a + b = c

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T09:50:00.002-06:00

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving is probably my most favorite holiday, besides the 4th of July (being on the boat). It is a time of reflection of the year, good food and time with family and friends.

This year there is so much to be thankful for:
1. My wonderful husband. I am so happy to be married to the best man in the world (besides my dad's and grandpa's). He is my best friend, my soul mate and the one I am so blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life with!

2. My Parents. My parents have been such a solid example of love and marriage. They have supported me in life and have welcomed Brian into the family as their own son.

3. My sister, Scott and Logan. I really don't know what I would do without my sister. She is my mentor, my confidant and my best friend! I am so lucky to have her in my life, that she lives so close and that she has a great husband and a wonderful son!

4. My in-laws. I know some people don't like their in-laws very much, but I am so very lucky to have wonderful in-laws. They have accepted me as their own daughter and I am so happy to be a part of the family, and with that I gain 6 more sisters/sister in law, a brother and two great nephews (and a 3rd on the way!!!)

5. My career: without my career, i would not be able to provide for Brian and I, our home. Blessings to having a wonderful job, shelter, food and clothing.

6. My puppy! Connelly is a great dog, even if he is getting old and angry - the house would not be the same with out him.

7. My Friends: I am so blessed to have such AMAZING friends. I am hoping to spend some time with many of the during the holidays this year.

8. Health: Thank goodness for good health, not only my self, but family and friends.

This Thanksgiving holiday will be filled with fun! Tonight it is off to the WILD game (our first one of the season), Turkey Day in Jordan on Thursday, Shopping on Friday, decorating the house and cooking food on Saturday, Turkey day at the Gregoire's on Sunday!!!!

Here's wishing that everyone has a safe and very happy holiday weekend!!!

Figured I would throw a pic up from the wedding :)

Wedding preparations

2010-09-22T10:44:00.000-05:00

Hi All! I know I have not posted much about the wedding at all, but it is only 38 days away!!!! YIKES and YIPPEE! Brian and I are both really excited, even though there are a lot of little things to do in the next 5 weeks! I have two bridal showers this weekend that I am looking forward to and I am ALMOST done with the bridesmaids jewelry! Here is a sneak peak...if you can't make out the images...good :) you aren't supposed to as it is a SURPRISE!!!!! I have had my first dress fitting and my second one is on October 1st...I am really hoping the seamstress does a good job because the dress was WAY too big.

More to come soon!

Wedding #......

2010-09-20T08:07:00.000-05:00

Brian and I have been invited to and attended probably over 15 weddings in the past two years, if not more...i have started to lose count...We only have 1 more to go (October 2nd) until ours on the 30th! Two weekends ago we traveled to WI Dells to celebrate the wedding of Heidi and Dan! Dan is a buddy of Brian's from when he skied in the Dells, but I have had the chance to get to know the two of them over the past couple of years and they made a trip to MN this summer to visit as well!!!

Their wedding was beautiful and it was a beautiful day outside as well! They had a traditional Catholic Ceremony followed by a reception at Devil's Head Resort. Now, this was the first time we had been to Devils Head (about 45 min from the Dells). We just had watched the movie Hot Tub Time Machine on Friday night and the lodge/hotel we stayed at reminded us of just that! I can see how the resort was AMAZING in the 80's but it is a little bit run down, but it looked like they had a pretty good golf course. The actually room where the reception was as well as the patio areas/pools were beautiful!!!!

Here are a few pics from the weekend! Congrats to Benzi & Heidi!!!

Coffee

2010-09-17T10:11:00.000-05:00

I Love Coffee!!!!!

Most people who know me, know that I love my coffee!

The best part about a cup of coffee, is when it is piping hot early in the morning.

Lately, due to my workout schedule, I have not been able to enjoy my cup of coffee until at least 8 or 8:30 in the morning. The only positive thing about that is due to my new coffee pot it stays HOT until almost 11 AM after it gets made at 5:20 (for Brian when he goes to work) and the machine doesn't even stay on!

It is GREAT!

So here is my toast to Friday, after a long week and a gloomy, cool day!!!

I promise to get back to blogging after the wedding...right now there just hasn't been a lot of time.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

2010-08-04T12:27:00.000-05:00

Today is my sister's birthday! I am so lucky to have an older sister to look up too!!!! Here is a shout out wishing you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Love you :)

Happy Birthday Tom!!!

2010-06-28T12:44:00.000-05:00

Saturday Brian was off to Mitch's bachelor party in Stillwater. Melissa Laughlin and I decided to hang out for the day in White Bear Lake. We dropped the boys off at the boat in Stillwater, swung by Kristi's house so I could see it, she and Kristi took a quick swivel run, then it was off to John and Jilli's new house (Kurt and Lindsey's old house) then we went to Lindsey and Kurt's new house, took a swim in the pool and then went out on the boat for a bit. By this time it was already after 3PM and the clouds had rolled in. We all headed in by about 5:30 to get ready for the rib fest at The Walls! We had some delicious food and then the rain came. We celebrated Tom's birthday and then headed to Houlihans for a couple drinks and were all in by about 12 AM as we were all exhausted :) Dan and Brian had too much fun at Mitch's bachelor party and got in about 3 AM. What a fun day!

Congratulations Erica & Steve (6.27.2010)

2010-06-27T12:19:00.001-05:00

So after being given a very hard time from all the gals from high school this weekend...it is time that I update this blog. I have been so very busy, there just hasn't been time and I know I am really behind. I have a couple of weddings, twins games, time with friends, etc...to post about - it will get done.

Anyways onto Erica and Steve's wedding (yes i forgot to get a picture of the two of them), but you can view there engagement session here: erica & steve engagement session Pictures were done by our high school friend, Tasha Herrgott, owner of Red Bird Hills Photography! She will be doing Brian and my e-session this coming Thursday, so stay tuned!!!!

Steve and Erica are truly a match made in heaven. It is apparent how strong their love is for each other! They had a private family ceremony at the park in Jordan and then a dinner reception at The Ridges Golf Course in Jordan. They had a social hour followed by dinner and it was a beautiful day! Erica looked absolutely stunning. Her colors were navy and green and everything was just gorgeous! It was so fun to see the gals from high school, their husbands, boyfriends and kids! We had a great time catching up!

Congrats Steve and Erica - may your marriage be filled with love, laughter and happiness!!!!

Friday Night Bowling

2010-06-25T12:00:00.001-05:00

Due to the stormy weather on Friday, our couples golf league was cancelled, so we decided to hang out at our friends Katie & Jonny's house and watch the storm. We ordered in pizza, our friend Danielle came over for a bit and we watched some t.v. We were all a little antsy so we decided to go bowling and boy did we have a good time!

We decided to have Mexican names...see the picture! Jonny started every game out with a strike, Brian got 4 strikes in a row in the 4th game (i think alcohol may have benefited him!), Brian and I also each won a free game. They have a pink pin at the head of all the pins and if you get a strike when the pink pin is the head pin you win a free game! It was pretty exciting. We also all broke 100 in the last game!

We had so much fun! There was definitely a lot of people entertainment as well. A fight in the bar, a pregnant teen with her baby daddy, and very young kids out with their parents bowling at 10:15 at night....you never know what you might run into at Blainebrook Bowl on a Friday!!!!

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks.....

