11/30/10

Wrapping up

It is the last day of November already - how is that even possible? Man this month flew by! At any rate, it also means today is the last day of NaBloPoMo. I am so pleased and even proud that I managed to post every single day.

There were definitely some days that it was more challenging than others - trying to figure out what I really felt was blog worthy to share with the world. I found it most challenging to write on the weekends. I just don't really blog much over the weekends normally, it's easier during the week. Because face it, I work a semi-boring at times desk job, so I usually have a few minutes free to write...and I'm not going to say that too loudly, because I don't like talking about work in my blog and I do like my job a lot of the time...

Anyway, I'm glad I participated again this year. I'm not sure I gained much from blogging every day other than having a good opportunity to work on my writing. Now that the month is over, I do not know if I will keep blogging every day or not. I do still enjoy it greatly, so I am sure I'll still be blogging pretty darn often. In fact, I have ideas for posts to take me through the end of this week even.

But even if I do keep posting nearly every day, at least the pressure of "I have to get something posted today" is over and I am glad to be able to go back to posting at my leisure.

Thanks to all who followed along on my journey this month. I hope you enjoyed the things I shared, from the theme posts to my daily ramblings and recaps of what we did throughout the month. And I hope you'll keep tuning in even after today!

11/29/10

Music Monday - Feels Like Christmas

Getting close to wrapping up NaBloPoMo! I can't believe it! I will have more thoughts on this tomorrow.

Today I bring another edition of Music Monday - I may continue these after NaBloPoMo is over too, it's kind of fun.

Because I have kicked off the Christmas season in my house, I am going to share the first of some of my favorite Christmas songs today.

Cyndi Lauper's "Feels Like Christmas" is a favorite of mine - it is such a happy little song, she's talking about how the person she loves makes it feel like Christmas every day - which Nate certainly does for me, but it also has kind of an old fashioned kind of feel to it and I don't know, it puts me in a good mood and in the holiday spirit!

You can listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqU6T4qkyzQ - sadly it's a live version, which is the only one I could find, but it's still pretty good.

December is not long enough for me to share ALL of my favorite Christmas songs, but I'll certainly try to pick my favorites as we go through this season!

11/28/10

Eat and eat and eat some more

Seriously stuffed.

This weekend has seemed to be about eating - today being no exception, we just had brunch at India Palace for my father-in-law's birthday. Such good food. But man. I. AM. FULL.

I kind of wish we were still running - I probably gained about 20 pounds this weekend!

I kid. But seriously, it was a marathon of food, going to have to get back to reality and eating good well balanced meals between now and Christmas I think!

At least it's nice enough to go walking this afternoon and that is next on my very long to do list that I have been avoiding all weekend....

11/27/10

An epic weekend

So far it has been a birthday/Thanksgiving weekend of epic proportions.

Ok, I'm probably exaggerating a bit.

But it has been a good weekend. We kicked it off on Wednesday evening with dinner for the two of us at the Sample Room - we had a lovely time there, it was really quite nice.

Thursday I had my free Caribou birthday drink in the morning with my parents, baked an apple pie with my mom and then headed to Nate's grandparents to celebrate Thanksgiving with them as per our tradition. We headed home around 8:00 and watched a couple of shows before bed.

Friday we slept in. It felt so good! Then we had breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast stops - Stabby's Cafe in Minneapolis. Odd name, great food. After that we headed home, I did a massive cleaning and then transformed the house into Christmas at the Kondricks. I love that I could take the whole afternoon to do that!

We had a light dinner and then played some Beatles Rockband (Nate's b-day gift to me) while we waited for our families to arrive to celebrate our birthdays. We then had a great time with them having cake, opening presents and playing the game Linkity.

Today I got up, met the parents at Caribou once again and then mom and I did a little shopping. Tried to start my Christmas shopping but was somewhat unsuccessful. I have plenty of time and ideas though. Did get some good deals at Clothes Mentor (of course) and also made it to Lush today too.

