Fun in the Twin Cities

And......scene

2007-01-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, folks. It's over. I tried, but now it's officially over.

I am no longer going to keep this blog. This is my final post.

I started this blog with the intent of tracking new things that I'd done in the Twin Cities. My initial New Year's resolution for 2006 was to do one new thing in the Twin Cities every week, and then blog about that new thing. By March, I quickly realized that goal wasn't going to be realized.

No matter what, life tends to take over and take the lead from you. I realized that I just didn't have the time to devote to doing one new thing every week, not to mention the money. Not that I'm complaining at all; I had a phenomenal 2006. I shared in so much joy this year - three friends got married, my sister graduated from college, my mom celebrated a milestone birthday, I GOT ENGAGED! It was a great year. But with all of these big life changes, small trips to the local museum or nights out at a new restaurant got lost.

After my realization that the "new things" part of my resolution was a lost cause, I still had the devotion to writing about life in general. I thought that it was such an amazing thing, this blogging world. A world where a person can write about any and everything they want, and no one can stop them. I found myself perusing other blogs and reading about other people, and becoming fascinated with the world out there.

As time went on, though, I began to lose my enthusiasm for blogging. As I stated a few weeks ago, I started to dread blogging. I would go do something so fun, and then be a bit irritated that I "had" to blog about it. So, I stopped blogging altogether for a while. And for the most part, I didn't miss it at all.

And then, for some reason, one day in December, I really wanted to blog. I wanted to again share my life and my stories with the people out there in the world. I regained my excitement about blogging.

For about two weeks.

Now, I'm back to where I was in October, back to not wanting to write in this format, back to not caring to share my life with others in this manner. I realized that, for the most part, the people who read my blog are my friends and family who already know all about my life. They don't need to read about it on some blog.

And, if I want to write about something, I should be writing it down in my own personal books, for myself and no one else. I shouldn't be writing superficially about things, being careful not to delve into raw emotion because I know that, for example, my mom is reading. I should be writing for my own self. Twenty years from now, I won't have a silly blog to reflect upon; I'll have books filled with my thoughts and emotions and memories of a certain day.

Now, please don't get me wrong and think that I'm saying that blogging is silly or stupid. I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, there are many, many blogs that I read consistently and I love reading them. (Shameless plug: http://breakthechain.blog.com) I think that for some blogging is a great way to share part of yourself with the world. But, I am saying that I had wrong intentions with this blog, and that for me, blogging is not the way in which I should chose to express myself or to spend my own time.

That being said, I have enjoyed this blog for the most part. At times, it was very fun to post about big life events and to hear what others out in the world had to say about it.

So, thanks to all who have read throughout the past year. I appreciate the reading and the commenting. It's been great to share this particular pop culture experience with you.

And…

Scene

And so this is Christmas...

2006-12-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Every year, Mark and I have an extended Christmas holiday due to having two families in two different cities. We always celebrate with both families, but for obvious travel reasons can only celebrate with one family on Christmas Day. This year, we celebrated with Mark's fam on the 17th, spent Christmas weekend and day with my fam, and then had our own Christmas celebration on the 26th.

Christmas Mark's parent's house was great. We spent Saturday afternoon and evening hanging out, eating a fantastic meal, and opening gifts.

Mark playing Santa

Mark and Carol

John and Lucy opening gifts

Mark opening his big gift of a case of wine, which lead to...

An overwhelming collection!

Spending Christmas weekend with my family was great, as always. We spent Saturday night celebrating Mark's birthday with dinner at B.J. Wentker's in Burlington. We had fabulous food - I had a Drunken Ribeye that I'm sure to dream about for weeks to come.

Christmas Eve was spent with extended family. We started the night by attending a live nativity scene with Nikki and her family. It was really cute - little kids played all the parts of the nativity, and it was held in a barn with live animals. The audience was encouraged to join in at times of song. It was a great alternative to Christmas Mass. Later that night, we took part in a round robin with mom's family. We started the night at my parent's house, where my mom served light appetizers of stuffed mushrooms and cheese, sausage and crackers. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jim hosted us for dinner, and it was amazing - prime rib cooked to perfection, with twice baked potatoes and salad. We nearly had to be rolled out of the place. After a few games of darts and foosball, we headed over to Aunt Bonnie's for a dessert of Banana Split Torte. It was a very relaxing, low-key way to see family and enjoy Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning at my parent's house is always so much fun - but also a little crazy! Nikki, Pete and the kids came over at 10:00, and after a breakfast of baked-apple french toast and breakfast pizza, we dove into gift opening. Mark was in charge of photos for the morning, and he got some great shots.

Mark and Max, displaying the wooden turtle that Max made and painted for Mark

Me and Lexi, displaying the beautiful scarf that she crocheted for me

Eric opening his gift from the family

Mom opening her red iPod

Mark displaying the amazing cribbage board that Pete handmade for him

My Favre jersey

As always, we also took family pictures in front of the Christmas tree.

Nikki's family

My parents

The whole family

After the long drive back to MN on Tuesday, we settled in for a great new Christmas tradition. Mark and I have decided that because Christmas Eve and Day are always taken by extended family, we would find a day close to Christmas to have our own celebration, by fixing a fabulous meal, having a great bottle of wine, opening gifts, and just relaxing. This was the first year we did it, and it was wonderful to have our own time during this crazy holiday season.

Mark cooking our fabulous meal

We dined like kings on bacon-wrapped filet over a bed of julien carrots, with Death Row Potatoes. (They are called Death Row Potatoes because if I were on death row, I would request these potatoes for my last meal. They are THAT GOOD.)

Two Hands Brave Faces Shiraz - quite tasty!

Mark opening gift #4

Me opening gift #5 - I'm really excited because I'm pretty sure that this would be...

My sewing machine!

In front of the Christmas tree

Overall, it was a great Christmas spent with family and loved ones. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas time as well!

Oh, Christmas Tree

2006-12-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Mark and I finally pulled the Christmas decorations out of storage, put together our artificial tree, and decorated the house for the holidays.

When we first decided to decorate on Saturday, I must admit that I wasn't really in the mood. Work and life in general have been so crazy lately that I haven't even had time to get excited for the holiday. But as soon as I opened up my big Rubbermaid container of Christmas decorations and ornaments, the excitement just flooded right back into me. I couldn't wait to get the tree up and decorate so that our house would feel like a home at Christmastime.

Here's some pics of the tree. Sadly, we can't have a real tree yet because we are still in an apartment. And, we don't really have the necessary amount of lights. But, we decorated the heck out of that tree with ornaments collected through the years and a whole bucket of love.

We also spent some time in the kitchen and made Haystack Cookies, something I'm sure we'll do year after year. That is one great thing about getting older and having your own sort of life - you get to start your own set of holiday traditions. Mark got the recipe for a no-bake cookie from a friend at work, so we decided to try it out. They are SO GOOD! We were pretty proud of our no-bake abilities.

I hope you are into the holiday season! Merry Christmas!

Life Update

2006-12-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's hard to sum up two months in a little blog post. So, instead of trying to recap every detail, here are a three of the highlights of the past months.

I went home to WI for Thanksgiving to spend time with family and friends. A 6:00am flight on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving gave my four full days to hang out and enjoy some relaxation. My mom had Thanksgiving at her house, so it was a little crazy getting everything ready. I was pretty proud of myself though; I made my very first Thanksgiving Day pie, and it was awesome. On Friday, my mom, my sister and I partook in our favorite tradition of the year - Christmas shopping on Black Friday. I got all of my shopping done in one day. I had lunch with Erin and her mom in Lake Geneva, did a little shopping with my dad, and just enjoyed the holiday. Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I didn't like much as a kid, but the older I get, the more I really enjoy it. It isn't just about eating until you burst and watching football until you are fast asleep on the couch. It's about getting together with family and friends, and truly realizing that you have so much to be thankful for. It's a kick start to the entire holiday season of sharing and giving and enjoyment.

The Whittens came up for a visit. It was a very relaxing weekend. We hung out, went to The Electric Fetus (the best music store around really), visited the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, did a little swimming, and just had a good time catching up with friends.

I saved the largest event for last, as it was truly the highlight of my fall. On October 28th, Erin and Dave got married, and I was honored to be a part of the event. Erin had planned everything out so perfectly; not a thing went wrong! The chapel was beautiful, the ceremony was heartfelt, the reception hall was amazing. The whole day was very romantic and whimsical. And, most importantly, it was so fun. From the moment we woke up in the morning, Erin was so much fun to be around. She was a fabulous bride - excited, nervous, filled with emotions of all kinds. And she smiled all day long. It gave the day a wonderful feeling right from the start. And that feeling just continued on through every moment of the day - waiting in the chapel for guests to arrive, standing up there watching them get married, taking pictures at the fabulous chapel, watching the first dance and the cake cutting, eating a delicious meal, and dancing the night away - it was all so fun to be part of. I unfortunately don't have many photos of the day - I was a little busy! But, here are a few of the day, and you should definitely scoot on over to Erin's blog to see a whole host of photos - they really are beautiful photos. (Note: go back to November 6th on her blog to see them!)

Waiting at the Chapel

At the Chapel

Erin, Mimi, Mom, Me

The Happy Couple

Yes, I'm still alive

2006-12-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

So, it's been two months since I posted, and I decided it was time that I came back on here and gave a little update.

I haven't been posting in the past two months for a couple of reasons. First, I was freakin busy! I was doing all sorts of fun things, but I didn't have the time to post about them. Second, I found that I was dreading the blog. Mark and I would go do something fun, and instead of coming home thinking "That was fun; I should really blog about this!" I would come home thinking, "That was fun; now I have to blog about it." The fun of blogging was being sucked out.

But I woke up this morning and though, hey I should really blog. I'm thinking that maybe I'm back to that stage where blogging is fun again.

So, I shall start blogging again. I'm very curious to see who's going to come and visit since I've been gone for two whole months. Have I lost everyone, and it really doesn't matter if I blog or not? I guess we'll see.

As for all of the things that happened in the last two months, I'll do a quick life update in the next few days to get caught up.

Until then....

A Day in the Country

2006-10-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite fall activities is getting out into the crisp air and heading to our favorite apple orchard, Afton Apple. We put away the busyness and craziness of the city, and head south just far enough to enter into the countryside. Mark and I were planning to go a couple of weeks from now, when the air would be a bit cooler and the weather would be a bit more fall-like. But then, earlier this week I had heard the weatherman say that the fall colors were peaking right now in my area. He stated, "If you want to get out there and do fall activities, do them this weekend. After that, it'll be too late to enjoy the fall." I took his words to heart, and so yesterday, we made the drive to Afton Apple to have a day in the country.

The weather was gorgeous. I do not think there could have been a better day in October. The air was warm, up around 75 degrees, and the sun the shining high. A small part of me wished that it would have been a bit cooler and crisper out, but I realized that this might be the last day of sun and warmth for quite a few months. So I embraced it, and prepared for a warm day outdoors.

We got to Afton Apple around noon, and it was perfect timing. The early crowd had gone home, and the afternoon crowd didn't start showing up until about 2:00 or so. We started at the apple sampling station, but Mark was more excited than the little kids and wanted to just run through the orchard, trying each type off of the tree. So blindly we entered the orchard, not quite sure what we were looking for. Luckily, the orchard labels every row so you know what you're picking.

We ran through the first few sections, trying each type of apple but not finding many types that we wanted to pick and take home. After a while, we realized that there were more apples on the ground, rotten through to the core, than there had been in the trees to pick.

And, of those that were still on the trees, many were rotten and wormed. We don't really know what the deal is. Did they have a bad crop this year? Did we come later than we had in past year, and missed the prime of apple time? We didn't really find out, but we became a little bummed that we had been running around and eating apples for quite some time, but we didn't have much in our bag.

But, being the eternal optimist that I am, I brought our spirits right up and suggested that we take the hayride over to another section of the orchard where the Honey Gold, my favorite apple, and the Sweet 16 are grown.

About halfway down one of the endless rows of Honey Golds, we hit the jackpot. We found the Tree of Fruitfulness, and were able to pick enough apples to fill our entire bag. Mark had to crawl in, up, and under a tree to get to them, but once he was in, there was no stopping the flow of apples. And, he escaped with only a few minor scratches.

After the Honey Gold experience, we headed back into the main area of the orchard where there is a cider demonstration, petting zoo, face painting, a large jungle gym, and a store where all things apple may be purchased. We stopped for a moment at the cider demonstration, tasting freely cored and pressed apple cider. It was delicious - so fruity and light instead of harsh and tart as some ciders can be. We took our small cups over to the petting zoo area, where we spent a good deal of time watching animals interacting with children, some eating it all up and some too cool to be bothered by small children. They had the usual petting zoo animals: cows, pigs, goats, a donkey, and, the coolest animal there, a llama. At one point, the llama came over to Mark and me and just stuck his big head in our faces, as if to say, "What are you looking at?!" I can't lie; we giggled like school kids.

At that point, it had gotten quite busy at the orchard, and we were pretty exhausted. We made our way into the store, where we purchased our pickings from the day as well as a sure-to-be-delicious frozen apple pie. Mmmmmmm....might have to make that for football today.

I think that we're still going to try to get out in a couple of weekends and do pumpkin picking and carving as well as a corn maze. I'm so glad that we went out yesterday though. It really was a fun-filled, and much-needed, day in the country.

Time

2006-10-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

October 2nd, 2006. Where did the year go? It actually scares me that it is already October 2nd, 2006. Literally, I have a small fear in my stomach as I write this. How did it get so late?

Late in the year...wasn't I just planning Heather's bridal shower? Wasn't I just gallivanting around South Dakota with Mark? Wasn't I just announcing my engagement?

Late in the decade...wasn't I just in college, staying out way too late at night, probably drinking way too much Hooch and Smirnoff Ice, and making the best memories of my life? Wasn't I just a teenager, hanging out by bonfires on summer nights and going to proms and homecomings?

Even late in my life already...wasn't I just a small girl, playing with Barbies, having slumber parties and having tea parties on my parent's deck? Wasn't I just attending St. Charles School, playing basketball and cheerleading on winter Sundays?

And now, here I am. A bonafide adult. Before I knew it. I'm working 40 hours a week; I'm paying bills and worrying about savings, both short-term and for retirement; I'm getting married.

Life seems to be moving more and more quickly as time goes on. The older I get, the more time passes before I realize it. As children, we have the luxury of not worrying or caring about the passage of time. For children, time is an arbitrary and surreal idea. And it passes so slowly. Do you remember how long it took for your birthday to come every year? For Halloween? For Christmas? It seemed like FOREVER before Santa Claus would be visiting with gifts for good girls and boys. Children fill their time with fun and laughter and play.

As we get older, the fun and laughter and play is pushed aside as more time is made for worry and work and stress. We can't find the time or make the time to do things we enjoy, even little things like taking a walk with our significant other or going to lunch with a friend. When time is wasted or killed, we curse that we should have done something more significant with our time.

Lately, I've been thinking more and more about the passage of time in my own life. Like I said, it actually gives me little pangs of fear that 2006 is over 3/4 over. This past year has by far been the fastest of my life. I just didn't have enough time for the things that I wanted to do. And the things that I did do went by so quickly that I'm not sure I even enjoyed them as much as I possible could have.

This last idea is what I fear most. I look to my future - even just 5 years into it - and I see getting married, buying my first home, and having my first child. Is time going to pass by so quickly over the next 5 years that I don't even have time to enjoy these amazing moments in life? Am I going to be moving so fast into the future that I can't possibly revel in my joy in the present?

I am going to make the conscious decision to make the answer to those questions No. No, I will not rush through life and miss the wonder of it all. No, I will not allow time to move me ahead when I'm not yet ready to. No, I will not lose any joy just because time is at my back pushing me forward.

I will stop and enjoy. I will relax and let time pass me by if it wishes, while I stay put where I want to be. I will take in the mindset of children and pay no attention to time.

In my adult life, I will spend my time with fun and laughter and play.

Autumn in the Air

2006-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, a sense of autumn has most definitely been in the air. Many little changes have crept up on me, and it has made me remember why this is one of my most favorite times of the year.

After a run outside last week, I stopped in a small grassy patch near my house to stretch. While stretching under a tree, I noticed a leaf fall from the branch above my head. As I looked at the ground around me, I realized that there were lots of leaves that had already fallen - leaves full of rich red, yellow and orange color. I couldn't help myself, and I scooped up a whole armful to take back home and make waxed leaves with. The waxed leaves didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but it was a great fall activity nonetheless!

While out for a walk with co-workers recently, we all noticed the change of the air itself. Instead of the hot, heavy, sticky air of summer months, we felt the cool, crisp feeling of fall on our faces. The air is lighter and calmer, truly reminding us that the earth is preparing for winter hibernation, which will come much too soon as always.

The birds are gearing up for the long trip south. While stopping to wait for a gaggle of geese to cross the street this morning, I realized that soon enough geese will be flying high in their V formation, and other birds of the north will be stopping in these parts for a rest during their flight.

While leaving work last night, I had cursed myself for not wearing a jacket. The temperature had dropped a bit during the day, and the cool night air was closing in at the early hour of 5:00pm. I love the first few weeks of fall when light autumn jackets are required, and you feel cozy somehow, tightening them up around your neck while on a walk or out running errands.

The sun retires earlier each night. I always find myself curled up in bed with a book earlier in fall than I would be in summer. During summer months, I feel bad if I'm inside reading instead of outside enjoying the hot summer sun. But during the crisp fall months it is perfectly acceptable, encouraged even, to enjoy a good read while lazing around, maybe with the window cracked just a bit to let in a faint blow of the night air.

Halloween decorations are filling the stores. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I just love it. Children are making the tough decision on whether to be a pirate or a vampire or a princess for the traditional trick-or-treating fun. Pumpkins sit watch on porches, and ghosts hang from the trees.

Just sitting here writing this makes me want to get outside for a walk and enjoy the beauty of an autumn day. In the coming weeks, I'm looking forward to great fall activities like visiting the apple orchard, carving pumpkins, finding my way through a corn maze, and maybe catching a fright or two at a haunted house.

While I love fall and it is my favorite season of the year, I do have one complaint about it: it's just too darn short.

I'm bringing chicken back...

2006-09-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that I removed chicken from my diet completely a while back. I honestly can't even tell you what happened to make me decide to do it. But, all of a sudden, I found myself revolted by the thought of eating chicken. When I tried to put a piece of it in my mouth, I would remember what it was, and I just couldn't do it. It was very odd, because I continued to eat most kinds of pork and all kinds of beef, never having a problem that I'm actually eating a pig and a cow. But with chicken, it was different. I just couldn't do it.

So, for an entire year, I had no chicken of any kind, not even in a salad or casserole. It made life difficult because chicken is a wonderful source of protein, and there are about a million and two recipes that include chicken. For someone who tends to get little to no protein in her diet (me), and for someone who has little to no creativity in the kitchen (uh....me again), chicken is kind of a failsafe. I tried really hard to experiment with different fishes and new recipes for pork and beef; I also tried eating soy protein "chicken" and "burger" patties. But really, I missed the taste of chicken. I really like chicken salad and chicken enchiladas and roast chicken.

Last week I decided that I was being just a bit ridiculous on the chicken matter. If I like the taste of it, and I actually know a lot of ways to prepare it, why couldn't I get past my disgust for what it actually was? And I was getting really sick of fish and chik'n patties.

And so, I decided to add chicken back into my diet. Not all chicken - I don't think that I'll ever be able to eat a chicken leg again - but some chicken. And, I don't think that I can eat it anywhere but at my own home, where I can prepare it myself and know where the chicken has come from.

Last night, Mark helped me prepare my first meal of chicken in over a year. I made baked chicken enchiladas. It was my mom's recipe, but I added a bit of my own flare to the dish.

We sat down for dinner, and I ceremoniously took a bite of the chicken enchilada. To my delight, it was amazingly delicious! I was surprised that they turned out as well as they did, actually. I quickly gobbled down the rest of my plateful, feeling very full and content afterward.

So, as Justin Timberlake is currently doing to sexy, I'm bringing chicken back. I'm excited about all of the recipes that await me. Here's hoping I can continue to conquer stomach over mind in the chicken arena.

War

2006-09-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

No, this is not my rant on the bloody brutality of battle.

It's my rant - and ode - to kid's games!

One of my (and Mark's!) favorite things to do is play games. We've got a closet full of them, and on any random Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you can find the two of us in our PJs, on the floor of our living room, sprawled out with a game of some sort. From Monopoly to Yahtzee! to Sequence to Skip Bo, we're gamers people!

This past weekend was no exception. Despite the beautiful weather tempting us to come outside, we couldn't pull ourselves away from the games for too long. Oh we got out and enjoyed the sunshine for a bit as well, but all the while our War cards were calling our names and reaching out to us. We couldn't fight it. Throughout the weekend, we played at least 5 games of War, with a few games of Sequence thrown in there for good measure. Here's a couple of snap shots of our kid-like behavior.

OOOOOOO...a war with Aces - is there anything so exciting!

Why do we love games so much, you might ask? Because nothing takes you back to the innocence of youth quite like playing a game. It's a time when you don't have to worry about bills and money; you don't have to feel racked with guilt for not returning your sister's phone call; you don't have to think about the horrors going on in the world. You can just sit down on the floor cross-legged, in your PJs, and enjoy the simplicity of playing a game with someone you enjoy. You can empty your mind of reality for a bit, and enter the gaming world. It's fantastic.

I encourage you to enjoy a family or friends game night of your own sometime quite soon!

Why Wine Is Better

2006-08-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Erin sent me an email this morning giving 10 reasons why wine is better than beer. I liked it so much that I decided to share it here. Because really, what's better than a glass of wine?! Well, a bottle of wine is better, I guess. But you get the point...

10. Did you ever hear of a “wine belly"?

9. Wine glasses don’t weigh as much as beer mugs - less wear and tear on the wrist and elbow, fewer cases of carpal tunnel

8. Fewer unanticipated belches

7. Doesn’t open the “flood gates” quite the same way beer does

6. Was there an Oscar-nominated movie last year about beer? I don't think so.

5. Ages better - and so do those who drink it!

4. Jesus didn’t turn water into beer; he left that to Miller and Anheuser-Busch, who proceeded to get the process backward and turn beer into water

3. Tastes better with ALL kinds of food - not just brats, chili and tacos

2. When asked what attributes they’re looking for in the perfect mate, “Knows how to navigate a beer list” never makes top 10

And the No. 1 reason wine is better than beer: Tastes great, less filling!

Now go enjoy a glass of wine!

A Farewell to Fine Dining.....For Now.

2006-08-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, Mark and I went to Oceanaire to celebrate our engagement...and to say good-bye to fine dining for quite some time. With the engagement comes the need to save money like nobody's business in order to have the wedding we've always pictured. So, we decided to cut fine dining out of the mix for a while, and decided to go out with a bang by celebrating at Oceanaire.

We arrived quite early for our 8:00pm reservations and so decided to go over to Manny's first for a drink. Mark opted for a Sam Adams, while I ordered a glass of cabernet. I don't remember the name of the cab right now, but it was delicious! We sat and chatted with the bartender a bit before heading over to the restaurant to satisfy our seafood cravings.

We were seated in the back of the restaurant in a large booth. Mark and I sat on the same side of booth and cozied up all romantic like. We were celebrating our engagement; it's allowed. The waiter soon came over with fresh bread and a relish tray for us to start with. He also presented us with a bottle of Block 13 Pinot Noir, a gift sent over from Mark's dad in celebratory fashion. It was a fantastic bottle of wine, and a most appreciated gift!

After no deliberation at all, we each placed an order for a crab cake appetizer. The crab cakes at this restaurant are out of this world. Seriously. You have never had a better crab cake than the one at this restaurant. Perfectly delicious lump crab meat with just a touch of sauce. Many crab cakes are about half crab, half filling. Not with this crab cake - at least 80% of the cake is pure crab meat. I have dreams about these crab cakes. We ate them very, very slowly, savoring every bite.

After the delight of our crab cakes, Mark selected the Ahi Tuna with red wine reduction and exotic mushrooms and I selected a magnificant salmon stuffed with baby bay shrimp, blue crab and brie cheese. We also got a side of hash browns to share. Mark's entree looked delicious, but because I am not really a fan of ahi tuna, I decided not to taste the dish. My entree was one of - if not the - most succulent things I have ever tasted in my life. I can't even explain how the medley of flavors complimented one another so amazingly. Words can't express how each beautiful bite was an explosion of rich, deep from the sea flavors. I urge you to run - not walk - to Oceanaire adn taste this dish as soon as is humanly possible. I truly can't describe the wonderful flavors that came out of that dish.

After a very filling dinner, my Dessert Spot was still empty and itching for a little something sweet. We ordered a piece of New York style cheesecake (and a glass of champagne for me) to top off the night. The cheesecake was served plain with just some fresh strawberries adorning the plate. It was very light and refreshing after such a rich entree. We sat back and enjoyed the last few bites of our fine dining experience.

We truly had a wonderful celebration of our engagement and a grand good-bye to our affair with fine dining for quite some time. It was a great way to go out.

Note: I tried about four times to put up some really great pictures of this night out, but they didn't work!

A little life

2006-08-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in quite some time, so I thought that I'd do a little life update for my millions of readers.

