Harmonious Chaos

Fabulous Friday - a return!

2012-02-17T12:42:00.003-06:00

I can't promise that I'll be doing this on a weekly basis again, but I felt like doing a Fabulous Friday today. Here is what I'm finding fabulous this week!

1. The Butcher Block - it was spendy but it was so worth it. Best dinner out for Valentine's Day ever! I'd go back just for the rigatoni in truffle sauce. Yes you heard me right. Truffle sauce. Everything else we had was fantastic too, but man. That rigatoni. Drool....

2. Muppets Bandaids - I heard awhile back that Band-Aid brand was going to have Muppets Bandaids, probably to go along with the movie, available at Target. Big Muppet Nerd me really wanted to have them, but Target did not have them. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto them at Cub of all places. Yep, the box ended up in my cart without any other thought. Is it wrong that I want to be clumsier so I have an excuse to use them?

3. My new kitchen pantry thingy from Ikea - I still need to take pictures, but I am in love with this stupid pantry. I think I'm changing my tune on my feelings towards the Ikea.

4. Pinterest - it's stupid addictive for list-making junkies like me. Enough said.

5. The weather - yeah I know, it's not normal and maybe it's global warming and we should be more concerned, but I am really loving the fact that it's been so easy to deal with the weather as of late. Still cold enough for a sweater each day, but no need for a super heavy coat and driving has been a breeze.

There you go! What are you finding fabulous today?

Happy Heart Day!

2012-02-14T13:53:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've talked before about how I don't need a special day to tell my husband that I love him and that this holiday is so commerical it's crazy and we don't make a big deal out of it and things like that. But in the last couple of years we've compromised and said no gifts, but instead we treat ourselves to a nice dinner (usually followed with a super nice bottle of scotch that we both enjoy). This year is no exception and I refuse to feel guilty about it.

I've seen a lot of negative posts on the subject of Valentine's Day and such today, but I'm just not letting them get to me. With the week we just had and really, the last oh I don't know, 8 or so months Nate just had dealing with being the solo Mac guy at work, we more than deserve a special treat today and I intend to enjoy it! Besides, it can serve as part celebration - Nate finally has a teammate at work again. The 2nd Mac tech started last Monday and it's my hope that things will finally even out for him again. I've already seen the change, he's a lot more relaxed than he's been in quite some time.

So what are we doing for our special outing? We're trying out a restaurant in NE Mpls called "The Butcher Block" - it's Italian. We discovered it when we were researching meat markets online and decided to give it a try. I'm mildly nervous as I read a few reviews today (yeah I know, way to procrastinate) and it's kind of a mixed bag - but I'm feeling hopeful because the postive reviews were extremely so and there were several very recent postive reviews, like in the last few days. I figure you have to take what you read on the internet with such a grain of salt. Some people complain for the sake of complaining.

If anything I'm looking forward to some quality one on one time with my most favorite person in the entire world. I would not have it any other way!

Let's play catch up

2012-02-13T10:45:00.002-06:00

So I am so behind on everything it seems, but I'm attempting to get caught up this week. Here is a rundown of everything we've been up to besides funerals and what not!

~Winterfest was fun this year. I am in awe of all the new breweries that have popped up in MN even since last year. There was no way we could have gotten around to them all in one night, honestly. There are a couple of newer breweries we'd like to check out in person sometime. It is pretty awesome that there has just been this crazy beer boom here!

~Nate has delved into the world of making sausages and other meat products. We got the meat grinding attachment that goes with our Kitchen Aid mixer and not surprisingly, he has done a ton of research and is giving it a go. So far he has made bratwurst. They were not bad, there are some changes he'll be making for the next go round, but he's going to keep at it. He hopes to make his Grandpa's Russian Sausage recipe in his honor soon. He said in a way it's perfect, beer brewing is better in the summer, so now he'll do meats in the winter!

~Because of the meat making and the fact that we've been trying out various meat markets and trying to stock up on meat, we decided it was finally time to replace the freezer in our basement that totally tanked last winter. We visited our friends out at Steve's Appliances in Mounds View and managed to find a lovely upright freezer that will fit through the basement door. I cannot say enough awesome things about Steve's - they will haul away your old equipment at no extra cost, you just can't beat that! The new freezer will be arriving after work today, I'm excited.

~Also in the storage genre, we realized we won't likely be remodeling the kitchen quite yet because of some major work we'll be doing on the exterior of the house this spring, yet, we wanted to re-arrange, re-organize and kind of overhaul the kitchen a bit. We made a trip to Ikea yesterday and found a lovely cupboard/organizer that is helping us immensely! Now we have to relocate our library table, but I think we know what we're doing to make that work. It's the little things sometimes!

So, you take all of that and throw in Praise Project gigs, birthday gatherings for friends and other various family things and we've been pretty crazed lately. I'm really glad that we're taking time out just for the two of us tomorrow to celebrate Valentine's Day. It's not to say we haven't enjoyed some of the fun things as of late, but it is nice to spend time just the two of us as well!

I think that more or less catches us up! Hopefully things will continue to be a bit more "routine" for awhile now!

Remembering

2012-02-09T12:54:00.003-06:00

Yeah I know. It's been a week since my last post. Pretty rare for a long stretch of silence like this. I wanted to write this week about Winterfest and Nate's new sausage making hobby and other fun and light hearted things of that nature. But life kind of came crashing to a halt last weekend and I just haven't felt like blogging about those things. Last Saturday, Nate's Grandpa Pete passed away. He was in ill health but it was still rather sudden. The funeral was yesterday. So needless to say, we've been a bit preoccupied this week.

I was thinking about it yesterday and I realized that I have known Nate's grandparents for pretty much the entire almost 14 years we've been together. I still remember when I met them for the first time. Nate called me up one Sunday after we'd only been dating about a month and said "hey, we're going over to my grandparents this afternoon for a bit and I was wondering if you'd like to come over and meet them." And 16 year old me is like "OMG he wants me to meet his extended family? Parents are one thing, but wow, this must be serious!" I was so floored, but delighted. Nervous as I was, I agreed to go over to meet them.

They were nothing but kind the minute I set foot in their house. I remember feeling so comfortable and welcome that my nerves disappeared immediately. I believe one of his aunt and uncles were over that day as well. We sat at their kitchen table and they taught me to play Mexican Dominoes. When I left that day they said they hoped they would see me again. And of course, they did see me again. And I always felt the same comfortable, welcoming atmosphere as I did that very first day.

I didn't really get to grow up with a grandfather as my Grandpa Miller passed away before I was born and my Grandpa Gilles passed away when I was only in 1st grade. So I feel blessed and fortunate to have known and had a relationship with both of Nate's grandfathers, but especially Grandpa Pete because he lived here (Grandpa Ray lived in St. Louis and has also been gone from this world for about five years now). So my heart is sad even though this was expected, it's never easy to say goodbye to someone.

Yesterday we had a nice celebration of his life and it was interesting to see how they do things in the Russian Orthodox church. I have no doubt in my mind that he is in a better place now and I am so glad he suffers no more.

Things should slowly be returning to normal and hopefully I'll be able to post about all those other things soon! But for now, that is the news from here.

It's Ok Thursday

2012-02-02T12:44:00.002-06:00

I've done these lists before, totally stolen from Glamour Magazine's "Hey It's Ok" list. I just felt like I needed to give myself permission to not feel guilty today, so here are my things that I'm saying are totally cool for today.

Today I think It's Ok....

1. That the most exercise I will get today is going up and down the stairs at work a few times because I chose to sleep in instead of getting up to work out.
2. That sometimes I choose two pieces of cinnamon toast and hot chocolate for lunch instead of something else more "lunchy" or even more "healthy".
3. That sometimes I wish I would get in a non-injury related accident so I can collect insurance money and buy a new car instead of making the needed repairs on my current one.
4. That my music selections as of late have been songs I enjoyed when I was a pre-teen and teenager, but that I would not go back to that time for anything.
5. That I'm excited for the Super Bowl this weekend for anything other than the game itself, but instead the commericals, the halftime show, eating tasty appetizers, drinking beer and spending quality time with my in-laws. It's our tradition and I wouldn't change it for the world.
6. That the only football game I'll even have seen this season is the Super Bowl itself.
7. That my current favorite purse I keep going back to is not flashy or fancy but is a simple black leather bag bought at a vintage shop.
8. That I get more excited to go vintage shopping right now than I do any other kind of shopping.
9. That I have all sorts of exciting plans in the works for my house that I haven't gotten around to starting yet and call this time "the dream phase."
10. That I chose to write this list partly because it would be a time waster.

There. It's so cathartic sometimes to do that! What are you giving yourself permission to feel ok about?

Glass blowing experience

2012-01-31T10:04:00.004-06:00

Saturday night we went and did our glass blowing and beer tasting class as a part of Nate's Christmas present this year. It was a blast! It was through Living Social Adventures (one of those Groupon style websites) at the FOCI MN Center for Glass Arts. When this came through my email as an offer, I knew that it was something Nate would be into, not only would we be tasting beer, but we'd get to make our very own pint glass!

We arrived about 20 minutes early and the last class was just wrapping up. We had a chance to walk around the studio, it is a neat place and they have a gallery with various glass pieces on display - pretty awesome stuff.

Others began to trickle in and we met another couple who were there for the same reason - the wife bought this as a Christmas gift for the husband. They were very nice people, about 10 years older than us and ironically, the husband used to live down the street from Nate's parents.

The Living Social people then introduced the instructors and explained the itinerary for the evening. Then we watched a demonstration and were broken into groups of four to work with an instructor to make our pint glasses. It was definitely hands on, though the instructors did do some of the work as there are steps involved that are very difficult for beginners. But we got to gather the glass on our rod, we got to work on shaping it, and we got to help blow the glass to help it expand into a larger size to make the pint glass.

Here is a picture of me helping to blow the glass - it expands almost like a hot, fragile balloon.

This is me twirling the glass to keep it from settling. Our instructor was going to get another piece of hot metal to help create the opening.

Here is Nate opening up the inside of the glass. Even for very advanced glass blowers this is a two person operation.

A little earlier in the process, here is Nate shaping the glass, you use very thick wet newspaper, almost like sandpaper, it protects your hand and you're able to give it a round shape.

It was really informative. The entire process for each person took a half hour to 45 minutes. But it was fun to watch others even when it wasn't your turn. Also, we got to pick two colors to melt into the glass and make it unique too. I chose blue and pink and Nate chose green and yellow. The final step was blow torching the bottom of the glass and stamping it with our initials.

Then they put it in a special kind of oven that cools the glass down at a slower temperature, to prevent breakage. Because of this we had to wait until Monday to go pick the glasses up.

After we finished, Great Waters Brewing Co. from St. Paul had a little informal beer tasting with four of their brews. They also gave away 8 growlers to be filled at their brewpub - we each won a growler! Not that we ever lack beer in our house, but it's still cool that we won!

We had a lot of fun and would be interested in even taking a beginner glass blowing class someday!

Here is the final result:

Mine is on the left and Nate's is on the right. Pretty neat huh? They're good sized and are completely safe to use for drinking out of.

I tell you though, I keep setting the bar higher and higher each year, I don't know what I will come up with to top this for his Christmas gift next year!

You can't make this stuff up

2012-01-25T14:36:00.003-06:00

I don't normally blog about work but I have to tell you, there are some stories that are too good not to share.

We (as in Fairview) recently took on building maintenance for the office building that I'm housed in. There are still two "non FV" tenants in the building, but the rest of it is FV related, so it only made sense to stop outsourcing the property management. We took over on January 1st and so far it's been super quiet.

Today I come back from lunch and a meeting to a message from one of the non-FV tenants. She wanted to report that she witnessed two individuals stealing a potted plant from our first floor lobby. She didn't want to confront them, which is perfectly fine, she shouldn't have, but she did observe enough to have gotten a vehicle description and a license plate.

So, I told my boss about it and she had me call it in as a report to the police department. While it isn't a huge deal, it has happened here before and being that we had some description of who might have done it, it seemed valid to report as a theft.

I was transferred several times when I called the non-emergency police line and gave my story every time, feeling my cheeks blush because it really sounds ridiculous. And one of the people who picked up when I was transferred was already laughing when she said hello. Thanks City of Fridley workers, you're awesome. *Big Fat Raspberry*

Seriously though, I don't blame them for laughing. It's just the stupidest sounding thing ever. "I'd like to report a stolen plant."

No sooner than I hung up with the police then the front desk from the clinic called, a patient noticed a vehicle with an odd smell out in the parking lot and was concerned it might blow up. No one in the clinic was claiming said car. We checked and it appeared to only be leaking anti-freeze. And no, it's not the car that was reported fleeing the building with our plant.

You just can't make this stuff up.

Another weekend gone by....

2012-01-23T10:09:00.002-06:00

...too quickly! Time always flies when you don't want it to. Anyway, it was a decent weekend even if it was too short.

Saturday was taken up mostly with a Praise Project gig, but there was mexican food and margaritas for me and Mr. Nate after the gig, so that was nice. And then we watched a movie, not a great one but it was something. So exciting yes?

Sunday was a little more interesting. Nate went to a movie with Ali and I went on a hunt for frosting supplies to assist in my next batch of cupcakes. Then I baked. I made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing this time. While the process wasn't quite as smooth as last week's, overall I am pleased and oh my are they tasty. Sweet, but tasty.

Look, I even attempted fancy frosting swirls with my new decorating supplies! For a first go at it, I don't think they're too bad!

I told Nate I probably will take a little break now before I make the cupcakes again, but it really has turned into a fun new little hobby for this winter. It is a lot of work though! I was pretty exhausted by the time I was done. We were lazy and grabbed burgers and fries from out for dinner then. Healthy? No. Tasty? Yes. Just means extra time on the elliptical for this girl.

Next weekend will be fun, we're going to our glass blowing/beer tasting class that I bought as a gift for Nate for Christmas. At the class we get to make a pint glass to take home with us! It should be interesting!

Today started out not the greatest ever, the snow/ice out there is just awful. Took 20 minutes to clean off my car and another almost 20 minutes to get to work. Gross. I want to clean out my garage and park in it. Or tear it down and build a bigger, heated one. Now, where did that Money Tree go again?

More this and that

2012-01-19T09:33:00.002-06:00

Well hello winter! Man, is it cold outside! We have been so spoiled by this winter so far, today was hard to take! I'm thankful for my winter parka!

So the consensus so far is that my cupcakes are tasty! I mean I think they are, but my parents really liked them (I consider that high praise with my mom being a pretty master baker) and everyone at Nate's work really enjoyed them too. So, this weekend I might attempt part two if I have time - vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing. Hoping for the same results!

So I've been playing Scrabble type games with friends on my iPhone, which is super fun, but man, I need to go back to school! I have been getting my behind kicked pretty good so far, but I'm going to keep at it, I need the practice! It's good for me.

Beyond that, there is honestly nothing terribly exciting going on for us at the moment. I am totally OK with that! Fun stuff coming up soon though. For now we're just hibernating. I kind of like hibernating. Just call me Beth the Bear.

Weekend fun

2012-01-16T11:00:00.003-06:00

We had a good weekend, it was full, but it was good.

I started off Saturday by getting my hair trimmed. I tell you, I love, love, LOVE my short hair, but sometimes it grows out faster than other times and it just gets shaggy and annoying. So, I feel like I was just in to have it trimmed, but I just had to do something about it. I feel much better now!

We had a gig with Praise Project in the afternoon. Then we went to the roller derby! First time we've made it this season. It was fun, our team lost by only a few points in a very exciting match. I also enjoy people watching at the derby so much, there are all walks of life there let me tell you.

Sunday we slept in, Nate made breakfast and then I set about my big plan for the day - attempting homemade cupcakes. I have been wanting to try making them from scratch for a long time now. Originally I set out to do something much more gourmet than what I ended up doing. I went simple - chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. It was a bit of work, but not too bad and the result was not bad either! I have improvements I can make for next time, but overall I was pleased.

The frosting recipe didn't quite make enough for 24 cupcakes - but I'll double it next time. Well, actually next time I'm going to make vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting, but yeah, I'll double it. And once I get comfortable with basic flavors, I'll attempt other kinds too. It's a fun new hobby to try anyway!

We finished out our weekend by going on a little adventure and picking up BBQ from a place out in Champlin that has had very high ratings online - Q Fanatic. And it was amazingly good and worth the drive. We still brought it home to eat it and while it was a long drive round trip, the food stayed warm enough and it was really tasty! I highly recommend it.

So, it was a fun weekend all around!

This n That Thursday

2012-01-12T12:51:00.002-06:00

Not much to share besides a little of this and a little of that and hey it's Thursday, maybe a new theme being born? Who am I kidding, I don't keep up real well with my theme days. But here is a this and that post anyway!

~Life is pretty much status quo for us right now and I'm not complaining in the least. We're in a little hibernation mode at the moment with most evenings being dedicated to eating dinner and crashing in front of the TV, but you know what, it's dark and cold outside anyway, so that is what winter is all about!
~We are getting ourselves out of the house this weekend to go to the roller derby on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, it's actually the first bout we've been able to attend so far this year.
~I have decided on Sunday I am going to bake cupcakes. From scratch. This could be an interesting experiment. Stay tuned.
~My friend Samara wrote a very thought provoking post, she's good at that kind of thing, about living life with a "Less" approach - it's had me thinking and I am trying to simplify my world a bit. Read her post here, it's worth it.
~My friend Stef had her baby on Tuesday! Baby A is super adorable and is a pretty big girl, 9 lbs 4 oz. I was fortunate enough to spend my lunch break visiting them yesterday since she was in the hospital near my office. Pretty nice use of my time I have to say!

That's pretty much the view from here! Looking forward to coming events in the next couple of weeks, oddly that all revolve around beer. More to come on those!

Car woes

2012-01-09T09:23:00.004-06:00

So I think it's time for me to go on another shopping ban. Not that I got out of control after my last one ended, but with Christmas shopping, after Christmas sales and what not, my spending was up a bit in December. And I have a motivation to curb my habit again - my car.

I love my car, I truly do, but I did buy it used and I have already owned it for close to five years (which is mind blowing to me sometimes) and sadly, there are some bigger things that need to be done to it sooner rather than later.

Of course, my father in law and Nate would usually be the ones to take care of these things, but my father in law is now retired, so we're on the hunt for a new mechanic. We used to take cars to a family friend, but that is not an option I'm considering after my dad had a falling out with said friend. So, the hunt is on. Thankfully I've been given a couple of good suggestions, so I have options, now I'm going to call up a couple of them to see who has the best price for the job.

I do wonder just how much work I really want to put into the car or if I want to save my money and work towards buying something else, but I figure I'll at least start on some of the repairs.

If it's not one thing it's another, that much I know! I am really wishing I had that Money Tree in my backyard!

Meat. It's Whats for Dinner

2012-01-04T11:10:00.003-06:00

We're big carnivores at our house. I have no shame. It is just how we were both raised, big meat and potato kind of families. Pork, beef, chicken, you name it, we eat it.

We've been on a quest lately for a different meat market. We used to go to one in Northeast Mpls for a very long time and my mom still goes there, but some of the cuts of various kinds of meat we've had from there lately have not been as much to our liking. So we're shopping around. We do buy some meat right at the grocery store, but it's always better when it comes from a butcher.

This weekend we went to Von Hanson's. They have several locations in the area. Ali actually introduced us to them a couple of years ago because there is one near her house. I remember the meat she cooked from there being really good, so we decided to finally try it for ourselves. So far, it's been pretty good. We grilled some steaks from there on Sunday. I think they would have been better had Nate not had an unpreventable grease fire on the grill though. We also tried their bacon and we have some hot dogs too.