Tonight we have rehearsal with Praise Project and then mass tomorrow morning and then we're going to India Palace for my father-in-law's birthday brunch. The fun doesn't stop!

But seriously, I love weekends like this!

11/26/10

Him


I love this man more than words can say.

Happy 29th birthday babe! I love you more every passing year!

11/25/10

Thankful Thursday - Thanksgiving and Birthday Edition

I'm so completely thankful today - thankful for this glorious Thanksgiving holiday and for another year of life.

Thankful to be blessed by so many wonderful friends and family.

Thankful to be married to the most wonderful man on earth.

Thankful for the opportunities I have to do things I love from singing to shopping.

Thankful I have a roof over my head and food on the table every day.

Thankful for these crazy furry creatures who live with us and make me smile every single day.

Thankful to live in a place that sees four seasons in a year and even though winter came early this year, we had a glorious fall and I even am thankful for the snow as we go into the holiday season.

And I'm thankful for anyone who reads this blog and actually likes following my ramblings - you all mean a great deal to me too, even if you are someone I have never met!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

11/24/10

29

My birthday is tomorrow but, I don't want to preempt my Thankful Thursday post tomorrow since it actually IS Thanksgiving, so I bring you my annual birthday post today.

Tomorrow I will be 29.

It is my last birthday of my twenties. In one year I will be 30. It scares me more than I like to admit sometimes. Sometimes I still feel like a teenager - although more and more I'm learning just how much I am not a teenager anymore or anything remotely close.

So many things have happened in the last year - it was a bad year in terms of loss, not just in my family, but as I have mentioned, nearly every person close to me has lost someone this year. It seemed every time we were turning around we had a funeral to go to.

But other than that, it was a good year. I do find myself wondering where the time has gone. With each passing birthday it seems time goes by even faster than the year before.

I have been joking that I'd like to stop having birthdays now. I'll be eternally 29. My grandmother stopped at 39, so hey, I figured I'd do her one better. Someone mentioned to me "ok does that mean Nate can stop giving you gifts each year?" And I thought for a minute and came back with "Oh he still has to - see, next year will be the first anniversary of my turning 29".

I really do joke. Of course I'll keep having birthdays. And I'm sure the closer I get to that big 3-0 the more ok I will be with it. Age is just a number. You're only as old as you feel.

I don't know what 29 has in store for me. I hope for only good things.

11/23/10

Back to the drawing board

So on Sunday I posted about the challenges we're facing with our running program and that we tried out a nearby community center's indoor track. Well, we decided today to get up and try going in the morning to the center just to see how it went.

The pros - it was super quiet this time and not that many people were there.

The cons - they do not open until 6:00. We wanted to leave the center by 6:20 so we could be home and showering by 6:30. They do have showers there, but they are not nice enough for getting ready for a workday. So, that left us pretty much with twenty minutes to work out and honestly, it was only enough to get a mile in of walking around the track and that's pretty much it.

So, we think the community center is out for now. We might try it a couple of times in the evening if it works out but we do so much better if we get up and try and exercise first thing in the morning. It's too easy to put it off in the evenings we've found.

We know that some of the health clubs around us do open earlier or are open 24/7 even - but at the moment, we are wanting to save money for other things so the whole "membership" thing anywhere is just not appealing to us. Our own city's local community workout center is cheap, but is not open convenient hours either and only has about five machines from what I have read. SO we are back to the drawing board.

We have talked and feel that we can stay active through the winter - even if we shelve the running for now - by trying some other programs. I don't know if any of you remember, when we first starting running last spring, we were simultaneously trying to do a situp and pushup program too. But we got to a point where all of that was too much so we kept up the running and that was it.

