Day 2: Breakfast, boat cruise, and spa day :)

I have found that not all hotel pillows are nice. In fact, the ones at this resort are horrible! Rufus agrees. Thank God I brought my own :) I woke up this morning to the sound of some sort of very loud machine the men are using to remodel outside - that was at 7:30. I hope nobody was too angry with them, I am sure there are much meaner people than me here who sent in a complaint or two! The coffee, also not my favorite. This may be because it was so wimpy [wimpier than a traditional garbage bag] ooor it's because I enjoyed two cups of Wampachs coffee last week in Shakopee, best coffee hands down. Next Dad and I went out to breakfast at a little place called Egg Harbor. I got a delicious skillet meal and had banana bread french toast [yum!].

 Following breakfast we perused the shops of Main Street. I could seriously drop everything and move here - I am totally taken away by how quaint and gorgeous this town is. The streets are cleaned, the trees trimmed, and people dress so nicely. At 11 we boarded the Walworth II, a mail boat that drops mail at around 60 different peirs around lake Geneva from June to September! We toured the whole bay and got tons of history behind the various summer homes and lake estates. The Wrigley, Rockafeller, Walker, and other very rich families all have or still own various estates around the lake.I felt as though I were in the Hamptons of Wisconsin!!!

This is JUST the pool house!

It actually made me wish I had worn my large white hat out on the boat with my dress, just to fit in with the narrators grand details of each multimillion dollar estate. Being out on the boat brought me back to a different short lived dream of mine, to own a house boat for a couple years - that dream has been revived a bit for me! So, who knows, you may just find me living it up in a boat a couple years from now!! ;) After the ride my dad and I ended up heading back to the hotel - where I did don my big white hat! We headed out for lunch at some german restaurant where I ordered the beer batter fish and chips - and guess what - I could get the fish baked without the breading all over it!! YUM!!! Not only that but I could substitute fries for sweet potato fries, my favorite!!  When  we got back to the hotel - it was spa time!

Largest place on Lake Geneva!

 I went in for a 60 minute massage. When I walked in they gave me one of those big fluffy white robes and spa slippers to walk around in. While waiting I felt something crawling up my leg - it was a huge wasp!!! The woman behind the desk ran out and swatted it away and then a woman in the lobby grabbed it with a tissue. Freaked me out. My massage was amaaaaaazing. After that little relaxation fest I headed on down to the town of Geneva and got myself a pedicure. My girl seemed as though talking were maybe against the rules but other than that it was heavenly. I have a hard time paying for pedicures because I feel like I could do an equally fantastic job on my own - but hey my dad told me it was his treat so BOOM. 
Now it's off to dinner and then sleep - heading to New York city tomorrow!!! Thank you so much for taking me out here Dad and I am so blessed and thankful for the life I lead :)

Day 1: Minnesota - Wisconsin

Leaving!!

For those of you who don't know - Deborah had to cancel going on the trip with me. Due to this sad little event my father invited me to spend two days with him in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!! Thank God my dad told me a to take the scenic route rather than the one my GPS was taking me on. I went down Minnesota's river bluff area and I cannot tell you how gorgeous it was. The nice thing about being alone in your car is that you can stop whenever you please - and stop I did! Every time I saw something along the way that I found breathtaking, I stopped and took a picture. Each time I felt the need to even exit the highway for some historical landmark, I did so.
The time flew by [at first anyway!] and the afternoon was beautiful. I found that it wasn't that difficult finding radio stations I enjoyed and, as I stated in the previous post, I did remind myself on several occasions to slow down and exhale [No speeding tickets ;)]. I find it funny how difficult that task can truly be - we keep ourselves running so quickly that even "slowing down" requires our minds to race. On that note, I love Minnesota. I have lived in 5 different states but there is something Minnesota has over everyone else - and that is everything. I swear, driving to Wisconsin I witnessed every different kind of land mass, or lack there of, known.
While these may not be as drastic as in other states, such as mountains or the desert, they were certainly there. I went from winding roads and high hills, to low lying valleys with hardly a tree in sight. There were rock walls and huge forests, rivers and lakes. All, might I add, were gorgeous. I drove by the Cannon River, where I spent several summer weekends tubing down the river with friends. I also found myself in Lake City, the birthplace of water skiing! I love this state! Driving into Wisconsin I mused at how I immediately hit farms.

Bull leading heffers away from me ha!

Not that I wasn't leaving farms in Minnesota, it's just that Wisconson - it seems - is less developed than Minnesota.

Wisconsin stole Paul from us!

I loved this. I loved driving past this gas station with a giant pig wearing sunglasses [missed picture opportunity], I adored seeing this kid with his two dogs walking along the newly planted field while a bouncing little puppy ran not too far behind, and I am still captivated by the man driving his tractor down a new row while the sun glistened in the background. I hadn't really been to Wisconsin and now I understand it's charm. Minnesota still has my heart but I love these backbone of America states. With their tiny towns, large farming communities, and beautiful landscapes - what's not to love? Upon arriving in Lake Geneva, I got a wee bit lost but it turns out I just didn't go far enough! Our room is awesome, with a gorgeous view and even a hottub downstairs. My dad took me out to dinner, which was absolutely delicious! I cannot wait for tomorrow's activities! I guess you'll just have to check back to find out all about it ;)

The man stopped and stared at me like I was nuts!

