new slang

Welcome home Alan!

2008-01-30T19:57:00.000-06:00

My brother is home from his Middle East deployment. You can watch the video below. I watched it many times over today. I only wish I could have been there waving him in. Thank you Alan for serving our country. We love you and miss you so much!

Carded

2008-01-30T19:22:00.000-06:00

I've been "carded" by my Dad.

I'm to list five New Year gifts I would like for 2008:

1. To truly be excited about at least one thing every day.

2. Not take my family and friends for granted.

3. A new home that we love.

4. To grow closer to God.

5. To complain less.

Christmas

2006-12-30T00:26:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! It's a little late, but we've been busy celebrating. Luke, Mia, and I headed up to Papa and Gramma Rachel's house last Friday (22nd). Alan, Elonda, and Ashton were there too. Ashton was anxiously awaiting for us to arrive so we could open presents. It was a such a wonderful visit.

We headed back home on Christmas Eve to get ready for our guests the next day. I made a mad dash to the grocery stores before they closed, and made it back home for the evening to relax with Luke and Mia.

Christmas day we opened presents, and around 2 p.m. Mark, Linda, Andy, and Kris came over. We had so much fun, opening presents, eating lots of food, and spending time together.

Here's some pictures of all the celebrating...

This is the calm before the storm...
soon after "Ashton the Tornado" was whipping
through presents and no one could stop him.

New cross country skis from Gramma and Papa

Look at this mess Mia!

Snake scarf. It's the new look for winter.

This is Alan's new look for winter.

"Why are you laughing? Do I have something on my lip?"

Mia wowed us and our company with some Christmas songs.

I made Endive and Frisee Salad with Oranges (Giada De Laurentis recipe). They were out of endive and frisee at the grocery store, so I substituted with a bag of Italian lettuce that had frisee in it and a European mix that had mache and other assortments of fancy lettuce. Also, no blood oranges at the store, so I used regular. It was still so yummy though. Here's the recipe, and it's so easy to make.

Here's the rest of the meal: Salmon with pesto cream sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic; homemade pasta (thank you Luke) with a very light cream sauce, prosciutto, pine nuts, and fresh basil; roasted veg (zucchini, yellow squash, and fennel); and Italian bread. Everything was delicious.

And dessert: Honey Ricotta Cheesecake (Giada recipe). It was so yummy... creamy, sweet, and tasted like oranges and honey. Here's the recipe.

Kris, Andy, Linda, and Luke.
The boys (including Jason that's not pictured) surprised
Mark and Linda with new bikes for Christmas.

Mark and Linda

Andy, Kris, and I

Luke, trying on his new boxers.
I'm not sure why Kris and Andy aren't participating.

Watching a little celebrity jeopardy from SNL.

Christmas Competition

2006-12-17T21:07:00.000-06:00

We had a Christmas decorating contest at work, and we (the graphic design department) won. Here are some pictures of our winning decor:

We made handmade stencils and sprayed fake snow
to create snowflakes and Christmas themed words.

Lots of silver, light pink and light teal, plus black
and white family photos gave our decor a nostalgic feel.

Bribes... I mean, treats, for the judges. We even
redesigned the Starbucks packaging to match our decor.

Hand-sewn stockings for each of us.

My desk

Christmas quiz

2006-12-17T19:33:00.000-06:00

This quiz was on my friend's blog and I thought it would be fun to post it too.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Egg nog once or twice, hot chocolate the rest of the time.

2. Does "Santa" wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Huh? This question doesn't make sense. What kind of person would just put the presents under the tree without wrapping them? Wrap, then put them under the tree.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White lights

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Yes

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Usually the weekend right after Thanksgiving. This year, we started a week after Thanksgiving, and then it took until the following weekend or so to finish. Next year, I'm definitely starting right after Thanksgiving. The Christmas season goes by too fast when you work full time.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

My mom's bleu cheese ball.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:

Playing Christmas records... yes, records, not CDs, like Johnny Mathis, while we decorated for Christmas.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

December, 2nd grade, playground, Luke Dusek (my husband)... told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus. I told him he wasn't going to get any presents for Christmas.

Later that year, I think my mom gave me the scoop on Santa and the Easter Bunny. I had been suspecting neither were real.

9. Do you open presents on Christmas eve?

When I was younger, we did open one present on Christmas eve, which was fun. Now, I'm mean and make my family wait.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

Fake tree, white lights, silver glitter snowflakes, silver garland, silver and gold bulbs, and antique looking ornaments, a few red bulbs, black & white photo ornaments of family, and "puffy" -our white, fluffy bird ornament that Mia adores.

11. Snow - love it or hate it?

LOVE IT! It isn't Christmas without snow. I hope we get some soon.

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

There are so many. From my parents: my acoustic guitar, my Canon camera, my Crayola art set, me and my brother's walkie talkies... I could keep going. From my husband: a Chinese tea set, the first gift he gave me when we were dating.

14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you?

Being with family and enjoying Christmas together.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Pizzelles

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Going to the Holidazzle Parade downtown with Luke and Mia and stopping at Starbucks for a treat.

17. What tops your tree?

A white metal snowflake.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?

Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

This year it's "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" -U2

20. Candy Canes?

Not so much anymore... I do enjoy the crushed candy canes on top of the Ho Ho Mint Mocha at Caribou and I did buy some dark chocolate dipped candy cane sticks this year that I totally forgot about. I think I'll go open up those right now...

"PC Christmas"

2006-12-04T02:36:00.000-06:00

Remember this? Alec Baldwin's "Belated Season's Greetings" skit on Saturday Night Live? (Many years ago...)

I hope you don't find it offensive. I think it's funny, and a true reflection of our society today. Enjoy!

During the Christmas season, I received many Christmas cards. Unfortunately, because I was so busy, I didn't have time to send out any myself. So, if I could, I'd like to use this as my Christmas card to everyone who was kind enough to send one to me.

[ puts Santa hat on his head and begins ]

"Dear Friend, or Relative, or Business Associate. Merry Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Solstice, or Voodoo Day.

Boy, what a year it's been - me, with my acting, and, you doing whatever it is that you do. Thanks for the Christmas card, it was very beautiful, or humorous. I enjoyed the photo of your kid, or kids. Boy, he, or she, or they are really getting big. Have you seen our mutual friend, if we have one? Can you believe what he or she is up to? Boy, some people! Has your son, or daughter, or sister, or brother, or husband, or wife still have that drug problem? All you can do is trust in God, or, if you prefer, voodoo.

How is Granny, or Nana, or Mimi, or Yaya? So so? Hey, how about the professional sports team that we both root for? They should fire, or rehire that manager of theirs. He's a character!

Well, gotta go. By the way, sorry about throwing up on your carpet that time, or times. I hope you receive many presents from Santa, or Hanukkah Guy, or the Voodoo Man.. and that the coming year is as good as, or better than, or nothing like the last year.

Love, Alec.

Random picture time

2006-12-04T01:22:00.000-06:00

A caprese salad I made back in September? Maybe? Who knows...

Caprese salad: fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

Very cute picture of Luke and Mia.

Geisha Mia for Halloween.

So serious. So cute.

Thanksgiving dinner at my Mom and Dad's.

Luke being his normal self.

Mia and other "Little Leaders" performing at the girls' varsity basketball game. This was the only picture that didn't turn out blurry.

She did an awesome job!

My rant (Part 2)

2006-10-29T18:33:00.000-06:00

So, what's the deal with trans fat? Why is partially hydrogenated oil bad for me? What is it?

I've been hearing a lot of questions and discussion lately regarding trans fat. It seems a lot of people know that trans fat is bad for them, but yet they continue to eat it every day. And there are others that know nothing about it. So, in trying to find explanations on the internet as to why trans fat is bad, for inquisitive friends of mine, I finally found a simple, understandable guide to trans fat. The following is from Leeann Chin's website, which you can download as a pdf:

How much trans fat is safe?

Answer: Zero

Trans Fat is a dangerous, artificial compound, much more harmful than saturated fat. There are two forms of Trans Fat – natural and artificial. The first form is found at very low levels in dairy and meats– and it’s not a health concern.

Trans Fat is One Molecule Away From Plastic

The artificial form is in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. This form of Trans Fat is created by hydrogenation – bubbling hydrogen gas through heated oil. This distorts some of the molecules to the point where they are one molecule away from the molecular structure of plastic.

If you think it's just in McDonald's fries, read on: artificial Trans Fat is prevalent in everyday foods. It is in more than 40% of grocery store products, and in nearly every fast-food, quick-casual, and casual restaurant.

Trans Fat Hides in Most Restaurant and Packaged Foods

Many food preparers use it because it gives foods a longer shelf life and is cheaper than natural vegetable oil. Wondering about a Burger King chicken sandwich? Yup – it's in there. But how about a sandwich at Subway? Or a muffin at Starbucks? Yes, and oh yes.

Since all types of fat have 9 calories per gram, you might be skeptical that artificial Trans Fat could cause more weight gain than natural fat. But it does.

Trans Fat Causes More Weight Gain Than Normal Fats

Trans Fat molecules alter the membranes of cells, making them resistant to insulin. When you have resistance to insulin, you have weight gain and possibly obesity. Natural fat does not affect cells’ interaction with insulin.

Most people know that saturated fat can clog arteries and lead to heart disease. What most people don’t know is that Trans Fat not only clogs arteries in the same way as saturated fat, it also stiffens the membranes of blood vessels, reducing cardiovascular efficiency by approximately 30%.

Trans Fat Causes Heart Disease

In the ongoing Nurses' Health Study of 80,000 women, conducted by Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts, for each 2 percent increase in the amount of calories from Trans Fat, a woman's coronary risk jumps by 93 percent. Ouch.

You don't hear much about cancer of the lymph glands – lymphoma – but you may soon be hearing more. Lymphoma rates are rising, and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found one possible culprit – high intakes of Trans Fat.

Trans Fat is Linked to Lymphoma

In a study of 88,410 women, those who ate about 5.7g/day of Trans Fat had twice the risk of developing lymphoma as those who ate about 2.4 g/day. “Cutting out Trans Fat may be one of the best ways to avoid lymphoma,” concluded researcher Shumin Zhang, MD.

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to abandon every food you love. You just have to insist on it being prepared differently. Chocolate chip cookies don’t need Trans Fat to taste wonderful.

Stand Up For Yourself! Ban Trans Fat From Your Food.

Simply insist on buying a brand without Trans Fat (try Newman’s Own instead of Chips Ahoy). If the label contains the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or shortening, don’t buy the product.

Trans Fat Hides Here (As of 2004)

Arby’s
Burger King
Chili’s
Cinnabon
Domino’s Pizza
Hardee’s
KFC
Krispy Kreme
Long John Silvers
Macaroni Grill
McDonald’s
Olive Garden
Outback
Panera
Red Lobster
Starbucks
Subway
Taco Bell
TGI Fridays
Wendy’s

Trans Fat Free (As of 2004)

Chin’s Asia Fresh
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Leeann Chin
Ruby Tuesday’s

How Much Trans Fat is Safe?

Answer: Zero

(I emailed Leeann Chin and asked them if they used High Fructose Corn Syrup in any of their food, and here is their response: Thank you for your inquiry, we do not use HFCS in any of our sauces. We use cane sugar as a sweetener. If you have any other ingredient questions please let me know. Jason Erickson Manager of Food Development 952-820-1234)

To be continued...

My rant (Part 1)

2006-10-28T12:24:00.000-05:00

The more you read and learn about any controversial subject, the more you become fired up and want to tell the world about it. It starts to boil inside you, just waiting to burst open on the next unfornunate person that comes across your path. The more you educate yourself on the subject, the more you want to educate everyone around you. And you might even start to think everyone is stupid for not knowing what you know, or think people are stupid for not agreeing with you. This can't be healthy, so you need to accept that you were once one of those stupid, uneducated people, and that not everyone is as intelligent as you are and open to new ideas.

I'm only kidding, of course. I am boiling though, and I thought maybe it would healthly to spew it out on my blog, here for anyone to read, so they have the choice to read it or not. So, proceed at your own risk, or for your own health.

I just finished reading "Fat Land-How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World" by Greg Critser about a week ago, and I was so excited to blog about it, but couldn't find the time...until now. This book is a must read for every American. If you can't find the time to read the entire book at least read the first two chapters and the last two chapters.

The book reveals, well, exactly what the subtitle says, how Americans became the fattest people in the world. It explains in detail of how and where all of "this" started. It was definitely a wake up call for me, and would be for people who care less about thinking about what they put in their mouths.

This book isn't about bashing people for being fat. And it's not promoting Americans to become skinny. It is about the truths of the food industry, and it's about the effects food and laziness can have on our health. HEALTH! Not about losing weight, or the quick way out. I'm tired of people thinking there is some quick, magical thing that will help them lose weight. I'm tired of all those fad diets that are doing more harm than good. It's simple people! Eat natural foods, limit your portions, and move your butt...excercise! It's a way of life. And it's something that I even have to remind myself.

And it doesn't take much to be overweight or even obese. I will admit openly, that according to health standards, I am overweight. By calculating my Body Mass Index, I found out I'm overweight. If I only lost 5 pounds, this would put me in the normal weight range. I also figured out that if I gained 25 pounds, I would be considered obese. Not a huge range, is it? You can figure your BMI here.

I've gathered some quotes from "Fat Land" that I thought might (hopefully) persuade you into reading the book:

Invention of High Fructose Corn Syrup:

"But in 1971 food scientists in Japan found a way to economically produce a cheaper sweetener. They called it high-fructose corn syrup, or HFSC. It was six times sweeter than cane sugar and, as its name implied, it could be made from corn. That meant that the cost of producing any high-sugar product could be slashed. HFCS had other chemical attributes as well. Using it in frozen foods protected the product against freezer burn. Using it in long-shelf-life products--like those in vending machines--kept the product fresh-tasting. Using it in bakery products (even in rolls and biscuits that normally contained no sugar) made those products look "more natural"--as if they had just been browned in the oven."

Effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup:

"HFCS also had one attribute that posed a potentially troubling question to those in the food industry. Fructose, unlike sucrose or dextrose, took a decidedly different route into the human metabolism. Where the latter would go through a complex breakdown process before arriving in the human liver, the former, for some reason, bypassed that breakdown and arrived almost completely intact in the liver, whereupon the organ set upon it as it would anything else."

"Eventually, cell biologists figured out that fructose was being used in the liver as a building block of triglycerides. This it did by mimicking insulin's ability to cause the liver to release fatty acids into the bloodstream...Bombarded by fatty acids, muscle tissue develops insulin resistance."