So, we're thinking right now our best option for the winter is to restart the situps and pushups and walk outside when the weather is decent. I have no problem using our elliptical machine as well, Nate finds it doesn't work great for him. We may also look into some exercise DVDs we can do together as long as we can find one that isn't strictly geared towards women (that was Nate's one request). And hey, maybe Santa will bring us a Wii Fit or Wii Active too. Ha ha.

The goal is to just try to stay active and in some sort of good shape. I don't doubt that when the ground begins to thaw into the spring we can pick up the running program again and just possibly finish it! I'm still extremely proud of how far we did go and it has proved to me that I can be a runner. As of this moment I have no regrets.

11/22/10

Music Monday - Straight To You

For today's Music Monday I am choosing a track off of Josh Groban's newest CD "Illuminations" called Straight To You.

It's actually a cover of a group Nate is a fan of called Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. And it is beautiful cover of their song. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Josh Groban could sing the phone book, but seriously, it's lovely and possibly what I think is the best track off of his new CD and strangely, the last track on the CD.

I think it makes a nice love song and it makes me think of Nate - both because of the words and also because it was originally done by a band he likes. And since it is both of our birthdays this week I thought it was a fitting choice.

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcaZncMG0xw I am sure you'll find it as captivating as I do.


"Straight to you, I'll go running"

11/21/10

Challenges

So our running program has hit one of the biggest challenges to date - the early arrival of winter this year. After last night's ice storm we decided it's time to seriously look at indoor options.

We decided to try the New Brighton Community Center's fitness center - it was only $2.00 to try out the track for one day. It was...interesting.

It's more difficult to breathe in the indoor uncirculated air. There's no real good place to stretch before and after. And there was tons of distraction from the children's Eagles Nest play area.

But, it may be what our pocket books best feel they can handle at this point in the game. We'll see how things go, not giving up on it just yet. It might be different on weekdays, you never know.

Right now, my goal is to keep us moving at least somewhat through the winter months - so we'll see how it goes! Challenges to overcome, but we can do it.

11/20/10

Caribou Saturdays

It's really difficult to type a blog post when you have a cat fighting to sit on your lap, but here goes anyway!

It's Saturday and my day is pretty jammed packed with stuff, though some it should be fun.

One of my favorite parts of Saturdays though is my weekly Caribou Coffee visit with my parents. Today my dad had to work so it was just my mom and me, but it was still nice.

We've been doing this every weekend pretty much since I got married. It's not that they don't love Nate, but he's not an early morning kind of guy and it's nice for the three of us to have a chance to connect. We've always been this little family unit of three, the Three Musketeers if you will, so I like that we have this tradition to just be the original three. Most of the time we only sit there about a half hour, but it's a half hour I might not have gotten with them otherwise with our busy lives. I miss it if we ever end up not doing it for some reason.

Of course, it never hurts that Dad usually buys. ;)
I wouldn't give it up for anything though, even if he didn't treat.

11/19/10

Bring it on

I love short weeks, it's awesome that it's already Friday. Next week will be even shorter! And no complaints there either.

Heading into a somewhat busy stretch of time here - but feeling good about it. My blahs from earlier in the week have pretty much gone away. In fact, dare I say it, I'm in a bit of a Christmas type mood even. No I am not decorating tomorrow or starting to listen to carols just yet...but I'm getting more in a holiday mood. I'm ready for Thanksgiving and birthdays and segwaying into that season.

So, instead of wanting to hibernate and hide from it - I instead say BRING IT ON!!!

11/18/10

Thankful Thursday Week Three

Man time is flying by - it is my third Thankful Thursday post already?

Today's list is short and simple:

1. Having an entire day off from work and having a short week next week

2. Crazy friends who sit in the cold with you for two hours waiting for a CD, friends who talk to you all during the workday so you do not lose your mind, friends who just "get you", friends who are just awesome. I am blessed to have awesome friends.

3. Music. My new Cities Sampler CD. The ability to make music. I love music.

That's it today friends. I've been up since too early and that's the best I can do for much deep thought at this point!