Songs of the Day:
Lose My Soul - Toby Mac
Play That Funky Music White Boy!
Shorty Like Mine - Bow Wow

Slow Down

Tonight is the night. My last night in town before I embark on my three month journey across our wonderful country!! I am so excited, but I have noticed a common theme in my life. I cannot just relax!! I find that I almost crave being busy. Let me tell you about my day. 7:45am wake up, surprise clean the house for Avery. 10am brunch with the best little cousin anyone could ever hope for. 1, change my own windshield wipers for the first time ever [thank you very much!]. 1:30 meeting with Mary Kay director to get my stuff together. 3 finish cleaning apartment, bring stuff over to storage unit. 5 pick up my wonderful besties from the airport as they somehow muster enough Vegas energy to run up and hug me. 6:30 Sam’s Club shopping with my papa followed by a delicious dinner where we were so graciously served by the beautiful Taylor. And finally, 9:30pm, my two very first facials!! I performed these facials on two of my best friends and let me tell you - they really opened my eyes to how difficult this will be!! I not only stumbled but I was also not exactly prepared. Thank God for friends to help me learn the ropes. Moral of the story - I need to slooow down! Speaking of slowing down, this girl got another speeding ticket yesterday!! As most of you are aware, I have a led foot. I may actually have a led leg. I get pulled over on a monthly basis. Thanks baby Jesus for making sure I got a cop with a good heart - he only wrote me up for 7 over so that it wouldn't go on my record. Some lookin out there buddy! Honestly, I have realized, I always over book myself. In a perfect world I should have waited to join Mary Kay but hey, sometimes we jump way before we see the bottom and we just have to take those leaps of faith in life. I have decided I will take it slow. This vacation is about taking life in and breathing life out. It's about stopping to smell the flowers and appreciating what's around me. Yes I am a busy girl, I enjoy having a full plate but at the end of the day I sometimes just want to take that plate and hurl it across a room and listen as the porcelain shatters into a million beautiful pieces. Before I take off tomorrow, I am going to take a deep breath, exhale, and drive away - reminding myself to do that each time I allow my mind to take off full throttle on some unnecessary escapade. Here’s to a slow three months. Because let's be honest, I may never have an opportunity not to be busy for a very long time after this summer. Exhale.

Mary Kay Consultant

I did it, I became a Mary Kay consultant. Tonight was my first business meeting and I got pinned as the newest member. I must admit, I was [and still am], a bit skeptical. The idea of selling products makes me nervous and downright self-conscious. Not only that, but I am not an extremely competitive person and prizes don't necessarily motivate me to work harder. However, faith and family do motivate me and those are the first two priorities in Mary Kay. Upon entering the room at the Country Inn I noticed these beautiful women welcoming me in, all giggles and smiles. They had been in the business over thirty years and each had pins with the number of profits they had scored. I wasn't sold. Listening to them jab about makeup and purses, hair do's and skirts, made me cringe a little. Then I started to listen closer. Their gossiping wasn't endless, nor was it pointless - it was meaningful. They weren't discussing these things in a caddy materialistic fashion but rather as a way to express their achievements and their strides to help women around them achieve the same things. When we went off to training I took notes as if I were studying for the GRE. Then I reread my notes and it hit me. 80 percent of the things we talked about consisted of faith, family, staying positive, helping women, empowering yourself, and then - only then - did the business aspect come in. I was shocked and quite honestly, sold. Not only that, but our director emphasized that you MUST do unto others as you would have done unto you. This meant that when you spoke to someone about Mary Kay that you should never, ever, steal another consultant’s client. In addition, if you do meet someone who already has a consultant and they decide they want to join as a team member - you send them back to their own consultant. I was shocked!! Here was a business whose motto was not only faith, family, then career - but also really and truly to follow the golden rule. She emphasized that what you put in you will get out tenfold, if only you are doing those things for the right reasons. To which she added you must pray about. You must make God a part of your daily decisions. Now - of course - God is not a belief that all Mary Kay team members hold. For a lot of people the endless monetary potential, the ridiculously flexible schedule, and the fact that family always comes first appeals much more. For me, though, the fact that God and family comes first - and that I am truly encouraged to stay positive, work hard, and use the golden rule really got me hooked. So, although I may not make a million bucks and I may not ever win a pink Cadillac [pink pickup please!] - I am excited to learn and to grow through Mary Kay for as long as I choose to be a part of the company.

