Electronic Marketing

Last summer, I finished my 4-week, weekday, 2 hour a day class with an A. I really enjoyed the class. I found it interesting and beneficial for both my job and blog. My class had a phenomenal, FREE textbook. It's by Rob Stokes and is called eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Marketing in a Digital World. I took this class through Kansas State University. I've really enjoyed my undergraduate and graduate marketing classes and professors.

I loved talking about social media and trends. It boiled down to the fact that online marketing doesn't have to be very complicated.

How to Kill Fruit Flies

I forgot to use my garbage disposal to get rid of some rotting strawberries and the next day when I opened my trash can, a SWARM of fruit flies emerged. I tried to kill them with a fly swatter, but with that many it wasn't making a dent. So, I checked Pinterest and saw this solution:

I didn't have a mason jar or parchment paper, so I used a juice glass. I also used cling wrap, a pen to make holes, apple cider vinegar, and two drops of Dawn dish soap.
My attempt

My results?
12 hours later: 2 fruit flies
24 hours later: 17 fruit flies
2 days later 40ish fruit flies
3.5 days later 44 fruit flies
Now only a few more icky bugs to go!

This solution definitely worked!!!

StrengthsQuest

StrengthsQuest has been really popular for the last roughly five years. I first took it at my last job. I'd since forgotten what my top five strengths were and recently, for a class I looked up my strengths. It has been really interesting to re-access these after five years. All I feel are still accurate.

StrengthsQuest helps you to know yourself better and it can help you understand what's important to others and essentially how they operate, thus helping you work together better.

My top 5 strengths are: Responsibility, Harmony, Belief, Consistency, and Connectedness. After reading the descriptions for each, I realized how well they do represent me. Also, these happen to be similar qualities to those that I look for in friends. I was initially surprised to see harmony in my top 5. Previously, I hadn't reflected on how important harmony really was to me, but I hate do drama, so it does makes sense.

Here's info on StrengthsQuest. It does cost to complete the accessment, though not too much. What are your strengths?

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McFarland, USA

By now, you know I love movies. I saw terrific previews for McFarland, USA and knew I had to see it. We all love movies where the underdog wins. Plus, it's about a Mexican community which I identify with as a Mexican.

The only big name star in the movie, was the polarizing Kevin Costner. I love his voice and movies. The movie is based on a true story; my favorite! Costner plays hot-headed football coach, Jim White whose temper gets him fired...a lot!. Yet, again his family of four has to move to another town for work, McFarland, California. There he helps coach football and teaches science and P.E. His hot-head gets him fired from football. His family struggles to get used to a new town. As he drives, he sees high school students run really fast. There, he gets the idea to form a cross country team. Valente Rodriguez, from the George Lopez show, plays the funny principal who okays Jim starting a cross country team. His first recruit is a boy he protected on the football team which got both of them kicked off. That boy helps him recruit more, including the three Diaz brothers, including slow Danny. Danny, Coach White explains will be the teams anchor.

The hard working kids get up at literally the crack of dawn to help their families pick fruits and vegetables in the fields, go to school, run, then help in the fields again. White wakes up one morning and helps in the field all day to see what their lives are really like. He gives the boys hope that with cross country they can go to college.

Focusing on cross country causes Coach White to miss his daughter's birthday. With the help of his new friends and the Mexican community, he gives her a Quinceañera. This celebrates her becoming a woman.

His team loses it's first competition, but learns from it and trains to do better. All their hard work pays off and they qualify for state finals, despite many ups and downs along the way. The team grows to respect Coach White. They end up winning state with the support of their community. All the boys end up going to college. Coach White leads several more cross country state titles before retiring. Most of the guys on his first team, live and work in that same community, most even teaching at local schools. They continue to run with the cross country team to stay connected. My friends and parents really liked it. A bonus is the fun Mexican music throughout the movie. Pretty sweet story! Check it out.



