Found Out About Me

Disappointed

2011-07-01T08:08:00.002-06:00

Dear State of Minnesota Legislature,

I understand that you have been elected to fight for what you believe is best for our state. I commend you on being a public servant. I certainly don't want your job. However, I'm severely disappointed in you right now.

At 12:01 AM this morning (July 1st) the State of Minnesota and a majority of its operations and services shut down, basically anything that hasn't been deemed "necessary" has been stopped. The Republican majority leaders and the Democratic Governor could not possibly reach a budget agreement. Nor would the Governor accept anything less than a full budget plan. Resulting in hundreds or thousands of state employees being laid off. On top of that 60,000 reservations for campers at state parks were cancelled. DMVs, the zoo and the lottery have been closed. All of those things bring in quite a bit of revenue for the state. That seems extremely counter-productive to me, when the legislature is arguing over the current deficit.

Although you cannot purchase a fishing license now that the government is shut down, the DNR will be out enforcing regulations regarding fishing licenses. That seems very unnecessary to me. My friends have argued that it's a revenue maker. Great. How about we come to a budget agreement, so we didn't have to lay people off, and shut a bunch of things down. Road construction is at a stand-still. Wayside rest stops are closed. And some poor lady on the radio this morning said she lost her medical insurance because she's disabled. Deaf people are not receiving any state services, low-income families are not receiving day care funding, and anyone with medical assistance will not be seen by a doctor unless it's an emergency. Sounds pretty silly to me that the DNR is a necessity in this situation. Sounds even sillier that such a thing can happen. Where is the accountability for lawmakers to meet the deadlines. I don't know how to find this out, but I'm very curious as to how this is affecting the legislative peoples who couldn't come to an agreement. I know they still have jobs. Are they still being paid? Is the Governor allowed to remain at his state-paid residence, with all of his house-staff (maids, etc)? This whole thing makes me SO ANGRY. I kinda just want to move.

Engagement - Hooray!

2011-04-27T14:01:00.003-06:00

MG and I got engaged on February 18th, in St. Thomas while on vacation with my family.

Our vacation was Sunday to Sunday, but he waited until Thursday to propose. Needless to say, I was completely clueless, and didn't see it coming! We had talked about marriage and future plans, and so on. No timeline or set date was established and there was certainly no hints that anything was going down on that sunny little island.

The setting was totally "us." A tiny little ocean-side restaurant with picnic tables and plastic chairs, canopy tents for a roof and a live band playing. After dinner, a couple of songs in, MG asked me to walk over and look at the moon. Clueless me gave numerous reasons why we shouldn't - it's dark, there's broken glass over there (I'd been over earlier with my mom), and so on. Some how, MG convinced me it would be fine, without any suspicion on my part.

There, at 18 degrees latitude, under a shiny bright moon, with lovely words I can't recall (so caught up in the moment), I was asked to be MG's wife. I accepted.

Wednesday Morning

2011-02-04T08:59:00.002-06:00

Up at 5:20 am
to the Y by 5:40
ran on the treadmill. at first, alternating between 5.0 mph and 5.8 mph (I am a SUPER SLOW runner, so I usually stick around 5-5.3, but I needed a hard workout). After a few minutes of rotating, I pushed myself up to 6.0, ran that for 2 minutes. HAH, I did it. Couldn't believe it. So, I got gutsy. After my "rest" at the 5.0 run, I upped the speed back to 6.0, I ran at that speed for the remainder of my workout... 14 - yes - FOURTEEN minutes.
Holy Hell!
I kid you not when I say that I often run at about 5.3 mph and after a few minutes need to walk, because I'm tired or my side hurts. I think I've run once or twice since the winter weather hit. So, I'm out of practice, too. I felt crazy tired, but SO excited/happy/amazed/rewarded by my run. (never thought I'd say THOSE words.)
I'm pretty excited to get back on the treadmill and try it again, see how well I do.
If you've read this far, you might be wondering why I haven't run again yet. Well, I suffer from some knee issues. Have since high school. So, my knees were a little sore yesterday, so I did the elliptical instead. it's much nicer on your joints. today was spin class. MG and I have been going every friday morning.
So, next week, I'll be back on the treadmill. Yes, I take the weekends off! Hopefully this isn't like my golf game, where every year my first round out is my best & I go downhill from there.
Let's see if I can create a re-do of one of the best workouts... and runs I've ever been on.

Do you have a workout success story? Or maybe you're struggling and are looking for some encouragement, 'cause that happens to us all. Please share.

makes me wanna...

2011-02-01T07:57:00.002-06:00

write something.

Last night I started reading my second Lee Child book, the second in the Jack Reacher series.
When I started the first book, it took me a little while to be grabbed. I am a huge fan of James Patterson's books, which have super short chapters (2-6 pages is average), which makes it a perfect before-bed read for me. Child's chapters are a bit longer, which isn't a bad thing, except when I'm nearly asleep and want to stop reading at a reasonable end-point. Admittedly, it took me about 1/3 of the first book to really be hooked in, The Killing Floor, by Lee Child, however, ended up being one of the best books I've ever read.
Reading has become a fond pass-time of mine. I need some wind-down time before going to sleep, and reading is a good way to wind-down. Although I love Patterson's books, after reading several in a row, I need to change it up. It's not a Patterson thing, it's me. I did the same thing with Irving's books. I guess I get so used to the writing style that after a while I need something different.
Anyway, so, even after only reading two chapters of Die Trying, I'm 1) hooked and 2) inspired. There is something about the very colorful language that Child uses. He's immensely descriptive, even during the gory scenes (beware). As I read his words, I can vividly picture the scene unfolding. More than once, I've caught myself thinking "I wish I could write like that." Last night I thought "I WANT to write like that."
If I had the crazy imagination, time, and drive to really, I mean REALLY try at writing a book, I would. I think I have the drive, it's the imagination and time I'm not so sure about.

How about you, do you get inspired to write or create because of someone else's work? Do you have a muse?

weight of the world

2011-01-28T08:54:00.003-06:00

for a few years now, I have suffered/struggled with neck and shoulder pain, sometimes resulting in migraines. Although a majority of the time, I can power through, there have been days when the pain has brought me to my knees. You want to see a crabby girl? Just come visit me on a day where I've worn a thermacare heatwrap all day to try to relax the muscle knots in my shoulders, but end up with a migraine instead. Suck-eeee!
this all started a few years ago. occasionally, I'd have a sore neck or shoulders and in a day or two, with heat therapy, I'd be fine. Then I got my first migraine. After golfing 18 holes for work (yeah, it's rough, I know), I had a nagging pain in my shoulder that grew up my neck, until it filled the left side of my head. The pain grew until I just laid in bed, writhing. Roughly a month later, I got another one.
I finally went to the doctor, got medicine for migraines. Not much help. The pain continued on, coming more frequently. Again, I went to the doctor, who prescribed physical therapy, to learn how to relax my shoulders while working at a computer all day. That helped.
Slowly, stress, repetative motion, poor posture, a heavy purse, etc, etc. have piled up on me again. I'm back to sore shoulders and neck. My saving graces are Excedrin Migraine and heating pads (Thermacare heatwraps during the work day). Although I can't seem to shake the pain fully, at least I feel like it's manageable.
I'm starting to think that my head/neck is not well-supported while I sleep. Perhaps this is part of my problem. For a few months now, I have been waking up in the middle of the night with both hands tingly. You know that pins-and-needles feeling when your foot falls asleep from lack of circulation? Yeah, that happens to me in the middle of the night. It doesn't seem to matter what position I'm sleeping in, either. I wake up and move my hands around for a few seconds, everything's fine again, I go back to sleep. Weird, huh?
I've been to the doctor, guess I don't have a pinched nerve or anything. I've googled my face off trying to find answers. What have I found? Nothing super conclusive. Could be a lack of circulation at night from not moving my arms. Could be carpel tunnel (doubt it, as I don't have other, more usual symptoms). Could be other upper back/neck/shoulder muscle issues.
So what am I doing? I sit on a stability ball at work (most days) - in an attempt to keep my posture more up-right, less slouchy. I use heat when I feel a little achey. I keep a supply of advil and excedrin migraine in my purse. I recently started sleeping with a small feather pillow crammed under my neck, to support the arch of my neck (it's only been a few days, but that seems to be helping). I'm considering a memory foam pillow.
Does anyone else out there suffer from similar issues? If so, what works for you?

Proud Girlfriend

2011-01-26T13:30:00.002-06:00

Very proud of MG for a significant amount of ink he got in the local paper over the weekend (work-related) - Way to go, honey!
(sorry for being ambiguous, I want to maintain anonymity)

Homeowner Lesson.

2011-01-21T16:39:00.003-06:00

I've learned a few things since I became a homeowner. Last night, I learned what being a cold-climate homeowner can mean. Scraping the quarter-inch thick ice off the inside of the garage door. Yep, because the garage door is too heavy, with all of that ice on it, to be lifted by the motor. After a few frustrated pushes of the garage door opener button. Scratching my head. And a quick call to my dad, I learned what my problem was. Ice is heavy. It took MG and I roughly an hour, both working hard, to scrape all of the ice off. The garage floor had a pretty good covering when we were finished (also, our jackets, pants, feet, hair).
As I chipped away at the ice, with the handy-dandy plastic scraper usually reserved for my car windows, I was partly having fun and partly fearing an eye injury from the flying ice chunks.
*In the photo - that grey-ish spot on the garage door panel, is where the ice has been removed. Yikes!

Let me tell you, it's a relief to find out the solution to a homeowner problem will just take a little elbow grease!

Because we all need a laugh.

2011-01-20T09:16:00.002-06:00

Especially during the winter months, laughter really is the best medicine for boosting your mood.
Thanks to Iowa Girl Eats (who I enjoy reading very much), I found this website and have spent the past half hour laughing so hard, I'm nearly crying. Thanks IGE for sharing... and thanks to those who post their auto correct hilarity.

http://damnyouautocorrect.com

Time, Time, Time

2011-01-18T13:36:00.003-06:00

I think about my sister, with three kids, and I wonder how in heck I'm ever going to have time to cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of one child...ya know, whenever that day may come.
I hardly have time right now to work 8+ hours per day, work 4+ extra hours per week, and do all the regular chore-type things, plus have a social life. I mean, I still manage to fit in some relaxing time, and an occasional dinner or night out with friends or MG. But, it's tough.
My usual work week, now that I get up to work out, looks like this:
drag myself out of bed, get dressed, drive to the Y, exercise, drive home.
Shower, get dressed, throw breakfast, lunch & snacks in my bag (I need to eat every hour or two, I'm like a Gremlin).
Drive to work. Work 8+ hours (works really busy lately, too).
Drive home. Kiss MG, start working my second job. Try to help with either preparing dinner, cleaning the kitchen, or laundry. Work until 9:00. Collapse on the couch or into bed. Watch tv for a little while. Fall asleep.
Ok, so that's usually my Monday routine. The other days of the week get a little easier (I don't usually work (as much) in the evenings). And, lucky for me, MG is a good helper-outer.

Sometimes I wonder what people who work a straight 40 hours per week job do in all of that spare time. Then I think about the people who work WAY more than I do.

Sometimes, I just...

2011-01-17T16:09:00.002-06:00

don't know what to write about here.
I come up with ideas, I start writing about them... then I either delete it all, or save it as a draft. Mostly I do this because I think that I'm the only one who cares about whatever I was writing about.

So, if you're still out there, reading my (very infrequent) posts, feel free to comment if you like or dislike something. Thanks.

Anyway, since Thanksgiving I have been getting up before work 3-4 times per week to go to the gym. I'm SO not a morning person, but this seems to be the only time I can fit it into my schedule. During that time, I have only missed one week (when I had bronchitis and couldn't stop coughing long enough to exercise at all). It's been six weeks of at least 30 minutes cardio, 3+ times a week (hey, it's better than nothing). I have not lost any weight, but I do feel stronger and (I think) I look a little leaner. I have to be in a swimsuit in less than 4 weeks, which is very strong motivation.

Maybe that's me patting myself on the back. But, it's something to write about. Yes, more to come...

so delicious

2010-12-09T11:58:00.002-06:00

I LOVE to cook.
Lately I've been in a major cooking mood. Maybe it's the cold weather keeping me indoors more, or the need for comfort food. I don't know, but it's sure delicious.
Recently, MG and I have made
turkey lettuce roll-ups, Asian style
beer cheese broccoli cauliflower soup
shrimp pasta with Old Bay seasoning, a little nod to our east coast friends
peanut butter vegetable soup - don't knock it until you've tried it, it's delicious
among other things, those are just the honorable mentions

The real MVP, and what I'm most proud of, is my recipe-mashing success at breakfast bars!
For weeks, I'd been wanting to make those ~~white~~ dark chocolate blueberry ginger cookies. Once I finally made them, I was obsessed! For about 2 weeks, I thought and thought, and thought some more. How could I transform these amazing cookies into some kind of breakfast bars?
The recipe was already healthy and actually made for a pretty hardy cookie. I wanted to expand on that.
So, I googled the internet, I scoured my cookbooks, I thought some more.
Finally, I had the guidance I thought I needed.
I essentially wrote a recipe using 2 different recipes as guidelines.
I was nervous, and excited. I've made my own recipes and altered recipes for regular cooking without worry. But, this was baking. So much more complicated. They could turn out hard, too dense, chalky, crumbly, just plain gross. So, fingers crossed, I went to work, adjusting my recipe slightly based on the consistency of the dough.
Voila! Success!
The breakfast bars came out of the oven and looked delicious.
Unfortunately, I had to run out for plans before I could try one. Once I finally tasted one, I was immensely joyed with the product. MG really likes them, too. They are kind of like cookie bars, but they are healthy & have goodies like oats & wheat germ for extra nutritional value. I've been eating them before working out in the morning and they tide me over for hours (but I don't feel pukey-full while working out).
MG suggested I submit them to a recipe contest, I think I shall. Therefore, I cannot post the recipe online yet (contest rules). So, maybe some day. But, if you're interested, let me know & I'll tell you how I made them :)
For now, I'm tooting my own horn, because I'm very proud of my baking success.
Tooot Tooot!

loosing faith

2010-12-01T15:58:00.002-06:00

I'm not real knowledgeable about politics. I don't fully understand the ins-and-outs of public policy, etc. But, I do know when something upsets me. And, yes, I admit that my boyfriend is a government employee (I try not to let that bias me). I also admit that I'm taking a pretty black-and-white look at these things, when I know the whole issue is pretty gray.

Yesterday's local newspaper (Minneapolis Star Tribune) had an article about a two year pay freeze for federal employees to help decrease the federal deficit. Today's newspaper has an article about paying out 1.3 BILLION dollars to black farmers.

I've got a couple of issues here.

First off, the farmers article actually says "black farmers" - now, I read the headline and the beginning of the article wondering if there was a special kind of farmer that was somehow "black". Later on in the article, I discovered it was talking about African American farmers. I guess our PC-police were axed. I don't really care if you call me a white person, or an Anglo American, or just a person... let's just make up our minds and stick with something.

That being said, I'll start with my feelings on the two year pay freeze. The article isn't very clear about who qualifies as a "federal" employee, I imagine police officers and other county/city/state employees qualify. So, let's hamper our public service people by refusing to give them raises. Because their jobs aren't thankless already. Oh, and they have NO impact on the well being of our communities (sense the sarcasm there?). By the way, military is not included in the pay freeze, nor is postal workers or congress (and I'm ok with that part).

So, Obama proposes that we freeze salarys for federal employees, because that will slash $5 billion from the $14 trillion defecit, over the first two years. The biggest issue I have with this is that not allowing pay raises hamstrings the buying power of these (2 million) people, many of whom are middle-class. No buying = no growth in the economy. Mission of stimulating the economy, which would in turn lower our national debt, not accomplished.

I believe people should be paid based on their merits, what they bring to the table. I am not against longevity playing a role in compensation, but it should not be the only thing considered. Getting a raise is a very motivating factor for people to work hard at their job. Everyone has dreams and aspirations, and it takes money to accomplish those things.

One day after this announcement to freeze federal salaries to slash the deficit, an article is printed that shows a plan that would cost the US government $1.2 billion dollars. At first blush, this sounds pretty counter-productive to me. And, after reading the article, I still feel it's pretty counter-productive. The article, to be fair, does not lay out specific wrongs committed, or really give any details regarding how these 94,000 claims came to be. The article focuses more on how Michelle Bachman (Congresswoman, MN) strongly disagrees with this settlement plan. She feels that the claims are unfounded and a scam. In my opinion, the article doesn't do anything to refute Bachman's claims, but maybe that's the biased spin of the newspaper, I don't know.

A few specific things in this article infuriate me.
1. There is a National Black Farmers Association - I thought we were an equal rights country. Why do the African American people have their own farmers association? Why are African Americans singled out, are they different than Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, or Mung farmers?
2. A quote from John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association "If you look at it historically, every black person in this country is probably one or two generations from somebody's farm," - ok, so this is about slavery and the wrong-doings of generations past? Well, people, what is it? Are you upset about how your ancestors were unfairly treated? I'm sorry that slavery happened, but I had nothing to do with it. Also, not EVERY black person in this country is 1-2 generations removed from working on SOMEBODY'S farm.
3. from the article: "In addition to the settlement with the black farmers, another $3.4 billion would go to American Indians who have battled in court for nearly 15 years over claims they were cheated out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department for resources such as oil, gas and timber." - so this settlement is costing our country $4.6 billion. I don't know all of the background here, so I cannot say whether or not the African American farmers or American Indians were wronged. If they were, then a fair compensation should be determined.
What I do know is that the American Indian's have their own sovereign nations here in Minnesota on their reservations, where they live by their own rules, where they host their casinos and make quite a bit of money off of gambling. At what point do we stop repaying the debt of our ancestors? I'm not trying to be cold-hearted. I just feel like on one hand our government is freezing incomes to cut debt, then turning around and paying out billions of dollars for wrong doings that 1. are not entirely proven, at least not in the article, and 2. happened decades ago.

Between these two articles, our education system, and the new government health plan I'm really starting to loose my faith in the ol' U. S. of A. I do not like the path we are headed down. I do not agree with so many things that are happening. I kinda want to move away.