But, we're looking into other places as well. Found some reviews online of a couple of meat markets that were pretty positive and they aren't terribly far from our house, so we'll give them a go as well. I'm not sure just what Nate is looking for in this quest, but it's fun to try stuff out!

It's a long shot, but any of you MN peeps have a favorite meat place you like to go? Just curious, if so, leave me a comment.

A long time ago Nate and his friend Matt decided there needed to be a National Meat Day holiday and even declared a day to be said holiday, though I wouldn't be surprised if it already existed. I have some friends whom I love and respect a great deal who are vegetarians and I think that is truly awesome. But I can't help loving me some meat!

Marching on into 2012

2012-01-02T10:17:00.005-06:00

And just like that the holidays and my vacation time are over. Poof. I knew it would go by too fast!

In truth though, I think I made the most of my time off. And I know we made the most of our holiday celebrations.

It's sort of a double sided coin in a way - I'm sad it's all over so quickly and yet, I welcome the return to a normal routine.

Fortunately, there are fun things on the calendar in the coming weeks that I think will make the after holiday "letdown" disappear much faster. Looking out over the next weeks I see roller derby, a glass blowing class for Nate and I that was part of his Christmas present this year and Winterfest. I am looking forward to all of that. It'll make the darker winter days a little less drab!

Again, I make no true resolutions for myself this year other than my wish for every new year - try to take life one day at a time and enjoy each moment as it comes. Dwelling too much on future things just leads to stress and worry, and I want to be present in my daily life.

I guess I do have a few goals which I think are different from resolutions - I want to read 20 books this year. It doesn't sound like that many, but I set out to do that last year and believe it or not, fell way short, even with things like the entire Hunger Games series. I want to run the entire Torchlight 5K this summer. Lofty goal at the moment when the most I'm doing for exercise right now is using my elliptical machine. I want us to take out our new tent we bought off of Woot and actually try out camping.

I have house goals too - we will be replacing the front windows this spring - no excuses, it must be done, we're getting water damage. Along with that, I hope to do the front stairs/brick work in the front of the house. Going to be some spendy things, but the problems are getting worse from not doing these things, so it is just time. On the cheaper side of things, I plan to do some more painting inside, several ceilings and my dining room are on the list. We didn't do much home improvement in 2011 at all, so we're just due. I want to stay in our house a long time and I don't want it to fall down around us!

Maybe I am setting my sights too high, but I can only hope we can accomplish some of these things!

I hope to have a lot of fun too though and that we get to spend lots of time with friends and family and just enjoying the ride of life. I think I can guarantee that I can make at least this goal happen!!

On we go! It will be a good year!

Another year gone by

2011-12-29T16:49:00.005-06:00

Man, I know it's something that happens with age, but I swear with each passing year I find myself saying this line from the musical Rent "I can't believe a year went by so fast." I know it gets worse when you have children, so sometimes I'm thankful that we don't. Still, it is hard to believe 2011 is almost over already. Yet, as I sit here to start writing our recap of the year, I also can't believe how much we crammed into one year - maybe that is how it flew by. Let's rewind a bit.

January - The quietest month of the year. I decided to bite the bullet and take advantage of the free consultation at a client of Nate's to see if I'd be a candidate for Lasik. I was thrilled to learn that I was and set up my surgery for February.

February - We attended Winterfest as a belated Christmas gift to Nate and had a blast trying out all the best local beers MN has to offer. We enjoyed it so much we're going again this year. We had a most wonderful meal for Valentine's Day at Erte in NE Minneapolis. I had my Lasik surgery on February 18th and my life was forever changed. It is still the best thing I have ever done for myself. We participated in our first ever Praise Project benefit concert. We continued digging out from SO.MUCH.SNOW.

March - I had an eye opening and interesting experience filling in as a front desk person in another part of Fairview for one week. We got back on the running train as the snow started melting a bit towards the end of the month.

April - We celebrated my mom's birthday and Easter. We continued on with our running and were pleased with the progress we made. My mom and I took a fun spring arts sampler class at the park near my house and made some fun projects. Would like to go back there and do more.

May - Big month for us, celebrating five years of marriage over Memorial Day weekend. We opted to stay in town for the big day and visited a fantastic winery in Delano and then had a wonderful dinner at The Melting Pot downtown. I had my ears doubled pierced. Held our breath as a tornado tore through North Minneapolis and parts of Fridley, sparing my parents house by only a few blocks.

June - Nate decided to take his turn to see if he would be a candidate for Lasik and we were beyond shocked when he was! He had his surgery in the middle of June and also was super pleased with the results. We had a soggy time at this year's Rock the Garden, but I was still excited to see Neko Case, one of my favorite singers of all time, live in concert even if it wasn't quite the right venue for her. We hit a huge milestone in our running, able to do 30 minutes at one go. I ended up with a severely infected ear piercing and had one earring removed. The other one remains however. Started a fashion blog and have enjoyed the journey so far with that.

July - Celebrated the 4th with some Praise Project friends. Saw the Black Keys in concert over that weekend as well. Mom and I saw Josh Groban in concert too and hands down, he is the best live concert I have ever been to. We sweated through some extreme heat and took a week to go down and visit with our Kondrick relatives in St. Louis where we suffered through some REALLY extreme heat. We still had a good time there, visiting the Budweiser brewery and the Arch and all those fun tourist type things. While we were gone my awesome dad replaced our laundry room washtub and finally my basement doesn't smell musty anymore!

August - A quieter month again, we had a family reunion with Nate's family out in Wisconsin. We completed the delayed Torchlight 5K even if we couldn't quite run the entire thing. We brewed a bunch of beer so we'd have it ready for October and Oktoberfest. I came over an almost 30 year fear of loud noises by taking a gun safety class with Nate and for the first time ever, firing an actual gun.

September - We had another weekend up north with the Praise Project gang. We visited some wineries down south over Labor Day weekend. We decided to take a step back from the running for a bit so Nate could work through some stress issues he was having. We started getting the house in shape for Oktoberfest.

October - Oktoberfest celebration commenced. Another successful year and much fun was had by all. Put myself on a self imposed shopping ban to save up money for a Smartphone. Had a low key Halloween and did not dress up this year.

November - Returned to a place that caused a lot of pain in the past and were able to comfortably be there and close the door to the past (the old church), Did my annual trek for the Cities Sampler with Gina, celebrated my Muppets triumphant return to the big screen, enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with Nate's family, and celebrated our big 3-0 and found that 30 is not as bad as I once feared. So far it's not really much worse than 29! Bought my iPhone and have loved it ever since.

December - Suffered through a pretty nasty cold, prepared to celebrate Christmas and had a wonderful holiday.

The end of the year has been calmer than other parts of the year. And I'm ok with that! Looking back through my review of the year it feels kind of nice to have things slowing down a bit! For the most part I would say 2011 was good. There were up and down moments as there are with any year, but we got through the not so great stuff and enjoyed the wonderful stuff. I don't know what 2012 holds, but I am looking forward to it.

Happy New Year one and all!

Christmas Rewind

2011-12-28T09:46:00.003-06:00

It's already several days past Christmas and I have yet to come on and give my Christmas recap! I have been thoroughly enjoying time away from work this week and a big part of that is actually time away from my computer, which means I'm not blogging much! Anyway, let's go ahead and back the train up to Christmas weekend, because it twas a good one.

My vacation started on the day before Christmas Eve, I took Friday off of work to get all my last minute things finished. I met up with two of my good friends/sorority sisters for a little brunch. It was nice to visit with them before one of them has a newborn again (come on Baby Wilkinson, we're ready to meet you!) and start off the holidays. I went home after hanging out with them for a bit and finished wrapping all of my Christmas gifts. It only took me an hour, I was happy about that! We had a final rehearsal with Praise Project in the evening and were home in time to unwind with a couple of TV shows.

Christmas Eve we slept in a bit, though I did meet my parents for Christmas Eve Coffee! I came home and braved the store to grab a last minute gift for Nate's Grandma Dolly. It wasn't that bad, I have never done that on Christmas Eve before. Probably helps that I didn't go to the mall, I went to a Kohls outside of a mall.

After that I headed home again where Nate was done wrapping all his gifts and we went to get some lunch. We came home and exchanged gifts. He gave me the newest stuffed Kermit that goes with the new movie - he's cute - along with a CD and a couple of pretty things to sleep in - and get your mind out of the gutters, they are practical and really comfy. I don't know the last time I bought myself new pj's, so it was kind of a treat! I gave him a couple of CDs and we're going to go to a glass blowing class together where we'll get to make our own beer glass! And we'll get to taste some local beer too! It should be fun.
We then set about making a green bean dish to bring to Nate's parents for dinner and then went over to their house to celebrate with them. We had SO. MUCH. FOOD. It was super good though. After dinner was our annual "sit by the real fire while the yule log plays on TV."

I took a picture to show what big nerds we are. Everyone says this tradition is all my doing, but in truth I think we all get a kick out of it, not just me! We noshed on some cookies that Ali made and then opened our stockings and our presents. Many nice gifts and it was a nice relaxing evening.

Christmas Day we had to get up way too early to do Christmas Mass with Praise Project out in Blaine. I am glad we get asked to do it, but man, 8:30 was tough to get up for this year! But, then we were done nice and early and headed over to my parents house to exchange gifts with them. My mom made us a nice spread for breakfast too.

We had a little time then to run home, change clothes and catch our breaths for a little bit before heading to my Aunt Michelle's in Uptown. We had a lovely dinner there and it was nice to see my mom's extended family as we don't see many of them throughout the year. It was so nice outside, we even went and caroled at a couple of her neighbor's houses, I have to say, it was on my bucket list to do that, so I'm glad we had the opportunity. We played the Dice Game and a couple of other games before Nate and I decided to head home so we could stop at his grandparents real quick to say hello to his family. We ended up over there a little longer than I planned, but I'm glad we went, it was nice to see all of them as well!

So it seems that we did a ton over the two days, but we were really relaxed and kind of on our own schedule. In years past I have felt so crazed by all the places we try to go, but this was really not bad.

Monday Nate was off too, so we slept in a bit, went to Caribou together and over to the gun range. I ended up not shooting with him because there were just far too many people there that day, it was overwhelming and my noise phobia got the better of me. I have come a long way with it but I'm far from perfect. At least I have a Smartphone now that kept me company while he was out in the range! After that we came home and both just vegged for awhile and then we went and had a nice dinner out because we haven't done so in quite a while!

Now I'm just enjoying being a "stay at home wife" for the rest of the week. I wish Nate was here with me, but I'm glad to have the time off. Did some after Christmas sale shopping yesterday and also reorganized my linen closet. I will be going to a movie with Miss Jes tonight and to dinner with Miss Gina tomorrow, so it will be nice to catch up with them. Tomorrow I will have lunch with my mom, two of my favorite aunties and my cousin - did that last year and it was nice so we decided to do it again. Friday I have no plans, might just watch movies all day and then I think Nate and I will grill for dinner.

So there you go. I feel blessed and my heart is happy. You can't ask for more than that for Christmas.

Before the week is out I'll do my annual year in review. And then I should be back to more regular blogging next week.

Hope you all had wonderful Christmases and are enjoying your week whether you're off or at work!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T11:54:00.002-06:00

For unto us is born this day in the City of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord
And this shall be a sign unto you.

A very blessed and Merry Christmas to all of you! Be safe if you are traveling and take time to enjoy the little moments of this glorious holiday.

Let it snow?

2011-12-22T10:10:00.002-06:00

Snapped these photos real quick when I got home last night. Here's our white Christmas!

See the leaves below the snow? Yeah, we're one of those people who didn't rake. I was hoping it'd all end up totally buried like it did last year. What a difference one year makes, eh?

I will say, I haven't missed shoveling or cleaning off my car or dealing with the large snow piles at the end of the driveway this year. But, I am bummed we won't have just a pretty little coating of snow to enjoy for Christmas. So it goes!

In other news, it is my Friday. I do not work again until "next year" after today! I'm really glad it worked out for me to get an entire week off again for the holidays. Even with very little planned, it's fun playing "stay at home wife" and just chilling!

I'm so relaxed about the holidays this year. Everything is ready and even getting sick in the midst of December this year, I'm on track and I'm oddly calm. I'll take it. Perhaps with age comes wisdom. I still love this holiday, but I think I appreciate it on a different level now and that is helping with the "not freaking out" and just enjoying it for what it is. At any rate, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Unless the gift he is holding is like a million dollars or something. He he.

Hope you are all surviving in these final days of Christmas preparation!

Never a dull moment

2011-12-20T10:30:00.003-06:00

My apologies for the drama of yesterday's post. That was a fun panic filled afternoon, let me tell you. And sadly things still aren't perfect with my Gmail, namely I can't sync it to my iPhone or my Mail app on my laptop at home, so I'm looking into some changes. Nate has purchased the domain Kondrick.com for our use and long ago set me up an email there, I just haven't ever used it. Well, the times they are a changing, I'm going to be migrating over to that as my primary email. If you're in my address book you'll get an email from me about this once everything is all set up. I'm migrating my Gmail to my new email right now and it's going to take a little while. I am also set up to have Gmail forwarded to the new email, so you can still email me there if you wish or if you forget my new email.

There's still the matter of my fashion blog too, but right now it's functional again, so I will take my time on that.

This blog is associated with a different account and I'll maintain it this way regardless of what I do with the other things - we'll just see how things go.

That's my story on all of that. Beyond that, there are five days until Christmas and I am done shopping at least! Now I have to start wrapping. And that's my least favorite part, but it has to get done! Can't very well hand my giftee's their present and say "just shut your eyes" or something to maintain the element of surprise.

On we go.

A big mess

2011-12-19T15:43:00.004-06:00

UPDATE - I guess I jumped to conclusions, after chatting with a Twitter friend I figured out what to do and I have EMAIL and my other blog back as of 4:00 pm!! Thank. God. A post of substance coming tomorrow.

I don't know what is going on, but I have lost my regular Gmail/Google account. I have two accounts, I use a separate one for this blog, but my regular one is my personal email and also the one I was using for my fashion blog.

For the time being, I can't receive emails at muppetmusic22@gmail.com, so I would ask that you not email me right now. If you are a Facebook friend of mine, please message me there. I do not want to give out my backup email right now. If you need to get a hold of me in a big hurry, call me for now.

I'll update this when the situation changes.

A little Friday update

2011-12-16T10:03:00.003-06:00

Just a quick Friday update-y type post.

My head cold is leaps and bounds better. Still have a dry cough that I've heard can linger for weeks, but my voice is back and I feel less in a "fog". Nate still has his cold unfortunately, but he does pretty well if he keeps on his cold pills. And he doesn't need a voice to play the drums, I need a voice to sing. Ha.

In spite of everything I have been making my way through my Christmas "bucket list". We did have a lot of quiet nights at home this week, but the weekend and next week are looking promising for doing some of the things I had listed.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas. No joke. It's depressing to think we might have our first brown Christmas in several years. But there is a 30% chance we'll still have a white one, and I'm clinging to every hope of that happening!

Overall our holiday season has had a pretty low key vibe so far, but you know what? I don't mind. My heart is happy and full and that is what matters most!

On Giving In

2011-12-13T10:01:00.003-06:00

So. I haven't written much these last few days. I have been sick. There. I said it. I was so not wanting to give into it, but by Thursday afternoon I had to give in. It's funny, I am just such a Type A kind of person, I hate admitting that I'm sick and giving into the sickness. I think I even went through the five stages of grief on Thursday -

1. Denial - I feel fine. I am not getting a fever. I'm not freezing cold even when it's 70 degrees in my office. Those are not aches that I'm experiencing. It's must a minor headcold. I am not getting sick!

2. Anger - Man I feel like crap. I am not supposed to be sick at Christmas. I do not have time to be sick. This sucks. I am so pissed off right now!!!

3. Bargaining - If I can just get through Saturday, I'll take all day on Sunday to rest, I swear to it. Just let me get through until Saturday.

4. Depression - *insert fever induced sobs here* I'm so sad and I want to go home and I want my blanket and to curl up in a corner and cry.

5. Acceptance - FINE. You win you stupid fever/virus/cold whatever the heck you are. I will go home. I will take a sick day.

So that is more or less what happened on Thursday (including the crying, no joke, when I have a fever, I cry. I don't know why and it's like I'm powerless to stop it.) I went home and shivered on the couch for awhile, Nate came home and got me some medicine and soup. I took a full sick day on Friday even though the fever was gone and just did my best to "rest" even though I'm really not very good at that.

Now we're at Tuesday and it's pretty much just an annoying cough that is hanging on and will not go away. And I'm told that the cough is the part of this cold that hangs on and on and on...oh well.

And of course, now it appears that Nate has a version of this too, but we're just going to go one day at a time.

12 more days until Christmas...if you see the good health fairy, send her down to our place!

Christmas bucket list

2011-12-08T09:41:00.003-06:00

I've been fighting a cold this week. It's not a severe one. Just enough to be a nuisance. But i haven't let it ruin my Christmas spirit! I was reading a friend's blog and she was describing that her family has a hectic schedule at this time of year, like many of us do, but that she was choosing to look at the days as "full" instead of "busy". Doesn't that sound so much better to say "full"? And that has been how I've been approaching this crazy time of year so far.

She also suggested a December bucket list as to not miss out on any of the good things about this time of year and it has inspired me to make my own "Christmas bucket list". These are things I hope to do in the next 2 1/2 weeks.

1. Watch my favorite Christmas movies - especially Home Alone, a Muppet Family Christmas and Charlie Brown

2. Bake cookies with my mom

3. Finish Christmas shopping and wrap gifts

4. Go drive around and look at lights with Nate

5. Celebrate with Praise Project

6. Celebrate with both sides of our family

7. Spend some time with friends as I'm able

8. Drink Reindeer Blend coffee from Caribou

9. Listen to my favorite Christmas music

10. Finish sending out Christmas cards and reaching out to family and loved ones

It's a pretty manageable list I think! What's on your list?

Calm

2011-12-05T11:08:00.002-06:00

You know, I just don't have much to share on the ole blog these days.

Things are good...I'm not complaining. Really life is just routine right now. We're into the busy holiday season, but so far, it's manageable. So that makes me happy!

I didn't mind the snow we got over the weekend, it was the light, fluffy, pretty Christmas snow.

I got a large chunk of Christmas shopping done on Saturday before the snow fell. It feels good to have a handle on that!

We enjoyed a nice breakfast out yesterday, though I'm bummed that another of our favorite breakfast spots is closing right before the holidays. They lost their lease, but are hoping to open up somewhere else, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Nate decided he wanted to make beef brisket for dinner. I must say time and again, I'm so blessed to be married to a man who loves to cook. It was the best attempt he's made so far - totally delicious.

So really, it's just the day to day and again, that is more than ok.

Fabulous Friday 12/2/11

2011-12-02T10:47:00.003-06:00

Well it's the return of Fabulous Friday! I don't know if I can keep up with it weekly again, but I wanted to bring it back today because of things I'm finding fabulous!

1. Gingerbread Pop Tarts - They're back! I discovered these last year and fell in love and I saw them at the store on Sunday and said I need to have these in my life again! Yum. And as I said when I mentioned I also liked the Pumpkin Pie ones - yes I am a 7 year old child.

2. My new iPhone! - You knew this would be on the list right? I am having a lot of fun learning how it works and playing with apps - most of which I have gotten free so far! That makes me very happy.

3. The Muppets - Yes, I've been raving for days but I'll do it again. Best movie ever. You just need to see it. End of story.

4. Christmas decorations - My house is all decked out and I love the new white lights I put on my tree this year!

5. My new red purse - my parents (really it was my mom who picked it out) got me a red purse for my birthday (yes I know, do I need another purse?) and let me tell you, I love this one. It's a great size and it has fun compartments for things. I adore it and I hope to carry it through most of December.