Life as an engaged person has been quite lovely. It's been so fun to show off my beautiful ring to coworkers, friends and finally my family last weekend. Sadly, I had to take it in to get resized on Monday, and it was supposed to be out until today. It is amazing how much I missed something that I only had for a short time. But they called last night and said it was in, so I scurried right over to pick it up. It's the most sparkly and pretty ring I've ever seen! No offense, of course, to all of those other rings out there that are lovely and beautiful, but every woman feels that hers is the prettiest! That's why she picked it out!

Last weekend at home in WI was so wonderful. I had a great day of shopping with my sister; went to see Lexi in her acting debut in A Pig Called Wilbur at the Malthouse Theater; walked the lake path in Lake Geneva with my mom, Nikki, and the kids; celebrated my mom's 50th birthday with the whole family; and talked wedding talk with the parents. It was a relaxing, yet busy, weekend at home.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend ahead. I'm heading over to Susie and Kristin's tonight for some wine and some chatting. Saturday night, Mark and I are going to Oceanaire to celebrate our engagement and to say good-bye to fine dining for a while. We're going to be saving, saving, saving in the next year or so for the big upcoming wedding. So, we decided to go out with a real bang!

I think that's all the big stuff for right now. Hope your life is going splendidly too!

We're Engaged!

2006-08-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened! On Saturday, August 5th, Mark proposed!

It was completely unexpected. Well, I knew that the proposal was coming sometime soon, but the actual night I had no idea. Here's how it happened.

We went to the wedding of my friend Meghan. It was held at a lovely country club north of the cities, and we had a really great time. The weather cooperated, the food was delicious, and the music was great to dance to.

At the wedding, I caught the bouquet - by pushing other girls down and diving for the prize!

Two months earlier, I caught the bouquet at my cousin Tony's wedding. That's two bouquets in two months. I was starting to feel like it was really my turn. On the car ride home, I was giving Mark a hard time about it, saying that someone must be trying to tell him something.

When we got home, he asked me to sit down on the couch because he had a surprise for me. I was not expecting anything like a proposal at all; in fact, I thought that he was going to play a new song that he learned on the guitar or something. I sat down on the couch and thought, "I'm so tired. I hope that he plays the song and then wants to go to bed!" Little did I know...

When he came out from the back bedroom, he had his hands in his pockets and his knees were shaking a bit. I was a little confused that he didn't have the guitar - are anything in his hands, for that matter. What kind of surprise was this? He stood in front of me and started his speech. He told me that he'd been wanting to do this for so long, but that so many other things had gotten in the way. He'd been waiting and waiting for the perfect moment and the perfect time, but he just couldn't wait one more minute to ask me this or he was going to explode. Then, he got down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him.

I fell right off of the couch. Somewhere in there I screamed, "You're not really doing this, are you?!" I had NO idea what was happening. Before I knew it, I was off the couch and on the floor kissing him and crying. I was kissing him so much that he didn't hear my answer - yes, of course! - and had to actually pull away from me to say, "What is your answer?!"

We stayed on the floor like that for quite some time, in complete shock. I was in shock because I completely did not expect to come home from the wedding and have him propose. And, I think that he was in shock, too, because he completely didn't plan to do it that night. It just felt right, and he felt the moment, and he just couldn't wait.

I love so much that the man I love couldn't wait to ask me to marry him. He was so excited and is so thrilled to be marrying me, that he just couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask! I was so touched by that, and I think it's truly one of the most adorable things I've ever heard in my life!

Here's the ring with all of the little accessories that I got. I tried so hard to take a good picture of the ring, but it didn't turn out. But I wanted people to see something! So, I thought that I'd at least put up this picture of my amazing ring with the lovely, little blue box...and all that comes with it!

The rest of the night, we just lay around in each other's arms, letting it all sink in. I didn't sleep much that night. I decided to wait until morning to call my mom, but my mind didn't quite get the concept of time that night. I woke up three times between 2:00am and 6:45am. Finally at 6:45am, I just decided that it was time to get up.

I called my parents at 8:00am, and no one was home! They were both working! Because I wanted my parents to be the first people in the whole world to know, I had to wait two more hours to tell people. It was brutal waiting. But, it was all so worth it in the end. Calling my family and friends has been so fun. I've gotten such fantastic reactions from everyone - shrieks into the phone, followed by congratulations, followed by excitement and just pure joy for Mark and me. Mark's family and friends reacted the same way - with pure excitement. It's been so great to be surrounded by people who are just as thrilled as we are!

The planning will start sometime soon, although I truly want to take my time and let this all sink in. I want to enjoy this time in my llife as much as is humanly possible. We haven't set a date yet, but it will be some time away. We're thinking June of 2008. Plenty of time to plan plan plan!

It's a little crazy that with a simple question and a simple (but GORGEOUS!) ring, our entire lives will change. I am no longer - and will never again - be a girlfriend. I am a fiance. And someday in the not so distant future, I will be a wife. With a husband. And an eternal bond of marriage. It's crazy how just a little question can change your life so much.

I'm so excited for all of the wonderful things that that question will bring us.

Big News

2006-08-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'M ENGAGED!

Well, to be fair, Mark and I are engaged. :)

I'll post tonight all the details and the story of how it all went down.

Normal?

2006-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

How normal are you? What is normal? Is anyone normal? What amount of normal is normal?

According to this quiz, I'm 60% normal. So I'm 40% abnormal. 40% of the actions I take, the words I speak, the clothes I wear, the things I believe are all abnormal. Weird. Odd. Out of the ordinary. Not on par with everyone else.

Yeah, that seems about right.

Take this QUIZ and let me know how normal you are!

La Belle Vie

2006-07-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Mark and I celebrated three years of dating bliss last week! As a surprise evening out for me, Mark arranged for us to have dinner at the extraordinary La Belle Vie.

I have been begging Mark to take me to La Belle Vie for at least two years now. The French-Mediterranean restaurant is consistently named one of (if not THE) best restaurants in the city by critics. Comments and awards include "The best restaurant in the history of Minneapolis" and winner of Award of Excellence by both Zagat and Wine Spectator Magazine.

An evening there is quite the to do! I was so excited when Mark told me that we'd be going there for dinner.

Our reservations weren't until 8:15pm, so we had quite a bit of time to kill. We decided to start the evening at Willie's, a new wine and coffee bar located just blocks from our old apartment. We'd seen it a few times and have always wanted to check it out.

Willie's is adorable inside. It's got a very bistro feel, and the bar is lovely. They have wines by the half glass which is nice if you're just stopping by, like we were. They of course have wines by the glass and bottle as well. We both had a light half glass of white wine before heading over to La Belle Vie.

Upon arriving at La Belle Vie, I knew that I was in for a night of excellence. The restaurant is located in The 510 Building in downtown Minneapolis. The building itself exudes wealth and old-world charm, almost like stepping back into the days of Gatsby. We valeted our car and headed into another era.

We reached the top of the staircase, peered into the lounge area on the right, and were escorted into the back of the restaurant to be seated. I was immediately impressed by the beautiful decor of the place - elegantly set tables surrounded by high ceilings and draped walls. It truly radiated brilliance and beauty.

We were seated at a table with one plush bench and two chairs. Being that it was our anniversary and we were being all romantic, Mark and I decided to cozy up together on the plush bench. Mark had already looked at the wine list online, and he ordered a bottle of 2001 E. Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape. It was phenomenal!

The menu was quite extensive. Patrons may choose from an 8-course menu, a 5-course menu, or the a la cart menu. After reviewing the menu for quite some time, we decided to order a few things from the a la cart menu and share all of it. Mark and I haven't had a lot of French food, so we wanted to be able to get a good taste of various things.

We started with two First Course dishes. The first was Chilled Ahi Tuna wrapped in Marlin with a Ginger-Citrus Vinaigrette. The second was a Carpaccio of Beef with Poached Lobster, a Sweet Corn Sabayon and Crisped Artichokes. Both dishes were just amazing. Ahi Tuna happens to be one of Mark's favorite dishes, so we have tried it at many different restaurants and prepared many different ways. I'm not a huge fan of ahi tuna, but this was really fantastic. The vinaigrette used wasn't over-powering, but gave the dish a nice twist. The carpaccio, too, was quite amazing. Beef carpaccio is one of my favorites, but I don't get to try it very often. The combination of beef with the lobster and the sweet corn sabayon was a delicious mix of flavors, each complimenting the others quite well. At first, when I looked at all that was on my plate, I thought that the flavors might compete with one another. But not so at all. We enjoyed the first course immensely.

For our main entree, Mark chose the Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Jerusalem Artichokes, Mustard and Crispy Marrow. I selected the Sautéed Halibut with Pistachio, Fava Beans and Pancetta. Personally, I thought that both dishes were superb. The tenderloin had a light sauce on it, giving it an extra boost of flavor. The halibut...well, I don't even know what to say about the halibut. I thought it was exquisite! The fish sat upon a small pile of vegetables and a wonderfully light sauce. We shared both dishes, so I was able to get my fill of both flavors. Although I think that Mark enjoyed both entrees, he wasn't as wowed as I was. He tends to enjoy his meat without sauces; he feels that the meat should stand alone in most cases. As for the halibut, he agrees that it was quite tasty, but felt that it might have been a bit undercooked.

At any rate, we enjoyed our entrees, and were both quite full after the first two courses. But, have I ever turned down dessert? No, sir. And so, on to the dessert course we went.

French desserts have a reputation, I believe, for being quite scrumptious. And, the dessert menu at La Belle Vie seemed to live up to the reputation. We ordered two seemingly delicious desserts, and hoped we'd chosen wisely.

And wise we were indeed! Some sort of chocolate is always a must for me when it comes to desserts, and so we ordered one Chocolate Custard Cake. The cake was served with Frozen Strawberry-Mint Parfait and Strawberry Tartare. We also decided on the Cardamom Donuts with Lemon Verbena Cream, Blueberry Jam and Blueberry Sorbet. We anxious awaited the arrival of our third and final course.

The desserts arrived, and of course the presentation was fantastic. Mark took a bite of the cake, and I took a bite of the donuts, and we both were in heaven! We of course shared both desserts, and I have to say that one was just as good as the other. The cake was fudgy and delicious, a melt-in-your-mouth kind of delight. Pairing the cake with the parfait was absolutely divine. The donuts were wonderfully tasty as well. The donut was light and fluffy, and the blueberry sorbet and jam were delicious atop the doughy goodness. Dessert was, of course, my favorite course of the three.

In all, it was a fantastically romantic evening in an amazingly delicious restaurant. The food was divine, the ambiance was lovely, and the company was perfect.

I DID IT! Part Two

2006-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

A week later, I'm still reveling in the experience of completing my very first triathlon. It was truly a day filled with excitement, pride, accomplishment, and a great deal of pain.

Pre-Race
I woke up Saturday morning at 4:15am feeling very ready. I had gotten all of my gear situated the night before, and I was confident that the day would go well. I showered to wake myself up a bit. It gave me time to really focus and keep myself calm. I ate a small breakfast of half a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. It was brutal trying to eat! That's when I realized that I did indeed have the nerves kicking in.

By 5:10am I was packed up in the truck and ready to go. I arrived at the race site promptly at 5:30am, as our Team in Training staff advised. I walked right up to the check in and body marking, got my transition site all set up, and made it back to the tent in plenty of time to take our group photo at 6:30am.

At first I was a little surprised and irritated that we were told to arrive so early. But after our group photo, I looked over to the check in area and saw that hundreds of people were lined up for miles, just waiting to be marked. I was a little less irritated then...

After the group photo I met up with my family to calm down a bit, get them a good spot in the shade from which to watch me, and get a few "before" pics from mom.

Shortly before the pros started at 8:00am, the officials made an announcement that due to the excessive heat - it turned out to be 98 degrees, and over 105 degrees heat index that day - they would shorten the course. The bike would be 22 miles (instead of 25) and the run would be 3.1 miles (instead of 6.2). 10% of me was disappointed that I wouldn't complete the entire Olympic distance, but 90% of me THANKED GOD!

I tried my best to stay calm and keep the nerves out, but it was inevitable that they'd come. And as soon as I walked over to the beach to see the warm up and start area, the nerves hit full force.

I warmed up with Rachel, a girl from TNT who happened to be right in front of my in the swim line up, and that helped me get my barring for the water that day. The water temp was a balmy 82 degrees, which is about 10 degrees warmer than I was used to for lake water. I warmed up for 10 minutes or so, then made my way back up to get a PowerAde. In the process, Rachel and I both managed to be late for our swim start! We didn't get docked any points or time, but we had to start with all of the men swimmers!

I quickly ran up to the start line, waited my 3 second turn, and ran into the lake.

Swim
I thought that swim would be my hardest of the three sports. In the end, I would realize that although it didn't go swimmingly (pun intended), it wasn't the worst by far. I started out with a good strong stroke. I was feeling strong in the water, and I was confident in my moves. I was singing the handy song that Erin made up for me, and my pace was slow but steady as I practiced. I made the decision to make short goals for the swim. I continued to think to myself, Just make it to the next buoy. When I made it to that buoy, I focused on the next one. It broke up the swim into smaller, more manageable chunks.

After only about a 1/4 mile, though, I was panting and needed a break. Plus, my goggles were giving me trouble. Water was seeping through, making the freestyle an impossible stroke. I rested for a minute on a life guard’s raft, fixed my goggles, and I was off again.

I rounded the first yellow triangle and was feeling tired but ok. I had done a combination of the breast stroke and the freestyle for the majority of the first leg of the swim. By the second leg, though, the back stroke was my best friend. I continued with my strong and consistent pace, but I could breathe easier. Every 10 strokes or so I would flip, sight, and turn back over. I did that for the entire second leg of the swim, which was by far the longest leg.

I rounded the second triangle and was really hurting for breath. I could see the beach - it was so close now! I continued to focus only on my closest buoy, but it was hard not to try to pull out all the stops and just swim to the beach as fast as possible. I did the breast stroke for the majority of this leg, and 50 minutes after entering the water, I finally made it back to shore.

Transition One
I ran up the beach and into the transition area. I luckily had a great transition spot, and I quickly found my bike. I put on my socks and shoes, helmet and glasses, and I began to run to the Bike Out zone. (You can not ride within the transition area. You must walk or run your bike to the Bike Out zone. You are disqualified for riding within the transition fences.) I got to Bike Out, but had to go to the bathroom so badly! I threw down my bike, found a Port-A-John, and raced to it. It slowed down my transition time, but it was much needed. I ran back to my bike, out the Bike Out zone, and hopped on. I was off.

Bike
My family was stationed at the very beginning/end of the bike, so I saw them cheering loudly for me as I entered the bike stage. It was great to see familiar and friendly faces cheering me on right from the start.

The bike started out strong for me. My legs were feeling great, and I was really confident that I'd have a good ride.

At about 3 miles in, however, I knew that something was wrong with my bike. Really, really wrong. I noticed a hard dragging from the front tire, and it was extremely difficult to pedal. I looked down to the front wheel and noticed that my brake was definitely not positioned correctly. It wasn't until after the bike that I realized that my front brakes were rubbing on the wheel the entire ride.

I didn't know what the exact problem was while on the ride, so I didn't take the time to stop and fix the problem. As it turns out, I wouldn't have been able to fix the bike on my own anyways, so it was ok that I didn't stop. But it sure did hurt my time - and my leg strength.

By mile 5 I was already tired. I kept pedaling along, but was being passed by hundreds of people. Literally, hundreds of people. I was constantly telling myself that I was doing this only for me and only to complete the race. I am really proud to say that not once did I consider giving up. It was hard and HOT and grueling, but I kept going and kept telling myself that I would make it to that finish line.

At about mile 10, I was rounding the corner near the Ford Plant, and I saw Carol and Lucy (Mark's sister and mom) standing on the sidelines. Due to the heat and my focus on the race, I couldn't even scream their names to get their attention. I put my hand in the air in hopes that they'd see me, and they did! They shouted my name and cheered me on, and Carol even snapped some pics of me passing by. It was fantastic to have support mid-race!

Between mile 1 and mile 15, I witnessed two people pass out on their bikes. Just pass out and fall right over. At mile 2, I saw an ambulance with two police officers and a person on a stretcher. MILE 2! I knew that I really was doing something crazy and a little remarkable, but I also knew to listen to my body more than ever before.

By mile 15 I was regretting that I didn't do the short course, but I trekked on and continued with my long course route. By this time, not many people were still out on the bikes, and I was actually enjoying the fact that I could ride alone. I was tired and hot, and I really felt my body slow down. I wanted to be able to be alone and try my best to focus.

At about mile 17, the first savior of the day showed himself to me. By this time, my body heat was unbearable. I was really dragging and hot and wondering how I was going to make it through to the end. My water supply was low, and the water station wasn't for a few more miles. And then, I rounded a corner. On the side of the street, sitting in his front lawn, was a man with a hose. He saw me coming from a bit away, and by the time I got to him, he was standing in the street ready to shower me with wonderfully cold water. I passed by very slowly, allowing the water to drench me from head to toe. I told him he'd just saved my life! He smiled and told me to have a good rest of the race. The thing is, I wasn't kidding! That water helped cool my body temperature down enough to give me a huge boost of energy. After that, I pedaled harder and faster, and I got to the water station to refuel in no time!

At mile 20, I saw another man fall over and pass out on the bike ride. The race officials ran over to him with buckets of water and ice to cool his temperature down. It was so scary to see these people just pass out. I only had a couple of miles to go, I told myself, and I knew that I could do it.

I saw the sign for mile 21, and I knew that I was almost done. I had steep hills and long climbs and straight stretches of road behind me, and I was almost on to the third leg of my race. As I neared the turn toward the Bike In zone, I heard my name being called. My sister had left the family pack and was up on the hill, cheering me into the final mile of the race. It was so great to see her face! At that point I was so tired, and the sound of my name was a perfect refresher. I pedaled down toward the Bike In zone and saw the rest of my family, with huge signs and smiles on their faces.

I pedaled into the transition area with a smile on my face and a new excitement in my stomach.

Transition Two
As I ran to my transition rack, I saw that many of the other people in my group had already started the run. I put my bike up on the rack, threw my helmet down onto the ground, and grabbed my purple TNT shirt. As I ran from my transition to the Run Out, I felt the sense of wanting to quit for the first time in the race. So many people had already finished! They were packing up their bags and heading out of the race area, while I still had the run to go! But, 30 seconds after that initial feeling, I reminded myself of my goal and kept going. I got to the Run Out zone and was ready to finish this thing.

Run
As I started the run, my legs felt very heavy. I had practiced bricks during training, but I guess nothing can truly prepare you for the actual race day.

I knew that my family would be near the beginning of the race, and I looked for them for support to get me through this last leg. As I ran the first hundred yards, I saw my family standing on the sidelines. They weren't shouting or cheering for me. They all had a very blank look on their faces. I didn't understand until I was right in front of them that they didn't know it was me! I had changed from my bike helmet to a white hat, and I had put on a purple shirt. I finally found the words to say "Hey family! This is me!" And they all sprung into action, cheering and waving signs and laughing at the situation. I had a good laugh myself, and it felt good to relieve some tension.

After I passed my family, I reevaluated my initial run strategy. I was originally going to run 20 minutes, walk 2, then run again. When the race course was shortened, I decided to try to run the whole thing. But when my bike issue arose, and my legs tired out more quickly due to it, I decided to just do my best with the running and take breaks when I needed.

I probably ran half and walked half of the run portion. I walked through all three water stations, pouring two cups onto myself and drinking one cup. Then I would run for a bit until my legs went wobbly - which happened more than a few times - and I would walk again.

About half way around the lake, my second savior of the day came. The fire department was set up on the street and they were spraying the runners with water from the hoses. It was glorious! My skin scorched at the first touch of the water, but I gave myself a good 30 seconds to just stand in the down-pouring mist and enjoy it before heading back into the runner's mindset.

At a 1/2 mile left to go, I knew that I had to run the rest of the race the best that I could. Afterall, I wanted to cross the finish line running! I took a last bit of water, focused in, and sped up toward the blue tunnel.

Finish Line
As I started into the blue finish tunnel, I knew that my journey was over. People were lined up on either side of me, cheering loudly and screaming my name and encouraging me on to the end. Balloons were floating overhead, and I could see the finish arch just ahead of me. I decided to take my time through this tunnel. When would I again feel the experience of crossing my first finish line? I looked at the people when I ran down the blue carpet. I smiled at them, I thanked them for their cheers, and I enjoyed the fact that they were cheering for ME! It was an amazing feeling.

I ran up to the finish tape, and I jumped over the line. I was done! I truly did it! I had finished my triathlon!!!

Post-Race
As soon as the race was over, I grabbed an ice-cold bottle of water and some delicious berry gelato to get my body temperature down and to start the refueling process. The excitement whirled around me as athletes joined their family, friends, and team mates to revel in the accomplishment. As I turned out of the finish area, my family came rushing towards me with hugs and kisses and words of congrats. I must admit, I was so tired that I couldn't feel or say much!

It's amazing to me that it's all over now. It was so hard, and it was so hot outside. It was tiring, and it was painful. And it was long.

But, I'm so glad that I did this. I'm so glad that I made the journey through training and fundraising. I'm so glad that I made it not only to the race day, but to the race finish line. It was truly an amazing experience, and I must admit that I'm proud of myself. I'm proud that when I didn't want to train, I made myself do it. I'm proud that when I was tired during the race, I kept on going. I'm proud that I crossed that finish line, and I did it with a smile on my face.

I'm proud that now I can officially call myself a triathlete.

ARGH!

2006-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

ARGH BLOGGER! I've been trying to update my blogger account with lots of pics and the story of the tri, but it's being a biatch. So, please, PLEASE check back on Saturday afternoon. I'm going to update Saturday morning, and you'll be able to see everything then!

I DID IT! part one

2006-07-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I DID IT! I completed my first triathlon yesterday. It was so hard, and there were a lot of factors that I had to overcome just to finish. I'll elaborate more on my part two post about the triathlon, because right now I'm too tired and my whole body aches too much to write about the experience. But I did it. I am officially a triathlete.

Triathlon Countdown: 1 Day!

2006-07-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's tomorrow! I can't believe that the triathlon is tomorrow!

I'm feeling very strong and ready right now. I'm not nervous or worried at all. I'm really excited for the day to just get here already! I had my Pasta Party last night, and it was very motivational. I left there feeling like I can take on the world!

I have a bunch of errands to do today. I'm heading over to the transition area at noon to check out the site and familiarize myself with the transition zone. I've got to go to Erik's Bike Shop and pick up some last minute items to get my bike all ready for the trek. I've got to lay out all of my race day items and triple check that I have everything. I've got to go to the race expo and pick up my race packet. It's going to be a busy day!

But I am ready. I feel so strong and confident today. I sometimes think that's not so good - like if you're too confident you aren't ready for anything. But in this case, I think that confidence is what gets you through the pain.

BRING IT ON!

Triathlon Countdown: 2 Days

2006-07-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, people. I've got to honest here. The nerves and some of the excitement have been overcome by a bit of worry.

Have I mentioned the heat yet? I think that I might have. Well, I'm a bit worried about it now. The National Weather Service has just issued an "excessive heat watch" for Saturday and Sunday. They are expecting the temps to be between 100 to 105 degrees.

THAT'S INSANE!!! It's worse than they originally anticipated!

I'm going to focus really hard on water intake and on listening to my body, but holy crap that's hot. I love that the National Weather Service has advised people to stay indoors this weekend in the air conditioning. Not only am I going to be outdoors, but I'm going to be heavily working my body for about 4 hours!

But, I'm being optimistic and going over my goals once again. Goal number one is to finish this race. I want to finish the race safely. I'm reminding myself that a good finish time was never part of the initial contract I had with myself. My revised goal is to finish in 4 hours, but not at the expense of my health. I'll push as much as I can within a safety zone.

As for my pre-race prep, I'm doing ok. I'm drinking a ton of water, and I'm eating well too. Tonight is my big Pasta Party with my team, so I'm looking forward to good food and some last minute advice.

Other than my worry about the heat, I have to say that I feel pretty good today. I'm not that nervous about the race itself. I feel like I've finally got the logistics down for race day for both myself and my family. I feel like my body is prepared for the hell I'm going to give it.

Now I just want it to be here!

Triathlon Countdown: 3 Days

2006-07-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Three days to go. THREE DAYS! It's getting right down to it, now.

I got up early this morning and did a whole round of stretches. It felt good to get my body up and moving. My knee has been bothering me for the past week or so, and a good stretch really helped to get it loosened up. I think I might head out for a walk tonight to keep my legs loosened up and keep my body moving.

Starting today I'm supposed to really focus on my water intake, my healthy proteins and carbs intake, and my rest. Today and tomorrow are really the most important days for this stuff. Friday, of course, is still important, but the day before the race is not the prime time to prepare. You've gotta get your body ready to go days in advance. So, I'm drinking water like crazy today. I think I'm going to make myself salmon for dinner tonight.

I'm nervous today. I read over all of my information last night, and I was feeling very calm about the whole thing, but I'm back to being nervous again this morning. Not about anything in particular, but just an overall feeling of HOLY CRAP! But I've still got my feelings of excitement right along with it, so it's a good balance of the two. I know that once I get down there I'll just be so excited and ready to go that the nerves will melt away...hopefully.

I'm taking half of my day off from work on Friday to prepare for the big day. I've got to head out to the transition site to go through the motions, and I've got to get over to the convention center to pick up my race packet. Plus, I've got the whole family coming into town for the event, so I have a house to get in order, too!