11/17/10

Coming Attractions

Tomorrow is my annual trek to Target in the early morning hours to wait outside with my fellow crazy friend to get our copy of the Cities 97 City Sampler. Volume 22. I have heard and read reviews that it is supposed to be one of the best they've had in a few years. I am excited. It appears to have some of the best variety I have seen in awhile too. I enjoy it each year, but I still think the best one out of the ones I've collected is Volume 15. It's funny too, that was the first one I ever went to buy in the store!

Anyway, I took the whole day off tomorrow so that will be nice. Hoping to finish birthday shopping for Nate, since I obviously will not be with him!

Tomorrow night Nate has his final drawing class already. The time went fast! I think while he is at class I am going to go to my cousin's play that my dad helped build sets on.

The weekend has us at a mass with Praise Project and hopefully getting some time to relax a bit as well. And then next week is a short one - but will probably also be a bit crazy because we have many birthdays and Thanksgiving to tend to.

I'm feeling less unglued than I did yesterday about everything that is coming up. Of course, it is sunnier today too so perhaps that is helping perk me up a bit too!

11/16/10

Winter blahs

This instant plunge into winter has got me a bit down. I do love this time of year, I love Thanksgiving, which is less than ten days away, along with my birthday. I'm excited for the Christmas season coming soon - but I feel in a sense that everything is going to end up somewhat rushed this year because it already feels like it has all come so fast.

I do have time to get a handle on everything - gifts for people, plans, events, etc - but right now it all looms in front of me like it might end up a bit on the overwhelming side.

It doesn't help that with it getting darker earlier now it leads me to want to just hibernate at the end of the day instead of actually doing something!

I will be feeling better when I finish Nate's birthday present, which I am certain will happen in the next few days here. We have some ideas for Christmas gifts. Mom and I have discussed Christmas cookies a bit already and will start on those more or less the moment they get back from their trip in early December.

Everything is going to fall into place just fine. I will end up loving this time of year as I always do, I just have to remind myself right now more than usual - just go one day at a time!

11/15/10

Music Monday - Firework

So you may have noticed I took down the music player off of my blog. It's nothing against anyone who does use it - but I read an article on Friday that kind of convinced me to remove it for now. I may reinstate it later but for now, I'm going to go without.

But, I'm still doing Music Mondays! Now I'll just include a link to the song I choose and if you want to go listen to it, great, if not, no harm no foul. Or something.

Today's song choice is completely out of character for me. I have chosen a Katy Perry song. Now if you recall in this post I stated that while I was sort of siding with her on that issue, I am not necessarily a fan. But I tell you - I heard this new song of hers last week called Firework and something about it spoke to me.

She talks about feeling kind of down on yourself and how you shouldn't because there is a light inside of you and you need to let it out. It's a great self esteem boosting song. It's human nature that we all can get down on ourselves every once in awhile and it's a great reminder that we are capable of great things and need to live without fear and just burst forth. Someone on the Muppet boards I read even posted that this song is enough to make you forget about the controversy with Katy Perry and Sesame Street and that really - this kind of song actually makes her a bit of a role model. Kind of ironic I guess!

Here's a link to the video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw
There is a 15 second ad beforehand because this is the "official" Katy Perry channel or whatever. I'm not saying I've become a huge fan of hers after this, but I do know this is a song I want on my iPod.

11/14/10

Still


Want to know what one of my favorite things about a fresh snowfall is?

It's going to sound a little strange - but it's the stillness and silence from it.

This morning I got up to go to church and as I was leaving the house at 8:00 am and shut the door behind me, I was amazed at how dead the sound was.

The air overall just has this calm about it. It's extremely peaceful. And for some reason, I absolutely love it.

Picture taken by Mr. Nate with a Polaroid Land Camera

11/13/10

Instant winter

We woke up to a fresh coating of snow here in MN this morning. More than a coating in fact. It was easily three or four inches at 8:00 am. We were up early to go to a funeral for our dear friend/ director of our music group's father and let me tell you - getting around was interesting. I wanted to hit Caribou before we headed to church and they were only just beginning to plow the parking lot there.