There you go! The sun is out and I'm smiling. What are you finding fabulous today?

Hello December

2011-12-01T09:30:00.002-06:00

So wow, it's December 1st! In addition to it being my dad's birthday (Happy birthday Dad!) it truly means we're into the Christmas season and rush. I love Christmas, but in recent years I find it also leads to more and more stress for me as well. I'm not going to let that happen this year. At least I am making it my goal for this year!

Last night I felt that "Panic Monkey" trying to climb up my back a bit when I realized, ack, I have just over three weeks to get my shopping done and I don't know what I'm buying half of my people. But I forced it back down and said, look at it this way - three weeks is actually plenty of time. And there are 24 useful hours in every day and I intend to use as many of them as possible!

My mom and I have our list of cookies to make and will likely start on that next week. My Christmas cards should be arriving today or tomorrow so I can get working on mailing those out.

And as for the shopping? I'm starting that this weekend and I'm going more out of the box this year. I'm not just going to the mall and hoping and praying I find good things.

I am finding myself really wanting to shop locally and handmade a bit more this year - and I have a couple of opportunities to do that. I'm going to go to an event a good friend is part of this weekend called No Coast Craftarama - all local MN artists selling many different things. Then next week, another friend is hosting something called a Bead for Life party - jewelry made by Ugandan women and the proceeds go to support them - I like that concept. If I can help someone else by going to an in home party, I'm all for it.

I also have ideas for gifts that involve the "gift of my time" instead of just things. Isn't that what it should be all about? Apparently my "old age" is making me wiser or something along those lines. Ha ha.

This morning's fresh coating of snow may have made things slippery and difficult for driving, but it put a smile on my face. December is here. Christmas is coming. And I am happy.

iCan see clearly now

2011-11-30T09:51:00.003-06:00

My title is a play on Apple's iEverything. And why? Because yesterday I got my brand new sparkly iPhone! Ok, it's not sparkly, but it is pretty freaking awesome.

I am beyond excited to finally have a Smartphone. I am also beyond excited to have a phone that actually works decently when I'm in my own house. For whatever reason, most cell phones have not liked working well in my house which ended up with me hardly using it for more than texting. Now people can call me and I'll actually be able to understand them!

I did a lot of research on Smartphones and considered getting a Droid, but they are more expensive, I know people who have had a lot of issues with them and in the end, the iPhone was cheaper and more user friendly for me. And I could not be happier with it.

Anyone have any favorite apps they want to share? (Jes and Gina you are exempt from this exercise since you both have already shared with me your faves) Brownie points if they are free ones! :)

Whirlwind weekend

2011-11-28T13:34:00.003-06:00

Whew. What a wonderful long holiday weekend I just had! I don't want to brag, but it was pretty freaking awesome. Now that it's over I feel like it flew by, but really, I enjoyed every moment and felt very present in each moment, so I feel pretty good about that.

So I mentioned previously that I saw The Muppets twice. In addition to that, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Nate's side of the family and it was nice to see all of them. We went to the gun range on Friday morning to do a little recreational shooting. I still can't believe I can do this now, I have come so far. It helps that I have outstanding hearing protection. Anyway, we had some fun there and had lunch out at my favorite deli (Nelson's Cheese Shop in Spring Lake Park). Friday was one of the days we saw the movie then in the afternoon and after that we had dinner at Punch Pizza with my parents and Nate's parents. Then we met up with Ali back at my parents house and had dessert and opened presents.

Saturday we were a little bit lazier but that was ok because the weather was totally crappy. We did venture out in the afternoon to find a beer store we've been hearing about and it's like total Nate and Beth's ultimate candy store - The Four Firkins in St. Louis Park. Holy beer Batman! I have never seen such a huge selection of craft brews. And they do "create your own six pack." Total win. The store is organized so well too as to the different types of beers. I'm mildly embarrassed to admit we spent close to an hour in there. After that we picked up Five Guys burgers and brought them home and settled in with some movies.

Sunday I got down to business and after breakfast finally set about getting my Christmas decorations up. I had done a little bit of it on Saturday, but hadn't gotten the tree up and all that jazz. Nate was even teasing me that I was "running behind" on that, but with all the birthday hoopla, just hadn't had the time to work on it until Sunday. I got all the lights strung on the tree and discovered that one whole set was burned out. Crud. So I planned a trip to Target and Nate said he'd go with because he needed a birthday card for his dad. And somehow said trip to Target involved a slight detour to the Verizon store so I could buy myself an iPhone. No big.

Oh back up a bit here....I GOT AN IPHONE! Yes I am excited. So that was pretty big news for yesterday. We did go get the lights and stuff too. Returned home and I finished up the tree, we met up with my in-laws for a short walk in the cold air, came home and made shepherd's pie and tried to unwind a bit more before getting ready to face the week and come back to reality.

All in all a great weekend. I have no complaints!!

My Thoughts on "The Muppets"

2011-11-27T21:46:00.004-06:00

I have been trying to find the words for this post all weekend. It's not because it's bad, it's just that I have been processing everything and trying to find the right things to say. Here is my jumbled up thoughts on the movie. I am not giving a rundown of the plot or even a true review, this is just really my thoughts in general. Take it or leave it and bear with me, here we go.

I think everyone who reads this blog knows I am a huge, HUGE Muppet fan. If you don't know that about me, well then, hey guess what? I am a HUGE Muppet fan and also, nice to meet you, cause clearly you haven't been here before. But what you all don't know about me is, until this weekend, I have only ever seen one major Muppet movie in the theatre. Shocking right?

The first three Muppet movies: The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan all were released just before I was born or while I was a toddler, so it wasn't like I really had the chance to see them on the big screen. And like most children, my first true exposure to the Muppets was really through Sesame Street, but thanks to my parents and the "new at the time technology" of the VCR, I was introduced to those first three movies not long after they were in theatres. I probably knew all the words to The Muppets Take Manhattan by the time I was four.

So, the first chance I really had to see a Muppet movie on the big screen was with the Muppet Christmas Carol - ironically the first movie released after Jim Henson's passing. And even more ironically, we (my parents and I) somehow didn't even get to see it until it was in a second run theatre around Valentine's Day.

For one reason or another, I didn't see the next two Muppet movies in the theatre. I really couldn't tell you why. I have never once been ashamed of my Muppet fandom. But somehow, I misssed those two in theatres. I watched the ones that were made for TV and they were ok, but they were kind of missing the essence of the classic Muppets I grew up with. I kind of just started to accept the fact that the Muppets were kind of getting the same treatment that other favorite things of my childhood were getting. I didn't think they'd ever really be the same and resigned myself to just reliving my childhood with The Muppet Show on DVD and the movies listed above on DVD as well.

So now we flash forward to 2011. And finally a new movie has been made with new friends at the helm, namely my new hero Jason Segel of How I Met Your Mother fame. At first, it was going to be released at Christmas time, about a year ago at this time is when they announced that. And I thought ok cool, fun Christmas outing. But then shortly after the first of the year it was announced that the release date was moved up to November 23rd. Two days before my 30th birthday. A birthday that until recently I was actually kind of dreading. I just was having a hard time with the number. But knowing this movie was coming at the same time - it helped me big time. And it just felt like the best gift ever. Of course, I had yet to even see the movie.

It certainly got quite a bit of attention the closer we got to this big date - especially in the last month with talk show appearances, interviews, there were days that there were so many appearances listed that it made your head spin. A friend of mine, who runs the hugely popular Muppet Mindset blog, summed up how hardcore Muppet fans were feeling in these final days in a lovely post on the day before the movie's release - it can be read here - we just knew we were on the edge of something huge and that everything was going to change - in the best way possible.

So, finally I got to see the movie, not just once, but twice over the long weekend and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It WAS a gift. It was everything I dreamed it could be and more. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is my favorite Muppet movie to date. Maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it's because it came out so close to a milestone birthday, maybe it's because I relate to the new Muppet, sweet little Walter who was created to represent people like me, HUGE Muppet fans. Whatever it is, I will never get enough of this movie. I posted on my FB and I'll say it again - GO SEE THIS MOVIE. Take everyone you know. And if you have no one else to go with, take me. I'll go.

I have such hope for what could come next based on this movie. No matter what happens, what I know is that there are singing frogs, bears that tell jokes, dogs playing pianos, and adorable little guys that whistle in the world again and we haven't grown so cynical that we can't still appreciate them. It's a beautiful thing. I'm a very happy fan girl.

*An update on my weekend in full coming later today!*

Third decade

2011-11-25T14:26:00.002-06:00

Well it's here. My birthday. I am no longer a twenty-something. I am 30. And you know something? It's not scary. It's not bad. I had definitely accepted it as of this month more or less, but I spent the better part of this year kind of dreading this birthday. But you know what? It's going to be awesome.

Three is my favorite number. Always has been. So, you have to figure, three decades of life? It's going to be my best year ever. And something that is awesome about my thirties verses my twenties? I spent ten years learning and stumbling and finding my way into adulthood. And now, I have emerged pretty well rounded and I think I'm a pretty awesome adult. Just saying.

So, here we go. I'm 30 and flirty and fun and I am loving it.

Off to celebrate with family today. I'll hopefully get caught up on more blogging soon, including my thoughts on The Muppets (GO SEE it. Get off your computer and GO SEE IT).

Calm before the storm

2011-11-22T15:16:00.002-06:00

The next few days I get the feeling are going to be a whirlwind of events. I do hope for some down time and some rest time, but I also know that I'm doing the following:

- Getting ready for Thanksgiving
- Seeing the Muppets in the theatre
- Celebrating Thanksgiving
- Visiting the gun range with Nate again (yep! you heard me)
- Celebrating birthdays with family
- Spending time with extended family, especially those visiting from out of town
- Transitioning from Fall to the Christmas season with cleaning and decorating at our house
- Possibly doing a little Christmas shopping
- Brewing a batch of beer???

So today and tonight are the calm before the storm. I have a fairly simple dinner planned and I intend to relax and enjoy getting caught up on some shows with Nate, going to bed early and sleeping in just a little tomorrow. The storm is brewing, but I'm not afraid of it. Bring. It. On.

Awesomesauce

2011-11-21T09:56:00.003-06:00

You know what is awesome? Short work weeks. I gave myself a gift and decided to use some of the massive amount of time off I have saved up (not kidding here) and only work Monday and Tuesday this week. Granted, Wednesday I might still be doing some "work" helping my in-laws get ready for Thanksgiving, but that is different.

Another thing that was awesome was our early birthday celebration on Saturday. We knew that this week was going to get crazy with family and what not, so we decided to go out just the two of us a little early and it was lovely. We had dinner at Moscow on the Hill in St. Paul, brought home dessert and watched one of our all time favorite movies. A very low key, but very nice evening. I have no complaints. Moments like that are some of my favorites.

I'm also kind of finding the snow a little awesome. Yes I said it. I know. I was whining and complaining so much at the end of last winter and I know I was still complaining about last winter into the summer. I can even probably find you all the blog posts and FB posts I made declaring war on snow. But the small amount we got on Saturday just stirred something inside of me deep down and I went all Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls TV show reference) and was just kind of...giddy? I don't know. I am glad we weren't hit with the 11 or 12 inches they got up north, but a small amount to start is kind of fun. And just makes me so ready for this time of year. I was already looking forward to it and feeling excited about it, but now I'm truly like ready for the holiday season. This is my most favorite time of year and I am welcoming it with open arms.

Thanksgiving? Bring it. Birthdays? Let's rock em. Christmas? Let's deck the halls. I even have two presents already bought. Just need to figure out our Christmas card for this year and I'm ready to roll.

So here we go! I am feeling awesome and I'm ready to make all these upcoming things just as awesome!

Thankful Thursday - Week Three

2011-11-17T17:00:00.002-06:00

It's Thankful Thursday today! What are you most thankful for this week?

Here is my list:

1. Tradition - sitting out with a good friend at Target in the cold for a CD that benefits charity, taking time away from work and just relaxing.

2. Sunrises and sunsets - I was lucky enough to see the sunrise while we were at Target today and the sun set while I was making dinner this evening.

3. Helping through food - being able to help someone else down on their luck at the moment by simply bringing them dinner. Such a simple way to make a difference.

4. Love - having the most wonderful husband, friends and family in the world and feeling their love, I am blessed!

There you have it for this week my friends! Hard to believe Thanksgiving itself is only one week away! Got your turkey yet?

The end of the no buy

2011-11-16T13:26:00.002-06:00

So tomorrow more or less ends my self imposed "no buy." As previously mentioned, tomorrow the Cities 97 City Sampler comes out and I wanted to keep my tradition of getting a copy, so when I started my month long shopping ban, tomorrow seemed like a logical day to end.

So now I am asking myself a few questions -

Have I learned anything from my month of no shopping?

I think I have learned a bit. I think that I am easily influenced by sales, to the point where maybe I used to buy something just because it was on sale. I think that I was a horrible impulse buyer, where I'd buy something because in that moment I really thought I needed it, when maybe I really didn't. I think I was the worst about that when it came to purses. I would get in "I want a new purse mode" and come hell or high water I'd buy myself one, whether it was a good idea or not.

I think that if anything, I will be able to more easily think through "do I really need this, will I still want it a week from now" than I was able to before. We have been looking at our spending in general and trying to be more budget minded overall, so I think that will help too. Day to day living is actually rather expensive.

Did I break my no buy at all?

Save for one pillow, nope. And I feel that the pillow was a necessity. I have been sleeping so much better since buying that new pillow.

So can I just go shopping like crazy now and buy whatever I want?

As I said above, I hope to be more budget conscious from now on and less impulsive about my spending. I think it's unrealistic to say I won't ever shop again - but I just hope to be more responsible about it in general.

Did you accomplish what you wanted with this project?

Yes and no. I proved that I can go without shopping and that I can curb unnecessary spending. But I don't know that one month is enough time to really see how it can help my savings. And the "necessary" spending is still there. We have to eat. The cats have to eat. The car needs gas. Those things cannot be avoided.

Overall, I am glad I did this. And besides tomorrow, I don't totally plan to just jump right back into "buying what I want" so to speak, because I do still have a birthday and Christmas coming up. I still have things I'm saving for, so in general, I don't see much changing in the days and weeks to come. I guess the best thing to do is go one day a time and see how it goes!

Just Write: Birthday Memories

2011-11-15T10:35:00.005-06:00

So I have definitely accepted the whole "turning 30" thing that is happening next week. I really have. Well, mostly. I'm sure I'll have some weak moments yet. But I really do feel ok with it for the most part.

That doesn't mean I'm not contemplative though about it. Especially when over the weekend I realized, I have celebrated 30 birthdays. That seems like so many all of a sudden. I don't remember my birthdays real well until I was probably 4 or 5.

Each year we did a family party, usually with my grandma and my two favorite aunts and their families. When I got into elementary school, I was allowed to have a friend party as well. And of course, when I got together with Nate, birthdays took on a whole new life, because of his being the day after mine. We started celebrating them with both of our families and having parties with our friends together from pretty much the first year we were dating.

I have many memorable birthday experiences that stick out in my head as I reflect on 30 years worth of them. Some good, some not so good.

The year my dad was helping someone with their electrical work and it started snowing and he was late getting home. The party with my friends when I lost my first tooth in a cupcake but started crying because I thought I swallowed it. The year my mom dropped my cake face down on the floor and had to make a new one in a very short amount of time. Celebrating one year over at my grandma's house because we were remodeling my parents house and the downstairs was all torn up. The sleepover party I had in middle school and two of my friends took off in the middle of the night while the rest of us were sleeping because they were mad at us and my mom having a near heart attack in the morning and regretted taking Ny-Quill for her cold the night before.

Having my first ever sleepover party in 4th grade. Going on my first "grown up" birthday date with my parents to the Mall of America when I turned 11. Sorry for this one boys - "becoming a woman" on my 12th birthday(true story, both embarrassing, but yet kind of special). Having my first boy/girl party for my Sweet 16. Going out for special dinners with Nate. Gambling at Hinckley for the first time when we turned 18. Going out drinking for our 21st and let's just say we laughed a lot. Another college birthday when a fellow sorority sister stole a martini glass for me from Applebees for my present. Celebrating my golden birthday with friends and family at the bowling alley. Having birthday tiramasu from Buca one year instead of birthday cake. Going out with girlfriends for an epic night out to visit Santa and get fancy desserts in the middle of a big snowstorm. Nights of mayhem at Psycho Suzi's. Taking a weekend getaway with Nate to Duluth a couple of years back.

So many good times and even the "less good times" I pretty much look back and laugh at because they are kind of funny when you think about it.

As we've gotten older, and especially since Oktoberfest has become so hugely epic and it is one month before our birthdays, we've kind of scaled back our celebrations a bit, and I don't mind it so much. We still take time to celebrate with just each other and we always celebrate with our family. Plus, we have always had the challenge of our birthdays usually falling smack in the middle of Thanksgiving weekend. Now, when we were kids, this was awesome because you got days off from school! For your birthday! Now, it just kind of throws a wrench into planning too much, especially because Nate usually has relatives in from out of town. But at the same time, I somehow just don't mind that much. I couldn't imagine NOT having birthdays around Thanksgiving at this point in time. It just feels right.

So here I am just 10 days away from my 30th birthday and it is almost crazy to think I've done this 29 other times. It really doesn't make me sad though. It makes me smile to think of all the wonderful ways I've been blessed in my almost 30 years. That's not a bad way to look at it, don't you think?

Linking up to "Just Write" today.

Visit The Extraordinary Ordinary to add your own Just Write post or to read others!

Yet ANOTHER Manic Monday!

2011-11-14T14:59:00.003-06:00

Sing along - just another Manic Monday, wish it were Sunday, cause that's my fun day, my I don't have to run day, it's just another Manic Monday...my regards to the Bangles...

Anyhow, man alive Mondays have been just nuts lately. I'm not complaining - job security man. I will take it. And hey, at least this Monday wasn't as nuts as last Monday, no one got hurt this week anyway!

It's a shorty week for me, I'll be making my annual trek to get the Cities 97 City Sampler with Miss Gina on Thursday, and we have found from past experience it's much nicer to just take the whole day off from work after sitting out in the cold for two hours. Next week will be even shorter thanks to Thanksgiving and my taking Wednesday off as well. Two day work week? Yes please!

The weekend was good, but too short. Rehearsal on Friday, Mass on Saturday afternoon, date night on Saturday night at Red Lobster, pretty much lazy day on Sunday.

Next weekend I think we'll be kicking off our epic birthday week with a nice dinner out just the two of us at Moscow on the Hill, a russian restaurant and vodka bar in St. Paul. I'm really looking forward to it!

On we go, hard to believe it's halfway through the month, but we press on!

Friday finish

2011-11-11T10:53:00.006-06:00

So it's Friday! This week flew by. Seriously flew by. Probably due to the craziness I blogged about yesterday!

Anyway, just a few end of the week thoughts today.

Nate's foot is healing nicely, thank goodness he didn't injure himself worse when he fell on Monday. All of his lab results are in from his doctor's appointment as well and he's healthy, so that's good and we're happy about that!

We made a homemade shepherd's pie last night. It turned out pretty good for a first time attempt! Of course, we really give credit to Alton Brown because we followed his recipe, but at any rate, we did it and it was good. Nate has a few ideas to make it even better if we were to make it again.

It occurred to me yesterday that the rest of November may start to fly by due to things coming up. I am trying very, very hard not to let it fly. I love this time of year and I want to savor every moment.

On my fashion blog that I debuted here earlier this week, I participate in a weekly "fashion friend" Friday - a group of bloggers post about a specific topic and link to each other to share and learn and what not. Today's topic was about makeup and we were challenged to post a picture of ourselves without it. It was hard for me, but I did it. I have been enjoying reading the other posts on the topic as it is actually really thought provoking. Check it out if you're so inclined.

