Dream big, dream small...and believe YOLO

Crazy. Gnarly. Intense. These are all words that describe Leslee (Olson) Schader as a competitor...and as a mother, friend, and pretty much any other hat she wears. 

I don't like to insert myself into these stories, but to truly tell Leslee's story, I feel I must. 

When I first met Les, I thought she must be training for something the way she was pushing herself, running sprints on a stairclimber (yes, you read that correctly). But she was just fitting in a typical workout. At 4:30 in the morning. On a random weekday.

That's partly a lie. I really met Leslee for the first time in a grocery store when I was with my mom. At the time, I was in college, and my mom kept telling me over the phone about her new friend at the gym. She'd met Leslee in spin class, and she instantly knew she was an athlete because of her fit build. My mom chats with everyone (a trait she, Leslee, and I all have in common), and after several conversations post-class with Leslee, my mom learned Les had been a professional snowboarder. "She even won gold medals in the X Games," according to my mom.

I figured my mom had gotten the facts wrong and responded with something like, "Sure, Mom, your new 'friend' at the gym won the X Games," complete with air quotes and eye-rolls invisible to her on the other line. Then, I happened to be home from college, and my mom and I bumped into Leslee at the store. I felt an instant connection with her, which is a general reaction for just about anybody after meeting Les, and I knew we were going to be friends. She had just come from the gym (imagine that!), and she was heading home to study. 

Leslee + her friends/Chorus co-owners.

Leslee was in her late 20s, newly-ish married, and finishing nursing school while working at Starbucks. I was a handful of years younger and immediately admired Leslee for her athleticism, zest for life, and her ability to infuse her faith in God into just about anything. I couldn't wait to get together for killer workout sessions (even those early, early in the morning) and for inspiration and encouragement on setting my own path in life. Because the story my mom told me was completely accurate--Leslee really did win gold medals in the X Games and jumped out of helicopters on her snowboard. But those formal accolades hardly hold a candle to all that she's achieved, along with the blinding light she shines for all who come in contact with her daily.

Growing up in Bend, Oregon, Leslee was a trailblazer for females in the sport of snowboarding. She started to snowboard when she was 9, entered (and won) her first competition at age 11, and turned pro at 17. Her accomplishments are endless: She took first in the Winter X Games BoarderCross on more than one occasion, was the Female BoarderCross Rider of the Year, started a women's snowboarding company (Chorus) at age 22, and made her virtual debut as just one of two female athletes featured in a PlayStation 2 snowboarding video game...just to name a few of the pages of awards on her resume. And while most snowboarders specialize in either the halfpipe or racing, Leslee mastered both.

"I just never gave up," she said. "I'd practice, practice, practice, and then crash, crash, crash."

Leslee + son, Barron, and daughter, Andee.

Although some naysayers scoffed when she chose the path of professional athletics over college, Les proved those doubters wrong when she completed her degree in nursing, with dreams of opening her own nursing home, after her illustrious snowboarding career came to a close. Fast-forward more than 10 years later, and Leslee is a mom of two and a cardiac nurse. After working the night shift while her kids were babies, she now works just a few nights a month so she can be at the ready for volunteering, coaching, and inviting the entire elementary school over to her house to celebrate the end of school. Not kidding.

"People are like, 'You're crazy,' but I feel like it's my calling right now, and I'd rather have the kids' friends here so I can see how they are and make a difference in those kids' lives," Leslee said.

Leslee still dreams of someday opening a nursing home or doing some sort of in-home health care, but presently, she focuses her attention first and foremost on her family with whom she infuses her loves of service and sports. 

"My kids are my priority," she said. "I try to do things along with my kids, like skateboard to school with them, or go to the BMX park with them. I just try to expose them and encourage them to believe in themselves. Kids are so much stronger than you think they are...let them do things they're capable of doing. I snowboard with them as much as I can. Troy [Leslee's husband] does Ninja Warrior with them." 

