I am a crafty biatch

Hey there, I know it's been a very very long time since I've blogged. I really haven't been into doing the blog thing lately.

In recent news I took a sewing class this evening. About a year ago, I bought a sewing machine at a garage sale. It was an old Kenmore for about $30. The problem is I had no clue how to use it. I finally got around to taking a beginners class at Crafty Planet today and made this..


That is a knitting needle holder. It came in pretty handy. Behold the inside.


It holds most of my knitting stuff very nicely. Prior to making this, I had all my needles shoved in a bag. This works much better.

It also has a cute ribbon.


I had a ton of fun with sewing. It took the instructor some time to get my old Kenmore running, so I used one of the classroom models. It worked great. I thought that sewing was pretty relaxing. I am planning on taking another class in December to make a pair of PJ bottoms. Should be fun.

Finished Project

DJ, you said it would never happen, it would never materialize. Well lookie at this:
Believe it or not I actually finished one of my sweaters. This went on the needles last winter. The pieces sat forever, not finished, simply because I am too lazy to seam them together. I finally did it this last week and finished up the neck.

Not bad, huh. Here is the back:

The pattern is old Rowan (I really miss that Kim Hargreaves isn't designing for them anymore). It is Martha from the Cork Collection. Yarn is Rowan Cork that I bought on E-bay for a song.

I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It is comfy and warm.

Now, perhaps I can actually get to some real knitting. I just need to decide what to pull out of my stash for the next project.

It's starting to get cold here in the Tundra so it is time to settle in and knit.

Salad Toss?

Ok, first of all, my job is seriously like an episode of "The Office".

My job is implementation/project management/sales service. This week happened to be National Customer Service Week. Telecom Giant Inc made a big deal with sending out posters and giving us these cheesy t-shirts to wear. Wed local management has a lunch for us customer service folks. Hey it's a free lunch.

Two co-workers and I head up around noon, hungry, ready to see what is for lunch. We walk into the conference room and look at the goods.

Our "appreciation lunch" consisted of the following:

• A bowl of lettuce, mostly iceberg, with a few pieces of romaine
• A small bowl of dressing packets
• A side plate of some cut meats and cheeses.
• Some deserts you could tell that were purchased at Costco. My co-worker said the chocolate cake thingy tasted like freezer burn.

We saw this and looked around, assuming there were sandwiches that went with the salad. There wasn't.

Delightful.

We ate our salads while we listened to our director had a recognition call. She sounded like the fake cheerleader.

Yeah.

The best part I was in my cube later and we were joking about the lunch. A sales guy that sits right next to me asked if we had tossed salads.

My response back. "They didn't even toss our salads, We had to toss our own salads"

Mouth open insert foot. It was pretty funny though (assuming you get the other meaning)

I am still here

No, I have not died or fallen off the face of the earth. Life happens, I've been busy. Below is the abridged version of what's been up with me.

• Work has been crazy busy. I am working on a project that is killing me. This too will pass.
• I started a pottery class a couple of weeks ago. It's fun. I still haven't made something that is fit for firing but I am learning. Throwing clay is a lot more difficult than I initially thought it would be, but I am slowly starting to get it. Hopefully I will be able to produce something over the course of the 10 week class.
• It is fall here. Fall (the whole 2 weeks of it) is my favorite season. I took a walk around lake Calhoun yesterday. It was stunning. The colors are peaking around the lake. There was even a bald eagle in a tree along the eastern edge. Very cool.
• I still have been working out. I took a cardio training class on Wed and today is the first day that my legs aren't sore. Walking (especially down stairs) was very difficult on Thursday and Friday. That class kicked my ass, which is a good thing.
• I lost 5 lbs without really even trying. It has to be going to the Firm for classes.
  
• DJ is out of town this weekend. I stayed in on Friday, caught up on my magazines, drank wine, watched the Twins loose and talked to T in NYC for 2 hours. Pure delight.
  
• We went to the Summit Big Brew yesterday. When we first got there at 6pm the line for beer was very, very, very long. The wait was over an hour. This was a Bad Thing. Thank god they figured it out and pulled up another beer truck. Saw Cake play, they rock.
• I say really stupid things when I drink. Ask E.
• It was a year ago today that I met DJ. What a year can do to one's life.
  