And with that, I bid you all a great weekend and a happy 11/11/11 and a happy Veteran's Day to all the vets out there.

Thankful Thursday week 2

2011-11-10T14:41:00.003-06:00

It's been an absolutely crazy day in a kind of crazy week, but I'm still going to take time out for a little Thankful Thursday because it's important to me.

This week I am thankful for the crazy. Yeah that might sound weird, but the "crazy" gives me something to focus on and keeps me in the moment so I'm less likely to let my mind wander and get ahead of me as it is want to do sometimes. And it makes the day go by faster.

I am also thankful that I am keeping my head on straight in the midst of the crazy.

I'm thankful for my kittens, who at times kind of drive me a little crazy. At least they make me smile.

I'm thankful for my husband who lets me cut loose and act a little crazy. It's good to let go sometimes!

And I'm thankful to friends reading this right now and are thinking that I might be a little crazy. You know something? Normal is overrated.

Ok so this all may be a little tongue and cheek but I really am thankful for my job, my cats, my husband and my friends and family because sometimes life can be the kind of crazy that is a bit too much and they are always there to help me balance it again.

What are you thankful for this week?

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T09:54:00.001-06:00

These cats. My furry little children.

I heart them so much.

Just another Manic Monday

2011-11-07T13:20:00.004-06:00

Whew. I have had an interesting day so far.

Nate had a physical scheduled for this morning - routine, we're at that age you know and I wanted him to get a flu shot and tetanus shot - so he got up at his normal time, but was leaving the house after me. I shouted downstairs as I have done other mornings to tell him I was leaving, but he hadn't heard me real well and got up super fast from his computer. Turns out he was sitting in a way that his left leg had kind of fallen asleep and he ended up stumbling and tripping over some junk in his office and injuring the toes on his right foot.

So, I helped him out into the main room of the basement and we looked at his foot, fortunately they weren't swollen but they were sore. And he had fasted in preparation for his appointment so he started getting a bit light headed. I managed to help him not completely pass out and pointed out the bright side "at least you have a doctor's appointment already!"

I called into work stating I'd be late and then I drove him to the appointment and it went very well actually - other than crushed toes he's healthy and the doctor said that he didn't think they were broken, but to tape them together and go easy on them for a few days just in case. Fun for him I guess since it's his driving foot and drumming foot, but hopefully they will heal fast!

Just never a dull moment in our world I guess!

In other news, I am officially launching/debuting a brand new blog here. Actually it's not brand new, but it's brand new to all of you. Back in June, for the fun of it, I decided to start a fashion blog after getting inspired by others. I wanted to and still want to keep it separate from this blog so I wasn't going to "go public with it" - especially when I'm sure you all think I have blogger ADD with all the blogs I start and don't keep up with (hello Nate and Beth Eat Stuff...). Even my closest friends reading right now are probably scratching their heads going - "I had no idea you were doing this" or "why didn't you tell us?" Honestly I didn't know how far I'd go with this and also, I take my picture daily and didn't want to come off as too vein or anything! But I'm five months in and going strong and it's turning out to be a lot of fun, so I'm ready to share now!

I have met other fashion bloggers as well and it's been kind of fun to connect with a different sort of online community. So if it's your thing, check it out - http://fashionableadventuresboo.blogspot.com If it is not your thing, no big deal! I am going to continue to write that blog in a more "anonymous" fashion - you'll even notice I don't call Nate by name, I call him the Pants Monkey in honor of our bar.

Of course, nothing will change here at this blog - this is still my number one blog, the source for all things Beth and Nate and my first priority - but I just wanted to share this other little adventure I have embarked on.

Thankful Thursday - week 1

2011-11-03T14:04:00.002-05:00

Well it's that time of year again - November - the month of the little holiday that could, Thanksgiving. I've talked at length in the past about how I feel for poor Thanksgiving and how it gets so overshadowed by the beast that is Christmas (and this is coming from a girl who loves, loves, LOVES Christmas). So when I saw my friend S posted about Thankful Thursday today, I decided I would join in as well, because really, I think it is important to reflect on the things you have and should be grateful for. Because they can overlap/be somewhat similar, I am going to stop Fabulous Friday through the month of November and instead do Thankful Thursdays.

So what I am thankful for this week? Here's my list.

1. Nine lives - you know how they say cats have nine lives? I have to wonder if that is true for our old family cat Cleo - she is 18 years old and lately was starting to have some issues again, my mom brought her to vet and we started preparing for the chance that this could be the end to only find out that they can still quite easily maintain the small issues that have popped up and that she's actually doing well otherwise. We'll take whatever time we can get with her, and I'm thankful that we should have another year or even two.

2. A glorious fall - after we had snow on the ground just about this time last year and never really saw the grass again until April, I'm very thankful for the beautiful fall weather. I'm also thankful that it's getting colder at night now at least so that it's hopefully killing the allergens I know some people suffer from. But otherwise, I'm just so amazed to look outside and still see beautiful colors and have it be nice enough to go outside and enjoy the scenery. We deserve this extended fall after last year's brutal winter.

3. Wonderful friends - I had a hard time last week on a couple of days but some very good friends helped me more than they'll know by listening to me and cheering me up. They know who they are and I just want them to know how much I appreciate them.

4. Nate - I am always thankful for my husband, but I'm thankful especially right now that he's still toughing out a less than ideal situation with work and while he still has some really not good days right now, he's doing the best he can and he isn't giving up. I am so proud of him and he is my hero. I love him more than words could say and I am just so thankful for everything about him.

There you go! What are you thankful for today?

Just Write - Lazy day, best day

2011-11-01T09:13:00.004-05:00

Saturday was a long, full, rather exhausting day.

Sunday we had plans of getting up, going out and doing stuff. I was calling it our "day of fun".

When Sunday dawned, we slept as late as our bodies would let us and realized, we're just feeling too lazy to go out and do anything. But looking back, it was the best day ever.

Breakfast in. Coffee. Prairie Home Companion on in the background.

Long, hot showers.

A trip to the video store, first time setting foot in an actual video store in years and discovering it is cheap, fun and a way to relive our dating years in a sense.

Coming home with two movies, making popcorn, settling in with blankets, dimmed lights and enjoying an in-home movie theatre experience.

Making tea, sitting out on the deck when it was discovered it wasn't raining as predicted.

Getting take out italian food from a favorite restaurant. A bottle of red wine and another movie. Rounding out with a couple of favorite shows from the week. A warm relaxing bubble bath. Falling into bed and actually falling asleep quickly, rare for Sunday nights.

It was a day of fun. We were together. We rested. We needed it.

It's more than ok to be lazy.

Linking up to "Just Write" today as I have been doing on Tuesdays. Visit Heather of the EO to read other Just Write posts or to add your own.

Ghosts of Halloween past

2011-10-31T08:24:00.002-05:00

We did a little Halloween show with Praise Project at one of the churches we sing at over the weekend and dressed sort of 50's like, but didn't get any pictures, so for Halloween today I give you ghosts of our Halloween pasts instead.

2010 - Gnomes

2008 - Mario and Luigi

2007 - Rainbow Brite

I hope everyone had a fun weekend and have a fun and safe Halloween evening tonight. Happy Halloween one and all!

Fabulous Friday 10/28/11

2011-10-28T09:52:00.004-05:00

Whew. Another crazy week gone by. A crazy weekend ahead. But it's still Friday! And so here is my weekly installment of things I am finding fabulous!

1. Nate's homemade margaritas - been awhile since I have listed something related to alcohol! We're really not lushes that much. But anyway, last winter Nate came up with a homemade margarita recipe that is quite yummy. We have them on occasion with mexican food at home for a special treat. We each had a little one last night and it was very enjoyable!

2. Planning - we had a very grown up conversation last night and we're making good plans to improve our financial situation and creating a budget. It'll take us a little bit but I think we'll get there. And I'm not afraid of it! I'm embracing it. Which is pretty awesome really.

3. Affordable health insurance - we selected our benefits for the next year last night and I have to say again and again I appreciate Fairview for really taking care of it's employees in that aspect. I believe I have one of the best health care plans around and I don't take it for granted even for a second.

4. The Hunger Games - I just started reading this book last weekend and I'm almost done. It's crazy addictive and I will need to get the next two books in the series as well. I'm curious about the movie when it comes out and will likely go see that.

5. The final Muppet movie trailer - It is hilarious. They parody all the other parody trailers they did this year and added a few others that are quick little parodies of other movies coming out around the same time as the new Muppet movie. Worth a quick peak if you haven't seen it. You can see it here.

There you have it! Happy weekend one and all!

Little of this, little of that

2011-10-27T09:58:00.003-05:00

Nate made us a lovely seafood feast last night. It is the second time we've done it, it's kind of a treat really because it is expensive, but it is so yummy!

So we had shrimp, scallops, rice pilaf and homemade biscuits. Kind of like Red Lobster at home! Sadly, almost as expensive as going to the restaurant but what are you going to do? Like I said, it's a special treat on occasion.

While we were cooking dinner Pippin was entertaining me by playing in a box. Honestly she never plays in boxes. She watches Taylor play in boxes and bags all the time and then tries to copy her but never quite "gets" it. She kind of seemed to last night though, so I snapped a picture.

Tonight is fun with benefits and financials. Woo hoo. As I've said, the weekend looks busy, but we'll survive. Looking most forward to Sunday right now. I've heard it might be a little rainy, but I have two movie tickets I got awhile back on a Groupon type deal. Sad thing is, I'm not even sure what is in the theatre that we'd be interested in, but we could probably figure something out.

Trying to decide if I will do NaBloPoMo again this year. I've done it the past two Novembers, and it is honestly a challenge sometimes to post something every day. I'm considering skipping it this year and just going with my normal blogging pattern, most days I blog, but some days I don't. And that is ok I think!

Same old same old otherwise! Still doing much better than earlier this week and I'm thankful for that!

Random thought Wednesday - Again!

2011-10-26T08:38:00.002-05:00

Hello friends. We are halfway through the week and again, I have no main topic today, so instead you get one of my random thought/list type postings! Try to contain your excitement.

~I have to start by saying thank you to all who read and commented on my extremely honest "Just Write" post yesterday. I feel so much better after writing that and especially after reading so many wonderful comments that have validated me and reminded me that I am normal (at least I think I am, what is normal anyway?). I really enjoy "Just Write" - it forces me to dig a little deeper inside and it's just been a really helpful writing exercise. Dare I say it's even cathartic at times! Anyway, what led to my writing that yesterday was just a really bad day on Monday that spilled over into yesterday just a bit. The day really improved after I wrote that post and things have only continued to improve into today.

~Something that has really helped my mood totally improve is better sleep. I have to admit, I broke my over two week long "no buy" for one thing I think really can go on the "necessity" list so I'm not going to really count it as breaking the "no buy" - a new pillow. So far, so good. The pillows I had either didn't have enough support so my head was sinking causing me to wake up at night or I was waking up with a neck ache. I have found a pillow that seems to be firm enough without hurting me, so right now, it's good!

~There is officially less than a month until my birthday and less than a month until the new Muppet movie comes out. And ever since I accepted turning 30, I am looking forward to BOTH! November is going to kick booty. Seriously.

~I could not believe the amount of traffic I got caught in on the way to work this morning. My commute is short. Yet there was just crazy traffic today. Not sure what is up with that.

~I get my flu shot today, hurray! And the news is reporting that flu vaccines are not as effective as they once thought, double hurray! Honestly though, I find that I am much healthier when I get the flu vaccine so I'm still doing it. And so is Nate this year! Now the yucky, germy computers hopefully won't get to him as much.

~Tomorrow night we're going to sit down and do our benefits for the year because open enrollment ends on Friday - way to get it done under the wire - and also really take a hard look at our finances and see where we can cut corners and just trying to be better organized. Such fun stuff, you wish you were us right?

~Our weekend promises to be crazy busy, but Sunday is open and clear and we are having a Beth and Nate day. I don't know where our day will lead us, but the whole day will be for just us and it will be awesome.

And that's about it. As I'm writing this the sun is even poking out of the clouds a bit. More good vibes to be a good day I think!

Just Write - Truth

2011-10-25T10:15:00.003-05:00

Some days I feel somewhat misunderstood.

Some days I think people look at me like I have it knocked and I want to tell them, no one has it knocked. Everyone has their own battles to fight, some are smaller than others, but we all have them.

Some days I feel like things I say or things I do are the wrong things. Some days I feel like all I do is let people down.

Some days I feel like I have to defend choices I make for my own health and well being or for the sake of my husband's.

Some days I feel like all I want to do is scream.

Some days I feel like things around me are changing and it's out of my control. And other times I want to embrace those changes.

Some days I feel like I am trying to fit myself into a cookie cutter image that I don't even know where it came from.

Some days, like today, I just want to be honest. I am not perfect. I am who I am and I just want to be accepted as I am. I make mistakes sometimes. I am only human.

Some days I am afraid to admit these things, to write them, to hit submit. But other days I know it's healthy and it is ok. So today is one of those days.

Most days are not like these "some days". But they do come. I put one foot in front of the other and march on when they do. Because the next day is a new day. A new day.

Linking up to "Just Write" again today. Visit Heather at the EO to read other posts or to submit your own.

And as always on a heavier post like this I need to put a disclaimer that I AM OK. I am just in a season of up and downness and sometimes I need to write about it. Thanks for reading, don't worry, I don't need the little men in white coats. :)

Fabulous Friday 10/21

2011-10-21T09:20:00.002-05:00

Well look at that, we made it to Friday again. Outstanding. We have another fullish weekend ahead, but nothing like the preparation and craziness of getting ready for the party last weekend! Tonight one of my college friends is in town so I'm having dinner with her and some other girls. Tomorrow not much going on during the day, yay, but then Praise Project rehearsal in the evening. Sunday we have two masses at St. Willams and then we'll go home and make a roast dinner for my mother-in-law's birthday. I am sure, as usual, it will go by too fast.

But for today here is what I am finding fabulous!

1. Apple pie - made the first apple pie of the season this week and it turned out pretty darn good! Very tasty and wonderful to enjoy in this cool weather!

2. Casual Friday - I appreciate that I can wear jeans on Friday. I try to still look nice and professional, but it is really nice to have the comfort of jeans one day a week!

3. Longevity - Yesterday was Nate's 3 year anniversary of working at MasterSwitch. I am so unbelievably proud of him I can't even been to say. He has worked so hard and even when it's been challenging, he has come through. They took him out for a beer after work yesterday and it was well deserved in my eyes.

4. A good kind of dilemma - yeah this one sounds weird huh? Turns out that even though I've been working hard to use more of my paid time off this year, I'm still over the maximum saved up that I can have by the end of the year. So darn it, looks like I'm going to have to take some days off!

There you have it! Hope you all are finding fabulous things today. Have a great weekend!

Random Thought Wednesday

2011-10-19T08:58:00.003-05:00

Been awhile since I've done one of these kind of posts! So let's just dive on in.

~I'm on day two of my month long "no buy" challenge. It's going fine so far, though I hate that I'm already being tempted by sales. The biggest one is the annual Stuff and Save event at Old Navy. I love that sale and go every year but it's running smack in the middle of my challenge, so no Stuff and Save for me this year!

~I slept oddly on my neck last night and it is super stiff and sore now today. I hate when that happens.

~I'm making my first apple pie of the season tonight. I'm looking forward to it, there is something about apple pie at this time of the year! I'm guessing I may not have a chance to make another one until Thanksgiving, but you never know.

~I cannot believe the number of Christmas things I'm already seeing advertisements for, but it is usually this time of year that those things start showing up, so at the same time it's hardly a surprise. I cannot even think about Christmas yet. Though I have already bought one smallish gift for my mom.

~I have finally accepted that I'm turning 30 next month. Not bad, a whole month in advance and I've come to terms with it. It's happening whether I want it to or not and you know what I'm embracing it. Like in the movie "13 Going on 30" I am choosing to be 30 and flirty and fun.

That's about it for today. Real exciting I know, you were just dying to know all of that right? Ha.

Just Write - My feet are tired

2011-10-17T16:13:00.005-05:00

My feet are tired.

I've worked hard all day on cleaning, cooking, preparing. I didn't take much time to rest before the festivities began.

My feet are tired.

I don't even get to taste any of the chicken I slaved away on all day as it's gone before you can say it was time to eat.

My feet are tired.

I'm working hard to get around to all the different people who have come out to see us on this lovely Fall evening, our house is packed to the brim.

My feet are tired.

But suddenly, I realize that this is what I wanted. This makes me happy. I look around and see my husband smiling and laughing with friends, sharing about his homebrew, beaming.

My feet are tired.

But even though they are, I continue observing and see college friends mingling with high school friends, church friends mingling with those who don't really do church, both sides of the family thrown in between. It is inspiring and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

My feet are tired.

But another glass of beer will help me power through as I sample some of the wonderful food that others were generous enough to bring. Some of which is likely even more delicious than that chicken. Especially the pumpkin tiramisu.

My feet are tired.

But my friends and family lift me up, make me laugh, and fill my house with love.

My feet are tired.

But my heart is full.

And I wouldn't have it any other way. I am beyond blessed.

Linking up once again to Just Write. An exercise in free writing, no editing, going up on Tuesdays. Visit Heather at the Extraordinary Ordinary to link up or read other Just Write posts.

Weekend recap and a Challenge

2011-10-17T09:51:00.003-05:00

Wow. What a wonderful weekend. Our party was a success and it was a lot of fun.. It was so nice to see so many people and everyone seemed to have a really great time. I'm not going to talk about it a whole lot more right now because I want to save my reflections for a "Just Write" post tomorrow - I have the ideas floating in my head which makes me happy since I didn't have a post for it last week!

The rest of the weekend was pretty good. Nate and I slept in on Sunday, although it didn't turn out to be too terribly late of an evening on Saturday, it still felt good to sleep in. We had brunch at Brasa and once again, it was fantastic. Then we braved the madness of the apple orchard - I swear I haven't seen it that busy in a very long time. Got a few items there and hope to make a pie this week, haven't had any apple pie yet this year!

Came home and pretty much vegged, finishing out our day with pizza and the first disc of season three of Mad Men.

We had a conversation though yesterday that all couples have to have here and there and dread talking about and that was a "money" talk. And through the course of our conversation, I decided to issue myself a challenge. I would like to first of all put a disclaimer here that we are not in the poor house or something, but we both agreed that we need to be a little more fiscally responsible and kind of start acting like the almost 30 year old adults that we are. So, enter my challenge.

Starting today, October 17th until one month from today, November 17th, I will not buy anything for myself that is not considered a "necessity." No more clothes shopping, no purses, no frivolous things for one month. Baby steps, but it seems do-able. Here is a list of what I do consider a "necessity":
1. Food (duh - gotta eat. This is for groceries and our "one night out a week at a restaurant").
2. Gas for my car
3. Replacements for anything pertinent to daily life - toiletries (soap, toothpaste), etc.
4. Cat items (food, litter)
5. Medicine we happen to run out of (it's allergy season)
6. Paying bills

And here are the definite no-no's:
1. Clothes
2. Purses
3. Magazines
4. Books
5. Music (MP3 downloads or CDs)
6. In home parties (jewelry, Tastefully Simple, Partylite, etc.)
7. Bath and body items (Bath and Bodyworks, LUSH)

Again, it's not that we are broke, but I have a bad shopping habit and I think a one month challenge is a good way to try and curb it a bit. The other exceptions I didn't mention is that I am going to allow myself to buy a birthday gift for Nate and if I find early Christmas gifts for people that is allowed too.

