Us.... One, Two, Three, Four, tell me that you love me more.

Finishing three.... 15 things.

1. Bunk Housin it on Lake Viola

2. Devouring Coronas and Duffy Burgers

3. Scouring the Twin Cities for the premier photo opp

4. Hot Tea

5. $50 room service cereal and movies on demand

6. Waffles, Bananas and Pecans, anything coffee shop

7. Brewmaseter Matt

8. Two Kayaks, one set of skills, fast city rapids = broken paddle

9. Which one is the loud one... the ugly one

10. Mississippi River

11. Coffee shop stops + farmer's market visits

12. Rhyme out

13. Door knockers

14. One amazing visit to the zoo... where's the giraffes?

15. Obama

Starting Four....

Livin the High Life on 55 Wall Street

Man it already seems like eons ago. The first weekend in December the Safar sisters and I travelled to NYC for a quick weekend getaway trip. We met up with Monica vising from London-town. For G it was her first time witnessing the city of concrete. On a side note, where did big apple come from, it does not seem appropriate it all, especially considering there are no trees unless you count the everlasting evergreens that are few and far between and spring up in unusual and random patches dirt throughout the city. I digress, anyways we saw the usual sites... radio city music hall, the subway, ground zero, statue of liberty from afar, times square, Rockefeller center complete with famous Christmas tree and ice rink and perhaps my favorite of all... Grand Central Station. I don't know what it is about that place but I could have stayed there for hours. It is a pretty beautiful place and during the holiday season they put on a holiday themed light show set to music on the hour, every hour. Totally cheesy but well worth the trip. Beyond that the city was much different than what I saw in the spring, too many coats all that wonderful fashion covered up. Although apparently everyone in NYC knows that if you don't have any boats, ya don't have any style. And I think I did hear fringed boots and cardigans are making a come back?!?

Hobby Haven

It occurred to me during my last graduate class that I did not have many hobbies. Certainly, not enough to keep me busy... especially when you consider the outrageous amounts of free time was about to experience in just a matter of a few short hours. What was I going to do? Travelling, shopping and drinking (wine or coffee, you pick) can only keep you busy for so long. And then one day the mail arrived and with it the answer to my newly found free time... community ed classes. It's amazing what you can do in community ed.... manufacture your own homemade organic lip balm, whip up killer Chinese potstickers, enter the classroom again but this time as a photography student, you can even learn to belly dance if you so desire. While I was thumbing through the possibilities it also occurred to me that I was not the only one without a hobby, certainly Matt needed one and what did Ali and Alicia do with all their free time? The answer.... all of the above, although substitute wood shop for belly dancing. (I have not gotten that bored yet). And so for a couple of Monday nights, Ali, Alicia and I will make fantastic lip balm and potsticker creations, on Tuesdays I fly solo to photography class while Matt does custom cabinetry. Community Ed has produced some pretty good results. For example, we (aka Matt with some prompting) have finally completed our basement. I can barely wait to see what the winter semester catalog has in store for us. ;)

ELECTION DAY 2008

Be heard, be seen, be proud, be a part of it, be American... get out and ROCK the VOTE! I am so excited I could pee my pants!!

Happy Halloween HomeSkillet!

Introducing Juno Mcguff, Little Red Riding Hood and Deb the Boy Scout. The girls and I had a blast partying away the Halloween night in NorEast. I forgot how much fun halloween is! It is the ultimate high for someone like me who LOVES to people watch.

Political Addiction

I have a problem. I am addicted to the presidential race. I have become a severe political junky. Beyond reading policitcal blogs in my pasttime and trying daily to convince Matt to see the blue light I just can't get enough of it. Good thing i have so many supporters... certainly Davio and the Safar sisters have had nothing to do with it, well that and the fact that I am not interested in backwards time travel. Lucky for us the RNC was in home court and Matt and I decided to venture down river to St. Paul. Although the walking and baracades were ridiculous we were both happy we went. It was interesting to see and also inspiring. People of all different viewpoints and backgrounds. It's hard to believe that was that was already almost two months ago.... and election day is right around the corner. Happy Voting Soon!

I heart Chi-Town!

Absolutely, hands down one of my favorite cities. I finally realize that the reason I did not love NYC was because my heart belongs to Chi-town. Well that and the trip was courtesy of Ameriprise. It was an awesome trip. We were wined and dined and treated to outrageous parties every night. Everything from renting out the Field Museum to House of Blues to WigFest at the Navy Pier - it was obscene! First day was spent with a celebratory spa day at the Four Seasons - very fance, courtesy of Matt and obtainment of an MBA degree. Second day started with breakfast ala room service with the curtains drawn and Movies on Demand. The rest of the time we explored the city via boat, foot and bike. Millineum Park brings you back to being five all over again! I would move to the Windy City in a heartbeat.