I can't believe it's only three more days until the event. I feel like I've been training forever. I guess we'll see if all the training helped...

Triathlon Countdown: 4 Days

2006-07-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I had wanted this countdown to start on Saturday, with a full 7 days to go until the big event. Unfortunately, I was home for my grandma's funeral, and I didn't feel much like posting. To be honest, I don't much feel like posting right now, so this'll just be a short one.

I met with Courtney, my TNT staff member, earlier today to go over the logistics of the race. There was a big meeting that I missed last night, and Courtney was kind enough to meet with me today to go over everything. It REALLY helped to alleviate some of my fears about the day of.

Today I'm feeling very tired, probably caused by a variety of things: not eating well, not sleeping well last night, and the whirlwind of emotions I'm experiencing right now. I'm hoping that throughout this week I can really focus on eating well, getting plenty of rest and fluids, and keeping my head focused on the race.

I saw the weather this morning. The forecast for Saturday is 99 degrees, hot with high levels of humidity and no cloud cover. Holy crap. I was told to remember my fluids during the race course, and to listen to my body. I'm still going to push for a finish time of around 3:44, but the heat might play a major role in my finish time. But, as instructed, I'll listen to my body and what it's telling me. Extra breaks might just be the trick for my successful finish.

Ok, this post isn't all that coherent, but I'm tired and not really focused. I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day. Check back then.

Triathlon Update

2006-07-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Mark and I went to South Dakota for vacation this past weekend, and it was fantastic. I'll blog about that later when I've pics and stuff.

Only a week and a half to go until the BIG DAY, and I'm REALLY nervous today. But I'm nervous about stupid stuff. I'm not nervous at all about the race. I've broken down the race into these thoughts:

Swim - I'm going to try really hard to swim the crawl, but if I just can't do it or I need a break, I'll flip over and do the back stroke. This is what I did during the mock tri, and it worked wonders for me. It was still able to get through the water quickly, but I didn't get tired out as easily. I'm hoping to finish the swim in 45 minutes or less.

Bike - I'm quick and 100% prepared for the bike. I know the bike portion is long, but this is by far my strongest of the three sports. I feel ready and excited about this portion. If I need a short break, I'll coast down some of the larger hills of the course. I'm hoping to finish the bike in 1 hour, 45 minutes or less.

Run - I feel pretty prepared for this. I'm sticking to my strategy of run for 20 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, then back to running. If I get really tired out or my body shuts down a bit, I can always walk and still make it to that finish line. That is, after all, the goal here! I completed my last 6 mile run in 60 minutes, but that was without doing to swim and bike first. I'm hoping to finish the run portion in 1 hour, 20 minutes or less.

So, overall, I'm hoping to finish between 3.5 hours and 4 hours.

But again, I'm not that nervous for the race itself. I'm nervous about all the stupid little stuff that I have to deal with - Where do I park at race site? Where do I go to meet up with my team? Where do I go to check in and set up my transition area? I have to be at the race site by 5:30am, but my race doesn't start until after 8:30am - what am I supposed to do during that entire time? Where should my family and friends go to watch me? Where should they park?

Seriously people, I'm nevous about the most stupid things in the world! Ah well. Who's surprised by that? I have a big meeting on Monday with my Team in Training folks, and I'm assuming that all of my little fears will be cleared up by then.

For the next 10 days we're not supposed to do major training sessions. I am going to ride the bike course one last time on Saturday just to make sure that I've got it down. But other than that, I'm not going to do anything strenuous. Maybe I'll do a short 1 mile run a couple of times, and I'll get into the pool to do easy laps. I'm going to be doing a lot of stretching and keeping my muscles loose over the next few days.

Starting on Saturday, I'm going to try to post everyday until the triathlon to keep my thoughts focused. Keep coming back with supportive comments - I'm going to need them!

Thursday Thirteen Return

2006-06-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things about My Grandma

I got a call from my mom last week telling me that my grandma had broken her hip. Knowing what I do about health and health-related topics - both from my mom's dinner table discussions of the day's surgical cases and from my current career - I know that when an elderly person breaks a hip, it's not a good thing. Not a good thing at all. Elderly people many times don't have the strength to recover from such a fall and surgery, and many of them don't live much past a year of the incident. My grandma is a very old-bodied woman who has had many physical and mental ailments since I can remember. Her breaking a hip is pretty much the last thing she can handle.

The past week has been one of discussions on her status, what might happen in the next few days, what inevitably will happen in the next few weeks. When you've been close to a grandparent, and they are on the brink of passing away, you start to think about a million different memories from childhood times at their home. So, for my return to Thursday Thirteen after a few weeks' hiatus, I give you thirteen of my favorite memories of my grandma.

1. Her green nightgown. My grandma had the most beautiful dressing gowns you've ever seen. They were made of layers and layers of silk and chiffon. To a little girl obsessed with dress up and being pretty, nothing was better than dressing up in grandma's green nightgown and prancing around the house.

2. Her ceramics. When I was a small child, my grandma had a small business with her sister and a close friend. They molded and painted ceramics which they would then sell at arts and crafts fairs. I remember specific items that she let me paint with her - a small bunny rabbit, little brown teddy bears, Easter eggs. Painting the crafts was fun, but even better was when the kiln was opened and our crafts had magically turned from dull shades of pinks, greens and blues to vibrant splashes of fuscia, heather green, and cobalt.

3. Her baseball pancakes. My sister really holds the throne with this one, but it's one of my favorites as well. My grandma had (sister now has) this old pancake pan that would hold 8 to 10 balls of pancakes. She'd pour a little bit of batter into the hole, turn them over with the toothpick, and they'd come out in little baseball shaped pancakes. For some reason those pancakes tasted better than any other ones in the world.

4. Easter egg hunts. Every year for Easter, we went to my grandma's house for a huge Easter egg hunt. All of the adults would go outside to hide eggs while us little kids were stuck in a back room with all the shades shut so that we couldn't peek at all. After the eggs were finally hid, we tore through the yard trying to find the eggs. I remember the sound of my grandma laughing as she watched us run through the grass and climb up poles and dig through bushes for the eggs.

5. Her doll cakes. Back in the day, my grandma made the most beautiful cakes. The favorite, and the one requested every birthday, was the doll cake. She'd make a delicious angel food cake and place a doll standing upright in the middle of the cake. Then, she'd decorate the cake as a big Southern belle gown of the doll with different shades of frosting. She'd decorate the top of the doll with frosting to look like the top of the dress. Each year we got to pick out whatever colors we wanted, and she'd make use the doll cake of our dreams.

6. My trip to Florida. When each of us grandkids turned 10, our grandparents took us to Florida on vacation. I actually got to go twice - the second time was with my cousin Ashley because everyone wanted to make sure she had someone to go on rides with; gram and gramp were a little older by then. But my trip to Florida was really special to me, because I got a whole week of attention all to myself. We went to Walt Disney World for a week with my family, but then for a whole second week I went with just grandma and grandpa to the ocean. It was wonderful. We picked oranges from someone's backyard (don't remember whose!), stayed at a hotel with a pool and beachfront access, and swam around in the ocean. It was my first time seeing the blue vastness of ocean saltwater.

7. Christmas Eve. Every year, Christmas Eve was spent at my grandma's house. Some years we went to church beforehand or afterward, but Christmas Eve dinner and gifts were with my grandma. It was one of the best days of the whole year. The first thing we did was run to the tree to find our new ornament from the year. Each of us grandkids got a new ornament every year. We'd eat a big dinner with the whole family, and then the girls would clean up the kitchen in anticipation of gift-opening. No gifts were opened until after dinner was done and cleaned up. And then boy did the gifts flow!

8. Her tea cups. My grandma had a collection of a few different things. The most notable for the majority of the grandchildren is her Precious Moments collection. She has probably well over a hundred of those. But for me, the best collection was her tea cups. She had a shadow box hung in her house with about 25 tea cups sitting in each of the little windows. I always wanted to play with them, but that was one thing that we weren't allowed to touch. There are two in particular that I love - they have a solid colored saucer and outside to the cup, but at the bottom of the cup is a beautiful painted on image. It's like a little surprise at the end of a cup of tea.

9. Her Black Hills Gold. My grandma has so much jewelry it's ridiculous. She has a whole rubbermaid container filled with jewelry boxes that are filled with pieces of jewelry. Some of the pieces that I most remember are her Black Hills Gold rings. She had what seemed like hundreds of pieces of Black Hills Gold in her collection.

10. Her porcelain doll. My grandma had a porcelain doll sitting on her dresser for as long as I can remember. I loved her. I thought she was the prettiest doll I'd ever seen. She had brown hair in Shirley Temple-like curls and a frilly little pink dress. I haven't seen her in years, but I can remember very clearly what she looks like.

11. Walking to her house. From the time I was born until the time I was 6, we lived five blocks away from my grandma. As a very small child, I remember my mom making Walking Salads (cored apples with peanut butter and raisins shoved into the hollowed our core), and sending us up to grandma's house for an afternoon. We were lucky that she lived so close to us - it allowed me to have all of these great memories about her.

12. Ice cream in the freezer. I literally just remembered this one while I was writing this blog entry. My grandparents always had ice cream cones in the freezer. Always. They had those drumsticks with the vanilla ice cream, the peanuts on the top and the chocolate on the bottom of the cone. And they always had candy, too. Mountains of candy in the dishes. Each time at grandma's house was a sugar rush.

13. The smell of her house. I can remember the smell of my grandma's house if I just close my eyes and picture the living room. I have no idea what made up that smell, but it was a warm and comforting one.

Happy Thursday to everyone. I ask that you keep my grandma and my family in your thoughts and prayers.

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Sex and the City

2006-06-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

I watched a couple of episodes of Sex and the City last night for the first time in a while, and I thought that I'd do a little post on reasons why it's one of my favorite shows of all time.

It's a show that transcends generations of women and can be appreciated by all women. My mom, my sister, my friends - we all watch it. I know that someday (thanks to season on DVD), my daughter and her friends will watch it. And I'll probably watch the whole thing all over again with them.

It's a show that has given me some great memories over my years. I can remember really hot summer nights in college, laying in bra and underwear, and my roommate and I would rent disk 1 of a season on DVD, watch the entire thing, and then run to the video store minutes before closing to get disk 2. I remember another time when the snow was coming down so hard it was difficult to see three feet in front of you, but we braved it and drove to the video store in search of Sex and the City DVDs.

It's a show that makes women relate to the characters in a way that I've never experienced before in my life. I remember discussing, as I know many other groups of women did, which character we most identify with. Most women probably identify at least a little bit with each character, but there is always one character that resembles each woman the most. I'm definitely a Charlotte. I identify with her optimistic outlook on love and finding the true love in life, even if that does make me a hopeless romantic. I identify with her classic and feminine sense of style. I identify with her realization after meeting Harry - that love might come in a different, and far better, package than you ever thought it would.

So, ladies of the blogging world, help me with my ode to Sex and the City. Share a favorite Sex and the City memory in the comments, and also finish the line for yourself:

I'm a ...

Would you please SHUT UP!

2006-06-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

I love going to the movies. I might even call myself a movie buff. And going to the movie theater to see a high-action blockbuster, a smoky romance, or a laugh-out-loud comedy is one of my favorite things to do. At least it used to be.

Very few things bother me more than noisy, inconsiderate people at the movies. Sometimes, I can go to the movies and block out the sounds of other people talking - to their dates OR on their cell phones. Other times, like this past weekend, I just can't seem to get past the rudeness of stupid people.

Mark and I decided to go The Break-Up on Saturday afternoon. I am a big fan of Jennifer Aniston, and Mark really enjoys the crazy antics of Vince Vaughn. So, after some running around and errands, we headed over to Southdale Mall to take in a 1:30 show.

When we arrived at the theater about 20 minutes early, the place was pretty empty. As the show time grew nearer, however, the place filled to almost capacity. My anxiety was heightened as people settled in on either side of Mark and I, as well as directly in front of and behind us. We were surrounded by potentially rude people.

Now, let me digress for a brief moment. I'm not certain that I've ever explained to my millions of readers the experiences that Mark and I have endured at the movies. We tend to be surrounded by people who fail to remember that they are not in their own living room at home, but they are in fact in a public place where others have paid hard-earned money to relax for a night at the movies. There was Love Actually, where a woman screamed, clapped, and blew kisses at the screen every time Hugh Grant made an appearance. She also decided that a smelly, disgusting bologna sandwich was an appropriate thing to bring to the movies and eat during the film. And then there was Layercake, where a group of elderly women decided to sit directly next to and behind Mark and I, and proceeded to chat during the entire film, eventually leaving halfway through because, as I gathered from the conversation they were having, they had lost one member of the group! And who can forget The Chronicles of Narnia? We went to this movie on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The theater was empty except for a very well-behaved family of five, sitting about six rows back from us, and that nice loud couple who decided it was appropriate to sit in the row DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US and talk on their CELL PHONES during the ENTIRE MOVIE. And the list goes on and on.

Yes, we've had a fair amount of movie frustrations.

We’ve tried different ways to alleviate these problems. We’ve gone different times of day – afternoon, evening, late night. We’ve tried different theaters – downtown Minneapolis, suburbs, Saint Paul. Nothing helps. Rude and stupid people are everywhere.

So, you can see where my anxiety would come in as the walls of people started to close in around us on this particular Saturday afternoon. I had pegged the three chatty women in front of us for the problem group. Little did I know that it would be the loud, chauvinistic, offensive, brute of a wanna-be-frat-boy and his short, high-pitched, I'm-so-in-love-with-my-mush-for-a-brain boyfriend that would be our biggest problem.

As the opening credits rolled, shots appeared of Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn in typical couple fashion - on a bowling team, at a Halloween party, purchasing their new home. During these credits, I got my first glimpse of the problems I'd face during the film. SHE started with the "Those are so cute! It's just like us!" comments, and HE fired back with "We don't take stupid pictures like that. You'd never get me into a dumb costume like that."

I bit my tongue, hoping it'd get better once the movie actually started. I was very, very wrong.

I don't want to get into specifics of the movie for those who want to see it, but there are many typical fighting scenes that you'd see with any couple. And the COUPLE sitting next to me decided to make sure that the entire theater knew that they were in a relationship, and that they’d had those same fights. SHE continuously commented "That's just like you! You do that SAME thing!" And HE'D shoot back, "That's because that's what a MAN does." SHE'D say, "She hurt his feelings, see. Now he's feeling the pain, too." HE'D say, "Real men don't feel pain. They just go out and get laid." It went on like this the entire movie. On more than one occasion, I was completely distracted by this couple, as the theater erupted in laughter over a scene or a line that I had completely missed.

I don’t know what bothered me more, the fact that they were so ridiculously rude and loud and chatty, or that the man in that relationship was such a dick about women in general and yet the girl continued to cuddle up next to him and laugh at his “witty banter” like he was God’s gift. I swear to everything that is holy, if my boyfriend ever said out loud the things that this guy was saying, I’d kick his ass from here to Wednesday. As a movie-goer, I was pissed for myself and others in the vicinity who were disrupted by this couple. As a woman, I was pissed that there still exists young men who feel it’s acceptable to degrade women in the manner that this guy was, and that there still exists women who put up with crap he was spouting.

Now, you might wonder why I didn't lean over and ask them to be quite. Or, why I didn't scream at them at the top of my lungs, rip her annoying little voice box out, and kick this man in the balls with hopes that he'd never procreate. Well, in my experience dealing with different sorts of people, I've found that generally speaking these people enjoy the attention, even the negative attention. I didn't want to start a whole big thing in the theater, and make it more disruptive for other people. Plus, I was afraid that I’d really go off on this guy and I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from telling him to climb back into the shit hole from whence he came.

Looking back, I wish that I would have said something polite. And, in my earlier days, I probably would have said something really nasty to them. But I think that as I've gotten older, I've mellowed out a lot, and I realize that sometimes, people suck and you gotta deal with it. It's either go out into public with the knowledge that sometimes people will piss you off, or become a hermit and never see the light of day.

I'm going to choose the sunlight. But it’s my blog, so I can still bitch and moan about it...

Mock Tri

2006-06-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as part of my training with Team in Training, I participated in a mock triathlon. The mock tris are set up as an opportunity for us to experience what a race day might feel like - from set up to racing to transitioning to crossing the finish line. Our mock tri would consist of exactly half the distances of our Olympic distance tri: a .5 mile swim, a 12-mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. Well, I definitely got a glimpse of what to expect come race day, and I really liked what I saw.

The day started out early - especially for a Sunday. We were told that race check-in would begin at 7:30am, with the race itself starting at 8:15am. Being the nervous nilly that I tend to be, I arrived at the transition area at 7:15. I set up all my gear in my transition zone and began stretching to loosen up and get my mind focused. After race check-in, I got into my wet suit, which is quite the task! Those suckers are SO TIGHT! By the time I got into the suit, got my cap and goggles on, it was time to jump into the lake for a warm up.

Getting into the water for my warm up, I felt confident and prepared. The water felt good against my skin, and my nervousness was settling into anticipation. After the brief warm up, we were called back to the beach for a group start.

At about 8:15, our group stood, poised and ready, on the beach as our coach counted down from five. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - GO!

As I ran into the water and began my swim, I realized that the confidence I had felt in the water just moments earlier had disappeared! I felt my breathing become irregular and difficult, my stroke become random and crazed, and my sight cloudy and impossible. I tried to remain calm and get my stroke back, but in the end, I wound up doing a lot of side stroke and back stroke. It wasn't exactly how I had planned, but it went ok. I was able to swim quickly and use the energy from my arms instead of my legs, which is the most important aspect of your swim stroke. I wasn't expecting to pass anyone, but I did successfully pass three people during the swim. I finished in only 17 minutes, a whole three minutes faster than I had expected!

Running out of the water, I decided to shake off the unexpected difficulties from the swim and focus on my smooth transition onto the bike. I ran to my transition area and already had the wet suit pulled down to my thighs by the time I reached my towel. I quickly pulled the suit off, put on my socks, shoes, and helmet, gulped down a race gel, and hopped on the bike.

As soon as I was on the bike, I felt my confidence and my speed come back to me. My legs felt strong and light, and I pedaled with ease. I did get passed by two people on the bike, but I let that roll off my back. I felt good and I was moving along well, so I kept my mind on my bike and I kept going.

Because of the bike route that we took, which was not the actual race route but instead was four laps around Lake Nokomis, I was forced to stop four different time at stoplights. That hurt my time by probably three minutes in total. My time recorded by the coach was 53 minutes, but my watch told me it was closer to 48:30. I was pleased with that time.

After I finished the bike portion, I quickly dismounted and raced over to my transition area. I ripped off my helmet and pinned on my race number, and then realized that was the only thing that I needed to do for this transition! I was on my way toward the final leg of the race - the running.

I started the run smooth but not very quickly. I knew that it would take a bit for my legs to adjust from the bike to the run, and I kept giving myself positive reinforcement and encouragement. I think that I actually talked to myself out loud a couple of times...

The run went rather smoothly. I kept focused and concentrated, and I kept running without a stop, until almost the bitter end. About two-thirds of the way into the run, I had an unfortunate situation occur - my body decided that it was time to haul-ass to the bathroom. I slowed down to a speed walk for about two minutes, and then picked up the pace again for the rest of the race. I did manage to pass three people during the run portion. I crossed the finish line with a run time of 33 minutes - and I just kept running until I hit the bathroom! Yeah, I'm going to have to figure out a solution to the problem prior to race day...

Overall, I was really pleased with how I performed during the mock tri. My race time was roughly 1 hour, 44 minutes, so I'm confident that I'll reach my goal of finishing the full tri within 3 hours, 45 minutes. It felt so great to get out there and actually experience a race. I've been training so hard for the past four months, and this helped me to understand why I've been putting myself through it all. I'm really looking forward to race day.

One thing that I must remember for race day, and the thing that I kept reminding myself of during the mock tri, is that I am here to compete against only one person: myself. If others pass me or if I pass others, it doesn't matter. I am here to accomplish a great goal that I set before myself: to cross the finish line. It doesn't matter who is in front of me or who is behind me. What matters is that I'm out there, and I'm doing it.

A Little Update on Life

2006-06-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

So many things are going on that I just haven't had the time to post about them. I know, "the world is waiting with breath that is baited." (Know what this exact quote is from? Leave it in the comments to get a special prize...) Without further ado, I give you my life update.

Travel
Mark and I are heading to South Dakota! That's right folks, South Dakota!! We made a commitment a couple of years ago to take a vacation together every year, and to see all 50 states together before our time on this earth ends. And, because we don't have a lot of money right now and I don't have a lot of days off to take, we decided to make a road trip to South Dakota this year's trip. I have been wanting to go to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore for years. We're heading out on June 30th to see that and so much more! While in South Dakota, we'll be visiting Rapid City, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, Deadwood, the Mitchell Corn Palace and Sioux Falls. It's going to be so much fun. With Mark, how could it NOT be fun?!

Cars
I got a new car! My old Ford Escort Sport SE is still a great little car, but I needed something that would be 100% reliable and dependable, especially on those trips back to WI. My sister was looking to see her car and get something more family-friendly. So, I bought her car! It's a 2004 Grand Prix GT Special Edition. It's got all kinds of fun features - the two most important being a power sunroof and leather heated seats, etc. I got it at a great price, too. I'm so excited about it!

Weddings
I went back to WI (again!) this weekend for my cousin Tony's wedding. Tony is the only male in our generation, so it was really fun to see him married off! The wedding was held at Chapel on the Hill, and the reception was at The Parkway Chateau in Kenosha. It's always fun to go to family weddings.

Triathlon
Less than 6 weeks to go now! The training is going pretty well. I swam in the lake last Thursday night for the first time. I was nervous at first, but once I was in the water with my wet suit, goggles, and swim cap on, I was ready to go. It was so fun and very freeing. I got off course a time or two, but overall it went really well. I'm really confident in that part of the tri now. I bought new tires for the bike last week. I was getting frustrated with my thick tread tires, so I bought a nice set of thin racing tires. They really helped my speed. I got up and went for a long ride this morning, and it was great to get that fresh morning air first thing in the day. The run is coming along as well. I have succumb to the fact that I'll most likely walk for a bit of the run. During training, I've been running for 20 minutes, then walking for two minutes. It helps me re-focus, get a little break, and get moving again. Fundraising is going well - only $190 more to go! People have been very generous, and I've really appreciated all the support. I just can't believe that it's only 6 weeks away!!!

Summer
I love summer. I love that I can get up at 5:15 to go for a ride and it's light out already! And, I love that I can get home at 5:40 and it's light out for hours still! And so many fun things come with summer - weekends at the cabin, friends visiting from out of town, going on vacation, competing in a triathlon. It's going to be a busy one for Mark and me!

Mark
He's great. I like him.

I hope your life is busy and happy.

My friends

2006-05-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I really like my friends. Now, this may seem obvious, that one would like his or her friends. But sometimes it's good to sit down and really think about your friends.

There are probably a thousand and one reasons why I love each of my friends. Here are a few for this holiday weekend...

They support me when I do crazy things - like train to compete in a triathlon.
They share my joy when I have good news - like when Mark and I decided to move in together.
They allow me to share in their joy - like when they get engaged.
They yell at me when I'm being stupid - like taking my boyfriend for granted.
They listen to me when I'm sad and I can't burden anyone else with my heavy load - like when Mark gets sick.
They email me just to say hello and update me on the little details in their lives - like which shoes they will wear for their wedding or what they will name their new puppy.
They allow me to support them - like when they are having a difficult time with their boyfriend.
They share their lives with me and make me a part of their most important moments - like when they get married or buy a new house.

I just like my friends. A lot. I hope you like yours, too.

Happy Memorial Day.

Kahn's

2006-05-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

Installment three of last weekend. Not a long one, but definitely something to mention!

On Sunday night, after our day of art, Mark and I met up with Tim and Kate. Tim is Mark's friend from childhood and Kate is his girlfriend. Kate just bought a great little house in Roseville, and we were curious to see all the work they had done. After meeting at Kate's new house and getting the tour, the four of us headed out to Kahn's Mongolian Barbeque for a great dinner of stir-fry buffet goodness.

If you've never been to Kahn's, you have to go. It's not only good food for a small price, but you get to make your own food. Now, some people may say, why would I want to go out to dinner to make my own food? Isn't that the point of going out - so you don't have to cook? But making your own meal at Kahn's is part of the experience, and it's really fun.

You start the meal with an appetizer dish. It contains a hot soup, flat crispy bread with dipping sauce, and a chicken wing. The appetizers are good, but the four of us were so excited to get to the buffet that we didn't really take the time to savor that part of the meal.

This buffet is different than most others. For starters, everything is uncooked. You start with a load of meat or seafood - beef, pork, turkey, lamb, shrimp or lobster. All of this is frozen, and you put as much as whatever you want in your bowl. I chose a large piece of beef and a few shrimp. From there, you go to the vegetables section. You pile into your bowl zucchini, pea pods, tomato, etc. There are also fruits, such as pineapple, to load into the bowl. I chose zucchini and pineapples as my main supplements. At the end of the buffet line, there are two different types of noodles to put into the bowl. I decided on the soft noodles, although the crunchy noodle might have added a bit of fun to the texture. Now, at this point, your bowl is really overflowing with fresh and frozen foods. On a separate table is the key to entire meal. The sauce table. There are about 10 different sauces on this table. There are three recipes that you can follow, or you can just dive in and create whatever kind of sauce you want. I chose to follow the Mild recipe, while Mark was more daring and went with his gut. I'm not sure what exactly he ended up with...

