Loaded Questions, Prada, and Queque.

Go away...

2011-01-04T15:37:00.002-06:00

Friends...

Instead of posting about Nick's life for him, we've decided to start our own joint blog, which will hopefully take the place of this one.

So, go check it out! I'm baptizing it today with its first post: http://nikkiandnick.blogspot.com (and don't worry, my name isn't first because I created it; my name is first because the other way was already taken!)

See you there!

Shameless plug

2010-12-21T16:43:00.002-06:00

I have a husband.

He has a blog.

This is me plugging his blog.

He has a lot of writings that he's doing at work, with his very recent job change. But some other things, like grad school options.

And basically, I think you should read it or add it to your list of blogs you read or whatever you people do.

Because I love that he's writing, and professional, and keeping a blog!

Oh, wait, I'm not sure if I've linked it for you yet. ;) His blog is here.

Update-d!

2010-12-18T14:14:00.002-06:00

So, after a friendly nudge from dear bloggerfriend Sabrina, I realize that it's high time for an update.

We're gearing up for Christmas travel and wonderfulness with our first Christmas as a married couple. We love our new Christmas tree, wrapped presents (thanks, K!), adorable little Holly-dog, and job changes!

That job changes are the biggest news. Starting on Monday, I'm going to go back to being an Administrative Assistant (III, if you must know) at the agency that I was previously at. I'll be working 4 days a week in our Bloomington, Minnesota office with the beautiful benefit of FRIDAYS OFF! I couldn't be more ecstatic at the prospect of a 3-day weekend. People keep telling me that I'll be so busy recovering from the longer days of work that I won't like the extra day, but I'm going to find out for myself.

Nick's job is changing, as well. He's going to be working exclusively for KTLK, the local talk radio station, updating their website and keeping tabs on current politics and breaking news. I'm very excited for him, as he'll be able to capitalize on his journalism education, plus his love of politics. Today really sealed the deal for me that his change is fabulous, as we sit and watch CSPAN while the senators take a vote and he names them one by one. He knows his stuff, people, and he's going to use that knowledge!

Merry Christmas to you and yours. We hope you have a great holiday-time filled with joy, love, hugs, and holiday cheer!

Proud Parents

2010-10-25T10:54:00.002-05:00

We are unabashedly proud parents of a new (to us) dog! On Friday we went to the Golden Valley Animal Humane Society and met Holly, a 9 year-old Bichon Frise!

Here she is on the ride home from the humane society, cooperating nicely (although she wanted to sit on Nick's lap while driving... oops!)

Holly is very loving and somewhat mellow, although she loves attention. Here she is hanging out on the couch with me on Saturday afternoon while Nick went to catch the Gophers game. Maybe she's sad the Gophers lost??
She's such a joyful dog, we are already head over heels in love with this girl. We're so glad we've adopted a dog!

Vent

2010-10-22T07:58:00.003-05:00

I just have to vent a little bit. We have an issue in our apartment parking lot. We've been assigned a spot and we're happy to have off street parking. Our "parking neighbors," though, don't seem to have much parking etiquette.

For as long as we've been parking there, our neighbors have been precariously parked. Crooked, skewed, sometimes creeping into our spot. It hasn't always been super horrible, and we understand that it's a tricky spot to get into.

This week, though, the parking has gotten to be quite atrocious. This morning we walked out to the situation pictured below. Nick, who drives us to work every day, had to walk around the car and get in from the rear because he couldn't get between the cars at the front.

More than anything, we wonder if some morning we're going to walk outside and find out that we've been hit because of the poor parking job.

See what we mean? You'll see a car clearly encroaching in our lane, and, worse, creating almost no space for us to get out without hitting the car.

We don't know whose spot it is. There are 20 parking spots and they're not assigned by us, so we can't, nor would we, hunt down the drive and approach him. Although I'm tempted to leave a note.

My only plea is that if this driver park so horribly, that he please realign himself to allow us some exiting room. After realigning, then he can put his Club back on the steering wheel.

more wedding pictures

2010-10-14T08:11:00.002-05:00

Finally - more pictures! We're still sorting through our pictures from Joanna, our photographer, and picking the ones we love the most (the list is long!)

Until then, here are some pictures that my wonderful personal assistant, Roshelle, took the weekend of the wedding. Click on here to go to the Facebook album, loaded with lots of pictures.

life is.. life

2010-10-04T15:48:00.002-05:00

So, we're settling into living life. And we're loving it! Click here to watch a YouTube video of our wedding pictures from our amazing photographer, Joanna Prosser. She did such an amazing job and we're so happy with the pictures.

This weekend, we went through all 675 pictures (eek!) and picked our favorites. I had 133 favorites, Nick had 125. Out of that, we agreed on 40. Hrm... well, we'll have to learn how to compromise! We're putting pictures into an amazing scrapbook that my cousin, Christina, made for us. It's all set to go, we just have to put in the pictures.

Oh, and I remembered some of our most exciting news. We're going to grad school!! Nick will be going next fall for a 2-year program for a Master's of Science in Technical Communication. He'll be done in May 2013 and ready to technically communicate with the world. :)

In 2 years, I'm going to a 2-year program for a Master's in Social Work. I'm not quite decided on where I'll be going, I just know that I'll be starting in 2 years, finished May 2014. Then we'll be full of higher education and ready to take on the world. Quite literally. I mean, we're going to lift up the world just the two of us and hold it in our hands. Really. Belive me, I'm honest about this one.

That's our big news. We're super excited about getting the education to do things we're passionate about. I'm personally excited to have the prospect of a job that doesn't sit me in front of a computer for 8 hours a day.

1 Month

2010-09-14T11:10:00.002-05:00

Well, we've officially been married for 1 month as of today!

So far, we are loving married life. Being together, not saying goodbye at night, and getting settled are just some of the perks, not to mention a husband who goes on a grocery run while his wife watches the premiere of Gossip Girl!

We're still waiting on pictures, but they're supposed to be done by this weekend or early next week, so we're hopeful!

Until then, you can check out the sneak preview from Joanna, our photographer, here. Her first look into the pictures is so wonderful, we can't wait to see more!

Tonight we eat our first piece of cake - hopefully almond raspberry has kept itself delicious in our freezer :)

Still Married... still no pictures!

2010-08-30T16:31:00.003-05:00

We're still married (okay, 2 weeks, I know, no big feat!) and still have no pictures...

We can't wait to see them and promise to post as soon as we get them. Until then, go check out my Facebook at www.facebook.com/nikki.ehrenberg for a few sneak peak pictures (there are tons under photos of me...)

Until then, we give you the N/N Ehrenberg clan (inspired by a logo on a wedding card from one of our guests - we just had to make good use of it!)

We're Married!!!

2010-08-23T12:50:00.001-05:00

We're married!!!

The day was gorgeous and fantastic and wonderful. The honeymoon was bliss. The gift opening was a blast. THe IKEA excursion was long. And now we're back to work!

Pictures coming later, I promise :)

overdue

2010-08-05T07:09:00.002-05:00

Hi friends,

I'm long over due for a post and I know it. Life has been super chaotic in ways that I never imagined.

We're now down to the single digits - only 9 days until we get married. I can hardly believe it's so close, considering it felt like it was such a distant date for so long. Now it's almost here! We're monitoring the absurd 15-day forecasts that can't possibly predict the weather that far out. But we look anyway. High of 77, high of 97 - sure, we can predict the weather!

I have 2 more work days left until the fun begins. The crazy (or amazing?) thing is that I don't feel like our to-do list is endless. I know what needs to happen. I know there will be people there to help out, and I know it will get done. But I still think about the wedding ALL the time. I feel stressed, but not because it won't get done. Because that's all I think about. I'm just ready for days when I don't work. Feels like everything else has gone to the wayside with this planning, so I'm looking forward to some planning-free days :)

For now, I'll pack up my things and head out for work. I'll make some phone calls, ask people for money, and do my job. But 48 hours from now, I'll be having a girls' night in, enjoying time with friends, and celebrating the freedom of vacation time!

Hope you're all well.

Someone Else's Wedding

2010-06-28T16:10:00.001-05:00

This weekend I went to my dear friend Rachel's wedding. She's been like a sister to me the last few years, and that means a lot to me.

After a few years of dating, lots of waiting, questioning, and wondering, Rachel & Josh got engaged and planned a wedding in 4.5 months.

Their wedding was fun, laid back, meaningful, and beautiful. Rachel looked beautiful. Josh looked wonderful in a suit (although a little hot!). We sat in the bright, 90-degree sun and fanned ourselves with their program for the reception. The lack of shade or a breeze was worth seeing them get married!

More pictures later... I'm going to rob a few ideas from them, for sure!

bragger

2010-06-10T10:25:00.002-05:00

You may know it, or you may not, but I'm going to brag anyway.

My wonderful fiance has added something fun to his work over at KFAN, our local sports radio station. In addition to creating web content, he also works on the Twin Blog during the Twin season.

I'm pretty proud of him, to say the least. Check out his blog here. He's Nick Ehrenberg, and wrote the most recent post while we were at a Twins game last night (that means he sits in the press box and I bring a friend to keep me company in our cheap seats!).

new job thoughts

2010-06-09T09:42:00.002-05:00

I've had a lot of people ask me how I'm liking my job, my office, my new location, etc. And as I answer, I realize that there are a few things that top the list of "faves" with the new job...

