Holiday Shopping

When one works full time and has a husband whose job takes him away for 24 hours at a time, one takes any time one can get to sneak in some holiday shopping. I am the one I speak of. Nearly every day this week I have trudged out of the office over lunch to shop (Target and the Ridgedale Mall to name two destinations) as I have desperately tried to check off those last few gifts on my list.

On Wednesday I found myself at Ridgedale. I only had an hour so I was a woman on a mission (when aren't I??) with a list in my head of my stops and a well-planned map of how I would get to them most efficiently, grab some food and make it back to work. I was in Macy's in the cosmetic department, had made my purchase and was briskly walking toward the door leading back into the mall. I was stopped in my tracks by a man at a makeup counter wearing more makeup than me who declared, "Let's touch up your eyebrows." Instinctively I reached my hand up to see if by some strange fate they had disappeared while in the mall. Nope, still there where they have been for nearly 40 years now. I then responded, "Touch up my eyebrows???" To which he replied, "Yes, don't you want me to touch up your eyebrows." At this point I wasn't sure whether I should laugh, stomp away or take him up on it. I chuckled and then as politely as I could muster responded, "No I don't think I want you to touch up my eyebrows." Of course now I have been asking anyone who will listen to me what is wrong with my eyebrows. I even emailed my friend in Florida who assured me that my eyebrows are just fine. My friend Carol however, was kind enough to remind me that my Florida friend hasn't seen me in quite a few months. Geesh -- leave it to a pretty man to give me a complex about my eyebrows!

Last night I took Ryan shopping to purchase a gift for his teacher. This is the first year he has expressed great interest in doing this and he (rightly so) is very fond of his teacher this year. I thought this will be easy. Boy was I wrong!

First I took him to a neat store in Maple Grove called "Good Things." It houses lots of unique gifts you can't find elsewhere. Surely he would find something in no time. His choice, a small plastic chandelier that lights up. I think it was actually some sort of gag gift but Ryan declared it very pretty and I had a heck of time convincing him to put it down. He decided there "was nothing good" at Good Things so off we headed to Bath and Body. It didn't take long and we were now 0 and 2. O.K. Carol maybe this won't be as easy as you thought.... I preceded to ask Ryan what exactly he wanted to buy. I suggested we go to Pier One. 0 and 3. I realized this was going nowhere fast and obviously Ryan had something in his mind but wasn't sharing it with me. I suggested Kohls and he enthusiastically said yes.

Once inside he was a man on a mission heading straight to the jewelry. It seems his heart was set on giving his teacher a necklace but he had been too afraid to tell me this. After much searching we settled on a pretty silver necklace with a neat phrase written on it. I thought it appropriate for a teacher. We boxed it up along with an ornament he got earlier in a cute Santa box and he plans to give it to her tomorrow.

And how has your shopping been?

Anna's Holiday Celebrations

This week has been Anna's week to perform. Last night (Monday) was her Christmas program at her dance school. The girls all dress up and preform several ballet and tap dances to Christmas Music. It was very cute to say the least. Bill and I both commented that you can tell this is her second year of dance because she knew the dances much better this year having performed them last year as well. Here are a few photos of her.

Anna waiting to perform

Anna in first position


Skipping in one of her dances


Spinning like a ballerina

Rocking around the Christmas Tree in her tap shoes

Tonight was her Christmas Program at her preschool. The kids march in shaking jingle bells and perform several songs. This too was fun to watch. However I think quite possibly when I put Anna's tights on her that I accidentally dropped in some jumping beans as she quite literally jumped up and down nearly the entire time she was up on stage. That was coupled with smiling and waving to me every minute or so. For the past few weeks she has been singing the songs to me while she takes her bath at night but it appeared tonight she wasn't so sure about her singing for she didn't really sing until about the third song. Here are just a couple photos from tonight and they aren't great because I was too far away -- I really need to take a photography lesson!!

Anna 3rd from right getting ready to shake her instrument

Anna with her maraca

Anna with Grandma Lambert after her program

Surprise! I Haven't Dropped Off the Face of the Earth!

O.K. o.k. already -- enough harassing from some of you. I know I suppose I deserve it for being so delinquent in posting but seriously -- you have been just as busy as me and likely with the same things. :-)

I am happy to report I am 90-95% done with my shopping. Each year the shopping becomes a bit more challenging as my 9 nieces and nephews get older -- most are teenagers now -- but I still like to try to find something I think they will like. After all -- isn't that the whole idea for gift giving -- to think of a person and try to imagine what they would like? Unfortunately despite my plans I haven't wrapped a single package yet. Soon, soon....

This weekend was non-stop from the time I got to work on Friday morning until about 9:15 this evening when the kids were finally asleep. I had a fun Friday night with my sister Kim (technically sister-in-law but we don't get along like in laws :-) !!) shopping at Rosedale. We are so funny when we get together -- we lose track of time and we laugh a lot. We got hung up in Herberger's trying on boots not realizing that while they were open until 12, the rest of the mall closed at 9. We didn't make it out into the mall until 8:50! We did get some nice boots though!

On Saturday Bill and I had vowed to do a major clean up on the basement in preparation for our first year of hosting his family for Christmas Eve. We have a lot of donations that just needed to be logged and bagged/boxed up so we did that and Courage Center will be here Wednesday. We also bought a really nice coat closet/drawers piece of furniture that Bill assembled and we put inside the door to the basement from the garage. Now all our coats, hats, mittens, boots, etc. are housed nicely and out of sight. I told Bill when we were all done at about 1:30 this morning that my only comment was, "why the heck didn't we buy that a long time ago??!!" Our family room basement area no longer looks like a "dump all" area. The kids even liked it too.