The reason I targeted one month from today as the end of the challenge is that is the day the Cities 97 City Sampler comes out and I would like to buy my annual copy of that. After that day though, we'll see, it'll be getting close to the holidays and my birthday and while I will be shopping for others, I will probably keep the "no shopping for myself thing" going. Seems like a good time of year to try this anyway.

So, here goes nothing!

Fabulous Friday - 10/14/11

2011-10-14T10:47:00.002-05:00

Oh friends. I am so giddy and bouncy right now it is difficult to focus! This weekend will be legen - wait for it - dary. (How I Met Your Mother reference if you don't know that one). Anyway, here is the best I can do for a Fabulous Friday post today!

What I find fabulous this week:

1. Oktoberfest - our big event of the year, the chance to showcase Nate's homebrew and a chance to see our friends and family. I just can't think of a better way to spend what should be a fantastic fall evening tomorrow.

2. Generous Friends - I don't think we'll be going hungry tomorrow, so many wonderful people have stepped forward to contribute something, I think that will go a long way in helping to feed the potentially 30 guests we'll have in our home!

3. Being less one fish tank - Nate's fish died long ago but we haven't taken apart and put away the darn tank yet. And it's been an ugly eye sore. Right now he has too many other hobbies/interests that there is just no time to deal with a fish tank. So I told him before this weekend it had to go. And as of last night - it is GONE. Hasta la vista fish tank (I have never been crazy about it if you can't tell!)

4. New recipes - Testing out some new recipes for tomorrow with the help of my momma and if they turn out well, I'll post them here - but I'll leave you with this - pumpkin tiramasu. Yeah, my mouth is watering too.

5. My awesome husband - who has helped me immensely in getting ready for this big event. He has cleaned up the yard, worked hard to make sure the beer is just right and I just could not put this together without him! And while I'm excited for the party, I'm excited for the next day too - it has become our tradition to treat ourselves to breakfast out the day after Oktoberfest so we'll definitely be doing that this year too!

Well you can see where my mind is today! I hope you all have fabulous Fridays and a wonderful weekend too!

A bit checked out

2011-10-13T09:54:00.002-05:00

I'm still here I swear!

I realize the blog has been quiet this week. I'm bummed I couldn't come up with a "Just Write" post on Tuesday. Honestly my brain is jut a bit checked out this week. We're getting good work done at home in preparation for this weekend's Oktoberfest festivities and that is just where my focus is right now!

I am quite excited for everything, it should be a good time. I am aiming to get a "Fabulous Friday" up tomorrow, but we'll just see how things go.

Once this weekend is over I should have my blogging groove back!

I should go on HGTV

2011-10-10T13:30:00.000-05:00

Decorating ADD. I swear I have it. I just can't leave things alone in my house! I suppose it is my way of coping with not being able to afford bigger major projects at the moment!

So this weekend my dad came over and helped swap a couple of light fixtures. See we have an area of the house that was really designed to be the dining room on the south end of our kitchen, but we decided to make this separate room that is off the north of the kitchen (one of those rooms that has two doors and could legally be a bedroom) our dining room. And it pretty much has been since we moved in. The area to the south of the kitchen has been just kind of an extended kitchen and where we will remodel into something nicer someday. I have a smallish table in there as well. Anyway, there is a nice light fixture that was on a dimmer switch that I started thinking would be nice to have in my actual dining room. And it hangs low, so it wasn't giving me much flexibility in this "extended kitchen" area as to how I arrange things like that small table - I really wanted it up against the wall, but if I did that, someone could have hit their head on the light fixture. Enter brilliant idea of swapping the light fixtures from the current and old dining room areas!

Fortunately my dad is a whiz at electrical work and he had this all figured out in no time flat. We also cleaned the light fixture that was moving to the dining room really well - good thing too, it was kind of grody.

Once the light fixtures were swapped and working (along with dimmer now in the current dining room, yay!) I then set to rearranging my extended kitchen. I think I like the results, it is much more open now and relatively functional. We will at least live with it for a bit to see how we feel!

Fabulous Friday - 10/7

2011-10-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hola! It is Friday again! Some weeks go by so fast. It's funny, the week was calmer for us too, but it still flew by. I won't complain, the weekend is almost here and that's awesome. And here is my weekly list of other awesome, fabulous things.

1. Tubs dumpsters - I highly recommend Tubs, while the "Tub" itself isn't huge, the price is reasonable and the people on the phone are very easy to deal with. And it just feels so good to have purged a bunch of stuff!

2. Spotify - I've been using Spotify online radio and I love it - it's free and allows me to try out entire albums before buying. There are a few ads interspersed, but it hasn't been too bad so far. I believe it's available to anyone now, but if you find you need an invite, let me know and I'll hook you up.

3. Clothes Mentor - Yeah, yeah, I've talked about Clothes Mentor at length here before and I won't go crazy this time except to say that I sold a bunch of stuff to them on Sunday (that I may have turned around and just bought new things with, I'll never tell. Wink.) and they are just so awesome.

4. Fall smells - I've started burning my fall scented candles from Partylite, like Ginger Pumpkin, Spiced Cider and Leaves of Fun. I love it. I love making my house smell good!

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday musings

2011-10-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

Dare I even say out loud that things are on a pretty even keel at the moment?

I have a nice handle on things for Oktoberfest this year. It's in less than two weeks and I'm not in a crazy rushed panic like I was last year! I suppose it helps that Dad and Nate aren't still building the bar! The snags Nate ran into last week are more or less corrected. He has one more part coming so he can actually add the 7th tap. It is pretty exciting.

Yesterday we filled up a "Tub" style dumpster with some junk we've been meaning to get rid of for awhile now. It isn't a huge dumpster so we weren't able to get rid of everything, but we managed to throw out the concrete from the old laundry sink and several doors we've replaced. Man it feels good to purge sometimes! We'll do it again this spring more than likely.

Driving to and from work this week I have been in absolute awe of the Fall colors. I know I keep saying that but seriously, the hues, reds, oranges, golds....they are amazing. And while I don't love warm weather at this time of year, I am also keeping it in perspective and enjoying it while it last because sometimes it still feels like yesterday that we were shoveling out from 12 inches of snow.

I miss my morning walks and runs with Nate, but man has he been sleeping good lately. And he's doing better overall. We're still struggling to make time for evening walks, but I still think we'll get some of those in before the snow falls!

I'm back to a "living in the moment" kind of pace and I'm feeling more peaceful and serene. I'm ignoring the little voice that tries to creep up saying "but where's the other shoe?" because you know what, it might be out there waiting to fall, but I am not going to be concerned with that. I will instead enjoy these warm, happy feelings every second that I have them.

Just Write - Him

2011-10-04T08:39:00.003-05:00

He is bold and fearless. His personality is larger than life. He never apologizes for who he is but he doesn't have to. He is intellegent, confident and amazing.

He has had a hard time as of late though. The light in his eyes has been a bit dimmer. He's somewhere in there, but I can't always see him.

I tell him I want to make it better, I'd do anything, give anything. He tells me it's not up to me to be the fixer. He just wants me to be me. That's enough. So I back down a bit.

We have found some simple solutions to make things better. Suddenly things have turned around. I can see him again. He's there. He is himself again. The light is back.

I am so proud of him, the man he has become in the five years we've been married. He is my all and my everything and I am so very blessed. And most of all, he is my hero.

Linking up today to Just Write an exercise in free writing and no editing. Go visit Heather of the EO to read other Just Write posts or to add your own.

Glorious Fall Weekend

2011-10-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Forgive me as I channel Chandler from Friends here, but could the weather this weekend have BEEN anymore gorgeous?? Along with that, some wonderful activities took place this weekend too and it was just overall a really nice one!

Friday was a half day at work so I could go to my good friend and sorority sister Angie's wedding. What a PERFECT day for a wedding. She looked beautiful. Miss Gina was awesome and came as a stand in date for me as Nate's office was moving locations this week and he had to work a little late on Friday. We just decided it would be too much stress to try to get him there. Anyway, we had a great time! It was so nice to catch up with many of my sorority sisters as well, I hadn't seen some of these ladies in many years!

Me and my date :)

Sooo many Lambda ladies with the beautiful bride

Saturday we got up SUPER early and headed out to Champlin for our annual Miller Family Golf tournament. It was another beautiful day even if it was very chilly to start out. It was not my best round of golf this year, in fact it might have been my worst round of golf this year, but I didn't take home last place AND I won the "Closest to the Pin" prize that we have on the 6th hole. I have taken that prize home before too. What makes me laugh is I usually win it for "overshooting" the green on my drive! It's the shortest hole on the entire course though so it's easy to do that. Anyway, it was a nice day and nice to see members of my mom's family we don't otherwise see much during the year.

Looking out at the back nine around 8:00 am

Mom and I are ready to roll

Oof, it's a bit early for us, but we're here!

After the tournament was over we both kind of crashed for a bit in the afternoon. I did manage to go and get a haircut though, my hair was getting a wee bit shaggy! We picked up some carryout from Albert's Bar and Grill - very awesome greasy spoon burger - and watched a couple of shows while we ate before we had to go to Praise Project rehearsal. Did the rehearsal and went home and pretty much fell into bed, it was a long day!

Sunday we slept late, which was much needed! Got up and went for a nice walk. Nate made us breakfast because he is so awesome. Then he set to finishing up cleaning and kegging up the beer so the bar is ready to go for Oktoberfest (less than two weeks and counting...) and my mom and I took a bunch of stuff over to Clothes Mentor to try to sell. I was pleased that they took a bunch of things and I may have turned around and just used my money for some new things...yeah....is that really a surprise though?

Came back home and read some more of "The Help" while Nate finished up with the bar and then we finished out our day at a benefit for some good friend's of ours who had a baby at 23 weeks. It felt good to do something to help them out!

Now things should be much calmer for us until Oktoberfest and this is a good thing, because we need to do a lot of things at home to prepare! And it's nice to just step back and relax for a bit too!

Fabulous Friday 9/30/11

2011-09-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

It's Fabulous Friday! Here's what I am finding fabulous this week:

1. Fall Color - Seriously, have you looked outside lately? It is amazing! I hear it's even better up north. Wish I was able to run off for a getaway this weekend to check it out. We do have our family golf tournament tomorrow though and I imagine that the colors at the golf course will be awesome.

2. Weddings - I am off early today for a friend's wedding! Weddings are such wonderful happy events. And it makes me happy to see my friends finding happiness and someone to spend their lives with! Side note - I always wanted a fall wedding but the timing just didn't work out right, so I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of her glorious fall day for a wedding, but I will live vicariously!

3. Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts - Yes I am a 10 year old girl. But seriously, a friend of mine blogged about these last year and I didn't get to try them in time since they were limited edition. I did get to try the Gingerbread ones last year and I loved those, so when I saw the Pumpkin Pie ones at the store yesterday, I had to grab them and check them out. And guess what? They are tasty!! I love them! Healthy? Probably not but it's a special treat, so it's all good.

4. Found money - so it was only a dollar bill, but I was putting on my jeans this morning and noticed something in the pocket. I figured I had just washed my grocery list again as I'm known to do. Nope, it was a dollar bill! Every little bit helps sometimes.

5. Bubble baths - I mentioned that the other night I took an amazing bubble bath. I love that it's getting cooler out and I can enjoy bubble baths again. I don't do it every day, but once a week or so it's a nice treat through the fall and winter!

There you have it! What are you finding fabulous today? Happy weekend!

Slow Me Down

2011-09-29T09:57:00.000-05:00

Rushing and racing and running in circles

Moving so fast I'm forgetting my purpose

Blur of the traffic is sending me spinning, getting nowhere

Do you ever hear a song for the first time that just totally speaks to you? That even feels somewhat autobiographical? I am constantly amazed by the power of music. I was listening to Pandora.com yesterday - internet radio type website if you're not familiar - and this song came on by Emmy Rossum, who is actually an actress and stars in one of our favorite shows, Shameless. She also played Christine in Phantom of the Opera and has an amazing voice and apparently released an album in 2007 - with this song that spoke to me yesterday called "Slow Me Down."

Seriously - I'm listening to this while I'm working and I'm like - holy cow is she singing this song right to me??

My head and my heart are colliding, chaotic

Pace of the world, I just wish I could stop it

Try to appear like I've got it together, I'm falling apart

I've been talking quite a bit lately about how we've been in this season of craziness. Nate's job situation is tough right now. It's stressful and sometimes it's just day to day on how things are going to be. And of course, we are beyond thankful that he HAS a job because it was just five years ago about this time of year that the rug was pulled out when he lost a job. So we know it could be worse. That doesn't mean that the stress of the current situation is any easier though. Add to that the fact that many days and weekends we are quite busy with a number of other things and some days it's hard to even see past tomorrow.

Save me, take my hand and lead me

Slow me down

Much of this is sort of out of our control, but we decided to work on some of the things we can control and make easier. One of them is with our walking and running program. I mentioned earlier this week that it's on hold. Part of the problem is how darned early we have to get up in order to do it. And when Nate's stressed he already has enough trouble sleeping, but the thought of having to get up early enough was just adding to some of that anxiety. So we said, ok, let's step back here and just go back to getting up a little later again and if we can walk in the evenings we will. BIG HUGE improvement. You have no idea. It is important to me that he gets exercise but it's more important to me right now that he's sleeping well. For now, it's ok. I don't have to get up nearly as early to just use the elliptical for my own exercise purposes in the meantime. And I believe we'll get back to the running someday, especially knowing that we can do it.

All that I've missed I see in the reflection

Passed me while I wasn't paying attention

Tired of rushing and racing and running, I'm falling apart

As for other changes, I've come to realize that while I say I work hard at living in the moment and going one day at a time, I let my mind wander and look ahead too much. And while planning ahead and keeping the future in mind is a good thing, there comes a point where it can consume you and make it so you aren't appreciating the present. I've been pretty guilty of that for a little bit now and I think the whole summer passed me in a blur because of it. I just need to relax and be present in the now. Everything else will come in good time.

Slow me down, don't let me live a lie

Before my life flies by

I need you to slow me down

And finally as you saw on my weekend recap post, Nate and I are working at focusing time on each other again, taking more time out for fun things and little "escapes" if you will. We're looking into maybe a short weekend getaway yet this fall if we can work it out. Just making the time for each other. And I'm taking more time for myself too. Last night I treated myself to a super awesome bubble bath and really made myself relax and unwind and guess what? I slept amazing after that. While I was chilling in the bubbles I reflected on just how truly blessed we are and the wonderful things we do have in our life. I thought about how glorious the weather has been this fall and how lovely the colors already are and I just felt totally at peace.

Just need to breathe

Somebody please slow me down

I'm slowing me down. And I feel really good.

Italicized words are lyrics from Slow Me Down, written and performed by Emmy Rossum. You can listen to it here.

One moment at a time

2011-09-26T10:11:00.000-05:00

As I've been mentioning here occasionally, we've been in a season of craziness in our house. And I don't know how to say it without it seeming negative because it isn't - but Nate and I really needed some time to focus on each other and spend some time just the two of us for a bit. So again, this is no offense to any of our friends, family or fellow Praise Project members, but I am so glad he and I finally had some much needed couple time this weekend. And I hope that we can continue to make sure we're fitting that in because while all those other things are certainly very important to us too, we have a tendency to get into a pattern where we are neglecting each other and that's not good or healthy either. Again it's all about balance and we're working on a better balance. Looking ahead to this week - well it's not quite balanced right but it should be the last week like that for awhile fortunately.

So anyway, back to our couple time this weekend, you may ask, what did we do with our time together? On Saturday we had dinner out at a restaurant we haven't been in a very long time, Clauddaugh in Maple Grove. It was wonderful, we both really enjoyed our meals and it was quite relaxing. We went home and played some backgammon and then watched some TV shows.

Sunday we slept in - wow did that feel good! Nate made us some wonderful breakfast and we took our time eating and enjoying each other's company. Then we decided to head off to the Como Zoo. We haven't been there for awhile and it's always had a special place in my heart because that is where we got engaged. I was worried when we first got to the Como Park area because the parking lots were full and there was some walk going on, but then we found out that they have free shuttle service on the weekends from the Saints baseball stadium. Hardly anyone was using that service either so we were able to park with no problem and take a little ride on a bus back up to the zoo.

Some highlights from our zoo visit:

Baby Orangutan and it's mother

Under the "date" tree in the Conservatory

The Japanese Garden - so peaceful and serene

Me in the Japanese Garden

I'm so glad we took some time to spend out there. We got to see the visiting Brown Bears from the Minot, North Dakota zoo as well, they weren't terribly photogenic however.

After our zoo trip we went home to veg for a bit before heading over to my in-laws for dinner, we had yummy ribs and potatoes with them. Went back home and Nate was a nice guy and helped me move our Elliptical machine up into the spare bedroom. Right now our running/walking program is kind of on hold, so I need a form of exercise and was tired of working out in the dungeon that is my laundry room, so we're going to try it upstairs for awhile. We will see how it goes, it is taking up more room that I'd like, but it was nice this morning when I was using it, so hopefully it'll last.

And now we're into a crazy week, but I'm choosing to go one moment at a time and I think we'll get through it all!

Fabulous Friday 9/23/11

2011-09-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

Whew, we've made it to Friday again. It's been a week at times. Honestly, I'm just in a season of craziness, but I'm working on some changes and re-focusing on what's important and things are starting to improve. In the midst of it all though, I still have some Fabulous things for the week!

1. Returning shows - as I touched on in my post here, many of our favorite shows started returning this week and it's been nice to have some mindless ways to relax and unwind once again!

2. A new bag - yeah, I have a problem, I can admit it. But up in Pequot Lakes last week I found out that Fun Sisters has an OUTLET store up there. They call it "Thrifty Sisters" and prices are wayyyy low on stuff. I have been wanting a dark green bag, because one of my winter coats has a dark green in the pattern (and I wear a dark green hat and scarf with it as well) and I found one! And it was a great price. And yes I'm using it now even if it isn't winter yet. You know me, I'll be back to a different bag in a couple of days.

3. Brewed Beer - we got the last beer we needed to brew before Oktoberfest done on Monday night. It's so nice to have that finished, now we get the batches kegged up and focus on other things to get ready for the party.

4. FALL! - it is officially Fall today, it is my favorite season as I've mentioned many a time before! I have been loving the weather as of late too, especially sleeping with the window open on these cool nights and snuggling down under the covers. Love. It. I know they say we'll have "Indian Summer" next week and that's fine as long as the 90's don't come back, I can handle it!

And I am also finding it Fabulous that it is Friday, but that kind of goes without saying. :)

Happy Friday, Happy Autumn and Happy Weekend!

What do we watch 2011

2011-09-21T16:22:00.003-05:00

So, I need a fun, mindless post after my "heavier" one yesterday in the Just Write activity.

And what is more mindless than TV???

Yes it is that time of year again when the shows return with new episodes and brand new series also make their debut. And while we have a long, long list of shows we already watch or are in process of catching up on via Netflix (Qwikflix? Whatever it's called now) - we've already found a new show or two we'd like to try out this year.

SO, here's my annual, what do we watch list? I'll try and break it down via night of the week, even though we rarely watch these shows as they air.

Sunday - Breaking Bad (AMC, though there are only three episodes left of this one), Hung (HBO)

Monday - How I Met Your Mother(CBS), Two Broke Girls (CBS - trying it out anyway) House (Fox), Bored to Death (HBO)

Tuesday - Glee (Fox), Parenthood (NBC), New Girl (Fox)

Wednesday - Up All Night (NBC), Psych (USA), Happy Endings (ABC)

Thursday - Community (NBC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

Friday - Chuck (NBC)

And then we've been making our way through Mad Men (AMC), Covert Affairs (USA), Dexter (Showtime) and we're going to start Boardwalk Empire (HBO) as well. We enjoy a couple of shows that come on in the winter on Showtime - Shameless and Californication.