 

Visit my website at www.marykay.com/hcarlson8 :)

St. Boni Sermon 5.6.12

Failure. That was the basis of today’s sermon in church. Our pastor used examples such as Einstein, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, and let me just say, those examples are compelling. For instance Einstein, as most people know, failed out of school. Michael Jordan has some sick statistics about how many game shots he’s missed, how many games he's lost, and he was cut from his sophomore basketball team. Edison, while trying to create the battery, watched as ten years of hard work went up in flames only to exclaim "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start again." How profound. Some people are consumed by failure. They are swallowed whole by fear of working so hard at something and falling short. Of course, this wasn't a message on how to succeed in college or work, it was a message in failing in our faith. Faith is the hardened belief that something is truly there even when we cannot see it [my own, very simplified, definition of course!]. I suppose he meant not only our faith but also in how we serve God. The way we conduct ourselves, pity ourselves, use our body’s and our speech. We fail God all the time; we fail ourselves all the time. What we discussed was how this failure is not forever, the sermon was called "failing forward," and the message was simple: going forward we can take those failures and turn them not into fear but into lessons. There was a bible verse, Romans 5:3-4, "³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope." Our notes also held a section about what it means to be a "mature Christian" and the statement read [basically] that a mature Christian understands that failure is not final but that thru God’s grace and forgiveness we can always do right by him. Those, again, are my own words as I do not have the notes. In life, and in our faith we must persevere - because where would we be had Einstein or Edison gave into their failures. Anyway, I am always happy to attend the church I go to with my wonderful Grandma. The lessons learned always get through to me. With the funniest, more humble pastors I have ever witness, I must say - I love it. I will attempt to give my insights on all the sermons I attend on my road trip - because it's important to see how other churches get the message across!!

Not just a job

 I must admit, when I first started working for my nanny family I was over whelmed. I had never cooked for a family, or taken on three kids. They were rambunctious, loud, and energetic - like most children. Not only that but I had trouble understanding the line between friend and authority figure. If I put my foot down, would they hate me? If I didn't put my foot down, would they walk all over me? Well the answer to question one was of course no. In fact I remember once I scolded the girls and explained to them why they had to finish some task, later the eldest one approached me with a hug and told me how awesome I was. Not five minutes before that she had stormed off telling me it was the worst day of her life. hormones. The answer to question two - well duh! Children who see you as a friiend do tend to walk all over you, but if I reminded them that I deserved respect, they were quick to apologize and [usually] they'd listen after that. Needless to say, I ended up fitting right in. Sure, the job was still challenging, but I learned more about what it takes to run a household and take care of multiple children in that one year than I had ever before. For instance, I learned that sometimes you will clean up a room JUST to mess it up again. I learned that two year olds are much, much smarter than you think.
That my patience was not as great as I thought it was going into the job, and that patience is imperative to being a good caretaker [I’m still working on it] . Furthermore I was taught to redirect and distract rather than call attention to a bad behavior. Half the time a child doesn't know it's bad behavior until you stand there scolding them with a pointed finger wagging in the air. Instead, excitedly announcing that the tiger truck is calling from the other room will have them scurrying out the door and away from the behavior which is so undesirable. I could go on, and on, and on but condensing a whole years’ worth of memories into a single post could take a while. I am done with this job but what I am leaving with I will hold for a lifetime.
I am so thankful for the family I worked for. For the way the little guy came bounding through the house every morning calling my name, for the bartering of chores when the girls came home from school, for the love for God they expressed every day. I am thankful that I have a place in their hearts - as do they, in mine. I will greatly miss their smiles, laughter, and listening ears. Thank you for allowing me into your hearts, your homes, and your lives. I am forever thankful!! God bless.

Farewell Farm

I have been meaning to give the farm a proper farewell. Of course, life has been busy, so I am just getting to it! Sunday was difficult but fun. Watching each horse excitedly walk down the aisles to their green [ha!] pastures made me ache. Every quip made by the girls caused me to giggle and with each stall I got done, I slowed down a little - hoping the day wouldn't end. I have deeply enjoyed the therapeutic feeling of shoveling out the stalls, the gratification of a hard days work, the patience I am still trying to master, and hey - the muscles aren't half bad either! I have come to admire the teamwork, communication, and humbleness it takes to run a farm.

But at the end of the day the most important lessons learned were 1. the word for a female dog and a female horse should probably be the same, 2. never, ever get on Bridget's bad side, 3. spoiled horses are like spoiled children, they
won't shut up until they get what they want, 4. Singing slave songs while shoveling in the fields really does make it go faster, and  5. Never be too proud to sweep in a dress and heels! That being said, once again, I will greatly miss the comradery,
the patience, and those hard labor days. I can only hope that one day I will be back, to once again take in the sun rising over the hills as we turn horses out. Smell the manure wafting out of my cart. And of course, to pick paddocks with good friends while singing slave songs. I could go on for several more paragraphs but what it comes down to is how thankful I truly am. I am thankful for all that you have taught me and all of the support I got while working on the farm. This has been a job I have loved and one that has influenced me greatly. Again, thank you and God bless!!