Today was day one of a work segment for Bill -- he works Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and then is off for six days so we will be together for all of Christmas. We will cherish this year as next year reality comes back as Bill has to work Christmas Day. Boy do I get off track quickly.... Anyway so the kids and I holed up at home the whole day -- I only ventured out to grab the paper and let the dog out. I got all the beds stripped, got all the bedding washed and the beds remade, cleaned Ryan's room, cleaned my room, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed and am on load number 8 or 9 -- I've lost track -- of laundry. The only thing I didn't get to today was any baking. Nor did I wrap up the Christmas Cards -- guess we all know what I'll be doing evenings this week.

Well, the dryer just buzzed -- that is my cue that it is time to put in the last load and put this girl to bed. I promise to have some fun posts this week as Anna has her Christmas program at dance class tomorrow night and at preschool on Tuesday night.

Don't let this made dash to the 24th stress you out this week -- grab a cup of tea, cocoa or wine and savor the true meaning for this holiday -- it's NOT about he presents nor Santa but boy is that easy to forget.

It Seems Like Only Yesterday . . .

I have been taking a walk down memory lane the past few days. It seems Ryan's impending birthday today got me thinking. Ryan turned 9 today and I am left wondering where the past nine years have gone. Wasn't he just a baby??

I remember the day Ryan was born like it was yesterday. I woke up a little after two in the morning with pains I knew were beyond Braxton Hicks. I woke Bill and we started timing them. They stayed about 5 minutes apart for quite some time and slowly started to get closer together. My bag was packed for the hospital and had been for quite some time since my due date was November 20 and we were two weeks past that. Bill called the hospital to talk to the OB charge nurse and she told us to come in when the pains got about three minutes apart. That was my cue to take a leisurely shower (yelling to Bill each time a contraction started), do my hair and put on makeup (can you tell this was my first baby -- I had NO idea what was in store for me). Bill was getting very frustrated with me at this point because although he had delivered babies for Paramedic class and was prepared to help deliver this one -- his plan did not include doing this at our house. By the time we left for the hospital the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. It was about 6:30 in the morning and we arrived at the hospital right at shift change so it took awhile to get us settled in to our room.

The rest of the day seemed to stretch on. I had bad back labor which made me quite sick and in a great deal of pain. My stubbornness was not to my advantage that day as I look back now for I was insistent on no pain meds, no epidural, nothing. I went into my own little world and tried to get through it. Finally after more than three hours of pushing Ryan made his grand entrance at 2:16 pm. He was literally bright eyed and bushy haired (so that was why I had so much heartburn!). The doctor and nurse marveled at his alertness and chalked it up to how much past my due date he was.

Ryan was such an easy, happy baby. We moved to a new house only two weeks after he was born and he slept through much of the chaos. We were lucky -- for a first baby we were blessed with a boy who made us think we could have several more (after having Anna however we saw how outnumbered we felt with two and decided two was a nice number).

Today Ryan is still bright eyed AND bushy haired. He is growing up to be such a fine young man and we are so very proud of him. He is empathic to others and loves his sister dearly, he is smart and excelling in school and his twinkling eyes and toothy grin can't help but make you smile. I wanted to share a photo from the day he was born but I don't have one electronically. So instead I decided to share some photos from his birthday party on Saturday and his birthday dinner tonight. Enjoy!

Ryan and his cake

Ryan w/cousins Marah & Matthew @ Famous Dave's for Birthday Dinner

Ryan & Mom @ Famous Dave's

Ryan & Anna @ Famous Dave's with his surprise Birthday Sundae

A Chill Is In The Air

I think I awoke Mother Nature with my post the other night about our weekend. I mentioned that for our trip to the Christmas Tree Farm the weather was unseasonably mild compared to years past. I should have been tipped off that night that the mild weather was about to end because I recall as I sat in our basement on the computer that I could hear the wind outside rattling the windows. It was so loud in fact that it woke Anna up and she promptly announced, "momma I think it is very windy out." She couldn't have been more right.

The temps have dropped and we aren't seeing much above the 30's. The wind has picked up and snow has been flying around during the day although to this point not amounting to anything but a light dusting that the gusts of winds quickly do away with.

The forecast for the weekend while changing about every 12 hours is calling for snow. We thought we might be out of the "threat zone" but now it is sounding like the metro area may be in for a wintry weekend. Of course we are celebrating Ryan's birthday on Saturday so that figures. My parents and Aunt will come up Saturday morning and luckily they had planned long ago to spend the night so I don't have to worry about them driving home.

I greet the thought of snow with mixed feelings -- it is beautiful and of course living in Minnesota you have to like snow. But I hate the mess it makes of my car and I hate boots and driving in slush. I know I know, quit your whining Carol -- if you really dislike snow so much you should move south. Nah, I will always be a Midwest girl, snow, boots and all! :-)

Scaling To New Heights

This past Sunday I wandered into our kitchen. Bill was outside and the kids were busy playing but I got the distinct impression I was being watched. I looked around quickly assuming Bill or the kids had decided to play a joke and sneak up on me. Nope I was clearly alone--or was I?

Finally I looked up and peering down at me from the tops of the cabinets was Sophie (our kitten who doesn't really look much like a kitten anymore). I am not clear on how she discovered this new found climbing talent or what on earth possessed her to climb up on top of the cabinets in the first place. I mean the only things up there are dust bunnies that she seems to be knocking all over my counter tops. I am thinking she was left alone too much this past weekend and got bored. I stood and pondered how on earth she got where she was. Then I thought, "what goes up must come down," so after snapping a few photos for proof I waited patiently to see her route of exit. Sophie didn't disappoint for not long after, she sauntered over near the fridge, hopped onto the top of that and then onto the counter and finally to the floor.

Unfortunately what I thought might be just a kitty novelty has turned into a full-fledged perching place and I have the seemingly endless dust bunnies falling onto my counter tops to prove it. Needless to say I will be tackling the cleaning of the tops of the cabinets in the next night or two. I guess it is time since the last time I did this was the weekend we moved into the house in Feb. 2005 -- boy was that embarrassing to admit!