*I love, love, love being downtown and being able to walk around and run errands, like going to the transit store, the bank, or the post office
*I equally love, love, love taking the light rail in to work, which not only gives me some quiet time, but it also gives me some KDWB time as well as motivation to do some more walking
*I quite enjoy having my own office. Although I don't get much of a chance to shut my door, it's nice to have my own space with four walls!
*I love learning new things. 4 weeks later, there are still things that I'm learning to do
*I love the independence I've been given - I know what I need to be doing. Most of the time, the assumption is that I can do it in whatever way or timing I choose, as long as it gets done by a deadline.

Those are just a few things I love. The list for things I dislike is so short and I'm trying to shorten it to none, so I won't even go there!

june bug

2010-06-01T11:48:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since posting.

I guess I don't know if I have a lot to say. It hasn't really even set in that it's June 1st today...

Hmm. Nick had the flu last week, so that week flew by with taking care of him, monitoring his temperature, and praying and crossing my fingers for the fever to break. It finally did, but not before he had to take 4 sick days!

We went to Valleyfair for our initial inaugural visit this summer - we've bought season passes, so this will be the first trip of many.

Started my new job just over 3 weeks ago. Things are going well and I'm learning fast - I'm almost at the point where I can just do my job duties without having to go to someone else to learn something, although there are still a few odds and ends that need to be taken care of.

2 weeks until my birthday, 4 weeks until Nick's. We have a busy June ahead of us, 3 showers for our wedding, 1 for some friends, another wedding to attend, baseball games, happy hour, game nights, engagement pictures, finishing up premarital counseling, and who knows what else!

Drive-by entertainment

2010-04-26T07:32:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, Nick and I drove down to surprise my parents with a visit. My mom is recovering from surgery and we wanted to spend some time with the family.

When we arrived, my dad said, "Want to help move some pianos?" Sure!

On Saturday, we spent a big chunk of the daylight moving things out of Grandma's house, which will be put up for sale in the near future. One of the projects was to move her piano to my parents' house. In order to that, we first needed to move our piano out of the house into the garage (for someone to hopefully come and take for free). After that, we went back to Grandma's and moved the piano from outside into the back of a pick-up.

My mom had always said that it would be fun to play the piano as it was being moved, but she was at home working on surgery recovery, so I took her place instead. My dad slowly drove the short 2-block trip from Grandma's to their house as I played on the way (Amazing Grace, the only song that would come to me at the moment!).

Luckily, it was garage sale weekend in Sioux Center, so we had lots of spectators as we drove along!

One year and counting!

2010-04-23T07:27:00.003-05:00

Well, friends, it's a year ago to this date that Nick and I first laid our eyes upon each other. Both of us were nervous, wondering what would happen, how things would go, if we would like this person we were about to meet.

Little details I remember from the day we met...

- I had an all staff meeting that morning for work, and got relentlessly teased about going on a first date (I think I was even offered a pair of donated boxers with red lips all over them)

- I went to the chiropractor, finished early, and sat in my car because I didn't want to show up early

- I walked in the door of the restaurant to see a very laid back guy wearing khaki shorts and a orange polo (yes, it was warm last April, too!)

- After the date ended, I remember thinking that it had gone well, he seemed nice, conversation was great, and I would definitely go on another date with him!

Countless dates later, here we are!

Still crazy....

And happy....

Happy

Happy!

improvisation

2010-04-20T19:10:00.004-05:00

What happens when you have a Rubbermaid storage bin and a laundry basket?

Dinner table!

I'm currently without a table, waiting for one to come up our way from my Grandma. But I've been wanting to have a sit-down dinner, share a meal, look at each other, take a little time out from everything that's going on.

So, I turned the laundry basket upside down, put a Rubbermaid storage bin on time, and then threw a tablecloth. It's not big enough to serve an army, but it will be enough for the two of us to simply have a meal together - until the real thing comes!

Hello, world of insurance!

2010-04-19T14:57:00.003-05:00

Friends, I have some exciting news to share with you. I've been sitting on it for about a week and finally have the go ahead to go "public" with my news :)

Effective May 10th, I will be starting a new position at the agency that I work for, working as a Billing Specialist/Verification Specialist/Credentialing Specialist. I'm going to call myself an Insurance Specialist instead :)

Anyway, I interviewed just over a week ago for this position and am really excited to make the change - I'll be working in our downtown Minneapolis office, which means that I can take the light rail to work, and have super fun coworks, like KV. (Okay, let's be honest, she's the one who sold me on working DT with the multiple e-mails!)

The end.

New Apartment Pictures

2010-04-17T10:39:00.004-05:00

Well, the apartment is clean "enough" for pictures to be posted. There's still some unpacking to do, but it's at least cleaned up enough that you can get a general view of the place. Click here for more pictures.

Opening Day, 2010, in the sun!

2010-04-12T07:27:00.002-05:00

With a 50% chance of rain looming today, we're all crossing our fingers that the Twins get to play their home opener this afternoon at 3pm. Here are the long ago promised pictures from our trip to the Twins Exhibition game just over a week ago.

Nick's face was pretty much like this the whole game. So was mine. Ecstatically happy just for the fact of baseball. Outside!
4th largest display screen in MLB. It's big! And it's HD!
The two men (Minnie and Paul), shake hands and light up when a home run is hit. Thanks, Denard Span, for hitting the first one in the park and giving us the pleasure of seeing the sign in action!
The beauty of real, green grass. It's not astroturf, folks!

Go home early and watch the game (they don't need you at work!)

Moving catastrophe?

2010-04-12T07:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I've moved. The process was actually more seamless than I expected, thanks to help from a few church friends and Nick's dad, in addition to multiple cars and wide hallways.

Pictures will be forthcoming... I just haven't cleared up the clutter enough to take good pictures. Maybe later this week, if I'm really productive.

But we did have a minor catastrophe. Well, after the move. Nick was over... makes sense, since it's technically his place too, although he sleeps at his other place and keeps his clothes elsewhere. Anyway, he was over. And I notice how badly he needs a shave. We find him a disposable razor and my can of shaving cream that I save for guests, because I don't use shaving cream.

He's trying to get some out, says it's all gone. I find this hard to believe, so I mess around, shake, push the button, and then push that little black button on the bottom of pressurized aerosol cans.. Here's what happened...

Shaving cream. All over Nikki.

Great weekend behind, busy week ahead!

2010-04-05T07:26:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend, filled with all kinds of events. On Friday, we started out by going to the very first Twins exhibition game at Target Field. We can't wait to go back - the field is great, open, and beautiful in the outside! (Pictures soon - my camera won't cooperate this morning!)

From there we drove out to Nick's parents to spend some time with them. Saturday morning breakfast, hang out time, Crazy Golf on the Wii, and then a fun birthday party of a cousin's daughter.

Saturday capped itself off with some massive packing, thanks to some help from a friend. I now have stacks and stacks of boxes and I'm still not done!

Sunday we had brunch with some friends - they served amazing french toast and crepes - we felt entirely spoiled! Then, we enjoyed the outdoors before heading into church to celebrate a risen Christ and a wonderful Eastertime.

This week will be hectic, to say the least, but I'm excited for all that it holds.

Most of my week will be spent packing boxes, cleaning, organizing, and hopefully donating a large majority of my belongings. On Friday, the moving extravaganza begins, as I hope to be completely moved out, with my keys turned in, by the end of the weekend.

Also, on Friday, I'll be interviewing for a new position at work. Same agency/place that I work at now, but something different. Currently I fluctuate between nervous and excited. Interviews always freak me out a little bit, but I plan to hone my interviewing skills before then, look my best, and present myself as the best candidate.

That's my week, in a nutshell!

Grandpa would have loved it.

2010-04-01T13:39:00.003-05:00

My Grandpa Maatman passed away last week on March 22nd, 2010.

We were comforted with the assurance that he is with his Lord, who he served faithfully all of his 86 years of life.

He would have been proud to see all of his family joined together for a picture - young and old, from all different parts of the states. Some of us hadn't seen each other for at least 10 years. But for this moment, for this event, we joined together and remembered our grandpa, father, husband, and everything else that he was to us. (Sorry it's not better quality.. that's all I got..)

It's coming.

2010-03-16T18:20:00.002-05:00

So, it's raining outside. And it's been dreary. And I can hardly take it anymore.

So, I'm taking matters into my own hands. I am going to control the weather with my very own handmade machine that diverts the rain from around me, almost like an umbrella, creating sunshine wherever I go so I am blissfully without dreary rain.

Or,

I'm going to think about the better things that are coming.

Twins games! 20 of them!
Twins vs Braves series on June! Cannot wait. No, literally. More excited than ever.
Walks with the boy around a lake. In the outside. Without a coat. Feeling the sun. Needing, I mean really needing to wear sunglasses.
Moving - in 24 days
Going on a honeymoon to Riviera Maya, Mexico

Wait, what, you're moving?

Yes, indeedy friends, the time has arrived. Nick and I found an apartment we are looking forward to call home, althuogh it will be home for me for about 4 months before it is for home. Staying in South Minneapolis, it's a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1-kitchen, 1-massive living room, 1-half dishwasher, 1-normal sized refrigerator, 1-electric stove, paint colors we got to pick out, apartment!

We're pretty much in love. Can't wait to live there, to get settled there, for Nick to move in, to start our lives together.

See, now I don't care about the dreary. It's all about forward thinking.

Things I like...

