Thanks for the weekend and the. first day of the week.

I know I didn't do my gratefuls this weekend. It got busy

Thanks for:

• A new book club, with very interesting people.
• Sleeping in late on Saturday
• Great food.
• A very fun Saturday evening with good friends.
• Sushi!
  

Project 365 Day 29

A picture of the city as I was driving home this evening.

The Restaurant Tour- an update

Good news, we started on our Restaurant Tour!

DJ and I headed out for breakfast on Saturday to Hell's Kitchen. It was pretty damn tasty. I had the Chorizo Hash, Sausage Bread and a Bloody Mary. DJ had the The Classic all American Breakfast. I liked my hash, although it was a bit greasy. The sausage bread was fantastic. DJ liked his grub also. Overall a good meal, I would definitely go back again.

On Sunday night we went to Saji Ya for sushi. Take a look at our feast:


Not a bad looking plate of sushi. It was pretty damn tasty. And that wasn't all. We started out with Edamame and Tempura Shrimp for apps and finished off the meal with a Creme Brulee Cheesecake.

I am now stuffed, but it was so damn tasty.

Project 365 Days 26, 27 and 28

This is the one pic I took Friday evening. It's fuzzy, but I tried. We went out for a drink after book club at the Monte Carlo


Saturday Morning DJ and I were heading out for some breakfast and we ended up behind this:


In case you can't read it it says "I wish my girlfriend was this dirty". We got a chuckle out of it.

And later that evening, we headed to our friends home for some fondue. Here is the hostess with one (of many) of the wines we drank that evening.


Royal Bitch. Loved the name. I made some spring rolls to share and they were a hit. The fondue and company were spectacular.

Today, I ran across this.......too cute.


The D and Murph are buds.

Thanks for....Thursday January 25th

Thanks for:

• The little things, a roof over your head, food on the table, a good paying job and people who love me.
• The Joy of Cooking Cookbook. Honestly the greatest cookbook ever.
• Grey's Anatomy. I love me some Grey's.
• An upcoming weekend at home.
• Wine.
  

Project 365 Day 25

Red, Red, Wine.....


Oh How I Love Thee.

Thanks to.........Wednesday January 24th

Thanks for:

• A great, fun group of people that I work with. We sometimes head out for a beer after work and it's really enjoyable.
• Newt and her hubby. We had a fab time at their place. Great hospitality and warmth in their home.
• Tasty Chinese food.
• Fun Games
• 13 days!
  

Project 365 Day 24

DJ and Newt's cute kitty!

Thanks to.....Tuesday, January 23rd

Thanks for

• A very tasty dinner I cooked all by my lonesome. Pork chops and Spanish Rice. mmmmm....good
• Finally getting back into my workout routine from the weekend
• 16 Days to Belize!
• My mom. She rocks.
  
• Turbo Tax. I just completed most of it and it looks like I am getting a hearty refund! Yipee!
  

Project 365 Day 23

I didn't get many today. I was driving home from my workout and passed Lee's Liquor Lounge. I tried to get a shot and really didn't. As I was looking at the photo I noticed you could make out the word liquor and thought it was kinda cool. So I cropped it and posted it:


There you go. As an added bonus here is Moe resting her head on my laptop.

I couldn't say this better myself

Read the following post before reading on.

I came home this weekend feeling a little bit down on myself. Why? Because I saw pictures of myself where I thought I didn't look "skinny" enough. I read this post last night and it resonated with me.

The reality is I could be at my lowest weight, look at pictures of myself and still think that I look fat.

Like Laurie, I have had my weight ups and downs. I have struggled with it all my life. When I was starting a new job and it stressed me out, I got to my hightest weight ever. That was 5-6 years ago. I lost 25 lbs of it, gained 10 back, lost 5, gained 5 and so the cycle goes. I am now about 22-24 lbs below that high weight, but at times I still can't seem to enjoy that and feel good about where I am at.

As it is now, I am a a "decent" weight. Is my BMI a "bit" high over the recommended. Yes, I am at a 26, which is technically considered overweight. Would I like to loose 10-15 lbs? Yes, but not so much that I want to obsess over it and not enjoy food and living. I simply love food too much.

Overall, I need to learn to love myself and my body for what it is. I am healthy and young. My body serves me well everyday. Why is it that I demand to fight with it all the time?

That, is a continual struggle for me.

Project 365 Day 18-22

Ok, so I missed a day or two. Here is a couple from the weekend up North

The view from our back deck at the place we stayed:


And the lovely Lake Superior:


We came home on Sunday to find that my Amaryllis was in bloom.

Goodtimes.

Thanks for Thursday Jan 18th-Monday Jan 22nd

Hey there. DJ and I were out of town all weekend for a weekend of debauchery in Lutsen, MN. Sorry for the lack of posting. I'll post a few things I am thankful for.