Can you find the Kitty in the picture? (No fair picking on my outdated wallpaper and window valance!)

A Fun Holiday Weekend Had By All

As long holiday weekends go this past one was a very nice one. The weather (for Minnesota this time of year) was beautiful for the most part. The food was plentiful and delicious on Thanksgiving day . . . although when all was said and done my mom and I determined we were on our feet for nearly 12 hours straight preparing the meal (it was worth it!) and were really tired out when the day was done. And of course spending time in Mankato with my parents was a welcome retreat to the hectic pace of life we seem to keep in Maple Grove. It is funny though because I am getting closer and closer to a point where I have lived places besides Mankato longer than I lived in Mankato I am starting to feel more like a visitor. It will always be "home" in that I grew up and graduated from High School there, but it certainly is NOT remotely close to the town I grew up in. Admittedly I don't get there as often as my parents or I would like, but it seems each time I do go, something new has sprung up in some place that was once a corn field. This trip was no different as I headed to the shopping area on Friday near my High School to discover there is a Lowe's store now open.

The kids and I headed home late on Saturday. Sunday we planned to travel to Cambridge to a Christmas Tree farm Bill and I started going to back in 1991 to cut down our Christmas Tree. We really lucked out on Sunday as the weather was mild -- nearly in the 40's and sunny. There was a little wind but we all stayed toasty warm on our hunt for the "perfect tree."' As usual we weren't disappointed and found a lovely Balsam Fir that will soon take up residence in our living room. We reminisced about year's past where the snow was up to our knees and the temps near zero as we trudged around the tree fields. We agreed it seems our winters seem to be slowly getting milder -- I am just not sure if that is a good thing or not??

Here are some photos highlighting our weekend.

Four Wheeling with Grandpa on Thanksgiving Day (Anna on 4-wheeler and Ryan being towed on a sled).

Baking Cookies with Grandma on "Black Friday" (notice how grandma's rolling pin and pastry mat match Anna's pink shirt).

Traveling to the Christmas Tree Farm and Cutting Down Our Tree on Sunday (I compared our family photo to last year's at the tree farm and boy have Ryan & Anna gotten taller).

Of Things To Be Thankful For

As I drove into work this morning my mind was racing as I thought of everything that I had to accomplish today. I knew I had a full day of work ahead of me (no chance of ducking out early on this holiday eve) and then I knew I had a full evening. I managed last night to not pack a thing for mine and the kid's trip to Mankato tonight to celebrate Thanksgiving with mom, dad and my Aunt Marg. (Bill won't be with us this year as he works Thanksgiving this year.) We will be with my parents until Saturday afternoon so I don't need a ton of things but I am packing for two kids who tend to get dirty. Plus with cold weather in the forecast, I need to pack jackets, boots, etc. Anyway, it was all a bit overwhelming to think about as I cruised south on Highway 494. Suddenly though something came over me -- maybe it was something I heard on the radio, I don't really know. But all of a sudden I started to make a mental list of all the things I have to be thankful for this year. Here are just a few of the things on my list (in no particular order):

1. The drafty windows and front door of my house. Even though they are about past their lifespan, they are mine and I am reminded that I have a roof over my head and a house to call my own.

2. That favorite pair of jeans in my closet that I refuse to part with because I am determined that I will again fit into them. This reminds me that I have MORE than enough food to eat.

3. The seemingly endless number of car repairs we have had this year. I am reminded I have a car and can still afford to put gas into it.

4. A really good memory. I can use it to remember those who will not be with us at Thanksgiving this year -- in particular my Grandma Huettl who passed away in March and whose absence I am really feeling with the holiday season upon us.

5. A really full in-box in my email accounts. Spam aside I am reminded of the wonderful family and friends near and far who think of me and forward humorous, heartwarming and sometimes serious emails.

At this time of year with all the sales and messages to buy, buy, buy and spend, spend, spend it is so easy to get caught up in the stuff that really doesn't matter and run through the holiday season always looking forward and not living in the moment. I am vowing to enjoy each day and remember this year what really matters. And to think -- I figured that all out on my commute to work this morning. :-)

Happy Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Conversations With Anna

Anna has been under the weather this week – not sure if she is having a funky reaction to her flu shot or if she has caught one of the plethora of illness bugs already invading our metro area. Not feeling well however has not affected her little mind that seems to constantly be churning nor her ability to hear all and forget none. Let me humor you all with a recap of two conversations from earlier this week. The first took place on Tuesday night while we snuggled in her bed with the lights out listening to the Delilah Show on the radio. Here is how it went (after hearing a radio ad for Wedding Day Jewelers which just so happens to have a Maple Grove location):

Anna: Mom just where is Wedding Day Jewelers in Maple Grove?

Me: It is over by your shoe store and Salsaritas, why would you like to go there and look at diamonds some day?

Anna: Yes I would – I want to look at diamond wedding rings.

Me (thought not spoken): Smart girl, takes after her mom, likes things that sparkle BUT isn’t she a bit young????

Anna: Mom where is Arkansas?

Me: Arkansas? Why it is a state down in the south, why?

Anna: Because after we go to the Wedding Day Jewelers I want to take a trip there. You can marry your brother there but in Minnesota it is against the law. And I want to go to Arkansas so I can marry Ry.

(Now I should jump in here to clarify that Anna adores her big brother Ryan and is fiercely protective and proud of him. At the tender age of four that adoration translates to her thinking she wants and should marry him when she is older. Bill and I have tried numerous times to dissuade her and explain why you don’t marry your brother. Apparently these talks have fallen on deaf, or stubborn, ears.)

Me: And who told you this about Arkansas?????

Anna: Daddy did. So I wanna go there.

