Happy Mother's Day!

I thought I'd take the time on this lovely Mother's Day to thank my mom for all she has taught me about myself over the 24.5 years we have spent together. Without her, I may not have been able to to figure this all out!

1. She's my favorite.
My mom has 4 wonderful kids, each with their own personality, but it seems the 3rd child gets a bit more attention. Why you make ask? Well according to my mom, she is the favorite. This statement was reinforced by the card Leah received on Valentine's day, see image on the right.

2. I am huge.
About a year or so ago, Leah so kindly took my seat after I stood up, well of course I sat on her for doing this. After Leah's squeal of aggravation, my mom looks at me and tells me to get off of her because I am huge! Really mom?? Huge is not a substitution for tall! However, I did sit on the favorite, refer to #1.

3. I am uncoordinated.For many years of my childhood I wanted to be in dance with all my friends, but my mom didn't like it and never let me join. She tells me later in life it was because I was uncoordinated and she didn't want me to embarrass myself...thanks mom. Why did you let me be in gymnastics? That requires a lot of coordination too...thank god for participation trophies!

4. I have no butt in dress pants.
Last fall, after I walked across the whole U of I campus to find the emergency room my grandpa was in, my mom's first reaction to seeing my sweating face in a business suit is that I have not butt in dress pants. Why thank you, I am glad to see you too!

5. Stray animals easily become pets.
Well, let's see. Every one of the animals my family has adopted in the past...all my life...has been a stray or abandoned animal. The ones that land on our porch are the most adoptable and I guess can be easily converted. My mom is too much of a softy to let the animals to starve or be cold and to be honest my dad is the same way (but he'll never admit that!).

6. Family is #1.
My mom would drop nearly anything if her family needs her. Whether it is a sporting or fine arts event, birthday or medical happening, she wants to support her family. This is something she has transferred on to her kids as well. I will make trips home to see Leah and Daniel's events or trips to see my grandparents, David does the same thing. And I am willing to bet Leah will be the same next year as she journeys off to college.


7. When I was your age...After graduation from Central, I complained about the job search, etc. Typical stuff. However, my mom's response often was at your age, I was married, commuted to school...blah, blah the list went on. She had a way of making feel like I needed to do more/have motivation to keep fighting for what I want. However, too bad for you mom, I will still complain & you'll have to listen! :)

8. I say it how it is.
My mom seems to think this is kind of annoying or rude. But has she met my father? I learned all I know from him. And just for the record, I do better at keeping my volume down and holding my tongue than he does!
I figured Mother's Day was a chance for me to not let you down & 'say it how it is'. Thank you for being a wonderful and supportive mom for all of us & Happy Mother's Day! :)

Wonders of Social Media

I started using Twitter just over a year ago and never dreamed it would become to communicate in so many ways. I got it because we used it at work and figured I should know how to use it well enough to be effective.

Here's a few things I have used it for in the past couple months:

Finding a job posting. One of the marketing agencies I was interested in, MindFire Communications, listed their job opening by sending out a Tweet. I saw it and was able to apply. There is also a Twitter account that is specifically for MBA hiring and lists 5-10 job or hiring tips daily.

Additionally, I have been able to connect with different marketing agencies and potential employers. Many of them use Twitter, some more than others, but it is a way to stay up on current events in their company or start a conversation with them.

I have used it to send messages to people, like Central College's President Putnam. I sent him a Tweet the day my dad and sister went down for Scholarship Day, telling him to convice her. He responded within 30 minutes telling me he was 'on it'. He ran into my dad at one of the day's events and after introducing himself, goes to my dad "Your Sara's dad, aren't you? I talked with her this morning." According, to my dad, who freaked out slightly because of his lack of what Twitter is, it was kind of cool.

Communication with Twitter is key with my Rockets team. All 10 of the 17-year-olds use Twitter constantly, so I used that to my advantage. They do not check e-mail so responses fromt their are unheard of, so I went to where they are. We have a team Twitter account that I send out reminders and quotes on. It's worked pretty slick.

Updates on sporting events or news are also handy. I don't watch or read the news that often (probably should). But when a headline comes through Twitter that looks important, I read it.

Finally, Twitter's free marketing is nice. Especially, for what I want to go in to. The use of it is becoming more important. It gives smaller (bigger, too) organizations a way to connect to customer bases with much cost, just the effort to maintain it. I suggested some marketing ideas for Greg's cousin's videography business and Twitter was one of them, she has done an awesome job with it and I think it is helping her connect with other local organizations and potential partners of her business. Check it out: https://twitter.com/#!/VisualitiesV & additionally, once she reaches 300 fans on Facebook a giftcard is being given away!

Oh the wonders of social media, they can't be left alone, but they can be used wrong. It's a fine line but a very powerful tool in the marketing world.

Recipe: Simple Andes Mint Cookies

Finals are over, so I can bake! I have pinning recipes I have wanted to try on Pinterest for the past couple weeks and final got to try one. I love Andes Mints, so of course this recipe had to be the first I tried, but it called for the mints to be melted on the top, which was a bit annoying and messy so I modified it, here it is:

Ingredients:1 Devil's Food cake mix
1/2 cup of oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Mix the cake mix, oil and eggs. Roll into walnut size ball with half an Andes Mint in the middle. Cook at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes.