Yeah, you'd think all we do is sit in front of the TV based on this list, but I swear we don't. Especially when I look at my calendar for the next couple of weeks....ugg.

We squeeze the shows in as we have time, the perk of not watching them live is we skip commercials. 1/2 hour shows become 20 minutes and hour long shows become about 45 minutes. No joke.

So - what do you watch?

Just Write - Hats

2011-09-20T13:34:00.000-05:00

This is a new exercise I'm trying out this week called "Just Write". On Tuesdays, bloggers are encouraged to "free write" a post without much explanation or editing. In other words, we should "just write". This is sponsored by Heather of the Extraordinary-Ordinary. Go here for more information and to read other "Just Write" posts.

I wear many hats.

I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am a "sister". I am a friend. I am a singer. I am an administrative assistant. I'm a "parent" to two furry four legged type children.

I love wearing those hats. But sometimes, especially when I try to pile them all on at once, I get off balance. And I will admit to being off balance right now.

Fall is my favorite time of year, but historically it gets full of stuff. I think because I love this time of year so much, I try to cram a lot of things in at once. While wearing all of my hats.

So I'm stumbling a little right now as I balance these hats. And clearly, some of these hats are probably a little more important than the others and should be the ones I'm wearing the most, but some days it's hard to pick and choose. But I don't want any of the hats to break down, wear out, or fall apart.

I need to re-organize a bit. Pull them all off. Set them aside and make sure I'm still underneath them all. Underneath them should be a person. And I certainly don't want to lose site of her.

Then I can pull my hats back on. Without them my head would most certainly be cold, so I cannot get rid of them, I would not want to. But I can work on balancing them better. Then I will not fall down.

Whoops

2011-09-19T09:12:00.002-05:00

Well, we learned a good lesson in homebrewing on Thursday night. A nylon sock does not make a good substitute for an actual grain sock.

Long story short - everything should be included in the beer kit you purchase, including the "grain sock" which is what you put the grains in to then steep in your boiling hot water (think of it like a giant tea bag). And when we opened our kit on Thursday night, everything was there but the grain sock. We could have gone to get one, but that would have majorly delayed things and so Nate being a quick thinker said "hey, maybe we could use one of your nylons as long as we clean it and such, it should work about the same." And it seemed like it would at first - until after the 1/2 hour of steeping it started to smell of burned plastic. Bye bye brew.

So you're probably wondering, what do you do now, you wasted the grains, can you still brew it? The short answer is yes. We were able to go back and just purchase the grains that were in the kit (and a grain sock!)

We ended up running to the homebrew store to pick up those items before we left town on Friday. Now it's a matter of finding time to brew it again. We were going to do it yesterday when we got home, and we were home in plenty of time, but the weather was not cooperating. So now it might be happening tonight. We'll see how things go. Sure would like to have this beer on tap for our party, but if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

So there's your beer lesson for the day.

Fabulous Friday 9/16

2011-09-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends. Your regularly scheduled Fabulous Friday post has been cancelled for the week because your author is likely sitting by a bonfire or in a hot tub right now drinking a beer or a glass of wine and enjoying a little "away from it all" time up in the North country.

Fabulous Friday will return next week.

Have a great weekend.

You know that feeling...

2011-09-15T10:09:00.001-05:00

...that you get when you are going on a little trip, even when it is just a couple of days worth and you have a list a mile long of things to do including packing, cleaning up your house a bit for the person caring for your cats, running errands, making corn bread to take with you to eat with your dad's chili, and brewing up a batch of beer because if you don't by tonight it won't be ready for the Oktoberfest party you're having in a few weeks and you want to have a packed bar so you really need to do it?

Yep. That.

(P.S. I decided to take the afternoon off.)

A good weekend

2011-09-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm done remembering 9/11 I'm back to your regularly schedule ramblin' gal!

And today I thought I'd ramble a bit about the weekend. We had a good weekend full of good things! It was a bit warmer out at times than I like, but otherwise I really enjoyed the things we did.

Saturday I indulged myself a little bit in having my own Stella and Dot party. I will be able to get a few pretty new things that will help me totally rock 30 in a couple of months. I made a couple of new appetizers that turned out really well too and that was awesome!

Saturday night found me stepping out of my shell just a little - I went to a women's homebrewing group. Yep. I thought I'd give it a try. Long story short, there's another women's beer group I found on Facebook that just got started here in the Twin Cities called Barley's Angels. It's a group that meets monthly at various bars to do beer tastings and educate women on beer - and help them foster an appreciation for it. I've been meaning to go to one of their meetings, but I just haven't had the time yet when they've had them, but I still "liked" their Facebook page so I could keep up just in case. Another woman who is in that group then contacted me when she noticed that we homebrew - she has a group called Bitches Brew Crew and they brew beer monthly at her house in New Brighton - not far from us at all. I decided to give it a try, figuring it was close to home if I hated it but otherwise, would be interesting to see what other homebrewers do. It ended up being pretty neat - about three other women came, and the option is there to purchase a share of what is brewed, so it's divided up by about four of us. We brewed a Pumpkin Ale and I'm excited to give it a try when it's done. I don't know how many of their events I'll be able to make it to with our busy schedule, but I'm kind of proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and trying this out. Nate's excited too because the woman in charge of this group does all grain brewing with her husband and we might get to learn about that sometime (we currently do what is called "Extract brewing"). I was home early enough to still unwind with Nate for a bit on Saturday night too, so you can't beat that!

Sunday we slept in and that felt really good. Then we got up and tried the brunch at our favorite restaurant Brasa in NE Minneapolis. I had a feeling we'd end up loving it as we have everything else we have tried there and I was correct. It was amazing. I had french toast, Nate had a ham and egg hash and we shared these prawn cheese grits. Yummmm.....

Then we went home and both just vegged for awhile - I honestly don't know the last time we were able to just do that on a Sunday afternoon. Nate played video games while I took a nap! I loved that! Ha! Then we decided to be crazy and take our afternoon walk by going up to Cub to pick up things for dinner - man was it HOT. We kind of regretted that decision later, but hey, we got our exercise for the day, that's for sure! Then my in-laws came over and enjoyed chili dogs with us and then we wrapped up the weekend with a couple of TV shows.

Now we're on to a short week, we're cabin bound at the end of this week which I am looking forward to! Gonna be chilly up north and that's just how I like it!

This too shall pass

2011-09-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

So I've shared my thoughts on the day before 9/11 and the day of 9/11. And now I'll wrap things up by touching on the days and weeks that followed.

In classes at school we continued talking about not just the actual day, but the politics and actions taken by the government in the days following. It was probably a good month before it wasn't a hot button topic in classes. I was relieved when we kind of stopped discussing it. I was happy to get back to math equations and in depth music history subjects.

I remember the first Friday after the attack, Nate and I were tired of watching the constant coverage on TV and just needed to do something normal, so we went to a movie. The movie we chose was Rat Race (a remake of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World). There were maybe two other people in this particular theatre with us and the entire theatre overall seemed pretty deserted. Rat Race is a comedy - and it's a good comedy. If you've never seen it you should, but that's besides the point. We ended up laughing so much. At first it was like, should we be laughing right now? Is this ok? But you can't NOT laugh at that movie. And we both felt a little better when we left the theatre that night.

Psychologically speaking, I was a little freaked out for awhile. For the first few weeks after the attack I had this desire to be plugged in all the time so to speak to the media - so I wouldn't let myself listen to a CD in the car on the way to school. Granted I didn't necessarily choose a talk station, but I felt connected even if I just had a music channel on the radio. I would also get snaky if I missed the evening news. If something was going to happen again, I wanted to know right away.

Gradually, that all got better - especially after the television stations started airing normal programming again. And each passing day, week, month and finally year got better and better. I heeded the words the President said, that we shouldn't let them win by living in fear. I still moved to campus the year after the attacks - it was comforting staying at home with my parents in such uncertain times, but I had wanted to make that move for a long time and I still went ahead and did it and I am so glad I did.

And now today, 10 years later, I do have lasting memories of that time, I do sometimes feel like it was yesterday, but for the most part, life has gone on and I don't dwell on it. And I believe good can come out of evil. I believed it then and I still believe it now.

Most years I only pause for a moment or two to remember and honor those lost and the heroes who saved lives. But seeing as it was a major anniversary this year, I wanted to share my thoughts a little more in depth. I have enjoyed reading other friends posts on this subject as well. May we all never forget.

Dona Nobis Pacem.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I awoke on a clear day with a clear head - in fact, it was the clearest my head had felt in months. I had just made a major path change in my life, changing my college major and I felt like it was the first day of the rest of my life.

I still lived at my parents house. I came downstairs and showered, ate breakfast and still had some time to kill before I needed to get over to campus. I was sitting at the bottom of the stairs and my mom said "so do you just feel like a giant weight has been lifted off of you?" referring to the big decision I had reached and discussed with her and my dad the night before. I told her I did and it felt really good. I then said that I had some time to kill and knew that Cosby Show reruns were on one of the local channels, so I thought I'd watch one. I wasn't prepared for what I'd see when I turned on the TV. If I had known that I was about to truly become an adult in the next five minutes, I might have held off a little longer.

Every single channel was covering this disaster in New York. At first it seemed like just a horrible accident. And then the second plane hit. And then they were talking to a spokesman at the Pentagon and he said "I don't want to alarm anyone, but the building here just shook." I couldn't take anymore and decided to go to school. My mom hugged me and said she loved me as if it was the last time she'd ever see me. And I don't blame her. The dialogue replaying over and over in my head at that moment was "This is scary shit."

On the radio as I was driving, they had people calling in saying they knew someone in New York or Washington and the DJs were just scrambling to keep up with coverage. One of them at one point said something that scared me even more "What if this is all just some distraction before something bigger happens?" Bigger? Like nuclear bombs? Not much else could have been bigger than this.

Somehow I parked my car and stumbled to campus. I was going to get a signature from my new adviser for a couple of classes of hers I was transferring into. A friend of mine was working in the music library where I had to pass through to get to the communications department. She said hi and was smiling and happy - I realized she still didn't know that the world around us was crumbling. And for some reason, I didn't want to be the one to tell her. Let her enjoy her last free moments of happy innocence. She'd know soon enough.

I got my needed signatures and the middle part of the day is a blur. Each of my professors gave us the option to have real class or to just sit and talk - and in most classes we sat and talked. We talked about what we knew, we talked about our fears. My campus was close to the airport and when the planes were grounded, it got eerily quiet.

My last class of the day was women's choir and we decided to still hold a true rehearsal, which at that point in the day was a welcome break. We ended by singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" which translates to "Grant us Peace." We gave each other hugs.

I drove home and got a phone call from Stef - the president of our sorority wanted our first job as Sisters Chairs to be calling each of the sisters and making sure they were ok. We both agreed that neither one of us wanted to spend the entire night on the phone, so perhaps a mass email would be better, letting them know they could call either of us at any time if they needed to talk.

While waiting for my mom to cook dinner, I watched some more coverage on TV. All of the members of Congress stood on the steps of the Capital building and sang "God Bless America." That is an image I haven't ever been able to forget. My dad came home and started saying things like "well we're probably going oversees and bombing the hell out of some middle Eastern country." He wasn't trying to be crass, everyone was dealing with the day's events in their own way.

I had a faith formation committee meeting at church and I didn't want to go, in fact, I assumed it would be cancelled, but I was wrong. I decided to give it a try, figuring maybe it would be short or something. I ended up leaving after an hour, aside from a quick prayer at the beginning, everyone was ignoring the fact that something significant had happened in our country that day.

I headed home and it was a good thing I did. Nate called shortly after I was home saying he was leaving his evening job early, he just couldn't take anymore, and could he come over for a bit? I said of course and he was there within 15 minutes. We continued watching the coverage on TV and he was unusually subdued. I always looked to him for comfort but in this situation, even he was freaked out. He told me he was scared about if the country went to war, he had friends who would definitely have to go and what if they re-instated the draft? I became angry and upset and for the first time that day, which is surprising really, broke down into tears. I even uttered the words "where is God in all of this?" because, well, it was sure hard to find Him at that moment. Nate calmed me down and reminded me that God was taking care of the victims and their families. And that helped even though I wondered how anything would ever be "ok" ever again.We reluctantly parted for the night and I headed to bed where I lay awake a long time.

Ten years later and I am amazed at all the details I remember about that day. And I know I won't ever forget.

One more recap post coming tomorrow about the days after 9/11 and moving on

The End of Innocence

2011-09-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

On September 10th, 2001, I awoke with butterflies in my stomach. I knew I had to make a change in my life.

On September 10th, 2001, I was still considering myself a "music major" but after one week of classes in my 2nd year at college I knew that was going to have to change and change fast.

On September 10th, 2001, I drove to campus and made an appointment with an academic adviser. I hadn't talked to my parents yet, but I knew I would have to after the actions I was taking were set in motion.

On September 10th, 2001, I had an entire new schedule planned and left school knowing the next day I would return and get the signatures necessary from professors allowing myself to be transferred into their classes - becoming a Communications Major.

On September 10th, 2001, I worked a shift at my library gig, loving that I could work my schedule around various activities I had in the evenings.

On September 10th, 2001, I drove back to campus to go to the first sorority meeting of the year.

On September 10th, 2001, my good friend Stef and I were elected as Sisters Chair/Inner Sorority Advisers to our sorority - something we had been wanting very badly since the year before.

On September 10th, 2001, I drove home in the dark, nervously and hoping my parents were still up so I could talk to them about my proposed change in major.

On September 10th, 2001, my parents and I sat down and had one of the most adult and level-headed conversations I think we ever had while I was growing up. I talked, they listened. They questioned, I answered. We came to a happy agreement that I was making the right decision even if I was losing my music scholarship. They were still proud of me.

On September 10th, 2001, I went to bed feeling a huge weight lifted from my shoulders and feeling relieved and excited about college again. I felt nothing else could go wrong or stand in my way.

On September 11th, 2001, I woke up and turned on the TV. And from that moment on, while I would still remember them, the events of September 10th, 2001 became the most insignificant and piddly things ever.

More musings on the 9/11 anniversary coming tomorrow

Fabulous Friday - 9/9/11

2011-09-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

Greetings! We have made it to Friday again! Hallelujah! For a short week, this sure felt like a long one at times. I'm looking forward to the weekend!

So being that it is Friday, it's time for another one of my editions of Fabulous Friday! Here is what I'm finding fabulous this week:

1. Nate's chili - he made it for the first time ever yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic! I'm so glad it's the time of year where we can start to enjoy more warm meals like that!

2. Beautiful weather - man, these last few days have been gorgeous and I hear it's extending into the weekend as well. I know we probably need some rain, but I've been liking the dry weather! I hear we're going to have some of the most brilliant fall color this year too, the most we've had in the last ten years maybe? That would be awesome!

3. B Never Too Busy to be Beautiful Shower Gel - from the fabulous folks at LUSH, this is a "honey" based shower gel, which they do have several others that are honey based, this one mellows into a lovely warm scent on my skin and actually sticks with me. I really am glad I ordered a limited edition bottle of it!

4. Thrift store deals - two thrift stores near me discount items on major holiday like Labor Day - 50% discount that is, so while you're already getting a good deal because you're at a thrift store, it's doubly good on sale days! I found a shirt on my shopping trip on Monday that still had the tags on! Wow!

Ok, I didn't get to five today, but at least I had some! I hope everyone has a great weekend. On a slightly more serious note, over the next couple of days I have some posts I've written reflecting on the ten year anniversary of 9/11. The world we live in was forever changed that day and I know I'll never forget it, but felt compelled to write some things about my thoughts during that time - so look for my reflections starting tomorrow. I don't plan to dwell on it over the weekend, but I will be thinking and remembering just a bit.

Sleepytime blues

2011-09-08T11:17:00.000-05:00

Sleep has been a challenge in our house lately. If Nate's sleeping poorly, then I'm sleeping well. If Nate is sleeping well, I'm sleeping poorly. We're just not in sync right now.

For him, it's kind of stress related since he has been very busy at work. For me it's likely hormonal (sorry male readers, I'm a girl, deal with it) but also, even if it's chilly outside, we don't always get a breeze blowing that nice cool air in the house, so sometimes I get overly warm at night even when the windows are open.

So, this has kind of been affecting our getting up and walking/running and we decided that maybe we should set two alarms - one for getting up to exercise if we're up to it, but another "backup" just in case one of us was not sleeping well. Last night was the first night we put this into practice.

And last night was one of the nights that Nate was sleeping pretty well, but I got very warm, so I know I was awake for a little bit. I had just fallen asleep again pretty well when my alarm went off. And my alarm is the backup alarm. We both sat up in panic because that meant Nate's alarm either never went off or we slept through it. And then Nate looked at his clock...it was only 5:15. Not 6:15. But my clock said 6:15....

Yep, when I set my alarm last night, I must have bumped the actual clock. And set it an hour ahead. Oops.

Where's my coffee again?

Smile

2011-09-06T09:41:00.001-05:00

Anyone else ever notice that three day weekends go by faster than we would like them to? Man alive. It was a good one though. I'm still smiling. There was wine, beer brewing, ice cream, thrift shopping, barbeques...just a good weekend overall.

Looking ahead to September and October makes me smile even more. Historically, these two months end up jammed packed with stuff for us and I don't think this year will be any exception, but for the most part, it is all stuff I am really looking forward to. Jewelry party, a cabin weekend, a friend's wedding, family golf tournament, and this little thing at our house called "Oktoberfest"...it's going to be a wonderful stretch of good things.

So, as you can see I'm starting my week on a positive note and I'm hoping to make it last. Spreading happy vibes to all!

Fabulous Friday - 9/2/11

2011-09-02T09:25:00.005-05:00

It's Friday my friends! And while I had a bit of a tough start to my morning today and coffee is appreciated on a new level, I am still celebrating Fabulous Friday! The weekend is almost here, so let's start it on a positive note! Here is what I am finding Fabulous this week:

1. Iced Lattes - it's coffee, it's cold and wet and well, it's just what I needed today. And my beloved Caribou makes a good one. I never really appreciated them until this year, but when it got so hot, I found that I really like them a lot. Just as much as I do when they are warm.

2. Summit Silver Anniversary Ale - I promise there won't be something alcohol related on this blog every week, seriously. But this one is special. Summit is celebrating 25 years and made a special beer for it. We had tried to find it at the State Fair because it was supposed to be on tap there, but we didn't find it. On our way home from the Fair, we decided to stop by the liquor store by us that tends to have a lot of different kinds of beer. They had a slot for the Silver Anniversary one, but it was sold out. So we just said, oh well, maybe we'll get it at a restaurant sometime or something. Then on Wednesday I was stopping at a different liquor store for a bag of ice (ice is super cheap at the liquor store) and decided, oh I'll just see if they have it even though this particular store doesn't have a great beer selection. Low and behold, there it was. We gave it a taste, it's not too bad. Kind of a cross between Summit's EPA and their IPA.

3. Paris Amour - the newest scent from Bath and Body Works. I hadn't been as in to Bath and Body as of late, but stopped in to check out this scent because it sounded like something that would appeal to me. And it is really lovely. I don't know how I would explain it, but it's a nice light girly kind of scent and it is pretty long lasting, I like that about it.

4. Partylite tealight sale - thanks to Miss Gina being a Partylite consultant, I can order stuff even when I don't want to have a party, and I had a gift certificate back from the party I had at the beginning of the year and Partylite had an online special where tealights were discounted. I pretty much mostly burn tealights, so I took advantage and stocked up on all my favorite fall scents. I love a good deal!

