Body, Mind, & Soul

Oh my goodness, it has been a while! I realized that I have gone off the charts, MIA if you will, when it comes to blogging… I could give you a thousand excuses (“I’ve been busy”, “but I have a new job”, “I’m lazy”), but when it comes down to it, I frankly forgot I had a blog and didn’t make it a priority. You’ll see in my New Year’s Resolutions that the priority has shifted!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lots has been happening in the last few months (really, it has). Nathaniel and I ran three 5K’s in Nov-Dec, which were all a lot of fun. We ran the St. Paul Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, the Ugly Sweater Run (sponsored by Sam Adams, yum!), and the Reindeer Run. The Reindeer Run was by far the coldest, it was -11 degrees and Nathaniel’s facial hair froze! Regardless of the temperature, or discomfort of wearing four layers of clothing, we had a lot of fun and definitely felt accomplished at the end. These races all led me to my first New Year’s Resolution – Run one race each month (Resolution #1). I ran the Polar Dash 5K on January 1 and will be running the Valentine’s Day 5K with Nathaniel on February 15. I have the rest mapped out for the year, just a matter of registering (currently registered for 6/12). Making plans to run races is great, but I don’t want to stay at a stagnant 5K, which led me to my next New Year’s Resolution – Increase my distance (Resolution #2)! I’m going to aim big with one extra mile each month, knowing I have a 7K in March, a 10K in May, and another 10K in November. Worse case scenario, I only get up to 10K, but that would still be doubling what I can do now!

All this running can get difficult if you aren't eating healthy - do I smell Resolution #3? Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think I eat poorly (I avoid fast food, avoid frozen meals, etc), but I could certainly incorporate two healthy meals a week (as in, from cooking magazines, health websites, etc). But, you may ask, what good is being healthy and running a lot if you can't afford to register for those expensive races? Well, I'm glad you asked... Bring on Resolution #4 - Be more strict with my budget. I started using YNAB (You Need A Budget) a few months ago and it changed my life... No, seriously, it changed my life. I no longer live paycheck to paycheck, I can anticipate where my money will be going, and best of all - it helps with savings goals (like saving to purchase race registrations). It's lovely, really - you should try it. 

Ugly Sweater 5K

There's a lot more to a healthy lifestyle than just working out, eating healthy, and saving money. You need to be mentally and emotionally healthy as well, at least I know I do. Which brings me to Resolutions #5 and #6 - Hone in on my craftiness and De-clutter my mind. These may sound like silly resolutions to you, but let me explain... I love to craft, like really love it. My problem? I "Pin" way too many crafts, buy too many materials, and have a very long "projects" list, that I get overwhelmed and never get down to it. So this year, I will be setting aside time for each. One month I will focus on sewing and break in my new sewing machine (thanks, Mom!), one month it will be card making, one month scrapbooking, one month Silhouette Cameo crafts (thanks, fam & Nathaniel!), and so on... I still need to make a list (there I go again with the lists) of each "topic" and assign a month, but that's the goal. Finally, de-cluttering my mind... Having an amazing support system of family, boyfriend, friends, has made me realize that no one should live rent free in my mind. That means, I need to de-clutter of grudges, gripes, and gossip. That means soul searching, self help books, meditation... whatever it takes to be at peace with past circumstances and always looking for the bright side of situations and days. 

To recap, my six New Year's Resolutions of 2014 are... 

Run one race each month! 

Increase my distance!

Healthy eating!

Strict on budgeting!

Hone in on craftiness

De-clutter my mind

Blog world... Hold me to, 'em. I'm counting on you!

Oh and New Year's Resolution #7... Blog more ;) Oops! Coming up next, an update on my newest adventures as a nanny. Until then... XO

Bella, meet Ginger!

This post was written back in August, oops... I promise to write soon with my new adventures. In fact, maybe "blog more often" should become a New Years Resolution!

Wowza, what a whirlwind of weeks!

Last week, Nathaniel, Bella, and I made the very long drive home to Massachusetts. It took us two days, roughly 15 hours a day on the road (including stops and traffic), to get home but it was so worth it! Bella loves being in the car so luckily we didn’t have any issues with her. We had an exciting few days at home where Bella was able to meet some of her family and everyone loved her. We spent the weekend at my parents’ house and my sisters (along with Brandon and George) came by a few times.