Oregon in Review

After being back in Iowa for a few weeks ad feeling a little more settled, I have had time to reflect on the time in Oregon. So here are a few things that were learned or worth remembering.

Pumping your own gas is against the law in the state of Oregon.I was not a big fan of this law, it meant that you had to wait longer to get gas while the 1, maybe 2 gas attendants filled all the tanks. Plus the chance of getting your windows washed was like 1 in 459!

Roadsharing signs don't mean anything to drivers.There are plenty of 'Share the Road' signs throughout Oregon and in places there are even nicely paved bike lanes. I figured riding my bike would be pretty relaxed, considering all the signs. But after a few close calls, I decided the drivers don't seem to understand road sharing. In a lot of places the shoulder really didn't exist and I would ride as tight to the white line as possible, but logging trucks do not move over and it freaked me out way too many times!

Crosswalks are for real.Something that took me the entire time I was in Oregon to adjust to was the use of crosswalks. Pedestrians would just go, because the cars were expected to stop. I never really trusted that theory and most the time I would stop at the corner waiting for the car to go, but then the car would suddenly stop and I would have to take off across the road. As a driver, I had to stay aware because at any time a pedestrian could keep coming and I would be expected to stop. It led to many awkward times for me and my roommates who also were not accustomed to it.

Rain, Rain & More Rain.It rained everyday. Seeing the sun for 45 minutes in a week was sometimes a miracle! When I was told it rained, but didn't snow I didn't think it would be that bad. I underestimated the gray-ness of rain. It was very annoying to constantly have wet pants, shoes, socks, etc. I also heard from someone that true Oregonians don't use umbrellas. I can say I wasn't a true Oregonian by those standards. I had an umbrella with me at all times, my umbrella probably saw more use this year than it has in its entire lifespan! However, I also know that this was an abnormal year in rain totals, cold and snow for the Portland area, but I am not a fan of the rain!

Population of 20,000+When I interviewed, I was told Forest Grove had a population of 20,000. In my mind that was a pretty good sized town, I mean 20 times the size of Greene! I also figured it would have stores, restaurants and other 'big' city things. This was all a dream. Forest Grove did have a chain grocery store, but that was pretty much it. If you wanted anything else, you had to drive to Hillsboro or Beaverton. Kind of annoying, but I guess it is relative. In Iowa, that size of town would have all that stuff, but in Oregon it wasn't big enough to house all of those stores.

Regional food cravings.Almond bark was pretty much an unknown in Oregon. I thought it was surprising, but it was a lesson in regional markets, which may be helpful in grad school. I also learned cheeseballs are also a regional thing. Lastly, the name for maidrites, as I have always called them, is very confusing to others. I made dinner for a bunch of people one night and I said I was making maidrites, several admitted after they got there that they had know idea what I was making. It was an interesting discussion as we came up for all the different names they called them.

Overall, it was a good experience. I learned about a region that is a lot different than the midwest, I also learned how I would and wouldn't manage people in the future. During the 10 months in Oregon, I think I also realized what I find more important in life and one of those things is being closer to my family. I want the opportunity to go home for an important thing in my siblings' lives or to just be able to stop by and see everyone. I had a great first year out of undergrad, I visited 15 states, I visited my family on the west coast, I met some great people, I had my first full time job, I learned how to manage my own expenses and I had the support of my family throughout. What more can I ask for?

Adventures: Spring Break

Shortly after I got back from Colorado my roommates headed to Las Vegas for spring break and to see Chantel's sister play tennis for North Dakota State. I, however, had to report back to work, but luckily all the teams were on spring break trips, so no one was playing at home making my schedule pretty flexible! So I ventured out with some optometry friends who had stayed in Forest Grove for the break.

Waterfalls

The sun finally showed up in Forest Grove for longer than an hour, so a car load of us decided to head to the Columbia Gorge area to hike. We took the scenic highway and made a quick stop at Vista point and then headed on with the intentions of stopping at all the waterfalls along the way and ending at Multnomah Falls.

Our first stop was at Latourell Falls, we hiked to the top and then down to the base. It was a rather quick stop, but got us warmed up for the rest of the falls. The second stop was at Bridal Veil, which required a bit more hiking because it was off the main area. This waterfall wasn't as tall as the others, but it was significantly wider. The third stop was at Wahkeena Falls, this waterfall did a bit more winding on it's way down than the others did and didn't require much hiking to get to.

The final stop was at Multnomah Falls and amazingly it wasn't that busy! We started the 1.25 mile hike up...a very steep 1.25 miles, with 11 switch backs. But once we made it to the top the view was kind of cool from the observation deck. When hiked back up river for a while before heading back down. Once we reached the ground level we luckily were able to get some pictures of the whole falls without anyone walking or standing on the bridge!