5. Three Day Weekends - Nate and I both really need this long weekend, I am really looking forward to it, you just can't go wrong with a long weekend.

And on that note, I bid you farewell for today! Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone!

See you in September

2011-09-01T09:26:00.002-05:00

Well then. I don't know how it happened, but I blinked once and now August is gone. Finished. Finito. And along with it, summer is wrapping up and winding down.

It's no secret that Fall is my favorite season as anyone who's read my blog for the last couple of years will know. But this year it feels like it got here SO. FAST. I don't need to go back and repeat those unbearably hot days, but I'd take just a little more summer. More hours of daylight to sit outside with friends. One more chance to go swimming. Get ice cream.

Maybe the problem is there was no happy medium this year. It was cool and wet in the beginning and we were wondering if summer would ever get here and then suddenly we were launched into "omgitissohotiamgoingtomelt" type heat.

Or maybe it's that 2011 overall has felt like it has been on crazy fast forward. Though as of late it does feel like things are relaxing a bit more and calming down. Back to a "Taking each day as it comes" pace of life.

No, summer is not "officially" over today. There is still plenty of time for summer type activities. But it is definitely on the downward slope. Kids are going back to school. The State Fair is coming to a close this weekend. Labor Day is almost here. Stores are already stocking Halloween items.

I have no regrets about this summer - early on I made no real "list" and I'm glad, because I think I would have ended up disappointed if I had. Best things I did this summer? The Josh Groban concert with my mom and our St. Louis trip (even with it's ups and downs) were my favorite moments. Worst things that happened this summer? Water issues in the basement and dealing with the air conditioner breaking down. Getting an infected ear piercing and having to have it removed. Definitely not fun things for sure.

We've managed to keep on the running train, we hit 30 minutes earlier this summer and are working back to that point again as we work to improve our "speed". We grilled a TON, even with the hot weather. We ate outside when we could. And we've been brewing more beer again to be ready for Oktoberfest.

So really, I have no complaints, only that I wish some of the time hadn't flown by so fast. Looking ahead, I have fun plans for this Fall - so I really hope that we have great weather and that time slows down just a bit and we can enjoy it. There is potential for the next month or two to be some of the best times of the year so far!

Happy September!

The great MN get together

2011-08-31T09:01:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we spent the day at the Minnesota State Fair. We found out kind of last minute on Friday that Nate had yesterday approved off, but I am so thankful that he actually did get the day. The Fair has always been something special the two of us do every year and has been a tradition from the first year we were dating and we haven't missed one yet. I was laughing with him yesterday in fact that I think I have now been to the Fair more times than either of my parents ever have. It's just never been something that they were into much and there's nothing wrong with that. I know plenty of people who are just not into the Fair. But for Nate and I, it's just something we can't miss each year.

We have kind of a pattern of how we like to do things at the Fair and have just figured out what works best for us. We eat plenty, but actually, that isn't even the biggest part of the whole shebang for us anymore. We like seeing different things and people watching too.

Yesterday was no different. We got going nice and early and it was a good thing too since our usual favorite park and ride spot was all full up and we had to find a different one! I was panicked at first, but we found a good lot just a little further away. It took just a few extra minutes to get to the Fairgrounds, but it ended up working out pretty well.

Once on grounds we sought out some coffee for me and started with our favorite breakfast crepe from the French Crepe place and then kind of planned out our day. We visited Heritage Square where Nate bought a new wallet, we visited the sheep, chickens and roosters, we stopped by the MPR booth, we tried out some of the new craft beer that is available this year at the Fair and then we hit up some of our favorite things like the Skyride and the Art building. Of course we had cheese curds, can't come to the Fair and not have cheese curds!

It did rain a bit, but I think it kept the crowds down and it was quite enjoyable in that respect! We were gone by 3:00 and went home and pretty much crashed! All in all it was a great day. Below are a few picture highlights.

Crazy rooster - you think you had a bad hair day?

Our craft beer flight

I'm drinking before noon! (It was 11:55)

Nate with one of our beers

Monday smiles

2011-08-29T09:05:00.002-05:00

I love weekends like this last weekend. Well, specifically days like yesterday. That's not to say Saturday was bad, but there were a couple of hiccups that made it not super great. Yesterday was awesome and very much needed.

Nate and I just haven't had much time for just "us" lately, not to complain about things we've been doing, but we do need that "couple" time to connect. Fortunately we had Mass on Saturday, so we didn't have to do anything yesterday morning. So we slept in and made a nice breakfast for the first time in weeks. I love lazy Sunday mornings with my hubby. He made delicious pancakes and we totally just chilled and enjoyed them.

After that we headed over to the homebrew store to get the next kit we want to brew. This one will be a little bit of a squeeze to get done in time for Oktoberfest but we'll give it our best shot. It's a "Peak Smoked Porter". We've made it before but it's been a couple of years actually. It'll be a great fall/winter beer.

Later in the afternoon we went over to Nate's grandparents for a picnic since his aunt, uncle and cousin were in town. It was very relaxed and we had a nice visit with everyone. We just snacked at the picnic because we hadn't gone out on Saturday night so we wanted to go out for a little dinner just us last night instead.

After the picnic we came home and spent about 45 minutes cleaning out under our basement stairs and re-organizing all of the homebrew stuff we have and it's SO much nicer. We also have a nice place to store some of the craft beer we've been buying periodically so we don't have to put as much in the fridge at one time. I love what we have done down there, it looks great. We ended up with several bags of garbage too and there is just something so refreshing about throwing things out sometimes! We're still planning on getting a dumpster yet this fall too, but I'm glad we threw out some stuff now.

Then we had dinner at Acapulco as I was really in the mood for a margarita. Came back home and watched a little TV and then went to bed.

It was just a nice day to be together and sometimes we just need that.

Looking ahead I have made the happy discovery of three short work weeks in a row because of upcoming activities that we're taking time for and also because of Labor Day next weekend.

So even though it's Monday, I'm smiling.

Fabulous Friday - 8/26/11

2011-08-26T13:36:00.003-05:00

I'm renaming "Favorite Friday" to "Fabulous Friday" since it is all about things I'm finding fabulous at week's end. And then I can be a little more broad with it! So here is what I'm finding fabulous today!

1. Grilled Shrimp and Scallops - Nate treated us to home grilled shrimp and scallops the other night and OMG, there are no words. It was soooooo delicious. I love that he is so willing to take risks and we get so much use out of our grill each summer, it's fantastic.

2. Wilfred - Another dumb show we've gotten hooked on, this one is currently airing on FX and it's extremely off the wall...but it's a quick half hour of something funny when you need something absolutely mindless. Who doesn't love Elijah Wood too? Come on, he's just as cute now as he was in Lord of the Rings.

3. Completing a 5K - We didn't manage to run the entire thing as I kind of predicted, but we still finished the entire 5K and our time wasn't horrible, around 47 minutes. I have no complaints. I know what I'm working towards and I am looking forward to trying another one, maybe the Turkey Day one even. We shall see!

4. The State Fair - yes I had said we might have to miss it, but things have worked out and we get to go after all! We'll be going on Tuesday and I'm beyond excited!!

5. Stella and Dot - I mentioned earlier this week that I fell in love with the new fall line from Stella and Dot at Ali's party last weekend and now I'll be having my own party in September. Hoping for some pretty new things to "gift myself" for my birthday in November. They have the world's fastest shipping too - the things I ordered at Ali's party showed up by Wednesday of this week so I was able to enjoy them already!

Happy weekend! Hope you're all finding fabulous things this Friday too!

Re-Run

2011-08-25T10:37:00.002-05:00

The rescheduled Torchlight 5K is tonight. Thank goodness it is nice and comfortable outside with low humidity today!

It'll be interesting to see how this goes. We have "re-started" our walk to run program from the beginning, attempting to run at a faster speed during our running segments. Due to this, we are kind of back to the shorter running "segments" and haven't been out on a long run for kind of awhile now.

I'm not being negative and saying we're not going to be able to run any of the race tonight, but if we end up walking some (or most) of it, I won't be disappointed. My ultimate goal is to still run an entire 5k at some point, but that will be after we've done some more training!

I do feel like we took a little step backwards in the whole running thing, but the ultimate goal is improvement and sometimes you have to take little baby steps to get to the top. And I'm still proud of what we achieved earlier this summer! I'm looking ahead to winter and hoping we can find a better way to stay active (as long as we both stay healthy and don't have any early setbacks). I really want to figure something out anyway. It's never too early to look ahead. I'm hoping the "S" word holds off a bit longer this year too so we can take advantage of outdoor workouts a bit longer!

I'm off track now. Back to tonight, I'm looking forward to a nice lovely evening in Minneapolis, I'm so thankful the weather is better today and I think it'll be a good experience to just get a taste of a 5k if nothing else. Here goes nothing!

A clearer view

2011-08-24T09:19:00.002-05:00

Life. It ebbs and flows. Sometimes it doesn't flow as much as we'd like, but we forge on.

Some days have been a struggle as of late. Nate's been beyond crazed at work - which is good job security - but it makes for challenges at home sometimes and making sacrifices at times. An example, due to some big things going on at his work (i.e. not able to take time off right now) and our weekends being kind of full both this weekend and next - we might miss the State Fair for the first time ever in 13 years of being together. I'm trying not to dwell on it and things may still work out. I try to put it all in perspective when I remember that only 3 years ago at this time of year we were just praying he would get a job. So it could be worse.

Other things, piddly things really, have been weighing on my mind off and on lately as well and I'll admit, it's been clouding my view of the world lately. I just haven't been 100% myself. It happens.

Then last night, Nate and I went out and did an activity I never dreamed in a million years I ever would do. I had a great deal of anxiety about it ahead of time too but I DID IT. I overcame a huge fear in my life that has plagued me from my childhood. And there is something that is just so hugely euphoric about that, all of the things that have been bugging me have kind of become nothing more than "thing-lets".

I have a clearer view again and it's a sunnier outlook. I'll take it.

Didn't I say "relax"?

2011-08-22T09:02:00.003-05:00

Well, for someone who planned on having a mostly relaxing weekend it didn't totally work out that way, but it wasn't too bad. We still were able to do stuff on our own timetable for a change and we still managed to get a little relaxing time and "us" time in as well.

Friday was pretty much just a relaxing evening, we had dinner with my parents, came home and watched a movie and went to bed actually pretty early for a Friday, but it was so needed.

Saturday we slept in and that felt good too! I had a later than usual coffee date with my parents and while I was gone Nate put some beer we brewed two weeks ago into what is called a "secondary" fermentation (helps with the clarity of the beer).

After I got home from coffee, I went to Ali's Stella and Dot garden party. It was a lot of fun, it was such a beautiful day to be outside and she had lovely refreshments. I also fell in love with the Fall catalog and even though I have sworn off hosting parties this year...I booked one. Yes I am weak, but I figured, this way Nate won't kill me for spending too much money on this stuff. It'll be in September, with brunch, because who doesn't love brunch. I apologize in advance to my friends who are maybe sick of getting invites to these things! I'll admit to being a little selfish this time, but hey, it's kind of an early birthday present to myself. (Gonna do 30 up big you know).

I came home from the garden party and Nate was mowing the lawn - he did the entire yard, which may not seem like a huge deal, but he did it with the push mower because the riding mower still needs an oil change. And to those who don't know - our yard is BIG. Crazy big. It's tough to push mow the whole thing in one go, so I was impressed. Usually he does it in chunks over a couple of days.

So, to reward him for his hard work and just because we haven't really indulged ourselves in awhile, after we stopped by an art opening for Jes, we took ourselves out to dinner at Erte in NE Minneapolis. Expensive, yes. But worth it. Best steak ever. Tasty wine. Awesome service. By the time we were done eating we were pretty much in a food coma, combined with our very full day of activities, so we came home and played a short game before just crashing with a mindless movie.

And then Sunday was another Brew Day! Hurray! We are thinking ahead to Oktoberfest as I've mentioned before and even though we're having it a little later into October this year, we have to get the beer going now or it won't be ready in time. So yesterday's brew was an American Pale Ale, similar to Surly Furious. We made this one last year and it was gone super fast. It is one of my favorite beers we have brewed and I'm excited to have it again. While we were brewing, we were goofing around online and decided to make a Facebook page for our homebrew. Figured why not, it'll help keep our friends and family up to date on the latest! You can find it here: Pants Monkey Brewing Co.

Once the brew was done we were again completely wiped out, so we went the simple route for dinner, grabbed some Chinese take out and totally crashed.

We've got a slightly busier week on tap this week and next weekend is going to be a tad bit busier as well, Nate's aunt will be in town among other things. It will be good to see her though as we missed her the last time she was here.

On we go!!

Friday Favorites 8/19/11

2011-08-19T09:01:00.002-05:00

Hello! Today is a great day. It really is so far. It's Friday, I survived a less than great at times week, and things are looking up for our weekend now so that makes me happy!

Here are some things I'm finding fabulous this week:

1. Redbook magazine - I don't know if this is a sign of getting older or what, but I have found this natural progression in what kind of magazines I like to read. When I was young it was YM or Teen (do they even make those anymore?) or Seventeen. Approaching my twenties I got into Cosmo and Glamour. And now, I still like Glamour a bit, but I ended up with a free copy of Redbook from the clinic recently and kind of tossed it aside thinking of it as my "mom's" kind of magazine. But one day at home I was bored so I picked it up and I realized...I like this magazine. I would rather read this than read the "trashyness" of Cosmo. No offense to anyone who still likes that one of course. I just find that for where I'm at in my life the articles in Redbook kind of make sense. I am almost 30 after all and I'm slowly coming to terms with it and I guess my reading material is a sign of that fact!

2. Barley Johns Brewpub - so last night we were going to have stir fry at home, but then I saw on the Facebook page for Barley Johns, a brewpub that is not far from our house, that they were going to have a new Belgium Single on tap starting yesterday. I mentioned this to Nate and he said, we could go there for dinner instead. He got a gift certificate to there for helping someone with their computer, so we thought, heck, let's treat ourselves! I just love Barley Johns, the food is good, the beer is outstanding, they have a wonderful patio and it has that Cheers "everybody knows your name" atmosphere. We had a great dinner and a couple of beers while sitting out and enjoying a very nice evening. Perfection.

3. Muppets: The Green Album - this new CD doesn't come out until Tuesday, but I was able to preview it online this week and I am in love. It's an awesome CD of covers of famous Muppet songs done by some really awesome artists, many of whom are frequent artists played on my radio station of choice, 89.3 The Current. It's part of what I think will be a lot of publicity leading up to the new movie in November. At any rate, I just love some of these covers, especially Amy Lee's treatment of the song "Halfway Down the Stairs" and Rachael Yamagata doing "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" from the Muppet Movie - it's almost tear jerking. I will be purchasing this on Tuesday, just can't go wrong, Muppets and indie artists. Awesome.

4. A Good Night's Sleep - funny how much we take this for granted, eh? But seriously, the last few nights Nate and I have been really making an effort to get to bed at a reasonable time and have managed a couple of nights now where we've gotten a full eight hours and I tell you, it feels SO good. We are both feeling better in general as I think we've both been pretty rundown since coming back from St. Louis.

5. Sweet Corn - Jes was kind enough to give us some sweet corn that she had gotten in her CSA share that she has with her aunt, her aunt was out of town and since Jes really can't have the corn, thought we'd like it and left it on my deck last week. We finally got around to grilling it on Wednesday and it was probably some of the best corn we've had so far this year. I love grilled corn. Love, love, love it. I think I'll be hitting up Bob's Produce or something along those lines to get some more now that it should be really in season!

There you have it folks! What are you finding fabulous today? Have a great weekend!

Get this block out of my head

2011-08-18T10:16:00.003-05:00

Boy I haven't been posting much this week have I?

Two reasons I guess -

1. I have writer's block
2. It has been one of those weeks.

It happens. It's frustrating, but it happens. We deal and we move on.

I am working on my Friday Favorites for tomorrow, so I at least have that post coming!

I hope to get my "blogging groove back" one of these days! Stay tuned!

Monday musings

2011-08-15T13:44:00.005-05:00

Well, I have to say, this is one of those Mondays that feels like a break after the busy weekend we just had! I'm not much for coherent thought today, so you're just getting a quick bulleted style post.

- Today I'm launching my new "pages" that you'll see across the top of my blog. They include an "about me" page, a page about some of my closest "peeps" that you see making appearances on my blog and a page about Praise Project. I plan to add a couple more soon - a book list and a list of links I find interesting will probably round out the pages feature on my blog. Just something fun I thought I'd try and hopefully it will help any new visitors get to know me better and maybe even stick around a bit.

-As I mentioned, our weekend was crazy busy. Friday night was the only "relaxing" we were able to do for the most part. Saturday we drove out to Eau Claire for a family reunion for Nate's family, specifically his Grandma Dolly's side of the family. We had a pretty good time, I even scored a new table for my living room in the silent auction they had.

The five of us Kondricks in our Draus/Drause reunion t-shirts (picture kind of stolen from the Draus reunion Facebook page.)

-We had to rush back on Saturday for a mass for Praise Project - we had all three masses at St. William's this weekend. Very fulfilling as always to sing with our group, but man, was my voice tired by the end of the whole thing!!

-After church on Sunday, we decided we just had to have a homemade pie. We shopped for ingredients and in a nice team effort, put together a fantastic peach pie. I am not one to toot my own horn, but it's amazing. So freaking tasty.

BEST Peach pie EVER

-And that brings us to today and as I said, it feels like a break compared to yesterday. Overall this week is looking calmer and next weekend we are more or less wide open and I intend to keep it that way. We are both in need of some major chill time and some "just us" time. This is of no offense to any of our friends and family, but at the moment, I'm really looking forward to a date night with just my hubby. Maybe some beer brewing time. We'll see where things go!

Happy Monday!!

Friday Faves

2011-08-12T11:10:00.002-05:00

Slowly working on some more changes to the ole blog here - I have recently discovered "pages" and how those work so I'll be working on those a bit and you might notice them.

Today I'm starting a new theme post. I enjoy reading other blogs I find out on the Internet and I saw this one and loved the idea - Friday Faves. I will bring you a list of what I am finding awesome each Friday. I'm going to try for awhile anyway! I have never met the gal who I credit with coming up with this - but I wanted to give a shoutout to her anyway - Thanks for an awesome idea Katie!

So what am I finding fabulous this Friday?

1. Nate's spaghetti. I love that my husband is so willing to experiment and try out different things in the kitchen. He has perfected spaghetti sauce - sometimes it varies a little bit, but for the most part it's an awesome flavorful sauce each time. We haven't had it for awhile because when it's hot outside, the last thing I want is Italian food, but it finally cooled down so last night we finally had some again. And it was delicious.

2. Schafly Beer. We discovered this beer in St. Louis. Obviously we went on the Budweiser tour and what not, but we're not Budweiser drinkers, we prefer craft beer. So we went off the beaten path a bit and looked for a liquor store hoping to find some craft beer unique to St. Louis. Enter Schafly. We got a sampler pack to take home and so far I've been very impressed. I haven't looked yet, but I don't think we can get this beer up here. Might have to have our relatives down there ship us some, ha ha.

3. Covert Affairs. We just got hooked on this USA show that is in it's second season already. We managed to obtain all of season one and have been working our way through it. There does seem to be a large number of Spy type shows on the air right now - but I like this one because the main character is a woman. And she's quirky (like the main character on most USA shows is) and easy to relate to. I have really been enjoying this show.

4. Goodreads. I'd like to thank Jes for introducing me to this website - it has really helped me get back into reading and has been a useful tool for keeping track of what books I've read or want to read. If you've never checked it out, it's worth a look - it's kind of like Netflix for books, although you aren't getting any in the mail or anything. But you can rate books and make lists of books you want to read. Pretty neat tool!

