Author: emyminzel

http://www.EmyforHouse.com

@EmyforHouse15A

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Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

Protect what you love

September 3, 2018 emyminzel

I have lived in Minnesota my whole life. I have traveled some but not nearly as much as I like to yet. However, every time I leave home, I come back with a renewed appreciation for my State. Minnesota may be known as the land of 10,000 lakes but there are over 11,000.

I was lucky enough to be raised in the beauty of Northern Minnesota on the Iron Range. I then moved to a much more populated area of Coon Rapids (a suburb of Minneapolis) where I would graduate from High School. I have since settled in an area of Central Minnesota known for family farms and country living. I love the quiet country life that city of Princeton has to offer.

Throughout my lifetime, no matter where I have lived, there was always one common theme that happened in our short Minnesota summers. We were all headed to the lake or goin’ North for the weekend to enjoy what I now call our ‘Minnesota Way of life’.

It didn’t matter if you were well off or just making a living. Most people had a cabin to retreat or a family camp somewhere on a Minnesota lake “Up North”. I am a water baby to the point that my husband calls me the Queen of the Hydration Nation. He understands how much I appreciate water and especially water quality.

The Minnesota way of lake life that includes; clean drinking water, fishing, boating, camping, canoeing, hiking and swimming was (and still is) something that I truly enjoy! The beauty Minnesota offers is unmatched in any of the places I have been. We have four seasons which push us to enjoy each of them in different ways. Even when it is below zero temperatures, us hearty Minnesotan outdoor enthusiasts choose to go ice fishing on our lakes, or skiing and sledding.

I notice that most of our recreation revolves around the blessings of our most valued natural resource; our abundance of clean WATER.

I have learned to water ski, tube, fish, canoe, kayak and have made many happy memories that included our Minnesota way of life. Once I learned one fact about my beloved State though; I absolutely knew in my soul I must do something (anything) to protect the Minnesota that I know and love for future generations.

This fact is that; (according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) over 40% of our water in Minnesota is too polluted to swim in or eat the fish out of. This is almost HALF of our 11,000 lakes! What? No fishing?!

When I learned that political leaders of Minnesota were considering and might allow toxic mining here in our most pure and precious areas of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and the watersheds of the Great Lake Superior. I thought “How can this be?!”

I could not believe that our “Leaders”, who are supposed to look out for the greater good of the people and the future prosperity of our state, would allow this. They should not be looking for what might make money for right now (or for a short amount of time) if this means poisoning our most precious resources. Our people and our water permanently.

These Sulfide-Ore Copper mines have a bad history of a 90% failure rate and leaving toxic pollution, so devastating, that the areas of contamination are doomed for over 500 years. That’s over six generations of your family that will not be able to enjoy the same beauty of Minnesota that we have grown to know and love.

When these mines fail, as history shows they likely will, Lake Superior would be toxic and unable to support recreational life and tourism as we know it or would the BWCA.

Even though leaders know that Lake Superior holds about 10% of the world’s fresh water. They still seem to want to allow a mine that will undoubtedly pollute it for foreign profit our native Minnesotans will never see. History shows that tax payers get left with the clean-up bill and the devastation of their water tables nearly every time. I believe true leaders always do what is right for the people they are paid to represent.

Therefore, I chose to change my life path drastically to run for the State House of Representatives. I believe I have been divinely guided to this opportunity to run because my intentions are pure. I wish to protect the Minnesota we know and love for ourselves and our future generations.

We must demand that our leaders do not sell us out for profit we will never see. I am just a Minnesota girl standing up to protect what I love.

We must demand that leaders start viewing our environmental protections as a public safety. Without a healthy environment there is not a healthy population. Scientist continually tell us we are on borrowed time (on this planet) if we continue to live in a way that we are.

Poisoning our own water resources for profit seems to be a poor moral decision in my book. We already know most of the State is already suffering from high nitrate levels in our waters, why would it seem like a good idea to risk the water that is still good and healthy?

To me, a true leader looks around, beyond their nose and sees that all over the Nation we are indeed in trouble when it comes to our water. Look around. Flint Michigan without water for years, Chicago now turning off water to public schools. Fracking for natural gas is poisoning water tables all over the place, Florida is seeing costal devastation from human activity.

We are seeing a great deal of drinking water pollution all over the Nation and we need to be proactive at protecting what we love and take for granted here in Minnesota, our water.

Now, like I said, this girl loves water, because we need it to sustain all of life. To me, a leader protects the necessities to live, because that’s their job.

I do like to keep my blogs light hearted and positive but sometimes life forces us to look at things that are not happy. I became interested in politics because of my concern for our environment, turns out they are intrinsically connected.