""Long-term absorption of fructose," Mayes concluded, "causes enzyme adaptations that increase lipogenesis [fat formation] and VLDL [bad cholesterol] formation, leading to triglyceridemia [too many triglycerides in the blood], decreased glucose tolerance, and hyperinsulinemia [too much insulin in the blood.].""

Food industry's idea of building sales while making you eat more:

"We started talking about how we could build sales--how we could do it and be profitable...And we realized we could do one of three things. We could cut costs, but there's a limit to that. We could cut prices, but that too has its limits. Then we could raise sales profitably--sales, after all, could be limitless when you think about it. We realized we could do that by taking the high-profit drink and fry and then packaging it with the low-profit burger. We realized that if you could get them to buy three items for what they perceived as less, you could substantially drive up the number of walk-ins. Sales would follow." (Max Cooper, a Birmingham McDonald's franchisee talking about how to raise sales in 1975)

Do you really want that Soda?

"Soda is, ninety-nine out of a hundred times, nothing but high-fructose corn syrup and carbonated water, with a few flavoring agents thrown in for brand distinction. The researchers tracked 548 ethnically diverse Massachusetts schoolchildren (average age eleven) for nineteen months, looking at the association between their weight at the beginning of the study, intake of soda, and weight at the end of the study period. THe results were revealing. For one thing, 57 percent increased their intake over the nineteen-month period. The calories from just one extra soft drink a day gave a child a 60 percent greater chance of becoming obese. One could even link specific amounts of soda to specific amounts of weight gain. Each daily drink added .18 points to a child's BMI. This, the researchers noted, was regardless of what else they ate or how much they exercised. "consumption of sugar[HFCS]-sweetened drinks," they concluded, "is associated with obesity in children."

All this food is killing us:

"As a recent RAND/University of Chicago report noted, "more Americans are obese than smoke, use illegal drugs, or suffer from ailments unrelated to obesity.""

Obesity puts you at risk for:

"coronary heart disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, gall bladder disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis of the knee, and endometrial cancer."

Possible effects of diabetes besides the obvious of not being able to control sugar/insulin levels:

"foot problems...numbness in hands, arms, and legs...blurred vision, leading to double vision and eventually blindness...darkened skin...painful gallstones...hair sprouting from embarrassing places."

To be continued...

Ben Stein

2006-10-27T19:55:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share this commentary written by Ben Stein and was recited by him on the CBS Sunday Morning show on 12/18/05. You may have already see this through email, which is how I got it, but I researched it only to find half of it was actually written by him. (Don't believe everything you hear/read... and that includes the media, but that's a whole other story.) Anyway, here is the correct version, that Ben Stein wrote, from his website:

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

Hello to all

2006-10-27T19:14:00.000-05:00

Wow... almost 2 months since my last post. That's just wrong. We have just been so busy I haven't had time to even say a quick "hello." But today, I got my wisdom teeth (all four) removed, so what a perfect time to say hello to all of you. All went well, and I've just been taking it easy in bed today. Luke has been wonderful, taking extra good care of me, and taking care of Mia. He's such a sweetheart. So hopefully, the next few days you'll hear some more from me, since I have the chance to sit back and relax!

NYC: Balthazar

2006-09-07T13:51:00.000-05:00

Okay...back to NYC. One of the best things about this city, is that you can experience "the world" in just one little place (well, not exactly little). This spring, after we had come back from Costa Rica, Luke and I were having a conversation with my Dad, and I remember him saying something like, "There's no need to leave America to travel... everything that the world offers is right here." It was something like that, only a little more philosophical. I'm sure he'll correct me on that quote. Visiting NYC really makes that statement seem all the more true. In NYC, there are so many cultures packed into one relatively small space.

This brings me to my second favorite restaurant in NYC, Balthazar. Luke and I ran (literally) to get there before breakfast ended at 11:30 p.m. As soon as you enter those doors, you feel as though you've been transported to a Parisian Cafe. The architecture and decor are beautiful, and the food is amazing...

Luke ordered a cup of Cafe American, and I got a big old bowl of Cafe au Lait.

The bowl is almost bigger than my head... but it was sooo good.

Luke ordered eggs benedict with homefries. He said that it was the best he's ever had. The eggs were poached perfect. You could probably tell better if it wasn't for the bad picture. My camera was acting funny that day.

I was only going to order a croissant for breakfast, but as soon as I spotted the toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese on the menu, I went for that. Once again, my poopy picture is deceptive... there was a generous amount of salmon (it's hidden by the watercress and tomato). Even though the red onion and tomato were beautiful, I stuck to only putting the cream cheese and smoked salmon on my bagel slices. I didn't want to cover the flavor of the salmon, it was so fresh and tasty.

Our server was so nice... I think her name was Alexis? Anyway, she did an outstanding job. If you're ever in NYC, you have to dine at Balthazar. It may be a bit pricey, but so worth the money when it comes to the quality of the food and the experience.

The Way I See It

2006-09-07T13:08:00.000-05:00

Here's some interesting quotes I had on the back of Starbucks' cups this past week:

The Way I See It #157

Some of the best inventive moments were born out of “wrong thinking.” Most people start with the right way so they all follow the same path. The wrong way will lead to mistakes from which you can learn and create new discoveries – the kind of original ideas that come to life when we dare to be different, keep an open mind and have no fear of failure.

—James Dyson
Industrial designer and inventor of the Dyson vacuum.

The Way I See It #160

Sixty-nine percent of all problems in relationships are unsolvable. They are about differences in personality or needs. They never change. When you choose someone, you have inherited the problems you will have for the next 50 years. Unfortunately, we pick people who are not as perfect as we are, so relationships work if you have wound up with perpetual problems you can learn to live with.

—Dr. John Gottman
Author and scientific expert/researcher on marriage, relationships and family.

(Picture from http://www.starbucks.at/de-at/)

Sorry

2006-08-26T14:02:00.000-05:00

Yikes. It's been quite awhile since my last post (7/23). A lot has been going on...

Here's a little catch up:

8/1 My birthday. Luke, Mia, and I go out to Maggiano's for dinner...

I told Luke, "Enough!" because he kept taking pictures...

8/7 I made a really yummy dinner with pasta we bought from this store in NYC:

I forget the name of this pasta, and I've search their entire site to find it, but no luck. All I remember it was sold in bulk (you could scoop however much you wanted), it was expensive, and it said that after eating this pasta, you would never eat any other kind again. So here it is... pasta, zucchini, slab bacon, fresh sage, and olive oil, topped with shavings of parmesan cheese:

8/11-8/13 Camping with the Olsons at Two Rivers Campground in Royalton, MN. We all had tons of fun and can't wait to do it again next year.

Currently...

We're finally using our pasta machine. Luke made fresh pasta for me while Mia was at Bible Camp. You can read about it on his blog. I made fresh pasta for us for dinner last night. It's easier than you think, and fun too.

Mia's getting excited for the third grade. It's coming up quick and we still haven't gone school supply shopping yet.

We're excited to start building our house in Robbinsdale. We'll hopefully start breaking ground in September, and hoping to be in there around Thanksgiving. Wo-hoo!!

I still haven't finished posting about our New York trip, so stay tuned for that.

NYC: Babbo

2006-07-23T14:51:00.000-05:00

What's a trip to New York City without one night on the town where you get all dressed up and eat at a fancy restaurant? We had planned that we were going to do just this, packing the proper attire, and had a restaurant in mind, which was Babbo, Mario Batali's restaurant in Greenwich Village. We had tried to call and make reservations before we left on our trip, but the line was busy or something and we didn't connect. I guess reservations are hard to make; their website clearly states that they only take reservations one month in advance and a food blogger said getting reservations are tough, but you might be able to grab a seat at the bar very early or very late in the evening and eat from the same menu.

We thought we'd give it a try though. So, after our cannoli at Rocco's we tried calling Babbo. Luke asked what their next available reservation was and they said 10:15 that night. Wo-hoo! We were going to Babbo!

It was one of the most memorable restaurants I've ever been too. The food, or course, was amazing. The service was the best I've had. We had to wait a little bit before we got seated, but who's cares! We were at Babbo! Plus, they brought out antipasti (an appetizer-bruschetta with chickpeas and balsamic vinegar), compliments of the chef for our wait.

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of all the food, and I totally regret this. We were seated on the bottom level, which is a very open room where the tables line two walls facing each other, and the seating is against the wall, so you're sitting next to your honey and looking out into the restaurant. So, I felt a little on display, and didn't feel like doing a photo shoot of everything I ate. :)

So here's what we ate (Luke and I shared everything):

PRIMI
Goat Cheese Tortelloni
with Dried Orange and Wild Fennel Pollen

SECONDI
Grilled Lamb Chops “Scottadita”
with Eggplant “in Scapece” and Lemon Yogurt

DOLCI
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
with Orange Sauce and Hazelnut Gelato

Strawberry Crostata
with Balsamic Zabaione

(I'm guessing on the name of the last one, since it's not on their menu on their website, since their menu changes from month to month.)

I ordered coffee with dessert and I thought this was the neatest thing ever: They set a box on your table that has different sweeter choices, and one of them was rock candy (crystallized sugar on a stick). I didn't know what I wanted to do more, stuck on the rock candy or put it in my coffee. I did the latter.

Even though the portions were small, surprising we got full. It was the best Italian I've ever had. If you take a trip to NY, definitely dine at Babbo for a special treat.

NYC: Viva Italia!

2006-07-22T14:37:00.000-05:00

Time to backtrack. Think back to Sunday, July 9th... the World Cup game... Italy vs. France. Ring a bell? We were on day 2 of our NY trip, and we were bound to find an Italian restaurant that had a table open for us to watch the game. The trouble wasn't finding an Italian restaurant, they lined the street on Bleecker. The trouble was finding ONE open table amongst all of these Italian restaurants.

After a very long walk, back and forth up many streets, we found one. It was outside the restaurant (Focacceria), but smacked up next to the glass where we could see the small TV inside playing the game. (In the picture below, it's the table on the right side near the window.) Luke and I ordered a focaccia sandwich with Prosciutto Di Parma, Soprassata, Vine Ripened Tomato, Fontina Cheese & Seasoned mixed Greens, and farfalle with Pesto (Fresh Basil, Pignoli Nuts, Garlic, Pecorino Romano Cheese and Olive Oil). Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the food, since I was so in enwrapped in the game. The food was amazing and at a decent price.

As we watched the game, we noticed there was quite the time delay between TV's in each restaurant. Ours was the fastest, so upon Italy scoring, or anything that benefited Italy's team, a spectator could hear the roars and arms raised up from us first, then about two seconds later they would hear the same from the restaurant next door to ours, and then two seconds later, across the street from us, again hear the same reaction. It was quite amusing to watch.

For anyone who didn't watch the game, Italy won. Afterwards, the streets were flooded with people waving Italian flags, and screaming, "Viva Italia! Viva Italia!" Cars drove around with flags out the window, doing the same, and honking their horns. Walking around, you could even hear many conversations in Italian. If you were placed in this neighborhood blindfolded, you may have mistaken NY for Rome.

We walked down to Rocco's Pastry Shop for a cannoli and coffee to celebrate. They had so many wonderful looking pastries, I wanted to get everything, but I knew that would be impossible, so cannoli it was, and it was delicious—the best I've had. Check out their website to see better pictures than I took, and read the history of Rocco who left Italy in 1956 to come to America.

The restaurant where we ate and watched the game.

Everyone was intently watching.

After the game

Cops had to surround this restaurant's crowd and
not let anyone else join the party after the game.

Rocco's Pastry Shop

Yum. Even though it may look similiar to Buca's,
it's doesn't even compare in taste. Rocco's is so much better.

Luke and the line of pastries

Fuggeddaboudit

2006-07-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

Here you go Dad...

Quahog.org (Guide to Rhode Island Language Stuff) gives a good explanation of "fuggeddaboudit":

Fuggeddaboudit!

Literally "forget about it," this phrase can mean anything from "yes" to "no" and everything in between, depending upon context and inflection. Donnie Brasco (as played by Johnny Depp), in the film by the same name, explains some of the subtleties:

"Forget about it" is like if you agree with someone, you know, like "Raquel Welsh is one great piece of ---, forget about it." But then, if you disagree, like, "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!" you know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing in the world, like Mingrio's Peppers, "forget about it." But it's also like saying "Go to hell!" too. Like, you know, like, "Hey Paulie, you got a one inch ------?" and Paulie says, "Forget about it!" Sometimes it just means forget about it.
This quote has become so popular, you can even watch the clip where the FBI techincian asks Donnie, "What is forget about it?" (Cautionary note: this clip contains some questionable language and I'm not responsible for you viewing it.) :)

NYC: Lombardi's to Fanelli

2006-07-18T21:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's been awhile, quite awhile since I said I would post some pictures of our New York trip. Sorry about that. We (Luke and I) had a wonderful, actually AWESOME, four-day trip in NYC. We had been to New York City once before, but it was only for 2 days, well maybe, it was 1 and a half, plus we were camping on Long Island, and we had Mia with us. So, this time, I felt like I really got a chance to experience the city. And I loved it! It was hard to leave. I really didn't want to leave. Next time, we are definitely staying a week. Next time, meaning, next year. I'd like to make this an annual trip, at least until we decide to move there. No, we wouldn't really move there... we have family here in Minnesota. We're staying put. But then again, you never know... maybe when Mia graduates?

I got this really awesome travel guidebook on New York City (pictured left). It's not your typical guidebook. It's a compilation of "secrets" written by artists, writers, architects, curators, and others. They pick their favorite thing about the city and write about it. It's really wonderful to read. You feel as if you're right there, even if you've never actually been to the place. So anyway, it came in handy. We visited many places using this book as a reference guide. The same editor has also made other guides on London, Rome, and Florence, Venice, and the Towns of Italy.

As much as I wanted to try pizza from about four different places, we were only in NY for 4 days, and there was a lot of other food I wanted to try other than pizza. So, I chose Lombardi's. Of course people are going to disagree who has the best pizza in NY, because everyone likes something different, duh, right? Well, I don't care. I chose Lombardi's because it was the first pizzeria in the United States. A good place to start for pizza, at least. Coal-oven smoked crust, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, and fresh basil... mama mia! It was soooo good. And I loved the atmosphere. I think we sat in the original dining rooma crammed narrow room, only big enough to line small tables on each wall. Check out their website for some neat pics: Lombardi's

Lombardi's on Spring Street between Mulberry Street and Mott Street.