5. Garnier Fructus Pure Clean Styling Wax. When you have hair as short as mine, you need a good product to use for styling. I was thrilled to discover that this stuff uses natural ingredients, actually works really well on my hair AND has a nice low price tag, easily purchased at Target or the drugstore. Who said you have to pay for beauty?

There you have it! What are you finding to be fabulous this week? Happy weekend!

Bleeding love

2011-08-10T10:22:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we had a blood drive at work.

I was "volunteered" to be the person checking people in. It wasn't a half bad job other than the fact that it was extremely windy outside and I had to sit outside the bus to check people in. Certainly made it challenging!

Anyway, as I sat there while people were coming and going, my mind started to wander a bit and I thought about how I wished that I could be one of the people going into that bus and stepping up to the plate to donate blood.

Yeah, I know, you're all going, so stop complaining, put your big girl pants on and do it.

The thing is - I'm not afraid of needles that much (although I've said before, does anyone ever say "boy I just can't wait to get a shot!). I'm afraid of passing out. I've come close, too close to having that happen before during blood draws and I didn't care for the feeling.

I have deep, deep set veins. Inherited from my dear Daddy. He has the same problems that I do and he also does not ever donate blood. Nurses struggle with both of us. Nurses who say "I've never missed a vein" end up hanging their heads in shame around us. I've been both apologized to and nearly yelled at in the lab before. I've had three times now where they've used the vein in the top of my hand - hey guess what? That HURTS.

It's not for lack of trying on my part! I drink tons of water before a blood draw. I try to beef up my iron supply. I flex my muscles hoping my veins will pop up a bit. Nope. No good. The result is the same every time - and the more the nurses fish around trying to make something work, the more woozy I get. It's to the point where I ask to lay down and also, to be allowed to sit for as long as I need and eat a granola bar or something after the fact.

I don't like feeling vulnerable like that. You can see why I don't choose to voluntarily go and let someone try to take my blood! I don't like the guilty feeling from such a decision but it doesn't usually get to me - until days like yesterday when I see all these awesome people stepping up and being treated nearly like royalty for the wonderful thing they are doing and feeling like just once I want to try.

But, I am a chicken. One day. Someday. I will be a hero too. There has to be some nurse somewhere who can do it. I have had one or two good ones in the last 15 or so years - so I know they're out there somewhere!

A beer day

2011-08-08T10:38:00.002-05:00

We finally brewed some beer over the weekend. I swear, this summer has just been...I don't even know if I have the right words to describe it. We've been busy, but we have had downtime too. The problem is, we like to brew out on the deck as much as we can, and when we've had downtime, the weather has sucked this year.

So we haven't been brewing much beer. And we've still been drinking the beer we have. Which leads to a problem - the bar is getting empty. And even though it's still a couple of months away, I'm already in planning mode for Oktoberfest - which has made me realize, we need to get some beer going if we are going to actually have some in stock by that time!

So, yesterday finally worked out to be a good day to brew and we now have a German Alt beer sitting in fermentation. Then Nate bought another Surly Furious clone kit, we made that one last year and it disappeared pretty quickly, so we're excited to have that one again. We may attempt a third somewhere in there too, we'll have to see.

It almost makes me sad that it feels like a chore to brew beer - I want it to be a fun hobby for us. But again, this summer overall has felt...odd for a lack of better words I guess. I feel overwhelmed and then I feel bored. Still working on that balance thing I guess. We'll get there.

Flashback Friday - Pippin

2011-08-05T11:00:00.004-05:00

I was cleaning up one of my SIM cards this week and came across this picture of Nate with Pippin that was taken in 2008 shortly after we adopted her.

She was so tiny! Wanna see my cat now?

Hard to believe she was as small as she was then! There's a reason we call her our "BIG girl". But we love her, every single furry ounce.

And here's August!

2011-08-03T10:49:00.004-05:00

So. We're back. And we're back into the swing of things. I think I have finally caught my breath from being gone anyway!

At first glance, I thought August would be a little calmer - and at some points it is - but looking ahead I see some Praise Project gigs, a family reunion, a few outings that should be fun, the rescheduled Torchlight 5K and the State Fair all on the calendar right now. Again, it should all be fun, but at the same time I'm like, when do we breathe again?

My goal for the rest of the summer is to just honestly take each day one day at a time. Because really, as full as the calendar sounds, there is quite a bit of downtime, especially during the week. We will just need to use those evenings to relax when we can. But, we have some work I want to do too.

We are looking into possibly getting a dumpster to work on cleaning out the garage and the backyard a bit more. We have boxes that need to be thrown, pieces of the doors we've replaced, fencing material, large chunks of concrete...

You're wondering what the concrete is from? Let me tell you! I am beyond thrilled to announce I am the proud owner of a new laundry room washtub! Oh yes my friends, I am thrilled about something silly like a washtub. My life is so sad sometimes isn't it? Ha. But seriously, we had this nasty old concrete washtub. And it would hold water forever and make my basement smell musty and the pipes leaked and it was awful. Enter the awesome person that is known as my dad. He found us a sweet new plastic washtub back in May. And even better? He installed it while we were out of town!!! What a guy!!! (Thanks to big brother Dave for his help too).

So, we now have a large broken up concrete sink that needs to be thrown out and due to it's weight, really can't be thrown out all at once. We could do it a piece or two at a time, we could take it somewhere to dump it or, if we get a dumpster, we can just chuck it all in there! Since I missed the process of breaking it up with a sledgehammer, I think I'd get great joy in chucking the pieces into a dumpster!

We'll see how things go and where August takes us. I am going to try to enjoy the fun things coming up but also make sure I take enough time for myself so I don't feel overwhelmed again like I did before we left town. It's all about balance And hey, let's get some more good weather days like today, huh?

St. Louis recap

2011-08-01T10:33:00.006-05:00

We had a really nice time down in St. Louis (see previous post for some pictures). I am very glad we had a chance to go down and spend time with the relatives there that we just don't get to see because of the miles that separate us!

I could thousands of words about the entire trip, but instead will just recap it this way:

We visited the Arch, the Budweiser Brewery and a winery called Mount Pleasant in Augusta. We also took a mini road trip out to Illinois to go boating and hang out on a beach there. We also got to go to a Cardinals game one evening. And we celebrated two graduations and a birthday while we were there. Overall, a good time had by all, even though it was more or less in the upper 90's and even into the 100's the whole time we were there!

There were also moments that led to us joking by the end of the week that it was "Murphy's Law" vacation at times too. Out of respect for my family I won't divulge much on that, but let me just say that each of the five of us MN peeps had one not so pleasant experience while on the trip. I totally believe we'll look back and laugh later though!

I'm glad to be home at any rate and looking forward to the rest of the summer being a little bit calmer. I'm still not loving summer any longer and definitely am ready for Fall and am not minding that the calendar says "August 1st" today, because that means we're inching closer to my favorite season of all time!

Our STL Trip in Pictures

2011-07-31T16:14:00.003-05:00

Leave it all behind

2011-07-22T08:48:00.003-05:00

In less than 24 hours I'll be in a car going south. And yes, it will be extremely warm where we're going but we'll deal with it.

I'm really looking forward to our trip, we haven't seen the relatives we are going to see since our wedding five years ago. Plus, St. Louis is a fun city to explore.

It's also nice to just get away from it all, shake it up a bit.

I'm sure I'll have stories to share when we return! As Tigger would say, TTFN, ta ta for now!

Too hot to run

2011-07-21T10:21:00.003-05:00

Well, yesterday was supposed to be the Torchlight 5k. And of course for days the forecast kept saying that yesterday was also going to be the peak of the heat in this latest heatwave. So, as the day got closer, we knew we'd likely be walking the duration of the race instead of running. And then yesterday hit and after all we've been dealing with at home with issues and just overall feeling kind of heat sick yesterday we decided to pull out and just lose the money.

But then the organizers of the event did something awesome - around 4:30 they just simply announced that the 5k would be postponed to another date. So, in the end, we haven't lost out yet, if it's rescheduled to another date that we can still do, we won't lose any money! The rescheduled date has not been announced yet. I think that was a smart choice on the event planners part - however they maybe should have made that call before so late in the day yesterday, but either way, it was probably a good thing, I think they would have had a bunch of heat related sickness and problems if they had held the race as it was.

So, since we weren't running, we instead got to take advantage of some generous friends who have access to an awesome swimming pool.

Look out below!!

This was a great way to beat the heat and really, tons more fun than running would have been last night. Capped off the night with some Dairy Queen. Swimming + ice cream = bliss.

Of course today is much better, the air has changed, the humidity has dropped. Makes me almost rethink my breaking it off with summer completely. To quote Ross from Friends, maybe summer and I were just "on a break." Then again, next week's St. Louis trip could force the break to be back on, we'll see!

This is more like it

2011-07-20T08:30:00.003-05:00

Finally things are looking up!

Our air conditioner is all better. Apparently there were two "conductors" that were bad. The technician (who I think is a superhero - A/C Guy to the rescue!!) replaced both of them and ran a bunch of test cycles and had it all up and running in about an hour. It took a little bit to get the house cool again since it was so hot outside, but when we got up this morning it was finally down to a nice comfortable 71 degrees. Now that's what I'm talking about!

You could tell the cats were feeling much better too, Pippin was all full of spunk this morning before I left for work. What a relief.

The basement is getting much better too. The carpet is more or less dry, the air is a bit on the musty side yet yet, but we're hoping the dehumidifier will keep helping with that. And it doesn't appear that anymore water got in when the big storm came through yesterday, so the sealing work Nate did seems to have helped (even if it doesn't look terribly attractive at the moment, my house looks like it's oozing foam in spots! He needs to trim it back).

I'm slowly getting ready for the trip and now that these issues are resolved and better I think I'll be able to focus much more on preparations over the next couple of days.

Happy and content sigh.

The hits just keep on coming

2011-07-19T08:46:00.002-05:00

What is the single worst thing that could happen on one of the hottest days of the year?

As if I didn't have enough to deal with in airing out the basement and trying to get ready for a trip this week, our two year old air conditioner decided to crap out on us again yesterday. Yes I said again - we had this issue last week too, but that was before it was in the "waytoofreakinghot" category of heat. They came out and did some work (under warranty, thank the Lord) and it seemed to be fine.

Yesterday, I came home from work and was doing some normal evening type chores - emptying the dishwasher, picking up a little bit, nothing terribly strenuous, but I realize, gee, I'm working up a sweat here, that's odd...checked the thermostat and discovered the error message was back and it was nearly 80 degrees in the house. Awesome.

I do want to apologize here for whining - I know many, many people who do not have air conditioning at all, some of whom are probably reading and saying "you're preaching to the choir here, try living that way all the time." I am spoiled - but darn it, I want to be spoiled. We payed good money for that unit and I want it to work, especially on days where I am about to re-enact the Wicked Witch's "Melting" routine. Oy.

The good news is the technician who came out last week should be able to get to us today, so I'll cross my fingers he can figure this thing out. And I pray my cats are semi-intelligent and just go hang out in the basement if they get too warm today.

Yeah, remember my "love affair" with summer? It's done. I'm breaking up with summer. Summer, you and I are through. It was fun while it lasted.

Water is good for...

2011-07-18T15:05:00.002-05:00

We fashioned this contraption out of a pitcher from Pampered Chef, ice and water to chill some beer faster to have with dinner last night. So, water is good for something. Ha.

Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink

2011-07-18T08:41:00.002-05:00

Water. Oh water. It is so good when you are thirsty or when you want to use it to cool off in a swimming pool or a beach. It is an essential part of life.

It is not so good when it shows up somewhere it doesn't belong!!

We have a sump pump in our basement, it's in our laundry room and earlier this summer it wasn't working right, but Nate fixed it and it works great now. And with all the rain we had on Friday night, it was certainly working overtime to keep the water out of the basement. I am thankful for that. But apparently, it can't fix everything.

I had mentioned in my last post about looking forward to a "me day" on Saturday. And it certainly started out that way! Nate got up early to go work on the car and I took my time getting up, getting ready and going about my day. After coffee with my parents I came back home and started some laundry. I noticed in the most northern part of my laundry room that there was a little bit of water along the edge of the wall - this does happen from time to time because the yard in the back needs some attention, we need to get it flowing away from the house, right now it flows toward the house. When we get a little water in that area, it's not too bad and it is concrete at least so it dries and all is well.

After seeing that though, I figured, I'd better check the northeast corner of the basement too. The first summer we lived in the house, we had a bad storm like the one on Friday and ended up with water in that area of the basement. There are some horrible cracks in the foundation right above that spot, where our front steps are and part of the driveway. This is something on our list to fix when the magical money fairy gifts us some more money. That first summer it was pretty bad, but we used a dehumidifier and it took care of the problem in about 48 hours. Knock on wood, it hasn't really happened again. Earlier this summer that area got a tiny bit damp, but not too bad, some Damp Rid (major product plug - this stuff works wonders, I'll be their spokesperson, seriously) took care of the issue. So,I wandered over to that spot and it seemed dry.

Satisfied, I went about my day, hung out with my mom for a bit, had some lunch, was gone maybe two hours or so. Came back down to switch my laundry around. The water in the laundry room was a bit worse. But I figured, the ground is soooo saturated out there and it's probably slowly sinking in and can't help but end up in the house a little bit. And again, this was just the concrete area of the laundry room, so I threw some crappy old towels down and freshened up the Damp Rid (seriously, Damp Rid people, your product rocks, hire me to pimp it for you!) and figured, all righty, problem solved. It was still early enough in the afternoon and I wasn't expecting Nate for hours so I decided, it was chick flick time, and headed back into the main room of the basement to watch a movie.

I was barefoot and as I approached the TV I discovered the shag carpet felt a little...odd as I was walking on it. Cold. Squishy. Wet. WET? Oh crap.

Further investigation proved that we had water - quite a bit of water - in that same corner from the first summer. Now, I give myself a lot of credit here, the Beth of five years ago would have freaked out, probably started bawling and swearing and more or less throwing a tantrum. No joke, I am not proud of past behaviors! But the Beth of Today said, ok, well, we still have a dehumidifier but I don't think it works. I will call Mr. Nate and see what he thinks.

So I called him and he said I could try the old unit, but my best bet might be running to Home Depot and getting a new one. I decided that would be best as well and set out. Man, I was lucky to get one - the cashier I went to said he had sold 18 Dehumidifiers and 37 Shop Vacs that day. Almost comforting to know we were in somewhat good company I guess with a damp basement!

Got home and set it all up and then just waited for Nate to come home. He made it home around 7:00 and assessed the situation and decided we'd let it run all night and see how things were come Sunday. It was still a bit squishy on Sunday, so after church he got the Shop Vac out and sucked up a bunch of it. Between that and running the new dehumidifier non-stop, we're getting it most of the way dry. I would say in the next day or two it should be better.

Then he did something that makes me love him even more - he went out in the soup yesterday and sealed up some of the cracks in the foundation so we can hopefully limp through the rest of the summer without replacing the steps just yet. Cause unless the magic money fairy comes to visit, we'll probably need to save a little bit over the winter and then replace all of it next year - hopefully.

So, there you have it. I'm thankful for the sunshine today - I really hope it dries up the water outside! I also hope this humid heatwave doesn't last terribly long. I'm still keeping it all in perspective though - I have air conditioning and at least it wasn't 12 inches of snow that we had to dig out of or something!!

Watch out, it's getting personal

2011-07-15T09:06:00.003-05:00

I had the best intentions of blogging about interesting things this week. I wanted to finish up my "summer job" series and write about a few other topics, but I just haven't been motivated to write those things.

Truth be told, I just haven't been up to blogging period. I like to keep this blog mostly positive, upbeat and light - because it really is a "friends and family" blog so I don't really get too deeply personal or negative or down and I don't really know why other than I guess I never want anyone reading to get worried about me when I'm not my usual perky self. So, when I get in a "mood" so to speak, sometimes it's easier to keep the blog quiet during those times.

I decided though, that it's time to allow myself to be more open, more candid and more honest. If I'm in a down mood or a bad mood or whatever, it is ok to say so. I'm human, I'm allowed to have a bad day every now and then. So here we go.

Right now, I am just a little overwhelmed and a little stressed. It's hard to believe summer is half over already. I feel like life is on fast-forward. I love our activities and the things we do, but sometimes it can lead to me feeling like I have no time to catch my breath and re-charge. We go on vacation at the end of the month for a week, and while I'm looking forward to it, I feel like there is so much to do before we go, it's really kind of snuck up on me.

I'm trying to plan for things in the future too - a month from now, a couple months from now, even six months from now - fun things too - but when I get to the kind of point that I'm at right now, I have a hard time even seeing past tomorrow.

I feel bad and that I've been nothing but cranky with those around me and I apologize to anyone who has possibly been a victim of my funk. I have a running joke with a friend of mine that when I get in this kind of mood, I just want to go home and be a "friggin hermit" and then somehow I came up with a character I call "Hermit the Frig". (He's Kermit the Frog's super crabby cousin if you didn't know). Lately I have just been feeling like Hermit the Frig.

So what do I do to help myself and make things better? Well, for starters, I have a full day tomorrow all to myself, Nate will be working on his car and I have nothing to do - and I will be keeping it that way. I just need that kind of day. It will help big time. Tonight I'm crazy busy and Sunday I'm crazy busy, but Saturday is just for me.

Secondly, I am figuring out that I just need to slow down a bit and maybe say no a little more if I need to. Last summer it took me getting super sick and knocked down for a week to figure that out. This year I won't let that happen again, so I'm glad I'm figuring this out now. This isn't to say that I am truly going to permanently become Hermit the Frig, but I just have to work on balance.

Thirdly, I love making lists - so I need to make lists for my upcoming vacation, once I do that and have a way of crossing off my needs and "to-do's" it makes the whole thing seem much less daunting!

Finally, allowing myself to just lay it all out here on my blog and what not has helped immensely. I will continue to blog without fear. Like I said, I'm human, I'm not without faults and you know what, there is nothing wrong with that!

I think things will be better from here!

Running on empty

2011-07-12T09:42:00.002-05:00

So as you all know, we triumphantly finished our "walk to run" program about two weeks ago or so, having hit that coveted "30 minute mark" that we needed to hit to finish the whole thing. And it felt awesome and we were excited and pumped. But we were finished with the program. So, we decided to try a different program to keep up on our running and chose a beginner 5K training program from Nike's website.

We're not even the whole way through week two and today we realized something.

It's far too intense for what we're ready for.

It didn't look like it would be that bad when you read the program online - but it has us running just about every day and has also added fun things like strength training and we both realized we are just beyond wiped out already.

I mentioned recently that we are not morning people. Yet, we get up early enough so we can do this running. If we keep up on this program right now, in a few short weeks we could be looking at getting up even earlier than we already are. I can be like an old lady to a point, but I don't want to have to start going to bed before 9:00 either!!

We're also both just feeling stressed and even a little burned out. We have other things going on in our lives besides running and already on week two of this program, it feels like our life is only about running and nothing else. We're not enjoying it anymore. We're running on empty.

So, where does that leave us?

We are not quitting. We still want to be runners. We still enjoy a good run in the morning - but right now, we're going to go at our own pace. We're still proud and pleased to have completed our "Walk to Run" program and the fact that we're choosing to not move on to something else doesn't lessen that accomplishment in anyway.

What about the Torchlight 5K? Or the fact that I wanted to do a 5K this fall? For the 5K next week, we will run as much of it as we can and if we walk some, we walk some. This fall? Probably more of the same. I don't think either one of us will ever be "marathon" runners.

It was a hard decision to come to, but I think we're both going to feel a lot better because of it. Our health and well being is important after all!