2010-03-08T07:05:00.003-06:00

Coffee and oatmeal in the early morning
Going on an old school "dinner + movie" date
Looking up the weather forecast and seeing 40's as the high ALL WEEK
Making appointments to pick up my wedding dress
Planning a wedding cake with my mom
Going to a double baby shower for good friends
Baking, baking, and more baking
Hearing someone at church ask, "Did you make the treats today? They were really good!"
Watching Lion King with my fiancee and singing along to the best songs
My fiancee.

In Memory

2010-03-01T08:18:00.003-06:00

Last week we unexpectedly lost my aunt Becky, at age 55. She had a life-long struggle with diabetes and was on the brink of going through treatment that might help ease or even end that struggle.

My aunt was a loving, vibrant woman. She spent time tutoring missionary children in both Mexico and Costa Rica. She was the aunt I had conversations in Spanish with. She was the one I wanted to sit next to at big holiday dinners because the conversation would inevitably turn political, and I would at least agree with her.

She will be missed by many, especially my grandparents, who have now survived two of their daughters. Their pain is tangible, their tears difficult to bear. They loved their daughters and never expected to live more years than they.

My brother made a video of pictures for her memorial service this weekend. It's great to watch her grow up and enjoy her life. You can view it here.

Vegas, there we went!

2010-02-16T15:21:00.003-06:00

Hello friends!

This won't be as detailed as planned since I wrote the post and lost it once already, but here's a little update on our mini-vacation to Las Vegas last week!

We left on Monday, fleeing the white-out conditions! We arrived that night and hung out, had daiquiris, and toured the Stratosphere Hotel where we stayed.

On Tuesday, we had breakfast, walking, rain, the Stratospher Tower (think, Floor 108), Stratosphere Thrill Rides (think, 1,100 feet above the ground on an amusement park ride), dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, and The Lion King. It was a fantastic day. The Lion King gave me thrills and I couldn't stop smiling.

On Wednesday, we checked out the strip again. Nick took me on a gondola boat ride at The Venetian for an early Valentine's day present. We went out for Italian that night and then checked out Fremont Street and the light show over the street.

On Thursday, we checked out of our hotel, wandered the strip, and took an extended stop at Margaritaville. Then we wandered some more and ended back up at the hotel to shuttle back to the airport and fly home.

We got back to a welcome from already arrived guests, which will follow in a later post. Pictures to follow, also, of course!

Oh, and we didn't gamble. At all!

so good

2010-01-21T21:48:00.001-06:00

life is so good right now. indescribably so.

i love my job.

i love my family.

i love my boyance.

i love minneapolis.

i love my friends.

I love the balance I've finally found some sort of manner to achieve.

The Big E

2010-01-13T11:13:00.002-06:00

That's right, the big E: Engagement.

Here's how it happened.

On December 23rd, our 8 month anniversary, Nick had the day off but I was working. I knew he was up to something, but not sure exactly what or how it would happen. He showed up to my office that morning with gerbera daisies (my favorites!), Russell Stover chocolates (yum!), a CD, and a card. The card had a picture of us inside, with a note on the back that said "This is for the last eight months."After he left, but not before he told me that there were more surprises to come, I listened to the CD, where he read me a poem he had written.

I worked the rest of the day, but wasn't very focused! After work I went to my massage appointment, then to my chiropractor. While I was at the chiropractor, Nick showed up. He waited for me to finish, then took me to the nearby restaurant where we'd had our first date 8 months ago. We reminisced what it was like then and what it was like now. He gave me another card with another picture, this time a note on the back saying "This is for today."

After dinner we drove back to my apartment. At my apartment, he took me into my room, plugged in his iPod, and told me he'd found this great song during the day and wanted to play it for me. It was "This I Know" by Sam & Ruby. We'd never heard of the duo before, but the lyrics were perfect. (I tried to find them online to share them, but no luck. Sorry!) We danced together during the song.

After dancing together, Nick told me to stay put and went back into the living room. He came back with another card with another picture inside that said "This is for the many years to come."

Then he kissed me on one cheek for 8 months.

Kissed me on the other cheek for today.

And then he got down on one knee and said, "Nikki Maatman, will you marry me?"

So here we are, happily engaged, enjoying the moment before we packed up Nick's car and drove to his parents to avoid the blizzard conditions.

Here's the ring. Beautiful!

And your token engagement picture..

And kissy.

Valentine's Day Visit

2009-12-16T11:00:00.002-06:00

So, last night I got to tell my dear friend about a plan that has been in the works for a few weeks, and it all revolves around her!

For Christmas, I collaborated with my best friend's, Sarah's, parents and husband to get her a flight to fly out to Minneapolis over Valentine's Day weekend. It was tricky!

You see, my best friend who is like a sister to me, has just moved to California with her husband and little baby. She and I have been talking about how long it has been since we've seen each other and how much we want to spend time with her. I knew that I wanted to see her and that she wanted to spend more time with my boyfriend getting to know him.

So, after talking with Nick, we agreed that it was important to try to get her to come visit. I e-mailed her sister-in-law, a mutual friend of ours, and asked for Sarah's mom's contact info. You see, the other issue was that there was no way to contact her husband without her knowing about it. They don't have a home phone. He doesn't have his own e-mail, own Facebook, or cell phone. Everything is shared.

So, I shot an e-mail to Sarah's mom and we started frantically planning. There are so many people to thank for making this happen - thanks, Andrea, for hooking me up with the contact info I need! Thanks, Sarah's parents for being willing to make this work! Thank you to Sarah's husband for being willing to be without his wife on her birthday and on Valentine's day, 2 pretty big days in anyone's life! Thanks to my parents, who helped transfer frequent flyer miles to make this ticket affordable to everyone involved.

To end the story, I want to just tell a little bit about how I got to tell Sarah about her gift. We were talking on the phone, as we do probably 3-6 times a week. I was on my way to Nick's and she was preparing dinner, mentioning that her parents were coming over for dinner soon. I thought to myself, "What a perfect time to tell her about the gift when her parents arrive, since they were so involved."

As Sarah was getting ready to end the phone conversation because her parents had arrived, I said, "Wait one minute, I have one more thing to tell you. What are you doing for your birthday?" Well, of course she didn't have plans yet. So, I asked, "How would you like to come to Minneapolis?"

Much screaming and squealing ensued. I was told there was lots of jumping down and her family laughed at her excitement. We talked about when she was coming, leaving, and all the amazing things that we can do while she is here visiting.

I am so ecstatic to have my dearest friend in the universe coming to visit me once more. I'm sure you will see many pictures in February once the visit actually happens!!

7 months ago

2009-11-23T21:16:00.002-06:00

7 months ago...

- I was a nervous wreck, unsure if I wanted to go on another first date

- I had it all planned out, down to the timing of going to my appointment before the date, timing it all out

- I was calling friends, asking advice, telling them what the plan was

- I was telling people my plans, just in case the guy I'd met online was some kind of creep

- My coworker offered me some silky Valentine's Day boxers donated to the office

7 months ago...

- I met the man I am going to marry

- We went out for Italian, had amazing conversation, and I couldn't wait for another date

- I called my friends, said, "He's not some kind of creep" and was ready to see him again ("In public" of course!)

- I went home with a smile on my face and a kiss on the cheek.

Today is our 7 months, if you didn't catch my drift :) Tonight Nick made Chicken Parmigiana for us (his first real cooking endeavor!) and it was amazing. These 7 months have been more amazing than I could have ever asked for. Every day I am more thankful for the blessing he is in my life!

Goodbye, Farewell, Adieu!

2009-11-02T14:44:00.002-06:00

This weekend we said goodbye to a dear friend, Melissa, who flying on a plane right now for Rwanda. Yay!

On Sunday afternoon we all got together to have food, company, and hot apple cider and say farewell to our dear friend.

Here are 4 of the 5 Columbus girls, together for one last picture. Now we are down to 3 from our original 5. At least the other two are both on the same continent!

Party attendees: Front (L-R): Heather, Renee, Julia; Back (L-R): Nick, Nikki, Emily, Melissa, Megan, Jeff.

Poll: Inappropriate?

2009-10-28T08:30:00.002-05:00

It's time for all you readers to weigh in and tell me what you really think.

Yesterday, I posted pictures of our vacation in North Carolina on Facebook. We had a fantastic time on our vacation with family and great sight seeing.

But, here comes your opinion. The picture below (which, btw, you can click on to see the rest of the photos) was included. Some friends made comments about how it was PDA... not sure if they were kidding or serious.

What do you think? Is the picture posted here PDA? Should I have kept it to myself? Weigh in!

APOW 10/7/09

2009-10-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

Go Twins!!

APOW 9/30/2009

2009-09-30T15:07:00.002-05:00

I got a whiteboard at work today! I am super excited to use it for my to-do list, as well as reminders for things that I do on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. Administrative nerds, unite!

APOW 9/23/09

2009-09-23T09:44:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is National Punctuation Day. Celebrate!

APOW 9/16/09

2009-09-16T09:39:00.002-05:00

So lately, my boyfriend has been getting me addicted to all sorts of video games. Bad, I know. But it's a good way to pass the time together, and I get super excited when I beat him. For example, I beat him for the first time this weekend, and it was a glorious moment. It may be the first and last time that happens.

It started innocently with some Nintendo 64. Played some Mario Party 2 & 3. And then, the boyfriend brought Mario Party to my house. It lives at my apartment. It gets played.

And then, Beatles Rock Band. Lots of playing. Fun times.

