you get the best gift in the world!
the great state of minnesota and all it’s memories
staring you in the face every night!
thanks mk!
xoxo – me
Tagged: Minnesota
Oct
26
you know you’re loved when…
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Nov
15
public health nurses. fabulous.
my professional life really took off in minnesota and it will always be home. i have been so blessed to be guided, mentored, challenged and encouraged in my career. it’s a blessing to be to be surrounded by such wonderful examples of hard working and dedicated professionals.
this past weekend i was there (minnesota) working with linda olson keller an others on a project. it was double exciting as saturday, linda (lok, as i call her) was awarded the mn nurses of the year!!!
the award is done across the country and is sponsored by the march of dimes. there were many great mn nurses nominated, many of which i was privilaged to work with over the ten years i was in mn. but, i’m honored to call lok a friend, a colleague, a mentor and my boss (on occasion).
be sure to check out lok on the mn news this morning…fox 9.
way to go lok!
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Mar
19
It’s been 3 months, already?
It’s been exactly 3 months since I left Minnesota for Utah. The funny thing is that to me it feels like it’s been 3 years.
I was telling my mom on Tuesday night about how I’ve been feeling since I left and how crazy sometimes I think I am for moving across the country for this amazing opportunity.
I think it’s easy to get discouraged, to get down, to feel lost, and to want to go home -even though I’m not sure where that would be.
Either way, I’ve been thinking a lot about how even through all the challenges and moments of shear panic about this huge change in my life, I truly am blessed.
I’ve learned more about myself in the last 3 months then I had in the last 3 years in Minnesota. I’ve learned who are my true friends. I’ve learned about what love really means. I’ve definitely learned about being open minded and I’ve learned about leaning…leaning on the one person who is always there no matter what.
I am grateful for all the small moments, especially in the last few weeks. For people checking in on me, dropping by the house just to say hi, checking in on me when I’ve been in pain and mostly I’m more grateful than ever before for my mom.
I was thinking back to when Minnesota became home…wondering how long it took, when it actually happened. After leaving Wisconsin, I never thought anywhere else would be that place for me and I guess deep down because I grew up there it will always be in my heart and part of my soul but as I drove out of my driveway on December 19, 2008, I knew that Minnesota really had become my home. It was where I became an adult, where I grew up, where I came into my own in my career and where I found the greatest gift of my life.
Minnesota was where my heart was…I’ve had to let go a little bit to start to grow here in Utah. Right now, Utah, really isn’t home yet – I’m not sure if it will be but I’m staying open and letting it be a process and only time will tell. I know that most of it really is up to me.
More than ever, I was reminded of this. At BYU, every Tuesday, there is a hour long devotional. Everything stops – no classes, no meetings, etc. – I try to attend these as it’s such an amazing blessing to have that small amount of time just to regroup. I also get to tape them on TV here in UT – one of the perks of living here. This week’s devotional spoke so strongly to me, I wanted to share it with you. Take the time to listen. It has application to so many things in our lives and the experiences we all go through no matter what you religion you belong. Devotional: Carol Wilkinson.
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Jan
18
Our first MN dinner party in UT
Tonight we had the first of many, I hope, MN groupie dinner parties at my new place. It was great.
Everyone that was there was either from MN or had a connection to those people from MN. There were close to 25 of us total. Mama Wilson and Bessers even showed up!
It was so great to see everyone and personally, I really needed it.
Here are pictures from the night’s events.
J-Mo, Me, Erik, and Laurie
Me and Deborah
Half of the MN gang – Jenet, Laurie, Jenn, Deborah, Rickelle
The other half – J-Mo, Erik, Alicia, Mike, Marie, Stuart, Maura, Katie, Ian, Lindsay
Jenn and me
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Dec
30
Oh Wisconsin…
In today’s Star Tribune (Mpls Paper) they had an article featuring the new WI website.
Cool, right? Nope, not so much…good old WI decided to use the Minneapolis skyline as the background behind the WI state capitol building. WEIRD! 
Click here for the full story.
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Dec
25
Continuing on…Post #2: Leaving on a Jet plane…ok, not really…but in a jam packed car.