Of course I tried again in vain to explain why she really DIDN’T want to marry her brother and how he might want to marry someone else and that she would meet a nice boy that she would want to marry. Later I talked to Bill who was at work and told him I only had one word for him, “Arkansas.” He laughed so hard he nearly cried.

The second conversation took place in our kitchen last night and then later at bedtime. My weight has been like a yo yo the past few years and I am trying (although not very successfully) to drop the extra pounds put on when we moved back to MN. I try to work out and have been religiously attending my Weight Watchers meeting although struggling a bit with following my WW plan each week. Bill complimented me last week and said, “You look thinner.” Just the boost I needed. But leave it to our brutally honest children to bring us back to reality.

I was standing at the kitchen counter diligently chopping a cucumber and tomato for my salad with dinner. Anna came up behind and patted me on my bum.

Anna: Momma you have a funny tisimo (short for butisimo).

Me: I do, thanks Anna.

Anna: Yeah mom you do – it is really big and round and sticks out.

Me (to Bill): I will be heading to the Health Club now.

Later in bed…..

Anna: Mommy your mouth is getting smaller, why is that happening?

Me: It is?

Anna: Yes it looks smaller.

Me: Well maybe my mouth is shrinking because my tisimo is getting bigger. (Now in all honesty if my mouth were truly getting smaller don’t you think my tisimo would be getting smaller???!!)

From the mouths of babes…..

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like ...

O.K. -- that was just a little teaser for you. This morning the snow was swirling and coming down at a fairly rapid pace so much so that it actually put a light coating on trees, roofs and roads. Before I left for work it literally looked like large fluffy feathers floating around. Beautiful - even more so that it only stuck temporarily. :-) Forgive the crude photo -- I snapped it with my phone out my office window this morning. It doesn't really do justice to how pretty the snow looked. Needless to say, winter is in the air.

Sometimes Bad Things Happen

It has been a rough week for me -- well a rough 24 hours for sure. In amongst a stressful work week I have received sad news from two friends. The first has been diagnosed with a terminal and untreatable form of cancer that has aggressively spread in her body. I say cancer is a 4-letter word. My heart aches for her family and her friends. And I ask myself why her, why this, why now? My only answer, "sometimes bad things happen."

The second friend sent a sad email to say the family dog had been accidentally and obviously unexpectedly hit by a car when it went outside earlier today. The outcome sounds rather grave but I haven't heard back. I know this dog was the bright light in the lives of my friend's two children. Again, I asked myself why? Again, "sometimes bad things happen."

I say we don't know from one day to the next what life holds and I plan to go home and hug my kids and my hubby and my kitty and my dog (plus I will give the fish an extra pinch of food). I know to be thankful and feel blessed for what I have because "sometimes bad things do happen."

Winter Is In The Air

We knew it had to happen sooner or later. Lucky for us here in Minnesota it seems to be happening a little later in the year than normal. Yes, winter is teasing us with its cold and snowy grasp. Trees here are all but bare and the landscape has taken on its grey hue. Most telling however was the wind, the temps and the white flakes that flew around all afternoon yesterday. Yep -- snow. Nothing measurable or even of a nuisance but enough to remind us that Toto I don't think we are going to be in the fall season much longer.

Yesterday morning before school I had to send Ryan downstairs to search through the storage bench by our back door for a hat and mittens. Both he and Anna resisted winter coats but were quite happy to cover their ears and hands.

Me? I cranked the heat and heated seat on high in the car on my commute to and from work and pondered moving south. :-)

Gracie The Hunter

First my apologies for my delinquency in keeping the blog updated. I see my last post was two weeks ago -- time flys when you are having fun. Well in my case when you are working, shuffling kids around and going out of town on the weekend.

Last weekend Bill and Gracie ventured up North past Lake Mille Lacs to do some grouse hunting. This northern pilgrimage has been a tradition since Bill and I met (and before I was even in the picture). The group of players has changed and it seems the boys have mellowed in their antics -- I used to accuse Bill of the hunting part being a cover for a guys gone wild weekend. In fact I don't think I was too far from the truth at one time but it doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Hunting and relaxing now seem to be the agenda.

Our neighbor has a wonderful cabin that Bill and his friends use. The first day of hunting was too warm and Gracie got really tired out and Bill frustrated with the lack of bird sightings. Things looked up and as you can see from the photo Bill was able to shoot a couple birds. Gracie happily retrieved his targets. I am not sure if Gracie has yet totally recovered as she has sure put in a lot of time on the couch in the basement this week!

A View From Up High

This past Sunday we headed over to the Highland Park area of Saint Paul to go up to the top of the Highland Park Water Tower. This is a little piece of history tucked away in Highland Park -- open only to the public one or two weekends a year.

You climb a large cement spiraling staircase to get to the top -- over 100 feet up.

From the top you can see some amazing views -- from the skylines of both downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul, to the Fairgrounds to the Airport. Unfortunately the day was cold and at that height VERY windy so we didn't stay up top very long. The kids enjoyed the view with the highlight watching an airplane come in for a landing.

Happy Birthday Bill!

Bill turned a year older on Saturday (October 13). In true grown up fashion we spent most of the day with little pomp and circumstance instead working on projects around the house. However, I don't care what any of us say -- we all truly enjoy our birthday and certainly hope that others make us feel special on that day. I was determined to make Bill's day a good one. Originally I was going to make him one of his favorite meals (a turkey dinner with all the fixings) but then he said he didn't want me to do all that work (secretly I think he knew that I have a tendency to underestimate the amount of time it takes me to cook and for some strange reason I think he wanted his birthday dinner ON his birthday). Bill LOVES white cake (I find this so odd as for me cake isn't cake unless it is chocolate) so I set out earlier last week to find the ultimate vanilla cake recipe. My friend and co-worker Carol came through with a recipe from a bakery in New York famous for their vanilla cupcakes with pink vanilla frosting and sprinkles - Magnolia Bakery. Apparently these cupcakes are so good that people literally line up to buy them and you are limited to four per purchase -- so if you need eight you have to go back and wait in line to buy four more. I guess they were featured on Sex in the City as well when it was on.

