• Uncategorized

    A Forest in the City

    There’s a number of oddities in Minnesota, from our state having two major cities less than 12 miles apart, to having uniquely high and low temperatures throughout the year, to having a forest in the city, Theodore Wirth Regional Park. It’s located 4 miles from the downtown skyscrapers. Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to see something new, fun, and out of the ordinary. I had been to the park before but yesterday my family decided to take the 15-minute drive to the park and walk around. It was fun to drive through our area, and we got to see a new building, and its where my sister skied in…

  • Uncategorized

    A Legendary Entrepreneurial Difference

    For Praxis this month I’ve also been reading a book called Niche Down. It’s about “how to become legendary by being different” (Niche Down, 0). It’s been a convicting read concerning how to create great businesses, and what makes a business fail or succeed. I enjoyed the read, it helped me understand the business world better, and made me think about the problems in our world and what potential solutions could be. Many businesses pop up in every field, from clothing to restaurants, to tech and beyond. But what creates staying power? Niching down. Admittedly the first thing I notated in the book was a statistic that mentioned that we’re at the lowest levels…

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    The Magic of Authenticity

    I have finished reading The War of Art (TWoA). It was a bit different than any other book I had read before. It had an odd layout but one that was relatively easy to read, actually. The third, and final section was called “Beyond Resistance: The Higher Realm”. This section focused on the challenge of initially starting something and staying with it, as well as finding our talents and using them well. When we write and create via our authentic selves we are doing what we were meant and designed to do as individual people. As the author puts it: “Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal…

  • Uncategorized

    Grand People

    My grandparents are all amazing people. From American war veterans to wonderful housewives, and so many other qualities beyond. They have learned a lot, and done a lot in their lives. They are inspiring. My Grandma Parkin helped to raise three children while having a husband who worked for the phone company and volunteered in the police force. In addition, I love seeing the history from this corner of the family, and I’ve even seen pictures of many ancestors including one of my great-great-great grandmother. It’s all well-cared for genealogy that has allowed me to meet so many family members over the years, even if its a bit confusing. It’e also…

  • Uncategorized

    No More Writing for Rubrics – Praxis Wednesday Response

    I’ve told a lot of stories on this blog so far, and it’s been fun for me. From retelling memories, to explaining some of my favorite things, I’ve actually enjoyed writing and while that’s not entirely new to me, getting to write how I want mostly is. I’ve tried to write with my own voice, and a lot of what we discuss last night for Praxis Wednesday was cleaning up our writing voice for the sake of our readers. Making things flow better so that even though its our voice, it will be easy to read. We edited our past articles as a group and found the strong points and…

  • Learning,  Uncategorized

    Education and Me

    I’ve been through every kind of school, with perhaps one or two exceptions. All of the different experiences led to new ways of learning, and understanding the world around me better. First I was home schooled. When I was really little my family lived in the small town of Grand Marais, Minnesota, and rather than go to the tiny tiny school my Mom decided to start homeschooling me. It was simple preschool lessons the first year, and great kindergarten lessons the next.  After we moved to New Brighton, we continued to home school, we had good, Christian-based curriculum, and got involved with a home school co-op for a little while…

  • Adventures,  Fun

    A Balancing Act

    Most people have a stupid human trick or some quirky skill. I was kind of frustrated as a kid when I had nothing to show at a camp talent show or, my school So I started looking for a challenge. While looking through a unique toy catalog when I was little I stumbled across something I had seen people do, but wondered if I could master it myself. It was a pair of stilts. This was something that none of my friends were asking for, but also not something that would be too hard, or expensive for me to at least try. So, on the birthday list, it went. When…

  • Praxis,  Uncategorized,  Work

    Always Think Professionally

    I just finished the second portion of The War of Art Book. This section was all about Combating Resistance – Turning Pro. Turning pro is about commitment, its about having the drive to do something all the time and put your all into it. Professionals focus. Professionals don’t talk about their work, they quiet down and do it. They find their concentration, buckle down, to beat resistance, and create new things. Whether that’s a painting, a program, a plate of food, or a campaign. They do their work out of love. The professional also has to practice patience. They have to understand that timing is everything, and sometimes even if…

  • Adventures,  Fun

    Antique Cars, and Stockyards

    A lot of people even those from the surrounding area, have never heard of my city, New Brighton. It’s in the Twin Cities, a suburb of the capital, St. Paul. But there is some cool history in our little suburban city. Every year the city host “Stockyard Days” a week and a half of activities, and celebration, for the town, looking back at our history and celebrating our city. New Brighton started out as a cattle raising and trading town, the town has always sat along a railroad, and this made it a perfect place for the trade, especially since it was still within reach of the Twin Cities. It…

  • Fun,  FYI

    Why You Should Own a VCR

    It’s old, it’s bulky, and sometimes it’s been damaged a bit. It’s still wonderful. It’s the VCR, and it’s accompanying VHS tapes. My family still owns over a hundred of these, and I have at least 50 of my own. It may seem like a goofy collection but to my sister and me especially, it’s fantastic. I love watching movies that we loved growing up and rediscovering some at the thrift store to add to our collection. We love that we can buy great movies for such a low cost, so if we end up liking it we own it, and if we don’t we don’t feel bad for giving…