"My family, my children—my mother can hold her head up in any neighborhood in the city when she walks down the streets. In all the Five Boroughs I'm known, fuggedabouditI'm known all over the ---- world. You ask aroundask anybody about 'Lefty' from Mulberry Street.... they'll tell ya." Lefty (Donnie Brasco)

Haha... we thought about that line every time we were on Mulberry.

Lombardi's pizza. Nothin' like this in Minnesota, fuggedaboudit. :)

Fanelli Cafe is one of the oldest bars in NY dating back to 1847. From 1920 to 1933 during Prohibition it operated as a speakeasy. I guess you could say our first day in NY was quite historical. It was a cozy little bar, a nice place to unwind, meet up with friends and chat. The interior was beautiful. Old boxing photos lined the wall across the bar. I kept staring at the ceiling, molding, and walls in the back room where we sat. The food was excellent. Huge portions and better than I expected. We ordered iced tea, a grilled salmon sandwich, and it came with a salad (as you can see in the picture below it took up two plates, thank goodness we shared), and we had carrot cake for dessert.

We throughly enjoyed out stay at QT. It was clean, safe, comfyoh were the beds comfy!, and had the best continental breakfast I've ever had. I would definitely stay there again. Here's a view from our window:

More to come later...

(I promise... just be patient)

New York

2006-07-09T00:30:00.000-05:00

A quick hello from New York City... Luke and I are staying at the QT near Times Square. We had a late lunch at Lombardi's (America's first pizzeria). We walked around SoHo, and browsed at Dean & DeLuca, a food lover's paradise (I wish we had one in Minneapolis). We headed back to our hotel to take a little nap that turned into a big nap. We headed down to Greenwich Village to try our luck at getting into Some Girl(s) at the Lucille Lortel Threatre, but it was completely sold out. We took a walk down to the Hudson river, then up to Bleecker St., and over to Prince Street to have dinner at Fanelli Cafe, one of NYC's oldest bars (1847).

So there's a short snippet of what we're up to. If I wouldn't have forgotten my memory card reader you'd have pictures to look at too. More later...

My ginormous bruise

2006-06-26T19:11:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Luke and I participated in an event at our church called, "The Amazing Race"...it's very similar to the popular TV show, "The Amazing Race" except we aren't flying to different countries or being filmed by a camera crew, most of it took place in Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove. Also, this event pairs up married couples as a team to complete the race.

It was our first year participating in the event (the second year the event has taken place) and we had the best time.

Some of the tasks included:

-Finding a bolt of fabric in S.R. Harris that matched a fabric swatch we had. (You would appreciate this one Mom.) If you've never been to S.R. Harris, let's say this task was like finding a needle in a hay stack. I believe I was the first to find the fabric, so I felt pretty special.

-Diving to the bottom of a pool (clothes and all) to retrieve your next clue, which was tied to a weight. (This was a roadblock, so only one member could complete the task, fortunately, Kim volunteered to do this.)

-Selling 10 Maggie Moo's ice cream sandwiches for $2.50 each, and you couldn't sell them on the Arbor Lakes property. This was really difficult.

-Driving at ProKart on a race track for 5 minutes... not difficult at all, but that brings me to the picture above...

I got to drive the go cart, since it was roadblock, and I was the last one left to complete a roadblock. So, I was having fun, racing around in my little go cart, getting a little faster as I got used to the track. I think it was my second or third time around the track, I was coming up around a sharp corner (picture a skinny "U"), and I guess, I didn't turn the wheel quite far enough, and combined with the speed of the cart, I slammed into the side of the track. My helmet went FLYING off into the air, and without even a moment to realize what had happened, another cart slammed into the back of my cart, whiplashing me, causing my unprotected head to slam into the thick metal roll bar behind my head. A teenage boy who sits outside to watch out for people (like me), ran up to me looking quite worried and asked if I was okay. I said, yes, because I did feel okay. He retrieved my helmet and helped me strap it back on and I was on my way. I finished my race, being quite careful around those sharp turns, and then we were off to the next task.

In the car, I realized my left leg hurt a little bit. I then realized my left inner thigh, towards the rear was starting to bruise quite fast and quite big. It looked like this (the above picture) the next day (click on the picture to enlarge to get the full experience). I also have another bruise on my butt, about the size of a baseball, that is nice and black. I didn't think it would be appropriate to show that picture.

I'm not really sure how I got these bruises when I crashed my cart. I must have landed on something in the middle of the cart between my legs.

Despite the bruises, oh, and despite scratching up my legs in a field of thorny brushes... oh, and despite slipping on the finish mat and doing the splits, I had a blast. I can't wait to do it again next year.

The perfect Father's Day

2006-06-20T18:28:00.000-05:00

Here's some pics from Father's Day. My mom and dad came down to visit and we spent the afternoon at Lake Calhoun—canoeing on the lakes and eating awesome food at the Tin Fish. The weather couldn't have been better.

Happy Father's Day Dad! I hope you enjoyed your day.

Chernobyl

2006-05-31T19:48:00.000-05:00

I was originally going to post this on Memorial Day, but I thought I would wait. Not that it would be disrespectful in any way, but it was such an emotional piece...it needed a day of it's own.

While looking at photos in remembrance of Memorial Day on msn.com, I happened to stumble upon this website:

magnuminmotion.com

I watched a photo essay entitled, The Chernobyl Legacy by Paul Fusco.

It was quite the shock. Had I heard of what happened in Chernobyl before watching this? No.

Growing up, I had always wished we spent less time in history class on the Incas and the Aztecs, and more time focused on the 20th century. We never got to the 20th century part of our textbook. By that time school was done for the year. Then it was back to the Incas and the Aztecs in the fall.

I bet if you asked any 20-30 year old, "What do you know about Chernobyl?" more than half of them wouldn't have a clue what Chernobyl even is.

So, thank you Magnum in Motion and Paul Fusco for teaching me about Chernobyl. You have deeply impacted me, and added another life experience to the many others that shape me as a person.

Too bad I couldn't say the same for the Incas and the Aztecs.

Tin Fish

2006-05-28T12:06:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Luke and I decided to head down to Lake Calhoun and eat lunch at Tin Fish, which is in a little pavilion by the lake. This is one of our favorite places to eat. There are many choices on the menu that are reasonably priced, plus you get to enjoy seafood while sitting by the lake.

They also have canoe, kayak, and paddleboat rentals. At least once a year, we rent a canoe, and spend an hour or two paddling around the lakes. Last year, we took Mia and she loved it.

After lunch, we took a walk around the lake until the heat got to us and decided to head home.

Here's our lunch from Tin Fish:

I highly recommend any of their fish tacos. I got the grilled Mahi Mahi today. (Only $4.95)

Luke chowing down

Luke ordered 3 "mini tins." (Fried cod in a bun with tartar sauce and hot sauce) As you can see, they really aren't that mini, and are quite the deal at $1.99 each.

Azia

2006-05-28T11:11:00.000-05:00

Luke and I got to spend a little alone time on Friday and Saturday, since Mia was spending time with Grandma Linda, Papa Mark and her cousin, Azrael. Friday night, we ate at Azia, located in downtown Minneapolis on Eat Street. We wanted to try out a new restaurant, and I had stumbled upon it on the web while searching for "best restaurants in Minneapolis." Azia has won numerous awards, one being "Where to Eat" from Bon Appetit in 2003 & 2004.

The food was amazing. The price was a little on the high side, but what can you expect when you're getting to try a fusion of flavors that you've never tasted before...and the quality of the ingredients and preparation is excellent. I would definitely recommend Azia to anyone, especially for a special occasion.

We also got to meet the executive chef and owner, Thom Pham. It's nice to see the person who was the creative inspiration behind it all, walk around to tables and ask people how their experience was.

And to set the record straight, after reading many reviews on Citysearch that claimed the service was bad...it wasn't, it was excellent. Our server was very nice and quite knowledgable about the food. Actually, the entire staff was nice...hosts, servers, wait assistants, and the owner. Everyone was very polite and attentive. And I'm quite the critic on service, since I was a server once myself.

So, here's what we ordered:

Cedar Grilled Salmon - plank-smoked in-house:
I have never tasted salmon so smoky, it was like the smell of a sauna in your mouth...it was great. The red dipping sauce on the side was tangy at first, and then hot and spicy. The grilled asparagus had cayenne pepper dusted beneath them which was a delicious and interesting touch.

Bow Thai Pasta with Chicken - The flavors of peanut, coconut, and Sing ha beer meld in this fusion dish:
This was a great dish. It tastes exactly as the menu describes it. It also had a nice heat to it that built upon itself it each bite.

Jackfruit Cheesecake:
Probably the best cheesecake I have ever tasted. It was dense and rich. The jackfruit was so sweet it was like candy. I really can't compare it to anything I've ever tasted, but to give you an idea it was like a cross between caramel, pineapple, and mango. Jackfruit is grown in Southeast-Asia and can reach up to 80 lbs. in weight. If you go to Azia you must get this cheesecake.

Random picture time

2006-05-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

Here's some random pictures that I never got the chance to post. It's a little sad when I only have 3 pictures...oh well, enjoy!

Mia & Papa (my dad) on Easter

Grandma (my mom), Mia, & me on Easter

Dinner that was so good I had to take a picture of it:
Grilled chicken with char-grilled fennel and feta salad

Rainy weekend

2006-04-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

It looks like rain all day today and tomorrow. I was really looking forward to planting the Endless Summer Hydrangea I bought, splitting up some hostas, and doing some yard work this weekend. But, I guess my plans have changed due to mother nature.

Not knowing what my weekend is going to hold for me now, I'll tell you about last weekend. It was great. It was one of those weekends that you imagine a weekend to be...stress free, packed with fun, and time spent with your family.

Saturday was the opening day for the Minneapolis Farmers' Market, so that was our first stop. The market wasn't packed with merchants yet, but enough to give us a taste of what is to come the rest of the summer. We browsed through plants, fresh flowers, cheese, meat, eggs, bread, tea, produce, olives, and honey for sale. Did I mention honey? Yes, the honey guy was there, Brian Fredericksen. And he actually recognized me! (From reading a post of mine on his honey.) I was quite surprised. He put a jar of Joe Pye Weed honey right in front of me and started telling me that this was some of the best honey from last season...that it had hints of caramel and fruit in it. Of course I bought it and also some yummy dried apple chips that Mia (okay, all of us) could not stop eating once we walked away. The first thing I did when I got home was taste that honey and it was perfect. It did have a caramel/fruity taste to it. It is definitely a honey that you want to eat alone, right from the spoon. I guess though, what Ames Farm honey doesn't taste good like that? Anyway, thank you Brian!

We also stopped by "the loaded brat guy." That's "brat" as in bratwurst. He runs the popular hotdog stand at the farmers' market selling you guessed it, hotdogs...and also brats, fresh squeezed orange juice, lemonade, and limeade. You can have your hotdog or brat loaded or unloaded. Loaded consists of onions and a mixture of bell peppers. This guy is like the car salesman of brats. If you're anywhere within a 50 ft. radius of his stand, you can hear, "Loaded brats for sale, get your loaded brat!" And when you approach him to buy a brat he'll most likely have "a deal" for you. It's awesome. We got two hotdogs (one loaded), and one loaded brat. He gave Mia a tootsie pop right away and then after only waiting like, a few minutes, to get our dogs, he handed us a free freshed squeezed orange juice, "for the wait" he said. This guy rocks.

After eating our food, we headed back to a lady that was selling fresh herbs and I got two basil plants to keep in my kitchen, before heading back home. We dropped off our purchases at home and then headed to the Mall of America for some serious shopping. Mia was in need of pants and I was in need of a formal dress for a dinner coming up in May. We found both plus many other great deals.

Next stop was across the street to IKEA. We were all getting a little hungry since it was close to dinner, so the first thing we did was head to the cafeteria for a bite to eat. Mia got the kids hotdog meal (hotdog, french fries, pop, and toy) and Luke and I shared the large meatball plate (twenty swedish meatballs, new potatoes, gravy, and lingonberries) and a pop. Our total came to $8.44. How awesome is IKEA? Where else could you feed a family, dinner, for under $10 that isn't fast food? Our large meatball plate did not look as fancy as the picture on the left (maybe because that is the small) but it didn't matter because it was so good! After filling our bellies, we dropped Mia off at the childcare center downstairs where she played while Luke and I shopped alone for one hour. Once again, how awesome is IKEA? We bought new glasses, a small roasting pan, an orchid (early Mother's Day gift), and a pot for the orchid. And what's a trip to IKEA without getting a $1 frozen yogurt cone? One for Mia, and one for Luke and I to share...and we were on our way back home.

So, what do you do on the weekends? And how do you spend a rainy weekend? (Because I need some ideas.)

*Photos from amesfarm.com and ikea.com

My day

2006-04-26T18:41:00.000-05:00

I spent a good deal of my time at work today looking for photos on stock.xchng. Sometimes finding the right photo can be daunting, searching through page after page, trying to find something similar to the picture you have in your mind.

I thought I'd share some of the more interesting, but unuseful (to me) photos I came across.

The photo that made me do a double take:

"Squirrel 1" by Belin

Photo that was too dang cute:

"Totally Relaxed" by MissysPics

Photo that was too good to be free:

"Chilling" by Qute

Photo that made me so hungry:

"Sushi 4" by Hobbesyeo

Photo that looks good enough to eat, even though it's soap:

"Soap" by Emmapayne

How Well Do You Know Me?

2006-04-19T19:37:00.000-05:00

I was "tagged" by Buddy Winn to answer these questions, and I'm so pumped because I've always wanted to be "blog tagged." Okay, that sounded a little lame, but you may find out something interesting that you didn't know about me, and you must read on to find out if you are "tagged".

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Watered plants in a greenhouse
2. Telemarketer for CustomerLink
3. Waitress (Red Lobster & Buca di Beppo)
4. Graphic Designer

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Home for the Holidays
2. The Royal Tenenbaums
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
4. Amelie

Four places I have lived:
1. Youngstown, Ohio
2. Duluth, MN
3. Esko, MN
4. Superior, WI

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. Gilmore Girls
4. New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. East Coast: NY, CT, RI, MA (in one trip)
2. Florida - Disney World (3 times)
3. North Shore
4. Costa Rica

Four websites I visit daily:
1. The Weather Channel
2. Excite
3. Google
4. Merriam-Webster

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Oyster wings from Leeann Chin
2. Reuben sandwiches
3. Mixed green salad with prosciutto and gorgonzola from Buca
4. Buffalo chicken fingers

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Italy
2. Paris, France
3. New York, NY
4. Duluth

Four Memorable Restaurants:
1. Fuji Ya
2. Hell's Kitchen
3. French Meadow Bakery
4. Chinese Garden (Duluth)

Four friends who I have tagged that I think will respond:
1. My dad
2. My brother
3. Lindsay Johnson
4. Kelli Hallsten

Costa Rica - Final Thoughts

2006-04-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

So far, I have written a lot on what we did in Costa Rica, but I haven't really touched on what was Costa Rica actually like? And did I like it?