Then, this weekend, boyfriend brought his Wii to live at my apartment. Danger, Will Robinson, Danger. My favorite game which prompted the APOW?
I play in my free time to get better so that I can actually win!

fall

2009-09-10T13:07:00.002-05:00

Hi Friends.

I know it's been a while since I've had a good update, so I'm going to give it to you straight and give it to you right now.

I love fall. I was just thinking about how fall can symbolize change, new beginnings, and freshness. There's a lot of that going on in life right now.

I started my class at the U of M this week. I'm excited for learning and to be in the classroom again. So far I'm even excited about homework, but we'll see how long that actually lasts!
Nick and I are looking for a church and we've found a potential that we're really excited about. It's a church plant in the Twin Cities "proper" area. We met with the pastor and his wife this week and are excited to attend their first service kicking off their weekly services.
TV shows are returning and starting up. I'm not going as all out as I have in the past, but I'm excited for Gossip Girl, The Amazing Race, and Survivor, along with a few other ones possibly thrown in (still trying to decide about America's Next Top Model...)
I'm starting up volunteering this week at a place I used to go to weekly. I'm excited to be there on Thursday nights from 5-7pm and use my Spanish skills.
Tutoring starts up for the 3rd year in a row this month and I'm excited to see some old students and new ones and see what subjects I'll be immersing myself in this year.

So much is happening! I hope you are doing well whether things are business as usual, the start of a new school year, or something else. Tell me what you're up to!

Oh, also, in honor of Gossip Girl beginning this coming Monday and my immense love for Chuck Bass, I found this video of Ed Westwick (aka Chuck Bass) on Jimmy Fallon. Check it out here

APOW 9/9/09 - Como?

2009-09-09T09:59:00.002-05:00

My apologies, I've been sorely lacking in blogging -both with APOW and with life in general. Life, as always, has been a tad on the crazy side.
This week's APOW comes in honor of interpretation. Yesterday I began my first class toward earning a certificate in Interpration and Translation. The class is Introduction to Interpreting. I've already learned (gasp!) plenty - and am getting used to a 3-hour night class that meets once a week, something that I always avoiding during my college days.

As a plug, if you ever need an interpreter or translator for Spanish or English, I'm your man, er, girl. Soon enough, I'll have the schooling to prove it!

A Fair of the State

2009-08-30T12:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was State Fair day. In Minnesota, apparently the State Fair is kind of a big deal. So, we drove to a park-and-ride, stood in line, rode a bus, and arrived at the great Minnesota get-together.There were loads of people at the fair, of course, because it was a beautiful Saturday, 65 degrees, partly sunny... (I could become a weather girl!)
The view (ish) from the State Fair. Okay, this is us at the state fair.

This is Nick's beer on a stick. You really can put anything on a stick, and this year the newest addition was beer.

I opted for Naked juice instead of beer. And no, mine wasn't on a stick (I should have asked!)

All in all a fantastic day. A few notable memories:
- Number of purple Brett Favre jerseys: 19
- Best phrase of the day: Mom (to a 6 year-old): No, honey, we can't do that, it's too expensive (because of course he understands what expensive really means!)
- Lunch: Pizza... on a stick!

Daycation

2009-08-25T08:43:00.003-05:00

This weekend we took a little trip up North. Because we're from Minnesota, don't ya know, and that's what they do here in the summer. You betcha.

So, I told boyfriend that we were going somewhere. And I didn't say where. Or what we were doing. So we just got in the car and started driving north. He's pretty smart, so it didn't take too long to figure it out.First we stopped at Gooseberry Falls State Park, about 1 hour north of Duluth. There we hiked, looked at waterfalls, and had a picnic.

Then we took the scenic route back to Duluth, stopping to look at the lake, the beach, the rocks, the flowers, the scene. Pretty much amazing.

Finally, we stopped in Duluth and walked around by the shore. Watched the water, the boats, the people.

We ended the day by driving back to Minneapolis, stopping for dinner on the way.

Everything about the day was fantastic!

APOW - Horrible Serenity?!

2009-08-13T07:11:00.002-05:00

This week's APOW is of a favorite actor of mine, Neil Patrick Harris, as Dr. Horrible in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
An amazing short series made for the internet during the writers' strike, I have the fine pleasure of going to see this short-ish compilation at the Riverview TheaterAlong with Dr. Horrible is a movie called Serenity, a 2005 movie based of a series on Fox called Firefly .
In honor of the event, we attempted to watch almost all of the episodes of Firefly to prepare for Serenity. I hadn't seen Firefly before, but my very awesome coworker (yay, Colleen!) owns the series and lent it to us. We got through all but 3. Boyfriend watched the last three whilst I spent the evening at Valleyfair.So, tonight, we go to the Riverview for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Serenity. I can't wait!

APOW 8/5/09

2009-08-05T10:18:00.002-05:00

Brother is here visiting. On Saturday he asked me if he could come visit for the week. On Sunday he told me he would be here on Monday. So here he is. So far it's been pretty mellow, some chillin', some maxin', some actin' all cool. He hasn't started causing trouble in my neighborhood, although he has walked around it.

Last night we went out to eat at Pizza Luce which is some amazing pizza. Lots of leftovers, which I'm a fan of. Afterward we went to one of the Minneapolis movies in the park and watched Back to the Future with lots of other people who enjoyed it. Other fellow members of the audience clapped when George McFly punched Biff. They clapped when the movie ended.

I don't really clap for movies. I've never understood it. Maybe I should. But I don't. I just smile and remember how much I love the movie. And I laugh when my brother tells me the next line before they say. "Damn. [pause] Damn. [pause] Damn, damn."

APOW: Adrenaline

2009-07-29T10:17:00.004-05:00

I almost gave you Brett Favre today. And then I remembered that this is the Amazing/Awesome picture of the week. That would not have been so Awesome.

So, I give you Valleyfair. It's my newest love. I am going again in August. Twice. My 2 favorite rides:

The Extreme Swing is exactly what it claims. It swings you back and forth. You get to look down at people on the sidewalk. It's pretty much amazing. I can't wait to do it again.

And Steel Venom. This is only a taste. But you start level, it shoots you up there, then you go back and up, kind of like a pendulum. Lather, rinse, repeat.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

2009-07-24T08:17:00.002-05:00

So, I know some crafty people in my life. Last weekend, a few of them collaborated together to give me a fun little surprise. After the week at camp, I headed to my parents' to spend the rest of my weekend. Little did I know that my mom and Nick had conspired together for him to be there. Here we are, when I first see him, utterly surprised. Pretty sure I said, "What are you doing here?"
And here we are hanging out. Pretty much it was a good way to end a week of vacation!
In other news, I would just like to say that I love the sound of thunderstorms. While we haven't had a full out storm in a while, I'm a fan of the little ones that come along. I'm currently sitting at my desk in my apartment, windows open, rain falling. There was some thunder earlier, yay!

This weekend equals hanging out with family, Valleyfair, and Aquatennial fireworks. It's going to be a good weekend.

In another random note, I'm reading this crazy, satirical book called Captain Freedom: A Superhero's Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity he so Richly Deserves. It's great. It's crazy. It's funny.

APOW. Times Two.

2009-07-22T08:59:00.002-05:00

Hi Friends. A real post is coming soon. I was gone all last week, so you are being treated to a double APOW, with two fun pictures and related links...

I bring you Sarah Palin. We all know her, *cough* love her. Vanity Fair has posted a fantastic bit where copy editors tear apart her resignation speech. If you're a grammar nerd like me, this is fantastic. I cringed. Mostly, I wonder how she would have been as Vice President. Scary. Read it if you can. I couldn't get past the first 2 pages because I was seeing so much red...

And, once again, for some comic relief, I bring you Ed Westwick. New York Magazine had an online article about a commenter for the Gossip Girl blog who finally met Chuck Bass *cough* er, I mean, Ed Westwick.

I'd just like to make 2 comments about that article: First, I hope my boyfriend would do the same for me. Amazing. Second, I love September 14th, too, and I can't wait!

APOW: Inspiration Ahead

2009-07-08T13:30:00.001-05:00

Next week, I'll be at Inspiration Hills for the week, volunteer as a chaplain. So, in honor of the upcoming week, here is your APOW: Inspiration Ahead!

APOW, Week 6/29/09

2009-07-01T09:14:00.003-05:00

Here is your Awesome Picture of the Week, in honor of the nearing All Star game and the local Minnesota pitch to get your players into the All Star game (okay, it's pretty much a done deal by now.)
Here you have 2 of my favorite Twins (and faves for pretty much everyone else, too!), Mauer and Morneau. Mauer's current batting average is .383 and Morneau's is .313 Joe Mauer has gotten over his little "I'm on the cover of SI" slump and is back at it.

If the Twins make it all the way this year, it's thanks to these two men. Happy summer = baseball!

and then there was a wedding

2009-06-30T07:26:00.002-05:00

Went home this weekend for a wedding. The wedding was fantastic - lots of fun, friends, and good times spent together.Here are the bride and groom at the reception. Kissing because someone gave them money.
Here are 4 of the 7 D6 girls... we forgot to take a picture of all former roommates, but this is as close as we got. They are all current or former Minnesota girls!

A good time was had by all, this I know for sure.

APOW, Week 6/22/09

2009-06-24T09:07:00.002-05:00

This week's APOW comes from the GQ fall preview for men's style. And one of my current favorite actors, Ed Westwick

Ed Westwick = Chuck Bass.