When we arrived home on Thursday, we attempted to properly introduce Bella and Ginger. This proved more difficult than we imagined since both dogs were extremely excited. After Bella got her puppyness and excitement out of the way, she spent most of the night following Ginger around the house. Soon after, they were finally friends, lying on the couch together. On Friday, Nathaniel and I went to visit Matt. I haven’t seen him in about three years so it was great to visit. That night, Jenna, Andrew, and George came over for dinner. We had similar excitement with George and Bella, but a much more vocal excitement! They played and rough housed a bit in the backyard before we went inside to eat. All in all, it was a successful meeting between all dogs!

Saturday was Katie and Iolando’s wedding, the reason we came home. To say this was the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended would be an understatement. It is beautiful to witness two people who are so in love become husband and wife. The ceremony was perfect for them – they wrote their own vows, one friend performed a song, another read a poem. It was an intimate day of love and friendship. The reception was so much fun, we danced all night with our friends. Among seeing two amazing souls get married, it was a blast to see my mentor and so many of our friends in one place… friends we don’t get to see often. I don’t think the day could have been any better!

Sunday the whole family came over to have a mini birthday dinner for Brandon since we can’t come home for his party in August. Brandon loved Bella and she loved him! She kept going over and licking his feet, then would walk around so everyone could play with her… returning to Brandon to lick his feet! We also learned that Brandon isn’t the only one that loves when Grandpa blows bubbles ;) Bella really is an amazing dog and she especially loves kids, so it worked out perfectly. Unfortunately we had to leave on Monday and spent the next two days driving back to Minnesota. It is nice to be back to our normal routines but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t already miss Massachusetts. I would love to be back home for good with my family. But for now, I’ve got a job to do here and a city to explore.

Until next time…

Welcome to the family, Bella Wilbur-Milbery!

A couple of months ago Nathaniel and I needed to decide if we would stay in the apartment we were in, or find a new place to live. We decided that we wanted to be closer to the city and we wanted a dog.  Since we are both huge advocates for pit bulls and the amazing dogs that they are, we knew we wanted to rescue a pit. I spent weeks calling apartment buildings but everyone had breed discrimination in place and would not let us live in their building with a pit. This infuriated me because people are still ignorant enough to believe that a particular breed of dog is inherently bad, rather than it being in how you raise them... just like children. But that is a rant and discussion for another day. Finally I found My Pit Bull is Family and they had a list of properties that accept pit bulls. After calling all three properties, only one called me back. Nathaniel and I went to check apartments that weekend and signed a lease two weeks later! We were finally going to be closer to the city and able to get a dog.

Our family <3

We found a rescue organization that we loved and four dogs we could not choose between. When we were able to start the application process, our two favorites got adopted. We inquired about the others and one had major anxiety and the other needed major surgery... We started to feel really discouraged and decided we would slow down, and look at other organizations. One day at work, I receive a text from Nathaniel, "I love Bella"... "Bella who?" "From Coco's Heart Dog Rescue". I looked up her picture and fell in love. We learned that Bella was at Coco's once, got adopted by a married couple, they divorced and surrendered her back to Coco's... We never knew when/why she was initially in Coco's. That weekend we had an initial meeting with her, and three days later we adopted!

We are so blessed to have Bella in our lives, she is great. She's already housebroken, so we have only had a couple of accidents due to not hearing her cues to go outside and her initial nervousness being in a new place. She loves going on walks and to the lake, probably because she loves seeing people and getting attention from everyone and their dogs! She's pretty good with dogs, we are still working on perfecting that socialization but she's been doing great!

Daddy and Bella at Pet a Palooza!

Yesterday we went to "Pet a Palooza" at the Minnesota Fairgrounds - it was a massive exhibition of various companies, rescue organizations, agencies, etc... all with goodie bags for the dogs, treats, and live music! Bella met so many dogs and was playing nicely with all of them, it was great. Towards the end of the day, a nice woman, Sabrina, walked up to us and said, "I need to know where you got your dog"... We told her "Coco's Heart". Her jaw dropped and she said, "I think I took care of you dog as a puppy and saved her life". She continued to tell us that over a year ago (Bella is 1 1/2 years old), a man brought a puppy to her clinic and said, "she's been tied up in my kitchen, she keeps puking and having diarrhea, I need someone to help her". The clinic took her in and soon realized she had Parvo which kills over 50% of puppies that become infected. When they told the guy that brought her, he said "let me get my wallet from the car" and never came back. The clinic finished treatment and this woman took the puppy home to socialize her and train her before bringing her to Coco's Heart. Sabrina asked us to stay there, went to get her phone and showed us pictures of the puppy... She had all of Bella's exact markings!! We were so awestruck that the universe brought this our way in such a small world. I emailed Coco's to confirm that it was Bella and it was! So yesterday we learned that our baby is survivor, a warrior, a strong pup!