It's a little difficult to sum up Playa Negra, Costa Rica in one small blog post, but I'll share some of my impressions:

Language: There are not that many people that speak English. Thank God for our Spanish phrase book.

People (Ticos): Friendly, and were quite forgiving when we would butcher their language.

Weather: HOT. About 95 degrees the entire time, close to 100 one day. Nice breezes and low humidity.

Economy: I was quite surprised at how little most people have. A lot of very tiny homes, not in the best condition.

Food: Delicious...but you know that already. It is quite cheap. You can get many awesome meals in a restaurant for under $10.

Water: Safe to drink or not? We decided not to risk it and stuck to bottled water.

Roads: You will need a Jeep or SUV, no doubt about it. The main "interstate" roads are in pretty good condition, but any side road is extremely bumpy and filled with HUGE potholes. Nothing like you've ever seen in Minnesota.

Scenery: Beautiful. Not crowded...almost isolated (especially where we were staying).

Traveling to Costa Rica was a wonderful experience. It was also an eye-opening, and I guess you could say, life-changing experience. I'll leave you with a journal entry that I wrote while I was on our trip:

Some things I take for granted in America (in Minneapolis):

-Smooth roads to drive on
-Speaking a language that everyone else speaks
-Being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet
-Gas stations on every corner
-Public restrooms readily available
-Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Cub Foods, and literally anything that is a franchise
-Air conditioning
-Weather that ranges from -30 to 100
-My income
-How easy I have it

Costa Rica - Day 8

2006-04-17T19:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday...our final day in Costa Rica. We got up early and took a long walk along the beach, farther than we had ever walked before (on this particular beach). Mia found a sand dollar that she had been hoping to find the entire trip.

We ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We ordered a bunch of things a la carte to share: french toast, a cheese omelet, bacon, and fruit with yogurt and granola. This was the first breakfast that we had eaten at the restaurant the entire trip.

After paying our tab for the week and saying our farewells to the staff, we headed back to Liberia (about an hour and a half away) to return our SUV.

At the airport, after paying our exit tax (Yes! You have to pay an exit tax that NO ONE tells you about ever! Until you try to board), getting our checked bags thoroughly searched (they search everyone's bags), having our carry on bags scanned, showing our boarding passes and passports to what seemed to be a million airport workers, we were finally on our way back to America...and it felt good.

Don't get me wrong about that last sentence. The trip was wonderful in every way. But for anyone who has traveled to another country, there is something about coming home...at least there was for me. There was something so nice and wonderful about being on a plane with other Americans, flying home, and watching "Prime"...even if we had already watched it on the flight down. It felt so good to get to Charolette, NC and stand in the cold night air waiting for our ride, in flip flops, and a skirt, not minding if it was 50 degrees outside. And it felt even better to stuff our faces with a bacon cheeseburger from Cracker Barrel, Lays potato chips, a Butterfinger and Snickers bar, and a Diet Coke with Lime, while watching a rerun of Grey's Anatomy. I love America.

Airports are a little different in Costa Rica...

Costa Rica - Day 7

2006-04-15T09:50:00.000-05:00

Saturday was our last full day in Costa Rica. We decided to visit Tamarindo one last time. Our first stop wascan you guess?yes, Panaderia de Paris. Luke and I shared a delicious piece of pizza, Mia got a frozen strawberry bar, and we all shared a tiny little cup of tres leches. The tres leches was unbelievable. I had never had it before, so I had no idea of what it consisted of. My guess was that it was some sort of pound cake soaked in 3 kinds of milk, one of them definitely being sweetened condensed milk. Now at home with the convience of the internet, I found out that it contains milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Not to mention it also contains sugar, eggs, butter and whipped cream...not a very light dessert.

We took one last walk on the beach in Tamarindo and stopped at our favorite juice bar, Fiesta del Mar one last time. I had watermelon juice, Luke had pineapple, and Mia had strawberry. Sadly, Mauricio was not there so we didn't get to say goodbye.

We stopped at one of the little Super Mercados in town to stock up on coffee since it was so cheapabout $3 for a 14 oz bag! I wish we would have bought more.

The rest of our day consisted of relaxing on the beach and by the pool back at Playa Negra. Also, we spent some time "weeding out" Mia's seashell collection since we had so many. After sunset, we had one last awesome dinnerbrochettas mixta and ahi tuna with ginger sauce. Then we headed back to our hut to back our bags and finally finish our ongoing game of cribbage (I won by the way).

Our family picture that took about 45 minutes
to get one decent picture.

Pizza with ham and black olives.

Mia's frozen treat

Heavenly tres leches

Zully Mar restaurant on Playa Tamarindo
(where we ate the day before)

Plumeria that was right outside our room at Playa Negra.
It smelled wonderful.

Narrowing down the seashells

One last sunset

Costa Rica - Day 6

2006-04-13T19:31:00.000-05:00

On Friday, before heading back to Playa Conchal, we stopped in Tamarindo for some pastries at Panaderia de Paris (again). After getting our fill, we drove to that secluded spot on Playa Conchal that I told you about in my last post. This was the first time any of us had went snorkeling and we all ended up loving it. The fish were so beautiful and their colors were so vibrantneon blue, purple, bright yellow, pink. We even encountered a few bright blue jelly fish that floated in to shore. Luke would save us by rapping them around a stick and throwing them in a safe spot in the rocks.

After spending a few good hours there, Luke and I were quite hungry since we hadn't ate lunch yet, and it was almost 4 p.m. Mia didn't mind though. She would have rather stayed and snorkeled more.

We decided to head out and drove back to Tamarindo to eat at a restaurant called Zully Mar. After eating so much fish we were starting to crave pizza, and we had heard that this place makes a pretty good pizza. We get to the restaurant, sit down, and the first thing the waitress says to us is "no pizza." We're not exactly sure why there was no pizza, but we didn't have the Spanish speaking ability to ask why, or more like, understand why, when she would tell us. Anyway, I got over my disappointment as soon as I found fried calamari on the menu. Luke was still sad about the pizza, but I talked him into ordering calamari too. Mia had a ham sandwich (Can you believe it? She LOVES calamari!). Okay, but she did eat some of my calamari. It was unbelievable...check out the picture below.

After dinner, we headed back to Playa Negra since the sun was already setting. We were still stuffed around 7 p.m. which was the time we usually ate dinner. We decided to skip dinner and have dessert insteadchocolate cake and banana flambee. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of those, but they were wonderful.

One of the many surfers at Playa Negra

Mia's rich chocolate cake

Luke's banana cake

My palmier (sweet crisp puff pastry)

Broken shells cover Playa Conchal

Our snorkeling spot at Playa Conchal

Another shot of Playa Conchal

Calamari, lime, and dipping sauce
(similar to a mild tartar sauce) at the Zully Mar

Costa Rica - Day 5 (Part 2)

2006-04-11T20:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, so after our gastronomic feast in Tamarindo we drove to Playa Conchal which is about 15 minutes north of Tamarindo. We drove through the small town and found our way to the beach. A nice local restaurant owner stopped us and let us know that we could park anywhere and gave us a small flyer for his restaurant.

Playa Conchal is supposed to be a great beach for swimming and snorkeling because it doesn't have as many huge waves compared to the other beaches. We get out of our SUV and are thinking..."these waves don't look that small." So Luke goes back to talk to the restaurant owner and asks him if this is a good spot to snorkel or if there is a better spot. The guy told him anywhere on the beach was good for snorkeling...no spot better than the other. Well, after attempting to snorkel, it just wasn't going that great. Nevertheless we swam and Mia and I noticed huge schools of fish darting through the water when the waves would approach us...it was really neat.

We started to notice a few cars driving on part of the beach (see picture below) and they would disappear into the far distance in the trees. We wondered where all these cars were going. Before we headed back to Playa Negra we decided to check out this road that seemed to go nowhere.

It lead us to a hill that literally went almost straight up and straight down, that had HUGE potholes, rocks, and tree roots, and that only one vehicle could possibly get through at one time...and you wouldn't know if someone was coming up the other side until you got to the top because it's so steep! (sigh) It was paradise on the other side of that hill. A tucked away cove where the waves were calm, the water blue, and the beach filled entirely with broken shells for sand. "No spot better than the other" my butt! ...But he was still a nice guy. There was also quite the resort located just behind the beach: Paradisus Playa Conchal. We decided our snorkeling adventure would definitely continue on tomorrow. (But you'll have to wait to hear about that on Day 6.)

We decided to head back to Playa Negra before it got dark. Mia got some time to play in the pool with a friend she had made who was leaving the next day, while I relaxed by the pool, and Luke took some beautiful sunset pictures.

Our first impression of Playa Conchal. The secret lies over the hill.

Playa Negra at sunset (above and below).

Restaurant and pool area.

My yummy dinner. They called it "rice with shrimps."
Yes, "shrimps", not "shrimp." Anyway, I guess you
could compare it to jambalaya, but without the spice.
It doesn't look like much, but it was so good.

Costa Rica - Day 5 (Part 1)

2006-04-04T18:54:00.000-05:00

I'm breaking Thursday into two parts since I have too many good pictures to share. Thursday morning we drove back to Tamarindo and stopped at a bakery called Panaderia de Paris. I had heard good things about it in travel books so I knew we had to stop there when I saw it. The travel books were right...their food is goooooood. So good that we came back Friday and Saturday (you'll see those pictures later). Here are pictures from Thursday:

The front of the bakery

This "little" guy was right outside my
car door blocking me from getting out.

Mia's had thin layers of flaky crust with something
similar to caramel inbetween the layers.

Luke's apple tart

Mine was pastry dough folded over with jelly inside it (raspberry or quince...I couldn't tell) and cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top.

I love the name of their Diet Coke: Coca-Cola Light

The patio behind the bakery/restaurant/hotel.

Later that day after going in almost every store in Tamarindo to find Mia a long sleeved surf shirt for her sunburned arms, we ate lunch at Fiesta del Mar (the place we had juice drinks at on Tuesday). Mauricio was working again and he remembered us and exactly what we had ordered the day before. We made friends with another worker (the guy in the pictures below) but I forgot his name.

My lunch: chicken, salad, fresh corn tortilla, and a melon drink (cantaloupe blended with water and ice). As simple as this lunch looks, it was unbelievably tasty. The tortilla was amazing. They had to have made it right there at the restaurant since I noticed a wood-burning brick oven in the back.

Mia had tropical fruit with ice cream and Tamarind juice. Luke had fish with rice, beans, salad and Watermelon juice to drink.

Costa Rica - Day 4

2006-04-01T21:35:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday our mission was to stay out of the sun as much as possible, since both Mia and Luke got sun burned pretty badly from all the time we spent in the sun the day before. We took a car drive to Santa Cruz and then to Nicoya. We didn't get out of the car in either town. There was nothing worth getting out of the car to see. It was interesting though to drive through the towns and wonder if anyone actually has a job. I couldn't believe how many locals were out and about during the day. I also couldn't understand why all the locals wore jeans when it's 95 degrees out. It was wierd.

On the drive back to Playa Negra we stopped at a fruit stand and bought two mangos, two apples, and a pear. We would have bought a pineapple if we had a knife. Fruit wasn't any cheaper there than we pay here in Minnesota. Unless they charged us more because we're Americans...

The rest of the day was spent playing cards (uno & cribbage) at lunch, and then relaxing in the shade in the hammocks reading, napping, thinking, and journaling. Here is a little excerpt from my journal that day: "The waves are so beautiful here and the breeze is so refreshing. The sunset is also amazing, we'll have to take a picture one of these nights. It is really a different way of life down here. Everyone and everything is so laid back. No one is in a hurry. Things take timeand that is okay. I hope to take that back with me and remember it and to apply it to my life."

Mia had found a coconut, so Luke spent about twenty minutes or so trying to peel it open with my pocket knife. It was quite entertaining.

Voila! Coconut! You got the husk off...now what are you going to do?

The coconut was spoiled...

So we ate a mango instead.

Just one of the many beautiful flowers in Costa Rica

This is the hotel's restaurant I keep talking about.

She looks like a hotdog in a bun.

Costa Rica - Day 3

2006-03-29T20:15:00.000-06:00

Tuesday we spent the entire day on the beach in Playa Negra. In the morning, I was still not feeling that great. The previous day I had been exhausted and had no desire to eat anything (which is quite abnormal for me). We finally figured out I must have been feeling the affects of jet lag. I started feeling a little better by lunch after swimming most of the morning. We ate a simple lunch at hotel's restaurant: a mixed tropical fruit salad with chocolate ice cream for Mia and a ham sandwhich and french fries for Luke that I took a few bites of. The rest of the afternoon was spent with a boogie board that we rented from the hotel. Soon after we got back to our hut we realized Mia and Luke got a little too much sun, so we broke out the aloe vera gel, which incidently cracked on the flight over causing it to leak. Fortunately, I put it in a ziploc bag.

Here's some pictures from Tuesday:

Playa Negra

Mia collecting shells

Luke giving the boogie board a try

Mia went pretty far on the little waves

Sand crabs were everywhere on the beach...and they were so fast!
I had to wait for this guy to pop out of his hole to get his picture.

Tired from all that sun

I ordered what Luke got the night before and he ordered pretty much the same thing but instead with jumbo shrimp. Most of the trip we would only order two things for dinner and all share since the meals were so big.

Costa Rica - Day 1 & 2

2006-03-28T18:41:00.000-06:00

Hello all...or should I say Hola...we are finally back from our trip we took to Costa Rica. For those of you that weren't aware, we left for Costa Rica on Saturday, March 18th, arriving in Liberia, Costa Rica on the 19th after a night's stay in Charlotte, NC. We rented an SUV and drove about an hour and a half southwest to our "hotel" in Playa Negra. Playa Negra is located between Playa Avellana and Playa Junquillal.