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Riley and Max

The summer after our beloved, Franky died, my mom felt it was time to think about getting a puppy. I didn't want a puppy, it felt disloyal to Franky. So there we were traveling around the 4th of July weekend to rural Hanover, KS. It was a small, farming town. I wasn't sure about this whole puppy thing. Then I saw all the glorious golden retriever puppies come out from under the porch. They were so cute. We started picking up puppies and trying to decide which to pick. We knew we wanted a male. My mom said she'd found "the puppy," a sweet-faced puppy that became our Max. I told her she could say that all she wanted until she picked up the sweet puppy I was holding. When I picked him up, he cuddled me and I was a goner. His sad tail sloped down. Mom held him and announced we'd be getting two puppies! Riley had won her over. So we paid the fees and waited until we could bring them home, weeks later when they were weaned. We were so nervous. Two puppies is a large undertaking.

The trip home with the puppies was fun and they slept most of the way. They were so cute! We were excited! We knew our lives were about to be flipped inside out and that's about what happened.

Riley always looked so serious with his expressive eyes. If you tried to get him out from under the bed, he'd growl and snap. He had giant ears and paws, that he's now grown into.

Max was all over the place, happily exploring. Max always wanted to escape their kitchen enclosure. He had such bright eyes. Some things never change.

They brought smiles, laughter, and joy back into our family!

Riley and Max :)

The Other Wes Moore

I just finished reading, The Other Wes Moore. I have long loved reading, especially between my MBA classes. I like to read fiction and also biographies. In a way, The Other Wes Moore is a biography. It follows the similar lives of two African American boys during the same era and living in same city. They come from similar single mother homes. The book follows their upbringing and what made the difference in each of their lives. They end up in very different places.

One ended up with a life sentence in prison for murder. The other went to military school, became a decorated veteran, a Rhodes Scholar, a White House Fellow, and a businessman. It was interesting to see their similarities and when each came to a fork in the road that helped change the rest of their lives. The choices we make each day define the lives we live. The fate of the imprisoned Wes Moore made the other Wes Moore wonder how their fates could've been so different with such similar backgrounds. So, he struck up a friendship with the imprisoned Wes Moore to find out what made the difference.

Some of their differences, as I saw it were 1) ones mom raised her kids alone while the other moved in with her parents for help and 2) one had more kids and one focused on working more to provide for her kids, and 3) one mom talked to their son about his bad behavior and one realized talking wasn't helping and sent him to military school.

Have you read it? Did anything stand out to you about it? This book is timely with all the things going on in our world like the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. Read it and gain another perspective. Knowledge is power.
To learn more about the book, click here.

Here's an excellent YouTube video my friend, the highly successful speaker and writer, Patrick Combs shared about the book: #veryinsightful #maketherightchoice #begratefulfortoughlove

San Andreas, The Movie

I was unsure how cheesy San Andreas would be, but my friend and I were really impressed with it.

The Rock, Dwayne Johnson was the only A lister in the movie, though the supporting cast was really strong with noticeable faces like Paul Giamatti, Carla Gugino, Ioan Guffadd, Kylie Minogue (my friend recognized her) and Will Yun Lee.

It takes place mainly in California, following a series on earthquakes there and at the Hoover Dam in Nevada (scary part). As the movie name suggests, the earthquakes essentially fall along the lines of the San Andreas fault.

I will admit that the Rock lives through things no one else would. Maybe that's why he's the Rock ;) He also has an easy time getting out of challenging situations...oh wow, there just happens to be a plane he can steal. How is the boat not clogged by the tons of building materials in the water? I guess, it's a super boat built to not fail the Rock...

This movie does keep you on the edge of your seat. I laughed and nearly cried, but despite all the unreal things that happened it makes you cheer them on. I'm still a Rock fan. More importantly, I would see it again.



Have you seen it? Thoughts?

Franky, Part 2

Last fall, I wrote Franky: Part One. Franky, our golden retriever made friends with everyone he met and everyone loved him.

My senior year of high school we moved to 20 acres and a house we built in the country. Franky loved it and ran all over the land.

In college, I lived at home and each time someone came home, Franky would run to greet you; he was the best welcoming party ever. I hated writing papers and always had to go to the basement computer to write. I always had trouble getting started and I was nervous. Franky would generally come downstairs away from the rest of the family to help me get started. Hours in once I had a nice flow going, he would venture back upstairs. He was such a giver.

One night, we all watched a movie together and after everyone went back upstairs, but I had another dreaded paper to write. Franky must've sensed my stress and resumed his spot by the computer to help me get started.