I am choosing to share what I know, in the only way I know how to do it. I am normally a happy person, but when you mess with my family or what I hold dear, my congeniality disappears, and I will do what I feel is right. Protecting what I love seems to be the right path for me.

I want to win this election, so I can stand up for our environment since the planet cannot talk for herself. I believe it is my purpose of why I was put here on earth. I am sure of it. What matters to me most is to protect our Minnesota way of life and the water I love.

Speaking up when I saw something was not right for the greater good, is what I feel I needed to do. Doing so got me where I am today. I believe Minnesota and the planet still needs more of us to do so.

When will ‘leaders’ start choosing what is right instead of what is good for business?

There is a moral responsibility here. I refuse to give in to the false narrative that says we must choose putting our environment at risk to make a living. I call BS. This is where my campaign slogan “Protect what you love” came from. We deserve better and so do our future generations.

Let us move forward to clean energy solutions as it seems imperative to sustain the Minnesota way of life we know and love.

Thank you for reading my blog today!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

http://www.EmyforHouse.com

@EmyforHouse15A

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org/

Facts and Stats from:

Peanut Butter and Jelly

August 30, 2018 emyminzel

Jason and I have been married for ten years this summer but we have been together for nearly fifteen years now. That’s a lot of life to travel through together and I am thankful to have my best friend by my side. We mirror each other and have often been each other’s subject of lessons learned in our life together. I am so thankful that we have found a partnership that can stand up to the many tests of time.

My husband and I are very different. He is 6’ 4” I am 5’. He likes indoor activities. I like outdoor activities. He likes to watch sports. I enjoy HGTV and finding DIY projects for us to do together. He allows me to make him “honey do” lists of things I need done around the house. Yet, he will do them only when he is darn good and ready! In turn, I have learned to be patient and thankful that he is here to do them for me in the first place.

He prefers to spend quiet weekends at home. I would rather go out and enjoy friends or activities together. He travels for work, a lot, and I work from home. We have opposite view points on many issues from politics, to how many dogs we should have. As a matter of fact, we are so different, that I believe we are like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Jason is for sure the Peanut Butter in our relationship. He is the solid foundation on which I share all my flavorful and creative ideas and he does his best to help me make them work. I am the Jelly that adds the flare to our relationship. Sometimes I’m the sweet Strawberry Jelly, other times, I am spicy Raspberry Jalapeno!

I know without the balance and grounding, hearty substance of my husband; who is always his Peanut Butter self. I would be sweet but not satisfied. I really do appreciate and need his foundation of strength and stability. I believe, he also enjoys the joyful energy I bring to the table. We balance each other in many ways but sometimes our tendency to be so opposite brings challenges to our relationship. Yet, so far, they seem to be the reason we work together so well.

No matter how opposed we are, we seem to just know that this is who we are supposed to be traveling through this lifetime with. Even on days I want to tuck into a cannonball and take him out at the knees. 😊 Hey, some times marriage and life can be hard. Even when you love each other, there are days when we don’t particularly like each other.

Knowing that, even on those challenging times when life throws us curve balls or does its best to shake up our foundation, we know we are meant to be together. That random rattling of our foundation actually works to smoosh us together, mixing us up until we are a blended combination that is inseparable, just like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

I know that I am blessed to have found someone who fits me so perfectly, even as opposite as we are. This brings us both opportunities to grow exponentially in many ways. We are both great individually but, put us together and that’s where the magic happens. This is how we expand our possibilities. By accepting our differences and working together to build a relationship; we have sandwiched a beautiful life together.

I think it’s fun to think of different ways to describe or explain complicated matters like relationships. What analogy would you give your marriage or relationship? I would love to hear them!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

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Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

Brave enough to bloom

August 20, 2018 emyminzel

As a young girl I would often lead my younger cousins down the trails and into the backwoods in Northern Minnesota. Not knowing where they would lead us or if I we could even get back. Never gave a second thought to dangers that may lay ahead. There could have been a Momma black bear with cubs or a snare that may have been set; that I wasn’t even aware to be on the look out for. I was not concerned with any of these dangers as a 10 -year-old child adventurer. I was very loved and felt invincible!

I believe it was because I was so loved, that I always felt safe. I trusted that my family and the Higher Power would take care of me. Obviously, it worked out. I am still here. I even survived my teenage years, my early twenties and into my forties; trusting my curiosity (and family support structure) even if the path it takes me on may seem a little scary at times. Often, I find my curiosity and bravery (even if it is bravado at the time) often lead me to new wonderful experiences.