There's so much to say about Costa Rica, I could write a book. But, I'm trying to keep this first post short because I know some people in Maine are anxiously awaiting to view some pictures. So, let's get onto the pictures and I'll tell stories later...oh, and these pictures are taken on Monday the 20th (our first full day in Costa Rica). I'll be putting up pictures day by day since we have so many.

Playa Tamarindo...about a half hour away from Playa Negra.

CristalCosta Rica's water of choice.
I think we drank over 20 liters between the 3 of us.

Luke and Mia at Fiesta del Mara bar/restaurant in Tamarindo. They had the best juice drinks. All they took was fresh fruit, ice, and sugar water, and threw it in a blender. Mia had pineapple, Luke had tamarind, and I had papaya.

Mauricio, our new found friend.

Driving back from Tamarindo to Playa Negra we ran into some cattle wandering the road alone. As you can see the cattle in Costa Rica are quite thin.

Our home away from home: a stucco grass hut. Nice and simple. There's electricity but no phone, tv, computer, radio, etc. Peace and quiet (except for the sound of wind, crickets, and birds). No air conditioning, but there is one ceiling fan that keeps the room quite comfortable at night.

Mia's bed.

Looking out from inside.

The bathroom...just remember not to flush toilet paper down the toilet.

Luke and his delicious Brochettes Mixtas, which are kabobs (but so much better than anything we've tasted) with chicken, fish, red bell pepper, onion, and tomato. We ate dinner at the hotel every night since the sun sets around 6 pm and it's not smart to be driving around at night since the roads are so bad. The hotel restaurant is like a huge version of our grass hut, but without walls. They had excellent food...and very reasonably priced.

So there's a preview...more to come later...

Torino 2006

2006-03-02T21:38:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been almost a month since my last post...so, I think it's time for a post.

A few weeks ago I told Luke I wasn't going to watch the winter olympics, one of the reasons being that I don't like listening to the hype of it from people: "Oh! Did you see so and so last night? Wow...I mean, like wow." I think the other reason had to do with not getting to watch my favorite NBC shows.

And now, a few weeks later, having watched a lot of the olympics (I know, I contradict myself), I miss it. I wish I would have even got to see more of it. Especially snowboarding. It was the one event I really wanted to see, though it was never on when I was watching.

Events that I did get to watch: figure skating (it amazes me; I don't know how they do it), luge, bobsleigh (not that entertaining in my opinion), alpine skiing, ski jumping (scary as heck), ice hockey, speed skating, and the event I got hooked on...short track speed skatingspecifically the men's 500 m...when Apolo Anton Ohno kicked butt (pictured below, courtesy of torino2006.org)

So, now I miss all of it...that which I didn't even want to take part in. I miss the annoying interviewers and anouncers that ask stupid questions and think they know it all. I miss the Visa "Life Takes..." commercials and Nike's "Join Bode" commercials. I miss thinking, "Wow, this Bode guy is pretty cool for doing things how he wants to do them and not be a follower." and then realizing that it's a little hypocritical to say you dislike the media, and at the same time agree to participate in commercials, interviews, and even have your own website. I miss those two mascots Neve and Glitz, that I once thought were a cottonball and a marshmellow, later to find out they are actually a snowball and an icecube. I miss Anton kicking butt.

Thank you Torino for making February 10-26 an enjoyable experience that I did not expect. And thank you NBC for making my Thursday night quite enjoyable with another hilarious episode of The Office.

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 7 (final)

2006-02-06T19:05:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm only on day 7 of the 12 days of Christmas presents, but I think it's time for it to come to an end.

My last present is quite special to me, therefore why I saved it to be last. My mom and dad bought us a Le Creuset deep covered saute pan.

I have watched many a cooking show where chefs use the beloved Le Creuset pots, only to dream of someday owning one. Now a reality, I am quite impressed with this "saute pan" and I love to cook with it.

Some perks to using Le Creuset:
1. Heat is evenly distributed, making for even cooking.
2. Browns food very nicely, without burning.
3. Can transfer directly from stovetop to oven.
4. Easy to clean. (I couldn't believe how easy it was to wash. I had a layer of browned bits on the bottom, and it came clean with soapy water, a dishcloth, and a few scrubs.)

Thank you Mom and Dad for the awesome present!

Hate your job?

2006-01-31T20:34:00.000-06:00

Check out this article on msn.com:

"10 Tips for Coping With a Job You Hate"

I think the tips are helpful for even a job you like. Here are the main points of the article:

1. Set weekly goals for yourself.
2. Do one thing each day to help you reach your goals.
3. Give yourself "me time" before work.
4. Create a diversion for yourself in the office.
5. Use your time to develop your skills.
6. Blow off some steam.
7. Treat yourself.
8. Maintain your performance.
9. Keep your bridges intact.
10. Realize that this too shall pass.

Just to clarify, I don't hate my job.

Quote of the day

2006-01-30T18:24:00.000-06:00

"Everything's baked now."

-an elderly woman at Target (said this while passing by bags of baked potato chips)

My new found liking

2006-01-26T18:45:00.000-06:00

I have never really liked squash or sweet potatoes. I've tried to force myself into liking them. Every Thanksgiving I give them another try, choking down a few bites until I just can't take the flavor and texture anymore. I know I've had enough when my gagging reflex starts to kick in...

But not anymore.

I was reading The Amateur Gourmet one day, and he gave a simple recipe for roasting white sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and parsnips. He went on to say: "On a scale from 1 to "totally awesome wow I can't believe how good this tastes" this rates a 99."

The picture of the veggies looked so appetizing. But wait...I don't like sweet potatoes or squash. I couldn't help myself though; I thought I'd give this recipe a try.

I had planned to make Jamie's Perfect Roast Chicken for dinner, and I thought how perfect it would be to roast the veggies right along in the same pan as the chicken, soaking up all those delicious flavors. I couldn't wait to try the veggies. I wondered if they would taste as good as they looked. Ohhhhh...and they did! My goodness! I "mmmm'd" throughout the entire dinner. I couldn't believe how good they tasted.

I have now found the way to good sweet potatoes and squash, through roasting. If you suffer from wanting to like, but actually dislike these veggies, try this recipe.

Thanks Amateur Gourmet.

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 6

2006-01-23T22:49:00.000-06:00

The best slippers in the entire world: Tempur-Pedic® Comfort-Step Slippers.

My brother bought Luke and I both a pair for Christmas. I have never wanted to wear slippers outside of the house until now.

Thanks Alan and Elonda for the awesome gift! I will wear these slippers for life.

Way to go Steve Carell!

2006-01-17T18:54:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Steve Carell from The Office for winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy.

He had the funniest acceptance speech I've ever heard. You can check it out on NBC's website: Link (then click on his pic under "Videos")...view it on a PC though, since I had trouble viewing it on my Mac.

Manny's Steakhouse

2006-01-15T19:24:00.000-06:00

Luke and I dined at Manny's Steakhouse this weekend in celebration of our eight years of marriage. My dad had blessed us with two $50 gift cards for Manny's over a month ago, and we had tried making reservations several times, but they were always booked. So, we finally got in this weekend. 8:30 pm, Saturday, to be exact.

Having gone to only one other "expensive" steakhouse beforeRuth's Chris (which we received a gift card for, too) I knew what to expect from the menu...the basics. When you go to a steakhouse, you'd better be there for the meat, because they aren't going have anything "fancy" or "different" on the menu. It's about the meat. And if you want a potato, veg, or salad, it's going to be pretty plain and simple.

So, we arrived...and it wasn't quite what I had built up in my mind. I had pictured rich brown painted walls with dark wood moldings, deep booths, lights dimly lit, and sconces on the walls. And in reality it was bright white walls with little dark wood moldings, no booths, many packed tables, and artwork that didn't seem fitting. It took a moment to adjust to my settings.

Our server, Jim, arrives to our table with a long cart filled with steak, lobster, fish, and vegetables, and begins to explain each item in detail. He was quite nice and helpful in answering our questions.

Here's what we finally decided on:
Luke: Porterhouse Steak - $39.95
Me: Filet Mignon 14 oz. - $40.95
Shared:
Greek Salad - $7.95
House Made Chips - $5.95 (with a super yummy sauce our server brought out for us)

Overall, everything was delicious. I could be picky, and what the heck, I will be. It's only fair that I give you my honest opinion, because you may consider dining there yourself.

The Greek Salad and House Made Chips were quite delicious and HUGE. Their sides say "for two" on the menu, which is a lie; it's more like anywhere from 4-10 people, depending on what you order. Man, these sides were bigger than Buca's! And cheaper, which is weird. Our salad could have easily fed 4 people, our house made chips, 6 people. We saw the loaded mashed potatoes at the table next to us...it was double the size of Buca's large mash, and could have fed 10.

My steak was quite good, but not excellent. I ordered it medium, and it arrived a bit burned on the outside, and was only true red in the center of the steak. The server was quite nice and asked if I wanted them to make another one, many times over. I refused though...that's just not me. I'm not going to through away a $40 steak because it wasn't perfect. I just wished the steak would have come out a little more bloodlier (gosh that sounds gross) and more flavorful.

Luke loved his steak. :) And ate the entire thing.

We had no room for dessert, since we were stuffed and bringing home about 4 oz. of my steak, and 3/4 of our order of home made chips. Plus, we saw some desserts. They were bigger than the sides! What in the world!?!?

My Ratings (out of 5 stars):
Decor: 1 1/2 (I've seen worse)
Service: 5
Portion size: 5
Steak (filet mignon): 3.5
Salad: 4.5
House Made Chips: 5
Price: 5 (quite reasonable for sides, meat is expensive, but that's expected)

Comments:
Dine with at least 4 people.

I'm not sure if I'd eat there again, but it may be nice to go back and try a different steak. I was a little disappointed since Manny's is "supposed" to be the best place for steak. I had much better filet mignon (the BEST I've ever had) at Ruth's Chris. If you have the money, give Manny's a try...if not, go somewhere else.

Thank you Dad for the gift cards...it was a real treat; we did have a wonderful night and it was quite the experience dining at Manny's.

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 5

2006-01-15T18:04:00.000-06:00

By now you're probably wondering if I got anything for Christmas that doesn't have to do with cooking. I did get some that weren't food related, but not many. I love that though! I'm not like most women who would probably throw a pasta machine at her husband if she received it as a gift. Before Christmas Luke was telling someone (some guy) about the presents he was going to buy me. The guy thought he was crazy for buying me "practical" gifts, let alone gifts that related to cooking. He also said something along the lines of if he bought his wife gifts like that he would get slapped. After Luke told me about this conversation, I told Luke if he bought me jewelry, I'd slap him.

So, onto Day 5...I (really Luke and I) received "Barefoot in Paris" by Ina Garten from my brother-in-law (Jason) and sister-in-law (Alyson). I was so ecstatic upon opening this present. I have two other cookbooks of Ina's: Barefoot Contessa Parties! and Barefoot Contessa Family Style. Both of which I love...Ina makes everything taste so yummy. Ever since I saw the Barefoot in Paris cookbook though, I couldn't wait to own it. I love Paris and I love Ina, so it was match made in William Sonoma. :)

Since I've been so busy trying out Jamie's recipes, I have not had a chance yet to make anything from Ina's. I have read it cover to cover though. There's so many great recipes I don't know where to startcroque monsieur, blue cheese souffle, herbed-baked eggs, filet of beef au poivre, creme brulee...oh so many good recipes.

I'm excited to try more french cooking, because I really don't know that much about it. (That'll just be our little secret.) I feel that I know a great deal about Italian, Asian, and Mexican cooking, but not too much about French, which seems to be the basis of cooking. I think the only French thing I know how to make is a hollandaise and bleurre blanc sauce...oh, and my version of a croque monsieur. As a child I grew up watching Julia Child on PBS, and I have her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" on my shelf. But yet, I know so little about French cooking. I've had the dream of being ambitious as Martha Stewart was and going through Julia's cookbook and making each recipe one by one. But, I highly doubt that will happen. We'll see though, you never know. I'll start with Ina's for now. (Please forgive me Julia.)

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 4

2006-01-14T11:27:00.000-06:00

So, as you may have guessed from the last post (if you're keeping up with my series) Luke got me an Imperia Pasta Machine. Now I can finally start making my own pasta and it will be so much easier to roll out dough for perogies. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but I did grow up using one. My mom would let me help her crank out pasta for noodles, perogies, and cavatelli. I'm anxious to use it, especially since there are so many great recipes using fresh pasta in Jamie Oliver's cookbook.

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 3

2006-01-11T23:03:00.000-06:00

Well, since I'm already talking about Jamie Oliver, I might as well continue talking about him. Luke also got me his first cookbook, The Naked Chef, to start my collection of Jamie cookbooks. He has so many out; I have a lot of catching up to do, therefore a lot of cooking to do.

I have to say, the cookbook is wonderful. So far, I have made the pork and crackling (without the crackling, since I don't go to a butcher that cuts meat special for me...anyway...), chickpea and leek soup, and a lemon olive oil dressing...all of which, were delicious. Next up to cook is ravioli with mozzarella, prosciutto, and sundried tomatoes. Oh, but how will I make pasta? Maybe you'll find out tomorrow.

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 2

2006-01-10T18:42:00.000-06:00

Luke and I are almost halfway through watching the 15 episodes on Jamie Oliver's DVD...and they're awesome! Thank you Luke for the wonderful present! Jamie is so entertaining and the food he makes looks so amazing. He takes simple ingredients and turns them into works of art.

I can't remember the first time I heard about or saw Jamie...but it was years ago, and he's been one of my favorite chefs ever since. There's just something about his easy going attitude and his love for fresh, delicious food. I highly recommend his DVD to anyone, beginner or expert cook.

12 days of Christmas presents: Day 1

2006-01-09T21:11:00.000-06:00

I received so many wonderful gifts for Christmas this year. I thought I'd share them with you (not literally...but just tell you about all the cool stuff I got). And they're all so cool that I can't share them with you in one post. So, it will be a series of posts. (Wow, my first series.)

Disclaimer: Even though the series is titled, "12 days of Christmas presents" it may not be 12...it may be less...it may be more. Who knows. And they may have been presents I bought for myself. What can I say? There was a lot of after Christmas sales.

If you're a person like me, who has trouble finding a perfume you like, I highly recommend trying GAP's line of individual scented oils. I was so excited when they came out with this line of perfume. You can mix and match to make your own scent. Luke bought me two for my birthday (Spun Orange Blossom & Crushed Peony) and I just bought myself two more (Torn Verbena & Sheer Tuberose) the other day at 50% off. They smell so good! So, I'm up to four now, as you can see from my collection above. I think that will last me awhile, so I'll try to hold off from buying any more.

