Leadership Academy

Recently I was accepted into the Leadership Academy here at work. It is sponsored by the Provost's office here at University of Idaho. Apparently they only take one employee from our division, so I am so honored to be included. I'm really excited because I'll get to meet a lot more of my fellow employees, currently my office is located in a building that is way off on the edge of campus so I don't have much contact with the rest of campus other than by email. Also, since I work in HR I don't really have much to do with students other than the two work study students I supervise. I tend to forget that the reason we are all here is for the students. Our leadership academy retreat quickly reminded that the student are why we are here.

I've also learned a few things about myself. We had to take this assessment that let us know what our strengths were, in the context of this particular evaluation anyway. Here were mine:

Context: People who are especially talented in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.

Ideation: People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Activator: People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient. (I don't think I realized that I may often be impatient?)

Adaptability: People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

Learner: People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

I'm still learning how to apply this knowledge and I'm trying to decide if they are really accurate, but it gives me somewhere to start.

Football

Are you ready for some football?? We are. I'm not ready for fall, just football... yes I realize they go together. Last night was the first University of Idaho football game, it went well... Idaho had not won a season opener since 1998, but last night not only won the opener but achieved the largest margin of victory in 18 years by defeating North Dakota 45-0. It was just really fun to go and watch the team do really well! Mike gets into the games for free, but I had to buy tickets so this year I bought season tickets. It should be a lot of fun. Next week's game will be a lot tougher, we play Nebraska - in Nebraska, but its good, we've got the Boise State game in November so we really need the practice playing tough teams. This will be the last year of the Idaho/BSU rivalry. Maybe its a good, things can be really toxic in this rivalry (Mike would argue this point with me though!)

I'm also participating in a Fantasy Football league - I have NO IDEA what I'm doing??? I missed the draft so I fairly certain my team is terrible. I guess I'll find out when the season starts. I'm ready for my lazy Sundays watching football!!

Wait... summer just started!

Summer over... not happy!

I was walking to work the other morning and saw a few leaves fall. They weren't leaves that had turned colors or anything like that, it was just a little windy. It just got me thinking... wow fall is right around the corner, especially here in Northern Idaho, we have a VERY short summer. Normally, by the time fall rolls around I'm ready for the change, but not this summer. I've done no camping, no swimming in lakes, rivers, ponds, etc., my summer vacation was spent in a campus apartment at Univ. of Oklahoma with my husband and a whole bunch of 20 years olds... its just really been a funny summer.

School just started around here, so the campus population has exploded!! It really is just such a different town when the 'kids' are here. But hey, that's why we are here too.

Mike's been home for a few weeks now. Its so wonderful having him home, but its also a little strange having to account to someone else for my time. He keeps asking me when I'll be home from work... I guess "when I get home" isn't a very nice answer :-)

I've been working - A LOT, so that would be the reason for the lack of postings on this blog.

Ah Idaho

Last night we had a going away party at one of my co-worker's houses. It's outside of town in the farmland of the Palouse. What is the Palouse? Well, it's these amazing rolling hills that are planted with wheat, peas, canola, garbanzo beans, and I'm sure many other crops. Right now they are beautifully green!

In a month or two they will be rolling fields of brown. Which, until they harvest is really pretty too.



It was so nice sitting out in her back yard looking out over the rolling hills with Moscow Mountain in the back ground. Moscow Mountain has always been kind of a funny thing to me. It's more like a ridge, I guess there is a specific peak that is Moscow Mountain, but I couldn't tell you which one. And doesn't sound like something out of a scary Teen movie "up on (insert town name) mountain" ...

But anyway, after leaving the get together, I decided to go for a drive and drove up the mountain. Looking back, maybe not the best idea since no one knew where I was going or even that I wasn't home, but luckily it turned out fine. Thank goodness because I love to explore. Below are a couple of pictures I took with my phone from the top, I would have liked to get out and explore... but I was in a dress and heels, so I thought the better option would be to stay in my truck.

It really is very pretty here.

Here are a few pictures of my Garden, well, from a few weeks ago. I have to go up there this week and get to weeding. Unfortunately, summer is just beginning to hit Moscow, so my plants are not very happy plants.



We've got our flimsy little fence, but hey the neighbor's plot doesn't have one, so hopefully the bunnies will hit first.



-- Those little tiny plants are lettuce! I was pretty excited they sprouted so I had to take a picture.

Whirlwind California Trip

Wow - I'm exhausted! Last week, I flew to California to give out the Davey Davis Outstanding Athlete Award at the Foresthill Divide Middle School Graduation. The award is named after my pop who taught in Foresthill (where I grew up) from 1979 - 1989 when he passed away.

I got into Sacramento Thursday evening, and stayed with close friends Nancy & Ryan Rivers, and was really excited to see their son Kyle who is almost 10!!! Crazy how time flies. Friday morning I drove to Nevada City, CA and had lunch with a distant cousin that I had never met. My Great Grandmother is her Great Aunt. She had a bunch of genealogy books and papers to look through. It was really funny because I had a bunch of the original photos that are photocopied in the genealogy book and she had some original photos that I had photocopies of! It was just fun to put it all together.

After a fantastic lunch, I made my way up to Foresthill and spent a couple of hours with my cousin Brent. He's 10 years younger than I am, so we haven't really spent much time around each other, so it was really fun getting to know the adult that once was the 3 year old I used to cart around.

Following along the nostalgic road I'd been following all day, I went over meet the people who live in the house that I grew up in. They had been renovating the house, and had saved a piece of concrete that had my name in written into it! The house mostly looks the same, but its just different you know?

Then off to Foresthill High School to give out the award. I saw some people I hadn't seen in years and then others who I see once a year at the graduation. It was so much fun catching up with people!!

Friday was the longest day, but it really was a great day.

Saturday, I drove up to Paradise to visit with Mike's sister and parents and to see my nephews who are now 2 1/2 and almost 5!! They are just adorable, and the 2 1/2 year looks so much like Mike its just funny! After heading back to Roseville, I had a FANTASTIC evening hanging out with Nancy, Ryan, and Kyle. Nancy and I enjoyed two very yummy bottles of wine while we chatted like we did when we were kids... just different topics ;-)

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because Mike has our camera, and I just forgot to take some using my phone. But it was a crazy whirlwind weekend... but it was GREAT!

Gardening

When we found out Mike was going to be heading to Oklahoma for the summer, I realized I would need something in addition to work to keep me busy since I tend to become a couch potato if given to much free time. My neighbor has had a plot in a community garden here in town for a few summers now and I've helped her out here and there, so I thought maybe I'd get my own. Last week the group that runs the garden let me know they had one available for me if I wanted it!

So, it's been a busy week. The plot is about 12 x 12 feet, but it wasn't planted last year, so the soil was a little hard and there were WEEDS, WEEDS, and more WEEDS. I took out two wheelbarrows full of dandelions alone! It also had volunteer onions growing all over too. I felt bad taking out the onions, but I had to roto-till the plot or I never would have been able to do anything!

Sunday my brother Ryan brought over a roto-tiller and tilled the plot for me! It was awesome. Then last night Mike and I went up and built a little fence around it. There are bunnies that love living up there because they get to eat all sorts of yummy veggies all summer! I'm not sure our fence would keep out a bunny if it really wanted in, but we are hoping that they will just move along to the next plot that isn't fenced.

I also planted some lettuce & spinach! And I have tomato, squash, and pepper plant starts at home. I'll probably plant them in the garden next week, we've still had some mild frosts the past few weeks up here.

I'll go up to the garden and snap some pictures to post on here so you can what it used to look like and what it looks like now, just a week later!