things to be thankful for

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!

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....

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!!!!

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?

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

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!!!

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

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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...

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???

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

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!!!!

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.....

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 :)