Some of the other scents include: Delicate SageMoss, Smooth Sandalwood, Sueded Musk, Woven Cassis, Modern Patchouli, Crepe Gardenia, and Faded Jasmine. There are others that I can't remember off hand, so check out your local GAP store (I can't find them on their website anywhere).

2005 Year in Review

2005-12-31T12:52:00.000-06:00

The year is coming to a close, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite memories of 2005:

January 16
Luke and I celebrate our seventh anniversary. Just before heading out the door to dine at Arezzo our parked car gets a hit and run for the second time (different car, just the second time the same incident happened). We were able to catch the license plate number and description of the vehicle, so we did end up getting money in the end. :)

March 6
Hosting Amy Grahek's Baby Shower. I had never hosted one before. It ended up being a lot of fun. With the help of Donna Hay (she's like the Australian Martha Stewart) all the food was delicious: chicken and baby rocket tea sandwiches, goat's cheese and dill quiches, potato nests with salmon and watercress, strawberry mousse cups, raspberry cake, and Izze sparkling grapefruit juice.

May 8
Dad and Mom come down to celebrate Mother's Day at The Claddagh with us and surprise me with an early graduation gift: a Mac computer! I was so so surprised, and so so happy. Thank you again!

June 9
Mia's Birthday. No explanation needed. I love you Mia.

June 16
Ai Graduation Day & Portfolio Show. All of my friends (Kay, Meghan, Chad, Lucas, Jar, & Ted) graduate a quarter before me and leave me behind. :( Nah, just kidding...it really was a special day.

June 18
Anne Marie's Wedding. The best wedding I've ever been to. It was so intimate and beautiful...and so Italian. What could you expect? A Notargiacomo was marrying a Sachetti! I believe we had six or seven different courses. I can't remember. It was just so much good food.

August 1
My birthday. We celebrated with friends at Buca in Maple Grove. Such good food and so much fun.

August 6
My last day working at Buca. It was so hard to leave. It's like moving away from home. I still miss it and all the people there, but I smile thinking about all the good times I had.

August 12
Camping in Gooseberry Falls with friends. It was so relaxing and fun...we'll definitely have to do it again next year.

September 7
Mia starts second grade. Yeah!

September 21
2 days before my graduation day...a huge storm hits and our power goes out for 24 hours. I "relocate" my computer at Luke's workplace and work fast and furiously to get everything ready for the portfolio show.

September 23
Graduation!!! The day I had been waiting so long for. It was wonderful. Everything.

November 24-25
Thanksgiving and Luke's Birthday. We spent both days up at my dad and mom's home in Pine City. It was quite the relaxing weekend...much needed.

December 19
I start my new job at LWCC/Mac Hammond Ministries as a graphic designer. It took some time adjusting to my new schedule working a full-time job. Now, I'm loving my job.

December 18, 24, 25
Celebrating Christmas. Busy, but good. Went by too fast though.

And for your reading pleasure,
Some of my favorite/memorable posts this year:

Best Stuff Since Sliced Bread

Graduation!!!

Ames Farm Honey

Buca Memories

Have a Happy New Year.

Ice Skating

2005-12-30T17:00:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday I got together with some friends to go ice skating at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis. I don't even remember the last time I went skating. I think it was 7th grade (about 14 years ago?) in Mr. Beaudot's gym class...we were outside skating in below zero temperatures with a -40 windchill. Yeah...those were the days. Fortunately, The Depot is an indoor skating rink and climate controlled. :) I was a little rocky at first, but it didn't take more than a minute to remember how to skate. Dawn, Meghan, and I were all in awe of Kay's expert skating (she's really, really good, even though she claims she can't do all the "tricks" she used to do). Who knew a gal from Argentina could skate better than us gals from Minnesota? It was quite the fun and humorous night.

Mommy helping us with our skates

Just getting a little use to the ice

L to R: Kay, Meghan, Dawn

Me and Kay

Merry Christmas

2005-12-26T17:51:00.000-06:00

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'". That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie brown.
Linus Van Pelt

First of all, Merry Christmas to all! (My blogging has taken the back burner since I started my new job last Monday.) We've had quite the busy weekend. This year was a little different for us. We opened presents Christmas Eve morning and then packed our bags and headed up north to Duluth at the Country Inn & Suites to open presents with Luke's family. That evening all of us went over to Luke's Aunt & Uncle's house for the big "Hanson Christmas Celebration." After eating and visiting, we (Luke, Mia, Andy, Kris, and myself) headed back to our hotel room to watch "A Christmas Story" and "Elf." Christmas morning Luke, Mia, and I stopped at Luke's Dad's home in Cloquet for a short visit before going home.

As soon as we got home I began cooking Christmas dinner. Like last year, we had an "Italian Christmas dinner" (I think I'm going to make it a tradition every year). I made a ham with a bourbon brown sugar glaze, risotto with porcini mushrooms, a mixed green salad with proscuitto and gorgonzola, and multigrain Italian bread dipped in olive oil. There was going to be green beans, but the grocery store was out of them due to bad weather wherever green beans grow. Oh well...everything else was delicious. Mia said it was the best meal she's ever had. (What a sweetheart) Unfortunately, I didn't have time this year to bake cookies. So, just imagine I made baklava, pizzelle, gingerbread, and white chocolate biscotti with cranberries and pistachios...since those were the treats I wanted to make.

Today we're taking it easy, relaxing, and enjoying all the presents we got. It's about time for dinner, so I'm off to warm up yesterday's leftovers.

How was your Christmas?

Our Christmas tree

I made new stockings for us this year

-So excited to see what's in her stocking

Mia & Pepito (which I had a hard time getting,
since they don't make them anymore...
I did a lot of bidding on ebay)

Winter Wonderland

2005-12-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

Mia and I had fun yesterday outside in the snow after she came home from school. Well, she had fun, while I shoveled. I did help her a little bit putting the snowman together. She wants to make a Mommy and Daddy snowman/woman/whatever to go with the "Mia snowman." I don't know if we'll be able to though now that it's getting colder (cold weather = powdery snow) Yesterday, the snow was perfect for making snowmen and snowballsheavy and wet.

Later that night Luke took Mia sledding, while I took a little break at home. I think the shoveling wore me out. Tonight we're headed downtown for the Holidazzle paradeone of Mia's favorite Christmas traditions (my favorite part is getting Starbucks coffee...oh, and also seeing how much fun Mia has).

More snow...

2005-12-14T00:27:00.000-06:00

The weather report tonight: 4-7" of snow by Thursday...36 hours of snow. I can't wait to see Mia's face in the morning.

Hmmmm...maybe we will get snow like the good old days.

Holy Land

2005-12-13T22:53:00.000-06:00

Today I took a trip over to northeast Minneapolis (only about 3 miles down the road) to Holy Land, a Middle Eastern grocery/deli/restaurant/bakery. I have always wanted to check this place out since I've heard such great things about it. They have been voted numerous times by various Twin Cities publications for having "best cheap eats" "best Mediterranean food" and "best Middle Eastern bread." And yet, it was only 3 miles straight down the road from my home, and I had never been there. Well, I went today. I have been on the hunt for Turkish Delight (a confection made from starch and sugar, usually flavored with rosewater or lemon) for Christmas. Not only did they have Turkish Delight, they had several brands to choose from and several different flavors. I wasn't sure which one to choose, so I picked "Zeyno - the King of Turkish Delight." Later, as I checked out, the clerk told me that it was very good Turkish Delight...one of the best. I was relieved I picked the right one. The store was packed with every kind of Middle Eastern food imaginable. It was a gastronome's dream (in this case, my dream). Olives, cheeses, meats, spices, lentils, and hard to find ingredients packed the shelves. Pita bread, lavash bread, and others—just freshly baked—piled high to the ceiling. I kept asking myself why I hadn't gone there until now. Along with my Turkish Delight (rose flavored-$2.99), I also bought Lavash bread ($1.49), and a 10 oz. bottle of rosewater (used for flavoring foods, pastries, and drinks-$2.49). I couldn't believe I had almost bought a teeny tiny bottle of rosewater (probably only 1 oz.) from Byerly's for a lot more than $2.49 about a month ago. I'm glad I waited.

I couldn't leave without ordering something from their restaurant. So I got the "gyro plate" -gyro and a fountain drink for $6.99. I thought, well, that's not bad. Little did I know how huge it was going to be. Wow. It was enough for two very hungry people and enough for three who want a light lunch. Five half pita pockets on the side with a plate piled high with lamb meat, lettuce, tomato, and onion, with yogurt sauce poured over top. Yum...it was delicious. Of course I couldn't finish it, so I brought the rest home for Luke (picture below) and he was quite the happy man.

If your wondering what I'm going to do with the rest of my grocery purchases, here's your answer: I'm saving the Turkish Delight for Christmas (hopefully, if I can wait that long). I'll let you know how it is once I try it. The lavash bread is to eat...obviously. I had some tonight with the olive oil by brother got me from Greece...yes, Greece (what a sweetheart). I'm also thinking the lavash bread would make a great crust for a pizza...add some olives, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, and there you go. The rosewater is for my attempt to make baklava. I'll let you know how that turns out also.

Holy Land website

Feeling Charlie Browny

2005-12-13T00:31:00.000-06:00

"I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed."

-Charlie Brown

I promised myself that I would not post about this...but, it now being almost a week since my last post, I am forced to get this out so I can move on to more happier posts. So, the stockings are hung, and the tree is up and decorated. My amaryllis bulbs are starting to grow and the Christmas cards are almost ready to be mailed. But, the feeling is just not here. This year, it doesn't "feel" like Christmas. I've never felt like this. --I LOVE Christmas. I dream of Christmas (this literally happened last year, I kept dreaming of Christmas until, well, Christmas came). But this year...the feeling, the excitement, the wonder, the whatever you want to call it..."it" just isn't here.

Am I just getting older? Am I all grown up? Have I lost the kid in me? They say the brain (frontal cortex area—which governs judgment, decision-making and impulse) fully develops at 25-26 years. Maybe that's it? Christmas was just so exciting as a kid. I looked forward to the day that we would pull out the big cardboard boxes filled with Christmas decorations out from the basement storage room. Johnny Mathis would echo from the basement record player as we'd decorate the Christmas tree upstairs. Each ornament was so special and was moved around until I found the perfect spot for it. And Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without my Dad putting the fake plastic candles on display upstairs in my parents' bedroom windows and hanging the outdoor Christmas lights in perfect formation on front of the garage (alternating colors: red, green, red, green). Christmas Eve was usually spent at home watching Christmas movies or TV and ordering pizza for dinner. Some years we would attend the Christmas Eve service, which seemed very special since the lights were turned down low and candles were lit. Before we knew it, Christmas morning had arrived. My brother and I would race downstairs to see what "Santa" left in our stockings, and then wake up Mom and Dad (if they weren't already awake) to open presents. We had a system though: find all your presents and put them in a pile, then Mom would instruct you what present to open first. My dad would (and still does) pick up a gift and say, "ah, let's save it...open it next Christmas." Then he'd give it a little shake, scrunch it a bit, and usually guess exactly what the gift was. He would do a series of "let's save it" and the guessing game, usually back and forth, until Alan and I would scream, "JUST OPEN IT!!!" Unwrapping gifts was always very clean and orderly. My dad always had a bag ready to throw the used wrapping paper into after the opening of each gift. Once all the gifts were open, they were then distributed to their appropriate place. If they didn't have a place yet, then they were organized neatly under the tree. My mom would spend the rest of the day in the kitchen cooking up a delicious Christmas dinner that changed year to year. No matter what it was though, it was always awesome. Alan and I would play with our new toys, while Dad watched sports, until we were all called for dinner. Usually somewhere inbetween playing and dinner, we'd get a phone call from Gramma Dot in Youngstown and Gramma Gregory in McArthur. Dinner was enjoyed, the cleanup got done, and soon it was all over...just like that.

I don't think it's about growing older. I think it's about how you spend your time. This is the first Christmas season in quite awhile I have spent at home. Last year, I was working, going to school, and surrounded by people I cared about...now don't think I've forgotten about the most important people in my life, my family, but it also feels good to care for others and show them love. That may just be what is missing from my Christmas season.

Anti-cell phones

2005-12-07T03:44:00.000-06:00

Ever get annoyed by cell phones? (Dad, you're going to LOVE this) Coudal, a design, advertising and interactive studio in Chicago, has come up with an interesting solution to "Shhh!" the world, one person at a time:

You can download your own printable cards here: Link

Thanks to Lucas who informed me of this wonderful site.

Snow, snow, snow!

2005-12-02T11:13:00.000-06:00

I love all of the snow we've been getting. It's quite different from past years when we've been praying that we get a snowflake by Christmas Eve. It's nice to have a few inches on the ground...puts me in that Christmas mood and brings back fun memories of childhood: making snowmen, snow angels, having snowball fights, and sledding. It did seem though that we got a lot more snow when we were kids, enough for my brother and I to jump off a second story deck into the snow below us. Just look at the picture of my dad back in 1950. I wish we would get that much snow again!

Your thoughts on snow...love it, hate it?

Time

2005-11-30T14:19:00.000-06:00

Have you ever felt like time flies by so fast that you don't get anything done? (I can already hear my husband's comment, "well, maybe if you got up earlier...") Yes sweetie, I have been getting up earlier, but the day just flies by and before I know it, it's 3 pm and time to pick up Mia from school, and well, the rest of the day is finished with routine things that need to be done. Maybe my list is TOO big? Maybe I need to simplify my life? My dad made a post the other day entitled "Minimize or Super-size?" that really made me think about "the clutter" in my life. I'm still pondering about what he said.

Some things I'm considering...

1. Do I really need to make my Christmas cards by hand? ...Do I really even need to send Christmas cards???

2. Going through all my stuff and throwing out anything I haven't used in the last year. (Sometimes I feel like throwing everything away...clutter seriously bothers me.)

3. Moving to a cabin in the mountains and raising goats.

Obviously the last one is a joke. It's a phrase I commonly say to Luke when I am fed up with the world's idiocrity and I just want to get away from it all. Although, it doesn't sound so bad.

By the way, Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We had the best time up at my parents' house. The food was soooooo good and the company was even better. Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful visit.

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T10:41:00.000-06:00

We're headed up to my parents for Thanksgiving dinner in just a bit. I can't wait to get there. Delicious food, time spent with family...it doesn't get much better than that.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

ROOS!