Now you are all caught up on what's up with me. It's sunny and supposed to be 80 here today. I need to go out and enjoy it.

Corporate Rant

Please note I've had a horribly rough day. This and the fact that things have been festering with me about my job lately. This may sound very bitter, if it is, that's my current truth and where I am at.

I work for a Fortune 500 company. The current rank (according to CNN Money) is 18. Do the math, figure it out, but I am sure it doesn't vary from any other stockholder driven American corporation today.

As an employee that interfaces with current mid to large level corporations for said company, I am not sure what the actual focus is. We, as employees, have heard a lot about continuing to support our customers throughout the current changes we are going through. They say the commitment is customer's first. Great, I am all in. I am all for the customer and doing what is right for them, but at times you feel like you spin you wheels. You can't do anything. It seems to me, that certain corporate cultures doesn't empower employees to do what is best for the customer. Here is some thoughts that I have had swimming in my head.

• Empowerment- In order for your employee base to do what is best for the customer and put them first, they need the access and the tools to get things done. It seems that the more segmented that departments are, the less that gets done. It destroys teamwork. Operational departments that are there to serve the customer have matrices that are intended to better procedures, but it shifts the focus from doing what is right to what will better serve the results that are shown. In my humble opinion the right decision isn't a hard and fast rule, most of the time this is ultimately is a judgement call that is made by an employee. It's a HUMAN decision.
• I understand that the bottom line is important to you large corporate types. Stockholders rule. I get it. But for God's sakes quit saying you are a customer focused company when you keep laying off people. This is beyond "trimming the fat". This is contributing to a negative morale and corporate culture. Everyone that I have worked with lately, is running rapid. This makes people feel overwhelmed. When people feel overwhelmed they tend to become defensive. "It's not my problem". Give us the appropriate resources if you truly think the "Customer comes first". A lot of these people are great but overwhelmed. Any overwhelmed person can not make a healthy contribution to an environment. This distracts from a teamwork environment and makes it a "I'm too busy, it's someone elses problem" world.

OK, really only 2 long drawn out points, but this is the thing. I can't contribute when I am spinning my wheels. I can't promise to deliver when I know my support groups are overwhelmed and are going to criticize what what the customer may have done wrong, versus doing what it takes to fix the situation. This isn't their fault, they are simply too overwhelmed and as I stated above when folks are overwhelmed it leads to them becoming defensive.

Argh. I have used this blog to now vent. If you don't want to read my random ramblings that's fine, I get it. I just had to put it out there. It probably doesn't even make sense, but hey. I believe there is probably a total of 5 people that read this blog, so it won't much matter anyway.

I need either a severe attitude adjustment or a change. I'll let you know what I decide what direction I decide to take.

mmmm....Alpacas

As you can tell from DJ's post. We made it out to the Great Minnesota Get Together on Saturday. Besides eating approximately 10 thousand calories (and 50 bazillion points, this place is NOT points friendly) we were able to see some cute animals.

Meet my favorite:

I first came in touch (literally) with the Alpaca when I got into knitting. They produce a very soft fiber, as soft as cashmere (if not softer). I fell in love with the yarn first. Here is the yarn that I purchased from the farm that had these guys at the fair.


After seeing them on Saturday I did some research and decided that I want to buy an Alpaca. Here is some fun facts that I got from the web while digesting all my deep fried goodness on Sat night:

• Alpacas are gentile, docile and good around children
• They harvest fiber which is sheared once a year (generally in the springtime). The fiber they produce each year can produce 7-8 sweaters.
• Alpacas come in a myriad of natural colors: pure white, the most delicate fawns through to grey tones, from the lightest silver to a warm rose grey, and a true jet black. There are 22 recognized alpaca colors but the fleece also has the additional advantage of being readily dyed.
• Because alpacas and their ancestors are specially suited to the harsh environment of their Andean homeland, alpacas are generally healthy, easy to care for and remarkably disease free.
• Alpacas are very intelligent and easy to train. In just a few repetitions they will pick up and retain many behaviors such as accepting a halter, being led, lifting a foot for toe-nail trimming and loading in or out of a vehicle.
• Alpacas are used for breeding stock, fiber production, companion animals and pet therapy.
• They require less room than other livestock. (3 to 10 alpacas per acre depending on where you live).
• It has been shown that just watching them will lower your blood pressure.
  

