Summer carnivals = evil food!

This weekend has already been a pretty good one!

Friday night, went to help Greg at the beer garden at Buffalo Days. I helped out last year and it was really fun then, so I decided to go back again this year. Dustin and Cortney were there too, so that was a lot of fun to hang out with them, and later in the night, her parents brought their new baby girl! She was such a sleepy sweetheart! The night was really fun again this year! All the free beer you could drink while we served and served and served. I think I pretty much perfected the art of beer tap pouring when the night was over. I got a ton of tips for the group too, so that was kinda cool to see, even though we didn't keep any of the money personally. I was also a happy camper to see that they had brought some bottle openers this year. Last year they didn't have any and my hand was pretty much a big raw mess when the night was through from opening bottles of Bacardi Razz etc. for the non-beer drinkers.

Today, we took Tucker to the dog park, where he lifted his leg for the first time to go to the bathroom! So that was pretty exciting. Our little guy is growing up! Tucker also met a Great Dane "puppy" who was pretty much the size of a small pony. He was a cute dog, white with some black spots, like a cow!

I did my workout when we got home and then listened to the message on the answering machine from my mom. Apparently this afternoon, their washing machine gave out, and with that, let all the water out onto the floor! So she was calling to see if she could come over and do some laundry at our place. So, she came over a little while later, and we put a load in and went down to check out the Champlin Father Hennepin Day Festivities. They had a craft show and the carnival stuff. She bought me a purse as a b-day present and I bought a big dragonfly necklace. At the carnival part, we got some mini doughnuts. mmm! They had an "exotic pet petting zoo." That was pretty funny to see. I liked the albino wallaby and the potbelly pigs digging in the dirt. There was a small camel there that was making quite a ruckus and goats that were trying to eat people's clothes. It wasn't a very big festival, but it was a nice size to walk around and then walk back to the car, since that was a little farther away. Tonight there are fireworks that we are going to go see, and more things happening tomorrow that we may or may not attend. We shall have to wait and see!

Father Hennepin Days, after fifty years, came to life again in 1976. The year of 1929 was the only celebration until 1976. The Bicentennial Committee decided it should be renewed as our heritage. The last days of June were originally selected for the community celebration. The Father Hennepin Festival is a historic celebration of Champlin. The historic theme is the reenactment of the Crossing of Father Hennepin, who is a man from the community, chosen for his love of Champlin.

So it really feels like I have done a ton of laundry this weekend! I might try to dig into my last book of the Twilight series. I am about 1/4 of the way through it already!

Getting Fit

Ok, so lately I have been feeling kinda yucky and out of shape. That is never a good thing! So I was actually looking at different options, gyms, cooking and eating habits, etc.

Then Derick suggested something he saw on an EA conference, the Wii and Wii Active. He showed me the video and some people who took the 30 day challenge. One lady on there lost 25 lbs in 30 days! weird! So, one thing led to another and we were walking around in Target and decided to get a Wii and Wii Active! I did my first day of the 30 day challenge today and wow, that thing will kick your BUTT! I started on the intermediate level. Derick is down there right now on the harder level and I think he is getting toward the end and it is kicking his butt too! My muscles are still shaking! Guess my body totally knows it's out of shape!

Now all I will have to try to change is the food we have around the house. Not that we were really bad eaters in the first place, but I really like to bake and stuff. I will really have to try to stop that! I know that it is only the first day of working out with this new plan, but all in all, I don't think it was too bad. You can also journal on the program and keep track of what you are eating and factor everything into it!

I was pretty happy with myself this morning when I took apart our vacuum cleaner to see if the belt needed to be replaced. I got it all apart, and thank goodness, found out that the belt had just come off the roller, so no need to buy a new one! yay! I reattached it, screwed it all back together, plugged it in and turned it on and tadaaa! It worked! I did the whole house, and wow, did it need it! It was like I was vacuuming the sandy beach! (gross, I know, sorry) I did a lot of other cleaning today too. It is really a cold, rainy day outside today, so it makes it a good day to get some of that stuff done around the house and be lazy afterwards.\

This weekend has really felt like a long one already! I got up this morning thinking it was Sunday today because we have summer hours, so we get out at 12:30pm on fridays if our work is done and no one else needs any help.

I got a really big project from my boss and the VP of Marketing on Thursday morning. I am going to be putting together all of the sign kit mins (sorry if that does not make sense, I will try to explain:). So, basically every sign that is up in the store (3 month basis) goes into a sign kit. Right now I am working on the August-October kit. Every sign has to be grouped, accounted for, checked off and the made into a "mni-binder" page. Each of the visual, marketing and other staff members around the building have one of these to reference ALL THE TIME. So, this is another "test" for me. My boss said that I was nominated to get this job because I was fast and proficient in getting things done. (I almost wanted to say, Annnd because I am the lowest one on the totem pole and no one else will take it, right?!) Lately that is how some things have come across. But, at least I have a job in this crappy economy! I am very thankful for that!

