My name is Alissa and at the end of the day, I’m a small town Lebo girl at heart. I’m super competitive and love to stay busy. From sports (mainly volleyball & softball) to painting to hunting to working to raising my son, I’m almost always busy doing something.

I work at jones huyett Partners, a full-service advertising agency, where I’m in charge of the digital media department. I’m the Senior Digital Strategist which means I spend a lot of time on the internet. Writing social media plans, developing digital strategies, buying digital media and staying on top of the trends allows me to have the opportunity to work with almost every single one of our clients. It’s fast-paced and demanding, but I love it.

I’m also a mom. My son Leo will turn four on St. Patrick’s Day this year, and he keeps me on my toes. He’s so energetic and is learning things much faster than I can teach him. I’m doing everything I can to keep up. I’m not always a fun mom, but I’m determined to raise a son that’s independent, well-behaved and happy.

I recently married to Tony Menke, a fellow small town kid. He’s one of those guys I knew growing up, but never actually talked to because he went to and played for Hartford, a school about ten miles from Lebo. He was a smarty-pants at quiz bowl and a sports standout, so he definitely had my attention. But we didn’t actually meet each other and talk  until two years ago. He’s become my best friend and is a great step-dad to Leo.

I originally started this blog in 2006, and it’s served many purposes since that time. Initially, I used it to talk about my artwork. I blogged about everything I was doing in my painting studio, the things that inspired me, pieces I’d just created and shows I had. Then I transitioned into a more civic and family-oriented point in my life and my blog shifted to posts about my pregnancy and my son, as well as things going on around Topeka. If you’ve got some time to kill and are curious, feel free to check them out.