That's all I need to say.

weekend update with...

2009-06-23T11:11:00.002-05:00

Here's your weekend update. Sorry, no Seth Myers or Amy Poehler. Just me.

Friday night and Saturday night I went to the Twins games. Won on Friday night (go Twins!) We were way up in the cheap seats (sorry to my acrophobic Mama!), but no neck craning and good times nonetheless.

Here we are, courtesy of the Twinsfan photographer.
We lost on Saturday. But there were 6 total home runs and the score 6-5, so it was still a well-played game. Would have been nice to win.

Saturday morning, my dad discovered his bike stolen. Sorry, Papa! He made the best of it, though. I offered up my old school bike for his use, but he declined. He has a back-up bike at home, so he's still good to go.

Sunday was a good day filled with breakfast, church, Sunday dinner, and an impromptu trip out to Buffalo. This impromptu trip allowed me to see a fairly fantastic home video of the boyfriend in a skit where he plays Bill Clinton and sings pretty awesome songs. Oh, college days. Too bad that my family doesn't have any home videos for him to watch in return.

That's it. Last night we played Kubb in the park and watched Kung Fu Panda with some friends. Love that movie.

Today is 12-hour marathon workday, but it will be all worth it come Friday when I can leave early and get going down to Iowa for someone's wedding.

name the computer!

2009-06-20T15:38:00.002-05:00

Well, friends.

This morning I woke up and my laptop was toast. It wouldn't start and Dad, the computer guru himself, deemed it dead.

So today we took a little trip to Best Buy and bought a new lappy. It's something I've been thinking about doing, but it was more of a "off in the future some day" type thought.

But the moral of this story is that I need help naming the laptop. The rules are:

Creative*
First name female
2nd name male

Come up with something good and you could win the contest to name my very computer.

* Chuck Bass is not an eligible name. Be more creative than that!

Music City

2009-06-17T09:06:00.003-05:00

Hi Friends. Last night I returned from a birthday vacation to Music City - Nashville, TN. I had a fabulous time. A good friend of mine from my semester in Costa Rica lives there. I stayed with her and her family, who is super fun. They are fantastic jokers, teasers, and full of snarkiness. My kind of people.

Friday we had lunch with Hayley's brother and then went shopping. Hayley took me on a mini shopping spree for my birthday, where we found a salsa dancing outfit for that evening. That night we went salsa dancing, VIP thanks to her boyfriend! I don't have pictures of that, but I hope to get them soon.

Saturday we went hiking with the family at Fall Creek Falls. That was a great time, minus a pulled muscle, which is now recovered.

Sunday we went to the Adventure Science Center, a science museum for kids. It was a good time, we made some fun out of it!This is our ride on the simulated moon walk. It was a load of fun, plus nice to have the paparazzi there to take our picture :)
Here we are at the top of the glass pyramid in the Adventure Science Center. We climbed and shimmied our way to the top, through a maze made for kids. We were successful! You can see Nashville in the background.

Monday was my BIRTHDAY! We went for brunch in the morning, which was fantastic. Then we headed over to Brushfire, a paint your pottery store. We spent almost 3 hours there painting to the max. I can't wait to see how mine turns out. Then we had a birthday dinner, courtesy of Hayley's mom - pork chops, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, green beans, baked beans, rolls, and finished off with double chocolate fudge cake and vanilla ice cream - yum!
Here is the amazing birthday cake. With a "2" candle and 4 small candles to symbolize 24!

Yesterday I made my way home. Instead of taking the flight I was supposed to and arriving at 2pm in Minneapolis, I took a bump. They gave me a flight voucher, put me in first class seats for the 2 new flights, and coupons to have free lunch while I waited.

All in all, it was a fantastic birthday vacation. My hosts were amazing and the activities were fun.

APOD

2009-06-10T09:20:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the first installation of something that I am going to *attempt* to do every Wednesday... it's APOD (Amazing Picture of the Day) Funny? Serious? Awesome? It will be one of those...

Today's picture comes from an article on CNN about "Nine Crucial Questions to Ask your Boss"

Jennifer Aniston in Office Space. Classic movie. Fantastic movie. Awesome work scene. Makes me smile just thinking of it. There is your APOD!

june...april?

2009-06-10T09:12:00.003-05:00

Well, it's June 10th already! This month is flying by, I think I'm in denial.

Not much has happened in June. We've had dicey weather for a while - it feels more like April than June right now - dreary, cloudy, rainy type days. And no thunderstorms either. That really saddens me. A grand prize goes to the first person who can generate a thunderstorm for me, and claim responsibility for it.

So, what's been going on? Last Saturday went to a birthday party for a friend that was relocated to the indoors. We hung out, chatted it up, ate some food, played Dr. Mario on the NES. Good times.

Last night we had a pre-birthday celebration. Okay, it wasn't that elaborate, but we went bowling (which unexpectedly took only 45 minutes...), wandered the mall, and went and saw Angels & Demons. It's good.

In other news, I leave for Nashville tomorrow afternoon for an extended weekend vacation. I come back on Tuesday. You'll probably get some rockin' pictures next week. The plans so far include salsa dancing, maybe swing dancing, maybe a birthday party for a friend, and something fantastic that has yet to be determined on my birthday. I love birthdays! (Mine or others'....especially mine...)

That's all she/I wrote for now.

picture, movies, links galore

2009-05-31T21:08:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is June! I can't wait. Let me wrap up the month of May with a weekend recap.

Friday we went to see Up in theaters. Didn't get to go in 3D because it was sold out, but 2D was just as good. It's a great movie. Go see it. (Unless you're KV, then don't, because it's a cartoon...)

Saturday morning went to a potluck breakfast for tutoring and recapped the year. See previous post with azalea. (Chuck Bass wins. And not by default. Because it's an amazing name for an amazing plant).

Saturday afternoon we went to a wedding out in Litchfield. It was lots of fun. Apparently most MN weddings (or is it just ones in Nick's family?) involve hula hooping at dances. Hmm. Before we got to the wedding, we stopped to see the world's biggest ball of twine* Didn't know it at the time, but apparently there's a Weird Al song all about it.Here we are at the big ball of twine. It's a little difficult to demonstrate the ball of twine and take a self portrait. It's there in the background. Plus, it was a good excuse to take a picture.

Today was chill. Just hung out, got caught up on some sleep. Watched Dan in Real Life. It's so good. So glad friends have started giving good movie recommendations.

That's it. Happy "June is tomorrow already?!"

*Apparently, it's the world's largest ball of twine "made by one man." A whole town in Kansas made a bigger one, but it was a group collaboration.

name the azalea

2009-05-30T12:00:00.004-05:00

Meet my brand new azalea, courtesy of the tutoring program I volunteer with! I hope I can keep it alive... any thoughts, tips, recommendations for how not to kill the plant? Remembering to water it is key...that's how I killed the last one.

Also, I need a name for the azalea. Can't decide if it's a he or she. The best I came up with was Leah the Azalea. Corny, I know. That's why I need your help! Winner will be announced when a good name is recommended!

grow up.

2009-05-27T11:42:00.003-05:00

Stumbled across this article today as I was catching up on my Google reader. If you don't use a reader, you should. I play daily catch-up at work, but the long weekend overflowed my reader with 800+ items.

The article comes from a blog/site called Tomato Nation, and it's called "25 and Over." 20 hard realities about how you should act when you turn 25.

Okay, so I'm only 23 going on 24, so I like that I don't do all of these and supposedly can get away with them for another year-ish. But the blog made me smile at how harsh and true it was. Maybe everything they say isn't quite legitimate, but I'll share with you anyway:

4. Develop a physical awareness of your surroundings. As children, we live in our own heads, bonking into things, gnawing on twigs, emitting random squawks because we don't know how to talk yet. Then, we enter nursery school. You, having graduated college or reached a similar age to that of the college graduate, need to learn to sense others and get out of their way. Walk single file. Don't blather loudly in public spaces. Give up your seat to those with disabilities or who are struggling with small children. Take your headphones off while interacting with clerks and passersby. Do not walk along and then stop suddenly. It is not just you on the street; account for that fact.
8. Do not share the crazy dream you had last night with anyone but your mental wellness professional. Nobody cares. People who starred in the dream may care, but confine your synopsis to ten words or fewer.

fridge

2009-05-21T15:43:00.002-05:00

So, I'm cleaning the fridge out at work tomorrow. I've told people that as long as their name is on it, I won't throw their food away. They keep e-mailing me, "Um, Nikki, I've got yogurt in the fridge, please don't throw it away." And I say, put your name on it, I won't throw it. So, in honor of the fridge cleaning and everyone's favorite Beyonce song, I came up with new lyrics..

'Cause if you liked it, then you should've put your name on it
If you liked it then you should've put your name on it
Don't be mad once you see that I threw it
If you liked it then you should've put your name on it
Oh, oh, oh.

ice cream night

2009-05-18T21:07:00.002-05:00

These are some of the girls that I tutor every Monday night. We met at the beginning of their freshman year in 2007. Now they are finishing their sophomore year! We all went out for ice cream in place of tutoring (which they complained about!), hung out, and enjoyed the lovely weather!Me with Mai Te

Catherine, myself, and Mai Te.

Mai Te and Lorena

These girls make tutoring worthwhile. On the Mondays that I don't feel like being there, it goes away the moment I step in the door and get to hear about what's going on, what's the latest in Geometry, plus their opinions on Twilight, Gossip Girl, and everything else wonderful.

low-quality pictures.

