I need a nap

Once upon a time, long long ago, weekends were meant to be relaxing.  I vaguely remember those weekends and I can't remember the last time I had one.

Saturday I spent the day in Lansing at MSU for the MI-Alpaca Seminar, Alpaca Marketing in Michigan.  It was an amazing day and I am still blown away that we put it all together via conference calls.  We had a great turn out and some really great speakers giving us major food for thought on how we market our farms, our herds and our fiber.

It was also the first annual  board meeting.  For the last few months I have been an acting board member helping get things set up.  Yet I came into the game way after some amazing people had already set the leg work to make this organization happen.  It's one thing to walk into an organization and make it better but it's quite another to dream it up and make it a reality.  Hats off to Mark, Tom, Mary and the rest of the amazing people who had a dream that Saturday would become a reality.

At the meeting, the first elected board of directors was announced.  I am the Southwest Michigan Representative for the board. There is a total of seven of us and this week we will decide who will hold which offices and set the plan of what we will accomplish the rest of this year.

I am very excited to be a part of this organization.  It's not just about getting AOBA recognition or hosting seminars, it's about bringing the Michigan Alpaca community together.   A couple of other farms wrote a more detailed report of the day.  Please follow their links to see more.
Ashton Stone Alpacas
Life on Via Verde Farm


So there is a lot of work ahead of us and I am ready to roll my sleeves up and get to work.

During the meeting I got about 3 inches knitted on a new hat (since I am frogging the old one)  when I realized that my gauge was all wrong so mid seminar I tore it apart and attempted to cast on.  It's hard to cast on while listening intently to a speaker so it took a good chunk of the day.  It will be interesting to see if this new cast on of less stitches is the right count.

Today, although I never showered (my attempt at being lazy) I was also busy taking care of farm chores, 2009 taxes, kid's homework and modifying my farm's marketing brochure (due to great ideas I got yesterday).

The best part of the weekend was being with my kids.  As much as I love spending the day at seminars or with my fiber friends, I do miss the Bears.  I did shove them out the door a few times to play.  The sun was shining and here, in Michigan.  January sunshine is like gold so they bundled up in their snowsuits (I did too) and went out in the freezing sunshine to visit the barn cats, alpacas and chickens.


Oh, and I finished plying my tangled mess I wrote about the other day.  My friend, Holly, untangled it for me.  Yes, she is an awesome friend and I tell her that all the time.

Never did get that nap but somehow I feel refreshed after this afternoon.  It's amazing what family time will do for a person.