All Dressed Up

2010-11-29T10:52:00.004-06:00

A couple of friends are meeting the big 3-0 with grace and a sense of adventure. One lovely friend celebrated with a weekend of camping with friends. Although the weather was a bit chilly, we enjoyed a lovely weekend together and huddled around the campfire. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity (and remember) to post some photos from that weekend.
Another friend highlighted his 30th with an 80's themed party. The plan was for party-goers to come dressed as their favorite 80's character. Challenge accepted.
MG and I brainstormed ideas. Google searched 80's tv and movies. Looked at many photos, before landing on a costume idea. We weren't going with our favorite 80's characters, we were going for fun and laughter.
Enter Jessica & Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
We were hoping to pull off these ridiculous costumes with flair.
After much store & internet hunting, I purchased my dress, red wig, gloves, and Roger's ears.
MG is a bit of a procrastinator, sometimes, so he was a bit more last minute. We ended up sewing him a pair of red sweatpants the week of the party (because we could only find them online for about $50...for sweatpants!). We armed him with yellow work gloves, white hair spray paint, the bunny ears (which I added orange frizzy "hair" too (also known as tule). While MG made his sweatpants (with a little bit of my assistance), I created his bow-tie and tail. Magically, everything came together.
He was a super cute Roger Rabbit! I think one of the best costumes at the party! (A friend came as 80's rock star Gem, she did a rock star job on her costume, too!) I think I pulled off an overly-vuluptous Jessica fairly well, too. It was a great party-theme idea, and we had a great time. Happy 30's friends!

oh my deliciousness

2010-11-28T19:03:00.002-06:00

You know how much I like to cook.
I'm always hunting for new recipes, especially healthy treats.
Substitute applesauce for butter or oil? Check.
Use canned pumpkin with chocolate cake mix? Check.

I recently discovered the eatingwell.com website. Well, I'm in love.
The first recipe I made from the site... absolutely delish!

The original recipe is for white chocolate & blueberry ginger cookies. Well, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I am not a huge fan of white chocolate, nor could I find crystalized ginger at the grocery store. Well, no worries... I made it my own.

Dark Chocolate & Blueberry cookies.
YUH-UM!
original recipe, thanks to eatingwell.com

My adjustments:
replace white chocolate with dark chocolate, add more.
omit crystalized ginger.

They are actually pretty healthy for you - thank the the inclusion of oats and wheat germ, which is loaded with all kinds of vitamins & nutrients. They are reasonable in fat and calories. Totally delicious.
MG thought they were awesome, as well... boy approved.

conclusion

2010-11-28T18:58:00.002-06:00

ok, so I sent my nasty-gram (2nd) email to the customer service department of wavee.com. I included threats of contacting the Better Business Bureau and Attorney Generals office about deceptive trade practices... oh, and I may have mentioned that I consulted with my attorney (they don't need to know she's my sister). Oddly, I received prompt response (within minutes, rather than the day it took for my first email's response). The email reply stated they were sorry about the confusion and would refund my money 100%.

Well, thankyouverymuch. Sad that it took some legal jargon and threats to get this situation taken care of. Glad that it's going to be fixed. Although, I'm not counting chickens yet, the refund has not been made yet. Let's see when those eggs hatch.

haha, sucker!

2010-11-24T13:36:00.002-06:00

yep, I've been MIA again. Haven't really had anything that I was inspired to write about lately (sad), plus the regular blah-blah of being busy and junk.
Sorry.

Anyway, I am writing a Public Service Announcement today.

I'm big into money-saving. Coupons. Discounts. I'm an equal-opportunity discounter.
So, I was really excited yesterday when I happened across a website that touted itself as the next generation of ebay. Plus there was a slew of supporting evidence, television news stations such as NBC, CNN, etc, had verified the greatness of this website. Awesome, and just in time for the holidays!
So, I signed-up for an account. Upon creating a user name and password, I had to submit credit card information. I didn't really think much about this, as it is a site where you purchase things. You need an account on ebay before you can bid on stuff. The concept of this website is that you buy credits to use to make bids. Ok, fine. So, I am tinkering around the site, and I notice that I have 100+ credits. Hmmm? Weird, must be a "welcome to the club starter package" type thing. So, I make a few bids.
I get distracted. I do some other stuff. I log in to my email. BAM! An email thanking me for signing up, and another email RECEIPT! WHAT? I somehow purchased $75 worth of credits!! HOLY MORTHER LOVING EFFFFFFFER! Are you kidding me???
My mind flips through the whole registration process. Never got a verify your email address email. Never did a "check out" or "verify your purchase" type anything. I had absolutely NO idea that I'd bought these credits. Crap. So, I decide maybe I should just eat the $75 and bid on some stuff, hopefully I'll win. Trouble is, I had sent the link to McGruff, and he registered, too. Guess what? He somehow magically bought $75 worth of credits without his knowledge, too! Yeah, that's quite a coincidence, isn't it??!!
Now I'm pretty pissed. I go back on the webiste, looking for any kind of indication that says "when you sign up, you pay XXX dollars for credits." I see nothing. And, yes, I even read through the terms and conditions before I signed up. It doesn't say anything about a purchase while signing up. In fact, the sign up page says SIGN UP IS FREE. Wow, talk about mis-leading.
I've been in money-panic mode since. I sent an email to customer service (after mg was on hold for 15 minutes and gave up). The response I got was essentially: too bad, credits are not refundable.
So, I emailed my lawyer sister. da-da-da-daaaa! Thank God I have legal counsel to talk to free of charge. She looked at the site & said she saw where it implys you will be buying credits, but there is no opt-out option, and it isn't really very clear. She suggested that I complain again, this time telling the company that I will be contacting the BBB and Attorney General if we are not refunded in full. She suggested "deceptive trade practices" as an argument, yep, I'd agree with that!
So, I've emailed the company, yet again. Now, we wait.
Moral of this story is two-fold.
1. don't enter cc info, unless you are actually purchasing something (even if the site seems reputable)
2. NEVER EVER trust wavee.com - IMO, they are fraudulent scammers.
remember: just say NO to wavee.com

Orange

2010-07-29T14:35:00.003-06:00

Orange you glad I didn't say banana again?

Hah. Sorry, total brain melt-down over here.

Did you know that if you roll an orange on the counter top (using the palm of your hand) before peeling the orange, it helps to remove the pithe (the bitter, whitish part between the peel and the fruit)? Makes for a more delicious orange.

Happy eating.

still here

2010-07-23T08:36:00.003-06:00

things are a bit hectic lately. Work is exploding all around me, and that's what my waking life is 80% devoted to right now. The other 20% I'm trying to use towards good things - my bf, the house, cooking/eating, socializing, softball, etc. (ps, I'm exhausted.)

At any rate, I've had a few fleeting thoughts of kinda funny (read: randomness) that I wanted to post on here. Yeah, now I can't remember them. Good grief!

well, I've got one:

Is saying "no offense, but..." before a statement a way of really saying "so, I realize you're probably not going to like what I have to say, because it isn't very nice, but I think it's true, so I'm going to pre-empt you and say you can't get mad at me, k?"

Is this some kind of exclusion to the rule "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all"?

Donor

2010-04-08T13:50:00.002-06:00

In college, I gave blood every 60 days or so. It made me feel good that I could do something so easy that helped out a person or family in need. Not to mention that I would come home to take some of the best naps of my college career (ah, the days of flexible schedules and afternoons off). I have since gotten away from blood donation, as it isn't nearly as easy to fit into my busy schedule. I know, bad reason. Where I donated in college, they used to give us a can of juice to sip while donating. I thought this was great, a distraction that helped keep blood sugar levels up.
The 2 places I've donated at post-college refuse any type of beverage during donation (even when I tried to bring my own). I felt ishy after my donations, drained and tired. I wasn't good for much post-donations, just lying on the couch and relaxing. Given how much I'm responsible for these days (plus adding in time for fun stuff, too), finding the time to donate has become increasingly difficult. It's something I would like to find the time and energy to do again.

In lieu of my blood donation, I did check the donor box when renewing my license this year. I know that isn't something anyone will benefit from anytime soon, but I thought just in case. (I plan on living through several more license renewals, just to let you know.) The idea of having my organs harvested out of my body seemed like a scary thing. Knowing my eyes or heart would be walking around in someone else's body, ick. But, then thinking about the good it could do, the hope it could renew, the possibilities the recipients might have. That warmed my heart and encouraged me greatly. I decided that I could try to improve someone elses life by donating parts of my body. Besides, I don't want my body to be buried anyway. Creamate me and let the ashes fly. I'd rather celebrate the life I am living, than have people mourn at my grave.

Ah, thank good ness

2010-04-07T10:39:00.001-06:00

Thank you Real Simple for putting my fear to rest:

Rule: Alligators Live in Sewers and Can Come Up Into Your Toilet

False. This urban legend originated in New York City (something about a batch of imported baby alligators flushed down a toilet…), but according to Ian Michaels, spokesman for the city's Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees water and sewer systems, "there are no alligators in the sewers." Alligators are cold-blooded, he adds, and the temperature in the sewers in winter would be too cold for them to tolerate.

Even where one might more reasonably worry about gators―say, in Florida―a call to Frank Calderon, information officer for Miami-Dade County's Water and Sewer Department, yielded a dry "No, no alligators in the sewers" before the question was even asked ("You have no idea how many times people ask us that"). He says that the methane and hydrogen sulfide gases that accumulate in sewers make for an "inhospitable environment." They displace oxygen, so there's none for alligators to breathe; nor is there anything for them to eat. And even if an alligator donned a gas mask and brought its own rations, it would have to be a contortionist to work its way into your bathroom via the toilet. Most sewer-line pipes coming into homes are only four or six inches wide, and the internal trap in toilets makes the opening a mere two to three inches. So you can confidently flush this myth once and for all.

Fact or Fiction?

2010-04-01T12:52:00.002-06:00

I just had a woman (acquaintance) say to me "I wish I could transform my body to be cute & skinny like you."
I thanked her for her sweet compliment.
Reality is, I'm fairly average-sized. I wear size 8 jeans, medium (sometimes small) shirts. I'm 5' 4" (not tall) and weigh 143 pounds. Based on health standards, I'm borderline over weight.
I am about 10 pounds heavier than I was in college. About 20 pounds heavier than when I was very sick with mono, the lightest point in my life (that includes when I was at the top of my athletic career).
Oddly, that was the second time today someone commented on my "skinny" body.
I admit that I've been working very hard over the past 3 months. I've worked out a fair amount and (mostly) been eating healthy. I have lost about 8 pounds. I'm fit-looking and I think I'm in decent shape. So, why is it that other people think I'm skinny/healthy looking yet my BMI says I'm borderline over weight?
Do the numbers lie? Can we be healthy even though our weight is higher than recommended by health standards? Am I lying to myself? Or, am I actually at a healthy body weight for my body type/build, like I think I am?

Imagine it...

2010-03-26T08:49:00.003-06:00

cell phones working over the internet?? Wha'?
Yeah, there's a new iphone ap that allows calls over the internet, kinda like skype. It's "free" (for a $15/month fee) for unlimited calling, no minute restrictions. Basically this ap works as a second line feature, second phone number. But, the possibility of internet-based cell phones? WOW! I can't even imagine. Just think: a world where we don't pay $50+ a month for cell phones! Can you imagine?!?! I can't, but I'm trying really hard. What would I do with that extra $80 a month? Ah, the possibilities.
In my ideal world (inside my head) I picture buying a cell phone, paying a nominal monthly fee for internet access (say $20/month) and having unlimited internet access and phone talk-time. Oh, and the sky in that world is purple. Well, a girl can dream, can't she?
I do think that the cell phone industry is a huge racket. Charging for minute overages, text messages, unused minutes, and so on. Not to mention that basic plans are becoming more and more expensive, and so are the phones. It's expensive. Maybe, someday, it'll be internet-based AND affordable.
iphone ap article

zzzzZZZZZzzzzz

2010-03-24T08:11:00.002-06:00

I don't know what my problem is lately. Sure, daylight savings time "spring ahead" has the mornings darker. Sure, I'm working out more and harder than I have in a long time. Sure, work has been really busy and stressful. But why can't I get out of bed in the morning? Honestly, alarm goes off and I either hit snooze or turn it off all together. McGruff gets up, I roll over into the warm space he left vacant. I keep telling myself "just a few more minutes." I repeatedly roll over, look at the clock, and decide I can sleep a little longer. Sometimes I fall back asleep, jolting awake with little time to get ready & leave for work. Most mornings, I drag myself out of bed 20-30 minutes before I have to leave for work. Then I slowly get the cob webs out and throw together a look that's (luckily) appropriate in my laid-back work environment. Once my day gets going, I'm fine, not crazy tired, not sleepy. I try to go to bed early, I even get around 8 hours of sleep a night. So, why can't I manage to drag myself out of bed in the morning?

another year older

2010-03-04T09:01:00.003-06:00

my final 20's birthday rolled around last weekend.
Unable to make a decision on what I wanted to do to celebrate, McGruff formed a plan.
On Thursday night, he presented me with 4 cards. Each one had pictures on one side, giving hints to the text on the other side. I was to choose one of the cards, therefore picking what we would do the day of my birthday. He did an excellent job. There were outdoor adventures, dining experiences, and a variety of options to choose from. After much deliberation, because everything sounded like fun, I chose card #1. Ultimately, we mixed-and-matched from the different cards to plan our day. It was a really fun way to make our plans, and I was honored as to the thought and effort he put into the cards.
Friday, when I came home from work, McGruff had a beautiful potted flower plant waiting for me. It wasn't yet blooming, he said it was to watch grow and flower during my 29th year of life. What a thoughtful gift!
Friday was also a friend's birthday, so we gathered up a group of 11 and met in St. Paul for sushi/Japanese. As usual with sushi, I ate WAY too much, but it was certainly delicious! We all got dressed up, ate well, laughed a lot, and had a wonderful time. We rounded off the night with cake, ice cream, and a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit.
Saturday, birthday morning, just after waking up, MG sang me happy birthday, followed by a nice chat with my sister and then my parents. My 1.5 year old niece even got on the phone to say happy birthday. The first part of our day was taken care of - sleep in. I was delighted to see that the yellow buttercup flowers on my new plant were already beginning to bud.
We got ourselves warmly dressed and ate a quick breakfast, heading east to do some skiing. (Yes, I'm a little obsessed with skiing now, I guess.) It was a gorgeous day. Sun shining, high in the upper 30's, light wind. It felt great to be with MG, swishing down the hills, sun in our faces. The snow was decent, somewhat powdery, even. We made our way across the mountain, traveling from slope to slope. As we waited next in line for the chair lift, I saw MG swivel his hips. Realizing he was in the way of the chair coming, he tried to get out of the way. Too late. The chair hit him, knocking him over into me. I tipped over, propped at a 60 degree angle, against a pole and fence. MG managed to right himself and skiid right up to the load spot. I was stuck. Unable to move my arm, I had to push my body against the post/fence and slowly tottered myself back up-right. We got several laughs out of the debacle throughout the day.
We skiid all the way across the mountain, riding every chair lift. We even enjoyed our lunch outside!
After a few hours of skiing, the slopes were growing crowded and my legs were getting tired. We opted to head home for some rest before our fancy dinner out.
We lounged around, napping for a bit, then got dressed up for dinner. The King & I Thai in Minneapolis. (tough parking location) the restaurant was quiet and romantic, decorated with wooden carved elephants. We snacked on some very delicious cream cheese wonton rolls (perhaps the best we've ever had, and we get them a lot). I enjoyed both my and MG's mojitos (turns out he doesn't like them, after all). Then our meals came. I ordered red coconut curry, my current Thai-food obsession. It was magnificent. MG ordered some chicken dish, which was also very tasty. We each ate less than half of our meals and were stuffed. We debated about what to do next, but ended up heading home. The MN Gophers were playing my alma mater in hockey, and I'd heard the night before was a great game. We snuggled up on the couch and enjoyed a piece of birthday cake while watching hockey. A perfect ending to a magnificent birthday.
Thanks MG, for making this year so special.

Up NorT

2010-03-02T14:35:00.002-06:00

I've been on a bit of a hiatus.
McGruff and I went on vacation. We drove north about 4 hours and spent a couple of days in Lutsen. I managed one day of downhill skiing. He's pretty proud he got me to go down some black diamonds. (He's prepping me for a trip to Colorado, someday.)
We then drove down to Duluth for a few days. We spent a few hours at Gooseberry Falls. Although the river & falls were frozen over, the day was absolutely gorgeous. We hiked along the river, played in the snow, carefully maneuvered some icey pathways, and took lots of photos (which I don't have online yet). Vacation was much needed. We both enjoyed being lazy, sleeping in, doing what we pleased, when we pleased. We walked around the city, ate wonderful food, shopped. 5 days of driving, hiking, relaxing, and just being together was great. A real vacation.

Lutsen is the biggest ski "mountains" in Minnesota. So, for my 3rd EVER ski trip, it was a bit nerve-wracking at first. I was a little afraid of breaking a limb, or mangling myself. MG was helpful and encouraging. We took a couple of mid-level runs at first. It took me a couple of hills to feel reasonably comfortable. It still freaks me out a little when you approach a crest of the hill and can't see anything below. We worked our way across the mountain to some larger, more difficult hills. It was windy and overcast, but being outside was extremely refreshing. I had a few minor falls, but was getting better and more confident with each run. My legs felt great (my 2 previous ski adventures were very uncomfortable, with the too-slanted boots). As the wind picked up, we grew colder, deciding to head back to the runs nearer the car. As I came down the hill, turning to the catwalk, I lost my edge on the icy mountain. Tumble, flip, turn. Face - meet the ice/snow. I skidded to a stop, about 10 feet below my ski. My face felt scraped and raw. I got up, gave an ok sign to MG and started the slow teeter-climb back up to my abandoned ski. Once I was recomposed, I met up with MG. He assured me my cheek was red, but not bleeding or anything. My knee was pretty sore, but we crossed our way back to the other side. After one last run, our skiing adventure ended for the day. I had survived, although my face still felt raw.
The rest of the week, we galavanted around Duluth, my college town. I took MG to some of my favorite sights and exploring spots. We shots more photos, including one of each of us standing ON Lake Superior. We ate as many tater tots as we could. We dined on amazing Italian food at Bellisio's (highly recommended if you're ever in Duluth). And we watched a lot of the Olympic games. 5 days away is not nearly enough, but I enjoyed it immensely!

dimension(al)

2010-02-03T15:46:00.001-06:00

Ok, one pet peeve of mine is when people get dimensions wrong.
Dimensions are very important in my work-world. If something is sized incorrectly, the whole design could be screwed up, or it wont mail at the correct postage rate, or it wont fit inside the frame/envelope/display. And so on.
I hate to say this (gulp), but pretty much every time I get backwards dimensions, they're from a woman.
At any rate, dimensions can be very important - think custom shoe rack or entertainment center.

Dimensions are given width x height.
Remember this little trick....an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper is 8 and 1/2 inches wide by 11 inches tall.
You'll never give wrong dimensions again.
(thanks for reading my little rant.)

Ouchie!

2010-01-13T11:07:00.005-06:00

I don't injure myself very often, but when I do, it's usually something really stupid.

