Teamwork

In life we are on many different teams, not necessarily sports teams, or other competitive teams, but groups of people who work together with goals and achievements in mind.  I have been very fortunate to be on many great teams, and will soon be joining another awesome team.
    Today I was offered a formal job offer from Chikaming Open Lands.  While I pretty much verbally accepted this position on Monday, today I was given a formal proposal/job description on my new position as Assistant Land Protection Specialist!  I could not be more happy to have a salaried job in my field of study with benefits only 4 months after graduating.  I am also thrilled to become part of an amazing team, one that I will work with every day and push forward a mission we all are passionate about.   My co-workers, board members, and committee members have all proven to be a varied yet knowledgeable and kind team. They see the major benefits from investing in a young college graduate like me to make me a valuable asset to this team.  I truly believe that I can help this organization forward the mission and get through the transition period while achieving our over arching environmental goal of preserving and protecting open spaces.
      However, I could never have made it to this team without the help, love and support of the teams I have been apart of in the past, friends, class mates, colleagues, club members, other co-workers and especially my family.  These other numerous teams have helped push me to join this team, so I am appreciative of the other teams whom I may not be as close to but who definitely influenced me and worked with each other to achieve our goals.  I hope other members of current and past teams feel like our teamwork has accomplished as much as I do right now!
   Even the bad teams, what hasn't worked, or when you had a sour team mate or ten, teaches you something. and even though bad teams may be miserable, there is still the will to push past them and keep the end goals in mind.  
  So this day, I celebrate successful teams, because without all the people we have worked with in our lives, no one would be where they are now.
  I know i still have many teams to join, but this is a landmark in any person's life: their first salaried with benefits job!
and now that I'm all optimistic and happy.... its time to start looking for a place to live in a VERY rural area....
BLAH

A much needed long weekend at HIGGINS LAKE this weekend, I'm sooo excited to be with family and friends to celebrate this.


Here is the sock I just finished! now I need to make one to match it!

Cheese with my Whine

Wow!  I don't even remember my last post... talk about busy! So much going on, half of it I can't post on here but definitely some of life's curve balls.   Work has been crazy, lots of meetings and trying to get on track after the transition to the new Executive Director.  Sometimes I feel like my head is spinning and my brain is going to explode, for example, we had a meeting with our lawyer last Friday.  The discussions about the legal documents needed to make an easement happen are fascinating, but man was that a DENSE hour and a half!  Talking about clauses for the different easements and the purchase agreements and the difference between a Right of First Offer and a Right of First Refusal.  After this meeting, I thought my head was going to fall off from obtaining so much information.
Sometimes we have so many meetings I feel like I'm not getting much accomplished, but I know the importance of meeting with the people I'm working with via e-mail.  Its just hard to complete long documents when you are constantly in meetings obtaining new information, so I'll save those documents for quieter days.
On top of all the work with the 4 current easements and one preserve, we have had 3 people call in who saw the article in the newspaper about the new Executive Director and are interested in preserving there land!  This is great news, but things are getting a little crazy, which is also a good thing!
    My back is getting better, after several chiro appointments, and desiring a massage just about every day, I'm down to the bruise only being present when i sit with poor posture and some upper back tension that causes occasional headaches.  I'm trying to get back into Yoga to help strengthen my back into a less tense and maybe a little toned area.  I'm scared I'm not doing my positions right though... Need to save up for a class.
Speaking of saving up, my car, well my parents car that I am using for the time being, is seriously about to crap on me.  I shelled out over $300 for ONE ball bearing, I still have to save up $400 for the rear left one and however much it costs to get my brake AND rotors changed out....I'm trying to take each one a month at a time but that makes it impossible for me to save up for the Ford Fiesta I think I will buy in the spring.
  Yes this blog wasn't very mentally enthralling but like I said, work has been draining me.  Many important meetings and our benefit is coming up soon!  If anyone is interested, I would love to have some of my people supporting our efforts to protect land in this area.  Our benefit is in a barn with locally made hors d'eouvres, beer and wine.  yes local beer and wine!  Here is more information and the means to RSVP!!
http://chikamingopenlands.org/news/2011fundraiser
 We also have some very cool raffle prizes!
So that's all my selling points for this week.  When I'm feeling more inspired I'll try and get something more engaging up and a little less whinny.  I know we are all suffering in this bad economy, and the last thing people need to hear is about another struggling, poor college grad, but just know that I am being optimistic as much as I can and am also going to work on my good karma in hopes that it circles around.  Keep your chins up, something good has got to happen to soon!  Its all about the attitude!
Oh! I forgot to shout out about my Chicago trip to visit my great friend Drew!  Here is a picture of us at dinner at aja, a great restaurant!  we also went to a John Legend after party for Lolla at the Underground night club! I will be back soon for another great weekend!