The cake recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 4 eggs among other things. The frosting has another cup of butter and 8 cups of powdered sugar! Either this cake better be darn good or the post-cake angioplasty was not going to be worth it!

The cake was actually pretty easy -- you totally mix it with your stand mixer. I concocted a two-layer cake with pale blue frosting that ended up looking green (I feared a navy blue cake so went a little to easy on the food coloring). On top I sprinkled edible glitter. It certainly wasn't my prettiest cake -- but man oh man is it heaven to eat. Bill seemed to enjoy it as well. I may have hit on a yearly tradition ... I am sure that is all our health insurance will allow!

Ballerina Girl, You Are So Lovely

I am a mom so I get bragging rights. Anna recently started her 2nd year of dance lessons -- ballet and tap. What a difference a year makes! Anna is so serious and I think would go to class every day instead of her once a week Tuesday evening class. Recital won't be until June but already she wants to practice her dances she will perform and is wondering when she gets measured for her costume and more importantly what will it look like and when will it come??

I have to admit I live somewhat vicariously through Anna with this dance thing. I too took dance lessons when I was a youngster -- not as young as her -- and loved it as well. I didn't get the elaborate costumes, the fancy hair and the makeup. But I know how much I would have enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong -- I am not pushing Anna into this and cringe at the thought of her having her hair and makeup done the way it is done for recital for anything outside of recital -- she is only 4 after all. But it gives me such good feelings inside to see her enjoy this so much and I hope the love of it continues. Not just for the costumes but for the discipline, the poise and the confidence I think it can give her.

Here are a few photos snapped last weekend before Anna headed to class on Saturday morning to make up her missed class earlier in the week due to my being at Religion class with Ryan (note I have not yet figured out how to be in two places at once). I totally see why Bill loves to sing to her "Ballerina girl, you are so lovely" from the Lionel Richie song Ballerina Girl.

New York, Day 3, 9.23.07

Day three of my trip started a little later (thank goodness because this girl was getting VERY tired). After grabbing a hot tea and cinnamon scone at Starbucks we boarded the bus and headed over to the ports to catch a two-hour semi-circle cruise that took us down the west side of Manhattan, past Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and up along the east side. The day was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous for being on the water and I got lots of great photos.

After the cruise we headed back to our hotel, had some lunch and me back up with the group to walk past Rockefeller Center, to St. Patrick's Cathedral and then up 5th Avenue -- elite shopping mecca. It was fun to window shop and of course we had to go into Tiffany's and look. Oh how I long for a little blue box . . .

We topped off the day with cocktails in the lobby and then on to Ruby Foos for dinner and these WONDERFUL ginger mojitos. Dinner was a combination of appetizers, dim sum and some entrees all shared as a group. We had so much fun and laughed a lot. A really fun way to top off the trip. After dinner it was back to the hotel to pack for our departure the next morning.

Thanks so my Aunt Marg who sent me this group photo we had taken. We all bought some type of "New York" t-shirt and wore them for the day -- looking like the true tourists we were! This photo is in front of the hotel, l-r, Cindy and her mom Marlys (friend of my mom), my Aunt Marg, Me and my mom and my Aunt Dorothy.

New York, Day 2, 9.22.07

Day 2 of my trip started out early as well. We met for breakfast at the Carnegie Deli located just down the street from our hotel a little after 7:00. Remember according to my internal clock it is only a little after 6:00 so my body is questioning why on earth I am feeding it eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns. Breakfast served as my first reminder of portion sizes in New York. My breakfast was enough food to last me for 3 breakfasts. Don't worry ... although I felt bad about wasting food I didn't attempt to clean my plate .... not even close!

We met back up with our group at the hotel at 8:30 to take a bus tour down to Ground Zero. From there we toured the temporary museum of 911 memorabilia. The museum has video from survivors, time lines and photos of the attacks, photos of the victims and a list of all the victims. Most moving however were the glass display cases that contained items found in the rubble like a menu and flat ware from the restaurant, elevator signs, keys to offices and most moving to me -- a New York Fire Fighter's turnout coat. After the museum we embarked on a guided walking tour of the site of the World Trade Center towers and the buildings surrounding the area. This was my most memorable part of the trip. First we walked by the fire station directly across the street from the station. They have a bronze plaque showing the likenesses of the fire fighters from that station who died in the attacks. On the side of the station is a 57 foot long bronze plaque memorial. Very moving to see. I have been to Ground Zero several times and it was always this big hole. It was very strange to see work and building being done here. I met this with mixed emotions. On the one hand I understand the importance of moving forward and certainly the financial impact to NYC of not moving forward in the long run is more devastating than the financial toll of the attacks on 9/11. But on the other when you are there and you see the devastation you can't help but feel for the victims and their families. Because so many victims remains have been unidentified this is in essence a burial ground if you will. The plans we were shown indicate that much thought was put into this entire 8-acre area in trying to meet the needs of all involved. Our tour guide, Gerry, worked on the 82nd floor of the North Tower and was working the morning of the attacks. He was also working in 1993 when the bombing happened and he credits that with the reason he and so many others survived. As soon as the North Tower was hit on the 93rd floor (this was the tower first hit in case you have forgotten) he felt the jolt and felt the building sway back and forth. He instantly recognized that this was not the normal swaying you felt in the building. His instincts told him to leave, NOW. He got out and was safe. Unfortunately two co-workers, for whatever reason, decided to go back and sadly they perished in the collapse. Gerry was so willing to share details and information with us. He said for him, volunteering at the museum and doing these tours is very therapeutic for him.