In 4th grade my parents took my (10th grade) sister, her friend and me to a haunted house in a neighborhood strip mall. At the end of the haunted house, one of the goblins chased us out. Having been holding on to my sister's friend's coat, I let go and ran eye-first into a metal beam (holding up the over-hang outside the store). Blood gushed, my sister clasped her hands over my eye (blocking any path I had to see) and led me around the parking lot until we found our parents. Seven stitches later, I went home, just 6 days before my uncles wedding (which I was a junior bridesmaid in, luckily no black eye).

A couple of weeks later, I slipped on some ice during recess and cracked my head open. No stitches.

As a sophomore in high school, I was warming up before a hockey game. I knew the door to the ice was open. I didn't realize, while skating backwards, that I was next to the door. I tripped, hitting my neck on the rough corner of the plexi door. My neck looked like raw hamburger - mottled purple and red, and swollen. I could barely turn my head. I only missed one shift of the game, but looked like someone had thrown me down a set of stairs for about a week afterward.

Also in high school, a friend had a plate slip out of her hand as she was taking it out of the cupboard, it hit just below my eye, slicing down to the bone.

A couple of years ago I was making cupcakes for my birthday party. Being in a hurry (and maybe a little lazy), I tried to use a ceramic bowl on my stand mixer (as the stainless steal bowl was already in use). Well, the bowl (of course) broke, spun, and when I tried to grab it, sliced my right hand. The cut wasn't very big, but somewhat deep and in a precarious spot... on my palm, near my thumb. I drove myself to urgent care for 2 stitches. Then had to drag my lidocained-hand to the grocery store for more supplies to finish the cupcakes (which were delicious!). Cooking, mousing, typing, and general every-day stuff is tough to accomplish without your right-hand thumb.

Then last night, as I was warming into my racketball game (losing 8-0), I swung, completely missed the ball and squarely struck my left hand. Instantly my left ring finger had a purple line hashed across the tip, the red-purple color was spreading. I shook my hand, danced around with watering eyes and continuously said "OWE, owE, Owe." The tingling spread across my three main fingers, and I was afraid to move them. I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous injury. After some ice, I managed to slowly bend each finger, determining they weren't broken. All night they tingled like crazy. Today I have a seriously bruised finger tip (which makes typing, well, interesting).

Noodleeeee

2010-01-06T08:49:00.009-06:00

Thanks to my parents and McGruff's help, I finally managed to make homemade noodles. I've been talking about it for years. For Christmas, I got a pasta attachment for my beloved KitchenAid stand mixer, thanks Mom & Dad.
Last Saturday, MG and I set out with a mission. (This is post bread-making debacle, luckily MG was kind enough to look up the grams to cups conversions for me, so I could even use my new cookbook.)
We started out with a pile of flour on the kitchen counter (sadly, we didn't think to photograph this part of the meal-making). Slowly working in eggs and water, with out hands, MG and I worked the dough into a nice round ball. We could have mixed the dough in the stand mixer, but working dough with your hands on the counter is so much more fun (and actually stress-relieving).
Once the pasta was together it needed to rest for about 15 minutes. Being unsure how long it would take us to make the noodles, we started on the pasta sauce right away.
MG and I prefer fire roasted tomatoes to jarred sauce. We started with some sauteed onions and green peppers. We then added in some garlic, the roasted tomatoes and some seasonings. (look, you can see my earlier adventure of Beer Bread on the counter!) Our sauce simmered away on the stove as we began balling up chunks of dough to send through the pasta machine.

Feeding the pasta machine and watching the long strands of noodles come out was easy. Separating the noodles so they could dry out a bit (and not be one giant noodle clump) was much more time consuming and difficult than we expected.
We worked in batches, balling dough and sending it through the machine, then separating the noodles into great piles on the counter tops. The noodles cooked up quickly, once we had enough to put into the pot. Then it was time for dinner... Beer Bread, sauce and noodles - all homemade.
The recipe made about a pound of noodles, but our growling tummies (plus the simmering sauce) declared we eat our dinner before noodling all the dough. The extra dough went into the refrigerator for the night. This was a happy accident, as we learned that cold dough made separating the noodles a lot easier. Also, the recipe says to pull the noodles from the extractor, which leaves one end very thin and prone to sticking to the other noodles. Using a butter knife to gently cut half the noodles off the extractor at a time worked so much better.

Pasta Sauce:
chopped onion and peppers - sauteed in olive oil, then add
1 can (15 oz) fire roasted tomatoes
minced garlic (to taste - about 2 tsp)
dried oregano/basil
salt & pepper
optional: crushed red pepper flakes
simmer until desired consistency
to thicken, add tomato paste 1 tsp at a time

Bon Appetite!

Stuff-it... Chicken.

2010-01-05T15:17:00.002-06:00

McGruff and I made a company-worthy meal on Sunday night.
cream cheese and chive stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in (turkey) bacon (of course, turkey bacon, I'm trying to loose a few pounds, remember?!)
Sides:
Green Beans (standard, nothing exciting)
smashed potatoes. I boiled a few baby reds, then drained them and mashed with some skim milk. I scooped them into small ramekins and topped with chives and olive oil, then baked. We had to bake the potatoes with the chicken, so the temp was lower than I would have liked. The finished product was a creamy potato mash. I was hoping for some crispy parts, maybe next time (at a higher temp).
MMM MMM, delicous Man.

starting out

2010-01-04T09:25:00.002-06:00

The new year has begun.
Over the long weekend, I managed a couple of adventures and capitalized on relaxation opportunities. Luckily, I enjoyed sleeping in late and lounging in bed, something that I haven't had a chance to do in MONTHS. I watched movies, painted, cooked, ate, played.
After some raquetball on Saturday (I'd say morning, but I didn't get out of bed until 11), I had the wonderful intentions of making bread from scratch. I dug out my yeast - expired. Sigh. I found the brand new bag of self-rising flour (which I bought for who knows what reason), best if used by November 2009. Sigh. After digging through several cookbooks, I became increasingly frustrated. The new cookbook I bought showed measurements in ounces. I was in no mood to do conversions. I admit I pouted a bit before deciding to take my chances with the self-rising flour. Research revealed that I would still need some type of leavening agent. I conceded to beer bread. 2 2/3 cups of self-rising flour, 1 12-ounce can of beer (we only had Miller Light, not my first choice, but it worked fine). The bread wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it turned out delicious, none-the-less.
I have a 1/3 finished painting that I'm pretty proud of so far.
I watched Julie & Julia, which was pretty good (and all the food looks so amazing!)
The Hangover = still hilarious!
lots of cooking and new culinary adventures = fun time with McGruff and yumminess.
Bodies Exhibit at Mall of America was very interesting and educational.
The Vikings whooping the Giants - pretty awesome.
a very good start to the new year.
So far, I've managed to work-out, AND add some fun-time to my life. I think I'm off to a pretty good start.

closing out

2009-12-31T08:42:00.002-06:00

Instead of the usual New Year Resolution list, or a re-cap of 2009, I give you three statements:
1. I am still a very lucky girl.
2. I am setting a goal of working out and losing a few pounds.
3. I will make more time for fun.

May your 2010 be blessed and full of wonderful surprises!

Fffff-pwaht.

2009-12-29T10:59:00.003-06:00

You may recall my first adult-life tennis attempt this past summer.
Last night, McGruff and I headed to a different kind of court to test my racket skills.
Let me first say that rackets are not as long as hockey sticks, nor softball bats, this must be taken into consideration when attempting to swing at a ball. Secondly, I prance. Yep. The sports-girl who tackles and doesn't back down to cocky boys prances. When I swing a racket, it's a little like a ballet (note, I've never taken dance lessons, so that's not saying a whole lot). I fling my leg up behind me and hop towards the ball.
Anyway... last night, we tried racketball.
There's a good chance I'm in love.
So, I've been in need of some exercise recently. Running on a treadmill or elliptical is not exactly fun. Running outside makes my lungs feel like they are made of ice.
I ran/pranced from wall to wall, swung, missed, hit myself, and sweated buckets. It was great. Of course, MG and I had several good laughs, too.
50 minutes of running around was the best workout I've had in a long time. I think my heart rate was near 200 for most of it. The time went quickly, though.
I think I found a new workout sport.
It's great that I found a guy who I can be around, while I look like a complete dorky fool (which I am, sometimes)... and he just laughs at me.
I like when the ball smashes into the wall, eratically flying back at us. I really like when the ball hits so hard it makes a squeally ffff-pwaht against the wall. I don't like hitting off the back wall. I'm not yet coordinated enough to do this successfully. Perhaps with a little more practice.

Dazzling, Delightful

2009-12-22T10:37:00.003-06:00

For a little Holiday Fun, and to help get me into the Christmas Spirit, MG planned a sweet road trip last night.
We gathered up hot chocolate and some cookies. The radio station was tuned to Christmas music. Off on our adventure we went.
Thanks to TwinCities.com, MG mapped out a wonderful trip around the metro to see the best of the best holiday displays. It was a magical and beautiful ride. Our planned trip was nearly 3 hours long. Caught up in the spectacular displays, we made it about half way, which took us over 2 hours.
Along with spending time with my holiday honey, a few of the most memorable stops:
Inver Grove Heights - a working mini ferris wheel, with Santa Bears as riders. There were 5 or 6 houses on the cul-de-sac all completely decked-out! It was a spectacular showing! Another house in Apple Valley (#2 on our Favorites list) had the yard and house lite up with lights that strobed on and off in time to Manheim Steamroller songs. It was awesome to see (although I think the full half hour show would have given me a headache).
Eagan had a wonderful house display, and Mendota Heights had a live Santa you could take your picture with. Another house has a HUGE oak tree strung solid with white lights (this was in the Star Tribune a few days ago). It was a breathtaking view, even from Cedar/Hwy 77, a mile or more away.
If you're looking for a relaxing holiday scene, I highly recommend taking a Christmas lights tour. It was a fun, easy-going night, that really got me in the Christmas spirit.
Thanks MG.

8 days 'til Christmas

2009-12-17T09:40:00.004-06:00

I feel like I've been a frenzied, frantic, over-doing-it, crazy girl lately. Shopping, wrapping, working, packing, baking. I've got a to-do list as long as my arm. No joke.
Lucky for me, McGruff is a good helper and a patient man.
I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have all of my Christmas shopping, except one gift - DONE! Everything is wrapped and under the tree. I did have one minor miss-hap, though. I wrapped a heavy box of something and was carrying it over to the tree when the crappy wrapping paper I have tore. I luckily caught the heavy box with one hand and my leg (which was fortunate, as the contents are breakable). I had to tear the paper off (exclaiming in glee "Oh WOW, I got..." just to be funny). Turns out the box started to come apart from the fall, so I performed a little duck tape fix and a re-wrap.
I've got my fingers crossed that my final shopping outing will be easy, quick, and highly successful. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting and where (hoping they have it in the right size).
The weekend promises a little more shopping, baking, organizing and hopefully some fun. With McGruff's former residence being recently sold, we've also been cleaning out the old house and moving him (fully) over to his new house (my house). There's been a lot of Goodwill-ing, and re-organizing. Not to mention the "where on earth can we store this?!?!" We're nearly done with all of that. The spare bedroom needs some major cleaning and re-organizing, though. So, I just shut the door and pretend nothing's in there.
I feel like my life is back in mid-October. I can hardly believe that this time next week I'll be extruding good tidings and cheer (as if that weren't every day for me!). How come time moves faster as you age? I have so much more to do now than when I was younger!
Happy Holiday errands and celebrations to you!

The Bliind Side

2009-12-10T10:02:00.002-06:00

Go See It.
The End.

Ok, not the end. MG and I saw The Blind Side last night. AH-Maze-ING!
The acting was fine, the direction and camera work were alright.
The story, though, was heart-wrenching, heart-warming, and absolutely inspiring.
I laughed, I cried, I felt sad, and encouraged.
Overall, I was amazed at the generosity and preserverance that some people have. I think this is a movie that everyone should see.

road rage

2009-12-07T10:36:00.003-06:00

Saturday evening, after a long day of errands, house work, and shopping, McGruff and I were headed home. As we were on the entrance ramp to the freeway, he commented that the guy behind us was right on his bumper. On the freeway, the guy didn't back off. Eventually, the white car pulled up next to us and purposely swerved at us, hard. Luckily MG didn't over-react and swerve, we probably would have ended up in an accident. The freeway was fairly busy, plus we were driving his mom's big SUV (prone to roll-overs). MG, in anger, got back behind the white car, who promptly slammed on his breaks - flirting with a rear-ending. We escaped this lunatic's driving, unscathed.
I know that the other driver was being a jerk. He intentionally drove eratically and created situations for very serious accidents. So NOT cool. No amount of being a jerk back would teach this guy a lesson. He was completely un-safe. The rest of the ride home, I thought about how dangerous that driver was being. I thought about the possible consequences - a horrific accident, great injury, or even worse. I don't know what started his tailgating, or what exactly made him so angry with us. I do know that reckless driving like that is not worth it. No matter how angry another driver makes you - swerving into their car or slamming on your breaks when they're behind you just isn't worth it. The possibility of an accident is too great of a risk.

Caution: Slippery When Wet.

2009-12-04T08:24:00.002-06:00

The water cooler bottle was empty this morning.
I walked the empty bottle over to the closet and heaved the full one out. I hoisted the bottle up and carried it over to the cooler. Upon turning the bottle over to place it on the cooler and make it glugg-glugg, the bottle slipped. Crashed to the ground. Bounced. Water started spraying out of the flat part of the bottle. Um. Crap. I tried to wrap my arms around the spraying bottle. Tried to grab the slippery sides. After 3 attempts, I managed to wrestle the bottle onto the cooler. The carpet is all wet now. The broken portion of the bottle is at the top, now that the bottle is upside down. I decided this was the best solution (and the driest). My arm is wet and cold, and I hope that no one in the office notices.

Not Part of the Magic

2009-12-03T11:54:00.002-06:00

Back from vacation.
Hi all. Hope you had a nice looonggg weekend and Thanksgiving. I sure did!
For the past week I've been enjoying warm weather and sunshine. My family, plus McGruff enjoyed our Turkey in Florida, then traveled north to the wonderful World of Disney for a few days. We swam with my niece and nephew. Ate, a lot. Played cribbage. Visited Mickey's house.
Actually, that brings up an odd story.
At Disney World you might expect some over-tired, crabby kids. You might expect crazy crowds and being bumped into from time-to-time. You might even expect a few less-than-nice adults. I did not expect this...
After a full day of fun-filled adventures, my family congregated on the side walk near the start of the light parade. Our Disney day of fun was coming to an end, but luckily we arrived early enough for a prime spot to watch the parade.
We parked the stroller and lined the edge of the street, all sitting to rest our weary legs. We were lucky to get such a good spot, as people were lined up on main street at least an hour ahead of the parade start. We sat on the sidewalk for over a half hour, the crowd filling in behind us. About five minutes before the parade was to start, a man with his wife and two daughters walked up. My dad had stood from his spot to take a phone call. The woman proclaimed "oh good, the girls can sit right there" (pointing to the spot at my dad's feet, where he had been sitting seconds before). The man stood right in front of my dad. My dad told him that he was standing there. The man argued back with my dad. My dad abruptly hung up his phone and said "no, I've been standing here for a long time, this is my family and this is our spot for the parade." The man argued back that my dad wasn't going to allow two little kids to watch the parade (this was a pretty heated discussion already). My dad said no. (The people behind us had been waiting for a long time already too, how was it fair to let these two johnny-come-latelys have a spot?!?! besides the man was extremely rude.) The man got right in my dad's face telling him he was being a jerk, was rude. My (feisty) sister came over to tell the man that he should just move on. The man got in my sister's face. He started to raise his voice. Telling them they were ridiculous, out of line. Finally, I stood up (seeing my dad's face flush red), I came over and asked the man to leave us alone, "we're just trying to watch the parade." The man dropped an f-bomb (despite the plethora of young kids around us). My nephew (who is only 3) climbed out of the stroller to see his Papa. My sister bent down to pick up her son, when the man shouted at her again - telling her how rude we were being. Arguing that the people behind us were his mother and that we should move. That's when my brother-in-law (bil) and McGruff stood up. Bil went toe-to-toe with this man and flat out told him to step back, and NEVER speak to his wife like that again. Bil's fists were clenched, arm muscles tensing. Finally, another man came up, told the first man to leave. After a few more choice words and some convincing from the second man, the jerk left. The second man apologized for the jerks behavior.
Later, I learned that this jerk had walked through the crowd from behind us about 20 minutes earlier. So, apparently he was out galavanting and having fun, while the rest of us patiently waited in our parade spots, he then returned expecting preferential treatment.

What on earth is wrong with some people? First off, that guy was completely out of control, uncalled for, RUDE. Secondly, nice example for the young children around, not to mention the two little girls with him. Thirdly, you are NOT entitled to a spot for the parade. My family wanted to enjoy the parade and excitement of the young people we were with, we made the proper arrangements to do just that. Too bad for you that you didn't plan accordingly. Fourthly, don't swear and threaten people because you don't get your way. Be a real man, not a jerk.
Crazy to think that my family came very near to a fight at Disney World. After the parade, we left Disney

Publish Post

with a slightly bitter taste in our mouths, because a single person can be such a demanding and arrogant jerk. If the man would have politely asked my dad if his two girls could sit in front of my dad, he would have happily obliged. Instead, my faith in the human race was a bit bruised.

Giving Thanks.

2009-11-25T09:03:00.003-06:00

This time of year always warms my heart. Seems like family and friends become a little bit closer during the holiday season. For that I am grateful.

-----

Because, we all deal with trying people at work sometimes:
http://clientsfromhell.tumblr.com/

Growing Pains

2009-11-20T08:27:00.003-06:00

Two wonderful bloggers, WiliKat and Doaleigh both blogged about inner beauty. They made wonderful points, and are great writers...go read them. I'll wait.

As I read Kat's recount of junior high life, I was taken back there myself. I knew her then (still do). I don't remember this too-skinny gangly girl. I remember long flowing blond hair and laughter. And smart, I remember that too. (See, how people remember your adolescence different than you do?)

About my own awkward junior high years, I remember trying to fit in. I remember a big school and lots of new people. I remember being in the middle of popularity (there were lots of kids much cooler than myself, for sure). I remember meanness. Fights. Threats.
I remember a girl calling me one night to warn me that another girl wanted to beat me up over my new "boyfriend." (It was a silly junior high boyfriend, we only talked on the phone and it had been one day since we decided to "date"). I was never good at hiding my feelings, immediately my parents knew that something was wrong. In my teenagey angst I had to tell them the whole story. I was mortified. Yes, I'm "dating" this boy, and now someone wants to beat me up. (Trust me when I say that fights happened once or twice a week in our junior high.) My parents were really cool about the situation. They helped me brainstorm a way out of it - skip history class (which this girl was in). That was the moment I learned I could always trust my parents with anything. Anything.
I played sports, which I think helped me to feel like I fit in. I do remember idolizing some kids, who seemed super cool. They turned out to not be that nice of people, they themselves idolized other kids. I had my own body issues, I just tried really hard to not let it show. I remember "compliments" from boys - things like "nice butt" and I soared. I look back and realize how shallow that was - of both them and me. Beauty is not based on physicality. My butt was a product of genetics and sports. My self worth was so much bigger than that.