Take care and look forward, not backward!

Liability

Well, these last few weeks, as many people would put it, have made me stronger.  Not only personally, but even work which is usually going great has been testing me.
Last week I was out testing the little streams that flow into Lake Michigan in Lakeside when I slipped down the Smith's wooden stairs and landed right on my butt three times... I also slammed my shoulder blade area of my back into the edge of the theirs three times, knocking the wind out of me and pretty severely bruising my tailbone and screwing up my back.  This was last Thursday.  Today is Wednesday and it is still bugging me after 2 trips to my amazing and generous chiropractor.  It was hard to walk for the first few days, sitting still was not possible and I could barely dress myself for bending over caused the worst pain.  Luckily now I can move around almost like I used to but in the morning and at night my booty still hurts and when I move my arms my upper back is even tighter than it was before...
  Tuesday Emily, from The Nature Conservancy came to conduct site visits of the property's that TNC transferred to us.  Out on the beautiful Grand Beach Marsh, I stepped on a bee hive underground and was swarmed by bees and luckily only stung by two, which today are itching and swollen.
 Luckily stings do not bug me that much, but i really feel like my threshold is being tested by something.  I normally am a fairly careful and cautious person, but I must have bad karma or something (yes I believe in karma... what goes around comes around...) so I guess some things I've done int he recent past might be catching up to me, but hopefully it doesn't result in my fabulous job thinking I'm too much of a liability...
  Last weekend at Higgins was fabulous!  It was sad that i was there for Mark Morley's service, but I'm glad i got to honor his life in a way he would appreciate, by sailing on Higgins Lake.  Going up there is so refreshing for me, I am truly grateful to have that place that has been the only consistent place in my life and added stability to my world.  No wonder I don't want to leave Michigan,  I have my own vacation resort with all the friends and family I could ever want here, why would I move away from that?  I feel like being even 4 hours away from it is too far... who wants to hire me in Petoskey or Traverse City?
New director started this week so I'm getting to know him and seeing our work dynamic.  Also made a friend who I'm getting beer with at the local brewery tomorrow!  I'm excited!!! It will be nice to have someone here and he has already proven to be a good guy (even though he graduated from MSU...) and hopefully a good friend while I am in the area.
This is a panorama I took of an easement we are working on!  I'm excited to be the official great panorama taker!  I'm working hard on this property too!
I'll keep up the writing if you keep up the reading!
take care!