There is also some investment facts out there. That got me thinking....raising Alpacas would be cool. But I love the city and want to live there...hmm... I did more reading and found out that you can board them!

Heck, even if I bought one (I saw a few for sale for about 3-5 grand). I could use the roving to make my own yarn. I've been wanting to learn to spin yarn anyway. I bought the yarn listed above for $45 for 200 yards. The price for the yarn is pretty hefty.

I have decided. Someday (not tomorrow, but someday) I want an Alpaca. Who wouldn't want one of these adorable creatures.

A Funny

I was talking to my good friend this evening. He tells me he had a "scary dream" . I asked what it was and he tells me.

"I had a dream you lost your job"

"Wow, that would be awesome"

He laughed and said "Yeah, that's how you are in the dream. I was freaking out for you and you just said you could go back to waitressing"

I don' t know why, but I got a kick out of it.

Perhaps it is a sign.

Stuck

I know that the label of my blog indicates I am a knitting and caffeine addict. The caffeine addiction is still there, but I have been on the wagon with the knitting.

This is not voluntary . I really want to knit again. I just haven't been able too. I haven't knit since February. I haven't been to a yarn store in months. My Vogue and Rowan knitting magazine subscriptions have lapsed. I no longer know the new Rowan yarns. This saddens me.

I honestly think I am "stuck". I have 2 unfinished projects. The culprits are Martha from Rowan Cork Collection and Mary from the Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora Collection. the knitting portion is done. I just have to sew the pieces together. This is my least favorite thing about knitting. For whatever reason I can't get myself to do it. So the 2 unfinished projects have sat for about 7 months. I haven't knit in that long. That is very odd for me. Granted I now have a roommate that entertains me, and I have been reading a lot more. Enough with the excuses. I really need to get those finished, so I can feel like I can really knit again.

I did manage to choke out a pair of baby booties for a friend who is having a baby. But that is less than a 2 hour project. I need to up the ante on knitting. My yarn stash is taunting me.

Below is one of the 2 booties. The other one is with the future mother. This one needs to get to her. Don't ask...

Pattern from Knitting Pretty.

I think I will need to suck it up and get my seaming needle ready this weekend.

I heart the Farmers Market

I can't say any more. I absolutely love the farmers market. You can not get a better deal on flowers, meats and produce and it's top notch. That, my friends, is what the summer is for.

Unfortunately I have only been once before this past weekend. A shame I know, but being out of town a majority of weekends has it's drawbacks.

I woke up late Saturday morning, glanced over at the clock and thought "there's time! I can go!" I woke at approximately 11:30am and was out the door at 11:50. There was no time to be wasted, the market closed at 1. I also needed to get cash, so I raced out of the house, ready to roll.

After stopping at a gas station for cash and driving around for about 10 minutes looking for parking I was there at about noon. I had a whole hour of shopping pleasure.

I wasted no time. I grabbed my bag to carry the soon to be purchased goods and raced down the block to my destination. Aha! People! Plants! Strollers (although I am annoyed by their blocking presence)!. Here at last.

After zig-zaging row by row. I left with my goods in tow. This was approximately 55 minutes later. It didn't take long to load up on the following:



1 whole pineapple
2 fillets sushi grade fresh tuna
1 lb frozen free range ground turkey breast
1 bunch flowers
Approximately 1 lb of fresh blueberries
1 container strawberries
1 large bunch bananas
approx 6 large tomatoes
4 links gourmet chicken sausage (and mighty tasty I might add)
1 bunch fresh asparagus
6 ears sweet corn (for 2 dollars!)
3 cucumbers
3 green peppers
3 red peppers
12 fresh from the farm eggs.

Jackpot! I did go a bit nuts, but it was FUN! We enjoyed some of the goods Saturday evening. We had the tuna seared, mine with a bit of wasabi. The asparagus was sauteed with the red peppers. Toss in a bit of garlic and balsamic and it was a damn tasty side dish.

We also, will have a ton of fruits and veggies to put away this week, but that is a good thing..... right?

I can't enjoy the market again until memorial weekend. I am thinking of buying a bushel of tomatoes for $10 (so CHEAP!), so I can try to make a tasty pasta sauce for winter.

You can't beat the Minneapolis Farmer's Market.

Phew....