We took Nate's car so we could see how it handled in snow since we bought it late into last spring when the snow was gone. It handles great - but we were nervous about the plow ridges that these guys were leaving. In fact, Nate didn't want to park and risk getting stuck, so he pulled up and I jumped out to get my coffee. As I was coming back out, I stepped off the curb and pretty much sat down. I didn't really fall hard, but slipped enough. Awesome. Did I mention I was wearing a skirt? Then getting back out of the snow was interesting too. Nate didn't even see me, otherwise he would've jumped out to help!

We made to the funeral just fine and were probably at church a little over two hours. As we were leaving, we narrowly missed a downed power line.

Once home, it only took two shoveling sessions to get the driveway cleared, it could have been much worse! It cleared up enough that we then treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Red Lobster to reward our efforts!

I am glad the first storm of the season is out of the way, but man, it has been all or nothing in terms of our weather lately here!

11/12/10

Friday Funnies

My family, like many others I am sure, have several inside jokes. Probably more than several. I don't even really know how many. Most of them relate to some sort of pop culture type thing, be it a movie, TV show or stand up comic. And I realize that they may not make sense or even seem that funny as I list them here, but I'm going to make an attempt at any rate!

We often quote comedian Bill Engvall's early work. Not specificially "here's your sign" but some others. There's a whole routine he does about his son's G.I. Joe toys (which is funny because his son calls them I.G. Joes) and what they would say and one of the things is "No talking, no talking" as they're in a line up - we often times quote the "No talking, no talking" in some situations - even ones that maybe are not the most appropriate!

Countless quotes from the TV show Friends - one of my favorites is from the very first Thanksgiving episodes when Monica and Rachel get locked out of their apartment simply for misunderstanding each other when one of them says "Got the keys?" Pretty soon, leaving the house or a hotel room when on vacation, we'd find ourselves saying "got the keys?" in the same tone Monica used.

Another one from Friends is from an episode when Chandler breaks up with someone and gets somewhat drunk and is talking about where he went and it doesn't make sense, I forget either Monica or Rachel correct him and he says "Yes, that's it. See you and I have always been like this" as he gestures between his head and their head. We do the "You and I have always been like this" thing kind of a lot.

There are so many others that I just can't even begin to list them all. Those are just some of my favorites. Nate and I have a few between just the two of us too that I am pretty sure no one else would ever understand. Same with some of my friends and I. It's those little things that make relationships and connections fun. And that lead to A LOT of laughs. Sometimes we need to take a few minutes to laugh and have fun - keeps us happy and healthy!

11/11/10

Thankful Thursday Week 2

It's time once again to reflect on the things I am thankful for this week. I really like this weekly activity, I think it helps keep me grounded!

1. Friends and family -I was talking to a friend of mine about how 2010 hasn't been the greatest year in terms of loss - almost every person who is close to me, including myself, has been affected by the loss of a loved one this year and my friend made a good point that it's important to appreciate our loved ones and hug them as much as we can because you never know what could happen tomorrow. So today I am more thankful than ever for my friends and family.

2. Muppets - Ok lightening the mood here a little bit - but big news was released in the last week here that they are finally filming the new Muppet movie. This will be the first Muppet movie in the theatre in over ten years and I am hearing that it will be more of a throw back to the older original days of the Muppets and I am insanely excited about that. Unfortunately it won't be released until NEXT Christmas, but I hope it will be worth the wait!

3. My house - As I was driving away this morning I was thinking of how nice the painting came out and even though I will have to redo the one section where my dad had to go into the wall, I am really beginning to love how the house has taken on our own style and I just love how it has all turned out. I am excited for the potential for more things to be done soon.