Junior high was a time of change. Our bodies, minds, attitudes, and friendships were all changing. All at once. It was definitely a time of trial and error, perhaps a lot of errors. I remember the hurt of being shunned by those that I thought were cool. Although I'm sure I failed at times, I tried to never make anyone else feel shunned or ignored by my own actions.
When I felt out of place or not sure what was going on, I did my best to fake it.
I never had a major self-image defining moment. But, I did have other "ah-ha" moments during those formative years. As I settled into high school, I learned that not everyone is nice or honest. I learned how back-stabbing and catty girls can be. I learned that some people will do ANYTHING to fit in. I learned that I was not one of those people.
I learned that putting myself out there lead to wonderful rewards... After having several classes with J, and being in-class friends, I called her one night to go to a movie. She later told me how cool it was. "We always talked about hanging out, and you actually made it happen, you called me to do something." I learned I was a do-er.

Most importantly, I learned that no one has everything figured out. Ever. I remember coming home from school my junior year, in tears. A popular girl at school had been talking about her college and career plans. She knew exactly what she was going to be and how she was going to become it (she ended up dropping out of college). I was faltering between several different life plans and felt like I was doomed for failure. My mother patiently listened. She then told me about her graduating class. How the class president is now overweight, divorced, and doesn't have that great of a job. He peaked in high school, she said. Those other popular kids, they're the ones who come to the reunions looking to re-kindle old flames. Your dad & I, my mom said, weren't at the top of our class, but look where we are now (very happy and very successful). She reminded me that it isn't where you start, it's where you end up. As Kat's brother told her, my mother told me - some people peak in junior high or high school...and that's where they stay for the rest of their lives. That's their "high." Some of us are lucky to soar past that.
I believe that you have to keep looking forward, keep reaching up. That's how you grow into the most beautiful and wonderful person (inside and out) that you can be.

two steps forward

2009-11-16T08:54:00.003-06:00

one step back.
I realize that life is full of challenges. Everyone faces obstacles and life-altering moments. We all come to a crossroads. We all have tough choices to make. We all struggle.
These are the times that alter our course through life, forever.
Our choices build upon each other, creating the path of our life that lies before us.
Some of the toughest decisions I've made in my life have hurtled me into a new direction. The decisions were difficult, painstaking, scary. But, ultimately for the best.
Some of my very best girl friends in life I've known for less than 4 years. I'm settled into a wonderful, supportive group of friends. I met these amazing women by making a difficult decision to change my life. I've struggled. I've felt beaten. I've grown stronger. I've had many ups and downs, but ultimately, I'm up. Way Up.
One decision put my life on a new course, a wonderful one.
The old adage "no pain, no gain" is not just applicable to sports or exercise. It's applicable to life. Sometimes tearing that bandaid off, although it might hurt at first, is the best thing you've ever done. I look forward with great hope and loving friends... and now, with a loving boyfriend. I am happy to be where I am today. I look back at my personal growth, and it makes me proud. I look around at the wonderful people I have added to my life and feel warm. I look forward to the wonderful things that lie ahead of me and feel excited.
I know that we all face these great challenges and decisions...and although we may not always aknowledge each other's struggles, friends, I am proud of what you have accomplished. I'm proud of who you have become.

Embarassing Moments

2009-11-13T15:37:00.003-06:00

There was the time, when I was all of 20 years old that someone mistook me for the mother of a person my same age. "So, is that your son?"

How about when I had boy-short pixie hair (poorly cut) in college, and a nasty eye infection that forced me to wear my 6+ year old glasses and I knew I looked ugly, but the little boy in front of me at a baseball game said "Mom, is that a boy or a girl." (His mother was mortified.)

Upon first meeting me, a girl (who was drunk) asked "Do you have a cold?" (it was the middle of the summer). I replied "no." Her response "Oh, you always talk like that?"

Sometimes, in life, you have to take what people say to you with a grain of salt. One off-handed comment might just be an extraneous piece of data, something that should be shrugged off. Now, if I was constantly asked if I had a cold or questioned to be the parent of someone my own age, I would probably have developed a self-esteem complex by now. However, with one or two incidents of embarassing, but odd, encounters like this, all I can do is look back (now) and laugh.

Dear Credit Card,

2009-11-09T16:00:00.003-06:00

This is absolutely unfair. I am not happy that you are changing the terms of our agreement. I am appalled that you want me to transfer $3000 by mid-December. If I refuse to do so, you will cancel me. I do not appreciate being bullied. Either I transfer $3000, which I DO NOT want to do. Or, I have my credit card (which I rather liked before this incident) canceled and am forced to find a new credit card. Opening a new credit card will, in turn, hurt my credit score (albeit temporarily). So, credit card... YOU SUCK!
I'm angry with the money industry in general. Stop making gigantic stupid decisions/business practices which impact a great population of people. And, yes, credit card, I know you're one of the institutions in financial dilema right now. Sorry, not my fault. I should not be punished for your "mistakes" (please note, I don't believe they are mistakes, so I use that word very losely).
I am now shopping for a fair and honest credit card company who will not pull the rug out from underneath me.

manipulation

2009-11-04T08:39:00.003-06:00

this morning, on my drive to work, i was listening to a morning show. this particular radio station tends towards rap and hip-hop and generally caters to a younger crowd. they have many contests/skits on the morning show that make me roll my eyes and turn the station in disgust. this morning, however, i was suckered into listening. it was like a train wreck for my ears, i couldn't turn away.
first the dj talked about "the 4 main reasons a man wont marry a woman"
he listed off these 4 reasons, discussing each one. some made more (logical) sense than others.
then, the dj claimed that most men make the excuse that they "can't afford the ring she deserves". so, this dj is offering to buy the girl a $1000 ring. then, live on the radio, they will show up to wherever this guy is and see if he will propose (right then and there) with the ring the dj bought. if he proposes and they get married within two weeks, the girl gets to keep the ring.
and some girl called in, wanting to do this.
um, WHAT?!?!
ok, how on earth could this plan possibly work out?
first off, they are putting the guy on the spot. why not put a gun to his head and make him propose? he probably wont want to look like a douche on the radio, so i suspect he'll do it.
secondly, where is this girl's sense of pride. how about you don't be in a hurry to tie the knot, or maybe you should propose to him?
thirdly, maybe he's got a plan. maybe he's working his plan (although slower than you'd like). i could maybe all afternoon...maybe he is a douche and you just aren't "the one".
there's a million different scenarios here, but honestly, would you really want a guy to propose to you because a dj bought a $1000 ring and you showed up at this guys door, live on the radio?
really, is that what you want???

Radnom-andom-ness

2009-11-03T15:29:00.003-06:00

I just read an article about how blogs are supposed to be opinion, not fact. It also said there should be interaction (comments) and a call to action. Interesting.

Last night I had a migraine and laid on the couch for 5+ hours.

The sky gets dark about 6pm now, it's sad. The light in the morning is not an adequate trade-off, I'd rather have sunlight until 7 pm.

Children express opinions in magnificent ways. Sometimes, my nephew gets mad at me (if he thinks it's been too long since I last saw him) and he'll refuse to talk or look at me.

I have a couple of really great friends that I only talk to once in a great while. They are still very near and dear to me.

Izzie's short hair cut on Grey's Anatomy makes me want to cut my hair boy-short...again.

I don't understand the point of Twitter. I don't care how famous you are, who cares that you ate a banana or went to the loo?

sorry blog-world... things to accomplish over here, I'm out.

new dishes

2009-11-02T10:53:00.002-06:00

Friday night, it was rainy and cold. McGruff and I debated what to do that evening. He was out in the northern metro, helping his dad with something and I was on my way home from work. Last-minute, we opted to cash in a gift card that's been burning a hole in my wallet. We made our way to a rather small, but very inviting and comfortable Indian restaurant, Dancing Ganesha.
The walls were a warm honey color, the light shades were blue, the dark wood was complimented beautifully with an abundance of Indian pictures. The staff was beyond friendly.
The restaurant had been open for about a year & half, but was just recently under new management. The hostess informed me that they were really starting to turn things around. I could see... it was a beautiful, intimate setting. I was really getting excited for a new culinary experience.
The restaurant was rather crowded, mostly with happy-hour patrons (happy hour was an excellent deal and runs until 7). Since we didn't have reservations we had to wait close to a half hour for a table. We were seated next to the giant windows, near the bar. We had a great view of the goings-ons and the food being served to the other diners.
We started our meal with a Blue Moon each, plus an order of calamari to share. The beers were refreshing, and the calamari was tender, with a nice crispy coating and great spice. We ordered, me Chicken in Coconut Curry, McGruff Lamb Vindaloo. We also ordered garlic naan (an Indian flat-bread). Our waitress was very helpful and nice. Our food was hot and delicious. Our plan was to share, so when the meals came out, it didn't matter who got what, which was good, since our waitress had it backwards (she told us the chicken was the lamb & vice-versa). I started off with the lamb (under the pretense it was the chicken), it was very spicy. Our waitress had warned us that the Lamb Vindaloo was the spiciest dish on their menu (McGruff loves spicy food). My mouth was very tingly from the heat, but it was delicious. After a small helping, we swapped serving bowls and I dug into the Coconut Curry Chicken. YUM! Luckily, we each liked our own meals best. We ate until beyond full, having plenty left over for lunch. We both agreed that our leftovers were even better.
I would highly recommend Dancing Ganesha. It was a little bit of a spendier evening (luckily, we had the gift certificate). I can't wait to go back.

Jack O. Lantern

2009-10-30T07:44:00.003-06:00

This is our pumpkin, Jack.
McGruff and I carved him the other night.
We're a little sneaky by incorporating our initials into the design... Arrrrrr...Pirate Pumpkin.

Happy Halloween, tomorrow!

Folley

2009-10-29T07:45:00.005-06:00

Thank you to those of you who participated in my "Say It" social experiment. If you wish to still post a comment, please do. It's so nice to hear how highly we think of each other. I hope the person you wrote about knows how much you think of them.

Now, about 2 weeks ago I wrote about a birthday desert I attempted to make.
The desert was Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.

I started with a graham cracker and macadamia nut crust.
No food processor, I'll just use the blender.
Bad Choice. The blender whipped too fast, even on pulse mode, drawing all of the oil out of the nuts, liquid goo is trapped at the bottom of the blender. I carry on, adding more graham crackers and using less butter. I end up mashing some of it by hand, since the graham crackers don't want to mix with the goo. I end up with a gooey, thick wet mixture. On the Food Network, their crusts look all crumbly and slightly moist, not liquidy. I press on, patting the goo into the bottom of my brand new spring form pan. I cross my fingers as I put my crust into the oven. Baking an extra 8 minutes (original baking time was supposed to be 10 minutes), I determine my crust is crusty enough (baked around the edges, but still wet-looking in the center).

I whip together my cheesecake filling ingredients. The raspberries have been thawing in the sink for about 45 minutes now (good thing the package only says 30 minutes). I layer the cheesecake on the bottom. Next, the raspberry layer. The raspberries are still very frozen. I nuke them at 30%, for a couple of minutes (hey, packaging, don't lie to me. Your defrost time is about 4 times longer than noted!). Succumbing to semi-frozen, near mush raspberries, I layer them onto the cheesecake and top with the second layer of cheesecake. Bake. Check. Bake, Check. An extra 15 minutes of baking. Not really sure it's done, but I'm going to have charred crust pretty soon. Finally, I remove the cheesecake to cool. Ah, the topping, just whip together a couple of things. That should be easy enough. Wait, what's that? chucks of ... rust??!! Stupid whisk. I slowly pick out the rust bits (EEEEWWWW!) and resume my whipping with a fork. The whisk now resides in the garbage can. I'm very concerned for the success of my cheesecake...and the safety of consuming it. I cry a little.

...the next day...

I decorate the cheesecake with the remaining raspberries and a drizzle of chocolate. Despite the trials, I think it looks beautiful. Nervously, we cut into the cake, hoping neither of us gets ill. It's delicious! (I'm proud, although somewhat shocked). The crust turned out a little burnt, but the cheesecake was otherwise a taste-success.
Phew!

just say it...

2009-10-20T14:21:00.002-06:00

I'd like to try a social experiment, please, if you will participate (by "you" I mean anyone who reads this). Thanks.

1. Think about someone (you don't have to tell us who).
2. In the comments section - write your favorite thing about that person, words or wisdom, or something you want to share. It can be simple (like I like your smile), or more complex.

You can even comment as an "anonymous" person, if you'd like.

Any participation is much appreciated.
Best, Angie

I have to go...

2009-10-20T12:29:00.002-06:00

This afternoon, as I took a quick sky-way stroll a young man stopped me "can I ask you a question?" He was dressed nicely, cleanly shaven (and there was plenty of people around). I kept walking and nodded. He asked if I knew where the Hilton was. (I saw this man come out of the restroom, right across from the Hilton.) I pointed behind us and continued walking. I thought things were a bit odd, but there were plenty of people around. "Can I ask you another question?" he politely asked me. "Yes." I was rather surprised by what I heard next.
"Have you accepted Jesus into your life?"
I didn't look back, I didn't see his face. I replied "I gotta go" and quickened my pace. He didn't follow me, I checked.
Yes, I have accepted Jesus into my life, but I'm not discussing my religious beliefs with a perfect stranger while on a short lunch-break walk.
I'm sorry, but what a weirdo! No matter what my religious beliefs are, I don't expect anyone else to buy into what I believe. Nor do I expect anyone else to impose their beliefs upon me (or anyone else). Open discussion about ideas and beliefs is fine, I believe it furthers our knowledge base, but you cannot tell me what to believe in. Certainly there are appropriate times and places for such discussion, open-minded discussions. I am not very strongly opinionated about much, but DO NOT impose your beliefs upon me or anyone else.
Thank you.

Surprise!

2009-10-15T08:10:00.004-06:00

Today is McGruff's birthday... Happy Birthday!
I racked my brain for a gift that was thoughtful and fun, but would also highlight his natural enthusiasm. After much deliberation and several ideas, a light-bulb flicked on.
First I had to make sure he was available. Check.
I reserved our spot and kept it secret for a long-long time.
The surprise factor was killing him. He asked question after question, dragging ambiguous clues out of me. I warned him that I may not answer questions truthfully.
I led him astray, he believed his gift would take place somewhere in the far west metro (but we were really headed to the far east metro). He guessed sporting tickets, a play, and other such events. He even actually guessed his gift, about a week before, and I (somewhat) successfully played it off as a wrong guess.
Sunday finally arrived. I was very excited, hoping he would think it was as great of an idea as I did. As we were readying to leave, I revealed the secret surprise.
"we're taking a cooking class."
"Really??" he smiled. I knew I'd done good.
"Yes. It's Chinese Take Out. We'll learn to make fried rice and other Chinese dishes."
"That's great!" His enthusiasm was warming.
"Yeah, remember how all summer you kept saying we should try to make fried rice? Well, now we're going to learn how."
He tried to tell me that he 'knew' it was a cooking class.
The class was great. Our teacher was a bubbly guy, joking at every chance. He knew his stuff, answered questions precisely, and was truly excited about cooking and teaching us. Our first culinary task was to prep our vegetables and meat. McGruff and I were responsible for the carrots, half should be finely diced (McGruff's job) and half were to be thinly shredded (my task). We both did a fantastic job (if I may say so). I learned that you can fairly easily use a vegetable peeler to make fine shredds of carrot.
Throughout the class we tried a little bit of everything. Frying up scallion pancakes, stir frying chicken in a cast iron wok. We wrapped pot stickers and spring rolls. Our first taste was of red pepper and beef. The dish had a slight heat with wonderful flavor, this was both of our favorite dish of the night. We tasted the scallion pancakes, which were better with plum sauce (and I'm sure would be fantastic with sour cream...yes, I know, that's not very Asian). The pot stickers were delicious, but not as good as the fried spring rolls. The fried rice was colorful, full of vegetables and great flavor (although the chef preferred his rice softer than we do).
We had a fun time, getting involved in each process and step. We enjoyed fantastic food. We learned a lot. And now, Chinese cooking doesn't seem so daunting. I really think we could make all of those dishes at home, which makes me happy. (Especially with how much McGruff likes spicy Asian-type food.)
Today, his actual birthday, we are both at work. Tonight, we will enjoy a (hopefully) delicious meal... and (fingers crossed) delectable desert. As I'm not yet sure how either will turn out, I'll save that for another time. Last night's desert preparation came with a few mishaps, leaving me concerned for how it turned out. I'll retell that debacle, after I know how successful my baking was.

Dome Magic

2009-10-07T08:08:00.003-06:00

7 games back. That's where the Twins were a month or so ago, trying desperately to catch-up to the Detroit Tigers. Several great games and a valiant effort from the Twins ball club, plus a few Detroit losses put us in a play-off match-up to proceed to playoffs.
Luckily, a friend managed some tickets. So, 5 of us, including McGruff, raced to the Dome yesterday for a 4:00 start. Traffic was monsterous. McGruff met me at a local bar (for free parking) and we ran/walked the mile to the dome. Meeting our friends in the rain, making our way to our seats only a few batters into the game.
The Dome was packed. Homer Hankies waved. Constant clapping, yelling, cheering. I bet we stood for more than half the game. The noise was near deafening. The Tigers took an early lead by 4. The Twins, in usual fashion, bounced back, tieing the game up. It was a back-and-forth game. They'd get runners on, we'd shut them down. We'd get runners on, they'd shut us down. They scored, we scored. We teeter-tottered on into 12 innings. The Tigers had bases loaded, and we managed to hold them scoreless. We got a guy on, no outs. Next batter sac grounder, to advance the runner to second. We are screaming our heads off. Can't believe the opportunity (like many of the previous innings). Casilla comes up to the plate, he seems calm. The crowed is clapping, chanting, cheering. He cracks a grounder between second and first. Our runner is moving, fast as his legs will carry him. He rounds third and makes it home, diving across the plate. The Twins WIN, 6-5! For 15 or more solid minutes erruption of cheer soars throughout the dome. Cameras flash. High-fives, hugs, screams of delight. The Twins are Central Division Champions, on their way to play in NYC - playoffs.
Earlier in the day, it had occurred to me that this was my & McGruff's second live Twins game. One day short of 6 months after we met. Again, a Tuesday night.
Once we finally made it out of the stadium and back to my car, we started to reminisce. Hey, the night we met, that was a great Twins game, too. They won in the bottom of the ninth that game. So, McGruff, curious, searches on his phone for the game recap from our first Twins game together.
Him: "Ha, they won that game 6-5 as well."
Me: "Really, are you serious? That's funny."
Him: "Yeah, 6-5." then he starts to read the inning-by-inning recap of the game. He gets to the 9th inning and laughs. "Alexi Casilla drilled a two-run single to cap a three-run ninth-inning comeback and gave the Twins their first victory of the regular season in dramatic fashion."
Me: "Shut up. No Way. That's exactly what happened tonight! Are you making that up?"
So he shows me the recap, I read it.
Me: "How funny. That's really weird that the game ends with the same batter hitting the winning RBI, to finish with the same score."