The next day changed the rest of our lives forever. I went to work and school, where my mom called to say Franky was lying outside and wouldn't eat anything. He loved eating human food, so I suggested she offer him a piece of bread, which she had and he refused. I was shocked. After he stayed stuck in that one spot all day, my mom had my dad come home early from work to take Franky to the vet. After work, I joined them. They were doing doing tests. Before his little surgery we said bye and watched them cart him down the hall. He looked at us with those beautiful tigers eye-colored eyes. They did a little surgery and found that he was septic; his bowel was perforated. With his being septic, he would have to have it as an open wound. The dangers of him being septic were large, living with an open wound is dangerous and they suspected cancer. The odds of him living was 25% and there were dangers of him having complications. There was nothing else they could do for him. We wailed in that waiting room. He had seemed so fine before and now we were making the hardest decision of our lives. We always said we'd pay whatever to keep him alive, but keeping him alive wasn't an option anymore unless we left him with an open wound only to wait for the end with him in pain. We were devastated. Franky had spent over 10 years being the best member of our family. It was hard to reconcile that he'd be fine just the day before and had selflessly helped me with my paper just the night before. While Franky was our family dog, my mom spend 24 hours a day with him and they were beyond close. Though my dad and I hated to admit it, we knew the best option for our baby, was to put him down. Nowhere was there a scenario where he would live and it broke our hearts. We made mom make the call about what to do and decided there was no better option for him. We wailed and our vet cried with us.

My parents stayed to wait to take home his body and I went home. What I didn't realized was that I'd be arriving home where Franky wouldn't be there to great me. The grief was hard to put into words. I couldn't stand to be alone in my room, though Franky always stayed in my parent's room. I cried myself to sleep every night for at least a week. I awoke every day to my dad crying. Franky got up with my dad early every morning and now dad was alone. I used to complain about all the blonde/red hair on my clothes, but as time passed his said disappeared from our clothes and I would've given anything to have my furry puppy back.

Over 13 years have gone by since his passing and we still miss him dearly. He and I had a special bond having grown up together. Through him I learned about love, forgiveness and joy in the simple things. I learned that love is about the small things. We loved him and he loved us. For me, he'll always be the best dog ever. Miss you, Franky! <3

Monsoon in Manhattan

Late afternoon and evening Monday, May 4th, the weather here in Manhattan, KS got crazy. The downpour was intense and caused flooding unlike I'd ever seen in my life.
I left work about 5:30 planning to head to the gym. I ran through the rain and jumped over a rover of water that soaked my shoes. So, I decided to go home. On the main road heading home, I saw police lights up ahead. So, I took a shortcut to miss it. Once I met another main road, I saw all the standing water and all the tentative drivers. Here's what I experienced. Just past this, I saw the first stalled car, a muscle car, Dodge Charger. I turned back into the main road home and saw some several stalled cars and lots of water.

Here we see stalled vehicles, mainly muscle cars, and drivers of those cars standing on the median. I was overwhelemed with the amount of water and was unsure if my small Jetta would survive. As, I trekked on the road ahead seemed a daunting with all the water, so I thought I should try a side street, then decided that wouldn't be the best idea, so I kept going on. There were waves of water hitting my car and I was waiting for water to start to start seeping in my car. I kept praying that I could get home safely.

I live down from a roundabout and as I approached it reminded me of an abandoned carosel at an amusement park. Cars were stuck on it with many up on the curbs. The key part was that nothing was moving. So, I turned down a side street and planned to take a turn down a side street to arrive home, but I saw other cars who had tried that and failed. I kept driving and looking at side streets. I found one and turned down. I was so happy to finally get home!
This one of the scariest things I saw.

To check out the KSHB News website to see my photos on their webpage.

Experiences That Changed Me, Part 1

When American Sniper came out last fall, I wanted to see it, but wasn't sure I could handle it's intensity. I have lots of friends in the military, live in a military community, and worked in a job where I was involved in the local base (Fort Riley, KS) and traveled to military bases across the United States. Those experiences changed the way I see the world forever. I'll share a few of the experiences that most changed me.

