Minnesota Oddities!!!

I am only as strong as the coffee I drink, the hairspray I use and the friends I have.

On November 1st my best girl (Beth) and I set out on a road trip. We decided a week earlier that we just needed a weekend away... so we decided to go to Duluth! A three day trip that would not be about the destination, but about the journey! There will be a few posts on this trip (or at least that is the plan), so I thought I would start out with the oddities! We recalculated our route so that we may see more of what Minnesota has to offer! Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite photos, yes it is simply us in the car, BUT we are in Wisconson! We crossed the bridge, but once we got there... we were scared to get out of the car, so I guess this is as good as it gets for the cheesehead state!

Here are some of the roadside attractions we saw during the weekend. Some of our favorites including the world's largest ball of twine, the grasshopper church in cold springs, a pantsless man, and our most favorite... a random guy chillin' in his trunk!

This is my favorite picture of the whole trip, and the very first picture taken! It makes me think of that tune... "which one of these is not like the other ones, which one of these just doesn't belong"... do you see which one doesn't belong?!

Apple Jelly!!!

Thought I'd give an update on the apple jelly us Johnson girls made a few weeks back. Mom ordered a bunch of crab apples and using Grandma Ardy's recipe, we made our jelly! Tiana took lots of pictures so that she can use them for 4H, so I thought I'd share.

So we cut up all the apples, it really helped once Tiana learned the correct end to cut off :-) We followed the directions, and it turned out beautifully!

Dad and Jared held down the couch for us so that it would be there when we were finished... they were a huge help!

We had a great family night, and again the jelly was gorgeous! That is what's important! However, it did taste wonderful, so that's just an added bonus!

Quick Post

DaShawn and Jackie came to visit earlier this week... my goodness is he getting big. He found a birthday card that I received from a friend, and thought it was the funniest thing on the planet.

Weekends At The Lake

Wow, so it has been a long and crazy summer... sorry again about not posting... so I figured I would update you on some of our weekends at the lake! As some of you know, my family spends a months worth of weekends at the lake every summer.

This year we have had a lot of luck fishing! We've brought in some rather large northerns on a lake I am not at privilege to disclose. I enjoy fishing, but I don't touch fish, so dad has to hold mine for me to take photos!

We've also been able to spend a lot of time with family and friends. One of which was an old friend of mine that I have not talked to in what seems like forever. We've spent nights around the campfire enjoying smores, conversation and spirits.

Cruises around the lakes in our new boat have provided many great pictures and lots of fun on the tube. I just got a new camera and have taken lots of pictures, so hopefully my blog posts will begin to increase! Tiana is also enjoying her new camera, an awesome new Canon Rebel!

Well until next time!

SIFE Nationals 2008

Hello once again! Thought I would put in a little plug about our SIFE Nationals trip to Chicago. We did well again this year placing within the top 8 teams in the nation (pretty impressive seeing as how there are over 900 teams in the U.S.)! We had a great time leaving early in the morning on May 13th and getting back late on May 16th. We competed against some great teams, and meet many new friends. Here are some pictures from our trip!

This is Kim and I during opening ceremonies at McCormick Place. We were both really excited to get to go there. Our entire conference was held at this location, and what a location it is! Gorgeous views and a great facility!

These are our "runners"!!! For all gathering in the big hall during the event, our team had fabulous seats due to these four gentlemen. A few minutes before the doors were opened and the masses stormed into the auditorium, the four of them would sneak to the front of the line, and make a made dash to the front by the stage! We never had to seat further back than second row all because of our runners!

Kim's finger on the top of the Sears tower! I know pretty exciting right?! Haha!

Jared and I outside of McCormick Place, sorry that it is so dark! Chicago was rainy and windy... imagine that!

And here was one of my favorite things about Nationals this year... look at the top of this huge banner at the competition, see the picture that I have circled? And the red head in the top left of that picture? That's me!!! They used one of the pictures that they took of our presentation team last year for all of there signage this year! We were plastered across signs, banners, video, and many other marketing tools! I have the picture from last year too so that you can all see it!

Rosie

Okay, so I took some grief last weekend for not updating my blog more often, sorry. So here ya go... a new post!!!

I would like you all to meet Rosie. Chris and I adopted her on April 19, 2008. She is a three year-old Tricolor Bluetick Beagle. She lives with Chris in Brookings, and I get to see her most weekends.


She is a honey of a dog. When we adopted her we knew very little about her. She was a stray that an area farmer found one day, and after weeks of listing her in the newspaper, to see if he could find her owners, nothing turned up. So he dropped her off at the Humane Society where Chris and I found her three days later.

Knowing little about her we were somewhat nervous, would this mean months of potty training lessons and late-night howling? After studying her short hair, it seemed as though she must have been a house dog, because she didn't have a winter coat. And as it turns out we were right (or maybe just lucky)! She was fully house-broken! And just a side note she is not a fan of baths.

Even though we try to convince her they are essential, as I am allergic to dogs, she doesn't seem to care. All she knows is that she is wet and miserable! So most of the time, I just stay juiced up with allergy medicine.

Nor was she very impressed with her new kennel to sleep in. But she does enjoy trying to "bury" things underneath her blankets!

We have really enjoyed her! Lots of walks, and trips to the park! Stay tuned for more updates!

Happy Birthday Sunshine!!!

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Bowling Night

The other night a few of us SIFErs took a night off to have some fun. We decided to go bowling, guys vs. girls. We still say that the girls had a slight disadvantage and that's the reason that the guys won... Just thought I would share some photos. SIFE regionals are less than two weeks away, so I have to run!

My Kimberly...

Look! Two posts in the same week!

I'm on a roll!

I wanted to do a post about my Kimberly. I met Kim last May and she has become such a great friend! She joined the SIFE team, and quickly took a leadership role to help me run the team this year. I really don't know what I would have done without her. She is an extremely creative person, and almost an clone of myself. She has the cutest little girl named Theron, who has become our official SIFE baby, and she comes to more meetings than some of our other members.


Kim has been such an asset to our team this year, and I couldn't be happier to have gotten to know her!

New Post!!! Woo Hoo!!!

How is everyone?! I thought I would post an update on what's going on in my life... it's been hectic, as always.

Well my motto to get through everything has now become, "Third week of May."


School is crazy. I was an idiot and didn't cut myself any slack for my last semester. All of my professors seem to think that now is the time for everyone to work in groups, so in all five classes I'm in a group. Great for some, horrible for others where people don't want to do anything. The worst part about groups with senior students, is that we all have crazy schedules, and finding time outside of class when six people can meet, is impossible. But I graduate on May 10th! Yay! Can't wait! People are giving me grief about not participating in commencement, but that's a whole different thread about money and my wising up.


Next there is work at Schwan's University. We are currently going through the process of accredidation, to become the first accredited corporate university in the world.


Alright, now we get to SIFE. {{Play scary music here}}


Regional competition is one month away. I do not have an annual report, a script, or a video. I am freaking out!!! I have soooo much to get done, as far as projects and the like. If anyone has any connections with elementary schools, I could use some help getting an interactive ethics story into some classrooms, if you can make a recommendation and get me a contact I could do the rest. I am working with Unilever corporation to launch a project internationally, secure exclusive internships and establish scholarships. (Unilever is a HUGE company, most known for brands like Ragu, Slimfast, Vaseline, Sunsilk, AXE deodarant, Ponds, Lipton, Hellmann's, Dove, and Bertolli. They also own Target department stores.) Okay... simply stated, SIFE currently has 29 projects, we have completed 11. Regionals is March 26th, and Nationals is May 13.


THIRD WEEK OF MAY!!!