While she dreamed big (and achieved big) with snowboarding, Leslee also believes in the power of dreaming small, focusing on doing the little things for others. 

"Everyday things matter. I have my kids talk to people at the grocery store or telling them they can make a difference at school by talking to people who don't get talked to. Write a note. Pull the neighbors' garbages in. I like to be helpful, and I love people. I want to pay it forward to other moms and love on their kids." 

Along with devoting a lot of time to her kids' elementary school, including wearing the mascot suit for the annual jog-a-thon, Leslee is starting a Moms in Prayer group for the school and also volunteers for Meals on Wheels. 

"I'm always busy doing something," she said.  

Her pro snowboarding days might be long gone, but Leslee's still pushing herself to the extreme, whether it's crushing workouts at dawn (yep, she still gets after it and out of the gym before most people hit the snooze button) or having 16 kids over for a random playdate (complete with the Schader family's bouncy house). With God as her guiding light and embodying the expression "you only live once," nothing's out of reach or too much to handle for Leslee.

IN HER WORDS

Advice for dream seekers:

"Don't give up, believe in yourself...if you work hard enough for anything then anything is possible. I was just a practicer and a worker and never gave up. Preparation. Work really hard."

Other females who inspire you:

"Moms in general...because parenting is so stinking hard. [My best friend] Shannon Dunn-Downing in snowboarding--she's still so inspiring with [her efforts with] Moms in Prayer. She's a really good mom, and she's been my role model. I'm always learning from her. 

"Other athletes out there pushing themselves...all the snowboarders now. I thought what we were doing was gnarly, but now it's like next level. 

"Instagram fitness people who are doing crazy things. So inspiring.

"Kelly Clark inspires me. So many gold medals and just loves Jesus. She's a light in a dark world. Kelly wrote a book last year called Inspired: Pursuit of Progress. So good." 

Favorite kitchen utensil/appliance:

"Vitamix--I use it every day--and my juicer. Also the barbecue."

Favorite style of cooking:

"Simple: Veg, meat--ooh, roasted veggie and some type of meat on the barbecue or tacos. We do salmon every week. Just basic."

Can't live without ingredient:

"Eggs, avocados, coffee...and Coffee-Mate!"

Go-to recipe:

"Salmon in tin foil on the barbie or broccoli and Brussels sprouts roasted with balsamic." (Check back for a quick tutorial of Leslee's roasted veggies.)

Follow Leslee: @lesleeo78

Building a full life...& a new home

How does one find balance when they're trying to "do it all"--wife, mom, career woman (a totally dated phrase, I'm aware!), weekend warrior, weeknight chef, friend, mentor, creative pursuer, home remodeler? Mind you, this is just an abbreviated list of things wonder women such as Christie Bienemann attempt to achieve in their crazy, beautiful lives.

The answer is...they don't. As this Bay Area native will tell you, life is about seasons and phases, being able to push pause on something and revisit it later, and oh yes, be real with the fact that no one can do it all, all the time.

Christie's career path is impressive. Her creativity and entrepreneurial pursuits are motivating. And most importantly, her journey to motherhood is inspiring and candid. From the outside, it's easy to say she's got it down, but she's humble and a wide open book on these matters. She's so passionate about keeping things real for other women, she started a blog, Christie Noelle, to share all of these aspects and more. 

Business-minded and incredibly ambitious, Christie took many courses in college to pursue business and marketing. She signed up for more internships (four!) than most people have jobs in their careers, just to ensure she land in an area that truly interested her after graduation. Her first job out of school ended in a layoff, which led her to a small start-up you may have heard of called Facebook where she worked alongside just 400 others at the time. She spent six years there in may roles, traveling internationally, and kicking professional booty along the way, until she felt a bit stagnant in her role. 

At the same time, she self-planned her wedding and felt really fulfilled creatively. After she said "I do," she met a friend-of-a-friend with a design background, and the two of them founded Going Lovely, an event design company. The self-proclaimed "planner" hoped to turn this side hustle into a full-time job eventually, but she didn't predict the struggles she'd encounter when trying to get pregnant. She knew it wasn't the right time to leave a steady job, but she felt called to make a change.   