For those of you who don't know, I quit my health club late last spring. I was getting sick of the environment and needed a change. I figured I would take the summer off and run (or walk) outside to get exercise.

When I was in New York over Memorial Day my friend Kim and I talked about heading to the Firm together. I was excited. The Firm is a GREAT club. Fantastic, upbeat classes that completely kick your ass. They also have been rated as one of the best gyms by Glamour and Self. That tells you something. I went there regularly a number of years ago, took kickboxing, yoga and other classes there. I also shared a personal trainer with T and got into pretty decent shape.

Kim had wanted to go back (since she used to go also) and I did too. This is the thing. We didn't want to go alone. I am telling you the place used to have this kind of intimidation factor. It's urban, raw and sweaty. There is loud music pulsating throughout the warehouse space it is located in. That and the fact that I remembered everyone running around with half-clothed perfect bodies. We decided to go again together. This way we could force each other to go and get back into the swing of things.

We first went about 2 weeks ago. The place has changed a bit, but it still holds the high energy feel and pulse that it used to have. They also purchased the gym upstairs so they now has an open gym (this was not a thing they used to have, it was all classes..gym was personal training only). The perfect bodies are still there, but the clientele has normalized out a bit. Overall a good thing.

We took a kickboxing class and it was great. I was sore for 2 days afterwards. I can tell that this is the beginning of a good, good thing.

We headed over there tonight for a cardio circuit class. This class was packed. It ends up that the instructor, this high energy guy, used to live next to Kim. He comes over chats us up for a bit and tells us that there are ear plugs available if we need them. I tell you they play the music that loud. It's great.

LOVED the class. I not only got a great workout, but I had a fantastic time. There is something about the vibe of the place, the music pulsating and people crammed into a room sweating their asses off that is fun. Perhaps it is a sexual thing..who knows..who cares. It was FABULOUS!

I've decided....the Firm is my new gym now. Once summer slows down I will be heading back there regularly.

Normal-C! Review and Very Random Ramblings

I was finally able to get the final showing of Normal-C on Sunday night. This is the show that DJ was doing slideshow stuff for and I had a free pass. I really had been wanting to go, but the late showings were too late for my in bed by 11pm ass, so the Sunday showing at 4pm was perfect.

I really liked the show. It was entertaining and it also made one think a bit. Overall a great show.

Some words on Courtney. It amazed me how much of herself she put into this. She really puts it all out there and I have an immense amount of respect for it. I met her for a total of 5 minutes prior to the show. I could immediately tell she was an open person. She really put it all out there for the show. I envy people like that, since I am not at all like that. I guess it must be the Midwestern rearing, but I am a tough nut to crack :).

She did a segment on the Female Midlife Crisis...This which occurred for her in her mid-twenties. I also found that I had a similar situation. Not necessarily a mid-life crisis of sorts, but some sort of restlessness. Society sends us strong signals to do things in an "acceptable" order. Go to college, find a nice job, find a nice mate, produce offspring, move to the suburbs and live "happily ever after". Excuse the tangent here, but I don't think that's for everyone and at this moment in my life I know it isn't for me. Hell, my twenties were a time of self-doubt and reflection. Who was I? What do I want? I was also a lot more insecure at that time. Not that it all was bad, I partied a lot and had a lot of fun during those times as well.

Now that I am in my thirties I feel a lot more settled, but I still don't feel that need to continue down the 2.5 kids and dog route. I still feel like there is so many things I want to do that are in store for me. I haven't found the job that is for me. I understand that most folks don't love their jobs, but why give up that search? I am not ready to settle into corporate America for the rest of my working days. I want to travel, I want to figure out what I am meant to do for a living and I want to experience new things. There is way to many things I haven't done yet. The older I get the more I think that kids may not be in my cards. I want to experience my partner and share things before you have to deal with the stress of bringing up a responsible human being.

Wow, what a tangent....Excuse the roundabout random ramblings...But hey....

Life IS about the journey, n'est pas?

Minnesota Summers

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Things have been busy here in the former Tundra, since it is now summertime.

