Where did the sun go?

Last weekend was so nice, 67 degrees, sun shining…and this morning I drove to work wearing a winter coat, with my wipers on to remove the SNOW that was falling on my windshield. I never will understand Minnesota weather.

In my last post I mentioned the terrible cold that I was starting to get. I only felt worse as the night went on and I thought for sure I would be dealing with the beast for a couple weeks. Amazingly, I woke up the next morning with a completely clear head and nose…I even had a little spring in my step (although that could have been a result of seeing the beautiful weather). I am so thankful my 24 hour cold didn’t turn into something much worse – that’s usually not my luck.

I feel like such a grownup. A few weeks ago I gave my profit sharing and savings plan information to a friend (who just happens to be a financial planner) and we met for lunch today to go over my options. She explained the difference between a traditional 401k and a Roth 401k and I actually kind of get it now. She also told me the best place to put my money so now I can start finally saving for my retirement. You know the scariest part about the whole thing? I was told that I will be working for 40, yes I said 40, more years….SCARY. Imagine how bad my eyes will be when this is all said and done (that darn computer screen). I’m going to end up looking like Milton.


I am so excited for Friday! Angela’s bridal shower and bachelorette party are this weekend in Sioux Falls…and the best part is that I get to leave work at noon on Friday to get on the road! Her friend, Candice, is hosting the shower at her house Saturday afternoon and we rented a hotel suite for the bachelorette party Saturday night. We’ll be going to dinner (at the restaurant connected to the hotel) and then spending some time in the suite before we hit the town for Ang’s final fling before the ring. Nothing but good behavior, of course!

I just looked at my calendar and realized that my weekends are really starting to fill up this Spring/Summer! I always tell myself that I’m not going to plan things every weekend so I can actually spend some time relaxing and enjoying my free weekends. However, I always get overambitious and want to do so many things and before I know it my summer is gone. Oh well…at least it’s always fun stuff!

Happy Wednesday!

And so it begins....cold season

As the warm weather starts to arrive, so does cold season. I’m feeling like a cold is coming on. All the signs are there: body aches, stuffy nose, head congestion. I've been taking Emergen-C packets like they're going out of style. They have 1,000 mg of Vitamin C and are supposed to help you combat a cold. I hope they work!

Tonight I’m going to the United Way Best Of Awards ceremony at The Orpheum downtown – complete with dinner, cocktail hour, awards ceremony and party including a performance by Tim Mahoney! I am on the committee that plans our United Way fundraising week and we were really hoping for an award this year. We made it through the first round of evaluations but didn’t make it to the final round. That’s okay though because we have some good ideas brewing for our next campaign - maybe we’ll have something worthy of an award at next year’s ceremony!

This weekend I don’t have any big plans, at least no plans that will break the bank. I’m saving up for a certain someone’s bachelorette party next weekend. ;)

Friday night I’m going down to Mankato with Jon’s family for his grandma’s birthday dinner. It was supposed to be at Red Lobster so I’ve been salivating over the pictures of lobster on the web site menu, but recently found out that plans changed and we’re going somewhere else. I’m totally fine with that, but now I need to deal with this craving I have for lobster…I wish I was craving chicken nuggets or a turkey sandwich – something like that would be a little more feasible.

Saturday I plan to start my Spring cleaning, do some studying and maybe get together with some friends to make dinner or watch a movie. Then on Sunday I have my last soccer game of the winter session – we’re in the playoffs and are playing the only team that beat us so far. To make it worse, they’re a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds (but I feel better knowing most of them have signed at D1 schools). My body will probably be a little sore on Monday and my ego may also be in that same boat! BUT at least I’m out playing the game I love and getting some exercise with friends. :)

Enjoy the rest of your week and have a great weekend!

Girls Weekend Pics

Here's a picture of the group from girls weekend in Brainerd. Yes, the girl in the middle is wearing "beer goggles." The weekend was so much fun - I'm already looking forward to next year! Here are a couple more fun pictures:

The infamous shot-ski. This is one of the first things we asked for when we arrived and were severely disappointed when we were told that some hooligans stole it last summer. However, a couple hours later they dug this thing out of the basement! I promise mom and dad....I only did one. ;)


I love this picture because of the neon lights. Can't you just picture Jimmy Buffet hanging out on this bar's lakeside patio in the summer?

Well, there are several more pictures but I just wanted to give you a taste. Hope you are all having a great Monday!