2009-05-16T09:18:00.002-05:00

It's Star Party recap time. Sorry, we didn't have close enough seat for high-quality pictures. So you get low-quality. If you squint really hard and look, you can see pictures of Flo Rida in the first picture. #2 is a blurry rendition of Matt Nathanson.
Matt Nathanson, by the way, had the best stage presence and was the funniest by far. And good. All I have to say is, if you can cut to playing "Jessie's Girl" in the middle of one of your own songs - and then cut back - you are amazing.

It was a good time. Super fun. Great company. Couldn't have had a better night. Oh, and I love Flo Rida. Love. Him.

queque

2009-05-13T07:39:00.003-05:00

Last night was a monumental night in the lives of three girls. Last night, I hung out with friends Kelly and Sabrina and we each decorated our very on Gossip Girl Cake Wrecks. We can't submit them to Cakewrecks because we're not professionals, but we had a good time anyway.

We'll start with my wreck. That's a purse and a cell phone. I realize they don't look like it at all. X's and O's around the side, maybe a little mixed up.

Then there's kelly's ghetto fabulous "Gozip Gurl" cake. I love her cake.

And you have to make a Chuck Bass cake. Thanks, sabrina!

More than good times were had by all, plus, who wouldn't want to eat these fantastic GG cakes?

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:29:00.002-05:00

To my mom - you rock, I love you!

To my mom's mom - she is just as awesome!

with a little help from my friends

2009-05-06T18:00:00.001-05:00

So, some of you may know, I've started added a random question to the voicemail greeting on my cell phone. It's something like, "Hey, this is Nikki, leave me a message and answer this question: What would you do right now with $100?"

But I'm stuck. I haven't come up with anything fantastic of late, so for the past week or two, it's been: If you could be any one place right now, where would the be?

Help me out, friends - what are some spectacular, thought-provoking questions that people should answer on my voicemail? (And it should probably be suitable for all ages/types...)

Last night I had the strangest dream....

2009-04-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

So, here's the dream I had last night. Some of you may appreciate it more than others. To give it some background, starting this week I will be working Wednesday mornings at our downtown branch. We have 4 branches in all, I work at our Lake Street branch normally.

So, I go to bed reminding myself, "Tomorrow I go DT first" because I always fear that I will forget. Here's the dream:So, I wake up on Wednesday morning and get ready for the day, thinking, "Go downtown. Go downtown." I leave my apartment and drive to the Lake Street office without another thought. I'm the first one there, so I open up the building and get things going.

Janet is the next to arrive. Janet is a very sweet, kind lady who is fun to talk to. She's been around our agency for years. She heads upstairs to her office. Minutes later, I remember something that I need to do upstairs and run up there, only to witness Janet burning down half of the 2nd floor.

I walk downstairs when my coworker, Annie, and my boss, Angie, come in the door with another supervisor. I pull the other supervisor aside to explain to her what's happened because she works upstairs and has authority up there. I'm explaining that part of the 2nd floor has been exploded/blown up. She wants to know who's responsible. I hesitate to tell her who's responsible. Annie comes up and knows exactly what's going on.She says, "You want to know who did it? Well, it would be the person that we refer to as 'Madonna'" Apparently Janet, a lovely, older woman, is now "Madonna". And she's responsible.

I'm helping to clean up all the mess when I look at the clock and realize it's 8:30am and I was supposed to be downtown at 8am. I rush out of the building and find myself in our Bloomington office. That's not the right place. I call downtown and someone else answers, so I know someone else is covering until I get there. I leave Bloomington and finally arrive downtown, only to ask, "So do I get mileage for all of the trips that I just made to different offices?"

It's Patriotic...!

2009-04-28T15:30:00.002-05:00

Please do me the favor and navigate away from my blog momentarily. It is utterly important that you watch this video and learn about how to safely protect yourself and others from germs.

In a time when the swine flu is running rampant, this is crucial.

But honestly, maybe you just need a laugh in the midst of escalated crisis. Then you'll really appreciate the video!

and now for something completely different

2009-04-20T18:49:00.002-05:00

1. What is your current obsession?
Just one? I can only pick one. Okay, Twilight. I'm addicted. Counting the minutes until my coworker finishes reading so that I can keep reading. Oh, and Gossip Girl.

2. What’s a good coffee place?
In my stomach where it belongs :)

3. Who was the last person that you hugged?
Mm, that's a good question. I think I hugged Amanda in church yesterday.

4. Do you nap a lot?
Not as much as I used to. I still do snag a nap every once in a while.

5. Tonight, what’s for dinner?
Hmm, just had some lovely tortillas with cheese, salsa, and black beans.

6. What was the last thing that you bought?
A plane ticket to Nashville for my birthday!

7. What is your favorite weather?
I love a perfectly gorgeous, sunny, 70-some degree weather day.

8. Tell us something about one blogger who you think will play this week?
Hmm, I dunno. I don't know who will play along, I am not a psychic.

9. If you were given a free house that was fully furnished, where in the world would you like it to be?
Right now? I'd like it to be in Minneapolis. But can I move it to other parts of the world if I decide to move?

10. Name three things that you could not live without.
Music, my family and friends (that counts as one!), distraction.

11. What would you like in your hands right now?
Who wrote this? Dirty, dirty minds.

12. What’s one of your guilty pleasures?
War with the Roses and Cheater's Club on KDWB.

13. What would you change or eliminate about yourself?
I need to stop being a canceller.

14. As a child, what type of career did you want?
I was going to be a teacher. I was going to rock out awesome bulletin boards and be one of those cool teachers you remembered learning from.

15. What are you missing right now?
The sun! What happened?!

16. What are you currently reading?
The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks (reread), waiting to read Twilight #3

17. What do you fear the most?
Being alone.

18. What’s the best movie that you’ve seen recently?
I've seen some bad ones lately. I really liked The Station Agent.

19. What’s your favorite book from the past year?
I refuse to choose.

20. Is there a comfort food from your childhood that you still enjoy?
Ketchup Sandwiches.

Gideon

2009-04-17T08:18:00.003-05:00

Meet Gideon. Gideon and I were friends this week, Monday - Thursday. I dog sat/house sat for some friends from church and took care of their Weimeraner, Gideon.

Gideon loves to go for walks, where he pulls his walker forward. We went for a walk once until I learned that lesson. Gideon loves to play outside, chew on his bone, and jump on top of you. He was fond of smothering me.

It was a nice break to spend a few days in someone else's house, get some laundry done, and take care of a dog and have company around. If only my company didn't freak out about squirrels, cats, and children playing outside....

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

2009-04-13T07:37:00.002-05:00

Well, the weekend was a good one. Here we are on the way home from Easter dinner, which was spectactular. And the afternoon ended with my horrific Guitar Hero skills on the drums. But I love Guitar Hero nonetheless. I just kept pushing the foot pedal at the wrong time. Glad I could be there to entertain the fam.

Unfortunately, we did not turn right to stop at the Ice Cream Capital of the World, home to Blue Bunny ice cream. Guess I'll have to go to a Twins game to get some Blue Bunny instead.

And here we are all. From (L-R) Back: Me, Granddaddy, Granny, Heidi, Michael; Front: Billy, Anita, Dad, Mom. We all look pretty innocent, but they're all full of something crazy. This weekend was proof of where my craziness comes from. This side of the family!

Happy day after Easter to you all. Praise him, for He is Risen!

going home

2009-04-10T07:16:00.002-05:00

Today I leave to go to Iowa, with Fields of Opportunities. And cows. Iowa's slogan used to be "You Make Me Smile." More and more Minnesota is starting to feel like home and Iowa is the place I go to visit parents, grandparents, etc.

I'll be in Iowa for the Easter weekend, but not before I make a stop in South Dakota to visit my "sister" for the evening. I imagine I'll get all the laughing I need in for the weekend when I see her. That is why I love her.

It's nice to go home every once in a while, although there are all sorts of things going on up here this weekend that I would have liked to be involved in. I guess you can't be everywhere at once.

So I pick family, friends, and a temperature about 2 degrees warmer than here.

find it, make it, do it.

2009-04-04T09:31:00.004-05:00

Here in the Great White North (aka Minnesota), one of our news stations is WCCO. I was watching the other day and they had an ad for themselves. So, it was basically a montage of people doing things - playing in the park, working at a job, talking on the phone. The point of the ad was something to the effect of: Find what you love, make it your passion, do it passionately.

It struck me how much of a difference it can make in your life to be doing something that you enjoy or something you love. And while you can't always snap your fingers and do what you're passionate about, the little things make a big difference.

For me, I love Spanish. I would use it nonstop if I could. I am passionate about Spanish to the point where I watch all movies with Spanish subtitles, put my cell phone in Spanish, change the language on my e-mail account, and think/journal/pray in Spanish.

I've decided that means that I need to take the next step in "doing it passionately" (please don't distort that phrase into something else...) I'm not quite sure what that means yet, but it will mean something. Hold me to that.

thoughts about the job

2009-03-20T15:13:00.002-05:00

So I'm here at work thinking about my job. I like it. Some interesting information for you about my job.

1. Next week both of the coworkers that I work with will be out of the country. One will be in Scotland and the other in Nepal. I will be flying solo for quite a bit.

2. No one really knows what exactly our name is. I glanced at the checks written today. They should be made out to "Family & Children's Service" or "FCS". 4 checks, 4 different choices: Family and Children Service. Children and Family Services. CFS. Family and Children Services. You all lose. Good thing the bank will still take the check!