2010-04-20T12:40:00.000-05:00

GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The time is here for baseball season and celebration of a new stadium. Brian and my first date was on April 16th, 2008 at a Twins game at the Dome, so one of our many traditions has now been to go to the game on the 16th (or that week if there is one). This year we went in on a 20 game pack for the new stadium and we were lucky that the 1st evening game at the new stadium was for our date night. The Twins played the KC Royals and we WON 10-2. It was a little breezy and chilly, but well worth it. There was so much to pay attention too; it was hard to pay attention to the game, unless #7 was up to bat. It was absolutely unbelievable. This is truly how MN baseball should be and brings back so many memories of my uncles playing baseball for the Brewers at the Mini-Met in Jordan. One of the awesome things about the stadium is the fact that you can bring in your own peanuts, sunflower seeds, water, etc...as long as it is not opened. We brought a HUGE bag of peanuts as well as some sunflower seeds and of course bought a hot dog...no longer a "dome dog".

Another new thing for us was taking the North Star commuter train and how slick is that! We jumped on in Fridley and it drops you off right there. It is wonderful! We were not fortunate enough to be able to take the train home 9it was only running one way on Friday, but our neighbors who we had dinner with the night before offered to drive us home and we could not say no to that!

Our next game is on June 12th, a Saturday, day game! I can't wait. I promise to not have as many pictures posted after that one, but for now, enjoy!!!!

Where have I been again?....?....?

2010-04-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

Okay - so I am really not good at this blogging and updating thing. Work has been insanely busy, wedding planning, great and life crazy as always :) I am convinced I should just do monthly updates...it might be easier for me!

I really don't know where March went. So here is an overview....followed by pictures, of course!

The first weekend of March consisted of HOUSE PROJECTS. This weekend we worked on putting in new 6 paneled doors on the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. MAJOR improvement. We still have our closet doors to do and our broom closet, but that will have to wait for now. This same weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday at Twin City Grill at Mall of America.

We then had multiple meetings with our jeweler for my wedding band and also to design Brians! Mine is done (more pictures) and I LOVE it. Jenny & Jake do a phenominal job. Brian's ring will be a mix of white gold and Niobium - super cool and I can't wait to see it finished!

Jack's (one of our nephew's) 1st Birthday party,

Brian finished his ski slolom leauge, we had a funeral, meetings with the church for the wedding, a couple of birthday celebrations, a few bbq's, our first few rounds of golf (I got new clubs this year!!!), mom and dad over to help with our basement, parents brunch, babysitting Logan a few times, wedding errands for centerpiece decor, Make-A-Wish meetings, running began (less than 7 months to the wedding!), Brian's brother Caleb was home from Mississippi (before being deployed in April), Easter Dinner (a week early), ran more water lines for our downstairs bathroom, a final Wild game and a few happy hours with my old pageant friends and my college gals...whew...I am tired just typing all of that!!!

It was a busy month and April is already half over. I will update April soon, but thought I would get March finished first!

Hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far :)

Choo Choo!!!

2010-03-21T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm a bit behind in my blogging. Work and wedding planning has been busy to say the least.

This blog is from when Melissa and Scott were in Mexico and my mom and I took Logan to the train museum to see all the "choo choos." I got to the house and Logan was pretty excited to go and see all the trains. He was running around saying "choo choo" all morning. We loaded up the car and off we went. It was a little challenging actually figuring out what building you had to go to, you had to go to one to buy the tickets and then you had to trail through the parking lot to find the other building. Needless to say we finally got to see many trains.

The train museum is definitely a collection of "old timers" passion for trains. There were train sets everywhere. Most of these train sets were set up in sections. Each section was a collection of each persons trains. They maintain them and are there to answer questions you may have about them. They know almost everything there is to know about "collector" trains.

After a couple of hours we headed back to the house to feed Logan lunch and get him down for a nap.

It was a fun day :)

Silent Icicles

2010-03-21T21:13:00.000-05:00

This post was supposed to be posted over a month ago and I just getting to it now. I was working from home this day and walked into the guest bedroom while I was pacing on a conference call and this was what I saw out the window. I could not help but catch this moment of beauty during the winter.

Logan Time

2010-02-18T14:57:00.000-06:00

As Melissa & Scott are sitting on a beach in warm, sunny Mexico, I got to stay here in cold, snowy, Minnesota. The only benefit of them being gone was the fact that I got to watch Logan on Wednesday! I got to their house just before 6am, said goodbye and then my dad came and got them to take them to the airport. I got about an hour and a half of work time in before buddy woke up. As soon as he woke up and I went to get him out of his crib he said, "down?" Meaning lets go downstairs and play!!!! We first changed his diaper and then it was non-stop until mom got there at 1:00 and it was time to put him down for his nap. It is so crazy how within a matter of months he has added so many words to his vocabulary! He is such a smart 21 month old baby. Inbetween breakfast, playing and poopy diaper number #1 I attempted to get him out of his pj's to put play clothes on him. Well he is so quick he ran away from me, giving me a perfect chance to get my camera and take some pictures of how silly he was being. Needless to say, it was a fun filled morning!!!! Check out a few of the many photos below!!!

1 ton van on a frozen lake....

2010-02-14T22:20:00.000-06:00

So I am not a big one to want to celebrate Valentine's Day. I have strongly told Brian to NEVER buy me flowers on valentines day. It is that one day that has gotten soooooo over materialized, I cannot allow Brian to spend $50 on roses or any other flowers just for the "I love you - its Valentine's Day" This year we had decided to not buy any gifts for each other, but before we decided that I had already bought Brian a few new items of clothing!!! I gave it to him on Saturday so he could not claim it as a V-Day gift!!! He was mad because he did not get me anything, but I was happy because he really liked what I got. Anyways...onto our weekend.

This was the first weekend in a long time that we actually did not have anything planned. We were supposed to do a few things on Saturday night but that was about it.

Friday started off great! I had my performance review and got a very unexpected raise and a very nice bonus, so I was pretty pumped! Then after Brian got home we met up with some of our friends for a quick happy hour. From there we went to Melissa and Scott's to have dinner with my parents and then watch Logan for the night so Lis and Scott could go hang out with the "soon to be newlyweds, Aaron and Andrea". We put Logan to bed and fell asleep not too long after that. We had fun spending time with my parents as well as Logan. It was a very relaxing night!

Saturday we woke up and decided we would go ice fishing. I haven't had a chance to be out all season. So we got everything ready, packed up Brian's parents van, and off we headed to Albertville. Everything that could have went wrong, did!!! We first missed our exit to get off to go the the lake, so then we turned around and decided to get a quick "early" lunch. Culvers was closed, so we decided to look for something else. We went to go find the public access at the lake. We found it and as we were turning around in the parking lot, the van got STUCK. I said....REALLY, is this happening??? Luckily another guy was headed out onto the lake and helped Brian push. We went back to Montecillo and went to get some bait. The guy at the gas station said you have to go to the bait shop. By this time we were hungry so we decided on McDonalds. Then we went to the bait shop, got our worms and headed back to the lake. I got a little nervous after already getting stuck. Brian though we would be able to make it but he wasn't sure, so we said we would go for it. We figured the path out to the fish houses would be plowed well because there we a TON of houses on the lake, our only fear would maybe be turning around. As we began on the ice, it was not too bad, then the path split and it got more narrow. Every vehicle on the ice was 4-wheel drive. As we continued it got more narrow and thicker with snow and then we were stuck. We managed to get it unstuck and then about 400 feet more we got stuck again. At this point we figured we were not going to be able to get turned around, so we stayed where we were, set up the house and started to fish. We called Brian's dad to tell him what happended and we asked him to come and bring us some chains or a tow strap with my car and then join us for the day fishing. I caught the first two...and only two fish of the day! Cindy and Doug finally arrived and we tried multiple things to get the van out...nothing was working. We really just wanted to get it turned around and then figured we would be okay. We hooked the tow strap up to the back of the van and the hitch of my car and after a lot of pushing it got loose. Cindy was in the van and Brian the pathfinder and as soon as they got going, they did not stop. Doug and I chased for a moment but it was two miles back to shore. We figured Brian was just going to go all the way. It was pretty comical seeing a van being pulled backwards on the ice. They got a number of "hoots" and "hollars" along the way. Upon their arrival back we all fished for a couple of hours and nothing was biting so we decided to pack up, get off the ice, and head to Maynards for dinner. After a long wait we were finally seated and had a wonderful dinner. We were either going to go to Azia or Mayslacks with groups of friends, but felt it would be nice to continue to spend the evening with Brian's parents since they came and helped us. We got back to the house and decided to go sit in the hot tub for a bit. Then we came hope, popped a bottle of champagne and watched the movie "Extract." It was pretty funny.