So Bella Wilbur-Milbery... Welcome to the family! We love you and are so grateful for you!

Don't judge my Pit Bull
and I won't judge your children.

Life, as we know it, in Minnesota!

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to blog more... considering it’s been over two weeks since my last update, I’d say I need to work on this resolution.

In the last two weeks, Nathaniel and I have both started jobs, watched the Patriots lose, explored a few places in Minneapolis, and all around started to settle in to our new lives together, here in Minneapolis. It’s been exciting and overwhelming at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve enjoyed every second of living with my best friend and transitioning into my new role here in the Minnesota office of Free the Children. 

Nathaniel at Bryant-Lake Bowl

On our adventures a couple weeks ago, we found ourselves at Bryant-Lake Bowl. This place is a whole in the wall bar meets alley way bowling with no computer screens to keep score and amazing food. It was actually featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives which is what prompted us to eat there before we bowled. We met a really nice family next to us and the dad taught us how to score our game (I’m still trying to teach Nathaniel though) and I have to say, Nathaniel beat me both times. It is definitely a place we will visit more often and one we will take family/friends when they visit.

Archiver's

Another spot we decided we had to check out was... Dun dun dunnnnn... The Mall of America! Fun fact: More people visit the Mall of America annually than the populations of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Canada combined! And being there, I can see why. If you are a mall/shopping person (which I am about 50% of the time), this place was made for you. It is four floors of pure heaven with any store you can possibly think of – including a store for Betty Paige, including dresses like the ones she wore (I am currently saving up for another trip back to this store). My other favorites included the Vera Bradley store, Archiver’s (a store dedicated to scrapbooking – seriously?!), and the Betty Paige store. Finally, if I haven’t sold the men yet on visiting Mall of America with their significant others... there is an amusement park in the center of the mall, complete with roller coasters and a ferris wheel, and a Lego store that features MASSIVE lego structures. Yes, inside of a mall. Is this an appropriate time to say “only in America”?

Okay, okay, we’ll get to some of the “why we’re actually here” stuff, like jobs... Nathaniel landed a job at a distribution company and has made a few friends there. Considering it looks like we will be staying here a bit longer (sorry I can’t give out too much information about that yet), we are currently on the search for a more permanent position for him. (And we’re on a role, trust me!)

My job has been going really great, I’m loving my role here in Minnesota and the fact that I get to be a part of our expansion into the motherland. Last night, Nathaniel and I attended an event at The Blake School – a top private school in MN and huge champions of Free The Children. It was a fundraiser for clean water in Barind, India through FTC. While at the event, we had the pleasure of meeting Dean and Hutton Phillips, the co-chairs for We Day Minnesota! Their family has the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota, which is an amazing philanthropic organization. It was so nice to meet them and be in a middle school auditorium, seeing so many young people come together for social change.

Lastly, I decided to (finally, after so many people have told me to do so) open an Etsy shop! Right now I only have a few sets of coasters listed, but once I have all my craft supplies here I will be able to list my cards and other items as well. It’s still in the beginning stages, but check it out: a Craft in my Step!

As you can see, we have settled in nicely and we are enjoying our life here in Minnesota. Check back for more updates!

Welcome to Minneapolis!

Our first welcome mat!

Hey friends! This post comes about a week overdue, but for anyone that has moved into a new place (and one without internet) you know how long it can take to get settled! After spending two years in an LDR (long distance relationship), Nathaniel and I have not only moved closer to each other, but we have moved into an apartment together in Minneapolis!