Saturday (12-20-08) morning before the storm hit, Victoria, Lucinda and I hit the road toward Iowa on our way to the West.
If I do have to say so myself, I did a sweet packing job in the car…we had 3 girls, one cat (who is a bit temperamental), a litter box, and 5 suitcases…plus all the necessary supplies if we got stranded.
I of course didn’t get much sleep (2 hours) the night before we left but I did drive the whole way out of the cities to Des Moines. I got the leg that was full of snow, which was fine given it was my car and I surely didn’t want to have any one else be responsible for killing us on our crazy adventure. Click here for the crud we drove in.
Along the way to Des Moines we say, what Victoria called the graveyard, which were all the insane drivers who thought going 75 in a blizzard was smart. So needless to say we saw on average 30 cars and a few semis in the ditch. NOT a single one was us though!!!
Max was a little jumpy the first part of the trip and wouldn’t say anywhere in the car but on my lap…he’s not the lightest cat in the world even without his hair (20#, I know…diet) so my legs kept falling asleep because he wouldn’t go to anyone else. We finally forced him to go to Victoria and free my legs from becoming paralyzed. It worked. Plus, having a 20# cat or any animal on your lap can heat you up pretty fast so it was a warm trip:)
The picture of Max is him on my lap…it was actually rather comical because whether or not he was on my lap or V’s he could sit like that but then he’d drop his head and put his paws on our seat belts (like he was going to protect us). V named it the “dead man’s drop” because the cat looked half dead laying like that. I guess you had to be there but it was funny. Trust me.
Out of Des Moines, V picked up the driving and then it was like the Lord put this little bubble around us. Everyone, everywhere across the country was stranded and we had smooth sailing. We had clear blue skies…the cold was tolerable except in Sidney, NE where we said the night. 
Once in Sindey, Lucinda’s sister picked her up in after we all had dinner. Now for you Cabela lovers this is the home of the first Cabelas! 
It was a wonderful leg of the trip with Lucinda. We had some great conversations and I’m so glad she joined us. Thanks Lucinda for making the trip extra special.
V and I got back on the road again Sunday (12-21-08) morning and made it to Wyoming pretty quick. Again, smooth sailing…my mom kept calling to see if we were ok (thanks mom!) and to see if we saw any cowboys:)…the answers was always no.
At this point Max slept most of the way and actually (even V said) did a great job. Here he is sleeping on the pillow in the back seat of the car.
We did cross the continental divide. 
We finally came to the point where we could see an end in sight…UT was ahead and we began to see signs for Salt Lake City (SLC). 
V and I drove into SLC and dropped Max off at a cat kennel…wow…what a blessing…I didn’t have to worry about him for 3 full days and then he LOVED me when I came to get him…Thanks V, for the leg work on that one. V and I traveled into SLC to stay at Little America and it was perfect…I took a hot shower and got to IM with a friend for most of the night.
V decided to come with me to my new place on Monday morning to get my keys and see the movers unload every things. WOW…do I have a lot of stuff. Not to mention our bubble ran out and it started to snow but thank goodness for those super nice guys who unloaded my suck into my new place.
The snow coming down as I looked out from my new place.
The movers fighting the snow!
V trying to stay warm in my new place as they moved stuff in.
So far so good…I’m all unpacked…it only took me 2 days (Yes, MaryAnn I’m an over achiever) but stuff still needs to be hung up and such. I’m loving my new bed and have been sleeping like a baby. I’ve actually had 4 nights of normal sleep. Go figure. Maybe it was MN that was keeping me from sleeping:)
Oh and my only last comment from the trip (that I can think of now) is that my friends are sure obsessed with Twinkies…both Len and Marla, and you guys think I’m strange:) xoxox
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Dec
09
Oh Minnesota…
Since I’m an insomniac, I’ve had a lot of time to think…which for me isn’t always good, as I wish I could automatically shut my brain off…I’ve been able to come up about a zillion reasons why I love it here and only a few things I’ll be grateful to be rid of when I drive out of town next week!