(I guess I haven't blogged about the night McGruff and I met...it was at a Twins game. A set-up, un-beknownst to me. It went rather well, I'd say. A fun game, and a great match-up.)

Fore

2009-10-02T09:30:00.002-06:00

45 degrees.
70% chance of rain.
left the house at 6:40 am. rain is falling, lightly.
7:20 am, rain is falling pretty hard.
Exchange of phone calls between boss, golf buddy, boss, golf buddy, boss.
8:15, meet boss, rain is falling lightly again.
30 minute drive to Red Wing, MN. Rain falls pretty heavily most of the drive.
50 degrees. 9:00.
clasp hands around hot styro-foam coffee cup, sip to re-warm myself.
rain lets up, falling lightly.
club house staff thinks we're crazy.
I worry I don't have enough warm clothes. Thinking about what I have at home and should have brought.
9:15, golf partners arrive. Rain still falling lightly.
We opt to brave the weather, hoping rain will quit. The course is supposed to be beautiful.
Rain stops. We tee off on the first tee. It's beautiful, even with the gray skies.
Dressed in rain gear and many layers, I'm warm enough.
The path between first and second holes is steep, up-up-up, with switch-back turns. I think to myself that Minnesota does not have mountains. After the third hole, we make our golf cart descent down a very steep paved path. Signs caution "steep grade" "drive slowly" "sharp corners". We're going faster than we should be. The pavement is wet. Trees are ahead. The driver pushes hard on the less-than-great break. We skid, slide, skid and turn, we are now sliding down the hill side-ways in our golf cart. I grab on, just in case, scared we'll tip over. Brace my feet against the floor. We come to a stop, look at each other and laugh. I see the continuance of downhill turns ahead and hope we go slower this time. We do. That was the first time I've ever seen someone spin out a golf cart.
The course follows a way up on top of the bluff to way down in the valley on-off pattern. Every couple of holes we are changing altitude. The trees are a little brown, some are starting to change color. You can see the potential of vibrant hues all around. So many trees. This course is carved right out of limestone rock and lush, thick forest. Even with the wind and threatening skies, it's so beautiful. Holes 6 & 7 are way on top of the bluff. The fairway is open enough that the wind blows hard, whipping around us. Now it's cold. I want to quit. Hole 8 is down in the valley more, protected and shielded, some, from Mother Nature's blow. I warm back up, thankfully. I realize that my $10 windbreaker might just be the best purchase I've ever made.
Hole 10 it begins to rain. A slight, steady, rain. Hoods up, we play on. The ground is soaked, but our spirits are high and we're enjoying the beautiful course and the great company.
It continues a light to moderate rain throughout most of the back 9. Luckily, we had a break here-and-there from the wind and rain. As we approached the 17th hole, we skidded out the golf cart again. This time, with more caution, less speed, little fear of tipping over.
The 17th hole is amazing. a 80-100 yard hole, practically straight down. The green looks tiny, like looking at a person on the side-walk from a tall building's roof. We finish out the round and return to the club house. Dry, mostly warm, and smiling.
The day's high: 55 degrees.
Rainfall: 2+ inches around the metro.

Chi-Chago

2009-09-30T08:09:00.011-06:00

Went to visit my brother in the windy city last weekend. My parents, McGruff, and I took the 6 hour drive across Wisconsin to arrive at my brother's condo around midnight Thursday. Even though he had to work the next morning, he was standing in a parking spot right across the street from his building when we pulled up. He said he was lucky and had just walked out and found that (very conveniently located) spot. We hauled all of our stuff up to the 27th floor and got settled in for the night. After a quick view of the expansive, beautiful skyline and the city lights (the 27th floor and 2-sides of windows allow for an amazing view), we were quickly into bed. Friday morning, we were up somewhat early and on our way to Wrigleyville. After an El ride (Chicago's subway system is known as the El, for Elevated Train) and short walk, we found ourselves outside historic Wrigley Stadium.
We had a little bit of souvenier shopping before our tour began, so we ran across the street and looked at the vast amount of Cubs and Bears paraphenilia. My mom and I really liked these ornaments a snowman (made of tiny baseballs) wearing a cubs hat. Our tour of Wrigley was very interesting, and nearly 2 hours long! We heard many facts and stories of historic moments that happened in the 95 year old stadium. The Bears played 51 seasons of football, the Babe's famous "called shot" took place there, an outdoor hockey game and giant ski jump competition were also in this great place. Our tour took us to the outfield bleachers, visiting locker room, press box, dug out, and the home team locker room. I stood where many famous atheletes have stood.
After taking advantage of the numerous photo-ops, our growling tummys lead us across the street to Sluggers, for great food and average beer.
We made our way back downtown for a little shopping and mini sight-seeing. The "bean" is a giant lima bean shaped silver-reflective sculpture/monument in Millenium Park, of course I snapped a couple of photographs of our reflection and the skyline. We also wandered down past the Chicago Institute of Art to Buckingham Fountain (you know, from the opening credits of that 80's classic "Married with Children"), another great photo op.
We took a bit of a rest (all that smiling and wandering really wears a girl out!) before heading off to a delicious dinner at PJ Clarks.
Saturday was going to be a pretty early morning. The El takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get to Evanston. That's right, I watched the MN Gophers play Northwestern in an excellent outdoor football match-up. I was really excited for outdoor football (especially since it's pretty unlikely that I"ll make it to a Gopher home game at the new stadium this year). McGruff and I had our picture taken with Goldy, too! The game was excellent, lots of back and forth, hardly any penalties, and a Gopher Victory! Afterward, we headed back towards our temporary home for table top kegs of beer and chicken wings at Fern McCool's.
Dinner that night was pizza. 'Cause what's a trip to Chicago without pizza?!?! We headed to this tiny, dingy, down a dark alley, in the basement pizza joint. Of course, it was DELICIOUS! It was honestly a place I wouldn't want to go to by myself (even to meet friends), and it isn't a place I would have ventured into if my brother hadn't reassured me. The entrance was a bit scarry (to put it mildly). The restaurant itself, Bricks, was cute and dimley lit, romantic, and clean and smelled of garlic and baked cheese and crust. The service was impeccable, and the pizza was amazing. One of my favorite parts was the flavor combinations. Jalepenos with pepperoni and red peppers (the jalepenos weren't overpoweringly hot, but added a nice little kick). Roasted garlic with tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella and feta. I had a hard time narrowing down my choice, they all sounded good. (But, also normal... it wasn't roasted pears with gouda and balsamic, which I like too, but it was stuff my parents were even excited about eating).
That was the quick, but super fun trip to Chi-Chago (as my nephew would say), to visit my big brother.

Oh, really?

2009-09-24T09:35:00.002-06:00

I've had things to write about, without really a way to write about them. I guess, in a way, words have escaped me. So, that's why I was on blog-hiatus.
In trying to think of a post topic, I was reminded of recent conversations and past life experiences. Here's a list of observances in human nature...
a smile or simple "hello" from a stranger can really brighten my day.
A genuine compliment warms your heart, and sticks in your head.
some people can't see past themselves.
Attitude is about 80% of your mood, sometimes more.
Expect the worst, and you'll get it. Expect the most, and you've got a chance.
If a friend is acting out of character, you can bet there is a reason why.
some of the most important conversations I've ever had, I hardly spoke a word. I was busy listening.
sometimes crying does make you feel better.
your true friends come in, when it feels like the rest of the world is on their way out.
simple pleasures are all around us. Stop and smell the flowers.

innovation

2009-09-04T08:14:00.003-06:00

I will admit, up front, that I know next to nothing about Obama's health care reform plan. I do not know about the details or schematics of the plan. What I do know is that every Friday I see protesters across the street at the court house. I hear people complaining about this or that, in regards to health care reform. I also know that I pay a LOT of money for my own health care (working for a very small company, and all). I also know that I maxed my high-deductible last year and it wasn't fun. To add insult to injury, this year my high-deductible health insurance went up by $500 (added to my already high deductible). (From a personal standpoint, this reduces my monthly income, due to having to set aside more pre-tax health money to cover that deductible, just in case I hit my max again.) I do not share this information in complaint or asking for pity, but as a background.
Have you ever been to see a doctor that rushes in the room (after you've been waiting a lengthy amount of time), he/she rushes through your symptoms (that you explained to the nurse), they quickly diagnose X and write a prescription, leaving the room before you've had a chance to say 3 words? I have. It feels very cold, unpersonal, and somewhat frightening. Without the opportunity to ask questions or talk through things with a doctor, how do we know we are getting adequate health care?
This morning, I ran across a wonderful article on NPR. The jist is that Medica & Fairview clinics are teaming up to test a health care plan that is based on preventive and actual health care. Instead of a doctor being paid for how many patients they see and how many procedures they perform, they are paid a salary. There are initiatives in place for doctors performing cancer screenings (like colonoscopys and mammograms), rather than just meeting with patients. Doctors are encouraged, in this program, to discuss symptoms and such with patients. I don't know all the details of the plan (and it sounds like a few details still need to be hammered out), but this sounds like how health care SHOULD be. A doctor, actually listening to a patient and taking the time needed to understand and correctly diagnose. The idea is to be more efficient. One doctor even commented that he feels more compelled to consult with other doctors on cases. I LOVE this idea. The more people I have working on my health the better! I can't say that this is an end-all be-all. Nor can I compare/contrast this plan to Obama's (I'm not trying to). What I can say is that some health care providers have become all about the money, not about the patient, and I think that's wrong.

whooooosh!

2009-09-02T09:09:00.002-06:00

That was the sound of summer flying by!
Seems like every year, around this time, things get chaotic. Perhaps it's reminiscent of my going-back-to-school days. Maybe it's the shorter days, the cooler evenings. Could be the threat of summer ending. Could just be the time of year.
The whole summer feels like it whizzed right by. There was so much that I did, too, I can't believe it's all in the past now. I guess my summer chaos started off with meeting a wonderful guy - McGruff, during opening week of the Twins season. Soon after that, softball started and trip-planning went into high-gear. There were numerous late-into-the-night dates, dinners with the girls to hammer out travel plans, golf, family things, cabins, and so on. My usually busy summer schedule was put to shame by my crazy-busy summer this year.
It wasn't until late June that we headed across the pond to visit Scandanavia. My 3 girls and I planned diligently in the months leading up to the trip. It was all well worth it. Of course, 10 days filled with sight-seeing and running about goes quickly. We returned on the 4th of July, at the peak of summer fun. Getting back on MN time took a few days, and led right into a lot going on. Between 3 family birthdays, wedding showers and bachelorette parties, weddings, friend birthdays, making wedding invitations, and regular goings-ons, it's been a lot of (exhausting) fun! I haven't had a free weekend since the end of July. You can imagine how quickly that time goes by. As the weather grows colder and the mornings get darker, I shall not let summer dim, unnoticed. I plan on continuing my busy (slightly chaotic) lifestyle. In the next few weeks, there'll be: cabin, family weekend, Chicago, happy hour(s), and girls nights. So, the weather may be changing, but the fun never ends.

wisdom

2009-08-31T16:07:00.001-06:00

today I came across two quotes that I think are very true and wonderful:

“Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something: they’re trying to find someone who’s going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take.”
Anthony Robbins

“Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”
Swedish Proverb

Ring Ring Ring

2009-08-27T09:22:00.003-06:00

I was absolutely disappointed and annoyed by my cell phone. Optional working powers, not being able to hear people who called. Turn off, restart...slowly restart. It was just annoying. Not to mention all of the super cool new technology there is out there! (Yes, I'm a little bit of a techno nerd, but NOT a gear-head.) Anyway, I was FINALLY within my time frame to quit my current provider and switch to a new one (without the heinous early termination charges - thanks to McGruff for finding out about the 30-day grace period, or I'd be waiting a couple more weeks). So, I headed over to AT&T and picked up a shiny cute new iPhone. For a Mac user & lover, it was a fairly obvious choice. Although, I did not follow the crowd. I was almost deterred from my purchase because I didn't want to be seen as a band-wagoner. I did a lot of comparison shopping, pricing, service-plan configurations, and so on and so on. Let's just say that I've upped cnet.com's site meter readings a little bit over the past couple of months.
Anyway, angels singing & all that jazz... I've got a new cell phone. I online shopped for a funky new cover to protect the most expensive phone I've ever purchased (and no, I didn't go balls-out for the 3Gs). My flashy new cover arrived yesterday & I like it very much. Now I'm just waiting for my crazy cheap car charger set to arrive (thank you Amazon). I'm enjoying the cool free aps, internet access, and iPod in one. McGruff (who also has an iPhone) is a bit jealous of my new toy. Since my Sunday phone upgrade, I have been debating a new ringtone. Right now, I'm using a pre-loaded ringer, which actually sounds like old-school stripper music (bada-da-da-da-da-da-dap!). I'm open to suggestions, and thought I'd poll my internet friends on the few ideas I've come up with. In the past I've had "Angie" by the Rolling Stones as well as the "NFL on FOX" theme song as ringers. Current ring tone possibilities:
Cookie Monster singing "C is for Cookie"
The Fraggle Rock theme song
The Scooby Doo theme song
Duck Tails theme song
(yes, I loved cartoons as a kid!)

Let me know which you like best...or if you have any other good ideas.
Thanks for your help internet-world!

adendum

2009-08-21T11:28:00.002-06:00

Thanks to WilliKat,
I shall link to this "article" about Brett Favre. Notice, it is from dickipedia.com, so those who are easily offended need not read.
Even if it is not 100% accurate, it's still pretty durn funny.
Thanks Kat!

green to purple

2009-08-21T09:26:00.003-06:00

Yep, Brett Favre is a Viking.
I should have posted about this weeks ago, publicly made my claim that his holiness would wimp out on training camp and sign with the purple people eaters during pre-season games. I should have called it out on my blog, but I didn't. I thought it, though, I really did.
The newspapers and Vikings administration can say what they want. I whole heartedly believe that Farve had a verbal agreement with his buddy Chili (Viking's head coach Brad Childress) that he would sign after training camp. (Why else would ticket sales for the Green Bay and Bears games be held back?) I get it, Farve is a great QB, he's also hurt and near 40. I understand why he doesn't want to put his body through the stresses and rigor of training camp. He's holding out for the much bigger stresses and rigor of the NFL season. From a management standpoint, I can understand why Childress wouldn't want Brett to sign before skipping out of training camp (who would want all those players to be whining that Brett doesn't have to practice?).
All that being said, I'm really on a fence about how I feel about Farve being a Viking.
1. I love my Vikes & they really, desperately, terribly, badly needed a decent QB.
2. Brett Favre is a great QB.
3. Favre is a whining cry-baby, who LOVES media attention. (The media love to talk about him, too)
4. I'm retired, no I'm not. I'm retired, no I'm not.
5. Farve is nearly 40, and injured.
6. The media attention & ticket sales Farve has sparked is good for the Vikes. Fans are excited. Maybe all the games will be on TV this year.
7. Farve knows the Viking system.
8. Farve is 90% playing with the Vikings to shove it in Green Bay's face (this is both good (the fire of intention) and bad (how about WANTING to play for the Vikes?), the vindictive little punk).
9. Favre is a tank, plays through injury and pain.
10. Favre is already injured and has a torn bicep (but he's had that for years).
I admit, Favre could be awesome for the Vikes, making us actual real contenders. He is certainly a better option that T-Jack, or Rosenfeld. It helps that the NFC North is a pretty weak division, and that we have a solid offense (although, sometimes mis-guided), and a great defense. Favre could be the missing piece that brings it all together. Then again, MN sports have a tendency to fall apart at crucial moments. Farve is also old, prone to becoming broken. I hope the Vikings can put together a banner year, play some solid football and take a run at surpassing previous year's outcomes. I've got my purple pride (as always), and wont put all of my hope in one player, but rather will keep supporting the whole team. Go Vikes!

eyes bulging out of my head!

2009-08-21T08:25:00.000-06:00

if you are the least bit hungry, do NOT click on the link!
Thanks to my procrastinator-enabling bff "stumble" I've run across a delicious website a few times. (stumble is an ap for your web browser you can download, then you click the "stumble" button and it pulls up random websites related to your interests...phenomenal time-waster!).
I happened upon the website today and spent several minutes perusing (drooling) over the content. Being the food-junkie (I'm not sure that I qualify as a foodie) that I am, I have a hard time turning away from such beautiful photos and the exorberant number of recipes.
foodgawker.com
Even if you don't like cooking. Even if you just like eating. You should check out this website. I promise it'll make your tummy growl. You might even drool a little (I did).

Happy fooding.
Soon to come: my reaction to the newest MN Viking (once I decide just how I feel about his traitorous actions, errr, I mean, how I feel about his wishy-washy decision making, um, wait, I really meant, oh forget it...more to come later).

40-love

2009-08-13T07:18:00.002-06:00

For the first time in somewhere close to 2 decades, I found myself holding a tennis racket last night. I suppose I should explain why it's been so long for me.
When I was somewhere around 10 years old (ha, I just gave a hint to my age, but no, I'm not 30) my best friend and I spent a summer afternoon playing tennis with the neighbor boys. Of course, we played boys vs. girls doubles. We hit the ball back and forth in the hot summer sun, enjoying our activeness. Eventually, we grew tired and debated heading off to do something else. We lazily lobbed the ball back and forth, discussing our options. I swung my racket backward, readying to return the ball, but my racket hit something solid. Yes, it was my best friend's head, just below her eye. Long story short, she ended up with 5 stitches. Needless to say, I was wary about ever picking up a racket again.
McGruff, the boy in my life, has been talking about playing tennis for a couple of weeks now. Although weary of both my skill and injury-proneness, I agreed. My first several hits were sporadic at best, some sailed way over the wall-like fence surrounding the court. As we played, I got a little bit better, at least being able to keep the ball somewhat near the court. McGruff had many laughs at my prancing and leaping to return balls. (I do resemble a defunct ballet dancer while playing tennis.) At one point, I jumped to hit a ball high above my head and somehow landed on the top of my foot. I have no idea how that's even anatomically possible, and don't worry, I missed the ball, too. McGruff beat me in 4 games, but I gave him a little bit of competition (you decide what that means about his playing abilities). Tennis is a fun, good workout. I think I shall play some more, hopefully improving my game enough to actually semi-compete.

