza and beer with my dad and played chauffeur for him to Fargo. It was nice to have some time to pick his brain on a few things.
Got to Fargo and helped Janice with her housewarming/new deck party. I am still not happy that she’s in Fargo but I know she’s loving her little yard, partying with their friends, and the cultural events. She’s coming to Dickinson this coming weekend en route to Colorado and Sturgis!

I also have been spending time on the water with the guy I’m seeing. He’s an avid wake boarder (or a wave boarder as Mel would call it) and he’s taken me out to Patterson a time or two but this past weekend he took me, Mel, and Becca out to the Big Lake to try to teach us how to. I actually got up, not before I was incredibly frustrated with myself and my abilities. I did get up and had to smile about it! However when I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t smiling so much, I was pretty sore! Oh! But I will take sore over sunburnt, I did have some pretty bad burns on my legs and chest from a boating excursion. Thank Heaven for Tiffany’s advice of vinegar. I can handle smelling terrible if I don’t have to deal with the burning!

YP has been pretty eventful, We had the women’s social and it was a huge success! We had 15 girls come with over 40 books shared and the promise of one to come in September! We also hosted an Executive Exchange with the Bismarck/Mandan YP. They brought out 5 team members and we had 95% of our team present! We had some great feedback and conversation and they are interested in doing another future exchange where we go visit them!

I also had a stop in visitor drop in….Tiffany, my favorite rodeo queen, made a quick stop to have supper with Mel and I. It was nice to catch up a little and hear how she’s doing. I have been doing some extra writing for her blog as well. I need to catch up a little there but it’s been fun to follow her in the dream that she is making come true! She’s completely refreshing to have walk in my door-full of common sense and no-nonsense!

On the pet side, Lola and TonyDanza aren’t completely mad at Mel for bringing in Dudley the intruder. They aren’t snuggling with him quite yet, but we are making progress for the most part. TonyDanza eats Dudley’s food, Dudley chases Lola (halfway because she runs, if she’d stand her ground he might not think it was all a great game), and Lola looks down on the peasant Dudley from on top of her towers (the china cabinet and the cupboards). We do think it’s funny how Dudley doesn’t want to go under the table, which has become “safebase” for the cats!

Seems hard to believe we are on the downhill slide of summer, it’s honestly been one of the most rewarding summers I’ve had, mostly filled with adventure, smiles, laughing, and deep thoughts!

End of July...and all is well!

Another week of catching up!
I took Mel to a family wedding last weekend. We went for the reception and the dance. I laughed when she said that she found my family refreshing and was wondering if they’d adopt her. The wedding was for Wes and Kristi.

We had YP elections for the Dickinson YP this past week. I will be moving into the advisory role of past president. It has been challenging to be the president and felt relief to know that come October I will be handing the reins over to a team that holds a lot of promise. We are also starting a girls-only YP night where we will sharing books, movies, etc. We’ve had a lot of great feedback for the interest.

I’ve also been seeing a guy for a little bit. We met on July 4th but so far I’ve been enjoying his company and appreciation for reality television! Que sera sera…I’m not taking anything too serious.

KS plan, Tornado scares, NDYP opps, Floating on....

Well, I’m prepping for my personal pilgrimage to Kansas. I plan to lead Friday morning, meet mom for lunch, head to Madison and stay with Hope and Mark. The next day I will drive down to Harry and Lisa’s and stay there. On Sunday, I will drive up to Salina to stay with Wendy and Trent, maybe take in a little golfing. Then head all the way back on Monday. I’m planning on taking my camera, clubs, and a notebook to capture some of my thoughts. I’ve come a long way the past year but I know that I still have some shadows that need to be lighted up.

Yesterday we had sirens in Dickinson, kinda made me nervous, I won’t lie. Especially considering that the community just celebrated their year anniversary of conquering last year’s tornado. I found out that Dudley does NOT like storms while TD and Lola could care less. They seemed irritated that I put them in the downstairs bathroom, completely protected.