I have been getting kind of antsy to get a bigger house. I know that sounds probably kind of stupid, but looking around at things I could be doing with a bigger yard and house, I am getting kind of ready to move on, although I do really like it here and with the housing market right now, there are many things that, while looking like good options, wouldn't be for me owning this house and then trying to sell it.

I think we are just going to be focused on Derick getting a full-time job! I really hope that one of the many places he applied to gives him an interview and hires him! I know we both would really like that stability. That way, more of his extra money can go into his boat too...

My friend at work, Katie just found out she is closing on her townhouse June 25th, so the is super excited! I am so excited to see my friends getting houses, getting married and becoming adults! It is fun! I was one of the first in my friend groups to get married and that was really fun. I am just glad that the baby craze hasn't really hit too many of them yet. I think that when it does though, it will go out with a bang! Like everyone at once!

We'll see what happens though, keeping our eyes and ears open!

10 things I put on in the morning before leaving the house

After seeing myself tagged on Jenny's blog about this, and since I seem to have some time to get to my blog tonight, I thought I would humor myself and the rest of you out there reading this!

So, here it goes...

The 10 Things I put on in the morning before leaving the house:

1. Face moisturizer!

2. A black hair binder on my right wrist
(haha I have done the same thing as you Jenny, for a long long time!)

3. My watch on my left wrist:

4. Deodorant (sometimes the brand changes):5. Some sort of big obnoxious ring on my right index finger:

6. My wedding ring (though this never really ever comes off!)
(Shown here is just the engagement ring)


7. Some necklace (lately Teddy has stayed on a number of days without coming off):


(no photo available)

8. Perfume ( I switch between 3 scents right now...)

Karmala, Mark-Jewel & DKNY Red Delicious


9. Lotion (scent changing):


10. Eyeliner (color also changes between black, brown, green, blue, purple..)



So, in a nutshell, those are the things that I get on before leaving the house! Colors/smells etc. change on a daily basis, or what fun would that be?!

Freelance Avenue

Today I got the go-ahead from my client to press onward and finish freelance project #2 for her! So I finished that tonight (Gift Certificates for grads whom she knows and will be attending parties for. The certificates I then put into frames that she had bought and the rest I placed in nice red envelopes). That should be the end of my projects for her for a little while.

Then, I got an email from a family friend who wants me to help -freelance design- an entire identity package, complete with website layout! I am really excited to get going on this one! It is going to be a lot of fun, and working with her should be a blast! The only downside is the fact that they live pretty far away - Victoria, MN. But she said that she was more than willing to come up here so that I could work on my computer. I could always use my worklaptop some weekends if need be :) yay for Macbook Pros!

This short week has been a really nice change of pace; although my days have been getting a bit messed-up! Tomorrow I am the only one from my team who will be in the office. My boss and co-worker are not going to be in, they both took vacation. I actually tried to take the day off, but settled for leaving a little early.

Tomorrow, the reason for my early deployment from the office, is that I am going to be guest lecturing at Cooper High School in two of Derick's classes of seniors in sort of a "what to expect in college" from two former RAs...that should be interesting. Derick has a pretty funny book that he got while we were in school called The Naked Roommate: And 107 other issues you might run into in college.

Other than that, I have a sample sale at work that my mom, mom's friend from work, her sister and a couple of my friends are going to Saturday morning. Derick is going to go up to my parent's lake place to take an inventory of the new 19' bass fishing boat he just got last weekend, so that means that I won't probably see him for most of the weekend...that boy and fishing...He did buy me my first baitcaster though, which I am excited to try out, get to be like the pros...heh heh...maybe not.

Midwest Gamers United (the website that Derick is starting up) has a go-live date of June 1. That is kind of exciting, as I have been helping design the logo and the layout of the website as far as theme goes. I did purchase a book through Amazon that will help me re-learn Dreamweaver and Flash. Flash is all new to me though. I have never done anything with that in the past at all, so I am excited to learn something new!

Well, I am off to help plan my "lesson plan" with Derick, so we have some idea of what we are going to be talking to them about tomorrow!

Later,
L

A Well-balanced Memorial Day weekend

Well, what a great weekend!

It was really great! Nice and long and a good mix of things got done!

Friday night, Derick and I both deemed "relaxation night," since we both hadn't gotten much time to just hang out with each other and relax all week. So we did just that.