4. A job with benefits - We are in open enrollment right now and last night Nate and I went through the "oh so exciting" task of looking at the benefits and what makes sense for us this year. And while I don't like having to part with hard earned money to have said benefits, I am still so thankful to have them. I know others do not have this, so I try not to take it for granted that I do.

5. Coffee - again, maybe kind of silly, but I am thankful for coffee. I don't go overboard, one cup is usually enough to get me going in the morning but it helps and I am sure others around me are thankful for the fact that I drink it too, because I'm sure I would not be very pleasant otherwise! My favorite blend of the entire year is now back in Caribou - Reindeer Blend - so I will soon have that in my house, I know that much!

Simple list today. What are you thankful for?

11/10/10

Happy birthday Sesame Street!

Today is the 41st anniversary of Sesame Street and it's still going strong. I wrote a post last year on my thoughts for the big 4-0, so I do not have much to add to that other than I'm so thankful that I was able to grow up watching such a wonderful show.

I also wanted to share a video that if you have not seen, is super hilarious. We are big fans of the recent Old Spice man commercials at our house (you know, with the guy who's like "look at your man, now look at me, I'm not your man, etc). There is a rather funny Sesame Street parody of that ad found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkd5dJIVjgM.

Grover has always been one of my favorites and he does such a great impression of the Old Spice commercials, I tell you I laughed so hard I nearly cried the first time I watched it. Doesn't he make you want to smell like a monster? Who is on a horse, er, cow?

Happy birthday Sesame Street - may you have many more years to come!

11/9/10

Tuesday Thoughts

You know it's funny. I wrote a post earlier this year about how I'm not perfect. And that it is ok. And that we can all learn from our own imperfections.

So I was remembering this as I was getting ready this morning - that I'm not perfect, I don't want to strive to be perfect and that I can accept myself for who I am. And I thought, it's funny because while I'm ok with not being "perfect" somehow I am a perfectionist.

Does that contradict just a bit?

I had this thought as I was working hard to get my makeup just right, my hair just so, needing to look a certain way and not being satisfied until it was well, in my own eyes I guess, perfect. And no, I'm not saying I should go to work looking like a slob, but you know, if I didn't cover that one blemish or if that one hair was out of place, would that be the worst thing ever?

Maybe that is a bad example. I am certainly not saying that being a perfectionist is a bad thing either. But there is a difference between "attention to detail" and "obsessive compulsiveness". I try to be more in the first category when it comes to my perfectionism - I work hard to make sure nothing is overlooked and I'm putting my best foot forward. But on occasion, I slip into the second category and that is where I think it contradicts with my saying it's ok not not be "perfect". If I truly believe that, then I need to not let myself become obsessive when it comes to certain things.

This post is another example - I have written and deleted, written and deleted several paragraphs worth! Again, I want to make sure what I'm putting out is clearly thought out and written well, but what am I so worried about? Yes anyone in the world can read my blog - but it's mostly friends and family who will love me no matter what.

So maybe I just need to remember my feelings that it's ok to not be perfect - because I think it's pretty funny to say that I'm a perfectionist who is ok with not being perfect! I'm nothing if not contrary!

Just random thoughts of mine on a sunny Tuesday I guess! What do you think, can you be a perfectionist without needing to be perfect?

11/8/10

Music Monday - Life in Technicolor

Today's song update is Life in Technicolor by Coldplay. It takes a second or two for the song to get going so if you don't hear it right away, just wait a few seconds.

There are no words to this song, it is all instrumental. I love the way it builds from a quiet acoustic song to something huge and orchestral by the end. This album came out the summer Nate was out of work and I have to say - this song almost underscores that journey perfectly - the slow quiet beginning is the anticipation when he was interviewing and applying for jobs and then the explosion of sound at the end is the joy and happiness we felt when he finally was hired.

To this day if I need a pick me up or something to put me in a good mood - I find this song on my iPod. It feels a nice fitting choice for early November - we're speeding up towards birthdays and holidays which kind of works with the flow of this song as well!