Run, Run, Run.

2009-08-10T08:14:00.002-06:00

I ran my fifth 5k over the weekend. A brief history of my race running.
First: Valentine's Day 5k: I'd been running a lot during the previous 3 weeks, in the cold. Both of my calves were extremely tight (like rock hard), and it was slightly painful just to walk. I wrapped my legs in ace bandages and did my best running the race. I was late getting there, but managed to run the entire time.
Second: Frozen 5k on the State Fair Grounds. I was greatful to have a running buddy for this race. M and I got there early enough to do some stretching and get our muscles warmed up before the cold run. There were patches of ice on the roads, making for some slippery steps. As we ran, giant snowflakes started to fall, sticking to our lashes, and making the road a little more slick. S came to cheer us on, which was a great encouragement. M kept me running, even at the slowest of paces, until we finished.
Third: T and I decided to great spring with the Running Opener. It was a chilly morning, and I'd been struggling greatly with side aches (every time I ran). I was optimistic, maybe if I didn't talk while running and focused I'd be ok. My plan didn't work very well. I started off too fast, I talked between strained breaths, and I faltered. I ended up with a searing side ache and had to walk about a half mile. I did finish the race, but I didn't feel much sense of accomplishment.
Fourth: Armed Forces Day 5k at Fort Snelling Park. S was interested in attempting her first 5k, so she gathered up 3 friends for encouragement. We set off, stroller in tow (S has a 3yo little boy), and we began our journey. We mixed running and walking, easing S into the world of distance running. We walked maybe half of the race, but had good conversation along the way.
Fifth: Gopher to Badger 5k. The skies were dark, giant clouds hung ominously above us. I was a little nervous, as I have continued to struggle with side stitches. On the bus ride from the finish line to the starting point, large rain drops began to fall. We began our race in a light sprinkle, but the rain came harder, in short spurts during my run. The last half mile, it down poured. It hurt my eyes to look up, so I kept my gaze on the path just feet in front of me. I nearly ran into a light post. I finished strong, panting heavily. As I neared the finish line, R2 yelled out "Go Ang." It helped me kick into the highest gear I had left. It was the best race I'd run thus far (not exactly easy, though). I felt strong throughout the race, and kept running. I want to run more, get back out on the road. I finished 41st in females 20-29, and #258 overall (out of 356 people, I'll take it). I hope to run another 5k, improving upon my performance.

sluten (the end)

2009-08-07T10:05:00.004-06:00

For our final day in Sweden, we decided to have a liesurely day, before enjoying the nightlife. We slowly woke up and got ready for our day, making sandwiches and finding snacks for later in the day. We walked quite a ways to the bus, on our way to the beach. The ride was very hot, there is no air conditioning on the buses or trains there, and only some of the buses have windows that open. Near the bus stop for the beach, we saw a few snails hanging out on a sewer cover. One of the snails was rather large and had his cute little head poking out. We walked to the beach, which was mostly an open grassy area, with a small sandy shoreline and a long dock, extending into the water. We laid out our blankets and towels, ready for lunch. Swedeners tend to wear one swimsuite for suntanning and a different one for in the water. Most of the Swedeners, including an older (80's) lady, are rather skilled at changing swimsuites on the beach, with just their towels covering them. Surprisingly (and happily), there were few speedos (a popular swim suite choice among Europeans). We did, however, see one very bronzed old man in a speedo. The beach was a lovely afternoon, spent sunning, reading, chatting, and of course eating frozen treats. We headed home in the late afternoon to prep for our evening out.
After dinner, we primped, primed, laughed and imbibed. Miranda invited over one of her classmate/friends, who had two guests with her as well. We made fast friends (Amy is from the states, but Florian is from France, and Tony is from Italy). After our own dance party in the apartment, and teaching Florian how to use a Twizzler as a straw, we grabbed a few drinks for the walk and headed off. It was a good mile and half, if not longer, walk to the bar. Once we got there, we found a packed club, filled with blue hazzy lights and fog smoke. It was not unlike the bars at home. Except, we were allowed to dance on top of the giant speakers (a member of our crew did fall off one of the said speakers, but she shall remain nameless, yes, she popped right back up and acted like it was part of her dance moves). We ventured into the back room of the bar, which was a whole new bar. Different music, dance floor, everything. Luckily, we found an elevated sitting area that we claimed as our own. Now able to spread out and dance the best we knew how. A few random strays broke into our group, including a strange Armenian man who tried to kiss me. Mostly, we stuck to our small group of old and new friends. The night got a little wild. There were shirts unbuttoned and grabs at bare chests (ok, so the bare chests were male, but still). We rounded the night out with a Michael Jackson song, only to venture into the original bar/room to hear 2 more Jackson songs as patrons exited the bar. Either Europeans really <3 the king of pop, or they were paying high tribute. Outside the bar, we shrieked with delight "we partied until the sun came up!" It was only 3 am, but certainly the dawn of a new day. We ate hotdogs, danced, and sang as we made the walk back to the apartment. Staying up until 4:30 the night (morning) before flying across the pond is a risky decision. Luckily, we all (mostly) survived. Note to travelers: don't bank on a McDonalds at the airport to help you recover from the night before. We did find some pizza and waters (with and without gas) to help our cause. We had a wonderful last night in Sweden, we hope our hosts did as well.
Happy European Vacationing has come to an end. It was the trip of a lifetime, with amazing friends, and wonderful hosts. Tak (thank you).

Stockholm, the final fronteir

2009-08-06T08:14:00.007-06:00

Our last day in the city of Stockholm. Our European adventure was nearing an end, with just two days left in Sweden. We set out to tour the City Hall and see more of Stockholm. City Hall is a beautiful structure, with grand ballrooms, chandeliers, and unique design gems. The architect of City Hall was a very indecisive man, changing his mind several times throughout construction of the building. The first main ballroom area, where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held each year, was called the Blue Room. Originally, the room was to have no ceiling, but weather hindered that plan. Then, the room was to have windows all along the top, but the architect decided to do interesting brick work instead. Now the blue room is mostly brick, with very little natural light. Perhaps one of the most interesting rooms, the Gold Ballroom, had tiny mosaic tiles covering all of the walls. The mosaic tiles made wonderful pictures depicting different historical and mythological figures. Again, the architect changed his mind during the building process, adding benches to one wall of the ballroom, he forgot to tell the mosaic tile artist. A wonderful image of St. Eric was to be at the top of that wall, but when the tile was hung, Eric's head was cut off (since the height of the wall was significantly less due to the benches). Lucky for the architect, Eric had been beheaded (unlucky for Eric), but the architect explained that the mosaic tile was historically accurate.
After the beautiful tour of City Hall, we opted for a boat tour of Stockholm. Unfortunately, this was not our best choice. The boat was glass-roofed, not open air like we'd hoped. It made for a very warm and somewhat obstructed-view tour. To be honest, I may have dozed off a little bit. After the boat tour, we regained our energy and marched for a couple of miles, up a very giant hill to heaven - or Mousksan (something like that)... the Beer Garden! It was a gorgeous, clear sky, warm day. The garden was packed. Luckily, we scouted out a departing group and pounced on their newly available table. The beer flowed easily, the conversation was delightful. We really caught up on a lot of things, and shared several very hearty laughs (of which I can't talk about here). We finally headed back to the main part of Stockholm to meet Scott for our much anticipated kebab dinner. I ordered a wrap, very similar to a Gyro, which was very good. After dinner, we stopped at the Seven-11 (a place we came to love in Scandanavia) to pick up some beers (keeping our beer garden buzz alive) and treats for our final train ride back to Uppsala. We enjoyed our Carlsbergs and some more great conversation. This marked the end of our tourism.

One year ago...yesterday

2009-07-30T07:40:00.002-06:00

I met the sweetest little girl, my brand new niece. After just 2 hours of labor, Madelyn came into this world. When she was only about 3 hours old, I got to hold her. She was tiny, as all newborns are. She wasn't quiet, though. We watched her get changed, she wasn't happy about being naked, just like her big brother. She screamed her little head off. Big brother Jack was slightly scared, he kept saying "Mommy, baby's crying." over and over again. Every time, one of us tried to explain that his sister was crying because she was cold. Jack was very proud when he got to climb into bed with mommy and hold his new baby sister. He posed for pictures with a giant smile on his face. For several minutes he sat, holding her, and smiling. Then he lost interest and nearly threw her on the bed (that's why my sister was supervising).
With some practice and reminders, Jack learned that Madelyn was his sister and would be living with them forever. Suddenly the trio was a foursome. For the most part, he handled the adjustment rather well. He's mostly gentle and kind towards her. Although, not quite up to sharing his toys with her yet. Maddie is now one year old and can say "Mommy" "Daddy" and "Jack". She's very close to walking, but prefers to hold a hand. She's mild manored, except when she's hungry. And, of course, she's absolutely adorable.
Jack reminds us that her name is "Madelyn" not Maddiekins. not little-girl, nor maddie-pants, it's Madelyn. Those two make quite the pair. They've already been a lot of fun to watch growing-up, I can only imagine what's still to come.
Happy First Birthday, Maddie-pants.

Vasa Muse & Skansen

2009-07-27T08:32:00.006-06:00

Back to Stockholm for a day of sunshine and touring.
Our first stop was the Vasa Muse. The Vasa was a ship commissioned by the king to be built in the 1600's, showing off Sweden's stature. The king wanted an ornately carved and painted boat with several cannon ball turrets. He wanted to show off Sweden's strength - both physical and financial. The entire boat was carved with lions, historical figured, and great symbolism. Many of the carvings were painted in brilliant colors - golds, reds, blues. The ship was certainly a majestic site. The Vasa set sail and was nearly tipped by a slight breeze, she righted herself only to be struck by another slight breeze, which ultimately made her sink. 20 minutes into her maiden voyage, the Vasa sank, just off the shores of Stockholm. For 333 years, she sat in the harbour, until she was successfuly rescued from the merky depths of the Baltic Sea. The mix of salt and fresh water preserved the ship almost perfectly. The Vasa was a beautiful ship. Our tour of the museum, although freezing cold, proved educational. The museum was rather dimly lit, so I don't have much in the way of photos.
After touring the Vasa, we gathered lunch items and headed to Skansen, a park showing the different time period and geographic regions of Sweden. There were houses to tour from different time periods and locations throughout Sweden, showing the rich history of the country. Skansen also has a zoo area. Including a Lemur cage, where you can go inside (but can't touch the Lemurs). Our picnic in Skansen overlooked the city of Stockholm, from a beautiful rose garden. After touring a few of the houses, we watch a glass blower make a glass cat. Heading off to the zoo area, Alaina & Carole went into the Lemur cage. Lemurs are funny little animals, playful like monkeys, curious like cats. We had a photo shoot by the Dalla Horse, laughing hysterically at ourselves. On our tour through the Skansen zoo area, we encountered a Peacock. He happily sat on the fence, looking around. I snuck in for a picture, although scared to get too close, for fear he would peck my face. We also caught a glimps of the King, Queen, and Prime Minister of Sweden, who were at Skansen for a ceremony. After our touring and fun at Skansen, we opted to head home for dinner. We didn't plan ahead very well, speed walking a good mile or more towards the train station. Nervous we wouldn't make the train and would have to wait another hour for the next one, Carole and I broke into a run. We wove through pedestrians, racing towards the train station. As we ran into the building, my foot caught on an up-turned brike. In slow motion, my arms flew out, in an attempt to regain my balance. Too late. I started falling face first to the floor. At the last second, I tucked myself into a ball and rolled. I managed barely a scrape, and no major injuries. I popped back up, astonished and laughing, just in time to get our train tickets. I couldn't believe my clumsiness (except that running in sandals and a skirt is not the best of ideas). Luckily, we made the train home, and once everyone saw that I was ok, we had a good laugh about my tumble, tuck and roll. Then I remembered that my glass-blown Christmas ornament from Skansen was in my bag (which I rolled over in my acrobatic move), luckily it somehow survived, in-tact.

TV Timeout

2009-07-23T09:34:00.003-06:00

Finally, a "diet" eating plan I can stand behind!
Honestly, the low-carb or no-carb eating plans are SO NOT HEALTHY! The healthiest eating plan is to eat a variety of foods in moderation. I think this article explains the whys and hows of that pretty well (without reading a novel).
I've heard many eating recommendations, some of which have stuck with me.
Things like:
eat your colors - meaning a variety of fruits and vegetables, in different colors. (The different colors of produce usually indicate the different nutrients they offer. Dark green veggies have similar health benefits, etc.)
protein and fiber make you feel full, faster and longer - eating a handful of almonds or adding chicken to your pasta will help you feel full and will stay with you longer.
carbs give you energy - unlike sugary foods, the good sugars in carbs give you more lasting energy.
Calcium is good for strong bones.
Chocolate is good for you. It has polyphenols, which help protect against heart disease. It helps the brain release endorphins - a feel good chemical. Chocolate also has low levels of caffeine, for a quick pick-me-up.
Seems to me, that a healthy diet is one that includes all the food groups, including desert, in moderation. Happy eating.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Gamla Stan

2009-07-22T15:49:00.006-06:00

Old Stockholm.
After disembarking the ship and making our way back into the city, we began our multi-day tour of Stockholm. Beginning with the oldest part of the city - Gamla Stan, which literally means "Old Stockholm" (or old something). Stockholm is 5 islands, all connected by bridges. The islands are so close together, you hardly realize you are moving from island to island. In Gamla Stan we did a lot of souveneir shopping. Again we partook in Rick Steves' self-guided walking tour.
We saw more churches and statues, including a tiny statue we rubbed for good luck. We were lucky enough to catch the Changing of the Guard at the Castle. A marching band played for about 45 minutes before the shiny helmeted guards ran out in a brief change of guardmanship.
We then wandered to a square where a massacure once took place. It was right in front of the Nobel Museum. Luckily, we also found a lovely place for lunch. The salmon with rice and salad bar (a traditional Swedish lunch) was not only pretty, but delicious!
We stretched our arms from wall-to-wall on the smallest street. We marveled at European fashion trends, I'm not joking when I say Hammer Pants are coming back! Yikes! (we had a few good laughs over the not-flattering saggy-butt pants, too.) After a bit more shopping, we gathered up our luggage (which we were fortunate enough to leave at our friend Scott's office) and headed home. After dinner, we surprised our dear friend, Alaina, with a traditional Swedish Princess cake (for her birthday). She was happily surprised, and we were tastily happy as well. (Scott smuggled the cake home in his suitecase, so it's a little flat on one side.)

Helsinki, Finland

2009-07-22T08:11:00.007-06:00

We had about 7 hours to explore Helsinki. We set out on Rick Steves' self-guided walking tour. We cruised through parks, past ornate buildings, down busy streets. One of the most notable statues we saw: The 3 Ironworkers. These three men are at different points of hammering an anvil. Legend says that if a virgin walks by, one of the workers will strike the anvil. I guess there weren't any virgins around when we passed the statue. We continued on our way to the #1 site in Helsinki (according to Rick Steves, anyway). After a steep climb up a hill, we arrived at The Church of the Rock. The church was built by blasting a hole into a ginormous hunk of solid rock. The walls of the hole were heightened with big boulders, then glass windows were installed and a coiled copper roof. The church of the rock (beautifully photographed by Erica, thanks again), was a solmn experience. Not only was it a sacred church, but the magnitude or mother nature surrounding us was rather powerful.

We had two more churches to explore in Helsinki. We made our way to the Lutheran Cathedral. The outside was magnificent. The Cathedral stands ontop of a great hill, with a hundred or more steps leading up to it. The interior of the church was surprisingly modest. White domed ceilings, white marble lecturns, and an organ. It reminded me of an unfinished Catholic Cathedral, although significantly less ornate, very beautiful. Making our way through the open air market, where many locals were selling their wares, we sought out a noon-time meal. I opted for a simple feta and salami sandwich, which had no sauce on it, but was very delicious. After a bit of shopping (mostly jewelry and tourist items), we made our way to the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which sits even higher on the hill, overlooking the Lutheran Cathedral and the city of Helsinki. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral is very ornate, it's shiny gold domes can be seen for miles throughout the city. The interior is filled with paintings, statues, and even ornate caskets of important church people. The architecture of this church was astounding.

Our Helsinki touring had come to a close. The 6 hours of touring we did was plenty of time to see what we wanted, even allowing for some souveneir shopping. I found a lovely hand-painted bell ornament to add to my travel-souvenier collection. We headed back to the ship for a little down-time before we set sail. We threw a mini-party in our cabin, ate a wonderful dinner, sang some karokie (which was interesting, given the multiple languages people were singing in) and then we tore up the dance floor. Helsinki was a perfect 2-day side-trip.

There was no Gopher

2009-07-21T13:47:00.007-06:00

Our first full day in Sweden began with a morning run. We then had breakfast, got ready, and packed our things. We were boarding The Love Boat for Helsinki later that afternoon.
We leisurely made our way from Uppsala to Stockholm, our first of many 40 minute train rides. Again we were amazed at the landscape's simmilarity to Northern Minnesota. We stopped in at our friend's office (he's a transplant from a local company, where two of my fellow travelers also work). We then took a subway and another bus to the port.
The Viking Line cruiser was bigger than I had expected. It was slightly smaller than the other cruise ships I'd been on in the past, but still had multiple bars, dining locations, and entertainment. We perched ourselves at the front of the boat, overlooking Stockholm as we set sail. The surroundings were beautiful. Multiple small islands, some inhabited, some barely larger than an SUV. We watched the scenery until all we could see was water. Our boat cruise included an all you can eat (and drink) buffet, which we did our best to take advantage of (note our protruding, full bellies in one photo). This was a perfect opportunity to taste many Scandanavian dishes, as well as other eastern treats. The pickled herring was pretty good, although I still prefer salmon. After dinner, we joined some of our fellow cruisers for the club scene, for some dancing and merriment. We opted for an earlier night, as there was a lot of walking and sightseeing to be done the next day in Helsinki.
Around 11 pm, I managed another sunset photo. Thanks to Erica again for all of her great photos (she had the great idea of photographing our super-full tummies, post buffet).

