Ending 2011

I also graduated with my MBA this month! It's a little weird to not have school anymore, but I am so happy to be done. Graduating with a 4.0 was a huge accomplishment and I'm thankful for all those that supported me during this process!

Finally the holidays arrived and I was able to spend some quality time with my family. It was great to see everyone and I'm more thankful each day to have the luxury to be so close to all of them!  

 

Here as it is only hours away from 2012, I'm feeling like 2011 was such a great year - it's going to be hard one to beat! Welcoming a new baby, obtaining my Bachelor's degree, opening regional offices at AHC, obtaining the Mrs. Sherburne County title, attending the CMAs, finishing my MBA and spending time with my family are just some of the 2011 highlights! Here's to a safe and happy 2012!

Pageant Meet and Greet

 Mid-December I attended the pageant Meet and Greet, where I met other contestants from the Teen, Miss and Mrs divisions. I happened to win the basket full of homemade sweets- including fudge, caramels and cookies! Sabotage or coincidence? LOL! I am proud to say I had only one caramel the whole time it lasted in our home!

Bell Ringing

I had the opportunity to be a bell ringer for The Salvation Army. Luckily we've had a great winter so far and all I had to deal with was a little mist and temps in the 40s! It was truly a great experience and I have a new found appreciation for those bell ringers. There won't be another red bucket I go by without donating some money into it. The Salvation Army is a great charity that helps so many in times of need.

Zimmerman Celebrate the Season

The first weekend in December, I was able to decorate cookies with the Zimmerman kids who attended the Celebrate the Season event. Again- a very nice day so we had lots of visitors. I did feel bad about giving the kids such a sugar fix at 9am! A few parents even asked me to take them for a few hours! I guess it's how the holiday season goes- we all have too many sweets!

Children's Palliative Care Gala

I was honored to be able to participate in Mindy's Charity event- Children's Palliative Care Gala. It was a touching story, complete with an auction, great food and touching stories. Mindy did a great job facilitating the event and you can see her passion shining through in all she does. I also got a few great silent and live auction items again - including a new Ergotron Standing Work Fit Station! This will help my posture and back pain! I might just make a few people at work a little jealous! :)

Miss MN and Teen MN USA

I got to see the Miss MN and Miss Teen MN USA pageant in Burnsville. WOW! What a tough competition! I was so nervous just watching these girls! We were sitting next to Nitaya's family, so we sure picked the right area to sit! I am sooo glad I was able to watch a pageant live as it is so much different than on TV. If this pageant didn't get me pumped up to get to the gym, I'm not sure what will!

Mini-Dazzle Parade- Princeton

The day after Thanksgiving I got to ride in my first parade! The mini-dazzle in Princeton was a great opportunity for a parade and visiting with the kids and Santa afterward. What a beautiful November night to be out and about! The Princeton Chamber of Commerce put on a great roasting marshmallows, pictures with Santa and community gathering. Way to go!

 

Banner Presentation

I had my official banner presentation in November from Mrs. Minnesota, Mindy Uruza! It was presented at the Elk River City Council meeting and was an honor to make this title "official." The Star News also wrote a fantastic article of the event- thanks so much for the support! 

CMA Awards

 

   

One thing I decided to do this year was to only purchase trips and fabulous deals through things that the proceeds went to charity. I found this great site called biddingforgood.com! This is an awesome site for anyone that wants to find unique trips and items- where all the proceeds go to charity. This then got me hooked on silent and live auctions at charity events as well! One of the cool things I got this year was the opportunity to attend the Country Music Awards in Nashville! I won these from the Madison Claire Foundation Charity event in September and boy was this a blast! We had wonderful seats and it was a nice getaway for Jared and I! 

YMCA Charity Poker Tournament

As November began, I was a celebrity guest in the YMCA Twin Cities Poker Tournament! Poker is a passion of mine that since the kids have come I have had to put on the back burner! I really wasn't getting good cards all night, but did manage to finish 25th out of 80. I am the queen of milking the time I play!

 

Halloween appearances

The last couple weeks I've definitely been getting more comfortable being in public as Mrs. Sherburne County! Thank you to Elk River Park and Recreation for hosting the Family Fright Night! There were lots of fun games, the bouncy thing for all the kids to jump in and of course the Trick or Treat trail and hayride! I accidentally went the wrong way around the trick or treat trail, but I guess they were too afraid to tell me to turn around! :) There were a couple people that asked if it was a costume or if it was real! That was kind of fun!

The other Halloween event that I attended was the Monticello kiddie parade and walk through on the candy trail. There were some truly amazing costumes and boy these kids are cute! The Ghostbusters guy was there as well, which was fun! Thanks to all of you for your support and enthusiasm in the pageant! It's going to be a fun ride!

November is shaping up to be a fun month. Stay tuned as I have several events coming up that are sure to be terrific!

Feeling blessed

Do you ever just think about pinching yourself and asking, "How did I get to this point?" I've had those moments several times in the last few months. In March, we were blessed with our second baby, Dean, who came 3 weeks early at a whopping 8lbs 1oz! The following week I got the word that I was chosen to speak at the National Home Care conference in Las Vegas in November. A month or so later, I got the letter from Mrs. Minnesota International congratulating me about representing Mrs. Sherburne County in the pageant in March 2012! A week after that I was notified that my company was featured in the Inc. Magazine's Top 5000 companies in the nation as well as Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal's Fast 50 companies in Minnesota. How could a girl like me get so lucky all in just a few months?!

Getting the letter in the mail about the pageant made me excited and nervous at the same time. I've always wanted to compete, but never really was prepared. I looked through all the materials and knew I needed a coach to get me going. I found Holly Ernst, who is FANTASTIC! She keeps me right in line and knows what I need to do to have a chance! I am working with a personal trainer, Ryan and Steve for my nutrition and hard core tone up. Each are pushing me to be my best, and frankly I really like it! After having a baby, it's important to get fit and still be healthy.

Going to Washington D.C. to the Inc conference was also motivating to me. It is amazing to hear empowering stories of perseverance and passion. Giving back to charity was a constant theme throughout the weekend, which is in line with what I live for. I'm a strong believer that it's not just money, but the time you give back is equally as important.

Barbara Corcoran, author and Real estate mogul

Founder of charity:water

Inc 5000 Award

Our presentation in Las Vegas was another reminder of how telling my story can motivate others. I was honored to have a full room of 200 people and several follow up questions of interest after we were done. It's hard sometimes to realize how much I've grown in the last 10 years... all of which I couldn't have done without my team and family.

Carol and I at NAHC in Vegas

It's been a bit of a whirlwind, but it's been so much fun. I finally feel like I'm getting back to a normal routine- and now can start getting some pageant events going. Here's to having a blast and learning a lot in the process!





http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/accurate-home-care

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/print-edition/2011/10/07/fast-50-accurate-home-care.html