My lil' kid sister

Happy golden birthday, Katie! Sunday we celebrated Katie's 26th birthday in traditional style at the house. The cusine de faire was her favorite, and along with her housemates, many of the staff were there to celebrate. I was sitting there watching Katie completely immersed in her day, and I started to get really emotional. It's so wonderful to know that there are other people--i.e. her new, other family--that really love her and take care of her. It makes me feel good knowing she is taken care of when we aren't there. She has come SO FAR in almost the last 4 years, and every birthday is all the more reason to celebrate her progress. I promised her a shopping outing for her gift.

Chocolate dreams

My friend Alison returned from Scotland last week with a wonderful treat for me: British chocolate! It brought back a WHOLE slew of memories that the ladies from Cottage 8 would surely remember. When in Ireland, we developed a five-star rating system for each chocolate bar, and believe me, it was a LONG LIST of consumed chocolate. Even the owner of the local Spar, Tom MacNamara, informed me that these candy bars were more cocoa-based, giving them that irresistable taste. My most favorite, WispaMint, sadly, is no longer produced. Alison couldn't find a Wispa either, but I was clearly happy with my mint Aero bar. Don't ask how long it lasted.

Limited modern conveniences

As this past weekend was one of the few times this entire summer with NO committments, I thought we should get away, just the two of us. Romantic relationships with cell phones, computers and other various forms of technology get rather complicated and dependent. We headed to Chase Point Campground, which is part of Scenic State Park. We definitely had the best site in the campground. Relatively secluded, a view of the lake: it couldn't have been better. Plus, we finally got to use all of our camping gear we got for our wedding. Our tent--pretty much the biggest single-family tent I've seen. Kind of resembles an igloo. Has a doggie door for our future canine. Saturday morning we went on a 4-mile hike through the woods; the views from the top of the peak were breathtaking. The tasks of the day were simple: sitting by the fire, roasting marshmallows, trying to keep the jumping squirrels at a safe distance, reading books...an instant remedy for tired nerves and stressed muscles.

City sights

Wednesday was a verrrry long work day, which included visiting the U of MN Graduate School and the new Walker Art Museum. The Picasso exhibit was pretty unbelievable; I tend to get awestruck when I see works that have existed for so long and have permanantly impacted modern culture. But then I get kind of annoyed. The purpose of this exhibit was to demonstrate how Picasso impacted other artists. At what point is his influence flattering, and when are the newer artists just completing their version of paint-by-numbers? Cubism is amazing, but it's not my bag. And more times than not, museums in large metro areas produce several versions of the thin/elitist/quirky/pseudo-intelligent mid/late 30s employees, who assume that all visitors not wearing black must be from Hickville. I ran into the Bartas there, and they will be bringing home their little boy any day (positive thinking). Finally the last stop included Buca's, which I always love going to. I highly recommend the linguini frutti de mare. Beware of octopus, though; they tend to sneak it in there.

Homecoming

Karla sent out an email early this morning--David's back in the US, nearly 2 years after he left. He's headed to WI for some procedural debriefment, then back to MN. Please take time to thank all of those who are sacrificing so much of themselves and their families. Here's some pictures of the girls..the A team, as they are referred to as.


Tonight I went out for a drink with Courtney, my friend from college and Ireland. She has a little blue bun in the oven, and she is definitely a cute pregnant lady. I know a lot of those...She's done with grad school--congrats, Courtney! I'll be bringing my ailments to you. p.s. I'm glad she is holding out on telling the name, as I accidentally guessed the name of another person's bun.

5 babies + 3 pre-mommies + 1 bride = fun

This weekend was fun, fun, fun. Friday Corey and I drove down to St. Paul. His team was playing in a tournament in South St. Paul against Nick Bjerken's team. Liz and I met up with Corey and his team--yes, 13 young males--for the Twins vs. Oakland game. I can't say that I understand much of anything of this gender and age group. That's probably best. What alarmed me the most was one of his players said he wasn't even alive during the 1987 World Series. That was the kicker--put a stamp on me and consider me old goods. Later that night Liz and I went and sat on the deck at the Liffey, my favorite (US) Irish pub, which brought back good memories of living in St. Paul. Saturday morning we met Anne for breakfast at Highland Grill and attempted to consume a meal for 6. We window-shopped at Patina and Stephanie's--another vice of living in a cool neighborhood. Liz & I headed to Amber's parents' house for her shower, heckling the cornfields and occasional cow herd. Then we missed our turn and realized you can't just ask for directions from "x cornfield". Doesn't work. It was great to see our lady friends again, complete with babies and babies-to-be. Ooh, I gotta have my fix. Janell, Amber, Liz & I headed out into the metropolis of Mankato for dinner and spent half the night talking. We agreed again, like at our last group event, that we are so blessed to have another. We don't take that for granted. We're gearing up for Amber's wedding in Chicago. Now blog mania ensues!