Today we woke up and went to church at 11. There is a series going on called "The Vow" so we felt what better to go and see what could pertain to our upcoming marriage to each other. It was a really good service. We missed last weeks because we went to Anoka's service, so we will have to watch that online as well as next weeks as Brian will be ice fishing. After church we headed to Chipotle for a quick lunch, got our cars washed, went grocery shopping and then headed to a 4:00 matinee to see "Valentine's Day" with a large list of big named actors and actresses, it was pretty funny and cute. We came home and watched "Inglorius Bastards" and then Brian was off to hockey.

We had a perfect, unplanned, very fun weekend. Theses are the days I love to keep in my memory forever.

Sweet tooth and house projects

2010-02-07T19:03:00.002-06:00

Thursday night after dinner I was craving some chocolate chip cookies! I love to bake, but Brian and I don't like having sweets around because we eat them, so I have gotten out of baking sweets for awhile. So about 7:30 as the Wild game was starting I ran into the kitchen and made a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies with mini morsels. I was glad I made them because they proved to be a nice snack over the weekend to much on as we were working on the bathroom.

Brian and I are very much the "do it yourself" couple, even though sometimes I think paying someone to do it would be easier, but in the long run, it is much more rewarding and we are saving money. Last spring we had to redo the upstairs shower fixture so we learned how to soilder and do all the copper piping. We did spring one leak on the upstairs so it was our mission not to have that happen in the basement. We took our bathroom downstairs and completely gutted it a few months ago. Since then, Brian busted out half the concrete, our plumber friend Dan came over and laid new pipe for the shower, new toilet and sink. Then my dad and Brian framed everything in and this weekend it was time for us to do the piping for the shower. We had to tap into the existing cold and hot water lines in the ceiling. We got to the cold shut off valves on Saturday night without any problems. Today we worked on the hot water and the piping for the shower head. So far, no leaks!!!! Now we need to secure a couple of things, next weekend do the since piping, get the electrical done, sheet rock and secure the shower walls and add the tub and vanity and we will be done. We are keeping the bathroom pretty roughed in for now (no tile, no paint, etc) just so we have a full bath for us and the roomies to use and then the upstairs will get the full gut this spring. Stay tuned for more updates!!!

We did manage to also go out for dinner and some darts Friday night in Maple Grove and some dinner and drinks last night in St. Louis Park and church this morning.

State Sections Meet at Giant's Ridge

2010-02-03T12:30:00.009-06:00

As some of you may know, Brian is in his 8th year coaching the Alpine Ski Team for Champlin Park High School. Over the past 2 years I have gotten to be a part of this (a.k.a. single lady from Nov-Feb. j/k). This is no easy job for Brian as he still works his full time job at Minco (starting at 6-2:30) and then he goes and coaches at Trollhaugen in WI, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, usually not getting home til 9:30 or later. This takes a toll on both of us, but in the end rewarding as well. It is pretty awesome because Brian has gotten to coach his brother Caleb, sister Bryanna and currently his sister Casey!!!

Yesterday (Tuesday, 2/2) was the State Section Meet. This is held up at Giant's Ridge. So Monday night about 5:00 after work, Brian and I got on the road to head up to the Ridge. His assistant coach Dan rode the bus with the kids on Monday morning (they go up early so the can hit the hills and practice for the day before the meet). When we got to the Ridge we were greeted by Brian's parents to help us unload the car and fill our tummies with Pizza. We headed up to the coaches room and Cindy and Doug's to unload our stuff and eat.

It was really nice to spend some quiet time with Brian's parents. Since they still have 3 kids at home we don't always get the quiet time to just sit and chat! After awhile we went and hung out with some of the coaches in the other rooms while Brian checked on his kids, helped them wax and tune their skis as well as round them all up for bed!!! After that us adults headed off to the lounge to have a few cocktails. It was about 12:30 am before we decided to head up to bed.

We got up about 7 am to feed the kids and get the tent set up on the hill. Brian had a bunch of coaching things to do so I headed out with Cindy and Doug to get things ready. I hadn't decided if I was going to ski at all (since it has been 7 years) so I bundled myself up and figured I would decide later.

There were 18 teams at the section meet. Each of the kids get to races. Champlin was the 18th in line for the first race and the 1st in line for then 2nd. According to Brian it is better to be in the middle, but they draw so there wasn't a choice. The first race (boys and girls) got done about 11:30. Most of the kids did really well with only a couple tumbles. 6 boys and girls from each team are allowed to participate in the race. After the first race, there was a break until 1:30 so they can re-set the courses. I FINALLY decided to ski. Brian took me up for my first run and we went down a green (EASIEST!) course. He was very impressed with my control. I quickly overcame my fear of not skiing in 7 years and was ready to head up the chair lift again, after loosening my boots!!! Brian was very patient with me :) Then after a couple runs he had to go imspect the courses so I headed off with Melissa and we hit the slopes until about 1:30 when the race began again! I had soooooo much fun and can't wait to get back out there.

The kids did their second race and then awards started at 4:30. The boys and girls teams ended up getting 9th, so right in the middles which isn't too bad. Josh was the only boy that made it to state which is next Wednesday. This is pretty exciting as he is only a freshman, and excellent skier and has lots of time to grow. I was happy because his dad Gary has been a huge asset to the coaching staff and has volunteered his time all season to help Brian and Dan with anything they need; riding the bus, helping with gates, and just being a great cheerleader for the kids!

I wish Josh the best of luck since I will not be able to head up to the State Race!!!! What a fun day it was and we had beautiful weather too!!!! We got home about 9:30 last night and we were exhausted!!!

Dinner Night

2010-02-03T11:40:00.008-06:00

Sunday night Brian and I had some of my college friends over for dinner. We decided to host dinner as Tracy wanted to do lunch or something on the weekend because trying to get together for lunch during the week is too hectic and there is never time for anyone to catch up! So, we decided to have it here so it was more comfortable and fun for all!

We decided that I would cook and everyone would show up around 4pm. Tracy and I decided that the theme would be Mexican! I picked up stuff Sunday morning to to make fresh guacamole and fajitas for dinner! I spent a couple hours in the kitchen prepping all the food so i didn't have to do it once everyone arrived (I know I get this from my mother!!!!)

Tracy and Sam arrived first at 4 and Tracy brought a yummy buffalo chicken dip!!! We started to munch on appetizers. Jenny arrived shortly after 4:30 and then Tonya and Chris made it around 5:30 when I was just starting to cook!

On the menu was steak and chicken fajita mix, Spanish rice, black and refried beans and all the fixings (guac, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce!)

We all sat down and stuffed ourselves. After we ate, the guys headed into the living room to watch the Pro Bowl and us ladies did the dishes and continued to sit in the dining room to drink wine and talk more about life, our upcoming weddings, work, etc.

Everyone left about 9pm, but not before we took a girly picture and said goodbye! We decided we will do this monthly and rotate our houses :) We had such a fun night, i cannot wait to do it again!