Saturday, Derick, Tucker and I spent the day at my parent's lake place in Amery, WI on King Lake. Derick helped my dad put in the dock and help with a couple sprinkler heads around the cabin. I set up our tent that was a wedding shower gift for the first time, just to air it out. I also went with my mom to see my grandma in the nursing home. How sad nursing homes are. I really admire the patience that the people that work there have. And just not being sad and depressed all the time!

My parents bought theirlake property just after I graduated high school in 2003 and have been slowly working on building a cabin on the property. Tucker had a BLAST running around all day, in the mud and the lake. He was so exhausted he slept almost the whole way home! Derick also got to go see a 19 foot bass boat that someone had listed for sale on Craig's List. He and my dad worked out a deal where my dad put forth the finances for the boat, and Derick and his cousin will work it off on some weekends this summer!

Sunday we had another day of relaxing and cleaning. We went shopping without actually buying anything. Derick bought boat wash, but I think that was pretty much it! We watched the movie Seven Pounds. It was pretty sad at the ending, but both Derick and I had the basic plot of the movie figured out right away. I cleaned my car-inside and out. Tucker was very adamant about trying to get back IN my car after I got all his hair OUT of it! Derick cleaned out some of the garage. Next project, is the closet in the guest bedroom/office/crap shoot of a room!

Today, I tried to clean a little more, but our vacuum cleaner kinda clunked out, so that put an end to that! Later Paul, Jenny and Roman came over for a big dinner and then the dog park! It was fun to see and catch up with them. Tucker is asleep on the floor right now he is so tired out from the busy, fun weekend!

Now, just a shorter week at work!

Nine Lives

Ok, so my Grandpa is no longer in the hospital, but a care facility in Crystal, MN. I swear, that man has MORE than nine lives! One of the last things that I heard while he was in the hospital, was that my Grandma bought a hamburger, fries and a shake. She started to drink the shake, figuring that he would not want anything, as that has been the trend almost the entire time he has been in the hospital. But when my Grandma offered the burger to him, he ate it all, the fries and the milkshake! When he got to the milkshake, he asked my Grandma, "Where's the rest?!" I thought that was pretty funny!

I have come to the realization that I am much like my dad's side of the family- Dad and Grandma in the fact that I cannot seem to sit still on the weekends. I get so antsy that I have to be doing somthing! Today I was doing laundry, went grocery shopping, baked cookies, watered all my plants, printed more invitations for my client, printed and framed a couple photos, cleaned the office, organized the office, and was not contemplating on altering all my mom's pants, playing video games, or reading the 2nd Twilight book. Oh the possibilities! (See what I mean about not sitting still?! I can hardly type up a blog!)

I think that one nice thing about living in a townhouse, or a smaller space is that I have been almost constantly going through things and getting rid of things. I feel SO good when I get rid of things! I did that in the office today. Derick had about four boxes of papers and stuff to go through in there, so I pulled out one big tote and dumped it ALL into one of them! Got rid of the boxes and will tell him later, this is your task for the next week, empty the junk box! I find it fascinating (and annoying) that guys as a whole do not seem to notice or care when their living space becomes cluttered, dusty, dirty or unorganized. Ugh!

On a different note, Derick took me into Gander Mountain the other day and I found a couple fishing poles - yes friends, fishing poles, that I actually liked. One of them was a "Lady Angler." I liked that it was really made smaller to fit a girl's hands. The only downside was that there was light pink all over the thing and the reel...ugh. I might just have to deal though because I really liked the way it felt. It was even a baitcaster, which Derick was going to teach me to use this summer. But I don't know if that will be happening either, as Larry ripped all Derick's stuff out of the boat, pretty much saying that no, he may NOT borrow the boat for a couple months this summer.

Here is a little background on that one though: Larry has lent the boat to Derick for the past countless summers. Derick has put time and money into maintaining the boat, but Larry sometimes goes above and beyond, and gets/does things to the boat in the off-season. Now, it is Larry's boat, but he usually has not expressed an interest, nor actually gone fishing in the boat much in the past. But something must just have set him off about it this year, and he went on a little rampage, taking out all of Derick's stuff that was left in the boat (nothing much) and gave it to Joe to give back to him.

That is pretty sad because Derick LOVES, I mean LOVES to go fishing in the summer time! He was really looking forward to going with me and Paul and my Dad and Tucker this summer, but that might have to be put on hold for the summer. Derick was even looking at boats on Craigslist. There is NO way that we could possibly afford to get one right now, even though I know that will be his next bigger purchase!

So, I guess we'll just have to see what else happens this summer!