Minnesotans do a funny thing during the summer. We cram a year's of activities into the months of June-Sept. That is 52 weeks of activity into 12 fun-filled weekends. With what you may ask. That's a difficult question. In my younger days it used to be weddings. Now it seems everyone is hitched, so that changes the focus a bit. We have been heading up nort' a lot lately to various cabins. Us midwesterners love our cabins and going up nort' as outlined in DJ's previous post. Actually, the more I think about it, we are a lot like birds who migrate. We head south for the winter (snow bird snydrome) and we migrate north for the summer (even if it is only for the weekends). Cabins are great and fun and all, but after a while you crave a weekend at home.

And, that, is exactly what we did last weekend. Relief at last..

Friday was a fun filled time for Ms. Jackson's birthday at the Herk. After a few APPS, drinks and coversation, we headed next door to the VFW. Yes, that is the VFW. Now, you would expect to sit in a VFW when you are a ho-dunk town for a cabin weekend, but there we were in Uptown Minneapolis, at the VFW.

I may have been a bit skeptical at first, but it ended up being great fun. They have karaoke at the VFW on Fridays and it was a good crowd. That and the fact that our waiter didn't have any teeth made the place pretty entertaining.

You can see video of the extravaganza here. Ms. J pulled out all the stops for the karaoke, which she loves. I did have a bit too much fun though. Thank God that DJ forced me to drink to huge glasses of water and take some advil. I would have had a killer headache the next morning if I had not have done that.

For more fun...pics from the evening are here.

The rest of the weekend was quiet. We headed to the Uptown Art Fair on Saturday and hung around the house. I didn't move from home on Sunday and finshed my book. The book was fab. I'll post more about that later.

Safe?

In case any of you were wondering, I was not RIFed last Friday. 2 folks out of my group were, as well as a few other folks in this office and a lot of folks that I work with across the country.

This is never fun. I didn't even really feel a sense of relief when I knew I wasn't loosing my job. A bigger part of me almost wished that I got the package and time off, so that I would have to push to explore other options. Being left behind means that there is more work piled on your desk. I am not sure if it is that way everywhere else though, so it just may be a case of "the grass is greener on the other side".

I think it's time to update my resume, start exploring and putting out feelers. I may also need an attitude adjustment (or a very long vacation).

Mother Daughter outing

First things first. My mom kicks ass. Her friends kick ass. As long as I can remember, my mom and her friends have gotten together at least 4 times a year for an outing of some sort. I have heard stories about mock proms they have had at a cabin where they all wore prom gowns and voted a "prom queen". They do all sorts of fun things together and are a great group of women.

A few years ago, they started the tradition where the invited the daughters along. The first event was in Stillwater...meet for mimosas and breakfast at 8 am, a boat outing and a night of debauchery. It was a fantastic time.

The seconds outing was this year. Plan was to meet for lunch and then head out for a day at Canturbury Downs to try our luck at the horse races. My luck wasn't all that great, but it was a fun time. We had also planned on staying down there for the night and having dinner/drinks together but Mom and I pooped out. The weather was 100 yesterday and the heat wore us out early. We headed back to check into the hotel at about 7 and discovered it was not a place we wanted to stay....pretty gross. We opted against the hotel and headed home. I wish we would have had the energy to continue the festivities into the evening, but the heat was just too much for us.

All in all a great time. I can't wait for the next outing.

My receipe for salsa

As you may have noticed from my previous post I've been itching to make some salsa. The garden is starting to come in....Yeah!

Here are the tomatoes a few weeks back. A few of them have started to turn red. These are the romas, we also have cherry and the big boys (heh) growing.

We got peppers too! These are jalapeno, but we also have green pepper, yellow and habanero. The green ones and jalapenos were ready to harvest.

I grabbed some of the big boys, a roma, a jalapeno pepper and a green pepper. I had on hand, cilantro, cucumber, garlic and some lime juice. I threw it all in my handy Cuisinart food processor and processed away. This is what it came out looking like:

Not bad.....very cheap also considering I will pay in upwards of 3-4 dollars for fresh salsa at the store. It was mighty tasty also. I have a feeling there will be tons of salsa made once the garden starts to come in more. I'll probably also make tomato sauces and soups.

I know I am a geek, but it's fun.

WooHoo

BTW, I stepped on the scale this morning and am now down 2 lbs. Not a bad start.

RIF

I work for a large telecommunications company. In the past 6 years I have sat in the same chair and have worked for a company that has 2 different names, then had the largest SEC bankruptcy filing in history, because of an accounting scandal. Company then changed name, to better the "public image" . Company then was purchased by another huge conglomerate and I now work for a different company, which brings it to a grand total ......how many? Can you follow all that? I can't.