Winter Carnival in White Bear Lake

2010-01-31T23:15:00.018-06:00

This weekend our friends from Wisconsin Dells came into town. Friday night we ended up just eating at El Toro in Champlin, went to Mavricks and then headed back to our house and watched the X games and drank a little.

Saturday we got up and I made breakfast and then we all headed to White Bear Lake for the Winter Carnival. They had a huge ice fishing tournament. We got out there about 2pm and had a couple of drinks at Admiral D's before hitting the ice. We got out there around 3 and little did we know that is when the tourney ended. We hung out on the ice (as any normal Minnesotan would do) for a little while and then headed back to Admiral D's. From there we decided to go to Saks to get some food and drink some more.

We thought it would be fun to hit up north east Minneapolis, so we headed back to Champlin so we could all change out of our winter gear and then drove down to Mpls. We wanted to go to Stais's, but they were closed, so we went to Jimmy's for one and then to the Knight Cap where we stayed for the rest of the evening. You never know what you may see when you are in North East. We say a Billiy Idol look alike!!! See the picture of him from behind in his "Punk No Disorderly" Jacket. I wanted to get a pic of the front of him, but I didn't want to be too rude!!!! Molly, I and the others all had a good laugh. We hung out, talked, watched the Wild game and the X games, played darts and had a good time. We got home around 2 am! It was fun to have our friends from WI in town for the weekend!!!!

Bedroom/Office Remodel!

2010-01-31T22:54:00.004-06:00

I'm back. Sorry for my time away. After my last post, my family, Brian and I headed up north for our Annual Superior Shores get away. After we got home, I got hit with the flu and was down and out for about a week (NO energy). Since then the past 3 weeks have flown by and now it is the last day of January. I have a number of posts to catch up on so hang tight!

So as my past post stated, Brian and I are currently working on a number of small house projects. We just finished our other spare bedroom, which serves as my office, craft room and additional guest bedroom and wedding planning corner! I am really excited how this room turned out. My friend Rosie did the art work for the walls.

On Saturday the 16th we stripped the wall paper and then worked on it the next couple of days. I had Martin Luther King Jr. Day off from work, so I was able to finish it all up! We still need to change the carpet, but for now it is good. We just had our first guests over this weekend from WI Dells so both rooms got used!

Here are some before and after photos! Enjoy.

how do I love thee???

2010-01-29T23:07:00.001-06:00

let me count the ways....

1. flowers just because...that is good enough for me :)

Friday when Brian got home from work, he walked into my office (I was at home Friday) and much to my surprise had this large beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. I was on the phone with a candidate, so I couldn't even as why or what. As I stumbled through the rest of the phone call with Brian standing there smiling at me, I could not help but smile and fell warm all over.

After my call, I said..."what are these for and his response was simple." "Because I love you and you deserve it. It has been a long winter with me coaching and I thought you would like these." Yes, my heart melted all over again. Only one more of the many reasons why I am so excited to marry Brian.

New Year's Resolution #2.....

2010-01-03T20:24:00.006-06:00

HOUSE PROJECTS!!!!!

Brian and I had a very busy weekend planned of house projects. We are currently working on a new bathroom in the basement. This project is taking a bit longer than planned due to our busy schedules, but we are hoping the by January or early February our new bathroom will be done. I will post those updates once the project is complete.

This weekend it was all about getting the living room cleaned up well after taking Christmas decorations down as well as changing out SOME (more to come) of the OLD and very UGLY light fixtures from the 70's in our house! We also finally picked up the paint so I can redo our guest bedrooms and our office/craft room in the next few months. My dad came up to help Brian frame in the bathroom so I decided to start painting. I finished my second coat on new years day and then Brian and I finished everything on Saturday morning before having a busy afternoon and evening with friends!

I am VERY excited on how the guest bedroom turned out. We still need to replace the carpet and change out the closet from dark wood to light wood (but that will happen most likely after the wedding as we have 5 doors, 3 rooms of trim and 2 large closets to replace) but for now, I think it looks great. It is clean and organized and ready for more guests to stay! I will begin over the next few months look for the shelves I want to hang on the wall along with a piece or two of artwork for above the bed, but other than that it is good to go!!!

Happy New Year...2010 is here

2010-01-03T19:18:00.004-06:00

New Year's Resolution #1 --- Blog much more!!!!!

New Year's Eve was fairly low key. We, along with 12 other friends, went to Azia (http://www.aziarestaurant.com/) in uptown for dinner. Azia is one of my favorite Chinese Fusion Restaurants. 10 of us met there at 7:00 to surprise our friend Melissa for her and Dan's 5 year wedding anniversary. She was definitely surprised! After eating way too much food, we headed back to Champlin, so no one had to drive, and decided to have people over to our house. We played Apples to Apples, Darts, and rang in the New Year together! It was a wonderful time. I am looking forward to the start of a new decade and am so grateful for the last couple years of the first of 2000...I am so excited to see all of what 2010 will bring!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

things to be thankful for

2009-11-11T08:09:00.004-06:00

I got up this morning at 4:45 to head to the gym. I really did not want to go, but told myself "if i want to look really good in my wedding dress in a year, i better get my butt up." After my 2 mile run, I headed home and got ready for work.

As I was driving down 169 I couldn't help but notice the absolutely amazing sunrise the God blessed us with this morning. I couldn't find my camera in my purse so I grabbed my phone to snap the picture. It doesn't do it much justice for how beautiful it was, but wanted to make sure to post it as it really made me thankful for another day of life today.

Hope everyone has a blessed day :)

Engaged!

2009-11-05T19:39:00.011-06:00

I don't even know where to begin - I am still on cloud 9 right now. As my previous post stated, Brian surprised me with a trip to the Bahamas for our 1 year dating anniversary, Halloween and his birthday...little did i know he was also planning to propose during this entire time. His parents knew and so did my sister, but that is about it. I was so surprised about the cruise, that I really didn't think he was going to propose because it was "too obvious" Everyone said..."he's gonna do it, and I said...maybe, but really I don't think it will happen" I guess i just really didn't want to get my hopes up and then possibly get let down, so i just made myself believe it wasn't going to happen and boy, I am glad i did, because I was VERY surprised. So to my weekend adventure and more importantly, how did it happen!

We both worked all day Thursday and then Brian's mom brought us to the airport. We got there and discovered our flight was a bit delayed, so we went to Chili's for a beer and appetizer to begin our vacation! After that our flight was even more delayed so we went to another restaurant for another cocktail and to watch the World Series. Finally we got on our plane and headed to Orlando. We finally arrived (at 2 am) and our friends Shauna, Pete and Turbo (Nick) picked us up. We headed to Pete's and there we met drunk Chad. Stayed up til about 4 am and then crashed. We had about an hour drive to the ship in the morning and wanted to get there right away so we didn't have to wait in line for too long.

We boarded the ship about 12:30, got our picture taken and walked around all the decks (during that time, Brian was checking out where he was planning to propose). We went down to our room after a nice lunch and a couple of drinks and safety boat training to unpack our bags. We ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours, missed sunset, but made it up for our 8:30 dinner. We went to dinner, where we had some interesting dinner companions for the next three days. After dinner we decided to take a walk around the deck and check out the stars. As we were walking along, there was a pretty drunk (we think) lady that we thought was going to fall over board because she was staggering all over the place. She started talking to us and when we said goodbye she continued to follow us and asked where we were going. We were just trying to get away from her and it wasn't working. We finally lost her and as Brian was about to ask someone to take a picture, I turned away and when turned back towards him he was down on one knee and said "Amy Hammer, will you marry me?" I was dumbfounded. I said "you aren't supposed to be doing this, this weekend, the trip was a surprise," i started crying and then shaking and I finally said yes. We put the ring on, it fit perfect and of course was gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited to just spend the next few days together to enjoy our engagement, but the hardest thing was not being able to tell my parents , sister and friends (even though they suspected it) until Monday, but it was well worth the wait! For the rest of the night we listened to some music at one of the bars and did a shot and made a stop by the casino.