Without hesitation of leaving the comfort of Facebook, she made a leap and started working at Pinterest, a place where she could combine her career interests and personal creative passions. Plus, she didn't have to travel, and she could focus on her top ambition of growing her family. At Pinterest, she started managing people, too, something she found greatly rewarding. Eventually, she stepped away from Going Lovely because she knew it just wasn't the right time, especially with the fertility battle she was only just beginning. 

"If I wanted to take it to the next level, I'd be giving up all of my weekends [as many of the events were weddings], and I just had too much going on," she said. "I knew I needed to put this on pause right now."

It'd be unfair to cut to the chase and shout from the rooftops that Christie became a twin mom without pausing for a minute and explaining how she went through years of infertility, a miscarriage, and the eventual journey of in vitro fertilization. Christie chronicled her life during this time on social media, mostly because she wanted to build community among countless other women she knew shared the same disappointment and heartache. She's now a strong advocate for infertility and is working to become an official mentor to other women experiencing the same thing.

Another topic Christie was and is vocal about is the teeter-totter of emotions that surrounded continuing to pursue her career after her twins were born. When Christie was around 10 years old, she witnessed her own mother go through somewhat of an extreme identity crisis, which impacted Christie throughout her life. She felt like her mom poured her entire being into raising her and her brother and she felt her mom truly didn't know who she was without that role. From such a young age, Christie knew she wanted to keep working when she became a mom.

"Probably because of the experience I had with my mom, I know being a part of a [work] team feeds me in a way, and I'm just careful in what I've seen that I don't get lost and have my own identity so I don't end up in a similar position."

Now, her babies are almost two-year-old toddlers, and she's still trying to figure out the right cadence for her life as a lady of many hats. She made a change about a year after they were born and left Pinterest, joining another start-up company in a different industry.

"Having worked with dozens of talented colleagues and managers, I took the opportunity to re-join former colleagues who inspire me every day. I guess I've learned it's less about the high-profile company but more about the people--teammates, managers, leaders."

She's happy having the opportunity to manage others and working with standup people.

"I think balancing a career and children has forced me to think more about priorities. Work-life balance, something that wasn't even on my radar earlier in my career, is a new focal point."

So is she still feeding her creative soul, making time for her family, and oh yes, getting dinner on the table? Inquiring minds would like to know just how this seemingly super hero manages these things and more.

Well, she and her equally impressive husband, Troy, are undergoing a complete remodel of their home, and Christie is in charge of the design decisions (check out her blog for all the details!); she does not budge on making sure she spends the mornings with her kids and gets home in order to have dinner and play a bit before bedtime; and she is brutally honest and won't lie about the simplicity of her dinner menus. She also wants to toss in how she's definitely not going to be posting about her outfits or any sort of fashion advice. She knows there's really no such thing as "doing it all" or "having it all," and she hopes sharing her stories will motivate and inspire other women to play to their strengths and be true to who they are.

"I think I'm a very positive person but also very real, and I like to keep it real and share those stories with people to help find the joy and reflect."

Here's to finding your inner Christie and sharing your stories with others, whether that be to a broad audience through an outlet like a blog or just being honest with your mom friends and neighbors about your struggles and triumphs. It take a village to do much more in life than just raise a child, and we're all in this together.

In her words

Advice for dream seekers:

"Write it out, and make a plan!"

Other females who inspire you:

"Christina Stembel of Farmgirl Flowers and Tiffany Dufu, author of Drop the Ball."

Favorite kitchen utensil/appliance:

"Lately it's the pancake griddle because my kids love pancakes. We make pancakes every Saturday."

Favorite style of cooking:

"Mexican."

Can't live without ingredient:

"Quinoa!"

Go-to recipe:

Christie's Non-Recipe Weeknight Quinoa Bowl...view the recipe here!