• Good friends and a yearly outing with them.
• Great food.
• Good drinks.
• Guitar Hero. I am now officially addicted. I need to get one for us very, very soon.
• The North Shore. I love it there. My mom and I used to head up there yearly. I will miss it when we are not in MN anymore.
• The fact that I will now definitely have a job when we move.
  

Thanks for ....... Wednesday January 17th

Thanks for:

• The near end of a long work week.
• Free lunch and dinner.
  
• Bedtime being soon.
• A beer at the end of a long day.

Project 365 Day 17

When it's the end of the day, you are tired and you haven't taken a damn picture all day shoot a cat (not literally of course).

Moe in her normal spot in the chair with me.

Thanks for.....Tuesday January 16th

Thanks for:

• A short work week.
• Costco. I love me some Costco
• An upcoming mini trip up north.
• A hot shower on a cold day.
• Coffee and Diet Coke
  

Project 365 Day 16

Behold me with makeup....

I look at lot better fresh and ready for the day.

I promise, this is the end of the narcissism for a while.

Thanks to.......Monday January 15th

I know. I didn't do my thanks for the weekend. It was a nice, relaxing, very low key weekend. I rested up and it was needed. I think I am fully back in the swing of things again.

Thanks for:

• Relatives who are cool.
• The snow, it's cool.
• The fact that I didn't have to be out in said snow today.
• DJ
• A great dinner (and finding a way to make good grub from what you have in the freezer and pantry).
  

Project 365 Day 15

Pictures of me....

I barely left the house today because of the weather, so here you go.....

Me trying to be artsy-fartsy:


Didn't really work. Back to the drawing board........Me with no makeup in all my "natural" glory.

Yes, straight from the shower. I don't know why I did this one. I think I will post a pic fully "made up" tomorrow you can see the difference.

It takes a lot of work to be a chick sometimes....

Project 365 Day 14

Took a cooking class today. Here is a sampling of what we made:


Spring Rolls that were very tasty. I rolled them myself.


Egg Rolls......'nuff said. These were also tasty


Cream Cheese and Crab Wantons.

We also made Chicken Lettuce Wraps, I didn't grab a pic of those. I usually love lettuce wraps, but these didn't really do it for me. I may try to vary up the recipe a bit.

Overall a great class. The instructor owns this restaurant in Brooklyn Park. I think I will have to add it to my list of restaurants.

Project 365 Day 13

I know it's blurry....it's the only one I took today


My Dad and Step mom visited today and we enjoyed a game of Dominoes.

Thanks to......Friday January 12th

Thanks for:

• A mellow relaxing night at home.
• Tanning, I know it sounds weird, and I normally don't do it, but it's nice to get a shot of color, especially before an upcoming vacation.
• Friday! I love the weekends.
• This cold being almost over.
• Being curled up, reading a book, being all extra cozy, while it is FREEZING outside.
  

Project 365 Day 12

Moe's paw. I love her little marbled paw. Moe was adopted from the Humane Society, she was fostered before I got her. Her foster family called her Mittens. Yuck.

I know, very random photo, but I just love her little paw.

Thanks to.....Thursday, Jan 11th

Thanks for

• A new season of Gray's Anatomy
• A toasty living room to shelter you from the cold outside
• A flexible job/boss that is willing to work with me on a potential move
• Humidifiers, the one in my bedroom is helping me to sleep at night with this cold
• The end of the work week
  

Project 365 Day 11

Hennepin county doesn't allow smoking in bars. JJ's, that smart bar, leaves these little cards to put out in the case you needed to step out to take care of your needs.

No, I don't smoke, I just thought these were cool.

Thanks to.....Wednesday Jan 10th

Thanks for:

• My mom
• That I worked from home today, I honestly didn't get out of my pajamas and shower until 3pm.
• A tasty dinner
• The Joy of Cooking...GREAT cookbook
• The fact that today, I am only 92% odd (according to some)
  

Project 365

My mom was in town from the sunny (and humid) state of Florida this evening. I made some Fajitas and we had a nice dinner.

Yeah, I know, DJ looks drunk. He refused to keep his eves open for the camera.

Thanks to.....Tuesday Jan 9th

Thanks for:

• A great group or smart and beautiful women that I call book club
• being caught up at work
  
• Exactly 1 month from today, I will be on a beach in Belize
• My mom asking me out for lunch at the last moment (even though I couldn't join her)
• Humidifiers
  

Project 365 Day 9

Random View of Minneapolis on my drive home this evening.

The more I go through this thing, the more I realize I miss a window of opportunity for a good pic. We had book club tonite and I had the cutest dog on my lap most of the evening. He's a great dog and he loves me. Did I think to take a pic of the cute dog? Not at all. I would rather take one driving down the freeway at 65 mph.