After leaving Ground Zero we reboarded our tour bus and toured our way through China Town, Chelsea, etc. Some people opted to be dropped in China Town as the shopping on the weekends is stellar. You can barter for just about anything and apparently this is THE PLACE to buy "designer" bags ... read Prada, Kate Spade, Coach, Gucci, etc. etc. etc. We decided to stay on the bus as it started to rain and we didn't have our umbrellas. The bus tour was fun and informative.

We got back to the hotel, freshened up and headed out to find some lunch. After lunch we decided to make our way through the street fair (read: LOTS of vendors selling everything under the sun) that was on the street in front of our hotel. We spent the afternoon doing this and found some great deals.

For the evening meal we headed to a Brazilian Steak House, Churrascaria Plataforma (http://churrascariaplataforma.com/) for an amazing meal. We started with "Caipirinha" (a concoction of fresh limes, sugar, ice and "Cachaça" - Brazilian liquor made from raw sugar cane) and the salad bar. Both were wonderful but the drink was VERY strong. The fun really started when they began serving the first of 16 courses of meat. I can't even recall them all but what I remember eating: chicken, salmon, prime rib, garlic steak, rib eye steak, tenderloin, BBQ ribs, brisket, veal and ham. We had so much fun and had a wonderful maitre d' named Marcus who took care of all us ladies like we were princesses. He picked up the tab for all our drinks in fact. Definitely a young man who does his job well!

After dinner we walked to Rockefeller Center to go to "Top of the Rock" -- the three (one inside, one outside but with glass walls and one open one) observatories on the top of Rockefeller Center. This was a wonderful way to top off our evening and the views were stellar.

On the way back to the hotel we discovered the people to buy the "designer" purses from are the men who come out under cover of the night with purses in sheets spread on the sidewalks. I found a black Prada bag and bartered my way to a good price. Funny how a "designer" purse puts on a smile on my face and a skip in my step every time I use it now.

All in all a very good, very busy second day.

Crutches, Cam Boots & Achilles Tendons, Oh My!

Bill has some new best friends thanks to an injury yesterday at work. At some point while at a fire Bill tore his Achilles tendon. Yes OUCH! After enduring pain that only seemed to get worse and by dinnertime was becoming unbearable, he headed to the ER at Region’s Hospital. The diagnosis was not what he was expecting. After much manipulation … read “unintended torture at the hands of the very good ER docs at the hospital” the determined his injury was with his Achilles tendon. But the bright(?) spot is they don’t think it is completely torn – just partial or maybe only fissures. An MRI later this week will tell us more. In the meantime Bill is wearing a Cam Boot and hobbling around on crutches. Of course both the cat and dog have determined the crutches are either A. a tool of torture meant to terrorize their existence or B. something teasing them and begging to be played with. Animals are so funny.

Oh yeah and Bill now has a chauffeur (read CAROL) because of course he injured his right foot and of course because it is not humanly possible to drive with the Cam Boot. He is off work now until at the earliest Sunday and he is fearing if the injury is worse than we are hoping, he will end up going onto “light duty” which means 8-5, Monday-Friday at a desk, pushing a pencil. Now most of you who know Bill well or at all know that a desk job and Bill just don’t mesh. Needless to say he is determined to follow doctor’s orders.

Me & Pokemon in NYC

Ryan begged me to go to this place called Pokemon World near Rockfeller Center while in NYC. Here is a quick photo taken on my phone of me at the store. More photos and NYC stories coming this weekend. Stay tuned!

New York, Day 1, 9.21.07

Day 1 of my trip started on an early note ... 4:00 am to be exact. That really is not a humane hour to have to wake up I must say. My Aunt Dorothy arrived at 5:15 to drive us to her son's house who would in turn take us to the airport. By a little after 6:00 we arrived at the airport both asking why on earth we were there at this insanely early hour. The rest of the group arrived via bus from Mankato and after checking in we headed to our gate. Our flight was on time and there were no bumps. In fact we got into LaGuardia about a 1/2 hour early AND ALL our baggage arrived. We traveled to our hotel by bus and took about a 1/2 hour to settle in then met up to walk to Central Park.

We wound our way through a very small portion of the park ending up at the infamous "Tavern on the Green." Central Park is beautiful and certainly a haven for the residents but it just isn't the same as our parks here. You don't hear the birds and you can't smell the grass and trees. You still smell the city and it is very odd to someone used to the fresh smells of our Minnesota parks. At Tavern on the Green we enjoyed cocktails in their center outdoor courtyard area and then ventured back to our hotel to get ready to go to dinner.

For dinner we ventured to Carmines -- a WONDERFUL family-style Italian restaurant in the Theater District. The food was so yummy. The bartender was quite generous with letting me sample the wines until I found one to my liking. My favorite entrees were the Vodka Pasta and the spaghetti and meatballs (the BEST I have ever had). After dinner we headed to the Majestic theater to see Phantom of the Opera. We had orchestra seats and were quite close to the stage to it was neat to have such a close-up view of everything. The production was amazing and flew by very fast.

On our way back to the hotel we ventured through Times Square. I have been there several times in the evening but it still amazes me how that area lights up like the middle of the day. We got back to our hotel and I collapsed into bed exhausted at about midnight.

I have some great photos to share but have to figure out how to get them out of my new camera and onto my computer. Days 2-4 yet to come.

Back From New York & EXHAUSTED

Hi all. I arrived home from New York today. Our plane was ahead of schedule so we touched down around 3:00 at the Minneapolis airport. The trip was simply wonderful and I really can't wait to write more about it but tonight I am exhausted beyond exhausted. A combination of the early mornings, late nights, unbelievable amounts of walking and a lot of fun have made me a very tired girl. Not to mention the Ginger Mojitos at Ruby Foos last night!! LOL.

I can't wait to also share some of the wonderful photos I captured - from the stunning -- views from "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center) at night time, to the emotional -- Ground Zero and the Fire Fighter's Memorial, to funny -- the 70 or so year-old pan handler dressed in a spider man costume (don't worry it appeared the costume was helping him do quite well). Although it did make me think "what is this world coming to when even pan handlers have gimmicks?"