Saturday came quickly. We got up, went up to the sun deck, and just laid in the sun as we enjoyed the beautiful morning before we arrived in Nassau. Upon arrival we could see the HUGE Atlantis hotel. It was amazing. There were 3 other ships in our port when we got there.

Once we got off, we decided to head to Atlantis to see the beach and the hotel. We went to the beach first, got a couple of coconut drinks and wanted to maybe go in the ocean, but the waves were HUGE. So we just walked down the beach, and then headed into the crazy pools of Atlantis. As we continued to walk around in awe at all the pools, we got hot and decided to take a dip!!! You were supposed to have a wrist band, but we walked right in, swam for about 20 minutes, laid down to dry off and then left and never got caught. We walked up to the hotel to walk through it and see the aquariums, casino and all of the interior of things. We asked how much the pools cost for the day and they said $110/per person/day. OMG we said - we just snuck in for free!! It was awesome :) Then we headed to downtown Nassau and walked around, got a cigar, a free necklace and then went to a little Greek cafe and had a piece of King fish and a couple of beers. Then we headed back to the ship. I went up to the spa and got my nails done and Brian was going to go to the casino, but it was closed til 7 so he just took a nap. When I got back we got ready for dinner and then went and enjoyed that. It was Halloween so people were dressed in costumes. After dinner we went up to the poolside party and hung out and had a few too many cocktails and ended up on the dance floor at the end of the night! We had a great time.

Sunday - - Brian's Birthday! We got up and had anchored in the middle of the ocean to arrive at Coco Cay, a private island owned by Royal Caribbean. We were both a little hung over from the night before so we went to go get breakfast and then headed off the ship to the island. It was pretty cool, we walked around to a pretty deserted side of the island (which Brian had researched before we left) and we got a couple of floaty rafts and floated in the water for about 5 hours. We just sat and talked and laughed and had a wonderful day together. We finally decided we had enough sun, and walked around the rest of the island before heading back to the ship. When we got to the ship we ordered some lunch, cleaned up and then the Vikes and Packers game was on, so we headed up to the Viking Lounge (fitting) to watch the game. We had a blast cheering on the Vikes! After the game we went to go get ready for our last dinner on the ship. After dinner we went back to the room to pack and then headed to the casino so Brian could play "let it ride" his new favorite game! We went to bed fairly early since we had to be up and off the ship before 8am.

I was pretty excited to get up Monday morning to call my mom and dad and sister, but not to leave our amazing vacation. I called my mom about 6:30 am Central time to tell her the good news. She was speechless and then of course started crying. Dad was just leaving for work so I got to talk to him too! I call Melissa, but of course she already knew but it was still fun to tell her!!! The rest of the calls would have to wait til we got home.

We got to the airport and got the last two seats (first class) on an earlier flight!!! Brian's parent's picked us up at the airport and we grabbed lunch and headed home. I was excited to have dinner with my parents too, even though i was actually sick. We headed to Melissa & Scott's and you can read her blog to see what our other surprise was once we got there http://forrestfamfun.blogspot.com/2009/11/congratulations.html

Needless to say, I am not surprised very often and I was surprised extensively in less than 4 days.

I could not be happier to be marrying Brian! Let the wedding planning begin :)

Sunny Skies, Blue Water and White Sand....

2009-10-28T13:08:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am going to the Bahamas!!!! Brian surprised me with a 3 day cruise for a little romantic get away!

stay tuned for a blog update upon my return. Check out my cruise destination over the next few days :)

Katie & Tom (aka Tomkat) get Hitched!!!!

2009-10-18T11:49:00.002-05:00

Friday was a busy day! Brian and I both had to work all day and then it was off to Tom & Katie's wedding. Tom and Katie are friends of ours from the ski team! Their wedding was in Shoreview at St. Odilia Parish. They were married by Fr. Nels Gjengdahl who happens to be a friend of Toms from elementary and high school which was kind of neat! The ceremony was beautiful and Fr. gave a great sermon, one of the best I have heard by a catholic priest in a long time. Katie had some of my most favorite songs in her mass and I was excited to see how happy both her and Tom were!

After the ceremony it was off to the Reception at Dellwood Hills Golf Club in White Bear Lake. This was my first time out at Dellwood but the Ski Otters have a lot of events here and it has turned out to be a pretty popular wedding reception venue. We went to the receiving line upon arrival and then to the bar to get a cocktail. Then it was outside for a group picture of all the people that were at the wedding. The photographer took a picture from up above on the balcony. Hopefully it will turn out good! Then we mingled with our friends for a bit before dinner started. Dinner was good and so were the speeches by the wedding party. Katie and tom had a friend walking around taking pictures of everyone and then printing them out so we could put them in a book and write a note...it was a pretty cool idea!!! Then the dance began. It was 12:30 before we knew it and we were shot and ready to head home!!!

Congrats Katie and Tom - hope you are having fun in St. Marteen!!!

SNOW?

2009-10-12T17:00:00.001-05:00

This is what we woke up to Monday morning. After only a 1 day weekend, do you think I got up and drove to work, of course not. I stayed in my pjs and worked from home and watched it come down :( Come on 60 degrees please don't leave us yet.

NSHMBA Conference

2009-10-10T23:00:00.010-05:00

So I don't often have work events I need to participate in, but this year I got asked to be a part of NSHMBA (national society of Hispanic, MBA's). This event is similar to a job fair, but it is specific for members of NSHMBA only. The interesting thing about NSHMBA is that you do not have to be Hispanic to be a member. So only about 15-20% of the members are actually Hispanic and the rest of African Americans, Caucasians, Hmong, Puerto Ricans, etc...

UnitedHealth Group was actually one of the major sponsors for the event, which meant we had activities starting on Thursday the 8th thru Saturday the 10th. Thursday was a kick-off meeting for a number of the recruiters, sourcers and leaders who would be participating in the event. I was quit excited to see Rosie, who is my colleague that lives in CT. We started on the same day and on the same team back in February of 2008 and from the first time on the phone together we hit if off. It was wonderful to spend time with her during the three days she was here and I really wish we lived closer. After our kick off meeting we attended a Finance Seminar that was put on by leaders at UHG. It was a very interesting seminar talking alot about Health Care Reform. UnitedHealth Group has been at the table in many discussions for the reform, it is a very sensitive subject, one that all Americans should be a part of. Check out our website to learn more: http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/main/generalcontent.aspx?id=997ff2df-71cc-4d13-a8df-87f55588f03d

After the seminar, I headed home to work for the rest of the day and then I was back downtown by 6:30 for our networking reception. This was a part of the evening for the candidates to come network with the companies they were going to meet/interview with the next day. This event went until 9:00 pm and then there was a salsa band and fun event sponsored by Deloitte(www.deloitte.com). We checked it out for a bit and we had some co-workers that rocked the salsa on the dance floor. I, on the other hand, didn't do too hot :) After that it was time to head home for a busy Friday.