When Adventure Sister Stacy and I set out on our first trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area many years ago, we had no idea what we were getting into. We’d never done anything like it before. We were both just in need of new experiences. We both needed some ‘me’ time at the same time. What would be better then going up the BWCA where the only option there is to ‘rough it’ with the minimum needed to survive and no cell phone signal.

Sure, we were nervous, not to mention that our families were a little worried for us as well. Yet we were strong women who were bound and determined to get away from it all. This decision, to risk going deep into the forest, led to where we are today. Five years later we have written three books about our continued adventures and life experiences spurred on by this one first choice. We chose to be scared but brave and adventurous anyway. Because of this; we are currently working to get our trilogy published.

I find, that when I am bored with my day to day routines, I look for something different to try to spice-up my life. Some years it’s wondering into the forest. Some years its contemplating the risk to write and share my personal stories and art with the world.

This year, my curiosity and drive to make a difference in the world, led me to run for the State House of Representatives. It was a scary decision to run because I didn’t know what to expect. Yet I am trusting this adventure I’ve been lead to.

Being brave does not mean you are not aware that you are vulnerable. It means you see the risks, you contemplate how it will affect you, and even weigh the judgment of others. Sometimes you know that if it goes bad, it might go really bad. Then I choose to chance it anyway. Or not.

I choose to do this because of the support and love of my family and friends who will catch me if I fall. Often, in adulting, we know that others are depending on us. So we choose their concerns and wellbeing over doing what our souls call to us to do.

After I became a mother, I settled down pretty darn quick. Yet now that she is grown and out of the house, I feel that it’s okay to start taking some calculated risks again. I believe, that in our society, we have gotten to the point where fear is ruling our decisions and even impeding our growth.

Change is scary and taking chances are risky. But I feel that if I do not try or even take small steady steps in the direction I wish to go, then I will always be in the same place. There is no mental or spiritual growth in staying in the same place. Without new experiences in my life, I get bored.

There is no innovation or progress if we are content with the status quo of our life. Is this why life feels uncomfortable at times? To make us want to keep moving forward to a possible ‘better’ life? Maybe the Universe puts opportunities, to take those chances and risks, in front of us for this reason.

I believe in chasing your interests, dreams and drive to where your heart calls you because it’s calling you for a reason… The reason why you were put here on earth in the first place. I also believe all our wondering, inclinations, and inquisitive yearnings are instilled in you to lead you to your life’s purpose. Probably why I was a political junkie and so interested in environmental protections for the last ten years.

Life is sometimes scary when it asks us to level up in our efforts. Whether it is starting a new job or a new life, with a move far from the home you’ve known, it can challenge our bravery. What I find scarier though is staying the same and not giving myself the opportunity to grow.

I strive to grow so much that I bloom over and over again. By bloom, I mean to help to make the world just a little more beautiful than it already is, by increasing my effort to benefit the greater good. I strive to be send positive vibes out to the Universe because it needs it.

I realize I am blessed with an abundance of love in my life. I have come to see love as the water I need to bloom where I am planted. I bloom by being brave enough to first crack open the cocoon of my soul’s seed. My soul’s desires sometimes seem to be fertilized by the darkness that makes me ache to reach for the sun.

At times I crave the growth so strongly that it allows me to overcome my fears. I believe being brave, even when I am scared, has turned out to be the best way to bloom into the life I am meant to live. I was planted on this path; I might as well trust it because it was meant to be.

I believe divine guidance is always taking place in my life and if I don’t trust my path, I stall my growth. Yes, being brave is hard and scary but I recommend you try it anyway. Nobody likes to be stuck in fertilizer too long!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings today and always! Love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

@EmyforHouse15A

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Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

Lessons through disappointment~

August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 emyminzel

It’s going to be the second week in August and I have been on the water and in my kayak only one time, back in June. For unforeseen reasons, both lake vacations I had scheduled to take this month had to be cancelled. I had been puting off lake time and rest during early summer because I knew I would have the opportunity in August. That was the plan anyway.

I was supposed to go to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with my Adventure Sister Stacy, the first week in August. Then to a resort (on Lake Kabetogama) with my Husband for his birthday and our Ten-Year Wedding Anniversary a few weeks later. Turns out things changed and not just one but both vacations had to be cancelled. This turn of events was a devastating blow to my spirit to be frank.

I was so very much looking forward to spending time on the water; reconnecting with my dear friends, my Husband, myself, and the nature I love so much. It literally feels like the Universe took away my Birthday. Oh, and like I told you in my previous blog, my one and only child moved out of the house this week. So honestly, although I have a great deal of important things to do, my spirit is feeling neglected. I’ve also noticed this feeling reflecting in my attitude and spirit.