Voodoo Doughnuts

On the way back from the falls, I suggested we stop at Voodoo Doughnuts. I guess the place is well known and it's something you must do in Portland. To be honest I had never heard of it before coming here and only noticed it because people will stand in lines that wrap around the block for hours to go in. When we got there the line hadn't turned the corner, so we waited for about 30 minutes to go in. There famous doughnut is the maple bacon bar, which is a maple doughnut with bacon strips on top. I was told by one of my 14s parents that I had to try it, so I did. It was very interesting, but not something I need again. They also had doughnuts with fruitloops, captain crunch, oreos and other random stuff on top. Waaay to much sugar!

Saké Tasting

Unbeknownst to me, Forest Grove has 1 of 5 saké breweries in the United States. However, the optometry students know it and a couple of them were heading for a tasting on Thursday, so I headed along. Wasn't too bad, plus because we were the only ones there at the time (but who really goes saké tasting in the middle of a workday afternoon), we got to ask a bunch of questions. This brewery is the only American owned saké brewery in the US and the first to make flavor infused saké...probably will have to get some to bring back to Iowa.

NCAA Brackets

Not going to say much, mine was a bust. No final four teams & only 3 elite eight teams. However, I did beat David and that gives me bragging rights for at least a year.

Book Review: Wooden

I finally got my hands on a John Wooden book! Or I guess I should say my mom did and sent it to me for Valentine's Day.

The book did not disappoint. It was an easy read and written in a conversational tone. It was also written in segments, making it a quick and enlightening read. John Wooden was very set in how he did things and it stemmed back to the days of his childhood. He did not let others influence his beliefs or define his success for him, he was a knowledgeable confident person who defined success in his own way.

In the book he discusses where his beliefs stem from, the values he had and worked to instill in his life and his players' lives. While basketball was an important part of his life and the platform he had that brought his ideas out to the public, it was just a small part of his life. In his high school years, a teacher gave out an assignment asking the students to define success. Wooden reflected on the term for years and came up with a definition and a pyramid of success, which encompasses everything he felt is necessary for an individual to become successfully in life.

Wooden's definition of success: "Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best become the best that you are capable of becoming."

A few other thoughts I found interesting:

"Know that when you are through learning, you are through."

"You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable."

"You are in the presence of a true competitor when you observe that they are indeed getting the most joy out of the most difficult circumstances."

"There is a choice you have to make, in everything you do. And you must always keep in mind the choice you make, makes you."

"If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier."

The book was great and I wish I could assign it to my 18s team to read, because I think it would help. But as I would guess none of them would read it, so I took many pages of notes and hope that it will inspire my coaching over the next month.

Adventures: Colorado

Last weekend I headed to the Colorado Crossroads with the 18s team and let me tell you it was a bit more than I bargained for, but I got to see Central people and visit the Garden of the Gods.

We flew to Denver on St. Patrick's Day, after over a 4 hour delay and getting our connection held for us in Salt Lake. Luckily, it was the first day of the NCAA tournament so we could sit and watch the games. Secondly, for St. Patrick's Day Southwest airlines gives free drinks for the holiday!

Additionally, when we got to our hotel in Denver we discovered that we were staying at one of the NCAA Tournament host hotels, with Gonzaga. In my family, my dad would be going crazy because of his small obsession with the school for a reason unknown to anyone, probably even him, and my mom and David would be in search of John Stockton for an autograph.

Anyway, as I was sitting in the lounge area after the had made their entrance after winning and messing up my bracket, I scanned the group of parents and Gonzaga fans and found John Stockton. Yes, in person. After encouraging of Athena coaches I finally walked over and asked for a picture. He politely denied my request because he didn't want to start something and have to take a ton a pictures. I understood and settled for a handshake and a discussion about club volleyball, because his daughter plays in the same region. But it was pretty cool and we ran into him several times in our hotel over the three days.

Garden of the Gods
After the first day at the tournament the other 18s coach and I headed to Colorado Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods. It was a bit longer of a drive than anticipated, but we got a good hour to walk around and enjoy being outdoors rain free in the sun! If I would have had longer I would have loved to sit and just enjoy being outside or maybe climb a bit more. But we had to get back to the team.

Colorado Crossroads
The tournament did not go so well. The team I am working with lacks competitive nature and enjoying the game and if you know me, I am very competitive and playing volleyball is very enjoyable to me. It killed me to watch them play on the first day, no one smiled or celebrated a great play! It was painful, but the other problem was how disrespectful our team was to those working our court. This team has had ongoing problems with respecting their teammates and others at tournaments. It peaked at the tournament and parents and players revolted.

On Day 2, the head coach decided to walk away from the team for the rest of the tournament. This left me... Yep, not the greatest situation to be in, but Lena, the club director sat with me during the day and while the still didn't look like they were enjoying the game it went okay. Day 3, was all me and it was single elimination. With the lack of competitiveness we couldn't take advantage of the weaknesses of the other team and win, so our tournament weekend ended early in the day.

I stuck with them all weekend, because I don't give up, especially when the going gets tough. I have been on teams that have had their share of drama, but nothing to this level. My goal for the final month of our season is to make a change even if it's only a small change in one person I will feel satisfied. I want these girls to appreciate the opportunity they have to play and to use it to better themselves not only as a volleyball player, but also as a person. I have several ideas, I just don't know what will sink in. Wish me luck or send me ideas!