Country life

Yes I know I keep apologizing for not blogging often but this time really has been a stretch!  You know why?  I've been kept very busy with work, which is also a great thing.  I like knowing that I'm working hard, accomplishing tasks, learning more and more, and getting tired.  Last week we had the board meeting and an event and other meetings, so we were very busy on top of personal life complications, which there were many of those as well. The main one was my cousin losing his life in the Chicago to Mackinaw race.  He did a lot of great things for Saginaw, loved sailing and was a great dad to his daughter Sage.  He will be missed at the lake every summer and I am truly sorry about the situation but know that he passed doing what he loved.  This week is a little more laid back, even though my schedule has already filled up!
 I had a nice weekend where I got to bond with myself Friday and Saturday, meaning I spent time with myself, got to know myself and did a little self pampering. I drove up to a local bakery in Stevensville, which i must say, if you are ever in the area, go to Bit Of Swiss, they truly know how to work their flower and what to put in their ovens.  I bought too many carbs and some great groceries from a lovely store and am happy!
Then my friend Hannah from Madison visited me Sunday since she is moving to Savannah in 2 weeks.  we met on the Costa Rica study abroad trip so it is always nice to see her!  We did some winery tours which are amazing and then sat at the beach ( it finally cleared up!!)  It was so lovely spending time with her

Tonight Peg had a dinner for me to meet some people and have some social life.  We made pizzas on the grill with lovely ingredients from her and her neighbor's garden. I've met a few people that I can make plans with, which is great, I need some personal interaction down here.  Peg and some of these other people are so crafty when it comes to canning and pickling etc and I'm an open and blank book ready to learn everything I can about being self sufficient and making all these home made goodies.  Tonight Peg set me up to start making pickles, I got some Cucumbers and she gave me jars and a recipe so I will begin teaching myself how to pickle!  I will let you know how they turn out!  She also gave me fresh dill and eggs!!  Love this! Can't wait to learn how to do more things like this so I can live in the country myself and have some chickens and a garden! The people here are all interesting and nice and I'm having a great time getting to know a new group of people that were raised completely different than me.  Peg, Johanna and everyone else here has been so great in acclimating me to the area not only as it is a different lifestyle but I also do not have many friends in the area.  I am thankful for their help with food, entertainment and their patience with me at work.  Everyone else I met has been great as well, very welcoming and understanding that I am new to the area and am wiggling my way into the community.  Can't wait to learn more!
I hope we have a dinner similar to this soon, it was a nice relaxing evening with some great people from a wide range of backgrounds.
I'll let you know how the pickles go!
<3 Suz

Wetlands

Working extra hours this week to make up for the early month holiday, especially with the student loan and Ann Arbor rent to pay!  Last night's extra hours were pretty awesome though!
  We had our moonlight voyager canoe trip, I worked the later one, at 11 pm 10 of us got into a 36 foot long wood canoe modeled after the ones the French Canadians used to use when bringing furs from Canada to the US.  I felt in touch with my ancestors!  Not to mention it was the perfect night for a canoe trip, clear skies, bright moon, still and quiet.  The moon really was our guide last night though Sima J. Marsh.  It was a peaceful canoe trip, with lots of stars in the sky, Saturn in the southern sky as well.  Fireflies were sprinkled throughout the marsh, adding a sparkle to the peaceful boat ride.  Pat and Kip from Berrien County Parks were our tour guides.  They are naturalists which pretty much means their job is to share their love and astonishment of nature with others, a.k.a. AWESOME job!  We didn't see much wildlife, but we sure did see the marsh in a whole different light and mood.  If you ever have the opportunity to get into a watershed at night, I highly recommend it!
Check out pictures here :  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.164982786904502.39753.132472263488888
  Tomorrow I'm going to Grand Beach Marsh to check out invasive work that was done on it and a possible encroachment by adjoining property owners.  Got to put that to a stop if it s true!  I'm excited to see another one of our preserves though.  Marshes are great pieces of property, they do so much for the Great Lakes watershed including house a diverse number of organisms, filter out the dirty water from the streams before it goes into the lake (in this case, Lake Michigan), and help prevent floods by soaking up extra water in the area.  The beaches here on Lake Michigan were already shut down 3 times this year for high E. coli levels from houses in the area not even having septic tanks or their tanks are outdated, and agricultural run off.  Preserving the wetlands helps prevent this E. Coli from reaching the Lake and infecting the hundreds of people who use the lake in the area.  Please, everyone, be respectful of your wetlands and remember how much they do for you.