Danish danish

2009-07-17T13:48:00.005-06:00

Our last morning in Copenhagen. Alaina had read about this fabulous place to get Smorabord - Danish-style open faced sandwiches. The sandwiches were served in sushi-size, so you could order a selection to try. We had a plane to catch, so we ended up having breakfast and ordering our lunch to-go from this place. it was a quaint garden area, surrounded by store walls. The flowers in the garden were lovely, and the waitresses wore cute 50's-inspired waist aprons. Finally, we found a place that served Danish danishes, we couldn't have been more excited. It was, hands-down, the best danish I've ever had. We gathered up out things, packed up our lunch and headed to the train station, bound for the airport. Our short train ride didn't give us much time to enjoy our small smorabord sandwiches. We all loved one or two of our sandwiches (the others were ok to un-edible). The shrimp salad was my favorite.
After our short flight into Sweden, we took about a 25 minute cab ride to our friend's appartment. The scenery was strickingly familiar. The Swedish countryside looks remarkably like northern Minnesota. We arrived at our temporary home, hugged our friends and settled in. We took a nice stroll through a park and up a giant hill to view the city of Uppsala, the place our friends now call home (for a couple of years, anyway). With our box wine in hand, we settled along the river to catch-up and relax. We grilled dinner and picniced in their courtyard. It was a mostly relaxing day, the least amount of walking we had done so far. The night sky was clear, showing off an amazing sunset, around 11-11:30 pm. Our Swedish adventures are just beginning.

Castles and Botanical Gardens

2009-07-15T10:49:00.004-06:00

Our last full day in Copenhagen. We set out for the Rosenborg Castle, built in the 1600's and home to the crown jewels. We stopped for a picnic lunch in the beautiful Botanisk Have (Botanical Garden). Our surroundings were serene and breathtaking. We toured the greenhouse and part of the gardens before making our way to the Rosenborg Castle. The castle is surrounded on 3 sides by Kings Have, another sprawling spanse of greenery and flowers. The castle was astonishingly intricate, with secret treasures and wonderful stories of its past. The original king (who's name escapes me at the moment), was a scandalous man. He had a joke-chair, which clamped our wrists down when you sat in it. Then someone could pour water down the back of the chair to make it look like you wet yourself..then, when you stood up, it sounded like a whoopie coushin. So ingenious for the 1600's. The dirty king that he was, he also had a mirror room. The floor had mirrors on it, so the king could look up women's dresses before deciding if he "liked" them, then he had a hidden bed and staircase - he could do his business and escape easily. Sick! The crown jewels were absolutely worth seeing. The amount of diamonds and precious stones was astonishing.
Later that day we enjoyed a drink at the Ice Bar, in our lovely blue coats. We then headed to Tivoli Gardens for some great people watching. It was a wonderful last day in Copenhagen.

Kopenhaven

2009-07-13T07:52:00.005-06:00

Copenhagen, day 2.
The sun is brilliantly flooding our apartment at 6 am, I sleepily find my eye mask to catch a few more winks. Today we set out for the Copenhagen Zoo and Carlsberg Brewery. We find free bikes to ride towards the zoo, which would otherwise be a long walk. The bikes require a 20 kroner deposit, but if you return the bike, you get your money back. We actually don't have the correct change, but the nice bike man (who happened to be unloading new bikes) gave us free bikes to ride. We are excited to be traveling the Danish way, by pedaling.
We spot a golden pretzel (indicating a bakery) and stop for a danish. No Danish danishes available, so we settle for other breakfast items. Ready to continue our trip, we realize the bikes have a zone, which we are well outside of. We opt to hide our bikes at the golden pretzel and return for them later (hoping they will still be there). The zoo is magical. The animals seem happy and awake, roaming about. We saw kangaroos, emus, baby monkeys (who were very spirited), as well as hilarious penguins. The baby elephant was rather entertaining as well. We snapped off several photos before departing for Fredricksberg Have (garden). It was a serene and beautiful park, full of trees and grassy knolls. Many locals were out sunning themselves and enjoying the beautiful day. We found a hotdog stand for a quick lunch, before heading to the brewery. Ordering our hotdogs was the most language trouble we had the whole trip. Luckily, there were pictures to help us communicate. This was one of my favorite hotdogs of the trip (we had a couple), it came with 2 kinds of onions, pickles, and sauces.
We walked through another garden area on our way to the Carlsberg Brewery. I was pretty excited. The tour was mostly reading about the history of Carlsberg. The fun part came at the end, when we got two free beers. I tried a blonde ale, which was delicious, as well as a darker brew, which was also pretty good. After the brewery, we headed back to the golden pretzel in hopes of reclaiming our bikes. Luckily they were still in their hiding spot. We bought desert at the golden pretzel and set out for our hotel. The deserts were phenomenal. We rounded out our evening with dinner at Il Pescato, the Italian restaurant just a few doors down from our apartment. The pizza was delicious. What a fantastic day!

National Lampoon's European Vacation

2009-07-10T14:14:00.006-06:00

I did it. I went across the pond. 3 girlfriends & I set out for a 10 day adventure. I wont bore you with every photo and detail (but if you want to hear more, let me know). I do want to highlight parts of our trip. This is the first of those posts.

Copenhagen, Denmark
The first part of our trip was 3 days in Copenhagen. After settling into our hotel, we ventured out to explore the city. First, we were hungry. It was roughly 3:30 in the afternoon, and we survey several menus before finally selecting a restaurant. We wandered into an open courtyard where a few patrons were finishing an early afternoon beer. We sat ourselves at a table, waiting for a wait-person. A young man carrying plates passed us 3 or 4 times, no acknowledgment. For about 20 minutes, we sat, starring at each other, silently questioning what to do. A restaurant worker was setting out glasses, meandering about, not making eye contact with any of us. The large wooden doors leading to the street were closed. A slight panic came across our faces, now we couldn't casually leave. "Excuse me" we finally managed to speak to one of the restaurant workers. We learned that the restaurant was part of the hotel and was finished serving lunch (they don't serve dinner). We asked her to show us out. Wandering down the streets, our tummies beginning to growl, we found a deli. "We're closing in 5 minutes." Strike two. A little further down the street we saw a sidewalk cafe, with people outside EATING! We didn't care what they served, or how much it cost, we were eating there. Thank goodness the third lunch-try was a charm. Cafe Puk offered some wonderful lunch fare.

With Rick Steve's "Scandanavia" book as our guide (which was AWESOME), we took the self-guided walking tour to familiarize ourselves with the city. This was an excellent way to learn the layout of the city, as well as see some highlights and learn a few historical facts. I would highly recommend Rick Steve's books for anyone touring abroad.

We sat on Hans Christian Anderson's statue lap. Saw the whipping post, beautiful churches, the canal, statues, amazing architecture, and the famous Little Mermaid statue.
Our first day in Copenhagen had a few hiccups, but was certainly a success. My travel companions and I were beginning a great adventure. Little did we know of the wonderful days ahead of us.
(Photos are not just mine, Erica took most of these ones, great job!)

Is that fair?

2009-06-17T09:58:00.002-06:00

I just read this article, about credit card bailouts for individuals. Now, I'm a little angry. Maybe I shouldn't write angry, but too bad.
According to the article, some credit card companies are forgiving up to 50% of an individual's debt. One particular person was offered a 20% discount on his debt, which he declined, and a few weeks later received the 50% offer. A few weeks! Of course, many of the credit card companies wont comment on this great bargain, and official statements say that debt is a case-by-case situation. Yes, this debt forgiveness comes with strings - your credit card gets canceled and your credit report goes down the tubes. Really, you were already in debt, so your credit report already took a big hit.
You might be wondering why I'm angry about this. For multiple reasons, actually.
A few months ago, I read an article that stated credit card companies were starting to reduce credit limits, increase interest rates, or drop customers all together - this is for customers in good standing, no less. I don't recall the exact article I read, but this article from NPR says the same thing.
Having your credit limit lowered can hurt your credit score, and all you're doing is following the rules, paying at least the minimum amount (if not more) due. So, following the rules can actually hurt a person. Not to mention, that if your interest rate goes up (for no other reason than to help protect the credit card company from more risk), now you're paying more for the things you buy (if you don't pay the card off every month).
So, the way I see it: you follow the rules, you have a good chance of getting screwed financially. You have debt, hey, we forgive you.
I understand the credit card companies wanting to recover some of their loss, rather than getting nothing. I understand the logic and theory of the companies reducing their risk and covering their own butts. I really do, and I can't argue with the theory of it. What makes me mad is that good people who are actually paying what they owe, per the terms, are still getting screwed. And yes, there are several people who have great debt for valid reasons (lost a job, student loans, illness, etc), and I feel for them. I'm not saying that those in need shouldn't be helped. I'm not saying that the credit card companies shouldn't recover as much money as they can. What I'm saying is that these bailouts are benefiting the issues that got us there in the first place. Oh, you offered up risky loans to people to buy houses they can't afford? Ok, here's some money. Oh, you purchased a house and planned to grow into your payments, but now can't afford it? Ok, we'll take care of that for you. Oh, you have a bunch of debt racked up on credit cards? Ok, you only owe half.
Through all of this forgiveness and special treatment, who's really benefiting? Are lessons being learned? Are individuals and businesses really not going to make the same mistakes again? Economy's are cyclical, rising and falling over time. I think our current economic state (which I call a depression) is largely due to bad choices, exasperated by a cyclical economic down-turn. A lack of good judgment, informed decisions, and sound business practices - on both businesses and individual peoples parts - has created a sink-hole of debt. We just keep shoving more and more money into this sink hole, hoping that the ground evens out and a hill (economic upturn) begins to grow. As of yet, I see no hill. But, down the road, our taxes will reflect all of these bailouts. There's no way around it. That money will need to be paid back. Are the rule followers being punished? No bailouts for us, but we'll be just as responsible to help pay off the debt. Seems the squeaky wheel does get the grease.

Here fishy, fishy, fishy

2009-06-16T15:48:00.002-06:00

I enjoyed several hours out on the lake this past weekend. Everything from late-night star gazing to fishing and sunning. It was a great time, and something I haven't done in far, far too long. I only caught two tiny little sunfish. I guess my fishing skills are a bit rusty. I managed to work on my tan some, spending a majority of the day in my swim suit. The water was absolutely freezing, though. Proof of the cold spring and slow start to summer weather we're having here in MN. I managed to jump in twice, but for only a few seconds each time. I was very glad for the warm sun to thaw me back out. I couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend - beautiful weather, good company, laughter, fun times.
Saturday night, I went with friends to the buggy races at Running Aces in Forrest Lake. The gambling portion of the night didn't go so well. The laughing, joking, and drinking portions were much more successful. Buggy (horse) races are pretty fun, although quite a bit slower than regular horse races (with the jockey on the horses back instead of in a cart...are they still jockey's if they ride behind the horse???). I think dog races are still my favorite. Maybe that's because I've only gone to the dog races in Florida, which means I'm on vacation, I guess that could have something to do with it.
Anyway, I had a super fun, little responsibility weekend. It's nice to do that once in a while.

run, run, run

2009-06-08T14:09:00.003-06:00

Yesterday it was cold and rainy. I spent my entire day in sweat pants and an over-sized sweatshirt. I enjoyed laying in bed late, a liesurely lunch, followed by Marley and Me. Curled up on the couch, I could have laid there the whole day. It was a comfy, cozy, sweet day.
I'm glad for it, for many reasons. Including how crazy-busy this week will be. Sunday's quiet, slow day should help propel me through the week.
Between outside-of-work work, invitations, softball, family obligations, and a much over-do dinner with a friend, I'm booked solid. Then I have plans to go fishing next weekend. This will be my first fishing trip for more than a decade. I'm a little nervous about the slimey/scaley fish-touching. Luckily, an experienced fisherman will be there to re-teach me how to cast, and hopefully will bait my hook for me too. I'm looking forward to some time out on the water, boat rides, bonfires, and starry skies.
I have a feeling this week will be a race to Friday, a re-curring theme for me. I just hope I can get all of my stuff done. That way I can relax and truly enjoy the experience and company of my weekend.

Right on, Sister!

2009-06-05T15:31:00.001-06:00

"I hope I just show women that it's OK to inhabit your own body. I'm not a rah-rah feminist. But it's important to me that people see you can be an athlete and be strong – and also be a girl."
-Gabrielle Reece, Professional Beach Volleyball Player and Model.

True Story

2009-05-28T10:05:00.006-06:00

The first date, a true story.
The evening started off beautifully. A slightly crisp spring night with a clear blue sky. He took her to dinner at a local hot-spot. The food was fantastic and the company was even better. Their next stop was an arcade for some competition. She proved herself, winning two rounds of hoops and a game of darts. Laughing at her good luck, because it certainly wasn't skill (ok, maybe a little). He seemed a little thrown-off, but impressed. He redeemed himself in a few more boy-friendly games. They opted to end their gaming fun at a tie. The night was going very well. They decided to continue on to a bar for some live music. Heading through downtown towards uptown, they crossed many one-way streets. Laughing and enjoying the conversation, both were surprised to see police lights flick on behind them. Of course, he spit out a couple of swear words. "You've got to be kidding me." Despite being a bit frazzled, maybe even a little embarassed, he was polite to the officer. Apparently he made a right hand turn on a red light, when it was illegal to do so. Neither of them had seen the sign. The cop wrote a ticket and wished them a good night. A $150 ticket. She offered a sympathetic smile and offered to end the evening. He smiled, but politely refused. "I'm not letting anything ruin tonight." The rest of the way to uptown, they hashed out the events of the ticket, both unable to remember a "no turn on red" sign. By the time they arrived at the bar, the conversation had changed to somethinig more pleasant. She was impressed by his reasonably calm reaction to getting such a lame ticket. They danced and sang-along to the music, rounding out a wonderful evening. On the drive home, they both laughed at the ridiculousness of getting a ticket on their first date. It's one of those stories you hear about, but never know anyone that it's actually happened to. What a story.

very important

2009-05-26T12:42:00.002-06:00

seems like a lot of bloggers are at a loss for what to write about lately. I'm certainly no exception. I thought about voicing my opinions on the MN kid with cancer who has been making national news. Maybe I will write about that, at some point. I am interested in what you guys think.
A few other blog ideas came to mind, but then I read 19 Reasons' post and decided to go this route. First, I would like to say that I'm sorry to hear about both of your grandmas, K. My kind thoughts are with you.
19 Reasons made an excellent point in her blog: Grandmas are important.
So. Very. True.
13.5 years ago, my grandparent population dropped by one significant person. I have been lucky to hang on to both of my grandmas. I love both my grandmas, but am significantly closer to my Mom's mom. Our personalities are much more in-sync. We love to shop, craft, do things. We talk on the phone when she winters in Florida. We play cards at the cabin. We laugh, golf, shop, walk together. She sends me email forwards. I'm very proud of her. She's survived the past 13.5 years without the love of her life. She is a real trooper, smiling through 10+ hour days of galavanting around Epcot or Universal with our family. She bakes delicious treats. She throws her head back and slaps her knee when she laughs. She's a bit stubborn. She still travels. She plays with the little kids, but remembers the big ones, too. She asks about my life. She cries when we ask her to make a family toast at Christmas - she gets so overwhelmed by her family, her offspring. She loves diamonds, and my grandpa loved buying them for her.
Over the weekend, my grandma gave me a small journal. She told me that I should write down all the things I do on my trip to Sweden, and other trips. What I saw, did, enjoyed. She wished she would have done it. Now she can't remember the details of where she's been or what she did. It was a small gesture. But, something that I will do and will be greatful for all of my life. Grandmas really are important.

tuck and roll

2009-05-22T08:07:00.002-06:00

Monday was a gorgeous day here. It was mid 70's and sun-shiney. I was itching to get outside. As lunch approached, I decided to take my work-out outdoors. I headed out for a quick mid-day run. I ran along the bridges and river front. I wove through people and gulped in the sunshine. As I was nearing back to the office, I made my way past several school children playing various games in the park. That's when it happened. My toe caught on a precariously jutting sidewalk brick. I stumbled, nearly caught myself, and then crashed to the rough path. Skinning the palms of my hands and cutting my ankle, I sprang back up as fast as I could. I took at quick glance around. Despite the very many people around, no one seemed to have noticed. Lucky for me, my embarassing crash to the ground left little evidence on my body. The rest of my way back, I laughed at my own ridiculousness.

e-fwd

2009-05-20T08:38:00.004-06:00

electronics are taking over our lives. we live in a constantly-connected world. blackberries, iphones, email, texts we have forms to communicate non-stop, no matter where we are. it's actually quite exhausting (and I don't even have internet on my cell).
in some ways, it's great being so readily connectable. last-minute change of plans or meeting up with friends has become much less about planning ahead and much more about hurried texts or quick phone calls. I recently read that books and magazines will soon become a thing of the past. that concept really blows my mind. people have been reading off paper for centuries, thanks to Mr. Gutenberg's printing press invention around 1440. I can't quite imagine curling up with my laptop to read a few chapters before bed. That idea seems less comforting than turning actual pages.
with that said, I have to share a new discovery. Designers, marketers, presenters alike might be interested to know that you can create your own interactive "book" online for free! I chose to post this representation because 1) it's about food (and we know how much I <3 food) and 2) there is some very nice design in this e-mag. click on the image to check it out.

Movie mis-Qoutes

2009-05-18T09:04:00.001-06:00

Since I love quoting movies...I found this article interesting.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Some of the most quintessential frequently recited movie lines of all time were never even said. Here are ten of the most misquoted movie lines of all time (as compiled by Guardian.co.uk).

10. "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?"
The Graduate (1967) - The quote in the actual movie was not a question at all. Instead, Benjamin simply stated, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Lasting Movie Classics

9. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto"
The Wizard of Oz (1939) - The real movie line is slightly different, and less certain. When Dorothy arrived in Oz she said, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."

8. "If you build it, they will come"
Field of Dreams (1989) - There's a slight variance from the popular line that is constantly quoted. Instead, the real quote is, "If you build it, he will come."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood's Lasting Relationships

7. "Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn"
Gone With the Wind (1939) - Rhett Butler is often misquoted in one of the most popular movie lines of all time. He never says "Scarlett" in the famous line and instead stated, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

6. "Beam me up, Scotty"
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) - The most well known "Star Trek" line, "Beam me up, Scotty" was never actually said in any of the Star Trek films. Instead Kirk said, "Scotty, beam us up."

5. "Hello, Clarice"
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - The creepy line uttered by Dr. Hannibal Lecter was quite different than it is remembered. He, in fact, said, "Good evening, Clarice."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars With Lasting Style

4. "Play it again, Sam."
Casablanca (1942) - Turns out that Humphrey Bogart never said these famous four words. Instead, the closest he came was, "You played it for her, you can play it for me. If she can stand it, I can. Play it!"

3. "Do you feel lucky, punk?"
Dirty Harry (1971) - The actual line in this movie is far less catchy: "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"

2. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) - Every day the queen consulted her mirror on the wall, however, instead of the famous quote we remember, she called, "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

1. "Luke, I am your father"
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - This commonly quoted line, which Darth Vader was known to utter to young Luke Skywalker, was never said at all. The real movie line was "No, I am your father."

When quoting movies, try to get it right next time, huh?
Anyone know of others?