2005-11-21T16:59:00.000-06:00

I was out shopping today with my friend and her mom. We were in Marshall Field's looking at shoes. Kay and I were scoping out the clearance rack, and not expecting to find anything (I usually buy most of my shoes from Target) I found THEM. The KangaROOS shoes I had been looking at online and wanting to buy for a long time. They were half off (only $24.95!)...so, of course I got them. I had a pair of purple KangaROOS when I was about 5 years old...so, it's kind of a nostalgic thing. I received them as a birthday present from my mom and dad. I had accidently stumbled upon them before my birthday, so I had to act extra excited when I opened them so they didn't suspect anything. :)

My shoes: then (left) and now (right)

Gilmore Girls, candles, and whatnot...

2005-11-21T16:01:00.000-06:00

Saturday night Lindsay and Tori came over to escape the Xbox party that was being held at their house that evening (that's where my husband went). Tori and Mia played while Lindsay and I cooked an awesome dinner (pasta in a cream sauce with prosciutto, pine nuts, & basil). Later we watched The Gilmore Girls (season one...disc one) while snacking on popcorn that Lindsay made in her popcorn popper she brought along. It's the best show! I kept saying, "I can't believe I didn't watch this all the time!" Lindsay is right...as she says: "It's the best TV show that nobody watches."

Thanks for the fun evening Lindsay...we'll have to do it again sometime.

Sunday was family day. Luke, Mia, and I had a relaxing morning and then went shopping to get some ideas for Christmas presents. There was a little incident at Bath and Body works when I was getting a free candle I had a coupon for (yes Lindsay, the one that you found in my Country Living magazine, thank you again). The clerk thought it was only for the exact candle that was on the coupon, which was "Spice" and it smelled like Hot Tamales, as Mia pointed out. I wanted to get the "Frosted Cranberry" candle...which was the same candle, just a different scent. To make a long story short, I left the store with the stupid "Spice" candle, and Luke saved the day by going back to speak with a manager and found out that indeed it was for any of their 4 oz Perfect Christmas scented candles, not just spice. And just to point out, the clerk did ask me (nicely) if I'd like to talk to a manager, but I just sighed, "oh, that's okay." Lesson learned: Next time, speak to a manager, especially if they offer it (which rarely happens in stores)! Thank you Luke for being my hero and making the rest of my day so special. I love you.

Welcome home!

2005-11-18T13:50:00.000-06:00

A big shout out to my bro that has been gone for six months serving our country...

Welcome home! We all miss you deeply and love you so much! You're the best!

This tree needs you

2005-11-17T13:33:00.000-06:00

"I didn't know it was such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe all it needs is a little love."

—Linus Van Pelt

If you don't have much time to decorate for Christmas this year, or if you really love Charlie Brown, Urban Outfitters is selling a "Charlie Brown Pathetic Tree" for $24.

I love the description for the product:

"The bendable branches allow you to make it look just how you want, super pathetic or just kind of pathetic."

Link

Amaryllis

2005-11-17T13:16:00.000-06:00

I potted up my Amaryllis bulbs yesterday, a little later than I usually do....so, they should be blooming right around Christmas. Amaryllis bulbs are one of the easiest bulbs to force indoors. If you've never forced bulbs before, I urge you to get your butt to Target (little variety, but cheap bulb kits) or Smith and Hawken (lots of variety, but expensive) and buy an Amaryllis bulb this year and try it out. They are so beautiful and really bring some life and color indoors during the winter months. If flowers aren't your thing, they make a great gift for any gardener (hint-hint).

Martha's website has great information on forcing Amaryllis and easy to follow instructions. Link

Picture from Martha Stewart Living November 1997

First snow

2005-11-16T14:44:00.000-06:00

Last night around 6 pm when I was cooking dinner the first snowflakes started to fall. It may have started earlier, I just hadn't noticed it until I went outside with a flashlight to pick some sage from my garden for the ravioli I was making. My sage was covered with slowly melting snowflakes...I guess this is the last of the fresh herbs for this season. The growing season is officially over.

Mia has school off today and the rest of the week for parent/teacher conferences. Of course Mia was excited to go outside today despite the temperature: 20 degrees/Feels like 2 degrees/27-36 mph winds (according to The Weather Channel). We bundled up and headed out to the backyard. She made a snow angel (above picture) and sled on the little bump of a hill we have in our backyard. By the time we came in my legs were slightly numb, burning, and pink...but it was worth it to see Mia have so much fun.

Let it snow

2005-11-14T22:57:00.000-06:00

Luke, Mia, and I raked like mad in the dark tonight to get all the leaves off the ground before it snows...and because the last day for pick up of bagged leaves is this Wednesday. We're expecting to get 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow (Tuesday) night. Mia has been talking about this snow since Friday last week. She's so excited to go sledding and build a snowman. I told her that we may not get enough snow to do those things. She responded, "We just might though." Either way, I'm excited to see those snowflakes fall for the first time of the season.

Good news

2005-11-10T17:04:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd annouce the good news to y'all...I got a job! I will be working at Living Word Christian Center as a graphic designer. I'm very excited to start...I'll be finding out my exact start date next Monday or Tuesday.

I may have to start "practicing" getting up at 6:30 a.m.

Starbucks - "The Red Cup"

2005-11-09T22:04:00.000-06:00

Yes...another Starbucks comment. Scott Hodge made a post about the red cup website for Starbucks. So, I checked it out...beautiful illustrations and if you're a person that has a lot of time on his/her hands it may be worth your time to check it out. There are fun, informative activites like making your own snowflake, fire building 101, and what kind of cookie you would be if you were a cookie. By the way, I took the quiz, and I would be a gingersnap.

Link

Starbucks - "The Way I See It"

2005-11-09T19:41:00.000-06:00

I think Starbucks' new marketing idea of putting quotes on cups as conversation starters is an interesting idea and fun. Here's the quote I received on my cup today:

"Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity are key ingredients of joy. Without risk, nothing new ever happens. Without trust, fear creeps in. Without serendipity, there are no surprises."

—Rita Golden Gelman
Author of Tales of a Female Nomad. She has had no permanent address since 1986.

My thoughts: Interesting quote...I think I need to take more risks sometimes instead of staying in a comfortable, predictable way of life. If you don't take any risks you're always going to wonder what may of happened. And serendipity rocks...take for example all the awesome stuff I found at Value Village today that I wasn't expecting to find.

And your thoughts?

Chicken Little

2005-11-09T11:35:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention that Mia and I went to see "Chicken Little" last Friday with some friends. I probably forgot to mention it because it wasn't that good. The story line was really weak...okay, there was no real story line. Suspenseful parts were never built up long enough...okay, there were no suspenseful parts. The only part that I found somewhat humorous was the character, "Fish out of Water" (picture of him above/right). He was completely oblivious to what was going on around him. His slow mind and stupid smile made me giggle. But, it didn't make up for the awkwardness of the rest of the movie. Nevertheless, Mia really liked the movie. I just recommend renting it from a redbox for a $1 when it comes out, instead of wasting your money at the movie theater.

My happy afternoon

2005-11-08T15:58:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to see that my Martha Stewart Living December issue came in the mail today. I haven't had time to look at it yet...hopefully later tonight after "The Office." Today I was busy designing invitations for our Heirs Together group Christmas party. It was an enjoyable afternoon...nothing (almost nothing) makes me happier than designing while listening to Christmas music, drinking coffee, and eating chocolate.

Nasturtiums in November?

2005-11-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

The weather has been unusually wonderful this fall for Minnesota. I still have flowers blooming that shouldn't be alive, as you can see from the picture above I took yesterday of my Nasturtiums. And I still have tomatoes (pictured below)...ripening on the vine! Mia and I got outside yesterday to enjoy the weather while raking leaves.

It looks like another beautiful week ahead with highs in the 60s and 50s. I just hope with all this mild weather we still get snow at Christmas.

The Godfather

2005-11-05T21:45:00.000-06:00

I just missed one of my favorite movies..."The Godfather." I happened to catch the last minute of the movie. Ah well...

Huh? Wayne Newton?

2005-11-04T16:41:00.000-06:00

I hope I'm not offending any Wayne Newton fans out there by what I'm about to say....

I was making a cd mix of old time Christmas songs. One of my favorite songs out of the mix is "Christmas isn't Christmas Without You" sung by Wayne Newton. As I was listening to it...I was thinking, "Wow...that woman has a beautiful voice." (Not realizing who was singing it.) I looked on the back of the cd to see who sang it..."Wayne Newton." Huh? "The" Wayne Newton? He sounds like a woman! I thought maybe there's another Wayne Newton. I searched Amazon and listened to a number of Wayne Newton songs only to conclude that (in my opinion) he has a very feminine voice. Is it just me...or does Wayne Newton sing like a woman??? Maybe my Dad could reflect some wisdom on this subject. And sorry Wayne...I still think you sound great.

Print's Regional Design Annual

2005-11-03T16:56:00.000-06:00

I got to sit down and flip through Print's Regional Design Annual issue at Barnes and Noble today. I thought it would be wiser to browse through it, instead of spending $35 for one magazine. (ouch!) I'm hoping my hubby buys me the subscription for Christmas (it's only $39). I jotted down all the Minnesota design firms that were recognized in this issue in my palm pilot, so I can check out their websites and send out my resume to them.

Paper Source

2005-11-02T16:23:00.000-06:00

On Monday I took a trip to one of my favorite paper stores, Paper Source. (My other favorite is Paper Depot.) It was my first time visiting their new store. Last spring a van ran into the side of the building they were located in, causing the building to collapse. So, they have a new location and a lot more space. As I was browsing, I came upon a sheet of paper that showed all the different colors of paper they offer, and in each box it gives an insight to your personality, depending on what your favorite color is. I found it interesting that the "colorscope" was pretty accurate when I compared the color of paper that my friends and I use for our identity systems (business card, letterhead, envelope...etc).

For example, I use a paper that is somewhere inbetween their "cement" and "gravel" color. I also use folders to hold my resume, cover letter, cd, etc, that is "chocolate" in color. So, here's what my colors say about me:

Cement: You are committed to making the world a better place. You have strong faith and a calming effect on your friends.

Gravel: Pressure stimulates you and you like setting goals for yourself. You are exciting, very curious, and are great at parties. You surround yourself with lots of unusual people and have loose boundaries.

Chocolate: You are down to earth, comfortable with who you are and have a great ability to find joy in life. You don't take things personally, you can rebound from failure, and you go for what you want.

It's kinda neat. Click here to check out your colorscope and then post what your color(s) say about you...and whether it was true or not.

Obviously, not everyone has a personal identity system...I just used those colors, because an identity system is (supposed to be) created to reflect who a person is ...so just pick your favorite color(s).

Halloween

2005-11-01T14:51:00.000-06:00

Last night we took Mia to the "Hallelujah Harvest" at our church. She got to play lots of games and got lots of candy. As we were leaving she said, "That was so fun, I want to do it again...I wish it was next year already."

She makes a very cute Dorothy, don't you think?

All I want for Christmas is Mia to lose her teeth

2005-11-01T14:42:00.000-06:00

Okay, okay...I know it's been awhile since my last post (thanks Lindsay). Mia FINALLY lost her second tooth (about a week ago). As you can see in the picture, the adult tooth is almost fully grown in behind where she lost the tooth. She pulled it all out by herself...the way she prefers to do it, instead of having daddy get the pliers.

What a weekend...

2005-10-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

Friday:
Luke had the day off from work...yay! The three of us had a relaxing lunch at P.F. Chang's in Maple Grove. The food was delicious...but more than that it was so nice to sit, talk, and enjoy each other's company. After lunch we headed over to Northwestern Books because Mia really wanted to listen to cds (where did my little girl go?).

Saturday:
Caramel Apple Latte: $3.25
Knee-high argyle socks: $4.99
Blue glass cake stand: $19.95
Getting to spend time with a friend that you don't get to spend enough time with: priceless.

Thanks Lindsay for the fun day & giving me your Bath & Body Works coupon...I love the lip gloss! We have to do this more often.

Sunday:
30 minute massage at The Refinery. So, so, so unbelievably relaxing. I highly recommend going there...ask for Sarah. To visit their website click here. I took a 4 hour nap (can you even call that a nap?) when I got home. I slept like a baby last night too.

A week for me

2005-10-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

Today I'm recovering from the business fair this past weekend. I had my own booth along with the 100+ other businesses that attended. I was at church Saturday from 4:45 pm - 10 pm and Sunday from 8:30 am - 2 pm. I met a lot of people and got a lot of promising freelance leads.

This week is vacation week for me. I get to do anything I want to do. I don't have to answer phone calls or emails. It's a much needed break after 3 years of not having a break. It will be dedicated to relaxing, but also thinking about what my next step is. It will be uninterrupted time to reflect, weigh the pros and cons, and listen to God, without being influenced by opinions (from others) of what I should be doing.

45 days 'til...

2005-10-13T18:37:00.000-05:00

Luke informed me tonight that it's 45 days until the Christmas lights go up...the Christmas decorations get brought out...the Christmas movies and music start playing...and the Christmas shopping starts.

Wow...it's closer than we think.

"The Fire"

2005-10-13T18:28:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night's episode of The Office was hilarious once again. A fire inside the office forces them to the parking lot where they may learn more about each other than they wanted to.

In honor of this episode I thought we'd play a little game of Desert Island ourselves. So, here goes...if you were stuck on a desert island for the rest of your life and you could bring five movies what would they be? And I'll add another question...how about 5 foods?

My 5 movies:
The Godfather
Amelie
Home for the Holidays
Snatch
The Royal Tenenbaums

My 5 foods:
Leann Chin's oyster wings
Margherita pizza
Buca's mixed green salad with prosciutto and gorgonzola
Claddagh's Paddy Mac's corned beef and slaw sandwich
Buffalo chicken fingers with blue cheese dressing

To Alan

2005-10-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

This post is dedicated to my brother who has been promoted to Petty Officer Second Class and who received the Naval Marine Achievement Medal. Way to go Alan! We are all so proud of you. We send you our love and support.

For those who aren't familiar with Navy rankings, "Petty Officer Second Class is the fifth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just above Petty Officer Third Class and below Petty Officer First Class, and is a non-commissioned officer." (Wikipedia)

In summary...

2005-10-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

Today...

Went to Kinko's to get a printing estimate.

Stopped at Leann Chin for a late lunch: beef lo mein and oyster wings.