Dinner with the Texans

Corey and I went out to dinner with Sasha and Kevin, who are visiting from TX. Kevin gave our townhouse a very thorough exam, telling us how we can update and improve to get the best value in order to sell. This process taught me:

1. I am motivated to do many house projects!
   
2. Our instincts about how to improve the house are generally right.
3. It's okay to hire out and not do everything ourselves.
4. Clutter is a four-letter word.
   

I'll post some before & after pictures when I get myself organized.

Sorry you froze while you were here, Sasha~ we're pretty used to it.

Lucky 7.7.07

Yesterday was a busy day, as we were supposed to attend 2 weddings. The first was Kate and Joe Wicklund's, and Corey, Coach Baggs and I were on duty to shoo tourists away from the side of the road. Well, Joe's directions were not, well, accurate. So we waited at the wrong lookout spot and the wedding went on without us. They thought we were just being sneaky but we pulled up as they were taking the after-photos. Oh well, the lookout they had was much better than what we had picked out! I was only at the reception in Solon Springs for a while, in which time my husband, in an attempt to carry me over the train tracks (near the baseball field) dropped me and the bag of pottery I was carrying, with all of our dear friends watching. I have a hematoma to prove it. Krista, Tom, Nathan & Lambeau stayed at our house and that's always a blast. Nathan is talking up a storm and he will definitely repeat anything you say. I'm amazed at how young children learn to ignore the voices of the adults around them. He says my name and I just melt, therefore negating any previous attempts to ignore me.

Celebrate with fireworks

Our 4th festivities started on the 3rd, when we headed up to Corey's parents to watch their local fireworks and parade. Being located near the local watering holes of Eveleth, MN, watching these events is like a sociological dissertation in the making. Words cannot describe the colorful figures that come out of the woodwork. But what we can always count on is seeing relatives and eating considerable amounts of empty calories--I don't even try to resist it anymore. Corey's cousin and family from FL were up to visit, describing the wild pigs that inhabit the land next to their property. Last night, CB, CR and Shandiz came over for a BBQ, and CB and I made shish kabobs (one: in honor of our guests--Shish kabob is Farsi--two: because they are easy & delicious). Only remants remained thereafter. CR brought presents from her new company, Sugar, which included a new purse and shoes for me! It was like Christmas. CR's dad took us out on the tugboat that he manages for UWS and we watched the fireworks from the Harbor--that was something everyone needs to experience. We had wine and toasted to good friends. The next night we did some people watching at the Red Star, which can definitely satisfy anyone's craving for a unique martini. I had the xxx: ruby red grapefruit, v. refreshing for the summer. That's after, of course, I tripped walking in the door with my rediculously
uncomfortable bronze stilettos.

Getting there is half the adventure

Corey and I left for NY last Wed and although going to Joe & Emily's wedding was definitely the highlight, I couldn't tell the story without talking about the excruciating process we experienced in trying to get there. Here's a brief synopsis: we left Duluth on Wed at 5:30 am and made it to NYC by lunchtime. We had our flight to Rochester cancelled, 6 versions of standby, and slept in the airport baggage claim with about 1,000 other stranded travelers! We then took the Amtrak to Rochester, and finally, 28 hours after we were scheduled to arrive, we made it and Joe Joe picked us up. I've never been so excited to see a familiar face. I was inclined to buy a "I heart NY" t-shirt but frankly, I have a major disdain for NY.

The wedding in Wellsville was wonderful. It's a really small town in the middle of the state, and it's very Americana--you can pretty much get anywhere by walking and everyone in the town knows each other. Joe has a big extended family and they were more than welcoming to all of us. The bride looked magnificent (maybe I should make a go of this makeup business--teehee)!