We all get this way sometimes, when life changes or events begin to feel overwhelming or never ending. We may dream of getting away to escape it all; so that we can have quiet time to process our next move or to simply have a moment to quit moving! Going and going like the Energizer Bunny, does not allow me to stop and contemplate my feelings, choices, or strategy for the future. When I am unable to find time to reconnect with what is important to me; like spending time in nature, floating on the water, cooking, or writing, I can feel it in my soul.

At first, the news of my cancelled vacations led to a short pity party for one. But I decided not to wallow and keep moving forward with life, as that is what adulting is about. I had decided it was guidance from the Higher Power that my energy was needed at home and on the campaign trail. Yet, as the week of my BWCA vacation passes and my body does the motions of work and progress, I feel the usual upbeat energy of my spirit and drive fading. Because I am not making time for my own needs.

It is easy to get caught up in living the life others think you should be. Especially as a Candidate. I have a whole team of people who bust their butts for me and I do not want to let them down nor myself by not doing everything I can do! My campaign life is exciting, important and the way I see myself making a positive difference. Yet, is neglecting my own needs the right way for anyone to live their lives? Probably not. I am hard on myself as I have high standards not only for me but the people around me.

Yet when they need a break, I am compassionate and understanding while they take one. Why do I feel like I do not deserve one or that I am not able to take one? I am lacking disposable income for vacation this summer because I have cut my working hours down to meet the campaign needs. It was a sacrifice I was able and willing to make. The repercussions though, are that I feel like I missed out on some much needed and deserved time out in the forest and on the lake to recharge.

I am not looking for pity, I understand many people are not allowed the luxury of vacation. These choices are mine and I believe my heart and efforts will see me to making a positive difference in the world. If not, I still made a lot of great friends and had wonderful experiences this summer! I knew it would not be without hard work or expense, I was up to the challenge/adventure.

What I am not willing to sacrifice are the needs of my spirit or ignore the calling of my soul to do what I must do. I must be the change I want to see in the world, to do that, I must make time to be authentically me. My spirit is being called to the water, asking me to rest for a bit to find balance and peace.

My soul, is telling me that I have been telling myself, “What I want and need does not matter.” I am not making my spiritual needs as important as other things in my life. I am not making my ‘peacefulness’ a priority. I am putting the wants and needs of my campaign, my family, and my goals over my spiritual wellness.

This is a reality for a lot of people in our society. I believe this lack of connection to what is tranquil and quiet is where a great deal of our displaced anger comes from in our Nation. All work and no play makes Emy an angry girl. This is not an obscure dilemma for most people in our world today. I find myself covering up my sadness of not being able to connect with nature (or enjoy some of our short Minnesota summer) by coping with anger. I am distant and distracted.

I am distracted by my desires to be anywhere but here sometimes.

I know you feel these words.

This is not normal for me, I am usually and naturally an upbeat person. I thought about not posting such personal feelings. Yet I wanted to acknowledge that I believe; most of us are striving daily to do better, be better, have better, but that we get lost in the ‘doing and getting’ part. Forgetting that stillness and connection to Spirit/God is of great importance, not only for ourselves but to our connection with others and society.

So, what is a girl to do? I don’t know. I am not a Guru. I won’t offer advice. I will only share my experiences and feelings for you to judge me upon. Do I go put my kayak out on the local lake that is full of algae and pollution? Nope. Don’t need that energy. (Although I acknowledge it is there and strive to do all I can to fix it.)

Do I find a friend with a backyard pool to float in for a moment in the sun? Nope, not what I am looking for. I need a change from the daily grind. I need new experiences and scenery to stimulate my mind. I want to hear nothing but nature and water. I must reboot like my computer! My body, mind and spirit connection needs to be tended to.

As with the unpredictability of life, I am not sure when or where it will happen. Yet, I am trusting that Spirit has a plan for me to do just this. Somewhere out in this big Universe this opportunity is waiting for me. Until then, I will be thankful for the good in my life. I will enjoy the nature from my front porch. I will focus on the song of the birds and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees instead of traffic.

I trust the higher power knows what is best for me at this time in my life. I trust this path, I trust this frustration, I even trust the feeling of having my Birthday taken away! This gives me incentive to acknowledge, respect and tend to my own needs.

The nurturing instincts I have for my loved ones, the planet, animals and others must be also extended to myself. Life lessons or tough love from the Universe can open our eyes to the reality of our actions. My needs are important too. And so are yours. Remember that.

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister