Yet ANOTHER Manic Monday!

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!

Thankful Thursday week 2

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?

One moment at a time

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

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!

Just Write - Hats

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.

You know that feeling...

...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.)