Picked up some items at Bylery's: prosciutto, rigatoni, 1 lemon, 1 orange, crackers, and port wine cheese spread. (definitely not all for the same meal)

Had some guy flick me off because I honked my horn because he was merging into my car. (What's wrong with people???)

Got a phone call from Target.com letting me know "they went with the other candidate."
(he had more experience... but she told me (twice) both her and her boss thought my portfolio was phenomenal and would let me know if another spot opens up or if anything opens at Target...not too disappointed about not getting the job...happy that this gives me a chance to think things through)

Picked up Mia from school (5 minutes late because traffic came to a halt).

Made Chicken Saltimbocca (chicken with prosciutto and sage in a lemon butter sauce) and mashed potatoes. YUM YUM YUM.

Had a wonderful talk with my husband.

Gave some design suggestions to a friend that needed an second opinion.

Watched The Apprentice: Martha Stewart while eating port wine cheese spread and crackers. I love that show!

What did you do today?

Stages

2005-10-11T16:58:00.000-05:00

So, it's about two weeks since I graduated...what has been going on? A lot. I guess you could say a whirlwind of emotions. I think everyone goes through some kind of "process" after any big change/event in their life. It's different for everyone. Some of my friends were extremely sad after graduating, and some never really felt a big change. Here's my stages so far...

Stage 1 (graduation day & afterwards): Didn't feel real...like I was dreaming. {denial}

Stage 2 (week after graduation): Stressed with all the freelance work that I had to get done before I could start my job search. It hadn't set in that I had graduated...and I never had time to ponder the thought of what the next step should be. {denial/anger}

Stage 3 (the end of week after graduation): Got one project completed and others half done. Starting to feel that I'll never get to look for a job. {anger}

Stage 4 (the next weekend after graduation): Starting to feel a cold coming on...feeling rundown...and starting to feel a little sad.

Stage 5 (2nd week after graduation): Feeling exhausted and icky from my cold...all I want to do is stay in bed.

Stage 6 (can't remember exact day): Broke down...crying. Wondering am I a good wife/mother/designer/person?...wondering many things. {depression}

Stage 7 (last Friday): Have interview at Target.com...it goes great.

Stage 8 (yesterday): Starting to feel better (physically/emotionally)...I get done a lot of freelance work.

Stage 9 (today): Have my 2nd interview at Target.com...it goes wonderful. Finish all of my freelance work...feeling good about getting stuff done and excited to hear back from Target. Having time to think, and realize where I am at in life and ready to move forward to the future. {acceptance}

Naked

2005-10-10T21:05:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to beat a cold since last Monday. Luke stopped at the store today and brought me home a Naked to make me feel better. What a sweetheart.

Fall Festival

2005-10-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

We had a little get together on Saturday with some friends. On the menu: hot dogs, s'mores, cheese, crackers, bakery breads with apple butter or honey, caramel apples, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider. Here's some pics...

Buca Memories

2005-10-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

I finally got my pictures developed from my last day at Buca, that I promised you I'd post some, way back on August 7th...click here to see the post. They bring back fun memories. I get a little teary-eyed every time I drive past the restaurant, but it's great to be home with my family. Maybe I'll just have to go in to eat more.

So here are a few...

Deidra, me, & Barb (my gal pals)

"86 Amy"

Naughty Jen Fed & Alex "The Man"

Me & Matt (one of the funniest guys I've ever met)

One of our future presidents (I'm not kidding)-Dan & Chase

Ames Farm Honey

2005-10-01T01:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got the chance to stop by the farmers market and see if "the honey guy" was around. "The honey guy" is Brian Fredericksen, the man behind Ames Farm-a local farm selling honey, bee pollen, and apples.

Luke and I stumbled across Ames Farm honey a few years ago at the Minneapolis farmers market. The beautiful packaging of the honey caught my eye...so we decided to buy a jar and give it a try. It was delicious. The flavor was so distinct, not like the honey you buy at the grocery store (because I don't). This honey was so good, I just wanted to eat it with a spoon.

So what's the secret? All their honey is single source honey...meaning, that the honey is taken from one hive, and not combined with honey from another hive. And their honey is raw...meaning, it is not heated outside of the beehive. "Heat destroys the delicate flavors, useful enzymes and character of the honey."

Not only that...but I can also visit the beeyard database on the Ames Farm website and find out that my jar of Locust honey collected at Blue Earth River, Hive 558 A was collected on 6-24-05, extracted 6-25-05, has a taste of coconut and vanilla, has a lemon yellow color, and any additional notes about the honey.

So back to yesterday...Brian wasn't there, but a co-worker was. It was hard to decide which honey to get because he kept handing me sample after sample. I finally decided on a jar of creamed sweet clover honey, natural comb honey, and a bag of Mijon apples.

If I was a food critic, I would forecast honey as the next big food trend. Like wine tasting parties, and cheese courses...I think honey tasting parties or honey courses will someday take the stage among gourmet snobs (or me...not a snob, but I love good food...and a honey tasting party just might be fun).

As for me, I'll continue to be loyal to Ames Farm. And hopefully not turn into too much of a honey snob..."I think I taste a hint of mint and floral..." :)

Mijon apples, natural comb honey, & creamed sweet clover honey

Mia loves honey

If you'd like to know more about Ames Farm or order some of their honey...click here.

Many Thanks...

2005-09-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

Since my Dad put me on the spot last night asking to give a speech, I'd like to thank some people I may have missed and re-thank some of you again (in no particular order)...

To Mark, Linda, Kris, Andy, Jason, Alison, Tom, Christine, and Meghan: Thank you for always making me feel part of your families...your love and support have always been much appreciated.

To Mom and Dad: Thank you for being my parents and raising me into who I am today. You both mean so much to me. Thank you for all your love, support, and your generous spirits, and for helping out so many times when I needed someone to watch Mia. You are both the greatest!!!

To Alan: Thanks for being such a great brother and friend. I love you so much and miss you and hope to see you soon.

To Luke: Thank you for being the best husband in the entire world. I couldn't ask for anyone better. Thank you for putting up with me for the past 3 years. You have been so supportive and so helpful with taking care of Mia and our home. Thank you for your opinions. You are the best.

To Mia: Thank you for being so understanding when I was so busy. You are the greatest, most beautiful, smartest daughter. I love you so much.

To Kay: Thank you for being such a great friend through the great, good, and not-so-good times. Thanks for understanding when no one else could. Thanks for all the coffee breaks, your opinion on things, fun times, and being there. You hold a special place in my heart.

To Lucas: Thank you for all the sweet discounts you gave me at Paper Depot...without you, I'd have a lot less money. :) Thanks for good times in school, especially intermediate drawing. Most of all, thanks for your friendship.

To Meg: Thank you for all the life pondering questions. Thank you for "the fonts" and cds. Thanks for making me smile and laugh. Thank you for being such a great friend through it all.

To Chad: Thank you for being so smiley. Thank you for putting up with all the teasing...I really am always kidding. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend and all the good times.

To Jar: Thanks for introducing me to Value Village. Thanks for the fun times. Thank you for being such a sweet gal and a great friend.

To Dawnie: Thanks for the Beef Jerky. :) Thank you for putting up with Luke's abuse. You have such a sweet heart, don't ever change. Thank you for making me laugh and for your friendship.

To Wes Weleczki: Thanks for making me a better designer.

To Lindsay J.: Thanks for being such a wonderful friend and all the fun we have had. Now that I'm done we can go out for coffee more. :)

To God: Thank you for giving me the strength to carry on and for your love.

The list could go on and on. Everyone I know has touched my life in some way. Thanks everyone. I love all of you so much...thank you!!!

Graduation!!!

2005-09-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was graduation day. For those who don't know, at the Art Institutes, graduation day is a day long event. It starts at 8 am with the students setting up their tables for the portfolio show. The portfolio show runs from 9 am - 1 pm. Then we run across the street to the First Baptist church for graduation practice. The graduation ceremony is from 2:30 - 3:30, then everyone heads back to school for a reception and the continuation of the show until 5:30 pm.

It was a long day, but fun. It's exciting to finally let everyone see all your hard work. We ended the day by celebrating at Buca with family and friends. Here's some pictures from the day...

Me at my table

Mia was so happy to see me

My mom, me, & my dad

John right before his throat closed up...sorry John :(

Dutch maid?

Kay, Lucas, Chad, the pope, Jar, & Wes

No similarities whatsoever.

The Week's Rundown

2005-09-24T14:49:00.000-05:00

Since it has been a week since my last post, I have a lot of catching up to do.

This last week was sort of a blur since I was so busy getting ready for graduation. On Tuesday I did get to catch the premiere of "The Office" (which was hilarious) and watch the finale of "Rockstar: INXS" (I was so happy it came down to J.D. and Marty, I did not like Mig).

Wednesday night a storm came out of no where. I had my computer on-working on design stuff and had the TV on-ready to tape "The Apprentice-Martha Stewart"...when Ken Barlow cuts into the beginning of the show to update everyone of 75 m.p.h. winds and then a tornado warning in Hennepin and Anoka county. Right after that announcement all my power shut off, and I was left in the dark. Two days before graduating is not a good time for the power to go off. I still had a lot to do.

By Thursday morning, the power was still off and Mia's school had been canceled for the day. Luke was so helpful in making the entire situation lighthearted and fun. We decided to relocate to Luke's workplace for the day. We packed up my computer, printer, camera, paper, supplies, etc. and set up a workspace for me in the small groups resource room.

The power finally came back on at 7:30 p.m. that night, which I'm so thankful for because some people are still without power today (Saturday).

You don't realize how dependent you are on electricity until you're without it. Especially when you have an important deadline and you rely on power to get the job done. I'm just thankful that it was only power we lost and didn't have any damage done to our property.

Precious Sleep

2005-09-17T15:37:00.000-05:00

I slept so good last night. It was the first time in quite awhile that I felt tired when I went to bed. I couldn't even keep my eyes open trying to read my new October issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Wednesday night I had stayed up until 4:30 doing design work for my portfolio. Thursday night I never went to bed. I was even a little late to class Friday morning because I was still mounting pieces into my new portfolio at 9 am (class starts at 9:30) for my final presentation in Porfolio class.

Friday was just generally insane:
9:30 am - 1:00 pm: portfolio presentations
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm: drove home to pick up stuff I forgot to hand in and shoved a piece of pizza in my mouth
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm: drove back to school for internship presentations
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: internship presentations

The past week, but especially Friday, felt like no matter how hard and fast I worked to get ahead, I felt ten steps behind. While I was driving home from school, I heard a song on the radio by Coldplay and it just hit home:

"When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse"

It was exactly how I felt. Today, after a good night's sleep I feel much better and ready to tackle all the work I need to finish before Friday (graduation) this week.

Perogies

2005-09-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

Perogies (a dumpling filled with potato, smothered in butter & onions) were one of my favorite meals that my mom made when I was growing up. Even though we're not Polish, Czech, or Ukrainian...it was a meal that we ate a lot. I made perogies last night...everything from scratch (except the sour cream), rolled the dough by hand. I'm so glad I doubled the recipe so we have more for tonight...yum.

What was your favorite meal growing up?

Martha's Premiere

2005-09-12T14:51:00.000-05:00

Martha's new daytime show premiered today. It was...okay. It was interesting to see Martha in a new light...not being as perfect, making fun of herself, and interacting informally with guests. I'm not giving up on the show quite yet. It's Martha...come on! It's her first time back on television in quite awhile. She seemed a little nervous at first, but she loosened up as the show went on...especially with the DiSanto sisters, but hey, Italians have that effect on people. :) I did enjoy the clip of Martha showing up at the home of the DiSanto sisters...they couldn't believe it was Martha Stewart in their own home. It was very entertaining and cute. Some upcoming guests this week include: David Spade, Jay Leno, Sean "Diddy" Combs (what the heck?), and Martha's mom. I miss her old show...but I'll keep watching anyway.

Memory Lane

2005-09-10T21:25:00.000-05:00

We were at the Claddagh only 2 weeks ago, but Luke and I were craving their fish and chips so we ate there tonight (check out Luke's blog to view these awesome fish and chips). We saved some room for coffee and Baileys cheesecake. Everything was delicious as always.

Amy, Mara, and Emily (who just started) were all working. For those who don't know, these three sisters were my childhood playmates when I lived in Duluth until the age of six...Mara being my closest bud. I think it was last winter when Luke and I ran into Amy and Mara working at the Claddagh. Amy was hosting and said to me, "Are you Amy Baltes?" (wow, I haven't heard that name in a long time) I didn't recognize her, and responded, "yes, I am...why?" She told me who she was, I remembered, yada, yada, yada. Anyway, it was shocking to see Emily this time, since I haven't seen her since she was a toddler. It was nice to talk with all of them and catch up on what they've been up to.

Life's paths are interesting. You never know if and when you'll meet up with people you never thought you'd see again.

Left to Right: Mara, Emily, Amy, & Me

Mara and I back in the day

Time with Family

2005-09-10T14:41:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law, Elonda and my nephew, Ashton flew in from Connecticut today and spent some time visiting with us. Ashton has gotten so big since I last saw him, and reminded me of my brother, Alan so much (he's in the Middle East taking care of things). Mia and Ashton get along so well...when it was time for Ashton to leave he starting crying and reaching for Mia. So, Mia packed her backpack and headed up to Gramma and Papa's with Ashton and Elonda. I hope they have fun.

Maude

2005-09-09T14:51:00.000-05:00

My hairstylist, Ashlee, who has worked for Hairpolice for about ten years, has opened her own place with some friends. It's called Maude and that's her business card pictured left. I finally got to see the place when I got my haircut yesterday. It's located in Northeast Minneapolis (much closer to my house than Uptown) in a beautiful, old brick building. The salon is beyond cool. It was beautifully decorated by a number of people who work there. I can't define the style of the decor, because it's so many unique styles put together. It's artsy/vintage/modern/girly is the best I can describe it.

Ashlee has been cutting my hair since Mia was born...just over seven years. Before I found Ashlee, I'd skip around from hairdresser to hairdresser hoping the next one wouldn't make my hair any uglier than the one before. But then the day came when I met Ashlee...finally, a stylist who cut my hair EXACTLY how I pictured it to be...or even better than I pictured it. So, I've never gone to anyone else in the last seven years. Ashlee rocks...not only is she a great stylist, she's fun to be around. So if you need a change, make an appointment at Maude (612.378.0022).

Check out their sweet website too: www.maudeonquincy.com

I dyed my hair too...I know it's dark, but it always fades so fast, so I go a little darker than the color I want...