Thanks to....Monday Janaury 8th

I am thankful for:

• My friend T (a shoutout to Jersey). I miss him and enjoy our phone conversations
• Making it back to the gym tonite, I had a good workout
• Moe, she rocks. She sits by me an purrs every night. She is a good lap kitty
• The sunshine today
• Our upcoming vacation. 30 days!
  

Project 365 Day 8

DJ camped on the couch enjoying some leftover Bicko. I heart our living room.

Thanks to....Sunday January 7th

Thanks for:

• Sleeping in late
• The first cup of coffee in the morning
• A relaxing Sunday morning (and part of the afternoon)
• Hanging out with an old friend
• Liking where you are at in life....enjoying what you have RIGHT now.
  

Project 365 Day 7

When in doubt take cato pictures.

Duff, sleeping (which he does very well)


And Murphy....looking peeved.


She also does that very well.

Please note, I am still getting used to taking pics without them being blurry. I can't hold the camera still to save my soul. I am working on it. That is part of the learning process of this project.

Thanks to....Saturday January 6th

I am thankful for:

• New friends
• Naps
• The feeling of hot tea on a sore throat
  
• Tasty Juicy Lucys at the 5-8 club
• Saturdays overall, I love Saturdays.
  

Project 365 Day 6

My Pic for today:

My Amaryllis is starting to come up pretty well. I'll be sure to post another picture when it blooms.


The roots are kinda cool also

Thanks to....Friday Jan 5th

Thanks for:

• The weekend is here!
• Great pizza
• A good conversation with a loved one
• Beer
• The mild weather here in MN, it's been great

Project 365 Day 5

Happy First Friday of Jan 07. Here is my pic today:

A couple of guys and I usually go out for a beer (or two) after work on Fridays. We haven't gathered in a while. There you go.

And Later......


Cafe Bicko. DJ and I headed for some kick ass deep dish pizza. I must admit, I am somewhat bummed, because there is a million pizza joints I would like to try, but DJ loves the Bicko. It's like crack to him. You can't blame the guy though. It's some tasty stuff.

P.S. The above photo obviously wasn't taken by me. The first one was, so I filled my obligation for today.

Thanks to....Thursday Jan 4th

I am thankful for:

• DJ's backrubs
• Family Guy
• Diet Coke
• tomorrow is Friday
  
• sleep, I am looking forward to it tonight
  

Project 365 Day 4

Here is my image for today:


This was taken on my drive home from work as I rounded Cedar Lake. It was cloudy and gray in Minneapolis today. Kinda makes your mood somber.

Quote of the Day

Would that there were an award for people who come to understand the concept of enough. Good enough. Successful enough. Thin enough. Rich enough. Socially responsible enough. When you have self-respect you have enough.
- Gail Sheehy

Thanks to.....Wednesday Jan 3rd

I had a great day today. I got a good night's sleep last night and I felt really good today.

I am thankful for......

• a great, productive day at work
• Finally, I got back into the gym tonight to work out. That was fantastic
• a quiet night at home
• cable, I am watching Top Chef for the first time and am now hooked
  
• for Moe, who sits next to me purring as I write this
  

Project 365 Day 3

Here is my picture for today:


Random I know. It's a little LED star thingy that. I think the thingy is kinda cool.

As you were.

Thanks to....Tuesday Jan 2nd

What I am grateful for today

• Work was relatively stress free. I was a bit concerned today would be crazy, but it was completely manageable.
• We finally got the Christmas tree down and the decorations put away.
• That I have the flexibility to work from home when needed.
• I had hives and they are clearing up, that's something to be grateful for.
• For the fairly mild winter weather we have had here in MN lately.
  

Project 365 Day 2

Here is my pic from today:


This morning I was running a bit behind for work. I finally was able to get out the door and tried to leave. Tried is the key operative in that sentence. My car was frozen shut. I have one place to unlock my car and that lock was frozen. Hence, I had to head back inside and work from home until it got warm enough for me to get into my car.

Here is my working from home spot. It's cozy and there usually is a cat that sits behind my head. Today it was Murphy.

Sorry the shot is so fuzzy, I had my morning cup of coffee and for the life of me I couldn't steady my hand.

Thanks to.....Monday, Jan 1

I am pretty tired this evening, but overall a great day. Here is my daily 5.

• A great conversation and a couple of drinks with old friends.
• A fab sig other.
  
• A great home.
• The sunny day today. It snowed in Mpls last night and with the new snowfall and the sun, it was a georgeous day.
• 3 great cats.
  

Project 365 Day 1

This is Duff, my adopted child. One of the coolest cats I know. Duff (or the D) is DJ's cat and I love having him around. He's big, he's got personality and he's a great cuddler.