A special thanks to mom and dad for this most wonderful gift whose memories I will cherish and to my amazing hubby for taking care of the kids all weekend and while doing this repairing and seal coating the ENTIRE driveway, cleaning and organizing the entire house, doing the laundry and yes, last but not least (I did notice honey), cleaning out and reorganizing the hallway linen closet. You are the most wonderful husband a girl could want and I love you tons!

Until I get a chance to write the days in a bit more detail -- this girl's head has to go and hit the pillow.

Start Spreading the News, I'm Leaving Tomorrow

I am positively giddy today. Early tomorrow morning (5:15 a.m.) I will depart for a four-day trip to none other than New York City. The trip is a birthday gift from my parents. My mom and I, my two Aunts, Dorothy and Marg and family friend Marlys and her daughter are all making the trip. For those who know me well, you know I have traveled to the Big Apple countless times and have always enjoyed my adventures there. The sites, the sounds and the smells (good and bad) are so different from home. It almost feels like stepping into another world. It is a place I adore visiting but would not want to make home.

We are going on a tour planned trip. Following is the itinerary for the weekend:

FRIDAY: We depart Minneapolis and arrive at LaGuardia airport around lunch time. After settling into our hotel we have a bit of free time and then will meet up for dinner at a restaurant called Carmine's -- this is an Italian, family-style restaurant. We top off the evening with the Broadway show, "Phantom of the Opera."

SATURDAY: We go for a tour to Ground Zero (I have seen this several times so am not sure if we just go there and see if or if there is an actual "tour"). After lunch it is shopping/window shopping on 5th Avenue and a stop at Bryant Park on the way back to the hotel. Dinner will be at Churrascaria Plataforma restaurant. Again, sort of family style serving and lots of different types and preparations of meat (good thing I am not remotely close to a Vegetarian). We cap Saturday night with a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center to see the city lights.

SUNDAY: We will enjoy a morning Semi Circle Harbor Cruise to see the Statue of Liberty up close. I have done this cruise long ago -- 1990 to be exact -- and it was wonderful. The rest of the day will be spent exploring on our own. I have already scoped out restaurants for us and we may try to see another Broadway show if we can get tickets.

MONDAY: We leave for the airport around 10:30 and are due back in Minneapolis around 3:30.

I hope to blog each day to give a more detailed tale of our adventures. Hoping the hotel has a computer in the business office I can use. If not -- I will recap the trip when I return.

Until then ....

A Dental First for Carol

I had quite the experience this morning. My very first -- yes at my age -- filling at the dentist. At my check up/cleaning last week it was discovered my "occasional" flossing wasn't enough and I managed to get a cavity between two of my back teeth. I headed off to the dentist with iPod in hand prepared for what I honestly didn't know never having been in this position before.

First my gum was topically numbed and I thought "well this isn't too bad." Next was the first round of Novocaine. That wasn't too bad either -- just a few pinch like pains. As I laid there letting the numbing take effect I realized my tongue, my lips and my chin no longer existed. Well at least it felt that way! :-) The next round of Novocaine was administered with no pain at all. A few more minutes of letting the numbing take effect and I am surprised the dentist and hygienist are not laughing at me since as I said above I have basically lost the right half of my face. A quick hand to the cheek and I realize this isn't the case but it sure feels that way.

The dentist came back in and gave me these lovely green glasses to wear; I proceed to insert my iPod headphones in, close my eyes and hope for the best. After about 15 minutes of tugging, pushing and this every interesting ultra violet light I am done! The dentist gives me a mirror and the very cool thing is if I didn't now what tooth had the cavity I wouldn't be able to tell what tooth was filled. Despite the lovely result I tell the dentist I am now flossing every single day AND brushing after lunch as well. This girl is determined for that to be her first, last and ONLY filling.

Now as I sit here and try to eat my lunch I am left to wonder when the right side of my face will come back to life.

The Realities of the Internet

I had an interesting meeting during lunch today. My agency web partner came in and gave a talk about Internet Marketing. Aside from some of the obvious ways to market one's business, product or self on the web including search engine optimization, online display advertising and email marketing I learned about some other areas that I had heard of but until now didn't fully comprehend.

These are things called "social media." This includes: blogs, forums, wikipedia, pod casting, bookmarking, photo/video sharing, social networking and RSS Feeds. Now I am not so Internet-inept that I wasn't aware some of these venues existed -- hey I do have a blog don't I? I was just shocked to learn about some of them. I am not one of those technology-paranoid people either but I do have my boundaries. But some of these social media offerings actually make me little nervous. For instance did you know that with one bookmarking site you can actually share your bookmarks, send ones to your friends and get bookmarks from anyone else signed up to the site? I don't know about you but that seems like it might be starting to share a bit too much information! I mean do I really want the whole Internet world to know that I have bookmarked a page on the pros and cons of declawing my cat??? I guess none of this should be a surprise given the birth of YouTube, MySpace and Flickr -- the vehicles that allow you to pretty much share every aspect of your life, in graphic detail, with anyone interested in looking at it. It is just a bit much even for this somewhat "techie" person. I can't imagine what my grandparents would make of all this.

Even more frightening was talk about Web 3.0 which is Semantic Web. The example given was say last year you attended a trade show. You flew a particular airline, stayed in a particular hotel, dined at certain restaurants and hosted a social event for your customers who were also show attendees. Come this year you are attending the same show and it just happens to be in the same location. With Web 3.0 -- your trip, flight, hotel and even your special event would all be reserved, arranged and scheduled for you. Here is the catch -- without you -- it just does it. Scary stuff me thinks.

I really wonder at times like this what the future holds and what will the Internet look like when my two young children are my age? Something to ponder.

