Lillian is 3!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lillian JoAnne!!

A special treat of chocolate donuts with sprinkles for breakfast.

I came out and she said to me, "Say happy birthday to me!"

What a goofball.

A special, little present from Mom & Dad - a Disney princess purse, that her dad picked out himself.

She LOVED it!

This little girl, let me tell you... 

she's a little diva,

insists on being babied - though denies to the end that she's a baby,

is ALL girl - loves her dresses, anything pink,

can throw a tantrum like no other,

drives me crazy some days...

But I wouldn't trade one single bit of it.

It's nearly impossible to imagine what my life was like before she was a part of it and I can't possibly imagine a life without her. There aren't enough words to describe how much I love her.

Happy birthday, baby girl!!

Minneapolis

I was given the opportunity to go to Minneapolis this past weekend to attend a conference. The experience was incredible! I had forgotten what a great city Minneapolis is!

The opening night celebration for the conference was held behind the Mill City Museum, along the Mississippi Riverfront. Such a beautiful area! I enjoyed a lovely walk to the museum from my downtown hotel. Enjoy a few pictures I took of the museum area.

The conference began on Saturday, but I didn't get into town until late Saturday afternoon. Sunday was my first day of the conference, but also the day they had their opening general session. Some talented gentlemen from Brave New Workshop opened the session, debunking some common Minnesota myths (many of which rang true for this South Dakota girl). They were hilarious and informative. We were also entertained by a Native American dance. I could watch them dance all day.

I attended all kinds of sessions that taught me so much about this industry I'm in now. I heard from some incredible speakers, Deepak Chopra and Chris Heeter among them. It was overwhelming, exciting... It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I was able to go.

I talked with vendors about how their products are benefiting the industry and I met all kinds of people. Most importantly, I finally met a couple of my freelance writers. I mingled with all kinds of people and experienced first-hand the wonderful hospitality of the Meet Minneapolis team.

And I made a button! So fun!

I went on this trip by myself. Which was a little daunting at first. I don't know that I had ever driven in Minneapolis before, but if my sister could do it surely I could! And I'm not the most outgoing person when it comes to meeting new people, stepping up and introducing myself and asking to sit with complete strangers. Talk about some personal growth I experienced! I did it. I asked if I could sit with people I didn't know. I walked right up to people that I "knew" from blog posts or twitter feeds and I introduced myself.

And I went out and ate supper, by myself, in a restaurant in downtown. A couple of gals with Meet Minneapolis recommended I go to Hell's Kitchen, a fairly short walk from my hotel. I was not going to miss out on the opportunity because I was by myself. I'm so glad I went. I knew it wouldn't be horrible and it wasn't. AND I ate probably one of the best burgers I've ever had. I had a lovely walk down Nicollet Mall on the way back to my hotel too.

The next morning was a 2-mile fun run with some of the attendees. There wasn't a very large group, considering there were about 1,900 in attendance at the conference, but just enough. We ran around Loring Park and the sculpture garden. It was actually fun! Then I had a full day of sessions before I headed home. The conference ended Tuesday, but I had work to do!

I left inspired and excited and hopefully I'll come away with several article ideas for future issues!