At the end of the creation of the meal, you step over to a large counter top where a man with a tall hat and two huge chopsticks takes your bowl and dumps it out on to a huge round skillet. He can cook four meals on the same skillet at the same time. They mix it all up and cook it all up for you, put it on a clean dish, and off you go.

When we got back to the table, we had our white rice and our sesame buns waiting for us. I must make a special mention of the sesame buns. They are amazing. They aren't really buns, because they aren't baked all the way. It's more of a soft, doughy pocket with sesame seeds and a light sauce trapped inside of the pocket. When you take a bite, the sea some seeds and the sauce ooze out, and it's such a wonderfully light, sweet taste. I'd go back to Kahn's just for that.

We had a good time, making our food, eating, and just chatting. Nothing overly special, just a fun night out to dinner with friends. It was a nice way to top off the weekend.

Art-A-Whirl

2006-05-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Installment two, folks.

Mark has recently decided that he likes art. I like art too, of course, but Mark has decided that he is going to be an avid art collector and appreciator (is that a word...?) He wants to view art, buy art, make art. He's a little art-obsessed right now.

It all started a few months ago when, via Mike Doughty's blog, Mark came across Steve Keene. Steve Keene is an artist who uses an interesting technique to create his pieces. He basically hangs a large amount of plywood panels in his studio, and then goes from piece to piece, painting the same thing on each panel. He sells his art online, as well as many other places I'm sure. Mark found this artwork extremely captivating, and immediately decided to purchase a few pieces. We placed his order - for two small pieces and one large piece - and waited patiently for the pieces to come. One thing to note is that you never know which pieces you are going to receive. You place your order, and whatever Steve Keene decides to send, that's what Mark receives. So, finally the package arrives, and what a package it is. Wrapped in brown paper are at least 20 pieces of Steve Keene artwork. Mark was thrilled. I was...well...less than thrilled. But I wanted to support Mark and his newfound interest, so our quest to become art lovers began.

Now, on a side note, I enjoy art as well. I come from a family of artists. Both of my dad's parents are artists, my cousins are artists, my aunt is also an artist. I think that my dad could be considered an artist (he does a lot of landscape design work with his company). I appreciate and am interested in many types of art, whether it is paintings, sculpture, poetry, or music. But, in all honestly, this is Mark's thing. I'm just along for the ride.

And so, to further support and encourage his art appreciation, I suggested that Mark and I attend the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association's Art-W-Whirl this past Sunday. Art-A-Whirl is basically a gathering of artists in the NE area of the city. Many artists open up their studio space for people to visit and view the work. You can see the space, check out the art, and speak with the artists. There is a large silent auction. There are probably well over 500 artists that participate in this festival. And, I want to make special note that this isn't your basic arts and crafts fair. There are no doilies or magnets made out of ceramic. These pieces are truly works of art. These people are literally the "starving artists" who make their living from their passion.

When we arrived, I made a deal with Mark that if we saw and purchased a piece today that we both loved, we would make that piece the basis for all decorating at our new apartment. We spent the entire afternoon just wandering around NE Mpls, viewing the amazing works that the artists had presented for sale, enjoying the day and each other.

One of the first pieces that we saw was by far my favorite piece of the entire day. It was beautiful. Acrylic on canvas, colors were bold and eye-catching - reds and blues and grays. It was huge, too. Probably at least 5' x 5', and that's big in a little apartment! I wanted it so badly, and Mark really liked it too. And then we saw the price. $5200. Uh, yeah. Moving on...

Mark and I did both find pieces that we loved, and they were in our price range. Mark's piece was a small print of a larger piece that the artist had already sold. It is an interesting ensemble of colors representing musicians. It will be perfect in the back room where Mark will have his guitar space set up. The piece that I chose was a watercolor with varied shades of blues and greens. It is titled One's Only Contentment. It is calming and soothing to look at, and will be perfect in the bedroom where I plan to decorate in greens.

We won that last piece that we purchased at the silent auction. Acrylic on canvas, it features a scuba-diver deep in the ocean. Deep blues and black, the colors scream out at you the instant you walk into the room. It's a rather small piece, but it's so loud that we'll probably put it on a wall alone. It'll make more of a splash that way.

After our touring of the art world, we were famished, and so went to Psycho Suzi's in NE Mpls for a bit of lunch. Psycho Suzi's is a great place to go in the summer because they have a huge tiki hut patio on which you can sip some fantastically strong summer drinks. We skipped the drinks, but did indulge in a great sandwich and some spinach dip. It was a nice little ending to our day of crusing the art world. I have a feeling it's a world I'll be visiting quite often...

Confluence

2006-05-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy and fun one, filled with many great activities in the Twin Cities. I don't want to post about them all in one sitting, as I'm afraid that my beloved readers (uh, that's you) will lose the greatness in one or all of them. So, here is installment one of three from my weekend. Look for the others this week...

On Saturday night, Mark and I really wanted to do something fun and special together. We've been so busy and out of sorts lately - me with traveling, training and catching up with friends and Mark with school, work and being sick - that we really needed a night together. A date night.

As always, it was quite the task to decide what to do. Should we stay in? If so, what will we do? Should we cook dinner? What should we cook? Should we rent a movie? What movie should we rent? Should we go to the movies? If so, which one? What time? Which theater? Maybe we should go out for dinner. Where should we go? What are we in the mood for? Yeah, it was something like that.

After about an hour of that, we decided to make the short trek down to Prescott, WI, and have dinner at a quaint restaurant on the St. Croix River. Mark had talked about Confluence quite a few times, and his parents go there often. I kept asking Mark to take me there, and he finally gave in.

Prescott is about a 45-minute drive from our place in Saint Paul, and by the time we arrived at Confluence, I thought I was going to pass out from hunger! We were quickly seated at a table in the corner. The menu was small but sounded amazing. There was a soup of the day, three to four small plates, and five entrees. Although the menu was small, it was still a hard decision. And, I always like to make my dinner decision prior to making my wine decision, as I usually try to pair my wine with my entree.

After some discussion and back-and-forth, Mark and I made our selections. Mark would start with the Chilled Cucumber and Leek soup, and I would start with the Walleye-Scallop Cakes. I decided to pair my seafood selection with a Pinot Grigio from Italy while Mark skipped out on the wine for the evening. When the starters came out, I was pleased with first the presentation and then with the amazing flavor. I tasted Mark's soup, and although it was good, I much preferred my cakes. They were moist and wonderful, each bite melting in my mouth. The cakes were served with a light sauce, and although it was amazing, it wasn't even needed. The cakes themselves had such a great flavor; I almost finished them off without offering a bite to Mark!

After our starters, I decided to let Mark order the "Pancakes and Bacon" and I ordered the Vanilla Butter Browned Halibut. I say that I "let" Mark order the dish because I had also wanted to order that. However, when dining out with Mark, I always like to get two different meals so that we can try both of them. My halibut was beautifully done. Browned in a sweet butter and delicious herbs, the fish was then served on a bed of sautéed vegetables and couscous. It truly was delicious.

But it was nothing compared to Mark's dish. The Pancakes and Bacon dish was actually beautifully done pork tenderloin drenched in a blueberry sauce and served with hearty potatoes and vegetable cakes. It was remarkable. I kept asking for more bites as we made our way through our meal. All of the tastes coming together were indescribable. He asked a few times if I'd like to trade, but I politely declined. I didn't want to take the succulent goodness away from my well-deserving boyfriend. And, let's not forget that my fish was quite good itself. But in the future, I will know that if something sounds good to me, I am going to order it even if Mark does as well.

I'm a big fan of dessert at the end of a meal, but we were just too full for it that night. And, we were both anxious to get home and relax. It was a long, hard week, and a Saturday night on the couch sounded better and better as the night went on.

Triathlon Update

2006-05-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't done an update for the triathlon recently, so I thought that I'd let everyone in on my what's been happening.

My training has been going pretty well lately. I've changed my schedule a bit to help get my body used to the high intensity of the tri. Instead of doing one workout a day, six days a week, I'm now doing two sessions a day, three days a week. This way, I'm still getting in two training sessions for each sport every week. Originally I was going to try to do all three in one day, but time just doesn't allow for that! So, Mondays I swim in the morning and bike at night. Wednesdays I bike and run at night. Fridays (or Saturday mornings) I swim in the morning and then run at night. I'm hoping that this will help me get those extra miles in and help me to continue to get farther in the training.

The fundraising is going ok. I just got another big donation, so that helped a lot. I still have a few people who I know will donate, so I'm feeling pretty confident in that aspect.

Because this is my blog and I try to be very honest on my blog, I must admit that I've been doubting myself lately with the triathlon. I'm having quite a week, and until this morning I was seriously considering changing my commitment from the Olympic Distance (1-mile swim, 25-mile bike, 6-mile run) to the Short Distance (.4 mile swim, 15-mile bike, 3-mile run). My training is not as far along as I'd like it to be, and I had an overwhelming feeling of dread. And, the thought of all of those people who donated to the cause made me feel ever more anxiety. If I decided to do the Short Distance, would people feel slighted because I didn't do what I said I would do? Would they feel like they got taken? On the other hand, would those same people rather that I a) try for the Olympic Distance and fail, or b) go for the Short Distance and finish triumphantly.

So, as I often do in my times of need, I called upon my most brutally honest, gives-you-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth friend Erin. I had emailed and asked for her opinion on the matter. She was someone who donated generously to the cause, and I knew that she would give me the most straight answer. She also trained for and completed the Chicago marathon two years ago, so she can feel my pain when it comes to training. She helped me to remember that I set out on this journey with a great goal, and that's the goal that I should still be reaching for. I do have two more months to train. And, there will be weeks when I feel like everything is going against me. And, my traning really is going well and I'm kicking a lot of ass at it. And finally, I told people that I am going to complete the olympic Distance, so I better do it, damn it!!

So with that little pep talk/kick start this morning, and remembering that although I was feeling nervous this week, my training sessions went really well, I feel back on track and ready to go yet again. I have just under two months until the big day, and I know that I can do this!

Sell Out...

2006-05-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

with me, oh yeah. Sell out, with me tonight.

Isn't that a song or something?

Well, anyways, here's a fun game. Go take this test, and then come back and tell me in the comments section how much you would sell out for!

On Average, You Would Sell Out For

$1,056,145

At What Price Would You Sell Out?

And p.s. How creepy is that ugly little piggy man in the pic above?!

A crime riddle...

2006-05-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a crime riddle for you to solve. Read through this information, and then leave your guess in the comments section. Try to solve this within 60 seconds.

A woman was tried in an American court and was convicted guilty. The judge ordered the death penalty, and it was carried out. She did not commit murder or treason.

What was her crime, and in what city did it occur?

Again, leave your guesses in comments. I'll check back tomorrow morning to see if there are any questions, or if people need a few more clues...

Thursday Thirteen - Wedding Edition

2006-05-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

I am opting not to use the traditional TT template today, just because I don't feel like it. And, it's a little early for a TT, but I don't care today. I want to post now. :)

I had wanted to post about this much earlier in the week, but I was exhausted after the amazing weekend and couldn't muster the energy to post. But alas, I post.

This past weekend, on Friday, May 5, 2006, my oldest friend in the world married her long time love. What can one say about a wedding such as this? Not a lot that can be put into words. It was truly amazing. The bride looked beautiful, the food was wonderful, and the dancing didn't stop all night. It was one of the best weddings I have ever been to, if not the best. Every last detail was planned and purposefully done in a certain way, and Eric and Heather could be seen in every last one. It was warm and inviting, the way a wedding should be. It wasn't stuffy or boastful. It was overflowing with love.

But again, I can't quite put into words just how the whole event made me feel, and so, my 13 today are 13 images from the day. Enjoy them. I know that I'll enjoy these photos - and the many memories - for the rest of my life.

The heart in the tree out the window at Chapel on the Hill

Getting into that all-important dress

A great picture with my dear friend...waiting for the excitment to start

Waiting for the bride to start her journey to married life

The cutest little ring bearer ever!

The bride makes her way down the aisle

The vows

You may now kiss the bride!

Bubbles for the happy couple!

Cutting the cake...and might I add that it was a most delicious cake!

Giving my toast

Me and my handsome man at the reception

First dance as husband and wife...have you ever seen two people more in love?

A big congratulations and I love you to Eric and Heather Whitten. I know that they will share a life of unwaivering love and devotion.

And a happy Thursday to you all.

April Showers...

2006-05-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

...bring May flowers, I hope!

It's been so crummy here in the Twin Cities for the past five days. I've been doing nothing but being lazy. I haven't had a lot of motivation to do much else! It's been cold (well 45 degrees in MN isn't that cold, but I can still grumble about it) and rainy. I know that we needed the rain to make the flowers grow, but rain puts a damper on doing fun outdoor activities in spring.

Alas, this weekend was spent indoors. Mark had school on Saturday, so I was in the house alone from 8am until 5pm. Usually I would like that - time to get things done, be alone, read, maybe take a nap. But the weather was so crummy that all I could think to do was curl up on the couch with Mark..and he wasn't home. So, I curled up by myself, which isn't nearly as much fun.

Sunday, though, I got my wish, and Mark and I spent the better part of the day watching Weeds, On Demand. Has anyone ever seen this show? It's about a woman who's husband died of a heart attack, and now the's a dealer to pay the bills. The show is freakin awesome. I love it. It's funny and sentimental all at the same time.

Uh, yeah, we watched 10 episodes...without stopping. We can allow ourselves to get pretty sucked in to great shows.

Now that I think about it, maybe I do love lazy, rainy days...at least once in a while.

An Important Thursday Thirteen

2006-04-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things about Amanda

Some of you may know that I have committed to competing in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on July 15th. Here are 13 facts about my triathlon.

1. I will compete in an Olympic distance triathlon.

2. That means I will first swim 1 mile in Lake Nokomis. Yes, that's right. I'll be right out there in the middle of the lake, swimming for dear life.

3. I will then bike 25 miles. The bike will take me from Lake Nokomis, down to Lake Harriet, back to Lake Nokomis, down the Mississippi River and back up again. Check out the race course here.

4. And I will finish by running 6.2 miles. This run will take me around Lake Nokomis - twice.

5. I am training for this physically challenging endeavour with a group called Team In Training (TNT).

6. TNT is a training and fundraising organization set up by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). TNT provides me with coaching, training session, and important informational sessions that prepare me for race day.

7. In return for the training, I have committed to fundraising a minimum of $2000 for LLS.

8. LLS uses these funds for research, patient services, professional education, advocacy and community service.

9. I decided to join this team for training and fundraising because none of us can escape cancer. Each and every person I know has experienced cancer in some way. My grandfather died of pancreatic cancer during my sophomore year of college. My friend Heather (the one who will get married in only 8 days) lost her mother to a battle with ovarian cancer when we were freshmen in college. By joining this team, I not only do something good for myself, but I also help others in the process.

10. So far, my fundraising efforts have gotten me to $1515 in donations from friend, family members and coworkers.

11. There is no donation too small or too great. Every donation counts and is put toward this great cause.

12. My smallest donation was $10 - THANK YOU! My largest donation was $150 - THANK YOU!

13. To donate to this extremely worthy cause, please visit my donation website .

Side note: Can someone please clue me in to the auto link function? I'd like to be able to do that on Thursday Thirteen posts. Thanks!

Better Late Than...

2006-04-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Well, since the move to St. Paul, I've been a bit busy. And so, have not had a moment free to update the blog! But now, I come back to the blogging world with a post of a wonderful, albeit busy, weekend.

Last Friday (yes, the crabby day from hell), I drove home to WI for a weekend that was sure to pop me right out of my bad mood and into a fantastic one. I was able to leave work early so that I drove the whole way home in the light. I hate driving home to WI in the dark. Nothing is worse. So, I got home on Friday night at around 8:30 or so, chatted with my parents for a bit, and headed on to bed for some much needed rest.

Saturday morning, I awoke bright and early (6:15 on a Saturday is EARLY!) and got myself ready for a day of wedding fun. First stop: the Azana spa in Brookfield, WI. Heather picked me up, along with Greta and Lisa, and we all headed to the spa for a morning of pampering and girl bonding.

I personally started off my morning with a great 25-minute massage, followed by a bikini wax, a facial and a manicure. The other girls had similar services, but in a different order. We didn't really see too much of each other during our services, which was a bit of a bummer, but it was definitely a most relaxing morning.

After our services, we headed down the road to Tumbleweed, one of Heather's favorite restaurants, for a light lunch. None of us wanted to eat anything too heavy; we were heading to Houlihan's for dinner that night as party of the bachelor/bachelorette party (more on that later...).

After lunch, the girls dropped me off at my second stop for the day: my mom's house. My mom, along with aunt Bonnie and cousin Tina, hosted a bridal shower for Dana, my soon-to-be cousin. On June 3rd, Dana will marry my cousin Tony. We're all looking forward to the wedding - my family loves to dance and I'm sure we'll be hitting the floor all night! The bridal shower was planned from 2:00 until 4:00, but of course people started coming at 1:00 and some didn't leave until 5:00. It was such a fun shower! It was great to see the women in my family and really talk to my cousins. We're all finally old enough to be one relatively the same page, so we have a lot more to talk about these days.

After the shower, I quickly got ready for the third stop on my trip around town: the bachelor/bachelorette party. Heather and her groom-to-be Eric had requested that we all get together and send them off into married life together, in a joint party. It was such a great idea! They requested that couples come together, but Mark had school so he couldn't come. And, Erin's boyfriend Dave had already had a prior engagement, so Erin and I became dates. Erin stopped by my house before the party to chat with my parents a bit, and then we were off.

The plan for the night was to gather at Houlihan's for dinner and drinks, and then head out into the town of Lake Geneva for some bar hopping and dancing. Dinner at Houlihan's was great, as usual. Erin and I had both had a full day of eating, so we decided to split a small appetizer and an entree. Good idea! We had more than enough food! Along with our shrimp entree, I had a Flirtini, one of my favorite drinks of all time. I love champagne, what can I say?!

After dinner, we headed over to Champs for a few drinks before going to the dancing bars. Most people needed a few more drinks to loosen up a bit before hitting the dance floor. We left only after Greta found a guy to buy everyone a round, and I felt the need to go off on a guy who was harassing Christi. Yeah, it was time to go...

After Champs we went to Hogs and Kisses, a Lake Geneva favorite I'm told. This was a much better place to dance and get a little crazier. The DJ played a lot of songs from our youth, and we had fun shaking it on the dance floor like the good ol' days. Hogs has a special deal if you come in with a bachelorette group - you get a bucket full of champagne, glasses, leis, and a t-shirt for the bride-to-be. It was fun getting the whole group together for a little champagne toast in the middle of the bar!

Our last stop for the night was Carvetti's. I'd never heard of it, and we were a bit disappointed to find out that it was at capacity when we got there. But thanks to Christi, who sweet-talked the bouncer a bit, we were let into the bar only if we promised to head straight out to the side patio. No problem! At that point in the night, we were all a bit more concerned with having a seat to cool our aching feet and just winding the night down. Not long after we arrived, people started to call it a night and head out, Erin and I included!

Overall, it was a great night out to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of our dear friends Heather and Eric. The wedding is now only 9 days away, hard to imagine. I'm so looking forward to it!

But the weekend fun didn't stop with Saturday night! On Sunday morning, my sister and her family brought my grandma over so that we could all celebrate Easter together. I know, Easter was last week. But, my parents were in town to help Mark and I move, so no one really got to celebrate Easter together. So, we postponed it. Before breakfast, the kids, along with Nikki and Pete and I, all searched around the house to find our Easter baskets. Yes, at 24 years old, I still get an Easter basket from the Easter Bunny. And I love it.

After a great breakfast of baked French toast, sausage, ham, and fruit, Nikki and Pete and I went outside to hide Easter eggs for the kids. This is really the part that I love. I love hiding eggs in almost-impossible-to-find locations, and then running around the yard, helping the kids find them. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining and the sky blue, and it was the perfect way to end this trip back home.

Random Rant

2006-04-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a random rant because I can and I want to.

I'm crabby. I'm really, extremely, over-the-edge crabby today. I woke up at 4:00am and was WIDE awake. So wide awake that I considered going for a nice swim. I didn't get back to sleep until after 5:00am.

I'm going to WI this weekend. I'm going to spa on Saturday morning, a bridal shower Saturday afternoon, and a bachelorette party on Saturday night. It will all be fun, but I don't even really get to spend much time with my family. And, Mark can't come with me because he's got school this weekend. Oh well - I'm still looking forward to the fun stuff!

I didn't pack for my weekend until this morning because I was gone all night last night. Not that it really matters - I don't have any cute clothes to wear anyways. But of course, I forgot somethings. Luckily, I have my Mark who offered to bring me those things at work this morning so that I don't have to go all the way back home before I leave for the weekend.

Because of that little early morning awake session, I'm exhausted. That should make the six hour drive home this afternoon much better. And I can't have any caffeine to wake me up because caffeine hurts my stomach like none other.

In the next 7 weeks, I will be going back home to WI for 5 of the weekends. Now, I'm really excited for everything that happening (this weekend's activities, Heather's wedding, sister's graduation, day in Chicago with the fam, cousin's wedding), and I'm not complaining about this one AT ALL, but it's still a lot of travel! And, I'll miss my Mark because he's only coming with me for two of those weekends. And I've been missing him a whole lot lately for some reason. I guess I just really like him.

And, I would do just about anything right now to eat a brownie. Or a piece of cake. Or a Cadbury Creme Egg. Bah.

I think that's it. For now. Happy Friday.

P.S. to Heather if she reads this - I promise, promise, promise to be in a better mood by the time tomorrow's spa adventure begins!!

Thursday Thirteen

2006-04-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things about Amanda

First, a note of apologies that I did not get out there to visit my TT friends last week. Moving is quite the hassle, and takes up quite a bit of time!

This week's thirteen is a list of things that Mark and I must accomplish in order to make our new apartment a home.

1. Get the computer set up in the den

2. Set up the TV and cable with Comcast

3. Give Torlulla a new home, too (Tora is our tortoise...have I mentioned her before? If not, I shall dedicate an entire 13 to her in the near future)

4. Hang up pictures of our friends and family

5. Hang up our art work

6. Do the laundry - we still have piles of laundry to do from the old place!

7. Get a little grill for our balcony, and make our first batch of Mandy Burgers (Mandy Burgers are a special blend of ground sirloin, green pepper, onion, and a few other secret ingredients...You've never had a burger like the Mandy Burger)

8. Unpack the rest of our boxes

9. Get all of Mark's guitars and guitar "stuff" from his parent's house so that he can make up a mini-music studio in the den

10. Make our first dinner together in our new kitchen

11. Buy deck chairs so that we can sit out on our balcony and enjoy summer nights

12. Decorate! Part of the fun of a new homes is getting new stuff to decorate the space with

13. Take a night to just sit and relax and enjoy our first home together. Mark and I have lived together for a couple of months, but that was because I moved into his apartment. And, with the move and then going back to work, we haven't yet had the time to just enjoy our brand new home together. Hopefully we can get that sometime soon!

Enjoy your Thursday!!

Thursday Thirteen

2006-04-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things about Amanda

I'm ridiculously busy this week with the big move this weekend, so this week's thirteen isn't too thoughtful! Hope you enjoy, though!

Thirteen TV Shows That I Have Loved Over The Years (in no particular order)

1. Felicity
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. The Sopranos
4. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
5. Mister Rogers
6. Sesame Street
7. Days of Our Lives
8. The Price is Right
9. Saved by the Bell
10. Friends
11. Seinfeld
12. The Olympics - I know that this isn't really a TV show, but I have such fond memories of watching the Olympics as a kid
13. Sex and the City

There are more, but these are the ones that came to mind immediately. What are some of your favorites?
Happy Thursday!

Just because...

2006-04-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

...I love them.

My niece, Lexi

My nephew, Max

I don't get to see them often enough, and I miss them horribly!

Movies, Movies, Movies

2006-04-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend was very movie-oriented for me. The weather was beautiful, and I did get out to enjoy it quite a bit, but I did watch my fair share of new movies.

On Friday night, Mark and I decided to stay in and enjoy one last night in our great apartment. We move on Saturday! Anyway, we got some good food from the grocery store and rented Walk the Line. For those of you who are living under a rock, Walk the Line is the story of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. I had heard that this movie is just amazing and wonderful and that I'll be thinking about it for days afterward. Plus, it was nominated for many Academy Awards. So, I had been wanting to see it for quite some time.

Now, I thought that it was a good movie. A really good movie, even. I could even stretch it to say that it's a great movie. But an amazing movie? No. One that I'll be thinking about for days afterward? No. It was a great story of stuggles and triumphs and love and relationships. And it was well done. And Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix both gave an excellent acting performance. And I really enjoyed watching it. And I'd watch it again. But overall, this movie didn't wow me to the point that I'd heard about. It didn't make me fall over with emotion at the end of it. And that's saying something for me - I'm a hopeless romantic. I love romantic movies and stories of love succeeding in the end. But, this one didn't make me swoon, I guess. And, it's not an Academy Award caliber movie, in my opinion. Again, the acting was great, which is why those actors won awards. And again, I'll watch it again. I will say, though, that it was the perfect date movie to watch on a Friday night with my most favorite man.