Derick has been applying to more and more teaching jobs, realizing that he may be able to teach more Physical Science as well as Biology/Earth Science. That is a really good thing, now all we need is an interview and hopefully a job to come out of it! Then we would be sitting pretty well!

This economy just sucks the life out of everyone. Boo.

Alright, well I think I am going to figure out my next action!
-L

It's a Small World After All

This weekend I had a thought that I should go into gardening or Botany. I really like plants, gardening and growing things. Add to this the fact that I get literally giddy when I walk into the garden centers of stores (Target and Lowes this weekend). I bought another long flower box, (this sets the count at three long ones now) one large and three smaller transitional plastic pots to plant some new “wildflower” seeds that I got from the dollar spot at Target (yeah I know, I am skeptical about them too…) to see if anything would actually happen with them.
Good news it looks like for my bean plants that I almost killed off, I saw some new buds on them yesterday in the beautiful weather, so I think that they might come back! The pea plants did not seem to be too phased by that bout of cold weather when I just got too excited and antsy and put the majority of my plants outside. Looking back, probably not the smartest move, but oh well.
I repotted a few plants that needed bigger pots – A small plant that my dad gave me for Valentine’s day was actually split into three mini plants, all of which are doing really well now that they have been separated! I also got my mom some Gerbera Daisies and potted them for her and put some ribbon around the pot. I got her a nicer plastic one so that if and when they die, she can keep the pot and reuse it. I really love Gerbera daisies. They are so pretty!
I think that when Derick and I do finally decide to move into an actual house, I want to make a greenhouse and have all sorts of cool plants in there. I think that would be a great hobby for me! Now all I need to do is look into learning more about them. Wouldn’t it be cool to create a whole new breed of Gerbera Daisy?! Ok, ok, now I am starting to sound like my husband…

This weekend, I also did some finishing touches to our house (I know, it should really be “finished” by now, but there always seems to be things to do or improve upon in a house!) I went to Target and bought some bathroom rugs for the downstairs bathroom, since Tucker decided that he did NOT like the one that was in there (sorry Adrienne and AJ, your wedding gift lasted us only 7 months!). I also got a couple more for the upstairs bathroom. My toes really enjoyed them this morning as the rest of the house was fairly chilly this morning.

I also tried the Papa Murphy’s pizza place by our house for the first time. I went in there and got their Taco pizza (really yummy) and a Hawaiian. The girl that made mine was really nice and friendly. She looked at my T-shirt (I was wearing the past summer’s Camp Needlepoint shirt) and commented…”Camp Needlepoint…that is a camp for diabetic kids, right?” I said yes, and then she said that one of her friends went to go there but she passed away recently. I did not hesitate, and asked if it was Alyssa. She said yes, and I told her that I knew her quite well and that I had been her counselor a couple of years ago. Nice bonding moment. I am also more and more aware after chance happenings like that, that the world is quite a small place.
Speaking of camp, I need to see if I can counsel at all this summer. I think that I might be able to inbetween VMUs for the first week, so that would be really fun ☺ I might just save my vacation and take a couple long weekends with Derick to WI or up to Bemidji we have been talking about going up there and hanging out. Jeremy mentioned that he is going to be up there through the end of the month, so it would be fun to go while he is still up there so that we still know someone up there!

On a bit of a sadder note, my Grandpa has been in the hospital off and on for a little while now. His heart is giving out. It is only functioning at 5%. To make matters worse, he fell and broke his leg about a week ago and has been at North Memorial since then. His kidneys have beginning to shut down as well, so they had to take him off some of his medication. So things are not looking well for him. My uncle Don, who lives in North Carolina even flew up the other day, so that never is a good sign. I went to visit him and got him to smile. But other than that, he didn’t even stay awake to talk much, and when he did, it was pretty slurred. It is so sad to see people like that. I guess all we can do is pray for my family – my Grandma especially. She has been having a really hard time with everything. She almost started to cry when she saw that I came to visit at the hospital.

I really like living in MN when it is spring time, because here, you can really appreciate the changing of the seasons! The warmer weather that is coming has made me very thankful! So thankful that today for work, I pulled out a skirt to wear! YAY! Also, this week is the last week of “fall hours.” Next week we are on summer hours. We work more during the week, but then we get to leave at 12:30 on Fridays! Whoo hoo! I love those days! Also, now that the weather is nicer, that means that Tucker gets to go on longer and more frequent walks. I am also hopeful that we can bring him to a dog park close by us as well! I want to see what he does. He is pretty content just to play Frisbee in the open fields behind out house, but I think for his sake and ours, it would be good for him to interact with more dogs!

Alright, I think that is a long enough update for now!
Enjoy!
-L