I gotta say that I missed an opportunity today for this. Every New Year's Day, a group of friends that I know gets together for drinks/food. This year the group of 15 dwindled to 4. We still had a great time and good conversation. I wish I would have taken a picture there. I brought my camera and everything, I just didn't pull it out. That will take some time, getting used to taking pictures. I rarely take photos. This is part of the reason I am doing this, to "force" me to take more pictures.

The Restaurant Tour

Related to one of my new years resolutions, I decided that I should try one new restaurant a month (or at least a place I haven't been to in years). I asked DJ to accompany me and he agreed. Here are the places I haven't been and am interested in trying. Please let me know if you know of any other Mpls area restaurants we shoud check out.

• Town Talk Diner
• Babalou
• Falafel King
• It's Greek to me
• Temple
• Chambers Kitchen
• Mill City Cafe
• 112 Eatery
• Pizza Nea
• Red Savoy Pizza - Visited Friday Feb 23d
  
• Oceanaire
• WA Frost
• Taqueria La Hacienda #2
• Chen Heng Restaurant
• Masa
• La Belle Vie
• Cosmos
• Vincent
• Mortons
• Amore Victoria Restaurant
• Saji Ya- visited Sunday January 25th
  
• Nami
• Luci Ancora
• Ruam Mit Thai
• St. Paul Grill
• Mama Maria's in Hudson, WI
• El Nortino

New Year, New Post

Hi All!

Yes, it's a New Year! I am posting. Unbelievable isn't it.

Anyway, I have been doing some thinking about 2007 and goals that I would like to accomplish. One of them has to do with actually posting in this blog, so hopefully you will be seeing more posts from me in the year to come.

Here are some resolutions/things to strive for in 2007

• Back to the Blog- I am going to try and do the 365 day project. If you are a blog reader I am sure you have heard about it. The goal is simple. 1 picture a day for the entire year. Keep in mind I am no photographer, but it still sounds fun. DJ is going to do it also so we may need to get a new camera. We have a Canon SD300 (I think) that works great and DJ had a very nice Nikon D50 (which is too much for me to operate at times). DJ also gifted me one of his old Sony cameras last year, which I could use for while, so I don't take his trusty Canon from him.

• Back to the Blog (again)- I also am going to journal 5 things at the end of the day that I am grateful for. I used to do that and I found that it helped my outlook. 2006 brought a lot of things to celebrate and I am sure that 2007 will be the same.

• Get back into exercising- Dec I rarely worked out. 1 time per week (perhaps). Like the rest of the world, I need to get back on the wagon. I have 1 month until our trip to Belize and I do not want to be on a beach unless I feel good. Working out helps that. If I loose a couple of lbs that would also be good, but the goal here is to change the behavior.

• Eat when I am hungry- No more mindless munching for me. I need to get back to listening when my body is hungry.

• The Restaurant Tour- I asked DJ if he wanted to try 1 new restaurant per month. He agreed. We haven't been going out to eat all that much, since we are trying to save cash, but 1 time per month shouldn't be too daunting. I'll post a list separately and update as we cross them off. If you are in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area please list places you like.

• Get back to saving money- It's simple. I need to stop the bleeding from my checkbook. The goal is to put $250 per month away.

• Pay Down Debt- I need to get rid of my credit card debt. Goal is to get my debt down by 25% by Jan 2008. That is an aggressive goal, but it's doable. Just quit using it, move the balance to a lower interest card or ask for a lower interest rate, and pay as much as I can per month to it.

• The move- The big plan for the year is for DJ and I to move to LA. DJ moved here to be with me, but the time has come for us to leave. It will be sad to leave loved ones behind, but I am ready for the change. I've lived in Minnesota all my life. The winters are hard on us, so we are off to sunnier places. The plan we currently have it so put the condo on the market in the spring and go from there. Hopefully it will sell so we can be down there by summer. The only thing I have to research is capitol gains. If I have to wait for 2 years then we can't sell until the end of June. DJ has a couple of job options and I am pretty sure I can work my job from LA. I just need to seal that deal with my boss. I will post more as the move approaches.

• The de-cluttering- Associated with the move- I need to get rid of crap. It's that simple. I have gotten rid of some stuff, but I still have a ton. Goal is to start packing up boxes to donate and have a huge sale when we move.

• Learning- Goal is to take 1 to 2 classes per quarter, in whatever I am interested in. This would fall under the following categories- Sewing, Cooking, Language and anything else I can think of. Heck, I could perhaps even take a digital photography class to help me in my 365 day project. I have a good start on this one. I am registered for this class in a couple of weeks. Should be fun!

I know it is a pretty hefty list, but one should aim high, right? I'll be sure to post more as 2007 passes.

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous 2007!