Going to Ann Arbor this weekend to move out, this will be sad, I have so many good memories in Ann Arbor.  I hope to make more this weekend and see a lot of people whom I miss!  Enjoy Harry Potter everyone!  I'm seeing it Saturday with my favorite Spaniard!
Cuidate my readers!

Slacking

Sorry I've been slacking everyone!  So busy, trying to just enjoy life for what it is and not take it too seriously.  Also working very hard to turn my job into a permanent position.
The day with the DEQ lady was great!  I love spending days with Peg, my mentor.  She is soo knowledgeable and personable.  I finally got to see most of the properties we are working on to get as easements as well.  It really helps to talk about a property once you have seen it.
This week is rather quiet, the president and my mentor are out of town so I'm working on one management plan for a preserve and some baseline documents for a possible easement that we want to finish before summer is over.
I went home last weekend to go on a fabulous date!  It was epic, starting at 4 pm with a movie, then a lovely dinner then a nice night at the Bells beer gardens, which by the way, is totally my new hang out spot.  They remodeled it and it looks great and they sell beer there that is not available in stores or other bars. I'm turning into quite the local brewery brat.  Anyways, I had a nice time with this individual and I can't wait for a second one!
Also spent some nice quality time with my dad and the ghetto pool.  I don't know when I'll be in Kalamazoo next, probably August or September, so I'm glad I enjoyed my time there.
Still enjoying the benefits of country life.  Had fresh cherries last week and tonight I made fresh sweet corn. Those cherries were amazing, I'll have to go pick up some more.  I absolutely love all this fresh food and peaceful hors d'oeuvres on my back porch over looking the ravine with deer usually grazing through.  I'm definitely getting used to my own life out here in this quaint corner of Michigan!
Cuidate!
Suz

Not so relaxing bike ride/ holiday at Higgins

Last week I had a few field days where I went out to properties with Peg, Friday was supposed to be one of them, but it rained all day... anyway, she taught me most of the local common invasive species.  To practice I've been pointing them out to myself and recalling their distinct features.
     So today after work I tried to go on a nice relaxing bike ride looking at all the beautiful cottages and getting a little fresh air after spending all day on my bum.  Instead of relaxing, I spend the whole bike ride noticing all the invasive species along Lakeshore drive and desiring to pull them out... how relaxing huh?
As for a permanent position, it sounds like after the new director gets settled in here a little, he is going to interview me and see how he likes me and how I fit with him and his work style.  Not only that but I have a one month review in a week... I'm a bit nervous I must confess because I always want to push myself to work harder and better at things.  At least I have a week to prepare myself for that and another month for my interview with the director!  I know I've been working my butt off and taking in a lot so it shouldn't be a problem.  wish me luck! I think I'd really be happy here for a little bit with this small non-profit.  I really like the work I'm doing too and I think it is important to the future of not only Michigan but of the world.  I also connect well with the landowners and board members so there is a plus!
  My 4th was great, I was at Higgins with a lot of great people who I've missed for a year or more and my family who I don't get to see as much.  Makes me miss living with my sister :(  We went out on the boat a lot, swam, and sunned, which is exactly what my mind and body needed to jump back into my hectic and busy work life.  I love Higgins, I could be there alone and have just as much fun as I do with my friends and family, but I like being around people after being alone so much.  I do go up there mainly for the Lake and for being in such a sacred place to me.  Higgins has truly been my only steady home and place that I can rely on every summer, and I hope that never changes, even if it is only twice a summer (Memorial and the 4th).
Hope everyone else had a great holiday as well!  I'll have a great story from tomorrow, Julia from the DEQ will be here and we are showing her a lot of our properties that qualify for the DEQ grant.  Then we are going to an Indian's elder village to learn about the land and their practices!  How cool huh?  Report back soon!
<3 Suz