Plus I just love the title - Life in Technicolor - doesn't life seem like that sometimes? There are special moments that make it feel like seeing color for the first time. I think this song represents those types of feelings pretty well.

I hope it helps spread a little joy on a Monday!

11/7/10

It's never that simple

So my very kind and wonderfully helpful Dad is helping us put a fan and shower light in our bathroom. These are things I have been wanting very badly ever since we moved into our house so I'm glad it's finally getting done.

The one problem is that simple home projects never turn out to be quite that simple.

The way our light socket and electrical socket was installed previously is a GIANT pain in the behind to remove. My dad said the good news is that it can be done. The bad news...he had to put a large hole in my freshly painted wall in the hallway to do it.

So, I gave him the go ahead because we didn't really have another option. And now I have a square hole in my hallway. Sigh.

Guess there is more painting in this girl's future. Good thing we bought extra cans.

11/6/10

Refreshed

Today I took some time for myself and Nate and I also took some time as a couple.

I had a massage this morning that was amazing. Wait, let me say it again - AMAZING. I saw a different masseuse than I have before and it was the best massage I've ever had. Makes me wish I could win the lottery or something so I could go more often!

As a couple we had a nice dinner out and are going to play Wii games and watch a movie from Netflix and enjoy the fact that we get an extra hour of sleep tonight - yay Fall Back!

Sometimes you just need a day to refresh and rejuvenate. It feels nice.

11/5/10

Rambles

Just a few rambles today, nothing terribly specific.

On my way into work today I drove past a young girl not wearing a jacket. She looked to be middle school aged. And it was cold this morning. Too cold to be walking to school without a jacket on anyway, at least in my opinion! That is how you get sick.

Speaking of getting sick, I got a flu shot yesterday so I will not be getting sick hopefully anytime soon! It was strange, instead of getting a sore arm afterward it was more a tingly sensation as if my arm was asleep or something. Others have described that reaction to the shot this year too though so I guess it's not that weird.

My dad is going to help us install a bathroom fan this weekend. I am stupidly excited over this. Right now, if we take showers back to back it ends up so foggy in the bathroom that I can't see in the mirror to style my hair and put on makeup. I am so sick of that! Plus the whole bathroom just always feels sort of damp to me, like it never dries out. So a fan is going to make such a difference for that! Also, we're going to put a light over the shower as well, I feel like it is so dark in there and while Nate doesn't mind and actually prefers showering in the dark (weirdo) I need the light! It helps me wake up more in the morning too.

Nate and I finally bit the bullet and officially joined a church. While we travel between three churches with Praise Project, I wanted us to have our names actually registered somewhere. I just wanted to wait until the Archdiocese reorganization announcement was complete. So we have joined St. Williams. I think of it as the home base, it was the first place we went after leaving IC and I felt comfortable there right away. The community is warm and welcoming and I think it's a good fit for us.

That's it for today. Not super exciting, but life is quiet right at this moment. And that is perfectly ok!

11/4/10

Thankful Thursday Week 1

Last year a friend of mine suggested on her blog a weekly Thankful Thursday theme in the month of November and I thought it was a great idea since it is the month of Thanksgiving. I've talked in the past about how I feel Thanksgiving is so overshadowed by Christmas. So I am totally in support of this theme. Here is what I am thankful for today.

1. My wonderful, loving and supportive husband - yeah maybe it's cheesy, but I am always and forever thankful for this man and I never take what we have for granted.

2. I still have a job. Fairview has seen a lot of changes this last year and my specific section of Fairview has really been affected as of late, but I'm still in a job and my location is staying the same so I'm happy for that.

3. I'm finally getting a massage on Saturday. I have only had the gift card since Christmas!

4. Our new bar. I can't say it enough. It is beautiful, I am amazed at how well it turned out and it looks great in our basement. And it doesn't hurt that we have beer at the ready pretty much anytime we want it!