Not surprisingly, RIFs (Reduction in Force) are a common theme around here. I've seen about 12-15 of them since I've been here. The RIF season has arrived once again.

The thing I can't stand is the rumors that always precede these things. EVERYONE has speculations about who's going to go, how many etc. I find it exausting. If I am going to get whacked, whack me. The worst thing is that I get a paid summer vacation off.

My theory is keep my head down and my pencil moving. I'll continue to push paper until they decide to get rid of me, or I decide to get rid of them. There is nothing else I can do.

If you want to shoot me, shoot me, it's nice outside and I would rather be out there then sitting in the confines of my cube.

I've made a decision

Life has been an adjustment for the past few months. Living with someone has been great. Cooking for two has been fun. I love to cook and have been doing a lot of it lately. The inevitable has caught up with me.

I've gained weight.

Not a lot of weight. Maybe a couple of pounds. I have noticed that clothing isn't fitting like it used to, so I think things are "shifting around". Never a good thing. I haven't been exercising as much as I would like and I haven't really watched what I have been eating. New relationship bliss will do that to a girl.

About four years ago, I was pretty big for my height. I decided at 166 lbs that I have had enough and joined weight watchers. It took me some time, but I did manage to drop 26 lbs. I managed to keep it off for a couple years and gained about 10 of it back. I've been wanting to drop those 10 lbs, but I really wasn't all that motivated since I felt pretty good at 150. I swore to myself I would never allow myself to push 170 again. At 5'3" that is simply too much weight.

I've been eating too much lately and not really taking the thought or time to eat healthy foods. I eat whatever I want and that, my friends, is a very slippery slope. It's time.

I decided that after the weekend in Indianapolis and the holiday, I need to get back into shape. I joined weight watchers again, online this time. I weighed myself yesterday and was at 148.5 (it's a new scale so I think it's a bit light). My goal is to get down to 140 and eventually down to 130 or 135. I am happy at 140, so if I feel good there and can maintain it I may just stick with that.

Wish me luck.

Minneapolis Light Rail

DJ and I went to the Twins game last night. We started the festivities with a happy hour (cheap beer and APPS!!) in the Warehouse District and took the light rail to the Metrodome. This is my first time on the light rail. I was a big supporter when it was proposed since I truly believe this city needs better forms of public transportation. In my utopia, I would live in a city where I wouldn't have to drive, and could take public transportation everywhere. But I do live here, where having a car is almost essential in order to get around in an efficient manner.

Anyway....A few observations from the ride:

• It was very clean and CHEAP. It only cost us 50 cents one way to get to the dome.
• I was surprised how slow it was. I am used to subways in NYC, which are pretty speedy. I know that light rail and subways are a bit different, but I did expect for it to move a bit quicker. I did find it somewhat amusing that there was an advertisement for Qwest High Speed internet on the side of one of the trains. As the train crept by it really didn't bring high speed internet to mind.
  
• Minnesotans are weird. I get that I am a Minnesotan (and yes I am weird) but I typically like to get where I am going quickly. I don't fuck around. As we were leaving the dome last night we needed to cross to the other side of the tracks to catch the other train. As we pushed through the herd of people slooooowlly lining by the tracks I overheard some snide comments. Not to be mean, but come on people. You are just standing there...MOVE it. There is plenty of room for you to move over. Sorry for the rant but the passive agressiveness around here angers me at times.

Overall a good experience. I know they are planning on building out to the northwestern metro area, where all our urban sprawl seems to migrate. It will probably be a good thing.

J'adore les fleurs

I LOVE flowers......adore them. That is why I decided to make the trip to the local nursery yesterday. That and the fact the flower bed by the fence was looking a bit sparse...it needed something. Too much money later (hey I justified it since I had a $50 gift certificate that needed to be spent.) this is what the backyard now looks like:


That is what was planted along the fence. With the exception of the huge hydrangea bush at the end, this was pretty much empty.



The flower bed off the patio. There were some perennials there but I basically filled it in with some cosmos, daisies and these:

I have NO idea what they are, but they were pretty.

I also weeded along the side of the house and planted these:


Sorry for the bad pic. Basically impatiens, more cosmos and daisies. Loved this:

I also don't know what these are but they will be pretty when they flower.