Today, I was nominated and elected for the North Dakota Young Professionals Network Secretary Position. I was nervous about it but excited too as I think it will continue to push my skills. I have a great leadership team that I get to work with so we’ll see how I grow from here.

This past weekend, Mel and I spent some time out and about. We ended up meeting a couple of guys last week and they invited us out to Patterson this week. Not exactly the lake I was expecting to see. It was an oversized pond with green floaties…good thing we had great company. We ended up sitting up on the boat all night, talking and watching shooting stars, sleeping and waking up to a glass lake with a beautiful sun. Mel and I both agreed that that was so refreshing to just laugh, not even drink, and have great conversation.

I’m constantly reminded that this summer is a summer where I get to define me and what I want. I want more. I want more sun, more laughs, more time, just plain MORE!

Working it for YP!

We’ve had so little summer sun, what’s up with that. It feels like it’s been years since summer. I’m hoping when I go down to Moline this week, I’ll be able to sneak in some rays! I’m excited about this trip as I don’t know what to expect. I’ve been in this field (Economic/Community Development) now for a year and a half, it’s constant changing. I never know what I’m going to be doing each day. I kinda make it up as I go, but sometimes it’s nice. We are still working on a trip to Minneapolis to go and talk with the Bush Foundation; they are who provided funding for the first grant. We’ll see where this pans out. I know the universe will take care of me…but I wish I knew how that plan was going to start!

We had a productive YP week. We had an executive meeting that was perfect timing to build off the momentum that we had from the Great Plains Young Professionals Summit. We are shaking things up and creating some sustainability strategies for the leaders of the network. We also held on social on Saturday that had 17 people attend, which in turn resulted in 3 new members. That’s not too bad of a night! The next day, on a Saturday, we had a charity rummage sale scavenger hunt. We went up and down Hwy 21 and collected items that House of Manna usually asks for. We had four teams competing, one team from Bismarck, and people were so giving. My team was Amy Jo and I, I gotta admit we did pretty well! This was the brain child that I drummed up last year but I wasn’t sure how the pragmatics of it was going to play out. I wasn’t sure if people were going to want to give. WOW…people would take our list out of our hand and start wandering into their house! I deemed the event a huge success and created some good stories! We also had a cook out that night at Josh’s house with a camp fire and barbecuing. We had quiet a few people attend this as well. We are revising our format so we will actually have a weekly YP newsletter which will talk about past events, share about upcoming events, and other member highlights. It’s exciting to see all of the things we’ve done this year. I can’t believe our banquet is coming up in September already! I also found out I was appointed to represent DYP on the State NDYP board.

I was happy to hang out with my girlfriends this weekend. I know that I’m looking for Mr. Right and sometimes I’m not patient with it but I gotta admit the passengers on this journey have been the best part. It’s nice to talk, share ideas, and b1tch about things with women that are all in the same place but with different points of view. We had a bonfire at Aubrey’s house last night….oh I giggled. There was a lot of beer spilt on the patio but I wouldn’t have traded the conversation and camaraderie for anything.

I’m also working on a few creative points right now; one of my goals is to write a book. I’m still working on the vocal point. I have a few ideas but am not sure how I’m going to lay it out or what direction I’m planning on going to. I guess you could say I’m still in R & D! It’s been fun to see that start progressing as ideas begin to spin out.

Next week I'm all over the board...we'll see where it takes me.

Summits, Spills, and Scheduling!

This past weekend was the first Great Plains Young Professionals Summit, held in Bismarck, ND. What a great event. I was impressed with the support and range of people that attended. They had a high power line up of speakers with a great amount of range: economists, writers, social media, trust, government/politicians, leadership, cultural, nonprofits, etc.
I took in breakouts on trust building, social networking, living in truth, and sat in on changes, leadership, and living keynotes. A lot of great things that I needed to hear or things that I needed to think about. The conference left those of us YP’ers that went with some great things to think about and reenergized our efforts!