So here goes…
Top 20 reasons to love MN (in no particular order):
1. Super large snowflakes.
2. A lake or pond on every corner.
3. The perks of a big city without the massive number of people.
4. Being a hop, skip, and a jump from Wisconsin.
5. Being able to say I am a Big 10 alumnae.
6. Being able to drive through St. Paul and look at the beautiful homes and imagine I live in one of them.
7. Being a part of the best public health system in the country.
8. Friends that send me emails in the middle of the day just to torture me.
9. Friends who you can lay in a giant bed with (I know sounds bad) and laugh until you want to pee you pants…all due to things such as really good TV, unexpected movements by those around that just shouldn’t happen, girl talk that shouldn’t be mentioned…
10. Friends who will take you to see a good old fashion girlie movie and not tell you that the beeping dog dies, will laugh at you when you get hit in the face (multiple times) playing volleyball, run or bike with you in the summer humidity, won’t let you forget you’re getting older:)
11. Sunday dinners with family.
12. 5 “brothers” who like to tease the crud out of me.
13. Amazing role models and confidants.
14. Some wonderful young women who never make me feel over 30.
15. Coworkers who listen to you vent, cry and remind you to stay away from boys and stick to men.
16. Coworkers who love to shop just as much as I do.
17. The best bonfires in the fall.
18. The MOA. Ok, just kidding about that one but seriously, practically any store you could imagine between Bloomington, Edina, and Maple Grove.
19. Sushi!
20. The memories that can’t be replaced.
Top 5 reasons to leave MN (yes, I thought of a few more but why focus on those?!):
1. Traffic – People can’t drive in the rain or the snow even though they’ve been doing it their whole lives.
2. People’s obsession with the Great MN Get Together.
3. It’s beeping cold and uncomfortably hot in a span of less than 6 months.
4. Being able to start fresh!
5. The Vikings.
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Nov
11
Family Trip to MOA
November 7-9, Tony, Danielle and Jasmine came to Minnesota to visit me. It was their first family trip here and given I’m moving in less than 6 weeks it was perfect timing!
I was so happy they came and we had a ton of fun.
Jasmine was a riot as usual.
They got in late on Friday night and Jasmine wanted me to snuggle with her on the couch because she couldn’t sleep (even after counting sheep forwards and backwards to a 100 twice)…so I did and per her usual, I ended up getting kicked (literally) off the couch onto the floor.
She’s the craziest sleeper in the world!
Saturday, she came with me to my volleyball game where my girlfriends were super great and let Jasmine practice serving and bumping the ball after our double header. Jasmine loved it!
I have to note that I did feed Jasmine before the game (a very nicely cut up apple – honey crisp) even though Jenny thought I gave Jasmine a Twinkee for breakfast!! Thanks for the vote of confidence JW! 
After the volleyball game we all got dressed (minus Tony who went to his buddy’s house) and headed out for a day of shopping.
The big adventure was to the Mall of America (MOA) where Danielle and I heard Jasmine say at least 20 times how much she loved Minnesota and that the MOA was “heaven”.
Me (yucky picture!) and Jasmine before her first roller coaster ride.
She loves Sponge Bob so MOA was perfect.
She screamed the entire ride…out of pure enjoyment.
I was probably more freaked out than she was!
This is the actual ride: click here.
But don’t forget to picture that cute 6y/o screaming non-stop!!!
On a side note had I seen this YouTube video I would not have let either of us go on the ride!
Lego Land!
This girl loves to have her picture taken.
The second roller coaster she went on all by her self!
Here she is standing in line.
Jasmine with her MOA ticket.
Getting ready for the roller coaster ride.
It was like the Power Tower – done all by her self.
Check out the video of it.
You can hear her screaming, she’s the 3rd one in: Click Here.
So when we were shopping, all Jasmine wanted were 2 things:
1. a purse, and
2. a toy cash register.
You couldn’t talk her into anything else.
We were at NY & Company and she wanted this purse soooooo bad…
This is the purse she ended up getting (from the Limited Too) along with a cute little hat.
Every time we passed a mirror or glass wall she’s throw out the peace sign.
Oh my goodness was it funny!
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a former midwest girl – wrapped up in a a yummy cupcake, great heels, fab handbag, & amazing lipstick.
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