A month before I was set to move back to Massachusetts and end my time at Free The Children, I was approached by some of the directors in the organization and asked to stay. They explained that they had a position available in Minneapolis, MN which they wanted me for. After hearing so much about it I realized it was an opportunity that I could not pass up... and here I am. In my new role, I am a hybrid of a few roles at Free The Children. I am:

• Outreach Speaker (which I have been for the last two years) - Traveling to schools every day to connect with youth and schools that want to be involved with Free The Children. I deliver 45-minute keynote presentations to schools about my own personal story, what FTC is, what Adopt a Village is, and how they can get involved.
• Youth Programming Coordinator - The first point of contact for individual youth that want to be involved with FTC and schools that are not yet involved. I will be responsible for nurturing relationships with schools until they are ready to get involved and then I introduce them to their own Educational Programming Coordinator.
• Main MN contact (not exact job title) - I will be working with one other person, David, to get people in Minnesota involved in our programming; from youth and schools to corporate partners and school administrators... I'll be working hard to make sure we have a strong network in MN.

I am really excited about this role because I get to wear a few hats and try new roles, while also gaining skills and improving the ones I have already learnt. I am currently in Toronto training with various team members to make this role successful and will be returning to Minneapolis this weekend and starting in the office there on Monday!

Panoramic view of our dining room and living room.

As for the apartment and living with Nathaniel... It's been fantastic! The apartment is beautiful and spacious for two people and in a quiet neighborhood. Once you walk into our apartment there is a kitchen and dining area to the left, living room straight ahead, and bedroom and bathroom to the right. I've been doing most of the cooking and Nathaniel's been doing the handy work! So far our biggest differences have been folding towels differently (we now fold them as Bria does) and making the bed differently (we now make it as Nathaniel does)... so I'd say we're doing pretty well ;)

There isn't too much within walking distance right now because it is so cold, however, once the weather gets better there are all sorts of trails and lakes surrounding us to explore. Besides, we're only a 30-minute transit ride from downtown Minneapolis, which is pretty sweet! We took our first successful bus ride last weekend to prepare for Nathaniel's interview and did not get lost which was a plus. I'm excited to get back to the city this weekend and be able to explore a bit, we have a running list of 30+ things to do!

On a more personal note, I have followed along with the typical societal rules of committing to New Year's Resolutions... they are as follows:

Become more comfortable in my own skin.

No fast food.

No soda.

Get back into a workout schedule (4-5 days a week).

Train to run a 5k race.

Stop swearing.

Blog more (weekly).

So far the resolutions have been going well. I haven't had fast food or soda. I'm working on the swearing (haven't perfected it but have been doing pretty well I think). I will start working out when I get back to Minneapolis since we have a fitness center in the apartment building (this goes along with training for the 5k and being more comfortable in my own skin). 

Look out in the coming weeks for updates on all our adventures!

Until next time... 

"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm... As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others." -Audrey Hepburn

'Tis the season!

Seating Team Lead: We Day Waterloo Region!

My oh my, it has been a while since I last posted! The past few months have been crazy ones since my return from trips. Immediately after returning I jumped into We Day mode. This past season I was asked to be a "Seating Team Lead". What that means is myself and another colleague were the point people and in charge of creating plans to seat 15,000-18,000 youth at each We Day! That means ourselves, about 6 other staff members, and 60-100 volunteers effectively sat thousands of people so they could enjoy the day with great seats. Needless to say, it was very time consuming, and at times stressful, job but it was well worth it. We held We Days in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Waterloo, and Montreal (only one I did not attend). It was so lovely to be able to see each city and explore different parts of Canada. My highlights from the tour would definitely be: dancing with cowboys in Calgary, walking the streets of Vancouver (one of my favorite cities), and making new friends with people I don't have the pleasure of always interacting with. It was an amazing journey and I was able to gain so many skills that will follow me into more careers.

Once We Day was complete, I had to start wrapping up my life in Toronto, knowing that I would be leaving Free The Children and coming back to Massachusetts in December. However, when I returned, I received an email from the Executive Director of FTC, my director, and the Director of HR, asking to meet with me. When I met with them they informed me of a position opening up in the US that they wanted ME for! The position would be one to build our ground in Minnesota where I would be doing outreach speeches to get schools excited and involved with FTC, meeting with teachers and principals, working on corporate sponsorship at times, and anything else that gets thrown my way. I knew it would be a lot of work and a very challenging role... one in which I would be able to use the skills I already have and also gain new skills to carry over into future careers... So I said YES! Nathaniel and I will be moving to Minneapolis next week to begin the next chapter of our lives together and we couldn't be more excited!

Nathaniel and I

Me, Britt, and Larissa

After telling my team that this move would be taking place, I started researching the role and all I would have to do. My final month in Toronto was jampacked with figuring out this new role, my best friend coming to see the city, holiday parties, and much time with friends and loved ones. We had our 2nd annual Merry Giving, along with holiday parties and a goodbye party for Larissa and I.

This past week has been spending lots of time with family and celebrating the holidays, while packing and getting ready for the next adventure. I miss Toronto a lot but I feel comfort knowing that I am not yet leaving the Free The Children family and will only be a simple phone call away.

Here's to new adventures in new cities! Until next time...

Politics... of China.

August 18, 2012, 8:30 p.m.

                I am traveling through a country that is often referred to as an “emerging superpower” of the world, yet 36% of the population lives on less than $2 a day and 56% (700+ million people) in the country live in the rural communities. Of these 56% of people, roughly 20% of them will leave their community to take on low wage jobs in the city, hoping for a greater success and more money for their families (their children not able to go with them). Within the rural population, only 1% of secondary students will move on to college or university, and there would be approximately 1.5 health care workers per 1,000 people. If you were living in this rural community, you would go to the bathroom in squatters – holes in the ground - where the urine and feces would collect and potentially contaminate the soil or water within your community.

                As a citizen in China, you are automatically part of the hukou system – a system in which your household must register for the government. Once you register your family with the government, that place becomes your home and certain restrictions guide your life. For instance, if I am registered in the Gufupu community (a rural community about two hours outside of Beijing), because my parents and their parents grew up in this community, I would then be restricted to that community when it comes to education, health care, work, etc. I could choose to head into the city to find work, which as you read roughly 20% do, but my children would have to stay in Gufupu and be raised by my parents because they would not be allowed to attend school in Beijing. We could get health care in Beijing, but we would have to pay for it, which many rural community members cannot afford. Also, if I am choosing to work in the city in attempts to support my family, I would be listed as a “migrant worker” and certainly not be  paid as much as city dwellers would be. Finally, there is the one child policy. Every person in China must be registered with the government, otherwise, they have no identity, and if they have no identity they cannot go to school, get health care, etc. Each family is allowed to have one child, to slow the rates of over population, and then it is common for one of the parents (mostly the women) to be sterilized. This poses problems because in China, it is very desirable to have a boy so he may carry on the family name, therefore, it is undesirable to have a girl. Legally, you cannot find out the sex of your baby until it is born because otherwise there may be forced abortions, however, you can sometimes pay off a doctor to find out. Also, there is the chance that the girl may be killed or sold off after she is born if the family either does not want to have a girl or cannot afford it (think dowry when she is older and needs to be married).

                These trips always amaze me because they force me to look at hard issues from two stances. On the one stance, I look at it as a human, a global citizen, an activist. How can people kill their baby based upon the sex? How can a government tell you that you can only have one child? How can a government hide a massacre, a part of history? How is it that the rest of the world isn’t exposed to this side of China? Why is it that we refer to it as a superpower when so many of their own citizens are struggling to survive and maintain a proper identity? These experiences force you to consider the other side as well though. How is an overpopulated country expected to maintain order if they don’t have records of its citizens? How is an overpopulated country expected to keep its cities clean and safe without restricting people from constantly migrating in? If there’s anything I have learned on this trip so far, it is that nothing is black and white. There are many gray areas to the Chinese government whether we like to admit it or not.

Tang Jia Qiang, the boy who stole my heart

                Today we visited a Kung Fu orphanage that we will be volunteering at all week. It wasn’t until later tonight that I realized... if these kids are orphans, they don’t have birth certificates, therefore having no identity with the Chinese government. If they need health care, Kung Fu Daddy (he heads the orphanage) pays for it out of donations. They have teachers at the orphanage to educate them but the children have no future in further education because they have no identity and no way to take high school exams for college admission. That means Tang Jia Qiang (or John as he allowed me to give him an English name), the sweetest, most obedient, and soft spoken 5-year-old I have ever met, with the softest touch as he held my hand, will never have a fair shot at his own basic human rights. Unless he makes it big with Kung Fu or gets a good break through Kung Fu Daddy and can leave China, he doesn’t have much of a future here. He’ll grow up in an orphanage, with a family of teachers, coaches, and 80 other orphans, loved more than anything... but as soon as he turns 18 and has to move on (whether he chooses to teach there or move on), he will still have no identity. Unless something changes in the policies of the Chinese government...