One thing popped up this week and shows how the world is more connected. Because of the oil spill that is happening in the Gulf, Sheri and I figured that we weren’t going to be able to go to Corpus Christie this fall for my birthday. Sure we can go but it won’t be the same because we won’t be able to go to the beach or have the seafood, etc. We are now reviewing where we want to go…We’ve been looking at California. We’ll see...

My week was busy but slow….I leave for Illinois on the 15th …But not before the YP Scavenger hunt/rummage sale and a day trip to Watford.

Working for the Weekend!

Another busy week…the stress might be starting to get to me!

I’m still working on the grant review but this week there was too much chaos to give as much time as I’d like. I’m done with all the financials, which I have been doing when I don’t want to do the narratives. Oh no! We are over half way through the narratives so we are making headway. I have been taking them home at night and hope to have all the major writing done Monday morning so we can piece everything together, create the transitions, put in the pictures, and send to a consultant for final proofing.

Also at work, I went up to Watford for the more RLND training. The course has been great but I’d like to take the extended course. It takes a lot of time but I think it would be worth it! I also spent Wednesday at Marketplace for Kids, on DSU’s campus. The day is devoted to grades 3-5 entrepreneurship. It was fun to talk with some of them!

I got my tattoo touched up on Thursday. Wow…I didn’t realize that it had faded as bad as it had. It looks phenomenal now, thanks “In the Flesh”. It seems to be tattoo season—Candy got a new one, Tiffy got her’s added to, I guess it’s a sort of spring fever?

The week ended with a YP planned party-bus trip. I had completely forgotten about it but was reminded when we didn’t get the numbers that we had hoped for. It was a great trip. We took the bus to Wibaux’s Beaver Creek Brewery. I had a Sip and Go Naked..it’s a light lemonade beer. We then went to the Rainbow Club, which is known for the fish. I had to have the steak sandwich..really well cooked! We ended the night at the Golva Bar, which was built in the 1940’s and has the original bar! It was cool to see the mirrors and curved wood. I even left my mark on the bar (or the ceiling!)! The best part was Tiffy came out to have a night getaway. No surprise she gravitated right for the locals! She’s such a social butterfly like no one else I know! It was good to spend some time with Miss Rodeo ND!

Tonight I have decided that water is against me…I had a huge drip in my sink. I think I have fixed it but we’ll see. I didn’t fix it alone; I had two tails that kept getting in the way and my father on the phone! I am hoping that water leaks run in sets of three..the drain, the foundation, and now the sink! Set completed! Life can be drip/leak/seep free!

The other thing that has been eating at me is I’m at the age where friends are losing their grandparents. I’ve had three people close to me lose either their grandma or grandpa. It’s so scary, my heart and thoughts go out to these three strong willed women and I hope they and their families are supporting each other in the loss. It makes me realize that I did talk to all three of my grandparents this week. They have impacted my life, each in their own way. I am so lucky to have the love and support of each of them and a great aunt that I adore.

Christmas…already?

Wow, I have had to get myself in the holiday season really quick. I’m not sure I’m ready and am thinking of adopting my mother’s idea of just waiting until February to give out presents because it feels like October!

Last week I had two holiday parties-the Dickinson State University Holiday Social and the Dickinson YP party. I actually won a poinsettia plant at the DSU Social. I felt pretty good, actually the table that I sat at had 6 winners out of 9…Those are good odds…unless you are the other 125 people that didn’t win anything! We had a trivia competition party for YP. I didn’t win but wished I would have been more persuasive to my team about convincing them that Rocket Man did not hit the top 5 on the Billboard charts. Could’ve made the difference between 4th and 3rd place…who knows!

This past weekend I had the Dagman Christmas. It was endearing to see Ambour’s kids…how can you not feel in touched when you watch two kids under 4 open presents and proceed to thank everyone. The best present was $.52. Little Kemma got a purse and matching headband as a present and Mom convinced Dad to give her some money to put in her purse. She gave the sweetest hug and continued to play with “her money” for the rest of the present opening time. That little hug was the most Christmas I’ve felt this whole season.