On Saturday night, Mark had some guys over for one last boxing night in our apartment. So, I went to the movies with Kristin. We were in the mood for a very girlie flick, so we decided to put on our dancing shows and see Take the Lead. Take the Lead is the new Antonio Banderas movie in which he plays a dance instructor who starts teaching inner city students ballroom dance during detention. It was such a fun movie! I went into the movie thinking that it would just be a fun, girlie movie with mediocre acting and a predictable storyline, but with a helluva lot of great dancing. And I was totally right. But that's what made it so fun! Kristin and I left the theater wanting to take dance classes and compete in a national dance off or something crazy like that. And with Mark having a few months off starting in June, I might just be able to persuade him to take them!

On Sunday, after Mark and I did some running around, we rented The Weatherman. This movie is with Nicholas Cage, and he plays a divorced weatherman who is trying to get at job on a national morning show, make his dad proud of him, and get his family back. According to the DVD jacket, it's part American Beauty and part About Schmidt. According to Mark and I, it was part predictable and part blah. It wasn't a bad movie, but it was like so many other movies I've seen. A guy is depressed because his wife divorced him. He's losing touch with his kids and is trying, in his own way, to get back into their lives. He's struggling with feeling inadequate and unsuccessful in the eyes of his father, who is the only person in the world that he cares to impress. He's dealing with his career being mundane, which spills over into the rest of his life. Throughout the movie, he is trying to find himself and his happiness again. Seriously, I think that I've seen this movie about 10 times. Oh well.

So, we had one great movie, one fun movie and one dud movie. But, I love movies. I enjoy watching movies of all genres, so I don't ever really mind when I hit a dud. It makes me appreciate the good movies all the more.

Sweets Free...

2006-04-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I've done it before. I can do it again.

I think.

As noted in yesterday's Thursday Thirteen post, I have a sweet tooth. Matter of fact, I don't have a sweet tooth, I have sweet teeth. My whole mouth is full of them. And for some reason, no matter how much chocolate or carmel or ice cream or cake I give them, my teeth are never satisfied. They just continue to want more. In fact, it seems as though the more they get, the more they want. If I eat a dougnut in the morning, by lunch I'm wanting a Twix and by dinner I want some cake. But, if I hold off on sweets for a whole day, it's usually easier to get through the next day, too. And so on - by day seven or eight, my teeth aren't even thinking about sweets.

It's making it through that first day that is really the hard part.

So, here's the challenege that I am setting up for myself: I'm going without sweets.

That's right, folks. I'm giving up sweets altogether. No more scones in the morning from the cafe across the hall. No more brownies that my co-worker made. No more mini Snickers or Milky Ways or Twix bars from the candy dish at the reception desk. No more Girl Scout Cookies. No more ice cream during Grey's Anatomy (sorry, Mark). I'm not eating any sweets, at any time.

I know. This sounds crazy. Senseless. Insane, even! Why would anyone want to deprive themselves of the deliciousness that is sweets?!?! Well, I don't WANT to, believe me. But I feel as though I must. I feel like my sweet eating is at an all-time out-of-control state, and something drastic needs to be done in order to kill it.

Here's the funny thing about this challenge. Every time that I do it, it gets more and more fun. I know, you're thinking "FUN?!". But yes, fun. Because you make it a game with yourself. You get through day one, and it's hard as hell. But when you make it to the end of the day you are proud, and a little surprised. Day two comes, and you think, "Oh, can I make it through another day of this?!". So, you force yourself to get through day two. By the end of the first week, you are thinking, "Well, I've come this far. Let's see how long I can keep this thing going." And so you keep going.

Now, I haven't done this in a long time. And usually, I do it only for a week or so at a time. But I really feel like this time I'm in deep trouble.

So this time, I'm going sweets free for a whole month.

On May 5th, my dear friend Heather will marry her high school sweetheart, Eric. On that date, I will be happy to partake in some wedding cake. That will be my first taste of sweets for almost an entire month.

This challenge starts today, right now, this minute. You may ask, "Why start on a Friday? Start on a Monday, when most people start new diets or workouts or whatnot." The problem with starting on a Monday is that work is the hardest place for me. There is always something sweet at work. So, if I can make it through this first day, I have two more days at home, where there aren't any sweets, to jumpstart my new challenge. I'm hoping that by Monday morning I'll be good to go.

I know that it will be hard. I know that it will seem impossible at times. But I truly feel like I can do it, and that I need to do it.

We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you all posted...

Thursday Thirteen

2006-04-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things about Amanda

There is no way around it - I have a sweet tooth. And it's a very, very bad sweet tooth. So, in honor of my sweet tooth and the crazy challenge that I'm presenting myself with starting tomorrow (come back tomorrow to read all about it....), today's list is my favorite sweets.

1. Chocolate Molten Cake

2. Custard-filled, chocolate-iced doughnuts

3. Snickers Bars

4. Cadbury Cream Eggs

5. Cadbury Carmel Eggs

6. Girl Scout Cookies - Carmel Delites

7. Creme Brulee

8. White chocolate and raspberry scones

9. Brownies with carmel sauce and raspberries

10. Cheesecake - any kind

11. Tootsie Rolls

12. Twix

13. Cinnamon Rolls

Ok, I could go on and on.

Mmmmmm...enjoy your Thursday. And come back tomorrow to read all about my crazy new challenge...

Note: I've added a list of other TT blogs to the right. If you want to be added, let me know. If you want to be taken off, let me know. If you know of another good one to add, let me know that too!

Barbette

2006-04-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Barbette is one of those places that I've always wanted to go. Every time we pass by it, I think, "Oh, we should really try that place." But when the time came that Mark and I wanted to go to lunch or dinner somewhere, I always forgot about Barbette. So on Saturday, Mark surprised me by taking me out to lunch there.

Barbette is located on Lake Street in Uptown, only about 3 blocks or so from Lake Calhoun. It has a very eclectic and bohemian feel - mosaics on the walls and table tops, two large countertop areas for intimate dining with strangers, local music playing on the sound system, a very laid-back staff. It isn't too large inside; it probably seats about 70 or so comfortably. The chef uses organic and local ingredients as much as possible.

The lunch/brunch menu was very small, but Mark and I both found dishes that we thought sounded good. I had the Croque Madame, which is basically a grilled tomato and Gruyere cheese sandwich, and Mark had the avocado chicken sandwich, which is - you guessed it - a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado. Both lunch entrees were served with a small green salad. We paired that with a Mimosa for me and a beer for Mark.

The lunch was very good. My sandwich was the best grilled cheese I've had in a long time. And I don't eat chicken, so I didn't taste Mark's, but he said that it was delicious as well. The green salad had a very bitter vinaigrette on it, so neither of us ate much of that.

We ate slowly and lingered for a while after we finished our lunch. It was that kind of afternoon - sunny and bright, but still too chilly to do much outdoors. A perfect day to be laid-back and lazy. And the staff had no problems with our hanging about; I think that they expect their patrons to hang out a bit after the meal and just enjoy the drinks and the music.

Overall, I liked Barbette. It was a little pricey; about $40 for the two of us for lunch. But then again, Mark did have two beers, and I had that Mimosa, so that made it a bit more expensive than a normal lunch would have been. But the food was good, the environment was friendly and relaxed, and the day was beautiful. It was quite a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Triathlon Update

2006-03-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't done one of these in a long time, so I thought that I'd give a good triathlon update for those of you who follow along.

I got off track for a little bit a couple of weeks ago. Life got in the way, I say. I had to go home for the big wedding shower, and the week before I was trying to get all the last details together for that. Then, I was obviously out of town and very busy that weekend, so training really took a back seat. The following week, I was catching up on all kinds of things that I had let sit because I was busy the week before, so training was moved from the back seat to the trunk. Then finally it got to be my birthday weekend, and training was so far from my mind that it wasn't even in the car anymore.

Now, I did workout some during those two weeks. I got in a couple of swims and a spin session, but really, not enough to even be considered training.

I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. And I agree! There really isn't a good reason that I couldn't have gotten up a bit earlier to get my workouts in. Or even stayed up a bit later to get other things done so that I could workout in the evening. But, I just let myself slip. And once you let yourself slip, it's so easy to keep on slipping. And it's so hard to get back on the right track.

But Sunday morning, my birthday actually, I decided that it was time for me to get back on track. It was a beautiful day here in the Cities - the sun was shining, it was 50 degrees, and the lake was calling to me. I went out into the brisk spring air and had a pretty good run. I had some pain in my knee, so I couldn't run as far as I would have liked, but it did feel great to get back out there.

After that, it felt good to keep going with training. Tuesday night I went for a swim. Wednesday morning I went swimming again, and then went to spin class in the evening. Last night, I went to the team swim (which I hadn't gone to in about 4 weeks) I had a most amazing workout. During our time trials, I actually had the fastest time out of the whole team. I left there with a great sense of pride that I really can get back on track, and take charge of my training again.

So, that's what I'm doing. I'm riding this wave all the way until July. My commitment that I've made to myself is that I'll not miss a team training session for the rest of the season, unless it's due to injury or that I'm out of town. I'm re-committing myself to this great cause and this great challenge that I have before me, and I'm looking forward to it all over again.

Oh yeah, and fundraising has been going very well also. Check the link to the right to see how far I've already come, and to donate to the cause!

Thursday Thirteen

2006-03-30T06:01:00.000-08:00

Thirteen Things about Mark

This week, my Thirsday Thirteen is dedicated to Mark. Below are 13 (of the millions) things that remind me that I have the most amazing man in the world.

1. He writes me little notes before he goes to work almost every day, so that when I get home at night I am reminded of just how much he loves me.

2. When I went home to WI for a very busy weekend a few weeks ago, he surprised me when I got back to Mpls. on Sunday night with a hot bath, complete with rose petals and candles.

3. He learns my favorite songs, and then plays them on the guitar for me.

4. He wakes up in the morning with me just to snuggle for a few minutes.

5. He understands - and supports - my obsession with handbags.

6. He is willing to watch girly chick flicks with me - like The Notebook - just because he knows what a hopeless romantic I am.

7. He is my #1 supporter when it comes to the triathlon. When it is cold and rainy outside, he's my cheerleader to get me out of bed and ready for a great run.

8. He knows that although I think of myself as a well-organized and tidy person, I am truly, hopelessly messy - and thinks it's sweet. (Well, at least I tell myself that he thinks it's sweet...)

9. Every Sunday night, he buys me a little pint of ice cream that we share while watching the Sopranos and Grey's Anatomy.

10. He tells me that I am beautiful all the time - even when I'm sitting around on a Sunday in my old tank top and sweatpants.

11. He takes every opportunity to surprise and celebrate me - not just on my birthday or our anniversary.

12. He cleans the bathroom.

13. Not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me how proud he is of me.

I hope you all have a person in your life who helps you to remember how great you are. Happy Thursday!

Birthday Weekend Fun

2006-03-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Note: I tried posting this with pictures about four times, but the pictures don't want to post. Maybe I'll try again later, but I wanted to get this one up!

I've been having some pretty fantastic weekends lately, and this past one was no exception. It was my birthday!!

Well, my birthday was not technically until Sunday, but I had a whole fun weekend of celebrating with friends and Mark.

Friday night when I got home from work, Mark told me that I could open one birthday gift that night instead of waiting for all of them until Sunday. I was so glad that he let me open one - I love birthday presents! He presented me with a little Neiman Marcus bad, and I was immediately excited. I opened it up, and found a large bottle of Missoni fragrance, with matching scented lotion. I was so thrilled! I had been obsessing over this perfume for three weeks, ever since I first read about it in Vogue and first smelled it in Chicago. It has the most amazingly sexy scent you've ever smelled.

After opening my gifts, I quickly got ready for my girls' night out with my favorite MN gals. We were headed to Figlio in Uptown for dinner before going out for drinks to celebrate my birthday. I always love going to Figlio for dinner. I ordered the salmon small plate, which really wasn't a small plate at all. It was about 4 or 5 oz of fish, with a nice-sized portion of delicious mashed potatoes and vegetable medley. It was delicious! (Side note: I always thought that I hated salmon. I wouldn't touch the stuff. Until one night I was out to dinner with Mark and his parents, and salmon was served as one of the courses. I didn't want to be rude, so I politely tasted the dish. It was delicious. Since then, I've become a big salmon fan.) With my tasty salmon dinner I had ordered a Sugar Mama Martinin, which was strawberry infused vodka with champagne and fresh strawberries. Delicious! After two of those, a great meal, and fun conversation, we decided to go over to Bar Abilene for some additiona drinks and chatting, and maybe some dancing. While there, we had a Jell-O shot in honor of my birthday, something I hadn't had in about 3 years. I had never been to Bar Abilene before, but had heard some pretty good things about it. It was a bit early in the night yet, around 11:00 or so, so the dancing hadn't really started up yet. We enjoyed the time there though, continuing with our chatting and laughter of course. After Bar Abilene we headed to The Local, a favorite among our friends, to end the night with one last drink. It was a great night out with my friends to celebrate my birthday.

Saturday night, Mark and I headed to the Rock Bottom Brewery to meet up with Megan and Ryan before our evening at the theater. We had tickets as part of our season passes to see Annie, one of my all-time favorites. I used to watch the movie about once a week when I was a kid, so I was excited about seeing it on stage. Dinner at Rock Bottom was great - Mark had a good turkey wrap and I had a Spicy Spinach Dip - both were quite tasty. I also had a bottle of their Rock Bottom Root Beer - so good! If you are ever at a Rock Bottom, get the Root Beer! After dinner, we headed to the theater and I was giddy to see the show. There were so many little girls all dressed up for the theater - it was so cute! Many of them had little hats and little handbags and little patent leather shoes - it reminded me of me as a kid. The show was wonderful. I tried really hard not to sing along, but I did find myself humming a few bars.

On Sunday, my actual birthday, I woke up really early to laze around for the day. Mark had finals, so I had the afternoon to myself. I went for a run around Lake Calhoun - it was a most beautiful day! About 45 degrees and sunny. Perfect for an afternoon run. After my run, I came home and spruced myself up for a big dinner out. Mark came home and got ready himself, and then I got to open the rest of my gifts from him. Mark is going to take me to get some new running shoes for my birthday. Plus, he gave me a great new tri training outfit. With that, plus the great new watch that my parents gave me, I'm extra motivated to get out there and train.

After opening gifts, we walked over to Nicollet Mall to have a drink at the Millenium Hotel before our big dinner at Manny's.

After our drink, and after waiting and salivating all day at the thought of a great Manny's steak, we headed over to the Hyatt and up to the second floor to being our culinary event. We started out with a great bottle of Rosenblum Zinfandel, a favorite of mine. Then we had crab cakes, which I've been craving for about four weeks. I love crab cakes. I can't get enough of them. After that little morsel of goodness, I was thrilled when my 10 oz filet mignon arrived at the table. The filet is served with a side of bernaise sauce, and is the most succulent, tender piece of meat you can find, I swear. It tasted so good! Better than I had remembered, even. I ate very slowly, taking in each little bite and enjoying the great flavors further enhanced by the great bottle of wine. As a side dish, we had Manny's famous hash browns, browned to perfection. Mark had the 20 oz New York, which was also really great (but not as much as my filet!). We were so stuffed full after dinner that I didn't have room for dessert, which made me really sad. Not only because it was my birthday and I wanted to have some sort of birthday cake, but also because Manny's has a great brownie on the menu. It's got two layers of brownie separated by think caramel, and then it's smothered in vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, nuts and strawberries. I was really sad about missing out on that, so Mark ordered one to take home with us! By the time I got home and my stomach settled, I could cram at least a little piece in! Mark even sung Happy Birthday to me.

All in all, it was really a fantastic birthday weekend. I feel very lucky to have been able to spend it doing wonderfully fun things with wonderful people!

Thursday Thirteen

2006-03-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

Thirteen Things about Amanda

I have been thinking lately that there are a lot of things that I need / want to accomplish before this year ends, and we're nearing the end of the first quarter of the year already! So, here's my 13 things that I want to get done before December 31, 2006.

1. Start an ING Orange Savings Account, and commit to putting at least a little bit of money away every month (March 31)
2. Have a smooth move into my new home – pack well, be organized, and remain calm (April 15)
3. Write and give a meaningful and heartfelt speech at Heather’s wedding (May 5)
4. Help my family to truly enjoy the milestones in their lives this year as they have done for me in the past few years, mainly my sister (college graduation – May 13) and my mom (50th birthday - August 22)
5. Figure out my car situation (lease or buy, new or used, etc.) and get a new car – well, new to me (June 30)
6. Lose the fatty inner tube that I currently call my stomach and turn it into strong muscle (NO LATER than July 1)
7. Raise at least my $2000, if not more, for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the triathlon (by July 1) – see link to the right
8. Complete the Lifetime Fitness Olympic Distance Triathlon (July 15)
9. Save enough money to have a fabulous time in Las Vegas for Erin’s bachelorette party (September 28)
10. Cut my credit card debt in half (December 31)
11. Be supportive, understanding, and optimistic about Mark and his employment situation (Mark works on the assembly line at the Twin Cities Ford Plant. Layoff talks have been going on for quite some time, and we’re just not sure where Mark stands at this point)
12. Read more books – I used to read all the time, and now I just don’t find myself doing it as much
13. Allow myself to be less stressed out about money and to know that money is not the be all, end all of the world – which is kind of a humorous one considering numbers 1, 5, 9, and 10 above!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

What a weekend!!!

2006-03-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

I headed home southeastern WI this past weekend for a couple different celebrations. The main event for the weekend was a bridal shower for my old and very dear friend Heather which I was co-hosting with another bridesmaid, Greta. But before that fantastic event, there was another bit of fun to be had.

Friday night, after a long drive from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee, I headed to Erin's house to change and gussy myself up a bit before heading over to Christi's house (see her blog link to the right - Babystepping My Way). A few weeks earlier, Christi had emailed Erin and I with an invitation to dinner at Balzac, a wine bar around the corner from her house. Little did Erin know, Christi and I had an invite of a different kind to offer one the night got underway.

Let me back up a bit here for clarification. Erin is getting married in October, and Christi is her MOH and I'm a bridesmaid. The two of us are the only two friends in the wedding; her other bridesmaid is her future sister-in-law. Well, about 8 months ago, Christi emailed me with an idea for Erin for her bachelorette party that would take a lot of planning, but would be a ton of fun. As soon as I read the email and all the details, I knew that I was totally on board and very excited! Christi had wanted the idea to be a surprise to Erin, but we needed to tell her in advance of the party so she could adequately prepare. We decided that we'd scheme and devise a plan to get the three of us together so that we could spring the news on Erin. Hence, Christi's dinner invite.

So, Christi and I had developed a plan. I'd take a half day off from work and drive down for the dinner. She would have a great floral arrangement made up and I would have my invite guru make up a most fantastic invitation outlining the details of the party. I would drive to Christi's house and drop off the invite before heading to Erin's house so that Christi could take the flowers and the invite to the restaurant before we arrived. It was a perfect plan.

When we arrived, Christi and I saw right away that the flowers and invite had been perfectly placed on our reserved table. We had Erin walk in first so that she'd see the production right away. She was a bit confused when she first sat down! She kinda looked back and forth between Christi and I, and said "What's going on?". We told her to open the invite, and she'd have some details. She opened it so slowly, and had a funny little look of confusion on her face the whole time.

After she was done opening up the invite, and after a bit of explanation from Christi and I, she figured it out. Christi and I would be taking Erin to Las Vegas for her bachelorette party. Erin could pick the dates and the guest list, but all other details and information will be left up to Christi and I.

Erin pretty much flipped out. And because Christi and I had been talking about it secretly for 8 months, we were just as excited for it to be out in the open and a reality! We quickly began to discuss possibilites for our weekend away - dancing and dinners and spa treatments and a show - we want to experience all that the city has to offer! Erin decided right away that the guest list would consist of her bridal shower - Christi and I, and Katie, the future sister-in-law. Erin's got so many friends that it would be really hard to have a successful trip with all of them, so she decided to keep it small and intimate. We're all so excited! It's definitely going to be the trip of a lifetime!! The rest of the night we just chatted and caught up on each other's lives a bit, of course with all of the Vegas excitement continually coming up in conversation! It was a great night.

Saturday morning I woke up early to spend time with my family before heading over to the salon where my cousin works to get a manicure. It was really fun to get pampered a little bit. After that, I headed home so that my mom could help me get the food ready for the weekend's main event: HEATHER'S BRIDAL SHOWER!

I have been excited about this shower for months! As I previously stated, I was co-hosting the shower with Greta, and it was so much fun to plan and prepare for the party with her. Heather's MOH is her sister, Lisa, but because Lisa lives in CA, she asked that I be in charge of the parties and such. I gladly accepted that role! Heather and I have been friends since we were 3 years old, and I truly feel like she's part of my family, so I was really happy and excited to be able to give her a great party for her and her friends.

Heather is one lucky girl - she has so many people who love her that she's having four showers! Her mom's family threw one, and the groom's family is throwing two of them. But there really wasn't a good place for her friends to fit in. So, I decided that it was only appropriate to have a fun shower where she and her friends could get together to celebrate her upcoming wedding.

When I started the planning for the party, I decided that we weren't going to do a traditional shower. No shower games, nothing like that. I decided that we needed to have something fun and outrageous that definitely catered to Heather and her personality - and so to Passion Parties I went! A Passion Party is a lot like a Tupperware party - only with sex toys! It was the perfect way to send Heather into married life. Greta offered to have the party at her parents' home because they have a nice large basement, and it was teh perfect place!

Greta and I made the food, I got some wine for the group, and I got decorations to fit the mood. By 6:00 PM, we were ready to rock and just awaiting the arrival of the woman of honor!

Everyone started to wander in between 6:00 and 6:30 or so. The group was made up of Heather's 7 closest friends - grade school friends, high school friends and work friends. And we all meshed so well together you'd think that all of us had been friends for 10 years!

After everyone had arrived and gotten some food and drinks, the Passion Party consultant, Amy, began her big production. And what a production it was! Before we knew what was happening, she had us passing around the products, licking our arms, smelling each other and trying on dick lipstick!

The Passion Party portion of the night was way more fun than I even imagined it would be. We laughed so hard our sides hurt, all while being completely intrigued by what Amy had to say. By the end of the party, we were all fighting to order our products first. It truly was the perfect thing to do for Heather's shower!

After Amy had packed up and was on her way, we gathered on the couches to watch Heather open her gifts.

Here's a side note - opening gifts that you've registered for is very funny to me. How do you react? Certainly not surprised - afterall, you did resgister specifically for these items so acting surprised would be a little awkward. It's just funny to me. Moving on...

So, Heather opened her gifts, and she received some really great items. Most were from her registry, but some gifts were little personal items that the girls knew Heather would love. For the rest of the night, we just chatted and ate some great cheesecake and drank some wine and caught up with everyone. We wound up staying at Greta's house until about 1:00 AM, just enjoying the night and the opportunity to hang out together.

It was by far the best shower I've ever been to, and not just because I was the one throwing it! We had so much fun - the guests were great and the conversation just as good. I really hope that Heather enjoyed herself as much as I did, and that it was a shower she'll never forget!

St. Patrick's Day

2006-03-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

I'm heading home for the weekend for some fun in another city - Burlington, WI with a short stop over in Milwaukee, WI. Tonight I'm heading out for dinner and drinks with Erin and Christi in Milwaukee. Christi found this great little wine bar near her place so we'll go there and chat and eat and drink and chat some more. The chatting never really ends when you get us all together... Saturday night I'm co-hosting a bridal shower for my friend Heather. Again, a lot of chatting and eating and drinking. I love it when I get to spend time with friends when I go back home. So often I'm missing my family so much that I want (and need) to spend all of my time with them and unfortunately don't have enough time left over to see friends as well. This weekend, it's kind of the opposite. Between Friday night and Sunday morning, I'll only see my family for about 2 hours. It's all about the friends this weekend! I'll post all the details and the pics of the weekend when I return!

Until then, everyone have a fantastically fun and safe St. Patrick's Day! Eat some green corned beef, drink some green beer, and kiss an Irishman.

Thursday Thirteen

2006-03-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Thirteen Things about Amanda

Since it's been snowing buckets here in the Twin Cities all week, my first list as part of the Thursday Thirteen club is 13 things I love about the snow.

1. Sledding down Watertower Hill back home

2. Building snowmen with my niece and nephew

3. Snowball fights in the yard

4. Building snow castles to climb in and around

5. Making snow angels

6. Watching the snow fall and swirl high in air

7. It makes the whole world seem clean and beautiful

8. Singing Let It Snow - hey, it's not just a Christmas song!

9. Remembering the way my dog, Tasha, used to jump and run and roll around in the backyard right after a big snow storm

10. Getting all bundled up and taking a walk through freshly fallen snow while kicking it up into the air - it makes me feel like a kid

11. The way the snow gathers on tree limbs

12. That people in Minnesota still have no idea how to drive in it - no wait a minute, that's on my list of things I hate about the snow...

13. When it all melts, it means spring is on it's way...

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
The Color Purple
Master Enigma

(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Eli's and a Car Show

2006-03-13T17:18:00.000-08:00

I love weekends like this past one. I had just enough to do to keep me busy and entertained, but not too much to do that I didn’t have time to just relax and enjoy the weekend.