One of the posts I traveled to was Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. It is home to the 2nd largest military hospital in the U.S., San Antonio Military Medical Center formerly Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). I hadn't thought of what that would mean for my trip, but I sure did learn. Lots of companies were there for the career fair I was at representing my employer and among the masses of Soldiers attending were many Soldiers who were amputees missing one or two limbs or had disfiguring burns across their whole bodies. They were there shaking hands and looking for employment like everyone else. Seeing their injuries and children there with them tugged at my heart. They weren't at home wallowing in sorrow, like I knew I would be doing if I'd been in their shoes. They were resilient. I swelled with pride in the strength of our Soldiers and I grew more as a person that day as my gratitude for their sacrifice grew as well.

As a member of the community, my company was invited to attend all kinds of military ceremonies at Fort Riley: change of command, deployment, redeployment, casing of colors, and memorials to name a few. I attended dozens of ceremonies during my 5.5 years at that job. Of all the ceremonies I attended two types of ceremonies most changed me; redeployment and memorials.

I first attended a redeployment ceremony as a community member and observer. They often were at the craziest times like 4am, but I wanted to experience them. For me the experience was in a way indescribable. Entering the large, sterile gym anticipation was so thick in the air you could almost taste it, people were fidgety waiting for their loved ones to finally arrive after a long deployment and restless children cried, many of whom hadn't been born when their fathers had deployed. The wait for the Soldiers to finally arrived felt like forever. Though I didn't know a soul returning, I was filled with anticipation for them. The Soldiers file into formation, families frantically search the nearly identical rows of uniformed Soldiers for their loved ones. The commander speaks for a few minutes, which feels like hours to the restless crowd. Then he releases the Soldiers and the search begins. Fathers meet their babies for the first time, families laugh and cry, the experience and emotions are unforgettable.

Just two years ago, I attended another redeployment ceremony. This time, I knew someone coming back. One of my good friends was returning from a year in Afghanistan. Every parking lot within a 1/4 mile of the gym was packed along with all streets. Snow was on the ground. The gym was packed to the brim. I stood in a hoard of people near the entrance and couldn't see a thing. I again felt the anticipation and emotion of it all. Babies cried, people strained to see a glimpse of their loved one, and with the anticipation of it all I teared up. Once the Soldiers were dismissed, I worked through the crowd to try to find my friend and her parents. I made it just in time to see my friend's dad find her. The emotion on his face as he hugged her struck my heart.

The one ceremony to most effect me were the memorials. My coworker briefed me of some of the emotional parts of the ceremony, but no words could ever have properly prepared me. We stepped into a beautiful chapel on post and sat in a pew towards the back. Fellow Soldiers shared their memories of their departed friends. After that,things happened in an order I can't quite remember. A lone trumpet played the always emotional "Taps." Next was roll call, it was much more devastating then even I had been able to imagine. The First Sergeant begins roll call, calling the rank and last name of Soldiers in the company ex) "Sgt. Smith." Sgt. Smith answers back, "here, First Sergeant." Roll call continues with the First Sergeant calling out the the rank and last name of several Soldiers, they in turn answer back, "here First Sergeant." Then he comes to the deceased Soldier. He calls their rank and last name. The silence is deafening. All you want is for that Soldier to be able to answer back. The First Sergeant then continues calling the deceased Soldier's rank, first name, and last name. The silence continues on for what feels like forever as your heart breaks. A final time the First Sergeant calls out the rank, first name, middle name, and last name of the the deceased Soldier into silence that makes me cry to even think about it. Into the silence, outside the chapel you hear the 21-gun salute. It feels like it comes out of nowhere and literally jolts you. The room is full of unbearable sorrow. The following video captures in a small way what the memorial was like. I will say, it's not for the faint of heart and brought back all the emotions I felt that day over 8 years ago. I hope even in a small way that it helps you and I realize the depth of sacrifice of our outstanding military. I feel that every American should attend a military memorial to better understand the sacrifice and the gift of our freedom, which is far from free.

Seeing American Sniper brought back some of my memories back. I thought the movie would feature lots of fight scenes, but it really focused on Chris Kyles' relationships with his family and friends. His skill as a sniper was unbelievable and saved so many lives. In the end, it reminded me of the strength and sacrifice of our military. In addition, it made me proud to be an American. The movie ended so sadly, but it made me thankful for people like Chris Kyle and it brought the important issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) back into people's minds. It's real and it's crippling even for the strongest of people. I've had friends who've battled it. We definitely need to address the hard issues and help our Soldiers heal. God bless America!