Lucky Friday the 13th

I can’t believe it’s been a week already since I’ve updated my blog! I’m using my (late) lunch today to write a few quick words. Then it’s back to entering data into spreadsheets – no joke. Ah, the exciting life of a legal marketer…

GOOD NEWS...Jon found out today that he received a major job promotion at work! He's been waiting to hear about a bonus and instead, got something better than what he could have imagined. He'll get to work on large global projects and have all kinds of other opportunities now. :)

I went to Bar Bingo with Jon and his friends last night and didn’t win anything. But it was fun and they had delicious food! The last game of the night was a blackout game with a prize of $1,000. They’re doing it again next week and I’m going back with hopes of winning! Big money, big money, no whammy…

Last weekend was a TON of fun! There were 12 girls up at the cabin and we did nothing but sleep, eat, drink, gossip and reminisce – it was the perfect weekend. We went to a bar on Gull Lake called Zorbaz both nights and dominated the dance floor. By dominated I mean we pulled out every cheesy dance move possible and started a game of limbo with one of the pool cues. We also made the DJ play the limbo song over and over – I’m sure everyone else in the bar loved it, right? I still haven’t posted pictures because I can’t get my card reader to work. I promise some will be up soon!

Saturday I plan on celebrating the day of our dear St. Patrick. I haven’t decided what I want to do yet, but I do hope the night consists of at least one green beer!

On Sunday, I’m going to a hot yoga class with some ladies from the professional association that I belong to. I’m a little nervous to be sweaty and gross in front “work people” but I think it will be fun. My college coach made us do yoga a couple times at practice and I wasn’t a big fan, although we really didn’t take it seriously. I’m sure this will be completely different!! Did I mention that the room is heated to 105 degrees? If you know me at all, you know I hate to be hot - it makes me cranky. Needless to say, this should be an interesting experience!

Have a great weekend and if you’re celebrating St. Patty’s Day on Saturday, party like you’re Irish! ;)

Looking forward to a long weekend!

It’s my last day of work this week! I’m heading up north for the annual alumni girls weekend. Every year a group of soccer alumni from college spend a long weekend at a vacation home in the Brainerd lakes area. This is my third year going, but the other girls have been going for probably 6 or 7 years! I’m really, really excited for the trip but I guarantee it will take a few days for me to catch up on sleep and for my liver to recover when this is all said and done. I'll post some pictures next week.

A couple weekends ago Jon and I went down to Wisner, NE to celebrate my grandma’s 90th birthday with family. It was great to see everyone again – especially since our family Christmas was cancelled. Here are some fun pictures of Grandma Luv and her cake with ALL 90 candles!

Lighting all 90 candles - definitely not a job for only one person.

Get the fire extinguisher ready!

She actually did an amazing job of blowing out the candles. Only one candle left - you know what that means!!

The birthday girl and her charred cake. :)

It's a Baby Girl!

My good friend, Randi, and her husband, Joey, found out yesterday that they're going to have a little girl - Taylor Bailey! Congratulations guys...I can't wait to meet the little one!

Here's a picture of the proud parents at their wedding last June. :)

I'm back...finally!

Well, it is the second best day of the year today. It’s not my birthday. It’s not an anniversary. It’s not a holiday. It’s Girl Scout cookie delivery day! This day is ranked only behind Christmas and I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. Okay, so maybe this really isn’t the second best day of the year (who would put that above a birthday?!?) but I am in the cookie moment and loving every minute of it. This year I ordered Thin Mints (of course) Tagalongs and Lemon Chalet Cremes – I recommend all of the above.

Tonight I’m going to a workout class that I’ve started to attend regularly at my gym – also a fantastic way to end my day of binging on cookies! The class is called Total Conditioning and I can ‘Total’ly feel it for several days. The first time I went I had to use the handicap stall in the bathroom for a week so I would have some help sitting down. I go to the class twice a week (Tuesday and Saturday) and it’s without a doubt the best workout I’ve experienced since conditioning sessions in college. I’m getting excited just writing about it!

Here’s an update on my three goals:
Goal #1: Probably not gonna happen (sorry, Aaron). You’re typically supposed to train for 12 weeks before running these things and I’m already a few weeks behind. I probably won’t be out running anytime soon either – you would understand if you’ve ever experienced a Minnesota winter. J

Goal #2: I actually started studying for the GMAT, the grad school entrance exam, and took a practice exam a couple weeks ago. I was definitely not happy with my score but I have to realize once I spend time studying the materials I will do much better.

Goal #3: I SIGNED UP for the duathlon. I can’t believe I actually went through with it - now I just need to find a bike! I have some time since I won’t need to start training until early July.

Now that I’ve made it easier for everyone to access my blog, I will be writing much more often. Check back and leave comments - I love to hear from all of you! Until next time…