On Friday night, Mark and I had tickets to see Defending the Caveman. We got free tickets because we are members of the Hennepin Theater Trust. I signed us up for Friday night tickets, and was really excited to go. I have heard from a lot of people that this show is hilarious. But when Friday came, Mark and I just didn’t have it in us to go. We just weren’t all that excited about it, and didn’t feel like going to the theater. And because we didn’t pay for the tickets, we didn’t feel too bad about not going. I do really want to see the show, so maybe in the future you’ll see a post about that.

So, instead of going to the show, we had dinner at Eli’s. Finally!

And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought that the menu was your standard bar food – chicken sandwich, burgers, fries, etc. Not at all! They had some great stuff on the menu – fresh pastas, sandwiches, filet, pork tenderloin. It was so good. I started my meal with beer cheese soup, which was the special soup of the day. It was so good! They made it a real fancy beer cheese soup – no Wisconsin cheddar there! Then I had a fresh pasta dish with angel hair pasta mixed with veggies and a light garlic and white wine sauce. It was delicious. You can order half or full portions at Eli’s, and the half portion was perfect after my soup. Mark had a great cheese steak sandwich. It was so fun to finally get to the place that I’ve wanted to visit for over a year! After dinner we rented Just Friends, and laughed the night away on the couch.

On Saturday, I surprised Mark by taking him to the Twin Cities Auto Show. Mark is a huge car guy. It’s ridiculous sometimes. He’ll point out all these cars on the road, and I’ll have no idea what he’s talking about. He gets an obscene amount of car magazines sent to our house every month. So, you can imagine how excited he was when I told him that I was taking him to the car show. I’m actually looking to buy or lease a new car in the next couple of months as well, so I figured it’d be a good time for me to check out what the automakers have to offer.

We had such a great time. Mark was so funny – he was like a kid in a candy store. Or, like a grown man at an auto show, I guess. They tend to act the same way. I saw a lot of this during the show:

That would be Mark, running from car to car, and me, behind him, not being able to keep up.

We checked out all kinds of great cars. From the practical and realistic– Mazda 3 for me, Infiniti G35 for him – to the not to realistic – the Porsche Boxster S for him and Lexus RX 330 for me. It was fun to dream a little bit…

Later than night we went to Mark’s parent’s house to celebrate his sister Carol’s birthday. We had a great home cooked meal of ribs, coleslaw and beans.

On Sunday, Mark had school so I just relaxed and did some domesticated things around the house – laundry, cleaning, cooking. Mark and I had been looking forward to this particular Sunday for about three months. FINALLY, after months and months of waiting, The Sopranos Season 6 started on Sunday, March 12. Mark and I are Sopranos freaks. Well, I’m a Mafia freak in general. I just can’t get enough good Italian Mafia stories for some reason. They just captivate me. So, I made some baked ziti and garlic toast, and we watched as our favorite Boss came back into our lives.

Week Four Tri Training

2006-03-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Well, this week's training was pretty run of the mill. It started out pretty slowly on Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday I had kicked it into high gear again.

By far the best work out of the week was Saturday. I did my team run on Saturday - only my second of the season. For some reason, I have had to miss the last couple, so I was really excited to get out there and be part of the team run. We met at Lake Calhoun as usual, and we ran on the outer track, which is 3.4 miles. Plus, whenever we reached a point that had a hill (side streets mostly), we would do four hill runs - up at a fast pace, then recovery on the way down, then back up again. It was SO hard. I haven't been running on my own enough, either, but I was so proud to say that I didn't stop running. Not once. AND, the coach even made an example out of my running partner, Kristin, and me. The coach told the entire group that they should watch us and our style and pace, which are perfect for triathlon running. Not too fast, but steady and consistent. I was really proud of that - I never thought of my running style as something to watch. It felt really great, and pushed me to work even harder and keep going the entire day. By the time we were finished, we had run about 4.5 miles total. It felt great! Well, until Sunday morning...

The best part about my triathlon week, though, was my fundraising. As of today, I have raised almost $800. As of March 1, I only had $50!! The generosity of my family, friends and co-workers has been fantastic, and so greatly appreciated. I'm almost halfway to my overall goal. I'm coming up with a couple more fundraising ideas, such as a spaghetti dinner, so that I'll have no problems coming up with the entire amount. And the fundraising has really pushed my motivation level up - I don't want to let anyone down! So, to those of you reading who've donated, thank you so much! To those you haven't donated yet, click on the link to the right to donate now!

Mark

2006-03-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

Just a little photo of Mark, playing his guitar. He got a new toy for his birthday that lets him plug his guitar into the computer and record music. It's pretty cool. Anytime he's able, Mark is playing the guitar. We could be in the middle of a very serious conversation, and he'll just pick up his guitar and start playing. Annoying at times, yes. But most of the time, I love it.

Just wanted to share.

Most tomorrow...

Goals

2006-03-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking way too much lately about goals. My short term goals (drink more water), my long term goals (finish my triathlon) and my life long goals (travel). I've always thought that goals are a good thing. They keep you motivated, keep you going and working toward completion.

But lately, I've been thinking about just how many goals a person can realistically have. I mean, if my list of short term goals is three pages long, what are the odds that I'm going to reach every goal? And then, when I don't reach them, how crappy am I going to feel when I know that I've let myself - and possibly others - down?

And here's another thing - which goals are the most important? The short term goals with the quickest pay off? Or the life long goals - the ones that you work toward for years and the pay off is immeasurable? Should you have a lot of short term goals, and only a few long term ones? Or the other way around?

And another - how specific do your goals need to be? Should they be general - I want to travel. Or should they be more specific - I want to travel to all 50 states in the U.S. Does the specificity of your goals make them more or less attainable?

Here's the conclusion that I've come to, I guess. It's inevitable that I will not reach every goal that I set for myself throughout my life. And the thing is, as I get older, my goals will undoubtedly change. So for right now, I'm keeping my eye on the big stuff. The prize. The all-important, all-generic, everyone-wants-it-but-not-a-lot-have-it goal: to live a happy life.

So far, I'm on the right track...

Generosity

2006-03-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

I sent out my triathlon letters about two weeks ago, and I was a little nervous. I knew that I'd get some people to contribute, but I wasn't sure that I could get all of these people to donate some money to the cause. Well, just in the past week, I've raised over $500. That's 25% of my goal! I've been really excited about the generosity and support that I've received from people so far, and I just wanted to share.

If you're feeling generous and want to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, check out the link to the right.

Week Three Tri Training

2006-03-07T05:38:00.000-08:00

So, I guess you can't be a rock star every week. And this week, I was far from one.

The week started out really poorly. I didn't work out Monday OR Tuesday! It was horrible. I just ran out of time. I had so much going out outside of training that I just couldn't get to it. I don't even know what I did on Monday or Tuesday!

Wednesday I went to spin class, which has actually turned into a brick every week followed by core training. I love my Wednesday workouts. It helps me prepare for the triathlon but also gets me going and usually keeps me motivated throughout the week. This week I realized that I'm at a level that I need to step it up a bit. We did a hard brick and then some intense core training, and I didn't even get winded. I need to push myself a bit harder now - running faster and spinning with more resistance.

Thursday was swim class, and I thought I was going to drown this week! It was so hard! It felt really good, but it was really hard. The goal by March 31st is to do 8 laps without stopping. Right now I can only do four, so I have to double my number in only four weeks. I guess that's a length every week. I realized that I definitely have to get in the pool more often. March's training schedule has me in the pool three times a week, so that should really help out.

Friday, again, I didn't work out. I was up late Thursday night packing for the weekend and just getting some things in order, and I left right after work for the airport. I just didn't get a chance to do it. Then Saturday and Sunday, I was in Chicago.

This post is full of ridiculous excuses as to why I didn't train. Really, there should be no excuse. Training needs to be a huge priority in my life. Next week's goals are to continue with my water intake and to complete all of the training sessions I set for myself.

Oscar Weekend!!!

2006-03-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally here. It's Oscar Weekend, everybody, and I'm excited!

I did my best to see all of the movies that had been nominated for one thing or another, but I just couldn't see them all. I am proud to say, however, that I did see all five of the films up for Best Picture, something I haven't been able to do in years. So, without further ado, I give you my Oscar Picks.

Best Picture:
Crash
Brokeback Mountain
Munich
Good Night, and Good Luck
Capote
Amanda's Pick: Brokeback Mountain
Although all five of the movies in this category were phenomenal films, nothing affected me as much as Brokeback Mountain. I thought about this film for days afterward. Weeks, even. It was the most emotional film I've seen in years. Some people thought this was a slow movie, boring even. But if you allow yourself to get lost in the story from every angle - the two lovers, their wives, their children - and all the relationships involved, you'll find it a very moving experience. Not to mention the scenery in the film was breathtaking.

Best Directing:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Amanda's Pick: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Although George Clooney directed a fabulous film in Good Nigh, and Good Luck, Ang Lee really wins big here with his direction of the best movie of the year.

Best Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night and Good Luck
Amanda's Pick - Philip Seymour Hoffman
I only witnessed three of the five performances, but I don't think that anyone can beat PSH in this film. He took the character of Capote and ran with it. I found myself thinking - this is the same guy who's in Twister? PSH can transform himself and morph into any great film character if given the opportunity. I think he really deserves this time to shine.
But don't forget David Strathairn. His performance was strong and solid, and really made the movie all the more bold.

Best Actress:
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - TransAmerica
Keira Knightly - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
Amanda's Pick - Reese Witherspoon
Now this category I really fault in. I haven't seen a single one of these movies. But, I am up on my Oscar info, and I'd have to go with Reese Witherspoon on this one. From what I've read, seen, and heard, she's the definite front-runner in this category. She apparently brings her character to life on screen in a way that only a "little girl from TN" could (how much do you want to bet that she says that in her acceptance speech - she says it all the damn time).
I think that Felicity Huffman is one to watch, however. She's a phenomenal actress who is just now unfortunately coming into her prime. (Oh, and if Mark's theory is correct, she'll be separated in about a year or so...)

Best Actor, Supporting:
George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhall - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence
Amanda's Pick - Paul Giamatti
Here's another actor who hasn't been given the recognition for his full potential. My pick in this category is based more on my own opinion rather than what I think that Academy will actually pick. I think that Matt Dillon has a good chance because he's the only one nominated for Crash, so voters may lean toward him. Same with George Clooney - he won't win for Picture or Director, so the Academy voters may give this one to him for Syriana as a back up.

Best Actress, Supporting:
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
Amanda's Pick - Rachel Weisz
I don't think that ever before could I really hate a character at the beginning of a film, only to really love her at the end. Rachel Weisz does a great job of connecting you to the character, and to the story, in The Constant Gardener.
Michelle Williams is another favorite, though. Who can forget the scene where she sees her husband in another man's heated embrace?

So, that's my picks for the big night. Please let me know your thoughts and your picks as well!

The Weekend

2006-02-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

I felt like the weekend went way to fast this time around. Well, it always goes way to fast, but Mark and I were so busy that this past weekend seemed to go by faster than usual.

On Friday night Mark’s friend Tim and his girlfriend Kate came over for some drinks and to go to dinner. We’ve hung out with Tim and Kate hundreds of times, but never just the four of us. The original plan was to head out and have a couple of drinks at our house and then go to Buca di Beppo for dinner. When we got to Buca, though, the wait for a table was an hour and a half. So we decided to grab some take out and go back home. Tim and Kate had brought over a good bottle of wine and we just had a great time relaxing and chatting for the night.

Saturday morning Mark and I did some stuff around the house before deciding to rent a movie and just relax for the afternoon. Mark had only gotten about four hours of sleep on Friday night, so he was pretty exhausted by about 1:00. We rented Elizabethtown, which I didn’t like very much. I thought that it was going to be a good story about two people falling in love, but it was about something different I guess. It was way too much like Jerry MaGuire. But it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Saturday night Mark went to dinner with Jason and Mitch. Mark works with those two guys, and once a month they go out for a nice dinner at a different restaurant to explore the city a bit. On Saturday they went to Zelo and then came back to our house to watch a boxing match. I, of course, decided it was another great opportunity to have a girls’ night, so I called Megan and Kristin. I unfortunately don’t get to see either of those girls nearly as much as I’d like to, so it was so fantastic to get a night with just the three of us. We started out the night at my place with a nice glass of wine, and then headed out to Taste for a bottle of Rosado and some tapas. We spent a good couple of hours there just catching up and enjoying each other’s company. After that we headed to the Rock Bottom Brewery for some Spicy Spinach Cheese Dip and some Nachos before heading home for the night. I have done some really fun things in the past few weeks, but Saturday night was one of the best. Sometimes all it takes is a couple of good friends, some wine and a free-flowing conversation to make the best of nights.

Sunday morning I got up for my run, and then Mark and I had a day to ourselves. We got new cell phones, did some grocery shopping, made dinner and watched Grey’s Anatomy. Although we got to spend the day together, we still feel like we didn’t get to spend enough time together this weekend. That’s what happens when you work separate schedules. You learn how to deal with it, but you never really stop missing the other person.

Week Two Tri Training

2006-02-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

Week two went a lot better than week one. Although I didn't stick exactly to the schedule, I did most of the workouts and felt great all week because of it. It's a lot easier to eat healthy throughout the day when you know that you worked hard in the morning.

Monday morning was a bit of a slow start to the week. I woke up early to do a morning run on the treadmill. It's really hard to me to run on the treadmill because I think it's SO boring! Even though I had my Ipod, I was still bored by mile two. If I run outside I can at least see other people and other things. So it was hard to have motivation Monday morning, but I did run for 20 minutes and speed walk for 10 minutes.

Tuesday was a swim day. I had plans for a one woman Olympic party that night (just me, a Lean Cuisine, a wine cooler and the ladies figure skating short program - what could be better?). After work I was going to head to the gym to swim, but I thought that I'd head home and just swim there. Not such a good idea. The pool here at our apartment is so small that by the time I did two strokes of the crawl, I was at the end of the pool. I did a 30-minute swim, but I did feel like it wasn't the most efficient work out ever. At least I got out there.

Wednesday was the best work out of the week. I had my cycle team training, and we did our first tri brick. A brick is when you alternate between two events, doing a short, hard push for each event. We did cycle and running, and it was really hard! We would run for 10 minutes, then spin for 10 minutes, and then back to running. We did that for over an hour. After that, we worked on core training for about a half hour. I got home and my abs hurt so much it was hard to even sit down.

Thursday I didn't work out. Usually I swim with the team on Thursday nights, but the finals for the figure skating were on and I didn't want to miss it. I know, it's a really bad reason to skip a work out, but I felt like I had worked hard the beginning of the week that I deserved a break. Plus, the Olympics are only on every four years! I think that's an ok excuse...

Friday morning I got up early and biked downstairs in the gym for 30 minutes. It wasn't the work out I was hoping for. We don't have spin bikes here, so I didn't feel like I was truly doing training. But I suppose that the fact that I got up and did anything at all is better than laying in bed for 45 more minutes. I am thinking about taking a spin class one night a week so that my two bike sessions a week are really hard and really make me push myself.

Saturday morning is the team run, but Mark and I had had people over for dinner and drinks the night before, so I wasn't feeling up to getting up early to run. At 7:00 AM it was a good idea to stay in bed, but I was angry with myself later in the day because that meant that I had to run on Sunday. I hate working out on Sundays. Plus, I don't like to miss two team training sessions in a week. I think it really helps to see everyone else trying really hard and pushing themselves.

So, Sunday morning came and I really didn't want to run, but I did it. And just to punish myself a little more for being lazy on Saturday, I ran outside. It was about 18 degrees out. I got all bundled up in my great running gear, and as soon as I hit the cold air I was ready to go. I was pumped up and energized and excited to be out there running and getting my body going.

Every week I try to set a goal for myself in additional to my work out goals. This week my goal dealt with eating at work. If you work in an office, you know that for some reason crap food always seems to appear. Brownies, cookies, cake, you name it. Pretty much every day something new appears in my office. And I can't help the sweets - I LOVE them. I don't just have a sweet tooth - my whole upper row of teeth is sweet. So, my goal this week was to eat nothing at work. No sweets, no crap food, nothing extra. And I did it. I didn't have anything extra at all. It was so hard! When everyone else was taking cookies in the Monday morning staff meeting, I didn't have anything. When my boss bought scones for us all, I said "No, thank you". When we had popsicles and ice cream for the monthly birthday celebration, I didn't touch it. I was so proud of myself. I overcame my office sweet teeth, and it felt so good. When Friday afternoon came and I knew that I had reached my goal, I think that I did a little dance. It feels so good to set a goal for yourself and realize that you've actually reached the goal.

I think that my goal for this next week is going to be to continue with my no sweets at work rule and also to focus on water intake. I am usually really great about water intake the first part of the week, and then I lose for some reason by Friday I'm not drinking any at all during the day. My goal is to drink two Nalgene bottles full every day.

Overall, I had a great week and felt wonderful with how I performed. Next week I'm going to try to find a spin class to attend weekly as well as a yoga class to increase my core strength.

Don't forget to check out my fundraising web site (and maybe donate, too...) by using the link to the right.

We're Moving...

2006-02-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

On February 15, I came home to find a letter stuck into my door frame. It was from the apartment management, and it gave information on our new lease term. Our lease is up on April 30, so I was expecting the new rent information to come at some point. I did not, however, expect that the apartment management would increase our rent through the roof!

Mark and I currently have a one bedroom, 650 sq. foot apartment in downtown Minneapolis. We live on the 20th floor, and have an amazing view of the city from our living room. The building has great amenities, like a pool, workout room, sauna and whirlpool. We have had some problems, though. For Mark alone, the apartment size was great. Perfect for a single guy with a minimalist take on design. But for two of us? I feel a little like a sardine. I haven't had more than three hot showers in the morning in four weeks. Mark has had numerous nights where he'd come home from work at 4:00 AM and not have a place to park - in the parking lot that we pay for. So, we had talked about moving sometime in July or August. We have a lot of things going on between April and June, and thought it would just be easier to wait it out for a couple of months.

Not so much.

Apparently, our management decided that the apartment is worth much more now than it was a year ago. If Mark and I decide to stay an entire year and sign a new 12-month lease, our rent would increase $200. However, if we decided not to sign a new lease and instead to become month-to-month tenants, our rent would increase $250 plus a monthly fee of $100 for being temporary tenants, for a grand total of $350 a month. For all the issues we were having with the apartment, we weren't having that.

So, we decided to take on the endeavour of apartment searching. We looked online for three days straight, and I set up a few appointments to see some places. The first place we saw was an older building in the Warehouse District in Minneapolis. We walked in and it was old, small, and overall horrible. It had character - high ceilings, exposed brick and beams, old neighborhood. But the appliances were from the 50s. The carpet kinda smelled. The bathroom was mold covered. Due to my temporary insanity of being terrified that we'd never find a place, however, I loved it. Mark had a pretty fun time with me losing my mind, but was very calm and supportive the entire time. We moved on to the second place.

The second place was the Highland Ridge apartments in Highland Park, which is a neighborhood in St. Paul. Now, to those of you who don't live in the Twin Cities, you probably think that there is no difference between the cities. It's just one big city, really, with a river running down the middle. How wrong you are. The two cities are just as different as if they were on opposite sides of the country. Minneapolis is young, hip, trendy, and modern. St. Paul is older, more charming, and quiet. Minneapolis is chaotic. St. Paul is calming. I have lived in Minneapolis my entire life as a Minnesotan, and the idea of moving to St. Paul scared me a little at first. Mark of course had a much easier time with the idea - his home town is much closer to St. Paul and he spent many days and nights playing around the city of St. Paul with his parents. Plus, he works in St. Paul. So, I was a little reluctant to look at the next place, but I wanted to give any and every apartment a chance.

And I am SO glad that I did.

We loved this place. I mean, LOVED it. It was perfect. We walked into the lobby, where a large marble fountain welcomes you. As we walked throughout the building, we saw the pool (twice the size of the pool in our building now), the workout room, sauna, whirlpool, aerobics room (they have yoga and aerobics for their residents, free of charge), a game room, a community room. It was amazing! The building was beautiful. We finally got to the apartment itself. It was a two bedroom, two bathroom, 1010 square foot apartment with a private balcony. We walked in, and immediately fell in love. The kitchen and living room have a great flow together that leads you down the hallway to the bathroom, extra bedroom and master suite. Yeah that's right, master suite! We were both floored. Here's some pics:

The pictures of course don't do it justice, but it's wonderful. You can read all about the place here.

We told the woman right then that we loved it, and wanted it. We got a 24-hour hold on it, and I was back within 20 hours to pay our deposit and submit our applications.

So, St. Paul, here we come! I'm really excited about the new challenges and adventures that come not only with moving to a new home but moving to an all new area. I have great things to explore - like where's the bank and grocery story and movie theater? And what is the best biking and running routes? I'm really thrilled about it! And Mark even made me a deal - I get to decorate the master suite, bathrooms and living room if he can have the extra bedroom. Heck yeah! I have a feeling, though, that Mark's Swingers poster will now have a home...

Week One Tri Training

2006-02-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to try to post every Sunday night about the pervious week's triathlon training just to keep you all in the loop. This past week was the first official week of training, and I'm mildly proud of myself. I think that I could have pushed harder and worked more, but for the first week it's pretty good.

I ran Monday night, even though the schedule didn't require it. I really wanted to get a good physical start to my week. I ran hard for 30 minutes, and then did a 5 minute cool down run. It felt so good to run for the 30 minutes! It was cold outside, and I don't like to run outside at night alone, so I ran on the treadmill. Running indoors isn't as fun, but I pushed myself to do it anyway. I ran almost three miles. I know, not the best mile time, but I am just starting out...

Tuesday I skipped a work out, as the schedule stated. It was a nice rest for Valentine's Day.

Wednesday was our first group cycle training session. The session was held in St. Louis Park at the Bally Total Fitness. I figured that I was an intermediate biker, so I went with the first group. I'm really glad that I pushed myself up to that class, because it was really hard - but the good kind of hard. We rode the bikes for 30 minutes, and then did our coach's version of a mini boot camp. We worked our abs, butts and thighs for 45 minutes after the bikes. By the end of the night, we could barely walk. But it felt so good to work my body like that. It always reinstates my enthusiasm for my goal when I have a powerful workout.

Thursday was our first group swim training session. I wasn't sure whether to go with the beginners or the intermediate class. I can swim, but my form is horrible and I didn't know how long I could swim without stopping. I decided to go with the beginner’s class, and I'm SO glad that I did! The work out was so hard! We started with drills that help us learn the different important aspects of triathlon swimming: use your upper body strength, flutter kick with the legs to conserve leg muscles for the bike and run, breathe every four strokes if possible, etc. We did the drills for about 30 minutes. And then it was time to put those things together to try our bodies at the freestyle stroke. We were told to do four laps (one lap is down and back, by the way), going easy on the way down and then really swimming hard on the way back. I thought, four laps is nothing! During the actual tri I have to swim the equivalent of 32 laps. Four laps damn near killed me. I was winded. My form was lost. And then the coach told us to take a 10 second breather, and do it again. By lap 8 all I could think was I'm going to drown in this damn pool in St. Paul. They'll have to call my mom and tell her that her 23-year-old drown in a pool. But alas, I did it. And when I finished, I actually felt really good. The thing with swimming is that it can be learned. If you aren't a good swimmer at the start, you can learn the form and breathing and eventually get better at it. So, I'm motivated to keep trying and keep working at it until I can swim those 32 laps without a second thought.

Saturday mornings is usually our group run, but due to the 10 BELOW ZERO temp, it was cancelled. And because I ran on Monday and didn't need to, I let myself sleep in and relax a bit. It was much appreciated by me.

So, next week is when the real hard schedule starts. Six days a week of working out, two sessions for each of the three events. I'm going to try my best to follow the schedule and have focused workouts so that my body gets used to the work. But overall, I feel happy with my first week of training, and I'm really looking forward to next week's challenges.

Don't forget to visit my fundraising link to the left, and donate if you can!

Valentine's Day with Mark

2006-02-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Friday night Mark and I celebrated Valentine's Day because we didn't see each other on the actual V-day date. We had reservations for 7:00 PM at Amore Victoria, a new Italian restaurant on Lake Street in Uptown. I had driven past it a few times and really wanted to try it.

Mark and I had decided to make this year a small Valentine's Day celebration. Dinner and quality time together was to be our gift to each other. And maybe a nice card. On the morning of Valentine's Day, I had left a nice card with some Twizzlers (his favorite candy) and just one red rose for him on the table to that when he got home from work he had a little surprise waiting. Nothing big, but a little something to make him feel special.

On my way home from work, Mark called and told me to call him when I got off of the elevator on our floor. I did, and he came out to meet me in the elevator lobby with a glass of wine and a kiss. Then he led me into the living room, where I was instructed to sit on the couch and not look around at all. I sat down on one couch and Mark sat on the other, holding his guitar. He started playing a song, and I didn't immediately know what song it was. But after a few chords I realized that it was True Companion, by Marc Cohn. He had spent all day Friday learning the song on the guitar, and played the whole song for me.

The funny, and very cute, part of this story is that I had heard this song last weekend during the car ride home from WI. When I got home to MN, I told Mark that he should learn that song and surprise me by playing it at our wedding (which, by the way, is in like 3 years). He laughed at the fact that I would tell him what surprise to do for me. So that fact that he quickly learned the song and played it for me as my gift was so sweet. After he finished the song, he gave me half a dozen red roses as well. It was the perfect gift.