Friday came quick. I was back downtown by 7:30 am and the conference started at 9:00. The doors actually opened at 8:50 and it was a flood of candidates rushing to get their resume and introductions done right away. Going into this event, I knew there was not going to be a lot of Clinical candidates, so I helped direct people to the right recruiters in our booth. The event closed down from 12-2 pm for a Siesta and I ran to lunch with Rosie and my friend Erin who works at Target. Since I was down town i needed to make the most of my visit. We had lunch at Vincent A Restaurant (www.vincentarestaurant.com) which is one of my most favorite places for lunch, it is also where Erin and Mike had their wedding reception! After lunch it was back to the conference til 6. Then a few of us went to Nami for dinner (www.namiminneapolis.com) Nami is a sushi restaurant, again one of my favs! We went to go grab a cab as it was a bit too cold and far to walk considering we had to be back at 8. We ended up piling 5 people into a town car and off we went. The driver was interesting to say the least and as Ouraphone put it, "and the white girl" in the car :) We gave the driver strict instructions to pick us back up at 7:45 and he was right on time. Our evening event was VIP cocktail reception from 8-9 with live music, food and drinks and then from 9-11 it was open for all candidates that came to our booth. We had many leaders from our company come by too. It was a fun but very long day. I got home by about 12 am and jumped right into bed. Brian was headed hunting in the morning so the alarm went off at 4:15 and I could not fall back asleep. I met the girls downtown at 7:30 for a quick breakfast at Hell's Kitchen (www.hellskitcheninc.com) and then it was off to the convention for the last day!!! After the convention was over we went to the Independent in Uptown for dinner and a much deserved cocktail. I was finally home about 11:30 Saturday night and fell fast asleep.

It was great to meet some of my peers that I never work with daily, I ran into some old colleagues and we are going to get a good amount of hires out of the convention, so in the end, it was definitely worth it! See you in Chicago in 2010!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2009-10-08T13:17:00.004-05:00

Happy 4th Anniversary Melissa & Scott!!!

I cannot believe it has been 4 years already!!! Time sure does go fast :) I hope you enjoy your day and your dinner out tonight!!!!!

Love you both!!!!

Don't kill me for the super old picture!!!! (hehe)

Lake Carlos - Camping in October

2009-10-07T16:25:00.005-05:00

Well as my post last week said...we were off to Lake Carlos again! We had this camping trip planned in September and changed it to October. Two of our favorite couples, Matt & Jenni and Dan & Melissa were our company for the weekend. Matt & Jenni had to drive separate as they had to leave Saturday evening, but we sure had fun while they were there.

We were finally ready to go about 5:30 on Friday night. We got up to the lake and started a bonfire right away it was Chilly. Melissa and Jenni started the fire and then Jenni started to grill burgers as we were all STARVING :) The boys were busy putting in the boat while we arranged things in and out of the RV!!! We ate dinner, made some drinks and hung out around the bonfire. We had so many laughs but managed to make it to bed fairly early as the boys were going to start fishing early (aka 7:30 am) but not before we roasted many marshmallows! Us girls woke up Saturday morning and sat in the RV and drank our coffee and Baileys and chit chatted. Brian texted me when they were getting ready to head in so we started breakfast. I made Carmel rolls for the first time and had some fun with the dough!!! After breakfast Jenni, Matt, Brian and I went out fishing and didn't have much luck. We came back in around 3 or so and then went to the Outpost Bar up the road for lunch/dinner and watched the Twins game. We went back to the campsite and hung out for a bit and then the boys went fishing for a bit longer before Jenni and Matt left. Saturday night the 4 of us had a few more drinks and just sat around the bonfire and laughed and roasted some more mallows. We went in the RV a bit later and played some comical rounds of Apples to Apples before heading off to bed.

Sunday morning :( our last day. Dan and Brian headed out again in the morning to do some fishing. Melissa got up and read her new book and I slept until 10...I was tired. We had breakfast and then all went out fishing. Melissa and Dan caught a bunch of Northerns, including a few that we lost and the one the ate Melissa's hook and snapped her line. We headed in fairly early, made lunch and packed up and it was time to head home.

We had a wonderful time and will definitely be making this an annual trip (maybe not always in October though!!!!)

TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-07T08:48:00.003-05:00

After an intense 4 1/2 hours the Twins pull off a WIN! It has been awesome to watch the determination that the team has to continue going. It will be an intersting series with NY over the next few games, but fun to say the least!!!!

Camping in October...

2009-10-02T15:14:00.003-05:00

Yes, it is the 1st weekend in October and we are going camping. It is going to be cold and chilly, but we have had this trip planned for months (originally slated for Sept 11th) we had to move it to this weekend.

The nice thing is we will have the RV with us so we will have heat. I am a little unsure how fishing will be considering I am sitting in the house shivering because we don't have the heat on. More updates to come when we return.

Where are we headed?????

Where did August and September go???

2009-09-30T13:54:00.004-05:00

Okay okay - as my sister would say..."you are NOT a true blogger" and she may be right, but work has been insane the last couple months and on top of that I have been making jewelry for weddings, helping plan a wedding and still trying to have some fun.

So...August brought me a lot of fun times...We had the Gregoire Family Reunion, out west past Paynesville, MN. This was the first time meeting a lot of Brian's mom's family. It was a lot of fun and also the 1st time I have golfed in years!!!! This took off quickly as I wanted to get better. After the reunion we still partook in some of the ski shows, time out on the river, dinner with good friends, my 2nd cousins Dan's wedding, golfing, Brian's softball games, the PGA Tour, my 10 year class reunion, time at the driving range, dinner at my friends for her family and new baby, and a bachelorette party in Crosby!!! That was just August.

September included the State Fair (OAR & Slightly Stupid Concert) and an entire bottle of Captain 100, a LONG weekend for Labor Day in which i baby sat Logan one day, went to Mille Lacs to visit my grandparents, went to our friends Katie & Johnny's cabin, golfed, broke my toe, demoed the basement bathroom, babysat Logan some more, went on the river, golfed some more, Brian started hockey, had a couple birthday dinners, friends grad party, a golf tournament, the annual Hammer/Beckman Renaissance outing, more babysitting Logan, Oktoberfest at Gastov's, Brian's sisters wedding and ending the month tonight with my high school girlfriends, Dinner at Hell's Kitchen in Mpls.

I promise as October hits, I will be better about my blogging, because I do enjoy it, but when work is crazy there just sometimes isn't a lot of time.

Here are some, but not all of the pictures from the last 2 months!!!!! Enjoy :)

Blog Changes

2009-08-06T11:14:00.003-05:00

I am trying to figure out a new template that I like for my blog...i didn't really like the pink...so you might see some new changes over the next few posts until I figure out what i like!!!!

Happy Birthday Melissa!!!!

2009-08-04T08:21:00.006-05:00

I am a month behind in blogging...let's just say I have been really busy both at work and home, so I need to catch up.

I could not go without a post to my sister on her very special day!

HAPPY 31st Birthday Melissa!!!!!

Lis - You are the best sister anyone could ask for. You have been such a wonderful role model to me in my life and a great person for me to look up to all the time. I am honored to be able to call you my sister and am so happy to share so many special times in our lives together! I love you. ~ Amy

Here is a pic of us on my 28th birthday this year. I am looking forward to celebrating with Lis tonight.

Welcome Bren Donald!!!

2009-07-14T09:28:00.008-05:00

There is always a time of excitement when one of your close friends is expecting a baby. It seems as if the 9 months takes forever as you sit with anticipation to see how cute the new little one will be. Tasha and I have been friends since grade school and have rekindled our friendship over the past couple of years (post college) I have also gotten to know her husband Don a bit better as well.

A close group of us girls from high school try to get together once a month. We had dinner on Tuesday, June 30th so we could see Tasha one more time before baby Shim arrived.

I got a text on Tuesday the 7th saying Bren had arrived. Unlike many couples this day in age, Tasha and Don wanted the baby's arrival to be a surprise so they did not find out what sex the baby would be. How exciting that their first little one is a boy.

I had the opportunity to go to the hospital on Wednesday the 8th over my lunch hour with my other friend Tasha, to see the little guy....he is just perfect and adorable in every little way :) Tasha and baby were doing great.