Wow, before you know it summer's over!

Summer was BUSY! Cabins and babysitting, weekend trips to Chicago, the zoo, bunk house building, wine making, even the RNC and school's out for the summer.... school's out FOREVER! It's nice to finally have a life again. The craziness started out at with our nieces and nephew at the cabin, so much for a vacation, 3 kids under 6 can keep you pretty busy.

From there is is on to Hilary & Sug's 1% cabin weekend. Lucky for us we were their first guest. Their lake is absolutely beautiful, we had a good time minus the insane wind storms.

Next on the agenda... babysitting. Love the kids but there is a reason why childern should never out number adults, it is physically and mentally exhausting. We attempted the zoo... Caleb was an angel, Alivia on the other hand simply sucked... she was not about to ride in a stroller all day and for that matter not in Matt's arms either, only mine, all 25 pounds of her and as for Amber all she wanted to see was the giraffes and do you think the Minnesota Zoo has giraffes? Of course not! Lovely day at the zoo.

Ridin the Rapids and Stimulating the Economy

Unfortunately I am not as skilled as Matt on our new kayaks.... 2nd trip down Minnehaha creek and I end up tangled up in a fallen tree with a snapped paddle and almost sunk the kayak... for those not familiar with the creek it is an intense kayaking experience.......................

Obama Rama 2008!

We tried, full heartedly we tried... Obama accepted the Democratic nomination tonight in St. Paul at the X. G, Davio and myself joined the masses attempting to gain access to the event. Blocks and blocks of people lined the streets, 5-6 people deep, I can't even count the blocks. It is the most people i have ever seen waiting in line in my life. All waiting for one single, solidtary man well that and change and hope and a new America. Unfortunately, we did not make it into the Xcel, only 20,000 lucky people did. We listened to Obama's speech on the radio on the drive home, Dave with goosebumps, G with a few tears and myself with a lot of woo-hoo's. It is time for change and one of the few times in my life I can say I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN - now get to it Barack! Barack the vote! Obama for your Mama! Barack my World! Obama Rama coming at ya!

Made from the same mold

Big Graduate = Big Apple

My kick-ass friend Ali and I celebrated the end of my MBA in New York City last weekend. It was a ton of fun and a ton of walking - 25 miles to be exact! We a saw all the main sites, most popular for us was all the HTMs - Hot, Tranny Messes. Holy shit does NYC have a lot of them, but to Ali's point what better place to be if you are a HTM. NYC is truly the city that never sleeps, the epicenter of noise and the place of where fashion is whatever you want it to be. Though must-have's right now are definitely scraves, ballet flats, skinny jeans, leggings... still!, a hot light jacket, safari dresses and horrible 90's heeled shoes. Obiviously we did some people watching. Oh and the men are goregous! Gay, but goregous. And anytime you want a picture with a bull's balls just visit Wall Street, an American attraction sadly, a giggle for all. Next time I do NYC, I am bringing a fat wad of cash and doing some major shopping... until next time. Oh by the way the TSA says "no snowglobes allowed, spread the word".

Puerto Rico - Old San Juan the great door hunt...

From Rincon to Vieques, from Vieques to Old San Juan. After meeting Jesus there is not much else you can do but relax! So the rest of the trip was spent in Old San Juan on the main island. The Spanish fort city is absolutely beautiful and where Matt and I found our shared love of doors and doorknockers. Yeah true geeks I know. But you can't help but love the city's winding streets and colorful doors and loads of character. We are pro-photographers in training afterall and we have the 100+ door pictures to prove it ;) We enjoyed the city so much that we went back twice until the cruise-shippers invaded. The views from the fort look out over the ocean and are breathtaking. It was also a great day for flying kites and the fields around the old fort were filled with children flying kites, very nostalgic. The rest of the time we did nothing but hang by the pool, play cards, consume as many mojitios as possible and catch up on cable tv while Matt gambled. My love for cable tv was fulfilled with my latest addiction real life housewives - for real could it get any better? It was the prefect ending to an awesome trip. Ah... can't forget the tourists, I don't know if anyone else has noticed how photo-obsessed Asian tourists are....dinner on a terrace across from a table of 6 early twenty-somethings.... it started with flash and then anther and another followed by five more then a lull.... then the drinks came out another 10 flashes... then pictures of each other.. pictures of themselves... wait the apps are out... another 10 flashes.... we made a bet, end of our entree half way through theirs, He bet 20 I went with 50 more flashes...by the time we finished dessert and coffee they were well over 50 flashes..... it was hilarious at one point we were both crying with laughter. You've got to catch the scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and you'll know exactly what I mean.... Cheap entertainment, right? Adios San Juan. Adios Puerto Rico. From Vieques to Old San Juan...From Old San Juan to Minneapolis....