One more shot.....since I sometimes get pic happy in these blogs. This is the patio. In the pots, w have about 5 tomato plants, peppers, cucumbers and some herbs. Salsa will be made as soon as this baby is ready to harvest.

Love love love, the backyard....it sucks that our growing season is so short.

Summer Solstice

I just remembered an interesting conversation with the bouncy gay dude who did my hair. I mentioned that we were invited to a party for summer solstice (Soulstice Party). He told me that you can balance an egg on it's end during the summer or winter solstice. It either needs to be done at noon or at midnight. He said he's done it. Pretty cool.

If you've tried it comment. I would be interested to see if it actually works.

He also told me about the mentos in diet coke show, but I have yet to see that.

Actually now that I think about it I drink a TON of diet coke. That kind of makes me nervous.

Weekend Fun

After an extraordinary hiatus from blogging, I have decided to do it again. I am not sure why, but I figure it's time to shake some things up.....blogging more may help me do that. We'll see.

Anyway, I had a great weekend. For whatever reason I feel like life has been so busy lately. We were home this weekend, which was delightful.

Friday: We saw Bill Maher at the Orphium Theatre. Overall a pretty good show.

Saturday was busy. I managed to drag myself out of bed to get my hair done at 8:30 am. I go to the Aveda Institute in Mpls, which is a GREAT deal. You can't complain about $68 for a full foil and haircut. This was done by a bouncy gay guy, who came up to me and immediately declared that my dress was "FABULOUS"! He went on about how my skin was flawless and my eyes were gorgeous. I felt like a supermodel when I left there with all the compliments this guy was dishing out. The guy even did my makeup to boot! Woo hoo!

Saturday afternoon was spent at D and Mom's house for a reception to celebrate their recent wedding. View the pics here. The rest of Saturday was blissfully quiet.

I finally got around to doing some direly needed gardening on Sunday. I traveled out to Bachmans and spend a crap load on flowers. I got them all in the ground and the backyard looks great. I'll post pics in another post.

Weekends at home are fun.

A new step

My life as it currently is (and has been for the past 32 years) will be over as of tomorrow. It's an exciting time, but a lot of this is also unknown.

I fly to sunny LA to meet up with the love of my life tomorrow. We'll spend some fab time in Southern California and then we will pack up the remainder of his stuff in a tiny Uhaul and begin the journey back to Minneapolis, and our new life together.

Heck, now that I think about it, life as I have known it to be changed in the fall of 2005. Although it is different, it is a good different.

I have been alone and independent for so long that I never knew how good it is to have a special person in your life. It is fabulous and compares to nothing I have known.

LIfe is good.

A Perfect Saturday Night

It is a whopping 16 degrees out. I damn near frooze my ass off while getting groceries earlier. Consequently, I have decided to snuggle in for the evening.

Here is what is in store.


A fab Bells Winter Ale and reading. I even poured the beer in a glass to make it all extra fancy.

If you haven't read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, it is a definate recommendation. A great read.

Moe has even staked out her claim on the chair.


I love Saturdays.

My morning lovelies

I am not a morning person. Some people can jump out of bed in the morning ready to greet the day. I am not one of those poeople. I typically wander around my apartment for a good amount of time when I awake, just trying to get out of my morning fog.

Allow me to intorduce you to my crutch...

There are few things that compare to the first sip of coffee in the morning. During the week, I depend on it. I love this little thing. It is just a simple coffee maker, but I love the fact that you can toss in the ground beans and water before bedtime, push the button to on and it automatically brews it in the morning. Not an unusual feature I know, but it's a feature I can no longer live without. This little beauty beeps when it is done brewing, which is the signal that I can get out of bed with a hot cup of coffee waiting for me. Life doesn't get much better than that.

There's more. When I am in the mood for a nibble I can use this...

That friends is an egg and muffin toaster. It seriously rocks. You just pop in the english muffin, put the egg in the side cooker and push the button. About 5 minutes later you have a tasty egg sandwich. I must admit since this has been added to the kitchen, I have been eating eggs about 4 times a week. I should slow down a bit and start back on the oatmeal.

But it is oh so very tempting.

Howdy

Why hello there!

Welcome to my new blog of random ramblings. Just getting started, but I will be sure to post soon.