3-Day Weekends Anyone?

All weekends should be three-day weekends. There I said it. I need one day to rest and play with the kids and generally have no agenda, one day to run my errands -- you know Sam's, the grocery store, etc. and one day to handle my domestic duties -- the cleaning, the laundry the cooking. Is this too much to ask for? I announced to Bill yesterday that I really need to figure out a way to make this happen. This as I juggled the errands and the domestic duties in one day. This the price I paid for taking it easy on Saturday while Bill was at work and the kids and I were home. Ultimately something always suffers and as I look at the clutter that is piling up in my house and the piles of laundry that reproduce like bunnies in the spring time I fully realize it is my domestic duties. We have to eat so I always seem to get the errands done -- my checkbook will attest to that -- but somehow I always seem to run out of day and the house is only half-clean, the laundry half-done and cooking -- well forget it. Taco Bell anyone (and if that isn't dumb after dropping $200 at the grocery store I don't know what is)?

I'm not complaining about the domestic duties -- heck I realize how lucky I am to have a home to clean (and clutter!), laundry to wash and a machine to wash it in. I just need more time.

Any other working parents out there feel the same? Heck I think you don't even have to be a parent to feel that way. The solution? Anyone? Well I am working on a solution and I will let you know when I find it. For now to cut down on the never ending laundry -- everyone has to wear the same clothes at least two days, to reduce the vacuuming needed no eating will be allowed inside the house and the cooking -- we all go on diets?? O.K. a bit extreme on all accounts but it sounded good for one second.

Let me know if you figure out how to find more time. I am on a tight budget so I can't pay a lot but I think I would write a check tomorrow if you told me I could buy some!

The Great Minnesota Get Together!

I can't believe it but it is that time of year again ... the Minnesota State Fair. Bill and I have a mutual love of the fair. In fact for me other than maybe when I was very very very young, I only know of two years in which I missed the fair and that was only because I was living out in Boston and was not home for a visit during fair time. I love the sights, the smells and the sounds. O.K. -- well maybe not the smells in the barns -- but all the different foods are literally a well orchestrated musical to my nose. I simply wouldn't miss the fair and it seems that love is already shared by Ryan and Anna. We had planned to head to the fair early this past Sunday morning but because Friday and Saturday were spent moving Bill's mom and brother into their new home, we were all quite tired. We got a late start but arrived at the fair in time to enjoy our first fair food for lunch.

Ryan, Bill and Anna settled on foot long corn dogs while I enjoyed a fry bread taco. The photos here show the three of them with their delicacies on a stick -- pardon the funky red color - we were sitting underneath a red awning that reflected off of us when we took photos.

After filling our tummys we toured the various barns and then headed towards the big slide. Unfortunately when I went to take a photo of the three "kids" coming down the slide someone stepped in front of my camera so I have no photo. :-( I swear I must be getting old --I went down once and that was all I could stomach! Light weight!!

Next stop was the Butterfly House. The kids have enjoyed sitting in here each year while thousands of butterflies hang out on the walls, trees and best of all on the humans. This year was no different however as a family we didn't have much luck with many sitting on us. Here are a couple shots of Anna with her "friends."

Next stop was the kiddy midway. Anna enjoyed her bumper boats while Ryan worked his way through the house of mirrors. Then together they ventured onto a rope climb and suspended ladder thing that ended with a very long slide back to the bottom. The ended their midway time with a ride on the bumble bees - they go around and up and down.

We ventured up to the pet center as well but not before Anna got herself a new hairdo. She got MANY compliments after she was done. This style was made with lots of back combing, TONS of hairspray, sprayed on color and glitter. You don't even want to know what it took to get her hair back to normal that night!

We decided to take the ski lift style air glider rides back up to the grand stand area. I am so very glad I had the camera because Bill would have otherwise captured the fear on my face as we rode through the sky. Poor Anna -- I think I squeezed her hand so tight it nearly fell off. She, fortunately, was oblivious to my fear. Like I said earlier, I must be getting old -- these things that never used to scare me sure do now.

For the last ride, Bill and the kids rode through "Ye Olde Log Mill" while I stood in line to get a bucket of hot Sweet Martha's cookies. Then after touring the DNR building we headed to the milk truck for the famous "all you can drink milk" for only $1.

It was getting late and we were tired so home we headed. But first we had to stop in the fire station we always park at and capture our annual photo of the kids on the fire truck.

Food total for the day (for the family): 3 foot long corn dogs, 1 fry bread taco, 1 chips and cheese, 2 orders of cheese curds, 1 order of onion rings, several glasses of assorted sodas, 2 malts, 1 bag of cotton candy, 2 glasses of lemonade, turkey jerkey and beef sticks, 2 bags of mini doughnuts, 1 bucket of Sweet Martha's cookies, 4 glasses of milk and 1 container of salt water taffy. Hmmmm ... no wonder I haven't felt good!!!

It's a Girl!

Although we are still mourning the loss of our kitty, Kali, we decided we needed to add a new 4-legged member to our family. No disrespect for Kali, but our house just didn't feel like home without a kitty. We made a couple trips to the Humane Society. Last Thursday night we ventured over to the Buffalo location. I had been monitoring the web site and it seemed that the Buffalo location while a bit of a drive, had a larger selection of kittens. We arrived there and I went over to a cage with three kittens, 2 orange and white boys and a grey and white girl. The little girl immediately scaled the cage to see me -- almost as if to say, "here I am." We took her into a visiting room and within minutes the four of us were smitten and we said we needed to take her home. This little kitty purred her little heart out and visited every one us as if she were picking us. Sophie as we FINALLY named her has already worked her way into all our hearts. She is playful but cuddly and sweet. A wonderful new addition! She is slowly venturing out into her new home but much to my delight immensely enjoys sleeping with Bill and I at night. Who would think a little 4-pound fluff ball could be so therapeutic!