Mollie Mines

Historically, the phrase "It takes a village" has been said to indicate that a child or person is perceived to be difficult and that it takes multiple people to raise them or deal with them. Last weekend, while attending Nashville Ballet's Carmina Barana with my mom at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, I had a moment of clarity in which I realized that being raised and supported by a "village" is not a negative thing at all but in fact the best way for anyone to grow up and have the best chances of success. My mother is the Education and Operations Director of Dance St. Louis, a non-profit arts organization in St. Louis, Missouri that brings in dance companies from around the world to perform and teach in the inner city schools and give the performing arts back to the community. As part of her job, my mom oversees a program for talented high school dance students in low income areas that helps them with access and funds for dance classes and helps them through

As much as I love to travel. I love it even more when I can bring my two dogs, Pongo and Dodge. They both enjoy riding in my truck and sightseeing as much as I do. Of course, travel can be stessfull enough as it is and when you add in a furry friend or two it can be even more stressfull so I have put together some tips that work for me and my dogs. 1) Prepare a Dog Friendly Intinerary: As much as I would love to take my dos on every trip not every destination or itinerary is appropriate for my dogs to join. I always make sure that if I'm going to take my dogs that all my lodging is dog friendly and that if I am planning any activities my dogs can come along as well. My dogs hate being left alone in a familiar place when I work so I'm not going to drag them on a trip and leave them alone in an unfamiliar place. If I can't do everything with them within reason, it's just better off to kennel them. If you do take them somewhere where you have an event they can't atte

1) Plan Ahead: I say this somewhat loosely because I like to be somewhat spontaneous at times although my spontinaity has at times backfired on me. There's nothing worse than starting a 14 hour drive thinking you can do it without stopping only to get too tired to drive but the only town near you has a convention going on and there are no hotel rooms. I was forced to sleep a few hours in a gas station parking lot which had I had a companion along on the trip would have been fine but traveling solo it left me a bit uneasy. Spontaneous or not, always plan your route. Yes, you can always just jump in your vehicle and punch your destination into Google Maps on your Iphone but there are certain things you should consider before blindly following your phone's directions on a long trip such as road construction, toll roads and especially important to me when pulling my 5th wheel is location and frequency of travel stops. It's not always necessary to book hotel rooms in advance bef

Given my wanderlust and hatred of staying in one place for too long I had never really considered buying a house until I moved to Chanute, Kansas. I already had a travel trailer and when I took a job in Chanute I figured I would just live in it full time. My desire to do that changed when the only place I could find to hook up seemed a bit sketchy and not the best place to live. My next option was to rent and given I have two dogs and I was in a small rural areas there were no rental options that allowed pets. So I decided to explore option three which was to buy a house. Buying a home and becoming a homeowner has been an adventure all in itself for me but I wouldn't change my decision if I could. Here I will share my experience and tips for buying your dream home and getting the most out of your money. #1 Location, Location, Location The location of a home is important for two reasons in my opinion - the price of the home and retirement livability. The location of a home is a

To my adoptive parents, First of all, there are no words to express the gratitude I have for being blessed to call you my mom and dad. I know this road we have traveled together hasn't always been the easiest or most pleasant one.  I was at times a horribly selfish and disrespectful person towards you. I want you to know that I am truly sorry for all the times I told you that you weren't my real parents and that I wish I were back with my real parents because they would be better parents. The truth is, all those things couldn't be farther from the truth. The reality is that I was suffering silently on the inside and didn't have the life experience or maturity to understand what I was feeling. You see, I had this irrational belief that I was inadequate and that there was something wrong with me. I didn't understand why my biological parents would give me up for adoption unless something was wrong with me. I was angry at God. I thought he hated me and was aban

Today is Workers Memorial Day which is a day to remember those who have died in the workplace and of rededicating our commitment to safety. This day first became important to me in 2012 after the death of my coworker, Alan Cambell, due to a fall in an underground gold mine. I wasn't there when it happened but nonetheless, it impacted me. Alan was the type of guy who always had extra earplugs in his pockets and would give you a pair if he thought your were too dirty to put back in and might cause an ear infection. Alan was the type of guy who would carry extra food and give me some if I was starting to get cranky. Alan was just the type of person you wanted to work around because he cared and was an all around good guy. When Alan died, I was shocked. Alan had been clearing blast holes around a stope and had failed to wear his fall protection and the floor gave way beneath him sending 100 feet to his death. I struggled to understand how someone who had cared so much whether or not my