A new role model

It's Minnesota State Fair time - the great state get-together. I have so many wonderful thoughts, memories and experiences from the fair, I wish I had time to blog them all. But this one just melts my heart.

Today, I read about Martha Olson, founder of "Sweet Martha's Cookies" which has been a staple at the MN State Fair for 30 years. Wow - she is my new role model. I thought I liked to bake, but that's nothing compared to this gem. Here's a brief look at the numbers:

Years selling cookies at the State Fair: 30

First-year oven capacity: 200 cookies in 12 minutes.

Current oven capacity: 22,000 cookies in 12 minutes.

State Fair booths: Two

State Fair staff: 320

Output during last year's fair: 10 million cookies

You can read more about "Sweet Martha" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune here.

So - who's your role model? Anyone you aspire to be like?

Love

How to tell if you are in love:
You drive 3 hours to spend 2 hours of time together - and not just quality alone time, but sharing it with family.

Difficult conversation

Here's just a snippet of how God worked in my life today. Eric and I became engaged on April 5, 2008. Very exciting! I waited one week to tell the news to my coworkers because I wasn't sure how to handle the news. You see, Eric lives in another town (Brookings, SD) and we've had a long-distance relationship. Marriage means someone would be moving. So we waited a week to have our plan of attack.

Since April, we've had a wedding date in mind, and begun exploring it. The last few weeks its been on my heart to sit down and talk with my boss about my future plans. It's not as easy as saying, "I'm quitting my job!" because I love this job. Yes, it's my dream job. And Eric is working at his dream job too. So one of us would have to give it up to be with the other. I determined a long time ago that I would leave my job because living without Eric in my life, isn't really life at all.

This week, I determined I needed to talk to my boss about my plans. Friends told me not to share my news with anyone at work because they would immediately replace me. I didn't feel that would be the case, but still, I waited. I've really begun praying about this conversation, and infact, said a few prayers this morning about it! So it surprised me when my boss happened by my office and asked me if I had plans for lunch. This isn't a regular occurence, and I can count on one hand the number of times he and I have gone out to eat alone. This happenstance, as some may view it, made my heart jump into my throat - I knew I had a unique opportunity to share my plans, but I didn't to talk about it.

So we had lunch. And I told him that Eric and I had set a date (May 1, 2009 for all those interested). And that I planned to move to Brookings once we're married. And that I'd be open to options about keeping my job, because hey - I love my job.

And my boss is very happy for me. He always has been. I'm very lucky to have such an understanding boss (and talented, to boot!). I'm just feeling exposed, and vulnerable. It was the most difficult discussion I've ever had.

Been a while...

And it's because I've been totally slacking. I enjoyed my last post about the Lyndale Ave. doe - in fact, it reminded me that I haven't been jogging for a while. That's because on June 21, I completed my first half-marathon (Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon) in conjunction with Grandma's Marathond in Duluth, MN. Great time - I met my goal of finishing in under 2 hours.

Official stats:
8:35 minute/mile pace
1 hour, 50 minutes and 4 seconds, start-to-finish
328th - my placing by sex (out of 3,016 ladies)
1,137 placing overall