After the song and flowers I quickly got ready and we headed out into the freezing air for dinner. The restaurant was very cute inside. The air and ambiance reminded me of a Tuscan villa renovated into a corner bistro. Ok, I've never actually been to Tuscany, so I've never actually seen a Tuscan villa. But hey, for all I know the place was EXACTLY like a Tuscan villa.

Moving on...

The food was good. I had Eggplant Florentina with a glass of Chianti Classico. The eggplant was good, although it was a bit rich. A thick layer of ricotta cheese was spread over the eggplant, which was then placed on a bed of pasta with spinach leaves. Mark had a pork tenderloin pasta dish that was so good. It had tenderloin with proscuitto in a white wine sauce. For dessert, we split a piece of decadent chocolate cake and a piece of tiramisu.

It was too cold to do anything else, so we came home and enjoyed a thrilling game of Yahtzee. It was a nice Valentine's Day evening with my sweetie.

Valentine's Day Crockpot Extravaganza

2006-02-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

I think that along the way I may have mentioned that Mark works nights at the Ford Assembly Plant in St. Paul. He goes to work at about 4:00 PM and doesn’t return home until about 4:00 AM. So, there are times and holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, that we must put off our celebration until the weekend, leaving me to fend for myself on the actual date. I’ve pretty much gotten used to this over the years, so it doesn’t bother me anymore. Now I just plan fun things to do instead.

This year for Hallmark holiday of love, I asked Julie to be my Valentine, and she gladly accepted. After some debate on whether we should dine out or make dinner, we decided to make a meal entirely in our crockpots. My sister and her family had bought a crockpot for me for my birthday a couple of years ago, and Julie’s mom bought her two crockpots for Christmas this year. We have been searching the Internet for good recipes for crokpots since New Year’s. We decided it was time to put our crockpots to the test.

Julie had the responsibility of dinner, and I was in charge of dessert (of course). After trying out a couple of different recipes, Julie landed on her mom’s chili recipe. I found a recipe for hot caramel apples and was set to go.

So, on Valentine’s Day morning, I woke up (late) and made the caramel apples in the crockpot, and brought it over to Julie’s. We were going to run to her house (she lives three blocks from work) over the lunch hour to turn on the chili, and then return to her house at around 2:00 to turn on the apples. That way the chili would be ready to go right after work and the apples would ready a while afterward.

We went to the video store to pick up Cinderella Man. We weren’t sure of what to get, but we’d both wanted to see it. It was so good! Really a wonderful story about love and family and working hard and it was just great. I recommend it!

When we got to Julie’s to finally start eating, her house smelled amazing, between the simmering chili and the baking apples!

We got out the wine,

filled our bowls up with Fritos and chili and cheese (all intricately layered, of course),

and sat down to enjoy the movie.

The chili was SO GOOD! Just the right amount of spice to make your nose run, but not too much that you couldn’t taste the chili goodness. After a heaping bowl of it, we were both way to full to even think about the apples!

So the apples simmered a while longer. That’s really the beauty with the crockpot – if you aren’t quite ready to eat, it doesn’t matter! It’s pretty hard to mess things up with a crockpot. When the movie ended, we turned on Sex and the City and decided we had just enough room for dessert.

I was rather pleased with myself at how the apples turned out. I put each apple in a bowl with a little of the juices it was baking in, and put Redi-whip along the outside rim of the apple. The apples were nice and soft, without being soggy and gross. The caramel and brown sugar was oozing out of the apple. (You make these caramel apples by coring the apples and sticking a bunch of stuff right inside if, so it cooks from the inside out.) As full as we were after the chili, the apples were just delectable! We didn’t speak the entire time we ate them.

After a clean up of the kitchen and pots, I headed home to my empty house. I did have a wonderful note from Mark to read. It was so great to spend V-Day hanging out with a good friend instead of moping about alone. And we had such a good time hanging with the crockpots, that we’re going to make it a regular thing. Keep watch for the next recipe postings…

Up Next: My V-Day celebration with Mark.

Word Cloud

2006-02-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

So, I saw this first on Erin's blog and then on Christi's, and I had to check it out myself. It's so fun! This web site, Snapshirts.com, has a section that you can go on and plug in your blog to get a word cloud from your blog. Here's mine:

If you have a site, go check this out. It's fun!

Weekend with Family

2006-02-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I made the long haul to southeastern WI to visit my family and friends. I try to get home every six to eight weeks to hang out with the fam - parents (Kath and Eric), sister (Nikki), brother-in-law (Pete), niece (Lexi) and nephew (Max). My family is really close, and as much as I love living in the Twin Cities, it's hard to be away from them sometimes. The kids are nine and five, and I love being part of their lives as they grow up.

I left the cities at about 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon and made really good time. It usually takes about 5 1/2 hours to get home, and I made it there by about 8:30 or so. The drive really sucked my energy though. My car doesn't have a CD player, and I lost my portable one, so I was subjected to the horrid music that clutters middle WI radio. Country. Lots and lots of country music. I hate country music. By the time I got home, I was pretty tired. So, the parents and I just hung out and chatted and watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Didn't see the opening ceremonies? Don't worry - you didn't miss much. Anything, really. They were really slow and a bit boring and really took all of the great athletic energy out of the games. Oh well.

Saturday was SUCH a busy day. My dad took me to the chiropractor to get me all aligned before my really tough training starts for the tri. That was great, but we had to leave the house at about 8:45 AM to get there in time for me to get adjusted and make it to White Fox Den for breakfast with my mom and Erin and her mom. No sleeping in for me. Oh well, it was worth it. I went to breakfast with the ladies, and we had such a good time. We always have a great time together. Erin and I have been friends for so long (since first grade), and our mom have been friends for almost as long, so it just feels so great to spend time with the four of us. Erin is like another sister, and her mom is like a second mom.

After breakfast, my mom and I did some bumming around town and went to see my grandma at the nursing home. She recently fell and broke her pelvis, so she has to be in the nursing home while she recovers. She looked so old to me. It was actually really hard for me to see her there. My mom and Nikki both said that she's doing really well and actually looks really good, but they see her all the time. When you don't see an older person, an older sick person at that, six weeks can do so much that a person who sees her every week doesn't see. I lvoe my grandma, and it's hard to think of a time when she won't be around. My grandpa died four years ago today actually, and it was so hard. We've always been so close to my grandparents. Ok, don't want to think about that anymore so I'm going to move on...

After visiting my grandma, we went to see Lexi's basketball game. Although she didn't score a basket and her team lost, she did a great job.

I played basketball when I was a littler older than her, and I was so bad at it. In four years of playing, I only got two baskets. I think. I may have blocked that out of my memory...

After the game, the whole fam went out to this job site that my dad is working on so he could show us this amazing house. It was snowing out, but it wasn't very cold. The house is way out in the woods, so we ran around like a bunch of idiots playing Man from Snowy River and hiking all over the woods. We worked up quite the appetite so we went to Upper Crust pizza in Pell Lake. My cousin Ashley met us there, too, since I haven't seen her since before Christmas either. This place is so cool - they have funny things hanging from every inch of the walls and ceilings. From a giant T-Rex to hammerhead sharks to airplanes to old license plates. It's really fun the play I Spy in this place.

After dinner, my parents and I headed into New Berlin to see Munich. I was so tired after the long day, but I really wanted to see the movie and thought it'd be a good way to relax. Not so much. This movie is amazingly powerful. It really sort of rips you apart and makes you question humanity and the state of the world as we've known it our entire lives. The thought that people have been fighting each other, mass murdering each other, for thousands of years is mind-blowing and eternally frightening. For those who don't know, this movie is about the violent aftermath of the Munich Olympic hostage and murder situation. Really, it's about the years old fued between the Palestinians and the Isrealis. It's makes you really think. My parents and I left the movie in silence, not really knowing how to react at that time. It's a great film, but it made me depressed at the state of our world. If you can't handle thinking about things outside your own life or bubble, don't see it.

Although amazing and powerful, I don't think this film will win Best Picture, by the way. I just don't see it coming.

Sunday morning, I woke up and hung out with my parents for a relaxing morning before making the trip back up to the cities. The drive was a lot better on Sunday than it had been on Friday. I think I just hate night driving. But I made even better time on the way back up, and I was home in plenty of time to spend time with Mark and watch the world's greatest TV show, Grey's Anatomy. Seriously, if you aren't wathcing this show, you're nuts. Watch it. Love it.

That's it for me for the weekend. This is going to be a really busy week - the intense tri training starts this week. I'm so excited about it!

Up Next: A Valentine's Day Crockpot Extravaganza

Capote

2006-02-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I went to see Capote on Tuesday night. Mark has off work all week, so in my attempt to fulfill my Oscar promise I took him away to the movies for the evening. Well, he took me but who’s keeping track…

We had planned on going so when I got home from work on Tuesday I quickly changed clothes and we headed out to grab a bite to eat before the movie. We weren’t sure where to go, and we didn’t have a lot of time, so we just headed for Uptown thinking we’d find a place. When we got to Uptown, for some unknown and ridiculous reason, we decided it would be a good idea to eat at Burrito Loco. Now, you may ask yourself, “What would make two people with severe stomach issues eat at a baby-size burrito from Burrito Loco before going to sit in a movie theater for two and a half hours?” Well, I’ll tell you. Insanity mixed quite well with a dash of stupidity. About four bites into our burrito (for Mark) and quesadilla (for me), we were done. Luckily, the tobacco shop next door sold Tums, so we were ok for the next few hours. We had a bunch of time to kill before the movie (we had expected to eat a full meal…), so we wandered into Book Smart, the used bookstore on Hennepin Avenue. I had never been in the store before – working at Barnes & Noble you never really need to go to another bookstore. But it was fun to just wander through the aisles and check out some books that probably four people have read (the author, his/her spouse and his/her parents). It was a great way to waste the time away.

We finally made it over to the theater, and we were pleased to find that no crazies had decided to come to the movies that night.

Let me back up. Mark and I have a movie crazies attraction that we can’t seem to shake. In our two and a half years of dating, we have had a nice night out at the movies maybe four times. We’ve been to the movies a bunch, but only about four times without a crazy ruining the whole thing for us. At Love Actually, a woman sat in front of us eating a bologna sandwich and every time Hugh Grant appeared on stage, she would throw her arms up into the air and scream. At I Heart Huckabees, on opening weekend, a woman behind us keep making horrible remarks because we had dared to sit in front of her – in a SOLD OUT THEATER. At Chronicles of Narnia, we were two of eight people in the entire theater. The only other couple in the place (the other four were a family) decided to sit in the exact row in front of us in the exact two seats in front of us – and then proceeded to talk on their CELL PHONES during the entire film. And if you know Mark, you know that we didn’t move seats because of the principle of the matter – we were seated there first. For these reasons, and many others, Mark and I are wary of movie theaters. But I still love the movies and going to the movie theater, and because Mark loves me, he still goes with me. J

So with our bellies full of food it didn’t like and no crazies surrounding us, Mark and I settled in to enjoy a great film. I didn’t know a lot about Truman Capote prior to seeing the film. I knew he was an author and had written Breakfast at Tiffany’s as well as In Cold Blood. Other than that, I was excited to learn about him and the process he went through while writing In Cold Blood.

I don’t want to go into the details of the movie itself for fear of ruining it for someone who hasn’t yet seen it. While I thought the movie was fascinating and a great way to spend a couple of hours, I don’t think that it is Oscar Best Picture worthy. The story was compelling, the acting amazing (more on that in a minute) and the cinematography well done, but it was not the best film that I saw all year. I often judge films based on how they impacted or affected me. Did I have to sit in the theater for a few minutes before I could allow myself to leave? Did I leave the theater feeling a connection to the characters? Am I still thinking about the film days and weeks later?

For this film, the answer was no. The film itself did not have the impact on me that I believe Oscar Best Picture films should have. Was I moved by the film? Yes. Did I enjoy the film? Yes. But I wasn’t so affected by the film that days later, I’m still thinking about it and analyzing it. I highly recommend the film, and I think it deserved a nomination. But I will be very surprised if this film wins Best Picture.

Now the acting is a different story. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote was phenomenal. I’ve always enjoyed watching him and have thought for years that he does not get the attention that he deserves. This man is a chameleon. He is able to morph into any role and play it with an amazing amount of ease. In this film, you can really see his acting style and his abilities shine through. He takes you on such a journey with this character. You hate him and feel for him and understand him and then don’t understand at all. From the films that I’ve seen so far, I think the Philip Seymour Hoffman deserves the Oscar for Best Actor hand down.

I urge you to see this film and come back to let me know your thoughts on it!

Heading home to WI this weekend, so I won’t be doing any fun things in the city. But I’ll be back next week!

1st Team Run

2006-02-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have officially become on of the crazy people. Those crazy people that get up at the crack of dawn, get their gear on, and go running when it's 10 below outside. Yes, my friends, I have become one of those crazy people - and I LOVE IT!

This morning was my first team training session with my TNT teammates. The run started at 8am, and the team was to meet at Lake Calhoun. When my alarm clock went off at 7am, I wanted nothing more than to roll over and go right back to sleep. But I took five minutes, got myself up and started getting ready. I put on all my new gear - I did a little pre-run shopping at Target yesterday. I felt filled with enthusiasm and really ready to take on the day and the run!

And then I looked at the tempurature.

It was 10 degrees. And then, two minutes later, it was 8 degrees. And then, when I got in the car, the DJ stated that it was really 7 below with the wind chill.

My enthusiasm level decreased. In fact, my enthusiasm was gone. It went back to bed.

But I when I arrived at Lake Calhoun and saw all of the other runners gathering and stretching, it came back. A little. We started by introducing ourselves and the event for which we'd be training. Then we did a little group warm up and broke out into groups. I ran on Saturday morning, and I did a 10-minute mile. So, I joined the 10- to 11- minute mile group thinking that I'd just make it.

And I did make. It more than made it. I did great! We did a line run, which means that the whole group runs in a line, and the last person in the group has to run to the front of the line while stating something about themselves (name, college, favorite drink, etc.) That person was then at the front of the pack, and they set the pace until the next person came up. It made the time fly by, and was a great way to connect with the team. Before I knew it, the run was over!

It wasn't until after the run that the cold hit me. And it hit me HARD! While doing my post-run stretch with my teammates, my legs started to go completely numb and my hands were like ice. By the time I got in the car, my whole body was an icicle. I turned the heat on as high as it would go.

But I felt great. I was more motivated than ever to get in shape and prepare my body and mind for the major undertaking of a triathlon. And even more, I was motivated by the larger goal in mind - raising the funds that will one day find comfort and a cure for blood cancer patients. The people out there running with me today were friends, sisters, nephews, sons, husbands of someone with a form of blood cancer. One of our teammates is running for his wife - she's 24 and was just diagnosed with cancer. I have a feeling that one will stick me with throughout my training.

When I got home, I was still freezing. I jumped back into bed, but my adrenaline and excitement were pumping way too hard for me to rest. After a hot shower, I started to warm up. I'm still kinda warming up now, actually...

So, my first team training session was a major success for me. It made me really excited to face the next five months of training and fundraising. And speaking of fundraising...please note that the link to my personal fundraising website is now to the right. Please give if you can.

Up Next - not sure yet.

Tuesdays with Morrie

2006-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Last year, for my college graduation gift, Mark bought me season tickets to the Broadway in Minneapolis series at the Orpheum Theater. We had some great shows - The Lion King, Movin Out and Sweet Charity, to name a few. We had such a good time that we decided to get season tickets again this year. My friend Megan and her boyfriend Ryan even decided to join us. We were a little disappointed with this season's shows, but were excited to again experience musical theater at one of our favorite venues. The first couple of shows were good, but we still weren't sold on this season's shows. But the latest performance brought out enthusiasm level right back up again.

On Friday night, after I had a quick happy hour with some of my favorite college gals, Kristin and Susie, I rushed home to get ready for our evening at the State Theater to see Tuesdays With Morrie. I was pretty tired after a long week at work, and when I got home I found that Mark, too, was tired and not overly thrilled with a night out. But after getting ready and eating a quick snack, I was in theater mood. We walked the FREEZING five blocks to the theater to find Megan and Ryan already inside trying to get warm. After finding our seats and chatting a bit about the venue, the show started.

Now, those of you who pay attention might be wondering why, if our season tickets are for shows at the Orpheum, we were seeing a show at the State Theater. Well, the show got moved a couple of weeks ago, and at the time I wasn't sure why. Well, the State Theater is a much smaller venue, and unfortunately, even that smaller venue wasn't filled for this great show. It always makes me a little sad for the actors when the theater isn't filled. I'm not saying it has to be a sold out show, but probably 1/3 of the theater was empty. It would make me sad if I were an actor and people didn't come to see my show. But that's just me.

Anyways, back to my story. The show was fantastic. I have never read the book, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. I mean, I was pretty sure that the old man died in the end. But I never knew how great the story is. You have this old, dying man with all of these words of wisdom, and you have this younger, healthy guy who initially can't even give his wife the time of day. It was a very touching and inspiring story, and the acting made the story come alive. I don't know much about Mitch Albom, but Mark and Ryan both said that the actor portrayed him perfectly.

I got so wrapped up in the story. Again, I knew that the old man died in the end, but it kind of snuck up on me. I found myself crying, and I mean really crying. (I was not the only one - quite a few of the women around me were shedding tears) It was so sad to watch the relationship end.

I always think it's got to be more difficult to play someone who actually lives or is still alive. In a completely fictional story, the actor who plays the character is able to develop that character, make him or her what he or she wants. But with a true story or well-known people, the actor has to get the tone, the mannerisms, the lifestyle of the person perfectly, or pay the consequences from the viewing public. So, here's my little salute to actors who play real people. Salute!

Anyways, the show was really great and I loved the State Theater. It has beautiful, ornate woodworking and wall murals. It was my first visit to the State Theater, and I can imagine that a concert there would be really great. Large enough to have a good crowd, but small enough to feel intimate with the artist.

Ok, now I'm just rambling to ramble. What I have to say is, Tuesdays with Morrie was good, I liked the State Theater, and actors are great. Now, I'm going to take a nap. Found out why I need one in my next post...

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone!

Triathlon

2006-01-31T16:20:00.000-08:00

As you may know, this blog was part of my New Year’s resolution to explore the Twin Cities. What most people don’t know is that I have another resolution. I am going to participate in a triathlon.

A few weeks before New Year’s Eve, I began to think about participating in a triathlon. I didn’t tell anyone about these thoughts, not even Mark. I knew that I wanted to lose weight and really push myself to get in shape, but I also knew that I would never succeed in doing that unless I had a larger motivating reason behind it all. I knew that I would never do a marathon – running for 26.2 miles sounded like hell on earth to me. But with a triathlon, I get to swim, bike and run my way to a finish line. I also thought about my big list of things to do before I die, and finishing a major fitness event is on that list. I wasn’t quite ready to tell anyone though – telling people would mean that it was real for people other than just myself.

Well, New Year’s Eve came, and while I was sitting on the floor playing Jenga with my family, I just kind of blurted it out. I wasn’t really ready to tell anyone, but apparently my subconscious was sick of the secret. I’m not sure that my family believed me, but they did their best attempt at making me feel like they did. It was sort of a “I’ll believe it when I see it” kind of thing. And to be honest, that didn’t bother me at all. I was sort of feeling the same thing myself. I had no idea how to start the training, where to do the training, or what the training would involve.

A few days after the New Year had started, I came home one night to find a direct mail piece on top of the small pile of mail Mark had left out for me. The mail piece was from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and it was regarding a program called Team in Training (TNT). As I started to read through the information, I learned that TNT was a program that helped regular people train for extreme fitness challenges – such as marathons, century bike rides and triathlons. They provide coaching, support and motivation for training. It was like fate had given me a call.

I signed up to attend an informational meeting for TNT to find out more about the program. When I arrived, I was surprised that I wasn’t totally scared or intimidated. In the past, I’ve been known to be a bit of a nervous person (Mom and Eric, insert your funny comment here…). But I was really calm and relaxed, and just excited to learn about the possibility of joining a team.

About five minutes into the presentation, I was completely on board. I had learned that TNT is not just a support system for people to use for their own good. It’s about coaching, motivation, fundraising, encouragement, training, life experiences and so much more. Over the next five months, I will train with a core group of people who are participating in the same event. These people will help support me in my decisions, motivate me when I just want to lay around watching movies instead of training, and assist me with my fundraising goals. In return, I am their support system, hopefully giving them the same inspiration they give me.

At the end of the meeting, I signed up to participate in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon to take place July 15, 2006 here in Minneapolis.

Now, there is more to this than just receiving coaching and training and support from fellow triathletes. As part of the program, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society asks that each participant fundraise a predetermined amount of money. Of that total dollar amount, at least 75% goes directly to the Society for cancer research. I’ll admit, when the fundraising was discussed I did start to get a bit nervous. But when I started to actually think about the dollar amount I need to raise and all the people I know who would greatly support this cause, I knew that I could do it. TNT gives you all kinds of ideas and options for fundraising – from a personal web site (look for a link in the coming days!) to letter writing campaigns (if I have your address, be prepared to get a letter!) to special events (bake sale, anyone?).

TNT has a bunch of events throughout the year that take place throughout the country. They have a team to train for a walk or run marathon in San Diego, a century bike ride around Lake Tahoe and a triathlon in Pennsylvania. And, if you raise your predetermined dollar amount, TNT will pay for your travel expenses to participate in these programs. Now, the dollar amount that you have to raise is quite a bit higher than if you lived in the location where the event takes place, but it is still a great opportunity. I’m thinking of roping my mom and sister into participating in the walking marathon next summer that takes place in Alaska, but they don’t know that yet. But for now, I think I’ll just focus on my current physical challenge!

I have to say that I’m really proud of myself for signing up for the program. I think it’s half the battle just to decide that you’re going to do it. Well, maybe not half the battle, but a good portion of it at least. I’m looking forward to the next big leg of this undertaking – the actual training and fundraising. I haven’t been this excited or felt this good about a project in a long time.

I have a kick off meeting this Saturday morning to really jump-start the program and begin the training. Then I’m off and running – and swimming and biking. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

Oscar Season!

2006-01-31T09:14:00.000-08:00

It’s Oscar season, boys and girls, and I’m loving it! It’s my second favorite time of year!

Since I can remember, my mom and I have been Oscar freaks. As soon as the nominees are announced, it’s a race to the movie theaters to see all of the films that are nominated. We try to see all of the movies that have been nominated for any of the six awards that are most important to us – Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Some years it’s a very difficult feat to get to all of the movies. My mom is usually better than I am at seeing them all. But this year, I am determined to do it. After I have seen the movies, I’ll put up what my picks are for each category.

To help me on my quest, and to keep you all posted on the wonderful world of Oscar, here are the nominees in my favorite six categories:

Best Picture:
Crash
Brokeback Mountain
Munich
Good Night, and Good Luck
Capote

Best Directing:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

Best Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night and Good Luck

Best Actress:
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - TransAmerica
Keira Knightly - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

Best Actor, Supporting:
George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhall - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence

Best Actress, Supporting:
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Happy Oscar Season, everyone!

Vino 610

2006-01-30T14:12:00.000-08:00

So, Friday night Mark and I struggled with the age-old question: “What’s for dinner?” This question is often the bane of my existence come Friday night. I get home from work, and Mark is either a) deep in thought, doing homework b) starving and ready to eat the turtle or c) both. We spend a good chunk of time figuring out what to do for dinner. For the first hour, we try to decide if we should cook or go out. The hour after that, we have to decide either what to cook or where we should go. The third hour is spent giving up, and going to Jimmy John’s for a Beach Club and a Turkey Tom.

Well, this past Friday I had the fun idea to plan ahead. I thought that I would make steak and roasted potatoes for dinner. This is a “fun” idea because I never cook. Ever. I hate cooking. And, I’m bad at it. I burn mac and cheese half the time. Which is why I’m so grateful that I have Mark. Not only is he good at it, but he actually loves doing it. Those Friday nights that we actually do cook, the “we” refers simply to Mark. I stand by and watch him enthusiastically, usually while sipping a nice glass of wine.

When I got home this past Friday, Mark was lying on the floor in scenario c – doing homework, starving hungry. At work that day, I was pretty excited to cook dinner. I even looked up some fun recipes for sauces on the Internet. Oh yes, I was going to go all out. But by the end of the day, my enthusiasm for cooking was significantly waning. So when I walked through the door and Mark suggested we go out, I jumped at the idea.

Mark suggested Vino 610, a new wine bar and restaurant near the corner of Lyndale and Lake St. I had driven by it a few weeks earlier, and I had added it to my mental list of new places to try. From the street, it looks like a wonderfully quaint place to have a good meal, a nice bottle of wine and an intimate conversation. It was all that, and so much more.

As soon as we walked in, I was immediately in love with the place. It was small and cozy with a warm, romantic feel. I really don’t like large restaurants – I feel that they don’t promote conversation or relaxation. Small restaurants allow you to cozy up with your date and have a leisure dinner. There were about 12 tables or so in the place, as well as a bar area that contained a full wall wine rack. The tables and walls were dark, heavy wood accented with deep reds. Tea lights that hung from the ceiling gave off the perfect amount of light.

We sat at a small table near the window in the corner. After receiving the wine list and menu, I decided on a very nice glass of Rosenblum Vintner’s Cuvee, and Mark had a Heineken. Unfortunately, he’s had to lay off the wine lately for health reasons. When our drinks came, they were served with the cutest little dishes of something extra. (Side note: I love small containers of things. I will order something or purchase something only because it comes in a small bottle or dish. Example – when Mark and I go to the liquor store, I will purchase a split of the worst champagne ever, only because it’s cute.) Mark’s beer was served with a stuffed olive, and my wine was served with a tiny wedge of cheese. I mini-squealed in delight, I was so excited.