Here is wonderful little blurb about how baby Bren got his name: Bren Donald is a family name. Bren is after Brenda Mink, Don's mom who passed away in 1999; and Donald is a name that's been passed down through four generations: Donald Walter Mink (Don's grandfather, Jeffrey Donald Mink (Don's father), Donald Henry Mink (a.k.a. Don), and now Bren Donald Mink.

Congratulations Tasha & Don. I am excited to watch the little one grow!!!

Weekends

2009-07-13T07:53:00.008-05:00

Oh the dreaded Monday has arrived. Why do the weekends have to go so quickly, especially one like we just had that was absolutely beautiful out. Oh well, I guess I have to make money some how!!!

This past weekend was really nice. We had a wonderful dinner on Friday with Brian's family at Biaggi's in Maple Grove. We all ate way too much and then went back to their house for the most delicious chocolate cake that Bry made. YUM! Then some friends came over for a little bit and it was off to bed.

Saturday started off with just a little bit of sleeping in (only til 9:30) and then it was time to hit the river. It was a cool morning, but beautiful out. Our friends Melissa and Yost met us at the launch and we just floated for a good part of the morning. Then our friends Mitch and Molly were in town from WI, so they joined us as well. Eventually Yost and Melissa had to leave, so Jeremy and Laura came out. About 5:00 we all finally took a run in the water. The boys used some wake skis and us girls wake boarded. It was my first time ever and I got up on my 3rd try. Molly got up on her 2nd and Laura was a pro, she got up right away, but has also done it before.

We finally got off the river about 7:00. We all freshened up and headed over to Melissa's mom's house for her surprise 50th birthday party. We missed the surprise but ate some food and hung out. Then it was back to the house for a bonfire. I think we were all pretty tired from being in the sun all day, so we called it a night by 11:30.

Sunday Brian went golfing and I did some stuff around the house and then it was off to the ski otter show. Brian skied yesterday and did a great job, considering it was his first time in the show this year!

What a wonderful weekend we had. Looking forward to next weekend...hopefully it will be just as nice outside!

July 6th

2009-07-10T13:16:00.006-05:00

Monday night after work, Brian asked if I wanted to go out on the river fishing for a bit. Of course I said yes, the sun was out, the weather was beautiful and the fish were not biting!!!! I did catch a northern but that was about it. The sunset was the best part of the evening.

July 4th

2009-07-10T13:05:00.002-05:00

4th of July has to be my most favorite holiday! Our family tradition is to go out to Prior Lake and be on the boat all day. Then at the end of the day we go to Sunder's (our family friends) to watch the fireworks.

This was Brian's first year joining us on the 4th and despite the rain in the afternoon, I think he and I know I had a good time.

Logan was a trooper and had fun checking out the fire truck on shore. None of us really even went in the water much as it was so cloudy, but hopefully next year the weather will be nicer.

July 3rd - Time with Friends

2009-07-10T12:45:00.002-05:00

Ahhhh - holiday's. You gotta love them - especially when you get a day off work and even better, when it is a Friday!!!! We started the day off by sleeping in a bit, after being out at the Taste of MN the night before. Our buddy Adam spent the night so I made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon. Then Adam helped Brian tear up the carpet in the basement so we can start remodeling the bathroom downstairs. After all of that was done we mowed the lawn so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend.

We were one of the only other couples/friends in town for the weekend so we called up our friends Matt and Jenni to see what they were up to. They were heading over to Matt's parents house. They live on a private lake and so we went out and skied for a little bit and the boys got some great bare footing in, along with a couple of good wipe outs too...which i did not catch on camera. We stayed there for dinner with Matt's parents and sister and then headed over to their townhouse in Blaine.Upon arrival at the townhouse we cracked open a couple of beers and started playing bocee ball. It was a lot of fun and our friend Nick joined us too. Then we were wishing we had fireworks to light off. They guys wanted us to go buy some from somewhere and we said no. Jenni thought they had some in the garage but could not find them, so finally we went to go buy them under the white tent at Menard's (according to Matt). There was no white tent at Menard's, so we ended up going to Target. In the meantime on our way back to the house, Brian calls and says, "we found the fireworks, we don't need any." Uh...we just bought some...oh well - more to light off. We had a lot of fun lighting off both the legal and illegal fireworks. Then we started a bonfire and made smores. It was a great night!!!!

Taste of MN - July 2nd

2009-07-09T09:17:00.007-05:00

Catching up on posts today!!!!

So we didn't have much planned for the 4th of July weekend, other than to have fun, get some sun and hang out with all of our friends who didn't have plans...so that is exactly what we did!!!

Thursday night Brian thought it would be fun to go to the Taste of MN after work. So we figured out who was around and took off. We had a lot of fun. Stain was the music for the evening. We drank some beers, at some food and had a great time people watching. We ended up going to Psycho Suzie's on the way home and met up with Rook, Jim and Adam.

We had a really fun night! Check out the crazy things we sa

Birthday Celebration #2 - Wednesday July 1st

2009-07-06T15:20:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Honky!!!!

We surprised Jeremy on his birthday this year! His girlfriend Laura took him out to dinner at Axel's and stalled him until we could get there! He was pretty surprised!!! We gave him a shot of tequila to start off the night. Then we headed over to Green Mill and met up with a few other friends to celebrate his big day!!!! Since it was a Wednesday and we all had to work the next day, we called it an early night around 11, but we still had a great time!!!!

Birthday Celebration #1

2009-07-06T15:13:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNI!!!

Last Friday the 26th of June we celebrated Jenni (and Tom's) Birthdays. After the Ski Otter show we went to Trattoria da Vinci for a late night pasta dinner - YUM! From there we went to Alary's (which is DEAD) in the summer. There we had some yummy grape ape shots (just for Jenni) and played some bags. Tom was also celebrating his birthday and joined us as well. Brian's cousin Corey was in town from South Dakota so she also joined us. Jenni's official birthday is July 1st, but we sure had a fun time celebrating!!!

Farewell to a few wonderful icons.....

2009-06-26T14:22:00.009-05:00

As I sit here and reflect on the media coverage of the recent deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, I am really quite sad. Because the death of Michael Jackson was "sudden and not expected" he is the one who gets ALL of the media attention, when Farrah who was ill with cancer and publicizing her illness gets the shaft. It really isn't right. I have to admit as I am typing this I am listing to some of MJ's classic number one hits and it is a great remembrance, (I would be listening/watching "Charlie's Angels, but it isn't on my iPod) but i still don't think he deserves ALL of the media attention pushing Farrah and Ed to the wayside. It is truly a bummer how our society is.

Note: **I actually typed this on Friday night, but didn't get a chance to post as I could not find the pics I wanted to use :)

Post Canada Fish Fry Dinner - Monday June 22nd

2009-06-24T15:55:00.005-05:00

After all of the fish we caught in Canada and brought home with us we of course needed to plan a fish fry! We realized that with the fish from Canada, our camping trip, fishing opener and our buddy giving us salmon from Lake Michigan, we needed to have a little dinner party.

On Monday we had Jenni & Matt, Rosie & Jeff, & Brian's parents over for dinner. I made peppers with onions and garlic, asparagus (just for Brian), and garlic bread. Brian manned the grill and I did the salmon in the oven and some shore lunch fish as well. Dinner was wonderful. Rosie brought brownies for dessert and Jenni brought cheese cake bars -YUM!!! We ate way too much, but it was such a fun night with friends and family!!!! Can't wait to do it again soon :)

the great "proverb" of Canada

2009-06-23T12:09:00.021-05:00

The Saturday we got back from camping we went to our friend Jenni & Matt's house in Blaine. They were talking about going up to Canada to do some landscaping (they own their own business http://www.barefootmn.com/ ) at Matt's uncles, but they would not be going if Jenni didn't get her updated passport. They mentioned it would be fun if we could go with, but we didn't think we would be able to get time off after just being out of work Memorial Day week. Well, Jenni got her passport and we got the call/email to "please come with, it will be so much fun!" so lucky for my PTO and Brian being reduced to 30 hour work weeks, we of course, said YES!

