Ladies' Weekend at Chico Hot Springs!

Wow. Just Wow.

What a great weekend!

It has been a long time since I have felt so rejuvenated, refreshed, and inspired by just one weekend or one event. I am still flying on an emotional high from my weekend at the Montana Farmers Union Women's Conference this past weekend. Wow!

The conference was held at Chico Hot Springs in southern Montana. It was a very beautiful setting, ideal for a Women's Conference.

This is one of the many spectacular views looking toward the mountains from Chico.

We spent the weekend in a group of about sixty women from all across the state, and even some from out of state! There were all ages present, from young infants to a 90 year old woman. The women in the group represented pretty much every type of agriculture that Montana has to offer. The focus and theme of the event was Telling Your Story, and throughout the weekend, we all discovered what great stories we really do have to share! All the speakers taught us and encouraged us to be the best, most true versions of ourselves, and to be proud of who we are and share our stories with each other and the world. Especially as women involved in agriculture, this is so important.

I had so many takeaways from this conference that I know I'll need several blog posts and some time to process through all my thoughts and excitement. One of the biggest impacts this conference has had on me was simply the relationships that I kept, renewed, formed, and strengthened with some of the amazing women who were present. This state has some really, truly inspiring female residents and I now count myself among them!

Keep checking back this week for more info. I have so many things to share with all of you! I filled TWELVE PAGES of writing in my notebook from this conference! It was constant inspiration and "aha moments" all weekend long. To keep your interest piqued, here are just a few scribbles I wrote down:

"I am the face of agriculture." ~Lisa Schmidt

"Will I be liked or will I be effective?"  ~ Lisa Schmidt

"The most common way people give up power is by thinking they don't have any." ~Alice Walker

"Rural living and farm life need believers. Because our voice is so small, it needs to be powerful." ~ Lorrie Merrill

"You are selling more than just food; you are selling values." ~ Courtney Cowgill

"Lean in. Get down. Let your light shine. Life. Simply. Real. Stand firm in this moment." ~ Kim Owen and Kyla Uribe

"...the fine line between solitude and isolation." ~ Courtney Cowgill

"The smallest change will empower you." ~ Lorrie Merrill

Kim and Kyla of K.Rae Creations shared these cards (and so much more!) with us!

Those are just a few things that came out of the mouths of some of our speakers! I have so many ideas for blog posts and new goals to share that this will take several posts to get it all out! While at the conference, in addition to being completely inspired and blown away by all the amazing women attendees, I also had a chance to go for a run (it was just what I needed!!), practice my writing skills, center myself with some yoga, set new goals, get things started and gain momentum. You'll hear about ALL OF THIS and MORE! Over the next several blog posts. This conference just can NOT be contained in one single blog post!!! Stay tuned for more throughout the week!