Dinner was a tough decision. The menu was not extensive, but did contain a few items that I found it hard to decide between. I think that I’ve had a meat deficiency in my diet lately, because every time we go to dinner I feel the need to order a steak. So, I did. I had the Petit Filet. It was cooked in a red wine sauce and served with mashed potatoes. Mark decided on the Pasta with Pesto, which was served with a dark garlic cheese toast. Both dishes were fantastic. My steak was perfectly well done with great flavor. The pasta was nice and light with pesto flavor. And the garlic cheese bread that came with Mark’s meal was to die for – seriously. Garlic cheese bread is not something I would usually comment on, but this was great. For dessert, we split a Lemon Torte, which was yellow cake layered with lemon filling and butter cream frosting. Words almost can’t express how good that cake was – moist and delicious, without being overly rich.

After dinner, we sat and talked while finishing our drinks. The restaurant had filled with other couples enjoying an intimate meal as well as small groups of friends chatting and sipping wine. I really recommend this place to anyone. It’s a great place to take a date, a couple of friends or your parents to have a nice meal, a great glass of wine and a fun evening.

After our lovely dinner, we returned home where I promptly fell asleep at 9:30 PM. I guess that one glass of wine hit me hard...

Up Next: A little post about a big challenge

Belly Dancing Class

2006-01-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

When I graduated college, I promised myself that I would take at least one class a year for the rest of my life. It doesn’t have to be a serious class at a university. It can be just something fun, like a cooking class or a sewing class – or a dance class.

I’ve always loved to dance. I danced around a lot as a kid. When I was about 5 I was in a little ballet show. When I was in high school I was on the dance team. I think we called it Poms, but it was basically the dance team. So when the flyer came to my house for Minneapolis Community Education, I thought a dance class would be really fun.

I had tried to take a dance class before through the Minneapolis Community Ed program. Latin dance, actually. The instructors were great and it seemed really fun. But Mark works nights, and I didn’t really want a different dancing partner. I stopped going after only two sessions. It made me kinda sad to have to dance alone.

That’s why when Julie suggested we take belly dancing, I was on board right away. I have always wanted to take a belly dancing class. You don’t need a partner, and I’d heard that it could be a great work out. We signed up for the eight-week beginners’ session.

Monday night was our first session. It was so much fun! Our instructor, Vivian, has been belly dancing for almost ten years, and she’s been teaching for five years. We started the class by warming up a bit and hearing about what we’d learn over the eight weeks. And then we started dancing.

We learned a couple of basic moves, and I learned that my left hip doesn’t like to dance so much. I could do most of the moves with my right hip just fine, but my left hip refused to play along. It was frustrating, but so funny at the same time. I felt like I had a lazy hip. Apparently, most people do have a dominant hip, so keep that in mind if you ever take a belly dancing class!

Like I said, we learned a few basic moves – the hip up, the hip out, and the hip something else. I can’t remember!

No one else would be in my pictures, so Julie and I had to separate from the group for a couple of minutes to get some shots!

The hard part about belly dancing is moving the hips and the arms at the same time. Sounds easy, I know, but you move your hips at a different rate than you move your arms. It feels like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. But by the end of the class, I felt like I was getting the hang of it. And this morning, I found myself practicing the new moves while I was in the shower.

After class ended, Vivian gave us a demo of what we’d be able to do by the end of the eight sessions. I was really impressed – and excited that I’d be learning all of these great moves.

I really recommend taking a class through the Minneapolis Community Ed program. They have a bunch of different kinds of classes, and they aren’t expensive at all. It’s a great way to learn about something you’ve always been curious about.

I’ll keep you updated on the belly dancing progress!

Up Next: Not sure. We’ll see where the week takes me…

The Depot

2006-01-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

Quick note: I finally joined the Age of Technology - Look for some pictures in this post!

All week, Mark kept telling me that he had a surprise for me on Sunday morning. He told me to keep my Sunday open and be ready for some fun. So I was pretty excited when he woke me up early in the morning and announced that we were heading out into the winter air to enjoy a favorite Minnesotan past time – ice skating.

Mark and I have had a tumultuous history with ice skating. We had tried three times in two years to go to the Depot Ice Rink for a day of ice skating fun. But every time we geared ourselves up to go, we hit a pitfall that prevented us from taking part. Also in the mix of trouble was Mark’s fear of skating. Whenever I brought up the option of skating, he got out of it with some silly excuse – “I’ll break my ankle and not be able to work” or “I’ll break my wrist and not be able to type my papers for school.” Ridiculous, but he usually had some other fun activity in mind, so I let it slide.

The first time we tried to go was April 2004. I finally convinced Mark that even if he did fall, he wouldn’t break an ankle or a wrist. And if he did, he had full rights to blame me. We made plans early in the week to go to the Depot and skate on a Saturday. When Mark told his sister of our fun plans, she dropped a bomb of disappointment on us – the rink was already closed for the season. We would have to wait another 8 months.

The second time we tried, Mark was going to take me for my birthday this past March. He had the whole day planned, and I was so excited. We arrived at the Depot only to find the doors locked. Open skating wasn’t available that day. So, we double checked the hours and found out that the rink would be open the following day. Attempt Number Three. The next day, we dragged ourselves over to the rink again in hopes of some winter fun. Again, we tried the door, and it was locked. A small, hand written note was taped to the door – “Closed for Private Skating Lessons.” I was disappointed. Heartbroken, really. Mark convinced me that it was fate – we were not meant to ever skate together. Down the tubes went my dreams of ice dancing, double turns and triple sow cows.

But this time was different. Mark checked the schedule ahead of time, and made sure that no private lessons were to take place. When we arrived and the door was open, I think I did a little jump of glee just knowing that it was finally going to happen!

We paid for the skate fee and the skate rental, and I could tell that Mark was a bit nervous. I had to exchange his skates three times because he kept getting the wrong size. I had my skates on and was ready to go before Mark was even taking his shoes off. While I waited for him, I watched all the people on the ice, skating around in utter glee. Couples were going around slowly, holding hands and enjoying each other’s company. Small kids shuffled their way around the circle, just excited to be on the ice. Groups of friends stood clustered in the middle of the rink, taking pictures for a birthday party. It all looked so fun and sort of magical. And then I turned around, and saw this.

Mark was not amused. He was not happy. He was not excited. But I was determined to get him pumped up and ready to rock on the ice. He had been rollerblading a bunch before, so I kept telling him it was just like that. We made our way – slowly – over to the entrance to the ice. And then we stepped on…

And Mark almost broke my fingers. He was holding on to my hand so tightly that I almost lost feeling. I practically fell over in pain. But it was so funny that I had to laugh at the same time. I loosened his grip a little, and gave in to the fact that I’d have to hold his hand the whole time. Again, no triple sow cows for me that day.

But then, after only one go around the circle, it was as if Mark was a different person. He took off. And he was a natural! He was skating in between kids and their parents, dancing along to the music and even trying some tricks by the time we ended our fun. It was great! I almost couldn’t keep up!

We stayed for a while, skating together, doing funny tricks and watching some other really good skaters. I’m happy – and proud – to say that we didn’t fall down. Not once! No wet jeans or icy hands, no broken wrists or sprained ankles. Just a happy memory that we finally made it to the Depot, and I finally broke Mark of his skating fear.

Now, you might ask why we didn’t just give up skating at the Depot and go to a different rink. The Depot is such an amazingly cool space that we didn’t want to go anywhere else. Here’s some background on the Depot from the web site to help you get the idea of why it’s so magical:

The Depot was originally built in 1874 and was used by the Minnesota Central Railroad, which later became known as the Milwaukee Road. The old Milwaukee Road Depot remains one of the last long-span, truss-roofed sheds surviving in the nation. When it was first constructed, the ground floors were paved in white marble with black borders and walls were built with cream and brown enamel brick. The ceiling of intricately paneled oak gave the rooms a large, spacious feel. The total cost of the Depot was about $200,000.

The Depot was used by the Milwaukee Road until 1971, when the line stopped services to Minneapolis. At that time, the building was used for office spaces for the Milwaukee Road. After a few different owners, the Depot and the freight house were sold in 1998 to CSM Corporation. Since then, the Depot has undergone an amazing restoration process and now includes the ice-skating rink, a hotel, an indoor water park and a historical center. The project was completed in July 2001.

From a personal standpoint, I think that the Depot is one of the coolest spaces in the Twin Cities. The restoration efforts kept the integrity and history in the space while giving it a needed face-lift. Other events are held in the ice-skating space as well – weddings, wine tasting, charity events. I highly recommend visiting the Depot for an ice skating adventure or to attend one of the various events held there. It's worth a trip just to see what the place looks like. And I’m hoping to make ice skating an annual event! We'll have to see what Mark thinks about that...

Up Next: Belly Dancing Class

Blogging Busts

2006-01-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to say thanks to those who are reading! I'm really excited about this blog project, and I'm starting to get really into it. I've gotten some great comments and constructive criticism about it, and I really appreciate that. I promise that future posts will be much more personalized - not so "businesslike", as I've heard - so that you can all learn more about the fabulousness of me. :)

I know that the past couple of posts have been dogging the restaurants, but I promise that the next few adventures will be great and highly recommended by me. I'm looking forward to sharing those with all of you!

Thanks for reading!

Loto

2006-01-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Mark and I decided to have a fun date night out. We planned on going to dinner at Eli’s, a neighborhood bar & grill sort of place across the street from our apartment. I have wanted to visit Eli’s since Mark moved in to this apartment almost a year ago. After some deliberation, plans changed and we ventured out to Loto in St. Paul. Eli’s will just have to wait a few more weeks.

Here’s some background on Loto:
Loto is located in Galtier Plaza in St. Paul’s Lowertown area, overlooking Mears Park. David Fhima, chef/owner of a few restaurants in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, opened Loto with the apparent attempt to cater to various needs. Loto is many things – bakery, deli, coffee house, bar & wine bar, wine store and restaurant. Contemporary American dishes make up the menu at both the deli and the restaurant – from soups and salads to fish, pasta, chicken and steak. The laid-back atmosphere and interesting décor allow for a casual feel. The layout consists of a sunny atrium area surrounded by the trendy bar, small dining area and self-serve deli.

I wanted to wait a few days before blogging about Loto because I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. We encountered a fair amount of disappointments while dining, but both Mark and I were pleased and still smiling at the end of the meal. This was a tough one to call right away because we enjoyed our night out so much.

While being seated at a table in the small dining area, I noticed the odd layout of the place. You first walk in to the deli and wine store, which was closed yet dimly lit. To the right stood the hostess stand, and just beyond that was the open dining area, followed by the bar. An entire wall of the place was windowed and looked out onto the well-lit Mears Park. I was quite impressed with the view. The rest of the place was on the trendier side, but nothing spectacular. All of the areas seemed to be pushed too closely together – the deli ran into the dining room which ran into the bar which ran into the atrium – you get the point. But to be honest, I was so hungry by this point that I dove right into the menu.

I had checked out the menu online prior to visiting, and was disappointed to find that some menu items – and prices – were different online than in the restaurant. The same was true about the wine list – the website listed a nice assortment of wines from around the country. After being seated, the hostess handed us a printed out wine list half the size of that online. I was able to find a dish that I wanted and wine that I’d like to try, so I pushed that small disappointment out of my mind and prepared to order. I landed on the 6oz New York and a glass of Sauv Blanc (yes, I know that you’re supposed to have red wine with red meat, but I didn’t want red wine.) Mark decided on a Rolling Rock to start and the Ahi Tuna.

After ordering, I took a quick glance around and noticed the emptiness of the dining area. At about 7:30 on a Friday night, half of the dining room was empty. My thoughts were interrupted about three minutes after ordering because the waitress let us know that they were out of the Rolling Rock. No big deal, Mark ordered a Heineken instead. I received my glass of wine, and we continued our conversation. I had started to look around and get a feel for the décor of the restaurant when the waitress returned to announce that they had also run out of the Ahi Tuna. Mark decided on a Vegetarian Rigatoni instead. Now, that’s two strikes with the food and drink experience so far. Three, if you count the inconsistent online to in-store menu…

With dinner, we had choice of soup or salad. Mark ordered the beef stew, and I decided on the lobster bisque. I enjoyed my bisque, although it tasted an awful lot like the chicken tortilla soup on the menu. Because I don’t eat chicken, I tried real hard to push that thought out of my mind… The service was a bit slow for how many people were in the restaurant. We waited quite awhile between our soup and entrée courses. But we were having such a good time talking and being on a date that it didn’t bother us as much as it might have other nights.

When dinner came out, it looked and smelled delicious. Mark’s rigatoni had a fantastically rich flavor – robust roasted red pepper sauce with grilled vegetables. My meal was just ok. I had ordered the steak medium, and it was at the least medium well. The flavor was good, but it was over done for my taste. My mashed potatoes would have been delicious, but they were lukewarm at best by the time they reached me. I did have a side of grilled vegetables, and those were quite good. We topped the meal off with the Snickers cheesecake. No problems with that at all – it was scrumptious!

While waiting for the bill, Mark and I began discussing and rating the restaurant. A large group of men had been seated about 45 minutes earlier, and their food was starting to come out. As Mark and I talked and finished our drinks, I couldn’t help but notice that the man behind me had ordered – and received – the Ahi Tuna. Now, how does this work? Over an hour earlier, there was no Ahi Tuna. Suddenly, some tuna found it’s way into the kitchen and onto this man’s plate? I was so confused. I wanted to badly to ask the waitress how it was accomplished – not to yell or even be mad, but just to ask how that was possible. Unfortunately, when she brought over the check, she laid it down and scurried away again too quickly for me to ask. So, if any one out there is reading this, and might know how the heck that happens, please let me know. It’s just very confusing.

Overall, I would have to say that I don’t recommend this place. We had a great time there, but I think that it was the atmosphere and the company much more so than the food and service. We were pleasantly surprised when the bill came, however. For our food, drink, tax and tip, it was just over $50. Still, the low price and ambience doesn’t quite make up for the disappointments we encountered.

Mark has a theory that he’d like me to include. David Fhima has been a restaurateur in the Twin Cities for some time now. He owns Fhima’s in St. Paul and Louis XIII in Edina. He’s also had at least one failed restaurant, the Minneapolis Café. Mark and I have both heard talk that Fhima plans to open a three-story tapas restaurant in Minneapolis. I’ve never been to Fhima’s, but Louis XIII was extremely good when Mark and I visited a year ago. Fhima’s is well known enough in the area, but as we passed by it on Friday night, it was empty. This is where Mark’s theory comes in - maybe David Fhima spends so much time on his next project that he doesn’t ensure his current projects are a success. I’m not sure about that, as I don’t know a lot about the restaurant industry, but it seems a good enough theory to me!

Up Next: The Depot

Camp Snoopy

2006-01-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I wanted to visit Camp Snoopy (soon to be known as The Park) at the Mall of America. I’ve been there a few times before to take part in rides and general amusement park fun, but recent events made me want to visit one last time before Snoopy and his gang were forced out.

Last week, the Mall of America (MOA) announced that Camp Snoopy would be no more. The company that owns the rights to the Peanuts characters and the forces behind the MOA could not agree to the usage terms any longer. Therefore, by January 19th, MOA must remove all Snoopy and other Peanuts items out of the Camp Snoopy area. The stores that sell Camp Snoopy merchandise will remain open and will continue to sell Peanuts related items until March 30, 2006.

Sad news for Snoopy lovers across the land! So on Friday night, Mark and I headed to MOA to have one last laugh with Snoopy.

We were a little disappointed when we reached our destination. It was only about 6:30 PM, but Camp Snoopy was dark, empty and a little creepy. Very few people were out and about in the park. We walked around for a bit, and were saddened to learn that most of the Snoopy stuff was already taken down. A large blow up Snoopy still stood in the entrance to the park, along with the Snoopy dog bowl, but that was about it. We headed over to the Stampede Steakhouse, where Snoopy and the gang perform nightly. But after taking a look at the menu, we decided to head over to our favorite mall restaurant, Napa Valley Grille, to get dinner. We were planning to return to Camp Snoopy after dinner to ride a rollercoaster and maybe play a game.

Our dinner at Napa Valley Grille was wonderful as always. We started off our meal with some wine chosen from their ample wine list and a bowl of amazing roasted butternut squash soup. I have never been a big fan of squash, but this was too tasty to pass up. For dinner, Mark had the grilled pork tenderloin while I went with the evening’s special of filet and scallops. Delicious! We ended the visit with a luscious dark chocolate molten cake. I highly recommend visiting Napa Valley Grille is you are in the Bloomington area, but it’s also well worth the drive to the mall area from anywhere in the metro.

After dinner, we took one last look at Camp Snoopy and decided we just weren’t up for rides and games. We decided that maybe a problem with the park is that it’s a great idea in theory – a nice place for parents to take their kids as a reward for good behavior after a long day of shopping. But when you get right down to it, it isn’t that fantastic. Now, I’m obviously not a child anymore, so maybe to them it’s still a fun mini-heaven. But Snoopy or no Snoopy, the Park at MOA just disappoints.

Saturday night Mark and I went out on the town with some friends for a belated birthday celebration for Mark. We started the night at Taste, which is a small wine bar connected to the Newsroom in downtown Minneapolis. Mark and I had been there once before, and it’s a great place to go with a few friends. The wine list is pretty extensive, and they also have a small list of hot and cold tapas. I highly recommend Taste for a low-key night out with a few friends or a place to cozy up with someone close.

Up next: Not sure yet, come back to find out!

Babalú

2006-01-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a meeting with my Alive After Five committee for Ad Fed. Ad Fed is the Advertising Federation of Minnesota, and the Alive After Five committee is sort of like the social committee. We plan a few events a year to provide a fun and relaxed atmosphere for advertising professionals to network and just kick back a little. Anyways, we got together last night to finalize the details of our annual wine tasting event, which will take place on February 2nd. The group decided to meet up at Babalú, the restaurant that has kindly offered to host the event for us, free of charge. Now, I think it’s great that the place is allowing us to use their space and promote our event, but it’s my blog so I get to say whatever I want. Babalú kinda sucked.

First, here’s the background on the place:
Babalú is located on Washington Avenue in the Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis. The space itself is laid out with a dining area to the left separated by a large bar and lounge area to the right of the entrance. The Latin-Caribbean culture lends itself to the entire surrounding of the place – from the décor to the food to the wine selection. Deep reds combine with vibrant purple and yellow in the artwork to promote the cultural feel. The food reflects Mexican, Spanish and Caribbean tastes in a variety of offerings – tapas, appetizers, house entrees and desserts. The wine and specialty drink lists continue with this theme and contain various wines and rums from the regions listed. Live music is offered every night of the week, and an ample dance floor invites people to enjoy the sensuality of Latin music.

All of that sounds pretty good, right? Not so much.

We arrived at about 5:30, and the place was empty. That didn’t surprise me, because the live music didn’t start until well after 8:00 PM. We sat down, and were presented with a wine list. Because I don’t know a lot about Spanish wines, I was looking for a good recommendation. The waitress, although extremely nice and accommodating all evening, was little help with the wine selection. I chose a Sauv Blanc that was not terrible, but definitely not what I was looking for. After some official Ad Fed business, we ordered some food from the appetizer menu. There were only four of us, and only two of us were looking for a little morsel, so we ordered just the Empanadillas. Empanadillas are basically meat or cheese stuffed pastries, usually served with either a salsa for dipping or a salsa drizzled over the top of the pastries. And, empanadillas generally have a spice or kick to them. These empanadillas apparently missed that memo. They were bland and dry. The salsa that was served had a bit of a kick, but nothing one would expect from this sort of establishment. I was extremely disappointed. A bit later, we decided to order another appetizer to appease our displeasure, and our growling stomachs.

That was a big mistake.

For how bad the empanadillas were, the Ceviche de Mojarra was even worse. The waitress described the dish as white fish marinated with lemon and peppers. That sounded pretty good. And maybe a bit healthier than other dishes might have been. The dish came, and we had no idea what was even presented to us. On the plate lay fried plantain strips, fried tortilla strips, and a dish full of some sort of fish, lemon, avocado and pepper salsa. I was skeptical, but I wanted to at least give it a chance. I loaded some of the fish salsa onto a tortilla strip, and took a bite. And almost threw it all up. It tasted like what I always imagined pickled herring to taste like. It was awful. Others in the group tried it as well, and it was a major group consensus. We picked at the tortilla strips and the fried plantains, but left the fish salsa alone.

I really hesitated writing this review due to the fact that we are holding our event at this location. However, I will say that the décor of the restaurant and the overall atmosphere is fantastic for the event we’re holding. It will be the perfect place to entertain and network with other professionals. And, we aren’t serving food, so I don’t have to worry about that.

Overall, I was disappointed with the food and wine, but the ambiance was pleasant. I would not recommend this place, or return on my own. Too bad!

Next up: Camp Snoopy No More!

Firelake Grill House & Cocktail Bar

2006-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

The first stop on my journey throughout the Cities was last week Wednesday, January 4th, when Julie and I decided to check out the Firelake Grill House and Cocktail Bar for some happy hour apps and drinks before going to the movies. I have been wanting to go to the Firelake for awhile now, and it seemed as good a place as any to start the year off.

Here’s a little background on the place:
The Firelake Grill House and Cocktail Bar is located in the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis on South Seventh Street, just a half block or so from Nicollet Mall. Two private dining rooms and an exhibition kitchen make up the layout of the restaurant. Chef Paul Lynch combines classic Midwest cooking with a flare of Mediterranean spice to offer a unique blend of tastes. The décor is warm and attractive, with soft lighting and neutral colors to invite conversation and relaxation. Visit the Firelake web site here.

Although we didn’t have an entire meal at Firelake, we did have an opportunity to taste what the restaurant had to offer by sampling some appetizers. After taking quite a while to decide, we ordered the Ciabatta Bruscetta and the Five Layer Artichoke Fondue. We paired that with a glass (or two!) of Monkey Bay Pinot Grigio.

The food was very good. I wouldn’t say amazing, but very good, especially for happy hour specials. The Ciabatta Bruscetta was, as the name implies, toasted ciabatta bread served with three spreads: traditional tomato, olive paste, and parmesan pesto. The bruscetta was good, but let’s be honest here. It’s not that difficult to make a good bruscetta. The fondue, however, was magnificent. It was a wonderful blend of cheeses and artichoke served with asiago flatbread. I couldn’t get enough of it! It was like a little cheese explosion with every bit. I loved it. I would highly recommend it. The wine was very good for an inexpensive white – very crisp and flavorful. It was a nice, refreshing taste that actually complimented the food very well.

Overall, I would say that the experience at Firelake Grill House and Cocktail Bar was a good one. The food was very good, and I really enjoyed the ambiance the restaurant provided. It was a relaxing happy hour place to chat with a friend or co-worker. I’d still like to try an entire meal there, but happy hour apps are always a good way to sample what a place has to offer.

One adventure down, 51 to go!

Coming Up: Babalu

New Year's Resolution

2006-01-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

We all have them. A New Year's resolution. Some people make a promise to themselves to lose weight in the new year. Others try to save a little extra money. Still others try to quit smoking or drinking alcohol. And those are just the standard resolutions. A resolution can be almost anything.

My resolution this year is a bit different than anything I've done in the past. For one thing, by putting it out here on a blog it makes it more real. I'm hoping that will push me to actually complete this year by accomplishing my resolution.

But more on the actual resolution itself later. First, a few background details about myself are needed.

I was born and raised in Burlington, WI, a town of about 10,000. Growing up, my parents exposed me to as much culture as was possible in a small town. The great city of Milwaukee is only about 45 minutes away from Burlington, so we did have access to some great restaurants, museums and shows. When I got older and it came time to choose a college, though, I really wanted a big city experience. And while I wanted to move away to go to school, I didn't want to go so far that I couldn't see my family when I wanted. So, after dragging my parents all around to look at schools, I decided on the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

When I graduated in 2004, I decided to make the Twin Cities my permanent home - at least for the next few years. I thought that would give me an opportunity to explore the cities in a way that I hadn't done in school. Unfortunately, I haven't done as much exploring as I had wanted. I talk a lot about the things I want to do and the places I want to see, but I never do them. Until now.

That's where the resolution comes in. I have decided to make it my goal to do one new thing in the Twin Cities every week. It could be dining at a restaurant that I've been wanting to go to, visiting a museum I've never been to, or seeing a performance of some kind. It can be anything, really. As long as it's new to me, and in the Twin Cities. And after each new adventure, I'll write about it on my blog so that people can follow along with me and my journeys.

I've enlisted the help of of my extremely loving and supportive boyfriend, Mark, and my very adventurous friend, Julie. Along the way, I'm sure that other important people in my life will join in the fun as they visit the great Twin Cities.

I'd like to state here as well that part of my inspiration for getting out there and blogging about it comes from my dear old friend, Erin Leffelman. Erin is the great spirit behind www.playinthecity.blogs.com, the famous Milwaukee outdoor adventure blog. Check out her blog using the link to the right. Thanks to Erin for helping me get a move on!

I hope that you all will enjoy following along with me as I conquer my resolution, and the Twin Cities!