Miagi-son

2009-05-15T07:56:00.003-06:00

remember that scene from The Karate Kid where Mr. Miagi is trying to catch the fly with chopsticks, then Daniel-son catches the fly on the first try?
Yeah, my chopstick skills are no where near that good. For some reason I really just wanted to reference an 80's movie scene today...so now you get a post about chopsticks. (Try to contain your excitement.)
In the past 9 months or so, I have successfully taught myself how to eat with chopsticks. I find that it ads some allure to eating Asian cuisine. I'd like to say that it makes my dining experience a little more exquisite or elegant, but sometimes I'm sloppy with the chopsticks. I do find it a bit romantic, and certainly fun. Heck, it's even entertaining sometimes. My secret? I have a set of chopsticks at my desk that I pick up and practice with on occasion. When I'm proofreading, or just don't have much to do - chopstick time. Yes, I realize this is at least a little bit ridiculous. Oh well, I thought I was mildly impressive eating my sushi with chopsticks last night.
Now you know my chopstick secret.

Jet Air Liner

2009-05-11T15:53:00.004-06:00

Did I tell you guys I'm going to Sweden? I am.
3 friends and I are going to visit 2 other friends who are temporarily living there...the Artificial Swedeners. I'm super excited. It's my first trip to Europe. We're spending 3 days in Copenhagen before we take the hour 10 minute flight to Stockholm. We dont have a lot of things on our to-do list, yet. We're working on it. I'm pretty certain we'll be hitting up the Carlsburg Brewery Tour. Anyone ever been to Copenhagen or Stockholm... any recommendations on must-do-things?
Thanks for any tips.

killing time

2009-05-08T10:50:00.002-06:00

65 things you've been dying to know about me:

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
I shampoo my hair after standing under the hot water for a long time.

2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
a dull red - Lake Superior Duluth hoodie

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again.
definitely!

4. Do you plan outfits?
sometimes, but mostly for holidays and special events

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
over-tired, my eyes kinda burn

6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red?
the HOLD button on my phone

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I rarely remember dreams, so idk.

8. Did you meet anybody new today?
no, but I usually say HI to the randoms in the hallway at work.

9. What are you craving right now?
Chipotle and Jimmy Johns

10. Do you floss?
I know I'm supposed to, but I do not.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
sauerkraut

12. Are you emotional?
very.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
as an annoying child, yes

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
lick it, i hate the cold ouch of biting it

15. Do you like your hair?
i do. it's growing out and finally fitting into a respectable pony tail.

16. Do you like yourself?
i do. that's not to say i'm not always trying to improve, though.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
depends on who's buying

18. What are you listening to right now?
actually, nothing, I'm too tired to re-start iTunes

19. Are your parents strict?
they were more strict with my older siblings than with me. They certainly had rules and expectations, but I don't know that I'd call them "strict"

20. Would you go sky diving?
YES. I really, really want to go.

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
I used to like it a lot. Haven't had it in years.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
I've met a few pro athletes, Warren Moon, Chris Carter

23. Do you rent movies often?
not very often, usually I watch what's OnDemand, if anything

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
do silver push-pins count?

25. How many countries have you visited?
US, Canada, Mexico, and several Caribbean islands (various countries)

26. Have you made a prank phone call?
a long, long time ago, in a land far, far away

27. Ever been on a train?
no, I haven't

28. Brown or white eggs?
white eggs

29.Do you have a cell-phone?
i do.

30. Do you use chap stick?
yes, I even have Justin Morneau chapstick...thank you Wine, Women, & Baseball

31. Do you own a gun?
I do not. I've never shot an actual gun either.

32. Can you use chop sticks?
yes, some days I'm decent, some days I'm not

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
not sure yet

34. Are you too forgiving?
yes, until you push me past my breaking point, then it's a hard, next to impossible recovery.

35. Ever been in love?
check

36. What is your best friend doing tomorrow?
I don't really have a bf. is that wrong?

37. Ever have cream puffs?
yes. so delicious.

38. Last time you cried?
i think last week during Grey's (haven't seen this week's yet)

39. What was the last question you asked?
can you make my computer print?

40. Favorite time of the year?
spring... I love the smell of fresh air and growing things

41. Do you have any tattoos?
nope

42. Are you sarcastic?
sometimes

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
no

44. Ever walked into a wall?
sure have

45. Favorite color?
green, but I like anything bright

46. Have you ever slapped someone?
not in a "I hate you" kind of way, but yes.

47. Is your hair curly?
yes, but I usually wear it straight

48. What was the last CD you bought?
probably Queen Latifah - The Dana Owens Album, she sings jazz and is amazing!

49. Do looks matter?
yeah, but personality is more important

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
i don't think so

51. Is your phone bill sky high?
no, but I think cell phones are a money-racket

52. Do you like your life right now?
very much so

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
sometiems

54. Can you handle the truth?
i can.

55. Do you have good vision?
after lasik, i see 20/20

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
i probably dislike 3+ people, but I don't know that I hate anyone.

57. How often do you talk on the phone?
most days I talk on the phone

58. The last person you held hands with?
Ryan

59. What are you wearing?
jean capris, sandals, and a pink t-shirt

60.What is your favorite animal?
pet - dog, zoo - penguin

61. What's your favorite snack?
poststickers

62. Do you have a job?
i do

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
dinner and drinks last night

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
yes, to escape the police while at a party in college

shameless plug

2009-05-08T08:59:00.003-06:00

I don't normally hype local establishments on my blog...I'm not against it, I just don't normally do it. A few weeks ago, a friend told me about a local bar that has tons of games. She thought it was a blast and recommended we all go sometime. I have yet to go with her, but I did make it there last night.
The Chatterbox has 3 twin cities locations - 2 in Minneapolis and 1 in St. Paul. Last night, we hit-up the St. Paul location. Between fantastic beer, good food, and old-school board games it was a super fun night! (of course, the company was awesome as well!) We faced off in 2 rounds of Battleship, while we ate dinner. The french fries and their own brewed beer were phenomenal! Other night-favorites were Yahtzee, Checkers, and Cribbage. What a fun way to spend an evening - eating, drinking, and challenging each other in childesque board games. The Chatterbox also has old school Nintendo, Sega and Atari games. Thursday nights they have music bingo at the St. Paul location, which was really fun, too. They played a fantastic mix of old and new music.
If you're looking for a fun, child-meets-grown-up night out, hit up the Chatterbox. So. Much. Fun.

manual labor

2009-05-04T10:28:00.002-06:00

owning a house with a yard proves to be a great deal of work, especially when you decide to move a crap-ton of dirt around. i don't have a yard, but i worked in my sister's yard for 4 hours on saturday. we hauled wheelbarrows full of dirt down the hill, dumping it into piles. my sister and brother-in-law had a really great idea to level-out part of their yard, which is huge. they rented a bobcat and dug up giant scoops of black earth to be transported to another part of the yard, where the swing-set would soon be. i litterally chased the wheelbarrow down the steep hill several times, strainging to slow it's gravitational progression. i nearly went head-over-heels into a mound of dirt, turns out i am NOT a good wheelbarrow driver. i helped chop down a small tree with the ax. seriously, that is some HARD work! (sorry environmentalis-types.) after 4 hours, which felt like 4 days, my shoulders and arms ached. i drove home, moving my arms as little as possible. i was exhausted.
as i worked, i thought about how someday when i have a yard and hair-brained renovation idea, how much help i'll be getting. then i thought about the bonus of buying a house with a yard that matched my life-agenda...that sounded like a much better deal.
as a monday morning treat: picture me, leaning way-back, trying to slow the wheelbarrow's natural down-hill momentum. nearing the bottom of the hill, i start to run to build up enough steam to make it up the wood-planked ramp, trying to build the dirt pile high (and minimize it's width). i hit the ramp with a good speed, teetering, I jerk to the right and send the wheel of the barrow into soft sand. i nearly flip over the wheelbarrow, as the dirt comes spilling out to the side. i nearly crashed into the side of the above-ground pool.

pondering

2009-04-30T10:47:00.002-06:00

a few months ago our building opened a hands-free bathroom. the lights, toilets, sinks, soap, paper towel dispensers - all touch-less. yesterday, i walked up to a bathroom sink and expected the water to just turn on...not so much. I laughed at myself, then turned the water on.
at any rate... this new bathroom has me wondering - how long would I have to stand still before the lights would go back off? how still would I really have to be?
I know, dumb thing to ponder, but I think about it every time I go in there when the lights had been off (they slowly brighten to full-light).
maybe some day, if I'm really bored at work, I'll give it a shot. my guess is about 5 minutes and that I'd have to be pretty still.

Testing 1. 2. 3.

2009-04-29T15:45:00.001-06:00

I'm trying out some new software for work, seeing how it functions and ease of use. Hopefully, this will allow clients to make minor updates to web page content. So far, it appears to be working on my blog. Kudos to that.

Men's Health

2009-04-29T10:30:00.002-06:00

I like Men's Health Magazine, I actually subscribe to their emails "daily dose." I find the information to be useful and informational. Women's Health Magazine just doesn't do it for me. No, it has nothing to do with the half-naked guy pics in the men's magazine. I feel that the information is better. (I've heard other women make the same statement...Men's Health Magazine trumps Women's Health Magazine.) Anyway, most days I read the daily dose, taking in the information, storing it away for future use. I particularly like the "eat this, not that" segments (although, they've made this much more difficult to use than it used to be...I digress). Today, my in-box had an article about Swine Flu. I scanned the article, mostly learning that your risk is pretty low of just randomly catching the disease. Best anti-swine flu practice: washing your hands. (Turns out washing your hands is a good health practice in general.)
Despite reading a Men's magazine, I was caught slightly off-guard by the statement "if you're a dad, you're at greater risk." My initial reaction was to wonder why dads would be at greater risk than moms... so not the case. They just meant that children are germ-factories (being in contact with so many people and things, and not the best at washing their hands frequently)...and being a men's magazine, they were saying that your exposure to children (dad) increases your risk.
I laughed at myself for somehow thinking the magazine was being sexist... nope, I'm just reading a magazine that's geared toward the male population. no harm, no foul.
Thanks MH for all the work-out and health tips!

how I got here.

2009-04-28T08:54:00.000-06:00

I was barely 18 years old, taking the 2 hour drive north to the place I've decided to attend college. I would spend the day touring the campus, taking a math placement exam, and registering for classes. After a long day on campus, my parents and I headed back south. My mom jabbered with excitement. While I took my math test, they wandered around the job fair. "I found a program that I really think you'd enjoy and be good at," she told me. "Oh?" was about all I could muster in response. I was somewhere between needing my parents and venturing off on my own. I wasn't terribly bratty, but I was also trying to find my own footing before I left that coming fall. I couldn't wait for high school to end. I was past all the drama, ready to start something new. My mom rambled on about this field of graphic design, how it would really allow me to use my creativity, how it sounded like such a fun career. I didn't really know what she was talking about. Graphic design? I don't know what that is. I wanted to make the decisions for myself. I wanted to be the one who knew what was best for myself.
I blew it off, unsure of what I wanted to do in my life, but wanting to do it on my own. I entered college as a business major. After my first year of classes, I learned that business was ok. I didn't love it, I hated accounting, but I was there. I continued on my path, not really considering any other options. In a way, I was just kind of there. I did my homework, I studied hard, but I can't say I really enjoyed it.
My spring semester, sophomore year put a lightning bolt to my college career, to my life. I was enrolled in Intro to Art, a required lib. ed. class. I guess the class sounded easy enough, but I was neither dreading nor very excited about it. Our first assignment was to create 4 tesselations. (A tessellation is a tiling of the plane by a collection of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. - Wikipedia) I set to work, with minimal effort (I mean, it was Intro to Art) in front of the tv, talking with my roommates. I didn't think much about the project. I cut out a few shapes and made my 4 tessalations. The next day I went to class, not expecting much.
The prof walked around, talking through each person's work. He stopped at me, nodded his head, smiled. "What's your major?" he casually asked me. I responded that I was a marketing major. "Hmm." he replied, "you might want to consider changing, or double majoring. You have an eye for design."
I sat for the remainder of the class, dumbfounded. I couldn't wrap my mind around what this professor had just told me. I what? How could a project that I didn't think about, that I barely tried on, lead him to believe I was cut out for a career in it. I spent the entire rest of the day considering this. I looked up the Graphic Design curriculum online. I talked with my roomates, etc about it. I slowly began to realize that if I had talent enough to show-through with little effort, then maybe I have something that could be nurtured into an actual career. Maybe a week or two later, I set the ball rolling to change my major.
One comment from a professor who actually cared set my life into a completely new direction.
My mom waited a while before saying "I told you so." I guess she could see my talents long before I was ready to.

paying bad guys

2009-04-23T12:49:00.003-06:00

over the last few days, our local paper posted a series of 3 articles about a corrupt cop investigation. the accusations and investigation were based on a known gang leader / drug distributor and a paid informant who was connected.
Trump: the known gang leader and drug distributor was coerced into cooperating with the police investigation of dirty cops due to an imminent drug charge.
Sheila: a paid informant, who's husband was killed in a drug-related matter and her son was a gangster. She's connected and in-the-know both with police and with drug-dealers.

The investigation started off with Sheila talking of dirty cops offering confidential information to Trump in return for money and prostitutes. The investigation team had substantial evidence that would put Trump away for decades, they decided to use this to persuade Trump to help the investigation.

I understand why police officials sometimes lessen consequences for criminals, in return of frying bigger fish. As it turns out, in this case, the investigators were pretty much played. Sheila expanded on her "story" to keep the payments coming in for her information. Trump, on the other hand, couldn't keep his story straight. Seems to me that there isn't anything to keep "straight" - the truth is the truth. Basically, these two informants spent hundreds (maybe even thousands) of man hours, tax payer dollars, and resources to ultimately bring down one cop who took $200 in bribe money and committed tax evasion.

The part that really aggravates me is that Trump owns a $900,000 house, with an indoor pool. He also owns a house in Minneapolis. Besides that, he was allowed to rome free, enjoying his lifestyle while he "helped" the investigation. he lived better than a good portion of the metro area. don't you think his houses should be sold off and the money should go to some worthy cause? perhaps drug education for students, or cleaning up some of the bad neighborhoods in Minneapolis. my rationale here is that he "earned" his money being a drug trafficker and gangster, neither of which benefit any community. do some good in this world.

make a difference

2009-04-22T13:14:00.002-06:00

do you ever wonder how your life has impacted others? what kind of difference you've made?
sometimes our impact is obvious, like teaching a child how to read.
other times, our impact is stated - in the thankfulness of a friend.
sometimes our impact goes unrecognized.

I began thinking about this after a conversation with a friend. this person commented on the importance of friends who have your best interest at heart. s/he stated how friends were like family, how trusted they were to give advice. how a real friend asks questions out of true love and concern, not out of a need for dirt. sometimes, I wonder how different life would be, if I didn't have the friends I have. I recognize my personal growth, as well as the great support system that I have established as I have developed friendships. this does include leaving toxic relationships, as well. but, I also wonder what life for others would be like without me. do I really make a positive difference? I really hope I do, because I think that's a very important part of being a good friend, a good person.

too much info

2009-04-15T15:24:00.003-06:00

When is sharing too much?
Recently, I overheard a phone conversation between two aquantinces (sp?). Person A asked Person B how they were. Standard small-talk. Person B responded with a drawn-out, jibber jabber of "well, not very good, sickly, lots going on, don't want to bore you with it, don't want to get into it."
I'm certain there was an awkward not-sure-how-to-respond moment for Person A.
When asked how you are by someone you are not at a friend status with (say a work client), what is the appropriate level of response?
If you are having a bad day, do you say so? Or do you politely respond "I'm fine, how are you?"
If you are sick, do you say so? with how much detail?
Personally, I feel that this is a less-is-more situation. I don't feel the need to tell anyone that I'm having a bad day, unless it is someone I want to discuss my bad day with. I was put off by the overheard conversation. I think it's rude to allude to "badness" or profound illness to a semi-stranger. Internet, what's your thoughts? Are there boundaries?

groove your bod

2009-04-14T07:57:00.002-06:00

all of those advertising campaigns about grooving your body for 10 minutes at a time (3 times a day)- walking the dog, gardening, etc... yeah, that's an exercise plan I can stick with. I just read an article from Livestrong.com about the everyday things you can do to keep in shape. I already subscribe to many of these ideas: cleaning the house (they suggest adding in squats and such...I just crank the music and rock out); walking - on the escalator, taking the stairs when possible, parking further from the store, etc; dancing - any time my friends and I hit a bar to dance the night away it's always one of the best workouts I get (that's not sad, I dance like crazy); my favorite of all: shopping! Who can argue with that?!?! there's lots of walking, carrying, moving about. The article suggests working in extra steps, but if you're a good power-shopper, there isn't any need. In the words of Carrie Bradshaw "Shopping is my cardio."
I figure that any movement I do counts towards some kind of exercise - walking to the bank for work, strolling around the block, sweeping out the garage, softball...it all adds up. I think that chores and errands are wonderful supplements to the usual workout plans. Of course, mixing in a few runs or bike rides helps too. With this wonderful weather we've been having, getting outside is such a treat. I've even managed to go on a couple of runs (which is really more like jogging). A healthy lifestyle doesn't necessarily center around the gym, treadmills, or weights - a healthy lifestyle is more about living an active life. That activeness can be focused on anything you enjoy doing. Just get up and move.

Fr-Fr-Fr-Friday!

2009-04-10T07:58:00.004-06:00

This week has been really busy, but a lot of fun.
Last weekend my brother was in town. I hadn't seen him since Christmas, so it was great to spend time together. He also brought home his girlfriend, who I got to meet for the first time. I'm happy to say that she's a pretty cool girl. I give her the Angie stamp of approval. After two family dinners and a family lunch over the weekend, I entered into the week full-steam ahead.
Monday night I got a couple hours of work-for-mom in, after a short walk/run.
Tuesday night I went to a fantastic Twins game, with free tickets I got at Target Saturday morning. Bottom of the 9th, two outs, nobody on and the Twins were down by 2. After 3 walks, and a great hit, they ended up winning the game! It was very exciting!
Wednesday night's Twins game (which I was also at) proved to be very entertaining as well.
Thursday night, I spent some time with a couple of girlfriends, drinking wine and eating cheese. What more could a girl ask for?
Spring softball starts up next week. Team America is playing an exhibition game against some friends. We are hoping that our one practice will prepare us for the upcoming season. Luckily, most of us continue our drinking year-round.
Ok, so this post is a little lame.
I'm looking forward to Easter weekend, though. Hopefully getting out of work early. Planning on enjoying LOTS of the wonderful sunshine. Having breakfast with my Gram and making something yummy for myself for dinner on Sunday. Happy Easter weekend!

Dirty Anne Kidd

2009-04-08T15:03:00.001-06:00

My Pirate Name:
Dirty Anne Kidd

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Find out your pirate name: http://www.piratequiz.com/