5. I finally had my windshield replaced and am no longer driving around with one that is severely cracked.

6. My kitty cats. They make me smile pretty much on a daily basis

7. The beautiful fall weather we've had this year. It's starting to get colder now, but what a gift to have had the weather we've had for so long.

8. Friends who help keep me sane during the workday.

9. My super easy to deal with new haircut that saves me time in the morning

10. My family - especially my parents who are so willing to entertain me on the nights Nate has art class!

There you have it for this week! What are you thankful for today?

11/3/10

Wordless Wednesday - Cat in a box



Ok, maybe not completely wordless - just felt like posting a couple of pictures of my crazy cat in hopes that it might make some people smile. Cause she makes me smile.

11/2/10

Catching up a bit

So here we are on day two of blogging every day and I figured it's time for a catch up post. Life has been hectic, but that is the norm for us!

Nate's been enjoying his Wednesday night drawing classes. I have been enjoying hanging out over at my parents house with my mom on those nights. This worked out well since this fall my dad agreed to help build sets for my cousin's play at Heights, so he's been gone those evenings too. Mom and I were originally going to use these evenings to start decoupaging again, but so far we've been watching old plays of mine, old Follies videos and this last week we watched the Great Pumpkin and Garfield's Halloween. Maybe this week we'll start up, we'll see how things go.

Saturday of this last weekend we had a mass with Praise Project and then we went out to the North Star Roller Girls first bout of the season. And we dressed in costume. Random people were stopping us and telling us they loved our costumes - we dressed as Garden Gnomes. Super easy costume, but apparently people love it. One stranger even wanted a picture with Nate. It made me laugh.




Sunday we slept in and then Nate got up and started brewing a new batch of beer. He hasn't brewed in awhile and his brew didn't go the greatest, but he managed to do the whole thing anyway. It's going to be called Big Honkin Stout - that was the name the kit came with, no joke. He also started up a batch of apfelvien, which is similar to our cyser if you've had that - it's still apple in flavor, but not quite as sweet. I actually prefer it so I'm pretty excited about this, he said it should be ready by Christmas.

Also on Sunday, my dad came over with the final pieces of the bar - the bottom half - and they installed that real quick. It looks so nice.



Our next project is going to be installing a bathroom fan and also a light over our shower - which should get done in the next couple of weeks. Then we'll take a little time off from projects through the holidays, but believe it or not, we might do some more painting this winter. I know, after all that complaining I did? But we're thinking of painting the dining room and it is a very small amount of wall space, so it would take no time at all.

I chopped my hair again last night - slightly different style again, it seems to keep getting shorter somehow! I don't think I can go much shorter than this though!




Today I am having the cracked windshield in my car fixed finally. Thought it would be good to take care of that before it snows. The rest of our week looks pretty calm for a change and I am totally ok with that! Sometimes you need some downtime and I have been needing it for awhile now.

Finally - to my religious readers - if you have seen in the news this week the story about the missing pilot and his sons in Wyoming - he is the president of the company that our good friend John works at - would you kindly keep him and his family in your prayers? They can use all they can get.

And I think that pretty much catches us up! Phew.

11/1/10

Music Monday - Hide and Seek

Welcome to my NaBloPoMo. Today is Music Day. And I feel like this is the Mickey Mouse Club with these theme days - welcome boys and girls, today is Anything Can Happen Day....

Anyway, the song I have chosen for this week is one of my all time favorites, Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. It's not a good song for describing me really - it's kind of about a person who is lost and trying to find their way, sort of the end of innocence and that type of thing. And while there are moments in life - even recently - where I wonder where my life is going, for the most part I am on a good path and I'm pretty happy with the way things are right now. But I still love this song, it's haunting and beautiful and I just felt like sharing it!

Sadly there are other wonderful songs I want to share - but I'm limited to what is available in ProjectPlaylist.com's library. Anyway, enjoy my song of the week!