3. I really like helping people. Whether it's helping them get a room set-up, giving them another appointment, or showing them how to take the bus to get to the Co-op, I really enjoy it!

4. My job will be changing in the next few weeks. In a week and a half I will start to learn how to verify insurance benefits. It will be a long process, but an exciting change in what I will be doing and another added challenge.

**I should add two more things here:

5. I love my coworkers (yes, K, that includes you!) If it weren't for them, I don't think I would stick around at the job. They make all the difference. (Just ask for crazy stories about lady friends, parking spaces, or Fabio...)

6. I love cleaning at work. Today I cleaned out our fridge and managed to take home a plunder of celery, blueberry pie, butter, and yogurt, all fresh and unclaimed after numerous warnings of a fridge purging. Made my day to come home with free food!

There you have it! A few tidbits about a job that I really enjoy and that keeps me around.

pictures from vacay

2009-03-11T09:16:00.002-05:00

A few select pictures from my escapade to Oregon to see Neil, Sarah, and little baby Abigail!Here is Abby showing off her new baby blanket that I finally finished after being in Oregon for 3 days!

This little girl had some fantastic facial expressions.

As all babies do, she did a lot of sleeping, too! She was a very well-behaved baby.

It was a fantastic vacation and I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way. We spend most of our days holding a baby, watching her sleep, and eating some food ourselves. Sarah and I got hair cuts on Saturday as a way of pampering ourselves, which was wonderful!

Sarah's delirium also began to show by the end of the trip when she suggested that she make smoothies for us, which contain yogurt and fruitables! We didn't let her forget that one...

a list for the last month

2009-03-04T21:44:00.002-06:00

here's what's new this past month...

1. My best friend had a baby! I have an honorary niece, Abigail Vonita
2. Tomorrow I leave for Oregon to visit my niece and her parents - I can't wait!
3. Possible change in job duties/promotion is in the works...it's only a matter of time!
4. Have now experienced "Hell's Kitchen" for breakfast in DT Minneapolis - it's a winner
5. Went to see "Godspell" the musical - fantastical!

Pictures and details from my trip to Oregon when I return!

A farewell.

2009-02-05T09:05:00.003-06:00

This week we threw a farewell party for Christy, my old roommate, who left for Kenya for a year. She will be working with the Catholic Medical Mission Board, living on the edge of Lake Victoria and doing her nurse work that she is so great at.

5 girls who used to be roommates got together for the night and went out for dinner, went to Walgreens (high class, I know!), and joined some more of our friends for brownies, ice cream, banana bread, a great game of Partner Scattergories, and laughter. My tiny one bedroom apartment saw 10 people at one time...don't tell the fire marshall!
Then some people scattered and left and some of the girls stayed overnight in the apartment - we talked, caught up, and went to be plenty late for a work night. (Click on the picture for more pictures)

Wednesday morning, we all got ready and Christy went to the airport. She'll be well on her way to Kenya by now, arriving tomorrow morning our time.

it is cold, I promise

2009-01-15T16:27:00.002-06:00

At 4:30pm this afternoon, it is -6 with a windchill of -24. By 7am tomorrow morning, it is supposed to be -22 with a windchill of -40. Fahrenheit.

In honor of the ridiculously cold weather, here are some local blogs about the weather:

Something Must Be Done (Metblogs)

Frozen Pipes (Metblogs)

Wind Chill Factor (Secrets of the City)

Minnesota Barbie

2009-01-12T21:54:00.002-06:00

So, while reading random articles this evening, I came across an amazing creation of "Minnesota Barbies", courtesy of a Minnesota blogger, LittleMoePeep.

You can check out all of the "prototypes" on the blog.

Here is my favorite, Lake Street Barbie, near and dear to my heart...

’ Lake Street Barbie’
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife,a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a meth lab kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) ….unless you are a cop, then we don’t know what you are talking about.

sha la la la

2009-01-06T21:15:00.002-06:00

Hello all.

Christmas and New Year's are done. I don't have many pictures to post because I let the rest of the family take pictures and I'm waiting to receive said pictures from them. But it was a nice restful holiday and now it's good to be back in Minneapolis.

Someone who had a fantastically exciting Christmas break was my friend Kelly, who went to Cambodia to see her sister! She has fantastic pictures posted, plus a fun little post about someone we all love when she was in the LA airport - so jealous!

Hope your Christmases were great. One of the highlight presents was a book called Things that Make Us [Sic], a perfectly fantastic book about proper grammar usage!

Here is one of my favorite pictures from my vacation, while my brother took some test pictures with the camera and we sat and waited for him...

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T07:04:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! Have a blessed holiday wherever you are!

another long list.

2008-12-19T15:58:00.002-06:00

Things I’ve Done. To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (You can’t anymore)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (as far as you can go)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square on news years
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London7
7. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

No, I don't hate you...but right now I just don't like you

2008-12-16T17:12:00.003-06:00

one of my favorite real bloggers, vlachster, posted this the other night. She's a fun coworker and I wish that we worked in the same office...and she's got quite the eclectic music taste, too! So, here's what I've got...if you need to warm yourself up, fill in some time while you're snowed in, or just want to have some fun...

1. Put your iPod (or media player) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN, NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag you're it-- if you want a musical mental break.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
I do Believe ~ Steven Curtis Chapman

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Lo Que Paso Paso ~ Daddy Yankee

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
If Only ~ Hanson (hmm...if only what?)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
It All Goes Wrong ~ Everclear (so true, it was a day like that!)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Name ~ Goo Goo Dolls (what, everyone will know my name?)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Rooftop (Instrumental) ~ Newies Soundtrack

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Closing Time ~ Semisonic (hmm....)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Corazon Espinado ~ Mana/Carlos Santana

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Seize the Day ~ Carolyn Arends (now the secret is out!)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
The Midnight Cry ~ Dordt College Music Department (hmm, is the title or the artist the worst thing that could happen??)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
My Worst Fear ~ Rascal Flatts (interesting...)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Yakko's Universe ~ Yakko Warner (true, some might say I regret having this song on my iTunes...)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Big Girls don't Cry ~ Four Seasons

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Everything ~ Michael Buble (gosh, I hope not!)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
8 ~ Everybody Duck

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
The Ballad of the Green Berets ~ Sgt Barry Sadler

WHAT IS 2+2?
Falling Slowly ~ Once Soundtrack (yes, it is falling slowly out of my brain...)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Es Mentira ~ Pimpinela

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Hate this Place ~ Goo Goo Dolls (there is some truth to that currently...)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
God's Been Good to Me ~ Keith Urban (true that!)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Hairbrush Song ~ Veggie Tales (take that for what you will...)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Happy Days Theme ~ Happy Days (true, their days were happier...)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
It's Not Just Me ~ Rascal Flatts (I know it's not just me...)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Somewhere In Between ~ Lifehouse (I think this may be true...)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
If Only She Knew ~ O.A.R

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet - Relient K

microsoft word speech recognition

2008-12-12T15:21:00.004-06:00

When a man put the theme song to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" on and had Microsoft Word transcribe it, here is what follows (this will make any true child of the 80's/90's laugh!)

Subject: My first experience with Microsoft Speech Recognition
Date: Sun, 07 Dec 2008

This is a story all about how
My left at floods turned upside down
And like to commend it just sitting right there
To tell you how the team approves the time called dollar.

In West Philadelphia born and raised on the playgrounds were spent most of my days,
Chillum out Maxson relax and all cool
to shoot some people outside of the school.
When a couple of guys were up to no good
started making trouble in the neighborhood

I get in one little fight and the mom got scared,
She said you move in with your aunt and uncle in dollar

I wasn’t for a cab and one each in your
The license plates of fresh and it had base in the mirror
If anything, I can say that this cab was rare,
But I thought, now a forgets, you know home to Bel air

I pulled up to the house around seven or eight
And I yield to the cabbie your Halsey Smalley later
Look at my kingdom I was finally there
Consider my thrown as the prince of Bel air.

Christmas Songs

2008-12-11T13:37:00.002-06:00

Very important question here for you. What are your favorite Christmas songs? Specifically, I want one "fun" one and one "Christmassy" one (i.e. you sing it in church or whatever).

I'll start us off...

My favorite Christmassy song is "Joy to the World." I love singing harmony on that song.

My favorite fun song is "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Check out the YouTube video...it is classic!

chow, wine, chill, gifts, sleep, work.

2008-12-10T12:57:00.004-06:00

I am going to give you more posts more often. Because I think that's exciting.

I had a few thoughts that I wanted to share with you from the past few days...

1. Puppy chow is addicting. I never like the sound or look of it, but once I start eating it, I can't stop.

2. Wine bottles with corks are hard to open when you don't own a cork screw. I guess that's proof that I only buy Arbor Mist for myself, which has a screw cap for a lid...

3. It's cold in Minnesota in the winter. Especially when you are attempting to be dazzled by the Holidazzle parade.

4. No matter how often I say that I am going to buy less gifts this year, somehow I still have a massive list of people to buy for and I'm never sure what to get...

5. I still sleep during movies. Ones I've seen, ones I haven't seen...in my house, in the theater, at someone else's house...I have no control over my sleeping habits.

6. It's hard to work until 8pm and then have to be to work at 8am the next day.

Those are my thoughts. If you are reading this and expecting a Christmas gift from me, you might be disappointed. My words are my gift to you. Unless you get a gift from me. Then you're lucky!

bits and pieces, odds and ends

2008-12-06T09:23:00.003-06:00

It's been a really long time since I've posted.

