#RealLifeWonderWoman — Meet Kasey Cross

Real Life Wonder Woman Kasey Cross was born in a small town in Dooly County, Georgia. Her life changed dramatically when she became a mother at age 15. Her second daughter was born two years later, and she had three more baby girls in the following decade. While life was certainly challenging as a single mom in those days, she

#RealLifeWonderWoman — Meet Maureen Putnam

Music is one of this real life Wonder Woman’s superpowers! 🎶 Maureen “Mo” Putnam has a BA degree in piano and voice and a MA in Liturgical Music. Currently, she is starting her 16th year as Director of Music and Liturgy at Christ Our Light Catholic Parish in Princeton/Zimmerman MN, working with the Chapel Choir at Saint John’s University and

#RealLifeWonderWoman – Meet Suzi Retzlaff

This week’s #RealLifeWonderWoman is a wife and mother of two with a background in civil engineering–and a passion for writing. Suzi grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and went to school at the University of North Dakota. (GO Fighting Hawks! 💚 Can you guess where I met her?) Suzi started writing seriously in 2010 and in 2015 was invited to be

#RealLifeWonderWoman — Meet Nene Smestad

Today’s #RealLifeWonderWoman has been a big influence in my life. She was my first babysitter and my first boss. My aunt Nene hired me as a fifth grader to help out at her store and I worked alongside her all the way through my college years. She hit a huge career milestone this year with 40 years in business as

#RealLifeWonderWoman REVISITED — Kelly Sayre

Kelly Sayre, one of our past real life Wonder Women, has some big news to announce. She just launched her first book and is throwing a party to celebrate! The best part . . . you’re invited! Sharp Women: Embrace Your Intuition, Build Your Situational Awareness, and Live Life Unafraid  I had the privilege of a “sneak peak” and got

#RealLifeWonderWoman — Meet Hannah Klingman

Let me tell you a fun story about how I met today’s #RealLifeWonderWoman. She’s a passionate, hard-working entrepreneur and owner of Hannah Klingman Virtual Assisting LLC. Many people who do what I do for a living (professional speakers and authors) work with virtual assistants and I was considering adding a VA to my business in the upcoming year. As I researched

Set Your Priorities like a Chinese Buffet

Do you like Chinese food? I sure do. So does my sweet mother-in-law Alice. Because of this shared affinity, we recently ordered some Chinese takeout. As we ate, we talked about the upcoming year and what we might expect from it. We also talked about our to-do lists—the things we were still hoping to get completed before the end of

#RealLifeWonderWoman — Meet Ashley Biggar

Powering up with positivity in all her endeavors, today’s #RealLifeWonderWoman is a supporter of local small businesses and a creative. Ashley Biggar is the Director of Downtown Brookings (South Dakota) and is both artist and owner of Creative Impressions. Ashley has carried her passion for helping people in all her affairs – be it at work, in the community, volunteering, or

#RealLifeWonderWoman — Meet Chloe Bratvold

I went to visit our daughter Brooke a few weeks ago. She lives and works in Des Moines, Iowa. Brooke had been telling me about a candle bar she and some coworkers had visited and how the owner was an energetic, young, female entrepreneur who followed her dream of opening Candle Bar DSM in the hip and historic Valley Junction of

A real life Wonder Woman, who wears a cross, not a cape.

“Talking about writing isn’t writing.” This sentence, spoken from my writing mentor Sister Mara Faulkner, changed my life. I’m serious. Her simple, yet powerful words didn’t only alter how I write, but how I approach just about every task or project—and dare I say relationship?—since the day she spoke them. Let me back up and tell you a little more