So Thursday night (June 4th) we packed up and headed on our journey to the "proverb" of Canada. This is where the first story begins. We were trying to figure out the quickest way to get "up north" and the Garmin kept telling us to go up through I-Falls instead of through Duluth. We just could not figure out how that would be faster. So I was trying to use my satellite GPS on my blackberry and it asked for the State/Prov. So as I am doing this, I said "So what "proverb" are we going to? Ontario, right" and then busted out laughing, knowing that I said Proverb instead of Province...well there was my blonde moment of the weekend causing quite a ruckus in the truck. We ended up going through Duluth and realized that the only reason I-Falls would be quicker was due to the fact that Thunder Bay is considered eastern time. So at least we figured that one out!

We got to the cabin (literally in the middle of no where) about 3 am. I really had to use the bathroom as did Jenni and this cabin does not have electricity or running water, so we were on a mission to find the out house. Well we found it. (see photo taken in the daylight...it was too dark) So - this restroom/outhouse did not look like it had been used for quite awhile and we know that Matt's family comes to this cabin often...so we were a little confused. There were cobwebs over the seat and leaves down the hole, but when you have to go you have to go. Needless to say, the next morning, after Matt worked on the new sidewalk, he comes back to the cabin laughing and telling us that the "NEW" outhouse was up the hill and to the right about 50 yards. We said, "you are lying, there isn't another outhouse" well there really was, it was like a 5 star outhouse without electricity! (again, see photos)

So onto our day. Matt's uncle and aunt had us to their motel for lunch. We went there and then loaded up the 4-wheelers and boats to finally get out fishing (after all what else is there to do in Canada). So after an hour or more drive on the 4-wheelers in the middle of no where, we arrive at the lake. Threw the boats in and off we went. The best fishing was definitely on Friday. We caught many walleye and some bass and northern. It was COLD and windy and rainy out on the lake, but we survived. We ended up on shore and started a fire and cleaned the fish. Then it was back in the boats, back to shore and then back on the 4-wheelers to head back to the cabin. When we got back (almost after 10) we cleaned the fish more and started to cook dinner. We had a feast and finally at about 11:30, then it was off to bed for another busy day of paving and fishing.

Saturday we started our day with a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Then we went fishing on the lake right by the cabin. Then we went to the motel and spent time with Matt's aunt while the boys worked on the patio. We cooked up a shore lunch after they guys worked for awhile and then headed back to the lake for some evening fishing. Jenni and I decided to go in the Sauna while the boys fished more. Brian caught some really big bass and we could not resist taking the classic picture. ** please note that is was only about 32 degrees outside, so it was freezing. I almost wish there was snow on the ground to make the photo more appropriate!!! We then roasted marshmallows over the fire in the cabin, had some drinks and made smores and got ready for our last day of fishing on Sunday.

Sunday was fun as both Matt's aunt and uncle came out fishing with us. Again, we loaded up the 4-wheelers and boats and off we went. Fishing was not as good, but at least the sun was shining a little bit. We fished for awhile and then had a bonfire on the shore and made brats and smores again. Then we headed back to "camp" The boys went to finish up the walk and we cleaned up the cabin and packed and met everyone back at the motel. We finally hit the road about 5:30 Sunday night to head back home after a very fun 3 days in Canada! On the drive we saw a sign for some waterfalls and made Matt stop, despite the fact he was hungry and just wanted to drive and find food, but thank goodness we whined enough because this is what we saw (see below!) There will be many stories and memories to hold onto. Especially the moose that Matt saw, but didn't take a picture. We are hoping to go back this summer or early fall to enjoy some more fishing!!!!!!

Lake Carlos Camping Trip May 28-30th

2009-06-22T13:23:00.000-05:00

Finally I am going to try to get to some blog posts. Life has been so crazy and I have so many entries I want to catch up on!

This update is from Brian and my last minute camping trip to Lake Carlos, just north of Alexandria, MN. We were both on vacation from work for the week (well Brian was on a Furlough) so I took the week off. We were going to go fishing and instead at the last minute we decided to go camping. We were down at my parents having dinner with the Forrest's and my grandparents and parents and decided on the drive down that we were going camping. We got back up to Champlin and packed our bags, food, got coolers and camping gear ready, booked a campsite at Lake Carlos and the next morning we got up, hooked up the boat to the Pathfinder and off we went.

We got up to the lake around 1:00 in the afternoon. We got our campsite all set up and put the boat in the water and started fishing right away. We had a beautiful day and caught a bunch of bass and northern. We went in to make some brats and a cocktail and back out on the lake we went. It was a nice evening, a little chilly, but fun. Brian caught a HUGE Walleye which was really exciting since we were only catching bass and northern. The last catch was a bullhead and so we decided to call it a night. We got up the next morning, had some banana bread and hit the lake again. Fishing was still pretty good - a lot of bass and northern. I even got a great picture of a loon and an eagle.

Then the weather turned. It got pretty dark so we came in, packed up the dog and headed to a nearby bar/restaurant and had a couple beers and shared a burger until the rain stopped. I wish I would have taken a picture of the burger, it was HUGE. It was stuffed with jalapenos, cheese, bacon, mushrooms and onions. It is a good thing we shared it, because we could hardly finish it together.

We went back out on the lake after the rain stopped, but then it kept raining off and on. We had rain jackets on and didn't let the rain stop us. We kept fishing, even though we didn't catch much.

Saturday morning we woke up again and went back out for a bit, but then decided to head home. We met up with some friends for a bonfire in Blaine that night and then went to Long Lake all day Sunday for the perfect end to our vacation!!!!

Stay tuned for our next adventure....Canada!!!

Update!

2009-06-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

Hi All ~ This past week has been crazy with a last minute trip to Canada and catching up with work from being out on vacation Memorial Day week. I have a lot to blog about...our camping trip and the trip to Canada. Check back later this week for new updates and photos!!!!! There are many stories to share :)

why a + b = c

2009-06-02T15:38:00.000-05:00

So as I attempt to start my first blog after months of saying I was going to...I didn't realize that I was going to need to be so creative in what I select for my blog title, name, dashboard, and all of the other jargon you need to pick from. So that brings me to my first post of why I picked a + b = c. I am anticipating that a lot of my blog will not only be about my life, but also Brian's (aka "B") and of course the dog, Connelly (aka, Cons, Conners, moose, bear, etc...).

So here is the story...almost a year ago when Brian and I were "having fun/hanging out" before we became an official couple, an older gentleman asked what we were (Did we have a title?). We said we were just having fun and that was that...so he proceeded to ask more questions and he summed it up as this; "So if a+b=c and c+a=b and b+c=a then that's what you are?" We thought that was pretty funny especially with the initials of our names and maybe the fact that we were at Moondance Jam and pretty drunk, so at the time that is what began "A" and "B" (a few of our many nicknames for each other) and our phrase of A+B=C (complicated) at that time.

Now that B and I have been together for over 8 months "officially" and while I was thinking of a title for this blog of mine, I decided that a+b=c still can relate to Amy and Brian but the c could equal either couple or Connelly...so for this it is going to stand for Connelly since he is part of our little equation and our busy life.

So there it is...my first blog (thanks Melissa for finally giving me the motivation...and Brian's comment to this was,"you are a dork")....please note there will be many more to come along with photos...so until then....