First, I want to share that I went to Chicago over Thanksgiving and it was FANTASTIC! I got to see my chicas from my semester abroad once more and we hung out in Allison's studio apartment, went salsa dancing, went to see Wicked, checked out the city, ate deep dish stuffed pizza, and more. It was a great weekend. Check out some of the pictures from the weekend here.

Secondly, well, I guess it's time to drop the ball. About 2 months ago I met a boy. We dated. This week we stopped dating. For the most part, I am coming around and saying that it was for the best. It was definitely a difficult decision to make (his to make), but in the end, I think I would have made the same decision. It's been interesting going through all the stages...angry, sad, regretful, questioning, angry again.

Now that it's done, I'm still glad that it happened. I'm glad because now I've had my first relationship. Now I know some more about things that I am and am not looking for in a guy. And the truth is, I think we will still be able to be friends in the end of all of this. I am hopeful for that.

These flowers that my parents sent to give me a "boost" yesterday, are also getting me into the holiday spirit:

Thanks, Mom and Dad! They are now the replacement for my Christmas tree in my apartment :)

all eyes are on...

2008-11-03T21:50:00.002-06:00

Your time has come my friends...
Raise your voice, be heard, and vote - TODAY!

On an awesome note: The lady who lives down the street from me was standing in line in front of me to vote. The line at our polling place was out the room, out the front doors, and past the gate. She turned and said to me, "I've been voting here at the same place for over 30 years, and I've never seen this many people in line to vote!"

Whoa.

2008-10-08T07:23:00.002-05:00

It's been a while, I'll be the first to admit. Sorry about that.

Life has been good - my weekends have been busy filled with plenty to do. One weekend I had a retreat with the middle schoolers from church. That was a blast minus the part where I fell off a merry-go-round. Ouch. Last weekend I went home to Iowa for an extended visit, which was nice and relaxing. I got to sleep a lot, which I needed because I'd had a crazy week. Here are a few pictures of my mom and me attempting to get good pictures together...

This is the part where I'm pretty sure I told her something funny right before I took the picture....

And here we were just being plain ridiculous...

But here, we took a good picture!

'Twas a lovely visit home and it was nice to be there during the fall time. Hope you're all doing well.

just when I said I wouldn't go back....

2008-09-18T09:22:00.003-05:00

I know we all say we won't go back to school...

But I'm thinking of going back to school. The University of Minnesota has a program in translation and interpretation that I'm thinking about getting involved in. It's a 2-year program where you take one night class a week. I won't be able to start until next summer or next fall (either would work - if I start in the summer I would have one semester off in the middle), but it's an exciting prospect to think about possibly going back to school and adding to my experience. And it would probably make me more marketable to the area that I'm interested in...

So anyway, that's what's new with me this week. I've been thinking about it for a while, but now I'm finally thinking in a pretty certain way that this is what I'll do. Now it's time to start saving up!

mice?!

2008-09-13T11:01:00.001-05:00

tried to post this directly from YouTube but something wouldn't work...

Check out this YouTube video of Brad and Colin from Whose Line is it Anyway? This video puts my mouse conundrum into perspective...

pictures...por fin!

2008-09-11T21:35:00.005-05:00

Good news for you and for me...pictures have finally arrived, with a bit of patience and a good night of internet connections. Here for your enjoyment! (Oh, and forgive the small size, but that's all I could do to get them uploaded...)My bedroom (and bed frame, huzzah!) plus my desk from a desk swap...
New dresser from Ikea, plus Puerto Rican lamp and Panamanian painting...
Living room - hand-me-down couch plus Panama molas
Kitchen - stove, sink, fridge...now you've seen the kitchen!!
Dining room (which is in th esame area as the kitchen and living room) with spectacular curtains courtesy of my mom
Family visit...I promise, my mom wasn't trying to take out my dad...but, that's the kind of pictures you get when you set the camera on timer!

pictures and more

2008-09-05T20:11:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends,

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy with moving, getting settled, etc. It was a good move, although long and arduous and full of muscle soreness and bruises. Reminds me that I don't want to move again any time in the near future!

Things are going well at the new apartment. I've officially been sleeping here for about a week and a half, and have been here all by myself, except for a newly discovered roommate with four legs, whiskers, and goes by the name of Mickey the Mouse. We're working on getting rid of him... ;)

I was going to post pictures, but my internet connection is horribly slow right now at home. I'm working on fixing that, or at the very least trying to find out if I can change that! Anyway, pictures will come soon...maybe this weekend or in the coming week once I can get to a better internet connection...until then you'll just have to visualize Mickey and me hanging out in my apartment, drinking tea, reading a book, and watching the slow, slow internet :)

2008-08-23T16:34:00.002-05:00

where do I begin? it's been a crazy little while lately, but all in all, a good crazy.

my lease began at my new apartment on the 15th, so I'm slowly/quickly moving things into the apartment. I'm waiting for paint to be put on the walls, since my landlord prefers that I not do the painting myself.

last night we had our "final" roommate time together before we're all moved out. it was a great time filled with laughter, food, self-taken photos, good drinks, fun games, awesome dessert, and all 5 of us sleeping in the living room together.

you can check out all sorts of pictures here

on tuesday, i will be moving the rest of my things, hopefully, and will start sleeping at my new apartment! huzzah!

that's all for now. hope you're doing well!

this week

2008-08-11T13:10:00.002-05:00

it becomes official. i'll have a new apartment which i'll slowly move into for the rest of the month. because i chose to be crazy like that?

It's our last few days/weeks together as a house, something that I'm becoming sad about. Here we are on a city tour, picture courtesy of Christy's iPhone.

I love Minneapolis and my roommates.

Hope you're well.

one of those days

2008-08-01T12:18:00.002-05:00

we've all had them. one of those days where it seems like nothing can go right. you get a headache because you're frustrated, you're either way too busy or not busy at all, and no one seems to do anything the way they're supposed to.

i'm having one of those days. where a fun paint project at work turned into a nightmare. where no one did their jobs and informed us of important information, making us look completely incompetent. where multiple people accused me of not doing my job, which just so happens to be 5% of my entire job duties and i'm doing the best that I can.

it makes me head hurt. it makes my coworker's stomach feel sick. and it makes me want to leave this office, go to the park, sit under a try, and have nothing to do with the world. why can't adults be competent at doing their jobs, when it's the easiest job in the world to do?

random thoughts

2008-07-23T09:21:00.004-05:00

it's been a while since I posted. here are some things that happened since then:

- volunteered at camp for a week. Not quite sure yet if I worked more or had more fun, but it was a good experience
- hung out with some good friends. craziness. check out Facebook to see the photos of camp and craziness, combined into one.
- Mom is still up and down - we're waiting to hear on a second opinion from Mayo
- Found a new apartment! I'll be moving in between August 15th and 30th, so I'll have a nice chunk of transition time

Do you want my future address? Do you want to tell me something? Let me know and I'll hook you up with whatever you need :)

mi mama

2008-07-09T07:36:00.002-05:00

Most of you know...but if you don't, please pray for my mom, and here's the story:

My mom has been having headaches for over 9 weeks now. At first we thought they were just the result of jet lag and having returned from Taiwan. Soon, we realized it must be something more, since they weren't going away. After lots of tests, they finally determined she's been leaking spinal fluid from somewhere - the question is, where?

While they attempt to find out where the leak is, my mom continues on with headaches, at least one a day, and lives on pain killers. As you can imagine, it's frustrating to not be able to work or get around as easily as she would like.

Her next test is this coming Tuesday, unfortunately postponed from this week, which means even more waiting.

Please pray for her - I believe in the power of prayer and the strength in numbers. She and I will both appreciate your prayers.

a list of thoughts

2008-07-03T09:10:00.002-05:00

1. Lawn games are a blast, especially ones easily learned

2. Trying out some soft contacts this weekend. Not so bad...yet.

3. Mosquitoes are out in full form this summer. Bug bites already in the double digits

4. Iowa should try out having more lakes, like Minnesota does.

5. Movies in the park are fun, free, and great to hang out with friends

6. Headaches are not fun, especially when had for 8+ weeks....pray for my mom

7. It's okay to be at home 3 weekends in a row.

8. I'm going to miss my roommates

9. Work slows down in the summer

10. Even after college, I still know how to procrastinate

11. Apartment hunting is a lot of work, especially when you know what you want.

12. Puppies are adorable and love to give kisses.

13. Unexpected e-mails from old friends are wonderful.

'twas the day before last

2008-06-17T07:48:00.003-05:00

'twas my birthday on Sunday. It was a great day, filled with wonderful things:
- went to lunch with a good friend, followed by some shopping and then seeing her new place
- got a surprise visit from a family friend, including flowers ordered by my parents, delivered straight to me! They smell even better than they look :)
- went for a great walk with roommate, stopped for some wonderful ice cream, and walked back home

I also received lots of great phone calls, birthday wishes, facebook messages and notes on my wall - thank you! It was a good birthday!

pictures

2008-06-10T09:16:00.003-05:00

spent two weekend ago with the two above lovely ladies, plus a husband (not mine!)
click on the picture to see more pictures from hanging out, Sarah's office, and a winery visit

spent last weekend with these crazy ladies. i haven't laughed like that in a long time, which is why i love them so much. click on the picture for more.